Rune-Net was established at the beginning of this century as an alternative to the pervasive charlatanry and escapism that had been built upon our historical heritage of the runes. The personality cults and sheer silliness that had become popular in the 1980s and ‘90s were turning the subject into a joke. Academics were calling the rune myth purveyors “the lunatic fringe”.

Worse than this, impressionable minds were being manipulated by self-promoted gurus. A healthy dose of scepticism was badly needed, and Rune-Net provided a temporary haven for many who had been exploited.

Thankfully, with the help of a number of more down-to-earth books and study groups, the “rune myth industry”, and public interest in it, have waned. The best culmination of any organisation is to make itself unnecessary.

After retiring from a career in IT forensics, I now have time to meditate and tie up loose ends. I happily decommission Rune-Net, and have started work on my next project.

What I have learned is that the root of most of our problems is belief. At first glance it may seem to be the content of our beliefs. Self defeating memes, extreme politics, fundamentalism, all have obvious destructive power. However, if we look deeper, the root cause is not what we believe, but the assumption that we need to believe.

For 2000 years, we have been sold the lie that belief is essential. We were defined by our belief in the truth of one dogma, and the falsity of another. Logic and meditation can reveal that belief is self delusion, the emotional attachment to a false sense of certainty. It is merely a crutch that prevents us from experiencing the world as it really is.

My next book explores this, and offers a way out. Coming out soon.

Rational Heathen