~ Beliefs Based On ... ? ~

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Hello everyone,

This is something interesting that I've been thinking about lately: What are your beliefs based on ? Science or Spirituality ?

For me personally, most of my beliefs are spiritual, mainly based on spirituality (e.g. I believe in afterlife, I don't believe God is just one person).

I recently watched a movie called I Origins, & throughout the first half of the movie, I strongly related to one of the main characters named Sofi Elizondo. She was very spiritual and open-minded to what may lie beyond reality itself (what we can't hear, see, smell, & touch). Her character in the movie was incredibly similar, if not exactly the same, to how I really am and what I believe in. It was an amazing thing to witness while watching this movie.

Feel free to dwell deeper into your explanations. I would love to hear different perspectives.

~ Hilary ~

I think science continually changes when it comes to theories, yet we're supposed to think it's the end all. There are spiritual truths which have held true for thousands of years and are evident just by watching reality. For instance the Buddha said that all phenomena are impermanent. Who can dispute that? We have scientific theories to explain everything and they all change over time, yet we are expected to think this is of paramount importance and reliability.

I think for a large number of us, we sort of fall into a third category, one that we feel we would believe in independent of evidence supporting it, but also at the same time think that the evidence strongly supports our yearnings, and that is: Values.

I believe in my values, irrespective of what people say, and independent of what the media may preach or what academia may teach. And yet, I also feel that science, evidence, and reason, while not necessarily leading to my value-based conclusions, certainly support it.

But between spirituality and science, I do sort of lean more towards science. I kind of need to see the rationale and evidence behind something before supporting it.

Science, is just beginning to touch fuller implications of what the internal experience of human being is, in terms like cognitive and affective empathy. Science has also now determined that most rational decisions are based on emotions that come before the conscious mind is even aware of the decisions. Science is now just starting to show that the observations of humans effect changes in physical reality, in some 'small measure', with the observer effect in Quantum Physics.

But still science cannot even explain how psychotropic drugs work in full process to help around 33% of folks with depression, whereas the placebo effect is only marginally less, effective; but significantly more effective WITH the psychotropic drugs that are administered to treat symptoms of depression.

The problem is multi-fold; many studies that NEED to be done to further research the internal experience of humans are considered non-ethical in full scope of what is required; and while other social animals like rats approximate much of the human social animal experience; rats, and even chimps, are far from the natural empathic animal than Healthy Human is.

Human emotions and senses, working together in regulation and integration in human being, is a process of relative human free will that is almost entirely innately instinctual and intuitive; and of course that makes sense as one cannot define all nuances of emotion and senses with human words; there are just enough words in the human language; particularly, the English Language to describe the internal experience of human; and the further humans drift away from social cognition activities, the farther that potential moves away from fruition, as well.

Anyway, the point is this; the spiritual of life is real; and associated with a synergy of FEELINGS that are emotions and senses, emoting human action, named or not named yet, per the English Language that varies among each unique experiment that is the human experience, per each unique human being.

Metaphors of soul, heart, and spirit, relate to the human phenomenon of senses and feelings that both comprise what human language attempts to describe, as well as what science poorly effects, in measuring, so far.

So we have stuff like religion, poetry, painting, dance, music, song, and all other human arts that attempt to describe the fuller INTERNAL human emotional and sensory experience that is both unique and not shared by all human beings.

Some human beings experience a poverty of both emotional and sensory life; and for others, it is like rainbow of feeling and sensing a human experience; an experience of other humans and sensing stuff in the Natural environment as whole aka GOD; that other humans have not a part of in their unique more vanilla reality that closer approximates a math project, rather than a rainbow of human experience, in much fuller feelings of emotions and senses.

See that's the thing; human verbal language, science, Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, mythological Krishna, Kali and all 'their friends and myths' are not enough, for 'they' too are described rationally and fictionally; created by only some humans, and not all who experience more or less of reality now.

There is no 'reason' to believe that human heart, soul, and spirit is NOT natural unless one does not experience it in their own unique universe; and I for one as a dead soul, in terms of mind and body out of balance; a dead heart, in terms of losing the affect of emotion; and dead spirit, in terms of not feeling and expressing the emotions of others and myself, as strongly as I did before falling ill with 19 medical disorders for 5 years; do know now, it is most definitely possible for any two human beings to truly experience life in a Universe that is almost totally different in emotions and senses, in terms of metaphors named soul, heart and spirit, for simply more or less of the all natural reality that does exist, depending on WHO EXPERIENCES IT.

TRULY it is like looking through a window for folks who do have a spiritual life; and being blocked from ever even seeing what's on the other side, for others. That's sad, beyond sad, as sometimes it is little feeling or senses at all; but never the less, it is what it is; and for those who have fuller SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES of life, with a finely tuned heart, soul, and spirit; truly THEY ARE THE LUCKY ONES.

I FEEL beyond bad for folks who do not; for I too, for a substantial period of time lived life without a soul, heart, and spirit; and truly for me in comparison to before, it is nothing less than death as life; I shudder to think and feel
that other folks experience life like this from birth to death; but apparently some do; and yes, it is what it is;
beyond sad and truth...

For some there are ways to gain spiritual growth in life;
and for others; life may just not be fair; per it is what it is.

The classification, spirituality or science, is a prickly one because this starts the controversy and argument of what classes as science or pseudoscience and technically from the staunch materialist mindset the only acceptable answer from a non-atheist is 'spirituality'.

Technically if consciousness is greater than us or our nervous systems, which is the claim of spirituality, we'd be in a situation where science is mapping the topography, rules, and manifestation of spirit. The two would dovetail and there really wouldn't be much to discuss. Huge roaring arguments over science vs. spirit come from an unfortunate and rather western absurdity of 'logic and reason vs. sky-daddy' as the binary choice with no others being valid. That classification of dialogs thankfully doesn't get thrown out quite as liberally here as it used to but all the same talking about spirituality with regard to science tends to lead in ugly directions.

I am between Pseudoscience, it all was before being claimed Science, and Tree Worship.

Trees are here, large, live long, and provide many useful functions.

Quantum Mechanics is on the verge of proving the truth of Astrology, that we are in a field that undergoes periodic changes, and they alter the energy field and imprint Organic Life. When Venus passes between us and the Sun, its gravity focuses the Suns output into a beam. Where the outer planets focus the energy of the Universe.

The overall patterns look like electronic devices mixing and blending the available energy.

Small bits of charcoal worked into a garden soil are not a source of Carbon. Somehow they increase the energy level of the soil and plants grow better.

We are a byproduct of energy, energy fields change, and can be changed, and the Trees say it can raise your spiritual energy. We are Bio Electric, which seem to differ from other electric. A battery charger hooked up to my thumbs does nothing, but hiking in the forest leaves me full of some wonderful energy.

I am down for Pseudospirtual Treescience.

^^^

Me too; smilEs..

Tree electriCitY with
BIGGER SMiLES

wITh branches
and plenTy
of
fALLing
and
RiSiNG
leAves..

My beliefs are based on neither, because I am an empiricist but not a naturalist. It is not necessary to accept naturalism/science as the only truth in order to be an empiricist.

Beliefs based on...

I can have trust in the facts I might find proved in science while...

I can believe in my God


I don't see for a necessary divide.

Not a point of argument, I just found the question's wording interesting