Most of my life I have been averse to the idea of being religious, partly because I was brought up in a family that was not religious and somewhat against religion, and also because of the examples of religion that I saw around me and the effect these groups had on people, communities and countries. For example, my mum comes from Belfast, a place that has been fought over by two religions for a very long time.
But from the word go I always had an interest in religion and even picked it as one of my options to study at GSCE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) level in Secondary school. I always found it fascinating, the ins and outs of these groups and how they worked, even though it was never something that actually appealed to me.
However, in saying all of this, I always knew there was something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science. It was always clear that there was more to this life than what meets the eye and that there were forces at work for which I had no explanation at the time. I often compared this to “The Force” from Star Wars (I am a big Star Wars fan and watched it a lot when I was young) and later on also referred to this unseen ‘something’ as a universal energy.
When I was in my teens, as well as this sense of a greater force at play, I began to realise that coincidences weren’t coincidences at all. They started to become far too frequent and it felt to me more like everything happened for a reason. For example, those moments when you call someone up and they say they were just about to call you that very moment. Or bumping into someone that you hadn’t seen for ages, when not so long before you had been thinking about them for no apparent reason. These coincidences stopped surprising me and started to feel more like a small part of a bigger picture, although I wasn’t sure what that bigger picture was. It was clear to me that everything happened for a reason.
There were many aspects of certain religions that also made a lot of sense to me. For example, the first moment I learned about reincarnation, it felt like I had found part of the missing link. It made so much sense that we would live more than one life. One life would be pointless and I certainly never felt that my life was pointless. I may not have ever remembered past lives, but at times I certainly felt older than my actual age, and had feelings that I’d known someone for ages after only having met them a few hours previously.
So with all these various beliefs, knowings and feelings, when I got to my 20’s I started to refer to myself as being spiritual, because at the time it seemed like the only ‘category’ I could place myself in. I didn’t follow any religion but knew there was definitely more going on in the world than what I had learned at school.
To be completely honest, the word religion actually made me cringe, as the many examples of religions that I saw around me didn’t feel very religious! I couldn’t understand these organisations that had lots of different rules for everyone and that were almost always exclusive and misogynistic in some way. They just seemed to have so many contradictions, like having ‘love thy neighbour’ as one of the core beliefs, but starting a war with another country or group of people for whatever reason anyway.
Religion to me therefore equated power, money and some kind of separation from other people. It certainly never seemed to be all inclusive or about love.
However, that has all changed now. I can fully claim the fact that I am actually religious. Not because I got it wrong about ‘religion’ and decided to sign up to one, but because I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.
That was until I heard Serge Benhayon talk about religion and The Way of The Livingness at a Universal Medicine retreat. At first I could feel myself cringe as usual when it was mentioned, but then, when I heard what religion meant to this man, it also made perfect sense to me as well.
A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence. There is never any judgement in true religion; nor are there rules or anyone telling you what to do. There is no one person above another and even God sees us as His absolute, equal Sons.
True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.
As well as the quality of the relationships I have with people I meet, I feel that being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself, and with that, developing rhythms in life that are more self-loving and nurturing. Also it is about trying to bring awareness to how I am in what I am doing in every moment to the best of my ability, and taking responsibility for any reactions I have to the outside world, then seeking the cause of those reactions and letting them go.
Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.
By Eleanor Cooper
Further Reading:
Why Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness Makes Sense
The Way of The Livingness is my Religion
What is True Religion?
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
‘I always knew there was something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science’. Me too Eleanor.
It is no coincidence that the word ‘religion’ got completely bastardised and many people have developed resistance to embracing this word and consequently what it truly represents and offers while having far less resistance referring themselves as being spiritual.
The ‘force’ depicted in ‘Star Wars’ and the use or misuse of it are a great example of the ‘more’ there is to life. It makes sense and is scientifically proven that there is energy behind everything. We just choose to play dumb when it suits us!
I am sure at some level we must all know that there is more to life than meets the eye so I wonder why so few look further or acknowledge that.
“the first moment I learned about reincarnation, it felt like I had found part of the missing link.” Absolutely and it makes sense of all those previously unanswered questions as well as inviting responsibility in all we do.
I can relate to so much here, having grown up raised in a religion which spoke words but the actions did not match. And so many of us know innately that what we see as religion is not true, and hence our cringe with it. In the last few years since my exposure to Universal Medicine and my understanding that true religion is my relationship with God, with myself and that it’s not about rules or regulations I’ve now come to a place where I can say I’m religious and now cringe and that is something I would have sworn blind a few years back I would never say.
‘It turns out that I am Religious after all!’ I love this title, there’s such joy in realising that we have had a relationship with God all along 🙂
I am also religious Eleanor. I would never have thought in a million years I would say I was ‘religious’, but then I didn’t know I was going to discover The Way of the Livingness – a true religion that has become an incredible journey and reconnection back to God, love, brotherhood, truth, wisdom, science, philosophy… and so much more.
True meaning of religion, ‘The Way of the Livingness – a true religion that has become an incredible journey and reconnection back to God, love, brotherhood, truth, wisdom, science, philosophy… and so much more.’
Eleanor what you have shared here is common amongst most people’s beliefs about religion. You either fit into something or you don’t. And when you do, the rules are ridiculous and when you don’t then you are labelled.
Religion has caused many disturbances around the world, thinking one is superior then the other when the reality is we are all equal or the same, just hidden by the colour of our skins, the countries we were born in and the list could go on.
To me true religion is seeing everyone as equal, no impositions, no right or wrongs, it just is.
When we allow ourselves to feel how there are no such things as ‘coincidences’ or ‘luck’ and realise that there is a Divine influence to everything that occurs in our lives, we will begin to feel more that same Divinity within us by connecting to the source of this magic.
We tend to think that religion is the world of the unseen and this is partially true. The challenge is not only to be able to see the unseen. It is also to be able to see when someone is truly religious and read this from movements.
This is something that we do have to practice… Simply speaking about our love of, and the truth of, religion. The more we do this, the more we break down the old images, concepts and pictures that we have had about this word, that has stopped us experiencing the truth of it.
This is so similar to my experience it could have come form my own hand. So bastardised is Religion that we search in all the far places and feel into all the created lies, feeling disheartened that this is all that is on offer. Come true Religion in our lives and we may take a while to take the steps back to what was with us all along.
When Serge Benhayon shares the true meaning of the word ‘religion’ it all makes sense. To reconnect to your inner-heart and to the essence of your being, you reconnect to God and this is equal in all humanity.
This makes sense, and this I embrace, ‘To reconnect to your inner-heart and to the essence of your being, you reconnect to God and this is equal in all humanity.’
Re-imprinting our relationship with God and religion, realising that it’s not about ideals and beliefs, but the relationship we have with ourselves and others.
One of the most liberating experiences that we can have, is to rediscover the energetic truth of the word religion.
I love the equality of true religion. I have taken this and brought it into my life and it is one of the most important teachings of my life. That we are all equal. After years of putting myself above or below people at varying stages, it is so freeing to let go of that, and to know and live that we are all equal.
When we understand that absolutely everything in life is constellated in order for us to evolve, we cannot see even the smallest incident as a coincidence as in truth it is an opportunity to fine-tune and let go that, which is not from love.
There is so much more to life than what is currently seen, ‘ I always knew there was something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science.’
A beautiful re-claiming of the truth within. How simple this is – we are naturally religious and living the true meaning of the word religion in The Way of The Livingness.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that”.
The word religion has put so many people off, when they in fact think that the organised or institutionalised religions of today are it. Learning the true definition – returning to the Latin – as meaning to re-bind or reconnect – transformed my take on the word. Despite knowing about God and also knowing that such organised religions made me cringe and not want to belong, I can now embrace the word religion in its full meaning – and joyfully so.
Organised religions made me want to run far and wide from them, such hypocrisy was, is rampant.
Religion never made sense to me until I started to understand it’s true meaning – thanks to Serge Benhayon. I now know and feel that I am religious and feel a growing a deepening relationship with God that is exquisitely humbling.
Its wonderful isn’t it … “ Hey … I’m religious “ … talk about humanity claiming back a word that has been corrupted and then re-ignited.
Rather be spiritual than religious – I can so relate to that. Somehow I had this belief that being spiritual meant I was declaring my interest in what is beyond the physicality of this world without being a follower or bound by any dogma, therefore better/superior than being ‘religious’. Obviously I didn’t know what these words actually represented in truth. Amazing how much influence the bastardisation of words has over our making choices, and how damaging that truly is. It is stunningly beautiful to be reunited with the true meaning of the word religion/religious which simply means my reconnection to the All.
It is atrocious that the true meaning of many words have been bastardised, ‘Amazing how much influence the bastardisation of words has over our making choices, and how damaging that truly is.’
Serge Benhayon’s way of living is truly religious on every level. It is deeply inspiring to watch Serge live and move in a way that allows you to feel what true religion is all about, his powerful reflection supported me to re-connect back to God – something I am forever grateful for.
It is very beautiful to have a real true life living example of what true religion is.
Redefining what religion actually is the most precious gift that Serge Benhayon has brought to humanity, and when the veil of disconnection is lifted from humanity’s eyes this will be recognised
We are all deeply religious (in the true meaning of this word). Yet, we establish a different relationship with ‘religion’. While the word religion truly invites us to be open to everything and deeply connected to ourselves, ‘religion’ invites us to restrict ourselves and our field of choices and to disconnect from ourselves because otherwise you would not choose what you choose. The world of free will….
As far as I remember, I’ve always been a religious person. Along my life no religion truly made sense to me until I knew about The Way of the Livingness. Its simplicity and deep respect for my individuality, brought me naturally to connect with brotherhood and greater realisations about God and life. No other religion has ever allowed me to have this freedom and love for humanity. And this is what true religion always meant for me; no rules, beliefs or impositions, just Love and equalness.
Imagine a world that has come to the point where you can get a degree in something that is simply meant to be the living essence of God
It is interesting that in the UK now they have introduced apprenticeships alongside University placements as an alternative way of further education and learning a trade. I am not sure how popular this scheme is but I do know that a lot of people I know who love their work are people that have not had a University Education. One young man I know dropped out of University and went to work in a man’s clothes shop much to the disappointment of his parents. He really enjoyed this work but after a few years changed direction and started working for another firm and became a Financial Advisor, and he now loves that. When we stay true to ourselves we feel the call of the work we need to do at whatever level we are at.
I love how beautifully you summed up being religious Eleanor, true religion is so simple, where we deeply connecting to our inner hearts, living and holding each other in this love and equalness. The reflection to humanity of living this loving way is far reaching.
I always knew that there was something more going on “out there” in the universe and related to movies like Star Wars, much more than I did the bible, so it cracked me up when you wrote about that! I was also a cringer when it came to Religion. The way “God” was painted in most of the Religions I knew of, felt like rubbish, it reminded me of people that believed in Santa Clause, a fantasy that made no sense, I mean how did he fit through the chimney when he was so fat? Anyway, that another blog…Getting back to my new understanding of Religion, now, I know that being truly Religious is about a deep connection with yourself that then expands out to everything that surrounds you, including God. I can also concur after a life of disassociation, it turns out, I am Religious after all too!
I too had the same reactions to the word religion at first but when it was presented as a relationship with life, people, ourselves and everything around us- this made total sense to me and was the first religion I could fully accept.
We all have a relationship with God whether we like it or not. Some choose to deny it, others choose to strengthen it… and the latter has been a wonderful path to live these last few years.
Like you Eleanor I too used to cringe at the word religion – more because I realised it is what you do out of church in your daily living way and the quality of truth and love that you bring to all that you do that really matters and brings your life alive.
The simplicity of true religion offers loving holding always.
Religion as is conventionally portrayed is something one ‘goes to’ or is imposed upon one. It is external of oneself. True religion, as you share Eleanor, is already within us. It has always been with us – it is living and expressing who we truly are.
It’s interesting how often I write things off as a coincidence even though, I actually don’t believe in coincidences. I think that’s a way for me to not accept that there is a lot more going on in this life for example, when meeting people for the (seemingly) first time and feeling like I’ve known them for ever. There has to be so much more in that, there has to have been another life we shared together, how else can it be explained? Sure, we can say that perhaps we just have a strong connection and that’s that, but that feels obvious to me…it has to be more than just that, where did the connection come from then?
Gorgeous Eleanor and yes me too. I now understand the religion is simply about my relationship with living in connection to who I am, my Soul, as I move through the universe through which I am aware of the interconnectedness, the oneness of God that I and we are all equally part of and held in. This is our natural way of being and the more we surrender to this the deeper our understanding is that true religion is about living in union with the divine love that we truly and Soulfully are, with All.
Recognising that there is more going on in life – like those ‘coincidences’ that happen, and yet feeling a recoil to the word ‘religious’ and anything associated with this word can make one feel at a bit at a loss, but then understanding the true meaning of the word ‘religion’ as that which is re-connecting, re-binding and returning to, you realise that it is about coming home, back to within yourself, to knowing and trusting that feeling and quality of you within. This quality that never leaves you only we have been enticed to look outside of ourselves to find ‘it’ what was always with us.
True meaning of religion is simple and quite gorgeous, ‘ the true meaning of the word ‘religion’ as that which is re-connecting, re-binding and returning to, you realise that it is about coming home, back to within yourself, to knowing and trusting that feeling and quality of you within.’
Thank you Eleanor for these gorgeous words that serve to reinstate the truth about religion. Religion is what reconnects us all in this great jigsaw puzzle of life. It is not owned by anyone nor does it have any creeds or doctrines that seek to isolate one person, ideology or belief from any other. It is re-union in the truest sense. One with All and All with One.
It is so freeing to reclaim the true meaning of religion and to feel the love of God that flows through us all.
It is so true, everything does happen for a reason. We are part of a magnificent order that both science and religion can agree on.
Loved what you have shared Eleanor, with a very clear understanding of what true religion really is. I was so called religious all my life but that religion was a hard taskmaster. Knowing the truth of what true religion really is is so liberating, no rules and regulations no divisions, no one to try to convert, just a simple loving relation with myself from my essence holding others as equal in this quality, realising that all I say and do has an effect on all mankind.
Remembering my experiences of religion at a young age – there were a lot of men in long frocks who seemed kindly but felt lacking in some truth – like they were playing a part in a play, a role that they could perform but somehow even they knew they weren’t quite hitting the mark, but everyone pretended and went along with it – these were not the words I would have used at 5 but nonetheless this was apparent to me. Hence no pull to join these organisations. But yet sometimes in the world you would meet a person who genuinely lived love irrespective of whether they belonged to an organised religion or not – so we know there is a truth that we resonate with, that uplifts and inspires us to connect to that same truth within ourselves. Serge Benhayon is one who lives that steady reflection of truth and love and true service.
He certainly does, ‘Serge Benhayon is one who lives that steady reflection of truth and love and true service.’
I now see that being religious is found in our living way and how we move, express and love is the beating heart that sets true religion on fire.
I think we all know there is some greater power in the Universe, its just that man has done such a good job of forming his own opinions on what this might be and then tries to push this on others to the point of violence and atrocities, without really feeling what the truth of the matter is.
As a child I often pondered on the true meaning of life, asking many questions within and occasionally having the courage to discuss things usually with another my parents had asked to look after me and my brother when we were young. I knew back then and I know today that there was so much more to life than eating pizzas and partying; without true purpose what was the point? It wasn’t until I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine reflecting to me what life was truly about did I get the confirmation I had been looking for; that there was another way to be and live and that it was down to me and my relationship to myself to live it, taking responsibility for everything that happened to me to the best of my ability.
Having a true relationship with yourself and with God every second of everyday is one that I continually work on letting in. Breaking down old beliefs that I have held from previous religions that have created him to be this God out side of you that you look up to. Being able to feel the Love that God is inside of me and know that by every movement I am with him or fighting against him I realise it is my responsibility to have this relationship or not.
I also never thought I was religious but that’s mostly because I never saw real role models reflecting what religion is truly about.
Funny how we all actually are religious – some can be religious with chocolate and some can be religious with having a beer…Religion is essentially our relationship with something small…or big…
Interesting comment, I had not thought of what you share before.
The way you have so beautifully and clearly explained the meaning of religion indicates your deep connect and understanding of this word, and it comes from your Livingness.
I love reading your blog again Eleanor. It reminds me of what true religion is and gives me a better understanding as to why I too reacted to the word ‘religion’ prior to hearing Serge Benhayon present what this means to him. You have inspired me to claim that I too I am religious without worrying about other people’s reactions. To be able to now say I am reglious with steadiness and purpose feels amazing.
