Sat Feb 18, 11am-1pm EST (Toronto, New York)

Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/971381033
In-Person: The 519, 519 Church Street, Room 301Toronto, ON, M4Y 2C9

Humanists’ and fellow travelers’ (Atheists, Secularists, Freethinkers, Agnostics and Skeptics) “spidey-sense” tingles when they hear the term “spiritual”, connecting it with a world of gods and magical thinking that they have either never been a part of or have possibly struggled over long periods to disentangle themselves from. The idea of spirituality may also suggest unwanted links to people with no formal denomination yet still believe many of the precepts of one of more of the major religions.

Nevertheless, there are many, including myself, who feel there is an important arena of personal emotional and intellectual inquiry that rests on top of day-to-day experience as an attitude or a feeling that is still completely natural and non-theistic. And with Religion dominant and pervasive, even in a country as secular as Canada, the words that we would typically use to describe this space are also from religious traditions: spiritual, sacred, soulful, transcendent.

The question is, should we Humanists et al cut ourselves off from an area of personal inquiry and development that the vast majority of our species find key to survival and thriving, just because we are uncomfortable with the words used to define it?

Discussion Points:
The word “spirit” comes from the Latin for “breath”. With humans and many other animals that we might commonly see, breathing is the most obvious and outward sign of life. Through this connection, the breath can be viewed as an animating force. In a religious context, the breath (i.e. life) is a gift from god or may even be seen as a part of god inserted into our material existences (the soul) to give us life. But for Humanists et al, we make no such theistic attribution yet we still may ask the question “What gives us life?” or “What makes us feel alive?” This could be one way to approach Secular Spirituality.

When we use a term like “the spirit of the law”, what does the word “spirit” imply? Here we may be talking about the core, the essence, the deeper meaning, etc. How could this definition help us understand Secular Spirituality?

One definition of Secular Spirituality is “that which enhances the personal growth, sense of connection and inner peace of the individual but is not about a relationship with the divine.” Do you work and play in this space, looking for growth, connection and peace in your life?

There are times in our lives when we feel most ALIVE - when all of our senses are heightened, our experiences feel more significant and everything about us seems to be perfectly in-tune with our world. Some find this feeling by going inward into what some call “Flow States” (total immersion) or being Present. Some experience this feeling looking outwardly with expansiveness and a greater connection as Transcendence. How could the exploration of such states fit into a concept of Secular Spirituality?

Can we think of a better term than “Secular Spirituality” that does not lean on religious traditions and is without religious connotations yet still captures the feeling and nature of the concept?

We encounter the same issues for a term like “soulful” as we do for “spiritual” yet we can still use soulful metaphorically without having any belief in the religious concept of a soul. If we think of a soul as the part of ourselves that needs to nurtured for us feel most alive, what is your SOUL FOOD?

How can this concept of Secular Spirituality help us reconcile and connect with the many believers in our lives who have a religious spirituality? Is this just a very human endeavor with a different set of assumptions and attributions?

Ritual - Watch the first 5:25 of this video by Sasha Sagan talking about her book “For Small Creatures Such As We…”. What do you think of her conception of Secular Spirituality and the place of ritual within it?

Gather your thoughts then join us for an interesting discussion.