this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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If so, what triggered it and what was it like?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you mean "spiritual" as actually feeling a connection with the rest of all life, or understanding that each person is a tiny speck in an incomprehensibly vast universe, or imagining a connection with a personal deity, or imagining a connection with the dominant deity of the area, or feeling a peaceful satisfaction of connecting with yourself?

Religious people are likely to experience a different interpretation of the word spiritual than non-religious people. The use of the word spiritual at all will likely turn off a large part of the audience.

[–] coleseph 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

So I’m taking issue with the attempt to box in the word spiritual in one of your definitions.

If the post was asking about “happiness” instead of spirituality, nobody would be commenting “well hold on, before we begin discussion we’ll need to agree on what happiness means”

I’m not religious whatsoever btw.

To answer your question directly, I guess for me it’s the sense that something else is going on that is bigger than me. I’d personally also get this type of feeling by staring at the ocean.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree with you that if the OP had used the word happiness instead of spiritual there wouldn't be any confusion.

Perhaps it comes from the difference in whether one believes in a soul or not? I'm not sure. Honest question, not trying to fight or argue, could you clarify for me what you're taking issue with?

[–] coleseph 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For sure, I sincerely don’t understand why anyone on a mostly anonymous Internet forum would need to define their own version of spirituality to talk about their personal experiences they think were spiritual

I’m not trying to be obtuse, super promise, but spirituality is inherently a pretty subjective subject. We’re not all going to align. We don’t need to.

There is a definition of spirituality, but it’s meaning to folks will differ.

Again, I am not really spiritual (in my own meaning of the word) but I take issue with a proposed need to define but because it almost feels idk gatekeepy?

You and I probably have a different understanding of the meaning of spiritual. We don’t need to align those meanings for me to share my dumbass acid story that I found spiritual.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I understand what you're saying. Thanks for answering.

[–] Offlein 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I also agree, because we all pretty much understand what "happy" means.

No one seems to understand what "spiritual" means with any definition, and hence we shouldn't just be using it like we do, in my opinion.

Apparently for you it means "gives you perspective into your own insignificance", when I think for many people it, instead, means, "offers evidence for God or at least for the supernatural, in a non-spooky way".

So.. it's a good way to get a group of people all talking about different things and feeling like they're agreeing about things they don't necessary agree by means of an equivocation fallacy.

[–] coleseph 2 points 1 year ago

I agree with your last statement!

Appreciate the discourse btw. Lemmy has been a positive place for it for me so far so thanks for continuing that.