An Aurelian

An Aurelian is the name I have given to a person that base their life philosophy on Stoicism and their spiritual worldview on  the following quote from Marcus Aurelius;

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

I have come to the view that, in light of my research into ancestorial worship and veneration, the best form of veneration is to live a noble life that would make your ancestors proud and will live on in stories and memories of your loved ones.

Since my learning of the philosophy of Stoicism and the discovery of this quote, it has caused a major shift in how I view my spirituality, more like reestablishing an earlier mindset of my youth and before finding the organized religion of Asatru. In coming into this view, I find myself removed from the ranks of those who are Asatru in so much as the mechanics of the religion are designed to put the focus primarily, on the gods, which I have always questioned, even in the earliest years of my life and that eventually set me on the path of the idea behind Cynnðeáw. That that being said, I still consider heathens as kindred spirits as the virtues and ideals of Asatru have much in common with Stoicism and Aurelism and we can still, in my opinion, coincide and interact peacefully.