I’m wondering why you’re claiming to have spirituality now when previously you indicated that you’re a materialist, as evidenced by your statements that “our bodies are us” and “consciousness is a byproduct of cerebral activity” (or something very similar)? Are you agnostic? I think the reason I’m asking is because I survived a religiously psychotic birth mother during the Satanic Panic, but was unwilling when asked at age 17 to identify as an atheist, so I said pagan. I’ve never associated with Neo-Pagans or Wiccans, as I’m uncomfortable addressing abstract deities from who-knows-where that meant who-knows-what to who-knows-who. I’m ecocentric for sure! I bought the “chemical imbalance” theory for her craziness until around the turn of the Millennium, when I could no longer countenance it. Lobotomies were claimed to be scientific, so I’d just like to say that the application of technology does not equal “Science” with the capital “S” as in the ideal that most of us think of when we hear the word. I’m one of those rare birds raised Roman Catholic that never once believed in the Jesus, but to be honest, I have more (which is zero) faith in him currently than the technological priesthood that call themselves “scientific authorities.” Serotonin theory of depression being shown recently to be bogus (and has been for decades while industry representatives told us it was “Science”) should help some people get off of that doctor dope for their better health. So much of what is taken for “Science” is just straight up business. Actual healthcare rarely involves the application of technology for a fee. I’m about reason first and foremost, but if I didn’t have faith that our five senses just don’t tell us everything we need or might want to know about, I’d be pretty depressed. Materialism leaves everything devoid of meaning, except perhaps the momentary meaning for the bag of chemicals called a human. No can do that!
Anyway, I’m socially untutored and unpracticed at writing, and also attempting to be respectful, but am definitely confused about how to understand what others are communicating about their spirituality (or specific lack thereof) or atheism, as the case may be. Has the term agnostic gone out of fashion? I’m never in fashion, and have been told that I “live in the mystery,” so maybe it’s the most appropriate term in my case, I don’t know. Deeply personal essay that you’ve shared here. Thank you for doing so. ❤️
I'm an atheist materialist who was raised with spiritual beliefs that affected how I experienced my thoughts, grief and other extreme states as an adult. I consider it the impact of culture on development and understand it in a materialist framework. It is the surface manifestation of my brain's deep processing of sensory information. You're told the universe works like X and then when your brain is in an extreme state, the way it explains the state to itself is via a culturally determined framework. I wish I could believe any of it exceeded the boundaries of my brain. I think about mirror neurons a lot and the fact that physically saw certain people alive so I mirrored them. That's the closest I can get to imagining a way they're still here. The belief structures are kind of like having a working model that was designed by mc escher. I don't believe in the beliefs anymore but I was once taught them as knowledge when I was very young. It stayed with me.
I think about the enteric nervous system a lot, and am quite sure it isn’t well understood by Western medicine. All of the atheists I’ve listened to at any length (they have some excellent debaters and lecturers!) have formerly been people of faith, so I’m understanding that now as the default reverse. I keep wondering about everything pretty much always, but definitely don’t like religious woo of any kind. It’s the claim on consciousness that the state and medical industry are obsessed with controlling which I object to, as its materialistic belief system seems like religion from where I’m viewing. Thank you for discussing your spiritual experience. Stay strong!
Oh yea I believe one of psychiatry and psychology's greatest failures and most significant source of misdiagnosis is their delusion that humans only have one brain, and that further they understand the brain, and therefore they magically know what is causing a nebulous psychiatric symptomatology. We have two brains synapsing and the main brain may misinterpret signals coming from the gut brain, giving rise to the reported symptoms. Often the first question if an autistic kiddo is unusually checked out or manifesting behaviors that day is, "Could she be constipated?" A stool softener can go a long way for both ASD and dementia, two conditions characterized by increased difficulty interpreting internal signals.
It’s inexcusable that is the situation, in my view, which means the practice of conventional medicine is more like business and not actual science (as in evidence-based). I refuse to call it healthcare. There’s one medical doctor I’ll recommend here, because I respect him and now his research. Dr. Stuart Hameroff is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology (University of Arizona) who has coauthored a theory of consciousness by the name of Orch OR. I’m quite interested in his work because, being both an anesthesiologist and a psychologist, he is someone who is *really* interested in consciousness. Tonight I looked him up, as last year I heard him say that there was an upcoming experiment that had the potential to falsify this thesis. Published June of this year, it’s entitled, “Consciousness, Cognition and the Neuronal Cytoskeleton – A New Paradigm Needed in Neuroscience.” (I can tell that I’m going to be up late tonight.) Thank you for being someone who thinks unconventionally, and for sharing your skills in this effort to combat unscientific gender ideology!
I admire and appreciate you so much. Seeing how nervous you were to talk about your own experience made me need to tell you how much your voice is valued. Thank you for your work!
Always thought-provoking. And funny! Love the Einsteinian graphic, and the Monty Python. I stand in awe.
