spiritual agnostics/atheists

i just finished skimming parts of "Any Christian's out there wanting to get their temple in shape?" and it got me thinking...I had a typical politically-progressive protestant upbringining...Some Sunday school when I was younger, semi-regular church services etc.  Ever since I was 8, I've identified myself as agnostic (except for my jaded teenager years when I was an atheist).

Anyways, while I am not religious at all, I have become more and more spiritual in my old age (read 27).  I'm not extremely spiritual by any sense of the imagination, but realizing that I am just one small person on this crazy amazing planet is quite awesome. 

So for those spiritual, but not religious folks, what inspires you to become more healthy?

Part of it for me is being able to spend more time outdoors, being able to do more challenging hikes, kayak further, etc.  To be able to see more of our natural environments.

anyone else?

I'm not sure if I would be considered "spiritual"... I disagree with a lot of organized religion, I don't believe in any kind of god or an afterlife. However, I do think that people are more than just carbon and water, etc. and that there is something else to us, not necessarily a soul, but something like that.

anyway I'm losing weight to feel more healthy and try to set myself up for the rest of my life by making healthy choices and starting to excersize now.

hey kylam,
i think we've got a pretty similar view on life and being and whatnot.

thanks for chiming in.

I would agree too... I am an agnostic atheist (read: know that we can never know but believe that god does not exist) but I am spiritual in the fact that I think life is so amazing and live to preserve every bit of it.
I want to get healthy and in shape to experience all that life has to offer.  I love hiking and also taking care of animals, and I want to be able to do all of that with out the extra baggage.  Living in Idaho I live very close to many national parks and lots of moutains and outdoor activities... I just want to experience it all... you know what I mean?

I like this topic...as for my motevation I like to think that I only have the strenght willpower and control over my life as opposed to asking some "some higher power to take control for me. Although I was raised strict born again christian and still have LOTS of residual guilt. Although I do consider my self agnostic.

I really like this topic too, everytime I see the temple get in to shape thing, I kind of feel bad that I cringe a little, I shouldn't, but I'm living in a conservative state for the first time in my life, and most of the influences I've seen developing from religion have just kind of pissed me off a lot... it just seems to be an excuse/breeding ground for intolerant opinions, which in itself is a hypocritical approach, but that's another topic, and this is not the place... so healthy lifestyles!

Thanks for a refreshing topic! I guess I would fit under the agnostic, but extremely spiritual category as well.

I am also obsessed with the outdoors :)  I plan on getting a kayak so I can get more time outside this coming fall. The hikes, the woods, everything around me outside motivates me to push myself further, when I get outside, I'm just so much more comfortable, all the doubts inside me sort of evaporate, and I don't worry nearly as much (not sure I'm really a people person persay...) the feeling of standing out in the open air is filled with this sharp clarity of thought that I can't experience anywhere else. So for me, that is part of my motivation. The idea, that being outside will not only contribute to my goals, but also being able to do more outside will be even more of a reward.

Also, there is an odd part that ties in weight loss to inhibitions, just once I feel more comfortable in myself, I'm less self conscious, and feel less influenced by other people's opinions, and thus more ready to be friendly with others, and open up more. And I feel like I don't do a lot of things I should, because I'm too afraid of being judged on the weak point of my looks, so when I can drop this weight, small changes toward caring less about what other people think, and more about what kind of people I can find as friends.

Hope everyone finds what they are looking for, these are all really interesting responses.
(newveggie, I'm jealous that you live in Idaho, that's awesome!)

Thanks again aasil, that made my day.

My church is the great outdoors!!  Is not god under that rock, in that brook....  Anyway, I think my motivation is knowing how precious and short this life is and wanting to be strong and in good health for as long as possible.  Foxymama I understand about the residual guilt stuff..sure seems to take along time to shake it all off.  When I was about 20 I re evaluated all my beliefs.  Were they truly my thoughts and beliefs or what I was told to believe or what I thought I was being told to believe...

I am a proud born again christian.  I wouldnt trade this life living for the Lord for nothing in the world.  He is my everything. 

wow, it's awesome to read all these responses.

anettabon - you totally hit a nail on the head with the inhibitions part...I completely relate. I have a kayak, but I live in a city and don't have a car, so it's hard to get it in the water...it's not exactly the sort of thing you can bring on a bus! But being on the water, especially in a kayak, is so grounding. I love it!

julieraven - i remember i once when i was 18 or 19, i was visiting a friend who grew up with a very catholic mother, who made them go to mass once a week, and one week her dad was in a kayak in the middle of the river and her mom kept yelling to him to come inside to get ready for mass...and how it was important for him to go to mass to set an example for the kids. finally, the dad shouted back "can't i pray from here? it's beautiful." he was definitely a religious guy, but it made me reminded me of the things i didn't dig about organized religion, that you had to physically be "in the house of god" in order to give thanks.

Well. since I figure I'm not really focusing on trying to get into heaven anymore (since I'm not sure it exists, and definitely don't believe in hell) there had to be some meaning to my life, and the best I can come up with is being the best person I can be, and to enjoy the wonders of life as completely as possible.

Basically, with my changing beliefs (from questioning Catholic to complete agnostic over the last few years) has come the belief that my body is to be worshipped, and I haven't exactly spent enough time building the temple.

I also want to live as long as possible. I'm so into astronomy, and so many breakthroughs are happening every year. I want to learn as much as possible before my time is up!

mostarburst - that's cool...glad you have something that works for you and your beliefs...my everything is the natural environments, the city i live in, the people i work with and love, the art that i make and see being made, etc.

