[ the beauty of ] crafting your own religion.

i was raised in the Methodist Church. through this upbringing, i was taught that by being a Good Samaritan, Jesus would reward you, by saving you from burdens or even gifting you your dreams.

while i still believe being a Good Samaritan is imperative, i’ve experienced deep heartache and victimization through the ideology that Jesus will “save” you. this way of teaching conditioned me to be a sitting duck—someone who suffers in silence.

during church services, i would listen to adults share testimonials about their pain and suffering, and how those experiences brought them closer to God. through that connection, they prayed that God would bless them with a solution to their problems. sit and pray and wait—and wait—for a solution or even a response, they would say. through my observation of these victimized adults, at the young age of ten, i had my first experience of an internal battle between what the church had taught me and what i questioned so deeply:

“Why would Jesus sacrifice his life to cleanse us of our sins to end a degree of internal suffering among his followers-only for us to sit here, in the 21st century, hoping he’ll do it all again by coming back to earth to save us? Why are we just sitting here? Why can’t we save ourselves from our own suffering?”

in search of more answers during Sunday School, my questions were heard but never answered. this was something i admired about my denomination—the openness and willingness to question everything without remorse or deflection.

fast forward to COVID.

through isolation, my family stopped attending church. i was 14 and thought the world was destined to end at any moment. during that perpetual state of panic and solitude, i was forced into a disturbing amount of reflection. i began to process years of pain, negative experiences, and emotional turmoil. Now, as I near 20 years old, i can confidently look back and admit how tough it was and applaud myself for doing that inner work. (it was dark and heavy)

I digress. at the beginning of that time, all i could think was, Why me? Why us? i understood my question was universal, but somehow, my pain still felt deeply personal.

One day, I woke up sick and tired of being sick and tired. 

i felt a rebirth of energy to fix my life of despair, hopelessness, and purposelessness (outside of the church). in search of my unique identity and the personal power that God had already gifted me with. power meant to be used.

through this rebirth, i “created” my own religion. by restructuring and rebuilding my life around ideologies grounded in humanity and the moral values of a Good Samaritan. by dismantling my learned victimhood, i became limitless.

that awakening enabled me to do the “work” of bringing more joy and freedom into my life and into the lives of those around me.

How to Create Your Own Religion

Creating your own religion isn’t about worshipping idols or abandoning your faith. it’s about redefining what holiness looks like in your life. through experience, self-awareness, and intentional living. it’s a reclamation of spiritual agency.

001. Start by unlearning everything that made you believe salvation existed outside yourself.

the goal isn’t rebellion, it’s remembrance. remembering that God, Source, the Universe or whatever name you use for the divine, already lives within you.

002.Rebuild your belief system from the inside out.

ask yourself:

• What principles make me feel alive?
• What values expand my peace, rather than shrink it?
• What rituals remind me that i am sacred?

Your religion doesn’t need pews or sermons.

it might look like journaling every morning, watering your plants, moving your body with intention, forgiving yourself, or saying no when your spirit says no.

it’s the quiet moments of alignment that become your prayer. it’s choosing to act from love, even when fear feels louder. it’s trusting that divine wisdom flows through you, not just to you.

to create your own religion is to choose consciousness over conditioning—

to build a faith that fits your spirit instead of shrinking your spirit to fit a faith.

With Love,

esa.