Right Hand Path vs Left Hand Path

As a child, I was introduced to only one basic way of seeing the world which was through the lens of Christianity. When I parted ways with that religion and started my spiritual journey I was still encountering much of the same mentality and world view. The individuals of the spiritual community held a mishmash of beliefs, yet at the core there was a sense of religiosity that crept in silently. I could tell by how they spoke, the language they used, and of course what they believed in. When I questioned them their defenses would immediately go up which was quite telling. Since then I've learned that many people are just confused when they first start out. They don't know what to believe in, still hanging on to some form of order yet trying to break free and do what they want. So I'm sharing my view on the difference between religion and spirituality so you're better informed on which path suits you. What you choose to believe is essential for your growth and what you're looking to achieve.

Spirituality and religion comes in many forms but there are two main sides. Right hand path (RHP) and left hand path (LHP). Generally RHP follows a set of rules, moral codes, a belief in good and evil (duality), a diety(s) or higher power, altruism, and an overall sense of pushing the world into a golden age of peace. The LHP is quite the opposite in that it is merely a philosophy of Self. Self-mastery, self-discipline, self-deification. The end goal is to become a master over self (a god), and to better oneself through any means that may seem controversial to a follower of the RHP.

Another striking difference is the use of "light" and "darkness". The RHP focuses on the "light", perhaps a bit too much in my opinion. There is a huge emphasis on the Law of Attraction, positivity, new thought, light workers, channeling aliens and spirit beings, working with only "positive" entities such as fairies, guardian angels, guides etc. However, the LHP focuses on the "Darkness." This path in my opinion deals with neutrality and would be closely grounded in reality and objectivity. Some on this path are atheists and agnostics, but to say this is strictly an atheistic path wouldn't be correct. This path deals with all entities whether "Positive" or "Negative" it matters not because it all comes from within. Some even practice necromancy. Karma or a higher power generally doesn't exist for practitioners on the LHP. Many on the outside would see LHP as "black magic" such as hexes, curses and such but that is a misconception. Black magick means to go within Self and deal with the Shadow because we work in the dark. Once on this path, it becomes less about others and more about the Self and how to advance Self. The LHP is defined by each individual practicing it and there are no rules on how to practice as long as it gets results.

Within each of these paths are various religious and spiritual systems. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Wicca are examples of RHP. Lucifarianism, Sith Magick, Satanism (in essence), Vampyrism, Egyptian Heka, and Hoodoo for the most part are examples of LHP.

So basically the RHP is relatively easy as there are traditions and commands to follow, it's mainstream, well-known, and practiced by the majority of people. The LHP is a hard path as there are no rules, it's practiced by minority and definitely not for everyone.

How do you decide which path and system fits you? One simple way is to sit alone by yourself with pen and paper. Re-examine your past and present belief system and sort out which ones belong to which path. You may notice that you tend to gravitate toward the same beliefs. Ask yourself if you want to continue believing those things or if you're open to another perspective. Explore the various systems and find ones you're pulled to.