I have described my spirituality in a number of other threads, so I will just summarize. I believe there is more to us than our physical bodies, and more to the world than the material world. I cannot prove this, however, which is why I call it a belief. I like to think that some part of us continues after death, but that is as much wishful thinking as anything else. I consider myself more spiritual than religious in that I don't confine myself to one denomination or set of religious practice. I seek God where he may be found, and he is found in all of them, and outside of them. I was raised Catholic, but left that behind by the time I finished college. This was followed by a rather frustrating "dry spell" after which I found my way again on a new path. My primary affiliation is Pagan, but I also regularly participate in Christian worship, and occasionally in devotions and activities of my local Baha'i and Unitarian communities.
Coriolis wrote (all quotes are Coriolis followed by my response), (1) "...described my spirituality in a number of other threads...summarize."
I am agnostic Coriolis and am leaning toward atheism. I believe we are matter and energy. There is no scientific proof of a God. If I were to create a world the least I could do is have human beings utilize reason and think critically. This in lieu of blind spots, rationalization, denial, emotional reasoning and other cognitive fallacies.
(2) "...more to us than our physical bodies...more... the world than the material world." and "...part of us continues after death...wishful thinking... anything else."
I can't make the leap of faith that in this wide universe we are so special, that we would have a spiritual afterlife retaining our identities and being reunited with lost ones and finally to live for all eternity. I am not saying this is what you are implying. I have always respected you and along with that are your beliefs. I have a saying, "That what I Think, Feel and Believe passionately to be true may in fact be false."
Coriolis I have shifted my religious and spiritual views my entire life.
As I've posted in another thread I was saved at a Church of the Nazarene. I then attended Brentwood Baptist Church. This was in my early teens. I have been through a lot in life Coriolis. There was a phase where I did not like to use nouns such as God, Devil, Heaven, Hell, etc., because I thought it contaminated the data. For to me these nouns have become corrupted in their original meanings. I was content to say, "All I know is what is inside my head and that there is something above us all. This period of my life lasted a mere 1 year.
(3) "...consider myself... spiritual...religious..."
To me metaphorically the best representation of God is nature or our Mother Earth.
(4) "....don't confine myself to one denomination or set of religious practice." and "I seek God where he may be found, and he is found in all of them, and outside of them."
Here I am aligned. I've read all the religious texts of the worlds major religions. I incorporate the wisdom teachings of the ancients and secular quotations that appeal to my reason.
(5) "My primary affiliation is Pagan, but I also regularly participate in Christian worship, and occasionally in devotions and activities of my local Baha'i and Unitarian communities."
Though not pagan per se I am existentialist and humanist and have always found the features of any religion which holds respect for animals and nature whether Wicca, Native American, Shinto, and the Hindu's reverence for life.
