Can you be an atheist as well as spiritual?

I had an appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday and he is always full of stories and knowledge of current events. My three-month med check-ups are always interesting. Yesterday he informed me that Harvard has hired an atheist chaplain.

How does that work?

My psychiatrist explained that it’s possible to be an atheist and also spiritual.

I don’t consider myself spiritual but maybe spirituality has a different meaning to everyone. I guess if I had to define it, I would say spirituality is feeling connected to nature and the world around you.

What do you say? Does spirituality require a higher power? Are you spiritual? What does that look like for you?

Update on Author Events

Here is an update on my upcoming speaking engagements:

Sept. 26
Humanist Alliance of San Diego (online)

Oct. 9
Western Lake Erie Humanists (Toledo)

Oct. 10
Washington Area Secular Humanists (online)

Oct. 24
Humanist Alliance of Silicon Valley (online)

Nov. 14
Eastern Shore Humanists (online)

 

I have met so many wonderful people while promoting my book. If your group is up for a little atheist poetry, contact me! I would love to meet you, too!

My poetry book gives an atheist perspective on being a Midwest Mom. It is for sale on my publisher’s site freethoughthouse.com, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. (Signed copies are available at freethoughthouse.com.)

Another shout-out to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library!

I’ve written a few posts about how amazing the library is here in Toledo, but I feel today I need to write one more. I was just at the library tonight with my daughter picking out books for bedtime. We do this every other week.

I have a part-time job running an arts program for people in recovery. The pandemic severely limited my work. What’s worse is that during the pandemic the neighborhood where we hold our groups went downhill and it is now too dangerous for us to be there. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen.

Now that the CDC has loosened guidelines, I want to have art groups, damn it! So where do I turn? The library! We are having groups in a community room in our library’s main branch downtown. We have to rebuild but it is a safe place for us.

So excited!

It’s just one more amazing way the Toledo Lucas County Public Library has impacted my life.

So support your local library! 🙂

Update

Hi guys! I’m so sorry I haven’t been posting as much over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been working really hard on my memoir. It’s been fun adding more poetry to the book, but there are some order and organization issues to work on as well.

Really though — I have a lot to think about.

I could write this memoir forever — life and recovery are always changing and moving forward. I definitely have some updates to add to my original manuscript.

I have a lot of work to do.

 

This weekend I have a speaking event with Washington Area Secular Humanists. Looking forward to meeting new people and reading some poetry!

Five Foot Nothing

Five Foot Nothing

 

At five foot nothing
fear towers over me
brushing my curls
with its far-fetched dreams.

Heavy bombs fall from high above.
I retreat to somewhere low
and quiet.
Defeat blankets the ground. 

My path is out of reach,
out of touch,
and I’m out of steam.
How I wish I could look the world in the eye.

Give me a boost
and I’ll take a step up.
Words are packed with power
and your words make me sing.

Inch over agonizing inch.
With a little help,
I can taste the stars
at five foot nothing.

My upcoming memoir tells the story of my secular recovery.

My mental health has been at the forefront of my adult life, often the reason I pursue (or don’t pursue) the many goals I have. At times my mental health interrupts my daily activities and interactions with others while at other times I feel it is a source of strength in the many different aspects of my life. 

My mental health became my focus when I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at twenty-one years old and in treatment for an eating disorder. It’s easy to feel fragile when you have that much going on but my recovery is now a driving force in my life. 

Very early in my recovery, I regained the ability to reason and think clearly after taking anti-psychotic medication. Shortly after, I decided I was an atheist and that became a crucial part of my recovery. 

I often write about my mental health journey on this blog, but I am so excited to share that I will now be telling my story in a book. I am currently working on a memoir that will be published by Freethought House, the same publisher as my recent poetry book. 

I have a lot of work ahead of me but I will post updates as I go.