Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?
This is the question I have each time a religious milestone is celebrated worldwide – Christmas for me is the greatest example of this.
I was at a major shopping centre just recently, in fact two days before Christmas, when a young woman of Muslim faith asked me if I celebrated Christmas. To her surprise I answered, “No I don’t.” She paused and then asked me if I celebrated Eid Al-Fitr? When I responded with no again she was perplexed. I continued on and said, “I do not believe in or practise the beliefs of the organised religions today. I do however have a deep connection with God. I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” She said to me, “I have never met anyone like you,” and I replied with, “There are many that know what I do, they just don’t allow themselves to live it or dare say it out loud.” I said, “You know it too,” and she nodded with a quiet but firm yes.
I walked around the corner to my next shop and met with another young woman, this time of Christian faith and she asked me the exact same question, “Will you be celebrating Christmas on Sunday?” When I replied with, “No, I don’t celebrate Christmas,” she went quiet and wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation. I asked her, “How about you, will you be celebrating Christmas on Sunday?” To my surprise, she said, “No.” She explained her family were Orthodox Christians and they celebrate on the 7th January. To which I asked the question, “Really, how is it that there can be two dates for the birth of Jesus?” She said, “I don’t think there is and I don’t believe either one of them is true, it is just what my family believes.” I then said, “Maybe the whole message of Jesus is lost on us today?” She agreed and said, “Yes, it definitely is.”
What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.
I was raised as a Catholic and, as such, attended a Catholic School for 12 years. In years 11 and 12, I chose a subject called Study of Religion. In this subject we studied not only the Catholic Religion, but also many other religions. We were required to apply the theological study tool of Ninian Smart’s Six Dimensions to learn about each religion. It was broken up into six different areas: Doctrinal, Mythological, Ethical, Ritual, Experiential and Institutional.
I remember thinking at the time (and confirming this as my studies progressed), if we can apply the same six categories of study to each different religion, then all religions must be the same, they just have a different story. It is a bit like people really; each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same.
What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.
What if organised religion, or religion as we know it today, has strayed away from that original message? What if I was practising true religion when I spoke with the two young women in the shopping centre? That is, I know who I am and I know who God is – Love.
What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?
By Terri-Anne Connors, aged 40, Melbourne, VIC
Related Reading:
Waiting for God…
Sin, Confession and the True Religion of the Ageless Wisdom
Living religion: my livingness is religion
Words on Serge Benhayon 
Elizabeth you have just exposed the corruption and control that many Religions have over us, by dictating to us that we can only access God through an intermediary. That is how they exert false power. We do not have to go to church to worship God for he is within us and all around us. If we look back at history we can see how people were forced into certain religions on the pain of death, what God would demand the death of a person if they didn’t believe in him? He wouldn’t, but zealots would who had lost control of their senses.
“What if organised religion, or religion as we know it today, has strayed away from that original message?” The Chinese whispers of the ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’ of organised religion expose the fact that they have been taken over by those seeking to control.
Terri-Anne you have beautifully expressed what true religion is to me
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’
‘What if I was practising true religion when I spoke with the two young women in the shopping centre?’ If love and truth are the same thing, if we are expressing from this place every day, then we are practicing true religion every day in the most normal of circumstances, taking the mundanity out of the every day.
What you have shared is exactly what religion is calling out for – to be simplified. To make each day about love, not in theory but connected to within and applied to life, to me that is then living religion.
“If we can apply the same six categories of study to each different religion, then all religions must be the same, they just have a different story. It is a bit like people really; each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same” – I agree, and the fact that we only seem to see the difference in the way the religions these days are makes it quite clear that we have only kept the stories but lost the essence.
Life would be totally different if we all simply treated each other with decency and respect.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” – this takes away the institutionalized versions of worship outside of yourself and makes religion and God accessible to the lay person instantly. Anyone anywhere at any time can then access God through the love that they are – a simple choice to do so. Thank you Terri-Anne for laying it out as simply as it is.
“What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.” – and so it is…we get given the message over and over again till such time that we finally are ready to hear it and then live it.
Terri-Ann I simply would answer your following question with – for me it is not a what if, for me it is exactly so: “What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”
“Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?”
I feel it’s because they all want to own and control the word God, and there lies the fundamental mistake God cannot be owned by anyone, God is the space that surrounds us, the air we breathe, God is the universe, God is the particles that make up our body, we are Gods because we are made up of the particles of the universe he is us and we are him. So for me religion is the one to one relationship we have with the space that surrounds us and flows through us.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”. I love the simplicity of this….and I think you might be onto something here 🙂 I know that I feel much more connected to God when I live the Love I am.
I love how you have turned what could have easily ended up being an everyday small talk into an invitation to, and confirmation of, the truth that the other was also part of. Very inspiring.
If you look at religion from an atheist perspective you can feel how they simply have a different way to organize their lives. Yet, there is nothing in what you see that makes you feel to join. They transpire no truth. At least that bit you get it right even if where you stand is not true either.
Reconnecting with our true expression, feeling what is there deeply inside us to express when we do, is the foundation of any religion that is based in truth rather than belief.
Terri-Anne I met someone recently they were a patient at a hospital and we got chatting about their condition and why they were in hospital and we got on to the subject of the world, politics and religion. This person told me about their life and admitted they had never come across someone so open and understanding. That they had felt isolated in what they felt because it seemed that no one shared their views except their son. It was great for this person to just talk and get everything off their chest as it where and feel more settled in their body that they didn’t have to give up and withdraw there was light at the end of the tunnel.
It is exposing to our choices to see both women you met innately knew the truth as you do Terri Ann but both have none the less conformed to the religion as it is passed down within their families. It exposes how we conform but even more so that we all know what true religion is and we all know religion is about love and connection.
Terri Ann both conversations you describe in this blog are an example of how we can transform religion back to what it is in essence as they were open and honest, daring to question the ruling beliefs and igniting the truth that we all hold within.
I love the authority in which you spoke in to the young woman of Muslim faith, no holding back in what you felt and shared about a day that has so much ideals/beliefs around. It is a gift to hear truth spoken like that, and then it is up to the other person to open the gift or not, but at least that have heard it.
Religion is about relationships, and returning to our essence of who we truly are, and beliefs only take us further away.
True religion is so simple when you let go of all the trappings of dogma, beliefs and misinterpretations.
There really is no organised religion versus true religion because there is only religion. Any deviation away from what religion actually is a bastardisation of the word religion.
When true love is the founding essence of religion, every being on the earth is included and has access to knowing how to live true religion, for then all that is required is for one to willingly connect to their essence within and all that is lived from this point is religious. The religion of the Soul is one that transcends time, age, gender, race or culture where all is lived in honor of the all we are equally from.
It is a true joy in my personal life to have discovered that God is very real, present and part of my life, without needing to engage in traditional organised religion. I loathed religion as a child, and now I know the daily experience of God, I understand why. God does not condemn, God does not demand, and God does not discriminate. Organised religion has much to learn about the inner wisdom of love.
None of us can deny our history is littered by conflict and wars that have been religiously based – so if ‘true religion is about relationships’ we still have a lot to learn.
And within that true religion, that of the heart and love, we can all reconnect with who we truly are.
My understanding of religion is to have a relationship with the greater, non physical aspect of life and live above this human plane. So having a relationship with ourselves, with our Soul makes sense.
Surely all religions have the same message as you say so why are we trying to complicate matters here? Is it too much to ask of everyone to drop their identification with a religion and just be Love?
So beautifully simple, when we connect to ourselves deep with in we connect to God, and in this connection we connect to all others, as we all come from the same divine source, it is the love within that binds us together as one.
It is inevitable that humanity will return to true religion… Some will come on legs strong and true, others will be humbled and crawl, however, all will return.
I have lost count of all the different religions that we have today all claiming in their way to be the messenger of God. I feel we have created a reality which is far from what God actually consists of. We have dishonored this being that holds us all in absolute love and because of this love we have free will. We seem to blame him for everything not once wanting to take responsibility for ourselves, I feel that is why it was so easy for religion to take over and control our lives in such a way that it does because we gave our power away to it, and now we reap the consequences. That old adage comes to mind we reap what we sow.
The message that the Master Jesus gave us was that God is within us yet to this day we act anything but godlike most of the time hence we definitely have not understood nor lived his message yet.
Over the last few years I’ve come to understand Religion as having a relationship with God from the understanding and experience that God is within our essence and all around us. This doesn’t need any one day to be more special than another.
Reconnecting back to God is the best experience ever, there is nothing in this world that surpasses the beholding love of God. When we reconnect to his abundance every day is special because we are in the presence of God. This is the living proof that we do not need any building or intermediary to tell us who or what God is. It’s all a sham to keep us all in the disconnection to God.
Religious tolerance is something widely touted throughout many of the organised religions today. But I do not feel that this encourages harmony between people, because underlying tolerance is a judgement, and judgement – in my view – could never be truly harmonious because with judgement there is not the full and complete understanding of the other person.
What a beautiful simple message you have here for us, Terri-Anne. There is so much going on about so called religion therefor the true meaning of religion has gone out of site although lived by a lot of people who embraced the relationship they have with the Love everyone is and thus their relationship with God.
I know that religion is a way of life not a belief, and in that ‘way’ there is only one way for all of us, which is one of Truth & Love. It is simple, universal and is about how we live, not we say, in a sense we do not need to say a word, but live front this place and it will be known, no need to fight, war, argue, push it down someones throat…it is felt.
davidsonsamantha I feel love is something that is felt, I felt it first in another and that other walked and talked in a ‘way’ that was so steady and so full of love I could not but feel that it was worth at the very least investigating. Having investigated The ‘way’ to the best of my ability I am learning to live the love of God which I know resides within me and to not shy away from expressing my truth, so that it can be felt by the rest of humanity, so that they too can feel that they are also the love of God.
When we look at what is accepted as a religion in the world, and then feel into what the word actually means we are presented with such a dichotomy that if realised would shake the foundations of humanity.
My Religion now is called “The Way of the Livingness” it is the way to live what is true in connecting and returning to our innate divine essence that lives within, not a set of beliefs or ideals but the living of who we truly are.
Jill this is my religion too, a returning to a relationship with God first and deeply appreciating all that God is. This is bringing a settlement to my body and it is the settlement and the joy that I can share with others as I go about my day, I do not have to say a word to anyone because everyone can feel the presence of God.
Something important I feel about religion is that people need to have the right to choose their religion, without fear of being harassed or even persecuted for their choice – live and let live. One of the greatest crimes against humanity has been allowing violence and war to be in the name of religion, with one religion against another religion and blaming it all on religion. If we truly understood what religion meant we would know that war in the name of religion is not true and therefore is not at all possible. We would know that war is war because there is no religion.
I have been watching the presentations of Professor William Foley on Ancient Wisdom teachings and it seems to me that Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammed and more besides did bring the same message I found it absolutely fascinating that the message they delivered to the world is more or less the same message that Serge Benhayon presents today.
I love the conversation you had with the woman about Christmas, we should never hold back from connection, we get to learn more about one another, I love how the conversation continued past the superficial and a knowing of each other and life was felt.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”
This would be a religion that unites and not divides.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’ It is my experience that the relationship with myself is the foundation of all other relationships – not just with other people – but with life itself. It seems to me that the ‘situations and circumstances’ we find ourselves in are directly related to how we are with ourselves and hence, the more loving our relationship with ourselves the more loving our experience of life will be.
richardmills363 we are taught from a young age to look outside of ourselves and there are plenty of distractions that keep us focused outwards. When we stop and get a sense of ourselves and turn inwards then everything has the possibility to change as the fountain of love that is within us all is there waiting to be tapped into once again. This changes everything.
I feel that a vast majority of those who are aligned to a religion were asked to describe the essence of their religion in one word, most would say ‘Love’. How then have we created so much division in the name of Love? Because it seems to me, that is what we have done – created division out of something that is inherently One, and it has not served us well. Time perhaps for all of us who know that love is our true essence to live it and allow the harmony that is innate within us all to be our expression.
Religions are like analogy’s, we all have a way to describe God in a way that makes sense to us. Your question of have we lost our religion, is a statement. We will always be just a choice away from true religion. All that it requires is having a loving relationship with the person that wears our shoes.
Love the analogy that we all have different stories, different expressions and qualities…. but deep down the divinity is the same.
” What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so? ”
This is lovely I have never heard religion describe so , thank you.
I like how you have compared religion with people as in being different in the way it has a different story but really the same at the core, and there we see the definitive similarity in the way we react to the sameness – that we desperately hold onto the stories and make the point of being separate and individual as much as we do know that we are all the same, as if the losing of individuality would mean the end of the world.
If God is love (and he is), then the love we know has also been twisted, for this means love is, and it is in all of us, and not something we need to go to another to find.
Terri-Anne you have just simplified religion and made it equal for all, as is should be and as it is. Beautiful.
Truth is within our bodies. The truth that moves within you is the truth that you are met with by the answers of these people. So all we have to do is to move according to the truth with ourselves, with verbal expression we may have an explicit confirmation, without verbal expression, truth will also be felt and is touching upon every person we meet.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” Yes, what if God loves unconditionally? How come orthodox religions are always trying to fight their own corner – ‘us against them’? No unconditional love there.
When I read your remark sueq2012 I wondered how is it possible that one religion insists they are the chosen ones and that everyone else who is not of that religion is lesser and will go to hell. Is it possible we have made up all these different so called ‘religions’ to divide us so we are prepared to fight to defend our religious beliefs which takes us to the opposite end of what true religion is offering a one to one reconnection with God and ourselves.
Pretty much every organised religion I have come across talks about the immense love of God and says we are all God’s children. So where on earth does all the choice to promote ‘us’ and ‘them’ as well as the fighting among them come from? This alone proves to me that there is something amiss in the foundation of these organisations.
I love this article Terri-Anne. It’s so real, lacks fuss and just makes sense.
There is an essence of truth that has always been here for humanity to feel its purpose… true religion will always reflect this.
I love the simplicity you represent here and when you meet people about the different ways of how religion is lived in todays world. It is indeed simple as that. Religion should only unify not feed separation. So something must go totally wrong in the way religion is lived today.
I had never considered the word organised before in relation to religion, but it stood out to me today. So, I went to the dictionary to get a sense of what it means. Words like group, sort, order, and categorise were listed. I think this is where one of the fundamental flaws of organised religion. There is no grouping or separation as we are all one, all God’s children so to speak. Organising into groups is completely at odds with this notion and allows things like discrimination, prejudice and wars to occur in the name of religion.
A relationship with the love we are and thus with God as we are from God … that makes sense to me as religion, and in that we relate to others. Nothing else makes sense, as presented in most institutionalised religions, they do indeed feel like they’ve strayed from that basic tenant, that religion is our relationship, with us, others, God and the Cosmos.
I’ve heard that the different religions are petals that lead to the same central point. So rather than focussing on the differences in those petals what if we were to focus on the central point. To me that is our personal relationship to God, to truth and something more than just ourselves. The world would be a different place if we gave this element as much energy as we do fighting over the differences.
What if the differences between religions are just means of distraction for us to be misled from the fact that all of us are, want and deeply feel the same regarding to God? What if there is no difference indeed within us? How about letting go all the pictures and differences and come back to the simplicity of Love where we all are just One?
Until we will see that the word religion tells us actually about our relationship with our divine being the institutionalised religions will dictate how to live life and with that will keep us away to simply connect to the divinity that already lives within in each and everyone of us.
Even in something that is true like religion and God, humans put together a marketplace, where several options compete with each other to respond to the different types of relationships we want to establish with them.
To me religion is the connection with my inner most and with that I have very intimate connections with the All and through that everybody that I meet because we are all one and the same, from the same source.
Nico van Haastrecht I know what you are saying is true because we can feel a difference in those people who have reconnected back to the divine source which is God, they walk heaven on earth. There is just something about them, a movement that feels so familiar that opens up the possibility that we too could chose to walk heaven on earth too.
