NON-THEISTIC RELIGIOUS MEDITATION RITUAL by C. Lee Hubbell April 18, 1991 This ritual is n

             NON-THEISTIC RELIGIOUS MEDITATION RITUAL

                         by C. Lee Hubbell
                          April 18, 1991

     This ritual is non-theistic because it is grounded in the
postulate there is no sort of God at all, neither the deity of
theistic religions or that of vague pantheisms/panentheims or
other creations of speculative philosophical imaginings.  It is
religious because it deals with questions that traditional
religions deal with in the context of various theistic/pantheistic
groundings, even though it has no God content.  It can be part of
an entire Humanist non-theistic religious service.  Humanist --
because it takes all its elements from what humans can ascertain
by recourse to human knowing procedures explicitly excluding any
shadow of recourse to anything superhuman/supernatural.  Humanist
also because it answers certain needs of human beings in human
terms.

     It makes use of a ritual of the ancient Pythagoreans.  Each
disciple was required to put three questions to themself while
meditating in the evening.  1. In what have I failed?  2. What
good have I done?  3. What have I not done that I ought to have
done?  (Refer to Encyclopedia Britannica, 1960 edition.)

     The gathered group of Humanists convened by a leader, enter
into a period of silence together (the "together" in this ritual
is important; individual meditation is good but meditation with
other human beings has a special quality).  The leader directs
attention to thoughts of the immensity of the universe with
specific details of time-space and galactic distance and age.  He
also directs attention to the realm of values, in particular,
moral values: good and evil, with all the human misery evil has
caused and the benefits good has brought.  Then he speaks of the
ideal, each human being's own ideals of what is right and 
beautiful.  (A right humanism is not just whatever is derived from
human existence/behavior: it is ideal ways of existing/behaving.
It is a Gandhi, Schweitzer, King, not a Hitler, Stalin, Gacy,
regardless that what these last three did was a way of being
human.  Right, true Humanism, in the modern sense of Western
culture is idealistic Humanism.)

     He names some one exemplar to focus meditation on, for a
period.

     Then he puts the three Pythagorean queries asking that each
one should seriously meditate on their personal answers.

     Following this, the leader (I have used "he" because some
singular form is required to correspond with the singular "leader"
and no neutral form is available) asks the group along with
him/herself to make a conscious decision/commitment to try to live
better for the coming week.  And to consciously think of some
actions he/she might take to accomplish this.

     As a close, the leader voices a ritual formula -- each group
should have its own -- expressing the thought that such
acknowledgment of wrongdoing, such self-certification for
rightdoing, such acts of commitment to better doing, along with
the acts of whatever restitution is possible, are the realistic/
humanistic means of wiping out guilt and of attaining personal
freedom from any further sense of wrong.  We must forgive one
another; we must forgive ourselves (we act wrongly because we a
human, not superhuman); we must accept forgiveness.

     For me this would be a wonderful gift Humanism could bring to
troubled humankind.  Its actuality remains a dream and an ideal.
I hope someone, some day, can transform the ideal dream into
living actuality and human blessing.

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               (C) Copyright 1991 by C. Lee Hubbell

So long as profit is not your motive and you always include this
copyright notice, please feel free to reproduce and distribute
this material in electronic form for the use of other ceremonial
officiants.  All other permission must be sought from the author
through the Humanist Society of Friends, which can be contacted at
the following address:

                    HUMANIST SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
                    7 HARWOOD DRIVE
                    AMHERST NY 14226

                    Phone: (800) 743-6646