Religions forget that we humans are animals

Calling someone animalistic isn't an insult. It is a fact.

We humans are animals. Just unusual ones, since members of no other animal species can write articles (or blog posts) about the fact that they're animals.

Thus our bodies do what other animal bodies do. 

Pee. Poop. Breathe. Have sex. Play. Feel. Sleep. Eat. Drink. And so on. 

Sure, we also think about all kinds of stuff. The structures we build are more impressive than a termite hill. Our social relationships are more complex than a wolf pack. 

Yet the fact remains, we are animals.

One reason I've come to reject religions is that almost all of them deny our animalistic nature. Religious moral codes are filled with ridiculous attempts to ignore the needs and urges of the human body.

Sex is supposed to only occur between a married man and woman. Not out of wedlock. Not between two people of the same gender. (And certainly not between more than two people, regardless of gender.) 

Alcohol is OK in certain religions, though not in others. Recreational drugs like marijuana or psychedelics rarely are. Why? Who knows. Probably because of bullshit like "the body is a temple that must be kept clean and holy."

Other animals enjoy being intoxicated. But only the human animal feels guilty about it, mostly thanks to ignorant religious dogmas. 

For 35 years I bought into some of that body-denying dogma, Eastern mysticism variety. 

I didn't drink alcohol. I didn't use marijuana or any other drugs. I kept my sexual urges within the confines of marriage. But after I got divorced in 1990 from my first wife, and then "divorced" from my religion in 2004, I loosened up.

I realized that life needs to be lived happily, not fearfully.

I stopped worrying about following commandments and rules that no longer made sense to me. I enjoyed sex with my eventual wife-to-be. I enjoyed a glass of wine. I enjoyed smoking (or vaping) marijuans.

Nothing bad happened to me. No thunderbolts rained down from the sky. The heavens didn't part to reveal a god proclaiming you are a sinner! I simply felt more relaxed, more human, more natural, and yes, more animalistic.

So if you're a religious believer who feels like you're being confined in a life-denying box, I highly recommend breaking out. Life is too short to live it anyway other than fully.

The oft-heard adage, among adherents of my previous religion, at least, is flat-out wrong. We aren't spiritual beings having a human experience. We are humans being deluded into pursuing dogmatic spiritual experiences.

Genuine spirituality gets contaminated by religiosity. There are no rules that can't be broken. Everyone who seeks the deeper meaning of life is an army of one. Once you allow yourself to follow in someone else's footsteps, you are unable to find your own way.

Spirituality isn't opposed to the body. It is part and parcel of it. Pleasure is holy. Denying our animalism is a sin against our true nature. 

Comments

[Fairy]

Of course we are all animals with basic functions, instincts and urges. Everything in moderation to satiate urges, not allowing those desires to take control over us and become our gods. We all have our own direct experiences of reality according to personal insights. Only you can decide actually how deep you wish those insights to go. I agree, it is all very well to practise austerities, and then go out and treat people badly. Mindfulness is a way of life every second of your day! I see some humans and I wonder how they got a "precious" human birth, and I see some animals (inclusive of mammals, birds, fish, insects etc) and wonder how they did not!

[tucson]

Fairy wrote: " I see some humans and I wonder how they got a "precious" human birth, and I see some animals (inclusive of mammals, birds, fish, insects etc) and wonder how they did not!"

--What is it that gets a human or animal birth? Where is that thing located when it is not in the midst of a particular lifetime in human, animal or invertebrate form? What is it doing then?

[Fairy]

I have absolutely no idea or memory inspite of trying to "know!" Do you? Does anyone really? One day, perhaps, science hopefully will enlighten us!

[tucson]

Fairy,

Good answer. An honest one. I asked you those questions because you seem to assume that there is something that reincarnates as a human or animal in various lifetimes. I was offering those questions to stimulate your own reflection and insight on the matter. To look deeper into it. To see what your own intuition tells you about it.

[s*]

Humans are not the ''best''!!
They can be wise and sweet ..

But they can also behave very cruwel..:(
Very very cruwel.

[Dungeness]

But they can also behave very cruwel..:(

"Evolution - The Monkey's Viewpoint"

https://allpoetry.com/poem/5929971-The-Monkeys-Point-Of-View-by-Justice4life50

[s*]

But some are very loving and wise also.(people)or humans)
So it depends also what one seeks in life..

I mean when I feel ''God or Higher Power'' that is very much ok.
Why not actually??
We do not always have to talk away beautiful experiences as being not the Truth.
It is about what we seek..
About what we feel..
I feel everyone has the Spark of the Higher..
Every living Being..
That is fine and beautiful..anyhow anyway..
<3

[s*]

Nice poem Dungeness :0)

[Jen]

Its good to see the best in people, male and female. We need more balance in the world and not the one sided viewpoint with finger pointing and blaming others...

