Mention the word ‘religion’ and it either goes very quiet or incites an unexpected debate, should you have struck a believer. And in many (possibly most?) circles, it is anything but fashionable to profess to being religious. Unless you are famous, of course; in which case, you get away with murder, or just about.
But what is it that makes us cringe, shrink, turn the other way, ignore the remark or smile limply – in other words, what makes us scramble for shelter at the mere mention of the word?
Is this an aversion against religion itself or is it more and much deeper than this? The former is certainly the easy and handy answer in our world of shallowness and profanities, of abuse, terror, angst, cruelty and obvious godlessness (oh God, don’t mention God please!).
But what if our aversion to religion is deeper than the easily observable mess the world is in? Why indeed such repulsion and disdain? Surely it must run deeper than a mere “what good has religion ever done?” “Religion is so outdated and yesteryear” or “leave me alone with organised religion”, to name but a few of the many possible and seemingly plausible objections.
I used to be an expert at these objections and have listed only a few of my milder if not outright weak and impotent utterances here. Nothing like an ‘intelligent’ person to take the mickey out of religion and give it a marathon run for its money!
But was there a deeply buried hurt underneath this façade of bravado and intelligence, combative posturing and explosive verbiage?
Looking back at it now I can say without a shadow of doubt that it was a deep inner knowing of a true religion that made me react so strongly if not verbally violently at times, the knowing of a true religion that:
- doesn’t distinguish between races, skin colour, gender, education, social standing, etc.
- doesn’t hold some as more deserving than others
- doesn’t label one lot of people as chosen at the expense of everyone else
- doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been
- doesn’t support greed, lies, murder, genocide, money laundering and corruption
- doesn’t harbour criminals in their midst and thinks itself as above the law
- doesn’t turn a blind eye to hypocrisy, deception and deceit
- doesn’t spawn suicide attacks
- doesn’t demand faith or allegiance
- isn’t based on belief systems
- isn’t self-serving
- doesn’t preach of sin, purgatory and hell
- doesn’t subscribe to the void or nothingness
- doesn’t demand obedience or subservience
- … and this list is endless, as you can well imagine
So what then is true religion, you may ask? And does it exist?
Well, if you are still with me and haven’t politely or even brusquely turned away, it does exist and it is called The Way of The Livingness. It is not a new religion by any stretch of the imagination but it is the true religion in my book, and for many. The Way of The Livingness is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man and child. Its modern representative is the world teacher Serge Benhayon, founder of Universal Medicine.
The Way of The Livingness is the antithesis of all the points listed above and so much more – and then some; it is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart. It is true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots (religare = to bind) and it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to; and it does so even when we think it doesn’t concern us and turn the other way. Why? Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.
By Gabriele Conrad, Goonellabah, NSW Australia
Related Reading:
The Way of The Livingness – Where can I Register?
The Way of The Livingness – It’s My Religion
Why Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness Makes Sense
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
I have been reading a lot about the corruption that is occurring in evidence based practice and it definitely struck me that evidence based practice is akin to conventional religion, which really is a bastardised version of religion. Soon we may come to have the same distaste for evidence-based practice.
Clearly I am focusing on this topic at the moment because I find myself back reading your blog as if it were the first time! I know that any religion that has Love at its core – which essentially is every single one – would never be able to justify child abuse, corruption, suicide bombers or anything else on your list.
To call ‘religion’ what is clearly not religion is an abomination and nothing but an abomination.
Every person has the right to embrace religion or not. That is free will. Those who embrace it have the right to choose which version of religion they embrace (well they may not be that free particularly when you just go by family tradition). Those who choose not to embrace religion usually come up with a statement that justifies this. The statement is what it is, but it is never the truth of the reason why that statement is coming out of their mouths. Understanding what is behind, though, is of great value.
Rebuking the widely accepted bastardisation of the word ‘religion’ comes as no surprise and is imminently understandable. Denying God is another matter, though. It is a violent and self-destructive reaction to a truth deeply felt.
Atheism and Agnosticism are two paths away from God based on a deep deep hurt. The difference between them is that in the case of the atheist, there is a given upness and in the agnostic, an arrogance that God has to prove to me that he is worth my trust again. The first one does not expect anything further and will move in a way that creates constant situations that confirm the vacuum one has chosen to live in; the second is desperate to have that signal but will never admit it and will move in a way that the signal will never reach him/her.
I would be one that would run away from the world religion because it is now synonymous with abuse and hypocrisy. Yet Religion is a connection and The Way of the Livingness is so practical that I have been able to heal much of my aversion to a word that was so exclusive to now feel that it is the reaction I have is to re-interpretation of people not the judgement of God.
It is in fact our reaction to how we have allowed religion to be bastardised and used, in the name of money, power and influence. None of it has anything to do with God or the true meaning of the word ‘religion’.
Religion is simply a reconnection to who we truly are and that is Divine. When we connect to our essence there is a deep settlement and also a recognition of that same quality in everyone else. The Way of The Livingness offers us a way to live in that connection with ourselves and all others in everyday life. It is indeed true religion.
We have a deep inner knowing of love that exposes to us all that is not love and we react to what is not love being done in the name of love.
… and we also react to the fact that we have contributed to the rot ourselves, to the twisting and torturing of words that once had meaning and gravitas, i.e. words that truly meant and stood for something, unequivocally.
…exactly and that is the purpose of Unimedpedia – http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia – to expose the lies and bring Truth back to words.
Now that is my idea of religion, a living way from our inner most hearts. No imposition, rules or framework rather a connection and expression of who we naturally are in essence.
The first thing that comes to me after reading this account of what a false religion is compared to the truth of The Way of the Livingness is that it makes complete sense that many would react so strongly and discount the current religions of the world, because in our hearts we all know that what they represent and stand for is not working to bring us back to our souls and live harmoniously once again. But we need not ‘throw the baby out with the bath water” and give up on religion altogether, for it is inside us always, waiting to be reconnected to and nurtured by God.
The religion The Way of The Livingness is to live with love and feel the love of God through you, all around you, as a part of you as you are a part of the Universe.
True religion is the glue that will connect humanity together into an awareness of what our purpose truly is on this planet, and that there actually is no separation.
‘we cannot but be what we are’ is the inbuilt guarantee of us returning to who we are no matter how far we may choose to deviate away. It is an expression of the unconditional love we are held in, that allows us free will to explore what we are not, but never leaves us alone to get lost in the endeavour.
‘The Way of The Livingness is the antithesis of all the points listed above and so much more – and then some;’….brilliant blog. Hurt yourself with lies and bastardisation or heal yourself through truth and live the love that you are.
There is always a choice and when we take responsibility for our choices and the oftentimes misery that ensues, we can choose otherwise and not be held captive by a consciousness any longer that is ruthless and only after one thing: to keep the devastation going and humankind in misery and captivity.
I always found religion difficult to get my head around when I was younger, because God was perceived to be this figure of worship, and the reason for many wars in his name too, yet when we realise that God is actually within us all, there can be no wars in the name of religion, and worshiping God means honouring ourselves and others too.
Yes the equality of this relationship sows seeds that we then nurture throughout our lives in the activity of that Love.
” Looking back at it now I can say without a shadow of doubt that it was a deep inner knowing of a true religion ”
For me growing up it was a bit similar and when people said they were acting in the name of God it was easy to see that those people were not religious.
We do know, even as children, what true religion is, as it really is innate. What Jesus spoke about in terms of love and brotherhood are the things we naturally have already in the purity of the essence we are born as. If we remove children and adults from that essence via the systems, beliefs, and ideals of life, then the perhaps a truly religious practice would be to let each other be and to foster all human beings to be their natural selves, and to simply remove all that imposes on this inner essence.
As it is with true healing and the restoration of what we innately and in essence are, it is always a question of getting rid of what we are not – in this case the beliefs and ideals we use as props and impose on our children, ourselves and everyone.
So beautiful to read what religion is, it’s an absolute knowing in my body. Very much appreciated reading what it isn’t too, especially this one which I know I’ve not fully allowed myself to embrace – time to no longer buy into any being better than another for how pious one is or being less worthy and in need of penance for ones sins. ‘doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been’.
Yes indeed true religion is simply a return or reconnection to who we truly are and that is what we so deeply miss. What a crime against humanity to bastardise this beautiful word. Unimedpedia Religion: http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-religion.html provides some lovely free audio and quotes about true religion and the meaning of the word.
The thing about The Way of the Livingness that has meant I have been able to relate to and then reconnect to within myself is the physical practicality of it. We get to know religion and God through being more present and honouring of our bodies. The path to the Divine is physical and temporal (worldly).
I love the feeling of The Way of The Livingness being the unwritten ancient wisdom held within each and every one of us.
The Way of the Livingness “is true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots (religare = to bind) and it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to; and it does so even when we think it doesn’t concern us and turn the other way. Why? Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” So agree Gabriele. The Way of the Livingness is unlike any other religion, as there are no rules or institutions to follow. When we listen to our inner heart – and just be our true selves, reconnecting deeply with ourselves and with God – this is the religion I want to embrace.
Absolutely – religion doesn’t hurt us, it’s what we’ve made it to be that hurts us. I wonder how everyone would feel about religion if we approached it completely freshly without first being tainted by the man-made dogmas, issues and problems that exist now.
We would be totally unencumbered by any notions, ideas or misinterpretations of what ‘religion’ apparently is and would live true religion from our body.
It is true that we do have to totally re-imprint the word religion… And it is in fact the responsibility of each and every one of us who do know and treasure the connection with the divine that is possible, and that actually lives within us.
It is so very true Gabriele, that we all have a deep inner-knowing of what true religion is. As by virtue of the fact that we are all Souls, we in essence know our innate way of being is religious in nature. Living in connection to our inner-most through all that we do, we live the truth that represents the equalness and interconnectedness of us all, our true and Soulful way.
I agree – so many people are put off by the lies they feel in the way the word ‘religion’ gets used. The true meaning of the word religion is so exquisitely beautiful yet represents something so normal to all of us, and there’s no need whatsoever for us to belong to any organisation to be religious. The truth gets eroded as we allow anything less than absolute to mean what a word represents and we have continued to move in a way that would ‘advance’ in that vector.
All I can say to this is ‘Yes’. A very big yes. I too knew that the organized religions of this world were false – because deep down I knew what true religion was.
I agree Leigh – we all have a deep and great sense of what true religion is, as this is what we lived as children. A quality that never really leaves us, it is only us that changes our relationship with it.
I see how important it is to break down the illusions around what the word religion has come to mean, and that to do this need not be by engaging in heated debate or taking to the streets in protest of what religion has become, but rather simply through the way we live, how we interact with eachother, all over the world we can change not only what religion is and means and how it relates to and supports us in daily life, but also this can bring change to the world itself, to the whole world in a deeply sustainable and real very genuine way that touches at the heart of every person because every person deserves to know that they are a part of something great.
I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity this lifetime to be a part of a very true and beautiful religion The Way of The Livingness. It has been life-changing to re-connect to the truth of God and divinity and to make this true religion part of my everyday living.
The reaction I used to have regarding to religion was originated by the deep knowing of its meaning and the distortion that I felt in the religions I have known during my life. They didn’t honour my own freedom and discernment to read and understand what the Masters purely offered to us. Those religions have become an interference between those initially clear messages and people. The only religion that I know that respects, don’t push or taint anything is The Way of The Livingness. That reaction has been disappearing, as from there, I feel now myself respected in my own connection and communication with God.
A true religion does not advocate or foster any intermediaries between God and us, it is anathema. We only need to observe our children to feel how God-given, irrevocable, innate and natural that connection is.
I think it does hurt to see systems, beliefs, ideals, philosophies, behaviours and actions in our world that are loveless because deep down we do all know love and so can see when something is not from that love. And so rather than react to that hurt, indulge in it or deny it we can instead direct our energy into bringing the love that we know to life, in our every living way, re-establishing a truly religious way of life that supports everyone and for me The Way of The Livingness is that way.
I love your article Gabriele; religion is not separate from us, it is innately part of us. It is not a matter of belief, it simply is.
By and large, the word religion is intimately associated with the words belief and faith. Do you believe in God? If you do, you have to have a religion that operate based on faith. The Way of The Livingness is the only religion that does not operate based on those words. It is founded in a profound knowing deeply confirmed by the body and expanded through our livingness (our movements)
The Way of The Livingness is like the Sun that rises every morning, without fail. We do not need to believe in it, it is there for all to see as is the true religion to be felt as the innateness it is in every single one of us.
It is true, that many of the arguments against leading a religious life tend to come from an intellectual standpoint which has detached itself from the God Light that comes from our soul.
And just imagine if we felt the essence of the word religion , the innate celebration that lives within the word, how the world would transform
Yes, living from the essence that unites us, that is religion worth celebrating.
And don’t mention that with the inner heart on fire, everything that mankind holds cherished is revealed as the empty vessel it is, making much noise
The inescapable truth, religion in truth is about, we can crusade on a path of deceit and lies (all that religion is not) – or we can choose to take one step closer, within us, and re-discover that religion is within us all – and that all the misinterpretations have simply been ill created lies.
“The way of the livingness .It is not a new religion by any stretch of the imagination but it is the true religion ”
Even the words say it , the way you live lets you know how your relationship with the what is and the what is not is been lived , ones personal religion.
True – we can only be who we are. And if we have chosen to hide it , it still is there. Hence what only hurts is the separation of being you. A simple matter of truth. Something we cannot escape only choose to not feel (deny).
It seems a human trait to stick our colours to a mast and sail it into everyone else. It’s why I am learning more and more the benefits of a religion such as The Way of The Livingness, because it needs no fanfare, and is all about our own responsibility to live with care and make choices responding to truly feeling. Then other can feel this and they can ignore it or ask more, but it never need be an imposition.
While reading this I was struck by what I think must be an incredibly common experience as a child. When I was younger the world was full of magic which I trusted, knew deep within, and expected other people to be able to explain and help me understand. That is the role of religion… to develop a relationship with that magic, and in its organised form it has abjectly failed – which hurts us all to the core. Such a disservice for such a precious feeling.
I agree – as children we knew and were super aware of how it all feels; religion and education then do their best to layer this inner knowing with all sorts of theories and misinterpretations that fit the status quo, the ‘normalcy’ which we have falsely adopted.
It’s so true Gabriele. When we observe the hypocrisy, inconsistencies or unloving behaviours of those that claim to be religious, or do in the name of religion, it leaves us feeling disillusioned and thinking it’s the religions fault not the actual individual who actioned it.
It wasn’t that long ago that I would avoid any conversation about religion and absolutely struggle to say the word God and I would have been very sure that this would be how it was until the end of this life. But along came Serge Benhayon and introduced the world to The Way of The Livingness, a true religion that every single particle in me was saying yes to. I have come to embrace The Way as my way of living, a religious way that bears no resemblance to the institutionalised religions that, as far as I am concerned, have caused more separation in the world than the uniting of people in Brotherhood which is our natural way of living.
I feel most mainstream religions have been exposed as being very flawed by those who truly seek truth.
Religion is very much apart of who we are, its apart of our everyday. It’s very sad that what we know deep within has been shrouded with all that we now think religion is.
Our repulsion to religion says we know it, inside out, and can’t stand the fact that the word is being used and practiced in a way that is not true to the true meaning. For some, the way religion is is good enough as it quells the want to be part of a community and be part of something that confirms there is more out there and more to life.
How rare to read an article about religion that does not try to persuade that you have all the answers, that yours is the one! The Way of The Livingness is clearly about developing that relationship within oneself in every movement, thought and action. It is about integrity and honesty, truth and love, playfulness and joy, about harmony. I am sure there is so much more but if that is right then what a breath of fresh air and why wait, why not live that way as a ‘norm’ in order to reflect to others there is another way that does not foster the pain and resentment that is currently taken as the ‘norm’?
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that we plainly need an alternative to what has been bandied about these last couple of thousand years… a new normal that is so much more natural.
There is something about this article, which felt very beautiful… I felt a deep smile as I read it and reflected on the long nay endless list of what a true religion is not and cannot be… and, very simply, there is now a religion that lives and breathes truth …. Now that IS something to smile about.
