BLOG 179—GOD?

With my words, I hope to throw some oblique light upon your life.
I want to inspire you to see life in a different and/or better way.
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ON WONDERFUL ADVENTURES!
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INTRO TO THIS WEEK

For your near future >>
• Make sure you have enough food stored that can last you for at least six months.
• Get in better shape how you can – lift weights, walk, run (crawl?)
• Have medications and vitamins you need that will last you for over six months.
• Learn to depend on yourself, rather than having hope in some god.
• Connect with friends, we may have to get through this with the help of others.

On Facebook, I often post inspirational quotes to give people hope for their future. Many tie this in with religious views. I have never believed in any of the Gods that humans have developed. With this post, I am hoping you will examine your beliefs and follow what is right.

After my first accident and the 37-day coma I went through, some people said, “Boy, Kit, you should thank God you are alive.” I reply, “So, who do I have to thank for allowing the accident to happen in the first place?”

Then, after the second time I was hit by a truck and laying in a hospital bed once again, some people said the same words. Do these people not think before they utter words?

It seems that so many people believe in a God without thinking. In fact, parts of the bible book suggest believing and having faith without thinking, is best.

Simple Questions—
Where were you before you were born?
Is your God the one you were raised to believe in?
Why not one of the thousands of other Gods?
Prove, “God”, without referring to the Bible or Quran in any way.
Define, “soul”, in detail.
Define, “spiritual”, in detail.

I have asked why I should believe in a god, and the main reason I hear is that, if you do not believe in the right god (humans have invented over ten thousand gods), you will be sent to hell to suffer—FOREVER.

This threat of hell reminds me of a story I developed some time ago, you will see the point I am making by the end of the story.
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There was a 12-year-old girl who loved life. Smiling joyfully so much of her time on earth, it was an inspiration to see her. She was raised in a home with parents who did not believe, atheists they are. Her thoughts went the same direction, she did not believe.

One day she stayed after school for two hours helping her teacher. Mrs. Taylor offered to give her a ride home, but she said she only lived about five blocks away. Off she went with a skip and a smile.

Suddenly a car pulled up at the curb, it was a man she knew who lived a few blocks away. He offered her a ride, and, not wanting to offend, she hopped in. He said he could use her help for a little bit of time to clear some things out of a room, and she agreed to help.

Once in the house, this man was friendly as she helped. Then he was next to her and reached out to touch her. She got quite scared and told the man she wanted to leave.

However, he had already locked the doors from the inside.

She ran to get away, but he was right behind her. Dragging her to the bedroom and throwing her on the bed, he had his way with her for many hours. Then, the next day, it started again. This man did not know what to do with her after what he did, he ended up killing her and burying her in his basement.

This terrible man was eventually discovered, went before a judge, and sent to jail, where he waited to eventually be executed.

While in jail, he discovered God. His faith grew bigger and bigger. He asked this god for forgiveness for what he had done. His day came and he was put to death.

Now, according to believers, this kind and joyful young girl who did not know God will spend all eternity suffering and being tormented in hell because of non-belief.

While, this man who killed her, will live the rest of time with God in heaven, singing and having a good ol’ time.

A simple question, is this fair?

If you have any morals at all, I am sure you see the evilness of this story.
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From my book series, Beyond Your Potential >>

If you are a believer in a God, I feel obligated to warn you that I am not. With this book, my goal is not to criticize, condemn, insult or convert, but rather, to help you explore the true nature of your own relationship with God, religion, and faith; if you are a follower that is.

Do not stop reading this book because of the subject matter contained, if the magnifying glass makes you uncomfortable, you need not look into it. On the other hand, that is precisely why you should.

I am writing about faith because, after the accident, I was trying to go down that path, for help, guidance, and relief; but ran into too many dead-ends and roadblocks. Try as I might, I could not find that road to go down.