I could never understand why every religion seemed to have a different truth, one that they fervently believed, held on to and wouldn’t stray from. It just didn’t make sense to me and left me totally confused. My confusion remained until a few years ago when I was presented the truth of religion by Serge Benhayon. After squirming in my chair for a while as what he was presenting collided with all that I had grown up believing, I finally was able to feel that what was being presented was actually what I had always known, but hadn’t trusted to be true.
That is exactly what all these institutionalised religions do. They bring divisiveness into humans and with that we lose trust in one another and specially with the word religion while deep down we all know there is so much more then these institutions allow us to know. As long as we give our power to these Religions, they can wield their power. Otherwise, without our buying in they would quickly cease and disappear from our societies.
Nico van Haastrecht you say
‘without our buying in they would quickly cease and disappear from our societies.’
So what is it about us as a collective that we have bought into these institutions?
Are we seeking the distraction that these institutions offer in the same way we distract ourselves by all the other means we have at our disposal? If there was no demand there would be no supply, so why are we demanding the many distractions that we have invented which includes all the different splinters of the one religion which is our connection to God.
True religion is all about the quality of our expression with ourselves first and then all others for then we know ourselves as a son of God.
“It is a bit like people really; each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same.” It is true, the core story of all religions is the same. So why is there so much comparison and war going on about these different stories when the key message of all religions is the same?
Good question Lieke. To me it feels like because we are avoiding the truth and with that the unity that religion actually brings. Through this separation we end up in the struggle between one another, on the small and large scales like quarrel and war.
This is music to my ears, I’ve always found it strange that people could be the chosen ones, or that only some would be saved for when I looked at people I saw we were the same so how could we be so exclusive and different in this, in our religions. This never made sense, and what you share here does, that at its core religion is about a relationship to us and to God, to love. That simple.
If true religion is indeed about relationships then it is obvious that the quality of relationship with have with others and the world around us begins with the quality of relationship and understanding we have with ourselves. The beautiful thing about this is that our relationship with ourselves is not dependent on anyone, anything or anyplace else so can be honoured in all that we do feel and say.
Very true Susie. The relationship with oneself is the foundation from which one relates to all others.
Yes indeed, I love this. God is Love, so simple. It is who we are, what we are made of and where we are from. Every religion has love at its roots, so I have chosen not to pay attention to the branches but to keep my connection firmly at the core. With love and relationships, just as you shared Terri-Anne.
I heard the words, God is Love,… … in church for so many years… they really meant nothing to me …now these words are truly alive and resonate with truth.
What you share is so true Chris as when we hear words that are not lived and expressed in a person’s normal day to day activities they feel empty and barren.
This feels absolutely spot on to me and makes absolute sense. Those 2 very simple and I assume quite brief conversations with those women exposed just how blindly we conform to something without feeling whether it’s true or not.
Whether it is an organized religion or otherwise, whatever we choose to believe in, there seems to be a knowing within us all equally. Some may be able to talk about it more eloquently than others, but there is a deep yearning within us all to be united, to return to love.
Introducing God into a conversation is a great way to deepen the connection with someone, it’s like a bridge to understanding and appreciation of the essence we all are with-in.
If we had made religion about having loving, equal, harmonious relationships with each other and God, we would have a very different world today. It seems like a good place to start to re-imprint the mess we currently have created with organised religion.
Thanks Terri-Anne… it looks like we just have to start talking about this, but base the conversation on our lived experience of what religion truly means… then and only then can true light be shed on the extraordinarily murky waters of what should be a fountain of truth for us all.
I love the simplicity of realising that we can have a loving relationship with others if we ensure we have it with ourselves first and foremost – imagine the impact on the workplace if we all focused on how kind we are to ourselves.
It makes sense that each religion in truth comes from the same essence and somewhere along the way created their own story on top of what lay at the core. No different to us in the ways we have tainted ourselves from the truth of our essence to differentiate ourselves, when in truth we are all the same within. It’s such a shame that we have moved away from the truth like we have… for much disharmony and chaos has come from living the beliefs that followed.
Yes, what if these great world teachers – along with the many others there have been – have in fact been presenting the very same wisdom to humanity throughout time and despite the superficial differences, they are all saying the same thing to us? I like to keep it very simple and honour the message of Love they all teach and in this simplicity there is the opportunity for all these disparate faiths to unite in one true religious way.
I can not imagine all the religious messengers Jesus, Muhammad etc.. ever going to war. This is very telling of the dangers that can arise when religious doctrines are mentally contextualised and not truly lived.
Thank you for sharing the example of the woman you met at the shop and her truthful experience of religion. It is so interesting to observe how specific cultures are embedded into the beliefs of one religion that may not be what they truly believe or practice but the pull to belong comes from the identity of being part of a cultural background. During my childhood, some people would often expose the corruption and double standards preached from the pulpit in the church they attended, yet still attended to keep face with all the other members of the cultural community.
In origin the word religion means relationship and so a relationship with God. ‘Organised religion’ is just that, an organisation and the relationship is with the organisation rather than with God.
The fact that we can feel more true love when we are a baby in mums arms than we do throughout most of our lives growing up or as an adult is indicative of a massive whole in how we see God and religion in general. Atheism has not brought about more love on this earth than any other religion has in the past. In fact religion has been attributed to the loss of billions of lives supposedly in the name of God, but surely not of true love because to truly hold and care for another is certainly not to kill them senselessly! To know God, we have to also know what love truly is and means and then we can begin to establish a true relationship with Him in a true religious way of life.
Why have we compartmentalised things we should do daily? We have stolen Christmas from the Druids to buy things for others they don’t need. Valentine’s day to show another our love, Easter is about chocolate. Where has God gone, that is the easy question, he has never gone anywhere! So, where have we gone from real religion is the question!
it seems the truth of the message has been lost and the symbolism used to teach has become fact and the rituals to mark the cycles that were always meant to evolve have been used to create laws to control and prevent change. The truth of the message love has lasted which is why we know it to be truth.
It is best not to ridicule any religion, but rather look at each deeply and on its own merits. By doing so, you will see that most religions have some basis in truth, but more importantly, you will see in time how they have lost their way. You will also see that the method by which they have lost their way does not allow one who subscribes to such philosophy to discover the root of that truth. In order to do that, you have to stand from the outside and look within.
Thank you Adam, so well said. When a person is religious in the true meaning of the word they can see the truth in other religions and belief systems – they can also see and understand the reinterpretations and why these have taken place. True religion is never exclusive of anything or anyone.
Just the word ‘organised’ in the phrase ‘organised religion’ itself speaks volumes about its foundation. How can you have an organised version of God? How can you have an organised relationship with life and the Universe? How can you have an organised sense of oneness and brotherhood with people? It simply does not make sense.
Terri-Ann – what I love about this blog is how intimate you became with these 2 women talking about something that many people shy away from. Religion and politics always seem to be ‘opinionated’ conversations and for that reason they aren’t too openly shared especially with strangers. So I love that you were totally open about where you are at and in return, these women felt they could open up to you too. And to me that is religion.
Really, when we break it down, the way we have allowed the bastardised version of religion to separate us doesn’t make any sense. We are all craving brotherhood, and when we truly connect with another there is no separation, no matter where we come from in the world.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” So well said Terry-Anne religion in its bastardised form is so complicated and destructive, true religion will always be simple and a naturalness to it.
When I ponder on Jesus the feeling I get is a man who was very humble and very connected to people. Who lived his life in a way that was loving and respectful. A family man who brought much integrity and wisdom through living a very loving life.
If I hold myself in absolute grace while I am doing a task and feel every little detail of that task through my body, there is so much love/life/joy within that moment, because I am sharing it with God and everyone at the same time. That feels like true religion.
If we all studied the quality of who we are in essence first, the quality of our Soul, we would all be students of the same religion, the religion of love. Our relationship with God would then be universally known as would be our understanding of Brotherhood, realising that we are all the equal Sons of God.
‘Religion’ and ‘true religion’ can have many interpretations but your statement in this blog I feel hits the nail on the head…:What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others…”
‘Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?’ This fact exposes that there are many religions today constructed on lies. We know some stem from political agendas even. People have joined these religions for a sense of community and belonging. This blog cut through the constructs of religious institutions and demonstrates how easily we can be religious without needing to align to a specific institution. The core of religion lives within our hearts, our essence, that is, the aspect of ourselves that remains pure and untouched regardless of what our experiences and unresolved issues may be. We have all experienced moments where we feel inspired, we feel warmth and care.. in these moments we remember our essence.
It is so easy to impose and bring knowledge into a discussion about religion, as this is what is often promoted as the way to show others what it means to be religious. But what if the way we move, talk to others, live in our homes; work in our jobs is the biggest marker for all to see what true religion is without saying a single word?
Your last paragraph Terri-Anne, totally captures true religion for me, it is ‘..just simply about a relationship with love..’
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ no need for churches buildings to worship in, when true religion is carried in our hearts and lives wherever we go, it is our daily livingness.
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ And in this there is no need to look outside ourselves for anything.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” This is a claiming of what you offer here being absolute truth and when lived, life and all that it encompasses couldn’t be simpler or more joy-full I’m discovering, and there is so much more yet to re-discover.
I was once told that if all the churches in the world opened their doors, there would be no homelessness. It makes you wonder the purpose organised religions serve.
What is so beautiful about this bog is how you show to us that God is present everywhere and so there is no place that His love cannot be expressed – even in a shopping centre between two women who on the surface appear to have different religious beliefs but as it actually turns out hold very much the same love in their inner-hearts.
If I were to say to a devout Christian that to truly love another ‘you have to first love yourself’ there is a very good chance they would react to me because to have a loving relationship with yourself is seen as selfish and the opposite to the beliefs of a Christian where there is a giving to another before ourselves. When we are truly loving with self, love is lived for all. We have been so misled by words and their true meaning that sometimes I find myself not saying anything but living what I feel to be true for myself and therefore for another.
if we need a religion to find ourselves, belong, get identification, there are many to choose from. If we are open to exploring who we are from within, our true light and our universality we are religious, by virtue of how we live.
Your sharing here Terri-Anne reminds me of the absolute beauty that comes when we just share openly and honestly with people we meet. Sometimes life seems like a party where we have spent hours getting dressed up, only to come stand and self-consciously stare at our feet. What a shame. There are so many people to meet with in this world, and so much for us to share beyond riches and fame. To think that we are alone, separate and isolated is the cause of so much despair. True Religion as you so beautifully show is simply just about connecting to others and ourselves.
“There are many that know what I do, they just don’t allow themselves to live it or dare say it out loud.” This is a great understanding you offer, a truly valuable awareness to have and appreciate everyone from. With this understanding and a willingness to offer my own understanding and relationship with God in conversation I’m discovering others respond with what is true for them. Yes more people feel God is in their lives than is spoken in the regular day to day conversations.
I used to find the claim that “we are the one true way to God” that many religions have to be totally contradictory as there is only one way in the first place. Forget about whether the way that is being touted is true or not – the fact that we as a race are in this situation alone with so many religions and the state of humanity not being all that great shows us that there are some serious lies about religion and what is true and what is not true because at the end of the day it should come back to a truth that unifies us all.
The correct path to God is that within ourselves as it is only through the acceptance of our own magnificence that we get to know how we are in constant communication with God and the universe.
Religion as we have accepted it, has been a great divider of humanity. But religion in truth could never do this and can only unite us. It’s a dead giveaway that what we accept as religion is a total bastardisation.
True religion is our connection with ourselves as it is then that we know that we are in constant communication with the stars and the universe constantly confirming us as the sons of God.
At this point it is worth remembering the importance of freedom of religion, for that is the only way we can ensure that there is the possibility that true religion can be discovered by all. And within that I include the right to not believe, or to choose atheism as one’s religion of choice. Our problem with religion world wide is that we do not treat it is as a philosophical unfolding, and so it is instead ruled by belief and faith. Even the atheist to a large degree applies the concept of faith to their belief, so certain are they that what we see by way of physicality is all there is. Of course, what they perhaps should be open to is the possibility that we have not acknowledged the tools we already have to discern truly as to whether or not there truly is a God.
When I spent three years travelling around the world, I met many people from many different countries, cultures and all the major organised religions. One of my favourite things was to just sit and talk with local people wherever I went. One of the things that became very obvious to me was that no matter what religion or culture someone belonged to, the things that they felt were true or important to them in life and the things that they felt were wrong about the world, were exactly the same. This was the time in my life when I realised that organised religion actually keeps us more separate than united, for we are all one human family with a relationship or religion with life.
If the essence of the message was all the same from our religious teachers through time, we really must lose it in its re interpretation of others hearing and translating that message. So much so its essential quality is lost and turned into a philosophy of bastardised truth ready for those who are seeking the truth of who we are outside of ourselves.
Should we be versing institutionalised religion against true religion – is that not what got us into trouble in the first place. Comparison.
What if true religion was about relationships? This is a monumental question, because it takes the focus away from any kind of all-powerful being and brings in the reality of our interactions with each other, making the everyday the basis for true religion.
Yep I love this so it is not about giving our power away to an unknown but instead making it about the connection with the divine we hold within ourselves and similarly seeing that this is the same in everyone around us. I would definitely agree and say true religion is about relationships, the relationship we have with ourselves, with others and the divine plan .. that is our true purpose.
The importance of taking responsibility for developing and deepening our relationship with ourselves, as the foundation for everything, is very clear.
I love sensing the ripple effect of these conversations you had about religion… the understanding and opportunity presented by your openness and honesty is endless.
Wow this sort of experience described in the blog reflects how we are all deeply religious in life in that we are having a relationship in some way with GOD even if we are practicing different religions. The deep understanding of each person highlights how we have an inner knowing and relationship with GOD despite different religious practices according to a particular belief system.
What a beautiful and simple truth you delivered to your friend that day: ‘This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.’ A great reminder for everyone.
Beautiful Terri-anne, I love how you did not hold back but instead delivered a simple truth that could be heard by all as you claimed your deep connection with God. in full. Your knowing . . ” . . that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to” . . . feels like pure joy to read and I bet it felt like pure joy to hear.
It is ridiculous really, the bizarre rituals and beliefs that we take on because someone has named them as part of a religious belief. Call something a religion and all of a sudden it has a protected status. All this is nothing to do with Love, Truth, Brotherhood and God at all!
I cannot imagine considering God as anything less than love now. It has been the greatest feeling or freedom in my body to let go of the rituals and beliefs I once had about what my relationship with God was supposed to look like and just trust what I feel to be true. God is Love and as such is part and parcel of every single one of us just as we are part and parcel of him.
Great questions and insight Terri Anne. I love your honesty and that when the truth is spoken it is felt deeply by others. What if the organised religions have strayed from the truth?. Your comment – ‘ This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” – holds us all in unity and brotherhood whether humanity are open to accepting this as truth or not.
Thank you Terri -Anne for sharing the simplicity of true religion, which simply is connection to the love we are, the love of God, and the love of our fellowman as equal sons of God. It seems that religion started this way but somehow lost itself in man-made rules and regulations. I loved the openness with which you pressed your truth to the people you came into contact with.
The way you approached each situation feels like you were enjoying the time spent expressing with others. When I feel into the way I spend time with others it is so different and I know it is now time I did this type of connecting with others.
The fact that there are so many ‘religions’ each with different beliefs about God does show how we can take a simple truth and complicate it in order to please people, in this process we lose the potency only the whole true can offer.
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ Simple. But not so easy for those who wear the hats and gowns and profess to know what others don’t know – it’s this individuality that complicates things and wants to take religion out of the hands of the people.
Your blog Terri-Anne, highlights how so many of us are going through the motions following something we don’t even feel is true. The trouble is that many of us don’t stop to look at why we do things, and interacting with someone like you could well inspire people to take a closer look at why they perform certain rituals and whether or not they are relevant to their life today. By being open and honest with these people you also gave them an opportunity to express what they feel and to connect with the truth of religion within themselves.
Terri-Anne I found your sharing very interesting and agree with you that the first relationship we need to nurture is the one with ourselves first.
We tend to make religion a vertical matter: our relationship with God (with an image of God being up there). Yet, this is not just it: it is about the relationship with ourselves, with the others, with the everything we come across and with God in the understanding that God is not up there but within us all and behind everything.