Although we think that religion needs to be a certain way and from that have created the organized religions, our natural religion is just that connection with our inner heart, that part in us that is our connection with the whole, which is always there if we live in obedience of it or not That is our own choice and is also the reason why organized religions do exist as it has been our collective choice to disregard that inner connection and choose for the man made religions instead.
Gabrielle, I love how you give us space to consider what real religion is.. and that it is not any other illusionary stuff it has been made about, we had fallen (willingly so) for the lies and corruption of the word.. But the great thing is that even though we might have escaped the truth, the truth is still there and needs to be re-discovered and so shall the book of truth be opened. This sentence resonated very truly and deeply within: ‘It is not a new religion by any stretch of the imagination but it is the true religion in my book, and for many. The Way of The Livingness is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man and child.’
Totally wipes out the illusion we have given ourselves about religion – and sets straight what it is about.
We all have this knowing that there is more to life than that what we see is happening in our societies and from that we are seeking for the truth of things and try to understand the purpose of our existence as human beings here on earth. But to get the true answers we have to become very honest with ourselves and in that to see our own doing and contribution to how our societies are running. When we do not like something we see we have to question ourselves what our part is in it and why that what we do not like is existing and having its way in the societies we actually would like to be different. There is a contradiction in this as in a way we do contribute to the whole while we like to have it differently. While not actively involved in the waywardness we can observe in our societies that we are adding to the whole, as allowing situations to exist and to not do anything about it is also a contribution as we all individually have the power to bring change and make the world a better place for all people to live in and to prosper and evolve.
Yes – with one proviso, if I may: I would say that we are actively involved in the waywardness by not doing anything about it; it is still saying yes and aligning to what is not true, whether as a part of the silent majority or the belligerent and more outspoken, if not abusive minority.
Thank you for this gabrieleconrad, I do agree with that. It is always an activity, whatever we do, and in that align to the truth of life to which we naturally belong, or we are in ignorance to this fact and with that actively holding a face that is actually not us and by way of acting like that we are adding to the waywardness that is so disturbing and at the same time is keeping us from looking for the real answers of why the waywardness is there.
We all know God inside out – because we are essentially Him, living within His energetic field and created by Him. We can’t escape God. But, we can bastardise the word, reduce and manipulate its meaning to the point where people actually renounce that fact of God’s existence. To me, this proves just how far we have strayed from the truth of our inner being and what that is connected to.
To me I have always known that I was religious and because of being part of the catholic church through the family I was born in, this knowing has been manipulated by the false images that this church has brought to it and made me wonder off from that innate knowing I had from young. That is the truth I now understand the institutionalized religions bring, the false images that take us away from something we know so well.
The Way of The Livingness has stood the test of time… for it is True Religion to the letter – a living way we all know to be true to our core that we have each lived at one time or another.
Religion was one of those subjects you just didn’t mention, as the saying goes, I think it’s God, religion and politics from memory. I remember avoiding the conversations like the plague and dismissing them outright. I wasn’t religious was my answer and I had no time to discuss why, I didn’t care and I didn’t care to let anyone know, I just wasn’t. Time and time again things would come up and I would stop and turn back the other way or politely walk around them. There was no way I would talk about religion and if it came up then I would just go into a daze and look disinterested until the subject changed. It’s a pretty specific reaction to something that I really didn’t know much about. I had been told a lot of things and from that confusion had decided anything that was like that, pushing and pulling to all areas like it did wasn’t worth knowing. I suffered until the end of school and then once I was working I thought I was free. It’s actually been really great getting to know what religion truly is and simply when it comes down to it it is your connection with what you feel and it’s not owned by anyone. It’s a very refreshing way to look at something and every day this connection is offered many opportunities to deepen which brings a clearer connection to what I feel and more understanding of what is going on around me.
I feel that what you describe as your reaction to what religion has been turned into is shared by millions of people worldwide – do we just know that what we’re being sold is not true? Is not it?
Hi Ray, while being religious is actually what is natural to us, it is interesting to question why the organized religions are actually there. What purpose do they serve as, in your case, they made you to turn away from religion in anyway shape or form?
This is a great point and for me personally, I would have to say, “What purpose do they serve” was exactly that, they served to turn me away from true religion. Now obviously they haven’t gone anywhere or changed since but I am different and so in this way I had a part in the turn away as well. I mean my awareness to what true religion is was asleep. I knew what I saw when I was younger didn’t make sense and confused me but from where I stand now there is no confusion. This leads me to see while nearly all the current organised religions are twisting and turning the truth to suit themselves I was also unable to just see that when I was younger. I was confused, reactive, upset, ignorant etc to what I was truly seeing and so my connection to true religion wasn’t strong. I was able to be hooked into parts of organised religions because I had allowed the truth in me to be diminished or I had actively diminished this truth from how I was. If I stood then where I stand now organised religion wouldn’t have touched or hooked me as I am aware of what true religion means and I have no problems talking about it or discussing it with others.
I appreciate what you say about the twisting and turning of the truth that the organized religions are doing as they give only snippets of truth but are not able to give the full truth and that is the luring and hooking part. You get the impression that when you bring more devotion to the dogmas presented that you will get a greater awareness and finally maybe will be given the truth of the basic questions we have about our existence as humans on this planet earth and will become part of the ‘saved’ and selected few. But it is also interesting to explore how we might have used these organized religions to keep ourselves distracted from that what is just living within and can be accessed without the need for any institution whatsoever as we now are discovering and come to understand as students of The Way of The Livingness.
Recent observations and experiences of church services confirmed to me its lovelessness; tiny congregation of 7 or 8 people ( absence of children and young people) texts read with no true feeling, hymns written centuries ago, simply going through the motions. When a member of the congregation fell ill and was admitted, first to hospital, and then a care home, the congregation’s response, apart from the minister, was to do nothing, no visits, no team of supporters. A mismatch between what was said in church and how life is lived. True religion lives within each one of us, is not found within church walls but felt in each and every relationship we have.
We all deeply know within what is true and what is not, who we are and who we are not, yet we have lost our way in knowing how to live this and are instead surrounded by a world that is living far from the truth we are. How do we live who we are when the rest of the world is not and this is what is being accepted as normal? To witness the atrocities that have existed between and have been imposed upon us as a humanity is something that we must all feel hurt by to some degree. Yet as you have pointed out living from these huts gets us nowhere and only keep us imprisoned by the limitlessness that we are living. There is a way to re-turn to living in connection to who we are, to the truth we know within and is felt as such though our bodies, where our relationship with ourselves and God is one and the same as we are the Son’s of God no less. The Way of The Livingness as you say so beautifully here – ‘…is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man and child. Its modern representative is the world teacher Serge Benhayon, founder of Universal Medicine.’ A true religion that is accessible to all simply due to the fact that within this is who we all innately are.
It is quite profound, the reactions one sees or feels when the word ‘God’ is mentioned… To me this exposes just how much people have been manipulated historically about what ‘God’ means, in order to have such a recoil when this word is heard, when in truth, it simply is, as I understand, only about coming back, re-connecting with yourself, with that love that is naturally within the body.
We all know so much wrong is done and has been done in the name of religion, so when something comes along that is true, one would be rather sceptical if it wasn’t for the fact that we can feel truth and The Way of The Livingness is the first truth I have felt in a very long time.
We have made religion so complex but in truth it is very simple and we all know deep within what true religion is, our part in and thus connection to the all.
Very true – we have complicated and complexified the most simple, known relationship we each have with ourselves, God and the Universe.
Yes, we humans have gone searching for the very thing that is literally under our very own nose
Exactly Esther – living religion is living the truth of who we are in every step – it’s not about following rules, jumping through hoops, memorising scriptures and the like. Living religiously is much more simple than we realise and that connection is ever present and patient.
I would say our greatest hurt is walking away from God.
Great point Gabriele, it is only the bastardisation of religion that is so harmful to us. We have to question why so many choose it, despite that harm being so evident in the name of wars, corruption, pedophilia, supremacy, chauvinism, the list goes on. And that is only the more obvious harm. At some level we must gain something from it that allows us to turn a blind eye.
Our ability to discern the truth of anything in life comes from our connection. And without this connection we not only allow the falsities in life, but seek them.
Having experienced a few religions in my life I was never satisfied with the explanations given to me. I was put off religion for quite a while. Only when I came to The Way of The Livingness have I felt this is the way. My body felt at home and so many questions have been answered. This is true religion. No intermediary necessary.
‘The Way of The Livingness is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man and child.’ – And it is easy to see in children that they know this natural way of being, which then eventually fades out more and more by the impositions and demands of their surroundings and society in general, and by the time they are adults they have completely suppressed this inner knowing of who they are.
I’ve always had a true knowing that there is a God and I went to Sunday School as a child and read some of the Bible. The Bible often talks about the kingdom of God inside us, but what exactly does that mean, what is it and how does one connect to it? These were all questions I asked my teachers and they had no answer for me. But then I discovered Universal Medicine and the answers to these questions and more were given to me and now the world makes perfect sense!
We cannot be but who we are, but we work very hard at it. We are divine but we work very hard pretending we are not. Silly game really.
That which is a bastardisation will always rub us up the wrong way – deliberately so.
I was once a great skeptic. My mind was my greatest weapon, and I used it well. I could even entertain the possibility that there were things that the mind could not yet fathom, but that could still be conceived of with a well developed mind. It was my religion.
But true religion cannot ever be explained by the mind. It cannot be understood as a formula. It is a surrender to the fact that we are an inseparable part of a grandness which cannot be conceived of but can be felt in the love that it forever holds us with.
The greatest threat to freedom of religion is sadly religion itself. Unfortunately, in turning our back on all religion due to the actions of a relative few, we discount the possibility that true religion, if there is such a thing, is waiting to be discovered in the ranks. And if you shut yourself down to all religion, then sadly, that is a truth that can never be discovered.
“But was there a deeply buried hurt underneath this façade of bravado and intelligence, combative posturing and explosive verbiage?” – My favourite sentence i’ve read in a while 😉
This is a deeply important blog, because it highlights the fact that religion has been distorted beyond recognition and everyone knows it because everyone knows what true religion is, and this is a great hurt that runs through society, as we all search for the truth only to find what has become bastardised and or forgotten. The Way of The Livingness therefore is so important for restoring what is true in society again – the fact that God lives within, He is with you everywhere that you go, and His is a beholding light that embraces you through your soul, and all we ever have to do is be ourselves and He is there with us through our expression.
This is great Gabriele.to expose the bastardisation of religion because so many people are put off, feeling that institutionalised religion is not true, but not knowing where else to turn to for the truth. Learning to understand through the Ageless Wisdom teachings and the Way of the Livingness, we have an opportunity to choose to return to true religion.
I agree – The Ageless Wisdom and The Way of The Livingness offer true religion and the opportunity to heal the old hurts associated with the misinterpretations and gross aberrations, as well as our part in it.
“So what then is true religion, you may ask? And does it exist?” now this is a great point when we look at all the things that we expect of a religion then I would not have found a single institutional religion that is actually about the all, equally and without judgement. What I deeply appreciate and Love about The Way of The Livingness is that it brings you back to the root, the original seed of what true religion is and from there everyone is equal and the hurt that I know I lived with over the bastardisation of religion can start to heal.
Yes if we go back to the roots of the word religion it is to re-bind, or re-connect, and that makes total sense to me. We are re-connecting to something deep within us that when felt connects us to everything. It lets us be and has us feeling whole and complete and very much alive. It is a reconnection that can be felt in our physical bodies and yet it goes way beyond the physical.
So many of us are so damaged by our early experience of religion that we don’t even think to ask this question of ourselves- there is a total ban on anything religion related including God! This damage may be hard to logically fathom as an adult, especially if no obvious abuse occurred. However religion is our deepest, most precious relationship, ourselves with the divine. We know inside out what is true and what is not, and it feels repulsive to be offered a cheap and misshapen version of it. This is what we turn our backs on, but in so doing many of us turn our backs on our true connection to the divine.
What equally can hurt these days is the ridicule for following any philosophy that is not based on physicality and the limited scope that science has been able to prove to date. To live religion is of course to live and play out the ultimate hypothesis, and conduct the ultimate life experiment.
You must be talking about reductionism, one of our modern-day scourges and one that, as you put it so aptly, stops us to “live religion … and play out the ultimate hypothesis, and conduct the ultimate life experiment”. Makes me wonder what we think we have to lose; and I am asking myself that question in the same breath. What is it about comfort, reductionism and narrowness that make them so comfortable? And is comfortable really and truly comfortable?
The Way of The Livingness is bringing back religion to the people instead of how religion is organised now, in which religion is owned by the institutionalised bodies that call themselves religion, a bastardised version of what religion truly means for people and with that a way of controlling the masses.
The dogma and hypocrisy of the church has turned many away from religion. The investment in financial wealth has for me always been a sign of deceit in the church. Its time for the word religion to be reclaimed in its true meaning.
Indeed Heather, the way the institutionalised religions have bastardised religion either does turn people away from it or pull people in to ‘believe’ what they tell them religion is to be. Both ways have taken religion, that in fact is at the core of every human being, away from us and in that made us to live in the fullness that we actually are when connected with the religious being that lives within each of us equally so.
I take it that you mean to say “… and in that has stopped us to live in the fullness that we actually are when connected …” – can you clarify please?
Indeed Gabriele, that is what I meant.
“doesn’t distinguish between races, skin colour, gender, education, social standing, etc.
doesn’t hold some as more deserving than others
doesn’t label one lot of people as chosen at the expense of everyone else
doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been
doesn’t support greed, lies, murder, genocide, money laundering and corruption
doesn’t harbour criminals in their midst and thinks itself as above the law
doesn’t turn a blind eye to hypocrisy, deception and deceit
doesn’t spawn suicide attacks
doesn’t demand faith or allegiance
isn’t based on belief systems
isn’t self-serving
doesn’t preach of sin, purgatory and hell
doesn’t subscribe to the void or nothingness
doesn’t demand obedience or subservience
… and this list is endless, as you can well imagine”
What a fine list it is. Might I add, a religion that empowers the practitioners, encourages democratic involvement in the faith?
Thank you for your contribution; would it be true to say that empowerment might be implicit because there is a personal relationship (religio) with God that does not leave room for a powerlessness that relies on intermediaries?
I would think empowerment is certainly NOT implicit in a relationship with God. Depending on the relationship, it could be entirely oppressive. Even a personal relationship with a personal God could be used to….
Detract from accomplishments, because they were the work of this God.
Detract from our responsibility and shame, because our failures were the work of the polar opposite, evil force of the God.
Those are very oppressive concepts. Where our achievements are due to this being, not ourselves. Praising a deity when it is the hard work, luck, and ingenuity of the individual that achieved the objective.
This does not mean that other relationships cannot empower, just like you pointed out. If God is used as a medium through which knowledge is attained. If the powers of a God are utilized in a way to improve the individual, or used by the individual to protect humanity… If, by chance, omnipotence itself is attainable… In this way, the idea of a God would be ultimately empowering. As you stated so precisely “…that does not leave room for a powerlessness….”
I appreciate your elaborations and again, it makes me wonder about the responsibility that institutionalised religions have for inventing (via misinterpretation), fuelling and perpetuating an image of a God who can do things for us, is vengeful and punishes us. Is it when we accept these notions that we willingly render ourselves powerless, by our own choice?
I think religious institutions, and practitioners don’t maliciously intend to take power from believers. I think they genuinely experience a powerful moment and truly believe enough to teach others. A God that can “do things for us,” probably is suggested because, at times, it certainly feels that way. Likewise for the vengeful interpretation.
Certainly not black and white, but I suppose that accepting these notions does, little by little, chip away at our empowerment and sense of responsibility. It feels good to do that, does it not? Do surrender responsibility, shame, burden, fault, to a higher being? It is the appeal of the lamb to not have to fight the wolf, because the lamb is exculpated.
What if it had nothing to do with the bastardisation of the word religion, but that hurt we feel is because we have knowingly been part of this. The deep hurt is walking away, knowingly so, from God himself.
I agree with you – having walked away and contributed to the rot is our deepest hurt when it comes to true religion.
