Simply human

Religion is not just about beautiful words and rituals, community
and marvelous buildings. Religions have throughout history
also caused much anguish and sorrow: war, oppression of women and children,
witch-hunts and persecution.

Many political ideologies are similar to religions. 
It is possible to condemn atrocities that have been carried out by Nazis 
or communists, but it is not OK to say that Protestants, Catholics and Hindus
have caused immeasurable suffering in the world.

For the time being, it is Islam that causes the most problems. 

In Syria, Iraq and Yemen there is a war between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

In Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and many other countries, 

deeply devoted muslims are fighting terrible wars,
obsessed with the dream of establishing Islamist regimes
similar to that in Saudi Arabia.

In the seventeenth century, Catholics and Protestants fought
for thirty years here in Europe. But the conflict did not end with
the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The bitter conflict lived on.

The crusades, the genocides of indigenous peoples in the colonies
and slavery in the American south are other examples of atrocities
committed by pious Christians. 

The conflict between Jews and Palestinians is also a religious conflict. 

It is obvious that religious beliefs and labels can cause unspeakable suffering.

I think that we who are not religious, and who are not possessed
by any political ideology must be clearer that there is an alternative.
Perhaps this could be helpful for those who want to defect.
It is possible to live a good life without being a follower of any particular doctrine. 

It is possible to simply be human.

You don't have to be a Christian, a Muslim or a Hindu.
You don't have to be an atheist.

You don't have to be a neoconservative, a libertarian or a liberal,

a communist, a socialist, an environmentalist…

You can simply be a human being.

If you insist to cling to your particular religion or political doctrine,
if you can't give it up, then you must, at least, accept the idea of a
pluralistic, secular society and stop complaining about other peoples crazy ideas,
If you can't even do this, then you are a part of the madness.
Then you are fooled, bewitched, mesmerized.

Postulates

Your heart is just a pump, your eyes are just camera lenses
and your ears are just ordinary microphones. 

Your brain is a computer and your mind is the software.

Your body is simply a machine, a robot,
organs and limbs assembled by the biological evolution.

These organs and limbs are made of atoms, mainly carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen and nitrogen. At a more fundamental level,
all these atoms are made of elementary particles.  

Your consciousness, your sense of I, is created in your brain. 

When you are anaesthetized before an operation your sense of I disappear.
You're gone. When you die, you're gone forever.

You are not a mystery. You are nothing but a machine.
To be alive is not a miracle. Modern science has it all figured out, practically.
Mystical experiences can easily be explained by modern neuroscientists.
A mystical experience is simply a hallucination, a delusion.

You have to be realistic, otherwise you'll go under like a ship in a storm

You have to have money. Someone has to bring home the bacon.

If a religion or spiritual belief system makes you feel less anxious,
or if it´s helpful to you in some other way, fine. Go for it.
But first you have to make sure that there is food in the fridge
so that your kids don't have to starve.

However, then what?
You have food in the fridge and a roof over your head, safe and warm,
with a nice family and friends. This is not enough. You need something more.
You need more money, more friends and more sex partners.
This is what life is all about.

If you have a million dollars, try to get a billion.
If  you have a billion, try to get ten billions.
If you don't want to come across as too greedy,
you can always get involved in some charity work or start to collect art.
Be realistic. Nothing but money counts, really.

Scientific and religious speculations

Maybe this universe is just one universe
among billions and billions of other universes. So what!
What difference does this idea make to you, in your daily life?

Maybe some part of me lives on after death, maybe angels and spirits really exist; maybe there is a God somewhere, or a bunch of gods. I couldn't care less.
I have much more urgent questions to deal with.

Thoughts

The sense of self, the observer of thoughts that pop up,

is also created in the brain, I believe.

The whole world is created in our brains.
Your eyes detect certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.
The optic nerves transport this information to your visual center.
There it is processed and an image is formed.
Sounds that you hear are created in your auditory center.
Smells are sensed by neurons in your olfactory center.
What you perceive as the reality
is simply electrochemical activity in your brain cells.
The 'here-and-now' experience is not the real reality,
it is just a fraction of it.
And, as I said, also the perceiver is electrochemical activity in brain cells.

Before life emerged, the universe consisted of practically nothing,

empty space with a few quarks and electrons here and there,

radiation, strange energies, electromagnetic fields and vibrating strings.

In the distant future, when life on earth has disappeared,

the material world, the reality as we knew it, will also be gone.

The party will be over.

Well, perhaps other life forms will develop in other parts of the universe.

