Place your entire faith in God

Life is not an easy matter. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism - unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of treason and atrocity. If you so choose, every mistake can lead to greater understanding and effectiveness. If you so choose, every frustration can help you to be more patient and more persistent. For most of us, relationship with another is based on dependence either economic or psychological.

This dependence creates fear, breeds in us possessiveness, results in friction, suspicion and frustration. It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living. Life is full of surprises. Ups and downs, success and failures are part of life. Be humble when successful and never get disturbed when face problems. We acquire faith through a series of small successes. This only means that we take action towards something and we see a positive result confirming it.

Let’s take meditation for example. In the beginning, we try it because we have heard and read so many good things about it. However, we only begin to have faith in the practice after we have a few positive experiences - the mind slowing down, going very deep, feeling more in touch with our intuition, etc. Believing is required when we don’t have the proof for something, we say, “That’s what I believe.” However, faith comes from our own experience. “I have experienced that and have faith that it is correct.” So, improving our faith comes from experience.

I tried so many practices and read so many books early in my spiritual quest. I was not interested in just assuming a belief. I was a scientific thinker wanting proof of the unknowable! Eventually, I got the proof I was looking for through my own inner experiences as a result of regular meditation practice and the help of a spiritual guide who was able to help me have those experiences. Over the years faith grew until it became a deep and abiding certainty. I feel very confident you too will have such faith. Keep practicing.

The things that helps me keep my faith in God though is to reflect on all the times so far I have chosen to obey God and haven't been disappointed. I have never been disappointed. So when I remember and reflect on this truth it helps me carry on and trust that God has my best interest in heart. Another things I do is pray. When you take time out to pray to God it helps you get out those emotions that you may be harboring in your heart and really lay it all out before God. When I do this this helps me see my thoughts and feelings for what they really are and move forwards in my relationship with God.

The last one I want to mention is to remember that God is suppose to be the truth. When I remember this it allows me to honestly assess other truths which I may think at first contradict God. I shouldn't have anything to fear when searching for the real truth because God is the truth. What I’m saying here is that you shouldn’t be fearful to face the truth.So if I'm struggling with doubts about if God exist I just try to honestly assess the facts how I see them rather than with the thought that I'm blaspheming God. When I do this it allows me to see things for what they are and move on in my faith honestly. These three things help me a lot in keeping my faith.

But in the case of atheists, it is a different case of faith. Sooner or later, you will realize your faith is/was based on wishful thinking rather than fact or reason. This does not mean you will waive it, you won't be the first to hold on to the false comfort - no one should judge you for that. However, this is exactly the difference from Atheism: An atheist does not necessarily love the idea there is no one watching from above, no punishment, no reward, no afterlife, no Cosmos made especially for you. But that's what grown ups do - come to terms with facts, as inconvenient as they might be. Cheers!