it supports you in times of trouble, answers your questions
about your life and what you mean to the universe, and gives
you comfort.
Yo u h a v e t o b e c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h y o u r b e l i e f s y s t e m ; i t ’s n o
good having one in which a vengeful and violent deity
watches your every move and terrifies you into submission.
(Sorry, if you’ve already got one like that, you might need to
rethink it.)
Yo u m i g h t w a n t t o t h i n k a b o u t w h e t h e r y o u r b e l i e f s y s t e m
makes you feel guilt-ridden or unhappy, asks you to cut bits
off your body or in any way mutilate or change your appear-
ance, excludes anyone else on the basis of their race or sex, or
needs any formal ritual to bring you the comfort it promises.
For some, the ideal belief system won’t have any sort of figure-
head who needs worshipping, obeying, or submitting to in
any way, shape, or form. This is personal, but it’s worth think-
ing about what you are OK with.
A belief system has to be that—a belief. You don’t have to
prove it to anyone else, justify it, [or] show it (see Rule 1),
convert anyone else to it, or preach to the world in general.
Yo u m a y f e e l f r e e t o t a k e b i t s f r o m a l l o t h e r b e l i e f s y s t e m s t o
build your own. But if you can, have something.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO PROVE
IT TO ANYONE ELSE,
JUSTIFY IT,
[OR] SHOW IT.