Atheists, although you are not religious, do you find any value in spirituality or mysticism?

Question

I don't believe in God, but I do (through research and experience) believe in things such as astrology, reiki, psychic ability and mystical experience.

It seems that the universe is a marvelously complex place and things happen here that do not fall easily into scientific understanding. I think many people put what they can't explain under the heading "GOD" and leave it at that. This is obviously a silly, mind-closing thing to do.

In my experience though, there actually seems to be some value in areas such as the ones mentioned above (astrology, etc). But those areas are taboo in the scientific establishment, because they can't be adequately proven, or explored with the scientific method.

It just seems to me that as people are shunning religion and turning to science, they are leaving behind a wealth of knowledge which just may be useful and valuable to personal development. Throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.

I have encountered many things in my life (and i'm relatively young) which science can't explain, or if science CAN explain it, comes off sounding half-assed.

I mean, how many times can you use the 'it was a hallucination" or "just a coincedence" excuse? Science deals with the objective reality, life is subjective. Science can't explain why my astrological chart explains me to a tee, or why people become telepathic on LSD, or why reiki can cure a migraine.

It would seem to me that there are levels of life and reality which science can't reach, so it denounces them.

Ken E - If you set out to disprove, with a scientific or evaluative method, something that is obviously non-scientific and subjective, you are going to succeed.

There have also been surveys done with significant results, proving astrology works. The only difference seems to be that the surveyors who set out to prove it, prove it, and those who set out to disprove it, disprove it.

And as for "There is no personal development to be gained from this garbage, only personal ridicule and self deception", it is obvious you are speaking from a viewpoint with no experience in these matters. Frankly its insulting that you would speak with such arrogance about something you know nothing about.

Answer 1

I am atheist, and practice Buddhism daily. I have found that the principles of Buddhism are beneficial to myself and others. Buddha encouraged people to test out ideas and teachings, through experience, to see if they really worked.

Answer 2

That baby has been dead for a long time and needed to be chucked out along with the dirty water. Astrology is ancient nonsense. Spirituality is due to a condition of mind which may be taught, inherited or induced. In most cases it is self-deception.

As it happens, an extensive survey was done on astrology in the late 1970s in France. The birth dates and birth localities of hundreds of well know people (not celebrities) were used to have standard horoscopes cast by "serious" astrologers. These horoscopes were then compared with the known careers of these people. There was no connection except for one thing. Those who went into science had a very weak connection with Saturn. The correlation was just above that expected from random events, and still could have been random in fact. That was all.

There is no personal development to be gained from this garbage, only personal ridicule and self deception.

I will admit that some people appear to have had peculiar abilities, these people are so rare that perhaps only three are well known over the past 200 years, they are Rasputin, Daniel Dunglas Home and once in a while Edgar Cayce, though it seems he was always wrong when he tried to predict the future. Some of his other feats though seem to be inexplicable if they have been accurately recorded.

The great problem is that those who seem to believe in some of the feats of these three often also believe in a swag of garbage too. Ghosts, demons, angels spiritualism and all the rest of the twaddle. It seems that many people can't accept the apparent reality of some things without swallowing the whole caboodle of superstitious piffle. That is why scientific and skeptical people will not touch it. When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

Answer 3

You are asking a marvelous question... but not only with regard to atheists, but with regard to religious people as well.

Since all Religions started on a Genuinely Spiritual Base... but over time they degenerate to what we see today.

Very interesting question.

Answer 4

Many atheists are spiritual, mainly eastern atheists who practice Buddhism; however I am a materialist.

Answer 5

Funny that you should say people are shunning religion and turning to science. Many of the most learned scientists are actually beginning to believe that all this "stuff" was created by some being of higher power.

Albert Einstein, shortly before his death, said that the more he learns about science and the world, the more he believes that one God or one Creator made it all for our discovery. And even he was a professed atheist.

Answer 6

Some atheists are as closed minded as fundamentalists. Tis sad.

Answer 7

I'm into music, I like to play guitar.

Answer 8

I am the total Atheist. I believe in no religion, no spiritual crap, no belief in the idea we have a soul, I don't believe in ghosts, or spirits or the supernatural. We are born, we live, and we die. That's it.

Answer 9

No, anything supernatural seems silly and absurd.

Scientific explanations of natural phenomena, on the other hand, tend to be elegant, wonderous and satisfying to my curiosity.

Answer 10

No, in fact I detest post-modernism.

I much prefer science. It fulfills me in knowing.

Einstein said no such thing. He made it clear his use of the word "god" was figurative, meaning his wonderment of the universe.