Your beliefs in...

[Agaliha]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism?

1. God
Do you see god as a pointless thing to ponder? As creations of humanity? Or that it's possible they is a deity(ies) but there's not enough proof for you to believe? Or something else not mentioned.
(I assume this one could take many discussions)
Sub question: What about spirits?

2. Soul
Do you think humans have a soul? Animals? Or not?

3. An afterlife
Just worm food or something more (ie reincarnation)?

4. The supernatural & Ghosts
Bunch of crap or not?

5. Aliens and life on other planets
Are they out there, not necessary abducting people on earth, but out there doing whatever. Do you believe in their existance?

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?
Thoughts on this?

That's all I can think of now.

[~NightFire~]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism?

Atheism.

1. God

I don't believe that God exists. It's not to do with proof, or pointlessness for me-I just follow my heart, & go with what I feel to be true.

What about spirits?

I do believe in spirits. I was contacted (via a dream) by my late Bampy (Grandad) who said goodbye to me. I didn't get to see him just before he passed away-so it makes sense to me. Other than that I used to see 'orbs' when I was younger (I sometimes do now-but only at random times), & I often feel like there may be spirits nearby.


2. Soul
Do you think humans have a soul? Animals? Or not?

I think that humans (& animals) have 3 main 'aspects' (for want of a better word); mind, body, & spirit-which to me is like a force of energy inside you-it's hard to explain!

3. An afterlife
Just worm food or something more (ie reincarnation)?

I think that obviously when you die you have no use for your body or mind anymore, but that your spirit (energy, essence, soul, whatever!) can exist independently. Where it goes (or if it even stays on earth), would probably depend on the person, & I always think; 'I'll find out/know for sure when I die', & leave it at that.

4. The supernatural & Ghosts

I do believe in the Supernatural & Ghosts. I don't think that everything can be explained by science, or the only things that exist in this world are physical & natural.

5. Aliens and life on other planets
Are they out there, not necessary abducting people on earth, but out there doing whatever. Do you believe in their existance?

I believe that it is possible that other lifeforms exist out there in other universes, on other planets...I think that it's arrogant to think that we're definitely the only planet with life on it.

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?
Thoughts on this?

I'm a Witch, so I do believe in Magic & Ritual. I see Magic & spells as using the energy within you/around you to affect things/people/stuations/yourself, etc.

Ow my brain! :lol:

[cheddarsox]

Your "flavor" of non-theism?

1. God

I believe that there is no supernatural being that has power over the universe. There are forces, "laws" that control the universe, I do not know what the source of these things is, or the source of the "intelligence" in the universe, by that I mean what tells everything what to do. But I am convinced it is not a being...as humans understand the term "being".


2. Soul
I do not believe in a "soul" apart from a function of the physical. I believe that living things have "soul", a life force that distinguishes them from non-living things, but this force does not continue after the death of the organism. They are not seperate entities.


3. An afterlife

I do not believe in an afterlife. My stuff will be recycled. Nothing will continue on as "me"

4. The supernatural & Ghosts

I have no explanation for what people experience as ghosts. I believe that supernatural experiences are functions of our brains, and serve a very natural function...pleasure, motivation, etc.

5. Aliens and life on other planets

There is probably other life out there somewhere. I don't think aliens...as other human like beings, have visited our planet, but maybe life here traveled aboard a rock from another place.

6. Magic(k)Ritual?

I don't have much experience with magic. I expect that it is a function of the interconnectedness of the universe. I think many people ascribe things to it that are more their imagination than reality.

I enjoy ritual. I think such is part of human nature. We seem to like to create ritual in all areas of our lives.

That's all I can think of now.

[Agaliha]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism?
Uh, pantheistic views, agnostic about deities with lingering theistic tendences.
Sometimes I don't really know what the hell I am. :awilly:

1. God
Eh. This is tricky. ..

Sub question: What about spirits?
I believe in spirits. Metaphorically and otherwise. Mostly ghosts, energies and souls. Not angels, demons, fairies, elves, dragons, etc.

2. Soul
I believe there is a part of us that carries on from this life to the next. So I believe in souls.

3. An afterlife
I believe in reincarnation. I don't think it necessary needs a deity to be put in action. I think we learn various lessons and experiences each life. I don't really believe in Karma, though I think effects of our past lives (tramas, etc) can carry over to the present life.

