So many of us were different people before coming to the idea of atheism or to a place where we stopped believing and started questioning everything we once believed. And for some of us, we miss out on the things we once thought were fun to think about or participate in.
And then are those of us who want to explore the other side of things without committing ourselves to the belief of that thing.
Like say, ghost hunting. Can you still ghost hunt even if you don't believe in ghosts?
Can you entertain the idea of ghosts even if you don't believe in a religion that says there are souls?
I say, why not??!
I mean, have you ever been on a ghost hunt? They are actually really, really fun. And you don't have to believe they are real in order to be afraid of them (for me, the best part of a ghost hunt is the fear factor). Scary movies have that same effect, yet we know none of it is real.
And the fact is, I met my husband in a ghost hunting group back in 2005 and neither of us were religious at all, back then. We didn't consider ourselves atheists, but we weren't religious either. Even with our lack of faith, we both could suspend our non-belief in order to enjoy ourselves with taking pictures of the "paranormal" and trying to catch EVP's (we were actually successful with both--but even so, we still aren't "believers").
What else can you participate in without believing?
Well, church, for one. Most sermons are usually filled with common sense and good reminders how to act in civilized society today. Most atheists would want to run from church but for some open-minded ones, we can gain some clarity and be filled with the happiness that people get from attending church. Christians will tell you it's god that's filling you up, but I will let you in a secret: it's not. It's the love that the sermon reached that's inside of you. It hit your "love spot" (not to be confused with a g-spot...it's soooo not the same thing, though both can bring joy! *wink*). We all can feel that same feeling church gives believers by taking the same sermons and omitting the religious aspects. And you can do that yourself, while in a pew (or whatever choice of church/mosque/temple/etc), and listening. I, myself, enjoy a Joyce Meyer sermon now and then. Remove the god parts, and they are quite inspiring.
Aliens. There is no reason you need to be religious in order to entertain the idea of life on other planets. But, what I am talking about here, is the idea that you may not necessarily believe in aliens and/or them visiting the earth in order to entertain the idea of them. The good thing to do is to use rational thought when it comes to extraterrestrial life. And if you want to entertain the idea they are visiting us, do it! Granted, most UFOS really are explainable, but there might be something else you can stumble onto during your research. We can't just ignore all the stories and pretend they are only the concoctions of crazy people (though some are) Because, the idea we are alone in this universe? Is quite arrogant. And I really love the show Ancient Aliens. But yet if you think you're being abducted, you might want to seek professional help.....*wink wink* (note--most abduction stories are issues with sleep paralysis, if you think this is happening to you, research this phenomena and contact a sleep specialist)
Astrology. Again, not a religious subject. I am a Taurus. Do I believe because I born in a certain area of our planet under a certain set of stars that my life is affected by this? No way. As a lover all things scientific, I find this absurd. But, it doesn't stop me from identifying with the Taurus nature, as I always have my entire life. That doesn't mean I believe, I just like fitting myself into little boxes and seeing how much I fit and how much I don't. Today I read an article on ElephantJournal.com about tomorrow's Super Moon which happens to fall on my anniversary--AND it's the sign of Taurus, which I am, so it really intrigued me. Here is the article:
Super Moon in the sign of Taurus on Elephant Journal
But what intrigued me more was their little note at the top of the article:
*Eleditor’s note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. And so, with that grain of salt…enjoy!Hmmm, I find that very RUUy of them to add that. You can be entertained by astrology but not believe in it. Read your horoscope. Study your rising sign. Do whatever you like. Just know at the end of the day, YOU are responsible for your life. Not god. Not the stars. You.
Feng Shui. Having a clean house makes everyone feel good. I wish mine was clean more than it is, but meh, it is what it is. Right now it's pretty clean, as we were going to have company over this past weekend. And I am enjoying the cleanliness of it all. It makes me feel....well, less cluttered. Not only in my house, but also in my brain. Order is good for our brains, but being ADHD, my house usually not orderly in the least. Not to mention I have 1,001 hobbies. But Feng Shui, like astrology, is pretty fun to play with. But rather than looking up into the sky and dividing the sky into houses, you divide your rooms into baguas. Then you put items that help those areas of your room so you attract more good stuff into your life. There are a few practices I have learned from feng shui that I still use today that just feel good and make sense to me: 1) don't block the door. Like don't put your couch or a chair with it's back to the door. That just feels icky to me. 2) don't let shit pile up under your bed. I have dogs that sleep under my bed and were almost crushed once by a broken bed frame, so we no longer use a bedframe, but when I did, I never my items live under there. I liked my "under the bed" area clean. 3) keep your bathroom sparse (I have no idea if this feng shui or not LOL I just like my bathroom not to be clogged up with crap--literally AND figuratively).
