Thoughts on Faith

 Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. — Martin Luther King Jr.

I am not a religious person, and I find it interesting that some people equate Faith with religion. In my mind, it is not necessary to make that equation. Faith, is derived from the Latin fides and Old French feid, is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. 

I have friends who in the Spring plant their garden, they have faith that it will grow. 

When you visit with a person and say to them on leaving, I will see you next week, you have faith that you and that person will be around to see or be seen.

I have a friend who is a list maker, and every night before he goes to bed, he checks his list and takes anything he has not completed to his list to do the next day. He has faith that the next day will come and that he will be able to complete his tasks.

When you make an appointment to see a Doctor or a friend you have faith that you will be able to complete the appointment.

Belief is another verb that can be substituted for faith.  A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or it is an opinion or something that a person holds to be true. Humans are by nature optimists as we believe and have faith, in our future. If we did not have faith or belief, we would not make plans, plant gardens, or say "see you tomorrow". Keep your faith, it helps us take the first step on a staircase we are unsure about.

Faith

We have faith, our faith may not be the religious kind of faith, where we believe in an omnipotent or all-powerful entity that does or does not control our lives. Our faith may be that we have faith that we will see our loved ones again. We may have faith that when we go to sleep at night we will wake up the next day. Some say that faith and religion are the same. I believe there is a difference and that is faith is the complete trust and confidence in someone or something whereas religion is a specific system of belief and/or worship, often involving a code of ethics and philosophy.

In Christian theology, faith is the divinely inspired human response to God’s historical revelation through Jesus Christ and, consequently, is of crucial significance.

However, no definition I have found allows for the identification of “faith” with “religion.” Some inner attitude has its part in all religious traditions, but it is not always of central significance. For example, words in ancient Egypt or Vedic India that can be roughly rendered by the general term “religion” do not allow for “faith” as a translation but rather connote cultic duties and acts. 

In Hindu and Buddhist Yoga traditions, inner attitudes recommended are primarily attitudes of trust in the guru, or spiritual preceptor, and not, or not primarily, in God. Hindu and Buddhist concepts of devotion (Sanskrit bhakti) and love or compassion (Sanskrit karuna) are more comparable to the Christian notions of love (Greek agapē, Latin Caritas) than to faith. Devotional forms of Mahayana Buddhism and Vaishnavism show religious expressions not wholly dissimilar to faith.

Some still will equate faith with religion so whatever you call it or equate it to, we all have it or need it. Another word for faith is belief, so if we believe in ourselves and our abilities we have faith. We have faith if we believe in the people that we love. Faith is important to all of us and during this time of year when the days are short and the dark nights are long we hold on to our belief or our faith that all will be soon well.

Do you believe in Magic?

According to Adherents, there are over 4,000 faiths and spiritual movements in the world today. So, what is religion? Some would say it is a type of magic. While religion is hard to define, one standard model of religion, defines it as a "[…] system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in people by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and giving these conceptions an aura of factuality that seem uniquely realistic."

Religions have stories, figures, legends and divine tales that are intended to give purpose to life or to reveal the origin of life or the world or our existence. Religions tend to assume virtue, values, spiritual laws, or a chosen lifestyle created from their ideas about the cosmos and individual nature. 

The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system", but religion differs from private belief because it has a public aspect. Most religions teach their faithful organized practices and teach a belief in the value of their particular hierarchies. The religion defines who and what constitutes membership. The leaders set up a routine for the followers including regular meetings or services for the purposes of worship of a deity or for prayer. The leadership also identify holy places (either natural or architectural) or religious texts for the followers. 

All religions have language that is sacred. Religious practice may also include sermons, the commemoration of the activities of a god or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, rituals, rites, ceremonies, worship, initiations, funerals, marriages, meditation, invocation, mediumship, music, art, dance, public service or other aspects of human culture. Spiritual beliefs have also been used to explain out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences and reincarnation, along with many other paranormal and otherworldly experiences.

One theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a similar model. Social constructivism is a theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated and all knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. 

All social constructs impact us in ways they affect our behaviour: money causes us to move material goods all around the world, war causes us to kill and destroy, justice can create peaceful communities (or violent ones, when absent), etc. Religion clearly also has an impact: we construct temples, write books, come together for prayer, contemplation, and we persecute those who believe differently than we believe.

Some have theorized that it doesn’t matter what faith you believe in as long as you believe in something that gives you meaning, guidance and peace. But others believe that believing in something that isn’t true is a definition of insanity.


