The Varieties of Scientific Experience sounds like a great read. Love that your friend wanted to re-experience his fire-dance. Ah, the joys of Summer and Autumn - the ground is dry and the temperatures are great for outdoor activities. From the microscopic world to the wonders of our universe, the natural world amazes me. The more I learn, the more I am in awe of life, and the universe. :)

@revenantreads

14 күн бұрын

Absolutely agree. The older I get the quicker time speeds by, and I want to take more opportunities to live in the moment and really observe and appreciate the natural world around me.

What a great video! That Summer Solstice thing you did sounds like a neat experience. Sagan was one of the great ones 🥲

@revenantreads

14 күн бұрын

Sagan was truly a treasure. The Solstice celebration was a really positive experience all around.

I saw Carl Sagan in the thumbnail and knew it was going to be a good one! He's also one of my heroes, and the first book I read was The Demon-Haunted World. That book completely changed my life -- his words expressed exactly what I felt at the time. I was a man without a country -- I had lost my religion (Catholicism) in my mid-20s -- and I didn't know how to deal with that loss. Science revealed the path. Search for truth and applying skepticism and critical thinking has enriched my life. I am forever indebted to him for helping me find my way. I have read nearly all of his books, and will continue to reread them for the rest of my life. Good luck in your search for meaning, friend!

@revenantreads

14 күн бұрын

Thank you! Yes, even as I experiment with pagan ritual, the Baloney Detection Kit is forever applied. Sagan was a constant travel companion for me for many years as I always packed one of his books in my luggage when I went somewhere. His writings always managed to make me appreciate and not take for granted the human journey. A few years ago I was driving through Ithaca, NY, and I sought out his grave and paid my respects. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to making a pilgrimage. His “Pale Blue Dot” speech still has the power to affect me on a deeply emotional level. I realized I was atheist as a teen (I also came from a Catholic background), and no voice came closer than his in speaking directly to my core being.

They both sound very interesting. I'm a fire pit dude too, but only in winter. Channelling my inner pagan and didnt know it 🤭 I find science motivating when I put it to practical use (I'm a DIY'er, fixer of lots of things eg. made my own firepit ).

@revenantreads

14 күн бұрын

Love a good fire pit. When the one we have now reaches its end we may build ourselves one too.

You'll find that although traditional religion declines as secularism rises, many desire a sense of belonging and community if not some sort of spirituality that used to be fulfilled through "traditional" relgion. So, I'm not surprised about tbe rise of neopaganism and animism. Regardless, of the relgion, I think everyone should be a witness to nature and a proper steward of it. Always seems odd when people aren't in awe of natural beauty anyway. You think more along rationalist lines and the enligtenment thought that made it popular. It's interesting, and you may or may not be interested, but Sagans book there is certainly alluding to another book called The Variety of Religious Experience by William James that looks at similarities or commonalities among various faith traditions. Thanks for the video!

@revenantreads

9 күн бұрын

Yes, I’m aware of James’ work. With regard to your other statement about secularism and nature-based spirituality, I agree. I just picked up a book called A Reenchanted World that looks at that very thing through a sociological lens.

@UniqueArtsCostcoPicasso

9 күн бұрын

@@revenantreads I look forward to hearing more about that book, sounds interesting!

At the rate you are going, you could probably sell tickets to your Autumn Equinox spectacle:)

@revenantreads

12 күн бұрын

You’re not kidding. I’m reluctant to tell anyone else about it 😆