#4 - We are all works in progress

Do we need religions to guide us, or is individual spirituality the way?

I have asked myself this question many times—and I have found an answer for myself: We are all different! While some of us want clear structures and coherent systems, others want to experiment and experience what works for them individually.

In western societies, traditional Christianity has been declining over many years now, as people became more and more individualistic. It has been, in many cases, replaced by individual spirituality or pure materialism.

The case for religions:

• They provide clear guidelines that have been developed over thousands of years. The knowledge and wisdom of brilliant scholars went into them—as well as the experiences of millions of people.

• They are coherent systems—not wild collections of individual world views that people patch together as they like.

• They provide support and stability.

The case for individual spirituality:

• Religions have been founded and developed by people, not by God. Therefore, they have to be imperfect.

• We are alle different and hence we may need individual techniques to transform ourselves and to awaken.

• We live in a global world, in which knowledge is shared freely without borders. Why not experiment with different systems and learn from other cultures?

What I have learned

I was baptized and I am a strong believer in Jesus Christ—the older I get, the stronger my faith! However, my experience with the church and the way service is being held has been underwhelming. In my view, not enough emphasis is put on personal transformation and on ways to become more like Jesus.

I believe that Jesus was blessed by God and that he transformed himself to become an enlightened being—a spiritual leader. He tought very specific techniques to his disciples and his followers. This part of the story is not being told in church—at least in my experience. The story of Buddha is very similar.

It is my mission in life to transform myself and to become a better person every day—to follow Jesus and become more like him. I am not saying that this is entirely possible, but we have to work on this.

On my personal journey, I have discovered the following truths and techniques to be extremely powerful:

• We need to live healthy lives—good food, enough water, good sleep, enough sunlight, no drugs, enough movement, etc.—a healthy body and a healthy soul go together.

• A strong desire to become a better person and to awaken is key.

• An ethical life has to be the foundation of our transformation. The 10 Commandments and the Buddhist rules for a good life are central to me.

• Love is everything! If we love ourselves and our fellow human beings, just as Jesus tought us, we will find heaven on earth! Love opens the heart chakra, which is the central one. When the heart chakra is activated, energy flows into the higher chakras and this is how awakening slowly happens.

• Breathwork is a great way to activate our chakras and to fill ourselves with energy.

• We need to forgive ourselves and others! This is the only way to heal completely.

• We need to let go of the past and stop worrying about the future. Only the here and now is real—everything else is an illusion.

• If we speak to God, he will always answer. We just need to meditate and become silent in order to hear the voice of God.

• We can heal ourselves and others if we let Jesus take over.

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