So now we can talk practices.
And we can call them religious practices . . .
because they make us pause and consider.
And if we do them with awareness,
they orient us to our common best interest,
which is to live in balance with each other and the world.
Reverend Ron Phares
This page assembles statements that have been made by religious naturalists – about types of things they do (or suggest) that may be seen as parts of spiritual/religious practice.
Most statements describe individual activities. But a few (shown at the end) are presented as “collections” that give examples of the varieties of things that some religious naturalists may do.
Art is my way of loving the world as I pass through. Sharing, in partnership with you, experience that seems worthwhile. My work is poised somewhere between realism and inscape (yes that is a word). Witnessing and representing, from my own perspective as we create together. Raise a glass and drink to the big “U” (the Universe in you and me) as we experience life’s unfolding!
…..Bonnie Dixon
I practice mindfulness meditation and follow the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.
…..Pamela Schleicher
I walk through the Missouri woods and the organisms are everywhere, seen and unseen, flying about or pushing through the soil or rummaging under the leaves, adapting and reproducing.
I open my senses to them and we connect. . .
I see them as they are; I understand how they work.
…..Ursula Goodenough, from “The Sacred Depths of Nature”
I have put together a series of [music] mixes related to seasonal celebrations.
For the actual celebrations, however, I prefer live music made by the participants.
I’ve even written a few songs and chants to this purpose.
…..Bart Everson
Two [practices] I regularly engage in are:
1. Visiting the “Astronomy Picture of the Day” once a day and meditating upon it — just as Christians might do the same with a Daily Devotional.
2. Walking in a natural area, trying to learn at least one new thing (which might be aesthetic, aural, kinesthetic, scientific, or compassionate.)
I’ve worked for years compiling . . . “Earth Songs” on my website (http://www.planetpatriot.net) . . . Many of the songs, including songbooks or albums, are activist or eco-oriented, but some have to do with religious naturalism. . . I also have a page of “Peace Songs”.
…..Harold Wood
Many surfers speak of surfing as “going to church” and refer to the sea as “Mother Ocean” . . .
[It] involves a sense of connection and belonging to nature in general and the sea in particular and produces concomitant reverence toward nature and a corresponding environmentalist ethic.
Equally critical for many soul surfers is the communion they feel with non-human creatures . . . the earth, and even universe itself, as well as a perception that such connections are transformative and healing.
…..Bron Taylor, from “Surfing into Spirituality and a New, Aquatic Nature Religion”
The practice of composting forces me to reflect on the nature of life and death, and the inter-connectedness and the interdependence of my life with other living creatures. . . .
It is almost a kind of ceremony each time I spread a new batch of compost into my soil. I think of churches that celebrate communion. For me, the spreading of compost of which I have helped create is a form communion with the natural processes of earth that help sustain life.
…..Drew Nagy
Rituals of many types are appropriate for Religion of Nature. Examples are:
celebrations of the morning and evening;
rituals orienting to the four points of the compass, suggesting fealty to the whole of the earth and its creatures;
rituals recognizing the equinoxes and solstices;
rituals bearing on birth, entry into adulthood, marriage, career, child bearing and rearing, advancing age, and death;
rituals of rejoicing and those of mourning;
rituals of fasting and those of grateful communal eating and drinking;
rituals of confession, penance, and recommitment.
All such rituals can evoke and enact a sense of the mystery and wonder of an all-surrounding nature and of our place and responsibility as human beings within it.
…..Donald Crosby, from “More than Discourse”
Ron Phares suggested that, to deepen an understanding nature and ecology, we might perform regular ritual acts that remind us that our planet is finite and that all living things have limits.
This can be as easy as sitting down and stopping your day at a particular time – to engage all of your senses – wholly – wherever you find yourself.
…..It can be that simple. The limit can be – stopping.
Or, perhaps you may want to limit what you eat . . .
Or, maybe you don’t drive one day a week . . .
Or maybe you stop drinking chocolate milk. Because you love chocolate milk.
