Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Beliefs

    I hate Microsoft and Windows. Especially Windows 8. I'm just done with it since, apparently, you can't print things or use any of the little 'app' things (not that I want to anyway, but still) unless you keep Internet Explorer as your default browser, and, if you change it, you have to do complicated stuff to fix it. I'm not. I'm ignoring it and will use my old laptop to print. I don't care. I'm on strike. Internet Explorer screwed me once, so I have been done with it a long while and Windows/Microsoft...that has been a slow growing hate... But I'm done now.
    And that rant is not my reason fro typing, believe it or not, but it's something totally different. I just had to get that out so I don't end up trying to murmur my laptop, which I love 'cause of eh graphics, just haven't figured how to clear my RAM out so I can, hopefully, be able to use shadows and such again. If not, atmospheric shaders is still a step up.
To add a bit of break between rant and actual talking ;) And it sorta fits, too.

    Anyway, my point for this typing is more or less religion. In my humanities class, we are speaking some on religion, mainly Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as they are all the three 'big' ones. As well, when a friend and I were talking we someone got on religion and she mentioned she tends to think herself more of an atheist, though she doesn't like to use that word because of the bad connotation given it to it, in this case mainly by someone who we've both known and tolerated since middle school. Later in the day, I also overheard that Gokuism (sp?) and Jedism (sp?) are actual religions. The former I heard too much about today and find it a bit ridiculous since it's based off anime characters, but the latter...don't know anything and the 'teachings' hopefully are more just along the line the 'religion' the movies have and not praying to Lord Yoda. But back to the conversation with my friend, some others who I talk to were around, too, and one was a Baptist, the 'usual' in my area, another...I want to say Methodist. I don't thinks eh really said. Various forms of Christianity are the main things where I live, though there are some Islamic people and Jewish as well. Then, of course, agnostic ad atheist.
    Whenever people speak of their own religion, I tend to sit there, nodding along and putting out ideas. But I don't say what I am, since I don't think I'm anything, really. I'm a bit of a romantic who would love to believe their is some sort of afterlife instead of dirt or ash, but I don't know. I honestly don't know. I have vague beliefs, but I do tend to amend with 'but I might be wrong' because I could be very wrong. One of the things I do firmly believe is that there is no Hell. If it gets worse than now, I don't want to know, honestly. My parents have sort of put the idea in my head that, if there is a Heaven, Hell, and Limbo, then we, the living, are in Limbo. I can see where they come from, as both are Catholic if not church-going. I can see their point of view, but I still don't believe in a Hell. But I might be wrong. You never know this until you are dead.
    But when I am pressed to tell people what my religion is, I could say I identify with paganism. Not any specific form of it, but just the general idea of it. I will admit, I...tried to fit my own beliefs into Wicca, but...it didn't exactly click somehow. I'm too lazy to do rituals perhaps. But I can say I identify with this...umbrella term simply because of the semi-beliefs I've held my whole life. And the only reason i really know of this being a possibility is because of a friend I had in elementary school who told me she was Wiccan and a general idea of it and books, the House of Night series in this case. I wrote briefly about my own religious dives here but this is, clearly, more into what I count myself. I'm open enough to put this out there because I don't care what people think of me for it, especially since I'm not even just one religion because of the fact I will often admit I might be wrong, that I'm probably wrong, even.
    So, of course, as I got older and questioned things, my own beliefs clashing with Roman Catholic ones, it was a short jump for me to find that they did in fact line up with paganistic beliefs. I think that, if there is a deity someplace, then there is either a man and a woman, or a sexless ball of energy. And, in either case, neither is good nor evil, just there and won't do a thing for you unless you get up off your ass and do something to help, then they or it might give a small nudge. I also believe that if there is an afterlife, then either we 'become' shapeless balls of whatever energy, souls if you rather, we have in us, or we have vague shapes that only show our gender. I also like to think that those connected strongly in life somehow pair or group up because their energy is just so in sync and kind of...float along with one another. The last bit is definitely showing my love for fantasy and romanticism, I know. But...I also believe reincarnation may be a thing. Maybe when we die, we either stay in our energy forms or we come back and give it another go, still reconnecting with those who matter to us. But I don't believe if you screw up in one life you'll turn into a snail; you are what you are, if having a different look. I like to believe in karma in a sense, not the definitive sense, but closer tot he three-fold rule of Wicca; basically whatever you do, comes back three fold. In this life, of course. I also like to follow the whole 'if ye harm none, thy will be done' or some wording similar to that, but I like to think that has some hold on something simply because...it makes good moral sense to me.
    I know, I could possibly call myself agnostic because of all my guessing and not 'knowing', but the certain things like how I believe the energy around us can be manipulated to a certain extent, not talking about making huge waves out of a lake. Perhaps I could count as agnostic-pagan? I don't know. I don't know what to call myself nor if there is a higher power or any thought to be given to sin or if baptizing is pointless or if Shiva the Destroyer is real. I don't know anything, but I like to have my own vague ideas. I like to think there is more after we die, if only because I love fantasy and magic and...there being more out there. I don't want to imagine that we drop, are shoved in a hole or burned, and...that's it. Life is an amazing thing that...I don't see how anything 'just' dies. Maybe I'm being naive and silly, but at least I can admit I'm wrong, even if I like to think there is more.
    I think life itself is proof enough. I'm not disputing any scientific facts, I love science, but...there has to be more to us than our brain functions that cause our personality and intelligence and...decide where our hearts go. Like I said, maybe I'm naive to think there is, but I do hope there is even if it's not what I sort of believe in, I hope there is more. Except for Hell, I don't really want to be wrong on that one. I'm fine with that not existing.

