Image: © Briana Blair

This is something that has gone through my head more than once in slightly different forms, so I’m guessing there has to be a reason that my mind keeps coming back to it. The idea, in it’s most basic form, is making up one’s own rules for life and living by them, rather than trying to figure out what path to follow. Being sheep and following others tends to get us into more trouble than it’s worth, so what if you forged your own path?

Now, I’m talking about this from a mostly spiritual perspective, so I guess it would be more like creating your own faith system. Actually, I tried that once before, but I got completely sidetracked. The posts on this page explain more. I was actually feeling pretty good about it all for a while, then I just stopped. It was a combination of feeling really weird about it and also the fact that my brain is overloaded with other people’s beliefs.

I think that’s a big problem. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and I think people should always seek knowledge, but if you’re not careful, you can kind of screw yourself. I’ve learned so many things about so many faiths and life paths that I find myself spending more time wondering who, if any of them, have it right, than applying anything that I’ve learned. That’s a serious issue. It’s the sheep mind trying to take over. It’s always easier to follow someone else’s path than to forge your own.

That’s really been bugging me lately. I find myself doing nothing because I’ve read so many conflicting beliefs that I don’t know who’s right. Last night I was thinking, what if I just sat down and made up a list of my own rules and really started living by them? Sort of like what I was doing with the Way of Universal Balance, but instead of generalizing what I believe so others can understand it, nail it down to actual rules and practices.

For instance, some people/paths say that the way to manifest what you want is to give it constant focus. Others say that you should think about it once then let it go. Still others say that it’s best to ritualize your thoughts with actions, and that will equal manifestation. So who’s right? What if who’s right doesn’t matter? If I pick a way that I think feels good, and I decide that that’s what will work, and then I do that, it should work, right?

The “right” or “best” way to achieve something is subjective and depends totally on the person. If I decided and believed that chanting “Habba Jabba Bubble Gum” ten times a day would make me healthy, and I felt in my heart that it was true, wouldn’t I get the results I desire? If faith is present, who’s to say that the methodology is wrong? Why waste time trying to figure out who to follow, just make my own choices, write them down, and stick to them.

They say that if you can do something for 21 days you form a new habit. What if I could make up my own rules of faith and practice, then act on them for 21 days?  Would those then become my true beliefs and bring me the results I believe they would? It’s certainly worth giving more thought to, and probably worth doing. I don’t think it will be easy, but it could certainly be interesting, and maybe a really beneficial thing. I guess we’ll see.

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter