So, here's a little background. Since we were pretty young (like, both around middle school/early high school), my brother and I have basically been atheists. Well, I have, at least. My brother, while he's mainly identified as an atheist, has gone back and forth for ages. First he was a Buddist, then he was an agnostic, then he was a Buddist with an atheist bent again. And so on. About six months ago, my brother had what we're basically calling a psychotic episode. I had been in California at the time, so I'd spoken to him on Skype. He was all whacked out. Kept talking about all these revelations he'd been having. He ended up going to the hospital and everyone, including myself, sort of informally blamed it on a bad strain of marijiuana he'd been smoking. I should note that my brother is a heavy weed smoker- probably smokes all throughout the day- and I'm a little worried about where he's getting it from. I ended up getting a migraine the last time I tried some of the stuff he brought home. Anyway, shortly after that episode, he claims to have had a spiritual awakening and says that the Norse god Odin called out to him. He is now a self proclaimed Asatru. Now, I should say that I have absolutely no problem with him being religious. For me, it'd be no different than if he claimed to be a new convert to Judaism or Islam. Religion is religion and I definitely respect everyone's right to practice whatever religion helps them get through the day, even though I'm personally a pretty strong atheist. However, I and my family are pretty concerned about what he's doing. Most of it's pretty benign. He'll light candles, is making his own batch of mead, makes offerings of wine to some of the Norse gods, and got a tattoo on his forearm. Like a couple days ago, I was finishing up most of my major packing, since I'm moving at the end of the month, and was returning a few things I had borrowed from him earlier, plus some things of mine he'd liked and I couldn't easily take with me. So I set it on his table. He comes in later, reminding me that I can't set stuff on that table because that's his 'altar to Odin'. But then there's the other stuff. Last night he proclaimed he was celebrating a nine night long holiday in celebration of when a Norse god hung from the tree of knowledge of whatever. So at six in the morning, my grandmother was awoken by him walking back from, apparently, another town because of how devout he was. At seven this morning, I was awoken by him blaring Norse chant music from his room, which is right next door to mine. We've got 8 more nights of this. Is there a way he can respect his new religion while being courteous of everyone else? And is this Asatru religion some big new thing? TLDR; formerly atheist brother is now worshiping Norse gods and the rituals are driving my grandma and I insane- what do we do?
That sounds honestly pretty crazy but I think that there are "worse" gods to be worshiped so it´s the positive side of this "problem". I have checked it out on Wikipedia and in Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Denmark it´s an official religion. So there is a possibility for him to move there or you can tell him to move to Alaska to be closer to his Norse Gods . Anyway, I would talk to him seriously and ask him to worship them calmer. Thanks God that I am an atheist .
Sounds like he took a real trip.... The best i could say is just respect his new found religion like you been doing and tell him to be a little quieter
I'd be more worried about the weed and psychosis. A single psychotic episode greatly boosts your risk of future episodes, or of developing psychosis-related disorders like bipolar and schizophrenia. For people who are already at-risk, weed can further increase the risk, especially in teenagers and young adults. If at all possible, try to convince him to quit or cut back for a few years.
That's an interesting topic name...and an interesting situation. How do you go from atheist to a religion that even christians think is crazy.
(*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ)) /thread - Asatru is basically "out there" with wicca and such. It is important for you to understand why people turn to religion. It's usually to seek comfort and an "explanation" for why they are going through the hardships they face, as well as finding a possible "solution" to their problems. It is a real thing... Came to realize this while on a stroll in Istanbul, stumbling across quite a big church filled with icons of Norse gods. And yeah, lighting candles and stuff is a pretty big thing there. Strangely enough, most (if not all) attending were african americans. But that's irrelevant. Stop viewing his religion as something that is cause for concern, more like, a symptom of what is bothering him. I would suggest having an open and honest discussion with him, as well as getting him some help with his drug problem. After consulting my drug dealer friend, I would also like to point out that apparently, they "spike" this stuff with various chemicals during the "drying" period, to give it more of a kick. Or it is how he explained it to me. Not going to mention name of chemicals for obvious reasons. So that is something to look into.
Exactly this... I've had experience with various religions, and most people will respect others if you gently tell them. You have to be very careful, not get into a fight about, just, hey, don't mind the Norse chant music, but can he keep it down when people are trying to sleep. (Headphones???)
Have a rule that by a certain time he needs to wrap up his worship/ritual for the day. I agree try to get him into narcotics anonymous or similar program for his addiction that seems to be the real problem. I would also ask him to explain the rites to you and your grandma. That way you can know what he is doing in order A. figure out if anything is overly dangerous and B. so you can tell were and what his "sacred" objects or areas are.
Thanks guys. Yeah, the weed is definitely a problem with him. Now, I disgress. I smoke pot from time to time as well so I guess it's not necessarily the substance itself. But it feels like all he ever does, if he's not working, is sit around, browse Reddit or play Skyrim and just get high all day. Basically any spare penny he has gets spent on fucking weed and the guy still has bills to pay that are probably going to be turned over to collections if he doesn't get up and deal with them. Talked to him about the music though and he's started turning it down. I don't know. It seems like he's always trying to look for some kind of obsession or school of thought. Even when he was an atheist, he was some kind of spiritual atheist. I mean, religion itself I don't have a problem with. I don't worship anything but if it makes you happy, who cares? But still. With him it's a little worrisome. He claims he has received messages from Odin and the other Norse gods. I mean, if Marvel had had a comic and a movie about fucking Horus, would he had started worshiping the Egyptian gods? I'm also a little concerned because it seems like a lot of Asatru can be pretty white supremacist. He's a nice guy and he's never had a racist bone in his body. But I'm kinda worried because he's easily influenced by other people, especially considering he has Aspergers.
The overwhelming majority of people who use weed don't have a problem with it - even NIDA only puts the abuse rate at around 9%. It becomes a problem when, well, it becomes a problem, such as distracting from previously enjoyed activities or friends, or making unwise financial decisions because of the weed, or stuff like that. And most concerning, if it triggers other health problems like psychosis, then you want to be really worried. It sounds (to me) like his conversion was triggered not by an internal search for greater meaning in life or a desire for community, but by the experiences he had during his psychotic break. Believing that gods speak directly to you is generally a symptom of psychosis, not religiosity. If he still can't separate fact from fiction, he may still be experiencing an ongoing problem. After he was discharged from the hospital, did he enter the regular care of a psychiatrist? If so, find out if you can talk to the shrink directly about this situation and see what they advise. If not, GET HIM TO SEE ONE ASAP.
The fact that he has Aspergers changes it a lot (I have it as well). Yea people with Aspergers are REALLY susceptible so yea watch out for white supremacy stuff!I became really homophobic for many years because of what my youth group leaders said about lgbt people (also to cover up to myself and others how I did not feel like a girl and thought i may be asexual read my blog thingy lol). As for the weed I Googled Aspergers and weed and its supposed to help with it so that's probably why he smokes so much. Apparently helps with sensory overloads and anxiety (at least Googled says so)
