Well the footy – and I do mean The Football Code, not
the round ball or the ‘hand-egg’ versions :) - is
over for another
year, and we start to move into that other sporting joy of the calendar: cricket :) (I used to quite like netball
as well, but found the teams all a bit confusing after the shift to a joint Australian and New
Zealand league, and have now – sadly - thoroughly lost touch with that
great game – and don’t have the knees of health generally to think of laying
it.)
Seriously, I don’t mind either sport, but I can’t sit down and watch
hours of sport without falling asleep, or at least yawning. And if I chose to
go and watch some footy live, I would rather got to the women’s
footy, where there is a better chance that the spectators and – to lesser
extent –the players will be less aggro. Sadly, the team I used to follow, the Parkdale Seagulls,
which is where I grew up as a kid and went to primary school, no longer exists,
and I have not felt the same emotional attachment to any of the other teams.
My partner, partner-in-law and I were talking about who we barrack for, and there are a couple
of meanings for this that I would like to address.
Firstly, there is the team I ‘officially’ barrack for, which came about
as a result of my parents being stopped in the street where they lived by one
of the local kids after they – and a few weeks old I - had moved to Melbourne:
Kid: “Who do you barrack for?”My parents, not even knowing what teams existed: “Who do you barrack for?”Kid” “The Melbourne Demons!”My parents: “How ‘bout that, so do we!”
… and we’ve been official Melbourne supporters ever since – perhaps
sadly, given their decline over most of the period since then. I haven’t
changed my official loyalty, however, as I consider it is often important to
‘stick by’ people and groups when they are going through a rough spot, as that
support – provided it is not blind or subservient – can help them get through
that ‘rough spot’ or change. There are exceptions, some of which I will come to
shortly, but I have no respect for the person who changes their support to
whoever is most successful: they’re not a ‘builder’, they’re more of a … well,
more of a parasite, basking in and sharing the glory of others who have done
lots of hard work to get to their success
(especially if the success is claimed to be overnight, there is often a great
deal of unseen and unacknowledged work that has gone into that!).
However, there is another interest I have, and that is related to the
quality of the team’s people, and the way the coach meets the challenges of
getting a group of dozens of people to function effectively. There are some
coaches who are exceptionally good at getting their players to both play well,
and behave like decent human beings – on and off the field. The only example I
can think of in the current batch is Paul Roos, who
I had considerable respect for as a player, and even more so as a coach. Some
of his legacy still exists at Sydney Swans, and I was
therefore hoping they would be successful yesterday. Sadly, they weren’t, and I
heard one commentator make the telling remark “The Hawks are playing the way the Swans use to.”
I beg to differ in one instance, in that I consider the Hawks (Hawthorn) were actually indulging in
more macho
rubbish than the Swans under Paul Roos did. I’ve also seen women footy players
do the same by the way. Yesterday I saw one Hawthorn player push a Sydney
player back down into the ground as both were getting up, and it reminded me of
an incident where one of the Parkdale women punched her opponent in the ribs as
both were getting up after a tackle.
Whoever it is doing such behaviour, I am unimpressed – and I consider the
Australian cricket team’s practice of sledging means
that their past successes may not actually be true and fair successes. Such
behaviour is why I was conflicted when the Brisbane Lions were
successful at around the turn of the century – one the one hand that was the
city I was born in, and the team had been created out of a merger between a
local team and the Fitzroy Lions, one of the teams I liked the character of,
but who were profoundly unsuccessful on the field, but on the other hand they
were extremely macho ...
Fairly clearly, I am touching on the issue of ‘where do you draw the
line’ in the pursuit of success. The Hawks used to be quite unsuccessful, until
a coach turned up who had a ‘do anything it takes to win approach’ – and that
was welcomed by the supporters, after years of being what is termed
‘easybeats’, but should it have been? I can’t celebrate the success of my
nation’s national cricket team because of the sledging issue – and if Melbourne
won, but lost its character along the way, I would probably not take any joy in
it. In fact, the cheating
Melbourne did a few years ago almost was enough to make me break my ‘official’ (incidentally, I’m not and never will be, a
financial member) support.
