Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

Has anyone here heard of Sunday Assembly? It started in Britain, I believe, by some folks who wanted a church-like community without the god stuff. Their motto is "Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More." My husband and I went for the first time today to the one here and really enjoyed it. This one was about "Joy," and included watching clips from a couple TED talks, talking about what brings us joy, and singing (we sang "Walking on Sunshine"). And then a potluck. There was no mention of religion, positive or negative. Just a very inclusive, nonjudgmental atmosphere and a focus on helping others. It's really nice to find a values-based group where no one is talking about prayer or ministers or gods.

Wander… Sunday assembly looks somewhat successful in gathering people together. None in may area since 2015

From the New York Times ... "The axolotl, sometimes called the Mexican walking fish, is a cheerful tube sock with four legs, a crown of feathery gills and a long, tapered tail fin. It can be pale pink, golden, gray or black, speckled or not, with a countenance resembling the “slightly smiling face” emoji. Unusual among amphibians for not undergoing metamorphosis, it reaches sexual maturity and spends its life as a giant tadpole baby.

Many animals can perform some degree of regeneration, but axolotls seem almost limitless in their capabilities. As long as you don’t cut off their heads, they can “grow back a nearly perfect replica” of just about any body part, including up to half of their brain, said Jeramiah Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Kentucky and an author of the paper. To understand how they evolved these healing superpowers, Dr. Smith and his colleagues looked to the axolotl’s DNA.""  

This article made me think of this meme

wanderweg,  Perhaps the research they are doing on these little guys will enable the restoration of the body after trauma.  Certainly mastectomies qualify as trauma.   What I find truly fascinating is their ability to regrow all forms of tissue to replace every part as long as they still have their heads and half their brains.  I knew about limbs, but the article is talking about everything.  Truly amazing.

NanfromOntario,

Although I don't consider myself a Buddhist or believe in everything the Buddha taught, I did study the teachings and practice meditation for about 10 years.  I was sufficiently well versed in the teachings to be selected to moderator of one of the largest international Buddhist forums in the world.  Buddhism has no creation story, no creator god, no belief in an eternal self of soul.  I can understand why some Christians are uncomfortable with it.  

Hinduism has a lot in common with Buddhism when it comes to basic stuff, but it has a creator god, a creation story and a belief in an eternal self or soul all of which is different than Christianity.  I can understand why some Christians are uncomfortable with yoga and Hinduism.

Today both mindfulness and yoga are becoming more popular in the west.  But because of the discomfort of Christianity towards these things, they have been watered down so as not to offend Western sensibilities.  I agree that meditation can be useful for some mental health issues but it useless for some other mental health issues.  

The one form of meditation that is very effective for the average person is Metta meditation.  You can Google that and try it. 

nan- I'm a firm believer in meditation. I have been meditating since my college Years back in the early 1980s. I continue to meditate approximately 20 to 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. When I meditate I just focus on clearing my head of garbage in an attempt to reach a state of completely being in the moment. What I do find it interesting almost always during my meditations my darling dogs will join me on the floor and will soon fall asleep. A couple of my dogs behavior is similar to a toddler on steroids. Maybe as I'm attempting to reach a calm space they start picking up on my energy or more relaxed state and act accordingly.

ananda- yes I have. I can do it in a seated position but I cannot do it in a supine position. If I'm lying down I tend to fall asleep.

My yoga teacher would have us start with our toes. First tense them and then relax. She would move slowly up the body. DD says she does that to sleep and never gets above her hips. We did it lying down and there were a few times when people snored.

I agree that Buddhism/mindfulness is a good fit for nontheists. I used to be much more involved and went to several weekend retreats at a place in the NC mountains called Southern Dharma and also a weeklong retreat with Thich Nhat Hahn. When I went more regularly to the Quaker Meeting, I always felt it was essentially a mindfulness meditation. I’m working now to recapture that part of my life. I asked a zen teacher at a retreat once how to fit in meditation when I was so busy with wok and two young kids. She said, “Don’t worry about that - let your parenting be your practice.” So now some of my best mindfulness times are when I’m walking or gardening or chopping vegetables for dinner.

I just ran across this quote by Hitchens. Thought it worth sharing.

“There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have relinquished belief only with regret. To this I reply: who wishes that there was a permanent, unalterable celestial despotism that subjected us to continual surveillance and could convict us of thought-crime, and who regarded us as its private property even after we died? How happy we ought to be, at the reflection that there exists not a shred of respectable evidence to support such a horrible hypothesis.”

santa...appreciate the reminder and reread some of his other ideas.

I had to hire an Elder (Indigenous) on Friday. I struggled to understand where culture ends and where spirituality begins. Their culture is embedded in their spirituality. So I asked several questions not necessarily approved by HR. What I did love was how nature represents their beliefs and values. It stemmed from the appreciation of the basics of life. The need to survive, not the need to control and dictate. Nor even the desire to impose their beliefs on others. In my profession, I cannot dismiss spirituality and the relevance to well-being, and although I am not at all spiritual in the sense of a greater being, many of their beliefs and practises make such great sense in terms of a people's struggling to exist and survive. Love to hear others thoughts

Indigenous beliefs are very interesting and worthy of respect. They feel they're in charge of taking care of the earth rather than exploiting it. And often they describe an animal rather than imposing a name. Or the name reflects what the animal does. I think we would be better off if more of us had that attitude. We might even do something to try to stop global warming.

Definitely not a spiritual practice, but one of the ways I reduce my mental chatter is by engaging on this site. I participate in most of the word games and a few other threads and find that much of my 'noise' is eliminated. Tonight was a bit noisy for me and could not sleep, so here I am as out in nature is not an option. :~)

Ananda: great image. Thanks