What is the surest way to keep people away from the truth? It seems to me it’s to create a corrupted copy of whatever it is and have this twisted thing mess with people’s lives. Then of course, hurt and afraid we steer away from this subject and area. Once bitten twice shy as they say. But once we see this pattern is happening, we can stop and question ‘aha – what is it that lives underneath that is so beautiful that I am being polluted this way?’. True Religion is as you show Gabriele so essential and vital to life, it’s no wonder we have seen the wars and intensity that we have.
“Religion is so outdated and yesteryear” This is something I would think for sure, especially with all the things like how the church does look at woman, the wars etc that have been going on for ages. It is time for a religion that is modern in the sense of claiming what we truly feel is religion and make that the religion of today.
Interesting blog, for me there has never been a doubt that there is God – it was just religion I couldn’t get on with – all those rules and chosen people didn’t make sense of a being as gracious as God is. Great to read a blog which talks about true equality and the actual meaning of the word ‘religion’!
The Way of The Livingness, beautiful simple, truth, love, wisdom coming from the body and its movements. A religious life, connect within and with all.
Yesterday we were talking in a group about a religion, one that tries hard to recruit and bring in other families by placing curses on people. It was hard not to judge yet what provides some clarity is that no true religion would do that, knowing first that religion is a connection with oneself and a way of living. When we have so many bastardised versions of religion it is these that I feel I would get most upset about. The more though I see them for what they are, the less I react to religion as the word starts to be reclaimed in the truth it is.
‘It is true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots (religare = to bind) and it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to; and it does so even when we think it doesn’t concern us and turn the other way. Why? Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.’ Love how you say this Gabrielle – we cannot be but what we are – and so to return to this divine truth.
Gabriele, religion is certainly seen as outdated and not cool, and there are many aspects that people turn away from. This has been an interesting tactic so that when it comes to religion, people will ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ so to speak, so that when True Religion presents itself, people will lop it in with the other religions and discard it without even looking at it. However, you do need to be discerning when it comes to religions and be willing to see all there is to see so that when you encounter the True one you know which one it is.
True, we need to discern energetically and not rely on labels, shingles or any other embellishments that can easily make something look good to our eye when it is actually rotten to the core.
The strong reaction many people have when you mention the word religion says it all… many people know there is something not right about organised religion, the hypocrisy, the lies, the dogma. But God is not religion, God is God, and so there is another way that is true religion.
Very true, God is not religion as we have come to know it through the institutionalised versions of religion.
The Way of The Livingness is a religion and a way of life that has no rules or dogma attached to it. It is so simple in its principles and asks that we live from our essence, our natural way of being.
“Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not” – we can only bury who we are with beliefs, behaviours, habits, etc so much that we forget who we are and where we are from, and in that lose our connection to God (although not lost in truth).
This blog has reminded me of a time in my life when I felt confident to be public about my religious life because I had chosen a religion which I had considered superior not only to all others, but to any other way of living. But the truth is, that this was just a shield, a way of somehow having a religious practise because to live religiously felt true, but I dared not show the true religion of my soul that was with me constantly. So I chose something that I knew would be socially accepted – a mainstream religion that I could use to hide my self in. In contrast, The Way of The Livingness is like a breath of fresh air, because not only does it support me to be deeply humble, which is actually my preferred state of being, it also holds everyone as equal in a practical, lived religion that encompasses the soul through our bodies and right here on earth. Deeply accessible, this religion is The Way of our time, and for what has become institutionalised and bastardised is revealed to be Not It, there will always be The Soul waiting patiently for our return.
The Way of The Livingness is without question for me a way of living that deeply honours all equally, has no boundaries and it offers us the opportunity to live with our original impulse as our every move. That this connection with God is an every expanding and forever deepening one if we surrender to it.
True religion, ‘The Way of The Livingness’ feels like an inner revolution: quiet, still, yet powerful and where we finally come home to ourselves.
From my experience you didn’t talk about religion and this wasn’t from what people did in conversations but it more came from the way I was raised. In the catholic faith I was raised in, you were virtually told to sit and listen and then accept whatever was said. Anytime you asked a question or had a query you were dismissed and in some cases disciplined for speaking up. So I can say that it’s about how people talk about religion now that causes me not to discuss it but it comes back to what happened when I was younger. I am still carrying the fear of being told I am wrong or that I will be cast out or similar. Religion was, in fact, something I always had and have and I’m the authority of it, no one can dictate or control what religion is because it’s simply your true connection with what you are feeling, your relationship with yourself.
Good point and one that I can relate to; I had a great relationship (religio) with God until I allowed the sins, penance, hell, martyrdom and the valley of tears and sorrow, as laid out by the catholic church and those who represented it, to get the better of me.
It’s a lesson for us in that things are giving to us to break us down. If you haven’t a strong foundation and a deep love and care for yourself then these ‘things’ will over time knock you around. So the way you live, the quality you are with yourself in your every move is important. If we go into the Monday to Sunday of life this is already an opening to be knocked. We need a physical measure of time but a realisation or the awareness that time itself is just a measure and not a dictator of how we should live or be. Just like when I was growing up, I played life small and went to Monday to Sunday and in that I was caught and knocked by a catholic upbringing even though I knew something wasn’t right I couldn’t hold that knowing due to how I was living. Live with an ongoing deeper quality of being and when questions are asked of you you won’t be taken back but more stand up and answer.
In true religion, we are Godly. In false religion, we are not asked to claim our Divinity, but instead await forgiveness and resurrection from God, thus never stepping into our responsibility to live as his equal.
This feels like a very transformative period in our history when we are totally exposed daily to the atrocities that play out in the name of religions that have tragically divided humanity and when we are offered up a true religion once again; The Way of The Livingness, that unites, truly equalises and encompasses all.
What hurts? Separating from my true self hurts, and my true self is where I find God. Often it is not obvious that it hurts until I begin to come back, and then I realise how far I have strayed. There is much grief in this.
It is a good point what you mentioned in the first paragraph, that unless you are famous, professing about religion can then perhaps be fashionable—what this is saying is, our words and expression can reach more people when we have a well-known public presence. This is not only about the width, breath and depth of what we express, it is also about whether truth is expressed from those of public presence.
“…doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been” – we are all born equal, it is just that we are born into different environments and it is this that makes it appear that some may be more priviliged or special. But take this away, and we are all exactly the same.
Great explanation in a few words of what it means to be truly religious – and living that connection to God is what proves the point.
Words are such powerful ways to express ourselves through, and to convey a message, and so often the message and association we have to a word is based entirely on our experiences. So sometimes it is the experience that needs to change, to re-imprint, the renewal of a word’s meaning and the message that it conveys to humanity. This can be very grand, just as medicine can mean the way we live, so too religion can also be that very same thing, both a connection to a stupendous level of wellbeing and a consideration of our part in a grander universal plan.
Deep down we are all deeply religious and for those who find it difficult to accept this fact, it is important to let go of the hurts that are getting in the way of connecting to that which we all belong to and to feel the divinity and joy which is our innate right as the sons of God.
I have seen how easily it is for people to either put their view across that there is no such thing as God or equally defend the organised religion they belong to with utter gusto and conviction so as there is no real point to try and change their view except for make a choice to live what is true and show the way by example as many have started doing again.
I agree with you – God is not about theologising or debating, let alone fighting over and disagreeing or agreeing with; God is to be lived.
What hurts? Well, it would have to be how Religion, which represents our sacredness, our connection to God has been re-interpreted and used to create separation between us, when our very nature is to be one and equal. To feel that truth, which is one we all know deep within, and to see the state of the world and what is played out year after year, completely contradicts our whole purpose for being here.
Could it be we don’t like the word religion because we have been part of and added to the mess institutionalised religion is? It’s easy to blame others for how they live than take responsibility and look at ourselves.
Gabriele I love how you describe the way of the livingness – “. . . it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.” It is exactly this what made me a part of it. There are no good words needed to be part of it – instead there a movements what made it real and also so transparent – how wonderful is that.
it is interesting to contemplate why we as a humanity have so many versions of religion -all of which separate and so often incite hatred and reaction – and how such institutions are so bent on temporal power and domination – seeking at times to crush torture and annihilate all who do not align. It feels more true that we are all of the same one light, one brotherhood and we are here to learn together the way back to reclaiming that light in full.
I loved reading your deep appreciation Gabriele for The Way of The Livingness and all the amazing qualities this true religion brings to everyone equally, especially this line ‘it is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.’
How long is it going to take us to all wake up to the fact that we can’t go on living in separation and disregard the way we do. True religion (The Way of The Livingness) will bring us all back together as one, whereas all these other religions are designed to keep us separate.
With the world getting smaller with technology, we are now graphically being exposed to what religion has become? What is the proportion of positive news stories opposed to the death and carnage caused because of religious beliefs? History is littered with religious battles. So, it is quite clear that the bastardisation of religion today more than hurts!
We are all religious in its unadulterated form, because our inner hearts, our essence know and are with God. I spent years thinking I was broken, and yet this was concentrating on the outside issues and hurts not the true foundation of being. Every day, ill, challenged or/and feeling amazing, I know I am supported, with God and I feel this steadiness within my body. There is a purpose and reflection in life that I observe and I feel held in the body of God. This is my truth.
“But was there a deeply buried hurt underneath this façade of bravado and intelligence, combative posturing and explosive verbiage?”. Yes exactly, there is and it runs deep, brought on by feeling shafted, lied to, and abused by the church and various religions out there that stand on shakey foundations and bastardisations of what true religion represents in our lives. Since learning about Universal Medicine and “true” religion, l now know to let the hurt go and to get on with my livingness and be the reflection of love l wish to see in the world for all of humanity, not just my tribe.
And remembering that we have all played a part in the “bastardisation of what true religion represents” because, as Otto has commented when he wrote about doing nothing is not nothing, but doing something. Another words, we allowed it to happen.
Very true Gabriele by not honouring the truth, a truth we do know deep within, we have allowed the bastardisation of religion to continue through the ages.
It is like we set ourselves up over the last few thousand of years with religions that are full of hypocrisy, foul play that has created the perfect excuse to not want to be a part of religions and God. Such a major game of cat and mouse but we are the mouse AND the cat! What a futile game, what amazes me is that from what I have felt is that God has no judgement what so ever, just pours down love whether we let it in or not.
And that whether we develop our awareness or not we hold the spark of this love in us all of the time, always have and always will.
A great discussion Gabriele. For me the traditional religions are based on beliefs which only serve to keep us in separation, while True religion comes from a livingness which unites us in true brotherhood
Until ten years ago, I would never consider myself a religious man, but when I read your list, I can feel that, in not living my true religion in the past, I have in truth supported and signed up to that list. For every one of us that doesn’t live our truth allows the lies to breed and grow and thus we are all responsible because doing nothing is not doing nothing.
And to deny that hurt, to hide from that hurt, to protect ourselves from that hurt we chose, entertain, pursue and do some of the craziest things – which is how we got into the crazy mess that we are in.
I can feel your last paragraph throughout my body. Truth to the core. I’m coming home.
The Question Do we believe in God has always been quite a shock to my body because of our depth of knowing of God inside and the relationship we have. Ignoring this and putting God outside of us is our disconnection and hurt and the real evil of the religions of the world causing so much suffering and disempowerment. Our livingness is our Religion in our relationship with God the Universe and the all and the simplicity of this is pure, magical and our inner contentment, stillness and strength.
The organisations and structures that we have created cannot dictate to us unless we allow or accept it. It is people who make the choice to either live harmoniously with each other – or in disharmony. Whatever religions we may choose to align with, if we first know that we are love in our hearts, this will be the defining factor, not any doctrine or bastardisation from without.
It really does hurt that religion has been bastardised to such an extent that we are prepared to kill others over the name of it. If the central message of true religion is about love, then where is the love?
Such an evocative word religion, I have felt a part of me wanting to crawl away and hide if it comes up in conversation as I felt others wanting to do this. I have come to realise too that for this to happen, each person being polarized in their feelings about it, means that the true meaning has definitely been lost. What we become uncomfortable about is the vast separation from the true meaning. Love the way you have written this Gabriele.
I agree, ‘religion’ can be somewhat of an embarrassment as a topic of conversation; it is just not cool to be seen as having lost your mental faculties and be a believer. But what about a deep and bodily felt knowing rather than believing? After all, we don’t need to believe in day and night, or do we?
We can be blind and feel the sun! So, feeling love within us should be easy… it never stops shining. Now, that’s religion!
It is no wonder that so many people turn their back on religion when they see the hypocrisy and divisiveness within them. Understanding the true meaning of the word religion was when I chose again to embrace the word religion and The Way of The Livingness is the only religion that I know of that lives and breathes the true meaning of the word religion and does not bastardise it any way and that is why I have chosen it to be my religion. It is like connecting back to the truth of what I already felt and knew deep within me.
Gabriele, thank you for the reminder – the reminder that there is indeed a religion that is untainted, uncorrupted, pure and of an unadulterated state – and this is “the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart”…The Way of The Livingness is a gift to all who embrace it and live it. Simple in its essence and so powerful in its lived delivery. The power of it all lies in its Livingness – we can read about it, we can know lots about it, but it only comes alive and allows its full power to be felt when we live and breath it. A true religion is LIVED and lived naturally so from the depths of our heart.
Historically religion has been used and abused by various churches to control the masses and give that particular church power. This has been perpetrated in the most violent ways for centuries all over the world to destroy our natural connection to God and our divine essence. We know that this is the opposite of true religion and that also there is much healing that needs to occur for people around the word ‘religion’. Thank you Serge Benhayon for leading the way.
Just as well that our natural connection to God and our divine essence can’t really be destroyed, just tainted and buried under worldly debris. And yes, wholeheartedly agree: “Thank you Serge Benhayon for leading the way.”
Surrendering so that we can feel All we all unavoidably belong to – humanity please listen to this as there is no way forward int he separation that we are witnessing globally.
There are many prescribed ideas prescribed by institutionalised religions that do not make sense and frankly turn people away from their innate and loving relationship with God. One of them is the misguided information about re-incarnation and karma. The notion of illness, disease and anything unpleasant is a punishment from God is preposterous. How does a person deal with the fact that they may be living a life exemplary according to the prescribed doctrines and yet they are faced with serious illness or other issues in their life? I so very much appreciate the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom that do make sense. Now that level of wisdom is the foundation any true religion should firmly stand on.
I love your sharing of the true meaning of religion and how it binds us. How it is possible for religion to be unified and equal. This in my body feels like true religion.
If I am truly honest I have to say, what really hurts is that I made a choice to turn my back on the one true religion aeons ago. To find that it hasn’t gone anywhere but is still there and welcoming me back with no reservations or no judgment but with an all encompassing and unconditional love, has been a deeply healing experience.
And thus proves itself as the true religion.
Religion is a divine way of being and expressing ourselves as humans, and I am always fascinated that it is a choice, every time.
True religion is to be lived and is known within us all ” The Way of The Livingness is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man, and child. ” It is the reinterpretation of this that changes everything and led to the Religions we have today and the deep hurt within us all.
“Nothing like an ‘intelligent’ person to take the mickey out of religion and give it a marathon run for its money!” This point jumped out at me because what I also find interesting today is that our “intelligence” can also get in the way of accepting and embracing true religion. Therefore what is real intelligence? Certainly not what we use to judge religion by, as a wider society. For if it were I have no doubt the lineage of true religion would not have so much force trying to shut it down all the time and we would not have a false version of religion either, for our intelligence would have spotted the falsity miles away.
Re-learning to live religiously is now a reality for me, after swearing off religion from a young age and revelling being a proclaimed atheist. So what changed? My understanding of what religion is and that’s it’s not about bowing to a greater power but claiming the power and Godliness within as equal to God.
‘It is true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots (religare = to bind) and it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to; and it does so even when we think it doesn’t concern us and turn the other way.’ – It is the one religion that does not condemn us for our choices nor does it leave anyone behind – we are all equally worthy and we are free to return to our true roots in our own timing.
Wow, if we were able to apply only the one thing you mentioned here, to live in a way where we do not hold some deserving more than others, would change not only our communities and countries but our whole race as human beings on this planet.
Is it that we prefer to stay ‘safe’, even if we are on very shaky ground and can’t find settlement in ourselves.
Reblogged this on maggiemoonlight.