I love the simplicity and power in being the love that we are and having a relationship with all things from that place.
‘What if true religion was about relationships?’ I love that you have posed this question, a ‘What if’ that inspires a great big ‘Yes it is’ from me – and then I know the beautiful responsibility I have to ongoingly deepen and develop my relationship with myself as the foundation for all other relationships.
I love what you have said here Terri-Anne and it certainly bear being repeated! “I do not believe in or practise the beliefs of the organised religions today. I do however have a deep connection with God. I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” This is more or less how I greet the Jehovah’s Witnesses that all come to my door. My heart is open and we have an exchange – whether brief or slightly longer – that further grows our brotherhood without any false ‘agreement’ or calibration.
What a far cry from organised religions that requires you to put God above all others, when we are all sons and daughters of God.
The practical-ness and accessibility of this article is certainly a reflection for me of God and true religion and I am inspired by the straight forward love and truth presented in the two conversations in the shopping centre. Thank you, Terri-Anne.
“it is just what my family believes” – I love this line, because it shows that making religion about a belief, is in essence a fanciful endeavour. I can believe in unicorns, strongly vehemently but it doesn’t make it true. There is a single source of truth for each of us, within each of us, so it is not an imposed belief about the world, god or life. It is called the inner heart.
What if organised religion, or religion as we know it today, has strayed away from that original message? It certainly has strayed Terri-Anne. Since all the wise teachers have shared that God is love and we all know this to be true in our inner-hearts, how could any of the known organised religions even begin to pass as true religion?
I had a chat with a beautiful, and very sensitive gentleman on the train today and his children. It was so amazing to converse with the young girl who was so open, yet observing the religious consciousness we have subscribed to as a society was so evident and so saddening.
Playing follow the leader without discerning the organisation that we are following is what many of us do… because you were born into it, or went to a certain school, or there is an appeal to belong to something, or you like one part of it and then agree wth yourself to ignore the rest, it is the latest trend, or you are under the threat of being ostracised, even killed, if you don’t…. there are many ‘reasons why people ‘pick’ organised religion or groups. But none of this is a true choice, made with free will from the inner heart that naturally connects to love, divinity and lives brotherhood.
Hear Hear Jenny!
Is religion about joining an organisation and following a set of beliefs about life which gives us a separate identity, or could it be something much deeper and elemental and common to us all?
If true religion is about relationships then it makes absolute sense to me that ‘the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’ Beautifully said Terri-Anne.
I have never understood why there are so many different religions and different Gods. How can ‘my God be superior to your God and if you cross me, disagree or do something counter to my beliefs, there will be ‘war”? If God is love, then this has to be lived, not a theory or dogma, but a lived way.
When we openly share our experience of religion and God, it is amazing how many of us do in fact know the truth about religion and who God is.
Yes. And how amazing it is to have these conversations with other people and have this confirmed.
The absolute beauty of the Way of the Livingness is the connection, relationship and love with our selves first something deeply missed in truth and opens us up to everyone and true love in the world.
When over hearing a discussion about people who say they have different religions, although there may be a nice tone, there is still awkwardness and a feeling of separation because They don’t “get” each others religion or one is thought of to be the correct one etc. And I see how far we have come away from true congregation, expression and the sharing of a connection to a one divine source.
Our religion is not just what we do in church, nor is it what we do when we celebrate our chosen religions nominated days. It founds the quality of what we do in every moment of every day.
Could it be said that then, organised religion is a business, that needs people to support it by buying into what they are offering? Their business plan leaves us with less! Our religion lets us celebrate every day just by being ourselves
We must not overlook the message that each great teacher has delivered on earth – there are parallels and core teachings that remain unchanged over the course of time, that are applicable today as much so as days past… wisdom that forever remains valid, with us and lighting our path.
Beautifully expresed Deborah. The truth of what was shared by our world teachers does forever remain, it is when we pollute their teachings that creates separation and control. But when we reconnect to their original teachings they are all of the same message, LOVE.
True religion for me is the simple way to connect back to my body and to feel everything it shows to me.
It is interesting the way we as a society have complicated and bastardised the meaning of the word religion to suit different people when in its simplicity religion is the true connection to ourselves with everything around us, sharing our unique qualities with all regardless of culture, colour or beliefs.
I attended a catholic funeral very recently. I was not accustomed to the rituals involved and simply watched what was happening. At one point we were invited to greet those beside us, in front of us and behind us and say ‘peace be with you.’ I lit up at having the opportunity to meet those around me, yet found the opportunity was lost on most as it seemed to be treated as another ritual to get through rather than a beautiful moment to connect. By contrast, through the religion of the Way of the Livingness I am learning that religion is about love and connection, first with myself and immediately thereafter with everyone else.
Jane I have noticed this same response and having been raised as a Catholic can understand how you would have been greeted by this response. Often the rituals in many churches have been passed down from centuries of worship where that stoic response was considered the norm or what you did to ‘just get through’ what were often 2 to 3 hours of weekly worship. I remember as a little girl watching my mum count the pages in the mass booklet at the start of the church ceremony and noticing that she was already anticipating the length we had to sit there with very little joy or enthusiasm. A complete contrast to the joy that you have share in the Way of the Livingness religion.
“What if organised religion, or religion as we know it today, has strayed away from that original message? ” now this was an interesting question when it was posed to me in a group with Serge Benhayon many years ago, it highlighted that there are many truths in all “religions” but for me what I came to understand is that unless the whole of the religion is true then we are always missing out, we will also be unfulfilled and seeking something else. Hence why there is so much confusion over Religion.
Thanks, Terri-Anne. Love is indeed the greatest equaliser, and your encounters prove that it a common language that we all know.
I love how your interactions with these two people called them back to what they already know deep within. What a gift.
There’s been created a religion with one person and his life as its focus – Jesus. All that he brought was to live from the inside out and live your love. The ‘all that he brought is not to belittle what he brought, But all that I want to express is the fact that his intention was never to impose any beliefs or ideals upon us. He simply lived a life where he discovered that we’re already everything and that the everything expands by simply living life and become more and more aware through observing life. This simplicity is not what we find in the bible or any religious scriptures. True religion is found inside the heart of each and every one of us.
“Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?” That seeming ‘pick and mix’ availability of God seems rather absurd. The communal Truth of God has been lost in the determined reinterpretation of each original messenger’s dedication to God, focusing on his story, rather than living the quality of what he brought through.
I wonder what it would be like if we were schooled in ‘the study of love’ rather than ‘the study of religion’? The truth of love that is, not the emotional bastardised version. Anybody up for a Phd in love?
Oh yeah Richard, I am up for PhD in love. Am working on it right now.
Hah! Awesome Lyndy Summerhaze, what a blessing.
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ I love the simplicity in this Terri-Anne. In our fractured versions of the truth we have dramatically over complicated religion which has led to so much confusion and the hiding of our known truth.
True religion is lived from the body, no need to prove anything, it will be felt.
What freaks me out about a lot of religions is the fanaticism that theirs is the only one true one, when if we step back they probably all are founded from truth, but man just has to step in and put his spin on things to suit himself or control others. Deep down we all know what the truth is and what true religion is, its just going to take time and those that do know now, to keep expressing so we can all feel what is there to be felt.
Religion is in everything because we have a relationship with everything. Our bodies are our temples and as an extension of our bodies so too are our homes hence why there is no need for specially designed buildings in order to celebrate our connection with the divine. When it comes down to it religion is very simple, all we need is ourselves, each other and our natural connect to God.
What you expressed to the first person, the things you no longer entertain in your life, are what a majority view as a common practice. Love has become emotional and judgmental. God is coloured by beliefs and seen as something different depending on one’s viewpoint! Today, has religion become an illusion? Like a magician, when you discover how the trick is done, the truth becomes clear!
One of the main religious requirements I have found is to be truthful at least to myself as otherwise I have found that I am immediately limited to using just my mind. Even when I tell a story about events it is important that I do not alter my description as otherwise the story loses its ‘ring of truth’.
There is only one truth and one way of being, and regardless of what religion we follow, or whether we profess to be non religious, we all carry this truth within us, and at a deep level we all know it for the truth that it is.
People really appreciate being given the space to express, something I am learning to offer more and more.
There is only one path to God, and that is by getting to know the love that we are. This process is a religious one.
What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so? I love this question Terri-Anne, keeping it super simple and absolutely true. I have come to know the truth of that statement and before knowing this, I would say I was not a religious person, but now, I am deeply religious, and wake up every day, knowing and celebrating this fact in how I choose to live and it feels totally natural.
‘This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to’ These are such simple words but explain our whole world, if we but knew it. So many organised religions are set up to deny us this fact.
When we look up to the stars we are reminded of an interconnectedness, order and harmony that is beyond this world. Religion is how I relate to this on a practical, everyday level.
Absolutely Love it Terry-Anne.
I feel the truth in your words and I know that the conversations you describe here are you being in true religion.
I feel that we all know, deep down, that what we have been calling ‘religion’ (in so many versions) does not feel right, true or loving to all equally but that true religion exists and can be nothing short of a relationship with the love that we are… and that this includes all others.
It has never made any sense to me that there were many different routes to God. Many people will say they have been put off by religion, don’t go to a church or worship in a group with others but they live their lives with values, principles and dedication. They haven’t known anywhere else to turn to. When we find the true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, as you say Terri-Anne, it all falls into place so beautifully.
I can not imagine Krishna, Jesus, The Buddha or Muhammad ever having a fight about who’s way is the true way. This is so simply because they were never there to preach and hence impose a certain way of being onto the rest of humanity. They simply and humbly lived and let everyone see the love that they lived as their everyday. I would imagine there would be complete harmony and in fact great joy if all of these great teachers sat down and had a meal together!
Terri-Anne what comes over really clearly here is that in life there are the true and the false meaning in words, its something that is often not considered yet in having so many different individual meanings for words we end up allowing things like religion to be spoken about or claimed to be lived when in fact what one is claiming is not the truth of what the word means. This confused me growing up!
“Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?” This is a question I have often asked myself too as it never made sense to me. As a consequence I was always confused about religion as there seemed to be no common thread that held true. That was until I came across Serge Benhayon and The Way of the Livingness. Although I have had my own resistance to accpeting this as a religion, I know the truth of what it presents and that is that we are all equal sons of God and that we all have the same access to him through our own inner connection, that is in and around us at all times, should we choose to connect to it.
Christmas is a great example that we are living in circles and I use it as a marker and confirmation of the quality I have lived througout the year, which is then reflected during Christmas time. So Christmas reflects the way I have been in relationship to other family members and when this is not lived in true love it gets exposed. For me this is religion to find my way back to true love and lived love in relationships.
Kerstin, I agree.
To be able to share truthfully without judgment, criticism and hurt offers something different to humanity.
It is amazing how anyone can analyse a religion without truly feeling what it means to be religious.
Love your blog Terri-Anne, great sharing of your conversations with others and awesome that Christmas brought that opportunity to do so. God is Love, and Love is in and around us and all we have to do is be the living expression of this.
Completely Terri-Anne, religion is relationship and also connection, both inter-dependent and the quality of which rests upon the way we hold ourselves plainly as a human being, and so others.
“I do not believe in or practise the beliefs of the organised religions today. I do however have a deep connection with God. I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” – I bet the lady in the shopping centre never expected to hear this, yet it was exactly what was needed to be said, in order to allow a deep connection with another beautiful being, and the living proof (though this in itself was not needed) that we all come from God and are Love. Not only was it what was needed to be said, but it was delivered by someone who lives this love every day and hence the sentence could not be mis-understood or re-interpreted. Thank you Terri-Anne!
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” Very beautiful question Terri-Anne. Explained practically this starts with self-love in our lives, self-care, nurturing etc. so this is part of true religion as well.
I love the proposition in the question asked here: “What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same”. If there is one God which all religions seem to agree on, and he is loving, wise and all encompassing, then there is no way he would have different messengers offer conflicting accounts of him, then have his children alienate one another and fight over who has the one and only true message.
“Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message?” They were all dedicated Sons of God reflecting to the rest of us how we too could choose to live. Did they offer the same message? You bet they did.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”
This makes religion very accessible and it becomes very simple to live religiously and joyful as well as it is just a day to day affair in the way you move, think and talk.
True religion is bringing us together, while the religions of today all are unqualifying of each others’ beliefs and try to save us all through that which they put their energy into. All the while dividing us more, while I know and feel in my heart true religion is in the relation with divinity and reconnecting with each other, uniting us back to the oneness we are from.
In a session today I felt how I’ve actually abandoned God from my life. I’ve told myself that I’m not worth his Love. This deeply ingrained behaviour has led me to think that only my doing was / is worthy. I’ve always known in my head that this isn’t true, but have never been honest about the underlying belief. Only when I choose to feel my worthiness, I can built a more loving body. If I want to stop the pattern of being dependent on people outside of me, I’m to live more with my love and nourish me deeply.
One of the fallacies of Christianity and Islam for that matter is that they both believe in a single prophet, which makes no sense really. What of the millions of human beings who are unlikely to have even heard of either of these prophets? Are they too condemned to hell or purgatory? The thought of a single messenger simply makes no logical sense.
I should clarify the above. Islam, or at least various sects of Islam do not believe in a single prophet, but many prophets. However, they do not explain what happens to people who never get to hear of the principles of Islam and what happens to them at the end of their one life. That seems a little unfair, if it were true that you needed to follow the so called rules in order to reach paradise.
There is nothing organised about true religion, however it naturally contains order.
I love what you say here Alexis, religion contains an order – an order we can surrender to but cannot control.
Perfectly expressed and a great reminder Alexis, thank you 🙂
Beautifully expressed Terri Anne reflection, what we all know and makes a nonsense of the current religions and separation and divisions of the world and us all today. “What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”
Absolutely !
I feel the importance of repeating your first sentence as it is the question I continually asked myself for so many years. “Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?” How absolutely confusing! To me these words make a mockery of all organised religion, where everyone is claiming that their God is the only God and through him is the only way to ‘heaven’, with this self serving stance instantly separating humanity into worthy and not worthy factions. That doesn’t make any sense at all! Now the world has been offered a true religion, The Way of The Livingness, a religion that is about equality, brotherhood, love and one God; a God who is the non-judgemental and all loving Father of us all.
When we choose the harmony of love, organisation is unnecessary.
I agree in my life I have met many naturally philosophical people who know that our current divisive forms of organised religion are not it, and yet they also feel a deep connection with God and the universe and something much grander than our physical human existence.
There is a simplicity in true religion, as shared here, and its message gets completely lost, buried or denied in the complexity of organised religion.
Terri-Anne, I love the fullness of your answer and the blessing it brought the two women you spoke with. I feel I am often offered moments like this in my day when I can bring full expression to another but don’t always see the gift being presented and instead let it pass with just one or two words. Great to bring more awareness to this.
When you look at the origin of many of our religions, they were spotted all over the world and isolated. And, as you have said, their perspective and interpretation of the same God were just how they described him. It is like the fable about the views of four blind men and their description of an elephant; when each felt a different part; ear, leg, nose and the tail. Could it be that as the world got smaller, their beliefs were imposed on others? Did they become the schoolyard bully?
I didn’t know that Orthodox Christians celebrated the birth of Christ on a different day to the traditional 25th December – such fundamental differences within the same religion. It is no wonder that humanity is constantly kept searching for the truth.
Yes it does seem a bit odd Rosanna I agree and for me this further exposes just how much we like to complicate life by bringing in these man made divisions that keep us away from the simple truth of who we really are, Divine brothers and equal Sons of God.
Growing up I had a natural connection with god, it was beautiful and there was no trying needed, I loved everyone equally. I had another relationship with the Christian religion I was bought up in, it was scary, heavy with guilt, and it did not help me to understand my life, or the world I lived in.
My parents and community all held the priest in high regard thinking he was closer to god and that we would get closer to god by association with him. He was connected through bishops and cardinals in a chain that went all the way to the pope. These guys apparently knew more about god than I did because they devoted their lives to serving the church with all the ritual and ceremony that goes along with that. Looking back I must have made a choice to accept this religion with higher regard than my own natural connection with god.
