higher power

Yeah, its time to attempt to put my understanding of diety into words.

I don't 'follow' any of the standard knuckleheads such as jesus, allah, yahweh, ja, etc. My belief system is more symbolic than anything. I DO believe in a 'something' (perhaps even a 'great something'). And I feel that this 'something' cares for me, wants me to learn, reach my potential and live a life of substance. I typically perceive this power as female but at times I refer to it in a masculine sense.

I do pray everyday to my particular whatnot on a daily basis. I always have. When I was using hardcore, I prayed on an intermittent basis.

I sense that this force of nature (or super nature) is generally good but doesn't fuck around when an asshole like me needs a quick eye-opener or harsh lesson. Well, generally good isn't a fair assessment. I think he/she/it is perfectly good.

But dude, what about all the bad in your life? How can something 'perfectly good' allow any bad? The answer is simple, my higher power isn't a pussy and is kind enough to give me just enough hardship so that I may grow and learn. These growth spurts and lessons are always perfectly timed. And I can't label something that allows me to grow and learn as 'bad' or 'flawed'.


But what about all the evil in the world? To me, 'evil' is a christian term and at this point in time I can't be bothered to look up the dictionary definition. I CAN say this however, hearing of 'evils', witnessing 'evils' and even participating in 'evils' have taught me such good things such as compassion, empathy, loyalty and honesty (just off the top of my head). So, is it purely evil if good has come out of it? Not purely. So perhaps it isn't evil at all.

Oh, I can't remember specifics but this higher power of mine has a twisted sense of humor as well. I get a kick out of it!

Most likely, to be continued...

 

That's really interesting, OverDone. I guess I too believe in a "higher power", but more from a deist perspective. I believe this higher power created the universe and set everything in motion, but I don't believe it's actively involved in our day to day lives - i.e. it doesn't answer prayers, doesn't provide us with revelations, and so on. We've been put here on this earth, and it's up to us to solve our own problems and survive. Anyway, that's just my take on things.

 

i can dig that. EVERYONE'S take has value.

For me its simple math. 6 billion people = 6 billion different perceptions of 'whatever'

When religion gets involved though, shit gets twisted. As soon as you gather people in any group, politics, ego, stature, money corrupt the very intent of gathering the group in the first place.

 

^ I totally agree with that.

 

I'm still on the first half of the first step. Being powerless over everything in my life, from drugs to god.
I do know that I have to have some kind of change if i'm ever going to be able to make it.
I don't even know who god is, I do know that he's saved my ass from death over a dozen times.

 

^ I'm not much of a 12-stepper myself (I've been to a number of meetings, and decided it wasn't for me - I don't have anything against AA or NA, cos I know it can work wonders for some people), but I think I'm probably stuck on the first step. I can openly admit that I'm powerless over drugs and my life has become unmanageable, but I struggle with the second step: believing that a higher power can restore me to sanity. I think that power can be found within ourselves if we look hard enough and have the determination to get clean. I'm yet to find it, but I'm confident that one day I will.