Religion for Atheists
BlueAbyss wrote:
GGPViper wrote:
I think ritual helps people form bonds and center ourselves.
For some reason this makes me think of Sports Culture.
Hmmmm....... Sports, Church, or Ritual all suggest what brings in people is really a performance. Not to say it's just about entertainment either.
It's a drama where the audience is vicariously involved. In church they are vicariously "saved" or blessed. While wearing their sports jersey they feel a vicarious sense of victory when their team wins even though they were not personally on the field or in the ice rink.
The closest intellectual pursuit to this I can think of is any significant NASA achievement beginning with the Moon Landing. Also to some extent when there was debate over fixing the Hubble telescope.
VIDEODROME wrote:
BlueAbyss wrote:
GGPViper wrote:
I think ritual helps people form bonds and center ourselves.
For some reason this makes me think of Sports Culture.
Hmmmm....... Sports, Church, or Ritual all suggest what brings in people is really a performance. Not to say it's just about entertainment either.
It's a drama where the audience is vicariously involved. In church they are vicariously "saved" or blessed. While wearing their sports jersey they feel a vicarious sense of victory when their team wins even though they were not personally on the field or in the ice rink.
The closest intellectual pursuit to this I can think of is any significant NASA achievement beginning with the Moon Landing. Also to some extent when there was debate over fixing the Hubble telescope.
But I cannot watch this without feeling soothed by the silence and the grace of the movements. Very different from watching sports or the thrill of the moon walk. It's a form of meditation:
Japanese Tea Ceremony: Tea at Koken
http://youtu.be/7tt7NBIVeMY
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Female
INFP
Interesting. That also makes me think of the popularity of Cooking shows. Maybe there is an innate sense of ritual with preparing and consuming food even if the Western version is not done in a steady meditative way.
The closest thing to this in the West might be Wine Tasting just because that involves slow sipping and savoring of the flavors in the wine, paying close attention to palette, and consuming foods complimentary to the wine being tasted. It is not something to be rushed.
VIDEODROME wrote:
Interesting. That also makes me think of the popularity of Cooking shows. Maybe there is an innate sense of ritual with preparing and consuming food even if the Western version is not done in a steady meditative way.
The closest thing to this in the West might be Wine Tasting just because that involves slow sipping and savoring of the flavors in the wine, paying close attention to palette, and consuming foods complimentary to the wine being tasted. It is not something to be rushed.
Yes. Food is essential to life, so maybe it's not so strange that we would want to ritualize it. Of course ritual can be overdone too. There's definitely a need for balance. But when life gets chaotic and unreliable, I tend to need some calming ritual to counterbalance the chaos.
The closest thing to this in the West might be Wine Tasting just because that involves slow sipping and savoring of the flavors in the wine, paying close attention to palette, and consuming foods complimentary to the wine being tasted. It is not something to be rushed.
_________________
Female
INFP