Do we have the audacity to reclaim our relationship with god and hold it dearly and preciously, Knowing god is inside each of us and we don’t need a priest as an intermediary between god and us.
I would say that like me many people have a relationship with an organization that claims to represent god, but are only pretending to go along with it because deep down in our inner heart we know we have the same everlasting love for each other that god has.
Hi Bernard, love this comment. Reading this reminded me of my father who was brought up in the Christian High Church (personally I never really understood what that meant) and would often say that he did not need to go to church to find God. Like you have stated deep down we do know God and if we are honest with ourselves, we also know that the church and the doctrine do not have all of the answers.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” Beautifully said Terri-Anne… so simple and yet a life-changing way of living.
Paula I agree when we bring religion back to its truth it is both simple and fully supportive of the all, I love how joyful religion actually is and not anything like the feeling I had when going to church as a kid.
‘She said to me, “I have never met anyone like you,” ‘ – An amazing confirmation that speaking truth, from our hearts, is what our world needs. There are indeed many like us, who never dare to speak up.
“This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” God who does not separate and holds us equally in his love.
There may be many religions but there is only one truth and true way of being.
Yes and that is love, for self and others equally so
Agreed Kevmchardy, religion is not a belief it’s a way of being, a deep quality of graceful honesty, tender reverence, joy and harmony felt in one another way before we even speak a word.
Organised religions have a free pass to behave however they see fit regardless of human decency.
So true Michael Brown, it’s as if the very title ‘organised religion’ gives us permission to use and abuse each other ‘in the name of God’. How bizarre is that? We behave like little children squabbling about whom God loves and whom he doesn’t love based entirely on our arrogant judgment, completely devoid of the true religious principles of complete responsibility, insightful compassion and God’s immense wisdom.
So true Michael Brown and Rowena, for many thousands of years we have allowed anything to go, from beliefs that separate to molestation, murder, torture and war all in the name of ‘religion’ or ‘god’…
…how have we allowed this at all?
We would have to be extremely lost and confused as to who we are and what true holiness is to go along with any of it especially in the name of God or Religion.
Hear hear – so true, albeit not all individuals engaged in organised religion …
The crusades made sure everyone would obey out of fear and cower to the church for a very long time to come…
It seems obvious to me that using hatred, force and terror is not of our true nature. I have always felt that the use of punishment, torture and terror should have no part in any Religion…and yet it has and we have accepted it.
I feel there are many beautiful and loving people in organized religion but that they are that way because of who they are and possibly despite the church.
Imagine if people had no fear or planted self doubt? I’m sure many would stand up and say, ‘that feels wrong to me’ and free to make a choice to walk away from anything that felt false to them.
I feel that the more we know and trust our selves the more we know we can be religious as we feel religious to be from our inner most and not depend upon those with titles or positions within an organization that is called ‘religion’.
That point of evolution where humanity has no fear or self-doubt will only come once those who are aware of the possibility, live and reflect it in every movement in every moment.
The existence of so many religions only serves to separate us (sometimes with intense violence) and to keep us from the simplicity that living the love we inately are and connecting to those around us in that same love, is at the core of true religion.
I can feel how much I’ve allowed institutionalized religion to influence me. I can clearly feel how I’ve given my power away to organized religion. I’m to organize my own religious way of life. But in order to do so, I’ve got to know who I am. True religion lives inside of me. There’s my connection with my Soul, with my stillness, with God, with nature, with other people. So it’s not bad that I’ve given my power away to the catholic church, but it is important to be honest about it and re-claim my own meaning of religion. Otherwise I’m forever dependent on the meaning of this word (only one word) that people outside of me are giving to it.
Not holding back and just speaking how we feel and what we know is our truth then opens the doors for many other people as well. It is fascinating how many people just go along with what is the ‘done thing’ and on the inside know it not to be true but don’t want to say anything in case it creates an issue or goes against what is expected of us. I was one of those people and what I have started to experience the more we can have these honest conversations the more we will get to see that a lot of us are actually on the same page but we just don’t know about it.
Absolutely Natalie, we need to speak up more as holding back only serves to keep us, the entire humanity, locked up in the old and deeply ingrained consciousness.
Yes and holding back or withholding whatever it is then stays in the body and ultimately the body will bring it out, one way or another…
In more recent years I have stepped away from the cultural traditions of Christmas, the frenzy of present buying, the over indulgence in food. It has felt like that whatever its religious purpose was it has been swamped by our very material approach to it. This choice has enabled me to begin to observe how many other things I engage with but have not really taken a moment to stop and question what they really mean or represent. Today celebration for me is about bringing people together, connecting, enjoying a simple meal together and allowing all the richness of God to unfold as people share, appreciate, inpsire and enjoy one another’s company.
I love your sharing and am so with you Rowena – this is where it’s at and so so enriching: “… bringing people together, connecting, enjoying a simple meal together and allowing all the richness of God to unfold as people share, appreciate, inspire and enjoy one another’s company.”
The arrogance of each religion in saying that they are the true path to God when they only serve to separate us from each other and particularly from God because they do not present the Truth of God.
Yes the arrogance of it and the perpetuation of bringing this arrogance to the masses to control and coerce and keep them in the ‘what is not’ – is astounding…
I love you true religion of not holding back Terri-Anne – that you are able to openly express something that we all deeply know and feel – that true religion is equal for all – not divided by culture or choice.
Once engaged in cultural or national differences, we are immediately in separation and then there can be no equal for all as everything is then tainted by ideology, ideals and beliefs. To express this openly and lovingly allows others to connect to their inner truth as well and when connected to that they then can feel this too.
We are returning to a time in our history when we will have just one religion and the only variation will be that it will be written in many different languages but the energetic meaning will not change and that will be because those that write it will be living in the same consistent way.
You are right about Christmas, Jane and the abuse we cause ourselves, but are these the better alternatives? What religions past and present that have asked/told its congregation to fight and kill to support its beliefs, it is not a short list!
I feel there is no what if, true religion is, about relationships. We all remember our first love… what if it was with our self?
I am loving the fact that there are so many blogs and so much discussion going on about what Religion is and instead of the normal fight about Right or Wrong we can share, discuss and talk about what True Religion is. If all discussions on Religion were focused on truth first then the world would transform very quickly.
How wonderful that these women of different beliefs had the opportunity to reflect and feel the truth of what you shared with them Terri-Anne. That there truly is only one God and that all the great teachers of the past imparted the same message of love as the core of their teachings and in truth there is no division between their teachings.
What matters is that we live with an open heart and meet each other for who we are and not what customs or religion we practice. Your story shows how this is possible and how then there are no differences but equalness.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others’ Understanding how true religion is connecting with my natural divine essence has re-imprinted the word religion for me. YES I am religious!
Valentines Day just occurred this week and reading your words today Terri-Anne I’m feeling strongly what a distraction and fake we have been sold with this idea that someone who bestows us with flowers and chocolate and an expensive dinner is what Love is really about. Imagine if we divorced breathing from life, and declared it was hard to find. What if there were centres and web sites set up to help us find our breath! This sounds absurd but to me this is the case with how we are with Love. For it is a quality, a connection and a deep knowing that we so naturally are. For any of us who need a reminder, wow this blog is great.
We don’t hear or see much Truth around us or in the world these days, and so it is up to each one of us to be responsible for sharing that inner wisdom we innately know so others will be inspired to follow their truth, and another… and bring truth back into all our daily lives and livingness.
The fact that both these women knew and agreed with what you openly shared with them Terri-Anne totally exposes that we do indeed all know truth when it is presented to us – we know it and feel it deep within… the choice is ours to follow that knowing and wisdom.
Why is it that we have got to a place where all religions talk about God as if God was someone entirely different and yet when we search in our hearts within we know God is love and that the same God of love is true for everyone – whatever set of beliefs they have been brought up with. It all makes such sense when we trust our own innate knowingness – a blessing that is ours and cannot be taken away. I feel that God must look on and be so perplexed at what humanity has managed to do with something that is so simple – and divine.
To share honestly and naturally with another in any encounter supports with the evolution of us all!
It is a very settling when we knowing from a certainty in our bodies that our innermost essence is the very place that is the common denominator of ALL men, women and children.
Yes, Jane, a great and simple question. How could something that causes suffering in another claim to be truly religious?
Yes, indeed. When we have a relationship with God and can feel how we are all living within his sphere of love, there is no need to be anything than who we naturally are, and treat all others as equally held in this grace.
Instead of debating our differences why don’t we hold forum with representatives of religions worldwide discussing the absolute truth that are common among all?
Organised religion has scribbled itself over the top of true religion and temporarily obliterated it, although it is only temporary because true religion is life itself, therefore the permanent and erasable backdrop to everything else that exists.
God is within us all. Created us all. He created us as one humanity and equal
I believe there are different religions but similar due to…chinese whispers
I agree that the true message of Jesus has been lost. I feel he came to show us a way of living, a way that showed the equalness we all come from and, rather than be our saviour, his fundamental reflection was that there is a way to save ourselves, by connecting to the love we are within. Hence, ‘The Kingdom of God is Within You’. My personal experiences over the past 6 years since I first met Serge Benhayon and connected with Universal Medicine only confirm these feelings ever more deeply. We must love ourselves first and then from this loving self-appreciation, build loving relationships with our equal brothers and sisters – if that is our choice of course – because our choice is paramount and we are always free to choose otherwise.
Although comparisons can be drawn between organised religion and true religion and fragments of the latter can be found in the former they are in truth totally different. True religion is a living way based on understanding the type and quality of energy of which all things are from. This is fundamental to true religion.
How simple life could be and is when lived from this foundation “I know who I am and I know who God is – Love.” Thank you Terri-Anne I love the simplicity of what is shared.
“What if true religion was about relationships?” Firstly with the divine within, next with our selves and then with everyone else, deep, tender dignified relationships that hold fast to the truth of who we are, divine beings that know harmony, joy and brotherhood inside out.
True religion is actually so simple, it is about love and our relationship with God, people and ourselves. No rules, no punishment, no complications and no guilt.
Religion and love? They have been commercialised! Love, literally had its day yesterday with Valentines Day!
IF you look at the core of any religion, there are tenets and understandings that are universal in their application, and so likely to be true. There is also a lot of dogma and ritual that seems to make little sense. The problem with nearly all organised religion is that it has become firstly theosophical in nature, and secondly is predominantly based on faith. In the case of the latter, faith alone firstly proves nothing, but more importantly does not ask one to verify what they are aligning to. The problem with the former is that such an approach does not consider that the essence of God cannot be experienced through the mind, but rather is an energetic understanding that can only be understood through the body first, and the mind second.
Faith really is such a bizarre concept, to believe something because someone has told you it is true, without being able to feel whether it is true or not.
Yes, but many will say that they have faith because they have felt the truth of their religion, and so they will respond, “I just know because I feel it to be true.” Thus the dilemma. The esoteric of course says that you need to energetically discern. That of course is a skill that needs to be worked upon, and a level of awareness that develops with time. And that is not because it is not innately within us, but because we have worked hard in many respects to diminish this ability within us. And so the esoteric teaches us that in order to feel energy, you need to develop a body that can do so. Thus where self love comes into play, in assisting to develop a body that is sensitive and thus attuned to feeling life beyond the parameters of what we call the 5 senses.
So true Adam, the word faith has been misused to shut down discussion on community issues that many people feel in their hearts is at odds with an organizations agenda. Faith is abdicating responsibility, which allows evil to flourish. We need feel and discern for ourselves all the time.
What comes over to me is that with True Religion it is a constant connection and relationship with myself and God, something that needs nothing from anyone and is there 24.7 if I choose. Anything that requires me to be something or rely on another does not provide me with that sense of at ease and personal connection and therefore for me falls into the organised religion.
Why is there so much in life that misleads us? Why are we so receptive to being misled?
Why is there so much in life that misleads us? Why are we so receptive to being misled?
““There are many that know what I do, they just don’t allow themselves to live it or dare say it out loud.” I said, “You know it too,” and she nodded with a quiet but firm yes.”
I love these words as this often happened and happens to me. I used to be very afraid to talk about God or Religion, scared of how people would (might) react. But the opposite is most of the times true. People do know about God and about their inner-relationship with God and other people. It’s just, yes ‘just’ that many along us don’t verbalize what they feel inside of them. We’re very profound beings and it’s time to unite and be the one voice of unconditional love once again. Not to convince anyone, but simply to stand strong together. As the voice that knows that we’re in fact one unified voice. We’re only to learn choosing this once again.
This article poses many great questions and one is, “What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.” I imagine some would dismiss this question but it makes sense to me and almost common sense actually. I see how we split things up and like to keep them separate for a reason and I can see why. As the article is saying with the above question we see these separate and don’t see the glaring similarities in them.
If this was the case Terri-Anne and I feel it is, then we would need no book, or priest to tell us the way it is. Our body would lead the way if we just honour it and stop seeing it as inconvenient or a pesky thing that lets us down. Wow if we did this, when we had a religious get together I feel like it would be a celebration that’s off the charts. And it is as anyone who’s been to the weekend Way of The Livingness get togethers will testify.
“I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” I know this too and when I connect to it and live it, there is a deep settling, right down to my bones.
Truth can’t be denied when you feel it in your body and by you sharing from your gorgeous livingness Terri-Anne, others felt that and were then able to connect with their truth and express it. Absolute magic.
Yes, we are all united in love.
Religion seems to be dominated by dogma and rules… so the differentiator between religions is the “thou shalt” list, rather than a development of truth and love. Perhaps our opportunity now is to look at religion in a new way, and ask whether that religion is something that develops our inner connection to who we are.
I find it fascinating that any of the organised mainstream religions can proport any relationship to God as thier doctrines are void of love and based on separation. There is so much hypocrisy that goes on that I find it interesting that so many people choose to follow these religions, willfully ignoring the facts of abuse lived out by priests, rabbis, ministers and Imam’s.
Maybe this is, in itself, a reflection of how desperate society has become to find meaning in life. We have lost our way and are grabbing at anything that is offering hope, light at the end of the tunnel, instead of choosing to simply re-connect to the love that we already are and feeling, in that, our connection to the ALL.
Love is at the core of the way Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed – all the great teachers of our times have lived.
And Love is the one thing most religions agree on when describing God.
I agree Abby and when I look around at the organised religions, none of them emanate true love but a false version of it that creates separation in humanity.
It is very inspiring to me that such conversations are going on about religion. I love that people of all faiths are questioning and expressing the things that don’t add up about religions to the one message all the great teachers originally delivered. I was also recently asked for the first time if I was religious. I explained I was deeply religious and knew God through my body, but did not belong to any of the current religions.
Christmas time for our family was about decorating the tree, setting up the crib, wrapping presents, eating food and midnight mass. So it was a strange mix of religion and glamour. I don’t think we were particularly religious as a family, even though we went to church every Sunday. We never discussed God in the home, so religion was saved for church and school lessons. What I love about The Way of The Livingness is that it applies 24/7 – it is about how we live all of our lives, not just when we visit a church. In fact, there isn’t even a Church, even though many of us gather together in halls for presentations, sermons and webcasts.
Even the term ‘organised religion’ suggests a form of control that is already separate from the divinity we can feel inside. True religion is simply connecting to divinity and living from there – no organisation required.
Religion in current organised form has become associated with being attached to one of the major or minor religious groups and following their doctrines. If we are honest we all know that this has not worked for humanity as a whole and has caused much conflict, suffering and separation. This has had the unfortunate consequence of turning many people off religion altogether and caused a reaction of denying God’s existence. So it is very important that we have blogs like this one, reclaiming the true meaning of the word religion and that it is actually something very universally innate in us all and something that actually unites us together as one human family and with the universe.
‘What if I was practising true religion when I spoke with the two young women in the shopping centre?’ Terri-Anne I would answer yes you were. No preaching dogma but a simple loving sharing with others.