In my early years as a church goer I would ask all the difficult questions and get an answer of you just have to believe. The Way of The Livingness is not based on any believes but the inner knowing from my inner-heart and this is the place that has always felt the deeper connection to God and I would ask many questions. Questions, that are now simply felt as a part of my Livingness.
When we look at all that has been done in the name of religion is is no wonder many do not want any part of it… yet that was never religion in truth it was the exact opposite.
Having searched for ‘Truth’ all my life I have to agree Gabriele the hurt with so called religions was that they never measured up to what I knew deep inside religion to be. Looking outside of ourselves for truth is an opening that allows beliefs and ideals in. Being shown the way home by someone living the path of return is something completely different as this calls us to the responsibility we have to ourselves and others to go within – to a deeper connection with self and with who we are in essence – and live from here rather than being dictated to by the world; this to me is true religion. This is The Way of The Livingness.
What you say about true religion here in the list is to me what religion is and you are right it has been bastardised for eons leaving me and probably many others feeling completely averted to the word religion. However, now its true meaning is being re-ignited through The Way of The Livingness and this I have zero aversion to because I can feel and know the truth of it including the integrity.
I agree with you Vicky, The Way of The Livingness has a temple that is in every one of us. It will never be something we have to join because we are all born with it. For those that wish to disbelieve what lives within us, it will always be there waiting for us to return to who we are, simply sons and daughters of God, it is that simple!
“The Way of The Livingness is based on the Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being – every woman, man and child. Its modern representative is the world teacher Serge Benhayon, founder of Universal Medicine.” – and every person that truly lives from the principles of this Livingness also is a representative of this way forth, and support and inspires our re-turn.
Is it any wonder there has been reaction to Religion when it does not represent everything you have listed as qualities of true religion above Gabriele.
Yep I feel this absolutely too Ariana. Whenever I react to anything it is because I have stepped away from truth, from living it and expressing it. The deepest hurt of all is the choice to step away from God.
The bastardisation of religion has reduced, altered and profoundly changed the true meaning of religion. I understand exactly what you mean Gabriele, we have come so far away from the truth of religion meaning our return back to our roots and our deep connection to God within us, so that we can squirm and react at the thought of the bastardised religion because we can feel how wayward its meaning has become. How would God ever be on any one side in war? How can God treat us differently by how we believe? Religion today feels a million miles away from truth to me. Thank goodness The Way of The Livingness has shown me the way back.
I always valued religion as a part of my life, but i never felt any deep connection with being a religious person, and most certainly not in daily life. I now can see how everything I do has meaning and significance and religious value if I connect to me and therefore God in everything I do.
I know that I never knew religion at all, until i found Universal Medicine and slowly slowly began to reacquaint myself with the meaning of religion. Now nothing is grander to me than the word religion and I am proud to be now describing myself as a religious person.
This brings me to really ponder on and consider my relationship with the word religion and whether I would announce my deeply religious nature and relationship with God. A willingness to be honest and explorative here is in itself really inspiring for me.
How robbed we have been of the true meaning of this word.. religion which is ultimately about deepening the quality of relationship we have with ourselves.
When we look at what religions have done to us through the centuries it is a wonder we still have them – they have not advanced the human race one iota. The Way of The Livingness is all about evolution, us returning to our origins and being who we truly are, and expression of God and expansion in the Universe.
I don’t feel it is so much about what religions have done to us – we are not victims but have been willing accomplices, from all I can see. Would you agree?
Interesting question “When we look at what religions have done to us through the centuries it is a wonder we still have them?”. It brings to mind abusive relationships or even what modern day advertising thrives on: find a weakness, magnify it and further disempower the person, then lo and behold the most meagre relief from the devastation offered is seen as a miracle.
If I may – I would like to remind ourselves that nothing and nobody have done anything to us, we have all had a hand in it somehow, have said yes to the aberration and bastardisation along the way.
“… and this list is endless, as you can well imagine”, yes indeed Gabriele, as it is for all the World Teachers whose lived way and teachings have been taken and turned into dogma – with the truth of those lived teachings no longer anywhere near the originating truth. It is no wonder that these forms of religion today do not resonate within us, when deep within we all know what it is to be truly religious.
You must be referring to Gautama Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed, amongst many others – would they actually recognise what has been purported and twisted around, in their names?
That is the misunderstanding that so often occurs – one imposing one’s ‘truth’ upon another – which is not truth but beliefs, dogma, a swallowed consciousness that controls one’s thoughts and movements. The truth is something we all know equally and that is part of our return back together, only learning to see and discard that which is not in accord with the deeper knowing… and something we can all support each other with equally … this is a part of what is meant by brotherhood.
I also understand that true brotherhood is for all humanity being equal and anything that fosters any type of separation does not feel like true brotherhood and any separation feels yuk in my body. Thank you Annie for I also feel when we are connected or re-connecting that relationships and thus brotherhood contribute considerably if not totally to us fully be religious or rebinding.
And is it not very interesting that we now have the word ‘terrorist’ related tp a form of religion?! Thereby this is very much nonsense or one form of the bastardization of the word ‘religion’.
I am always alarmed when we misuse a word so much because it is like a sign, that this word holds a lot of power. It is that there is a force that wants us to bastardise those words so we do not have free access here. ‘Religion’ as a word needs to be reclaimed in truth. It means relationship with God and can be expressed in way of living that is characterised by harmony, love and joy.
As the Dalai Lama says: “Buddhist terrorist. Muslim terrorist. That wording is wrong,” he said. “Any person who wants to indulge in violence is no longer a genuine Buddhist or genuine Muslim because it is a Muslim teaching, that once you are involved in bloodshed, actually you are no longer a genuine practitioner of Islam.”
It is so awesome to be reading such a blog that speaks the truth of what is going on and how Religion has been portrayed and what Religion really is. I too have experienced this way of religion being brought up catholic and have seen and meet other religions, all in their own way creating separatism. When I meet Serge Benhayon and heard the teaching of the Ageless Wisdom it resonated throughout my body, like I knew it all already. To be living my life in this way, and connecting to the core essence of who we are and expressing this with all is undeniably what true religion is; my relationship with God and then shared with everyone equally.
Your ‘Aha’ moment of re-accessing those cringe moments when religion was brought up or arrived at your front door and asked if you believe in God. Has it just been that small reaction to something that is so far from the truth we are reacting too? We should just smile knowing we will all come back to what is true, in the end.
It’s always struck me as a strange question, whether we believe in God – do we believe in the sun? Or the moon?
As I read this article I was reminded of a time in my life where the feeling that there was more was very strong. Even though I was not brought up in a religious home, I knew God innately. In this knowing I found myself at a church service thinking that would support my connection with God. Instead I found in one attendance the separation and segregation that many religions today impart. It was the last church service that I attended. And the beginning of the deeper trust in what I innately knew, and the precursor to Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness entering my life.
Don’t mention Religion and don’t mention God, two words that bring us back to our true purpose and responsibility. Deep down we all know there is so much more to life than our material comforts and success. True Religion puts connection to the Divine at the top of the agenda, an equal opportunity for all of us to attain, embody and live everyday, inclusive of every single person on the planet, as simple and as normal as breathing.
Beautifully said Rowena – the fact that anyone has a problem or issue with religion should be sounding alarm bells to warn how far removed we are from the truth and purity of it’s meaning and activity.
Maybe what really hurts is the fact that we have chosen to dis-connect from our divinity in the first place, chosen to walk away from the true religion that we are all innately a part of, forgoing our connection to the all in search of something else outside our selves, not appreciating that we, in fact, already have everything. How can there be anymore than the ALL.
When we know deep within us what true religion is – a re-turn, a re-connection to our Soul that encompasses all equally so in brotherhood, and then we see the atrocities that occur all around the world in the name of religion… that is what hurts – the total separation from who we innately are.
Yes, and the fact we walked away from our innate connection to truth and settled for less.
Gabriele, if I think back of the times I have been in organized religious groups I observe today that I have been all the time in reaction, either in reaction and debate what has been presented to me, because I felt this is not the truth, or in justification of this religion. I was always tense in my body and overrode what I truly felt in order to fit the picture. Being aware of this many years ago I left the religious groups, but the reaction did not stop. I was only able to let it go when I met Serge Benhayon and lovingly received a confirmation of him concerning my inner truth and true feelings.
Even now I sometimes grasp myself going into reaction concerning the organized religions, because the time being there was so hurtful because I was living a lie to what I innately knew was true but did not focus on it.
… which is a great confirmation of the fact that having turned away from what we know is truth hurts far more than what others do or have done; at the root of it all, this abandonment is what we (at times vehemently) react to.
“What hurts – Religion itself or the bastardisation of Religion?’ This is great and important statement to distinguish between the two, as it makes you see how it has been the latter that has caused the fallout, tension and war between man.
To answer the question in the title, what hurts is the bastardisation. What we all miss is true religion which is a re connection to ourselves and the Divineness we already are. By bastardising the word we create separation within which we see reflected in all the separation and conflict in the world ie all that is not true love.
It is so lovely to be part of a religion purely by choice and with no belief systems presented, no dogma, nothing we have to do, be or say. We are encouraged to feel within ourselves, to find God through a deep inner connection, not in any building or book, although there are books, but it is always for us to discern what is true or not, we simply have to FEEL.
Indeed Carmel the purity of choice offered by The Way of The Livingness is a point from which I began to understand the lightness of true whole bodied freedom.
When our Truth (our true religion) is yet to ‘be-lived’, then it is not yet ‘believed’ on a deeper level – in other words it is not yet recognised as the knowing that it is.
What a great insight Henrietta, which supports me to understand why traditional religion is often referred to as a ‘belief’. A belief is not known. True religion is a lived known and traditional religion is a belief. One is real and the other is not.
Great point – a belief needs regular feeds of more of the same, a knowing just knows.
Beautifully expressed Henrietta, a truth can only be known fully when it is lived.
Agreed Victoria, which, when said in another way can be ‘something is not truly known until it is known by the body’.
Great play on words. A religion that is there to be-lived does away with the need to believe in anything or anyone – it is felt in the body. Does anybody need to be believe in the sun when we can all see it as it appears at dawn and disappears at dusk?
Exactly, truth simply IS and nature is offering us a continuous reflection of this. No belief can ever change the truth of what is and can be felt.
When I connect to my body and my essence and move from there I know God. There is no need for anything else.
And there it is Rebecca, beautifully said, religion and God is just there, a simple yet profound inner knowing we all have access to the instant we so choose.
A deeply felt knowing replaces the need to believe in anything – who wants or needs to believe when there is this bodily felt sense available to us?
I love that you point out that we deep down know what true religion is and thus we know when we are presented with half truths. What we need to understand is that we know, and learn to trust ourselves and build on this deep inner knowing.
Somewhere down the track in our human evolution we will all realise that we are of one religion and one brotherhood and it will be hard to believe we had to live in such separation for so long.
… yes, it will be hard if not impossible to believe that we chose to live in such separation for so long. What are we getting out of it?
The use of the word ‘God’ was a word that used to make me want to curl up inside and cringe away on the outside. Acute discomfort in that moment of the quandary of an absolute knowingness that there was something so much greater available to us all and yet, feeling a sense of everything being reduced and made lesser by this purported idea of a wrathful and vengeful God that was there to punish us for our supposed sins, which would leave me feeling guilty and unworthy all at the same time.
Thank God, Serge Benhayon’s presentations of the Ancient Wisdom Teachings continue to make sense of God, the world and life to me, as never before.
What a great question Gabriele, is it religion itself, or the bastardisation of it that hurts us? It is the bastardisation of religion that hurts us because deep down, we all know the truth of what it means.
What might also hurt is that we have contributed to the bastardization of religion simply by abandoning what we know to be true inside; we are not victims but responsible and we have everything it needs to restore true religion, it is a choice.
I was one of those people who would either run the other way at the mention of the word religion, or have a very opinionated view of it and it was all the rules, contradictions, corruption and war as a result of religious beliefs that made me want to turn away from it or attack what I saw it stood for. The Way of The livingess has allowed me to feel for myself what true religion is.
The very fact that we have been obsessed with religion and have created and been subject to massive distortions of religion shows me that we are dealing with something absolutely essential and unavoidably important to all of us… something that without it we are lost and easy to manipulate.
…the topic of religion and God will not go away as it is crucial that we re-discover the truth about ourselves and re-claim what we feel and know inside and so know lies from truth.
By Living The Way of The Livingness I have learned that with the True Religion that resides within us all, by re-uniting with the one-unifying truth which holds us all in equal light and makes sense to the heart of every human being we have the True support and wisdom to stop abusing ourselves and each other as we re-learn how to be and live as who we truly are.
As a child I had no desire to go to church, it made no sense to me what they were taking about so I just wrote it off as another crazy thing that grown-ups do. However when I became a parent I felt the need to give my children some idea about religion. I also began to realize how religion played a big part in world affairs. So maybe their was more to religion then I thought. But it still made no sense to me when I started to look at other religions and the past history of them. Why were people so attached to something that clearly created a lot of suffering in human history?
Thank you Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for presenting a understanding of religion that makes sense to me.
‘The Way of The Livingness is the antithesis of all the points listed above and so much more – and then some’. When I first came across The Way of The Livingness everything in my body said yes to it. As the antithesis of everything you mentioned organised religion to be, my body confirmed everything true religion is because it was already a known and is already a known for us all.
Surrendering to The Way of The Livingness is for me True Religion. If I so choose, I feel so held. So beautifully and gracefully held. It’s more like a movement, a powerful ‘bedding’ in which I feel supported endlessly. Being offered grace and constant evolution, yet adored to the bones at the same time. Too magic? Too good to be true? Have a try? True love, true religion does exist, or actually does ‘live’. It’s up to us to align to it or not.
Gabriel, it’s amazing that we are able to have such open conversations about such taboo topics! Thank you for sharing.
Thats so true that religion is either something that we shy away talking about or get into some heady debate and one religion being it over another religion. Whats fascinating is that it was not until taking time to explore, uncover and ponder or my own “issues” and “reactions” to religion have I been able to embrace the word religion and start to build a true relationship with it and myself.
It’s interesting to read about our general reaction to the world religion and even to god. I’ve been reactive to both these words for the majority of my life. What I noticed from reading this blog post is that we never actually discuss why it is everyone reacts in one way or another, often in the negative, at least in my experience. Why do we so often just accept something without going a little deeper to understand why there is a certain attitude toward something? I wonder how many other topics of discussion this also happens in…
Beautifully said Gabriele. I still find myself reacting to all the ways that religion has been bastardised. Perhaps all of this bastardisation was really just invoked and allowed in order to give the us a good excuse to deny the true religion we all know.
We have bastardised the word religion to suit us; we all know deep down what it is and what it means because we have all lived it, deeply do, before. So the question is why have we chosen to do this? Could it be because it appeals to the part of us that loves to indulge and play in separatism and individualism of any sort?
The Way of The Livingness has supported me to cast aside the hurts and pictures that have held me in an isolated prison of my own making, so that I can now feel as a daily living reality that I am moving and breathing within the vast and glorious body of God, as one with all.
‘…in an isolated prison of my own making..’ – so true Janet. and in this prison we use the bastardisation of Religion to deny the very fact that we are holding the key to the door in our hands.
The abstraction of religion away from the relationship we have with ourselves and all else, has invited, aroused, created and imposed, a mutated quality of thought, movement and relationship far from the natural, equal love we all are.
Sometimes I am asked, “Are you religious?” I am consistently sunny and do not gossip, look in people eyes and talk from my heart a lot….with that and other choices people get a feeling. It has taken me a while to be able to stand there without hiding or making excuses….because I know how I felt about religion in the past and I know how people feel, so hurt by what they perceive has been going on with people that say that they are religious in the world, often the hypocrisy stinks. Now I can say “I am religious”, I live and breath a deepening inner connection to myself and everyone else, through a Lived Way that I build from the inside out…no doubt I am religious, and we all have that inner essence and connection.
The bastardisation of religion is our deepest wound, because it is innate within us all. To break our connection with God is the most devastating choice we can make. To then abuse the meaning of the word to ‘re-align to God’, the most immense and awe-inspiring Love we can ever experience, as an excuse to use and abuse each other is insane. No wonder we turn our backs at the mere mention of the word, but are we just evading the fact that we have allowed this bastardisation to even begin in the first place?
