World Religion
Ancient Hawaiian Culture and Belief Systems
The Hawaiian Islands have not been around long in comparison with the huge 4.5 billion year history of the earth. The first Hawaiian Island to emerge in fact was the island of Kauai, around six million years ago.
The ancient Hawaiians were Polynesians and had a polytheistic religion. Over a period of time the Hawaiians, like the other Polynesians, developed a rather intricate system of Gods and Goddesses of various rank and form.
This web of deities consisted of main Gods and Goddesses, demi-Gods and Goddesses and other various Gods and Goddesses.
They had Six Gods and Two Goddesses. Inclusive of the Gods was the Chief god, Keawe. He was believed to be the original spirit that was present at the birth of the world. Keawe was believed to be the ancestor of all the Gods and Goddesses. The other seven gods that make up the Sacred Eight are Kane (Lord of the West), Nâwâhine (Holy Mother of Heaven or The Moon Goddess), Lono (God of the East and Fertility), Kanaloa (God of the South Pacific Occean), Kû (The God of the North and War), Goddess Papa and God Wâkea (The rulers of Nature).
I find this religion rather fitting and I also think it has quite a few similarities with ancient Egypt’s take on the birth of the world except they just had different names for their Gods and suchlike. I’ve found that with quite a number of ancient religions, ones that would have had no contact with each other and yet they had very similar Earth History and Gods and Goddesses.
Scientology
Scientology was created by an American Author and Humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. He worked on his life long passion of life and Human Nature to create a new way of life and a higher civilisation.
Scientologists believe that Humans are generally Good, and not evil. The religion holds that Human experiences may cause people to do evil deeds but it is not their basic Nature to be evil. In anyone. They believe, unlike the majority of Religions, that Humans can and should solve their own problems instead of looking to their religion to do so. They do this by increasing knowledge and the ability of the individual so they can improve their own lives.
Mr. Hubbard decided to make a new name for the being or spirit of the individual because there had been so many concepts over the millennia. He decided on the term “thetan” from the Greek letter theta, which was the traditional symbol for thought and life.
Scientologists believe in “Eight Dynamics of Existence”. These are: The Urge to Survive as oneself, The Urge to Survive through Family, Sex and the rearing of Children, The Urge to Survive in groups, The Urge to Survive as Mankind or Humanity as a whole and the final four dynamics are to Survive through other life forms such as Animals, Plants, the Physical Universe, the Spiritual Universe and as Infinity or a Supreme Being respectively.
This more Modern Religion has become very popular rather quickly I have to say. Particularly with such celebrities as Tom Cruise etc. I found it more philosophical than religious to be honest. Not that I’m downing it because I think they have some really intriguing philosophies on life and Humanity.
Islam
The foundation of Islamic belief is found in their doctrine The Qur’an. They believe that these scriptures are infallible and without error. The Qur’an is made up of 114 Surahs (chapters); they are arranged from the longest to the shortest. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of God, given to them by Muhammad. They hold that Muhammad was the last and the most perfect of Allah’s (God) messengers.
In addition to the Qur’an, there are also other documents that are referred to by Muslims. These are the Hadith (a compilation of Muhammad’s sayings), The Torat (book of Moses), Suhuf (books of the prophets), Zabur (psalms of Davis) and the Injil (gospel of Jesus). However, they are believed to have been corrupted over the years, unlike the Qur’an.
Islam is based on the Five Articles of Faith and The Five Pillars of Faith.
The Five Articles are the central Doctrines of Islam. All Muslims are expected to believe in them. The first Article of Faith is Allah: The one and only true God and Allah alone is the only creator of the Universe. Secondly, is the Angels: They believe that Angels exist and interact with Human lives. Each have different purposes or messages to bring to the Earth. Each Man or Woman has two Angels the record their actions; one records their good deeds the other records the bad ones. The Third Article is the Scriptures: The only holy book uncorrupted is the Qur’an. Fourthly, is the Prophets: God has spoken through numerous prophets through time. The six greatest are: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the greatest of all is Muhammad.
The Five Pillars are the duties that each Muslim must perform. The Pillars are as follows: Creed (to become Muslim one must state, “there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah” publicly. Next is Prayer (Muslims must pray five times daily, upon rising, at noon, in mid-afternoon, after sunset and before going to sleep in the direction of Mecca), the call for Prayer is sounded by the muezzin (the Muslim Carrier). Thirdly is Almsgiving (Muslims are legally required to give one fortieth of the income to the needy. Fasting is the fourth Pillar of Islam (during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sun up until sun down) and the final Pillar is Pilgrimage (each Muslim that is fit and able is expected to make the journey to Mecca at least once in their life time, they believe that this essential in gaining salvation).
