News:

In case of downtime/other tech emergencies, you can relatively quickly get in touch with Asmodean Prime by email.

Main Menu

Atheist Spirituality

Started by Kylyssa, July 18, 2009, 08:36:18 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Kylyssa

I recently posted something over on Squidoo about atheist spirituality.  I put it up mainly because the term atheist spirituality kept coming up in my view trackers for my other atheist writing bits.  

A few years ago, I disliked the term spirituality applied to myself - it sounded too woo woo.  But upon examining it, most of what people think of as spiritual experiences have to do with feelings of awe, feelings of connectedness, and an inclination to self-exploration.  These things are not the exclusive province of the religious, it seems they are part of the human experience.

Over on Squidoo, I listed some things atheists might find spiritual which include:
Empathy
Learning
Self-exploration
Nature
Service to humanity
Music
Love

(I wanted to include mathematics but that might just be deeply meaningful and emotional to me because I'm a little bit autistic.)

I'm curios as to what things you might find spiritual, not in the sense of spirits and supernatural hooha but in terms of profound, life affecting emotional impact.

You can find what I've written so far at Atheist Spirituality.  It's still embryonic and needs more substance.

Will

Spiritual refers to matters of the spirit or soul. I think we should find a better name for experiences that transcend normal perception that doesn't have such strong religious connotations.
I want bad people to look forward to and celebrate the day I die, because if they don't, I'm not living up to my potential.

Heretical Rants

#2
THE EVIL MONKEY HAS REMOVED THIS POST.

BEWARE, LEST IT HAPPEN TO YOURS ALSO.

Sophus

I definitely like the idea and you did a beautiful job with it Kylyssa. Spirituality means something different to everyone and these do a fine job of illustrating many of the aspects.

Spiritual isn't something I would identify with because to me it implies belief in a soul or even the supernatural. But I certainly would fit this definition of spiritual.
‎"Christian doesn't necessarily just mean good. It just means better." - John Oliver