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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Craig Richards who wrote (25154)	10/3/1998 5:15:00 PM
From: Charliss	Respond to of 108807

Craig, Thanks for the post. This process of the meditative approach to the experiencing of life, which is what I think much of what Sam Ferguson's excellent post(#25149) is about, only stated differently, can lead to the kind of spiritual experience that much traditional religious belief can only pretend to or hope for. As such, it can lead to the discovery of a love for life that is truly sacred...sacred because it arises and makes itself known on its terms only, independently of motive and history. Best, Charliss

To: Craig Richards who wrote (25154)	10/4/1998 1:11:00 PM
From: Rick Julian	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

Craig, As I responded in my private message to you: my awareness of Buddhism indicates to me that it clearly has a God consciousness, and I would be shocked to hear my Buddhist friends proclaim themselves atheist. That the definition of Buddhism you linked makes no specific literal reference to "God" does not change my perception--Buddhism simply has a different spiritual lexicon. You are correct that meditation is a practice that can be valuable to all people regardless of their beliefs, in that one of its primary goals is quieting the mind in order to increase awareness. However there are many levels of awareness which are attainable, the highest of which is called by some, "Nirvana"--a state of spiritual bliss in which the meditator becomes aware of the perfection of reality and the Godliness of all things. I am confident atheists can begin to climb the staircase of spiritual meditation, but believe it would be dangerous to their belief system to go too high--for the higher experiences would shatter their conception of a Godless reality. In this sense, perhaps all atheists should be encouraged to meditate, with meditation serving as an antidote to the pure intellectualism of atheism, thus bringing them to an awareness of the spiritual current that flows throughout existence. Rick p.s. Do you believe a meditator could experience Nirvana and remain atheist?