If you have found this path for yourself, examine your beliefs—ask yourself exactly what you believe and why you believe it— and, perhaps, your views and thoughts on the subject will change, and may even grow stronger after reading these words.

After the appalling things I have gone through in my life, I tried to turn to the idea of a God to simply ask–“Why?”

No answer came to me.

Perhaps, because I grew up without a father (he died when I was six), I cannot find this “father” in heaven who takes care of us?

I am not saying that I just did not get educated about any kind of God; I have attended various churches over a hundred times, as well as synagogue. I fully tried to find the God that everyone was so enamored with; my mind would not allow me to.

At times, I would criticize myself in my mind, wondering why I could not find this God. I asked myself things like, “Are you too stupid to find and believe in this God?” It was when I found there were other critical thinkers in the world that set me free.

People told me, “You have to believe in your heart, and not in your mind.”

What, exactly, could that mean?

People also told me, “If you don’t believe in God you will go to hell.” First, this sounds like a huge threat. And, any God that would make me smart enough to know how to use my mind, will also punish me “FOREVER” for not believing in him (or her), this with no evidence – whatsoever.

People have told me, simply believe and you will be OK. Do they not think their god would know I am lying? If I do stand before a god and he (or she) asks about my non-belief, I will simply say, “You did supply me with enough good information to believe. So, if I am sent to hell, it is your fault.

With these words, I do not want to change your beliefs, I want to have you think, and, perhaps, make your faith even stronger, or, perhaps, diminish it all together. I want to get you to reflect on why you truly believe.

Under the impression that there was something there to help me, I was trying to build up a strong belief and faith, but I could not find anything, anywhere.

For myself, I have just found such comfort and freedom not having to base my life on any kind of a God.

I have been told that you cannot see or define God; you just have to believe on faith. How can you believe something if you cannot see or even define? I hear from people that God exists outside of space and time, then how would they know, if this knowledge were outside of their realm?

The idea of a god makes no sense to me.

People may say I was not trying in the right way, but I tried all kinds of ways and still—NOTHING. If you are a believer and can help steer me on the correct path to find God, please do.

I see that there is no way to prove God exists, but there is no way to prove God does not exist—the same goes for Faeries, The Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, and Santa? I want you to know that I am still open to the idea that there is a God looking over us; I have yet to find that path or see any evidence, can you direct me?

I wrote the following words after attending a Christian church service. People there appeared happy and good-natured, showing kindness and support to one another—always gratifying to see.

Church often seems a good social mix for people; a connection place. Faith and belief have helped a great many people to live a better life, and often inspired them to help others.

After attending church hundreds of times, I never could “see” what these other people “saw.” I have been to all kinds of different churches and denominations and it seems that most of the time the pastor or preacher or rabbi or person running the show is trying to talk everyone “into” believing. “You must believe because of . . .” It was like all these believers have to be reinforced all the time to believe even stronger or the belief would fade away.

Is this right?

It seems that people who knew of my differing beliefs acted toward me as, “What’s wrong with him?” It seemed as if there was almost hatred behind their look, as they perceived me, just because I did not believe as they did.

I wondered why we could not even be friends just because this person had decided on a certain faith and my thoughts and beliefs were different.

I have just found there is so much negativity and even violence in the various dogmas of the world. Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hinduism; each and every religion thinks theirs is the correct one. The fighting that is involved and true hatred toward others who do not believe as they do, to me, that behavior is truly immoral.

As Rodney King said, “Can’t we just get along?”

There has been a lot of good garnered through faith, yet religion has also caused a great deal of conflict, misery, and strife, all about statements that can never be proven true or false.

There are many different concepts of God and many different beliefs. These “beliefs” always remain subjective, as we can see from the estimated thirty-eight thousand different denominations, sects, schisms, and divisions within Christianity alone.

Wars are fought over petty disagreements where almost everyone on an individual level interprets “divine truth” differently. This is too often used as justification for virtually any act of inhumanity, costing hundreds of millions of lives over the centuries.