What does it reflect back to us all that we have created different religions across our world that are supposedly based on love and that rather than agree about the simplicity of love, we argue about who is right? How simple could it be if we trusted the innate feeling that despite the fact that one person calls themselves a Buddhist or Moslem and another a Christian, the essence of these religions is in fact the same love we all know within? Do we create complexity out of love when in truth there is nothing complex about it? It is the essence of all men and women and we are here to live and breathe that essence.
Religion as a relationship, first with yourself and then with God. That makes perfect sense, and in fact how could I have a relationship with anyone including God if I do not first have a relationship with myself. Thank you for a very enlightening read Terri-Anne.
Religion as we know it today, has strayed away from the original message of real Love. Just like how many words in the English language have been bastardised to now mean something else to their true meaning.
It is indeed beautiful when two strangers meet and talk in a way where both are communicating that they know we all come from the same source – beautiful Terri-Anne.
“What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?” So far I have not come across a religion that does not have God at its core, an Almighty Being and the Creator of the Universe. Given this fundamental fact, how can anyone be left out of the picture? After all we live inside the Universe, not in the middle but definitely not very close to the edge of it. If we are not all God’s children, how or where are those who are deemed not to be by other human beings, suppose to go? Is there another Universe somewhere for those who are not born of this immensely loving, all powerful Being we call God, to live in? Put simply, to regard anyone on this planet as not being a child of God is quite absurd, we are all equally so and The Way of the Livingness is the only religion that I have met that holds all equal in the eyes and love of God, without judgment and without question.
Most people have bought their tickets for the Titanic and enjoying sitting in their deck chair watching the world pass by because they have arrived, at least the upper-class passengers have. Those in steerage are like the animals in the zoo, stuck in a cage and forced to pace for they are waiting and hoping it will get better. It is time to realign to our greater purpose and get off the sinking ship!
My experience is the topic of religion usually brings up arguments. What you presented Terri-Anne could not be argued with, as it is a truth we all know deep down but don’t express for one reason or another. When the subject comes up, its one I normally side step but I feel inspired by your interaction. There is no complication or confusion when you speak from your heart.
Such a simple and profound summing up of how practising true religion is living the love that we and God are and reflecting it to others which is so beautifully illustrated by your 2 conversations.
Terri-Anne the 2 women that you spoke with may never have had a conversation with someone who was so actively religious before. Even though we are all religious by default some are more actively religious than others. Foe me actively religious means understanding that we are in a relationship with life and that life is responsive to our choices. Hence repeating anything, including religious doctrines is registered by life as being rather stagnant in activity.
Why are there so many religions everyone claiming to have the true version or true God? This question I asked myself throughout my life until I found true religion which is coming back to me in my inner heart, connecting from this with other people. I got inspired by Universal Medicine to take this path of returning to myself.
“What if organised religion, or religion as we know it today, has strayed away from that original message?” From my experience this has been the case, but also I was not aware of this being the case until I was open to feeling and allowing myself to re-connect to what True religion was. I was therefore trapped in the seemingly unknown even though deep down I did know.
We champion the fact that our Religious Education lessons are so inclusive, but what I find fascinating is that hearing and studying religious beliefs from all corners of the earth actually flags up both the very strong possibility of a common denominator, and yet the common denominator sits hidden behind the smokescreen of each different story.
I love that the topic of religion is something that is being brought up, questioned and exposed for what it has been made to look like. So refreshing, and confirming to claim this back.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’ This rings true for me. All religions I know have love as their foundation so it would make perfect sense to begin this love with ourselves first and then naturally build that love so that when we come together we are all in the process of being love , not wanting or needing it from somewhere else. We can then joyfully celebrate together the love that we are.
It does seem like organised religion has strayed from the true meaning and message of religion. Many can feel the meaninglessness and even harm in Christmas celebrations, yet we may go along with it all because we don’t want to rock the boat. And Christmas is one of the so called better/joyous times of the church activities. No wonder we can’t face any of the really serious un-truths that occur under the name of religion.
‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?’ This certainly simplifies things as it makes sense that there can only be one truth. The question then becomes why we wish to complicate matters so much, take ownership of the ‘knowledge’ around religion and use it as a tool to separate from and judge each other rather than live the love of that central message.
‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?’ – Indeed Terri-Anne – the message was the same. Sadly, the reason so many people strongly react to the word religion is because the world religions as we know them today, have strayed so so far away from that core message.
When we feel something or someone is lacking, the activity of Love is always the missing ingredient.
Ah Jane, how we do like to keep ourselves busy. Mustn’t sit down you know, got to keep busying ourselves, lest we stop and begin to question what it is that we are actually doing all the time.
“Maybe the whole message of Jesus is lost on us today?” Could this be the case with all the interpretations of the different religions on earth today. The way of the livingness is simply living the love we are innately and is a celebration of the all we come from. Great sharing Terri – Anne.
I wonder how often we lie or alter the truth because we feel out of place and that our choices should be the same as others… For example, if we don’t celebrate Christmas but feet like we have to say when asked ‘yes but we don’t do a big Christmas’ or ‘It’s too busy at that time of year/don’t have young kids etc.’. For many people, this leads on to them actually changing their behaviour in order to fit the ‘normal’ picture, but this is incredibly damaging to our self-confidence and relationships because the celebrations would then be based on a ticking-box motive and mistruth.
‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.’ What I love about this is that true religions comes from our core and the livingness of our innate truth within. These messengers from the past and present are simply living from here and accessing the truth that is available to offer back to the world who have not yet chosen to do the same.
I spoke openly to a guy yesterday who asked me how I knew the people at a party I was at. I told him that most of the people here were part of The Way of the Livingness and he was intrigued and asked me many questions as he had a degree in Theology . I was able to answer as truthfully as I could and it did feel amazing to express about religion without my usual holding back.
What a truly awesome way to explain to people why you do not subscribe to organized religions. When it is explained simply it obviously allows people to open up and supports them to feel how much they do know and feel the essence of true love.
So well explained Terri-Anne, that God is Love and he doesn’t discriminate, he doesn’t condemn and the message is actually the same amongst all the religions, except that just don’t want to admit that, if they did, they would have to change, what a novel thought.
I love these examples of how just simply being true to ourselves can be life changing moments. I’m learning that situations often (if not always) offer all the people involved a possibility to evolve. Personally I’m observing that I’m asked to simply express me, whatever there is to be expressed, regardless of whether I am at work, at my home, at the local (super) market etc. Life is inviting me to just be me, all of the time. I can still find that scary – but only when I choose to be in true religion with myself I can be in true religion with others. A wonderful and precious (constant) gift from life.
The more we espouse being different or separate, the more we avoid the responsibility that comes with being equal in every way.
“Maybe the whole message of Jesus is lost on us today?” True religion restores this message big time, a call to return to who we really are, deeply loving, gregarious and generous beings who genuinely care for one another in equality and harmony. It’s not an impossible message to attain, but it does ask us to honestly appraise our behaviour, desires, wishes and attitudes in order to enable all the falsities we harbour to fall away, revealing our humble, innocent and sweet divinity for all to see.
Both examples are a beautiful expression of truth with no holding back reminding me of the power and the ripple effect every time truth is expressed… a blessing for all.
In the Catholic Religion we had Saint’s Days – there was pretty much one for every day, so if your name was the name of a saint, as it usually was, there was always a special Name-Day you could celebrate as well as all the feast days etc. July 16th was mine – the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At boarding school we would give each other cards with pictures of Mary, Jesus or a saint, and we would keep them in our missals. It is another example of images we carry around of ‘good’ role models for us to live up to.
Religion shouldn’t need to be organised but just the natural outcome of people living and expressing the love innate within. Love would ‘organise’ humanity into an harmonious whole – and will one day be the only ‘organisation’ we will ever need.
A solid home is built on strong foundations. If, we only live within the beliefs of old religious dogmas are we just living in the basement of our house?
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ This keeps it simple, doesn’t it? Instead of all the trapping, buildings, rituals, religious texts, dogma, intermediaries, we have ourselves, love and God.
hear hear Terri-Anne and why not celebrate EVERY day 🙂
Yes Nicola, Every day instead of saving it up for one day of the year!
Interestingly, most religions agree that there is at least one God and at least one of them is love.
So true Christoph, and it is just as interesting to see how that ‘love’ gets translated into the relationship that can be had with said ‘God’, as well as how it is then translated into everyday life.
How far from the true meaning of religion we have strayed with many practices simply box ticking and religious practice pertaining to a particular faith. It makes sense that there is one true religion given we are one global family and equally brothers.
Deborah I fully agree with you, the fact is we are one big global family and equal to each other in essence. To have separate religions goes against the essence we all are. No wonder the fight that goes on with ourselves and each other.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’
I cannot deny the truth of this and in doing so am struck by how my experience of organised religions is that they focus on the past,what happened in previous eras. Traditions are given the highest importance and every endeavor is made to preserve them – no matter how out of touch they are today. All this focus on the past, trying to re-create aspects of it has us missing the most important relationship of them all – that one has with oneself and in this is one’s relationship with God and taking this to all people. What if all these religious leaders were saying this and we’ve missed the point by looking to re-create the past or looking ahead to future salvation.
How can we evolve if we spend all our energy trying to re-create the past? We are meant to learn from the past, not to wallow in it.
“Have you found Jesus??!!” I was asked by an enquiring person holding pamphlets at a market. I could have replied “I didn’t know he was lost” – but I held myself and replied “yes he is a very good friend of mine”. I have found several instances of a strange religious fervour at certain times of the year, when I may be ‘joined’ by someone trying to match my steps while I’m out walking, that is to keep the answers of light nature and not at all serious when asked “Do I know God?” Sometimes I have found when I reply from the heart that some of these folk do not quite know how to continue the conversation as it is not what they expect however they are mostly happy to engage – after all, we are all from Love. I found while living at street level, in a house with a front door and a bell, that some of these conversations with folk walking by in pairs mostly, could become quite revealing. I must admit I so enjoyed having fun with the light-hearted aspect of sharing that I also am a Son of God.
Roberta what you share shows the importance of remaining open and being responding in a loving way to people who come knocking on the doorstep proselytising or who approach us on street corners. I have in the past reacted and been dismissive, the very opposite of true religion.
The very fact that so many religions say that the other religions aren’t right and that they are the right ones seems to point to the fact that something strange is going on. In truth there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. There is only ‘the what is’ and the ‘what is not’. Religion is a moving, living, loving relationship with all – not a dogma or a creed.
This is a great point Lyndy. It is no wonder so many want nothing to do with these versions of religion as it does not make sense to what we feel in our heart.
Your comment is a blog within itself Jane! This is a big topic to explore. We are not valuing our connection as the most important part of life and instead falling into the dis-connection by fixing, managing, struggling, just coping and the biggest one bettering. When we just focus on these we can spend as much time as we like not connected and coming back to our true purpose of being here and evolving together.
A quick observation reveals to me that that when a religion is organised in the way many are today they serve not for evolution but for the benefit of those higher up in the “religious” institution. This I find hard to see as it shows that from truth one can easily setup a system that is full of untruth and as a result not truth is truly revealed.
Beautiful with how you shared your truth with the two ladies, offered them a space to be honest about theirs and what they feel being religious is. It’s interesting how it is perceived that your not religious if you are not in one of the major organised religions…. like you don’t have a connection to God or the divine.
I too was raised a catholic but always felt ambivalent about its dogma. The heavy guilt I carried about not being a ‘true blue’ catholic has melted away to be replaced by the knowing that there is a God of love.
I found that guilt is a really heavy imposition on us that makes it harder to deal with the issue that brought up the guilt. I am not aware that guilt and love are in any way compatible.
It is interesting that when we talk from our heart about our relationship with God and with religion, it is understood and known by everyone. So how did we get the many dogmas and rituals in institutional religions which seperate one group from another and end up in wars and fueds? This blog so clearly shows that the only place of authority for true religion is our inner heart.
Your experience here Terri-Anne captures true love very well and how in expression this brings people together, we are all the same regardless of our cultural differences. Acknowledgement of this fact and the endorsing of it is desperately needed in the world today as there continues to be war and turmoil between many different nations.
If we accept your hypothesis Terri-Anne that religion as we know it today has strayed away from the original message, then it is clear to me that as each strays in its own direction, away from that central point of communion, we lose the simplicity of love and relationship as being religion – “a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so”
Christmas is a fascinating thing – because its not just a religious celebration, it is also a commercialised holiday and in that it has been stretched away from the original meaning – and yet despite its roots in religion I know very few who don’t celebrate it whatever their religion. And yet when I talk to them they are so stressed and worn out by it – what is really wanted is the connection and the family time, but do we need to wait for a holiday to have this?
Yes agreed Rebecca, when you stand back and look at ‘Christmas’ as some sort of celebration, very few do so for any reason other than it’s the time of year to buy presents, get together with immediate family and eat and drink crazy amounts of foods we don’t normally and generally over-indulge to the hilt for the day. There is little of true celebration of anything in that… just ask the body at the end of it… if you can wake it up from the couch!
Haha, agreed Jenny it has become an ingrained celebration but the meaning for many is lost – at school there would be a few glib words said at assembly to remind us of the meaning of christmas, but sandwiched between the prizes, chocolates, decorations and movies we watched on the last day it was lost on most.
Absolutely… I have never paid the slightest heed to any attempt at imparting a Christmas message, it never struck a cord in me or had any meaning that made sense. I was too busy hanging out for presents and yummy food to be bothered listening.
Saint Valentine is about to have his day tomorrow, that has become another commercially profitable day for retailers. Should we not celebrate daily, the love we have within ourselves? Love is meant to be lived, not bribed by gifts. And, we must not forget to buy our chocolate Easter eggs that are already in the stores!
I agree Steve, there are many religious based celebrations that we follow without considering their relevance or applicability to our lives. I see every day as an opportunity to express how much I love someone, so when valentines day comes along it is not a special occasion but simply a confirmation of how I express usually.
Thanks Rebecca and Steve. I was unaware that Valentine’s Day was even part of organised religion. It was never celebrated when I was young and has only relatively recently that it has been celebrated in Australia, so it just popped up from nowhere as far as I have registered and has always been ‘secular’ and commercial. On that day this year I had forgotten it was 14th February and was at the library and a young French girl, whom I had said hello to outside the library when we were waiting for it to open came up and said how beautiful I looked. I was surprised and yet it felt genuine and we started a conversation about Valentines with a librarian. We all came to the conclusion that love is everywhere and resides within us!
Many people leave their religion of birth only to move into another one that still carries the seed of separation. I know I did – when I left the Catholic Church at age eighteen, I abandoned God and went for the Science Fiction approach, and then just left it all as an open question. Only when a friend introduced me to Serge Benhayon when I was in my 50s did I start hearing words that made sense to me. I battled a bit in my head with him talking about God and Religion, but in my deepest heart I could recognise what he was presenting, that we are all within the body of God and whatever religion we believe in, it does not affect the truth of who we are.
Great that you had these conversations in your community Terri-Anne and that the people felt what you were sharing. Inspiring to read. Thank you.
True religion has an ever changing aliveness to it that is vibrant, if something professes to be religion and feels dead then that for me, is a sure sign that it’s not true religion.
Great marker Alexis… it is so true… if it feels alive and vibrant within me, then I will pay attention at least. If I feel nothing, dead, contracted, diminished, heavy or oppressed, then it is very clearly not true religion in my book.
Love it Terri-Anne and your sharings with the two women in the shopping centre feel like true religion in action as opposed to some dried out and infinitely repeated verses in a musty old church!
This goes to show that we would naturally speak the same language and come from the same inner truth if we were not divided by man made boundaries of difference.
Well said – one true language as we are one true global family of equal brothers.
You are right Janet, we are the only mammal that tries to improve something that is not broken.
Religion is in the way we are with each other, a very simple everyday way of being.
Being open and sharing like this has given the ladies you spoke with an opportunity to feel and see that it is ok to speak your truth and how you feel. That they are not the only ones who feel things don’t work and it doesn’t matter what religion or culture you are there other people that can feel the same – that religion has been bastardised.
