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Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 21, 2025 at 8:56 pm
I used to think it was little more than a novel trait of humanity that demonstrated some of the richness and depth of our species...now I'm not so sure.
I'm hoping you could help me express it better So, what is spirituality? just a religious thing? ^some novel trait of humanity that has us "connect with something greater than ourselves"? Something more? Who does it apply to? I mean, what's going on there?
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 21, 2025 at 9:35 pm
(This post was last modified: May 21, 2025 at 9:37 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Well, it may not be truly novel - but I would definitely agree that it expresses some of the richness and depth of our species. It's gotten a bad rep - but basically - anyone's deeply held notions about meaning, purpose, and connection amount to their spirituality.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 12:06 am
I think it's an emotional response to the awe of staring into the face of a grand universe.
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 12:12 am
It's a nebulous term. I like your option of, "Some novel trait of humanity that has us connect with something greater than ourselves". It's an emotional thing. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it's not a thing that has much scientific value. It has personal value. There's nothing wrong with it as long as one recognizes that it is not useful as a tool to determine what is real. It may be useful to the enhancement of an individual's sense of wonder and sense of belonging.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 12:21 am
(This post was last modified: May 22, 2025 at 12:23 am by The Grand Nudger.)
I think the greatest danger there is if and when our "spirituality" identifies some real item of consequential concern and we turn it into some other thing, utterly missing the marked target and maybe even at odds with it. Think about gods and their interface to spirituality, and the collateral damage to those ideas about meaning and purpose and connection that are alleged to be god derived and turn out not to be. Well..conceivably, some of that stuff was a good idea, but it's going to get shitcanned along with the people who made it into a god pleasing contest...most likely by the next bunch of god pleasers.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 3:43 am
I must lack emotional intelligence, but "spirituality" is an empty term in my own experience. I see people apply it to apparently emotional situations and wonder what, exactly, they are really talking about.
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 5:18 am
It's tea made from steeping spirituali leaves in hot water.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 6:09 am
(May 21, 2025 at 8:56 pm)Rift Zone Wrote: I used to think it was little more than a novel trait of humanity that demonstrated some of the richness and depth of our species...now I'm not so sure.
I'm hoping you could help me express it better So, what is spirituality? just a religious thing? ^some novel trait of humanity that has us "connect with something greater than ourselves"? Something more? Who does it apply to? I mean, what's going on there?
The definition is fuzzy because the concept is fuzzy, and the concept is fuzzy because the things it's trying to describe are not valued or encouraged in our society.
A subjective sense of belonging in the universe, and a feeling of solidarity with other living things, cannot be quantified, packaged for sale, or weaponized. But it can be easily mocked, by portraying spiritual people as unserious and a bit loony.
But feelings really exist, and how people feel is important. So the fact that the word is weak is a sign that some important things are also weak.
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 6:53 am
(This post was last modified: May 22, 2025 at 6:55 am by Alan V.)
(May 22, 2025 at 6:09 am)Belacqua Wrote: The definition is fuzzy because the concept is fuzzy, and the concept is fuzzy because the things it's trying to describe are not valued or encouraged in our society.
A subjective sense of belonging in the universe, and a feeling of solidarity with other living things, cannot be quantified, packaged for sale, or weaponized. But it can be easily mocked, by portraying spiritual people as unserious and a bit loony.
But feelings really exist, and how people feel is important. So the fact that the word is weak is a sign that some important things are also weak.
Quote:Per Wikipedia:
Spirituality is the quality of being attached to or concerned with religious questions and values broadly conceived, although the term is loosely defined, and may mean different things in different contexts. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life.
In modern times, the term both spread to other religious traditions and broadened to refer to a wider range of experiences, including a range of esoteric and religious traditions. Modern usages tend to refer to a subjective experience of a sacred dimension, and the "deepest values and meanings by which people live", often in a context separate from organized religious institutions. This may involve belief in a supernatural realm beyond the ordinarily observable world, personal growth, a quest for an ultimate or sacred meaning, religious experience, or an encounter with one's own "inner dimension" or spirit.
Some spiritual people are "unserious and a bit loony," whether they are mocked for it or not. That is likely because the idea of spirituality is so poorly defined that they try all sorts of things.
And of course we are a part of our ecological systems, whether we understand that or not. We don't have to seek it, just to acknowledge it and to do something about it.
"How people feel is important." I will have to work on that one for obvious reasons. As I admitted, I seem to lack ordinary emotional intelligence.
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RE: Atheists: what is "spirituality"?
May 22, 2025 at 7:06 am
(This post was last modified: May 22, 2025 at 7:08 am by BrianSoddingBoru4.)
Spirituality doesn’t necessarily concern itself with religion. It can easily be a search for meaning or purpose or enlightenment in a purely secular manner.
If someone tells me that they’re a spiritual person, my go to question is, ‘What do you mean?’. The answers range from outrageously funny to thought provoking. (Spiritualism, on the other hand, is always funny.)
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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