Can you find spiritual meaning without believing in God or religion?

This is the question that has followed me through decades of inquiry. The honest answer is yes—but it requires you to get specific about what 'spiritual' actually means to you. When I read the atheist philosophers—the careful ones, not the dismissive ones—I notice they're often asking the same questions Rumi asked: What am I? Why does beauty move me? How do I live with integrity when nothing is guaranteed? The longing doesn't disappear just because you've stepped away from doctrine. Meaning emerges through devotion to something real: a practice that requires your full attention, relationships that demand your vulnerability, work that serves beyond yourself, or inquiry that won't let you rest. This is the ache Rumi spoke of—not necessarily religious, but undeniably spiritual. It's the difference between believing in transcendence and *practicing* it through your choices. The atheist's path here is often more rigorous, actually. You can't outsource your meaning-making to inherited tradition. You have to build it consciously, test it against your lived experience, and stay willing to revise. That's devotional work, even if your devotion is to truth-seeking itself rather than a deity. Start here: What activity makes you lose time? What breaks your heart about the world? Where do you feel most alive? Those aren't religious questions. They're invitations to your spiritual practice.