Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
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.
|
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were a dualist - I was merely trying to get at why I don't mind the word because it clearly illuminates the assumptions of thought embedded in the language.
Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
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..
|
That is a good point, and to reiterate - the words we have for such emotions and thoughts came forth from the deep waters of religion, so it is hard to avoid sounding religious when speaking of such things regardless of intent.