According to the logic of the so-called “skeptics,” spirituality and   
   religion is craziness.   
      
   By that definition, the bulk of humanity is mentally ill, as the bulk of   
   humanity has one or another form of spirituality. This leaves these people   
   thinking that they are the only sane people out there.   
      
   If there is such a thing as narcissism, I can think of no more glaring   
   narcissism than that.   
      
   Most “skeptics” are not even scientists. Real scientists are curious, and   
   many are as curious about spirituality as they are about everything else. I am   
   good friends with a distinguished scientist who openly talks about having had   
   very real spiritual    
   experiences. He has a vast body of academic knowledge, is very well-reasoned   
   and uses scientific method to excellent standard. That has not prevented him   
   from having a spiritual life.   
      
   Spiritual experiences happen all the time, at least they do in my life. I've   
   had many experiences with less than a billionth chance of happening; and I am   
   nowhere close to being the only one. Many people either forget the experiences   
   that they have or    
   deny them; but if you dig enough you will find in many cases that they have in   
   fact had very real spiritual experiences. The problem is that they do not know   
   how to make them parse with what they know about the world from science and   
   mathematics. This    
   results in many of them denying these experiences; and toward that effect any   
   number of people have come up with any number of tricks.   
      
   Some want to say that experience is “anecdotal” and does not count as   
   valid evidence. Others want to ascribe it to being on drugs, or being   
   depressed or anorexic, or being otherwise non compos mentis during the time of   
   the experience. Others still    
   start going into beliefs such as that truth itself is relative. In all cases   
   we find dishonesty. It is dishonesty that comes from dischordance between the   
   logical implications of the experience and the worldview.   
      
   Is science wrong? No, it isn't. Materialist fundamentalism however is   
   completely wrong. I seek an explanation that will be consistent with both   
   scientific fact and the facts of my and other people's spiritual experiences;   
   and I am continuing to look for    
   this explanation in any number of paths.   
      
   https://sites.google.com/site/ilyashambatthought   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)