[Jovial.]

Hey Chris,

I want to start off by saying that I am very sorry for the loss of your dog. Loosing people/pets that we care about is always hard. I will keep you in my thoughts.

On the topic of exploring religion though, I think its a great idea. i would maybe make a list of all the religions that you are interested in learning more about and start from there. There are tons of great resources and if you were comfortable with it, you could always attend sermons, or masses, or temple for these religions to see if it is right for you, if that particular faith has meetings, cause not all do. Like you said if nothing else you can learn about each of the faiths in an Intellectual perspective.

I was raised very strict christian, we were not allowed to even learn about other religions or parts of Science in High school because it went against the belief system that we were raised in. As an adult, I have branched out, and left the faith and learned tons about all kind of faiths in my journey to find where I fit, and where my beliefs most align. I think for me, I believe that if you believe it exists. So if you believe in one higher power being god then he is real for you, and if you are polytheistic then your gods are real for you. Each path and each experience is different for everyone, and it's important to know that you probably might not find what is right for you on the first go (and if you do that is okay too). Just make sure that the sources that you get your information from are credible, and If you can I would recommend talking to people within the community of the faiths you explore they can be some of the most helpful people.

Good luck with your search!

Trish