Still, we see these conflicts ongoing as religious divides continue to fan the flames of hate. The twin towers in New York City on September 11 in 2001, is just one example.

I want to stop the fighting, stop the bickering, to get on with life. Let us heal the world away from religious infighting and the thought control that is brought on by this part of human life.

With my words, I do not want to insult anyone in any way. I simply want you to think. Of course, these are my thoughts and my own discoveries about a God. I do not want to change your beliefs; I simply want you to think.

To me, having strong faith often builds up false hope in a person’s mind toward their own future. Religion sometimes gives people an excuse and a reason “not” to think. Faith provides a way to avoid studying something in-depth and then make your own conclusions.

To simply say, “God did it,” and then forget about it is not a good thing. It seems to me that having faith, at times, is an excuse not to fully use your mind and figure out how life truly is, baptized or not.

I have a story about my experience with a church I was attending: For a time, years ago, my first wife wanted me to be baptized, and I finally agreed.

On the day of the baptism, there were about six of us going through the ceremony, which was done in front of a large congregation of about eight hundred? I was the fourth in line and carried a bag with some hidden items I had brought with me.

Right before I was to walk out to be baptized in water, I put on the mask and snorkel I had in the bag and then walked out. The pastor wasn’t smiling; the 800 in the audience loved it. I wasn’t making fun of the procedure; I was just “Kitting Around” as I often do. The pastor later told me he enjoyed my prank.

As I went through the massive changes in my life, there were times when I honestly did search for this divine inspiration that has helped so many – for comfort, guidance, relief, love, and peace.

Try as I might, I could not find this celestial being anywhere. Logic and reason kept getting in the way, hard to see past how things really are. I could not ignore or look beyond the logic and reason that were so apparent to me.

Witnessing the faithful at church, in their contentment and confidence, I had asked myself, “Am I just too stupid to see what should be obvious?”

It all seemed so simple for them.

I was highly critical of myself, thinking that others could think in a different way than I could. And that, as it happens, is the case. We all think and perceive things differently.

But how can believers just believe without examining the thousands of other beliefs that people hold today or that have existed in the past and will come to be in the future?

What if the Muslim God, Allah, is the only real God? Though they both fall under the category of Abrahamic religion, what if Christianity is heresy? Or what if it is the other way around? What if the Hindu God, Ganesha, is correct? What about Zeus?

If there is a God, what if the real truth has not yet been revealed, and a future religion is the correct one?

Even with all these choices, if you do believe and it helps you, then it is probably a positive influence on your mind. I do understand your beliefs. We must all believe in something, be it supernatural or merely our personal ideals.

Speaking of belief, when I was young and in junior high school, I loved reading the Chronicles of Narnia books, written by CS Lewis. I was lost in these books and could not put them down. My mind truly went to Narnia and was a part of the story; I got lost in this world and loved it.

Yes—I was a believer—in Narnia, Aslan, Mordor, and all the rest. I do understand how people can have beliefs.

Each person needs to examine why they actually believe and what is true to them.

With these words, I would like to help open your heart and mind to truly see the life you are living now—the only life we truly know we have—and aim toward the excellence that you desire, with or without God.

I would like you not to squander this life you are living as nothing more than some kind of trial to be borne and suffered through on the path to something we can only hope is waiting in a possible hereafter (for Muslims, the hope of the seventy-two virgins who await them in heaven?—Do the virgins have any say in this?)

Life is going on NOW—are you living your best?

I know that most people in the world have been taught, as children, to accept the spiritual beliefs of their parents, whatever those beliefs may be.

When a child has these beliefs reinforced, again and again, with this idea of God during all their years growing up, no wonder they are a strong believer in that faith. Strong believers are what my two daughters turned out to be, I didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I am so glad I am with Beth now, who has doubts about a god, as I do.

In learning of God as a youth, is that a good reason to believe something? You are older now; you need to thoroughly examine what and why you truly believe. Or, do you also believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny, too?

