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Not religious, but spiritual? Really?

Montesblues 5 July 23
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Can a Vulcan be spiritual? Maybe being too left brain oriented has as many challenges as being to right brain oriented Some people interpret all definitions as being strictly dictionary definitions and some people just feel what defines a word, they have an innate sense of what something means. Being spiritual doesn't have to mean something ghostly or angelic but if you can't feel that then it's going to be hard to explain it.

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I am often carried away by music or kindness or just a colour or a babys smile these moments feel special; and the word 'special' would do and I don't mind them being called spiritual because I can relate to some emotion that is more intense - moves me more - etheric might do the job too but I know that I need a word not commonly used for a feeling that is not commonly felt by me. like being overcome or weeping at artwork, music etc.

If anybody has a word that is more fitting and just as punchy I'll listen.

I think 'spiritual' 'being of the spirit 'is of 'my spirit' my own inner high point .

I don't care much what any one else thinks of my choice of word to explain only what is going on inside me rather than something for everybody.

jacpod Level 8 July 24, 2018
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Just as there are many forms of love, there are many forms of spirituality.

I personally use the word spiritual as a poetic intangible connection to my surroundings, random acts of kindness, the goodness of humanity, my reaction to good music, art, natural wonders and such. Hard to explain, but easy to feel. No religion required.

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The problem we may have here is that we're working with a limited vocabulary. When you only have one word for something, you're unlikely to have a nuanced conversation. For instance, when I gaze through my telescope at our 'neighbor' Andromeda, and consider that the photons touching my eye took 2.5 million years to reach me, or when I look at a nebula which resulted from a supernova, and realize that such explosions were necessary to provide the building blocks of life, I feel deeply and 'spiritually' connected to the universe. Until such time as a better word may arise, I have no problem using 'spiritual' to describe those moments of awe and wonder I have about the natural world.

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I've always taken "spiritual" to mean interested in contemplating the mysteries and perplexities of our human existence without going to a ready-made religion.
I don't have a problem with the word except, of course, everyone considers themselves "deep" so it ends up being devalued, overused and ultimately, empty.

Gareth Level 7 July 24, 2018
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I always chuckle when I hear that because it reminds me of a Daniel Tosh bit.

"...when people tell me 'I'm not religious, I'm spiritual' " I like to reply with "I'm not honest, but you're really interesting."

Spiritual is 99℅ of the unknowns. An atheist may call it just the unknowns.

I feel its awesome when ever I explore the spiritual unknowns outside of my circle and when I find something I desire. I work the problem then pull it in to manifest it into my ego self circle. Then my circle joins many other things I have mastered within my circle, the my circle expands further into the universe.

I find atheist have problems with imagination too. Often enough kinda of makes them lame

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Maybe being spiritual as an Atheist just means that one hasn't become so hopelessly jaded by the actions of the religious douchebags of the world that there is still hope in your heart for humanity, maybe?

Faith in humanity.

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Maybe trying to cram ourselves in a box to fit algorithms isn't going to please everybody. Do we need more boxes, or less labels, to satisfy the people who need to quantify everyone's beliefs down to a microcosm? In other words - if you can't understand everything about everybody, or relate to it, or make sense of it, maybe its because that's not possible, never will be possible, and you just need to accept that and try to survive that devastating truth.

@Athena Why do you need it defined? I have no obligation to define myself to random strangers on the internet. Maybe of all the prepackaged labels we were offered, that one sounded "closest" for the ones that selected it. How about asking the website that offered it as a selection to define it - they must have felt it was a legitimate option or they wouldn't have stuck it in there.

@Athena Many things in life don't make sense to a lot of people - but the burden of education should fall on those confused. I always felt that the internet is a good tool to educate yourself on things that don't make sense to you. But of course sneering at people who don't precisely define something in terms you personally prefer is much easier and helps you to feign superiority when in fact you are merely announcing the opposite. It must be hard to live in a world where you are colorblind and all these ridiculous people say they see colors but are too stupid to explain them to your satisfaction.

@Athena No really, keep sneering, its so attractive! I bet people just follow you around begging you to understand, don't they? As an example - If they're talking about being able to see your aura, Google Kirlian photography. Then perhaps you might realize such things exist, after all; whether or not they will ever be part of YOUR experience or understanding, they are indeed a part of some people's life.

@exilesky "the burden of education should fall on those confused"
I disagree - if someone uses a term the onus is on them to define or explain it in a comprehensible way. Otherwise it's just babble and ain't nobody got time for that.

@Athena
Then gas maybe your concrete answer.

For me Spiritual is just the unknowns, until it's manifest into our ego selves.

@Athena
Sarah Palin is so surreal. Don't use model Sarah as a spiritual sided person. We know about several kinds of maps toward this world and beyond. Science has limits like a branch on the tree of life. You want concrete evidence, stay in your box fixing those cracks , forget about unlimited imagaination and spiritual possibility.

@Gareth I grew up reading books, and I would often come across words and concepts I did not understand. I did not blame the author for not explaining everything to my satisfaction - I took it upon myself to research things I wanted to know about. I had to do it the hard way - with other books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, trips to the library.

The world has changed and with Google now at our command, ignorance is a CHOICE like never before.

Demanding other people explain themselves or else what they say is "babble" sounds like a cop-out to me. I used to be married to an IT nerd who would have other IT nerds over to the house. I knew the things they were talking about were real, and that I did not understand them, and I had a choice of educating myself or staying out of their conversation. I did not choose to sneer at them or demand they "dumb down" their conversation to MY level - I treated them with respect and left them to talk on THEIR level in peace. I accepted that they were different than me, and did not feel threatened by their advanced knowledge of a subject.

Again, I will state that the intolerance I have discovered here in the Agnostic community is something I was unprepared for, but I keep coming across it throughout these forums regardless of subject.

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Just struck me in political terms … ‘I’m not political,’ ‘I vote third party.’ Same concept?

Varn Level 8 July 23, 2018
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Look, look, now look... it's like being a vegan right...EXCEPT for the bacon sandwiches

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It's just a cop-out for people afraid to take the leap.

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I'm not buying that. I'm not religious and anti-supernaturalistic.

You know what I'm really into though? Essential oil enhanced crystals.

Spiritual but not religious that is the great confusion. A Religion has great contradiction and conflicts. Religion lives in the pass, not exploring the 99℅ spiritual unknowns, until it is known. Spiritual reaches for the stars with a source of good intentions as we all are connected to the Universe. Initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that takes issue with organized religion as the sole or most valuable means of furthering spiritual growth.
Spirituality has often been associated with the interior life of the individual. Placing an emphasis upon the well-being of the "mind-body-spirit"While religion refers to organizated Superstition. I have dreams with deadlines, as everything I have achieved in life and as well for the history of mankind was all once imaginated. Spiritual is the unknowns, science has limits, imagination and spiritual has not.

I wrote a thread here on imagination, this is the key to explore the spiritual unknowns and create achievements.

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