Balder Ex-Libris

Author : Smith Michael J.
Title : Think again Thinking like a heathen in the modern era
Year : 2004

Link download : Smith_Michael_J_-_Think_again_Thinking_like_a_heathen_in_the_modern_era.zip

Introduction. As one word led to another word and one deed led to another deed… so has one book led to another book. When I wrote, Ways of the Ásatrú, I desired nothing more than to be able to give back something to the gods, folk, and community which had helped shape my life so much in the last decade. Thus, why it was offered free for download, automatic permission was given to copy it unaltered (as long as the copier made no profit from doing so), and why I offer hardcopies for cost. But, now my dilemma is that I cannot stop writing! I only hope that others see this as a good thing, and that my wonderful wife, Catheryn, can stand my constant theorizing, debating, and all the eccentric, neurotic impulses which occur during my “writing times”. So, here I am writing this second book, Think Again! Thinking Like A Heathen in the Modern Era. My intentions in this book is not to force a dogmatic way of thinking upon the reader, but to show that there are some organic, traditional, and valid ways of thinking which would be either prevalent in our ancestors’ times or very compatible with that paradigm. Not to say that a total retro-movement is needed, but planting some seeds of an older breed into the garden of our “Reawakening” would definitely bring forth a better harvest in years to come for not only the Ásatrú folk, but for greater heathenry as a whole. I can gather quite confidently that the contents of this book will undoubtedly be much more controversial than Ways of the Ásatrú, but just give it a chance and try to think deeply upon these concepts. There are many more years of marketing, institutionalized teaching , and social peer -pressure for the current thought-patterns championed by the greater current society we live in today. Changing the way that you’ve been taught to think, is one of the most difficult things to do, even when you intellectually and consciously agree with something! I’ve always referred to the adherents of our religion as a people because I sincerely believe us to not only be a “folk coming home” but also as a newly forming folk at the same time. Already, we are starting to form our own cultures as well as re-gain portions of our collective culture once lost. In Think Again! I will bring forth this idea of the re-integration of our emerging culture by utilizing some of the complex theories and philosophical concepts of our ancestors through ideas such as ethics, luck, wyrd, and frith. I will then tie them together with philosophies like the concept of the Folk-Soul, re-emergence with nature, the values of law and custom, reputation and oaths, and a curious philosophical expression which is result of the Industrial and Modern Age called, Post-Modernism. Of course, as the Hávamál warns us against excessiveness and champions moderation, these concepts and philosophical theories should also be taken within a moderate, healthy context. But also remember that these are all parts of an inter-exchanging, organic whole. So please, dear reader, try to reserve your overall opinion until the end of the book. This is the only way that the holistic, encompassing element of the overall world-view expressed in these pages can be realized. There are some concepts which will be mentioned earlier, but explained fully in later chapters with more detail. I’d like to again thank all of the Ásatrú folk on the East Coast, as well as friends towards the West and even out across the Atlantic for their support and encouragement. Of course to my supportive wife, Catheryn, the inspiration of my children, Freyjadís and Tiarnan, and to one of my greatest friends, Paul Sahlin, whom I can always have a great conversation with that always somehow ties in mutual interests. With Honor, —Mike “VinterúlfR” Smith Úlfar aff Jera Þjóð. ...