Bipolar Disorder Community

you know this has actually come up before, and we are suppose to put a religious trigger line when we speak of whatever religion, i think we've all gotten a little lax on this and it's a good reminder to us all

myself go through periods of time where i actually pray and go to church and have even joined church groups in the past, then other times, i just don't really believe in any kind of "God" per vsay, but more of a universal thing or whatever the heck happens to be going on in my mind at that time....so it can be a tricky topic i guess....idk, i'm probably just rambling on, but i hope it makes some kind of sense....

I've stumbled many times and I'm most certainly not the model Christian. One thing has stood firm and that's my belief in God the Father and Jesus His only Son. Things can seem bitter and seemingly hopeless at times but you're never alone. There is always someone to talk to. If all else fails to pick me up I try to remind my self that it could always be worse.

Hyper religiousity is a marker of bipolar even if the person is an atheist. Most of us are passionate beleivers is something or nothing as is whatever the case. When manic it is very hard not to feel a special connection to something larger than yourself. I identify this with God and my relationship gives me positive strenth. others choose different paths and it is a topic of disagrrement here...but always one of passionate feelings. Bipolars are passionate about religion even if they are passionately against it...it comes with the accute sensitivity. Joye

Well, I am not a crazy about religion related to god blah blah. I was pretty turned off by some of their philosophy. I have a low tolerance listening to their crap. I rarely go to church unless it to meet friends to socialize i will go but i tune out of the sermon or lectures. I disagree with some of things that are said.

My friends respected me and know when i had enough the shut the hell up.

thats my 2 cents.

Thanks guys, sorry I didn't know about the 'religious trigger' thing, still new to these forums.

So... hmm. I still don't really get it. I'm not like, manic athiest or anything like that. I'm just kind of at a point right now where I'm on the fence of even being Agnostic. I guess the question of whether or not it is a problem can only be answered by me, and yeah, after thought, it is a problem. It's not that I'm looking for answers or that I want to feel 'in God's presence', but it's the fact that I'm losing a faith that I have always had. Where the heck is it going? And why is it going away?

have done the same as you. i was raised catholic, studied wicca for a few years (and through that practice learned that my ex husband was having an affair), went back to catholicism, did go to church, didn't go to church, now i think i'm going to try going to church with my inlaws (methodist). i don't like feeling as though i'm being judged. i don't like the feelings of guilt bestowed upon you if you don't attend church services every week. i don't feel like i need to confess my sins to a priest to be absolved. i think faith can heal all things. however, faith can be very subjective in my opinion. is it faith in God or a god, or is it faith in your doctor, or faith in yourself? i have every confidence that God is real. in fact, when i was in college and going to kill myself one night, i saw the virgin mary. was i hallucinating, or was she really there? i don't know, but maybe that's what i needed to see in order to seek help. if you're questioning God's bestowal of pain and challenge upon you, perhaps you're a lot stronger than you think you are. your relationship with God is a very private thing. don't give up hope. don't give up faith in God or faith in yourself. big hugs.

There is nothing like a crisis to bring God near. You just reach up and he is there in whatever form you need him. You see, he never moved, only you do and when you reach...he'll be there. So you are not losing your faith, you just having found a reason to exercise it...but you will. As humans we move, change, but God is unfailing. Joye

Thanks guys. Your replies have actually helped me feel better. And the part about God always being there, just me not noticing until a crisis makes a lot of sense, in a way. But.. I'm kinda going through some stuff right now, not exactly crisis, but it could turn into a crisis. I just don't know yet.

Well, it is true. Get into trouble and you will involuntrary scream, "Oh God". Crash the car and you will pray. Something inside each of us know instictively that there is a higher power there for us. But many hold out for a crisis. You don't have to. I don't think you have to join a church or follow any rules, just ask and it shall be give, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened. I just think you should close the door but know that there is a God waiting to be invited with or without a crisis. Joye

Some skeptics might find this hard to believe, or will probably say we were all on drugs at the time, however: 6 years ago there were appearances right near where I live. I was there, I saw them with my own two eyes, and recorded it on video. Like I said, people might say that I was out of my mind, or that all of us who were there (and over the course of 5 days, there were about 3000 people) were hallucinating. I'm Catholic and I wholeheartedly believe in God, and I 100% believe in what I saw those nights 6 years ago. Did it influence my decisions? Not necessarily. We all know that a person with Bipolar disorder has clouded judgement, and despite what I saw I still questioned God. Joye is correct in stating that after someone experiences a loss or something very tragic happens, they usually turn to God. I know I did. I've also been on Lamictal for the past 3 months, and it's done wonders for me. But right now, church and my faith in the Lord are what is keeping me going and keeping me strong.