And, every time you have to turn it down, you have to ask yourself – why?
…..And then you remember.
You are turning it down because the act is supposed to remind you about how you are an amazing part of this self-limiting universe and that you want to honor with help and creation and awe.
And it also reminds you that humans have a special responsibility and opportunity –
to live in harmony with the universe that was limited from its inception.
…..Rev. Ron Phares, from a videotaped sermon about RN and transcendentalism
Donald Crosby suggested that, each time we lift a glass of water to our lips, we . . .
can view this simple but necessary act as a kind of ritual recognition and celebration of the religious ultimacy of the natural world.
…..Donald Crosby “More than Discourse”
The church at which I practice my RN wizardry begins its “year” every September with a Water Ceremony to which we all bring water from wherever we traveled during the summer.
…..Lane Tracy
I’ve had the honor to baptize most of my grandchildren: standing in the ocean with their parents, I dab some water on their little foreheads and say something like I baptize you in the name of the Earth.
…..Ursula Goodenough
One of my “spiritual practices” is to keep a log I call “Evolution without ceasing”. I just make notes I think of, based usually on an actual observation, recording my wonder about the role of evolution in whatever I observe. This results in lots of “just so” stories, so I don’t take the log seriously. It is mostly for fun and to help me be more attentive to the world around me.
…..Michael Cavanaugh
How then can I be a good person? How can I live as one who is friendly, loving, caring, compassionate, curious, open to new possibilities, intelligent, and wise? . . . .
The answer is simple to state but more difficult to live: it is to be fully in the present moment as I encounter others, as I encounter all my parts in my autobiographical self, as I encounter all forms of life, streams, rocks, and stars.
In this state of consciousness called my sacred center, I have little need to acquire material things – only what I need for nourishment and life support. Being mindful of the ever changing succession of present moments, I can enjoy the richness of nature, human relationships, and my inner self. In a state of constant mindfulness I can live in peace and love in our wonderful evolving world – in the dance of the sacred.
…..Karl Peters – from “Dancing with the Sacred”
For many years, a family of ospreys lived in a large nest near my summer home in Maine. Each season, I carefully observed their rituals and habits. . . .
My wife and I recorded all of these comings and goings with cameras and in a notebook. We wrote down the number of chicks each year . . . We noted when the chicks first began flapping their wings, usually a couple of weeks before flying from the nest. We memorized the different chirps the parents made for danger, for hunger, for the arrival of food. After several years of cataloguing such data, we felt that we knew these ospreys. We could predict the sounds the birds would make in different situations, their flight patterns, their behavior when a storm was brewing. Reading our “osprey journals” on a winter’s night, we felt a sense of pride and satisfaction.
…..Alan Lightman (From “The Accidental Universe”, p. 53-54)
I love traditional religions. Whenever I wander into distinctive churches or mosques or temples, or visit museums of religious art, or hear performances of sacred music, I am enthralled by the beauty and solemnity and power they offer. Once we have our feelings about Nature in place, then I believe that we can also find important ways to call ourselves Jews, or Muslims, or Taoists, or Hopi, or Hindus, or Christians, or Buddhists. Or some of each. The words in the traditional texts may sound different to us than they did to their authors, but they continue to resonate with our religious selves. We know what they are intended to mean.
…..Ursula Goodenough, from “The Sacred Depths of Nature”
A few religious naturalists act as “evolutionary evangelists”, speaking to both religious and non-religious people, to show how an evolutionary understanding of human nature can inspire and empower each of us to live with greater integrity, joy, and zest for life.
…..Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow, from the Thank God for Evolution website
I go to a Sunday School class every week, and the class quite accurately accuses me of being a missionary to them from Religious Naturalism.
…..Michael Cavanaugh
I have included as part of my Ethical Will for my children and grandchildren certain tenets of the RNA to help them understand my own beliefs and as a possible guide for their belief systems.
…..Paul Karlsberg, M.D.