The word ‘religion’ is now so bastardised that it has come to represent specific pictures and images of ways of being based on doctrines and stipulations that are anything but about holding all in true equality or accepting another’s right to free will and choice. So we have a situation where some people align to one camp or another and point fingers or weapons at each other and where the rest are so disenfranchised with the pictures that they steer well clear of any exploration into the true meaning of the word.
Religion is all about relationship, with myself, with others and with God and lets face it, we all want to be in relationships hence why religion is natural to us. The problem is we have bastardised what religion is so the first step is to understand what true religion is.
So true Elizabeth, prior to Universal Medicine when I heard the word ‘religion’ I immediately have images of separation in people, corruption, greed, murder, domination, and the list goes on. But now I understand its true meaning, I too am religious and like you shared the true meaning of is very natural to us.
Agree Elizabeth and to the extent that it replies many well-meaning people to think they aren’t connected to everything you have written.
Relationship with self, with others, and with God is natural for us, therefor true religion is also natural for us.
I have always been fascinated by religion, how we are with it and how we live with it. I am blown away by the fact that the majority of the people in the world either have a belief or a knowing of God. I have always thought that there must be something in this religion business. I was raised in a family that is Catholic and I know how important this is to parts of my family and this is no different for other people who subscribed to other faiths. But it’s what we do in the name of religion that does not sit comfortably at all. How women are treated, how we may think someone from another religion is less than another, how we think one religion is evil.
Serge Benhayon’s presentation on religion and the Ageless Wisdom has opened that right up for me and brought a great deal of understanding. I love understanding that religion is my relationship to life and the daily life that I live. It’s growing my relationship with God, which opens and deepens the more honest I am with myself and every action with myself is more and more self caring. I love learning that there is no punishment in a religious way. There is the learning from the refection that life brings and this is always constant. But if I go into judgment of this then I have missed the learning. But God is God and will keep showing me what I need to learn. The rest is up to me.
When I was brought up catholic and realised that it wasn’t for me and looked around at what was on offer all religions didn’t feel right for me. I knew that God was in me and that was all that mattered but never really understood the science of it all. Once I met Serge Benhayon and the Ageless Wisdom teachings as presented by Universal Medicine I came to a much deeper understanding and appreciation of my religion and that it is my relationship in feeling and living with my Divine expression as a son of God.
We are all deep down religious beings that respect and love each other as you have described Eleanor, Only through hurt and bigotry could we distort the words of god to be separative, exclusive, controlling, fearful, or being an opponent.
‘I feel that being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself, and with that, developing rhythms in life that are more self-loving and nurturing.’ I have embraced being religious after a long time denying it and the understandings I’ve received in how being religious, a deep connection back to God, within us have hugely supported me in that. Reading here today Eleanor, you’re added another layer of understanding for me that it’s about about my personal relationship with me, of course, I am from God, of God, so why would I be excluded; I can feel how this supports in taking religiousness deeper in how I am.
I love what you have shared Eleanor in your article, I did belong to a religion one that sets us apart from each other with very little truth in it compared to the true meaning of religion that I have now found as your words here express. “There is never any judgement in true religion; nor are there rules or anyone telling you what to do. There is no one person above another and even God sees us as His absolute, equal Sons. “
This is a beautiful and true way to share what religion now means to you – about deepening relationships – wow what a contrast to how we have put our spin on them today. I suppose for me religion is stronger in my actions than my words – ie because there is such a hazy interpretation of religion, I am more inclined to go out and live The Way of the Livingness and if people notice, cool. If they don’t notice, cool.
I still have a little hesitancy in my saying I am religious to others that have the dictionary meaning of religion, not The Way of The Livingness meaning of the word, but the more I live it the less awkward I feel. I look forward to the day when I share that I am religious with the authority that is possible.
If the true meaning of the word religion is to re-connect, then all we have to do is to choose to do this and we are religious, as in the re-connection we are not just re-connecting with ourselves but also with God.
Absolutely Rebecca, keeps it simple, re-connection; re-connecting with ourselves, and also with God.
No-one ever cringes from religion; it is only what organizations have done in the name of religion that we cringe from. Religion, I have come to see through the teachings of Universal Medicine is just about my relationships – with myself, with others, with nature and with God. I am all for having a relationship with all of those.
I now feel what religion truly means and it is a feeling of living, moving and connecting interconnected to all from our essence within.
UniMed Living is a great place to have the truth of the word ‘Religion’ shared,
https://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-religion.html
It is funny how many of us have a reaction to the word Religion; I did as well when Serge Benhayon first spoke about it because I had been bought up in the Catholic Religion where I could feel there was nothing true or loving about this Religion. The Way of The Livingness completely changed that for me, because this is a true Religion in every way, shape and form, that is based on love, truth and brotherhood. So saying ‘I am Religious’ feels completely different now and has no weirdness about it, and people can feel that as well because you are living it everyday.
There is such a simplicity to The Way of the Livingness. For me it’s not about beliefs but in fact discarding beliefs; we are all equal by virtue of our inner heart so there is no complication from segregation or division; and, it’s not about someone telling you who or what God or religion is (or how to live) because that comes from your own inner stillness. And finally, it’s about love that starts with self love, and eventually becomes the spherical love that beholds all equally with no imposition. The simplicity for me is that there is no outer knowledge or outer human authority, but one’s own inner connection. It’s a religion that is from the inside out, not the outer world back in. It places everyone as equal Sons of God and it absolutely beautiful to live this way.
What you’ve shared resonates completely with me Eleanor and your statement “I can fully claim the fact that I am actually religious” is exactly so for me too. For many of the same reasons I had rejected ‘being religious’ but really all I rejected was what the current accepted forms religion came in. As soon as I heard Serge Benhayon describe what religion actually was, I knew I was already that…. and have been able to embrace it increasingly ever since the more I let go the false ideas I had taken on over the years about what it was not.
I love the title of your blog Eleanor. It has such a ‘welcome home’ sense to it that I really resonate with. Resisting religion based on all you’re offered from what goes on around you seemed like a reasonable choice. And I agree choosing spiritual seemed to be the only other option. However once Serge Benhayon opened up the true meaning of what it means to live a truly religious life, plus the understanding of the origins of the word it opened up the space in me to embrace the quality and essence that has always been there and appreciate that I too am religious and wouldn’t be any other way.
Eleanor, thank you for this frank and simple exploration of religion and what it has meant and means for you. “As well as the quality of the relationships I have with people I meet, I feel that being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself,” – this is spot on, and amongst many other gems you have said in this blog, this one stands out to me as a the core of our relationships with everyone, including God.
Love how you say ‘Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me’ Eleanor.
It brings religion back to a living connection that we all have .
Reincarnation makes so much sense, responsible recycling. 🙂
Reincarnation was something that I had heard about but came with a lot of confusion because I could not see how someone could come back as a bug or an ant, so it was not until I attended a Universal Medicine courses that things were explained in a way that made sense, and there was no part of me that rejected what was presented.
Hello Eleanor and I wonder if this is what has kept most people away, “I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.” From what I see there are those who don’t want anything to do with religion and then there are those that want to be in a religion and have to accept whatever else they dish out. From the media articles I have read of late the catholic religion appears to be a religion where people accept being a part while also having to accept in some way a number of it’s community leaders being charged or embroiled in allegations of pedophilia. What possibly leads many to ‘not believing’ are things like this, where they see a religion not delivering what it’s saying and in fact harming more then healing. What if we don’t and haven’t seen truly what religion is about and now the term is simply being used in relation to things that are almost the opposite of what is true? I know that would turn me off it for sure. It’s great to see a bit a freshness when it comes to religion, to open up to what feels like a great way to approach it. After all religion appears as though it was never meant to be complicated and so simply “being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself”.
I love how simple and straight forward my sense of religion has become. I love how we are able to feel there is so much more than what we are told, and we are on the way back to living together as one.
This is an amazing testimony that when the truth is placed in front of an open mind, then being truly religious is what all humanity is searching for.
What I love about this blog is that it highlights the fact that we all innately know what true religion is. It is nothing new. It is just that our entire physical experience of it has been anything but what we innately know it to be. And hence the fact that we have settled for re-defining the meaning of it to be in line with our experiences. Serge Benhayon is no one special. He is someone who just has committed in full to honouring the truth of what we all innately know and hence bringing that back to all.
Spot on Joshua – religion is something we all know deep within, and so part of Serge’s ‘job’ so to speak has been to remind us of what we already know but have long forgotten – true aspects of religion, and living this every day. Thank God for Serge Benhayon and his eternal patience in allowing us the time to ‘get it’ and remember again.
I can relate to the mere mention of the word religion or God of any flavour I would also cringe. My only foray into a religious building for years was to photograph weddings. Attending all of the differnet ceremony’s gave me a unique view of lots of different ways of saying ‘I do’. I became cynical about religion as I grew older with the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ dogmas they were presenting. The exposers of religious originations with the paedophile exposers, corrupt management of funds and the list goes on. Finding the true meaning of being religious, now makes sense. God is within all of us all of the time and has always been there!
“There is never any judgement in true religion” – and here endeth all the world’s conflicts.
This blog exposes so simply the madness of the world’s current religions. If any child were to read this blog it would make a zillion times more sense to them than the versions of religion that most are served up by their schools, parents or local religious leaders. It’s impossible to deny the simple truths within this blog.
When I was in school I didn’t need to take religious classes and loved having the time off during the day. I went to one or two classes but did not like what I heard and was glad I had a choice.
I love what you have written about being religious. Everything that I have ever been drawn to in any religion has been when it has inspired living with greater love, harmony, care, appreciation and responsibility. It simply does not make sense to have a whole lot of empty words and doctrines that do not get reflected in people’s lives. True religion is expressed in how we live.
Recently I was invited to a chapel service to mark a special occasion. Sitting in the chapel I noticed some familiar feelings from my childhood returning, getting restless and bored, getting distracted by the intricacies of the building. I could feel myself diminishing in a few ways in this mostly male environment. The service was to mark an occasion and for some it was an emotional time. Rather than being distracted by the ceremony and rituals I looked around me at the people. I could see in that moment that nothing is greater that our light, our ability to connect with another to see the beauty within and the magnificence of their souls.
When I read religion like this it makes sense. It makes sense that religion in its true meaning means relationship with, When I think about my own life I am very religious and yet have shied away from that word. It shouldn’t necessarily be associated with any institution but rather a way of life.
Eleanor, I love what you are sharing here about true religion, ‘It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.’ this feels so true and so very different to how other religions that I have experienced in the past seem to be, they never really made sense to me, they always seemed rather complicated and old – they didn’t seem to change, The Way of The Livingness religion evolves and is super simple and makes sense.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.”
Thanks for presenting the true definition of religion. I am religious after all.
Religion has been bastardised and misused for the purpose of dividing us further. While the truth is all about connection and relationship… how far have we gone away if this is what is happening. It beautiful and confronting and the same time to observe this and feel that this is what we have chosen too, but know can change by choice. Living the love that we are.
“Being religious is in the way I live…” How true Eleanor, recently I have come to feel this within my whole being and what it has done is taken away any shame that I have had about about saying that I am religious. It was as though this feeling needed to drop into my consciousness so that it could become my way of being.
When I look at the religions around the world and what they represent it is no wonder I have pulled away and not wanted anything to do with them. All I have seen is hypocrisy, righteousness, abuse on other religions and much more – nothing to what I know true religion to be. Once I heard Universal Medicine share what the real meaning of what religion meant then I started to let go of my barriers of defence and open up and feel my body come alive with the truth. My relationship with God is pure and divine and when I connect to this and share this with others by living our innate impulse. It feels magical.
It was the reincarnation thing that also made so much sense to me as well, as far back as I can remember, I don’t know why but it always felt right. But not coming back as an animal or insect or something, just another life to try and get it right this time around. The thought of an ever loving God sending you to the lake of fire for eternity for not getting it right in one go over seventy or eighty years just seems a little too harsh.
Eleanor what I have come to start to appreciate is that my religion, my connection to myself and the way I choose to live is one of the most precious things in the world. Like a new born baby it is to be nurtured, treasured and allowed to grow and deepen in its full glory. I am deeply appreciative to be able to be exploring my religion without the negative context I grew up having.
The religion you describe here is one that I can absolutely say I can connect with too; beautiful in its simplicity, richness and honouring of all.
I feel religious, this is a statement that I would not have said 10 or 15 years ago, I can feel the connection the rebinding with what is already known, this is it for me. I live a life religiously through this exploration.
The joy of finding true religion from a knowing inside ourselves with God is beautiful immense and makes all the difference to living life from this fullness and inner knowing connection. I love your sharing of your journey to The Way of The Livingness as the knowing of true religion being the way we live inclusively of all, with no judgment only love and responsibility.
I found it very embarrassing to admit that I am religious, at least in the beginning. Once I lived the fact that true religion is truth and love without any belief in something that is impossible or unknowable, being religious became very joyful and the corruption of the word religion became less important.
I loved it when Serge Benhayon presented that religion is about our relationship with ourselves, each other and life. I finally could fully claim I was religious as this definition of it is the only one that has resonated deeply with me so far and that made complete sense to me. It is the only definition I have come across, that is truly inclusive of all of humanity and not separative or divisive.
Turns out that I am religious too Eleanor. When religion is defined as being “…in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me,” then I am absolutely religious. And as you say, this is a forever unfolding relationship.
There is something inherently simple about religion when presented as a way of living in connection to and respect of our own innate connection to all that is divine and universal. There are no confessions, trials, proving yourself in the eyes of others, simply the responsibility we take in our moment by moment choices for that connection.
A beautiful imprint Eleanor of the lived and breathed experience of religion – The Way of The Livingness – “as it is above, so it is to be below”
I used to wonder what it was like to feel my ‘true self’… never having a marker for that in my body. Then one day I woke up with the most glorious, delicate feeling inside of me – I was connected to my essence, and I vowed to never disregard or allow abuse into by body any more, this feeling so was tender that I was afraid that I would lose it. The reality is that we cannot lose it, it is us that disconnect from it and like you say Eleanor, there is no perfection and through religiously building that connection with ourselves we can connect to our essence at any time, and that is when life flows with harmony and so called co-incidences support us along the way.
Yes, that feeling is a complete life changer as from that moment on we know and it then becomes very clear what to do – deal with all that is not this glorious.
Reincarnation is one that totally confirmed what I knew already, it was so awesome to hear the truth of what Serge Benhayon was presenting and that all these things that I was lead to believe, and yes there was a part of me that choose to believe this so I didn’t have to be responsible for the way I was living. This constant reminder that everything is everything and that what I choose has a ripple effect every where. This is one that I keep having to remind myself and keep claiming the Love that I am in all that I do – Viva Religion.
Through these insights I am receiving a completely different take on Religion and it makes sense.
I grew up in a religious family and in my adult life, I have spent most of it shying away from or using the word religion. Yet recently it has dawned on me that I am deeply religious. This religious way of living is what I have since discovered is a true religion, not based on anything outside of myself but based on the love that I develop for myself first and through that love I then develop the love with all others. And what is God’s role in all of this? God is my relationship with space. When I live in space opposed to time, I know who God is. He isn’t anything outside of myself, but I am part of Him, I am living in his body.
Love the title, I can relate to it….”Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me,” I used to get very resistant to the word religion, in honesty I felt hurt and suspicious…I had not lived with religion as I grew up. For me I now claim religion in my life, it is life, it is relationships.
“It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can” I love this definition of religion Eleanor. To be our true self we need to reconnect to the truth within us, which is found in our divine essence within.
Yes, Eleanor, if we dig our heads out of the sand we cannot help but notice the forces at play in life that create so-called coincidences, the unseen but very powerful energetic constellations that constantly influence all of life due to living within the one body of God and the universe.
Universal Medicine is of great service, when we workshop all these bastardised words and meanings that are hidden and/or obvious in our languages. Connecting back to the original meaning of religion supported me in coming back to who I truly am.
It is so freeing to my being that I can say I am religious as that is what I am; a religious person reconnecting to the divinity that is within me and is part of the all, the universe and God.
I grew up in a religious family and there was a lot said and recited in mass but outside of those walls not much that was asked to be reflected on or truly lived in every moment of your life. To be religious meant to be dedicated in doing things for others but there was never any talk about the quality or intention of this and whether it was from having developed love in your body and holding all others as equals not someone who needed saving.