‘Why are there so many different versions of religion, with each one saying they are the correct path to God?’ This is such an interesting question. To me it makes sense that truth has to be a constant terminal and so growing up I was very confused by all these religions that said they were the only ones that had it nailed. Truth is truth and so is it possible that there are elements of truth in all of them but not the whole truth? That said what if we put all those truths together would we be able to arrive at the truth in combination with what actually feels true in our bodies?
A beautiful example of what happens when we let go of ‘organising’ and speak our truth, creating a deeper connection and intimacy in just a few moments, the effects of which travel a long way.
With organised religion people have learned to organise their lives away from God. True religion, instead, is about connecting to truth through how you live. When you do, God greets you!
If, like you say, true religion is simply a relationship with love, then what is so beautiful about this is that all people can be included, no one single person need be left out or excluded. Because true and unconditional love simply is what it is, and thus it cannot be set in to a doctrine or dogma that is imposed upon us – because true love is a personal relationship with the soul and with God that is expressed through our movements, which no one can have control over – we are always and forever solely responsible for the love that we move our bodies in.
To have different religions creates division between people, it creates separation… and is a great set-up that only succeeds in delaying our return to the Divineness we all innately are, and we all come from equally so.
The fact that there are wars in the name of religion shows how far humanity has strayed from true religion.
Is it possible that if there is such a thing as an evil force that it would seek to cloud the truth, to divide and separate those who find it and create a smoke screen around it so we all spend eons fighting about it rather than seeing what is right in front of our noses – that all the great world teachers have all made life our love, about living the loving way and about brotherhood not division? Perhaps we have fallen for an evil diversion rather than trusting what we know in our hearts – that we are all one, that love is the way and that people who put love first don’t really care whether we call ourselves Moslem, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or the like – but instead know the innateness of the one loving way that is within the heart of every man.
True religion starts with connection and communication with people and ends with it. Everything else is complication.
Thanks Terri-Anne for showing that there can be a different relationship to god and religion that is easily expressed and lived.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’ I absolutely love this Terri-Anne. Our relationship with ourselves is the start of living life in relationship with everyone/everything from the love that we are.
“…What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others…” Can you imagine… compulsory religious classes at school would take on a completely different approach, reinstating the true meaning and understanding of the word ‘religion’.
After reading your blog again Terri-Anne, I realised how complicated organised religion have become, making it pretty much impossible for us to connect to God yet when we understand the true meaning of religion it is very simple, no rules, no judgement, no condemnation and no fear, a simple ‘relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so’, amazing!
How beautiful, Terri-Anne, through your open-ness to speak your truth, you re-connected two women with true religion, they got to feel it through you and your livingness, feeling the truth in what you were sharing.
So true, Terri-Anne- religion is all about harmonious relationships and not about identifying ourselves through our differences. God is here for everyone equally- it is the human element where individualism rules that causes all the dissension
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ – the truth is never complicated. In the same way that we all have our own expression, and would use different words to describe our relationship with ourself, with god and with everyone else. Fundamentally, it all comes back to the same point of love first.
I was raised as a Catholic and in our religion lessons in the older years, we discussed different religions and even visited a Jewish place of worship. I remember being interested in the look of the place but don’t recall much about the religion itself. I don’t think we ever visited a mosque, I guess that would have been too radical for the nuns. It is such a shame that religions may appear to tolerate each other but each one still sees itself as separate and ‘the one’. And there are still wars fought in the name of God, which is against all the teachings of the original true prophets on whose words the religions have been based.
The term ‘Organised Religion’ makes me draw a parallel with ‘Organised Crime’ and when one takes a glance at one or two of them, there doesn’t seem to be much difference. The term ‘True Religion’ however has a different feel, because we all know Truth when it is spoken, lived and upheld, it’s a quality that transverses all the usual barriers of creed, nationality, colour, gender, sexuality and beliefs. Truth applies to everyone equally so, no exceptions, therefore ‘True Religion’ can only represent a True way of re-aligning to God, unique to each person, but unified in its philosophy, science and application.
Maybe the message of Jesus is now found…: “What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.” Such a simple truth for us all, only remaining to be lived. Perhaps this is where the world Believed actually came from – when something was there for us to be-lived, then we knew it to be true and so it was believed on a deeper level.
Religion can be so simple when it is stripped down to what it is and that is that God is ‘Love’, that it is about loving relationship with self and others – Love is the essence of it all. There is no separation in Love..
When will we all realise that all the great teachers and prophets did have the same message about love and oneness. By not shying away from your livingness and responsibility Terri-Anne, I feel we are one step closer to this being a reality.
Our relationship with God can never be organised by a ‘third party’. The fact that organised religion exists is very telling indeed.
“There are many that know what I do, they just don’t allow themselves to live it or dare say it out loud.” This is such a beautiful and humbling and inspiring truth.
Your talking with these people offered the connection and confirmation that they too know God in truth. But if I don’t have the opportunity to have this discussion I shall always hold each and every person (to the best of my ability) as equal to this truth that is with-in them, because sometimes we are just too scared or just simply don’t know how to express what is held deep with-in.
The absoluteness of knowing the One (God) and that all of us are returning to, the One, at some point, brings a profound awareness of there being so much more than just the physical body. A confirmation that energetically, we are all, in truth, multi-dimensional beings whether we accept it or not, it IS so.
“I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to”.
This makes much more sense to me than anything and that is why this is my religion, “What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.” As the article also says at the core and like people all current religions look like they come back to the same point so what are we arguing or disagreeing about? Maybe there should be a rethink or a restudy on what current religions are and where they have come from so we can all start to see the same facts.
God is made of particles and I am too. It’s up to me to align to love and feel the fire emanating from the inside out or I am disconnected from my own fiery love and am stuck in the ‘smaller’ version of me. God doesn’t tell me what to do, never. It leaves me fully free to make my own choices. How precious, joyous and gracious is that? He loves me to ‘come home’, yet he will forever meet me for who I am and know that one day I will make the choice to be with Him all days, every day. To render my spirit naught.
It’s a stunning thing to observe someone claim who they are in their fullness, incredibly inspirational
‘What if true religion was about relationships?’ To me this is one of the fundamentals of life and when we are connected to ourselves (and therefore to others) we are practising religion all of the time; and if relationships are religion, then religion is actually very simple and not the complex set of rules we make it out to be.
“What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?” that’s a really interesting point to consider, as instead of looking at the differences but starting to see the truth of each message we can then see how bastardised the versions of that “religion” have become today. Quite staggering how we can have truth and deviate away from it to the point that we end up with so many separate beliefs not aligned to the initial teachings.
“What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.” There are so many religion based wars and atrocities taking place throughout the world right now that would simply come to an end with this one simple understanding.
We are so used to things being a certain way that when there is another way in front of us which does not fit the pre existing moulds we can sometimes meet this with disbelief even when we know what we can feel is true, on other occasions such as this it can be exactly what we are seeking or yearning for to offer a new choice for the patterns that we are held in.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.’ – This simple suggestion would revolutionize our entire world.
Here you are doing what you do best Terrie, connecting with people no matter who they are or where they are. You are such an inspiration the way you bless people in your path. I agree this is true religion.
Everything shared here makes complete sense of my experiences also. I remember asking my catholic family why they go to church and it was just because that’s part of being in the family. One of them (who was quite old) then went on to share how the church has and continues to change its rules to try and keep up with modern times. In this comment I realised he like many actually value the relationships he had with others who went to church and not so much the institution itself. This just shows how much we love and crave communion with one another. We can have this quality at our dinner tables every night if we choose.
You would have really shined a light when you spoke to both those women, because in you saying no you won’t be celebrating christmas, I didn’t feel an ounce of judgment for those that did, or those that celebrated other religious holidays etc. I loved your response to the first woman. How cool for her to also feel that actually it might just be possible that there is only one true religion…that looks nothing like all the other ones that choose to be in competition with each other.
What you are expressing here about religion is what I have always felt was true Terri-Anne. I love the way that you connected with people on your shopping trip and expressed from the heart without worrying about how you would be received.
It is that connection with people and expressing truth, that will bring back the one true religion for all.
Yes, Terri-Anne’s account proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that speaking from the heart transcends our seeming differences.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” There is a beautiful simplicity to this Terri-Anne and an equality where no one is left out.
Great conversations to be having Terry Ann , everything you speak of I have known to be true.
It was the question that perplexed me most as a child, why are there so many different religions and different Gods, I knew this not to be true and often asked the question as it didn’t make sense. I knew there was one truth, that all religions must be the same at their core but that everyone preferred their own version, or wanted their version to be the one. What I didn’t have was anyone confirm my doubts until coming across Serge Benhayon, a man who was willing to speak the truth.
It is inspiring to read how two open conversations can occur without having the feeling of someone trying to impose their beliefs onto another, as so often happens when people come to our doors with the need to convert us.
Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed were all messengers from the same source. The people who followed each of them ended up in different ‘places’ regarding religion and competing with each other as if one was truer than the other. This fact, however, does not honour the source these messengers represented and the fact of the source they equally represented.
‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? ‘ this is awesome Terri-Anne. I have felt this was the case with all religions I came across when I was growing up, hence why I couldn’t understand why wars were fought over religion. I also felt the original message of God was lost a long, long time ago in the organised religions. Now, I have found the only religion that is living and presenting the true/original message to humanity again, and this is The Way of The Livingness.
In addition to what has been said already, we also have to observe how the Christian church actively promotes, colludes with and supports the pretensions and flagrant consumerism that has become ‘Christmas’ to further confirm how far it is from true religion.
Thank you Terri-Anne. You show how us coming together and sharing honestly what we feel – leads us all naturally back to our relationship with Love, and the essence of what life and religion is all about. And isn’t that all the teachers down the ages, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus have done? And what we can equally do today too? What a beautiful testament this is, to the way you cherish the truth.
It seems to me that what is true cannot so much be taught but that it has to be known from within. We can teach principles, rules, laws et al, and we can know information in our minds – but there is then a much deeper level of knowing that is in our hearts and in fact our whole bodies. We can teach the way to this innate knowing, but we cannot teach what it actually is because this has to be lived and experienced by each of us through our innermost connection with it.
Beautifully said Richard. There can only be real truth expressed from an inner knowing of one’s own experience, and as you say it is felt from our hearts and throughout our entire bodies. It is absolutely not something that can be taught.
Why are we the only species that attempts to improve everything? How is it possible to fix something so simple as one God and love?
Great question Steve!
True Steve, the simple gold that Terri-Anne offers us here is drawn from her lived experience, not the stagnant words of organised religion.
And where is the moment where we can observe we are not successful at “improving”, but in fact contributing to reducing the quality of truth and love?
Because we are eternally restless due to the fact that we are not being the Love that we know ourselves to be. We’re like junkies hanging out for a fix, permanently on edge.
It is interesting how organised religions claim to be good or have the answers to live divine but in the end end up in fighting each other.
The only way to get to the truth behind religion, is to be willing to let go of dogma and tradition, and study how the tenets of each religion actually apply to life in its entirety. If they don’t, then they should already be questioned. By this I mean, if a religion says it is about universal love, but then it goes on to clarify that statement by saying it does not believe in the right to homosexuality, or true equality for men and women, then it is not about universal love, and so its tenet should be rightly questioned. If there is a tenet that says masturbation leads to the death of millions of Souls, then that should make sense with what we have discovered to date with regards to science, and yet we all know that it takes a sperm and an egg to create life. And so, you once again have to question the teaching. Unfortunately, religion has come to be dominated by faith and dogma, rather than by the discretionary observation of its teachings. Such a relationship with religion would be a great start, although even then if all society took such a pathway, we would still in the end be mislead if we made such a study an application of the mind, and not of the heart. To truly discern is to discern by way of energetic assessment. And to learn to energetically assess life, one must live in such a way whereby their body is made pure, or at least as pure as possible. That starts with clean eating, and living in a way that is not abusive to others or one’s own body. But in truth that is only the beginning, even though such things will invariably give rise to a certain level of awareness. Beyond that, one must engage the principle of movement, and the right quality of movement into their life. For there is a way of moving that gives us access to a higher form of intelligence that gives us ability to assess all of life in turn by its movements. Of course, none of this makes sense to one who has not experienced it, and that is the problem with getting to truly know God, or the fact of your own divinity. Until you know, you do not know, and until you live it you won’t know. Nevertheless, the above serves to illustrate some good pointers worth exploring so that one can discern for themselves if such actions actually create greater energetic awareness. And that, in essence, is The Way of The Livingness.
A true religion can be organised as well.
This blog is a beautiful example of true religion at work, connecting with people and share from our inner heart and there we find that we are all the same and actually all know that the religious celebrations do not cover in any way, shape or form, that connection with God we all feel from the inside.
One of the things this blog highlights for me is that so many people don’t speak what they know to be true for themselves. We hold our tongues in fear of them being cut off.
It is such a lie we live in an age of ‘freedom of speech’ when any idea that goes too far out the status quo isn’t quickly cut down intelligently or physically.
I would say this true religion as you describe it is the antidote to the millions of people worldwide who have turned their back on, or lost faith in the religion that is typically offered today.
I wonder what Jesus, Krishna, Buddha and Mohammed would say today with all the different religions, and what they would think of the state of our world today. Were their messages not heard by us all?
Yes Terri-Anne Connors I believe you were practicing true religion and what a delight to feel your words on what true religion is, and the joy and harmony that was felt in meeting those people. What a difference true religion can make.
“…What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message…” We would finally acknowledge then that all the wars and atrocities that have occurred because of ‘religion’ have been pointless.
It’s beautiful to hear how open the 2 ladies you met were when they were greeted with openness and a claimed son of God.
Love how you replied to the young woman of Muslim faith Terri-Anne. Sounds like a proclamation from Heaven. It is almost exactly what I lovingly said to the last pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to my door. And always remembering that it is the love in our bodies that says it all..
“The whole message of Jesus is lost on us” Isn’t that true, for we have Jesus portrayed as the single son of god, a figure who stands above us. And don’t we have that tendency to deify people only once they are dead. We have people who are lauded as extraordinary once they have passed over yet in the time they lived they are not recognised as being remarkable. Perhaps we see that today with Serge Benhayon. We will look back in time and marvel at what he shared, the insights he gave the world. But going back to Jesus, what perhaps made him so special was that he wasn’t special, he was just an extremely loving, connected man who was showing the way we could all live, and that we are all sons of god, not lesser or more than any other.
“Maybe the whole message of Jesus is lost on us today?” This small conversation in a shopping centre has opened up what people are really feeling. That Christian institutions the world over do not have the same quality and have strayed far from the simple loving way that Jesus lived. The same could be said for religions the world over. It is true that Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed were aligned to the same heavenly source that united everyone as one people. It is clear to see the religions of the world are not following the loving example clearly shown and have strayed deep into separation taking the world with them causing violence and abuse towards other faiths, but also in their own homes.
When we at long last accept the truth of our common divinity, we will find that there is nothing to lose about dropping the barriers that keep us separate and everything to gain – like evolving together as one humanity!
Having so many different religions all professing to be ‘the one’ exposes that the original texts must have been changed over the centuries. Your communication with these two women shows we all know this within ourselves, but lots of people have not yet found the Ageless Wisdom to know the True Religion. No fighting in the name of God, no worshipping being told what to by people who think they are better than us, no attending special places required, our True Religion is when we know our connection to God in our bodies and it is the way forwards for us all.
There are many that know that organised religions don’t add up and don’t make sense, but blindly carry on without seriously querying why. Some ‘religions’ threaten death if you dare question their edicts. With the threat of being cast out over our heads most of us bow to what is accepted as a ‘greater authority’. But who imposes this upon us?….. we do . Through the natural knowing of our inner heart, and the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom that have always been there, we know that here is no authority greater than our connection to our divine essence and God, and this is something that we simply choose.
“What if at the core of each religion” there was true religion, ie is the original intimate, loving relationship with oneself, God and everyone? Yes, but then we also need to identify that every so-called religion that has lost this very core is no longer a religion but an empty shell for man-made interpretations, interests and needs. No wonder then that the history of religion has been one of separation, violence, power, self-gain, deceit, illusion and supremacy.
Exactly Alex, well said, most institutionalised religions have actually lost their connection with the core it originally came from and therefore should not be called religion anymore. When we would do this it will become clear for everyone to see where we actually will find God, which is ultimately in our inner heart first and not in any of those institutionalised religions we have in our world today.
That is true. Knowing truth or part of truth does not seem to stop us from behaving very badly indeed. There must be a deeper level of understanding.
Yes I love that Terri-Anne. I too studied the many religions and found them all to have the same core which is love – from that moment on I unsubscribed to any of them and went with the direct connection we all have inside us. To be able to confirm this is such a freedom.
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Very True. Love is! We are love, we are from love and we are from God. Just as God is from Love. The only difference is the choices we’ve made in accordance to that love. Are we willing to be honest about the choices? Only by discerning more and more will we learn more about life! And in doing so, learning about love. And so learning about God. How precious and absolute G O L D is this?
Very True. Love is! We are love, we are from love and we are from God. Just as God is from Love. The only difference is the choices we’ve made in accordance to that love. Are we willing to be honest about the choices? Only by discerning more and more will we learn more about life! And in doing so, learning about love. And so learning about God. How precious and absolute G O L D is this?
True religion is exactly what you describe, I am so grateful to have found The Way of The Livingness. Confirms what I know in my heart to be true.
Hear Hear, Vanessa, one but only needs to look at those that have commented here on this blog and others, that support God, self Love and the joy we have found in our daily lives what is true.
I was very interested to read this blog Terri-Anne. ‘What if I was practising true religion when I spoke with the two young women in the shopping centre? That is, I know who I am and I know who God is – Love.’ My most joyful moments in life have always been in the connection with others, especially those types of gorgeous exchanges with ‘strangers’ you have just shared. Yes – to me true religion is being open both with myself and with others .. letting love out and in at the same time.
Terri Anne what a beautiful honest account of your understanding of religion and the fact that we all know this deep down inside making the religious dogma of the different religions something one imposes on oneself to fit in, join in and is actually denying the truth we know.” What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?”
Wow. So simple and powerful, nothing held back in the way you communicated with these two women. What an inspiration. Thank you for sharing, Terri-Anne.
I would agree that at the core of all religions the messages are the same, but as a human race we’ve strayed away from the truth of these messages. It’s a shame as all of the world teachers like Jesus and Buddha had amazing wisdom but it’s been converted and bastardised to be something it was never intended to be – and worse – used to segregate and separate people which was the opposite of what they once taught.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” now that is what I call a true religion, one that is equal for all and comes with no comparison, judgement or dogmatic rules but clear purpose and evolution.
Thanks Terri-Anne – your blog shows how important it is to open up for conversations like the ones you had with these two ladies. We need to be more bold with our own take on religion and what true religion is – the world needs a different reflection on religion and knowing that they are not alone feeling ‘different’ about these questions.
‘If we were taught from young that God is love and we all come from this love, then love would be our only religion.’ – Hear hear Elizabeth, love the simplicity and undeniable truth of this statement.
We are universal, it is as simple and profound as that!
Oh well said Bernadette!
I admire your transparency whilst out mingling in the world
Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas I still join in with conversations about what I will be doing that day. Even if I’m doing nothing it counts as something as Christmas day has become such a big deal. I love how you totally claimed the fact that you don’t celebrate it. It stops everyone in their tracks.
Beautiful shared “What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” It simply comes back to love, love is God.
It’s very unusual (in my experience) to talk so openly about whether we celebrate Christmas, our relationship to religion, God etc. in a public place, particularly with people who have quite obviously strong beliefs around the topic, but this absolutely should be normal and religion shouldn’t be a taboo topic, or something we feel like we have to hide, keep to ourselves, feel embarrassed about etc.
What great experiences you had Terri-Anne and expressing how you feel and know what is true. These two ladies were offered a reflection that it is ok to know what is true for yourself and that to express this is very powerful.
Surely the fact that all the religions have the same common foundation yet there is all the diversity and conflict demonstrates the bastardisation?
Great example of how we can live religion every day in our connection with ourselves and with each other which bypasses and surpasses any human made doctrines or organisations.
My true Religion is relationships, Religion should not be about what day Jesus was born or what God you believe in. This is a great read, its beautiful to feel how connected we all are when we make the effort to reach out.
“What if I was practicing true religion when I spoke with the two young women in the shopping centre?” – I exactly thought this by reading your blog. What if true religion in practice is not to sit or kneel down and pray, but to be with me and others and support our connection and living in harmony? That is quite a different responsibility, heh?! Every moment, everyone we are with, we are asked to live true religion. This is asking us to live in a way – not in repentance, but in joy, which means to live in confirming to our divinity every moment. Which means: live true love.
When truth is spoken it can be heard regardless of what religion you are, this to me is true Religion, simple, easy, nonjudgmental and very loving.
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are’ – if we all grew up knowing that, something I know now, it would be a life changer – it was for me. I always related very much to the so called originators of the religions – especially Jesus and Siddhartha Gautama when we were taught about them at school – yet the religion that followed them did not make sense to the feeling I had about them. So it left me confused and effectively got me to disconnect from the word religion rather than embrace it for what it is.
Yes, the message of Jesus has been lost in my view. Jesus lived by example, to show us that we are all his equal brothers, all Sons of God – and it is for us to choose to live that way too – to realise ourselves as Sons of God. And another yes to the importance of choosing self-love first – ‘plugging into the mains’ – so we can reflect love to others who might choose it too.
How amazing to be able to cut through all the religious dogma and truly meet others with a heartfelt conversation. What I can feel here is how religious beliefs can shroud us, but they do not represent the immense Love, Wisdom and Integrity that truly lies within us. Really connecting to each other, eye-to-eye with an open heart cuts through these shrouds and confirms us in our divinity, no need for religious ceremonies to tell us we are divine, its an innate quality that can simply be confirmed through loving, honest interaction, however brief that may be.
Our current organised religions have strayed far from truth and in this separation claim to possess something which does not belong to them but comes from the heart of us all and is there for us to choose at any time.
By knowing what true religion is, does that make the ones that have lost their way, Dis-organized religions?
“What if that at the core of each religion the message is the same”. I love it and I always knew this and like me and you, Anne, probably most of humanity knows. What if we dare to express our innate truth, all of us?
Terry Ann thank you for sharing your wisdom about true religion. You wrote: “And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others.” I only can agree and if more people would have this loving relationship with themselves I am sure we would not have such a violent environment.
‘…each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same.’ I am really enjoying this fact.Once I lived a life of protection and though I can still put up the barriers I’m becoming free from the beliefs I need to be this way so I’m enjoying just being with people, an ease with people that doesn’t come from judgement or fear. So, for example, I enjoyed going to Aqua Size class not knowing anyone but people were so friendly and fun to be with. I’m able to make relationships with people for however long or short I know them so people coming in and out of my life isn’t unnerving as it was. This is all coming from an acceptance that we are all the same, just different stories.
I have always struggled swallowing the concept and practice of organized religion and the messages contained within, and thus what you have shared resonates deeply…. I can’t help but agree that they have all just strayed from the one same message that we are love and the practice of any true religion is founded on that.
There is one God for all and this God is neither catholic, muslim, jewish or orthodox. These are nothing but divisions that human beings have imposed onto the true teachings.
A really interesting blog Terri-Anne; religion shouldn’t be the closed topic that it is, and I admire your openness to discuss your experience and relationship to religion so honestly.
Thank you Terri-Anne for sharing this – I agree wholeheartedly with what you present as a possible true religion, for me without a doubt that is what it is, a divinely simple and grand way of living and relating with one another.
Reading your expression of true religion as you said it to the lady you met can be felt resonating in us all – expressed freely without reservation and claimed as truth offers a reflection of how it truly is for all.
A beautiful clear and concise way of describing Religions in general and true Religion. I feel how you expressed what your version of Religion is to those two young women was spot on and definitely food for thought for them too! Thank you Terri-Anne.
This really brings everything back to Love – a core element that unifies and equalises us all.
There’s only one re-ligion: L I F E. As a sixteen year old I already told myself that life had to be the same for everyone. And that it had to be on the inside of us. Now I’ve found that through the connection with my body and inner-heart I am actually able to connect to others and other things. It’s through the choices to connect that I’m able to grow, to evolve. And in these choices I’m re-connecting to the religion of life within me. And this is for everyone. Simple, raw, real and very loving. Although at times it feels vulnerable and like wanting to run away. But nevertheless, a beautiful way to be with life. A bit more every day!
I love it Terri-Anne. I love your honesty and the fact that this exposed the lie that we just tag along with. When we speak the truth out loud everyone knows it and recognises it. It exposes organised religion in all its falsity.
“It is a bit like people really; each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same.” I love that true religion connects us back to our essence, love, which we all share, and then has the space for us to express that in our own ways.
This is gorgeous Terri-Anne, we are all deeply connected to the love that is god, but don’t dare to be honest about it as it takes responsibility to live it, and the mainstream religions are all teaching us the total opposite. Relationships are a beautiful basis to build true religion from.
It would certainly bring a simplicity to the whole subject of religion. A relationship with the immaterial that so many religions today claim to be the door to accessing. When I share about my experience with The Way of The Livingness it has been generally accepted by others, not in a way that expects them to convert but allows them to be where they are and states where I am in terms of our relationship with religion.
Beautifully exposed Terry Ann, we all know true Religion within. Do we chose to live this Religion based on stories or from the truth felt within?
You’ve made it simple and clear, true religion is the connection we have with ourselves knowing we are love and come from love accessible for each and everyone of us. True religion brings us together, your sharing about the conversations you had is a beautiful and simple example of that.
‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.’ One religion.. connected one…then we are one..
‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ We have made religion complicated, with rules for people to follow, rules that require remembering, instead of simply being encouraged to feel our hearts, where God is known by all.
Beautiful Terri- Anne, showing us that speaking exactly how you feel about religion is actually very normal and important. Never should we hide or hold back our expression. We are here to be everything we are again, returning, and by every step back to our Soul, we must know that : we are the same, we are simply religion.
A work colleague made an interesting comment on Christmas day… I asked if they were going home to celebrate Christmas, and their comment was ‘we don’t celebrate Christmas – we’re Christian’. I was shocked by this comment – didnt christian religion create the whole Christmas thing?!
I feel that before people can truly understand the difference between modern religion and true religion, they must first understand and know what Love is – and, as Serge Benhayon says, “there is not an ounce of emotion in Love.” If Love is the basis of all of these religions, we must first understand and agree what Love is. Then, perhaps religion wouldn’t matter (or exist).
Great point Nick, we are the temple that God lives in and it is filled with love. What would be the purpose of churches, temples, mosques and holy places built for connecting to God? In 2006 the Church of England’s land property portfolio was estimated at £4.3bn, what is it worth today,11 years later!
“… then all religions must be the same, they just have a different story.” This is what my father came to as well – he used to ask every door-knocking religious person in for a chat. They always thought they were getting someone to join their particular group but he wanted to understand them and their religion. One lady came to see him quite regularly but he never went to their meetings. He came to the conclusion that all religions believed the same thing at their core, ‘they just have a different story’.
True religion is having a truly loving relationship with oneself and with God and so with all others, as we are one. This can be felt as an emanation of love from the inner heart and does not even needs words.
“What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” Beautifully said Terri-Anne – what if indeed… there is such a simplicity and unification in this, when all religions only bring complication and separation with all their ideals, beliefs, ceremonies and rituals.
I always wondered how different religions had different Gods with different rules and beliefs that people followed or adhered to (or didn’t, and confessed accordingly). It didn’t add up for me and I knew as a young girl that religion, in its man made form, wasn’t for me, and held onto that until well into my adult years. Now I feel differently about religion, in the true sense of the word. I’m still not aligned to any of the well known religions, but have had experience with The Way of the Livingness as a religion that has love its core and with this, I’d say I am part of a religion…The Way of the Livingness.
Your exeriences show How devisive religion as it is known by many today can be. It’s interesting that this is the case when religion is actually all about uniting under a common truth.
Reading the last paragraph of this blog that described true religion as simply a relationahip with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and thus the Love that everyone else is made my whole body feel like it was breathing a giant sigh of relief. Also, it made me wonder how and why we have made religion so complicated and confusing in all it’s manifestations across the globe. Time to allow this simple truth to sink in and accept its beauty.
When religion comes back to our relationship with God, it becomes about our relationship with everything as God is in the all.
It is so clear to me Terri-Anne how confusing it is about the different religions, and how none of the organised religions can be true. They have changed from the true words that were given to us, to set up different groups of people all vying for their religion being the best. By having lost the way, the religion has also lost the focal point, the connection to God. This is what true religion is all about, our return to God.
Beautifully said Terri – Anne True Religion is living in connection with ourselves and God in all we are simply being ourselves ” true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so” And the knowing that we all know this is at the core of our future with our very evolution itself.
Terri-Anne I love this, its been one of my issues growing up in that how can so many people have different religions all claiming to be true and all excluding one another. It’s only been through the Way of the Livingness that i have felt a true religion, one that is no organised but is about my personal relationship with God something that has no dictation or right and wrong, no exclusion but worldwide equality.
Thank you Terri-Anne for being an inspiration and not holding back – and sharing this with the world. I love the conversations you had simply by claiming who you are and what religion is to you. People are open to having conversations, and I love how you shared with them what true religion is to you – and how they both felt this. It shows that if we hold back who we are, everyone misses out.
Great to see how you were so open when going around and talking about different religions with people. Often I would think I would step on people’s toes if I revealed how I feel about God and religion, but your blog is so great because it shows how true religion is something that is accessible to all.
Yes indeed, and who are we to hold back, when this sharing is showing us that people are in fact open and ready to hear truth about religion.
How can anything be a true religion if it divides and does not bring us together; keep us separate from each other and places some people of higher value than others. How can a true religion see us all as equal only if we belong to the same religion? Maybe the truth of religion has always been, but we have overlooked it completely because we have been busy creating what we think religion is.
When I read this – “We were required to apply the theological study tool of Ninian Smart’s Six Dimensions to learn about each religion. It was broken up into six different areas: Doctrinal, Mythological, Ethical, Ritual, Experiential and Institutional” – my head got achey and it felt oh so complicated. When I read what you shared at the beginning with the retail girls and at the end, it felt so simple and clear.
I agree Sarah, there was such a joyous lightness in those two conversations, nothing heavy or complicated. True religion is not complicated it is simple and clear.
The beauty shared by one person sharing their truth.
We really need to separate religion and the true meaning and true origins of this word from the institutions we know as ‘religious’.
What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others. I’m with you Terri-Anne, this is true religion and I am a very religious person, something I never thought I would be saying until I understood the true meaning of religion.
I loved your exchange with the women in the mall. True religion is in the heart of us all – no need for intermediaries in the form of priests etc. – and it is so simple. I was never satisfied by any other so-called religions accepted by society today – I now know on account of the bastardisation of truth. “What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?” Yes, yes.
Thank you Terri-Anne I love the simple conversations you had with these women. I feel inspired and realise there is so much we can share just in ordinary day today encounters with strangers. The depth and free flow of these conversations depends on our connection and our allowing of our true expression.
‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others’. I love how simple and clear you have described true religion. True religion in two words; ‘Love thyself’.
I loved your sharing Terri-Ann of your conversation with the two ladies you mention. “What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?” It feels that the message is the same just packaged slightly differently within each era and that deep down we all know that true religion stems from love, connection and equality for all.
There is certainly something very profound in the connection between two or more people, when they first have a connection with themselves. Common to all world teachers is Love – the seeming basis to all the organised religion and yet in practice, lost amidst the books and rituals and seeming differences.
I love how you have shared what you know to be true with these two women Terri-Anne. When we absolutely claim what we know to be true for ourselves it can be nothing but simple, and knowing we have a direct relationship with God is no exception.
There seems to be quite a disconnect between the teachings of the great masters who lived with us, and an inability to live those teachings. One of the big issues is giving our power away to others we see as sent by God or as representatives of God, and we try to follow their words (which are often mis/re-interpreted) and this sets us up to always be looking to an outer authority. Yes we can listen to one another and the wisdom across the ages, but to truly live religion it must be from our own connection to God, and that is something that comes from inside of us.
