I started the "For followers of less popular spiritual paths." quite some time ago. That thread is here: <A HREF="http://bbs.stresscenter.com/eve/forums/ ... 5751057013" TARGET=_blank>http://bbs.stresscenter.com/eve/forums/ ... 1057013</A> Now, I think it is time for something new and something fresh. So here we go, I hope others will join in and enjoy.
The reason I say Agnosticism & Anxiety is because the point of this section of the forum is to use your spiritual path, religion, belief, or all of the above to help you with anxiety. So how can a belief in “not knowing” help someone who is constantly worried about not knowing?
I'm here to tell other Agnostics that our beliefs and ideas about the Universe can be extremely helpful in freeing ourselves from anxiety. Yes, at first the separation from popular belief systems and organized religions can be stressful and even scary for some. When we are taught our whole lives that we will be punished if we don’t believe as we are told, etc. or we are told to trust in “Pascal’s Wager” because “tis better to believe than not believe,” we are forced into a shell of thinking. The problem is, in our modern society and in the past three-hundred years, people have begun to think outside this shell. We no longer accept things at face value. With the surge of the Internet and the free exchange of ideas and beliefs, and with the new found fervency of Scientists and Skeptics to search for “truth,” it seems almost inevitable that older religious beliefs are fading out. I am not saying this to be insulting to believers, certainly not, I am simply stating an observation that I have made. The churches are becoming less and less large every Sunday. I believe this is why many “religious folk” are becoming agitated and more forceful in preaching their beliefs onto others; they feel as if their religion is losing its grip on their country.
The problem with this “coming out” process is that it creates a dilemma for many people. Many people are beginning to see that maybe our religious beliefs are incorrect. The dilemma is then, “well what is the right belief?” “How did this all begin?” “Is there a purpose in life?” “Where do we get our morals and values from?” “Is there really such a thing as good and evil?” These are tough questions to answer and this “coming out” of the “shell” can be very stressful and scary. But it doesn’t have to be.
The journey into skepticism, agnosticism, atheism, or the journey into other religious/spiritual beliefs other than your native one, doesn’t have to be a terrifying task. It is liberating, refreshing, and most importantly enlightening. The movement for free thought and scientific reasoning owes a great deal of gratitude to the founding fathers of the United States. These founding fathers, too, thought outside of the box. Their constant questioning and over-all skepticism helped them to formulate a balanced approach to religion and government. (Check out, “Revolutionary Spirits” by Gary Kowalski, for an in depth look at our founding fathers and their religious beliefs.) So it is not a bad thing to think this way or question these things, in fact, you are among some of the greatest minds in history when you do just this.
Agnosticism is a noble philosophy to take. There are different forms of Agnosticism, some believe that “we do not know,” others believe that “we cannot know,” and the majority believe that “we currently do not know, we may never know, but the correct answer to these questions is, currently, that we simply do not know.” << That was an unintended tongue twister.
>> I would like to discuss the third form of Agnosticism. This is a liberating idea because it, essentially, is a humbling experience. Admitting that you do not know something and that you are less significant than you may have previously thought is very humbling in deed.One interesting thing that agnosticism helps us do is free ourselves from the fear of death. Once we begin to look at the Universe for what it is and how we currently understand it, we can easily free ourselves from this fear.
1)We did not exist for billions of years before we were born and our life-span is so short that it seems “silly” to constantly fear death.
2)My personal favorite philosophy is that: “We are all made of star dust; all of the atoms that make up our bodies will continue to exist after our consciousness has died, and we will again become star dust.” We never die, we simply change forms.
3)We are not a part of the Universe, but we are the Universe itself. This goes hand in hand with point three.
4)Life is short and precious, we should cherish each and every day that we are alive and live our lives to the fullest. Believing that we will have a second life may cause you to not live this precious life to the fullest.
5)There is no hell, there is no heaven, and there is no eternal life. Therefore, I fear nothing because there is nothing to fear.
All Agnostics may not believe all of the above but as you can see Science and Agnosticism do offer something else other than “the same old same old.” This teaches us to live in the moment and enjoy our lives to the fullest. The majority of scientists are non-believers and they are striving to search for answers and discover the reason behind many of the mysteries of life. In our growing modern society scholars have determined that there is a negative correlation between a person’s education and their level of religiosity. So one should not be afraid of having these doubts about their religious beliefs, it is merely an outcome of the old saying: “The more you learn the less you know and the more questions you have.” << This is essentially the heart of being an Agnostic; accepting that we do not have all the answers.
We are a young and vibrant species floating on a single rock amongst billions of other rocks and stars inside a galaxy that is among billions of other galaxies. Agnosticism simply takes the role of: We would be foolish to think we have the answer to all of this right now. We would also be foolish to assume that all of this was made, simply, for us. It seems egotistical and frankly, illogical.
I would love to go on further, but I think this is unorganized enough as it is, but please I’d love to hear what other people think about Agnosticism and how it helps them with their Anxiety. I hope others now realize that this is not only a Christian forum. There are many members with different belief systems.
- Beat