4. The supernatural & Ghosts
I believe in the possibility of ghosts. I have never had any person difinitive experiences or proof though, so I'm not 100%.

5. Aliens and life on other planets
I believe in aliens. I don't believe in every abduction story, but it's possible they've visited us thoughout time. I believe I saw a UFO when I was 9, it's possible it wasn't, I don't know. Until I see something exactly like what I saw and it clearly not being a UFO, I'm going to wonder.

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?
Eh. Not really my thing. I don't do spells or magic. I don't really do rituals either. Sometimes I have conversations to whoever I hope will listen (you know, up there...), if anyone will listen. A sort of prayer I guess?
I meditate often too.

[Merrilyn]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism?

Agnostic verging on Atheistic. My stance is pretty much "I don't know/can't prove anything and you don't/can't either" so let's just get along. :D

1. God

As an idea, ideal or metaphor, god represents and fulfills the basest human need for explanation of as-of-yet (on a personal or world-wide scale) incomprehensible matters/mysteries. Gods were created to help explain wonders, regulate life and order and represent human ideals. In my mind, god represents the "spirit" of the human being and (possibly and ultimately) a collective consciousness.

Sub question: What about spirits?

I do believe in spirit, but not spirits, necessarily. I believe each living thing upon this planet contains spiritual essence and energy, and can leave an echo or imprint. I do not believe in ghosts, angels, demons, etc.

2. Soul

To me, the soul is one with the spirit. When we pass on, our energy continues... To what degree/form I'm not sure. I've never been dead.

3. An afterlife

First of all, I absolutely do not believe in reincarnation. I feel that once you're here, you're here, so you'd better make the most of it. I do have a feeling there is a transcendence (see above) of spirit/energy/soul, but anything more than that is beyond me.

4. The supernatural & Ghosts

There are/have been some really uncanny things that have happened, and that I've gone through first-hand, but just the term "supernatural" makes me itch. The Unexplained is just that - not yet explained. Nothing too spooky about it, really. There's just so much we don't know yet.

5. Aliens and life on other planets

Very much a possibility. Not grey/green huge-eyed creepies, but...life. Why would we be the only ones hurtling through space? I'm sure there's a space-carrot out there, somewhere. And maybe even a space-bunny to eat it. And so on and so forth.

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?

I think "magic" is simply a word for mind-power. I thoroughly believe that what you put out there matters, physically, mentally and spiritually, and can manifest itself in one way or another. Reap what you sow. I have used spells and other such rituals as meditations and focusing tools for myself. The more I can realize a goal in thought, the easier it may be for me to achieve. Anyone can do this, in any way. Visualization & all that. It has nothing at all to do with gods, divinity or the "supernatural".

[gwendar]

Edit:
Missed 0. Your flavour of non-theism:

I'm a mixture of atheist / nontheist / agnostic.
I lack belief in deities = atheist.
I don't really know either way, same as every other person out there = agnostic.
And as far as I know, non-theism is defined kind of as a mixture of the above, with the added, "it doesn't matter either way whether or not deity exists, and who gives a crap, as it seems to make no difference." I think non-theism might include the idea that the question of god is irrelevant. (From Wiki articles I've read, hehe)

1. God
Do you see god as a pointless thing to ponder? As creations of humanity? Or that it's possible they is a deity(ies) but there's not enough proof for you to believe? Or something else not mentioned.

I lack a belief in god/s.
There is no empirical evidence that god/s exist/s, therefore, I have no reason to believe in them. For all the amount of evidence, it would be just as reasonable for me to believe that a teapot is orbiting the sun. I can't prove there isn't a teapot orbiting the sun, but that doesn't make it reasonable to believe.

(I assume this one could take many discussions)
Sub question: What about spirits?
I'm not sure what you mean by spirit. But as far as I can tell, same as my god answer.

