When you get into spirituality, it's about expanding your belief and realizing that all the religions out here really do coincide in their values. Maybe not in all the stories. They like to tell different stories, but they're all telling you the same thing. It's about the way you should look at yourself, the way you should treat others, and the way to live a good life. And most of them have really good values that I really do agree with
Benedict Garrett
@Bendi_G · 5:00
And they don't want to call it a god because they probably recognize it's not a god. But spirituality is very much down to an individual's idea of definition. So I'm not here to define what it is that someone who describes themselves as spiritual beliefs or does not believe. Well, I think the basis of your point is we disagree is I think you give way too much credit to religion. I was brought up to be religious. I was brought up as a Christian
And it's interesting because right now, we ourselves are trying to develop community for people practicing and experiencing spirituality as a preference, particularly people that have left the church like Christianity in America, and find themselves in this Exodus moment in their life. We are aiming to create spaces for them to realign reorientate themselves and empower themselves. And a lot of these people are experiencing religious trauma or various religious traumas. And it's interesting because spirituality really doesn't give you traumas like that
Michael Slade
@Freshslade · 4:58
And so they feel like that's the only thing that there is. And like you said, religions largely do tell you that this is all that there is and this is the best way, this is the only way. So, yes, that can be very poisonous. But like I said, I do agree with you. It's just that it's what we have. And I feel like using what we have, religion is already being in place. It's not a horrible way to start
Michael Slade
@Freshslade · 5:00
And yes, it has its negatives religion, but it's so deeply entrenched in our society that it's like, we can't remove people from religion at this point because it's what they were raised on. It was what their grandparents, their grandparents were taught. And so a lot of people are going to stick to that, which is why I came with a more sympathetic view to say that religion does have its goodness. But I just really wanted to emphasize the limitations that really caused the issues
Michael Slade
@Freshslade · 3:50
I take a little piece of that and I say, okay, well, we're just going to add this to the masterpiece that is my spirituality, and I just start building from there because I feel like all faith should be unique to the individual themselves. However, I keep saying a community would be so beautiful
Benedict Garrett
@Bendi_G · 4:58
Hello. Fresh slate. And thank you for your response. And you explain very clearly your perspective and where you're coming from. And I I do understand what your what you're saying saying you perhaps have a far more, how should we say, tolerant view to religion than perhaps I do. I'm older and perhaps more bitter in my age. But I do want to answer the question because I don't want to just rehash what I've already said
Michael Slade
@Freshslade · 4:59
The way I approached my spirituality was like it was called to me because I literally saw something that wasn't there. And I know that sounds very logical, very irrational, and believe me, I was a very rational and very logical and I am a very rational and logical person. By nature
Benedict Garrett
@Bendi_G · 5:00
I went through a period of my life where I smoked cannabis when I lived in the Netherlands, really to help me sleep, even then. And I had some wonderful experiences and thoughts in my head and very vivid experiences and images and stuff, but never have I experienced any connection with any supernatural being or something that I could not later explain. So whilst I hear what you're saying and I appreciate what you're saying, I cannot empathize with your experience
Michael Slade
@Freshslade · 1:25
Like, when I'm struggling hard on time or say I'm just curious and want to know what's really going on about my life. And my spirit guides really guide me, I appreciate it, and it's so vivid, so real to me. I don't think this conversation really can go anywhere else, but I just wanted to say thank you for staying open minded, even though you don't have evidence