I can to some extent, have empathy for those responsible, who are
probably under massive pressure from the team’s supporters, but there still is
the BPLF moral / BPLF ethical / BPLF values line that should not be
crossed.
Before I get back to that issue, I would like to make one more point,
and that is that many of these footy players are kids. So the coaches I admire
are not only ensuring that the players learn the basics of footy (kicking, handballing, marking, etc)
and the tactics and strategy involved
(which, contrary to the opinions of a round ball supporter I spoke to many years
ago, do exist, although in some ways they’re more akin to basketball, perhaps,
than other footy codes), but they also have to guide them (many have moved away from family to play,
so parents and family are often no longer present) through their journey from
puberty to adulthood – whilst under an intense level of public scrutiny and
desire by some macho idiots for ‘challenges’
(fights, in other words) that other kids do not have to cope with.
So the job Paul Roos did at Sydney is, in my view, extremely admirable.
So … leadership is something that is particularly on my mind, and then
I came across this excellent article on the Wild
Hunt: “Accountability
in Pagan Leadership”., and the links to two Shauna Aura Knight posts: “Pagan
Elders and Abusive Dynamics”, and “Sins of
the Whistle Blower”, which also links to Ivo Dominguez’s “Hand, Heart, Eye”.
I’ll play some Beethoven while you duck off and read those links …
OK, back? Good-oh.
Commitment to BPLF moral / BPLF ethical / BPLF values and accountability
is something that is important in all situations of life. Back when I tried to
establish the – now defunct – ‘Rangers of the Inner
Plane’, I actually made the group entirely accountable to the – also
defunct - ‘Grove of Gyhldeptis’,
and planned on both groups having a position termed something along the lines
of ‘Group Conscience’. I never got
around to posting the Position Description for the ‘Grove Conscience’, but I did spell out the accountabilities
proposed for the ‘Grove Guide’ in
that PD (which was based on what I do in my day
job, incidentally, although I was able to add to that quite considerably). I
had written up the position a little for the Rangers, and that was along the
lines of the following:
Responsible
for oversight of Corps with respect to ethics, ensuring operation with ethical
integrity and advice to Corps Command Triangle about whether or not the Corps
should be disbanded on the grounds that it has become more harmful than
beneficial. MUST be beyond all reasonable reproach, or inference of
impropriety.
Also
expected to have psychic skills equivalent to 3rd Degree initiation in
Wicca/Witchcraft, life skills equivalent to a Uranus Opposition and to be an
active member of the Grove of Gyhldeptis.
Liaison
with, and ensuring adequate support of … (other sub-groups and positions with
similar responsibilities).
Required
to have at least one of the following skill specialisations:
- life experience
- ensuring requests for help are noticed and effectively acted on
- organisational ethics & grievance management
- history (especially learning from!)
- change management
- the spiritual state of the world’s cultures and groups
- optional spiritual pathways
- spiritual oversight
Head
of the:
- ethics chain of support units/positions (in conjunction with the Corps Ombudsperson)
- recruitment chain of support units/positions (in conjunction with the Corps Historian and Records Keeper)
May
appoint otherwise unassigned Rangers to assist in the fulfilment of these
duties or, subject to the approval of the … (leadership group), request
assignment of Rangers for the same. May organise and direct these Rangers as
deemed appropriate (subject to all other rules).
One of the issues I particularly wanted to avoid was either of these
groups existing for longer than they should. That is when groups become
harmful: if whatever needs drove the group to exist in the first place no
longer exists, or is better met elsewhere, then that group should, in my
opinion, graciously wind itself up.
There may be other matters to address as well – for instance, one
position I have held included a duty to remove the leadership if they became unfit
for duty.
So … there are very valid issues to consider, and there are ways to
address these issues, some of which have been outlined in the referenced Wild
Hunt post. Looking more broadly, some leaders seem, to me, to manage
consideration of BPLF moral / BPLF ethical / BPLF values fairly well
– for some issues, at least, if not generally. I consider that US President
Obama has done a good job in assembling a coalition that includes regional
allies (acknowledging the problems that
exist with that – see here,
here
and here)
in the fight against the group that I term QSIL (although if I really wanted
to annoy them I would use the Arabic-based acronyms DA’ESH or DA’ISH that the
French use), which is essential, and I am glad that work is now known to be
being done to cut of QSIL’s funding (see
also here
and here).
