The call to believe, part 1

There I was one evening, snuggled cozily in bed beside my lovely wife, going through my bed-time routine -prayers, before any misunderstandings may arise.

So, I went through such, saying goodnight to my beautiful family, then moving on to wishing everyone peace as they slumber, and finally thanking Il Signore (just how I call the origin of all we know) for everything.

At this point, I normally try and visualise my prayer as energy, which has washed golden everything as it mingles with the energy of everyone else who so happens to be praying at that very moment, before it soars towards Il Signore, down a tunnel of unfathomable length.

Sometimes, such tunnel is literally such: others, it is a road, or focusing on oneself and our connection with Il Signore, but invariably, it is towards brightness, towards light.

This isn't always successful, mind: visualisation at such an hour can often be confused, with the turmoils of the day, of what I just watched/played, mashing up against the edges of my focus to make a strange landscape to traverse...but, in this instance, the way was clear.

Exceedingly so: I could see all the energy flowing, streaming towards an unimaginably distant horizon, with a blazing, comforting brightness there to greet me, to spur me on. I held this in my mind for as long as I could, tears welling in my eyes.

It was a lovely sensation, and it made me think: shouldn't I share my beliefs? Is that one of the things I'm meant to do?

What are my beliefs? Why, they're very simple: there is a source, a something, a being, a thing, a whatever you wish to call it, that sparked this universe to life. I say Il Signore, you may say God, Allah, and many other possibilities, but I believe that we're all saying the same thing, just worded differently.

So, Il Signore has sparked this universe to life, and when we die, we all go back to Il Signore, to the source: the journey is the next step, the afterlife, and when we get there, time for the Big Crunch baby, and the next Big Bang.

I've always thought that this belief is relatively unique: oooh, how cool, that he thinks all religions are talking about the same being! Isn't he avant-garde! Perhaps a bit too arrogant, so I set out to correct this belief about my beliefs -of course, while secretly hoping that yes, I am being rather unique.

How naive! There is Omnism, Syncretism, Universalism, Baha'i Faith...it is no surprise, really, that others feel the same way. How can just a part of humanity believe in the real truth, and not others? Why can't we all believe in the real truth, but it reach us after passing through the lense of our perception and ideas, indeniably changing it along the way? Why can we not all believe in what we want to believe, yet still reach the same goal?

That, of course, also logically dictates that I cannot be stating the absolute truth, that my belief cannot be the ultimate reality: my own ideas and perceptions colour and distort the truth before it reaches me, so that I can only perceive what I wish of it. Indeed, I feel that I can and should only perceive it more fully, once I am no longer on this mortal coil.

But, does that matter? I am happy, my belief brings me great happiness and comfort, and that is how it should be. Let us all be happy and sure of our believes, let us all be tolerant and happy with each other for all believing in the same truth, via different means.

Your believing believer,

Stefano Ronchi