Wonderfeel wrote:@Thomas Eshuls, no I haven't read a book debunking astrology, have watched a fair bit of Richard Dawkins but found him too unscientific because he's closed-minded. I was particularly interested in Alain de Botton's work 'Religion for Athiests'.

So basically, you haven't bothered to look into sources that debunk astrology?

Wonderfeel wrote:
@Thomas Eshuls, no I haven't read a book debunking astrology,

So you haven't actually considered the topic with an open mind.

Wonderfeel wrote: have watched a fair bit of Richard Dawkins but found him too unscientific because he's closed-minded.

This is a rather hypocritical statement given the one above.

Wonderfeel wrote: I was particularly interested in Alain de Botton's work 'Religion for Athiests'.

How is this relevant in any way?

Wonderfeel wrote:Have you ever read about your lunar nodes? (that is a sincere question coming from me)

Have you read a scientific book debunking astrology yet? Serious question.
Stop trying to shift the burden of proof.

Wonderfeel wrote:
I was thinking about how occaisionally I hear weird scratching noises outside, and my skeptical self might say it's nothing, but my innocent self will get me to go have a look, and I might see an echidna moseying along. If I were purely or emphatically skeptical I might have missed seing him/her.

No, deciding that a scratching noise is 'nothing' would not be scepticism. That would be merely making an assumption. Neither would deciding not to investigate the sound constitute scepticism. That would merely be a lack of curiousity.

So I feel to balance healthy skepticism with being open to experience...

You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that skepticism and being 'open to experience' are mutually exclusive.

You might find that learning what skepticism actually is would be helpful in fixing that misapprehension.

Oh, and welcome!

Your skeptical self would say that a scratching noise you heard was nothing? Why? If there is a scratching noise then something is making a scratching noise, what is there to be skeptical about? That you heard it? You aren't making sense.

Might I graciously request of the staff that they split the relevant portions to a thread in the debunking fora? This isn't really the place for a public display of a newb getting mullahed, which is definitely in Wonderfeel's immediate future. There's no mileage in prospective new members getting frightened away by the humiliating flaying that this member's guff is about to be subjected to.

and apologies for the effort.

Hi Skeptics,
Thanks Scarlett and Fallible for explaining I had misinterpretted your comments!

I do feel vulnerable, in a way I feel I am a herbivore among carnivores. Hello Skeptics from a Spiritual Person!

I feel up for a challenge, I joined this group to hone myself and my belifs. I want to live with and offer a spiritual system that have minimal fat, that are the bares-bone of what is needed to be of use, with a minimal amount of hocus-pocus. I am skeptical of heaps of things I imagine a lot of you are too, and I also accept a lot of things a lot of you don't.

If it was appropriate to start a thread in Pseudoscience about the Wonderfeel system, that'd be cool. I can isolate the 3 or 4 foundation stones I build my case on, and explain why each is chosen.

Difficult to reply to everything, but will have more time later today....

Wonderfeel wrote:I want to live with and offer a spiritual system that have minimal fat, that are the bares-bone of what is needed to be of use, with a minimal amount of hocus-pocus.

I can make it easy for you: Get rid of the whole idea of "spirituality." You're done.

I'm feeling a bit spiritual tonight, I believe I'll have a Tullamore Dew. I'll try the whiskey stones I got for Xmas.

Wonderfeel wrote: do feel vulnerable, in a way I feel I am a herbivore among carnivores.

We're all pussycats really, just drop a bowl of milk on the floor and it's all good

!	GENERAL MODNOTE Open a thread in another sub-forum if you like, the Welcome thread isn't the place we want made scary. It's the place to say ''hi'', and keep friendly. IC

Wonderfeel wrote:
If it was appropriate to start a thread in Pseudoscience about the Wonderfeel system, that'd be cool. I can isolate the 3 or 4 foundation stones I build my case on, and explain why each is chosen.

I'm looking forward to seeing this happen. I dearly hope we wind up with something fresh rather than the stale drivel I've previously seen in defense of New Age silliness.

As an atheist who started out believing in New Age silliness, welcome to the forum!

And, to reiterate what's already been said by others, developing an open mind and fairly applying standards of evidence to all propositions was what brought me to skepticism and an atheist conclusion. So please feel free to stop implying that skepticism and closed-mindedness are synonymous.

Hit-and-run?

Apparently so.