Atheists - Don't just tiptoe in with your emotions - Dive in fully

Hi

Has anyone got web links / videos to share to encourage us to uee our emotions more?

I think that as non-believers, sometimes we get too factual or agnostic maybe (or I do anyway). I’ve read Outgrowing God by Richard Dawkins for example which gave me perhaps too much of a science-head looking at things too much at the atomic or cell level.

I’ll just share this video where emotions definitely appear to help in any social context ( I feel like a fraggle in Fraggle Rock where the fraggle talk about strange this human do lol ).

This is it - the guy speaking is a top author on conversions and being assertive :
[How To Never Run Out Of Things To Say With Patrick King - YouTube](https://How To Never Run Out Of Things To Say With Patrick King)

Share anything that might help this new atheist along :slight_smile:

Cheers
Matthew

Do not get emotional! Remain objective, logical, and sympathetic.
That will establish an atmosphere of understanding and goodwill.
Don’t forget that unless the theist declares war on atheists as people, atheists should not declare war on theists as people but discuss the things in scripture that are illogical or already have scientific explanations that do not agree with dogma.
Most of all familiarize yourself with scripture. so that you can speak with some authority on the subject.

Did you know that atheists have some of the highest knowledge of biblical scripture.
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And an excellent reference book is the “Skeptics Annotated Bible, Quran, Book of Mormon”
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/#gsc.tab=0

I only listened to a little of the video, since it seemed to be about how to engage in coversation. Which is good, you want to show some curiosity. Find out what they believe before you start debunking the Bible.

Nah, I’m more of a Betazoid than a Vulcan. My husband is the Vulcan. He’s very stoic, at least with others. :wink:

Hi everyone,

I so appreciate the advice but if we take religion out of the equation, as atheists we still have emotions. In the context of a social situation like in a small gathering at someone’s house, a party, a funeral, a wedding, a date with your spouse or even when we are on our own possibly - we need to use emotion side more - critical conversations wouldn’t have a place in most of those social situations I’ve listed above and we would seem lacking if we do no use our emotions more in those situations. In those situations I may have to deal with all kinds of people and emotions. Those situations are unavoidable even if they are sporadic once a year events.

So its that kind of context around using emotions is what I’m looking for help in those situations, if anyone can help me fill in some pieces, I would greatly appreciate any more thoughts.

All the best
Matt

I have posted this before, but I believe it is such a powerful statement that it bears repeating and memorizing.

This is from an appearance of Ricky Gervais on the Stephen Colbert show.

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What do you mean by use emotions? We all have them, of course. Do you mean talking about how we feel? We should do that. If you mean expressing anger, that’s different. Anger has other emotions that drive it.

By emotions, I mean really feeling them and letting them help us find the right words and bodily expressions in the moment. I don’t mean like black or white singularly feeling happy or not, scared or not, depressed or not, confident or not emotions.

Its not very often actually that I am aware to feel my emotions more and use them. When I do, then I generally tend to feel more confident. I also think about how we were generally taught “mind over matter” when we were younger, and to quell down what you are feeling - that men are generally not supposed to show their emotions as that would be like be a softie or not a man.

It think that pure intellect (without emotions) is not enough in social situations - take this situation… I’m in a room with 10 other people. Suddenly I start to feel a bit anxious - maybe someone said something to trigger that feeeling for example. Now if I use my intellect then I could start to wonder why I’m feeling this way and start to think about why more and more - I get more anxious - to think about it right now isn’t helping of course - I’m still in the same room and want to enjoy the experience of course. Alternatively, if I use my emotions in this situation and I realise I’ve just got anxious, then I could deliberately try to feel some other emotions instead and use them to feel my way to other more enjoyable realities. In that way, I start to feel not anxious much more quickly that if I had used pure intellect to start analysing my thoughts.

Its this emotional side that I’m trying to use more and I think that more atheists need to consider this as well - even just for their own enjoyment of life.

I asked Chat AI for help and the conversation was illuminating from which more of us need to be aware of imo:

The sensations I feel are like tentacles which reach out from my body feeling every sensations although I cannot see them. What words can I use to describe the emotions I get by doing this

When you describe the sensations you feel as “tentacles” reaching out from your body, it sounds like you are describing a heightened state of awareness and sensitivity to your surroundings. This can often be associated with experiencing emotions such as:

  • Calmness
  • Tranquility
  • Peacefulness
  • Stillness
  • Serenity
  • Relaxation

You might also describe the experience as being in a state of heightened mindfulness or heightened sensory awareness. It can be a very grounding and peaceful experience, allowing one to connect more deeply with themselves and their environment.

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Is term heightened sensory awareness scientifically proven?

Yes, the concept of heightened sensory awareness is recognized in scientific literature, particularly in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness research. Heightened sensory awareness refers to an increased awareness and sensitivity to the stimuli in one’s environment, including sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations. It is believed to be a result of increased activity in the sensory cortex and other brain regions involved in processing sensory information.

Studies have shown that mindfulness and other practices that cultivate heightened sensory awareness can have a positive impact on well-being, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving focus and attention, and increasing emotional regulation.

However, it is important to note that while the concept of heightened sensory awareness is widely recognized in the scientific community, more research is needed to fully understand its mechanisms and effects.

This is right up Max Tegmark’s alley. He hypothizes that certain organizational patterns of conductive materials may acquire consciousness.

Check it out…

What?
Sure looks like the theist radicals that make up the Neo Republican Party certainly have declared war against rationalist thinkers and atheists. The refusal of the “left” to recognize as much, has lead us to today’s hideous situation.

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I’d have to watch this vid a few more time. Max says at the the end:
“Its not the particles - it the patterns that really matter (moving around in very special ways)”

That fills a gap for me - I sometimes wonder what it would take to teleport someone to somewhere else - to move them from here to there like in Star Trek. Before, I used to think that is would be enough to just transfer all the atoms exactly as they were - but now I know that the exact forces on each atom would also need to be transferred - even down to the quark level and probably smaller than that !!?!!

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And that is governed by the shape and patterns of the neural network.
And those patterns are a little different for each individual, which makes each of us live in a slightly different reality.
But when the particles in 2 individuals move in the same way, that’s when we call that experience “empathy”.

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I think I understand the thrust of his argument, but I would still argue that the substrate matters a great deal in that it must be able to process and transport data to begin with. Only then will the particles be able to move in certain special ways that form conscious fields in the brain.

This is why I am focused on microtubules as the prime candidate for organizing the patterns from which consciousness emerges.
I can think of no other viable candidate.

Above all, I totally agree with Tegmark in his suggestion to “start” with identifying “hard facts” that are already present and demonstrably creating consciousness in all conscious organisms, rather than asking the “hard questions” which we don’t even know how to formulate yet.

Just as it is impossible for anyone to describe the properties of “belief systems”.

Except “Mathematics”.

Watch this.