Religion is living breathing in us all equally, it is a truth lived that we know in our connection to God. Religion is felt and reflected as an embodiment and Livingness.
It is apparent to me today that there is an innate knowingness that is common to us all. Perhaps in the past we called it ‘common sense’ or intuition. Somehow we have learned to not trust this innateness and to listen to beliefs and ideals from outside of us – but I find this is a mistake for the innateness has a deep level of wisdom when we truly listen to it. This wisdom challenges many of the precepts of todays religions – maybe this is why we are ‘told’ not to listen to it – but I find the wisdom holds true and that we do have an innate knowing of what true religion is, what true relationship is and what love is – and in fact about God and who we are too. We ignore this innate knowing at our peril, for it seeks to unite us and calls us back home.
Beautifully said, Richard. It is with great joy that I, like you, am finally listening to this innate knowing and coming back home.
Listening to our innate knowing could just prove to be the beginning of the end of institutionalised religions, ideologies, meaningless tenets and principles and a lot of other factors that contribute to our loveless and cold world.
There is an opportunity to deepen our understanding or religion beyond that of faith and dogma, and see Religion as something that can actually become known by way of observation and lived experience.
The nature of true religion is that it is forever deepening.
I love what you have expressed here Gabriele! The bastardisation of religion is responsible for the most barbaric acts in the history of humanity from war and genocide to the sexual abuse of children, sadism, sexism, misogyny and horrendous acts of genitalia mutilation. It is little wonder that many recoil from the word, as religion as we have known it is so far from what true religion is. I love that you have listed the difference.
If we are to debase religion as it has become accepted to be, we must first become clear of judgement and reaction in ourselves.
“… it was a deep inner knowing of a true religion that made me react so strongly…” Here-Here, How true this is.
Yes it is Ariana, it most definitely is.
All those things, the atrocities listed here are all the things that are overseen in the name of religion. I know, this entire blog is about this fact and presenting the truth about what Religion actually is, but it just hit me how far we have strayed from the true and pure understanding of living Religiously.
Life is religion, because it is relationship. And as much as there is the bastardisation of the word, this can never stop the sacred nature of all things, of our one life as we live within the body of God, as His love is absolute and no waywardness could ever stop it – only shield our vision from seeing what is here being presented.
The word ‘religion’ has been bastardised and in it’s manipulated definition, people have been separated by being lead to believe their’s is the only one religion. If we were to go back to the truth that brings the understanding that true religion is felt within, it is about relationship, brotherhood and is uniting. The time has come for each of us to take responsibility for the choices we make, the way we live and for connecting to, listening to and being guided by our own innermost – it is in this that Humanity will experience the true meaning of religion – to bind.
Deep within we do know Truth… and it is when we sense something is not true and or the truth is being bastardised that we react – because the truth is known to us… or put another way – If it wasnt known to us, why would we bother reacting?
Great point and so true – we react because we have gone against our truth.
I also had a strong reaction to religion because it did not match what I felt inside, and there was a strong sense of separation from God only because deep down I knew God but could not connect consistently or fully to this knowing. I went searching for God by dabbling in many different religious faiths, from Quakers to Buddhism, but did not find a true religion until I met Serge Benhayon. Here was a man who was living religion, he wasn’t just talking about it, he was living the religious way.
Gabriele, your list of dot points exposes many of our institutionalized religions as false. Deep down we all recognize that anything that separates us from each other is not love, brotherhood or truth and that true religion must be a ‘direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart’ which needs no-one else to interpret God for us or dictate to us what we should do.
My parents generation had an unspoken rule and that was you never spoke about ‘religion or politics’, incredible isn’t it that 2 things of such importance got excluded from conversation for the sake of niceness.
That is an interesting equation, keeping silent = niceness; it makes me wonder whether the arguments and strife about politics and religion, among other topics, arise because we bottle up what we feel is true and then it comes out as an explosion, eventually. Nothing nice about that, me feels.
Great sharing Gabriele, the words re-bind or reconnect are for me bringing a deeper understanding to what I had already felt in my body well before I had the understanding of what the truth of the word religion meant. True religion, which to me is The Way of The Livingness is so simple and has always been allowing me to deepen my connection and re-binding me to my essence.
The points you share on what religion is not are so real, it’s hard to imagine we even consider for a moment that these lies and harming ways toward each other is considered ‘normal’, they are certainly not humane nor can they be labeled as religious.
It is beautiful that we have The Way of The Livingness to show us a new way (or not so new really) of looking at religion. As I reached an age where I could make decisions for myself I ran a mile from religion as nothing ever really added up until coming across The way of The Livingness and thanks to Serge everything adds up.
I can feel that I’m terrified of people associating me with religion. As if there’s something inside me that tells me that I’m wrong. Rather than me claiming and surrendering to the fact that I’m truly religious, meaning that I’m student of life, a student of love and that I will forever learn. Just like anyone else. No one is an enemy, just a vehicle (the body) that is run by either a loving source (fiery energy) or a non-loving source (pranic energy). The only choice is which of the two we allow to run through our body. And this will tell us whether we are living religiously in our own right or are merely existing.
Your honesty and directness always blow me away, thanks Floris. And especially pertinent when it comes to religion as a topic of conversation.
The current main common religions have not served humanity for thousands of years. It is time to claim back the truth of religion so others can know there is a way back to living in communion with God.
How is it that the very thing that re-binds us to who we are, living religion or a religious way of living, and by what we know ourselves to be sons of God has been bastardized to such extent that we not only react to the bastardization but also real thing we know to be true deep within? It might be worth to contemplate about why this is so.
Is it because it confirms and cements division amongst humanity, pitting us against each other while we subscribe to this not so innocent game?
The Way of The Livingness is a true religion which has re-instated my knowing that there is a God, that we are all equal sons of God and that we are all the chosen one.
It’s true – no-one wants to mention God in a conversation. It is way too challenging for most. But is this not due to the fact that there are so many versions of God that the mere mention of his name creates tension? Surely if there were one unified truth then the word God would not create conflict. In that case, perhaps the energetic truth is worth considering. There can be no dispute.
You are right; once we go very still and feel for ourselves what the truth about God and religion is and what isn’t, there is no dispute. The arguments are solely fuelled by the mind and its manoeuvrings.
We know when something is true and when it is not, we can feel it. How awesome it is that Serge Benhayon has reacquainted us with a religion that is true, a religion that is already known in every heart, a religion that waits for us, without judgment, that asks nothing of us other than to just be who we are, that accepts everyone, even those who choose not to ‘belong’.
The Way of The Livingness shows us the way to return to the oneness that we all come from. We are all from the equally one source and we will return to that one source.
You raise a great point here Gabriele in that the only reason we react to the word religion is because we innately know the meaning of this word – yet may not see this being entirely represented by what we call religious institutions or people.
You have put it so well Abby “the only reason we react to the word religion is because we innately know the meaning of this word”. How important then are conversations such as this that offer us a moment to reconnect to our deep awareness, call out the imposter and reclaim our relationship with that which we recognise in our heart.
Great point Abby – I feel it is the same with love too. We react, say love hurts and all the rest only because what we think love is contradicts the purity of what we know True Love to be in our hearts.
After reading an article on Cardinal Pell yesterday, which was questioning whether his ‘word’ can really be trusted, with regard to the child abuse that has taken place within his diocese and his apparent ‘inaction’, I felt a familiar feeling that I’ve associated with religion most of my life, hypocrisy.
“we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” – and what a blessing this is! All the mess, all the misery we experience on earth is just a reflection of our resistance against our natural way of being. As we try to be ‘on our own’, be individual, we go against the truth what is, that we are all one body. God is with us all of the time and that’s why all this horror on earth does happen – not because he or she created it but because we resist him/her and the energy of love (what is who we are) that is calling us back.
Is it unsurprising that today we may look out in despair at the world and wonder what religion has ever done, in fact, look at all it has done to create tension, conflict and suffering. However, is it possible this rejection of the religions we have thus far encountered in life is rooted in the knowing that it should not be this way – not a naive idea that the world can be true love, but an actual knowing sometimes very deep inside, that it doesn’t have to be this way
How much is our strong adverse reaction to religion as it triggers, from our inner-knowing, the pain of the loss of our connection with God?
“…we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” Beautifully and succinctly summed up Gabriele. The Way of The Livingness accepts us all equally due to the simple fact that we are all from the same divine source.
It is impossible to separate religion and the way we choose to live our lives that is to go to church on Sunday and then do as we like the rest of the week yet this is what I observed as I grew up but I was also reminded that this way of being did not add up. At first, I followed the hypocrisy and became a member to please yet every time I heard it being questioned in many arguments (and I don’t remember that much when I was a child) the truth never left me. As I married, got ill and finally came across Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I can see how my choices all along were naturally taking me away from institutionalised religion towards a religion in its truest form The Way of The Livingness for which I am and will always be eternally grateful.
This is a great question, it’s understandable many people have no time for religion when you look at what religion has done and what it stands for today – segregation, war, child abuse, and of course all your points above. But what if this wasn’t actually religion and there was a completely different way to live a religious life? Then perhaps that changes everything!
I love this line –”we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” We try so hard sometimes to not be who we are that really if we were to step back for a moment we would have to either laugh or cry at the ways we use to avoid being ourselves. It takes an enormous amount of energy to be who we are not so no wonder there are so many people who are living with exhaustion. Accepting who we are in full turns out then to be a very healthy choice.
Great observation – it is much harder to fight what we truly are than to live in the alignment with it. But then there is also the question of pride, investment in what is and has been and our stubbornness, quite a mix of hindrances and stumbling blocks.
‘doesn’t distinguish between races, skin colour, gender, education, social standing, etc.’ It doesn’t even distinguish between religions, if you are practicing another religion there is no imposition for you to drop this religion or belief, the doors are open, you are welcomed equally and without judgment. This is not my experience of other religions or organisations where there is an underlying pressure to believe or join the organisation and a sense of in or out.
It is crazy on so many ways that we need to re-bind to a sphere of love that we already are and reside within, but such is God’s grace that he has given us free will to live from the truth of who we are or get sidetracked.
We all know true religion and it is, without doubt, this truth that makes us react to the bastardisation of religion. The Way of The Livingness does not depend on another, a building or a book, it is a relationship that we build within ourselves which supports our connection to something far grander.
Is it possible that if there is an evil force then one of its most powerful tools is to reinterpret the truth and bastardise the meaning of words? It seems so to me. Perhaps any evil force is too clever to simply ‘trash the truth’ but much more subtly and covertly undermine it with movements away from the true meaning of words and the truth of God and religion. It makes perfect sense to me that we would be able to make direct contact with God, our loving Father rather than have to use a go-between, or to spend endless time being sorry for sins when we were given free-will in the first place. For me ‘The Way of The Livingness’ is true religion – and it offers humanity a way to reconnect to a loving and harmonious future – now.
I too would have been one of those turning away in disgust at the mere mention of the word religion, for all the reasons you list Gabriele. It is proof of the immense integrity of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon that my strong aversion to the word and its meaning has been completely transformed and a totally new, deeply beautiful relationship with the simplicity of re-aligning to God has blossomed through The Way of The Livingness. Returning to who we truly are can only be done through an individual commitment to rebuild our internal relationship with God, which unites us all as we reclaim our interconnectivity and immense responsibility to live in accordance with our Divine essence.
What religion can hold their hands up and say they believe in, stand behind and live the things on your list… it would be a very short list!
It would have one entry only, I feel: The Way of The Livingness.
Most of my life I too would cringe at the word God and religion, I knew back then what I had been told so far about God did not just add up. God seemed to be used as an excuse by those who talked about him as means to justify themselves. What is ironic is that in truth we all know God, he is in our hearts equally so.
‘So what then is true religion, you may ask? And does it exist?’ This is a great question to ask as for many years I had discounted religion itself as none of the experience I had had of encountering our own religions provided anything other than doubt in what they professed to be. The Way of The Livingness is very clear and is known through ‘It’s Living Way’ and so I have no doubt and now what I know to be religion is worlds apart from those which have allowed to dominate in the place of our known truth.
Yes the list is endless Gabriele, however, you have made a wonderful start in identifying what true religion is and confirming to us the absolute knowing of the divine wisdom within. A beautiful blog to read Gabriele, thank you.
We all have one hurt under which all other hurts sit and that is the agonising pain of not living the truth of who we are.
Yes, I agree – the separation is what hurts us most and everything else is a follow-on from there, in its many manifestations: religion, movement, thoughts, speech … everything.
We are all the walking wounded.
The way you have described the Ageless Wisdom, an endless body of divine knowing that resides within each of us, is beautiful Gabriele. How much we have tried to own knowledge, how much we have tried to own religion, reinterpret it and diminish its magnificent all-encompassing truth to cinders.
True religion remains, within each of us and when we let this inner most connection rekindle, we know we have found ourselves like nothing else.
The greatest weapon of mass destruction, murderer or dictator in human history is not the nuclear bomb, or Idi Amin but the reinterpretation of the words we use. For as you show Gabriele, religion that is truly about a return to Love, brotherhood and mutual understanding has been turned into a reason to kill one another. It’s this willfull deception and deveation from truth that must be stopped at it’s root.
The Way of the Livingness has its detractors. Of course it does – it’s simple, available to all and demands no allegiance, ritual or belief – you simply choose it, or not. In other words, it’s the antithesis of institutionalised religion, and there will be forces that oppose it. But how can you stop what is in the hearts of all men?
Beautifully stated Victoria, all one can do to not open to this and choose it, is to defend, deny and attack what is known within us, beyond doubt and “in the hearts of all men”.
Your bullet-point list Gabriele exposes the rot that is institutionalised religion. Agreeing to believe in a religion that sponsors any one of those points must mean there is a wilful turning away from the truth; a wanting to believe despite the evidence so clearly presented. It’s interesting how many of us choose to invest in systems that are so palpably false and downright destructive.
Re-ligion as just a word to describe a living way forever deepening the re-lationship with ourselves (our Soul), other people, nature, God and the universe.
In fact a very simple, yet gorgeous truth! We’re coming back to ourselves, all of us. The resistance to the love that we are differs, but nevertheless we’re all moving back into a deeper connection with ourselves and everything and everyone around us.
It has been the reconnection to the “unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being” through the teachings of The Ageless Wisdom that has re-presented and re-introduced religion into my everyday understanding and language in a way that makes it nothing more than simply a way to live life.
The Way of The Livingness has restored the true meaning of religion and God for me. Every part of its teaching resonates love, truth, harmony and brotherhood. And every particle in my body was dancing with joy when I fully embraced the truth of who we are-Sons of God.
Delivered with a bang of absolute truth Gabriele. You shut every door one could possibly try and go through to keep a hold of what is not true. True Religion is in us all, the question is are we brave enough to walk back to it.
Sure, but what have we got to lose? Other than our reputation, possibly? The reputation of being smart and worldly and above religion?
Re the harbouring of criminals – the sovereign Vatican state (the holy see) refused to send details of pedophile priests to the Australian royal commission into child abuse. If it wasn’t a sovereign state, this would be a criminal act. Is such an act compatible with being religious? If it is, what kind of religion is that?
Good point – is it possibly the kind of religion that has self-interest and self-preservation at its core, over and above God and the true good for all people?
The Way of the Livingness is accessible to all and does not impose or discriminate. It has taken me a long time to cut through my beliefs and views I had on religion. I grew up like alot of people in a religious family and at the time it did not feel True. What you say here really makes sense!
Thank you for the expose on what true religion looks like. As a result all other religions are busted! If love, equality and expansion are not at their core then they cannot come from God but from man’s misinterpretation of what love and God are.
Michelle I fully agree with you here, once you bust the myth of one religion by sharing what true Religion is its busts it for all the misinterpreted versions of religion across the world.
Gabriele – I am nodding my head in deep recognition of every single point you make about true religion, and I am incredibly honored to have been given the opportunity to choose a religion that encompasses every single point – The Way of The Livingness.
I love the debasing of what we have created religion to mean.
