The Wisdom Within: A Book About Truth and Spirituality

A New Faith, and A New Movement

In my personal quest to grow and evolve as a person, I have sought multiple modes of spirituality. I have attempted to use the philosophy or beliefs of all the major religions in my life, but it always felt like something was missing. One particular path of spirituality I found interesting, however, was NRM's or New Religious Movements, which are religions that formed in modern times. Usually, their sizes are quite small (the biggest NRMs reach into the millions, although most are under 1 million) and are often associated with cults. Still, I had an odd fascination with them and researched them so extensively that I noticed two patterns.

One, many of these NRMs follow similar beliefs to traditional forms of religion. For example, many NRMs are offshoots of major religions like LDS or Jehovah's Witnesses. These NRMs tend to have the most followers as they are using a common belief system as a foundation.

Two, many of the NRMs with odd and wacky beliefs (such as Scientology or Raelism) tend to have way fewer followers. I would assume that because of the scientific age of discovery we live in, religions that conflict with current scientific knowledge fall to the wayside.

Why do I mention NRMs in this book? Well, to be honest, I am quite dissatisfied with both mainstream and alternative methods of spirituality. Many of the major religions are too rooted in the past or in ancient scriptures (not all, but many of them, hence why I did not say all), while alternative religions either are very cultish, cunning, or too weird for my personal tastes. I feel that many of those in this generation and in times like now are dissatisfied as well. It's not that everyone is becoming against spiritual beliefs, rather they are against religions being used as a shield against criticism and critical thinking. There is a growing amount of "nones" who don't identify with any belief, yet many of them are spiritual just not religious. If a faith was established that catered to those nones (whether it be belief or structure), I believe it could be very successful and bring lots of benefits. While yes, it is amazing to see people for the first time in generations break their bondage to oppressive religious institutions, what is lost is a sense of community as well as personal faith. If a religion could be supportive in terms of spirituality, provide benefit to the community, and make sense and be compatible with science, I think it would not only be an instant hit, but also an improvement for such a broken world.

As much as I could wait for some person halfway across the world in a small isolated village to start performing miracles in their hometown, or for some priest somewhere to begin this new faith of the people, I realize I cannot. I believe it is very much needed to start building the foundation for what I hope to be a major faith today. I imagine a spiritual system that affirms individuals, spreads love across the world, and doesn't push an agenda. Let those who have ears to hear, and if they don't want to listen, let them not listen. I refuse to even say they are worth less "spiritually" than me or "they will come around eventually and they should or else". Spirituality shouldn't be forced in any way, not even in your thoughts. Hence, when I write these words I am filled with an overwhelming sense of joy, of something new and fresh rising from the ash and ruin of spirituality. I hope by writing this, I am one step closer to the spiritual revolution and New Religion of Love that I dream about.

I plan to continue writing in this book as kind of an informal guide to my beliefs, although I want to compile and start working on a book that will be the roots of the new movement I hope to form. I will add a chapter with a declaration of my beliefs, and you can decide if that's something you would like to support/enjoy.

This is a preface to my book.