just before i post this, i'd like to point out that the ULC (universal life church) are more an organisation than a religion in itself. they allow individuals to gain the legal status of "revered" without having to submit themselves to any organised religion. I signed up since i deamed myself to have my own powerful beliefs that guided my entire life which as i saw it were far more an influence to me than what most traditionally religious people experience. they send me alot of stuff and rarely is any of it of any importance to me, yet i read it none the less (first line of sig in play u see). but this time there was actually a little bit wedged in the middle of their typical "give us your money so we can send u stuff etc etc" rubbish i found this.... ==== You see Spencer, most human beings are all spiritual to one degree or another, regardless of their choice of religion and beliefs. Most of us know only what we have learned from our parents, our church, our friends and for those daring minds out there, we learn from books, or in other words, from other people's personal experience. The problem is that it is human nature to form beliefs based on available data on hand in order for the mind to create a semi-solid construct, an environment in which it can operate. Too often however our minds will grab at just anything and form a belief based thereon, which becomes part of the foundation for the rest of our lives. Whether the belief is correct, informed, accurate or even valid does not come into play. We have all seen some wacky beliefs out there. Even if some are accurate, we may JUDGE those beliefs or facts to be NUTS only because it does not fit into our frame of reference. How much of a disservice do we do unto ourselves by choosing to make uninformed beliefs our own, OR... by discounting facts and beliefs which are in fact accurate but we judge not to be so, simply because they don't fit too comfortably in our own reality-construct. So what is the solution then? In the end, all we can do is to honestly explore the unknown in our individual worlds, become informed and only then make a decision about what works for you and what does not, but then doing so... ...WITHOUT ANY JUDGMENT. ==== not bad i thought. i think i'll post that on grasscity to see what (if any) responce it gets...