Shamanism
Shamanism dates back as early as the beginning of the New World and Originated in Siberia and Central Asia. Shamanism is traditionally not an organised group with a charismatic leader as such. It is an individualistic religion and can be found in many different cultural settings. Shamanism has maintained it’s shape, if you will, throughout time in spite of the cultural changes. The ancestry of the Shamans is the Shamans themselves. There were Shamans before there were Gods. This is backed up by archaeology. It shows masked Shamans or Sorcerers dancing in Caves.
The Core beliefs of Shaman are: Shamanism is the intentional effort of the participant to communicate and develop relationships with spiritual beings. Secondly, that Shamanism is more of an individualistic approach to the perception of the intertwined relatedness of life, plants, animals, Gods and other deities rather than a traditional religion. Thirdly, Shamans traditionally fulfil the role of the Priest, Magician, Metaphysician or the Healer. This is dependant on the Shaman’s personal experience. The Knowledge of the other realms allows the Shaman to serve as connection point between the physical world and the spiritual world. Moreover, the relationship created with an interaction with a spirit is a mutual respectful insight for both the Spiritual and the physical participant. Although the individual’s journey is directed at self-healing and the development one’s self, the main objective is not completely about self serving. It is more to develop an interconnectedness with all life via regular practice. Through this regular practice they believe that one would be healed and would then in turn be able to heal others and help them develop and grow. Shamans are generally believed to be Healers, Herbalists, Spiritual Advisers and Dream Interpreters.
I really enjoyed researching the Shamans because of their distinct connection with other realms throughout existence and there exceedingly interesting and ancient history.
Wicca
Last but not least is the belief system Wicca or also known as The Craft. Various forms of Wicca have existed through time in itself. In fact, Wicca Predates any of the five main religions Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikh and Hinduism. There have been many branches of Wicca over the years such as, Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Celtic Wicca (church of Wicca) and Georgian Wicca.
Wicca is based upon 13 Principles, The Wiccan Rede and The Law of Three.
The 13 Principles are: Wiccans practice rites (rituals) to attune themselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarter. They recognise that their intelligence them a unique responsibility towards the Environment. They seek to live in Harmony with nature, in ecological balance offering fulfilment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept. Thirdly, they acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. They see this knowledge and power as attainable to all but most do not tune in enough to learn. They believe in the polarity of the Creative Power. That is masculine and feminine and that this same Creative Power lies in everyone; and functions through the interaction of Men and Women. Wiccans value neither Male nor Female above the other, knowing that each is essential and is supportive to the other. Wiccans value sex as pleasure, the embodiment of life and as one of the sources of energies used in magical practice and worship to connect with the divine. They recognise both outer worlds (physical worlds) and inner worlds (spiritual Worlds). Wiccan do not have any authoritarian hierarchy, but they do respect those who teach, share their knowledge and wisdom and and acknowledge those who have given themselves in leadership. Wiccans see religion, magic and wisdom as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it. They also believe that calling ones self a witch does not make a witch– but neither does hereditary itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A witch seeks to control the forces within themselves that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature. Furthermore, they believe in the affirmation and fulfilment of life. They also hold no animosity towards any other religions except that they disagree with “the only way” approach because they believe in the freedom to choose your own life path, that there is always more than one option available in religion and that we should not repress others beliefs. What’s more, they as witches do not feel threatened by debates of the history of The Craft, it’s origins of various terms or the legitimacy of various aspects of their traditions because they are only concerned by their present and their future. As well as the above, they do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do they worship any entity known as “Satan” or “The Devil”. They do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do they accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another. And Finally, the 13th Principle is that they believe that they should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.
The Wiccan Rede and The Law of Three is the basic foundation of Wicca. The Wiccan Rede is summed up in eight words: “An Ye Harm None, Do As Ye Will”. This means that as long as you are causing harm to none, including yourself, then use your magic as feels right and most natural to you. The Law of Three is something similar to Karma if you like. It means that what ever you send out good or bad it will come back to you threefold. This is why they believe it is better to act with love and kindness rather than with hate and spitefulness .
I do believe that any faith is better than none, even if it is nameless, as long as you have something good to believe in. That’s what keeps the majority of Humans going in my opinion.
In conclusion, I find all of the above to hold truths and they are all very good ways of life, but it is up to the individual to choose which is most fitting for them if any.
I hope you enjoyed the Article and I hope that you took something from it. Thank you for taking the time to read it.
Aiysha Jebali