Or, perhaps there are other life forms, right now, on other planets
that also create realities and hard facts. Who knows.

Anyway,
the brain is not some kind of receiver that picks up cosmic consciousness,

I believe.

The sense of self, the I, is gone at night

or when I am put to sleep before an operation.

Of course it is possible that the brain really is some kind of receiver
of cosmic consciousness signals. Maybe it is simply turned off at night,
much like when we turn off the TV-set when we are going to bed,
but I don't believe this is the case.
How would I know anything about these things? No one knows.

My mind, as well as your mind, is filled with beliefs, ideas and assumptions.

However, sometimes I manage to remind myself

that my assumptions, ideas and beliefs are just thoughts

that are created in my language center.

Delusions can be useful or useless

Reality sucks and then you die.
You have to find something that can make your life worth living,
Set up a goal for yourself, get yourself a hobby.
Do something.

The real world is horrible.
You have to find some kind of diversion,
a religion, a fantasy, a belief system, anything that works is OK.
Alcohol and marijuana are very effective.
A crazy love story, running, computer games, books,
long hours of hard work, partying, shopping...
Engage yourself deeply in something, social justice, the environment,
mindfulness meditation, a free market system,
whatever that works for you is fine.

You have to forget about the reality in order to survive.
You have to find a partner, you have to get something to eat,
you have to find a place to stay, you have to propagate.
This is the law of the jungle.

From time to time reality will intrude and you will break down.
After some time of grief, you'll have to pick yourself up and move on.

What else can you do?
Without a delusion, you're totally lost.

https://www.google.se/search?q=leopold+II+had+the+hands+cut+off+of+workers&biw=1352&bih=865&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIvKmS-Lv9xwIVA-gsCh1IRADm&dpr=0.75

Dysfunctional beliefs

Religions and spiritual teachings are harmless
as long as you don't take them too seriously.

If you are fully convinced that Christianity is the only belief system that is true
and that those who don't like your interpretation of the Bible will burn in hell,
then you will create problems for yourself and for other people.
You have not secured an eternal life because of this belief.

If you truly believe in ghosts, astrology and evil spirits,
then you are nuts.

If you believe that egotism and greed must have free reign,
that a totally free market is the answer to all problems
and that the super rich should not pay tax
then you are contributing to endless troubles in the world,
climate change, pollution, exploitation.

If you truly believe that life is totally meaningless, then you have a problem.
You have a dysfunctional belief that has nothing to do with the truth.
Etc. etc.

The stronger your dysfunctional beliefs and convictions are,
the more problems they will cause.

However, when you realize that a belief is really just a belief,
a hypothesis, a bunch of thoughts, then you can relax a little
and you will feel better.

And if it should struck you that life may be extremely important
and that all creatures have some kind of incomprehensible purpose
then you will feel a very pleasant kind of relief.

I wish had nicer beliefs

I do not believe that any part of me will live on after death.
This is it. There will not be another show.

I do not believe that there is a future for humankind.
Homo sapiens will die out,
like millions and millions of other species have died out before us
in the biological evolution.

Our time on this earth has been about madness.
We are a mad ape species.
I do not believe that we will change.
I do not believe in spiritual awakening.
A few people here and there may experience a radical change,
they may give up drinking or stop smoking,
they may think that they are born again,
they may feel that they have woken up,
but the majority will not change.
The majority don't care a bit about global warming and pollution.
The majority wants cheap gasoline.
The majority will always follow orders.
The majority will always go to war and commit horrible war crimes
if the superiors tell them to do so.
The inferiors will always believe what their superiors tell them to believe.
(A superior man is also asleep, hypnotized by his beliefs 
If he wakes up he will not be superior to anyone else.
This goes of course also for inferior men. Inferior men are also hypnotized.)

I don't mind if you have found a private belief system
that gives you consolation and reassurance. No problem.
As long as your beliefs don't create to much trouble for me or for other people
you can believe whatever you want.
I don't mind if you believe in angels, ghosts, spirits or Santa Claus.

The organized religions, however, are often extremely harmful.
Followers of religions or different interpretations of the same religion
always seem to go to war to fight each other in horrible wars.
They do not just sing songs or bow down in a certain direction.
Today Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims are fighting each other in Syria and Iraq.
In the seventeenth century Protestants and Catholics were fighting.
Maybe it is our mad ape nature that is the cause of these idiotic wars,
not the religions. Maybe the religions are just excuses. I don't know.
Anyhow, the result will be the same.