The fundamental flaw in religion as I see it

[hempotalogist]

I don't mean to be rude, but what is this supposed to mean? How does losing a loved one make you say "okay, now I believe that there has to be some sort of higher power out there"? Or is it just that after losing a loved one, you become so distraught over your loss that you're unwilling to even acknowledge the possiblity that your loved one has now completely ceased to exist.

For me, it was neither. It's the experience as a whole. I was happily agnostic for many years, 15 or so. I had always been kind of a hippy so I was mostly agnostic, and not atheist. But after losing loved ones, the power of the realtionships, the gravity of the experience - the graphic nature in the way they died - changed me. It doesn't have anything to do with "comfort" per se, and more to do with perception.

I am spirtualist and I believe in energy. I believe that when our loved ones die, they let us know they are out there, but only for a short period of time, then they are gone.

It's just what I believe from whats happened to me. I do Kundalini yoga and study (a little) Reiki, plus I am really into animals so I try to be aware nature at all times.

I use the Church for weddings and funerals. I have no problem being a spiritualist/Catholic. I like the structure of the Church but do not believe Jesus was the son of G-O-D, and differ on many political issues. I was raised Catholic, so I am very used to the institution.

Some people think I am blasphemous, because I am sort of a "religious dillettante," but I just happen to feel that it's excellent to use what you feel works. For me it's doing rigorous Yoga with Sikhs, which includes chanting, prayer and meditation.

Kundalini is considered the most comprehensive of yogas, combining meditation, prayer, physical practices and breathing exercises. â??Kundaliniâ?� literally means â??the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.â?� This poetic metaphor alludes to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us, and enables us to merge with â?? or â??yokeâ?� â?? the universal Self. Fusing individual and universal consciousness creates a divine union, called â??yoga.â?� The Upanishads, Hinduâ??s sacred scriptures that date back to the fifth century B.C., describe Kundalini, although the oral tradition reaches back even further into history. For thousands of years, this sacred science and technology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from master to chosen disciple.

http://www.3ho.org/yogibhajan.html

I just ran out of time, sorry I didn't respond to the second half of your post.