photo by B. T. Newberg
Table of Contents
- Reading up
- Surfing the web
- Practicing: Meditations, rituals, and activities
- Celebrating the seasons
- Getting ordained
Reading up
Abram, David, The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-human World – an entrancing investigation into our relation to the world of the senses
Adler, Margot, Drawing Down the Moon – an excellent resource on modern Neopaganism
Buber, Martin, I and Thou – the classic work on dialogue and spirituality (also available in the Kaufmann translation)
Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion – a quintessential, comprehensive introduction to ancient Greek religion.
Dennet, Daniel, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon - an atheist philosopher’s fascination with the phenomenon of religion.
Epstein, Greg, Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe - Humanist ethics in a world without divine sanction
Harrison, Paul, Elements of Pantheism: Religious Reverence of Nature and the Universe - A handbook on pantheism from a key figure in the World Pantheist Movement.
Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time – now classic introduction to modern cosmology and physics, from the Big Bang to the present
Humanist Manifestos I, II, and III – declarations of Humanist values from 1933, 1973, and 2003, respectively
IAO131, Naturalistic Occultism – From the book description: “an attempt to treat the phenomena of occultism with an eye of naturalism (i.e. not supernatural), science (i.e. based on empirical evidence), and pragmatism (i.e. what works is provisionally ‘true’).”
Jones, Prudence and Nigel Pennick, A History of Pagan Europe – a readable primer on Paganism throughout European history, from the neolithic through the present day
Kerenyi, Karl. Gods of the Greeks – a compendium of Greek myths written for adults, told from the point of view of an ancient Greek person
Kurtz, Paul, Humanist Manifesto 2000: A Call for a New Planetary Humanism - a book-length elaboration of the values of Secular Humanism
Kramer, Kenneth, Martin Buber’s I and Thou: Practicing Living Dialogue – a manual for putting Buber’s dialogue into practice
Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - key work on paradigm shifts.
Kuzminski, Adrian, Pyrrhonism: How the Ancient Greeks Reinvented Buddhism - the Classical philosophy of Pyrrhonian Skepticism compared with Buddhism.
Lurhmann, Tanya. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft – an anthropological investigation into why so many modern people find magic compelling.
McCauley, Robert. Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not – a cognitive science view on how religion exploits natural mental tendencies, while science pushes us to difficult, counterintuitive ideas.
Morton, Sherry Lynn, The Brain on Ritual: How Tantric Puja Shapes the Mind – a masters thesis exploring cognitive research in relation to Hindu puja ritual
Myers, Brendan Cathbad and Isaac Bonewits, The Mysteries of Druidry: Celtic Mysticism, Theory, and Practice - a Druidic handbook open to a nontheistic point of view
Myers, Brendan, The Other Side of Virtue - an exploration of virtue ethics from a modern Pagan philosopher’s perspective
Popper, Karl, Conjectures and Refutations - a collection of pieces from one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers of science
Rue, Loyal. Religion Is Not About God – a comprehensive theory embedding religion within evolution, explaining how it functions, and calling for a new religious traditions promoting an ecocentric morality.
Seddon, Keith. Stoic Serenity: A Practical Course on Finding Inner Peace - a handbook of Stoicism from a leader in the modern Stoic movement
Slone, D. Jason. Theological Incorrectness: Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn’t - an exploration of the Cognitive Science of Religion
Wilson, Timothy D. Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious – a readable account of what cognitive science can tell us about introspection, the introspection illusion, and how we come to know ourselves
Woodruff, Paul. Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue – a secular view of reverence appropriate for our modern times
Zuckerman, Phil. Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment - a study of the nonreligious in contemporary Scandinavia
Surfing the web
Allergic Pagan – blog of Jungian and Naturalistic Pagan John H. Halstead
All Is One: Pantheist Philosophy – pantheism site of artist Annika Garratt
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – fighting to preserve freedom of thought
Big Integrity Resources: Growing in Right Relationship to Reality, by Michael Dowd – an enormous list of phenomenal resources
Compassion as Foundation – article by DT Strain that argues the rationality of naturalism must be founded on compassion, i.e. the commitment that rationality can improve the lives of others and ourselves
Continuum of Humanist Education (COHE) – free lessons on Humanism, including a history of Humanist thought from its earliest origins in Chinese, Indian, and Greek thought
Frames and Religious Language – an opposing view, contrasting with that generally taken by HP, arguing that religious language should not be invoked because it calls up religious “frames” whether you say it’s metaphorical or not
Gods as “other”: Why god-talk is important – article by John H. Halstead
Houston Humanist Examiner: D. T. Strain – Humanist articles by D. T. Strain
The Humanist Contemplative: Essays on Spiritual Naturalism – D. T. Strain’s site on spiritual naturalism
Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) – working toward a dynamic and positive relationship between religion and science
James Randi Education Foundation – a skeptical organization that tests claims of the paranormal; claimants may apply to have their abilities tested
Moral Heroes – despite a stuffy name, this site is full of quality highlights of amazing people, and includes a calendar that may be used for Humanistic celebration and memorial.