Imagine if we were all born into a world where we were held and given unto a book of lessons for life, that illustrated the underlying facts of life. What would it be like if we all grew up knowing we are equal? What would it be like if from a child we knew each action and thing we did had a consequence and deeper reason? What you say here Elanor makes it clear to me that we actually already do have this book – the bible of our inner heart. So we all know chapter and verse this Loving reality, whether we have chosen to skim read or tried ro rip these pages out.
Religion is my connection to the ALL. Previous to meeting Serge Benhayon, religion was about beliefs and ideals for me. The focus was heavily invested in temporal life with the guise of being universal. There is no right or wrong in universal truth. What a liberation to know and to feel myself as part of the whole and to understand the temporal life from this ‘space’ – pun noticed! Serge Benhayon has shone the light on truth and exposed what is not true. A true servant of God – truly religious.
I can really relate to what you experienced when young and the confusion it caused inside of me – never trusting myself to be enough. Now that I have been encouraged to trust myself the turmoil has subsided and been replaced with a knowing that what I am feeling is the true way – The Way of The Livingness.
I have always associated religion as being something that I do and I then have to follow rules in order to belong.But now like you Eleanor, I know it is about a deeper connection to me and then how i express to others in the world. It is about how I live from my body and the love that I express for myself and others.
The title of this blog makes me smile. We could be spending life time trying to avoid the word and its very notion of being religious because of whatever it brings up to us, then we eventually come to realise, accept and surrender to the fact that the only thing we have always ever wanted is actually in resurrecting what that word truly represents. How beautiful.
I was caught up in Religion for a large part of my life with the doing good and being good adhering to the rules and wanting to save others. I shudder when I read this, but I now feel a deep sense of appreciation and love that I have come to understand, The Way of the Livingness as my true way of religion, no imposing, no rules, equalness for all, and a love for myself and all others, that emanates from my connection to my inner heart.
To be religious is a question that might arise confusion or suspicion in people, but perhaps what is most important is what you share Eleanor about how we view others, no religion should ever think anyone lesser or greater based on their belief, that just cannot be a religious way.
Thank you Diane – there is true religion and then there is a bastardised form of religion. True religion which is a relationship with your self and your innate divinity is one I have learned I cannot continue to ignore, otherwise I automatically opt for the bastardised form of religion which in turn, just does not sit right with me. True religion is very beautiful and all-encompassing, it asks of you to be more responsible but in return opens up so much more for you.
In the past, because of the way we have created religions, I know I have rejected what I now accept as a natural religiousness in me. It never made sense how much our current religions divide us. My relationship with me and my willingness to explore The Way of The Livingness has brought me home to my natural religiousness which is an ongoing and inspiring development.
I am having to really appreciate the difference I feel towards the word religion today than 5 years or even 2 years ago, there is still a whole depth to religion that I am yet to really feel and make part of my day yet at least I now know the truth and feel the will to fully embrace being religious.
Deeply appreciating this line Eleanor: :I certainly felt older than my actual age…” in your reference to the ‘absolute sense’ that reincarnation makes to all of life.
How limited we are, by dogma that refuses to acknowledge the truth of reincarnation (even ‘removing’ reference to it from key ‘religious texts’ in times gone by)… And how great is this process that allows us the grace and framework for every lesson we must master, in order to walk back to who we truly are, and not stop there, but thereafter serve others on the same path.
This is something I always knew was the truth also. And boy, did I always feel older than my age! From very, very young! Took a bit for people to listen to what I had to say seriously, from that little growing being that I was…
How deeply refreshing, to return to a relationship with ‘religion’ where “It is simply about being my true self…” If our world knew true religion from birth, this would define everything in our lives – how we are with each other, how we raise our children, our systems, education, our every expression…
I too have reclaimed the word ‘religion’ Eleanor, to be about something so simple yet profound in its essence – my relationship with God, the essence of me (that is of Him), and all that is. In this, we breathe who we are once more, and cannot but loosen the tethers and strangleholds of the falsity portraying itself under the banner of ‘religion’ that stifles our societies at such deep levels… A beautiful blog and sharing, thank-you.
Religion always used to mean the same as organised religion to me, and it seemed that if you believed in god then you had to be a part of one of those. So I chose to believe in the ‘divine’ or the ‘Great Spirit’ as a way to try and avoid the whole religion thing. I too gained a new found respect for what religion truly means through Serge Benhayon and his presentation of The Way of The Livingness, and the realisation that religious is what I am and would not ever say that I am anything but that!
When religion becomes about acknowledging the divine within it is surprisingly easy to feel a deep tenderness and sense of stillness and joy in my body. In that sense of connection the knowing of God feels personal and intimate and as if it has always been there.
All of my life I had observed how people have used the banner of religion to abuse, kill, segregate, dominate and exercise supremacy over one another. Or in the other extreme advocate washing you hands off from living as part of society. Yet none of this felt true in my heart. I have witnessed how many try to wield power over others by casting confusion over our natural relationship with divinity and then assuming a superior position by pretending to have a ‘better’ relationship. The Way of The Livingness has been a real gift in such a climate. It has brought great healing, return of trust, empowerment and an end to the confusion and agitation within me related to religion. I now smile with every pore in my body as I know once again that true religion IS and always has been consistent with what is in my heart.
It seems that once there is understanding of the real meaning of ‘religion’, that it is almost impossible not to consider oneself as being religious… Just highlights how much distortion and energy there is created around the everyday use of the word ‘religion’ that attempts to recoil one from reconnecting to the essence of its original meaning.
Beautifully and wisely expressed Johanne. It is amazing when a word is misinterpreted as much as the word religion has been, it leads to significant misunderstanding and confusion about its true meaning and purpose.
Knowing that there is no perfection, and that being religious means re-aligning to who we truly are through a life dedicated to self-care, service to humanity and re-connection to our bodies is certainly the way to go for me, and so it turns out that I am religious too and loving every minute of it, even the bits that are exposing and confronting, because it takes work to undo all the ill choices that I have made over aeons, so thank goodness for the opportunity and the wisdom that The Way of The Livingness presents.
The more I travel through life it confirms the fact there are really no coincidences or accidents. We are given everything to support us to evolve, and I am appreciating the divine order at play.
The phrase, ‘being religious’, is so weighted with ideals, beliefs and images about what that actually means, so for many people they choose not to express how they feel about God, life, death, the Universe and so forth because those around them are guaranteed to have their own perception of what ‘religious’ means rather than listening in full to what that person feels themselves.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.” Beautifully said and I feel the same too, and knowing Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine has allowed me to claim my true religion with a knowing of this for myself.
The Way of The Livingness is not a religion based upon a set of rules and beliefs that ones wears like a coat that you can put on or take off as you wish but a way of being, as its name says – it is how you live and how you live is your religion
The shame and awkwardness that I used to have about Religion has totally dissipated and when I was younger I had a sense of arrogance in the way I would say I am my own God. Now today with the incredible support of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon I feel that absoluteness in knowing I have a direct relationship with God which in turn means a direct relationship with all and at the same level of intimacy. To choose to live this Love and connection then becomes something that is of serious importance because everyone deserves nothing less than this Love.
Re-incarnation allows us to make sense of life and deems us responsible for our choices and actions. I could never get my head around being told that we lived, then we died and we either went to heaven or hell. When I heard about re-incarnation my whole body felt a resounding yes, this makes sense.
Mary-Louise, I had the same feelings about the fact we lived, died and went to heaven or hell. It did not make sense to me even as a child, it was like there had to be more. Unlike you however it took me some time to embrace re-incarnation, perhaps because the stories of coming back as grasshopper put me off.. but once I had been presented the truth about re-incarnation, like you my body was at ease and in agreement with it.
I love the heading and can relate very much to it. I grew up in a non-religious family. One year I had to fight to go to Sunday school when I was young as I was curious. I read the bible at age 17 out of the same curiosity as well as looking into Buddhism and having a general interest in others religion and why people believed what they did. But none of it felt right and I considered myself non-religious. In recent years I have been realising I am deeply religious, it is only the bastardisation of the word religion that had me thrown.
I always knew God but found it hard saying I was religious because of all that it entails and means when you think about the many religions out there. I knew God but equally never felt you needed a church or somewhere to go to commune with him. So I was put off from religion. However, thanks to Serge Benhayon slowly but surely these barriers to saying I am religious have lifted. I know God as I always have and no belief or blind faith is necessary.
I love being religious. I relish in it, I cherish my religious way utterly and fully. It’s a deep communion that I have with my body and hence with universality, with my inner most knowing that is not of this place. The grandness we are and from and my daily living way to support me to connect me to this, is my religion. Accessed through my body cared for to the core because it is from it, when it is cherished and treated with Love, that I know God — His love within me and within the All.
It seems ridiculous that we should be scared of being or being seen to be religious. We are after all a spirit living in a body and we leave this body when we die. Where do we think we go? Religion is merely an attempt at making sense of this plane of existence that we all share. It invites a deeper awareness. Why are we so scared of that?
Eleanor it is such a great feeling to not react to words and not have a tension in the body when a word is said but a feeling of at easement. In the case of religion I had a real fight and tension with the word, it bought up separation, fear and corruption for me. It is a real blessing to now feel at ease with the word and this has all come through re-connecting to its true meaning and having that as part of my life.
If we allow ourselves to connect and feel more than what we can see with our eyes, we cannot help but be religious, because every particle in our bodies knows that we are a part of the rhythm and flow of something grand and magnificent. Staying in tune with the cycles in nature as well as within us is a truly religious way of life, because with every movement we are one with God.
Your blog shows so well what the harm is about reinterpretation of words from their true meaning. It can keep people from doing something that is very supportive to us like the meaning of religion.
“Being religious is about the relationship with myself.” This is a beautiful statement. If I look inside and observe my heart it shows me how I am treating myself. Religion starts for me in this communication between my heart and my head, where the heart is connected with my body and showing me how I am with myself, whereas the head wants to function and have his own will.
With the support of Universal Medicine I have been able to Joyfully accept that I do have a religion and relationship with God, one that is very strong and direct. In the past I would have run for the hills of any suggestion that I may be religious. Funny really because this bastardisation and re-interpretation of what religion is in the current form that represents religion is so close yet so far way from such a powerful, truthful, all encompassing Love that God is – ALL of the time.
I can really relate to what you have shared here, Eleanor. Religion always felt as though it was imposed on us from the outside with very little truthful connection to our innermost part but now I know that religion comes from within me and is how I live every day.
The truest religion is the one built on true love.
The true meaning of words should be a universally unifying way or religion that brings humanity together in a way that it is a Livingness. As I see it, religion as practiced today only causes separation.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me” Awesome statement Eleanor when you say it like this it is so simple and takes away all the unnecessary complication. Thank you.
And brings us the brilliant opportunity to take responsibility. Thank you, Eleanor and Samantha.
Can your religion change from day to day? I would say yes for me. Each day my view of the world changes, my awareness grows and so does my understanding. That is what I am here for, to development the quality I am, how I am with others and everything. So in this way my religion would be a part of that development and not remain stagnate or idealistic. I have a responsibility in how I am, the way I am and all of this is part of the religion that I am. I remember always thinking religion was just a place or a book but now through blogs and conversations like this I can see much more and hence my religion is much more.
I grew up in a religious family and religion to me was what I had experienced personally within the close encounters of friends, family and relatives. The biggest reaction I had of religion when I was young was I did not feel God in activities and behaviors of that which was meant to express God. I did not react towards God but towards the not so true expressions of God, because we are from God, we know God within our bodies.
What you have shared Adele adds so much to what has already been written in the blog. I love the fact that as being a religious person who knows it in my heart as part of my livingness, it cannot be shaken from me. This is the simplicity of the way of the Livingness which treats everyone as equal in brotherhood!
Each and every day I am being asked to live God, to live the religion that I know inside of me, that which never imposes, is understanding and respectful. And this cannot be lived to the depth that my body knows unless my body is nurtured and cared for with equal understanding and respect. And in times when I have left this care and have reacted, it is asking me to deepen my care even more to understand why and to see the opposite of my reaction, is actually the deepening of my own love. The path of religion is an every day Livingness, it is never perfect and always an exploration, but it is always breathing and deepening.
Understanding that to be religious is to do something religiously I realised that I was deeply religious as I commit to being more with me.
Whereas for most people in the western world, sadly so, religion brings up a negative connotation because of how the word itself has been raped and bastardised, I now cherish deeply the true meaning of religion, and know that I’m a deeply religious person. To be religious of one’s inner knowing, to have a religious relationship with one’s soul means that one has a forever deepening relationship with oneself and all of humanity. It is the most enriching way to live, there is not the empty and cold separation of life being one-dimensional without meaning, for we know we are part of a much bigger whole.
“To be religious of one’s inner knowing, to have a religious relationship with one’s soul means that one has a forever deepening relationship with oneself and all of humanity. It is the most enriching way to live, there is not the empty and cold separation of life being one-dimensional without meaning, for we know we are part of a much bigger whole.”
Such a beautiful explanation of religion Katerina. Thankyou.
As presented today by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine again and with even more depth of what it actually means our bodies, its particles are ‘religious’ as they know that they are belonging to the universe, ie. is being an equal part in the eternal interconnection of all there is. It seems it is just our awareness that needs to re-awake to the fact that we cannot avoid being religious.
It is quite an understanding to have that we are connected and that we are equal in that connection.
I have always been a big fan of the Star Wars movies as well as they resonated with me deeply in terms of my knowing that there was an energy or something much grander than physical life going on and that this could explain why things were as they were in the world. When Serge Benhayon started presenting ‘everything is energy, and everything is because of energy’ years ago, I was like of course it is, I have always known that!
Being religious for me is being in my body.
It is so amazing to be able to choose The Way of The Livingness and choose how to live in accordance with what my body is telling me, instead of having man made interpretations of the truth being shoveled all over me from the day I was born until I was old enough to shake it off.There is always guilt associated with most religions and the fear off being a sinner. I remember as a child just accepting that I was a sinner and that was the way I was born and I was going to have to something pretty dam good to avoid the fires of hell. In truth there is no hell.
My understanding is that equality is one main quality of religion and to understand that everybody is equal. Equality is asking for responsibility, otherwise we as humanity cannot act in an equal way. As soon we hide in our comfort, we cannot be equal.
I used to find religion a fraud because most people that I knew were hypocrites, they would and say one thing but act in another way. Once Serge shared what true religion was and even though it took a while for me to open up because I had so much scepticism when anyone mentioned the word God, when this all was let go of I got to really feel how God is everywhere, in all of us equally and that the Love that is available in connection with God is beyond our wildest dreams. So do I continue on this journey of self-discovery, returning to my innate essence and my relationship with God – ABSOLUTELY YES.
Most world religions have rituals and traditions dictating a way of life, but for me these somehow don’t relate to me as a person in connection to all. They make me feel separate from my own grace, beauty and power. This is neither a good or true feeling and so I could not align to any of them in full. The Way of The Livingness has gifted me a way of life that makes total sense and rings perfectly true with it’s mix of divine universality, practicality and evolutionary approaches.
I like this, that religion can be a way of life, not answerable to a dictated authority, but in fact very answerable to an incredible power – the love that lives inside of you.
It is a tragedy and a deliberate ploy to corrupt the word religion to such an extent that many develop a deep aversion to the notion, because they have been fed dogma, been abused, hurt, misled and controlled by the many false versions and wrong behaviour by those associated with insitutionalised religion. If we could revisit the truth of religion and what it means for us, we can redevelop our natural wonder, and our innate connection to all that we know deep within as truth.
I too never thought I was religious, only because I had a false ideal of what this meant. Since understanding that we are all sparks from God and that God resides with in each and every-one of us and that all we need to do is re-connect and surrender to our divinity, I now know my self as a deeply religious person.
I’ve also known from very young that there was more than could be explained and was explained to me. I also knew that it had to be the same for everyone. And I always knew that a body naturally ‘should’ not be hurting. But, I never put the pieces together. By meeting Serge Benhayon all the pieces came together and now I deeply understand that religion, relating, with me, within my body, is the foundation to live a joyful life in this world. A religion and relationship that forever expand. Simple science, wonderful science.
It is incredible how Religion as most of humanity know it is at the root of the many wars happening around the world. These wars bring disconnection, separation as well as loss of lives, homes and so much more, which is the complete opposite of what True Religion is about – re-connection. It is time to come back to all that we know to be true and stop dismissing where we All need to be returning to-Truth, God and Love.
The way religion is used puts so many people off. It is leaving us separate to the true religion that we all can live. Religion is bringing it back to the Relationship with our self, others and the Divine.
