Agnostic.com
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Just joined this group and so far you seem pretty abnormal, just the way I like people. My question is, What does an Atheist mean when he/she says "I'm not religious but I'm spiritual?" I used to say this but one day asked myself what I meant by that and I couldn't answer the question. Any takers?

SiouxcitySue 8 Mar 1
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I always associated "spiritual" as being a 1970's hippy. The kind of freedom to believe in the oneness of everything.
Today I am reading the book "Cosmo Sapiens - Human Evolution from the Origin of the Universe" by John Hands. He is explaining how everything is an outgrowth of the ever more complex molecules. From the Big Bang, (depending on the theory of the beginning of our universe you accept), through the development of the galaxies, stars, planets, biological beings to us.
So if you are looking for a different term than "spiritual" to express a feeling of universality or belonging it might be something describing that we are all made from the same stuff - the universe and us.

ArthurK Level 6 Mar 20, 2019
0

I mean feeling the energy of life the passions of poetry thrills of sunrise making love @ sunset grateful for approving glances and knowing just exactly where to rub sore spots healing a tired lover....the spirit of giving making us a larger sum together while 2 separate weights are a diminishing value

1

Great feedback. I am a confirmed atheist and have been for about 60 years. After reading your comments, I think that when I told myself that my atheism is diametrically opposed to saying I'm spiritual I lost some kind of awareness or appreciation of non-material experiences. So when I try to meditate I am unable to move into a deep state because maybe I'm resisting moving out of my 5-senses reality into a more virtual state of being. I'm not sure, but now I want to reclaim something I feel I've lost and I am beginning to define what I mean when I say I'm spiritual. Because of the common attributes associated with that word, I'm looking for a new word to describe the spiritual state of being of an atheist.

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If an atheist says that, then the first thing I would question is whether they are actually atheist! My view would be that they are more agnostic or even a new age theist if they believe in a higher power of some form.

stillsy Level 4 Mar 3, 2019
1

I've never been to a fortune teller and I don't read horoscopes but I'm a Pisces living by the ocean.🙂
There's no evidence to support spirits. I call something that moves me my own epiphany. I've had a couple that changed my life. Thoughts are influenced by how we perceive reality. A beautiful flower, the forest, and sunsets rippling over the ocean are just a few of my favourite things.

2

I used to say that also.. but when i heard others say it and learned about them, it usually seemed to translate to "i believe in woo and crystals and shit".
So i have discarded that description.

hippydog Level 8 Mar 2, 2019
4

I used it all the time. For me a "spiritual" moment is something that grabs your attention and is so overwhelmingly beautiful that it changes you, often in ways that you don't fully understand for days it months after it happens.

I had what I would call a spiritual moment back in June of 2018. A series of events happened that made me realize I should let go and just let things happen. Since that moment I have had some of the most intense and satisfying experiences of my entire life. I don't attribute the change to some supernatural being, I'm Agnostic and don't think that any god exists. However I can be moved by beauty that I see in the world. I can be deeply touched by things that people do. I can experience things which change my core beliefs. Those are the things I refer to when I say that I am spiritual.

Nukdookum Level 8 Mar 2, 2019

Very good answer! Mine would be the same except for the ‘I don’t think’ god exists part. All I can say honestly there is ‘ I don’t know’. But besides that point- you describe spiritual just as I would. I have had spiritual life changing events - but no burning bush. Again I must say that ‘I don’t know’ what they are, but there is no voice saying ‘ Hi I am God telling you this’. So - spiritual

@HeraTera I don't know either. I don't think a God exists, but it might.

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