Paper Spirituality to fill a Void? [.... and just like addiction to drink or drugs, religion, such as it is, is just a paper spirituality to fill a void of emptiness. They use words in a book, and a blind faith in them, to substitute for a life. Such people will never understand your kind of spirituality which is direct experience based. ]
Never is a long time. But the extent to which this is true is a very sad affair. What is it that generates such a void? Is it loneliness? I cannot speak from experience about addiction to drink and drugs for I have never been there. Nor can I speak of a void, an emptiness of any kind, for I have not been there either. Neither am I a fan of the word `spirituality'. Evidence seems to suggest that many people who `have a religion' seem to be quite content with it; and who often rant and rave about the wonderful effects of it. One of the not so nice effects of having written the things which I did was in being contacted by some folks who were suicidal. But when they told me their stories there was always something there which they had been extremely shaken up by; and justifiably so. But I never did meet one who claimed that their life was empty. But then again, how many people can we meet and talk to? But of course, fundamentalists would not be reading my stuff in the first place, so my experience of them is slight indeed. Likewise is my experience of drug addicts almost nil. But I take your point well enough about `paper spirituality'. Never heard that term before :- ) But that is what `having a religion' is about isn't it what they have heard or read and firmly believe in it and have a faith in it. I find it said that anybody would live their life by proxy; and whether it turned them into drug addicts or not. Do you remember the hippy period? It fizzled out, for it was not based on anything real and substantial. Sad really. Religions will go the same way one fine day, but it just takes longer. Some people have asked me over the years why I turned my back on religion. But this is an assumption of theirs for I never did turn my back on religion. You cannot walk away from something which you never had. But I would imagine that anyone dumping their religion might well feel a void for a while. They tend to jump on to another one :- ) Question is why did they dump it :- ))) I have also met a number of people who jumped on to a religion because of some minor psychic experience; and who had had no religion previously. That is an interesting case study too. But I get the feeling that perhaps most people are into a religion because they see it as justifying morality, and having known nothing else which does that. I find that sad too. Then there is the age old question of so many things simply being tradition. That is perhaps the most effective Pied Piper of them all. It would be fascinating to see the world in a few thousand years time to see how it has all panned out :- ) rwr
