I’m on a journey to find out a lot about my brain and it's taken me recently to religion. I started going to church and reading the bible. I’m not trying to incite an argument here or change anybody’s mind. But I have some thoughts, and I know they can’t be original ideas. I’m looking to see if there’s any books or other info that might align with this thinking.
I’ve found some good habits that make me be happier and stronger. Like, instead of eating something over the sink, make a real plate, sit down, and take a moment before a meal to just close my eyes and take a breath before taking that first bite. It’s very relaxing and makes the meal infinitely more enjoyable. And I started meditating at the end of the day helps me review the day, improve my memory and calm my mind.
Then I got to remembering religious practices. My moment of peace before a meal, is that what the religious practice of grace is? And my meditation and review at the end of the day, is that what prayer is?
Then there’s this constant battle in my head between part of me that just wants primal things, the part of me that wants things to be done perfectly, and the part of me that mediates between the two. For an insight into my own personal crazy, read my last post:
This lead me to researching Freud’s id/ego/super-ego. Where the id has primal urges, the super-ego wants things to be done perfectly, and the ego regulates between the two. Then if I remember what I’ve read of the bible, this sounds awfully like demons/angels/god. But what if those don’t exist? What if it’s all metaphors for how to deal with having this human brain? With your demons (id) giving you urges to do things because they want primal pleasure. And your angels (super-ego) fighting against them with their logic and image of perfection. And then God, (when guiding and not being a dick) is he the ego? The father/mother/teacher/therapist voice inside you that acts as a mediator between the demons & angels? I don’t know if Freud’s stuff is necessarily true, but it helps me put this down in existing concepts.
My id & super-ego don’t trust each other. And my ego has grown weak. And I’ve been training myself to learn how to trust my own thoughts and feelings. Then I went to a Christian church last week and they talked so much about trust in God. Trust in him and you can have whatever you want. Wait a minute, one of my earlier epiphanies and rules for myself is “if you learn to trust and co-operate with yourself, you can have whatever you want.”
Is Hell just the eternal torment I put myself under when I constantly fight myself and don’t reach a good compromise? Is Heaven a blissful place where my mind learns to communicate properly and I’m able to unlock my full potential? I’m intelligent and creative human, but my anxiety prevents me from being successful.
When I replace “God” with “me/myself/I” then a lot of the bible stories start to make more sense to me. When God becomes a voice in the head of the biblical figures, I start to see that they’re just human beings having real life struggles with themselves. When “God cast an evil spirit upon …” that person is really just having some bad thoughts and acting on them. Or when a person asks God for advice, and God gives it to him, the person is just meditating and reaching a decision.
Perhaps I should ask this in r/philosophy. But does anybody have any thoughts on this? Is there a name for a theory like this?
Submitted February 22, 2017 at 10:47PM by Unknown
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