My transition from Christian to atheist was gradual, rocky, and anything but a direct path from one to the other. I've
written about this here many times. What I haven't written much about is what came next. Although I had left gods behind, I was not so sure about souls, spirits, and other possibilities.
I was attracted to many New Age beliefs, considered myself a "spiritual" person, and even sought to explore other religions (e.g., Buddhism). While I can't say that I ever fully believed in
karma or reincarnation, I did find these concepts very appealing for awhile. Looking back, I would estimate that I spent at least a couple years as an atheist who had not only not closed the door to spiritual or supernatural possibilities but who was actively searching for alternative forms of spirituality. I was willing to entertain all sorts of woo, and entertain it I did.
Walking away from god belief left me with sort of a void. I am not sure I was aware of it at the time, but I certainly behaved like someone who was searching for something to fill a void. At the time, what I felt was freedom. Specifically, I was finally free to look around at religions besides the Christian faith into which I had been indoctrinated and spiritual but non-religious belief systems, most of which were too loosely organized to qualify as belief systems at all. It did not feel like I was looking for something in particular as much as it felt like I was exploring what else was out there. It is only with the benefit of hindsight that I recognize I probably was looking for something.