After hearing and participating in presentations shared by Serge Benhayon on what ‘true religion’ really is and means to us, it turns out I’m also religious.
The more I understand about what ‘true religion’ actually means in the way it translates into everyday life the more I appreciate I am already these qualities with in, and to the best of my ability live the essence of these qualities with responsibility knowing that what I do matters to everyone and everything around me. This to me is my true religion and as it happens there are plenty of us living our everyday lives in the same way, with the same intention, purpose, responsibility and integrity. If this all comes under the umbrella of being religious then I’m very ok with this.
The falseness of what religion has been made in basically every lineage hangs over us like fog and makes it difficult to feel free and re-connect to the very innate sense of religion that is underlying all our pursuits in no matter which aspect of life. Religion meaning re-binding with what we belong to but have turned away from at some point makes obvious the fact that we cannot but return and actually long for the reunion with what makes us whole.
Having been staunchly against religion, or more accurately, staunchly against much of what was perpetrated in the name of religion. I had quite a few problems with the word being introduced into The Way of The Livingness. However now, reading this blog for the second time, I feel how I love the word and it’s true meaning now – that I am a deeply religious person and have always been so. It’s beautiful to feel.
Religion in its true meaning of re-connecting is so simple and something that can be easily embraced. But the word has been misused by organisations that are anything but that and it has been bastardised so much, that lots of people today cringe and turn away from what they think religion is. This is to our own detriment as religion is what aligns and connects us back to our true essence and reminds us where we truly come from.
It’s easy to brush things off as being random or insignificant rather than tuning into what they may actually be reflecting to us – being open to the deeper reason they are occurring…
Beautiful Eleanor, ‘Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.’ Living religiously is the most natural thing.
‘ It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.’ You really nail it here. Religion is about love first and formost, love is our true nature.
I have always been open towards reincarnation, however it was not until having heard Serge Benhayon presenting on the topic that I fully understood what this means and how beautifully it is all designed for us to learn to take full responsibility for our choices and the way we lead our lives. Life is a classroom and we are all students.
And ultimately whatever we leave behind is what we are coming back to.
“I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.” Me neither until I heard Serge Benhayon present the real meaning of the word. And in true Serge style, nothing he presents is a theory, its all tried, tested and lived well before it is spoken and in re-claiming the true meaning of Religion Serge has empowered us to retrieve our true religious practice once more. This does not entail all the usual trimmings we have come to associate with Religion. True religion restores grace, clarity and wisdom in all we do, from cleaning the house to going to work, taking care of the kids or running a multi-national company. We can if we choose to bring the Love of God to all these things via our commitment to life, the quality of our breath, the delicacy of our movements and the depth of care with which we tenderly look after our selves and others.
Like you Eleanor I have always had an interest in religion, searching for something of meaning that would encapsulate the grander ‘all’ that I felt but didn’t understand. The religions I looked at all had something either familiar to me or some truth in them but then I got lost in the complication, the untruths or hypocrisy within them. What Serge Benhayon presented with the Way of The Livingness was exactly what I had been looking for. I could feel the truth of these teachings in every cell of my body and the words made sense. Even through my resistance at times I could feel what was being shared was truth for us all.
“Religion to me therefore equated power, money and some kind of separation from other people. It certainly never seemed to be all inclusive or about love.” I had similar feelings about religion Eleanor when I was younger, as there seemd to be so many contradictions about what was being said. For me there was an element that I was simply expected to accept what I was being told, which I did at surface level so as not to ‘rock the boat’ but deep inside I knew it didn’t feel right. So finding Serge Benhayon and discovering that true Religion was simply connecting to God by learning to connect to myself first has been an absolute revelation and joy.
How did we get from the true meaning of religion, which is the ‘inclusion of all’ to the currently held belief that religion is exclusive?
Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that. Simple and clear and beautifully shared.
It was clear to me that everything happened for a reason. Yes, it does, I absolutely agree on this.
I actually grew up in a ‘religious’ family and was put off religion I thought for good by the levels of hypocrisy, judgement, segregation and separation that were endemic in this institution. However I remember even then, feeling and knowing that there was still a lot of loving people in this organisation and in the world and that this was somehow unaffected by all this other stuff. I did not realise, until I heard Serge Benhayon present it, that this relationship with love can be a religion in itself that is free of any man-made rules, doctrines and discrimination, but is however obedient to the universal laws that hold all of life and the universe together in a harmonious whole. It is actually the one thing that unites and binds us all together as one human family.
Religion for me is about forever deepening my relationship with myself and my relationship with life and with the magnificent Universal order that surrounds us constantly, that you have described in your blog Eleanor.
For most of my life the religion that I witnessed around me did not inspire me, many of the words and stories were amazing and profound but I never saw this come to life, they remained words in a book, unrepresented by what I saw out in the world. Often I would attend the Christmas service in the church, I enjoyed the candles, the nativity decorations, and the togetherness but this was just another calendar event that felt like it had no relevance to me or my life beyond the walls of this church. The Way of The Livingness inspires you to a full bodied, daily interaction with my relationship with myself and with life in this unfoldment. I have discovered that religion does not sit un-lived on the pages of a book, but it is lived, inspired in every moment, calling us to the grandness of our potential through self empowerment and responsibility, realising and appreciating the power of relationship, true congregation, true love.
Thinking back to religious studies in my youth it was a narrowly structured affair like how a machine works. You have all of these parts that you must have that are all important, and are lead to believe you must have, and carry it with you at all times, and it becomes a rod for our back that we must willingly carry this dogma around. All of these beliefs are just something outside of us we have been told we need. We are already everything, we just need to be. When we believe in ourselves and the relationship we all share with everyone, this is real religion without walls or expectations.
We can have fun with the word religion and religious – for example, essentially we can be religious about drinking beer, or religious about going to bed early, or religious about not eating meat or religious about eating meat!
So what does this word “religious” mean in this case?
To me it means a form of dedication to whatever it is that we are choosing at that moment in time, be it our relationship with the All, with food or with a habit.
Hence when we look at it this way, EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE is religious in some way or another. The woman who religiously goes home after work to watch a certain TV show is being religious, and so is the guy who goes religiously every Friday night to the pub.
In my case, I have many religious moments in my day, and one of my favourite religious moments is my connection with God. A moment for me to appreciate myself, to appreciate those around me and know that we are each a small but very significant piece of the whole.
It is totally grand to find a religion that calls you to deepen your relationship with yourself, others, life and the world .. as opposed to define yourself by ideals and beliefs that do not innately arise from your inner-heart and ask you to view yourself as separate to others in one way or another. Now this is true divinity.
The strongest immediate reason for religion can be that it is very easy to feel all the love around us. It sounds daft until we make the effort and simply feel it. A love that leaves us completely to choose it again or to do something else.
There can be quite an internal conflict, by having the feeling and knowing that there is more to life but adverse and repelled by ‘religion’ as seen by the conflict and wars it causes between people because of the differences in opinion and belief. To discover the true meaning of the word ‘religion’ is a giant step towards reconciling this internal conflict that has the potential of leading one ‘home’ for sure. Thanks for your sharing Eleanor.
“the first moment I learned about reincarnation, it felt like I had found part of the missing link. It made so much sense that we would live more than one life. One life would be pointless and I certainly never felt that my life was pointless.” I totally agree with this statement – as even when I was sitting on the fence about reincarnation, I would find myself at an overseas destination and have a strong sense that I had been there before (even though I maybe had not!). You look at a new born baby and you can tell this is not the first time it has entered this world.
It fascinates me how much we are in tune with life and our purpose in life when we are young. I find it very interesting that although you would say you were averse to religion Eleanor, you chose to study it at high school, and religion was something that continued to intrigue you throughout your life. Its like our inner voice, our Soul, knows our purpose in life and is constantly guiding us in the direction we need to go where we will be of greatest service to humanity. And here you present all the idiosyncrasies of religion, and start breaking down what is not supportive of humanity.
I so enjoy re-reading your blog Eleanor – there is such a feeling of joy, delight and self-discovery which is so very inspiring – thank you.
Thank you, Eleanor, for sharing the joy you feel in finally finding a source of truth for all of the questions and ponderings you have had throughout your life, and in re-discovering how natural and easy your relationship with God truly is.
It’s fascinating to observe and feel what the word religion can bring up. This is the word applied to the well know religious institutions, the ones that act and present the principals that are require people to confirm in a certain way. It is an absolute truth that when Serge Benhayon presents what true religion means, it offers us an invitation to feel, appreciate and live the true essence of ourselves as the equal sons of God. It’s pretty simple, living true religion, it is about our relationship with ourselves and the quality of our own integrity and responsibility we are willing to share this with another from the openness of our hearts.
‘…comes from Belfast, a place that has been fought over by two religions for a very long time.’ This is such a common scenario, two religions opposed in a violent conflict. Even the sense of a child can see that this contradicts everything that the religions claim to stand for.
Yes, it is quite interesting. A religion that lives love and chooses not to fight probably gets quickly usurped by a more muscular religion. It gets tricky when you live love and you are being attacked…
It is interesting the ways that many of us have been traumatized by religion when were young, as deep down we knew the truth of it all only to be imposed by everything that was totally the opposite of that. Letting go of those hurts allows us to create space and embrace that which is innate of us all – a true connection with our bodies and that which is divine.
Spot on Francisco – the true meaning of religion gets thwarted and then we fear the word, but once returned to its true meaning then we can choose to embrace this again in our lives, and appreciate how much our lives grow with this.
The title of this blog has an energy to it that claims fully and celebrates the fact that being religious is natural and there for us all to claim – it’s ultimately inescapable!
This is such a groundbreaking way to talk about religion – you have. A-turned it so well here ‘A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence. There is never any judgement in true religion; nor are there rules or anyone telling you what to do. There is no one person above another and even God sees us as His absolute, equal Sons.’ – like you Serge Benhayon has supported me to understand the true meaning of religion and I now have a relationship with it and with myself that I never thought possible.
Reincarnation always made perfect sense to me also – it never sat with me that there could be only ‘one’ life and I found it amazing that people believed this. I realise that reincarnation takes a lot to stomach – that we are responsible for the way in which we live and therefore, all that we return to is determined by us, that we can’t escape our choices and that our reckless or loveless ways are not going to be erased at the end of our life…and yet I consider reincarnation is absolute Love – a loving opportunity to learn, to adjust, to correct the harm we have caused and to inspire others by our loving and responsible choices.
What is it about us people that we don’t admit that we’re very religious, that we care and appreciate our loved ones a lot. So much so that we think that we don’t have to express to each other our admiration and importance to people in our lives. Often I hear that people have to know or to feel that they do matter. But because we don’t express the love for another, we’re not in connection, not religious with each other and almost for everyone creeps in self-doubt and self-esteem which we then have to cover up and pretend that it’s not there and that we’ve got everything under control. I love to admit being religious and loving the people in my life.
Beautiful exposé of the misuse of religion that has affected most if not everyone and thus has disconnected us from a very simple and natural sense we all have, a sense of there is more to life than meets the eye.
‘I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.’ – Sadly not many people know the true meaning and origin of the word religion, which is why so many people run in the opposite direction when they hear the word.
As a child I saw many people being ‘religious’ on Sunday but not living it throughout the week. The Way of The Livingess is a way of living that honours ourselves and others and brings love into action on a daily basis.
Eleanor, I too used to cringe at the word ‘religion’ until I heard Serge Benhayon speak about the true meaning of religion which then reminded me of the values that I knew existed but have not seen in any institutionalized religion – values such as love, integrity, equality. I could never come to terms with the idea that some people couldn’t go to heaven if they didn’t belong to a certain religion or didn’t perform the right rituals. The Way of The Livingness makes so much sense and there is no need for a church or a priest for us to live a joyful religious life.
The Way of The Livingness is such a love-filled religion, through it’s practical application I have been able to heal and clear a lot of hurts from the past.
Anyone who has a body has access to God.
Thank you Eleanor for sharing your forever unfolding experience with ‘Religion’ and life. Like you I have searched and pondered on various religions and seen some sense in all of them – yet never one that I felt ‘at one with’ – that is until I found the religion known as ‘The Way of The Livingness’ and then everything began to fall into place and make such sense. You capture everything so beautifully in your closing paragraph when you say ‘Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that’.
“To be completely honest, the word religion actually made me cringe, as the many examples of religions that I saw around me didn’t feel very religious!” I agree Eleanor, many of the examples of religion that I witnessed when growing up did not and still do not appear to me to be very religious and consequently I have never been tempted to join any of them. Enter Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness and all that has changed. This is a true religion, one that is based on each person’s willingness to re-align to that which is sacred within all of us, a moment-by-moment choice to re-build our relationship with our tender love and wisdom. The product of this choice is felt in the way we live, felt in Serge Benhayon, in his family, his colleagues, felt in your writing, felt in my husband and in myself. Its a quality that empowers us to know our true equality and that all of us are capable of returning to and making manifest in the world. True religion unites, harmonises and expands us, all of us regardless of the colour of our skin, our nationality or culture, true religion heals and evolves us and it never, ever goes to war on another or on a nation.
I have worked with many people who have turned away from religion because of their experience of it or its many contradictions, lies and hypocrisies. Some of them when close to death were in torment or struggle and without an inner religious foundation, consequently find the approach of death immensely terrifying. Mainstream religions have tainted our understanding of religion and driven many away. Serge Benhayon presentations on True Religion has inspired many to openly embrace religion as a core part of our being.
I have reacted to institutionalised religion in the past but recently I have become much more accepting, respectful and loving towards those that stand by it. True religion for me is knowing that everyone is a son of God no matter what their religion, nationality or anything else that can cause separation. True religion is true love, making it about a loving relationship with myself and everyone and everything equally.
I have found it interesting that in many countries, religion is a class taught as part of the normal education curriculum. I was born and educated in the US where it is the law for a separation of church and state that religion and education will not be taught together unless it is a religious school. So, the only religious teaching you receive is the choice your parents decide for you and what we called Sunday school at the church where were taught about only one religion. This singular process left me with a sour taste in my mouth and I never revisited the whole religious world and its trappings when I left the school system. The only ventures I have had into it for the majority of my life have been weddings and funerals. Finding the true meaning of religion and that the connection to one’s self and how we live is its foundation, and there is only one religion, and we are part of it equally.
Being who I am is so rewarding, it’s an investment that is ageless and divinely precious. To be part of a religion that supports me in being me is the most clever choice in my life.
There are so many negative connotations, images and experiences associated with the word ‘religion’ yet the irony of this is, that all these experiences and impressions that we see ‘out there’ are the complete opposite to how it is when one discovers it is a re-turn back to the love that’s there within our own body. Religion is the relationship we have with love within ourselves, and it’s there within every-body.
So beautifully said Johanne… “…it is a re-turn back to the love that’s there within our own body. Religion is the relationship we have with love within ourselves, and it’s there within every-body.” No seeking outside ourselves – it is all there within us, and much grander than we could ever imagine.
When I was younger I was always fascinated with the the fact that I always felt when my mother was about to phone me before she phoned, and how often she knew precisely what was going on for me without me saying a word. I knew without any question that there was more to this realm of life, and it feels like a relief in some way to now have the answers that make the world make sense.
I was reflecting on just how evil the concept of coincidences is. Instead of being able to appreciate the energy behind everything, that we are all connected and how there is a natural flow and order to the universe, we dismiss all this as though it is all down to chance. This is just one of the many ways we reduce ourselves down to mindless ants moving about the planet instead of being aware of the grandness of who we actually are and the universe we move in.
I can imagine the majority of people who grew up observing religions would have experienced things that either didn’t make sense or simply felt wrong. I remember hearing about a child being told they would go to hell if they looked in the mirror too long. I could feel the fear, guilt and hurt this had left for this person and I knew this just couldn’t be true. Anything that made people feel that bad just couldn’t be associated with God.
My understanding of religion has changed over the years. I now understand religion to be about my connection and relationship with the unseen, all that we as humanity are part of. Religion to me is about this connection and celebration of this connection, not about rules.
How crazy is it Eleanor, that we take the simple fact that we are one, that we are deeply interlinked and connected like all the stars in the sky, and then convert this into a reason to battle and say ‘you are better than I.’, if this is not proof and substantial evidence for the existence of the Spirit and the Soul as presented by Universal Medicine then I do not know what it. How is it we drift so far from what we know to be true? We should put all the scriptures and manuscripts and prayer books aside and have this conversation as a group to clarify and find out what is right.
