I remember at the tender age of nine, going to church, but still not fully understanding why. I was young and a bit confused and I found it hard to understand because i felt no matter what questions i asked, religion was always forced upon me. Certain churches made me feel uncomfortable, and some churches I felt peace. I never once doubted that there was a higher power, but I did question religious beliefs.

 Before anyone reads on this article is based mainly on opinion, It may not affect your own, however it could. This is strictly for informational and guidance purposes based off of my own experience, because I know this is a touchy subject. Thank you for understanding =].

 I have had friends who were muslims, Jehovahs witnesses, and Catholics among the top choices aside from Christianity(which is what I have been raised to be).  And all of which I have at some point been exposed, and have brought me outside of my comfort zone. I of course only know about a few religions, so I cant speak for every single one. But in quoting "The Davinci Code" religions and beliefs, along with our different ethnic practices have brought war and hatred among man. Well that wasnt an exact quote but so far I'm sure you follow me.

 The title of my page is "My Religion Is th Only Religion"...well thats not only meant to grab peoples attention, nor is it to cause any type of controversy because it isnt true, also the name of this specific article is, well im sure if you read this far you know by now( a little dry humor). But just putting those together I am basically saying I dont believe in one true religion! And if you read on I will explain why. (Once again, no offense just my give me a chance).

 My aunt taught me how to pray at a young age, which is a good thing because I had a lot to pray about. I was raised in a physically and mentally abusive home. Everyday was the same, I would wake up in the morning, go to school, then I dreaded coming home, my knees literally shaked walking up my lawn to my front door, because everyday something would go horribly wrong.(stories for another article). But anyways, prayer was an escape, a mental state of peace and love, and relief! In my prayers I could feel My creator comforting me, I wouldnt recite some prayer I learned at church because that didnt feel real. I prayed about what was real, my life, my fears, my hopes, my dreams.

 Prayer lifts me up, and as you can already tell I am unique in my practices, so I love listening to many many genres of music. I could listen to classical symphonies, country, gospel, r&b, rock, pop, jazz, blues, i also enjoy sounds of nature, Indian hyms, African drums, japanese melodies,,,I believe certain things uplift me and bring me closer to my creator.

 I also believe there is good, and then there is evil. See you might be saying, "oh goodness, you cant be possibly going by your 'feelings' for every belief you have?!" And well, all I can  say is, yes and no. Its more than just feelings, its intuition, its taking what i've learned, and realizing that every belief has its flaws, just like mine, especially mine! But I cant stress enough that it is my experiences that bring me to the state of belief that as long as you know that there is a higher power, and you put yourself in an environment where you can feel close to your God, then whose right is it to try and take you away from your comfort zone??? We all as human beings are born with our own destinys, whether they be fair or not, is never certain. But all I'm saying is give in to yourself, your method of mental and emotional clarity should be just as personal as what you do in the bathroom.

 I digressed from the topic of my last paragraph. Good and Evil. When you hear that topic, do you think in terms of Angels and Demons=Guardians vs. Destroyers, Spirits and Poltergiest=passed on in peace vs. passed on with anger, God and Satan= Pure good vs. Pure evil, Love and Hate=speaks for itself, Man and Child= War vs. Innocence, etc. We can go over the many perspectives. But what truly causes war and pain? Why do people blame God for what the Devil does? We are given the divine choice of living, making our own decisions, and also risking our fragile lives everyday through out the violence, disease, and incidental mishaps. So since we are given this choice, we are not yet in "Heaven" therefore, bad will happen, but is that at all any reason to foresake your God, or the one you look to for answers to the same questions that so many millions of people of different race, ethnicity, and religion ask as well?

 I have had such a horrible childhood experience that sometimes I am still haunted by whatever it is that has been trying to bring me down since meeting the demons in my stepfather(who is not my stepfather anymore). I have had nightmares of the home where it all began, and in those nightmares, this spirit that is darker than night itself, runs for me, knocks me down screaming, and tries to strangle me. It is hard to wake from those dreams and I am not the only one i know who has had a dream like that. I bring this up to show you that I'm not some atheist nor am I over opinionated, I am merely a firm believer in all things good, and I am haunted by what i must let go and forgive, just like everyone else. The evil that tries to bring us down can grow to be strong, but as long as we allow our beliefs to be stronger, and our spirits to connect to the greater good(our higher power) then we will be fine, but we will never be 100% okay. There will always be something, someone, who cant accept us, so they fight us. I will always fight back, always.