I use the phrase “Evolutionary Spirituality” to talk about creative spirituality with strong naturalistic commitments.
MyQuestionOfEvolutionarySpirituality
The Challenge of Evolutionary Spirituality is this:
- How do we find a powerful, creative, spiritual, imaginative, playful, profound, sacrificing, virtuous, heart based spirituality, that also completely connects with NaturalisticCommitments, no QuantumOuts taken anywhere?
Another way of putting it:
- “How do we understand spirituality, wisdom, adventure, life, and love, in the modern scientific world?”
Recently, (2008-08-29,) I have found a number of answers to this question. The answer hinges on Imagination.
Spiritual Philosophy in a Nutshell
Here is my spiritual philosophy, in a nutshell:
We should not seek the Divine in the supernatural, or even quantum worlds. (NaturalisticCommitment, no QuantumOut.) It’s essential to our spirituality that we deepen our understanding of the Real, through the study of Science. (MyAdviceToMystics.) And yet, our heart yearns for greater expression. We find ourselves, as a society, trapped in the cage of the literal. (MaterialLiteralism, NaturalisticSpiritualities.) Our greatest lack right now is not so much a lack of heart, as it is a lack of imagination (BoxedImagination?.) Our challenge right now is to perform the act of living imaginatively. (LivingImagination.) This will give voice to our hearts, and then usher in a Golden Age for Humanity– A golden age not based in misplaced and shaky faith in imaginary beings at odds with science, but rather: Firmly based in conscious imagination brought to scientifically and socially sound reality. That is, our task is to bring about a Golden Age, in the form of a Divine Topia.
Clarification:+ The goal is not to create global theocracy, or dismantle capitalism, or smash the state, or any such thing. Rather, this is based in purely voluntary efforts, the Freedom of the Human Being, on an opt-in basis.
Pages
My pages so far.
- MaterialLiteralism – we tend to look at the world literally, as if photographs of mountains and trees were representing “this is what is real.”
- LivingImagination – What would it mean to “live into our imagination?” Why is this important?
- NaturalisticCommitments – the world works basically as scientists understand it, no ESP, no telekinesis, no aliens and demons and fairies in reality, (those are in our heads,) and no QuantumOuts taken. Why is it important to understand this? And why do we resist it?
- QuantumOut – “I can believe whatever I want to believe, and Quantum Physicists say it’s okay. Nanny-nanny-naaaanny!”
- NaturalisticSpiritualities – A typing of modern naturalistic spiritualities: “Buddhists,” (those who seek Inner Peace,) “Naturalist,” (forest rangers, cosmists, Carl Sagan & Co.,) and “Social Activists” (social justice, peace activism, animal rights, economic justice, …), and how each of these approach the imagination.
- MysticalRealism – what is a proper view of the Real? What is Love? What does it look like? How is it rightly perceived or represented?
- WhatIsSpiritual – what is “spirituality,” if we’re purely naturalistic?
- WhatIsGod – what can “God” mean, in a purely naturalistic framework?
- FourGods – Reality/Universe, the Future/Eventual, the Ideal/Utmost, & Beingness/Consciousness
- TheScientificFairy – connecting imagination with the natural, living theatre.
- – page I wrote on CommunityWiki a long time ago, summarizing the situation of Evolutionary Spirituality in the world today.
- SpiritualPsychicMaterial – naturalistic depiction of reality including spiritual worlds
Pages to Come
- WhyNaturalisticCommitments? – Why would someone keep naturalistic commitments? Why not, say, just be more open-minded about things?
- BoxedImagination? – What do I mean when I say, “We box our imagination?”
- ImaginationAndReality? – What is a “reciprocating relationship” between imagination and reality? How does it work? Why is it important?
- GoldenAge? – the goal, of course!
- WhyTalkAboutGod? – “Are we just trying to make a hold-over for previous religions? Why on Earth would anyone talk about God?” Preview short answer: “Personification is inevitable in everything human.”
See Also
Pages that link here:
