Religion is a big part of human history whether it’s absent in your life or not.

It’s pulled people out of the darkness as well as sucked them into it.

The thing is, religion and spirituality are deeply personal things that humans as a whole should learn to stay out of.

Just like someone’s sexuality or health is none of your business, someone’s choice in beliefs isn’t either.

There is one quickly rising religion that some people would make fun of if I told them I wanted to practice it.

That’s Buddhism.

Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and the practice of meditation is becoming more and more accepted as a form of counseling.

There are many people who still don’t think meditation is a real thing or that it has any effect on the body, but it has helped those in need both mentally and physically.

A psychologist may recommend meditation for someone with high anxiety and stress levels.

Almost everyone has meditated to some degree whether they realize it or not. Just sitting in a dark, quiet place and clearing your mind is meditation.

Dean Sluyter has taught meditation in the United States since the 1970s, and he has practiced Tibetan Buddhism and Transcendental Meditation amongst others forms.

According to Sluyter, meditation not only puts the mind in a state of “restful alertness” and improves cognitive function, but it has physical benefits such as slowing changes that cause cardiovascular disease and lowering blood pressure.

It really works. Maybe not for everyone, but that’s for you to find out.

If you don’t want to believe meditation does anything good for people, just try it out before you scoff at someone who does it as you thank God that you have enough milk to bake cookies.

If you truly believe in something and it gives you a purpose in life, then pursue it.

Study it and become it.

If praying to God puts you at ease, then do it.

Religion calls to people for a reason and we have to break the cycle of making people feel bad for their personal choice to answer that calling.

Buddhism and the practice of meditation have been around for thousands of years, as has Christianity and Islam and even atheism. So who are you to tell someone that his or her way of life isn’t the right one, especially if it makes him or her feel better?

Who are we to decide that there is such a thing as a “right” religion?

If grown men in the early 1800s can come to the realization that religion is more about individualism and less about organized church-going, then we can too.

That’s how religion should be, a peaceful, personal experience that makes you and only you happy.

So don’t be afraid to explore religion and spirituality. Do your own thing. There are so many choices. Try Transcendental Meditation  or Vodou, which  is a Catholicized practice of Voodoo.

Make yourself happy by believing in whatever has a personal meaning to you. And if someone tries to hate you for it, then just pray for them and remember that whomever you pray to is your own business and your choice.

Or if prayer isn’t something you believe in, don’t pray at all, but don’t let the negativity of judgmental people bring down your spirit.