In my early 20s, I became very aware of how ‘coincidences’ happened but there was no coincidence, I used to say I was in the ‘right place at the right time’, but now I see how things were constellated, to the point that the direction I took in my life totally changed as a result of one of these constellations. A so called ‘chance’ meeting with someone led to a serious of choices I took and I’ve never looked back. And so, since then, I’ve always felt how everything is connected and that there is no such thing as luck or coincidence but a divine plan at work.
This is a lovely example of True Religion and how it affects our lives, if we are open to see its magic at work.
Sandra that’s a great point, I also used to think of things as chances or coincidences but what I felt reading your comment is that it’s through the choices that we make that things constellate around us. Depending on the choices the constellations can seems “good” or “bad” whereas in fact they are always exactly what is needed to help us live life in connection to our body and our soul. That is certainly one incredible divine plan at work.
This is beautiful and I love how you expose many religions by saying this: “having ‘love thy neighbour’ as one of the core beliefs, but starting a war with another country or group of people for whatever reason anyway.” For something to be true it has to be true in every way and every aspect of life. Otherwise it actually does not make sense. You have to be able to take a step back and observe to see this as I did not see it when I was at school and believed what I was told.
I am religious too!! How lovely is it to come back to my own feelings towards the word religion. I still notice how I go into justifying when I use the word religion or religious, but I can also feel that I become more and more clear and strong within me. Without religion there would not be an aliveness, there would just be motion, a lot of doing, but without any worth or fullness. We’re all religious, we’re all connected to ourselves and others. The quality, worth and fullness is the flavour we give to our relationships. Wow.
The Way of The Livingness is a forever unfolding and deepening relationship with ourselves and all that is around us. It is all encompassing and accessible to all, equally so.
So many people have come to believe that the most religious people on earth are those that speak the most about God and those that read the most about God and yet the truth is neither of those things can actually get you any closer to God. Getting rid of the things that prevent us from feeling God in our bodies, is the only true way back to God.
I have also had the experience where admitting you are religious can be met with a cringe or judgement as though somehow it makes you a little less intellectually sound, and yet I have come to realise that for me, religion is as you have described, an unfolding relationship with myself and life – it isn’t stupid or strange to look out at the universe and see the beauty and order and know that there is something more than just coincidence at play.
It can be quite overwhelming going through life and seeing all of the differing forms of belief systems and versions, what is the truth, and how does it all fit together? Thankyou Serge Benhayon for initiating The Way of The Livingness, something which truly makes sense to the whole.
There is no-thing other than religion.
‘It was clear to me that everything happened for a reason’, Eleanor if mankind were to realise this one simple fact then it would be enough to revolutionise life as we know it but unfortunately so many people are still invested in believing that life is a random affair, that can be influenced by praying, rituals and a limitless amount of other such superstitions, rather than the sobering fact that it is us and our choices that govern life.
What’s actually crazy is that there is no one that is not made out of the particles that some refer to as God. So who is it really that proclaims not to believe in God?
I also always struggled to understand how religions had so much exclusivity and often said only those who follow their way of worship will be ‘saved’. Simply understanding that they are void of love fills in the missing pieces of the puzzle and the realisation that in fact they are not truly religion but simply institutions based on fractured, misinterpreted and misunderstood knowledge.
My way of being religious was to come to the insight that everything or almost everything is a result of my own actions. That was very empowering – if I wanted change, I needed to change my actions. It was clearly only a small part of the truth but it felt much better than before.
Yes, I think many of us have a knowing that there is more to life in some way or other, ‘It was always clear that there was more to this life than what meets the eye and that there were forces at work for which I had no explanation at the time,’ we sense and feel this innately.
“I feel that being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself, and with that, developing rhythms in life that are more self-loving and nurturing. Also it is about trying to bring awareness to how I am in what I am doing in every moment to the best of my ability, and taking responsibility for any reactions I have to the outside world, then seeking the cause of those reactions and letting them go.” This is so beautiful to know and live and what true religion is all about. Thank you Eleanor for your loving sharing.
‘Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to.’ Many ‘religious’ people do not have good relationships with other people, and live as if religion is a personal, individual thing, or only for a select group. It starts with us as individuals but in truth it is about our connection to all.
“I always knew there was something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science.” The majority of our current scientific views are really quite limited about life and are seemingly intent on dismissing the grandness of the Universe and who we really are. The irony of it is that we are aligned to some magnificent scientific laws that if researched would make awesome studies and would deliver some revolutionary truths. Serge Benhayon is way ahead of our scientific times, he is presenting truths that completely transform our appreciation of life, purpose and responsibility because what he delivers always comes from the Universal context first and foremost, a context the scientific world has yet to embrace. The key shift in policy is don’t reduce our selves, expand – there is so much more to life and us than we are currently wanting to know about.
“There is never any judgement in true religion; nor are there rules or anyone telling you what to do. There is no one person above another and even God sees us as His absolute, equal Sons.” This is very true and exposes how so many religions have been bastardised and re-interpreted over the years mainly through greed and as a way to assert control.
I also grew up in Northern Ireland and the blatant hypocrisy on both sides was enough to put me off organised religion/terrorism for life. Incredible to put two such words side by side!
Spot on Eleanor, especially the part where you note how religion seemed to be about people living separately… when religions divide the world up, sticking to their own community it seems that the purpose is totally at odds with creating a one humanity of equality. How would God condone that? Or could it be a misinterpretation by people of religion, who have been hurt in the past, in trying to control their relationship with God but in fact end up stunting it.
I know that too, that as of my teens I knew there is more to life than that which was shown to me, and no religion in the world could give me the answers, until I met Serge Benhayon who presented The Way of The Livingness; a way of living that brings true religion back to humanity.
“…Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me…” and the relationship we have with ourselves. Great sharing Eleanor, as your blog redefines the word ‘Religion’
The Way of the Living Religion is a far cry from the power, money, wars, separation do-gooding etc that permeates and is promoted by other world religions. The Way of The Livingness is such a divine blessing offering love, stillness, joy and harmony with all equally.
Why is it that so many still need science to prove things when you can feel it and you know it like nothing else. Why do we not trust our inner knowing and why do we so often give our power away to what another believes is the way it is when it goes against everything we feel.
I would imagine pretty much everyone has had this experience even if they have chosen to dismiss that there is “something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science” and “more to this life than what meets the eye and forces at work” that we find difficult to explain. The problem is that absolutely nothing in society seems to explain this and most areas actively negate it. Even religious explanations seemed a much reduced mockery of it. In contrast, The Way of The Livingness has been a blessing in this regard by providing simple, down to earth, honouring, confirmation of all of that, making it understandable and practical to everyday life.
“the first moment I learned about reincarnation, it felt like I had found part of the missing link” I totally relate to this Elanor, to me it was so refreshing to finally have something being confirmed that I knew in my heart and soul to be the truth. This awareness allowed me to focus not in the past lives that might have been but in the responsibility I have everyday to choose to align to what is truth and love in order to keep evolving.
Yes same here, Francisco. Re-incarnation made more sense to me than anything else as there was no longer the prospect of eternal damnation from God, but cycles of opportunity to grow and learn from our mistakes until we get it right.
The word religion has been manipulated and re-interpreted by most of our mainstream churches and the true understanding of what being religious truly means has been lost. Religion and being religious is not separating or dividing people but about connection and re-connection. Humanity is about relationship – relationship with ourselves, with others and the whole of the environment around us. It is about brotherhood and being committed to this with the focus of Love. This is being religious, and this is true religion.
True religion includes everyone because it is about our connection, not about being exclusive in any way. It is not about rules but about love. I’m with you on this Eleanor, thank you for your true and clear account of religion.
Yes, how can religion only apply to some of us. If it exists, it applies to everyone.
A beautiful account Eleanor of what is true religion. The Way of The Livingness is leading the way in redefining Religion. No churches, temples or long pilgrimages required. Simply reconnecting to our inner-heart through the quality in which we choose to live and allowing the wisdom of God flow through us.
A great returning home to True Religion and the knowing of our own hearts
To read this blog I feel how it has no imposition on me, I can choose to agree or otherwise with what is said, and that is a beautiful thing that surely religion actually is, non imposing. How often do we feel religion shoved in our faces, telling us this way is the way to god, or this way means we should love Jesus and repent for our sins, etc etc. Recently I was in a park and approached by two christians, we ended up having a chat about what religion is and I realised how strongly they believe judgement is part of their religion and that there comes a time when we are all judged by God. I could feel how untrue this was, and that this imposition they had placed on themselves stopped them from actually enjoying being religious, enjoying the natural connection there is with the world all around us. Religion is a very personal process I feel, and one we can all choose to partake on, but never can it be forced on us by another, that is not true religion.
I gave my self the title of ‘spiritual’ too Eleanor as I felt there was more, I just I didn’t know what the ‘more’ meant. Religion to me didn’t make sense and I didn’t like the idea that to be religious you needed to go to a cold building to find God when I knew this not to be true.
It is crazy to see that all the belief systems around religion, the dogmas and the superiority, is what is making people walk the other direction and not wanting to be identified with religions – when true Religion simply is about choosing to reconnect to our own essence. An essence equally accessible in each and every one of us.
It can be all too easy to be put off religion, we only have to look a short way back in history or even to our present to see examples of religion causing suffering and division – however what I have come to realise and appreciate is that there is an inner relationship with myself and with God, with life that is deeply religious but is not in any way connected to the religion I have previously resisted.
When I rejected Catholicism (I was brought up a Catholic) I kind of threw the baby out with the bath water and thought I was no longer religious. After having met Serge Benhayon I realised I have always been deeply religious. There was always something inside me that never gave up on God.. I simply didn’t know how/think that I was experiencing it..
Who would have thought religion was in the morning cup of tea or the walk with the dog. It can be so simple and yet all inspiring AND have nothing to do with burning bushes, people on a cross or holy pilgrimages.
Very well said Eleanor – I too grew up in a’non-religious’ family who tried to find spirituality – and all of us knew there was something more, but we had never considered the fact that we were all religious, and that true religion is about relationships. This has really opened my eyes to how simple it is, how nothing happens for a reason and how we are all connected.
We all have different experiences of organised religion which shows how much it is a separatist thing. Life can be very different when we are all part of one religion, as equal human beings within the same one God.
Since accepting that I am religious having embraced The Way of The Livingness my life is much fuller, meaningful and has true purpose.
To hear the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning changes everything we thought religion was or stood for. I know the true meaning, and because I do my best to live life according to this intent, I know I am returning back to God.
Yes Eleanor I am religious too as it turns out, deeply so… after spending most of my life considering myself some sort of atheist. I wan’t really, I just couldn’t relate to any of the traditional and organised forms of religion and their concept of God.
It turns out that I am religious too! Growing up I never considered myself to be so, yet I never doubted the existence of God. Being religious is about the way I live, my relationships, my interactions with others and how I am with myself, being open, unfolding and deepening my connection to self and simply being myself. (Not at all what I thought being religious was and meant growing up…!)
‘A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence.’ Eleanor, this sentence is beautiful and describes absolutely what I have found in The Way of The Livingness.
I have known since early in my life that there was only one religion and multiplicity of mainstream religions did not make sense and was untrue.
True religion is a very personal relationship with divinity, one which is not defined by external tenets or rules.
I’ve always had an issue with religion even though I found it interesting to study at school too. The issue for me was that it did not make sense and you had to have ‘faith’ and trust in what was presented which did not feel right. In learning what religion really is over recent years due to coming to presentations of the Ageless Wisdom by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I can feel the truth in what religion really is and know it fully as it can be felt in total congruence to everything else.
“… the first moment I learned about reincarnation, it felt like I had found part of the missing link. It made so much sense that we would live more than one life. One life would be pointless and I certainly never felt that my life was pointless.” This is such a core education Eleanor, one that brings everything together and allows us to ask deeper questions about life and our purpose within it. After all if we keep moving between the etheric and physical world, in, out, in and out again there must be a reason why. There are a few religions who recognise that reincarnation is a given, but The Way of The Livingness has for me deepened my understanding, awareness and appreciation of this science in a way no other has and hence has brought an enormous sense of purpose to my current life. Our lives are only pointless if we allow them to be. Learning how to live in connection to God throughout my very normal day and working week etc. has restored my true purpose and the more I evolve my inner connection, the greater the footprint I create to return to in my next life, not in pursuit of my own happiness but with the purpose of deepening the connection to and expression of our awesome divine qualities.
I really appreciate that you have written this, Eleanor, as it also gives me permission to claim that I always felt connected to God and had such an affinity with Jesus as well, but never in the way that they were presented in my Sunday school classes or church. It is beautiful to hear how others felt the same, and that we all naturally have a strong connection to the divine all around and within us.
Religion is so much more than what we have been brought up to believe. The corruption in what we have been told religion is, is out of control. Its great that we now have a reflection of true religion presented and shared by Serge Benhayon, The Way of The Livingness. As you say “Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to.”
“..Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me…. It is simply about being my true self … and knowing there is no perfection in that…” Thank you Eleanor, this beautifully sums up how religion is about re-turning back to our innermost essence.
I had always questioned religions, with their pomp and pageantry, for what was the point? There was a movie made a few years ago, and the plot was someone had found some writings written by Jesus saying that the temple of God was within us all and should not be institutionalised outside of us…this disclosure would rock the foundations of what religions have become. It is not a random coincidence that sometimes fiction expresses truths we do not want to see or wish to feel!
When I heard Serge Benhayon mention the word religion for the first time I can remember quite a nervous and uncomfortable reaction in my body, but as everything he had shared up to that point in time had made so much sense to me, and had answered so many previously unanswered questions, I made the choice to stay open to what he had to present. And like you “when I heard what religion meant to this man, it also made perfect sense to me as well.”, but in saying that it still took quite some time and some deeper understanding of my reaction to the words religion and God, before I slowly began to know that, yes I too am religious; quite a turnaround from the person who spent many years totally confused as to what true religion actually was.
I always knew that true religion included everybody, and after a period in the wilderness, trying to find the one that actually met with the criteria of my inner knowing, I found The Way of The Livingness which not only met the criteria, but expanded inclusivity to brotherhood, responsibility and love. I am very proud to say The Way of The Livingness is my religion.
How can we not be religious. We are relating, (re)connecting and (re)bonding on an everyday level with many people and things. The only choice we’re making is whether this religion is true, that is energetically true and supporting us to evolve or not. But denying being religious is denying having a relationship with yourself, others and life.
In light of what you share it turns out that I am religious too Eleanor. Religion is so much more than what our current religious pillars promote and dare I say allow.
A fantastic blog to read, thank you. You simply nailed it here with your sharing …”being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself, and with that, developing rhythms in life that are more self-loving and nurturing…” Re-turning back to the body, is returning or reconnecting back with God.
Eleanor, I love how you have shared what religion is in its true sense – it does not need to be something that is limited to being inside a ‘holy’ building or having to attend mass on Sundays or having to squat down and pray at certain times of the day. It is more about the relationship we have with ourselves, with all those around us and with nature and with God. It is about being inclusive and opening your heart to everyone including yourself.
I love the meaning of the word ‘religious’ as in to do something ‘religiously’ – with consistency and dedication – and I love applying it to the other, root meaning of the word ‘religion’ – to reconnect, re-bind. Thus I am dedicated to reconnecting – to myself, God, the universe everyday.
Gorgeous Eleanor, thank you. I trod a similar path to you in terms of my relationship with religion and like you, felt a bit astounded when reintroduced to the term by Serge Benhayon and whilst not rejecting it, did not embrace it in full either. I am much more at home with it today, and call The Way of The Livingness my religion. Sometimes though I still feel a little geeky about it, a little bit self-conscious. I’m learning though it’s totally OK to claim oneself as religious.
Love this, Victoria. Your honesty about the geeky self-consciousness around being religious is very real and gives me ‘permission’ to accept this in me as part of my learning and acceptance of truth.
I have always felt a connection to God having grown up in a family that considered Religion important. I became disenchanted with religion in my late teens and early 20s due to the double standards I saw in the church. This started a search for the missing link, the real truth of Religion, which eventually led me (through a friend) to Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayons presentations of The Way of The Livingness. The pieces of the puzzle all came together at last. The fact that God is in truth a Loving Father to all of us his equal Sons.
It is so inspiring to read of your journey with religion Eleanor, and what really inspires me is how steady you stayed – although you explored various things, what felt true to you about religion always remained.
In truth we are all religious … it is the tainting of the word and what religion has become that puts so many people off – and I was one of those too. I used to cringe when I heard the word God or religion, but since attending Universal Medicine I have a much deeper understanding of both and no longer react to them.
