Naturalistic Paganism
The Centrality of Emotion, Part 2: An Ancient Approach to Modern Science
“The Thinker in The Gates of Hell” at the Musée Rodin
How can we bring our emotions into right relationship with reality?
This is a key question today, not only for Naturalistic Pagans, but also Secular Buddhists, Humanistic Jews, and other naturalists. Since we hold science in high esteem, a natural place to begin is academia. However, ask this question to nearly any modern scientist or philosopher, and you won’t get a very coherent response.
Emotion is largely peripheral to modern higher learning. As we saw in Part 1, however, it was central to ancient philosophy. At the same time, ancient philosophy suffers from one major flaw: its theories are rooted in outdated models of the mind and world.
It seems the ancient and modern worlds each hold different parts of the puzzle. So the question becomes: how can we discover a path that makes emotion genuinely central, but which is also rooted in today’s best scientific evidence? Read More
“The Centrality of Emotion, Part 1: What Ancient Philosophy Offers Modern Naturalists” by B. T. Newberg
“The Scream of Nature” by Edvard Munch
Emotion is central. As much as we naturalists embrace objective science, the reason we do so is for the sake of the subjective. If it were not for the emotional response to nature, community, and the depths of our own minds – in short, the re-enchantment of our world – there would be little point to Naturalistic Paganism at all.
This is something I’ve realized as I’ve been working to create an online educational course for the Spiritual Naturalist Society. In order to make it applicable to all paths of Spiritual Naturalism, not just Pagan ones, I’ve had to drill down into the core of what we do. What I’ve discovered is that emotion is central, but a principled approach to cultivating it is hardly to be found in the science we so cherish. Rather, we must return to ancient philosophy for a model. Part 1 of this article explores this issue, while Part 2 attempts to integrate ancient philosophy and modern science. Read More
Exploring Spiritual Naturalism, Year 1: An Anthology of Articles from the Spiritual Naturalist Society is available for sale!
From SNS’s press release:
Spirituality Without the Supernatural? New Book Offers Bold Vision
Exploring Spiritual Naturalism, Year 1: An Anthology of Articles from the Spiritual Naturalist Society
“We are talking about a full and rich spiritual practice inspired by the wisdom from a variety of traditions, philosophies, and religions, as well as a respect for the natural universe as revealed by science.”
For most, the term ‘spirituality’ evokes the supernatural, such as the afterlife, God, prayer, and so on. But some who aren’t believers in those things are, nonetheless, taking spiritual practices head on. A new book gives a sweeping panorama of what practitioners call Spiritual Naturalism. “Exploring Spiritual Naturalism, Year 1 is an anthology of articles from the first year of the Spiritual Naturalist Society (http://www.spiritualnaturalistsociety.org) and is available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online.
While many might call them atheists, the organization’s executive director, Daniel Strain, says, “I think you’ll find that most Spiritual Naturalists aren’t like the atheists commonly found in the media and encountered in online forums. Our aim is to be compassionate, mindful, and humble. Our practice involves cultivating these qualities in ourselves.”
But how can there be a spirituality without, well… spirits? Strain explains, “The root of spirituality comes from the Latin ‘spiritus’ which meant wind or breath – the essence of something, so it’s actually a much broader term. It’s like calling all tissue Kleenex or referring to all soft drinks as Coke. The supernatural religions are simply the dominant brand.”
There are still leftover artifacts of that broader meaning in our language today, Strain points out. For example, we still talk about ‘school spirit’ or ‘the spirit of the law’ without meaning anything supernatural. “Therefore, the spirit of a thing is the essence of a thing. For us, spirituality is about the essential things in life, as opposed to the mundane or profane.”
If you believe in God and salvation, then those will be what you find to be ‘the essential’ things. But what about these Spiritual Naturalists? The organization, now in its second year, wanted to make clear they are talking about something much deeper than merely atheists meditating.” Strain says, “We are talking about a full and rich spiritual practice inspired by the wisdom from a variety of traditions, philosophies, and religions, as well as a respect for the natural universe as revealed by science. Naturalistic practices like these have existed in the past, such as with the Stoics who were materialists, and even some schools of Buddhism, as the Buddha specifically discouraged speculation about the supernatural and things beyond our experience, in favor of a more practical approach that sought to address suffering here and now. We want to reunite the natural universe and that sense of the sacred.”
There have been seminal works in religious and spiritual naturalism before, but the Society’s book takes the next steps in applied naturalistic spirituality. Arranged by theme, its articles address how science fits in, advice on practice and ritual, handling tough times, applied issues, and their take on a variety of religions and philosophies. Rather than talk about what not to believe in, Exploring Spiritual Naturalism describes comprehensive life paths for flourishing. As Strain puts it, “These practices are nothing less than a path to freedom from fear and the bonds of circumstance as a condition for happiness.”
Readers can get the book at these links:
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Spiritual-Naturalism-Year-Naturalist/dp/1304435164
Barnesandnoble.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exploring-spiritual-naturalism-year-1-dt-strain/1119998359
Call for Essays: “Life and Death”
“Death and the Maiden” by PJ Lynch
Our new semi-seasonal theme begins with the fall equinox, September 23. Our early fall theme will be “Life and Death”. What does “life” mean to Naturalistic Pagans? And what role does an awareness of death play in our spirituality as Naturalistic Pagans? Send your submissions to humanisticpaganism [at] gmail [dot] com by September 23.
Starstuff, Contemplating: “Letters of Love in our DNA” by Jon Cleland Host
We are assemblages of ancient atoms forged in stars – atoms organized by history to the point of consciousness, now able to contemplate this sacred Universe of which we are a tiny, but wondrous, part.
Emotions are a powerful and important part of being human. Arising from deeper, older parts of the brain, they are often overwhelming. Though emotions can lead to both very good and very vicious actions, I would not wish a life bereft of emotion upon anyone. Similarly, emotions are, for me, an essential part of my Naturalistic Paganism. Just as emotions are part of a full life, it seems to me that they are part of a full spirituality. While my Naturalistic Paganism can stir many emotions, perhaps the most moving and prevalent emotions are gratitude for the past, and love for the future. We know more details about the past than the future, so let’s look there today.
Though there are many ways to bring the past to life, I’ve been involved with several DNA-related projects this summer. DNA provides a window into our past, and for me, all the gratitude that those times engender. For instance, my grandfather loved his family. He worked hard, day after day, week after week on the assembly line at Ford Motor Company – car after car, rivet after rivet – to support his wife, son and daughter, waiting at home. He never knew about his daughter’s son, because my grandfather died two years before I was born. But, can you imagine if he could stand here today? If he could meet me, what would he say? Yet, in a real way, I have a letter of love from him, in trillions of cells of my body – in my DNA. My mom and I can tell, from family history and DNA ancestry testing at 23andme, that many identifiable sections of DNA in my sisters and I, are from him. I see this DNA as a reminder of his love for her, her kids, and future generations. Read More
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 