As I've aged and gotten around a little more, I have had experiences that the scientific method cannot confirm, yet I'm pretty sure what's happening cannot be accounted for by random chance or biased interpretation. Here's a few areas:
Health: I'm convinced that Eastern medicine (acupuncture +) works for certain ailments and also provides explanations that resonate better than Western medicine sometimes. I got Reiki and Reiki 2 attunements , and while I cannot be sure it's doing any healing, I know that some people can tell if I am or am not doing it at an accuracy well beyond chance. I have a friend who's a practictioner and believer of the Wim Hof ice bath path to controlling his own immune system.
Energy: I've felt the difference in energy at the vortex spots in Sedona and seen my wife react to the type (male or female) energy allegedly there without knowing about it in advance.
Death: I've heard first hand stories and had personal experiences that strongly suggest the existence of souls, spirit world, and reincarnation. The number of people with a common accounting of what happened when they were clinically dead also points to the distinct possibility that maybe you don't just cease to exist when your body dies.
Psychic: I've had predictions made about my life with great specificity (as have others) that have come true enough to believe that some of the practitioners are actually connected to something.
Most or all of these things do not pass evidence-based thresholds, and yet they cannot be brushed off as chance or wish-fulfillment.
As atheism comes further out of the closet it seems clear that some atheists aren't just drawing the line of science and reason at whether or not there are any real gods, but rather it has become their only yardstick of truth in the universe. I am wondering how the belief spectrum of the unmeasurable distributes among those who consider themselves atheists. How big is the percentage that only accepts what science can measure? What are the most popular non-scientific beliefs held by atheists?
I'm guessing it's an inverse pyramid as I've written it (most commonly believed at the top), plus there must be some I haven't even listed. I'd love to hear other people's takes (including speaking only for yourself) on the subject.