My Heretical Wiccan Beliefs – article by nontheist Wiccan Merlyn
Naturalism.org – elegant site on naturalism, with a page on naturalist spirituality
Naturalism and Science – a page from a site with some admittedly controversial views on naturalism, yet this page may be useful for sharpening your thinking on where you fall on the spectrum of naturalisms
neo-Pantheism – a modern paradigm of Pantheist pioneered by physicist Jerald L. Robertson; includes a goddess-like concept of the natural universe under the name Panthea
The New Humanism – magazine published by Humanist minister and author Greg Epstein
Nontheist Friends – for Quakers and others interested in nontheism among Friends
Origins.net – understanding prehistoric art, religion, and mind
Pagaian.org – earth-based goddess religion where myth is metaphor and the focus is on the sacred cosmos
Pagan Federation – advocacy for equal rights and a positive image for Pagans
Pagan Paradize – blog of a naturalistic Witch
Pantheism Today – exploring Classical Pantheism
Pantheistic Pagan – hub page bringing together Pantheism and Paganism
Pantheist Moms & Kids – intended for parenting but with some good resources, such as a naturalistic calendar and a forum
Planet Humanism – blogroll of Humanist and Humanism-related blogs
Reason and Reverence, by William Murray, at UUWorld.org
Reflections on a Non-Theistic Spirituality, by Bodhisantra – from an atheist who eventually found expression of his beliefs through the Diamond Approach of A. H. Almaas.
Religious Naturalism: Where Science and Spirituality Meet – information on Religious Naturalism, from Michael Cavanaugh
Religious Naturalists – more information on Religious Naturalism, with useful concept maps
Spiritual Human – Spiritual Humanism in dialogue with Islam and other faiths in India
Spiritual Humanist Foundation – web site of Möller de la Rouvière, whose nontheistic system of enlightenment is similar in many respects to Eastern forms but couched in Western humanistic language.
Spiritual Humanism Seminary – offers courses on spiritual humanism, such as introduction to SH, scientific method, the science of mediation
Spiritual Naturalist Society – happiness through compassion, reason, and practice; organized by DT Strain
Swimming the Sacred River – exploring a nontheistic spirituality grounded in naturalism and humanism, from J. Ash Bowie.
The Humanist – a magazine of critical inquiry and social concern
Theoi Greek Mythology – comprehensive and historically accurate encyclopedia of Greek mythology
What Is Spiritual Naturalism? - by DT Strain, at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Practicing: Meditations, rituals, and activities
Bicycle Meditation – seeking serenity through cycling, by Thomas Schenk
Ceremonies for Thresholds of Life – including green burial, by Nora Young
Contemplation – a practice for cultivating directed mental effort (compare with Introspection, below), at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Deep Relaxation guided meditation – an mp3 for deep relaxation (opens in Fileswap)
Demeanor Practice – a practice for cultivating sound habits of body and mind, at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Fire, Ice, and Fog visualization meditation – an experimental visualization raising awareness of desires and aversions, repressed material, and mood states
Humanistic Pagan retreat – an experimental model for a home retreat (see individual posts for all seven days)
Introspection – a practice for developing undirected awareness of thoughts and feelings (compare with Contemplation, above), at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Meditating in Midstream – numerous naturalistic meditation practices and articles in issue 16 of Pan magazine.
Meditation 101 – a breathing meditation practice for cultivating concentration, calm, and insight, at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Meditation on Emotions and the Greek concept of Ate (delusion)
Meditation on Rain in the City – a video meditation (YouTube)
Mystical Union with Reality – from Pantheist Paul Harrison, as featured in Time Magazine, December 12, 1996.
Natural Death Centre – environmentally-friendly funeral advice and advocacy, including open-air pyres
PaGaian Cosmology – a complete annual cycle of naturalistic rituals; read it online for free
Pagan Chant Library – a collection of common chants compiled at EarthSpirit.org
Phenology Journal – a journal of changes over time in plants and animals in relation to season and climate; might be adapted to track one’s own relationship to nature’s cycles
Regaining the Child’s Vision – from Pantheist Paul Harrison
Ritual for the Spiritual Naturalist – principles, practices, and rituals from a naturalistic perspective, at the Spiritual Naturalist Society
Tree of Contemplative Practices – a useful graphic organizing dozens of spiritual practices into a family tree
Celebrating the seasons
Earth Story Calendar, by Peter Adair – beautiful calendar that maps the evolutionary epic of Big History onto the 12 months of the year
Elements of Pantheism, by Paul Harrison – a chapter of this book is devoted to naturalistic events that may be celebrated within the Neopagan Wheel of the Year structure or as stand-alone events.
Great Story – (TheGreatStory.org) – from Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow, includes chants, songs, and rituals revolving around the Great Story, or Epic of Evolution.
Moral Heroes – despite a stuffy name, this site is full of quality highlights of amazing people, and includes a calendar that may be used for Humanistic celebration and memorial.
Naturalistic Paganism – the files section of this yahoo group contains seasonal meditations and rituals
Pagaian Cosmology, by Glenys Livingstone – this book gives meditations and rituals on the cycles of the seasons within the Neopagan Wheel of the Year framework. Also see Pagaian’s Youtube channel for multimedia meditations on each quarter and cross-quarter of the year.
A Pantheist Calendar – from the World Pantheist Movement
Getting ordained
Spiritual Humanism – organization promoting religion based on science and reason, with ordination available
Universal Life Church Monastery – ordination without regard to faith tradition, including the non-religious and atheists
