How many of you practice some form of non-deist spirituality?

Question

What does it consist of? Can you share something of your particular path and how you chose it?

Answer 1

Animist, pantheist pagan here. I came to it after long study of other faiths and found it was the right path for me.

Answer 2

I'm an animist. I believe that all things around you have a soul. You can listen to the advice of the spirits around you or ignore them, but they are there. Even rocks have a soul within them at their heart, but you have to be still yourself to hear them. There are no gods. All things are connected.

I believe in the soul going through a cycle of physical death and rebirth. When I die, I believe my soul will be reborn in to another human body after a period of reflection on the lessons of this life. New souls are born, and old ones die or move on. The age of your soul may determine how wise you seem in life. I believe that to break the cycle and leave the wheel, you have to pay all debts owed by you to other souls, and have all outstanding debts (by others) paid to your soul.

I was brought up as a Methodist and attended regular Sunday school classes as a child. Christianity, as taught, never resounded in my heart and the older I got, the more questions and inconsistencies I found. In my journey toward faith, I read the Bible, the Qur'an, the Noble Eightfold Path and looked at Wicca and other pagan faiths. In the end I just considered what I believed in my heart, looked around at what I'd seen and started referring to myself as an animist.

Answer 3

I'm a pagan and a Taoist. Wood uncut gave a good description of Taoism above. I am also a pagan because I celebrate pagan holidays and meanings, and use pagan symbols in meditation.

I had held a spiritual philosophy for a long time and when I finally studied Taoism in a world religion class, I was stunned how well it described what I believed. Since then I've been studying it more and trying to understand it and apply its wisdoms to my life.

Paganism I enjoy because I love to celebrate life and all aspects of it, to appreciate nature, and to value balance and harmony in everyday life. It also gives deeper meaning to many social holidays.

Deities to me are powerful archetypes, symbols, and metaphors, and I recognize the value of their embodiment of certain types of energy, but I don't believe they are actually real beings.

Answer 4

I try to follow the way of Tao.

Taoists believe there is a flow in the universe, and it is called tao. Tao is never stagnant and keeps things in the universe balanced and in order. It manifests itself through change of seasons, cycle of life, shifts of power, time, and so forth.

When you follow Tao, you become one with it. Being one with Tao brings best outcomes, because in that way things will fall into place as they are meant to be.

A common theme in Taoist literature is that fulfilment in life cannot be attained by forcing ones own destiny; instead, one must be receptive to the path laid for them by nature and circumstance, which will themselves provide what is necessary.

Taoist propriety and ethics emphasise the Three Jewels of the Tao; namely, compassion, moderation, and humility. Taoist thought focuses on wu wei ("non-action"), spontaneity, humanism, and emptiness.

I studied many different practices and paths, including Zen Buddhism for a while, but I feel most at home with Taoism.

Sorry for the long answer.
.