something to share
Note to mods: if this is out of line, please give me the word and I'll pull it, but I thought this would be an appropriate place to post it. I'm on the Heathen Thing list and I've seen the thread regarding disabled Heathens. As someone living with a disability myself, and who writes extensively, I finally sat down and wrote this over the weekend
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I don't identify as Asatru either, and I don't hold to the NNV as the end-all of Heathen thew. I view ethics as being more comprehensive.
I wrote this keeping in mind all Heathens since most of us can agree that even if the NNV is not the end-all of thew it is a good reference point to start from. I didn't have time to get into the whole history of modern Heathenry from the 1970s onward and such, so you'll have to forgive me for "dumbing it down".
Furthermore, I speak from personal experience that most therapists tend to pathologize non-mainstream (and sometimes mainstream) religious belief, so having "martyrdom" isn't the case here. Most therapists would say that according to the DSM, believing in the Germanic Gods is akin to schizophrenia. I'd be happy to discuss my own personal experience offlist but I think this gave enough information without being too little or too much. If I had had a letter similar to this in 2002 I would not have faced some of the problems I did, because by the time I had been asked persistently about spirituality and how it affected my life, I hadn't the means to explain it properly. So though it's not meant to start off as bad footing, unfortunately it can get there whether religion is discussed or not. Many professionals will violate personal boundaries unless a contract is made from the start. This has been my experience as well. Take it from someone who had hardcover copies of the Eddas thrown away by fundamentalist staff members in a residential facility some years ago.
And I agree it would be better referenced by a publication but this was what I had on hand right now and the site is from a reputable source.
Thank you for the feedback though :)
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