Believing in religion is the same as believing in magic. It can be fun and harmless, but it can also be counterproductive if for no other reason than it’s a waste of time. It keeps you busy while ignoring real-world issues that have consequences. Your life and everyone else’s would be improved by focusing on and solving real problems.

Choices

All that you create or do not create in your life- comes from choice.  Embrace and understand the dynamics of this essential ingredient of power.  You suffer when you dis-empower yourself by feeling that you are not in control of your destiny.  Freedom lies in understanding that you choose everything!  Even in "inaction" there is a choice.  In reality there is no true inaction or stagnation.

You can justify your situation by proclaiming, "I have no choice" "I cannot do anything to change my circumstances" "there is nothing I can do" etc. That is a false belief.  You can "choose" to allow the outer world to affect how you see your situation- yet; there is never a situation in which you do not have power and a choice.

With each choice, there is a consequence and an energetic price that must be paid.  So, it is not that you do not have a choice- you are only choosing which energetic price you choose to pay.

If you are currently in a working situation in which you are unhappy, you can make several choices. 

1. You can choose to stay because you are fearful of change, of the economy or whether or not you can find another means of income.  The price you will pay for this choice is continued feelings of boredom, anger, hopelessness, lethargy and depression.  Eventually this feeling will affect other areas of your life.
2. You can choose to stay- yet, change the energetic of how you see your situation.  The simple act of using an empowering thought form can create a dramatic change in how you see your situation.  "I will stay in this job because it is providing me with an income at this time.  I will keep my eyes open for new opportunities and know that this is a temporary situation and I can choose again at any time".   
3. You can choose to leave the job with the understanding that you are a creative being and can manifest a new source of income.  From an outer view, this looks as if it is the most "expensive" choice in terms of energy.  Yet, on another level it is not.  What is required is a profound faith. 

 The first of these three examples is actually the most "expensive" for to continue to live under such circumstances will rob you of your life force.  The most gentle of the three is the second option and the most daring and magical is the last.

The same wisdom applies to relationships (both platonic and romantic)

1. You can choose to stay in an unhappy, stagnant or abusive relationship. You can continue to complain about how miserable you are and how you cannot leave the relationship for various reasons.  You can justify and make excuses for your circumstances- yet; all the while you will continue to live in anxiety and pain.  You can choose to continually dream about what else may be out there for you- yet, never giving yourself an opportunity to explore the possibilities.  The price for this choice is an uncalculatable amount.
2. You can choose to stay in the relationship with the affirmation of "I love this person and I choose to communicate my feelings with them to help bring about the needed changes.  I will focus on the positive qualities and begin to let those be the guiding force.  After a period of time, if I am still unhappy and see that the situation will not change, then I can choose again". By doing this, you empower yourself by knowing that you are staying because it is YOUR CHOICE- not because you have no other options.
3. You can choose to leave the relationship and understand that this choice may lead to some pain and loneliness for a short time.  You may feel sadness and loss, yet with that will come an undeniable sense of freedom.  The level of your anxiety, negative thoughts and feelings will diminish, making way for a higher vibration of life affirming energy.  Your affirmation would be "I am choosing to leave this relationship/friendship because it is not contributing to my joy and ultimate happiness. I know it may be painful for a little while- yet, I also know there are billions of people on the planet and numerous opportunities to meet new friends and lovers."

The same principle applies to what you view as "missing" in your life.  You want to create a business, prosperity, a new job or a relationship yet you see that nothing is manifesting in your life.  You can CHOOSE how you see your situation.  You can make conscious choices as to how to get to the place you want to be.  Statements like "I will never work for myself, I do not have the means to create my own business." "I will never find a good job", "I will never meet my soulmate/twinflame", "I will always be poor", "I will never get what I want" - all reinforce the CHOICE to create more of the same. 

Choose creative and life affirming statements and thought forms and watch how your life is transformed.  Once you know you are making the choice you will make your choices to help create your desires. Here are some choices you can decide to make

1. I choose to take steps to immerse myself in the knowledge and learning I need to start my own business. 
2. I choose to put all my energy to creating what I want.
3. I choose to KNOW that there is a wonderful abundance of potential life partners and friends in the world for me. 
4. I choose to attract individuals who I will enjoy being with. 
5. I choose to embrace HEALTH and vitality.
6. I choose to feel good.
7. I choose to allow prosperity to flow into my life.
8. I choose to allow my spiritual insight and faith to be my guiding force.