If it’s “triggering” you, then of course don’t do it.
However, I believe there are benefits in some religious rituals, which would be nice to have without accepting the supernatural framework. For example, it helps me think more clearly when instead of just having thoughts in my head, I speak them aloud. And that’s part of what praying does. (And, as you say, another part is the belief in Magical Sky Daddy who listens and will do something about it. That part cannot be salvaged.) Also, when people pray together, they hear each other’s wishes, and may help to each other, or give useful advice. This can be replaced with simple conversation about one’s goals and dreams; it’s just that most people usually don’t have this conversation on a regular schedule. Which is a pity, because maybe at this moment some of my friends have a problem I could help solving, they just don’t bother telling me about it, so I don’t know.
Another part of religious rituals is more or less gratitude journaling. (Related LW debates: 1, 2, 3.)
From epistemic point of view, I believe religion is stupid, but I don’t want to “revert stupidity”. Just because there are verses about washing feet in Bible, I am not going to stop washing my feet. I am trying to do the same with psychological hygiene; not to avoid a potentially useful psychological or sociological hack just because I first found it in religious context.
As a sidenote, LW community seems divided on this topic. Some people would like to reinvent some religious rituals for secular purposes, some people find it creepy. I am on the side of using the rituals, but perhaps that’s because I never was a part of an organized religion, so I don’t have strong feelings associated with that.
This can be replaced with simple conversation about one’s goals and dreams; it’s just that most people usually don’t have this conversation on a regular schedule. Which is a pity, because maybe at this moment some of my friends have a problem I could help solving, they just don’t bother telling me about it, so I don’t know.
Definitely, I should make an effort to have these conversations with my friends. I have yet to decide on any goals myself, but I would love to encourage my friends with their goals.
Gratitude journaling—see my reply to ChristianKI’s comment. But yeah, it’s a great tool that I’ve recommended to others who don’t naturally “look on the bright side.”
As for secular rituals—I am on the creepy side, but I think you’re right that my feelings come from having been part of an organized religion. I look at secular rituals and they seem to have maybe 10% of cherry-picked Christianity’s psychological pleasantness. So it looks like a pathetic substitute. But from your less biased perspective, things that can cause even a small increase in people’s happiness can still totally be worth doing. Someone sent me this link about a secular “church” and it actually seemed pretty cool. I would probably even go. But I’d have to overcome the impulse to compare it to a real church, because they’re very different things...
If it’s “triggering” you, then of course don’t do it.
However, I believe there are benefits in some religious rituals, which would be nice to have without accepting the supernatural framework. For example, it helps me think more clearly when instead of just having thoughts in my head, I speak them aloud. And that’s part of what praying does. (And, as you say, another part is the belief in Magical Sky Daddy who listens and will do something about it. That part cannot be salvaged.) Also, when people pray together, they hear each other’s wishes, and may help to each other, or give useful advice. This can be replaced with simple conversation about one’s goals and dreams; it’s just that most people usually don’t have this conversation on a regular schedule. Which is a pity, because maybe at this moment some of my friends have a problem I could help solving, they just don’t bother telling me about it, so I don’t know.
Another part of religious rituals is more or less gratitude journaling. (Related LW debates: 1, 2, 3.)
From epistemic point of view, I believe religion is stupid, but I don’t want to “revert stupidity”. Just because there are verses about washing feet in Bible, I am not going to stop washing my feet. I am trying to do the same with psychological hygiene; not to avoid a potentially useful psychological or sociological hack just because I first found it in religious context.
As a sidenote, LW community seems divided on this topic. Some people would like to reinvent some religious rituals for secular purposes, some people find it creepy. I am on the side of using the rituals, but perhaps that’s because I never was a part of an organized religion, so I don’t have strong feelings associated with that.
Definitely, I should make an effort to have these conversations with my friends. I have yet to decide on any goals myself, but I would love to encourage my friends with their goals.
Gratitude journaling—see my reply to ChristianKI’s comment. But yeah, it’s a great tool that I’ve recommended to others who don’t naturally “look on the bright side.”
As for secular rituals—I am on the creepy side, but I think you’re right that my feelings come from having been part of an organized religion. I look at secular rituals and they seem to have maybe 10% of cherry-picked Christianity’s psychological pleasantness. So it looks like a pathetic substitute. But from your less biased perspective, things that can cause even a small increase in people’s happiness can still totally be worth doing. Someone sent me this link about a secular “church” and it actually seemed pretty cool. I would probably even go. But I’d have to overcome the impulse to compare it to a real church, because they’re very different things...