Do you have a spiritual interest?

In Luke 17:20–21, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you”

@verylate said in #9:
> I have a great respect for the spiritual, I believe that it is also one of the basic psychological needs of the human animal; but I am deeply suspicious of what it becomes when usurped by religion.

I think the whole bible is suspicious, to be honest...I find it hard to take any of the quotations seriously. Too much of it is known to be fabricated already. I don't know about the Koran but with such old texts I wouldn't be surprised.

Did Jesus really say that? According to Luke? Who is Luke? How do we trust him? According to who? And all (or most?) of this was passed down by "oral tradition" (because they didn't know how to write) for over 2000 years without any errors in a giant game of telephone? lol. Anyway its something that would require probably a fair amount of research to answer.

But what I do like about spirituality, of the non-religious kind, is I think it is more open to testing, and that's the kind of stuff I can get behind. Like if you really think you can connect to your spirit guides and get answers about your life, you should be able to prove that connection, at least to yourself, by asking them to read some randomized sequence of numbers.

If only, if only...

Modern society does not let most of us lead completely spiritual lives which are completely geared towards our own mental health unless we are very lucky, which I would suggest Viktor Laznicka is.

I thought it a bit ironic (maybe that irony was intentional!) that the interview was filmed at a bus station. We see bus drivers bringing in their vehicles and driving straight off again because they are compelled to drive the tight travellers' timetables, compensating as best they can for adverse circumstances outside their control. The passengers in those buses will typically be morning commuters (we hear at one point that they are filming in the morning), required to be at work at a particular time and busy with all the many functions which keep the Czech Republic running. The last thing that any of those people are busy with right then is their own mental health and spiritual well-being. Many of them would love to be spending some time in the mountains, or seeing some friends, or doing any of the other things which this former top player says he does on a whim.

And then we're the lucky ones if we live in such a functioning society, all working flat out to keep it going. In other places in the world the emphasis is on sheer survival, trying to scrape enough food together for the day, staying out of danger. That doesn't permit a spiritual life dedicated to your mental well-being either.

Of course the trick is to try to find balance. We have to function in our busy lives but we need time to mentally recuperate too. That isn't easy and for many it is impossible.

@kyanite111 said in #12:
> And all (or most?) of this was passed down by "oral tradition" (because they didn't know how to write) for over 2000 years

Just for the record: people invented writing long before Roman Empire.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipylon_inscription

@Brian-E said in #13:
> In other places in the world the emphasis is on sheer survival, trying to scrape enough food together for the day, staying out of danger. That doesn't permit a spiritual life dedicated to your mental well-being either.

Not sure. I was genuinelly surprised to know how important is religion for some people living in really dire conditions, maybe needed to be able to bear that life.

@OctoPinky said in #15:
> Not sure. I was genuinelly surprised to know how important is religion for some people living in really dire conditions, maybe needed to be able to bear that life.

If that religion is geared towards mental well-being, then that is great. Unfortunately this is by no means always the case. Too often religion is a vehicle that powerful individuals (religious leaders) adopt to keep the ordinary people under control by exploiting the dire conditions in which they are living.

I don't say that to bash religion by the way. People should be allowed to believe what they believe and I have every respect for that, provided that they are free in what they believe (which of course is an enormous caveat that often simply isn't true, as we ll know).

It's important, I think, to differentiate between religion and the type of spirituality which Viktor Laznicka is talking about in the interview. (He says he was Christian for a few years but no longer is.)

@Brian-E
I feel sorry for people if it is impossible to find a balance for them.
If egoes are involved I think it is politics and not spirituality. What we call "religion" is probably a great deal of politics, (or ego).

My gay furry friend killed himself. Please don't be next. There is a forum I made in tribute to him.

Link: lichess.org/forum/off-topic-discussion/my-friend-killed-himself-please-dont-be-next

I love cats tbh. very spiritual animals