Such a beautiful knowing of true religion Gabriele and the hurts we all hold from the bastardisation of the word Religion and all that stems from this holding humanity to ransom to looking outside of ourselves when in fact the simplicity and connection to God as all we are in our own unique expression is always with in and known by us all. The Way of The livingness is our own lived expression from our relationship and knowing of God and we are held deeply by him and the Universe in this depth of love, binding and universal order no matter what.
The hurts we hold on to because of what has been done in the name of religion – Good point to ponder on Tricia. More and more people choose to practice non-religious lives – but at what price! We as a society indulge more and more into glamour, entertainment and what we call ‘a good life’, to make the most out of this only one life, we seemingly have. Thereby we can ignore the responsibility we have for us, everyone and the planet. The moment we embrace the fact of karma and that we (our spirit) will be born again in a different body but the same energy we passed over – we will see that there is no end. No end we can be afraid of and no end we can relax on. It will go on and on and on – till we learned it: live love, harmony and in truth, all together.
Thank you for this blog Gabriele. I love the question you are raising here because for me my aversion to organised religion does indeed come from the fact that I have been hurt by the bastardisation of the truth. However more than that, the hurt comes from having allowed myself to take on ideals and beliefs I knew to be false but did so to fit in. Within this I caused my own hurt by compromising what I knew to be true. This is a deep pain still I feel needs to be explored or at least acknowledged, as what I know to be true is everything to me. However at the same time I know that simply connecting to me takes care of all of that, so there is also a need to look at the pictures or investments I have in others ‘getting it’, which as a consequence I find myself going into reaction rather than simply observing and respecting the choices made by others without judgment.
You seed forth a deep pondering here – it is our complicity with the bastardisation of truth and religion that hurts the most, not what others might have done to it; the latter just needs to be observed and not judged. But when we have lost our footing, so to speak, this can be very difficult and has to be redeveloped and lovingly applied, to self and others equally.
A religious article that doesn’t make me turn away. I held a lot against religion, not particularly at anyone but mention the word and really I didn’t know what to do. I would go from just turning off to smiling politely until it ended or just agreeing to be nice. I wasn’t aware of what religion really was, after all my own experience came from a Catholic upbringing, I thought that was religion. Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine gave me a presentation of a true religion and to be honest it just made sense. Not only that it made sense of the past and for that I am very blessed and grateful. The Way Of The Livingness, keep it in your view because if you’re confused, unsure or don’t believe then this one simply makes sense. Religion is more personal then we have been led to believe.
I agree – religion is very personal, intimate and transparent, true religion that is.
It’s interesting to think of a religion as a friend with whom I am building an intimate and transparent relationship. I wouldn’t want to have a that kind of relationship with a friend who possessed any of the traits that you have listed – let alone all of them – let along the hundreds not listed!
This blog is so well written and presents alot for those who read it to feel.
‘ we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not… the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being ‘ For me The Way Of The Livingness is connecting to all that this is and brings.
I can’t wait for the day when we all celebrate the fact that we are all religious and that there is only 1 religion. That’s gonna be one helluva day!
I agree Alexis, the world would look so incredibly different. Statistics show that the vast majority of the world are in fact religious, we are simply distracting ourselves away from the truth.
Even the discussion about whether we are religious or not is in itself a distraction away from truth, as we are all in fact deeply religions. Religion is our natural way of life.
I think a lot of people’s aversion to religion stems from the fact that deep down we all know what true religion is and therefore what true religion isn’t and we know that most things that profess to being religion aren’t.
We only react to a word or phrase when we know what that word really means, and can feel the bastardisation or misuse of it.
Yes, thanks for the confirmation – my feelings exactly when it comes to religion.
Beautiful blog Gabriele about a word that has come so far away from its original meaning. I love the meaning you mention here ‘to bind’ for me it reminds me that we are all interconnected with each other and with the whole universe in one amazing, awesome symphony or harmony and synchrony. All we have to do is connect to these universal laws we all know and understand so well and live them to the best of our ability. That for me is ‘religion unplugged’!
Your extensive list says it all Gabriele. A beautiful testament to a true religion that is available to everyone and rejects no one.
A very interesting question that you ask here – what is behind our rebuff of religion as old school, outdated and a sign you’re not quite all there with your intelligence? How can we be disillusioned with religion if somewhere inside us we have a feeling that it doesn’t have to be this way, that in truth religion is far more than all that we have experienced and at times suffered through?
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Yes, Gabriele. I too reacted against organised religion growing up in Northern Ireland, because I had an innate sense of what true religion was and instead what I observed was absolute hypocrisy and sectarianism. It has therefore been very healing to ‘come home’ to the truly loving principles of The Way of The Livingness.
Same for me Janet, the coming home feeling with The Way of The Livingness was really a feeling of coming back to truth and love I already knew, a joyful feeling of reunion.
Janet I agree, this is how I feel, very healing to come home, to what I know deep within is true … The Way Of The Livingness.
Yes we are all deeply hurt by the bastardisation of religion and I like so many reacted against this and spent many years proclaiming myself an agnostic until finding The Way of The Livingness and restoring my connection to God and myself.
I feel so many of us in the past, (and I am talking past lives) have suffered immensely at the hands of so called religions throughout time and so there is memory in some way on being murdered in horrendous ways. Would a true religion do that to its fellow brothers?
We come from oneness, the return to actively live in oneness is religion or The Way of The Livingness.
Wow, that says it all. Love how you explained what true religion is and what it is not, and exposed any other that does and is just not it exactly because it’s allowing all this to happen. Beauty-full claimed sharing for all of us. Thank You, Gabriele.
We all know what true religion is deep inside, yet we condone ‘religions’ that do not uphold this truth, hence your list Gabriele. How can we accept any institution or organisation that calls itself a ‘religion’ if it indulges in any of the activities listed? The Way of The Livingness restores the true tenets of religion and the quality of living integrity that innately resides in us all, re-minding us that we live within a Universe that is unescapably governed by immensely wise Laws that time and time again place in front of us the quality of our behaviour, until such time as we surrender to the Love that we are and cease to allow any bastardisation of the truth, once and for All.
It is so true, Gabriele, that it is the ‘bastardisation of religion’ from which people turn away but it has become so bastardised that the bastardisation is believed to be the truth.
I also used to cringe at the mention of word religion for most of my life. The wars throughout history are a prime example of the carnage that was caused, supposedly in the name of God! With your list of what religion is, there can never be a reason for war!
The bastardization of religion has turned people against religion and this is so wrong because we are all naturally religious by nature, that is we naturally want to connect with other people, the stars, and the greater that we know ourselves to be.
Beautiful blog, and I can agree with all that you share. I am not appalled by religion, but by the falseness that is the institutionalised religions.
To re-bind or re-connect, for me is taking all the inferences away from the word religion. Modern religions have been the custodial place, which has denigrated the word religion. I can feel the empowering effect of living the simple truth that I am re-connecting to my inner-heart and this is true religion. This connection is not a magic bullet, it needs to be worked on, from being at first at least gentle to then being self-loving and all in a way that is to the best of my ability so that I do not get into self-flagellation. In many ways, my life is still a work in progress on the way of re-turn.
To add to your list Gabriele, a Buddhist priest was arrested just the other day with a load of drugs in his car and even more at his temple.
“Why? Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not” – we cannot eradicate the fact that each one of us are the living sons of God equally, and so that means our family consists of 7 billion souls, and not just the ones through bloodline, marriage or surname.
I love that we are bound to the All ‘whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.’ We can put our hands over our eyes and say we can’t see God but God is always with us and always loves, what we do can never change that whatever we believe.
So eloquent to read Gabriele, describing The Way of The Livingness as religion “… in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state…”
I realise our aversion to religion, God and many other things in life is a reflection of a deep hurt we carry from experiences we have not yet healed. Hence our tendency to react which in a way blocks our ability to discern what we are presented and experience without clarity and truth.
Perhaps what hurts is that we knew truth and chose to turn away from it.
The fact that there are so many religions and religious people in the world shows that on some level we all know God. Ironically religion (in the false sense) is what we have used to keep God at arms length. The Way of The Livingness reminds us of our divine essence and connection to each other and once this is connected to no rules or doctrines are necessary.
The title loudly speaks it answer: as it is known to the reader that there is a vast difference and that that difference is the exact bastardization of the truth of that word. Thank you very very much, Gabrielle.
It definitely hurts that we have travelled so so far from what religion is that so many people are turned off God.
Stunning blog Gabriele. A religion that not only allows, but engourages and supports me to be all that I truly am – now that’s my kind of religion.
When you write that true religion ‘doesn’t harbour criminals in their midst and thinks itself as above the law’ and then when I listen to the current findings from the Royal Commission into child sex abuse, I realise how far the Catholic Church is from true religion. This damning report shows that they did harbour criminals and they still think they are above the law as it can be difficult to get them to come to the proceedings.
We all can feel the truth about religion as we all have an inner knowing because it is part of us… I think you could be right, Gabriele that the hurts are greater because of the bastardisation of it rather than religion itself.
What hurts us the most is feeling in today’s supposed ‘religions’of the lack of equality, the lack of love and true brotherhood we all innately know are part of us and our true way of living in this world.
Thank you Gabriele for this piece of Gold: “we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” – We do belong to God, naught more need be said.
Even when we find true religion, there is a process in embracing and accepting it – for we come with many preconceived ideas and beliefs about so many things, and each of these needs to be shed in order to truly embrace who we are and hence live in a truly religious way. Finding a religion that is free of all the points that you mentioned above, Gabriele, is only just the beginning. Finding Universal Medicine and the teachings of Serge Benhayon is only just the beginning; the beginning of a true life that is yet to be lived on a day to day basis. And this is then the choice we have, or are offered to make…
“The Way of The Livingness… is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.” It is like coming home – returning to a way of being and living in the world that we have always known to be true.
The Way of The Livingness is the antithesis of all the points listed above and so much more – and then some; it is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.
Gabrielle this blog has finally got to the root of why many people hear the word religion and cringe in reaction. It is clear that religion itself is to be regarded highly as ones personal relationship with god and this blog reclaims the true meaning of relationship. It is the many institutionalized religions full of dogma, elitism, hypocrisy, and manipulation, (not to mention violence, war and pedophilia) which has given the word religion a bad name. It is clear to me that ‘The Way of The Livingness’ is true religion holding all as equal in practical everyday life.
And why is it that we are often told not to talk about religion or there is a sense that we better not because it is going to cause people to disagree and react. So what, then we walk around and play friendly yet there is this big elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.
True religion does not discriminate. But how many of us know true religion and its meaning?
Religion is a word that I have been exploring lately and just how messed up and misunderstood it really is. It is as if we have all been told the wrong meaning of the word, and we just don’t get as none of it makes sense.
Listening to Serge Benhayon and applying what he talks about to my life has brought back the true meaning of religion to me and the appreciation for its incredible value and beauty.
It is so true that deep within we all know what is true and what is not. Throughout history and even continuing today there have been many atrocities incited in the name of religion. It is no wonder there is such an adverse reaction to the word ‘religion’ as it currently represents corruption, segregation, persecution. In many religions it is believed that we are born sinners, that our lives are about repenting our sins and that only after death can we truly be free and unite with God. That is heavy going and I did react to and rejected this representation of religion, as none of this represented the truth of God and the truth of Gods children. The Way of The Livingness represents the truth we all know within. A way of living where our connection to our inner-most quality, our Soul, is our true guiding light, through which we are all free to know we are the equal Sons of God, are always in union with God and all, and that our godliness is actually our naturally divine way of being.
It is quite a revelation to consider the possibility that we know inside what is true and what is not. To explore this possibility and to get more and more indications that it could be true is quite an experience.
This is indeed a profound question to consider. Is our issue with the impact of the “bastardisation of religion” or is it with what religion itself is. I for one had no time of day for all the hypocrisy and brutality inflicted on humanity under the banner of various religions, so I thought I had an issue with religion itself. My relationship changed when I came to Universal Medicine and I started to realise that what I had previously been sold as God, divinity, religion and all the dogmas were all a massive lie and noticed how in line with my heart, true religion actually is.
“But was there a deeply buried hurt underneath this façade of bravado and intelligence…” – Great question, oftentimes when someone is being calculating or coming across cold so to speak we say they are unemotional but really underneath it there is an emotional reaction driving the lovelessness.
I agree Fiona. Often when we are not expressing who we are because there is a hurt that is driving us to put up a bravado and to behave in loveless ways. Letting go of our hurts and who we are not, allows us to connect to our soul, to people and to God naturally.
The Way Of The Livingness is the only religion that I have felt I can say I am religious. I have no doubt, it is my religion .. all encompassing, equality, uniting, oneness.
Yep, I can relate. I feel proud to say that I am religious and that I live a religious life.
Yes, I had not thought about it before but when I was ‘practicing’ Christianity at school or Buddhism in later life I was never proud to say I was religious. Now that The Way of The Livingness is my way of living, I am.
Yes, Ruth. It feels liberating and very joyful to finally be able to say I am deeply religious in the true sense of the word, as an eternal student of The Way of The Livingness.
It wasn’t until I discovered Universal Medicine and The Way of the Livingness that I realised that I did know true Religion, and it was only then that it became clear to me why I had always felt so uncomfortable about ‘other’ religions, because what they were saying did not feel true. There was nothing that I could connect with, unlike The Way of the Livingness which is all about reconnecting with ourselves and consequently everyone else.
A very beautiful blog on the truth about Religion and the bastardisation that has taken place that leaves a deep hurt within us all. This can be seen by living and knowing of the Way of the Livingness and all it exposes in its simplicity, responsibility , honouring and true love. It is ancient and true and will live on forever for it is inside us all equally as the oneness we are all from. We are all simply divine beings, sons of God and the true honouring of this is inevitable.
Hi Gabriele what stood out for me as I read this was what aspect of religion in the form I grew up with hurt the most. In many ways it came down to both the untruths I felt but also the fact that in my heart I always felt everyone as equal so to have the fighting and separation between different religions hurt me among the other things that you mention.
True religion does not discriminate. But how many of us know true religion and its meaning?
Religion is a word that I have been exploring lately and just how messed up and misunderstood it really is. It is as if we have all been told the wrong meaning of the word, and we just don’t get it as none of it makes sense.
To avoid or deny who we are is to disregard or dismiss true Religion.
‘We can not but be who we are’. I don’t squirm with the word religion, but there are other topics I hold issues around that do trigger a disdain in me.
The fact that we can squirm really alerts us of the fact that there is a point of deepening on offer, a chance to reclaim more of who we truly are.
Thanks to The Way of the Livingness presentations prepared by Serge Benhayon I am much more understanding of what religion is and means. Once upon a time it used to bring up so much reaction in me, but not so much any more. This is such a blessing to me and my everyday, where I see people as people, regardless of their choices, including their choice in religion. We so need to have the freedom to be a part of whatever religion we so choose, without fear of being persecuted and regardless of whether your religion is old or new with many members or not and then it’s about living your life with self and others harmoniously to the best of your ability.
“it is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.” YES, that’s my religion The Way of The Livingness.
What is so striking is how simple, obvious and common sensical your list is Gabriele. I mean it’s really, really basic stuff that is so clearly our natural way of being. The zillions of hours of debate (let alone the millions of people killed) in the name of religion are all exposed by that super simple, easily accessible and utterly do-able list.
You are so right Gabriele, the very word religion sends people into a spin. It certainly used to do that for me. Like yourself though I always knew there was a true religion and I can definitely say that religion is The Way of the Livingness. The Way of the Livingness is so simple, it is about learning to re-connect with our divine essence and from there we actually know The Way of the Livingness.
In my knowing religion is a way of relationship and living that makes us not just realize that we are a part of the all but return to living as that part in interconnection with all other parts that make the whole, thereby discarding the illusion that the part would be complete or even know itself in full without the whole.
“Mention the word ‘religion’ and it either goes very quiet or incites an unexpected debate, should you have struck a believer”. Agreed Gabriele people can have strong views on religion and I think this stems from your title Gabriele “What hurts – Religion or the Bastardisation of Religion” The word Religion has been used to incite wars, to maime, kill and torture and instill fear, the very word ‘Religion’ has been bastardised and this is what we react to. When I first heard the true meaning of religion it felt like I could breathe again and a ton of bricks had been lifted from my body,, all the constraints and ideals that the world religion had been presented to me up to that point fell away.