While growing up, I did not have much of a religious or spiritual influence in my life. My mother never went to church and never was spiritually dogmatic, so ideas of church and deity were largely foreign to me. Yet, I knew that a religious mind helped so many.

Although I always was aware of how faith aided many people throughout their lives, I saw it as a psychological necessity for some, but not for me.

I repeat; take the time to analyze what and why you truly believe.

When I talk with Christians (Christianity being the primary religion where I live) and tell them of my skepticism of God and ask where I can find or see this God, responses are mostly the same: “Well, look around you. See the green grass, the beautiful trees, hear lovely nature, and see the sweet circle of life?

“Yes, very nice,” I say, and continue, “Did you know that most of the earth is either too dry or too hot or too cold to support most life forms?”

“Or that the harmonious circle of life is an endless cycle of forced kill-and-be-killed cruelty—that most creatures live in discomfort at best and merely survive day-to-day as a relentless struggle of life and death?”

“Or that thousands of species are constantly dying out, being killed off by the competition with or without human influence?”

“And what of natural disasters—hurricanes, drought, earthquakes, forest fires, lightning strikes, and so forth, wreaking havoc, bringing misery, desolation, and death to all living things indiscriminately?”

If you can provide any evidence for a god or good reasons I should believe – please do.

LIFE IS HAPPENING ALL THE TIME – ARE YOU KEEPING UP?
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WORDS TO INSPIRE YOU! >>
Inspirational quotes and motivational sayings have an amazing ability to change the way we feel about life and can change our thinking.

This is why I find them so interesting, challenging, and important on our path to joy and happiness and finding ways to inspire ourselves as well as others.

Inspirational quotes and ideas provide us with a quick and timely burst of wisdom to get our focus back, offering the inspiration needed for the day or occasion.

I hope to inspire you with my words.

Words have power.

At any age, you can (and should) make changes to make your life better.

You see, the way you think and feel about yourself, including your beliefs and expectations about what is possible for you, determines everything that happens in your life. It all derives from your quality of thinking.

When you improve the quality of your thinking,
you change the quality of your life—sometimes instantly!

Just as positive words can make someone smile, and/or, a well-timed amusing quote can make someone laugh, your own thoughts react to the world in real-time. You have this control!

In fact, you have complete control over only one thing in the universe — Your Thinking — and that’s where motivational quotes come in!

To keep your motivation, you have to use each day as an opportunity for improvement, to be better, and to get a little bit closer to your goals. It might sound like a lot of work—and with your busy schedule—next to impossible. But you can do it!

Self-talk is so important—THINK RIGHT!
Motivational words, yes, they’re just words.
But they’re positive words; they will keep you on track.

Remember, you are only as young as the last time you changed your mind.

Keep your thoughts and self-talk fun and productive and always reaching for advancement.

VERY LITTLE IS NEEDED TO MAKE A GREAT LIFE.
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I HOPE THE FOLLOWING WORDS INSPIRE YOU >>

YOU choose what inspires you. In that there is no God and no afterlife, I am even more inspired than ever to make this one life I have, as I am doing, a life worth living!

We don’t get second chances, this is it!
There is no heaven and/or hell.
We have this one chance to make our life fantastic!
Do that, as you help others to find a magnificent life, too.

If you only do things in life because you want a reward or are afraid of some future punishment, that is an awful source of inspiration/motivation. Many people just like to see others smile, or laugh, or be happy.

They enjoy life.

Belief in gods has nothing to do with being able to enjoy your life and share it with and help those around you.

As Penn Jillette has said: “The question I get asked by religious people all the time is, ‘Without God, what’s to stop you from raping and killing all you want?’
And my answer is:
“I do rape all I want.
And the amount I want is zero.
And I do murder all I want.
Again, the amount I want to is zero.”

