I spoke this week at the “Virtual Worlds Symposium” on “Spirituality and Virtual Worlds.” The conversation following the talk was lively. A copy of the handout that I gave at the session is available from this post.
One of the main points of my talk was to discuss the difference, as I see it, between spirituality and religion. Dr. David Howell spoke at the symposium a few weeks back on “Religion and Virtual Worlds.” I wanted to discuss the long standing mystical tradition of reading sacred texts as more than simply factual descriptions. In connection with this, I suggested discussion of virtual worlds as tools for self discovery, and perhaps even as the basis for a real utopian vision of how the world could be.
We had a good turnout. A few people seemed to be offended by the topic, but it definitely served as a fruitful basis of conversation.
Our last session in the “Virtual Worlds Symposium” is next Tuesday, April 17th, from 2:00 – 3:20 p.m. in the Cafeteria Annex on the main campus. Ed Francisco and I will discuss plans for using the virtual reality environment “Second Life” for next year’s common book: Sharpshooter.
Please join us.
