Spirituality and atheism

[EvolutionKills]

Great quote from Sam Harris...

"There is clearly a sacred dimension to our existence, and coming to terms with it could well be the highest purpose of human life...[I]t must be possible to bring reason, spirituality, and ethics together in our thinking about the world. This would be the beginning of a rational approach to our deepest personal concerns. It would also be the end of faith."

Who agrees or disagrees with this statement and why?

I think that Harris is being perhaps a bit liberal with the word 'spiritual', but after having seen him speak and debate, I'm quite confident that he's using that term far differently than Deepak Chopra would in this context. There may very well be a level of consciousness or awareness that few if any can, have, or will be able to obtain. These events might be tied to the seemingly universal experiences that appear to cross both borders and faiths across the world and throughout time. However as a neuroscientist I'm pretty sure that Harris would agree that there is no reason to posit that this is at all a supernatural phenomena, merely just an aspect of consciousness that the emerging field of neuroscience has yet to adequately explain. As ever, I remain open to further evidence.