Book: Drinking At The Well Of Mimir An Asatru Man Meanderings by Bil Linzie
I don't consider this volume to be any great piece of research. There are plenty of researchers out there far more knowledgeable than I, and I have no problem with that. I don't consider these books revolutionary in any way either; I seriously doubt whether they will change the practice of Asatru in the modern world. What they are is an Asatru man's view of the world after having been Asatru two years short of a full third of a century. They are my views.I loved that book and read it cover to cover at least four times a year for the next 3 years. My Grampa Jack was “Linzie religion” and so was I, but I belonged to the Asa-Faith as well. I later bought a second printing of the book and still enjoy it. After 30 years of
Asatru the book has begun to even take on the smell of that original I once held in my hands.
I love the fact that I am a 3rd generation German-American. I now live in the southwest in a predominantly hispanic community and enjoy enchiladas y tamales as much as I do Sauerkraut mit Schinken und Apfeln, but I never mistake where I came from. I read a lot more now than I used to and move a little slower than when I was still chasing Laura (and I do mean chasing—she was fast). I have a family of my own and I am 30+ years and 2000 miles away from the place of my upbringing, but I feel more a German-American now than I did growing up. I wrote this book as an expression of thanks, I suppose.
This book came together over a period of 10 years. I started in 1990 (the year that our town's electricity went out on Superbowl Sunday), and I lost the first thirty or so pages to an old, borrowed Apple IIe. Fortunately, I still had the original handwritten copy. Since that time, I've gone through 3 computers, Windows3.1, Windows95, Windows98, and now Linux/ FreeBSD; countless rewrites, and have lost half my hair, grown long in the tooth, became a Grampa, and got remarried only to have two more sons (one of whom is “Jack” born 99 years and 9 days after his namesake and founder of the 'Linzie-religion'). A lot has happened in those 10 years.
The book actually started out as a 5-page essay but quickly took on a life of its own sprawling out well beyond a ream of paper. The topics wander mainly because I like it that way. It starts with the individual who slowly discovers his relationship to the world. It starts at the center of the universe, i.e. me–(yes, I'm slightly narcissistic), and then looks out, then up, then down, and then further out. It is not an instruction manual, but rather a record of learning. I've put in beaucoup quotes and named the Authors and their books as well. There are plenty of personal observations in here (actually, the bulk of what's here is personal observations–I just 'scotch-taped' the personal observations together with quotes).
I put this book out for free. I did that for a reason. If you find that some of my ideas are good, fine, they are there for the taking. Information is really no different from fiddle tunes in my mind. They are both there to be taken–enjoyed. I don't figure the book's a top-seller anyway, so I prefer to give it away. The way of life that the Asa-Faith offers is an enjoyable thing, and this is my way of giving-back. One other thing: I believe that the Asa-Faith should be free and personal. No one can tell another how to experience life, and certainly, no one should pay to learn about how to experience life. I am not against people coming together for Asa-Faith holidays, but I still don't like organized religion any more than Grampa Jack did. I wrote The Asatru Folk Manifesto 1 in honor of him. He was my greatest inspiration, was a family man, and farmer, an upstanding member of our little community, a regular at the Grange, and the best of Grampas.
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Bil Linzie - Drinking At The Well Of Mimir An Asatru Man Meanderings
