No longer Spiritual

Spiritual Leo

Spiritual Leo

On Holiday
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
Thinker
For the past three years, I have been questioning the existence of God. I really was agnostic, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. However, a few months back, I couldn't bring myself to believe in somthing that I cannot see. About 4 month ago, I came out and told everyone that I was an atheist.

Has anyone on here ever had an experience similar to this?

It was so hard for me to let go of my faith, but once I did, I felt at peace.

I still feel just as connected to the world, I just don't label is Spiritual anymore
 
And the next step for me was discovering Buddhism which defies all the dogmatic teachings of the Christian faiths ("do this because everyone before you did"). :mblow:
 
I have discovered buddhism and I enjoy reading about the religion, itself. In my Philosophy of Religion class, last year, I read about all religions... Taoism was my favorite, but buddhism claims that our energy goes back to where it came from. Yes, energy may go back to where it comes from, but this is not a form of conscious afterlife.

I do believe that we are atomically connected to the universe and biologically connected to eachother, so we are all in touch, but it seems highly improbable for there to be afterlife. After struggling for years with this, I have come to the conclusion: It is highly improbable, but there is absolutely no way to prove that there isn't, so there could be.

I literally went back and forward trying to keep my faith and you can even notice it in my posts. From when I first joined this forum to the current moment.

I start out not believing in Christianity, but believing in Deism(Spirituality) Then it eventually leads up to atheism
 
I've gone from theism to atheism back to theism again. May you keep searching, keep growing, and find your way.
 
GracieRuth said:
I've gone from theism to atheism back to theism again. May you keep searching, keep growing, and find your way.
Click to expand...

For right now, I am almost certain that I am not going back to theism, but I have said that to myself a couple times before. There is a big difference from the current moment and the past: Before I did anything to keep my faith. . . now that it's gone, I almost don't want it back.

Reality is beautiful enough and if there is afterlife, then that is just a bonus.
 
Spiritual Leo said:
I do believe that we are atomically connected to the universe and biologically connected to eachother, so we are all in touch, but it seems highly improbable for there to be afterlife. After struggling for years with this, I have come to the conclusion: It is highly improbable, but there is absolutely no way to prove that there isn't, so there could be.
Click to expand...

I have a similar view... with regards to feeling and knowing that everything is intrinsically connected, but not really feeling or understanding on any rational level that there is a link from that to any concept of an "afterlife".

It makes so much sense to me that everything is connected... physics tells us this on a fundamental level... but it also seems obvious to me when looking at and experiencing the natural world when I'm not thinking about physics at all.

My father is quite religious, he is not aggressive about it but he believes in a higher power... he couldn't be a freemason if he didn't. My mother is not religious now, I think she was at some point. All in all I have been very fortunate to grow up in an environment where I've been fairly free to make up my own mind and have been allowed to have deep and frank challenging discussions about spirituality and religion with both parents and those around me... after all, in some countries the mere discussion of anything outside the accepted religion means death!

I think it's great that you're thinking about different view points... silly quotes can be silly, but I like the one that goes "The mind is like a parachute, it only works if it's open!"... keep thinking and looking at different view points, that's got to be a good thing right?
 
Last edited:
Sebastian said:
I have a similar view... with regards to feeling and knowing that everything is intrinsically connected, but not really feeling or understanding on any rational level that there is a link from that to any concept of an "afterlife".

It makes so much sense to me that everything is connected... physics tells us this on a fundamental level... but it also seems obvious to me when looking at and experiencing the natural world when I'm not thinking about physics at all.

My father is quite religious, he is not aggressive about it but he believes in a higher power... he couldn't be a freemason if he didn't. My mother is not religious now, I think she was at some point. All in all I have been very fortunate to grow up in an environment where I've been fairly free to make up my own mind and have been allowed to have deep and frank challenging discussions about spirituality and religion with both parents and those around me... after all, in some countries the mere discussion of anything outside the accepted religion means death!

I think it's great that you're thinking about different view points... silly quotes can be silly, but I like the one that goes "The mind is like a parachute, it only works if it's open!"... keep thinking and looking at different view points, that's got to be a good thing right?
Click to expand...

Yes! Hahahaha, I really enjoyed reading this! Your right though, I will keep an open mind.

We are all connected at an atomic level to the universe, at a biological level to eachother, and at a chemical level to the world, since the universe generated us on this planet. That is reality and reality is beautiful because we all a part of the universe and the universe is a part of us...
 
invisible said:
you may rediscover your spirituality in a different, non-religious way.
Click to expand...

