an atheists altar: what do atheists consider sacred?

[Will]

Sacred, eh? I can think of a few things I consider sacred (highly valued).

Absolute truth between true friends: should it be necessary, I could lie to a stranger, acquaintance, or even some passing friends, but with my closest friends only truth will do. I consider honesty without exception to be the ultimate sign of camaraderie and respect. Yes, I think your wife is hot. No, you absolutely should not enlist to be in the army, you'll die. Your goatee makes you look like a child molester. And I would expect nothing less from my friends.

The o-face of a significant other: there's no experience as pure as bringing a person you care about deeply to new heights of pleasure. It's one of the high points of being a human being.

Achieving flow: It's only happened once, when I was practicing piano. Gaspard de la Nuit, for those unaware, is a piano piece composed by Maurice Ravel, one of the greatest composers of all time. This piece, separated into three movements, is considered by some to be one of the more difficult pieces ever written. It's way above what I'm generally able to do (I'm more at a Chopin level), but one particular day I was sight-reading my way through the sheet music when something clicked. It's still difficult to describe the sensation. It was as if someone flipped a switch or burst a dam. Distractions vanished and I was able to concentrate my entire mind on the task of playing the notes on the page. It was as if the acts of reading music, interpreting the music, and playing the notes became a function of awareness. It was a singular experience in my life, one that I hope to achieve again some day.

[Tank]

and as a slight aside, isn't the scientific method considered sacred?  (just trying to put a wrench in the gears)

No. It's just an intellectual tool that appears to work very effectively in helping us understand who the universe actually behaves (note: BEHAVES not WORKS). It is the underpinning of scientific thought and progress but it isn't 'sacred' if it were found wanting it would be modified or in extremis discarded.

[Tank]

It was as if someone flipped a switch or burst a dam. Distractions vanished and I was able to concentrate my entire mind on the task of playing the notes on the page. It was as if the acts of reading music, interpreting the music, and playing the notes became a function of awareness.

I'm not a musician, but there have been some times for me when a story will just flow from one end to other straight onto the screen. They are not long stories maybe 2 to 3,000 words and they are episodic interludes, sketches that could have been taken from a much larger story. I can happily write outside this state, just as I assume you can play to a particular level, but when I'm 'in the zone', for want of a better cliché, everything just flows fast and clean in a very different way.

[Sophus]

Achieving flow: It's only happened once, when I was practicing piano.

I read this article on what leads to flow/creativity today and thought of you. It's a very good read. May help you acheive it again.

[Heretical Rants]

freedom

[Gawen]

freedom

Bravo!

Also my own life. But would give it up for my kids if I knew it would benefit them in some way. Their life is now more important than mine these days.

[Asmodean]

freedom

Bravo!

Also my own life. But would give it up for my kids if I knew it would benefit them in some way. Their life is now more important than mine these days.

Me, I'd give up my life for my closest friend without hesitation and without trying to be a hero or martyr or some such... Came to realize that not too long ago. If he was on the road and a truck was speeding towards him, I'd jump to push him out of harm's way... It's hard to explain why, it's just that... I would sacrifice the entire puzzle to save its key piece, in a way. A bit weird, but there it is all the same.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Sacred, eh? I can think of a few things I consider sacred (highly valued).

Absolute truth between true friends: should it be necessary, I could lie to a stranger, acquaintance, or even some passing friends, but with my closest friends only truth will do. I consider honesty without exception to be the ultimate sign of camaraderie and respect. Yes, I think your wife is hot. No, you absolutely should not enlist to be in the army, you'll die. Your goatee makes you look like a child molester. And I would expect nothing less from my friends.

The o-face of a significant other: there's no experience as pure as bringing a person you care about deeply to new heights of pleasure. It's one of the high points of being a human being.

Achieving flow: It's only happened once, when I was practicing piano. Gaspard de la Nuit, for those unaware, is a piano piece composed by Maurice Ravel, one of the greatest composers of all time. This piece, separated into three movements, is considered by some to be one of the more difficult pieces ever written. It's way above what I'm generally able to do (I'm more at a Chopin level), but one particular day I was sight-reading my way through the sheet music when something clicked. It's still difficult to describe the sensation. It was as if someone flipped a switch or burst a dam. Distractions vanished and I was able to concentrate my entire mind on the task of playing the notes on the page. It was as if the acts of reading music, interpreting the music, and playing the notes became a function of awareness. It was a singular experience in my life, one that I hope to achieve again some day.

