Choose to give credence to belief

There are many "religions" in our world. Most strong followers of them state that they are the one and only way. I find it sad that conflict often results from arguments that prevail. It seems to me that almost always, the central edicts of the various belief systems promote the same or a similar message.
Love.
Peace.
Respect.
I find it sad that often, these (and other) central edicts get downgraded in importance allowing the emphasis of differences and dogma to get in the way. 

Man loves to be right and hates to be wrong. 

On a personal level, I'll state that I am a Christian. Much of this comes from the culture I live in. When I chose to commit to Christianity, I did so based on the concept of love and respect for others. It is something that is a challenge to maintain, but is central to my desire. I believe that the very same foundation of other belief systems applies to all other "religions" or belief systems including those of humanism and/or atheism.

In my pursuit of self development and research, I discovered "The Way to Happiness". I received the DVD, booklet and promotional material a couple of days ago. It's pretty impressive. It ties in some cases to The 10 Commandments lovebut has the interesting principal of not claiming to be part of any "religious" organisation. 

You'll notice that I use quotation marks when writing the word "religious". This is deliberate. I find the word comes with labels that generate assumptions and creates fear and prejudice. I prefer to refer to myself as spiritual and of the Christian Faith for which I choose to believe. 

It is pretty clear that virtually all war and conflict occurs as a result of "religious" conflict. Some of it is generated as a result of anti "religion". Many of the ancient conflicts are all detailed in The Old Testament/Torah/Koran as I'm led to understand. (I'm not much of an expert on The Old Testament and have read only parts of it. In truth, I find it a bit hard work!) 


One of the most profound statement in "The Way to Happiness" is reference to being respectful of other peoples belief systems. If we all simply did that, then surely we can all live in harmony?

All this has been said before I know. These messages get written and re-written. I believe it is natural to do this in order to keep the message fresh. Otherwise the message simply goes stale and is in danger of being forgotten. 

It is always advised to be careful when discussing "religion" and politics. It brings forward so much emotion. I do so today to attempt to share some balance to the arguments.

So endeth Marty's thoughts for today!

Control vs Freedom

"Those who seek to control others have a lack of self control."

This was the answer that came to my mind when someone asked me today why some people are abusively controlling in relationships. 

I followed this up with:

"Live and let live = self respect = confidence = I know who I am = I accept myself"

This all came to my mind in free thought. Analysing it afterwards, I wondered whether it could be described the other way around. i.e. 

"I accept myself = I know who I am......" etc.

Further examination of these thoughts brought back one of my favourite values of balance. Applying this means that there are times when a degree of control is required in a relationship. For instance, a caring parent or adult who seeks to protect a child from hurting themselves. For example, a toddler who is inquisitive in exploring the world around them needs some protection from wandering into a busy road. This would not be unreasonable and is done for correct reasons. As a child grows and learns to understand right from wrong, it would then be ok to gently allow the child to make measured decisions for themselves.

The type of control I'm referring to at the beginning of this blog is when a person who is capable of making decisions is denied this opportunity by another who has an element (perhaps) of distrust in themselves. Or perhaps the controlling person feels the need to inappropriately take responsibility for the actions of the person they are controlling. 

If we are free, then we have freedom to decide for ourselves. If others truly care for us, then they will forgive us for our mistakes. This will help us to learn to forgive ourselves.

As I said, this is all free thinking and I seek some feedback from folk on what I've written here.

With Love

Marty