Introduction
With the development of scientific knowledge as well as technology that have given answers to many questions and provided outstanding opportunities for exploration and invention, beliefs began to outlive their usefulness. It would not be reasonable, however, to consider religion as a phenomenon obsolete; rather, it needs adapting to the priorities and values of modern people. In fact, explanation is not the only function of religion, as it is also able to motivate, tranquilize, and help find the sense of life. Therefore, it can be useful and is possible to integrate into worldview on condition that it does not grow into fanaticism.
Regarding the needs of the modern population, they apparently include relaxation as well as stability and confidence in all spheres, primarily psychological. This happens because life continues to grow more stressful and frequently requires concentration on several tasks, topics, or events in parallel. Considering this, a bigger and bigger amount of individuals requires a philosophy that targets at reaching harmony with both themselves and the environment.
History
The idea of overcoming the chaos and harmonization actually is far not new. It is integral to a range of religions and mostly seen as a climax of purification that releases a person from worldly torments. One of the brightest examples doubtlessly is Buddhism that presupposes the possibility of escaping the continuous cycle of reincarnation by achieving nirvana, a certain degree of enlightenment (“Buddhism,” n.d.). It is, however, worth noting that the vast majority of the existing philosophies of this kind regard harmony as an opposite of everyday life, hence proclaim that it is possible solely after the latter ceases. Such a view was quite relevant centuries ago, when the average duration of life was smaller and the probability of death, frequently unfortunate, substantially higher. Meanwhile, the modern ever-growing longevity increases the need for harmonizing the worldly life itself. As the key towards this is tranquility, a possible name for a philosophy of such a kind is Heartseasism.
Problem Solution
Since the essence of the given religion lies in reaching harmony, the approach that its adepts apply to problem solving targets at this as well. Harmony in soul, harmony in life – this is the motto of every Heartseasist. The key postulate is that a problem exists solely while a person believes that it does, which, in turn, depends on what exactly that person considers a problem. In one respect, this also resembles Buddhism with its idea of enlightenment, the state in which people perceive the world and life differently and which the believers seek to reach (“Buddhism”, n.d.). To the contrary, as said above, Buddhist worldview involves breaking the chain of reincarnations as the final goal, while Heartseasism focuses on the current life and, furthermore, on a particular situation.
Within this philosophy, the notion of a problem stands for something disharmonious and consequently unacceptable by definition. This does not mean, however, that Heartseasists should behave as if difficulties do not exist or try to avoid them. Instead, they should regard the obstacles and nuisances that they face as challenges rather than problems, focusing on opportunities, not limitations. In fact, it is possible to state that Heartseasism is partly in accord with Christianity, where dejection, or dismal mood, is in the list of deadly sins (“Seven Deadly Sins,” n.d.). The major difference is that this religion does not classify such behavior as a serious misdeed that deserves severe punishment.
People whom difficulties upset are simply considered immature, which actually corresponds to the reality. Specifically, the social cognitive theory involves a concept of self-efficacy that describes a person’s belief that he or she is able to do something (Schunk & Dibenedetto, 2020). If it is sufficiently high, an individual focuses on what he or she can do rather than what prevents him or her from action, hence regards challenges as chances for self-actualization. This actually is the main problem solving technique that Heartseasists use.
Structure and Techniques
Structure
Heartseasism does not presuppose a belief in any particular gods, for which reason there is no need for mediators between them and people. Nevertheless, there is a hierarchy that is based on the degree of harmonization. Simply stated, the less frequently an adept experiences severe stress, panic, or despair, the more mature he or she apparently is. Such people have the right to guide and supervise not only their less competent fellows, but also those who have not joined the community yet; furthermore, they are obliged to do that. Missionary work is among the cornerstones of the religion, as the more individuals harmonize themselves, the more harmonious the entire world will be.