The marvel of the human dad

https://aeon.co/essays/the-devotion-of-the-human-dad-separates-us-from-other-apes

"Among our close animal relatives, only humans have involved and empathic fathers. Why did evolution favour the devoted dad?

Mothers, still focused on the production of the next child, would be restricted in the amount of hands-on life experience they could give their teenagers, so it was dad who became the teacher.

This still rings true for the fathers whom my colleagues and I research, across the globe, today. In all cultures, regardless of their economic model, fathers teach their children the vital skills to survive in their particular environment.
...
In my book The Life of Dad (2018), I argue that fathers approach their role in myriad different ways dependent upon their environment but, when we look closely, all are fulfilling this teaching role. So, while Western dads might not appear to be passing on overtly practical life-skills, they do convey many of the social skills that are necessary to succeed in our competitive, capitalist world. It is still very much the case that the wheels of success in this environment are oiled by the niceties of social interaction – and knowing the rules of these interactions and the best sort of person to have them with gives you a massive head start, even if it is just dad’s knowledge of a good work placement.
...
Fathers and their children have evolved to carry out a developmentally crucial behaviour with each other: rough-and-tumble play. This is a form of play that we all recognise. It is highly physical with lots of throwing up in the air, jumping about and tickling, accompanied by loud shouts and laughter. It is crucial to the father-child bond and the child’s development for two reasons: first, the exuberant and extreme nature of this behaviour allows dads to build a bond with their children quickly; it is a time-efficient way to get the hits of neurochemicals required for a robust bond, crucial in our time-deprived Western lives where it is still the case that fathers are generally not the primary carer for their children. Second, due to the reciprocal nature of the play and its inherent riskiness, it begins to teach the child about the give and take of relationships, and how to judge and handle risk appropriately; even from a very young age, fathers are teaching their children these crucial life lessons.

And how do we know that dads and kids prefer rough-and-tumble play with each other rather than, say, having a good cuddle? Because hormonal analysis has shown that, when it comes to interacting with each other, fathers and children get their peaks in oxytocin, indicating increased reward, from playing together. The corresponding peak for mothers and babies is when they are being affectionate. So, again, evolution has primed both fathers and children to carry out this developmentally important behaviour together.
...
Men have evolved to father and to be an equal but crucially different part of the parenting team. By not acknowledging who they are or supporting what they do, we are really missing a trick. Some 80 per cent of men aspire to become fathers. I believe it is time we made the effort to get to know who they really are."

[Jen]

I've decided I won't comment any more. Have noticed I stop the flow in the comment section when I do post something. As a Trump fan and because I don't like radical feminism, I really don't fit in here.

So cheers to all you lefty snowflakes... its only going to get worse when the angry radical feminists take over (feminism victimises real women and demonises men imo) ...

[Bob]

Hey Jen - I'm with you - A Trump supporter and someonewho doesn't buy into the whole "toxic masculinity" line. And that feminism hurts more than helps women because it denies them of their inherent feminine nature, which is also happening to men via the "toxic masculinity" thing.

[mike williams]

https://people.well.com/user/jct/

U. G. Krishnamurti's whole family were in the Theosophical society from the beginning
going back to Annie Besant and the founders. UG makes it clear he and all the others
were Freemasons and their early books made it extremely clear. Their group was originally
called The Lucifer Trust and became the Lucus Trust.

They always have worshipped Satan. Know how many presidents and founding fathers
were Freemasons. My question is was Rai Salig Ram a Freemason, as he held
high positions in the Indian government under British rule. He was the founder of Radhasoami
Faith. Most of the British high officials were Freemasons.

[mike williams]

"Your constant utilization of thought to give continuity to your separate self is 'you'. There is nothing there inside you other than that."

U G Krishnamurti

[Arjuna]

@ all. I think that to have common decency and humanity - one doesn’t need to be a Trump fan nor a lefty.
Isn’t being decent just how we should be.

I don’t like trump nor do I hate him - however he will be remembered for bringing the USA to its knees. And that’s a shame.

As an army Sargent once said to me : “ be very careful as to who you put on a pedestal”.

[Nick B]

This post is it seems to me about reclaiming our natural urges from religious censure and prescription. Sant Mat in particular moralises the taking of substances, instead of leaving it up to the individual as to how and why they modify their nervous system. Sure if you voluntarily wish to maintain a 'clear' inner space to promote exploration of consciousness then fine. But is shouldn't involve guilt trips, demonising of substances and character slurs on those who imbibe them as being debauched, losing discrimination etc. Then there is the spurious 'vow' to a presumed 'perfect' guru that you have promised to avoid substances to engage in meditation. Mani was a more practical mystic who enabled his less hard core followers to take wine. I now prefer a robust Ancient Greek perspective that enjoys substances as part of a total balanced life and allows the individual to work out what is that balance for themselves.