The fact that these people think that if they didn’t have this person watching over them that they would go on killing, raping, and rampages is the most self-damning thing I can imagine.

Get on with your life, and find joy as often as you can.
Help other people as much as possible, too.

Please, let me know how things are turning out for you, my friend.

COMPOSE A NOBLE BOOK AND WRITE A BEST-SELLER.
YOU ARE AMAZING—PLAY YOUR PART!
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MY DAILY JOTTINGS >>

July 4—Hope you had a happy fourth of July. We went to visit our friend Mea, who has all the animals. She had kale growing, so we got some for our rabbits.

Time goes on, and I’ve been thinking about my aging. I never think I will die, but, of course, I cannot avoid it. I did not ever think of my mom dying, yet she did. Are you accomplishing all you want to before that end result?

If you are getting older and have a chance of retiring—DO IT! You can get back to and on with your life. Retirement monies still come in, but it is a smaller amount. I find that I can live on very little money, but I can live the life that “I” want.

Because of my accidents, I was able to get Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). Not much, but it is enough for me. You might say I retired at age fifty, a great decision I made for my life.

Let me offer a bit of advice. Don’t look at it from the standpoint of retiring. At any age, look at your condition as being “financially independent,” where you can do anything you damn well want to do—including working—your choice. JUST LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A MAGNIFICENT WAY!

Obviously, you have to have the financial piece nailed down, then you only have yourself to blame if you get bored. I find most “retired” people, become busier than when they had a “real job”.

In my case, living in my van and traveling for about six years, I loved it!

I went to many national parks and wilderness areas all across the US. I hiked in the mountains, bathed in the streams, made fires while camping, and used my bike I kept on the back of the van to travel, too. These have been some of the best years of my life.

If you have a chance and are able to get away like this, do it as soon as possible. Marriage can add some wrinkles. (I was single.) Beth and I are planning to do some traveling and living in our vehicle sometime in the future. Maybe we could meet up with you somewhere.

July 5—Always having projects to work on is a fantastic state of mind. Always advancing our home, I love to do that.

And, we stopped by to visit Todd and his new business. After recently purchasing this pet shop, he will use his passion to make this into a magnificent Aquatic and Reptile store. I can tell from just meeting him, he will make it into a fantastic stop and store.

Todd and his wife, have no experience in this area but he was so excited when he told us his plans. This is his deep desire, and this shows you how you can develop your own passion for something and find success.

Find Todd here >>
greenwoodaquaticplanet.com

Then, a big rain at night, which the plants growing sucked up.

July 6—There are a couple of food banks nearby in Greenwood, SC. More and more people are taking advantage of this way to get free food, if you need it. Often these are things from grocery stores that might be out of date, but are still good. If you need to, take advantage of this, it does help.

July 7—Mice, roaches, and ants (but no uncles.) Critters looking for a handout, I guess they don’t know about food banks? We could live with it, but started to be too much. Do you have varmints that you don’t want at your abode?

Many people chemically take care of the problem, killing the invaders. I have to admit, I have done that in the past. But, I started thinking, could I find a way that won’t kill the little strangers and just block them?

Using duct tape and Spackle, I went all through the outside of the house, under the house, and all walls and cupboards in the kitchen. I looked for and covered holes with duct tape, or filled in places with Spackle where they could get in.

Since doing that, we have had NO intruders.

This fix will be permanent, using chemicals is a one-time fix. If you need it, you might try my technique. Get out there are examine and fix your home. You will save a ton of money without chemicals and it will be a long-term fix for your home.
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YOUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK >>
Do you attend a church?  
Do not go this week.
Just think about the God you believe in and
think about not believing and how it would feel.

Are you a believer?
Do you have realistic proofs for your god?
Please post to me or the group—educate us.
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NEXT BLOG >>
Heat is here.
You will learn how we are dealing with it.
Do you have any advice you could let me know about?
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THIS WEEK,
MAKE YOUR LIFE
SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN
WRITE ABOUT!