There is something very beautiful about the word ‘to re-bind’ in this context, and the more I open myself up to The Way of The Livingness, the more I experience as an everyday occurrence that we are naturally and inescapably bound to or belonging to God, in that we live within the sphere of His being. So the re-binding process is merely the re-awakening to this unalterable fact.
When we look at all the great prophets, philosophers or teachers throughout history they were all saying the same thing, so why to our own downfall do we think that what they were saying is open to so much interpretation.
I can feel how I tend to not be ‘proud’ on being religious. Almost ashamed and needing to excuse myself for being religious AND also being part of a community that lives religious. As if I’m afraid to be associated with other people’s choices and therefore choose to be in my own cave. It’s lovely to nominate this as this allows me to feel how joyfull and knowing I actually am in regards to being religious. That there’s nothing to be ashamed about, in fact it is just an allowance to be part of a greater whole. And in feeling this, I feel connected and in celebration of both myself and the whole. Religion isn’t a set of words, beliefs, ideals etc. True religion is about a living way. A beautiful and delicate way of being with ourselves and life. Thank you Gabrielle for writing on this topic. I can feel that writing about it is very supportive and healing.
If there is an evil force in our world – and I sense that there is – one of the most powerful ‘tricks of its trade’ would surely be to create a fog of doubt and uncertainty around anything that approaches being true and expressing truth. A question we are faced with is – are we complicit with this force? If we can connect to love within us and live lives of truth, then can we equally connect with the fog of doubt and uncertainty and be a vessel for this too? Are we the unwitting purveyors of evil, when we are not being the love that we innately are?
“or “leave me alone with organised religion”” The many current known religions often have done more harm than good in the sense that people have (be it without discerning) taken all what those religions have done as what religion is and means. This can rightly so bring on reactions and withdrawing from organised religions. Yet I cannot help but feel what you shared here Gabriele, and that is that deep down we know what true religion is so we can stand up for that too, which we have not always done so.
This blog raises a lot questions, but especially questions about the fact that religion exists in so many forms all over the world, and with such dedication too. So, doesn’t this indicate that a lot of us do actually have a very real and tangible sense within ourselves of divinity – regardless of what religion we each may choose – the fact remains that divinity is known and searched for, which is amazing.
I used to be an ‘Objector’ to the notion of religion as well Gabriele. The word conjured up mindless obedience to a set of restrictive doctrines that God never made. But when presented with its true meaning, to re-align to God within, all my resistance began to unravel, along with all the blocks of re-connecting to the Divine within me. The Way of the Livingness has returned to me my innate and intimate relationship with God, one that has always been there, but never nurtured in the way it is now, thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon and the deep healing delivered by the Universal Medicine workshops and modalities. The Way of the Livingness is genuine religion, free from all doctrine, 100% inclusive, loving and transparent, a Way of Life that is commonly lived, not an ideal, belief or rule in sight.
Your dot points were what I knew innately as a child, that no matter our race or skin colour we all belong to and come from God equally. I even understood the concept of hypocrisy. As I become a teen and learned about atrocities and inequalities that came from religion I also knew this was very irreligious. Knowing God is really simple, it’s something we all innately have. This is where true religion comes from, inside ourselves.
There is no greater tie that binds than that of Love and that is what binds one in true religion.
Religion has always been about control, is it good for you… unless you are bad according to their rules. It is ironic that throughout time something that we are all equally a part of has caused so much separation!
I am so grateful that so many facts have been revealed by The Way Of The Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon. We now know the truth behind the magic show, the smoke and mirrors that many Religions have used to keep us in our place. A place of lowly sinners and unworthy to be called a Son of God, something we know differently now and are learning to openly accept this truth.
To have something that masquerades as religion whilst all along blocking people’s access to true religion is nothing short of evil.
None of the religions I came across when I was growing up made any sense to me. Your list of bullet points Gabriele are great, because I too felt the same and I could also add to your list. So, when I came across The Way of The Livingness it all made sense and I knew in my heart that this is the true religion for me because it is about love, equality, harmony, love, truth and so much more. One thing that stood out for me is my understanding that God is within us all, He is never ever judgemental or condemning but all loving, and what’s more is that every single person on earth are His Sons. No one is ever left out or excluded, no matter what our choices or beliefs are. Also one of the many things I love about The Way of The Livingness is that it is about Brotherhood, to me I feel this is the only religion that could unite us all.
The Way of The Livingness is – from every angle through which I have explored it, discerned it, and felt its resonance within the very core of my being – an expression and foundational holding of all that religion truly is.
How powerful it is to gather also, with others to whom this makes sense, and experience a community that holds no walls to any other and only keeps deepening in its capacity to be in true, loving relationship with God, and bring this to every aspect of our lives. With no perfection, but most certainly with a commitment and deeply acknowledged responsibility to that which is true, and holds true in a unifying way for all.
Am with you entirely Gabriele Conrad. Our issue with ‘religion’ is that which has been done in its name – which is not the true nature, nor expression, of religion whatsoever.
I would say, also from my own experience, that deep down, we do know what true religion is, and we have felt and been so abused by its bastardisation, that it’s left us turning away – even from that which IS ever there for us to return to if we so choose: a deeply personal and yet at once all-encompassing relationship with God and The All, that is religion itself, under no controlled dominion, dogma or falsity in its name whatsoever.
This struck me Gabriele, ‘The Ageless Wisdom, the unwritten deep knowing at the core of every human being’ – we know this deeply and when we find it, we resonate to it, for we know if it what we come from, love.
I agree we have a deep inner-knowing of true religion that is incorruptible and forever present.
Amazing post Gabriele, love your style and expression of writing. One of your line here on distinguishing religion — “doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been” – quite, there are no points to be earned but instead everything to truly be as it truly is.
Reading your blog something came to me as to why I don’t mention religion and it surprised me to feel this. It is a feeling of I have to ‘explain’ myself and if I ‘explain’ myself with regards to religion to another then it could cause for a debate or discussion and I really don’t want a debate or discussion because I know what religion is to me so don’t need to talk to another regarding this! Mmmmm interesting. I absolutely had an aversion to the word religion when I was younger just because I could see the deceit, corruption, lies, war, greed, murder in the world all being done in the ‘name’ of religion yet there was nothing religious about any of this. It was insidious. Also the word religion to me meant ‘pious’ or ‘good’ and this just didn’t sit well with my rebellious nature. And also what was this one all about the ‘preaching of sin, purgatory and hell’? No, religion and me did not get on. If I am really honest I still have a bit of an aversion with the word religion, just because how much it has been bastardised, but I know the truth of the word so this is work in progress but what I feel this really comes down to is my relationship with the divine because if this was solid then I wouldn’t have a problem talking about religion! Nothing would rock the foundation I am on because this would have been claimed from within every cell of my being. So yep, definitely still have work to do here!
When I think of a ‘religion’ and what I do not like about it, it becomes clear that there is a gap between what it portrays as ‘it’ and how it actually conducts itself, and what I know as ‘it’, hence the aversion. As you say, it was an easier option to denounce and walk away from it all together, than claiming what I know to be true. The thing is I did know. For me, The Way of The Livingness is what I have been waiting for all along – it feels like it has given me a permission to be and live who I am, but the fact is it has not, it just simply presents by reflecting our true innateness, our connection to God, it does not promise anything nor elevates anyone just because they say ‘Yes’ to what it represents, as the truth simply is what is and it is simply to be confirmed.
Religion as a word definitely conjures up reactions in people who may simply dismiss you as a quack or disagree on what you believe against what they believe to be truth. The interesting thing about Truth is that it is the same for all of us, so if we are arguing about it, perhaps what we believe cannot be true? I certainly resisted thinking about what Serge Benhayon presented as being a religion, but on reflection, it does make sense. The Way of The Livingness is a way of being that is for all of us equally – I know of no other religion that does that. It does not try to convert us, it simply is and it’s for us to come to it in our own time when we choose. No dogma, no rules, no being told what to do, just simple presentations that explain a lot about how and why the world is the way it is and how we are responsible for the mess we are in.
Reading this I can feel the truth of religion from inside me and that this has been lived in truth before – we find religion in our hearts and live it in our movements.
I am still with you Gabriele and The Way of the Livingness has brought me back to my absolute knowing of God from within my own body and being. The Livingness is devoid of any of those dot points that are hall marks of the established religions and leaves us free to re-discover we are all Sons of God – and its no big deal!
Religion as practised hurts. This includes the current statistics released by the Royal Commission into Child Abuse in Australia where one Catholic order had 40% of its members being accused of child abuse. That is painful.
Love this Bryony – it may take five minutes or it may take five lifetimes, but our essence isn’t going anywhere.
God and religion – two topics I felt I should follow and adhere to because of the guilt and concern I had if I didn’t. Years later I found it liberating to realise I didn’t have to align to or follow religion, nor believe in God. At the time, it was great. And it’s only been in the last two years that I’ve come to understand and feel the true meaning of religion. And as for God? Well, I’ve had enough experiences now to know there is something there – supportive, loving and playful.
We all have this deep inner knowing of religion and every cell in our body reacts to the misuse of the words. It is quite a setup, having the only versions of religions ranging from being short of the mark to downright abusive. We are set up to turn our backs on religion, and by default God, and live out our lives as mere humans scurrying about like ants.
Thanks Gabrielle for a great article, the difference between the false religion and the true religion is amazing being summed up in the word separation, from who we truly are. While true religion is ‘it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.’ how lovingly powerful and freeing is that connection.
Deep down inside us all, we all know the true meaning of religion and divinely we are all part of the whole. It is about finding a way to connect to that so we can be re-awaken to the knowing within. The Way of The Livingness is the true way to be-able to connect to that knowing within.
The Way of The Livingness’s modern day representative Serge Benhayon relates, reflects and lives the Ancient Wisdoms with such clarity and love for All, that it’s very difficult to deny the connection to feeling this truth with-in.
When I read your list of what religion is not, my body was nodding with you. Before I connected to The Way of The Livingness, and what true religion is, I probably would not have said that I know what true religion is but I definitely knew those items on your list and knew that what was being said about religion was not true religion. How could it separate us and how could so much harm be done in the name of ‘religion’?
If we subscribed to what the institutionalised stream of religion currently is you will have a distaste for it. It is important to been discerning throughout life. It is difficult at first however the feeling that asked you discern in the first place will continue to develop and the light and dark will be easily seen in time.
Religare – to bind. What a great place to build a foundation of religion from, a marker against which we can measure whether someone is being religious. Or put another way being in connection to the all, to everyone, being accepting of others faults, of others ways of living, of doing things, agreeing to disagree, but with not need to be right. Allowing for other viewpoints and staying open to all that comes our way. How different religion could be, can be, from what we have just now, which understandably turns so many people off in such a strong way.
If someone asks me if I am religious, I now say yes I am, as I feel the truth of religion in my body. But to be honest there still can be a slight hesitation that comes from my mind but my body just knows the Ageless Wisdom inside out and basically that is all that matters.
At the end of your sharing here on Religion Gabriele, these words enlivened my heart with joy, ‘Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.’ There is something truly beautiful about knowing that we are already complete, full and that there is nothing to do but connect with this truth – Religion in it’s true expression. The Way of The Livingness is the path we walk that allows the truth of our being to be lived! A great blog, thank you!
The true understanding of Religion has been lost and it is because of this many feel fearful of ‘Religion’ and it’s perceived control, manipulation and authoritarian ways. Others welcome the fact that many of these attributes offer a sense of belonging, a way of living that saves a person from making their own choices, giveing them a sense of being empowered, convincing them to live according to the dictations of others. True Religion is about connection to a truth that we all hold within us, a truth held in the heart and when this is lived we constantly meet this same truth reflected to us from within others – a natural livingness that is ‘brotherhood’ and unifying and not the opposite as mentioned earlier, something that serves to separate people and encourage opposition and closed hearts and minds.
I love this point Gabriele, “it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to” I have found myself bound to love, knowing that actually love never left me, I simply got distracted. The Way of The Livingness is a tender, gentle reminder of who we are, what we are made of and where we are from.
A topic of conversation in our household lately has been about the God status given to Jesus, that he has magical powers, could walk on water, cure the ill etc. This is another aspect of most religions that can be added to the list of what is not true religion. Jesus, as an example, was made out to be super human. But in Truth he was a man just like all of us and he reflected what was possible and that we are all the same – it is our choices that are different. He didn’t have magical powers, he didn’t walk on water, he didn’t do anything we too are not capable of.
Beautifully and boldly stated Nikky McKee, by making a Jesus super-human we also distance ourselves from living his simple message of love and brotherhood equally.
The true meaning of religion has been changed so much, no wonder most people react to any religious discussion. When religion comes up for discussion, most people think of pious ‘holier than thou’ types of folk or people imposing their views on others, with hellfire and damnation for anyone who may disagree. And I find intelligent people tend to think they have all the answers from their heads. It isn’t surprising why we tend to get put off from thinking there is anything else because of the mess the world is in. The Way of The Livingness is the way back to return to the true religion, the Ageless Wisdom, and the connection to God within our inner hearts. We can all choose to return to it.
We are part of the all – bound to the all through our vibrating cells religion is natural.
We do belong and the fact that we react to the world religion is the most obvious evidence that there’s something underneath. Otherwise, why bother reacting. I’m only starting to let God in again, that he’s part of my life and that I do have a relationship with him. Constantly, whether I choose to ignore the relationship or not. Religion is something very sacred and divine. Very alive inside all of us. How precious is that.
Gabriele for me its the fact that I’ve also felt some truth in a “higher purpose” of something “universal” that we “come from the stars” but the versions of religion I saw hurt deeply as parts were true, but there was so much missing. To me I would say its not religion that hurts but the way its been bastardised to suit a few and give them power rather than being equal and open for all through ones own connection and choices.
We have a deep inner knowing of God and what true religion is but we have over many thousands of years been persecuted for expressing our truth especially around religion. The Way of The Livingness presents a truth that resonates with what we know to be true, there is no dogma, ideals or beliefs or bastardisation, just an expansion of what has been brought to us for thousands of years through the Ageless Wisdom.
Thank you Gabriele. It is as if you have looked inside me and have described my unfolding relationship with religion. My heart is nodding away and smiling with joy reading what is written here.
Brilliantly said Gabriele, and I agree deep down we all have a knowing of true religion or a way of being that unites us all rather than dividing us.
It is quite a sensible looking requirement that a religion needs to be true, which means anything that makes statements that are obviously untrue cannot be a religion if religion has this simple requirement.
Absolutely… for we cannot deny who we truly are, our divinity and deep knowing of true religion and soulful living.
Just as the stars do not compare who shines the brightest in the sky, so too is it completely unnatural and aberrant for the many sparks of God to fall into competition with each other. The only way we can fall for this trick is to first deny we are a Son of God. From here the deal is done and the door to evil lies wide open for the many misinterpretations to come flooding in.
Thank you Gabriele for your sharing. I love the way you have presented your experience of Religion, and the fact that it has been bastardised like so many things of value and importance in this world. It is up to us to undo the damage that has been done, starting with ourselves
The Way Of The Livingness is all you have described, it is religion and it is here to stay.
Thank you Gabriele, for your honest account of what true Religion is. The Way of The Livingness is most certainly for me something that I can relate to, as it is me as much as it is in everyone and not something that I subscribe to that is outside of myself.
When the truth of religion is lived, it will naturally unite us all but when the bastardised version of religion is lived it divides us all.
The Way of The Livingness can be felt, just as grace and true love can be felt. In fact, the founding aspects of the Way of The Livingness, if I can call them as such, are Harmony, Truth, Love, Stillness, and Joy. These are what we may have felt in our lives but not really registered consciously or known how to connect to or nurture. We do not have to believe in God to practise The Way of The Livingness, we just have to care and be open to considering that we are all energetically connected and there might be a purpose to our being here.
Gabriele the words that you used to describe religion “it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart” that really struck a chord with me. So often traditional religion is not felt from within the body, in fact, it actually stays well outside the body often sitting as a belief in the head. But as you say true religion is very much an experience of the body and it is only through our bodies that we can truly come to know God.