That's my humble opinion.

I studied religion in college, and some since on my own...many different religions, sects, cults, theory etc, and on a couple different occasions I've aligned myself to the teachings and doctrines of specific ones, but have never failed to drift away....eventually. Personally, I find different aspects of different teachings (very different, including Hindu, Jewish, Catholic, Buddism, Wicca, Islam, Druidism, and others) all have particular aspects that I'm attracted to and find much meaning in, yet not a single one whose entire doctrine I can fully embrace or subscribe to.

I always find myself at a spiritual crossroads, no matter how sincere others' dedication to their beliefs seems, and no matter how much I often admire them for it, eventually overall it just becomes vastly unreal to me. At some point, I always feel like I get smacked in the face with the "fact" that the only truth out there is that which we create for ourselves. I'm usually just reminded of this without any real cause, or not any I can think of right now.

Religion just doesn't contribute to my existance, no matter what state my bipolar is in, even though it used to in some way, on some level. I'm not implying that self-actualization or nirvana dwell within my skin. No way, no how. "Spiritually" I have far to go, but am having great difficulty making it to the next plane....as I suspect, for myself, the next "spiritual" experience is on another plane, one that I have yet to explore, if such a thing exists. I'm sure it does, even if it ends up being something that's been around all along that I just never saw or looked at right the first time. I just don't know. (and I'm sure I make NO sense at all...LOL)

I definately know that I don't know....otherwise...where's all the corresponding wisdom that should go along with the knowing if I did know? For now, I'm fine with not knowing. I may always be fine with not knowing...or not.......hmmmm....

I think I'm in a "leveling out" period...where spiritual pursuits are just not very important to me right now. Do ya think there's such a thing as spiritual enlightenment/pursuit/frivolity being "timely"?

I think I'm going through a pragmatic phase in that I often wonder why any deity so great would be pleased by worship from mortals. What possible reward could they/it/he/she obtain? How can it be pleasurable to receive gifts/worship/praise/etc. that obviously falls short of their stature?

Curious how this is reconciled, or if others agree in any way.

Perhaps I need to return to the basic beliefs of the 19th century transcendentalists in regards to the divinity of our planets nature...

Or maybe I just need a nap.....

Susie, i agree with a lot of what you say here, i believe that all religions are flawed, of course, they have to be, they are created by us people, like i think i said above i think that every religion/belief/non-belief/etc.... all have a tiny speck of truth in them and that if you combined them all together you'd have one piece of the puzzle.....i go from this to that and finally settled with my own conscience i guess...or idk....maybe i need a nap too...lol

You have raised a very critical question:

Why a God would benefit from mortals worshiping him?

In fact, He doesn't. The worshipers are the ones who benefit. This is a notion beyond simple reasoning. It is about love,devotion, and feeling a slave to a Master.

So why did He created them? To worship Him. Why? so they could love Him, obey, feel like slaves to a master.

We will keep going into loops without having proper words to convey what it is to be a slave loving your Creator. It is the realm of angels and all other obedient creatures in the universe.

Have you ever reflected about deep love songs "I will die for you...will do anything for you...love your forever..." It is the key function f the human heart to love ...but who deserves to be loved that much?

I guess a God who created you and me!

In ancient times before Christ, Mohamad, Budda and the like, man the world over still looked up at the night sky and realized that there was something greater then himself intellegently orgnaized in a predictable system that could be counted on years after year. Tribes in caves from Africa to China to Peru drew picture on cave walls that mirrored each other's thoughts thousand of years before communication between these places would be possible. The knowledge of some intellegence above them greater than themselves has been universal since recorded time. To worship this intellegence and seek its favor has also long been part of human behavior, long before today's religions formed.

To this day, healthy man hold to beleifs. One is that they are part of something greater them themselves. And two, they stand out in a group in someway as special as an individual. Healthy personalitiesneed both of these principles working in their lives. Joye