Few things surpass the feeling of having the music play you.

A common denominator in all of your "sacreds" is that they all entail surrender, at some level, be it to the unpleasant truth, the person you love, or the song that is playing you.  There's a lesson in that fact.

[dogsmycopilot]

I hold my dogs sacred.
Problem with the idea of worship is people think of it as something other than the every day. It's not. We all know the things we worship and where they are. They are the things and people we spend our most precious treasures (money, time, energy) on. Our temples are the places we gather with friends we love. Our idols are our companions and families. Our rituals are meals and bathtimes and glasses of wine with girlfriends. Flow is easy to achieve.

[Asmodean]

I hold my dogs sacred.
Problem with the idea of worship is people think of it as something other than the every day. It's not. We all know the things we worship and where they are. They are the things and people we spend our most precious treasures (money, time, energy) on. Our temples are the places we gather with friends we love. Our idols are our companions and families. Our rituals are meals and bathtimes and glasses of wine with girlfriends. Flow is easy to achieve.

I wouldn't call it worship... As I understnd the word, it implies holding something or someone as being greater than oneself. Love and friendship, unconditional or otherwise, do not quite qualify in my book. I mean sure, I value a friends life with more than my own, but I do not see my friends as greater than myself in any way. More knowledgeable or fit or pretty - sure. But never so that they surpass me in every way or even most ways. They are just... Different.

I guess I'm defining what worship means rather subjectively, but still, according to myself, there is nothing and no-one I worship.

[dogsmycopilot]

I guess I'm defining what worship means rather subjectively, but still, according to myself, there is nothing and no-one I worship.

Yes, you are defining it subjectively. That is the only way to do it.

And yeah, my dogs are greater than me. I aim to be the person my dog thinks I am.

[Asmodean]

I guess I'm defining what worship means rather subjectively, but still, according to myself, there is nothing and no-one I worship.

Yes, you are defining it subjectively. That is the only way to do it.

And yeah, my dogs are greater than me. I aim to be the person my dog thinks I am.

My rats are tiny and cool and smart and have those awesome little fingers and toes and they can climb on things, but I don't see them as "great"... Just as... I don't know... Family, I guess.  

[dogsmycopilot]

I guess I'm defining what worship means rather subjectively, but still, according to myself, there is nothing and no-one I worship.

Yes, you are defining it subjectively. That is the only way to do it.

And yeah, my dogs are greater than me. I aim to be the person my dog thinks I am.

My rats are tiny and cool and smart and have those awesome little fingers and toes and they can climb on things, but I don't see them as "great"... Just as... I don't know... Family, I guess.  

Rats make great pets! My dogs are family too, I just greatly admire their qualities.

[amaranthine]

It was as if someone flipped a switch or burst a dam. Distractions vanished and I was able to concentrate my entire mind on the task of playing the notes on the page. It was as if the acts of reading music, interpreting the music, and playing the notes became a function of awareness.

I'm not a musician, but there have been some times for me when a story will just flow from one end to other straight onto the screen. They are not long stories maybe 2 to 3,000 words and they are episodic interludes, sketches that could have been taken from a much larger story. I can happily write outside this state, just as I assume you can play to a particular level, but when I'm 'in the zone', for want of a better cliché, everything just flows fast and clean in a very different way.

I've had a similar experience.  Art is very important to me, and while creative flow always fluctuates between art block and better-than-normal output, there was one time when I was sketching.  Suddenly, it was like my brain turned off and I could draw without any sort of...specific thought, if that makes any sense.  I was drawing about three times faster than I usually do, and things fell into place without me having to think about placement and proportion. If there is anything sacred to me, as an agnostic atheist, it has to be creative flow.

The other thing that is 'sacred' to me is morality.  I believe that the only measure of how good of a person you are is the number of people you have helped, if even in the smallest ways. I don't believe in the seven deadly sins, or whatever. I think it's pretty simple. Good = helping others.  Bad = hurting others. In that way, I don't view people who 'lust' to be immoral at all. They don't hurt anyone by wildly copulating and having strange fetishes along the way. On the other hand, someone who is greedy is immoral because he or she is not trying to help others.

As for weddings and funerals and like - I'd just not do it the religious way. I can have a funeral with a tomb stone. I'd have people share stories and what not about me.  For weddings, I’d probably just sign a legal document. Then I could throw a party and invite my friends.  Hell, I’ll even get a cake.