Religion, Love, and ISIS

Yes you are reading it right, I put LOVE and ISIS in the same title with RELIGION. And I know this piece might sting!! But it's coming from the heart, explaining my philosophy Love, and its relation to Religion... So here it goes...

Most of us are born with some form of religion, whether Judiasm, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc... And our religions shape up a lot of our lives, what we can and we cannot do, what is acceptable and what is not, what is the norm and what is the exception, what is good and what is bad... Religion shapes up our traditions, our rules in society, our family ties, education systems, marriage and divorce, inheritance, sex life, politics, business, etc. Religion has endless powers and controls on us...

Some people used religion to control the politics and the people of their territories. You can almost certainly find incidents in all religions where religion was not used as a genuine faith, but rather twisted and abused to seek certain benefits by those who controlled that religion. Some used religion to wage wars, others used religion to divorce and remarry, and others used it to brainwash its followers and gain territorial control... You get the idea...

And the fundamental component in all this is something called FAITH, without which, religions shatter... It is faith that we have in our religions and Gods that puts us under full control, in a sense, to those religions we believe in. We just believe, some of us question, but in the end we are pushed back to just believe, believe in a higher power, a creator, in a God, and trust that this higher power is the source of everything, this power holds the secret to everything, controls everything, etc... Some religions won't allow you to question or doubt this higher power. Some will request continuous sacrifices from its believers, to please that higher power, or to prove the unconditional loyalty and faith. Some religions are submissive. Some religions are passive and general... But the common thing among most religions is that we believe in it, have faith, and that's why we stay with our religions, or at least the majority of people...

In some rare situations, relatively speaking, people do change their religions, or even lose this faith in religion completely and become atheists. If they change, most probably it's because they lost faith in their higher power or religious group and teachings, and found a stronger faith in another religion or group. They still have faith, they still believe in something, it just changed... As for atheists, well most probably they lost this faith in the higher power completely, maybe shifting their belief to science or logic or certain rules and laws, whatever the case is... But again, I say relatively speaking, this is not widespread, and the majority of our world today is ruled by religions, and with the majority of those followers of religion being faithful to the religions they were born with (inherited basically).

So this is my unscientific view of religions, which is just to make my next point. I want to stress though that I do not mean to offend any religion or any kind of believers or followers by what I mentioned or will mention next, whatever religion you follow. I am not criticizing religions, rather I am trying to explain my point about Religions, and how it relates to my next section: LOVE...

For me, LOVE is religion, just like any other religion any of you follow. How? LOVE is my higher power, it is the source of everything, it controls everything, it is this supernatural force that affects every single aspect of my life... And like you, I have faith in LOVE, uncontested faith, strong and deep faith, that no matter what, LOVE is my religion, what I believe in, what I adopt in my life, what I follow, what dictates how I live and act and decide and function. And just like you, I will never abandon my religion when I feel down, I will not give up on my religion if I do not get what I want. Just like you, I choose to have faith and believe that good will come, if I am patient, if I work harder, if I sacrifice, if I connect... Just like you, I worship a higher power, a God, or let me say, a Goddess in my case. Just like you, my religion, faith, and Goddess are sacred...

One difference though, is that we get to earn this religion. We are not born with it, we are born with the ability to get there, to LOVE, but we grow up nurturing this ability in us, loving our parents, loving our family, loving our society, loving our traditions, etc... We nurture LOVE as we grow up, strengthening this faith, looking for our God or Goddess, or maybe just faith in LOVE without God/Goddess...

When we find our God/Goddess in Love, for those of the religion of Love, we make this leap of faith, we believe, we commit, in good and in bad, no matter what the circumstances are, it is our religion, and nothing can shake this strong faith and belief... And just like other religions, this faith is tested the most in times of crisis, in times of despair... In those times, you got to search inside your faith, in your heart and soul, find the strength to protect your believes and your commitments, your faith, your religion, your LOVE... You might need to sacrifice, you might go through pain, you might suffer... Just like other religions, you got to prove your faith...

I remember in school we took the story of one of the Islamic figures called "Bilal Ben Rabah" who was extremely tortured, almost to death, because he became a Muslim, but he resisted and tolerated the pain, defending his faith, and refusing to give up on his new religion and belief... And we can find examples like this in so many other religions...

And so, for those who believe in the religion of Love, why is enduring pain not acceptable? Why are those defending Love looked at as being weak or delusional? Why is sacrifice for Love considered stupidity? 

Which brings me to ISIS!! This group is the hot name of terrorism these days. How is it related to my philosophy? Well, just like ISIS are distorting the religion of Islam, acting in the name of Islam in their own twisted view, for their own benefits and gains, in the same manner, those who claim to know much about Love, and yet, would boldly come to me in moments of crisis, and convince me to let go, to give up, to move on, to abandon my religion and Goddess, those are ISIS of Love!! Not because they are giving advice or trying to help, of course that part is the noble part. But to help by convincing me to abandon my religion and faith is terrorism!! It is choosing the easy way out!! 

Look at it this way: If you are a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Jew, and you lost your house, lost a loved one, lost a fortune, or going through any other form of crisis, would you listen to me and consider changing your religion to something else? If I try to convince you that your solution is to change your belief, change your God/Goddess, to something better, something more beneficial, would you consider it?? I guess not... So why should a believer in Love consider changing believes so easy??

In some circumstances, abandoning this religion might be the only way, but that is only after depleting all options, after giving it all you can, after fighting for your faith and believes to the end... What might break this faith, make you reach the point where everything you believe in is shaky?? It has to be something extremely profound or traumatic. The examples and scenarios can be so different and unique, so I am not going to get into details, only stick to the point that it has to be so strong to demolish your foundation of religion, of Love... And only genuine Lovers would know when they have reached that point...

You might disagree with all my philosophy, just like you would disagree with the other religions, and strongly claim that your religion is the best religion on earth... Well I would respect your view and your opinion and your faith, but would ask you to do the same to me: Respect my Religion, Respect my Faith, Respect my Belief in the Power of Love...

I'm not weak, I am strong in my faith... I'm not delusional, I am a genuine and true believer in my Love...

Right now, I'm fighting for my religion, my Goddess, my Love, with everything I got... And unless I lose faith and belief, until I reach that breaking point, nothing can stop me!!

I end this with a quote by the German Psychologist Eric Fromm: "Love isn't something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn't a feeling, it is a practice."

Now let me go practice :)

Cheers To Hope and Love...

BISS