Omnism

Last night when I opened my computer and prepared myself to share what Omnism is, I had a battle in my head. Should I start this with the universal definition of Omnism? What about a definition that is widely spread in the western side of the world? What would someone want to know about Omnism? Such a struggle played in my head for more than an hour and I was growing tired. I closed my laptop for the night to revisit this the next day. I knew though, from the tiny voice in my head how to start this out. Call it intuition, the universe calling, my higher self, or Spirit passing wisdom to me. You could call it any of these and I would happily agree. Whichever the name, the feeling was still the same. The feeling of wholeness and truth speaking to me, whether my ego wanted to listen to it or not. A deeply rooted feeling that feels so light, yet a heavy feeling in my heart. That feeling screamed to me that it needed to come from within. The feeling was how I became an Omnist. I am an Omnist because I feel connected to and acknowledge the truth with many beliefs and have become familiar with this feeling.

Short Backstory

I started my spiritual story at the young age of 7 years old. It was then that I started to reflect on the spiritual concepts of Christianity. I knew that my purpose on this earth was to guide others spiritually from such a young age. When I was 11, I was baptized as a Christian at a church camp. I didn't decide this lightly. I felt a presence and every night I looked up at the sky and at the stars and just knew that I wasn't alone. At the age of 12, I had my first experience with witchcraft, however, this was more for fun than anything spiritual. The same year I became the youngest member of my church congregation (That of the Nazarene), which was followed quickly by joining multiple church bands, performing around small towns, and being an assistant Sunday school teacher for those younger than me. I myself joined the adult class as my understanding of the bible was past even high-school students at that time. That feeling I had led me through these deep studies. Years later, I no longer joined church services and instead explored pagan faiths. I didn't know about other religious concepts at the time that I solely followed the Christian faith, however, once I was exposed to other religious beliefs, I soon realized that maybe one religion can't answer all. I felt a connection like I felt that night as I looked up at the stars.

The Flexible Spiritual Path

Likewise in Omnism, we recognize that different religions can speak truth to us and that we can find that connection and understanding within a multitude of spiritual paths. In Omnism, it is known that we as intelligent beings can have a fluid and flexible spiritual belief system and one belief might not be enough for our spiritual growth. In other words, our spirituality isn't a "fit in the box" situation. We grow and we learn. Even more importantly, we feel and learn to understand. Orthodox religions are far from our path and we grow by keeping our minds open to different possibilities. And as the saying goes, we take what resonates and leave what doesn't.

Differences in Omnist

As we know, Omnists share a flexible spirituality. That being said, even being an Omnist can mean different things besides the universal meaning. For example, a big group of Omnist believes that all religions are connected in one way, shape, or form and share the same common goal. In another sense, a large group of Omnists believe that bits and pieces of each religion are true, but not that they necessarily coincide. Regardless, it is a respected idea among all Omnists that each of us has our own spiritual path that we are meant to follow, and that path is as unique as we are.

Unitarian Vs. Omnist

Unitarian

Unitarianism is defined as a person, especially a Christian, who asserts the unity of God and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. The definition of a Unitarian can be confusing for someone coming from a traditional or orthodox Christian church as to how such a belief could be defined as Christian. This of course goes back to the definition of an orthodox religion. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary An orthodox religious belief or interpretation is one handed down by a church's founders or leaders. When capitalized, as in Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox refers to a branch within a larger religious organization that claims to honor the religion's original or traditional beliefs. Many Orthodox sects in Christianity might include Catholics, Methodists, and Baptists. These sects of Christian beliefs have certain rituals, ceremonies, and codes of conduct that they teach their followers. Because Unitarian belief is not orthodox, it does not stick to traditional beliefs laid out by different sects or leaders of the Christian church. Some Unitarians describe God as Source or the universe, which is also common in Omnism.

Omnist

Omnism is the recognition and respect of all religions and their gods or lack thereof. Those who hold this belief are called Omnists, sometimes written as Omniest. Omnism is a very inclusive belief system for all cultures and religions. Omnism does not have a set of laws or beliefs, but instead is the study of all of them. Omnism is a personal religion that involves research and being true to one's understanding and belief as well as challenging a person to be open-minded and considerate to all religions. That does not mean that individuals do not have a right to believe in only a select number of religions, but instead encourages a person to search within themselves and find what is true to them specifically. It is a common belief to Omnist however, that we all come from a universal source.

Q&A

As a religion, what rites and rituals are there?

Rituals carried out by Omnists rely heavily on the individual's beliefs and which rituals speak to them the most. One ritual that might be shared is a baptism of your new faith.

How do I become an Omnist?

Omnism is for the open-minded spiritual person. So, if you have an open mind to connect with multiple religions, or possibly feel that multiple world religions can speak truth, then you are on the path of an Omnist. Omnist is but a title and way that you can identify a general portion of your spirituality.

What about Sacred Text?

We do not have specific text that we sanctify for all Omnists, however many Omnists consider major texts from different religious concepts to be Sacred to them. We value having access to as many Sacred Texts and documents of religious content as much as possible.