TruthBook Religious News Blog

Amy Baack
Issue date: 3/7/08

We live in an era of freedom of choice. Everything in our society is designed to provide us with options; we like feeling we are in control of our own lives. Don't tell me what to watch on TV - let me choose from 100-plus cable channels. Burger King's slogan sums up our choice-driven culture, as it encourages Americans to "Have it your way."

A recent study conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows Americans are beginning to shop around more when it comes to selecting their spiritual beliefs. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that more than 40 percent of the survey respondents said they changed their religious affiliation since childhood.

In addition, 16 percent of those surveyed call themselves "unaffiliated," meaning they do not identify with one particular religion or do not have any definitive spiritual beliefs. This number is startling - it is twice as large as figures from past surveys.

Americans today are simply not willing to mindlessly absorb information thrown at them about what to believe. People no longer stick to one religion, and some are not committing to any religion at all.

The survey results indicate an important trend: Americans are challenging authorities and not accepting ideas as truth simply because they were raised with them, instead they first explore multiple sides of the issue.

The survey also found that among Americans aged 18 to 29, one in four respondents are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

An additional study by Pew conducted in February examined the spirituality of college students during their undergraduate careers, with spirituality defined as "the students' search for meaning and purpose, … their values … and their self-understanding."

College is supposedly a monumental stage in one's life, when one's values and beliefs are solidified; the fact that students gain spiritual maturity throughout their college years is no surprise.

Our generation has been raised to demand choices, and it makes sense that in our pivotal 20s, we are exploring multiple religions and questioning our faith. What is unusual is that the rest of America seems to be following our lead in this collegiate route of self-discovery.

One of the strongest American values is freedom, and Americans are now applying it to their spiritual pursuits, exploring multiple religions to try to figure out what they really believe.

The survey also found that Protestantism, the leading religion in America for generations, is actually on its way to becoming a minority faith. In the 1980s, 65 percent of Americans called themselves Protestants, but the results of Pew's survey indicate this number is now down to 51 percent.

America is becoming more of a nondenominational country, freed from the boundaries of religious institutions. People are exercising their First Amendment rights and exploring whatever religions strike their fancy. As a result, religion is being shaken out of its traditional cut-and-dry mold as Americans begin to piece together their own individual beliefs, creating a sort of custom religion derived from a sampling of sources.

Spiritual beliefs are not one-size-fits-all; they are intensely personal, and we are beginning to treat them as such. No one can tell me what to put on my iPod playlists, and I can certainly practice whatever religion I choose. I don't need to settle on one religion at all; I can create my own. People are free to believe whatever they want; this is the beauty of modern America.

Religion is just the latest part of our culture to receive the choice-filled menu treatment. So what will it be today? Would you like to try some Judaism, or perhaps a bit of Scientology? I hear the Buddhism is fantastic.

Labels: America, Amy Baack, belief, choice, college, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion, spirituality, students

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Living Your Essence – A Global Perspective

Feb 15, 2008,

Why is it, with so much resource and opportunity in the world, the sheer volumes of information we have on the Internet, and the litany of spiritual venues available, that people would continue to be riddled with unhappiness and plagued by depression? Why do so many of us feel utterly powerless to make a significant difference in the world? Why does it seem like this mysterious force, “out there,” is in charge of what’s happening? And why do we continue to live in fear of one another? Most importantly, what can we do to overcome all of this?

To paraphrase Einstein though, “we will never be able to solve the problems of our current situation from the same consciousness that created it.” That is to say that fear cannot and will not overcome fear. You cannot fight terror with more terror; for all that does is compound the problem!

As we evolve, and our sense of discernment grows sharp, we must start to understand and take responsibility for our beliefs. Simply stated, our beliefs create the reality we live in. By allowing the burgeoning corporate interests and media empires to use propaganda, sensationalism, and psychological prowess to shape our opinions, we are living at the effect of what we see and experience on television. Quite frankly, our subconscious does not realize the difference between a real life experience and an experience it remembers from a picture.

In order to regain control, we have got to become more selective and fill our minds only with information that is useful and critical to our success!

Jack Trout, in his book, “Differentiate or Die,” expounded upon the number of messages that come at us on a daily basis. It is estimated that the average individual is exposed to 30,000 messages on any given day; quite an astounding number. On one level, we have a filtering mechanism that allows us to function despite this full frontal attack of messaging, however on another level, we have very little defense, unless of course, we live in a cave somewhere. It is virtually impossible to escape the proliferation of “Consumerism” and thus, we need to take proactive measures to live within our Essence.

Health can be directly correlated to your ability to process and subsequently stand clear of negative thought. Conversely, we typically pay dubious attention to the negative stories that run us and subsequently persist in ways that will seemingly resolve these negative thoughts - such as listening to negative banter on the news. Each of us, face lessons in life that make us bitter or they make us better. The real trick is to take each obstacle and process both the pain and the wisdom that goes with it. As we resist these lessons, they become imbedded in our consciousness and make us unhealthy and negative – we start to chase conversations that validate negative data. The point is not to deny our experience, resist it, or try to overcome it, but rather to embrace it, asking questions and finding answers that facilitate the highest and best wisdom. The same goes for concepts and words that clog our minds with negative meanings and unclear outcomes.

True discernment is the ability to assert Choice. When you let your negative reactions dictate the way you feel and act, there is no Choice, only reactive behavior. This reactive behavior is the biggest problem we have. Life can certainly be lived reacting to everything that goes on around us. We can try to build walls to keep out the evil forces and put guards at the gates, but at the end of the day, you really have to ask yourself, how much energy is that going to take? You see, ultimately you can never have enough energy to fight off and react to the consciousness of fear and therefore, it is a losing struggle. This is the underlying reason for depression. The alternative is simply to discard the fear based thought and regain Creative Choice, the underlying nature of Essence. Therein lay the answer.

It would be a disservice though, to write at length about what Essence is, Lord knows, the religions have been trying this for Ions and that is fine. We feel the approach best taken to your own Essence is to allow you to stand clear of your reactive fear based thoughts and listen. Listen for what calls to you. Listen for the synchronicity that life hands you every day. Acknowledge the spectrum of Choice at hand and allow yourself to just be still. Everything you need to live the Essence based life is right in front of you, and that is a promise.

Labels: choice, Differentiate or Die, health, Jack Trout, negativity