Spirituality for Humanists:

SYNOPSIS:

    If we do not believe in any 'spirits' beyond ourselves,
can we still have a spiritual life?
This presentation will explore six capacities of inwardness beyond our
physical, emotional-psychological, and intellectual dimensions of being:

(1) self-transcendence, self-criticism, & altruism;

(2) freedom—the ability to transcend our enculturation and choose for ourselves;

(3) creativity—our capacity to make something out of nothing;

(4) love—which enables us to encounter others as Thou;

(5) anxiety—which puts us in touch with our underlying Existential Predicament;

and (6) glimpses of joy and fulfillment
—openings to living beyond angst  and despair.

OUTLINE:

Introduction: how spirit differs from other dimensions of our beings:

1. the physical dimension—given by our genes;

2. the emotional-psychological dimension—learned since birth;

3. the intellectual dimension
            —characterized by words, verbal learning;

4. the spiritual dimension
            —beyond the physical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions
            —characterized by the following capacities.

1. Self-Transcendence, Self-Criticism, Altruism

Illustration of altruism: The Littlest St. Nicholas.

Illustration: abandoning orthodoxy and opening our minds.

Illustration: Archimedes discovers his Principle.

Love in the other dimensions of being is more common.
Every Thou must become It again.

Five differences between simple fear and existential anxiety:
(1) description
(2) cause and channel of approach
(3) duration
(4) scope
(5) cure.

In our deepest moments of spirit,
we may notice that depression has been lifted, angst  has disappeared.

This presentation was given for the University Unitarian Universalists
on Wednesday, April 21, 1999.

This presentation is based on James Park's small book:

Spirituality for Humanists:

Six Capacities of Our Human Spirits .

The outline of this 24-page book will appear if you click the above title.
And from that outline, you may call up the complete text of each chapter.
In other words, this whole book is available free of charge on the internet.
But if you would like a printed and bound copy,
that can easily be obtained by mail.

    A cyber-sermon by James Park
prepared for the World Wide Young Adult Congregation.
This cyber-sermon is also named
"Spirituality for Humanists:
Six Capacities of Our Human Spirits",
but it is only 3 pages long.

    For people who do not have the time or interest
to read the 24 page book,
this could be a good place to begin
exploring this new approach to spirituality.

    James Park is an existential philosopher with a deep interest in spirituality.
He has written five books on existential spirituality,
including the above mentioned Spirituality for Humanists.
The others will be found in the Existential Spirituality Bibliography.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.