A great sharing here Melinda. In many cases religions are taught as institutions that we give our power away to so that the only way we feel we can connect to God or be recognised in the community is associated with our religious branding.
True Religion is all based on relationships whether it be with other people, with what we are doing etc.. I see it as a re-bonding and re-connection of living a way of life that is inline with my inner-most, with love. And so it has no borders, no boundaries and as such is in the inner-heart of everyone.
James, the way you express this makes religion so accessible to all, it is not something that you need to join or be a part of it is something that can be a part of your lived way. A relationship with all by living from your inner heart.
Thank you Fiona. Religion is part of us all, part of our everyday life yet because of the connection it brings with ourselves and others we think it is too much yet when we allow ourselves to fully appreciate what life and religion offers us we see it is all here to help and support us to return to our Soul, our inner divine being of love.
Yes indeed, Terri-Anne. When we are connected to God in daily life and can simply share the joy of this with another, there can be a commonality of language and experience that transcends all religious sectarianism.
I love your two examples Terri Anne you spoke from your own livingness and the two people were able to feel the truth of your words. This shows to me that we all do deep down know that God is love and this is the basis of true religion.
“What if true religion was about relationships?” – What if it is? That blows so much of the doctrine and dogma in most religions out of the water because many of them make it about rules and dogma.
Thank you Terri-Ann Connors, you restore simplicity to the immense complications we have woven around religion and yes it is that simple. Love ourselves properly, not through indulgence but with tenderness, respect and care, then embody this love in all we do so that it is most natural thing in the world to love each other with true understanding, compassion and appreciation and not a hint of judgment or criticism in sight. Then every day is a celebration of true religion, a deep appreciation of the simple gift of Love and of everyone in our lives.
The perfect simplicity of what true religion is and always has been. Love, without judgment, without borders, walls, boundaries. And yes, I am sure that Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha and Jesus brought us the very same truth about love right at the core and heart of their message and their livingness. It is what we have done with the message that has created separation and it is our responsibility to redress this imbalance.
Terri-Anne, this feels so simple and true, ‘What if true religion is just simply a relationship with the Love that you are, the Love that is God and therefore the Love that everyone else is, innately so?’ I love how this brings it back to love and the simplicity of living our love with no need for all of the rules and doctrines, rituals and complication that are so associated with many religions.
When we speak truth from our heart, even though it may not be acknowledged, it is recognised, “I said, “You know it too,” and she nodded with a quiet but firm yes.”
What an incredible piece of writing, because of what you have experienced and lived. Stunning. Thank you Terri-Anne, you are amazing.
There can only be one truth, can’t there? In any situation. And I don’t mean one truth as opposed to the many truths expressed by individuals, but truth in a fundamental, universal way. What happens to us after death for example – there can only be one truth, not different versions according to a particular religious flavour. The sooner we all arrive at a One Unified Truth, as is the Universal Medicine catch-phrase, the better.
There is beauty and irrefutable common sense in your words Terri-Anne. When we connect to the true love of the inner-heart we know we are all the same in essence, a truth and wisdom presented by all World Messengers of God throughout the ages.
Terri-Anne, how inspiring to read of your conversations in the shopping centre, exposing just how complicated, confusing, controlling and disempowering the institutions and organisations representing religion have become. I love the simplicity you bring about being truly religious begins with a loving relationship with ourselves first and foremost.
“What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others”.
For some decades now I felt the ridiculousness of having separate religions and knew a time would come when there would be only one. And yet we have a public consciousness around formal religion that is so dense and steeped in protectionism it continues to assert just how different one religion is from another. But we know this to be a lie. True and one religion is already here and can be practised by anyone at anytime throughThe Way of the Livingness.
“What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same?” Great question Terri-Anne and for me the answer is a resounding yes. It has become very clear to me that Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and Muhammad all offered the world the truth; a truth that sadly has been totally distorted, not in the name of God, but in the name of men who simply wanted power and control over the people.
When there is an incident in a crowd, there will be a different story from every witness but the event was the same for all? Are we selectively seeing and believing what we wish to see because of beliefs? Your two conversations support the blinkered views of many. When we strip away all of these beliefs, it is as you have expressed, how simple religion truly is!
Thank you Terri-Anne, you have made religion very simple to me and brought it back to its original meaning of the word. Your discussion with the other women shows clearly that we all know, but are held in the belief of separation we are raised with as a child. This energy of separation can only be fostered by our individualised mind but not in the inner heart where we all know that we are all one and the same and from the same origin in which we are united.
How simple it can be, to reveal the true knowing about religion that rests within us all, Terri-Anne, as evidenced by the conversations you had that day. And herein there is a great key – why hide our own religious nature, if we indeed feel this to the bone as you clearly do, and I know I do also?
Do we avoid such conversations? Do we ‘go along’ with the masses when the rituals and celebrations subscribed to are meaningless for us? Or are we willing to honour the way we feel to be true, and be open and transparent about it?
A beautiful sharing Terri-Anne, that speaks so much about our willingness to show the depth of our hearts to another, thank-you.
…And true religion is also holding all others in the knowing that the very nature of religion itself is all-encompassing. In it we are inextricably interconnected, and to hold anyone as less capable of knowing the same universal truth is to not be religious at all…
Interesting, if not actually exposing then, that in our institutionalised religions, we have those who are deemed ‘closer to God’ than others. This does not speak of ‘religion’ to me at all, of connection with God and the equalness of His Love in all, but rather, of dominion, control and wilful abuse of power. My how we as a humanity have given so much of ourselves away to this, when as you say Terri-Anne, it all lives within.
I ask myself, how come religion became so convoluted with so many different versions? When I consider that religion starts with my relationship with myself, then all others, I have no problem saying I am religious. But when I consider the various organised religions, I’m quick to clarify that I’m not aligned to any of those.
There is no ‘What if?’ for me Terri-Anne, I’m with you all the way. True religion is simple. There is no need for the institutions, texts, interpretations, elitism or worship. True religion is as you have described – a relationship with love, with God, with others and self.
Brilliant blog Terri-Anne, I loved reading the conversations you had at the shopping centre with the women you met. It highlights to me that we can feel the falseness of organised religion but often choose to not speak about how we feel because of various reasons. Also I definitely agree with everything that you have shared in this amazing blog. I too feel that all the organised religions I have come across have certainly lost the true message that was divinely delivered by our world teachers.
Recently I had a conversation with a friend who outwardly has no connection to any organized religion, but we just went straight into talking about God. There was no resistance only deep knowing. This conversation may seem inspiring but in fact it is only natural, as when we live religion in our daily lives, which is just being as ourselves in connection and in love, those whom we meet if open to this reflection naturally allows themselves to live what they know to be true. What if we are all, from the start and equally so, truly religious, and resisting to be that is living what is not natural? This blog is a testimonial of what is unified truth.
A Fabulous blog… “What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others…”
So very true our 1st relationship is with ourselves and then we can build it with others. If we do not have a relationship with ourselves then how can we with others?! I find the deeper my relationship is with myself the more I bring to all my other relationships and the richer they become.
We are born from a light divine that never stops shining despite the layers of illusion we may pile on top of it. Terri-Anne, your words are deeply confirming and very restoring of a truth we each know to the core of our being even if this truth is not yet in full expression. Thank you for these words.
Sure Liane, to confirm that we are from the divine and therefore are divine and to express this divinity as freely as is expressed in this blog, is a healing for our humanly bodies. Holding back this part of our lives, the core of our being, is in fact the root cause of all of the illness and disease that humanity is faced with.
There is a simplicity to religion that over time and throughout history has become complicated. Connecting to the true elements of ourselves is no doubt the realness of what we are searching for when we talk about religion in the day and age.
I can feel the power in your words Terri-Anne, so that when the truth is spoken from your Livingness everyone agrees? What this is sharing is the fact that modern religions have absolutely no lived wisdom it is just expressing learnt phrases that are not truly serving or evolving. When the truth is so openly shared people understand because it is so simple.
I love what you share, especially the conversations with the women you had. We have complicated religion, who believes what, who’s right, who’s wrong and so much has been bastardised. If we make it about love first and our relationship with ourselves and others that is a pretty good place to start.
Brilliant Terri-Anne, I love hearing your writing. What shines through in all you say is the fact that we are all the same – and despite the attempt to segregate, cut and box away we all know the truth underneath. As you said to the lady “you know too” – it’s absolutely true we do. What a Christmas present you gave them.
Totally Terri-Anne: ‘What if true religion was about relationships? And the first step to being truly religious is to first have a loving relationship with yourself, and then naturally with all others’. We haven’t yet fully brought into our lives that great teaching of the Master Jesus concerning Brotherhood: Love one another as you love yourself’ True relationship.
This is awesome Terri-Anne and expresses love as one connection to God and self equally so. One thing I ponder on is that both love and religion have been turned topsy turvy by beliefs, images and stories that complicate the true meaning and yet when we bring the love that we all know back to the simplicity of our relationships and connection to self then the complication is thrown out the window. Thank you Terri-Anne.
It is great to be speaking about this Terri-Anne, and asking such questions: ‘What if at the core of each religion, the message was the same? Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message? Different story yes, and in a different time, but at its essence it was the same message.’ Absolutely – and it makes no sense that one religion is at war with another as they certainly cannot be at war with each other about that fact that God is Love. These world teachers of true religion did bring the same message and in different times, and further they lovingly tailored that essential truth and message to work for and communicate with those peoples at those times, according to the stage of understanding and evolution that they were at.
I love this and know it to be true.
Beautiful Terri-Anne this is an opening to understanding religion that I’m very sure as your examples already prove that many many people feel the same way. Going along with the masses is just what is done. People I spoke to after christmas offered that it is ‘full on’ and they feel perplexed as why they go through it every year.
I love this line, it breaks down the ideals and beliefs that keep us in the illusion that we are separate. Religion is the same in truth; we are all of the One. “It is a bit like people really; each person has a different story but at the core we are all the same.”
Yep, I absolutely agree Victoria and I have been feeling this truth for a very long time but I have not frequently expressed this when the topic of religion came up in the past. Now, I do not hold back expressing what I know and feel is true.
You remind me how simple and beautiful true religion is Terri-Anne. The choice to open our heart to another and share what we feel is definitely true religion. Your experience reinforces the fact that we are all the same and we all know the truth.
Amazing sharing Terri-Anne. This is my knowing of religion too – Love, and my relationship with myself, God, and true Love is ever expanding. There really is no limit to religion, which is something I have only recently realised.
Getting caught in the details of who is right and wrong is a fundamental issue between beliefs.
If we merely respected that religion was about connection with divinity and those around us it wouldn’t matter if some thought this date was the birth of Christ or another date.
Being dogmatic has very little to do with being religious.
Growing up I found the organised religions confusing. I grew up a Catholic and in church we were told we were sinners and not to judge others etc. I remember asking the priest when I was 8 if I could be an alter server- he said, no I was a girl and girls weren’t allowed near the alter. This was the moment I knew God and the church were different.
Great point Terri-Anne… what if true religion is simply a relationship with the love we are, and hence a relationship with God and all others equally. In that sense many of us are deeply religious, without a religious doctrine or belief in sight. I can just imagine how refreshing those conversations must have been for those women you spoke with… the fact that numbers are dwindling (some drastically) for most organised religious institutions says it all.
Pure in its simplicity and revealing of where Humanity is Terri-Anne. If we were all to speak of the truth we know in our hearts exposing the pictures we choose in order to belong, appease or placate – I wonder how many old traditional rituals would dissolve?
Yes Christine, I also wondered how many old traditional rituals would dissolve if we spoke our truth and more importantly lived our truth. When the allegiance to our families and their traditions and beliefs can override what we hold to be the truth in our bodies then the consciousness (glue) that holds religion together today will be slow to change. . . if ever.
Isn’t it surprising to learn that people who don’t believe in Christmas or religion as such, still go along and celebrate Christmas, for example? In your case, it sounds as though one woman felt she owed this kind of allegiance to her family and their traditions and beliefs – and how many in that family might just be going along as well, not because they believe in it but because they also don’t want to rock the boat?
Terri-Anne you have shared with such beauty the simplicity of the truth of religion, at the essence we are all the same, as religion is, as you state, ‘at its essence it was the same message’. Each woman you shared with completely understood what you expressed, because when we are all the same at essence, then our knowing is the same, one of the same truth, just different clothing.
I feel very inspired by how you claim what you know is true in your innate connection with God and how you are not afraid to not only share this with everyone but equally not hold back the fact that we all are from this one same source even if we may deny it or not in full be living it so.
“Did Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed all not bring us the same message?” Such a great question Terri-Anne. What if they all brought the same message, what are then all the different religions we see today? Are they not bringing a lot of complication and even separation from the true message these people brought to the world. It is now about what is the true religion and there are even wars going on about this – even though the message these wise people brought are the same.
Many of what were once religious events are now simply events that society celebrates. For example, Christmas mostly has nothing to do with Christianity. But at it’s core a religious element remains – the coming together with family. It has been bastardised and commercialised but that element remains and is still strong.
Beautifully shared Terri-Anne. I agree, religion as we know it today has lost its way as the belief imposed is that our relationship with God is one that can only come by following rules and restrictions that only segregate, separate and discriminate (as we have clearly witnessed), all based on the notion that we are born less than God. Yet as you wisely say, when we develop a relationship with ourselves, who we are within, our inner-most quality we discover that through this loving quality we are in fact all equal. And it is through this quality of love within we all know God, as God is love, and in essence every man, woman and child regardless of race, culture or nationality is love equally so.
That there are wars in the name of religion shows us how far we are from the truth that you so beautifully share Terri-Anne
Can there be a simpler way to explain to someone about true religion? ““I do not believe in or practise the beliefs of the organised religions today. I do however have a deep connection with God. I know that there is only one God and that God is Love, and not the emotional love we are sold but true Love – Love that is non-judgemental, it does not condemn or separate races. This God is where each of us come from, and where we will all one day return to.” – thank you Terri-Anne for this absolute clarity and simplicity!
Terri-Anne, what you have presented here is so simple and yet so profound. Religion is a lot more than what it is portrayed to be in our society, and it seems that the truth of religion has actually been buried or been hidden away from the masses. If you truly seek, you shall find, and thankfully if you make life and relationships about love, then you are also making this your religion – in other words your relationship with life and others and love.
Religion has been mystified and made complicated to detract us from the pure simplicity that it is and which it offers.
Many of us are trying to get away from religion – the commercialisation of Christmas, as embraced and accepted by the consumer, i.e. most of us, may be a good example.
Ahh the number of atrocities that have been committed in the name of God and ascribed to a messenger. At times I have humorously considered (although it is not that funny really) that if God had a team of lawyers filing a lawsuit for defamation and libel every time he was misrepresented, the lofty mega rich religious institutions would not remain that rich. I love the simplicity in the expression of true religion here.
What you describe Terri-Anne is beautifully simple, and I would definitely say that god and religion should be simple, and all encompassing, considerate of everyone. If it isn’t then how can it really be religion, there can be no judgement in god, so if a religion has this in its script then for sure it has strayed from the truth.
Well Terri-Anne, common sense tells me that what you have shared here in it’s simplicity is unarguably true! Love is Love is Love however we dress it up to look like my version of it is somehow more true! What is it that we are attracted to in organised religion? It’s different guises are a distraction and delay from our inevitable acceptance that whether catholic, muslim, jew or hindu, in our inner heart, our essence, there is no religious distinction. Our essence seeks itself and it cannot but recognise itself when we connect with each other as you did with the retailers!
Yes beautiful said, living religion connects us, is unifying and confirming of all that we are in essence. When we look in another’s eyes beyond the outer coverings there we can feel and see the truth of our oneness.
Love this! Growing up in a very religious household, I only started discovering this in the last few years. And it has completely reshaped the way I interact with others. God is love, and it pretty much ends there. Religion itself is a divide–spirituality is what unites us.
Rad post. Thank you for sharing. 💕