Thanks, Gabriele – before when I was asked if I believed in God I always asked back for a definition of God. Obviously coming from a place where I’ve seen just too many versions of it. I’ve come to know God as being found in connection. For me, God is found when I get still and am one with a specific quality of presence.
The word religion evokes a clear feeling in the body. All my life, I could feel that established religions were dark business and could also feel that that the binding (re-ligio) was not a true one. So, there was no way I could have ever chosen one of them to try to get to God. Although as an atheist, I have always hoped (and secretly believed) that there was such a thing as a God. But the contrast between that knowing and any organised religion confirmed to me that better to stay away. It was no way in the world any one could have convinced me otherwise. Yet, re-binding with my own body paved the way to re-binding with God. Religare was my way back to God through The Way of The Livingness.
It makes much sense that all reactions towards the word religion and many current religions comes from a hurt of knowing exactly what true religion is but not seeing it in most current religions and also not claiming it for ourselves.
The title is very fitting and makes a lot of sense that such strong reactions towards religion cannot come from nowhere, in order to oppose something we require an opposite to that which we are reacting to. And that last line for me shows how even in our reaction it can elude to the fact that there is a part of us that is deeply religious. For me The Way of The Livingness is supporting me to connect to and live in that deeper connection rather than the surface reaction.
Gabriele this lays the truth down very simply and clearly. The thing that makes The Way of The Livingness what it is is the fact that unlike all other religions it is defined not by a book or scripture passed down from those who were recognised as great and true teachers of ancient time, but the fact that of its living way.
Is it the word ‘Religion’ that is the problem or is it the re-interpretation that we have laid upon it? I know I puzzled on this one for most of my life wondering why that word could have the power to make me re-act in such a way. I know that I had come to a point where I could no longer tolerate ‘Religion’ in the way that it had been presented to me by the conventional route and only when I realised – with the support of finding The Way of The Livingness – that there was nothing wrong with the word in it’s true meaning – that what it was offering me was a way to return back to an innate way of being that my heart had been yearning for – and had been denied for many lifetimes. The Ageless Wisdom has always remained true – and it was me that had wandered off the path and allowed myself to be led astray. When we once again begin the path of return our soul sings for joy.
Religion is a word that indeed incites so much protection and defensiveness, dare I say I have a connection with the words religion or God, what would people think? We tend to pay more focus to words and their interpreted meaning rather than feeling the energy that is true and unifies in its meaning.
Absolutely I’m still with you Gabriele! and yes, true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots “to bind” not only binds or re-binds us in our own connection to God, the All, but also in that, we are reconnected with each other. And so, true religion has the power to change to loving what is currently brutal.
There are some wonderful articles, audio and quotes on Unimedpedia – http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia that support and expand on what you are saying and provide the true energetic meaning of Religion, God, The Livingness and expose the evil behind the bastardisation of the word Religion.
Gorgeous Gabriele. As you’ve shared, true religion is something that binds us all and reconnects us to a true purpose and vibration that we come from. It is very interesting then, that the word religion has been bastardised to mean the opposite, and instead in today’s society separates us much more than it binds us.
Susie, this is exactly the same reason why I didn’t want to be associated with any form of institutionalized religion, because of the way they have bastardised religion. I saw many religions harbouring separation instead love or brotherhood. Now, I have found the one religion that is of absolute truth to me, The Way of The Livingness.
The word ‘Religion’ does elicit abrupt changes in people whether they are verbal or not and sadly these changes are reactions to something that is not religion at all in the true sense of the word but reaction to the misinterpreted and manipulated version of the word. True ‘Religion’ is about re-connection, relationship and living the truth that is communicated from deep within each one of us. True religion in its true form unites people as one – quite the opposite of what we are observing across countries separating people currently.
I’m not sure I always felt there was a ‘true’ religion out there, I knew that I wasn’t interested in any of the established religions as they didn’t feel true – I didn’t like the fact that each religion felt it was the one and that the others weren’t. I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t space for everyone to have their own relationship with God, whatever that meant to them, why was there a pressure to belong to a certain religion, was it for the ‘sake’ of the individual or to give the religion greater power by boosting it’s numbers? However, when I was introduced to The Way of The Livingness, I knew that I had found my religion, a way of being that honours who I am and everyone else equally so, uniting us all together as belonging with God and with each other.
Gabriele Conrad, how deeply inspiring and powerful this blog is, written with a beautiful lighthearted humour to expose the hidden anxieties and thoughts about the use of the word ‘religion’. There is much to ponder upon here on a much needed topic of conversation.
After so many years of being imposed on by “religion” I can now say from my inner heart that The Way of The Livingness is my religion and i am its’ forever student as I am learning and feeling and returning to the truths which have always been with me but I have not always chosen to live them. Gabriele, it is definitely the bastardisation of religion that has kept me away from me for so very long.
‘what is it that makes us cringe, shrink, turn the other way, ignore the remark or smile limply’ …. my immediate response to this question is …. it’s the imposition that I feel from established religions that makes me want to turn the other way and run for the hills – the fact that I am expected to be a certain way to have a relationship with God, through the religion. I feel, and always have, that I have my own relationship with God. I may have had periods when I’ve pretty much ignored his existence, but I’ve always known he’s there.
Religion is indeed a tricky subject for most. Being the cause of most of the wars in the world we usually do not want to talk about it in everyday conversation. But there are values that we all can share as human beings, and we all share an instinctive feeling of what is right and wrong, true or not true. To be true to ourselves is religion, and to live by the values of what we feel to be true.
It is easy to see why people run a mile when you mention the word religion, especially when it comes loaded with all of the things mentioned in this blog. We spend lifetimes searching, and exploring different religious groups only to be left feeling unfulfilled, flat and disappointed because once again we fall very short of finding the Truth. But with The Way of The Livingness there is a feeling of coming home to something we already know, and have always known, and we soon realise that no amount of searching from outside of ourselves will ever bring us closer to God.
Gabriele, I love how you bring religion back to the body ‘it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.’ When I became a student of The Way ofTthe Livingness I knew I could call off the outward search for a religion that was true because my own body felt in its very core a deep and loving connection that had been missing for a very long time.
I concur with you fully Gabriele – religion in the tainted meaning leaves us out in the cold, rejecting God and ourselves. The tenets of The Way of The Livingness are all-encompassing of our inner most connection which is within each of us equally with no exception, and when we start living from this connection, we never again feel we’ve been left out in the cold.
Gabriele, I agree and know that true Religion is found within the inner-heart of everyone – it does not discriminate and knows no boundaries. Something I find hard with the word is the way it has been used to cause separation and divide, whether it be amongst humanity or within ourselves, be it defined to certain different groups, to sets of rules you have to obey else you will go to hell, that if you are not in the religion you are a sinner and will go to hell, and the list goes on. So I have cringed at using the word rather than simply using it for the truth that it is. I know a part of that is me not wanting people to misinterpret what I am saying, but it is also me not fully claiming the truth of what I know Religion is.
A great question to pose Gabriele. I certainly turned off religion because conventional religions were so distorted and far from truth as in all the ways you describe, I could in no way relate to them.
I remember I used to take great pleasure getting into disputes with religious people who would come knocking on my door on a Sunday morning. I was angry at what I felt was their narrow view of God and that there was no love in their message. I agree that deep down we all know what love is and so we feel the gap between the actions of religions and words they preach.
The Way of The Livingness feels true to me. My body says a big yes to it and this is the best evidence there is that it is indeed true. Connecting with it has been one of life’s great ‘aha’ moments. ‘Aha! – yes, this is what religion is meant to be’ – and as a result, I will happily claim myself to be religious once again.
A great blog Gabriele that gets us to look at what is beneath our sometimes very aggressive reactions to the word religion and what it currently stands for.
I used to run and sometimes hide from any conversation that began around religion simply because I was very confused about what I exactly felt about it, especially what religion actually was. But there was always a part of me that suspected that somewhere there was a true religion that, when I found it, would make sense to me, unlike all the religions in the world that made little sense at all. When I first was introduced to The Way of The Livingness it didn’t take too long to see the truth that was being offered; a way of living that honours every single member of humanity as being equal, has no rules and dogma, and is based on self responsibility, integrity, and love. Now that is my kind of religion.
The Way of The Livingness is true pure religion without all the bad points mentioned above, it’s hard to believe that all these other mainstream religions have had mankind fooled for so long with how badly it has all gone for us in the name of all of them.
Gabriele, great article. What you have shared about true religion really exposes the false religions where there are chosen ones; where we are not all equal. After considering myself an agnostic for years (someone who does not believe in God), I now know there is a God, but that he is not a man with a white beard that sits on top of a cloud, instead I know that he is within us all and all around us in nature. We are all God’s sons, all equal and all divine; this feels true to me.
“Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” And the True Religion that is The Way of The Livingness allows and supports us to feel who that true Son of God really is within us and all of our brothers.
I love how you describe The Way of The Livingness religion as ‘the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.’ Religion has been so bastardised as a word because of the mental constructs that have been put on it and the many abuses carried out in its name. When we allow ourselves to reconnect to our inner heart and embrace stillness then the connection to God is always there just waiting to support us in every aspect of life.
Religion is a highly contentious subject that can leave us all feeling poles apart in the argument about who got it right. I used to hate talking about it because everyone seemed very emotional about this topic and although I always believed in God I daren’t mention the “G” word in case of ridicule or a build-up of tension in others. Then I came across The Way of The Livingness and everything changed for me… suddenly religion made sense, I was confirmed in my quiet knowing of God, the bigger picture of life and true equality for all.
Religions have become the small boats filled with the refugees we see on the news, fleeing someplace with the image of something better where they are going to. Is true religion not the sea we all put our boats on? We are always so close but refuse to see and feel what is all around us.
Thank you Gabriele, you present us with the absolute truth about Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness with such grace and it’s so true, “Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.” And it is the opportunity to return to ‘Being’ that Serge presents through The Way of The Livingness, a whole and unfettered Way to restore our true and glorious dignity once more. And this is the hardest thing to accept really, that we are deeply loving beings deeply loved by God and when viewed against the backdrop of our very un-Godly behaviour, it can be an immense struggle to love ou selves to the same degree. I love the Ancient Wisdom teachings that Serge relentlessly delivers and through them I am gradually learning to love myself and the whole of humanity again; an awesome journey home to whom we all truly are.
The Way of The Livingness is the religion that is ‘what it says on the can’.
I had always confused organised religion with God. I never doubted God but shrank away from any mention of the word religion. The Way of The Livingness brings God and true religion together with a deep knowing in my inner-heart that we are all Sons of God feeling our way back to this truth of who we are.
It is quite incredible how many misconceptions we have been sold, isn’t it? Some choose to believe that God is catholic or that he takes sides, is vengeful and prefers some over others. It is as though we have projected all these human failings onto God in the pursuit of some justification for our lived lovelessness.
“Looking back at it now I can say without a shadow of doubt that it was a deep inner knowing of a true religion that made me react so strongly if not verbally violently at times, the knowing of a true religion” I spent many years searching for a ‘true religion’ that made sense to me. Thank God I found The Way of The Livingness as this way answers all my questions and my body knows it to be truth – true religion in its purest sense. .
Beautiful and all encompassing, this blog Gabriele will stand the test of time as a true marker defining what The Way of The Livingness actually is. Thank you so much.
Just stunning Gabriele. I used to say I believe in God not in religion. Now I know that I know both.
This is an incredibly beautiful and powerful article that invites me/us to a greater depth and honesty about our reaction to religion. For whilst I commit to The Way of the Livingness and cannot deny the extraordinary changes in my life, outlook, relationships… I can still flinch at the word religion, which exposes the fact that I am glossing over the true meaning and the way we have mutated it into its current form.
This may seem like a throw away comment or line, but it’s true
– “if you are famous, of course; in which case, you get away with murder, or just about.”
Great blog – we cannot but be divine, this is a fact and nor can we deny the resonance of true religion to our core for this is deeply known by each of us. Our reaction is to the false imposter named religion, that is anything but the living quality of true religion.
The Way of The Livingness gives back to humanity the religion that we naturally belong to and with that will restore that natural connection we have with nature, the universe and with God.
Yes, much evil has been done in the name of religion, but so has much evil been done in the name of a whole other bunch of ideals, including nationalism, money, security, family, etc. Blaming religion per say as the root cause of the problem is like saying money is the root cause of all evil, when clearly it is not. The point is that the issue is not often with the ideal or concept but rather its application. And so the same with religion.
‘It is true religion in the meaning of its deepest roots (religare = to bind) and it does bind us, if we so choose and in our own timing, to and within the All we all unavoidably belong to; and it does so even when we think it doesn’t concern us and turn the other way. Why? Because we cannot but be what we are, whether we like it or not, agree with it or not.’ This entire last paragraph Gabriele is just so deliciously true. The fact is – it is always there and we are who we are. We will continue to feel all the tensions life brings to us until we all learn to surrender the immense divinity within and live harmoniously with each other. This means we must play our own individual part to look after ourselves, to express with movement and voice aligned to the love we are from, speak out against the rot in the world, reflect the love we are so others are inspired and reminded and work together in equality.
‘The Way of The Livingness is the antithesis of all the points listed above and so much more – and then some; it is all we have always deep down known religion to be in its untainted, uncorrupted, pure and unadulterated state; it is the direct and bodily felt connection to God from the depth of the inner-heart.’ and this is all by our own choice to be with this connection or against it in our daily moments.
With all of these doesn’ts – it is no wonder that most people in society have an issue with religion and also with God who has been used to justify acting all these atrocities out. Religion
‘doesn’t distinguish between races, skin colour, gender, education, social standing, etc.
doesn’t hold some as more deserving than others
doesn’t label one lot of people as chosen at the expense of everyone else
doesn’t call one single person a ‘Son of God’ to the exclusion of all others, no matter how magnificent that person’s contribution to humanity has been
doesn’t support greed, lies, murder, genocide, money laundering and corruption
doesn’t harbour criminals in their midst and thinks itself as above the law
doesn’t turn a blind eye to hypocrisy, deception and deceit
doesn’t spawn suicide attacks
doesn’t demand faith or allegiance
isn’t based on belief systems
isn’t self-serving
doesn’t preach of sin, purgatory and hell
doesn’t subscribe to the void or nothingness
doesn’t demand obedience or subservience
… and this list is endless, as you can well imagine’
Every single one of these can really be unpacked for just how crazy really that it is that we as a human race have accepted and championed these acts as being religion when in fact they are so far from the true meaning of religion. The word Religion much like Love and God have been purposely bastardised and we today seem to have swallowed the false version as being the truth when it is not.
It is with The Way of The Livingness that I have learned to reconnect and feel how the truth of who we naturally are can be lived from our hearts in daily life and this doesn’t consist of anyone telling you how God wants you to be, no ruler or head but just loving lived reflection and equality.
Thank you Gabriele. This is an amazing blog and I love how you have called out all the abusive and misinterpreted ways man has used under the guise of religion and in Gods name, as well as the truth of religion . . . The Way of The Livingness. I agree with all you have shared and for me it is the first religion that is whole encompassing of all, where everyone is held in equality and love whilst being aware of the grander picture of the grandness we are part of in the universe and the energetic responsibility we all each have, can live with and claim.
‘we can not but be what we are’ perfectly said Gabriele. We are we naturally, truly and divinely are and that means all that aligns with the love and truth of that from our unity with others, our rhythms, our quality of expression, how we treat ourselves and relate to others, and living our purpose on earth – then that is true religion – our path and once again living from where we once came . . . The Love of God.
Yes Gabriele, Religion, as it stands, can seem like a twisted joke. Like a salesman who repeatedly promised you gold but delivered dirt instead, after the 555th time you found yourself staring at soil, wouldn’t you laugh and turn your back instead? And this is the fascinating point you raise, is Religion broken, or could it be we have been sold a fake to distract and keep us away from the facts – there is and has always been an inner way that delivers all the Love we need. You don’t need to sign up. just live with care and brotherhood.
Too true Joseph, no need to sign up for religion, just live in harmony, live with care for yourself and others and be honest with how your life is, that is a great place to go to.