Volunteer mod just peeping in to ~ wave hello ~

thought provoking thread!  I like the question:

So for those spiritual, but not religious folks, what inspires you to become more healthy?

Part of it for me is being able to spend more time outdoors, being able to do more challenging hikes, kayak further, etc.  To be able to see more of our natural environments.

anyone else?

hopefully, this thread will stay on topic and not turn into an inflammatory debate and/or bash fest about religion.

Would appreciate everyone's help to keep the conversation civil and respectful so we won't have to lock the thread or delete inflammatory, off-topic type posts...

Hope we have a long-lived great group of friends get2gether here to share motivation & support :)

Cheers, united :)  (volunteer moderator)

Yes I was born and raised into a Pentecost Home , but its not the name on the door that is gonna save you... everyone has to live by the Bible and work out their own salvation. 

God Never changes.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  His word (the Bible) never changes.  Whatever it says is what we have to live by.

foxymama- yeah, it's pretty cool to think about how we have the power to change our lives.  there's a lot in the world that we don't have control over.  To realize that you are in charge of your health and well-being is a pretty sweet thing.

I love this thread!  :)  I too find a lot of motivation in nature, the absolute beauty in every season.  I love running in the crisp winter air, the pureness and clean feeling of pouring sweat in the hot summer sun.  Being able to go for a long hike.

I also find a lot of motivation in the human body, in general.  The way everything works together.  Feeling my body respond to the athletic tasks I ask of it.

I'm far from a Christian person, but I do find spirituality in nature and the workings of the body.  I also get a lot of motivation from a belief in karma, knowing that if I do things the right way eventually the pieces will fall together the way they are meant to, even if it is less than easy.  It's what gets me through plateaus and bumps in the road.

That being said, I am going to don my little moderator hat and echo united's sentiment that this thread stay on-topic and not inflammatory.  To that end, while everyone is welcome in all posts, it would likely be best that we keep the conversation to the motivational factors for those who identify with this type of spirituality.  Let's please not make this a religious debate, as that would only be appropriate in the Lounge forum.  Thanks!

Great topic!  I am an agnostic from a long line of agnostics.  Religion doesn't interest me, nor does the Bible, but that doesn't mean I don't experience deep awe and reverence at life on this amazing planet.

I was always a philosopher, even as a kid.  Studied it in college, thinking it would help me understand the deep questions.  But I was arrogant; I abused my body, ate garbage, and neglected exercise, thinking everything I needed was in my mind.  Life took some bad turns, and I became very dissatisfied and unhappy with myself and with the world I was born into.

Some instinct took me to Lake Tahoe after graduation.  I had never been there or even seen pictures, but needing somewhere to move I chose it out of the blue, packed up my truck, and went.  Suddenly, beauty was everywhere, and it changed my life.  It didn't take me long to realize that my unhappiness was my own fault.  By making bad choices, like smoking and eating unhealthy foods, I was limiting my ability to experience all the wonderful things out there.  So I started making changes.  I quit smoking, started hiking, learned to snowboard, explored on my mountain bike, photographed wildflowers ...

That was about four years ago.  Learning to be happy in Tahoe was easy.  Learning to be happy in the rest of the world is harder.  But, I have a little part of me that remembers what it felt like when I would climb the little hill behind my house to sit and watch the sunset over the lake.  I'll always have that.

thanks to the moderators for keeping things in check...just to clarify, i have no desire for any sort of religious debate.  i'm doubt that anyone will be able to change my beliefs and i doubt that i'll be able to change anyone else's.  plus, if i wanted the debate, i would have come up with something much more controversial :) (just being a smart ass).

pandajenn - i broke my foot last winter and spending time in the orthopedic's office was really cool.  I swear if it wasn't for the bio and chem classes i would need to take, i would become an orthopedic surgeon.  It's so cool learning about how your muscles and bones and tendons and whatnot all interact with each other.

sarah - i took astronomy in college and nearly failed...way too much math for me...but it does give a great perspective of just how large the natural environment actually is, and just how small we are.

cheers.

We are all different people with different beliefs.  I am glad we can discuss our views in a adult manner.

Sorry guys... no disrespect... just started a thread where Christian conversation would be welcomed and not offensive to those who weren't.  Glad it gave others an idea to start their own threads!  Let Freedom ring! 

And yes I agree with you in a way about religion, meaning a bunch of rules and regulations that mankind tries to use to please God.  That IS wrong.  Not sure what an agnostic is.... but guessing you don't believe in God??? 

Hope I didn't offend anybody and only helped give you the idea to start one of your own. 

Angela

hey angelab- thanks for stopping by.  no worries at all.

there are a lot of us here on CC, and a lot of people come from various backgrounds, regions of the world, etc.  most of all, i wanted a place where i felt like i could connect a bit more with some of the people.  skimming the "Any Christians out there..." made me realize that y'all were connecting well, but I definitely could not connect in that thread (nothing personal...just a big difference in beliefs on religion).  I knew if I found folks with similar spiritual philosophies, it would definitely help keep me on track.  even just reading people's thoughts today has inspired me to keep on going. 

there's much more i could write, but it's nearly midnight, and i got to finish up some work.

cheers.

I edited my post.... hehe!  Well... I am such a perfectionist!!  I wanted to MAKE SURE I SAID THE RIGHT THING!  LOL!  Well, yes aasil.. I totally understand!  Glad we're cool... Enjoy your new thread!