Can atheists be spiritual?

[EyeofOdin]

Friend satori,


Please understand that 'Atheism' is: according to wiki:


In such a sense personally am an atheist but am spiritual.
does it answer your question?

Love & rgds

Spirituality doesn't come from gods or ancestors, it comes from within. Gods and Spirits can help bring it out of you, but true, raw Spirituality is internal.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I think the key pattern here is connection. Spirituality, IMO, isn't about God or religion. It's about connection and balance.

I agree with you about spirituality as connection. The tricky question is: "what are we connecting with?"

 

[EyeofOdin]

I agree with you about spirituality as connection. The tricky question is: "what are we connecting with?"

That is an excellent question

I think a simple answer is The Universe, but that doesn't fully encompass spiritual connection. True, raw spirituality is so abstract. Even The Buddha was baffled at describing it, so how could we?

To make this connection easier to obtain, we anthropomorphize and personify energies and powers as Gods or Entities. Some of us find this silly, others find it necessary.

Reza Aslan said "If you believe that there is something beyond the material world, that there is something truly transcendent, then you need some kind of language to talk about it, to make sense of it. That's all that religion is. Anyone who says 'I believe in Christianity' or 'I believe in Islam' misses the point. Christianity and Islam are not things to believe. They are signposts to God. They are a means to an end, not and end in and of themselves."

You can use any Atheist or Agnostic path to find spirituality, enlightenment etc. Whether if it's simple Atheism or Reverent Agnosticism.

 

[zenzero]

Friend EyeOfOdin,

Reza Aslan said "If you believe that there is something beyond the material world, that there is something truly transcendent, then you need some kind of language to talk about it, to make sense of it. That's all that religion is. Anyone who says 'I believe in Christianity' or 'I believe in Islam' misses the point. Christianity and Islam are not things to believe. They are signposts to God. They are a means to an end, not and end in and of themselves."

Reza Aslan said well. Neither are they things to believe nor are they different in its objectiveness maybe in the method but spiritually all are the same a fact which most so called religious people do not agree that all enlightened people had similar experiences.

Sorry guess we are on Non-religious beliefs Dir and so the response is not in concurrence with the Dir. but if we speak of spirituality then no religions come into play which in in the right direction.

Love & rgds

 

[EyeofOdin]

Friend EyeOfOdin,


Reza Aslan said well. Neither are they things to believe nor are they different in its objectiveness maybe in the method but spiritually all are the same a fact which most so called religious people do not agree that all enlightened people had similar experiences.

Sorry guess we are on Non-religious beliefs Dir and so the response is not in concurrence with the Dir. but if we speak of spirituality then no religions come into play which in in the right direction.

Love & rgds

Just trying to make a point

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Yes. External gods are irrelevant to my path, as it is focused on internal transformation.

 

[Runewolf1973]

It's kinda funny. I am an atheist, an animist, and I even practice shamanic healing, but I would not describe myself as spiritual...at least not in the way that most people view it. What I believe and the basis of my shamanism would almost be more accurately described as ultra-physical. That means I both believe in and also interact with things which are physically existing, but exist beyond the normal scope of what most people would consider being physical. I believe in ghosts, but to me they are in some way physically or naturally existing beyond that which science is currently aware of. They are not "supernatural" or "spiritual" beings, they are ultra-physical and definitely not non-physical.


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[Saint Frankenstein]

It's kinda funny. I am an atheist, an animist, and I even practice shamanic healing, but I would not describe myself as spiritual...at least not in the way that most people view it. What I believe and the basis of my shamanism would almost be more accurately described as ultra-physical. That means I both believe in and also interact with things which are physically existing, but exist beyond the normal scope of what most people would consider being physical. I believe in ghosts, but to me they are in some way physically or naturally existing beyond that which science is currently aware of. They are not "supernatural" or "spiritual" beings, they are ultra-physical and definitely not non-physical.


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I'm an animist, too. I agree with a lot of what you say. Sounds like a form of monism, but with matter as the universal substance.

 

[momen]

What makes a person spiritual?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

It's kinda funny. I am an atheist, an animist, and I even practice shamanic healing, but I would not describe myself as spiritual...at least not in the way that most people view it. What I believe and the basis of my shamanism would almost be more accurately described as ultra-physical. That means I both believe in and also interact with things which are physically existing, but exist beyond the normal scope of what most people would consider being physical. I believe in ghosts, but to me they are in some way physically or naturally existing beyond that which science is currently aware of. They are not "supernatural" or "spiritual" beings, they are ultra-physical and definitely not non-physical.
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From most everything I've read about animists/shamanists, the ones I have known, and my own personal experience, animism and shamanism is utterly pragmatic, as you describe. The "spiritual" part has more to do with the individual and their own personal experience, and it doesn't happen to everybody. Or even a majority, perhaps.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

We must reclaim good words and put them to good use—and this is what I intend to do with “spiritual.” I have no quarrel with Hitch and Sagan’s general use of the word to mean something like “beauty or significance that provokes awe,” but I believe that we can also use it in a narrower and, indeed, more personally transformative sense.

In Defense of “Spiritual” : : Sam Harris

 

[Runewolf1973]

From most everything I've read about animists/shamanists, the ones I have known, and my own personal experience, animism and shamanism is utterly pragmatic, as you describe. The "spiritual" part has more to do with the individual and their own personal experience, and it doesn't happen to everybody. Or even a majority, perhaps.

This is true. :yes:

Thanks.

 

[zenzero]

Friend,

Atheism as have posted earlier is used for those who do not believe in a diety. There are millions on earth who do not and so are atheist.

Spirituality - Wiktionary - spirituality
Concern for that which is unseen and intangible, as opposed to physical or mundane.

Every one including animals [though study on plants is yet to be recorded due to our inability to understand their communication] the feelings of love or hate etc. is unseen, intangible and that is where spirituality comes in. Yes some take that to be to do with the spirit within others do not recognise it as such.

Love & rgds