Some people talk of “team spirit” or “community spirit”, but that’s not really the same thing.

Whenever I hear someone use it I try to clarify exactly what they mean before responding.

Posted: August 31st 2010

See all questions answered by Eshu

If you want to read about one skeptic’s take on spiritualism, you might check out Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson. (The misleading subtitle is “Final Secret of the Illuminati”, which sounds really awful and suspicious, but it’s really just a ham-handed reference to a novel he wrote. The book deals with conspiracy theories on a level with religious belief.) It’s hard to say whether Wilson is an atheist or not, but I think it’s fair to say that he’s a radical skeptic (going so far as to doubt such things as our ability to understand reality).

The book is largely/mainly about how the popular construction of reality is flawed, how it’s easy to break. To demonstrate this (supposed) fragility, Wilson undertook a series of personal experiments where he “believed in” various gods and spirits. If I recall correctly, he found himself having conversations with Isis (the Egyptian goddess), despite “knowing” on some level that there is no Isis.

Now, I can’t stand behind everything in the book, but it’s an excellent example of how you don’t have to actually believe in anything paranormal in order to have the kinds of experiences most people call spiritual.

Posted: August 27th 2010

See all questions answered by George Locke

'Spiritual’ is a weaselly word, much beloved of people who are trying to sneak in the entirely unsubstantiated idea that there is more to life and the universe than will ever be able to be accounted for in material, naturalistic terms.

It seems to be used in two main ways.

When someone talks of being 'spiritual but not religious’ it normally means they don’t follow a religion as such but cling to the idea that there’s a higher power of some kind, or something mystical about the universe. I would suggest that being spiritual, in this sense, is as irrational as being religious, since neither position has any evidence to support it.

There is another use of the word which isn’t of itself irrational, but which is unhelpful and unnecessary, because it is too often used – either by the speaker or the listener, or both – to sneak mysticism in by the back door. This is when people talk of 'spiritual well-being’. I have not encountered a non-religious use of that term that would not have been rendered better as 'emotional and psychological well-being’, a much more neutral and rational idea and one which clearly does not require religion or any other form of mysticism.

Posted: August 27th 2010

See all questions answered by Paula Kirby

Spiritual often has a connotation that it is a state which is superior to the non-spiritual, that just being grounded in reality is never enough, in fact, it is selfish. Spiritual is a way of saying I am not really just worm food, I am special, I am good, I am not just thinking of myself, I have a greater grasp of what life means, etc. It is essentially patting ourselves on the back, letting ourselves know that it is all right to exist, that we are giving back as much as we are taking.

Spirituality comes in both religious and secular flavors. I am a deconverted spiritual atheist myself. I gave it up because it is entirely unnecessary to court in order to be at peace with oneself, and it often clouded my objective judgment. My appreciation of simplicity is one of the reasons why I never was lured by god belief, and it also is why secular spirituality never really did anything for me. Both kinds clumsily attempt to solve non-existent problems.

Posted: August 27th 2010

See all questions answered by logicel

“Spiritual” is a poorly defined word. It can mean whatever you want it to mean, which makes it rather useless.

Some people use it to define their own sort-of religion they’ve pieced together from other beliefs. Others use it to define an imagined connection between themselves and other living things. Quite a few people use it to explain a sense of awe with the world.

I avoid the word because of its fuzzy meanings and religious connotations. I’m not at all spiritual. Yet, I am in awe, every day, of so many things I observe and experience. The interaction between friends, and strangers, the beauty of flower or a weed, the taste of fresh sweet corn, the size of the universe, the touch of a lover, the experience of a fine cigar, the affection of a loyal dog, the thrill of making a perfect meal, the joy of a finely crafted sentence, the emotions evoked by music of all sorts, the inspiration of a painting, the brutal honesty of children, the humor all around us – it’s a very, very long list.

I am often in awe and would never diminish the emotion by calling it something as lame as “spiritual.”

Posted: August 27th 2010

See all questions answered by Dave Hitt