22 comments:

  1. And a small addition, as a comment since laptop is now off, my beleifs are mostly brought by my wanting to beleive in something, but what i beleive without any doubt is nothing. I beleive in some possibilities that nake sense to me, but the only thing that stands on firm ground is there being no Hell. And, also of course, there being more in life than just this. Thse are near absolutes in my head, an the rest are additions i see as making sense if my base ideas are right. I suppose that is the best wY to word it, i hope.

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  2. :grins: ok, since I already use win8 since a few months, let me tell you first you´ll get used to it and then it won´t be half bad, you can turn off life tiles, rearrange them, get them off, get your owns on...I´m quite happy with the 'double system' now, my tile-screen has one column for all the programs I use for work, one for play, one for Asus apps, one for the system things which I else had to remember where to find before when needed, all arranged neatly and you can make those you use most often '2 spaces wide' to gain another 1/100 second to not look for them but click them :P for example when I log in can click chrome and firestorm right away from the app-page. And then I have my desktop where I pull icons for current projects, things I don´t want to forget etc, apart from my usual taskbar, of course while the screen is mainly free and I can see my nice wallpapers actually without having them cluttered with icons.
    The printing thing though sucks, we should do something there. I remember I couldn´t print the first time on my win8 laptop when I tried to as well, so maybe I can help there. What does it tell you when you try? Or better remind me later after your class, 'live'.

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    1. The apps don't work for me at all, the tiles, that is. Worked before, but stopped working, so...I kinda just have it open to the 'normal' thing when turning on lol I just figured no point in bothering with it, but sounds like you got your's all set. See, told ya you're more patient than I am :P and, the printing, it worked at first, but it stopped working, but, ah, yea, sure, I'l poke ya and see if you have any ideas that might help. Thanks :)

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  3. oh and I never used IE apart from checking how things look there :P

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  4. ehm...I actually many many many <.< years ago (trying to make it sound like I was about 12 or so now :P ) wrote a mail to someone of the jedi-religion-scene :P but it never got to anything much there, so I can´t help you there with case-study but know that it had been an option on some australian religion-census some time ago, it was all over the web then of course and I darkly remember an article about someone walking even to the supermarket dressed up as a Jedi, maybe the poor guy didn´t know of SL and it´s possibilities :P

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    1. *grins* oh, I'm sure it was a very long time ago when you were little, sure of it :P but, see, somehow it doesn't surprise me that you would have gone and emailed someone on it lol
      And, hey, dressing up as a Jedi and going into a store isn't the strangest thing ever lol but, yes, I suppose not, poor thing :P

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  5. the latter was UK, not Australia, to clarify, hm, there was something about an attack too, but don´t remember if of him on someone or someone on him, think someone on him lol might have to research that, was quite funny

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  6. ah right, that was it, the poor guy was thrown out of Tesco lol here found it:
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214367/Jedi-church-founder-thrown-Tesco-refusing-remove-hood-left-emotionally-humiliated.html

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  7. They crazy btw, if I´d been the store manager I´d have him be all over the store´s prospects 'Even Jedi by at Tesco' :P

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    1. Yea, I know what ya mean, but more so that it's just awful for him to be discriminated against. Though, yea, that slogan would probably draw in quite a few people lol

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  8. buy, too

    too early and only on my 2nd coffee lol um and I hope the number of my comments doesn´t look as it reflects in any way how near to my heart the Jedi Religion issue is or not is :P

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    1. Oh, no, it doesn't reflect that at all...only boredom, not showing anything close to your heart lol

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  9. I like this comment to the news article btw <.<

    Samuel Allan, London, 4 years ago
    What about the pretend religions of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism? In fact any religion is totally fictional, so why should his be any different? In particular, this is directed at Kez Williams and John of London.


