Atheism and Spirituality

[Belle RoseParticipant]

@Reg

I am talking of the natural world and how as we are part of that natural world. These sensations of awe and wonder are entirely natural human experiences. There is nothing “spiritual” about them. They are manifestations of how our brain reacts to the stimulus of the appreciation of art, beauty, natural wonders, etc. An appreciation of nature is not spiritual, it is natural. It all happens in our brains. There is no duality of mind and body. The soul does not exist.

This is where I disagree. I disagree with that statement. But to each his own right? lol 😂

[_Robert_Participant]

I don’t care too much about “awe and wonder” of the universe or natural world.  It doesn’t particularly help me live my life.

Au contraire, that’s because others do it for you. Imagine the state of medicine without those who wanted to know why. It is so much easier to wave some chicken feathers through some smoke and say it is all up to the gods whether your child lives or dies.

Everything from agriculture to transportation comes from that sense of awe. Spirituality gives us all the pale shelter that nonsense can provide.

Knowledge is costly. It does not come easy. Physical and social costs were paid…all throughout history.

Curie is responsible for establishing the theory of radioactivity, but unfortunately she unwittingly also discovered the fatal effect radioactivity can have on your health; she died on July 4, 1934, of aplastic anemia caused by radiation exposure.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

@ivy, so can you give me an example of a “spiritual experience” that is not  capable of  being called a natural human experience? Or is it duality of the mind and body that you think is real?

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Simon, you would not exist if a star did not die.  Do that not inspire you?

[DavisModerator]

It seems then that your view aligns with most of ours and you are referring more to awe and fascination than anything. Which is very admirable. I highly recommend ditching the term spirituality. I’m yet to read a single text, book or comment referring to spirituality in a secular sense that didn’t confuse or overcomplicate things. Nothing is really gained or explained through using the term and it ought to stay where it belongs along with its religious baggage…in the sacred world.

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

Do that not inspire you?

I guess it’s interesting.  It doesn’t inspire me too much.  To do what?

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Davis wrote:

I’m yet to read a single text, book or comment referring to spirituality in a secular sense that didn’t confuse or overcomplicate things.

One of its meanings is “self-transformation for the better”. Another usage is “connection to something greater than oneself”.

I’ve heard it spoken of in a military-battlefield context as simply “relating to well-being”.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

@simon – to remind us of our own insignificance in the scale of things for starters. Try finding a place without light pollution at night, lie down, look up for 10 minutes and report back 🙂

[Belle RoseParticipant]

@Reg

so can you give me an example of a “spiritual experience” that is not capable of being called a natural human experience?

A good trip on ayahuasca?

Sorry I couldn’t resist LOL

What I mean is that I disagree when you say that the soul does not exist.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/biocentrism/201112/does-the-soul-exist-evidence-says-yes%3famp

[Belle RoseParticipant]

There are many other examples to consider but here’s another one:

https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/04/05/522738015/is-neuroscience-rediscovering-the-soul

[Belle RoseParticipant]

I do believe that there is a mind body and spirit, and that many physical illnesses results when the three are not aligned properly. These ideas go all the way back to Freud, and honestly even before that…

There is still a lot that we don’t understand, but I believe there is more evidence towards the existence of a soul than there is against it

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by  Belle Rose.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

A good trip on ayahuasca?

Yes, but that to me is a natural human experience. It occurs within my mind. If it is a “good trip” then I become more aware of myself and the world around me. My awareness of my “connectivity” with the Universe is enhanced. It all happens in my head…man!

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

I do believe that there is a mind body and spirit, and that many physical illnesses results when the three are not aligned properly.

I have no idea of what that means.  Sounds like Woo to me. Are you talking about Chakras or ideas about Ying and Yang imbalances? Are you saying that you also have a fourth thing called a soul too?

[Belle RoseParticipant]

@Reg

Yes, but that to me is a natural human experience.

It’s not really natural if you think about it. Anytime you take a plant or something that exists in the natural world and ingested it in your body, It is something you do to yourself that causes a spiritual experience. There are many people who have done this and swear that it is spiritual. How can you say they are wrong?

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

In that article he is redefining what tradition idea of the soul. For him it has. nothing to do with a theist soul.

But what if we revisit the definition of soul, abandoning its canonical meaning as the “spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal” for something more modern? What if we consider your soul as the sum total of your neurocognitive essence, your very specific brain signature, the unique neuronal connections, synapses, and flow of neurotransmitters that makes you you?

He is just talking about connecting in the mind and how they make each of us unique.

Are you now claiming not to believe in the “soul” in the traditional religious sense of the word, that it can exist after we die and that it becomes immortal?

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