Beliefs
As guessable from the above, the central belief in Heartseasism is the belief in everybody’s own capability to overcome difficulties. The key goal of those who have decided to affiliate themselves with this ideology is to find and maintain balance in their lives. Doubts in the possibility of that are not to classify as a sin but mark that a person needs education. This worldview presupposes that any individual, notwithstanding his or her gender, age, health and social status, or any other identities, is sufficiently strong to harmonize. The important behavioral pattern that is required from the adepts is investing time and effort in addressing the issues that they are facing, which is possible to regard as a sacrifice.
Rituals
Meditation is mandatory in Heartseasism since it is critical for organizing thoughts and, metaphorically, reloading the brain. This is another similarity between it and Buddhism, although the goals to achieve by such means remain different (“Buddhism,” n.d.). All of the believers are to choose the most suitable meditation techniques and practice them regularly, both as preventive measures and in case they lose control over themselves and the situation. Therefore, Heartseasism accepts any activities on condition that they are harmless and do not develop into addictions because the latter are dramatically disharmonious. For instance, a glass of good wine after a hard workday favors relaxation, hence is welcome, while alcoholism disharmonizes both the person and the surrounding world.
Prayers also are a way of meditation, for which reason the given religion is quite tolerant towards other and even combinable with them. It is unacceptable, however, to rely on the god or gods completely, without taking any further actions. As said above, dedication and diligence are among the essential virtues in accordance with this worldview. Prayers subsequently are to use solely for self-complacency and self-motivation.
Regarding temples or other types of sacred locations, Heartseasists do not them officially. The existence of such would mean that a person is only able to be harmonious at a particular place, which contradicts the ideology. Metaphorically, its adepts carry their temples inside them or are temples themselves, depending on which of these perspective suits them better. They therefore are the agents of harmony in this world, whose task is to communicate it to the other.
Mythology
Examples to Follow
The theoretical base of Heartseasism, of which the believers have to be aware, includes a collection of exemplary stories, whose characters succeed in reaching the appropriate level of harmony. Most probably, some of them are real while some other are fake, but it is not necessarily possible to differentiate between those. To smooth this drawback, each adept may tell his or her own story, which also will inspire and guide the newcomers and possibly attract new people. In fact, everybody has a chance to become an exemplary figure.
Origin of the World
As said above, Heartseasists do not believe in gods; the logical consequence of this is rejecting any forms of creationism. They share the common scientific view of how the Universe appeared and see it as a quintessence of harmony, due to which the life actually can exist. Exploring the laws that regulate the world provides humans with a better understanding of the nature of harmony and therefore is highly desirable for loyal adepts.
Death and Afterlife
Death, similar to birth, is an essentially harmonious event since it enables the continuity of generations that, in turn, underlies the existence both of each particular species and of ecosystems. Therefore, Heartseasism does not regard it as a tragedy, but as no more than a predicted and inevitable pattern. Afterlife, according to this religion, exists solely in it its biological sense, that it, as degradation that can provide other organisms with nutrition. To ensure that this happens, the adepts prefer cremation with further scattering of the ashes or, alternatively, planting trees on tombs instead of tombstones.
Symbols
The religion has no commonly mandatory symbols like images or hymns but allows the believers to have such in case this helps them to reach and maintain harmony. In fact, many people tend to treat certain objects, pieces of art, places, or even other individuals as amulets that can tranquilize and/or inspire them. Any of those may serve to symbolize Heartseasism because they embody the key postulates of this philosophy.
Conclusion
Heartseasism is a suitable name for a religious ideology of tranquility and harmony that may seem to be quite similar to Buddhism but is fundamentally different from it in terms of the final goal. Specifically, its adepts see harmony as a necessary part, not an opposite, of worldly life. They subsequently seek to find and keep the balance with the help of meditation and improving self-efficacy. Such approaches enable perceiving difficulties as opportunities for growth rather than problems, which is among the underlying principles of the given worldview. Regarding symbols, rituals, and other, Heartseasism welcomes everything that contributes to harmony and rejects any disharmonious phenomena.
References
Buddhism. (n.d.).
Schunk, D., & Dibenedetto, M. (2020). Self-efficacy and human motivation. Advances in Motivation Science, 8, 153-179.
Seven Deadly Sins. (n.d.).