Books for those of no fixed religion but want 'life guidance'

I've been a Pagan for many years now, I started with Wicca, but my spirituality has grown a bit now, or Wicca has narrowed, I'm not sure which, although it does seem to be becoming more codified something I don't feel it was ever intended to be. To quote Sir Terry Pratchet, '.. witches [Wiccans] believe in their gods like they believe in the postman', this is very much how I feel, it's beyond belief or faith, it just is. 

I notice all the faiths you mentions are basically Christian, have you ever moved outside of Christianity or montheism? For me a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses is obvious and I can't get my head around montheism anymore, it's taken me a while to reach this point having been brought up with the idea if not the practice of montheism. I dont' find myself with a lack of morals although I sometimes find myself with moral conumdrums and sometimes my moral compas is like that of Cpt Jack Sparrow, in that it points to what I want rather than whats a particularly "good" thing. But then one of the things about following a path such as Wicca is that it makes you conciously think about morality and what good and bad/evil actually mean.

Have your ever read The Tao of Pooh? Or Buddhism for Sheep? The Tao of Pooh, looks at Taoism via the medium of Winnie the Pooh, its a whimsically wise book. Buddhism for Sheep is a short book using the life of sheep as a metaphor for Zen Buddhism. Both of these books should be easy reading and a good way to start exploring spirituality.

I think an atheist religion is a contradiction, I get where de Boton is coming from, and it's been a conundrum for humanists and atheists for many many years, how do you have morality without a deity to enforce it? Personally I find it quite easy, our deities don't enforce in the way a monotheistic deity does, or at least what priests tell us pleases their god to punish or allow.

A lot of Christianity is based around Plato and Neo-Platonism, so you may find those interesting.

I like Rumi.

I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Magian, nor Muslim …

https://archive.blogs.harvard.edu/sulaymanibnqiddees/2012/11/06/rumi-i-do-not-recognize-myself/

I sort of get this but a bit beyond my intellect! [I wish I was super-clever like my brother but alas did not inherit that gene]. Is it, that knowing myself I can then be one with God? It's more about learning to love the self, and thus finding peace and joy in life.

Oh my goodness, what similarities! I divorced one parent and changed my surname. You did well to attain an MSc in four years in your mid forties! 

My academic journey was more staggered. A BSc in my late 30s, a PGCE at an Institute attached to a university in my mid forties and an MA with Distinction at a traditional university in my late forties. It’s contrasted against being last in the class in most subjects apart from Maths until about P3. English and French were the only subjects I scraped through. 

I hated school but ended up changing career and becoming a teacher. It was hard going and I was bullied by management and became burned out. An illness a year and a half into teaching finished it off for good. I recovered somewhat, completed the masters and worked abroad for a bit, but I could never get myself together properly to make a lasting career of it. 

Theres more to intellegence than qualifications, you come across to me as an an intellegent, funny and thoughful person, being thoughtful and having a sense of humour balance the intellegence, life must be very dull with only cold hard logic for companionship.

I was never encouraged either only discouraged, I spent many years feeling like my own ghost, if that makes any sense?

Thank you! Yes, I think part genetic, part life experiences. I think you never fully recover but learn to live alongside the past. I 'divorced' my parents by changing my surname, then choosing a different date for my birthday. That helped a lot. I didn't go to University until I was 42 and passed MSc. at 46. Became an author age 47. Glad to hear you went to OU - fantastic institution.

Marianne72 said:

I had no feedback from parents and was often considered 'below par'.

And the effects from that have stayed with you. It’s so hard to undo damage when there is neglect by omission, or by any other means. People might tell you it was a long time ago and to move on, but those who haven’t experienced it won’t understand.

In my case, the depression and anxiety I have had long term could have been caused by neglect and abuse but I know there can be a genetic link to that too. I returned to study late in my life through the OU and my confidence was so low that I didn’t tell anybody I was doing it until three years later. I really only began as an experiment because I had discovered that unlike school work, the teaching style of the OU suited me. Studying boosted my confidence but it hasn’t made the effects of the past disappear, they continue to be present.

You write well and I enjoy reading your posts. 

Marianne72 said:

I had no feedback from parents and was often considered 'below par'.

And the effects from that have stayed with you. It’s so hard to undo damage when there is neglect by omission, or by any other means. People might tell you it was a long time ago and to move on, but those who haven’t experienced it won’t understand.

In my case, the depression and anxiety I have had long term could have been caused by neglect and abuse but I know there can be a genetic link to that too. I returned to study late in my life through the OU and my confidence was so low that I didn’t tell anybody I was doing it until three years later. I really only began as an experiment because I had discovered that unlike school work, the teaching style of the OU suited me. Studying boosted my confidence but it hasn’t made the effects of the past disappear, they continue to be present.

You write well and I enjoy reading your posts. 

Oh my goodness, what similarities! I divorced one parent and changed my surname. You did well to attain an MSc in four years in your mid forties! 

My academic journey was more staggered. A BSc in my late 30s, a PGCE at an Institute attached to a university in my mid forties and an MA with Distinction at a traditional university in my late forties. It’s contrasted against being last in the class in most subjects apart from Maths until about P3. English and French were the only subjects I scraped through. 

I hated school but ended up changing career and becoming a teacher. It was hard going and I was bullied by management and became burned out. An illness a year and a half into teaching finished it off for good. I recovered somewhat, completed the masters and worked abroad for a bit, but I could never get myself together properly to make a lasting career of it. 

Theres more to intellegence than qualifications, you come across to me as an an intellegent, funny and thoughful person, being thoughtful and having a sense of humour balance the intellegence, life must be very dull with only cold hard logic for companionship.

I was never encouraged either only discouraged, I spent many years feeling like my own ghost, if that makes any sense?

Thank you! Yes, I think part genetic, part life experiences. I think you never fully recover but learn to live alongside the past. I 'divorced' my parents by changing my surname, then choosing a different date for my birthday. That helped a lot. I didn't go to University until I was 42 and passed MSc. at 46. Became an author age 47. Glad to hear you went to OU - fantastic institution.