Living Proof

It doesn't matter how close you are to someone, even if you live with them, the fact remains: you will always be oblivious or perhaps, out of 'the know' about something about that particular person. I always say that I will never truly know my wife 100%. I say that as a good thing, because I'm constantly learning new things about her, even after 20 something years of being together. Remember the good ol' 7 year itch? Well, that "itch" is true. The "itch" can also mean that it's just the process of growing, changing or setting new beliefs. In fact, our bodies develop new allergies every 7 years. Think about where you were 7 years ago today. You were quite different, weren't you? Think about your political views and even religious views... Weren't they a little different back then? I do know one thing, (maybe two or three) -- that we are constantly growing and evolving into different people, gradually. I'm not saying that every 7 ...

Last night as I was prepping dinner, I walked outside with a glass of wine and my phone and started Periscoping the beautiful view of the lake and mountains. The sun hit it just right, making different parts of the mountains light up. I started talking about spirituality, faith and atheism. The point of the scope was to point out how faith is purely an unseen belief. Although I claim to be Christian and believe that Jesus is my Savior, I would never condemn anyone to hell because I don't want to play God. Those are some big shoes to fill. And although I believe in the Bible, I also believe that much of the book was written by man and yes, inspired by God, but how much do we actually know is true? So I rely on the book and read it with discernment. There are many contradictory scriptures in the Bible that leave many unsure. Why am I a Christian? Because it makes me incredibly happy. Is that a lame excuse? I'll elaborate on it. The euphoria I experience while meditating and...

Yesterday, I was speaking to an atheist and I asked her, "Respectfully, why do you focus and write so much about something you don't even believe in?" And she gave me an answer I didn't expect. She wasn't angry, she wasn't trying to question her 2% of "what if there's a god" -- she was simply fed up with religious people hurting anyone who fails to fall in line with their exact beliefs. The mere fact that most religious folks will say "my" religion and "my" god as well as "believe what I believe or you're going to hell" is all associated with their ego. The ego thrives on being superior above all those who don't think, act or believe as they do. The ego needs to be "right" and the ego needs to tell their "truth" -- even if there are no factual bases on their "truth". It's just a faith built system that people feel comfortable believing in. Even though I believe with all my...

There are so many beliefs and non-beliefs out there in this world. Some pray to Jesus, some pray to Allah, some lean toward Buddhism while others simply have no one to pray to at all. Have you ever had the chance to speak to an atheist before -- I mean, an "active" atheist who pursues it like a religion? I've come across quite a few and had a less than desirable experience with them, only because they would say things like, I wasn't intelligent enough to realize that my God is just a big fairytale. I get it, but the insults just kept trickling in. One gentleman happened to be a former priest. To me, for someone to actively pursue a role in atheism tells me that there is still some small percentage of "what if" -- perhaps, "What if I'm wrong" type of questioning. To me, that's a very scary place to be in. But then, years later, I met (not in person) a writer named, Emily on Periscope who does these brilliant broadcasts all about atheism. I...

The other night, I was chitchatting with a girlfriend of mine who lives out on the West Coast. It was 9pm for her, and way too late for me, but we got into various topics, one of which triggered this post for today. Without thinking about it, my friend chimed in, "You're gonna write about this arenchya'?"  I've touched upon this topic once before, and ever since realizing how common this is, I have to again come back to this topic. Atheism. Seems harmless. Atheism: the doctrine or belief that there is no god.  How can anyone have a "religious" debate if one person doesn't even believe in God? I never even thought about this years ago until I met someone with such passion for proving the nonexistence of God, that he basically bit every believer's head off. To top it off, this used to be a man of the cloth. Right there, you have to wonder, what happened? Then months down the road, I came across someone else who was an atheist. She basic...

Stepping outside of my faith in God, I have to say religion is a funny and strange concept. Here you have so many people living on earth believing in numerous "gods" without an ounce of concrete proof. Our faith is supposed to gather all the "spiritual experiences" it can, if we're willing enough. And on the scientific end of it, our brain can manifest such euphoria - a "god-like" feeling which can be confused with "God's presence". Many Catholics have seen "evidence" --- a statue of religious figures crying, a wood groove on an oak tree that resembled a man with a beard (Jesus) or seeing the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast up for bids on eBay. We're completely awed by it, until someone tells us it was rigged or tampered with -- or, that it was just a coincidence that their mind "saw" Jesus and not a groove that somehow can be looked at as a man with a beard.  For me, I have had confirmations of messages of God -...

Some might disagree with this, but I am not anti-atheist - I just have so many questions in my mind about the feeling of not believing in anything, or for a lack of better terms, the feeling of having scientific proof tell you that there is no god. Here's why I'm so inquisitive... I'm not trying to 'poke' anyone or provoke ill feelings, but for me, if I somehow found out that there was no god, no heaven and no afterlife whatsoever, I would have nothing to live for, because I have nothing to die for. (Hope that makes sense.) My entire life, from morning till evening is dedicating my life, my heart to God and relying on Him to make me "okay". For instance, in the morning while I'm cleaning up and making my bed before work, I pray. I talk to God as if He was right there in person, and to me, He is. I set a time in the morning to sit outside and pray. It rejuvenates me even more than my favorite coffee. When I don't talk to God and miss a day - it...