The joy and simplicity you present here is very inspiring to read Eleanor.
In the past and at school I recall ‘religion’ reserved for the ‘square’ kids/people and really rather something to be quietly secretive about, or not admit to [‘being religious’]… and yet, as I know religion today through The Way of The Livingness, in its deep connection with oneself, and the interconnectedness this brings to everything, it is the most very coolest thing to be religious. Nothing square about that (!) But everything, right on.
If religion in its true meaning is pure then it stands to reason that many are put off religion by the major religions. That is a lot of religion in one sentence but unfortunately not a lot of religion in the world, in the true sense of what religion means. I love to hear the Unimedpedia (http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-religion.html) description of religion, that is one that makes me want to be religious and I think everyone who reads it would want that too.
Your words about True Religion “having absolute respect for everyone and anyone” really exposes where many religions are today, and how being “religious” can often be a permission slip for all kinds of discrimination, bigotry, misogyny, separatism, inequality, hatred etc.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me.” This one sentence gives organised religion a lot to consider. Is their every day lived in love, respect, joy, truth, brotherhood and harmony? Or are those only strived for on special occasions and bestowed upon a few?
When religion is presented as love of a God that is Universal, does not discriminate or judge and dwells within us and others equally as well as within nature, then it opens up a space to explore more about life and if there is a purpose to being alive. This is a far cry from the priest I remember who visited our school and preached “though shalt not’s” to his captive congregation under a pious facade of “I know better” which although never won over any child, did turn many off religion.
Eleanor I had a sense of a greater ‘force’ or ‘ infinite mind’ available to us, I was also aware of being held, with many moments that I knew were not coincidence. I knew the current way of being was not it, especially religion in the accepted form and chose to step away and also named myself spiritual. Since The Way of The Livingness and meeting Serge Benhayon I can now appreciate through the teachings what I have always felt in my inner heart, and been able to reconnect through self love and self care to knowing I am part of the oneness that we are all returning to, and yes I am religious.
You write the story of my life too. I felt the pull to something more but it wasn’t until I came across Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness that everything fell into place – back into my body which is where true religion resides.
I love how you’ve drawn attention to us all being part of a bigger picture. For years I wanted to buy into the world being random, my being insignificant to the vastness of the universe and pretend that my actions had no bearing on the world – that only those in positions of power or influence could possible make a difference. This was all to escape my responsibility – accepting how I am makes a huge difference is to accept I have a responsibility to be in tune with the universe and God. I can no longer deny we are all connected. (Last week, three times at work I was dialing in someone’s number and the phone rang with that person calling me. Nor is it a coincidence when I cannot get hold of someone. That also is just as meaningful.) There is an order to the universe that often I cannot read but is certainly there all of the time. And we are all a part of this order, knowingly or not makes no difference.
I also LOVED Star Wars as a kid and was intrigued by ‘The Force’ which made so much sense to me at the time yet I didn’t really understand it. It wasn’t until I came to the work of Universal Medicine that I discovered that ‘The Force’ is affected by the choices that we make in every moment and we are always influencing the Whole through our movements. Therefore it is our responsibility to live in alignment with the natural order of the universe. This is true religion.
I love how this blog makes religion so simple, practical and part of everyday life. We do not have to go anywhere and ‘be’ religious on a certain day. Thanks to Universal Medicine I am enjoying seeing and accepting my religious ways the more I embrace me and life and how all are equal to God.
The true meaning of religion exposes that we have been lied to for ages by our current institutionalised religions. We think that we have overcome the “dark ages”, but we haven’t!
Me too! It turns out that I am also religious, although I always knew it. While growing up I knew that there was some validity in what the various religions were saying but that to me it felt as though they had lost their way as they applied rules to the principles and took a very mental approach to religion. I knew that there was more to the world than what we see, the religions that I had been exposed to just did not quite put it all together. For me now, religion is about my connection with the all that cannot be seen.
“I always knew there was something bigger than us that couldn’t be explained by current science. ” snap Eleanor I always knew, I knew from looking at nature that there was something majestic and divine at the heart of our origins.
‘It turns out that I’m a religious person after all’, turns out I am too, which was quit a shock for me initially. It wasn’t until I felt and heard the truth of this word that I could claim this to be true.
If religion truly is just about our connection with ourselves and everything around us, how on earth did we end up with so much dogma in the name of religion? How did religion get so bastardised? In the simplicity of what religion is, people get it but so many have turned away from ‘being religious’ because of what the organised religions stand for, and the atrocities that have taken place through history in the hands of so-called religious people.
It is amazing and quite revelatory that many of us do feel a deep inner sense that we are more than what we are living or that there is more to life. It makes sense that we feel this, as in essence we are all equally the Love of our Soul. Yet the way we have created society to be does not encourage or support us to explore this for ourselves or with each other, and as history show there are many group or organisation that have and still do provoke separation and segregation. And so most of us give up or give in to the consciousness of fitting into society, with what everyone else is doing. With this we forgo exploring the relationship with ourselves, our Soul, with God which affects our relationships with all others. True religion and being truly religious is about honoring and developing our relationship with ourselves, our Soul so that we can live in a Soulful way that honors the equal same essence in everyone. Thank you Eleanor for sharing so beautifully what being religious is and how simply and naturally it can be live by all equally. As we all hold within us the same equal Light we are from.
I have noticed many instances like “when you call someone up and they say they were just about to call you that very moment. Or bumping into someone that you hadn’t seen for ages, when not so long before you had been thinking about them for no apparent reason”. The fact that they are quite common, most people having at least one such experience shows that the beliefs of mystery and exclusivity promoted by most religions where such things are ‘miracles’ reserved for a selected blessed few is absolute nonsense. I love how The Way of The Livingness has helped me reconnect to the simplicity and normalness of religion.
There is a freedom and celebration in claiming to be religious nowadays because reconnecting to our divine origins and living from this space as much as possible is our true purpose. Who would not want to be religious!? Being religious is like coming home for me and The Way of The Livingness confirms, supports and holds this truth for everyone in the world to see and feel.
“As well as the quality of the relationships I have with people I meet, I feel that being religious is also about my own personal relationship with myself, and with that, developing rhythms in life that are more self-loving and nurturing.” If we were taught that this is what true religion really means in schools, then no doubt many more of us would grow up with a much deeper understanding of life and relationships in general. What a wonderfully simple way to be, and one that is accesible to all, no matter where they are from or what they do.
I agree 100%. I can fully claim the fact that I am actually religious. Not because I got it wrong about ‘religion’ or because I knew there were so many different ones and I could choose which one was for me and decided to sign up to one, but because I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.
The way the word religion has been bastardised I’m sure makes many people turn away from being placed in that category. The spiritual category is far more acceptable in many ways. I lived my life knowing there was more than what meets the eye and what I had been told about life and so in my twenties I fell into the spiritual category too. But it was not complete. Whilst now in no way do I have a complete understanding of where we come from or of the meaning of life, there is a feeling of completeness and a settlement in my body. The Way of the Livingness is my religion.
Religion described as I learn or re-learn to know it today. Thank you Eleanor. The way religion is presented here is exactly what I have always known but have been completely thrown off by the bastardisation of the word and the meaning. This makes sense, all the rest doesn’t. I know lots of people in my life who are seemingly against religion, but what they don’t realise is that it is not religion they are rejecting, but the sheer miss representation of it because they know that what is currently being portrayed as religion is everything religion is not.
Who hasn’t yawned at the thought of another ‘Religious Education’ class at school, being dry and boring and not making much sense (to me anyway). I was never interested in religion, that was until I came across Universal Medicine who presented to me the true meaning of the world. Now I LOVE being religious, for me it means to RE-align, and RE-connect to something that I separated from aeons ago, ME, the whole and true me, that being an equal Son of God to every other being in this Universe. And there is no bible bashing, no hymns, no preaching, indoctrination or hypocrisy, just a gentle, loving way to RE-connect to my Soul through my body via my inner heart.
‘True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.’ – The only religion that can ever unify us as a humanity and help us build true harmony across and beyond borders, is a religion that see every human being as an equal. This is why The Way of The Livingness is my religion.
I love how your definition of religion reminds us of its simplicity and its availability to us all at any time. Thanks for a beautiful blog Eleanor.
Religion is a deep connection with all that is around us the Divine included. It is an equalness that needs to be lived, it is not something to preach.
When I was a child religion made no sense to me so I ignored it. As I grew older I realized that there had to be more to religion than I thought because it was a huge part of our culture. But it still made no sense to me.
I felt that there was something in nature that was amazing but it did not go along with what religion was saying.
Then Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine presented something that made sense to me. A true definition of religion that encompasses our whole world and explains why the religion we have today is not working.
I could relate to every word of this article. Not so long ago I was a total cringer when it came to the word God or Religion. I thought that being classified as Religious automatically made me lame, gullible, desperate, hopeful delusional god loving weirdo, harsh, I know, plus it’s a really hard to say that sentence without stumbling. Like you Eleanor, I have re-discovered the word Religion, to me it simply means my relationship with myself and everything else in the universe- being committed to explore the depth of what that actually means is an everyday choice- being a student of yourself and your heart is what The Way of The Livingness is based on.
Eleanor, I love this article, I have had a very similar experience to you with religion, I use to actually be very anti-religion because it did not make sense to me and felt very dogmatic and rule based and exclusive. I love the Way of The Livingness religion, it feels very true and makes total sense and is very loving and inclusive, unlike any other religion that I have come across.
I will be coming back to this article for further inspiration. Opening the doorway to re-embracing religion in its true form. Thank you, Eleanor.
I think we all know innately there is more to life than meets the eye. I have always known that reincarnation is a fact, even though I can’t recall specifics, I know I have been around many times. I also know we are all one brotherhood and that one day through The Way of The Livingness we will, through the love that we all are, be united back in that brotherhood we so dearly miss.
A brilliant sharing and knowing of true religion. True oneness and love humanity and equality shine out with Universal Medicine and the ancient wisdom for all to see and reignite in themselves.
Love your headlines Eleanor – turns out I am religious too! To know that the true meaning of religion is to reconnect to my soul and live and express my true self has been, and continues to be, absolutely game changing for me.
I love reading this blog Eleanor. You have beautifully expressed the true meaning of the much abused, re-interpreted, and bastardised use of this word religion, which has separated and controlled humanity for aeons.
“A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence’.
I’ve always felt similarly about coincidence Eleanor; it seems impossible that so many things can play out ‘coincidentally’ without any cause or behind the scenes coordination, so it makes sense that everything must thus happen for a reason and it’s up to us to read into what that reason may be.
I love the fact that in the end we are all Religious, even if we deny we are religious and in many cases not religious in the sense of how we have been raised to understand religion. As you say “Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me” this is something that means we all can’t but be religious.
I should flag to those reading, writing and scrolling – here is a place to learn more about the true meaning of the word Religion: http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-religion.html
I always knew about reincarnation, before I had the formal ‘knowledge’ about it. When my first son was born I knew he had lived here before. He was alert and all knowing. I was interested in religion at the time, but nothing ever sat right with me. I saw so much hypocrisy around me. Coming to the Ageless Wisdom has been a God-send – pun intended.
Even when we apply simple logic, let alone feeling, world religions do not make sense. Apply the true definition of the word – to re-connect and the word religion suddenly makes sense!
Religion is a day-to-day reality in all our interactions as it is we who are in a living relationship with everything.
What a great blog, Eleanor. I went to Presbyterian and Jesuit (Catholic) schools and realised there are different views of/takes on religion even under the same Christian umbrella. I always felt uncomfortable talking about the word religion as I did about my faith – and ultimately turned away from it all, not believing any of it. But one thing stuck with me and did ring true: “The kingdom of Heaven lies within.” And today, having learned about the true definition of Religion through the courses at Universal Medicine and reading blogs like yours, I have an understanding of what it truly means – and I know that yes, the kingdom of heaven does indeed live within each and every one of us. So, as your title jokes, it turns out that I’m religious too!
I love how you have come to realise that you are “religious after all” Eleanor. The simplicity with which Serge Benhayon presents the real meaning of the word ‘religious’ and what this really looks like in life is breaking down many of the barriers we have towards the whole subject of Religion. Through his wise and compassionate teachings, we are being shown how to return to our true values and qualities via re-establishing our inner connection with God. Religion is not an ideal, it is a way of living that restores common values, that we are all equal Sons of God and that honesty, integrity, harmony, respect and commitment are essential core values of our societies. When we truly live in connection with these values, we will never, ever dream of going to into battle with another.
What I get from this is the responsibility that we, who are embracing religion as a way of our life, have to the rest of humanity. The way that the carnage left by by the traditional religions can be cleared, the way that the word religion can be returned to its original truth so that it doesn’t create such a strong reaction in so many, is through people seeing a lived expression of a religious life that reflects this truth. By seeing people living joyfully, simply, with purpose, with vitality and with a total lack of judgement and a total transparency, and also to hear the word religion used freely, openly and without fear or dogma. Yes I am walking towards a religious way of living…but am I expressing that in full, are my doors wide open to discussing this, do I express freely and openly, and am I a living inspiration of this way of being? No, not always. And whilst I am not, I am fueling the same fires of distrust that exist around the traditional religions.
It is in truth quite remarkable how willing we are to accept contradictions, not just religions but in so many aspects of our lives, and the consequences of that choice has a ripple effect that is an undercurrent throughout our life and society that allows lies, corruption and abuse to occur.
Thank you Eleanor – there is so much I can relate to in your experiences, although I was raised in a Christian family and so have always considered myself to be religious. Like you, when I first heard about reincarnation I just felt it was true – despite the fact that Christian teachings say otherwise. My whole being just says yes, to the fact that we live many lifetimes – not as ants or other creatures as some interpretations suggest – but as human beings. To me, this is very much indicative of a deeper inner sense of what is true, no matter what we are taught to believe on the surface. Once I allowed myself to be open to this innermost wisdom, things started to make more and more sense and those apparent ‘coincidences’ in life became understandable as part of a much bigger picture. Today I still count myself as religious – but the experience feels much more true and real than it once did.
For the first time in my life thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I understand the word Religion and its true meaning and I now love every aspect of it. It is amazing how understanding a word and its true meaning can change how we feel about something.
‘True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them’ Is there a cautionary note here for us? However inspired we are by our newly found religion, we must never to impose it on another or try to convince.
There are so many zillions of people who walk away from a religious way of life because of the connotations attached to the word. The current organised religions have created such a gigantic wake of corruption, chaos, destruction and anger that it will take people many, many lifetimes to re-trust the word. Like you, I have done a gigantic u-turn as to what I thought religion was all about and have discovered such simplicity and clarity and now joyfully walk towards leading a religious life.
Yes, Eleanor, ‘the force’ in Stars Wars made a lot more sense to me than anything I had ever heard in a church, a universal energy that can be accessed by anyone and used to serve ‘the greater good’. And also that there was a dark force, and the choice was up to us as to which one we aligned to. However it was not until coming across the teachings of Universal Medicine that I re-learned the actual truth about life, energy and the choice we have every moment of every day.
Living life free from any ideal or belief is living a truly religious life. Life is about connection and following the impulses from inside. Just that, very simple. But in a world that fuels itself by so many different ideals and beliefs, this is far from reality. And due to the fact that we’re not aware of this, we’re even making these ideals and beliefs rules for others to adhere to. Rather than accepting that they are our own responsibility to be aware of, accept and let go.
‘True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.’ I always had this sense about what true religion was and saw in the religions around me the fact of inequality in all of them, yet every religion had an aspect of truth that made sense on some level and contained some beauty in them. It seems that the beauty in each religion got masked and laced by dogma, power and corruption over the centuries and the original teachings of each founder got lost. Then I found The Way of The Livingness, which to me makes sense on every level and in every way, as a way of being with the whole encompassing truth.
I was brought up in the Catholic religion and blindly accepted everything I was told because I didn’t know any different, I used to enjoy being in church and singing, we just went along with everything, including fish on Fridays. As I moved up through the school years like many of my fellow classmates, we began to question Catholicism. We learned a little bit about the Jewish faith, even visited a synagogue, but I don’t remember being taught anything about Islam, or Buddhism, so our religious education was limited. As soon as I left school and went to University, inspired by a boyfriend at the time, I abandoned the Church and God altogether. Like many others, 33 years later, when I heard Serge Benhayon talk about God and Religion, I wobbled, didn’t want to know, even though what he said felt like it made sense. I was nevertheless drawn to hear more and gradually I am learning to feel through my body the truth of who we are, to understand and accept the nature of true religion, especially seeing as how it is for all, not just a select few. There is a lot of resistance to overcome amongst the established religions, but in the end I can see that the separation they invoke will be felt by more and more people who will leave to seek true brotherhood and love.
