The Heathen Way

Features of the Heathen Way:

1. An awareness of the world as a place of flux which can be either more orderly and conducive to the good life or else more chaotic and destructive of happiness.

2. An understanding of the world as a playground of both natural (visible) and hypernatural (invisible) beings which it is profitable to be aware of and to interact appropriately with.

3. An attitude to strive actively for a more orderly world against the forces of disintegration and chaos.

4. A desire to lead a mature adult life as an individual, family or community - a self-directed life where one takes responsibility for one's own welfare and strives for greater health, wisdom, capability, strength and resilience.

5. A respect for those who have come before us and their accumulated wisdom which we call a cultural tradition. Respect for ourselves and our ability to discover new ways of doing things appropriate for us. Concern for those who will come after us that we will leave them with a good foundation to build on.

6. A respect and concern for the wider world which we live in - its human and non-human inhabitants and its material substrate and the good relationships between them.

In another formulation the Heathen Way is:

the striving to support the small against the giant
a participation in activities that attune oneself to reality
an appreciation of community
a valuing of self-reliance
a willingness to put one's hand to many kinds of tasks not just one
an awareness of one's roots in the ongoing processes of existence
a desire to be a person of worth who creates value in the world