Uncle Thor's Lessons, Anecdotes and Humor

Is our world getting more and more chaotic? Are we subject to more storms, more crime and more disasters than a generation ago? One might think so if he judges from the news. Actually, the impression of increased troubles is a matter of perception rather than fact. A generation ago, the reporting of news took [...]

Recently, there have been advertisements for a film that is based on an interpretation of a Mayan manuscript. According to the story, the world is supposed to end in the year 2012. The basis for the interpretation is rather flimsy. Supposedly, the Mayan calendar ends in 2012. A few things refute this. There is another [...]

The basic idea of morality is the contrast between right and wrong. Various non-Heathen religions have attempted to deal with the matter. In their efforts, unfortunately, the issue tends to change from right versus wrong to good versus evil. It goes from a practical matter to a theological one. That is a cosmic shift, indeed. [...]

One of the things that differentiates experiential religion from Judaism, Christianity and Islam is a matter of direct contact. Experiential religion believes that spiritual beings and components can be contacted by the individual. We can know and even interact with the Gods. Likewise, we can each derive insight and knowledge personally from this contact. It [...]

Yesterday’s discussion concerned knowing the Gods, as opposed to merely knowing about them. The Gods can be known by direct experience. The Runes can also be experienced. Over the last year, I ran a series of exercises to help people experience the Runes. The Runes and the Gods are not mere intellectual abstractions. They exist [...]

On one of the email lists I moderate, I had cause to respond to a very Heathen question. I ended my response with the statement: It is better to know the Gods than know about the Gods. That pretty much sums up the idea of Heathenism as an experiential thing. Direct experience is always preferable [...]

A topic in today’s news is how corruption in the Afghan government is creating an advantage for its enemy. The degenerative effects of corruption have a long history. For instance, the Turkish Empire was rife with corruption. Bribery had become an institution in itself. Known as “baksheesh,” bribery was like a second economy. (The term [...]

There are folks who feel the rich are somehow “different.” I would venture to say that most of the so-called differences are small matters. Just growing up in a household with servants might lead to a different perspective. A person who grew up wealthy might seem naive about some of the things that are everyday [...]

Columbus Day is something I take with a grain of salt the size of a football. The day I prefer is Leif Ericson Day, which is October 9th. Leif landed first. He beat Columbus by 500 years. Leif landed on North America, and a settlement was made there. Remains of one Norse settlement was found [...]

Consider the speed and enormity of things. Only fifty years ago, large parts of the world were more distant by a lack of modern communications. It could take weeks to get a message to some of those remote places. Air travel was very expensive, so most folks still traveled by train. A cross-country trip could [...]