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  10. LOL

    and this one, the previous one refers to, which may have a point yet:

    John, London, UK, 4 years ago
    Star Wars is "pretend" lads. I assume no girls are that daft...


    and yes, I should work, but this is a very fun topic to me, inspite of being a rant topic to you :P

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    1. Maybe just a small point ;)
      And it isn't a rant topic to me, just a talking/thinking one *nods* the thing about windows is the only rant lol I swear :P

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  11. hm...and shouldn´t there be more than '3 big ones'? Christianity, Islam, Judaism, I feel as if there a whole continent is left out a bit...

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    1. Yea, I know, I know, but, ah, how it's learned over here is those three interlinking, since they're all basically the same when you get down to it, and, also, they're some of the more popular and, this is my own opinion, really the only ones that affect America. I honestly don't' know why, but whenever religion is spoke of, generally those are labeled as the big three, even though that leaves out Hinduism and Buddahism which, I know, have large followings. of course those are learned about, too, jsut not counted as a big major one, again probably because of how those three are the 'main' ones in America. Don't know if it really is close-mindedness or not that has it learned and taught that way, but, well *shrugs* that's all I know if the why.

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  12. but to say something on the actual topic too, I keep with the most probable and provable thing for a basis, which is that nothing is lost materia-wise, just changes form, the dead body will be ash or soil etc some day, and on that basis it makes no sense to me that all the immaterial 'stuff' (a creature´s thoughts, memories, dreams, soul, whatever) should be lost, so I do believe that, somehow, somewhere stays, seperated from the body, if forever or maybe linked with reincarnation, no real idea or 'preference' there, could be must not be, from my pov, but I firmly believe that something of us all stays, if as some 'energy blob' out in the universe or reincarnated in a snail :P well, no, don´t think it would go so far, maybe a very sentient and questioning and diligent snail might make it to a cat one day and the cat to a human finally, but I don´t think it works the other way round, if it does at all work like that :P

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    1. See, that sounds like a simpler wording of my own base of thought, but I just can't have things so simple as that and need to imagine more possibilities that could come form that. Like where that immaterial stuff goes, etc. Can't do with jsut open-endedness lol If I did't constantly overthink, my thoughts would probably be more inline with your's, if a bit varied lol but, as pointed out in the blog, I clearly overthink ;)
      and..a very sentient, questioning, and diligent..snail? *blinks* Sure, if there happens to be one about, why can't it go up in the thinking creatures lol I want to find such a snail now... :P

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  13. my brother and me used to do snail races when we were little and living at a place with many snails about...but they didn´t seem to really get what we were wanting of them, so my hopes aren´t too high there :P
    oh well, I do think more than that :P but I tend to only utter the part that seems clear and not much debatable and leave the rest away which is too much hm detailed and will change with pretty much every person thinking about those topics, don´t think you over think, it´s normal that one wants to think about those things even if no chance to find out if one´s right before dead :P , as already Goethe states in his famous Faust "Daß ich erkenne, was die Welt Im Innersten zusammenhält", it´s a deep want or need, well, maybe it´s normal only for those who aren´t too bad for the genepool :P and for those not indoctrinated too badly the one or other direction and never doubt and ask themselves or others but I think most people want to know and go at least through a phase or more of overthinking :)
    and now I should overthink why I´m not in bed already lol Good night.

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    1. Snail races? lol nice, but...yea, guess it would be difficult to find one who could understand the point of a snail race :P
      And oh? You do realize you're making me want to be nosy into what you do think, since religion and people's thoughts on it fascinate me plus I'd like to know since it's you, but...I'l be good and not be nosy. Unless you want me to? *looks hopeful* and ah, yea, is true that it's normal to want to know this sort of thing, which is why there's religion in the first place, I guess, the wanting to know an wanting more than just the obvious.
      And, yes, you should, otherwise you'll be sleeping on your laptop tomorrow during work :P Night, sleep well, again :)

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