I'm Ari, and I'd like to check y'alls party out. Sorry if this intro will sound a bit scattered, but I have a lot of ideas that I'd like to get on paper
I came to a 'loose conclusion' a couple years ago that the greatest truth (or sense of the fundamental nature of the universe) a human being can encounter does not pertain to deity as most of us know it. I was raised in a non-religious household, mother being non-practicing jewish and father a strict atheist, so there was no tension or emotion around discussions of god or any of its antitheses. Leading up to my late teens this was all well and good, until an experience with ecstasy left me questioning whether or not I had a soul. The idea that such an intense feeling of 'love' could be manufactured so easily was an upsetting thought, and I set out to discover the many ways people are able to get in touch with the 'divine'. This included, in rather direct fashion, heartache/break, buddhist chanting, reiki classes, wicca dabbling, psychic classes, even a few temple and easter services through the 20's. Now in my 30's, I've come away with a fondness still for astrology and tarot cards, but I am aware of a liberating and fundamental fact: This is all there is. And it's amazing.
Is it possible to reach atheism through spiritual experience? I believe so, as long as we still use the word 'spiritual' to encompass the experiences I (and certainly others) have had that do not fit the traditional atheist model. I hope to detail on this later. In the future, as some other thinkers have already pointed out, the words 'god,' 'spirituality,' ...and possibly even 'evil' will become irrelevant in the future. Simply the scaffolding for a greater expression of our evolution in the universe.
Anyhow, I hope to learn and share with everyone.
I came to a 'loose conclusion' a couple years ago that the greatest truth (or sense of the fundamental nature of the universe) a human being can encounter does not pertain to deity as most of us know it. I was raised in a non-religious household, mother being non-practicing jewish and father a strict atheist, so there was no tension or emotion around discussions of god or any of its antitheses. Leading up to my late teens this was all well and good, until an experience with ecstasy left me questioning whether or not I had a soul. The idea that such an intense feeling of 'love' could be manufactured so easily was an upsetting thought, and I set out to discover the many ways people are able to get in touch with the 'divine'. This included, in rather direct fashion, heartache/break, buddhist chanting, reiki classes, wicca dabbling, psychic classes, even a few temple and easter services through the 20's. Now in my 30's, I've come away with a fondness still for astrology and tarot cards, but I am aware of a liberating and fundamental fact: This is all there is. And it's amazing.
Is it possible to reach atheism through spiritual experience? I believe so, as long as we still use the word 'spiritual' to encompass the experiences I (and certainly others) have had that do not fit the traditional atheist model. I hope to detail on this later. In the future, as some other thinkers have already pointed out, the words 'god,' 'spirituality,' ...and possibly even 'evil' will become irrelevant in the future. Simply the scaffolding for a greater expression of our evolution in the universe.
Anyhow, I hope to learn and share with everyone.
