Motivations for the non-belief in God

I wouldn't say that I have any "motivation" for my non-belief in a higher power. I just evolved that way Like I have stated in another thread, I grew up without religion, at least as far as one can without being totally sheltered from the outside world. My parents held the belief that their children should be able to form critical questions before being exposed to religious doctrines of any kind. Being an inquisitive child and a reader of pretty much any book I could get my hands on from a very early age and, of course, having friends and going to large public schools, I was exposed to the concept of the Christian God (and to other religions to a lesser extent until I was older) and naturally I questioned my parents about God. They answered that many people believed in many gods and that I could attend any kind of service I wanted to once I reached the age of 13. They did not curtail any independent exploration of religion through books, did not evade my questions about religion and the idea of god/s and they even let me attend Sunday school a few times with my best friend starting at about 7 or 8, but because they told me the reason why I should not attend formal services until 13, I approached these explorations with many questions and a suspension of belief.Most of my exploration early on had to do with the Christian concept of God, but by the time I was about 10 or 11, I was extremely fascinated with the concept of a Mother Goddess as I read about ancient history and fiction featuring idea of one (I still have a few prayers to the goddess that I made up and translated into a language I made up just for talking to her...I didn't continue with the language, tho). I had also discovered a collection of creation myths from around the world and began to entertain the notion of multiple gods.I still approached all these subjects with many questions, but I was beginning to feel a sense of reverence when I thought about any of these gods/goddesses. For example, I remember coming upon a copy of the Tao Te Ching in my mother's bookshelf and somehow knowing it was a sacred text. I kept it in my room for some time before finally one night, turning out the lights and lighting a few candles and reading it all the way through by candlelight because I thought that was the way it was supposed to be read.Enter my 13th year and I have a best friend who attends a non-denominational Christian Church and I decide to go along with her to a few services. At this time I had no firm belief in a higher power, but I was leaning towards a goddess centered belief system. I had already read the Bible (A Roman Catholic Bible - Old and New Testament), but I had never heard of the concept of being "saved." I read the Bible again after hearing a few sermons and started to see the contradictions inherent in the text. I had entertained the thought of accepting Jesus, but I didn't want to do it just because I had attended this one church. I decided to attend many churches. Another good friend of mine was Catholic and I started attending mass and CCD classes with her. Another friend went to a Pentecostal church and I went to a few services with her, and so on all the while reading the Bible and finding more and more contradictions. The summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I went with a friend of my mother's to a Unitarian service and was amazed. I thought I had found my home. For almost a year I was happy going with her and I could even reconcile my lingering belief in a goddess and my exploration of Paganism (mostly a Celtic centered Wicca). But then one day, while walking along the canal behind my parents' house I looked up at the sky and really pondered the existence of God (or any higher power really) and I just buckled over in laughter. I can't explain what prompted this, and thus I cannot say there was a motivation, but it happened quickly and unexpectedly and all serious thought of a supernatural creator/overseer/savior expunged itself from my mind.I have read many religious and philosophical texts before and since then, but I have not felt the urge to believe in the supernatural (well...there was an exception - when my little brother died a little over a year ago I thought it would be nice to believe in a heaven for him, but I realized that he would probably rise from the dead and slap me for even wanting him to go there so that thought was very short lived, I also realized that he could be anywhere I loooked because energy never dies and that helped. Death is one of the main reasons religion came about IMO.).My journey to disbelief (if you will) has given me a wide and accepting (but critical and analytical) worldview and a respect for everyone else's particular spiritual (or non-spiritual) journey. I have picked up many pieces of truths and beliefs and "morals to the story" to form my own core, but those are also ever-changing. I have a few absolutes that I hold true for myself and most of my "morals" stem from variations on those absolutes and I lead a very fulfilling, joyful life, always willing to learn more and always willing to teach and give when I can. Everyone I meet fills the place of "god" for me because they have some sort of affect on my life and I have an affect on theirs, no matter how minor. No supernatural fairy tales necessary.