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Originally Posted by jammies
Spiritual implies the spirit, which implies dualism, which is where I think it becomes a sharp divider between those that accept that there is only a natural world which - in theory - is completely understandable, and those who think that there are "mysteries" forever beyond us. It does describe something that doesn't exist, but much in the same way that if I say "unicorn", you know what I'm talking about, "spirituality" is a useful concept.
I think the great attraction of the word and concept is that it empowers all kinds of experiential "evidence" that supports just about any world-view; once you believe that the spirit exists apart from the body, in a realm inaccessible to the senses, any reality you construct is as equally plausible as it is unprovable. If you claim you are "spiritual" or that you admire "spiritual" people, then, it tells me that you are fundamentally at odds with how I perceive the world.
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That's not really what I have in mind though when I think of a spiritual experience. I'm not a dualist, and I don't say spiritualism to explain any kind of experiential evidence; I think everything I've experienced is completely natural and driven by emotion and such.
That's why I said I don't like the word spiritual, but I can't think of a different word. But still the sense of awe, connection, etc to the universe and other life. I don't think that's supernatural.
Refer to how Einstein described his spirituality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
or think of "God" as another name for nature are redefining the word "God" into something it is not.
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That's exactly what I'm saying... which is why the long posts rather than just saying "The universe is God". I don't think the universe IS God, but the emotional and mental experiences commonly associated with spirituality can be experienced with respect to the universe and how it works.
There's no words for it so I have to co-opt existing words and modify them a bit to express my thoughts..