Spirituality and atheism

[Whateverist]

I fail to see how using imprecise language will help to understand anything.

I think you probably are not a big fan of sitting for hours trying to turn off your conscious ego and connect to the universe, either. And yet this is an activity that people engage in, and since it results in an experience that is far removed from our normal perception of our physical surroundings, they call it a "spiritual" experience. I don't see why it's a big deal. People like to play with the mind in ways that have no useful impact on their ability to build bridges or to keep a car safely on the road or whatever, and they use the word "spiritual" to describe that mental play. Just like a person doing LSD isn't literally on a trip, but his experiences can be somewhat poetically described as a "trip."

I'm trying to understand why you think the one is related to the other. What I'm not a big fan of is getting lost in language. Words matter so they are best avoided unless there is something to to say and someone to say it to.

I actually happen to be a big proponent of exploring consciousness and have been down more than a few avenues. One thing that has a huge impact on how you experience your consciousness is language. Do you know that some people actually totally identify "thinking" with "discursive thinking"? If you practice mindful observation you notice that everything can be noted without any of it being narrated. Narrating experience is a trap that constrains consciousness in a big way.

Language is a kind of filter which reduces the band width on what you experience. It has its utility of course for what we're doing right now - communication. But inside your own head when you aren't communicating to anyone, there is no reason to reduce the bandwidth. Nothing is gained but much is lost, and it becomes habitual.

So words matter and no words is better. Using words loosely serves no purpose at all. It doesn't communicate and there is no other reason to engage in them. Our ancient mammalian minds do not require them. Language is the new kid on the block. Don't let it take over.