
Can atheists be spiritual? Yes, I surely think so.
My brother and I have been vocal atheistic agnostics since we quit going to Sunday school in our young teens. My brother is an avid mountaineer and I’ve seen his eyes fill with tears as he contemplates a high blue lake in the Rockies. He tells me he feels “profoundly connected” to Nature and all of creation.
My late father-in-law spoke the same way about the “beauty” of the links between different branches of mathematics. For example, proofs in geometry can be expressed in algebra, and vice versa.
I know that the spiritual practice of Taoism has no “god.” Instead, The Tao is translated into English as “The Way,” or sometimes “The Flow.” I use those two words in my own book, Continuing Creation, to name the interactions of all natural processes (including evolution) that produce and sustain our world.
A spiritual program consists of activities like contemplation, meditation, yoga, aerobics, learning, exploring, creative expression, building, healthy living, and sharing love.
– J.X. Mason. Look for me on the Web!
I’ve been a spiritual atheist (and a Taoist, too) for practically my entire life, so I know that this is possible! I am so pleased to find this website where I can explore additional ideas about this topic.
I recently published a paper on the psychological experience of spiritual awe, which my colleague Dan Laidler calls “hagioptasia” (holy vision). The paper is available at https://www.personal.psu.edu/~j5j/papers/Hagioptasia2020.pdf , and I can provide a copy of the final version as it appears in the journal Personality and Individual Differences to anyone who is interested.
John, I am delighted to hear that you like my website!
I have downloaded your paper on Hagioptasia and I expect to read it today or tomorrow.
You can email me here: jxmason@continuingcreation.org
Please “friend” me on Facebook as well.
And subscribe to my weekly Blog, per the link on https://www.continuingcreation.org
We should have many things to talk about going froward.
Yours — J.X. Mason