Collection #1
…..Emerson Talmage
At age 69, I don’t have a big need for a weekly get together at a naturalistic gathering. Instead, for me, I try to engage in at least 5 “practices” that support RN-ness:
1) participate when I can in eco-protective public events (such as climate change marches)
2) donate openly (but modestly) to groups like Sierra Club and 350.org
3) search the internet periodically (about monthly) for different blogs that discuss religion, naturalism, ethical theories, humanistic programs AND try to express my sentiments by way of a few comments IF the blogs seem open to dialogue … so that I add my RN voice to those dialogues
4) I try to garden weekly (yard, flowers, trees, not vegetable patches) and trips monthly or bi-monthly to nature sites (woods, parks, walks, some camping, some light non-motorized boating) for reflection
5) I try to communicate every few months some general RN-like thoughts to family and friends …
I over-do this at times … but the idea is, again, pass thoughts and ideas on to see where they go (ideas are physical, imo).
It isn’t a “practice” for me, but I periodically attend a UU church that one of my daughters attends in order to reflect but also to share thoughts … (I don’t do this very often because I tend to remain a bit reclusive on a personal level).
I need to re-read [the RNA] website … and should make that a practice to do once a month or so.
Collection #2
…..Terry Findlay
Here are two important understandings of the processes and patterns observed in nature, and some actions that might follow from each.
An understanding of our existence in and dependence on nature can prompt actions in support for sustainable relationships with the environment:
recycling, reusing, reducing
support for political parties with concerns for environmental issues
making consumer choices based on sustainability considerations
support of organization such as RNA
publishing information related to sustainable relationships with the environment
An understanding of the interdependence of living things with each other and the environment can prompt actions in support of a respect for the interdependence for all living things [can support]:
animal rescue
habitat protection
establishment and protection of green spaces
Acting according to one’s emotional responses to an understanding of the processes and patterns observed in nature . . . include:
artistic expression (music, dance, writing, theatre, graphic arts, etc.)
gardening
practices honoring one’s understanding of the processes and patterns observed in nature
If I were a Hindu, I would probably follow the path of contemplation. What I seek, primarily, is the stimulation of wonder and insight, which for me calls for a lot of solitary reflection.
I live on the banks of a lovely river, offering me a sort of sanctuary where I occasionally find opportunities for what might be called, very loosely, worshipful meditation. There is nothing resembling ritual discipline in these reflective events: I merely sit and gaze, usually at the flickering flames of a campfire or the rippling patterns on the water. Once I become relaxed my mind spontaneously wanders into the realms of the very large and the very small. I consider the size and the age of the universe, the billions of galaxies drifting aimlessly apart, and the billions of stars in each galaxy. I consider the history of our own star, circled by careless obedient planets, and then the Earth, with its abundant materials continuously recycling themselves. . . How unlikely is it to find places like this, capable of generating and supporting life . . . How close can I get to comprehending the fact that trillions of lifeless molecules – each one a universe in itself – are generating the life I now feel. . . . How did such an event come to be? What if it hadn’t? How will it change things?
I have discovered that these reflective occasions always have a renewing, refreshing effect on me. I have discovered that they invariably alter my attitudes and my perspectives on the events of the day. And on very rare occasions, when the realms of the very larger and the very small are brought together in a fleeting thought, I have discovered that it is possible to feel embraced by nature.
…..Loyal Rue, from “Naturalizing Religion”
A number of additional activities have been described by religious naturalists as things that see (primarily, or in part) as spiritual/religious practices. These include:
Nature photography
Annual calendars
Hunting
Fishing
Ecologic activism
Music
Painting
Poetry
Sculpture (carving wildlife figures)
Video production (with RN themes)
Multi-media talks and videos (about the spirituality inherent in Big History)
“Stopping” (as a response to the rush of modern life)
Websites (varied themes)
Educate (on Buddhist naturalism and other topics)
Volunteer (environmental non-profit)
Minister (interfaith chaplain, hospital chaplain, UU minister, independent ministry)
Weekly reminders (regarding spiritual attitudes and practices)