Psychics and fortune-telling devices. I was a tarot reader for over 25 years. When I became a straight up atheist I could NOT rationalize the use of them as I've always thought it was my "intuition" that made me such an excellent reader. I was in demand all over the world for readings (online, not that I travel LOL). When I finally started really searching for my spirituality (and none of the truly fit) and I was digging deep into atheism, I saw just how absurd my ideas about the tarot were. Did I help people? Yes, very much so. Were my readings accurate? About 98% of the time. Was I psychic? Hell no. And that's why people trusted me. They thought I was psychic, because I claimed to be. I honestly thought I was. When I realized I wasn't, I couldn't justify reading the tarot anymore. But now I can clearly see my readings were accurate only because I have a very high understanding of not only the human condition, but also psychology and sociology, too. And that's what gave me such accurate readings. And knowing that, I can start fresh and anew, and come at the tarot from a new perspective, rather than from the traditional way. So I can still read for people, I just have to inform them there are no psychic abilities involved. And it's all just for fun :) And reading for myself is always something I can do easily, as well. So go see a psychic, see what she/he says. Know what they are telling you has no psychic ability involved, but it doesn't mean it won't be any fun! It's the same as reading your horoscope: take it with a grain of salt.
Bigfoot, and other creatures. Who hasn't seen Harry and the Hendersons and wondered if there was a humanoid beast with the heart of a baby living in the woods by their house? No? Just me? Well, anyways....but yeah, there's the mothman (loved that movie!), bigfoot (and a whole show about him!), the Jersey devil (I think that's related to the mothman? maybe?), the chupacabra (no sucking my goats, ya jerks!), the yetti (the snowy big foot), the skunk ape (sounds stinky), loch ness monster (how would that thing still be alive??), and whatever else you think of. Go on a bigfoot hunt with some other bigfoot hunters! Have some fun with it. Watch a show about these creatures and see how much fun these people have chasing them around. Doesn't mean you have to believe they real in order to have fun with them. You can even add vampires and werewolves to this. Go read some Twilight!
Holidays. Well, I consider holidays a free-for-all, with never a real religious reason behind them in the least. Even Christmas. When you get down to the root of all holidays, you have common themes: family togetherness, gratefulness, love, and celebrating with friends. And that's what you can hold onto. My family and I have celebrated many o'holiday from different religions around the world. Other than the regular American ones, Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July...we also celebrate the celtic Samhain (pronounced sow-en--it's like a day of the dead thing), and the turn of the seasons. Consider inventing your own, no religion included!
Karma. What goes around comes around. I've experienced this in my life. Most likely because when I am bad I feel guilty, so I notice when bad things happen to me. But still. I've experienced this so many times in my life that it makes me truly wonder it's validity. Is it real? Is it just me noticing things because I think it's real? I have no idea. Is it that crazy to feel that if you're bad, bad things will happen to you? But if you really look at it, the least type of person bad things happen to are psychopaths/sociopaths, which are the worst of the worst. They have no remorse for the bad things they do. And they seem to cruise along just fine. I think that's because with no remorse, they aren't looking for consequences to their actions, and the rest of us are. So any little thing that happens to us, is noticeable. But it's still nice to think that some asshole will get what they deserve in life, without us having to lift our little fingers, isn't it? Like some secret plan we aren't a part of but know is going on. And it can satiate our anger or thirst for revenge, which never ends up being the right thing to do.
Soul-mates and fate. "Everything happens for a reason" also goes under this title, as well. I do love to entertain the idea of everything will work out the way it's supposed to. I think this stems from the fact that life will happen whether or not we take part in it. We can't change the past, and we have no idea what the future holds, so it's very easy to think that fate is at hand, creating a life we are supposed to have. Whether or not that's true, you honestly will never know until you build a time machine and test out a different timelines. So why not? As long as you don't feel fate will bring you the life you want when you sit in your house and do nothing at all to change your life. I also like to play the idea that my hubby is my soul-mate <3 Funny, I did a soul-mate tarot reading when I was like 22 or 23 and it said "he's there, but he's too young to be with you right now". And he seriously was. He was jailbait when I was that age....I was like 23 and he was 17....hahaha! So we joke around about that reading and about how my tarot reading knew he was a kid when I was an adult. And going back to the beginning, when you really think about it, since every choice affects everything that happens in your life, everything DOES happen for reason. Whether or not that reason is guided by a heavenly hand doesn't matter. Because you chose to go to a place at a certain time, you met the love of your life. You going to that place had a reason. And since you can't change the past, that reason is cemented into your life forever, even if just as a memory.
You can enjoy anything you want, and you don't even have to believe in it! You can also take anything and secularize it for your own purposes. These things, and lots more, can still be enjoyed even as an RUUer (as we are the religion of the unknown unexplained--and many of the above are unexplained!). As everything can be used for fun purposes, and doesn't require belief to enjoy them :)
Do you have anything to add to the list? If so, let me know below!
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