I have- All of my spiritual feelings stayed with me... I feel very connected, I just don't believe it is a higher power giving me these feelings. I know that it is the beauty of life giving me these feelings
 
Once the spiritual path has been walked down a ways, there gets to be a point of no return - no return to the ways of either theism or atheism, but something beyond the two. The question progresses past "Is there a god - yes or no?". It reaches a deeper level and, for me at least, syncs up with what is actually around us - it must be what is around us as opposed to what comes after death or before our birth only. All of it must be reflective of some sort of concept... if that's the right word, which it probably isn't.

Most theists I've seen follow it unquestioningly, as do most athiests. You've been in both, and can see it from both sides I take it. That's quite a breadth of understanding. It's open and honest, which is something I value tremendously in any "spiritual seeking". Only you can find out for yourself. Turning it over to someone else, be it religion or following something irreligious, just closes one's own eyes. It's where philosophy and spirituality merge. One issue I take with buddhism and existentialism is adhering to whatever past thinkers have thought. It's something that every individual has to come to an understanding with by themselves - within themselves.

I'd think that becoming less spiritual is becoming more spiritual in itself. It's a reconciling with what one believes and sees.

I'd imagine you'll shift and change more, and gain even more understanding. Shifting between comfort and discomfort with it... but ever growing and more greatly understanding yourself and your relation to the universe. So what would you say, out of curiosity, about what it's about that we're all here? And what the big issues are? And how is everything going on a universal scale? Vague questions, I suppose. Their context goes with wherever one is at spiritually. I'm curious though. Do tell!
 
DrShephard;537978]Once the spiritual path has been walked down a ways, there gets to be a point of no return - no return to the ways of either theism or atheism, but something beyond the two. The question progresses past "Is there a god - yes or no?". It reaches a deeper level and, for me at least, syncs up with what is actually around us - it must be what is around us as opposed to what comes after death or before our birth only. All of it must be reflective of some sort of concept... if that's the right word, which it probably isn't.

Most theists I've seen follow it unquestioningly, as do most athiests. You've been in both, and can see it from both sides I take it. That's quite a breadth of understanding. It's open and honest, which is something I value tremendously in any "spiritual seeking". Only you can find out for yourself. Turning it over to someone else, be it religion or following something irreligious, just closes one's own eyes. It's where philosophy and spirituality merge. One issue I take with buddhism and existentialism is adhering to whatever past thinkers have thought. It's something that every individual has to come to an understanding with by themselves - within themselves.

I'd think that becoming less spiritual is becoming more spiritual in itself. It's a reconciling with what one believes and sees.
Click to expand...
Ahh Jeeze, you have to trust the Doctor. I agree with everything that you said and I will defintely make another post about the details of Why and How I converted; along with the details of how I feel connected to the Universe.

I did mention some things in this post, just run through the comments and you'll find some interesting ideas.

The greatest part about being more open with myself is being accepted and respected for my ideas. Recently, a lot of people have just told me that I need to be saved and that I am lost on my spiritual path-- I think it's the other way around.

Take Care and I appreciate the kind comment
 
Spiritual Leo said:
For the past three years, I have been questioning the existence of God. I really was agnostic, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. However, a few months back, I couldn't bring myself to believe in somthing that I cannot see.
Click to expand...

Scientifically, we cannot prove the existence of God. But, scientifically, we cannot disprove His existence. So, using the methods of science (in the case of the OP, observing) and acknowledging its epistemological limitations, one must be agnostic. That is, the question is unanswered. You cannot observe the absence of God anymore than you can observe His existence. Therefore, because you cannot know God scientifically, atheists rely on faith as much as believers do. Thus, relying solely on scientific methods (i.e., seeing), one must be agnostic.
 
I did for a modicum amount of time. Buddhist > Christian > meh (I consider this a bit agnostic/atheist) > Unitarian Universalist

All I can say is good for you. What is good for anyone may not be good to you. May your understanding go deeper, and your awareness spread wider. May you don't lose your future, nor throws your past, nor waste your present.

All in all, that alone is good enough for this thing we called life.
 
I was a Christian for 10 years. I went to church every Sunday, paid my tithes, I even had a vision of Jesus himself. But one day I was sat in church after many years of hearing many Pastors speak about the same thing, reality suddenly dawned on me, it was like a wake up call a sort of really strong feeling of WTF. I thought to myself " what the hell am I doing sitting amongst these drones,these sheep,listening to a man, who claims to have spoken to God the night before, who in fact is a complete hypocrite, he rolls scripture from his silver forked tongue and expects everyone to do as he says."

