Perhaps the first of many controversial posts to come, so strap in. I suggest reading with an open mind.
I've had an interesting personal experience with spirituality and religion over the years. Without saying too much, essentially I had been agnostic for most of my years, grew up from young ignorant of religion (which had led to other "interesting" run-ins with other religious people). To this day, I remain sceptical of religion, though I can see its positive effects on some people.
But overall, I can't help but feel that the modern form of religion feels more like a form of dogma, a codified set of teachings which do not unlock spirituality for people.
Anyway, back to the personal topic. I want to share a "strange" and profound experience from over five years ago.
I was at home, in the garden. I may have been watering the plants, or just simply there taking in the nature. All of a sudden, a feeling came over me. It's not something I can describe - it's almost like hearing a loud booming voice, but there was no such voice. I could feel it in a few senses. But after that one particular moment, it just suddenly dawned on me - that God exists. I preface that to say it's not necessarily the religious concept of God, but a higher presence.
Of course I can be in denial about what happened, and completely reject what I heard/felt/saw. But instead, I approached it differently.
I was curious about why this "presented" in such a way. But really, how else was I to receive such a message?
To note, I have not experienced anything similar since that day. So I doubt it was any cognitive illusions or tricks being played on me.
Since that day, my life definitely has changed for the better. I say this as someone who is not "brainwashed" by religious teachings, but the experience of life has changed completely.
I've always been an intuitive person, but since that moment, even more so. I've gained clarity about people's words, actions and intentions, and likewise, about myself.
I can't say it had been very easy to deal with, especially at the beginning. But over time, I learnt to live with it, and trust my own judgements about things. On one hand, I was dealing with the guilt of the past, having made numerous mistakes along the way. I think acceptance of my flaws was just the beginning, and knowing that I had to do better. Not to necessarily turn this into religious doctrine, but I guess I understand why they say Jesus forgives your sins. My personal reflection is that anyone can change to be better tomorrow. No, it doesn't absolve us completely of our past, but that's the lesson for us to learn and reflect on.
To this day, I am still nowhere near perfect. But to the point about gaining clarity. It's not even about rationalising faults, but really to introspect, reflect and to do better, to the best of our ability that we are granted.
The second thing was about the clarity I gained in what I saw in others. In a way, it's not really on me to "teach" others about what they are doing wrong etc. It really is up to each and every person to reflect on their own actions. Also, obviously people don't like it when you point out their issues. Actually, it would make me a hypocrite to point out others' flaws and not work on myself.
So therefore, I have kept my mouth shut about many things. I guess I have also been vicariously learning from this third-person perspective when observing others around me.
If I had to say anything about people in general - we tend to be overconfident and accept things as fact a bit too quickly, and just as quickly be dismissive about things that contradict these "facts". If anything, I've realised the more we observe about the world, the less we truly know.
The more we are obsessed about particular facets of society/culture - be it politics, reels, celebrity gossip, or others - it only serves as a distraction from the introspection I keep mentioning. By focusing on the flaws of particular politicians, celebrities, which may be grossly exaggerated for attention, we minimise the need to work on ourselves.
If this resonates with you - perhaps take a step back, and find a person/being to be kind to. Truly realise the opportunity we are given - the day we depart, perhaps we realise that we missed the chance to be kinder, better.