>> society then that leaves me nowhere. I dont relate to nature
>>spiritually (though I guess I do emotionally), I enjoy knowing
>> about it - what things are, what they do.
>please dont take this in offense paige, but i think you have a problem if
>you dont relate to nature spiritually. and when you say you do
>emotionally, what does that mean? maybe its just language were tripped up
>on. maybe you dont understand what i (and others) mean when we say
>"spiritual"..i think roxanne did a great job describing hers. do you not
>relate to what she wrote? -anne
I have been following this debate with great interest, because I have never
really understood what people meant by spirituality. I also read what
Roxanne wrote, and what you wrote, but I still don't understand what you mean
by spirituality. Do you mean an emotional response to the world? A feeling
of unity with nature? IMHO people can feel unified with nature all we like
(and I think everyone has has those feelings), but nature does not feel
unified with us. What I think is important is to instill in people a feeling
of respect for nature as something we can never completely apprehend
intellectutally, and an understanding that we are part of it, that if
we harm nature we harm ourselves.
To me, spirituality has always meant the appeal to a greater power
than oneself. In traditional religions, the greater power is in a parental
relationship with human beings; it is responsible for our destiny in some
way. I don't believe that. I believe we are responsible. But the feeling
I get when I see a beautiful landscape (or hear a beautiful voice, or see a
beautiful artwork) does not seem like a sort of communication with something
outside of myself. It's simply an emotional response to beauty.
I'm not sure if I understand what you mean at all. Maybe this is a
semantics problem. Please try again. Perhaps if you could be a little more
descriptive of your experience...
Mary
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ Mary Eichbauer +
+ [EMAIL PROTECTED] +
+ +
+ Il n'y a pas de sexe ennemi: +
+ l'ennemi de l'homme, c'est l'homme.+
+ --Natalie Clifford Barney +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
