When did you last have a spiritual experience?

[ainali@social.coop]

@evan I'm going with Wiktionarys fifth definition and then it was when trying to figure out how to answer to this poll.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@ainali

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spiritual

"5. Of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind; mental; intellectual."

[rasterweb@mastodon.social]

@evan No "Never" option?

[brucelawson@social.vivaldi.net]

@evan where's the "Never - I'm a man of Science" option??

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@rasterweb https://evanp.me/pollfaq#never

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@brucelawson

https://evanp.me/pollfaq#never

But surely a man of science is aware of the effect of gratitude and connection on mental and physical health?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology

[dneary@mathstodon.xyz]

@evan I am interested in seeing your definition of a spiritual experience after the poll is over. I was thinking of a sense of wonder and contentment - and unfortunately it's been too long.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@dneary honestly, understanding what a "spiritual experience" is, and how often they occur, is a pretty big part of why I asked this question.

[bignose@sw-development-is.social]

Asking many people, I've never had a description of what they mean by “spiritual experience” that puts it outside the bounds of a physiological + mental experience.

This might be because people sadly underestimate what range of experiences our minds and bodies are capable of generating, and insist there must be some “spirit” separate from the mind and body.

I have much greater respect for minds and bodies than that, to ever need to invent a distinct spiritual realm.

@evan

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@bignose So, question for you: could you have a *spiritual* experience that is not a *supernatural* experience?

[bobcollins@fosstodon.org]

@evan Never

I'm not sure why "never" is unimportant to you.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@BobCollins I'm not sure either!

[evan@cosocial.ca]

What a great poll! Thanks to everyone who replied and responded.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

I would say about a day. I think I have a more lax definition of "spiritual experience" than some of the commenters, many of whom excluded any that weren't related to the supernatural.

For me, I think that moments of gratitude and appreciation, wonder, and especially awareness of scale in time and space are spiritual experiences. Sunsets, great music, good meals with loved ones, the total eclipse, thinking in terms of my full life, growing plants all feel like spiritual experiences to me.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

I liked Virginia Woolf's idea of "Moments of Being" in her essay with the same title.

https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/14/archives/moments-of-being-the-guest-word.html

[evan@cosocial.ca]

I think there's also a case for intentional spiritual practices. I have a daily meditation practice which is a big part, for me, of feeling that gratitude and perspective.

[evan@cosocial.ca]

For people who feel like these experiences that I am describing don't qualify as "spiritual", that's ok. I hope you are getting moments of gratitude and awareness, and that you cultivate those moments, even if you might give them a different name.

[swart@cosocial.ca]

@evan good on you for trying to translate these feelings into language— it is an essential part of literature, and it’s a big part of why I thought Michael Foster’s vocation was so tremendously difficult. I wonder how we can ever bridge the gap between the hyper rational world of computing and humanity

[evan@cosocial.ca]

@swart I think for a lot of people the idea of spiritual experiences or practices feels very weighted. Multiple people on the thread mentioned having their morning cup of coffee as a spiritual experience, which I thought was great. So, I think there's a lot of variance in expectations.

[swart@cosocial.ca]

@evan I guess I was thinking more in line with psychedelics but ymmv 😆