On the Cusp of the Coming ‘Perfect Storm’

December 22, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Dennis Oliver The Perfect Storm (from the Film directed by Wolfgang Petersen) I remember as a boy reading Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring (published in 1962), with its warning that pesticides were harming the environment and wildlife, particularly birds. This is just one of the chickens, turned grim reaper, now coming home to roost. Today we realise the crisis is much deeper and broader. It seems possible that the twenty-first century will witness the end of a habitable world. It seems that the very... Read more

Reflections on the Winter Solstice

December 22, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Gregory Gronbacher It’s That Time of Year Again The winter holidays are upon us once again. Twinkling lights, decorated trees, candle lighting, gift giving — all the usual trimmings for this time of year. And while it’s hard to resist the charm of all this, many naturalists still approach the holiday season with a mild sense of ambiguity. Christmas is lovely, if not over-commercialized, but for naturalists, it’s not about virgin births. Hanukkah is also beautiful, but it too is... Read more

Fate is at Your Elbow

December 15, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Jeff Worthy Anaphylaxis [an-uh-fuh-lak-sis], noun. Pathology: An exaggerated allergic reaction t0 foreign protein resulting from previous exposure to it. That sounds relatively benign, doesn’t it? Trust me, Dictionary.com fails to capture the visceral terror that parents feels when forced to watch their child enter the full cascade of anaphylactic shock, not to mention the fear that must course through that child, who knows he or she is fighting to survive. Many people have experienced some form of allergic response in their lives, and most... Read more

What is Soul? What is Spirit?

December 15, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Daniel Shkolnik I was recently asked, “When people say they are “spiritual,” what do they mean?” I thought it was a brilliant question — one that spiritual seekers themselves often don’t stop to ask. While there are countless practices, beliefs, traditions that fit comfortably under the heading “spirituality,” I think there’s a simple answer to this question that unites them. In short, I believe that to be spiritual is to seek connection with spirit: the soul, or “essence,” of reality. Here it’s... Read more

Adventure, Contemplation, Creation

December 8, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Thomas Schenk In several articles for SNS, I have written on cultivating our inner resources and how this can enrich our life. In particular, I have emphasized the cultivation of various forms of mindfulness, such as meditation and contemplation. We live in an externally directed culture that provides few examples of people who have attained contentment through the cultivation of inner resources. We are more likely to find such examples in the Far East or medieval monasteries. If Western culture... Read more

Losing Beliefs and Finding Faith

December 8, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by James Jarrett This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. – The 14th Dalai Lama. Back in 2018, Dennis Oliver’s book review of The Christian Middle Way by Robert M. Ellis here on SNS prompted me to download a copy to my eReader and give it a thorough read. Ellis’ book provided some helpful paradigmatic waypoints on my own long journey out of... Read more

The Wisdom of Age?

December 1, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Thomas Schenk I was thinking, the other day, about a couple of old women who lived near me when I was a child. One was always crabby; if we kids ran into her yard, she would come out and scold. The other one seemed always to be smiling and to enjoy seeing us play. It is hard to say exactly what wisdom is, but I would say that the difference between those two old women was partly one of... Read more

Spirituality and Microscopes

December 1, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Eric Steinhart Every spiritual naturalist (and every pagan) should own a microscope. They’re relatively inexpensive: for a few hundred dollars, you can get an excellent microscope. It’s easy to learn the basic techniques for looking at tiny things, and you can progress quickly to more advanced techniques. And microscopy can teach many valuable pagan lessons. To use a microscope, you put things on glass slides. A favorite topic for microscopy is pond water, or some stagnant water with some algae... Read more

The Natural Soul & Socrates

November 24, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by DT Strain Plato’s book of Phaedo may be especially important in ancient Greek philosophic concepts on the soul. In it, Socrates is written to argue for the existence of an immortal soul, distinct and separate from the body. Much later, while the Hebrews did not accept the concept of a distinct soul, the Christian tradition had moved beyond the Hebrews and into Gentile culture, in which it took on some different aspects to which they could relate. Given that Greek philosophy was... Read more

The Meaning of Life

November 24, 2022 By Spiritual Naturalist Society

by Thomas Schenk (When there are five Thursdays in a month, we are planning to feature a “classic” article from SNS’ early years on the fifth Thursday. Today’s article first appeared on August 13, 2015.) The old question What is the Meaning of Life? has become something of a joke — not because it has been answered, but because it seems incapable of being answered. Below I attempt to address the question, though perhaps I only add to the joke. Meaning and purpose... Read more