Atheism, Psychosis & Spirituality

Ok, I think it’s time to properly lay my cards on the table.
I was wound up and cranky before – probably not the best way to start off a blog I know, but having just finished a major piece of work for my masters in mental health studies and I was tired.

Anyway, my main interests here are atheism, psychosis and spirituality.

I’m a student of mental health and as such the above areas intrigue me.

With regard to the above, I subscribe to the dimensional concept of schizotypy rather than a categorical definition of psychosis to explain how many religious people are not actually ill, but their spiritual experiences share a great deal phenomenologically, with those of individuals whom psychiatry labels as psychotic.

In short I am an atheist for reasons of rationalism, empiricism and logic and, to paraphrase Dawkins, I submit that well are all atheists of some kind or another: Some of us just one god further.

Anyone interested in the area of schizotypy and spirituality I’d love to hear from you likewise religious people and those who have come into contact with mental health services.

I’m looking forward to the next challenge. Now that my MSc is behind me, I will hopefully be building up to a PhD in this area.

I’d be very interested to hear from all sides on this matter, your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Are Atheists Bad?

The joker over at this blog seems to think s/he has hit upon the only source of atheists on the net and consequently picked on a handful of people in a vain attempt to try and validate the title of his blog.

What a fascist.

For instance he comments on Cal's half-baked theory of "Christ-Psychosis" as bunk (which it largely is) but has not followed any of the discussions flowing from this "theory," namely my attempts to develop Cal's idea to bring it more in line with the concept of schizotypy in modern psychiatry.

"atheistsarebad" is a short-sighted xian bigot and unless s/he/it bothers to try and crawl out of their shell to actually engage in some meaningful discussion either here, at TRA forums or on the awesome Chooblog this is the last post I shall waste on him/her.

Such ignorance deserves only a limited amount of time devoted by others to try and teach them something. Is s/he/it up to intellectual task?

I doubt it, but we'll soon find out.

Securing my name

Primarily this first post is to secure this blog name so that anonymous people over at Chooblog are denied the childishness of impersonation of others.

It's late and I've just finished a 16,000 dissertation for my MSc course in mental health studies. It's the final thing left to do after two years of studying, exams, reports, case studies and essays.
I'm so glad it's over.

Bed awaits, but hopefully now I shall have some time to devote to my main areas of interest - religion and psychosis.

There's so much linking these I don't know where to start.

I'm sure I will soon...