Concerns over terrorism have cropped up locally, and I would like to
refer you to these links:
- Melbourne police stabbing: Radicalisation must be fought with inclusivity;
- After Endeavour Hills, we must confront the threat within ourselves, which actually covers the importance of maintaining trust; and
- Mad and sad, the falling into jihad.
I also suggest you consider the following as examples of responses to
security concerns be wary - or at least cautious - of: here,
here
and here.
I’m also glad that work is being done to keep this in perspective. As
an example, US President Obama has pointed out that climate
change is a bigger threat than terrorism – and I am particularly glad that
my nation has been singled out as one of the slackers, as we are (on this issue, see here,
here,
and here).
The danger of the Ebola crisis in West Africa has also been pointed out –see here
and here,
for instance. And if you refer to any of the sources I normally use, you will
see that there are other areas where help is needed …
So, what is to be done?
Well, more of the usual – i.e., clearing negative units and generating
additional positive energy beyond that needed to do the clearing, obviously,
but anything else in particular?
Well, as it happens, there is.
I’ve been thinking of ways I can improve this weekly post, and have
decided to do a set of rune readings to identify the influences which exist
right now, and are to be addressed in tonight’s meditation. So … the first set
of runes addressed what is happening on the level
of the physical and etheric.
The rune in the centre represents the overall summation, which is
Wunjo. Now, Wunjo is often described as being joy, but it can also be about
seeking perfection, and I have the sense that that meaning is the one that
applies here: people are seeking to improve their life situations. Remember,
this is not just for the troubled areas of the world.
The rune in the upper left position is about the known negative
influences – influences which will make achieving an improvement more
difficult. In this case, we have an inverted Othala. Othala is about inherited
lands, so the inference is that ‘dis- inheriting’ or invading lands would be
bad. That’s a point which has been taken on board by most – except for Syria, although
they were deliberately inactive during at least the first strikes against QSIL.
The run on the lower left is for those hindering influences which are
either not as obvious or are not known. In this case, that is Laguz. Now, Laguz
normally is taken to mean water, emotions or flow, but it also has another
meaning that the Saxons apparently applied to it, according to the ‘Martin rune deck’: the
fragility and instability of boats on the ocean. So, the possibility of
situations becoming chaotic is of concern – and will be addressed on higher
level.
On the right we have those influences which are beneficial.
In the overt position we have Mannaz, which suggests, at first glance,
that community could be helpful. When I look at the micro-runes involved in this
reading (each of my card designs from the
first three Aetts shows the micro-runes, which is an analysis of how each rune
is created by the merging of fire and ice – look at my nshrine page if you cannot adequately
enlarge the images), I can that ice can be used to set boundaries on
passion, so seeking calmness is beneficial.
In the covert position we have Gebo, which – again, from an analysis of
the micro-runes – suggests that standing up to bullies (i.e., force balancing force) is needed … which sums up the
situation around Mr Putin as well, perhaps.
The next set of runes is for the astral, and emotional influences. I’ll
make the descriptions a little briefer now you’ve been introduced, Dear Reader,
to the way I’m going to do these.
Overall: Ehwaz, or strength – so … endurance, patience, and persistence.
This will be hindered by Wan, or emptiness, which is about the dangers of
leaving power vacuums or not meeting people’s emotional needs: so, more
inclusivity based on genuine consideration of other people’s BPLF aspirations,
not what you think they should want. Less obvious is the negativity excessive
binding of negativity, represented by Wolfsangle, which can be an outcome of
fear (perhaps as a result of being
uncertain of one’s strength?) or impatience. On the other hand, this can be
helped by Othala, and, less obviously, Jera. Combined, this suggests it is time
for people to regain their lands – particularly, perhaps the Kurds, but also
Syria, and the rest of the Middle East – and many places in Africa, all of which
are suffering from the enforced settlements after World War Part One, which I
recently wrote about.
