[stephenhess]

Love this. I'm as harsh of a critic of organized religion as you'll find but I think secular culture has a lot to learn in terms of how religious rituals and habits can foster human excellence, joy. And finding a way of reformulating these to be consistent with scientific thinking (i.e. throw out the mythology)

Specifically, I've been really curious to understand the relationship between faith and anxiety/depression. You see a surge of mindfulness and meditative practices in the Bay Area that appear like secular replacements for how "faith" in the Judeo-Christian tradition helps people face the unknown and the fundamental uncertainty of the universe.

[danielvaughn]

I made a snarky top-level comment earlier but in all seriousness, small simple rituals can be really effective. I'm just skeptical that something as deep as a ritual can be designed and commodified like furniture.

Sometimes when I discover a new song I'll listen to it on repeat. One day, I discovered 2 new songs and fell in love with them. Later that same day my father died, and the next day was spent traveling home to his funeral. I listened to those songs on repeat while traveling home.

Now they are so intertwined with the memory of my fathers death that they are sacred to me. I do not, under any circumstances, listen to them. I only listen to them once a year, on the anniversary of his death. It's become my personal ritual.

It's possible that this company can create something that has meaning, but I doubt it will satisfy what people are looking for.

[iamcasen]

I agree. Mindfulness really is just another word for spirituality. Being mindful of where your food comes from, and being thankful for the nourishment it provides your mind and body, is just a different way of praying and "thanking the lord" for your food.

Religions are a way of trying to package this mindfulness and disseminate it. As you know, most organized religions have been coopted by power-hungry men and twisted into the ridiculous displays we now know today. We should reject those religions and what they've become, but we shouldn't reject the root they sprung from.

[GavinMcG]

I think there's a pretty significant difference between mindfulness and spirituality.

Spiritual traditions may well ritualize mindfulness, but there are many other components of spirituality apart from it, and there are secular mindfulness practices that don't intersect with the feelings and experiences many associate with spirituality.

[krageon]

"mindfulness" is precisely the parts of spirituality that could nicely be packaged and sold to people that feel there's something missing from their lives. Now there is this commercial alternative that everyone appears to be in to, and the word is used so much it's basically lost all meaning (to be fair this happens to everything that is over marketed).

[iamcasen]

That's true, you're right. There is a fine line between the two in my mind. For me, spirituality is recognizing the complexity of the universe and my part in it. Mindfulness helps me tap into that complexity and derive meaning for myself.