Every Religion Is Open

November 29, 2019 Open Religion No Comments

Many existing religions are incompatible with each other. To me, these incompatibilities are – one way or another – as many signs of superficiality. Underlying this is Openness, as in: ‘Open direction to God.’

Dare I speak of God?

Dare you? God is a ‘concept’ that means something different to each culture and within any culture, to each person.

One can see in this that God is a personal experience, a personal relationship at least from one side. People can talk about God and recognize God in the talking of others. Yet someone who thinks that God is reducible to his own private concept is mistaken.

God can be found in pure consciousness [see: “Pure Consciousness”] which is Openness.

The history of religions

shows that no religion has ‘fallen from the sky.’ They may proclaim so, but historically, we know that the genesis of any religion is messy.

Take Christianity, which I know best: extremely messy. As a teenager, I went to the ‘College of the Holy Trinity.’ Well. Christianity barely started to be ‘a religion’ and already [1 = 3] didn’t add up at all – in spite of Nicaea – for Arians versus Athanasians versus the whole lot. And so on, and so on, almost indefinitely.

Don’t let yourself be fooled: no religion has escaped immense messiness. This said:

within the core of every faith lies Openness.

In many cases, this is especially apparent in the beginning stages, when an organization has not yet taken over, institutionalizing, closing doors, driving believers towards one gateway which leads not directly to heaven (God) but to the institution.

“People are not strong enough by themselves, so they need us, the institution(s).”

This has always been a ridiculous argument, posited by ‘us’ who then fare well by it, be it in status, money, power.

Every religion is about Openness. If an institution is not about Openness, it is not about religion.

So, dear pope or whatever, be humble

at least, if you want to guide people. And indeed, they (= we) need guidance. A lot of it.

This isn’t done by closing doors, helping your aggrandizement, but by helping people to deal with open ones. This way, people can gently open them at appropriate moments.

I mean: Opening their own doors

with a big O, because it’s about Openness to deep inside. Open as in Open Religion. [see: ‘What is Open Religion?’]

Open as in any religion. All of them have struggled with this. Indeed, all of them have sought for ways to accomplish it as well as possible.

So, why don’t we see more of it?

My guess: it is challenging to get a good feel, a good insight into the reality of human nonconscious processing.

Thus, it is not evident for individuals to take this direction, including in their religious quest.

Thus, one can easily make the mistake of looking towards outside without noticing that one is looking from deep inside, or even – in introspection – towards deep inside.

Individuals who do so, tend to find themselves alone, if not very lonely. Moreover: in an environment that may be hostile towards any endeavor to subvert existing schemes, vested interests, institutions.

Still, to the core, the aim of any religion is precisely to be Open.

Every religion is basically Open.

We will get there.