I looked around and in a moment of clarity, the whole thing just dawned on me and I thought " This is all complete bullshit, how can God not intervene and stop all this ridiculous mashing up of his word?"

So, that's when I decided to search for another path to the creator, one that wasn't filled with " Where is your offering? " or " Would you help paint the church,as I'm too fucking tight to get professionals in and I want free labour ". That's when I started to be drawn into the old religion and it started to make sense to me and speak to me on so many levels.

I believe in a creator, some kind of supernatural entity that can create universes, but I also believe in science, science does not invalidate my belief system it only goes to strengthen it.
 
crisis of faith. .
everyone goes through it. . I left the church once. . for 20 years. . it lost it's meaning to me. . I continued to be a spiritual perosn, but not a religous one. . see, ther's a difference. . I belived in theuniverse. . the connectedness of everythig. . everyone. . explored alternative thought. . alternative spritual practice, and continue to do so.,,but I came back to God as rational, thought laden process. .
you may or may not. .
just remember, God never leaves you. . He belives in you , whether you believe in Him or not. .
 
I honestly do not understand religious people. My parents used to make me go to church with them when I was younger, and it never caught on with me. The time I became old enough to question these things was the same time I stopped going. I never got any satisfactory answers to the questions I asked them and myself. I simply cannot believe in something so blindly. In typical Ni fashion, I considered the perspectives of other religions, noted how they all claimed to be the path to truth and wisdom, and realized their claims were based on nothing but feelings.
 
I don't believe in one reality or one spirituality or interpretation of it for everyone. One can only find an external reality within their mind, and spirituality is the same. One can only determine what has most validity for themselves, using their own lens or interpretation system.
 
I think as beings who are self aware, we tend to think " Well I am a life form, I am the most intelligent life form on this planet, but the Universe is amazingly vast, surely there must be a life-form who is more intelligent or a life form so superior to me, it can create a universe."

I don't know, I often get a sense that there is some kind of creator, I always have had a sense of a creator since I was a child. I do not and cannot believe in YAWEH as a creator or at least the bible's interpretation of him?? But that is to say I do not believe in an omnipotent being. I guess we will never know until we die, if there is I cannot understand why he would not let us know he is here, instead of being so mysterious and vague.

I don't know, I genuinely don't know.
 
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how one can stop being 'spiritual'.
Religious yes, but spiritual as in 'sense of self and identity'? No. Unless you're brain dead and even then there are still discoveries yet to be made.
I'm what you would call a Theistic Evolutionist/Christian, any one that knows my past knows that the belief I hold now would be considered complete and utter blasphemy to the group In which was born into (the dutch reformed, similar to the exclusive brethren). However, I am a firm believer that before making a decision about you have to hear both sides of the argument. You have to look at the bigger picture. My views are ever evolving as I am growing and learning and frankly I've come to the point where I don't care whether or not thats good enough for others because the life we live is our own and its personal to each and every one of us. If we some of us happen to be wrong at the end of the day, then thats for us to deal with individually.

And Spiritual Leo, I haven't forgotten about the questions you asked me in a previous thread. I'm still thinking and looking into it.
 
Matariki said:
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how one can stop being 'spiritual'.
Religious yes, but spiritual as in 'sense of self and identity'? No. Unless you're brain dead and even then there are still discoveries yet to be made.
I'm what you would call a Theistic Evolutionist/Christian, any one that knows my past knows that the belief I hold now would be considered complete and utter blasphemy to the group In which was born into (the dutch reformed, similar to the exclusive brethren). However, I am a firm believer that before making a decision about you have to hear both sides of the argument. You have to look at the bigger picture. My views are ever evolving as I am growing and learning and frankly I've come to the point where I don't care whether or not thats good enough for others because the life we live is our own and its personal to each and every one of us. If we some of us happen to be wrong at the end of the day, then thats for us to deal with individually.

And Spiritual Leo, I haven't forgotten about the questions you asked me in a previous thread. I'm still thinking and looking into it.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right and I defintely found a new spirituality; a new connection that brings me the same feelings of peace as before. Those questions are really hard to answer and the main reason I ask them is simply because I have yet to find the answers myself. If there is anyway of knowing, I would love to learn it, but I believe that for the majority of my life I will search for the answers and never find them.

I just wanted you to know that you honestly made some really good points which helped me get a better understanding of myself and the subject

Thanks :)

Take Care
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top