Don’t let them shake you, strong one. The work you are doing is incredible.
I’m wondering why you’re claiming to have spirituality now when previously you indicated that you’re a materialist, as evidenced by your statements that “our bodies are us” and “consciousness is a byproduct of cerebral activity” (or something very similar)? Are you agnostic? I think the reason I’m asking is because I survived a religiously psychotic birth mother during the Satanic Panic, but was unwilling when asked at age 17 to identify as an atheist, so I said pagan. I’ve never associated with Neo-Pagans or Wiccans, as I’m uncomfortable addressing abstract deities from who-knows-where that meant who-knows-what to who-knows-who. I’m ecocentric for sure! I bought the “chemical imbalance” theory for her craziness until around the turn of the Millennium, when I could no longer countenance it. Lobotomies were claimed to be scientific, so I’d just like to say that the application of technology does not equal “Science” with the capital “S” as in the ideal that most of us think of when we hear the word. I’m one of those rare birds raised Roman Catholic that never once believed in the Jesus, but to be honest, I have more (which is zero) faith in him currently than the technological priesthood that call themselves “scientific authorities.” Serotonin theory of depression being shown recently to be bogus (and has been for decades while industry representatives told us it was “Science”) should help some people get off of that doctor dope for their better health. So much of what is taken for “Science” is just straight up business. Actual healthcare rarely involves the application of technology for a fee. I’m about reason first and foremost, but if I didn’t have faith that our five senses just don’t tell us everything we need or might want to know about, I’d be pretty depressed. Materialism leaves everything devoid of meaning, except perhaps the momentary meaning for the bag of chemicals called a human. No can do that!
Anyway, I’m socially untutored and unpracticed at writing, and also attempting to be respectful, but am definitely confused about how to understand what others are communicating about their spirituality (or specific lack thereof) or atheism, as the case may be. Has the term agnostic gone out of fashion? I’m never in fashion, and have been told that I “live in the mystery,” so maybe it’s the most appropriate term in my case, I don’t know. Deeply personal essay that you’ve shared here. Thank you for doing so. ❤️
I'm an atheist materialist who was raised with spiritual beliefs that affected how I experienced my thoughts, grief and other extreme states as an adult. I consider it the impact of culture on development and understand it in a materialist framework. It is the surface manifestation of my brain's deep processing of sensory information. You're told the universe works like X and then when your brain is in an extreme state, the way it explains the state to itself is via a culturally determined framework. I wish I could believe any of it exceeded the boundaries of my brain. I think about mirror neurons a lot and the fact that physically saw certain people alive so I mirrored them. That's the closest I can get to imagining a way they're still here. The belief structures are kind of like having a working model that was designed by mc escher. I don't believe in the beliefs anymore but I was once taught them as knowledge when I was very young. It stayed with me.
I think about the enteric nervous system a lot, and am quite sure it isn’t well understood by Western medicine. All of the atheists I’ve listened to at any length (they have some excellent debaters and lecturers!) have formerly been people of faith, so I’m understanding that now as the default reverse. I keep wondering about everything pretty much always, but definitely don’t like religious woo of any kind. It’s the claim on consciousness that the state and medical industry are obsessed with controlling which I object to, as its materialistic belief system seems like religion from where I’m viewing. Thank you for discussing your spiritual experience. Stay strong!
Oh yea I believe one of psychiatry and psychology's greatest failures and most significant source of misdiagnosis is their delusion that humans only have one brain, and that further they understand the brain, and therefore they magically know what is causing a nebulous psychiatric symptomatology. We have two brains synapsing and the main brain may misinterpret signals coming from the gut brain, giving rise to the reported symptoms. Often the first question if an autistic kiddo is unusually checked out or manifesting behaviors that day is, "Could she be constipated?" A stool softener can go a long way for both ASD and dementia, two conditions characterized by increased difficulty interpreting internal signals.
It’s inexcusable that is the situation, in my view, which means the practice of conventional medicine is more like business and not actual science (as in evidence-based). I refuse to call it healthcare. There’s one medical doctor I’ll recommend here, because I respect him and now his research. Dr. Stuart Hameroff is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology (University of Arizona) who has coauthored a theory of consciousness by the name of Orch OR. I’m quite interested in his work because, being both an anesthesiologist and a psychologist, he is someone who is *really* interested in consciousness. Tonight I looked him up, as last year I heard him say that there was an upcoming experiment that had the potential to falsify this thesis. Published June of this year, it’s entitled, “Consciousness, Cognition and the Neuronal Cytoskeleton – A New Paradigm Needed in Neuroscience.” (I can tell that I’m going to be up late tonight.) Thank you for being someone who thinks unconventionally, and for sharing your skills in this effort to combat unscientific gender ideology!
Literal handwaving. It's the palms up "give and receive" gesture.
I admire and appreciate you so much. Seeing how nervous you were to talk about your own experience made me need to tell you how much your voice is valued. Thank you for your work!