Hi everyone! I'd like to get a general consensus on what secular Buddhism looks like for individual practitioners. I understand the textbook definition, but I want to know what it looks like in real, daily life.
Same question as in the title. I've personally tried some Banquet and Lite, but I haven't yet for the original Coors. Thoughts?
So, I'm new to norse paganism, and while I really like aspects of it, I cannot bring myself to believe that the deities are real beings somewhere out there that we have to appease and offer sacrifices/offerings to. I left Christianity seeing that Yahweh and Jesus aren't real, much less any deity, and I can't bring myself to believe in souls, sprits, etc. Thoughts? What do I do?
I am attracted to the spiritual aspects; the richness of its integration with nature and nature's wildness, beauty, and power; a means of strength and guidance without a singular, monotheistic deity breathing down your back (Yahweh); the rich community and variety of practices; the freedom of expression/practice; and the long history dating back to Proto-Germanic Europe; Norse and Germanic culture/history of Early Europe; my family's ancestry; I love Heilung's music; and I was obsessed with Marvel's Thor as a kid, etc.
I want to participate in these things, but because of my deconstruction away from Christianity, prior experiences, and scientific training, I would have to lie to myself to believe that the Norse deities exist in the same way (flesh and blood) as Yahweh in the form of Jesus supposedly existed. I could however ascribe to the atheopaganism perspective, or a metaphorical perspective, as that does sound very appealing. In fact, some of the proto peoples in South America held to a religion/system where their deities were more like personified/named forces of nature than actual people.
And yes, paganism is definitely more about what you do than what you believe. This was the case for most of the Ancient World, especially Europe, Mediteranea, and the Middle East. So whether or not I believe in the enfleshed personhood and theistic existence of the Norse gods, I would have a lot of flexibility in how I would practice.
And, I do not yet call myself a Norse pagan, secular or not, at this time. I'm just exploring and wanting to get answers directly from those who are actually practicing Norse paganism, rather than from an outsider's perspective in a random book.