2. Soul
Do you think humans have a soul? Animals? Or not?

I'm not sure, although I'm extremely inclined to say no. I generally don't distinguish between animals and non-human animals, because humans are animals.
There are a few stories that make me wonder... such as small children having memories of previous lives...
So... on a scale of 1 - 10, with one being sure there isn't a soul, and 10 being sure there is a soul, I'd say I'm about a 2.46. ;)

3. An afterlife
Just worm food or something more (ie reincarnation)?

I expect there is no afterlife. But I don't know for sure of course, even if I think it highly unlikely. I guess I'll never know, unless I die and there is an afterlife... :)

4. The supernatural & Ghosts
Bunch of crap or not?

I think it's most likely that such things have a completely natural explanation, but we may just not be aware of it. What is "supernatural," anyway? If something exists in nature, how can it be supernatural??

5. Aliens and life on other planets
Are they out there, not necessary abducting people on earth, but out there doing whatever. Do you believe in their existance?

I wouldn't say I "believe" in aliens or life on other planets, but I do think that it's reasonable that life would exist elsewhere in this vast universe. No way of knowing just now though. You might say I'm agnostic about aliens. ;)

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?
Thoughts on this?

I believe that rituals are powerful because we give them power. They can work, if you believe in them. I've done "I Have to Get Rid of This Disgusting Depressing Negativity" rituals, and they helped me, but I believe that was because I was doing something to put myself back in control. Psychology, rather than supernaturalism.



I just discovered this non-theistic forum! Yay! :D

[Birdy]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism?

I am an atheist and a pantheist.

1. God
What Gwendar said.

Sub question: What about spirits?

This question confuses me, everything that is alive is spirited, but life/spirit is self-same and ephemeral not incorporeal and immortal. I guess that's a round about way to say no? That wouldn't be fair. It's a false dichotomy wherein everything living and meaningful is either separate from known reality or dead. This is a dichotomy which pantheists reject.

2. Soul

This strikes me as being the same as sub question one.

3. An afterlife

From what I know about the human mind/brain/limbic system I am compelled to accept that individual human identity/consciousness ceases at death. However, I am more than myself, I am part of "all this" for lack of a better way to put it.

4. The supernatural & Ghosts?

Not that I know of.

5. Aliens and life on other planets

Seeing that there are trillions of galaxies, and that our own galaxy has over 100 billion stars and that new stars are forming all the time I find the idea that our one little speck of rock is the only place in the Universe with life extremely odd and ridiculously improbable.

6. Magic(k)? Ritual?

I think these are psychological, powerful methods of transformation and awareness as well as important parts of culture and humanity.

[Windsmith]

0. Your "flavor" of non-theism? Naturalistic Pantheism

1. God I believe that deities are human creations that help us believe that someone is watching out for us in a vast and indifferent Cosmos. They have no existence independent of human culture.

Sub question: What about spirits? I believe that places can have "spirits," in that sometimes you can walk into a house or stand at the edge of a forest and just know whether previous owners have taken good care of it, or if it's safe to go into. But I suspect that we know these thigns because of cues so subtle we aren't consciously aware that we're picking up on them, and not because a house or a forest has a noncorporeal spirit or that fairies or elves or dragons live there.

2. Soul Sure, I have a soul. It's made up of my memories and my personality attributes - all the things that make me who I am. So everything with a little spunk - a cat, a tree, an interesting rock - has a soul. But it won't live on after we're gone.

3. An afterlife My body will go into the ground, feed the worms, enrich the soil. With any luck, something will grow on the spot where I'm planted. And that's how I'll live on.

4. The supernatural & Ghosts Ghosts and the supernatural are an awesome testament to the power of the human mind to do all sorts of things you're not consciously telling it to.

5. Aliens and life on other planets Probably. Somewhere. The law of large numbers makes it likely that something is out there.

6. Magic(k)? Ritual? I keep going back to a post of Rosana's (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showpost.php?p=2951157&postcount=4) in the thread about magic in pantheism (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?p=2951157#post2951157). She called it "psychology for romatics." I love that phrase. Magic and ritual serve as a fun, dramatic, effective way for me to focus my intention. I believe that the effect of magic is completely on the mind of the user (and any observers). But that, to me, is hugely powerful. When I change myself, I change my relationships with others and the world around me. From a single act of magic, the ripples spread out from me to...well, who knows where. And it's way more fun - and cheaper - than a shrink.