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The one thing we all have in common is that we don't buy into organized religion, however, is there something that you DO believe in or something you practice?

(I believe and practice Feng Shui)

Redcupcoffee 7 Sep 23
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2

actually not buying into organized religion isn't what makes an atheist. not believing there are any gods is what makes an atheist. not being sure, or something like that, makes an agnostic. organized religion may go out the window along with these beliefs but that's not the point, is it?

g

Atheist or anti-theist, it comes down to splitting frog's hairs as far as I'm concerned.

@Surfpirate oh no, there is a BIG difference, but it pales beside the difference between any person who is against organized religion and an actual atheist OR antitheist. even an antitheist's focus is on not believing in any gods. you can be against organized religion and still believe in a deity, even a personal deity. if you don't believe in a deity, it goes without saying you don't buy into organized religion, but it simply is NOT a given, the other way around.

g

1

I like to spend time meditating. I believe in energy work and would like to interested how it works better.

1

I believe in Bacchus.

6

I believe critical thinking is better overall than folk practices. But I don't think that's what you're asking. I suspect you are wondering if despite not buying into organized religion, I nevertheless buy into other ideologies or belief systems that are asserted without evidence.

And the answer is, no.

I suppose that if I saw some valid correlation between, e.g., Feng Shui and some empirically observable outcome like significantly greater health and well being, I would at least consider Feng Shui as a potential practice worth learning more about, even if I figured it highly likely that the causal connection between the two was coincidental and indirect.

And I have no problem with Feng Shui as a hobby that you just enjoy for its own sake without having particular beliefs concerning it. Or with religion as a hobby, for that matter. Honestly if more theists regarded religion as a hobby and didn't take it so damn seriously, I wouldn't object so much to it.

@Redcupcoffee For me if you're talking about energy other than metaphorically it would all come down to what sort of energy has actually been shown to effect people psychologically, and how that has been shown. On the other hand if you're just talking about what seems to subjectively facilitate not getting in one's own way and being more mindful, then I don't have an inherent problem with it.

For example, I am dipping my toes in the waters of yoga because I can readily see the value in improving things like balance and core strength. I see the woo explanations that sometimes go with yoga as just a way to frame one's understanding of the practice, not as literally true. Even the constant emphasis on the breath and the visualizations involved in controlling breath is to me just a way of framing how one goes about the poses and exercises in a consistent and thorough manner, not literally the direction of some actual life-force or something. Although it might help to imagine it that way, I don't take it literally. So if I were working from yoga videos that started going on much about chakras and otherwise carrying these metaphors too far, I'd probably become annoyed by that. But the good news of course is that I can adapt them any way I please so long as I get the desired benefits (in my case, not tripping over my own feet or feeling unstable moving through the world).

1

I believe ill have a snack...?

1
1

I think that Matt says it the best; "I want to believe in as many True things, and as few False things as possible." -Matt Dilahunty

I don't think that religion {the belief in a god} needs to be 'organized' to be a detriment to society and the family structure.

1

I guess I'm not very deep do video games count

1

I practice making babies, but only practice

@Redcupcoffee I only like to practice

1

Unless it is backed by hard, verifiable evidence, absolutely not. Exchanging one superstition for another is not at all attractive to me.

And after that, I believe I'll have a glass of wine.

1

I'm a big Boy Scout, went through the program from Cub Scout to Scout Leader and can't find anything wrong with the actual core philosophy but do take issue with the religious overtones and the pedophiles. Basically, do your best, help others whenever you can and be a decent person.
I also believe in integrity and it's something you either have or you don't, if you don't then you're basically the problem with this world.

1

I believe in coffee. I worship it for several hours every morning.
It is what keeps my moral compass pointing to True North.
Without it, I would probably kill people.

@Redcupcoffee Hot and strong, with ID Sweet Cream creamer. I won't drink it black, or cold. Ever.

1

I practice the bagpipes.
I believe they are quite loud.

1

I've never ate Feng Shui. No, wait. I have this wrong. I do play the harmonica. 🙂

@Redcupcoffee LOL. Yes but I don't play it as much as I used to. I can do the John Lennon harmonica part in "love Me Do." 🙂

1

I believe that prayer can be effective because it can change your thought patterns. If enough people do it, it can change a society. If you focus on a deity outside of your mind however, it becomes less effective. It can also do harm if done using negative thoughts no matter how you do it. Meditation is even more effective than prayer. If done together, many positive mental benefits can be obtained. You really don't need to believe in anything other than your own capacity for higher thought. You'd better believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster though he's obviously real, no offense to the Dudist out there, even though you are an abomination in the eyes of those of us who have felt the assuring touch of his noodly appendage. Arrgh.

1

Eastern philosophy is cool. As it is non theistic

3

I used to believe that those goddamned sea monkeys are real.

JimG Level 8 Sep 23, 2018

You mean they are not?

3

Logic

1

Karma (not the simplified sense of the universe doling out moral justice and making things fair, but a balance of cause and effect in the universe).

The concepts of buddhism and taoism in general, regarding balance, flow, resonance, the origins of suffering and the means of removing oneself from it.

Yoga and meditation work, and emotional tension absolutely gets stored as physical tension.

I believe in the religion of funk: everything is on the "1" ... You could read the lyrics of the P funk album One Nation Under a Groove and get a good idea of both my political leanings and the extent of my "spirituality."

And this is the least logically defensible item that I stand by less than anything else; it could be due to cosmic timing, being out of sync with the universe on some sort of quantum level or something that we later figure out, but Im forced to believe in luck, because mine is verifiably bullshit. I think if fairy tales existed, the conversation between my soul and the stork went something like this:

Stork: Ok we're almost done with the pickle shipment, hey you! blue eyes, youre up! Look kid, this batch of luck is faulty as fuck, I told em not to ship it with the cigars, but most of it's gettin burnt up in reentry. So heres the deal: you can either take a raincheck n I can make you the luckiest woman of color to have ever existed, or you can spend all your luck now and be a white guy, but youre gonna have to become a blues singer.

Beyonce butts in: gimme the first one!

Me: ok ill take the white guy i guess but where am i possibly gonna find the motivation to sing the blues convincingly?

Stork: oh don't worry bout it... Youll figure something out.

1

In general, the Four Agreements is good advice...

[toltecspirit.com]

The Four Agreements are:

  1. Be Impeccable with your Word
  2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
  3. Don’t Make Assumptions
  4. Always Do Your Best
camne Level 7 Sep 23, 2018
2

I believe and practice hard work to earn everything I have. I believe in opportunities and I believe I must prepare accordingly for the opportunities I want to pursue, which brings me back once again to hard work. Anyone can accomplish anything if it's willing to do the hard work.

4

I believe Crash Davis said it best:

"Well, I believe in the soul... the cock...the pussy... the small of a woman's back... the hangin' curveball... high fiber... good scotch... that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent overrated crap... I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a Constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. Goodnight."

Ozman Level 7 Sep 23, 2018

@Redcupcoffee It's awesome in how it upends so many expectations of a typical sports movie. It's sexy and philosophical in unexpected ways, and the characters here are drawn with real depth and wit. It puts crap like the utterly predictable Major League (released just months after B.D.) to shame. And while I don't hold with Crash Davis about Sontag or Oswald, at least he has a thought-out worldview. And he's not the only one here. Watch. This. Movie!! 🙂

@SonofMax Watched it many times...one of my favorites.

2

I believe that all consciousness is connected we just haven't evolved enough yet to get anywhere near understanding it or its potential (or otherwise)

Great response! I’m with you 100%.

4

I believe I'll have another cup of coffee

0

Meditation.

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