{"id":351,"date":"2014-08-22T09:34:58","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T13:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualnaturalist\/?p=351"},"modified":"2014-08-22T09:34:58","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T13:34:58","slug":"spirituality-without-the-supernatural-new-book-offers-bold-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualnaturalist\/2014\/08\/spirituality-without-the-supernatural-new-book-offers-bold-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirituality Without the Supernatural? New Book Offers Bold Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"exploring-spiritual-naturalism-year1-a\"For most, the term \u2018spirituality\u2019 evokes the supernatural, such as the afterlife, God, prayer, and so on. But some who aren\u2019t believers in those things are, nonetheless, taking spiritual practices head on. A new book gives a sweeping panorama of what practitioners call Spiritual Naturalism. \u201cExploring Spiritual Naturalism, Year 1<\/a> is an anthology of articles from the first year of the Spiritual Naturalist Society (http:\/\/www.spiritualnaturalistsociety.org<\/a>) and is available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online.<\/p>\n

While many might call them atheists, the organization\u2019s executive director, Daniel Strain, says, \u201cI think you\u2019ll find that most Spiritual Naturalists aren\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how can there be a spirituality without, well\u2026 spirits? Strain explains, \u201cThe root of spirituality comes from the Latin spiritus<\/em> which meant wind or breath \u2013 the essence of something, so it\u2019s actually a much broader term. It\u2019s like calling all tissue Kleenex or referring to all soft drinks as Coke. The supernatural religions are simply the dominant brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are still leftover artifacts of that broader meaning in our language today, Strain points out. For example, we still talk about \u2018school spirit\u2019 or \u2018the spirit of the law\u2019 without meaning anything supernatural. \u201cTherefore, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you believe in God and salvation, then those will be what you find to be \u2018the essential\u2019 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.\u201d Strain says, \u201cWe 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<\/a>, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been seminal works in religious and spiritual naturalism before, but the Society\u2019s 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, \u201cThese practices are nothing less than a path to freedom from fear and the bonds of circumstance as a condition for happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers can get the book at these links:
\nAmazon.com
\nhttp:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Exploring-Spiritual-Naturalism-Year-Naturalist\/dp\/1304435164<\/a>
\nBarnesandnoble.com
\nhttp:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/exploring-spiritual-naturalism-year-1-dt-strain\/1119998359<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Subscribe to The Spiritual Naturalist Society<\/a><\/strong>
\nLearn about Membership in the Spiritual Naturalist Society<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

__________
\nThe Spiritual Naturalist Society works to spread awareness of spiritual naturalism as a way of life, develop its thought and practice, and help bring together like-minded practitioners in fellowship.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most, the term \u2018spirituality\u2019 evokes the supernatural, such as the afterlife, God, prayer, and so on. But some who aren\u2019t believers in those things are, nonetheless, taking spiritual practices head on. A new book gives a sweeping panorama of what practitioners call Spiritual Naturalism. \u201cExploring Spiritual Naturalism, Year 1 is an anthology of articles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSpirituality Without the Supernatural? New Book Offers Bold Vision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For most, the term 'spirituality' evokes the supernatural, such as the afterlife, God, prayer, and so on. 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