How many others also have cringed at the mere mention of religion and or God, I was one of them for many years? There was a termed ‘born again Christian’ that I always felt to be very pushy to join them into something they had escaped from the world, that makes sense to them. But there was always a sense of separation, feeling about it. Eleanor, you have eloquently described what being religious truly is, and it is about simply being true to our self and mistakes along this road are welcomed as learnings.
“God sees us as his absolute equal sons. ” As I was raised in a christian belief system, I was learning that only one person was the equal son of God,, which is Jesus. It needs deep humbleness to accept that we are all equal sons of God. If I accept this, I cannot live “my way” any more.
This is very beautifully expressed, Kerstin. Giving up ‘my way’ is a huge challenge as one feels one has to give up everything that one is but in fact by doing so one discovers so much more.
Eleanor thank you for your honest blog. For me the following sentences is important as I do not like it if another try to convince me: “True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.”
I love how you describe religion Eleanor as being an all encompassing way of life, how it’s how we relate to ourselves and to others and how each and every one of us is equal in that. It’s not about being faithful to external diktats or ticking boxes but about a genuine evolving relationship that starts with us. This is religion that I can and do embrace.
“It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that” – absolutely Eleanor, and religion for me over the past few years has largely been about the acceptance of myself, which means any judging, critiquing or perfecting of myself has become less and less [the deeper I do accept], and in turn towards other people too, to mean I’m much more inclusive and inviting of everyone, and crucially equal, not better or less than, but the same.
I sat in a church yesterday, through a mass. I did not find this particularly easy, as I stopped going to church many years ago. But what I could feel was that everyone present was committed to developing there own relationship with God (as is the many millions of people around the world). What I could also sense is that being religious had nothing to do with going to church. While we may choose to come together to celebrate our developing relationship, it is not essential. When I reacted as a teenager. leaving the church I had a very strong sense of this. But it has only been very recently that I understand more through the amazing support and presentations on religion that I have attended with Universal Medicine. Religion and being religious is in every moment of everyday because we are in constant relationship and communication with ourselves and everyone. There is so much meaning to this that enriches my life everyday as I learn and grow as a committed and dedicated human being.
I would say that being truly religious is about seeing everyone with equality, and also about not needing to change anyone else or mould them to my viewpoint, a truly religious experience is accepting others as they are and knowing that god is everywhere and in everyone equally.
In the way the word religion has been misused, we can see being religious as being a follower, or giving ones power away to something greater. This is so far from the truth of religion, in which it is for everyone to develop a very personal relationship with God as an equal.
`Thank you Eleanor what a gem of a blog’ simply because it turns things upside down – in a real and true way, which brings us closer to who we are and what religion is. To me that is truly profound and so truly courageous to stand in power of what one knows and not waver away from it not by defending, protection, armour, hardness – but simply and over-all and understanding of people that – a love that we all are. No need for preaching, interrogation or fight in any way shape or form.
Religion is not a dictated doctrine and something you follow. It is a relationship with the knowing of the great wisdom you have within and cherishing it.
I love the sense that comes through your words Eleanor, of religion being our relationship with coincidence, happenstance and the alignment of the stars. For so many of the traidtional religions feel dead to me, lost in pages of a manuscript that does not translate to today, whereas what you say is an ongoing living thing seeing the science of universality and God in everything. Here our walk becomes our prayer, our talk our congregation, our movements our shared sermon to the world. For the truth is we are all members of this church of Love, whether we know it or not.
Beautiful Eleanor – I truly appreciate what you share about understanding what religion is and means. To claim whom we truly are and live this essence of ourselves openly and simply with the world is a blessing. A blessing that comes from our own connection to our hearts and God and feels so divine there is no doubt that God is present with-in and all about. Super simple is true religion.
The fact is we are all born with an innate knowing of true religion whether we choose to believe it or not. True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.
The Way of The Livingness religion is the only religion that I have found (and I have looked into many) that makes sense, that unifies and not divides, is simple and not complicated, speaks the truth and doesn’t contradict itself, speaks of self-responsibility for our choices and not giving our power away, sees all as equal Sons of God bar none and has true love as its core foundation. It is a way of life that I choose to live – this is my religion.
It makes sense – if there is any truth in religion, then it has to be a practical everyday experience and livingness that is in no way exclusive or arcane. The Ageless Wisdom offers us as such and it is made real by The Way of The Livingness.
Hi Eleanor, I too, have had the true understanding of religion unfold around me though Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. The truth can be felt in the body and observing the life lived by Serge Benhayon, I can now see and feel the true equality, love and responsibility the true meaning of Religion is. Thank you for your comment – ‘Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to’, has been very simply written but says all that needs to be said.
Today I was walking outside and felt the enormity of the stillness around us (me). I realised that everything is energy, so this is energy too. If I accept it or not doesn’t matter, I’ve got a relationship with this energy. And if the power of stillness is felt on a Sunday morning, it must be always available to connect to. Even though it might not be as present and clear – disturbed by us human beings – nevertheless it must be there. Relationship and religion have become different words. Next time I’m gonna see what the energy is actually communicating. Which means deepening the relationship with it.
Being religious: expressing love, being open to receive love, expressing truth, accepting and embracing truth expressed by others and knowing that free will is a big part of religion.
The word religion today has been tainted with so many ideals and beliefs, rules and regulations, power play and abuse – it has become complex in interpretation and peoples perception. Enter The Way of The Livingness where religion is simply returning to who we truly are… no complexity, simply walking our own unique path back to where we all come from – God… so simple and yet so very powerful.
My religion is how I live in the world and this includes my relationships with those around me and everyone I have not met – it is universal.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to. It is simply about being my true self, as much as I can, and knowing there is no perfection in that.” This encapsulates the true meaning of religion – it is about living life in a religious way, and in this returning to who we truly are in essence.
“They just seemed to have so many contradictions, like having ‘love thy neighbour’ as one of the core beliefs, but starting a war with another country or group of people for whatever reason anyway.” – Religion has to be about how one lives their life and walking their talk so to speak, otherwise it is a set of empty words.
When I consider religion as relationship with life I find it very inspiring. When it is linked to dogma it becomes very dense and heavy and it does not at all feel like the teachings of the world teachers that we have had – like Jesus.
It is totally fascinating how different were the paths to religion, what were the starting point of the stories that end up leading to it and how everything constellated for the unexpected and unforeseeable to happen. Having said that, once you open to religion, denying it is a brutal offence for the body. It submits the body to a terrible pain.
“True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.” Agree, and with that naturally comes love and respect for the amazing world and universe in which we live.
Being religious in the true meaning of the word is natural to us all, very simple in the way we live. Our connection with God, with the divine is in our everyday livingness as brought forth by Serge Benhayon with The Way of The Livingness.
When I first heard Serge Benhayon present on religion it brought up for me all my ideals and beliefs that I have around the word religion having been brought up in a religious institution and attending religious schools my whole life. Today the word religion means something very different to me. True religion is the most beautiful way of living, it is a flow, a rhythm which is in line with the rhythm of the universe. Living this way I feel like I am an equal part of the Whole. Coming to know true religion has been one of the biggest gifts I have had in my life.
The Way of The Livingness is a true religion in the sense that it does not impose in any way how one should be but it encourages you simply to be who you are and express that from within yourself for the good of all.
I totally relate to your blog Eleanor. I also cringed when I first heard Serge Benhayon present about religion but when I listen on, what he presented made so much sense. I realised why I was reacting to the word ‘religion’ and it confirmed why I avoided all the religions around me when I was growing up. I was associating the word with war, murder, greed, corruption, inequality, suppression, separation, empty of love etc. Now, I understand the true meaning of religion, everything in life is making sense, and I too am re-learning to live religiously. That is to truly reconnect to myself, to God, to people and nature. Also letting go of the images and fears I had accumulated around the word religion and allow myself to trust what I feel is true.
It is amazing how we as humans have managed to complicate so many things over time. To create rules and processes around so many things that they be become so complicated and then far removed from what we know to be true. It is time to trust what we know and return to the simplicity and clarity of that knowing. Religion is one of these things that I refer to. No need for ceremony or ritual, just connection and relationship with the more that we know to be true.
If we were to use the true meaning of the word religion then I wonder if we would be able to say that any war had been a religious war.
“Not because I got it wrong about ‘religion’ and decided to sign up to one, but because I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.” This is the big thing for me too with the word religion, when Serge Benhayon started to present the original meaning of the word religion it was actually something very simple and that I loved. Before I would not like it either as I related it to all the wars, murder and heaviness that I read about and felt when being in a church. Knowing the true meaning of a word can change so much.
Eleanor, a simple, honest and accurate account of what it is to be religious, that in itself is a rarity, so thank you.
“Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me”. ln accepting this, it makes each and every one of us religious, whether we try to deny it or not. Maybe it is challenging for those who do not wish to take responsibility for this fact. Therein rests the denial of our true relationship with ourself first. To be beholding of ourself in the face of great pain and hurt makes me religious.
I would say the exact same as you’ve shared here Eleanor. It’s not that I was anti-religion as I grew up but just that not much of it made sense and yet I lived with this tension of knowing somewhere, somehow there was more to life than I could see or perceive at the time. So then when hearing about religion and The Way of The Livingness as lived by Serge Benhayon and now many others it’s like life started to make more sense, whereas without religion (that aspect of the ‘so much more’ the unseen but felt and known forces at play) life feels like we are missing a crucial part that helps us understand ourselves, life and the whole universe for that matter. Today on forms or in conversation I have no issue with stating that I am religious because without religion in my life I would feel much more lost.
It turns out that being religious is living self responsibility, the steadiness, the joy and appreciation that I now feel on a daily basis through choosing The Way of The Livingness is extraordinary and beautifully ordinary.
Thank you Eleanor – you writing shows how clearly our hurt and experience can get in the way of distorting the original meaning of a word like Religion. This happens on so many levels and creates conflict within ourselves and each other. When it starts getting complicated and dogmatic it has to come back to simplicity and right human relations, what is true.
I am with you Elanor, I ran from religion until I realised it was HOW religion was being practised that did not gel with me and that in fact – when returned to its true essence, religion (a way of living in respect and connection to divinity) was something I craved
Me too Joel, I was feeling exactly the same. I was searching and craving for a way of life that was about love, true connection to people and to God, but everywhere I turned this was not what I felt existed around me until I was presented, The Way of The Livingness. This is the only religion that confirms everything I already felt and knew. It is absolutely about love, truth and brotherhood in every aspect.
I can relate to what you’re saying, Joel – and I think we all crave this connection to divinity you mention. There are so many people seeking it, most who do so seek outside of themselves.
For me having found the religion “The Way of The Livingness“ is like having found the right food after decades of chewing on plastic.
Like so many aspects of human life we ended up reducing the quality and meaning of religion throughout the years. It has been so freeing and expansive for me to understand that all those qualities and inconsistencies that turned me off religion were nothing to do with religion after all, but were simply an indication of man’s propensity to change and bastardise the truth.
Wow love your Sharing Elanor! It’s clear that religion is so much more than what we have interpreted that word to mean. Life is religion!
I adore the equality of The Way of the Livingness. No matter who what where why, we are all equal.
Striving for perfection or an answer is an absolute time waster in life, where the inbetween parts offer the most learning and development.
Great blog Eleanor and I can feel this is something you have really claimed for yourself. I was exactly the same growing up, the ‘religion’ I saw in the world around me felt like a lie and was not truly encompassing all as I knew it does. If I am really honest the word religion at the moment still makes me cringe a bit, which is great to feel as I know there is more for me to feel and look at here as to why. But what you shared here is I know true religion and what the word means ‘A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence. There is never any judgement in true religion; nor are there rules or anyone telling you what to do. There is no one person above another and even God sees us as His absolute, equal Sons.’
I am so glad to know the true meaning of the word religion. It has freed me up a lot in being able to claim that I am religious by the very fact that I come from God and because of that have a relationship with the whole universe.
Thank you Eleanor for exposing what true religion means to you. I was a bit of a sci-fi nut when I was at school and there was also a part of me that knew there was more to life than I could see, or even imagine. It was finding the answer that took some time …. a very long time in fact, but the moment I met Serge Benhayon, and he talked about what true religion was I knew I had found what I had been looking for, we are ALL connected, we are ALL One, we are NOT alone in the Universe and once we ALL wake up to this realisation and take responsibility, we will all become religious in the true sense of the word and find our way back home to where we come from. It may take a while but we are on our return back to who we truly are, and it is the religion of The Way of The Livingness that will do it.
I never saw the point of religion before hearing its true meaning from Serge Benhayon, a re-turning to who we truly are. This was simple and made sense to me. No dogma, rules, or need to do something to get close to God, God is already inside us all waiting for us to re-connect. This took a while for me to accept because although I had not been brought up with religion I could still feel its indoctrination in me.
Eleanor I was someone that did not like the word religion, I would avoid it, and I didn’t like to classify myself as religious but neither did I want to classify myself as not religious. I was quite confused and like you it was only until I heard the true definition of religion from Serge Benhayon, that I started to once again embrace religion knowing it to be true just not the way the word and organizations have used it. What a blessing to start to connect with and use the truth of words not the misinterpretations of them.
“A religion is not about an exclusive group of people who see others as different in some way, as it has the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence.” Beautifully said Eleanor. This really does highlight how we have misinterpreted the word religion and made it into something that is simply not true.
Even an atheist is religious. They just have a different viewpoint on the nature of God.
As I did step out of the church I said: I am religious but not in the way it is lived in the churches. I walked on the spiritual way for a while and now found my truth in The Way of The Livingness, which is not spiritual at all. Being religious is something very natural for me, but to learn how to live it again very practically is, in this world of separation, a task. And it is a responsibility we all have to face one day.
Hearing Serge Benhayon present on the true origins and meaning of the word religion was game changing for me too. There are parts of many of the mainstream religions that I could relate to but the actual practice and whole of them had so many inconsistencies and outright harming ways that showed them up as not being true. For me The Way of The Livingness brings it back to the beautiful simplicity of what religion truly is about and makes it something very real and applicable to all our lives.
So true Fiona, and the sooner that The Way of The Livingness is a religious study at schools the better off all humanity will be.
Fiona I like what you have shared about religion being ‘something very real and applicable to all our lives’, that to me is the key, true religion is not at all abstract, in fact it’s quite the opposite, which is why it is accessible equally by all.
There is certainly an image associated with the word ‘religion’, or someone claiming that they are ‘religious’ – going to church, living in a way governed by the beliefs/guidelines of that religion, making decisions based on what is written in the Bible/other related book and so forth, but from as you’ve shared Eleanor being ‘religious’ can simply mean choosing to live in accordance to what makes sense in the big picture and respectfully for our equal members of humanity.
What becomes so clear is that we are in fact all religious but through the many streams that we have made religion to be we have been lead away from what we deep down know religion to be, the connection and relationship with ourselves and everything and everybody else.
Which, Esther means that even atheists are religious.
If love and truth are important for them, especially so.
I could never figure out, the same thing that nobody else seems to be able to figure out and that is why almost all religions create so much separation and that one is better than another and they will get to heaven and everyone else will burn in hell and all that nonsense. But when shown a true religion that is about love and equality and we are all equal sons of God, well that starts to make a bit more sense.
My introduction to The Way of The Livingness by Serge Benhayon slowly began my re-introduction to what a true religion is, and after many years of also cringing at the words religion and God I began to finally understand what I had been avoiding for most of my life: the fact that religion encompasses every facet of the way I live, my relationship with me , with others and with God.
Thank you Eleanor. I can relate to much of what you share, apart from this. I was raised in two very different Christian religious communities one, Methodist, simple and quiet, the other evangelical, emotional and over-bearing. I rejected both because neither gave answers to my very many questions related to: separation, us and them, in-equality, conspicuous wealth in the face of poverty, dishonesty, hypocrisy, violence against others, ritual rather than daily living.. I now have an understanding of true religion that is all encompassing, loving and accepting of all. And yes, like you now openly accept that I am religious.
I was brought up Catholic but never really connected with it and the minute I was older enough to not go to church that was a day of rejoice. Like you Eleanor I always knew there was a connection to the greater Universe and I can vividly remember when asked on my views or if I had a religion I followed I would claim that I am my own God. Knowing that God was inside of me and that I didn’t need a community or building to have this connection. That this connection directly within me was my Religion. When introduced to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine this was an awesome confirmation and I got to understand the truth and science in how we are all equal sons of God.
