I think mormonism has polluted my sense of spirituality. I can't look at religion, god, or spirit without getting angry, confused, and suspicious. I feel like this religion screwed me over and took my innocence.

I also feel this religion has made it hard for me to be honest with myself. So much perfectionism and deceit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2015 09:50PM by liminal state.

Take your time and let it come back in a more genuine form.

For me, spirituality is a clear night sky, or colors of a sunset, or maybe when my dog sits with her head on my lap, or maybe a perfect rose, or maybe a great book or piece of music.

That's when I feel awe, appreciation and most connected to the universe. That's when I feel a sense of honesty and who I am with wonder and appreciation.

You'll find your own authentic way, with or without religion defining it for you. Enjoy the quest.

The classic definition of spirituality is that it is a broad term that involves feeling a connection to something bigger than yourself and a search for meaning for your life.

The something bigger than yourself does not need to be a God, especially Mormon Heavenly Father. The second you allow someone else to define spirituality for you, it is gone.

True spirituality comes from being in tune with your senses, introspection, and fosters empathy as you begin to feel your connection to others, to all living things, and to our place in the universe. True spirituality has at it's core, reciprocity--not just with other humans, but with nature, the planet, and the moon and stars. And sometimes, with coffee.

Just breathe and be for now. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Anyway, that's my take.

blueorchid Wrote:
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> Anyway, that's my take.

And a fine take it is.
There's good reason to dismiss the made-up, enforced mumbo-jumbo of religion. Not just mormonism.
Doing so opens you up to more honest, real feelings -- connect with real human beings, be a part of the world and universe at large. Find your own "meaning." Don't let the promoters of ignorant nonsense define your life for you.

I decided that I would open up a connection with humanity.

That's not an easy thing to do, because humans like to stick to their own tribe and view 'outsiders' with suspicion, if not hostility.

I smile at everyone and wish them well. (Don't worry, I also watch my back...)

I've found that it only takes only one spider bite to make one think twice about arachnids.

I like that saying.

I hear ya. It does get easier in time.

I feel I need to say something here because my journey has been pretty amazing to me at least and true spirituality is difficult to define.

I believed I was a 'truth seeker' and so I searched for God. The logic was how can I please someone/worship God without knowing a little about Him. I was being helped even as a Mormon in miraculous ways so I had a pretty strong belief that I was being helped by someone or something divine.

At first, most procedures I tried did not seem to work but the few that did were great. Eventually, most techniques I attempted seemed to work to some extent for me. I found I could connect with 'spirit' and get answers but I didn't expect what I found. I did this using prayer, meditation, intuition/psychics/mediumship/channeling etc. and a lot of attempts to connect and get answers. You can leave off the 'woo' and call it intuition and it seems to work just as well but eventually you need to ask the 'big' questions about God, after life, purpose of life, who we really are, etc..

The God/Source, I found doesn't seek worship but us carrying out life plans we established before we came here. These plans mainly work on virtues ----- honesty, integrity, knowledge, wisdom, empathy, forgiveness, etc. Every incarnation we work on a few. So if there are certain 'virtues' that "keep coming up" in your life you need to pay a lot of attention to them ------ that is help to alert you there is work to do in that area.

We also need to recognize we are all connected to all humanity, nature, universe, etc. and the responsibility that involves.

I get great results in many areas premonitions, visions and dreams ---- I don't ask for. When I ask I seem to get again visions, dreams, voices, feelings, etc. and feel good about them but not sure I get 100% accurate answers so try to verify some information using different techniques. I do get a lot of "routine" thoughts that are "very helpful" that come to me ----- forget to pack something (normally my wife's error) inspired on what to say, do, etc.

I think the 'journey' is very important and will probably be different for everyone. I am still on my journey even though I feel I have gained so much already. Meditation, prayer, study, etc. is essential but you don't need to try so hard or so intently that you get overwhelmed ----- pace yourself. Also, trying and failing is ok, just don't get discouraged.

When you are successful and feel like you are 'finding your path' any past failures will seem minor.

Good luck!

It's not surprising that after leaving Mormonism, anything to do with religion or spirituality can leave a bad taste in your mouth, as they say.

It's my experience, that we often need a breather after leaving the LDS Church. As a young adult convert, I had my whole upbringing (a couple of decades) and foundation I could go back and reevaluate. That was a great help to me. I knew that I had a different life and it was still part of me and I was OK.

I had to let my new World View evolve. Try on different ideas about religion and spirituality, and see how they set with me.
I attended different churches, read a lot of books, took a lot of adult education classes and branched out from what I knew from Mormonism. And I was still OK and did not need to be fixed!

Leaving the LDS Church is what I called my Exit Process from Mormonism. I had to change my automatic thinking scripts. Deleted dozens of them. Created new kinds of thinking for my new World View. And I made it fun. I used music also.
I gave myself permission to think how I wanted, dress how I wanted, eat what I wanted, and find the authentic me that was in there all along!! Mormonism did not allow me to be authentic.

Spirituality is different for different people.

You'll find your way. Give yourself permission to do it your way and have fun doing it!