It is better if Opium is a Religion....but not in the quantities that Kirk takes it, and not smoking it like the brain-dead like to do.
Everything in moderation. OffWorld --- In [email protected], "Irmeli Mattsson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Long ago as a young adult I agreed with Freud in his saying:â Religion > is opium to the peopleâ. > That was what I saw: religion and its beliefs as a place to hide > behind. I saw it being also a main source for hypocrisy, a stopper of > inquiry and curiosity about life. It seemed to have a dangerous > capacity to create a self-satisfied, numbing feeling of belonging, > safety, being on the right side, giving a justification for condemning > others, while belittling and hiding once own transgressions. > > No wonder religion felt as a truly filthy thing to me. Later I saw how > religion has truly helped people in different kinds of anguish. I was > also thinking that so many people throughout human history cannot have > been completely wrong. Some important function religion has to have > for humanity. > > After learning meditation I gradually came to the insight that certain > forms of prayer are actually also functioning as meditation. And > simultaneously I started to perceive that also meditating communities, > which considered themselves to be much above ordinary religions, had > belief systems, that were considered as ultimate, were not accepted to > be questioned, and became again a kind of opium. In some aspects even > the more advanced approaches seemed to create the very opposite to > what they were advocating. > > Concerning mythic fundamental level of development, and lower, I feel > I have started to understand, what might cause this pathology. People > who have not gone through a true individualization process, are not > really capable of being in dialogue with others. True others on their > own right donât actually exist in that reality. The same is true > internally. These people cannot be in a true dialogue with themselves. > It is all about controlling, trying to control others, and also > themselves. > > People who have evolved further know pretty well how inefficient a > tool control is in truly working through oneâs shadows. If you want to > feel good about yourself and see good results with controlling, > hypocrisy, and focusing on the sinâs of others becomes a lucrative > solution. > > Religions can have also incorporated in themselves, when looked at > from a modern perspective, truly pathological values and beliefs, the > most notable of these being the position of women. As I see it, the > relationships at home are reflected directly in the functioning of > societies. > > Christianity has in its old doctrines had a best respect for human > rights that also includes women. And there has been also a respect for > truthful intellectual inquiry. On the other hand in Islam world the > poor position of women has kept the whole area slowly evolving or even > regressing. > > Religion and spirituality have the important function of a helping us > to connect to our depth, or the collective depth and creating values > to follow. But this area has also severe defects and pitfalls. The > most severe of them is the intense fight against opening their own box > of worms of ultimate truths to inquiry. > > Irmeli >