The word religion has been so bastardized. I was uncomfortable with the varying orthodox religions I saw around me growing up, but was always fascinated by the concept of God, so kept on searching. After spiritual searching, which got me nowhere, coming across Universal Medicine was like breathing fresh air after being denied oxygen. I too can now claim I am religious after all.
I also used to put myself in the ‘spiritual’ category because if what I felt and knew beyond what was seen then as normal life. As time has passed and I have made different choices in my own life my connection to this deeper truth to life is now what I know to be normal, exposing just how abnormal our widely accepted ways of living actually are in contrast to our true nature. Religion is a realigning to this inner truth and bring it to the fore in our way of living.
I too have always shied away from describing myself as religious until I embraced the teachings of The Way of The Livingness. What I love is the absolute equality but also responsibility, in that how I live my life affects others, to bring all of me to everything and in this connect to my true purpose.
I can relate to everything you share Eleanor about religion. As I was growing up there was much about religion that just seemed at odds and contradictory, “like having ‘love thy neighbour’ as one of the core beliefs, but starting a war with another country or group of people for whatever reason anyway.” it turned me off religion completely too and yet I also knew there was so much more then the eye could see. The Way of The Livingness makes so much sense and I am truly appreciative (to put it mildly) that I have found teachings and presentations that fill in all the gaps!
This blog brings up questions around how the word ‘Religion’ or ‘Religious’ has been distorted and manipulated in order to separate people, encourage comparison, competition and fear. True religion is about relationship to all – self, others, our environment and nature – all based on equality, responsibility and love.
I never associated myself with being religious either, but knew that life had a deeper meaning. To learn the true original meaning of religion has enabled me to embrace the fact that I am religious and celebrate it.
Thank you Eleanor your experience of religion is very similar to mine as is your response to Serge Benhayon when he presented the real meaning of religion. Certainly humanity’s track record with religion is pretty dire and is executed (pun intended) in many very un-religious ways like the religious wars in Ireland. If God’s message is to love thy neighbour, so far we have a pretty bad job of it as evidenced by the on-going conflict in Israel and current slaughter in Syria. Serge Benhayon has restored to us the true meaning of the word and the practice of religion, not just through words but also by his own actions and choices, hence restoring our true purpose, to align to the Love of God within us and to recognise all as equal Sons of God, divine precious and wise. Then our religious practice becomes the loving rituals of every day life, how we prepare for our day, the quality of our relationships and work, our commitment to our communities and life, an all-encompassing expression that excludes no one.
I can relate so well with what you have written, Eleanor – the resistance to ‘religion’ yet at the same time intrigued, as there was a knowing that there was something more. Then meeting The Way of The Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon all the pieces have fitted into place and I now joyfully and confidently say I have a religion, I am religious.
I read the title of this blog and laughed out loud. I too am religious after all despite spending years as an atheist and looking down on others who were religious. In fact anything to do with religion was fodder for ridicule. The main reason was that I had never come across any religion that felt true, but that changed when I became a student of The Way of The Livingness. It’s about the way I live, the relationship I have with myself and everyone else. It’s not about recruiting people, how many times I go to church, or quote the bible.
Gorgeous Eleanor, I too have realised that I am actually religious, I used to call myself ‘agnostic’, not believing in God because everything I saw around me about religion felt wrong – it felt very imposing and separative and didn’t really make any sense, now that I have been presented with the Way of The Livingness and that God lives inside all of us, that there are no ‘chosen ones’ and that we are all equal, this makes religion make sense to me, this is a religion that feels true and is about us all and is very simple and practical.
Thank you Eleanor for addressing the cringe that comes with the standardised word ‘religion’. Religion for me now is something very natural, it is a part of life that cannot be separated out for a certain day of the week or a particular time of day. It is a relationship I have with what I know to be divine within myself, and very practically how I am with my body and expression. Religion now, is an ever-deepening connection that knows no bounds.
Great blog Eleanor, Religion carries with it so many differing meanings – like you growing up I was fascinated by religion but could not find a religion which I felt to be true. I studied different ones at school at felt a connection to the people they were based on such as Jesus, Siddhartha Gautama etc.. but not with the actual religion that followed. I delved into the spiritual side of things as well looking for answers but again it was more smoke and mirrors with no substance. Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon have been the first to present to me what true religion is and it makes complete sense!
What is so beautiful here, is how being our true selves is considered a religious act. Therefore whenever you say no to something that does not feel true, you are being religious. And whenever you say yes to something that feels absolutely right from the core of your being, then you are making a religious choice to further extend the truth out in to this world that has very little truth being lived today.
I love this openheartletters. Powerfully and simply expressed.
‘I had never heard the word ‘religion’ being used with its true intent and meaning.’ This says everything Eleanor. How much of our world is transformed when we hear and feel the true meaning of words being expressed in the way they are intended.
Thank you, Eleanor. I love the clarity and humour with which you write, and can relate to every word. I feel blessed every day to have observed and now experienced for myself what it means to be truly religious. Serge Benhayon simply reminds us that the key is in re-discovering the truth that resides within us, where we are all equally divine.
We are so fortunate to have the reflection from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine which offers a different way in which religion can truly be lived and understood. Without this reflection, I know for myself and for many others and for the greater humanity that the true relationship we now celebrate with religion in The Way of The Livingness would simply not be lived in the degree it is today.
Beautiful Eleanor, if you are understanding that . . .”Being religious is in the way I live and the relationships I have with all around me, knowing that this is forever unfolding and deepening as long as I allow it to” . . .then you certainly are Religious after all. It is amazing how people have used the word religion to fight wars when the true understanding of the word is felt and lived in the body.
Religion as presented by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon is not about an institution, a building or a ‘one God’, it is about living in a way where you have no doubt you are the Son of God. This way of living is one where we are accountable for every choice we make, where we honour ourselves in all that we do, where our body is our kingly heaven. This religion is open to all, no specialness, no exclusions, it is universal. A way of living that brings heaven to earth.
“Belfast, a place that has been fought over by two religions for a very long time.” The ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland always seemed, and seem, to me as a reflection of so much disharmony in the world. The conflict was about different people interpreting the same thing in a different way and fighting over it. The Way of The Livingness invites us all to be love in all that we do.
Isn’t it amazing when we come back to the truth of words in their full meaning.
Everything that isn’t lived in and by that word stands out like a sore thumb to not be true. So for example now knowing, living and feeling the true meaning and lived way of being religious, by how we live and observation of others who live it in its absolute truest and purest form – shows anything that is not religious very clearly. Simple by the way we move, not by preaching or telling people in the street.
“A religion is not about an exclusive group of people…..”
Interestingly I detected that I felt exclusive most of my life. Only now i start to feel how connected I am to people. The more I understand that religion is about a relationship with myself and God, the more I get this feeling of connectedness with every other person.
This is so true Kerstin, through living disconnected from my true self, I focused more and more on building an identity for myself, I wanted to be recognised for being different and standing out and all this fueled how separate I felt from humanity at large.
“A religion is not about an exclusive group of people…..”
Interestingly i detected that I felt exclusive most of my life. Only now i start to feel how connected I am to people. The more I understand that religion is about a relationship with my self and God, the more I get this feeling of connectedness with every other person.
The word religion has been bastardised for many ages up to the point that we have lost its true meaning. We innately feel that and to me that is why we feel uncomfortable when we are confronted with the nowadays religion institutions that have rephrased the meaning of the word and have given it a false livingness void of the true essence of what religion truly is.
We are equal children of God. If this was the one precept we held in religion, then that would be an end to all the manipulation and squabbling that has gone on since man made religion was formulated.
The religions we are sold today are seeded from separation and not the one-unified way of being we all know how to live in essence. This is because each of us are divine at the core of our being, even if this divinity is masked by layers of hurt and the many false images created from the myriad of beliefs and ideals we have been fed since we were born, and the lives prior to that. It is these ‘false seeds’ that we carry that mask our understanding of true religion, a way of living that simply means to re-turn to the love that we are.
Eleanor, I can relate 100% to all that you share as I too shunned religion my whole life, deterred by these neatly wrapped packages while all the while knowing deep within that there is a grand universal order and harmony that we belong to and that governs us when we allow ourselves to move in tune with it and not in opposition to it. Despite this I also cringed when Serge Benhayon started speaking about religion but the cringe was not the truth that was spoken but more from all that has been lived in its place that I had been led to believe was ‘religion’, but was in fact a lie.
Not wanting to use the word ‘religious’ to describe myself, but feeling more at ease with the word ‘spiritual’ – I used to as well. It’s just so interesting how the word religion got so completely misinterpreted and being ‘spiritual’ became more acceptable somehow. Getting to understand the true meaning of the word religion has brought me a sense of reconciliation with something I pushed away and denied to be fully aligned with.
Elenore it is beautiful how you have shared your relationship with religion
I can relate very much to what you’ve shared Eleanor, having a very similar relationship with religion growing up. What I love about true religion is exactly as you’ve shared… “there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.
‘True Religion is not about imposing beliefs on others or trying to convert them, but there is an absolute respect for everyone and anyone, regardless of their age, race, job, gender, sexual orientation or belief system that they follow.’ …. a very important truth for us all to deeply ponder on if we want to evolve from the terrible mess we have created for ourselves.
‘To be completely honest, the word religion actually made me cringe, as the many examples of religions that I saw around me didn’t feel very religious!’, I totally agree, Eleanor, sadly, the actions of some bastardised what religion ‘meant’ for the rest of us. Thank goodness for Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness, for re-connecting us with what religion truly is.
Religion always felt like a foreign language to me and one that was always so hard to grasp. Now though I can say that I am religious because it is felt from the way I live, move and express everyday and I love that feeling. Thank you Eleanor.
Turns out that I am deeply religious too! and I totally relate to the cringe factor you mention when you used to hear the word religion, I know what it’s like to mention the word myself and feel others cringe just the same. Without an understanding of the true meaning and the energy behind this word when it is spoken in truth, from a place of absolute equality and all-encompassing love and brotherhood I completely understand why any other interpretation of it causes a reaction, as the later is just not at all who we are or what we resonate with.
Eleanor what a great piece on your way through religion, and onto true religion through The Way of The Livingness. I was brought up catholic, with nun teachers, went to catholic schools where religious education was a compulsory subject to study. Although I didn’t have any aversion to ‘religion’ I didn’t ‘enjoy’ it either, I felt indifferent …except when it came to school mass in the mornings before lessons began, the lighting of candles, the smell of incense wafting through — and at aged 6 or 7 I recall feeling the importance of ceremony, ritual, order and holiness through all this. God was not an unknown to me. And years later via Universal Medicine through a religion that makes active sense to me: The Way of The Livingness, such order has become about ‘the order of myself’, how I live life/my approach to myself and equally to all people, and every day refining it with the one substantiating essence in my heart and body – love. To me religion has been [and is] re-connection to my own true self and love, living its quality from there, to know the absoluteness of God. There is no greater joy to be religious in this way.
Thanks Eleanor, So many great points expressed here about true religion and our universal connection to a bigger picture of creation and god. With the understanding of reincarnation and how important our choices are in determining what comes or constellates next. Everything is interconnected in a fine tuned mathematical equation, and our choices of free will also become a part of it all.
I really love the idea Eleanor that being religious is being in relationship with ourselves and hence with everyone, when we hold ourselves and others, this feels like love, which is what the true meaning of religion (union) is. But what really interests me is the way in how we can do this, and it is by defining a rhythm in life that truly supports us, and I especially feel inspired by your suggestion of taking responsibility for our reactions, and so deepening with this, giving ourselves understanding in why we react and to be aware in how we can choose differently, which is really a continued beholding of ourselves and a deepening of relationship and love with us. Being religious is simply natural, to be honest.
My experience with religion was limited growing up, in that we didn’t speak about religion at all really, we just didn’t take part in it and ignored it really existed, until religious studies would come up at school and Mum would need to tick the box for no religion. I also have never felt it was true that we only have one life, or that we would never see each other again.
The title of this article is so apt! I’d never have wanted to be associated with being called religious because what I saw around me that called itself religious did not feel true to being a Son of God – the judgement; imposition of beliefs and bigotry towards those who did not tow company doctrine; and do-gooding. And now, if I cringe still at the word it is only because I know I am not living religion in full. I know any aspect of what I know it not to be is what I am living in some way and, if I’m to be in relationship with God, with humanity, with myself, then I need to address what is not love in how I am living.
Great blog Eleanor and one which I echo. My upbringing was a religious (Christian) one and at the time and for many years growing up I thought I was religious, – however as I grew older, some of the things I questioned about religion and God and love couldn’t be answered other than ‘it’s God’s plan’ or “It’s because of sin” etc and there seemed to be a dichotomy between the way many Christians and different religions lived and practised in relation to what their religion claimed to be about. So I abandoned Christianity at the time and pursued a spiritual path, which for a while satisfied my needs in terms of feeling there had to be something more, but that too, soon raised questions and there were many things that simply didn’t match or equate to what I could innately feel inside God and love were truly about. Enter Universal Medicine, Serge Benhayon and my introduction to The Way of The Livingness – finally I realised what true religion is – and which at some level, I had always known and why my earlier experiences of religion had always raised questions and never quite made sense. As expressed here, true religion is “the foundation of knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence.” As I continue to develop my relationship with my self and my own true essence, I also begin to develop and expand my relationship with all others and their essence… and now too can say I know and am beginning to live true religion.
What you write Eleanor exposes the absolute evil of the bastardisation of words. Religion is all about reconnecting to our divine essence and nothing to do with looking outside. However, reinterpret the word and you succeed in turning people against religion and therefore themselves, and in that emptiness they can manipulated. Much is written about this evil in a variety of articles at Unimedpedia here: http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia – including what Religion and Evil truly are.
Thank you Eleanor – I am sure many people can relate to the way you previously felt about religion- I certainly can. It makes absolute sense to me that every move we make is religious whether we classify ourselves as religious or not. The Way of The Livingness is a religion that supports me to make my life about love, healing and evolution and this is all I have ever wanted and what I have always known to be true.
We can lead a life completely dominated by beliefs and still feel everything we believed in never served an end we’d be proud of.
The endless motion to see the fruits of our beliefs is a tiresome process which only works if it is continually fed.
Eleanor I relate very strongly to what you say here, as it is the nature of religious organisations that I had withdrawn from. Serge Benhayon has reintroduced the true intent and meaning of religion, which makes perfect sense, as we are all equal in essence Sons of God. The biggest hangover I have from religion is believing I’m not good enough, but through making loving choices for myself and rebuilding my self-love this ideal of perfection or belief that I am unworthy has nearly dissolved, and I am willing to be responsible for my choices (without perfection).
I very much relate to what you have shared here Eleanor. Religion is an all encompassing beautiful word when its true meaning is understood and lived. In the past I never like the word, due to all the images and ideals that often were are attached to it. Religion to me is the relationship of love I have with myself, others and all of life, and celebrating the fact “knowing that absolutely everyone in humanity is equal in their essence.”
Amazing Eleanor. We need to redefine religion to what its true meaning is. I too saw way too many contradictions between what was preached in so called ‘religion’ to the actions that were occurring. Yet, I knew there was more to life than what I could just see and touch and reincarnation makes so much more sense to me than a single life from birth to death – nothing prior and nothing after. The understanding I now have of true religion means that I too can now (relatively) comfortably say that I am religious.
Great Eleanor and a pleasure to read about you and your religion. Like many words these days we certainly have given religion some new meaning and taken it away from its true meaning. I can hear people jumping up and down because some would consider they own the word religion. You make it simple, and religion is a very personal and yet encompassing relationship you have with yourself and everything there after. No one group owns it and yet it’s owned by all. The Way Of The Livingness is this religion and it doesn’t ask you or tell you to do anything but supports you to trust what you already feel. It turns our current forms of religions on their heads. and rightly so because they all have been upside down for ages.
Absolutely agree Eleanor it is a revelation to be able to freely claim that you are religious person. It is still something I fade in and out of but when I claim it I can feel how much my body loves that total alignment to truth.
Religion is now not what it was. Now it is commitment, responsibility and love. It is the all. It is what I know to be true in a world full of un-truths.
The true meaning of the word religion has remained a constant throughout time, it’s our interpretation of the word that has changed. If we had stayed close to the original meaning of the word religion, then that would have been ok but with every interpretation and re-interpretation we have got further and further away from the truth until we ended up with a meaning that bore little to no resemblance to the original meaning.