Does Your Religious or Spiritual Belief Help You?

No.

Absolutely yes.
I don't fit into categories, my beliefs aren't religious, as I have no religion really...they're mostly philosophical and spiritual, but not religious. By spiritual I mean they're very personal, I don't follow dogmas, I don't follow "objective truths" so I don't believe in a religion. I believe in the power of knowledge, self-awakening and self-improvement, most importantly I believe in the power of thoughts, will and perception of self and of the Universe as a whole.
In a nutshell, my main spiritual beliefs, or simply my "spitiual path" consists of achieving a higher level of knowledge of self and the world, but especially self-knowledge. The physical realm has little importance to me. Appearance has little importance to me, this can be seen in relationships with people, or when I walk on the streets, I would never say to a friend: "Look at how that guy or girl is dressed, that's ridiculous", I don't pay much attention to those things, it is something I highly dislike and whoever does that automatically loses the chance to be considered a person worth of my esteem. Yes, I might sound evil but I'm not, really. It doesn't mean we can't be friends, it means you simply wouldn't be the kind of person I would consider intelligent and deep and I simply wouldn't even try to talk about intellectual topics with you...ever.
I do not depend on a deity, although I believe in a deity, in a superior being, in some kind of God. But all I really do when I retire in my own shell, is to improve myself spiritually, mentally, sometimes asking the help of the deity.
I was religious before. As a kid I was Christian, then I actually had a revelation when I was 15 and started to embrace the left-hand path.
Over the years, I became "illuminated" and finally embraced what is my system of beliefs, which is something that was discovered and selected by me, hence very personal, a path of personal experiences.
I think I was blessed, and chosen to be what I am spiritually.
Could I "teach" someone else my set of beliefs? No, as I said they're very personal, and mine is not a spirituality for the masses.

That said, and sorry if I talked too much but it was useful to define a little bit what I believe in, so you will understand how and why it helps me:

1. It helps me as I have a very high self-control and noble morals.
Limits are something extremely important to me, and self-control is the key to moderation. Self-control + noble beliefs are a perfect mix to avoid indulgence. This, of course, helps me avoid following a little girl home or molest her.

2. It helps me because I developed a very high ability of introspection, hence it helped me discover who I am as a person and eventually begin a path of self-acceptance

3. It helps me because I developed a huge, almost infinite inner strength, otherwise I'd just kill myself cause I couldn't stand the pain of being an exclusive pedophile

4. I follow the light, the light that is inside me and that shines brighter everytime I achieve important knowledge. That light is the guide to solve all problems in my life.

These are the main things, but there could be many other reasons and ways my belief system does to help me (my philosophy call it whatever you want).
It doesn't mean that I'm invincible, I fail and suffer too, but self-improvement always allows me to go ahead and be a better person, everyday.


What's the thing I hate the most? Ignorance, prejudice, the superficiality of people. But, being an illuminated being (no pun intended), I don't spend time bashing others for what they are, I'd rather retire in my world and improve who I am.

Dark side
My beliefs help me accept my dark desires, even my pedophilia. I'm working on accepting myself, even though I have moments of depressions and sometimes I hate myself, there are other moments where I perfectly accept who I am and I'm even proud of it, and yes it comes from my beliefs and the spiritual help that the deity I believe in gives me. I wouldn't say worship, because we work together, He is a guide to me and not an external being I worship.
Right now I can affirm I embrace my dark side and I love it.

Please note: there's actually a name for my beliefs, but I won't say what it is as it could lead to a lot of controversy and there are lots of misconceptions about the word itself.
It's not a thread for discussions, I just wanna answer how my beliefs help me in my life in general, but also with my paraphilia.

ElKahn wrote:That said, and sorry if I talked too much but it was useful to define a little bit what I believe in, so you will understand how and why it helps me:

There is no need to apologize. This is exactly why I started this thread. I wanted a place where we can talk about what we believe without being judged for what we believe.

Arik wrote:

ElKahn wrote:That said, and sorry if I talked too much but it was useful to define a little bit what I believe in, so you will understand how and why it helps me:

There is no need to apologize. This is exactly why I started this thread. I wanted a place where we can talk about what we believe without being judged for what we believe.

That's ok.
No offense intended but I think if I were a Christian, I would find it extremely hard to even try accepting myself, as Christianity plays with someone's sense of guilt a lot....

I'm a Protestant Christian. There is no offense taken.

I go to spiritualist church now and again. I'm not religious at all, but I do find comfort in the belief that those we love never go far from us. Last year, when I was going through a really hard time, a message via a medium stopped me from well and truly going off the rails. It might have even saved my life.

I'm not worried about spirits or God judging me negatively for being a necrophile. If they see everything I do, then I haven't got anything to hide from them. It's the living who I worry about being judged by. They see a small piece of a picture, and make the rest up according to what suits them.