Can Atheists Experience Wonder & Awe? | Mark (he/him) - CA | S2E46

[@wickjezek5093]

Seeing a total solar eclipse brought me to my knees and I was crying. It made me realize the definition of awe and what others might feel during a religious experience.

[@grahamjones5400]

Im agnostic and I feel wonder and awe when I have staring contests with random animals, geese,dogs, cats, pigeons, see an multi colored sunset. I walk alot and when I have these experiences I get instantly amazed and stare at these things and think "Omg I exist and I'm seeing this right now!!"

[@howlrichard1028]

You should definitely not start a staring contest with a goose.

[@MizterMissile]

Love this. Thanks for sharing. 😊♥️

[@markmountain7981]

I might be wrong about this, but, I don't view spirituality as spirit or ghosts & such. Like mark said, one doesn't need to lend from religious or older superstitious concepts. Spirituality is one's own inner karma or realisation. If you see the negatives of nature, you'll dwell on that & become negative in yourself, your thoughts will be dark, but if you learn to see & accept the positive side of nature, your thoughts will be bright & positive & so will your inner karma. The sense of well being, oneness with all things & the euphoric joy you feel is amazing & can be pleasantly overwhelming to even an emotional finish. Ones own improvement to self betterment is a must. Very rewarding.

[@AmaranthOriginal]

I very much enjoy experiencing the sense of awe. It gives me pleasure and I don't see why I would avoid it. Not falling into religious traps, of course, is a completely different subject, and one that really makes the discussion tricky

[@LessThanLucid]

I was raised religion-free. And yet I do understand awe and wonder at natural phenomenon such as sunsets, autumn leaves, pets (dogs are the best!), and the innocent wonder of kids seeing the world around them. "Awe" is a human thing, not just religious. And yeah, I love great music that raises those goosebumps. Epic soundtracks, the bleep-and-bloops of 8-bit music similar to my childhood, and bands that manage to find just the right combination of beats/melody/lyrics. Queen was always great, but _Innuendo_ hits all the feels. Pink Floyd is how I give an outlet to my darker feelings, especially _The Wall_ . Nightwish has a wonderful opera-feel that is both dark and gothic. Van Canto is a bizarrely a-capella and rock that adds extra epicness to everything they do. And Machinae Supremacy hits the 8-bit synth and 90's Nu-Metal EVERYTHING! Seriously, try MaSu's "Persona" for the masked-hero vibe, or 'SID Icarus" for the 8-bit fun, or even "Skin" for a dark tour of "why am I?" But come back for "Beyond Good and Evil" for rising above what you were to become _something_ more. My favorite being "Pendulum". Because YUS!

[@keithjones5086]

I miss you on Sunday. Thanks for the clip.

[@bike4aday]

I would recommend breaking down wonder & awe into more specific categories and looking for the different conditions of each. "Spiritual experiences" is an umbrella term and underneath it there's a lot different phenomena happening which can't all be captured in something like a concert. For example, the wonder & awe from worship is different from that of insights or epiphanies and those are different from the shifts of being born again, etc. Once broken down into these more specific phenomena, then I would say try looking for them in a secular way.

[@BelRigh]

It's NOT CHRISTMAS without Handel's Messiah

[@markmountain7981]

Even tho I hate & despise religion, every Christmas, I get the same exited feeling I used too experience as a child. But I quickly remember that times change & move on, so I automatically diffuse the sensation, because I know I'm not a kid anymore. This results in me accepting & embracing change to the point that I cannot keep a childhood long dead tradition. Not even for family or even the sake of it. I still get the remenisant feeling tho.

[@markmountain7981]

I agree with vi's point of going out before the moon & just feeling wonder & awe. & also Eric's point of music. I get that same empowering feeling from the song "Franky goes to Hollywood", "the power of love". After 40 years, it still makes me go in to my head & I get such a rush of emotion & I still get water welling up in my eyes. It was released as a Christmas song, the video shows wise men going to see Jesus. But it's the song & lyrics that affect me, not the religious tone. I freaking love that song.

[@almightyk11]

-Commenting before watching the video- Responding to the headline alone, I find myself more fascinated by things once I know the mechanics behind it. The fact that things fell into place to form a structure (whether through chemical bonding, needed condition, or random mutation) is something I find wondrous.

[@rainbowkrampus]

Wonder and awe are best experienced when you're not looking for that particular combination of emotions. Pursuing wonder runs the risk of cheapening it. If you're out looking for it, there's decent motivation to force it if/when you're not finding it. Also, it's not a very important set of emotional responses. In the sense that they offer little meaning or knowledge. As a person who has set aside child-like notions about "meaning in the universe" (whatever that means...), wonder and awe are just not particularly strong motivators anymore. You can get way more fulfillment out of trying to understand something more completely than you'll ever get out of, "Ooh, pretty." By way of example, I experienced wonder and awe back in February. I was playing Elden Ring and took a particular elevator for the first time. After I picked my jaw up off the floor I continued with my business and eventually beat the game. I immediately started a new game and eventually got back to that elevator. But the wonder and awe were gone. Of course they were, there's no surprise anymore. You can't forget who the killer was in the murder mystery. You can't return the baby. But, what's left is an appreciation of an experience and an indelible memory. More importantly, that emotional hook provided the motivation to continue to explore and investigate the story and world of Elden Ring. A thing I do to this day, almost 9 months later. I've gotten far more out of engaging with this world and engaging with the people who share this interest than I ever would from spending time seeking out more "elevator experiences". Wonder and awe are nice. But there are many things under the sun and, I would argue, there are better things as well.

[@eklektikTubb]

I understand word "spiritual" as "about us, who we are and why are we here". I dont think it is about wonder and awe, because we can feel those also from things that are not about us, such as inanimate objects, rocks, stars, planets, etc.

[@nicciswainhi]

Have you seen the photos of the James Webb telescope

[@ThatOneGirlThatPlays]

I feel like we should be asking Karl Pilkington this question. I'm positive he would remark that he's never experienced wonder or awe.

[@Cthulhu4President]

"Can Atheists Experience Wonder & Awe?" I'm not religious. Which means when I experience wonder or awe it is more justified than if a religious person experiences it based on the fact that I'm not making the assumption "God made this just for ME to see!!". You want wonder and awe? Get high and then have sex. Works every time.

[@voiceofchrist8290]

Atheism is like a god or an idol, it's like impossible let go and is impossible to let go when you're practicing idolatry.