Next the level of mental influences – including Group
Minds.
Overall we have an inverted Ziu. Ziu means breaking through resistance,
so in this instance the overall level of mental influences on the world is too
rigid and unyielding. The problems are exacerbated by an inverted Ac and, less
obviously, Yr, which suggests trying to be too ‘middle of the road’ is an unacknowledged
danger, and that failing to set boundaries (which Ac represents) is a problem –
so … perhaps failing to commit to BPLF principles and call out or condemn
actions which are harmful? This is helped by Sowelu, or the desire to be well,
and, less obviously, by Ear. That suggests a better connection to the world of
Nature will help.
Finally, the level of psychic and spiritual influences.
Overall, this is summed up by Ehwaz, which has the meaning, I have the
impression, of Sleipnir – communication with Higher Realms. This is helped by
Dagaz (transformation into more Divine
states of being) and Hagalaz – which, I have the sense, should be
interpreted in its form of ‘Order’ (well,
it was shown inverted in my cards, purely because of the writing: the symbol
itself is actually one the nine irreversible runes). Hindrances are Sol,
usually interpreted as wellness but maybe being too complacent spiritually or
too willing to assume things are spiritually OK, in this instance, and Ul,
which includes ‘reviving former glories’ – as QSIL and Mr Putin are both
attempting to d openly, so … there may be unknown players here seeking to
restore their version of ‘past glories’.
(A dose of Perthro might help with that.)
If I was to try and put all that into a paragraph, it would be:
Overall, it is important to be calm and not
react disproportionately – and, in particular, not invade other people’s lands or
overreact to perceived or claimed threats or undertake actions which will leave
a vacuum for someone worse to step into. That restraint, combined with the dispassion
of ice and seeking to build inclusive communities everywhere in the world, will help to prevent a descent into chaos (perhaps the chaos of war?). It is, however, time for some people
to be restored to their lands (and for
all to be more connected to Nature and aware of the environment), and seeking after BPLF ideals –
even where they impose limits to what one does. Seek to manifest endurance, patience, and persistence, and to avoid
being hidebound in one’s thinking or too complacent, set or comfortable in one’s
spiritual practice (perhaps … not
inclined to turn from the troubles of the world to hiding in religion?). It is spiritually important to stand
up to bullies and evil, and seek to discover those who are trying to restore
their version of ‘past glories’.
I hope I get better at this with practice - all of that is a little too obvious and too connected with how I view things for me to be satisfied with it :( I think I’ll add this task to my
list of projects that I’d like to see someone else take on – it is, after all, very
similar to the energy assessments project I started and stopped when I ran out
of time and energy – as I may yet do with this, if I attempt to do it every
week. Or in as much depth every week – I can always post what I drew and my
overall assessment, and leave you, Dear Reader to make your own call – as you
are free to do with this :)
I’m going to leave this post at that for now. The reading links I’ve
collected can wait …
'See' you tonight :)
[2]
Please see here and my post "The
Death of Wikipedia" for the
reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of
h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as
extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather
engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy").
Love, light, hugs and blessings
Gnwmythr,
Wéofodthegn
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix
Lux? … Morinehtar?
… Would-be drýicgan
... )
My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.
I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend learning how to flame, ground and shield, do alternate nostril breathing, work with colour, and see also here and be flexible.
- One size does NOT fit all.
- Don't be mediocre - seek to excel.
- Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
- Our entire life experience, with all the many wondrous and varied people, places and events in it, is too small a sample for statistical reliability about Life.
- May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
- Ban the dream interpretation industry!
- A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
- Being accustomed to interacting via certain rules makes those rules neither right nor universal.
- Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master.
- Expertise at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as spiritual growth.
- Any person, male or female, who has neither a serious health issue, dependents nor an agreement about study. yet expects their partner to work to support them, is, spiritually speaking, little more than a parasite.
- The means shape the end.
- BPLF restraint of uncooperatives is NOT an opportunity for revenge or getting even - even unconsciously.
- As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
- My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi", although I've recently come across "Invictus" and might put that one in to that category. However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
- All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be
stronger [people].
John F. Kennedy (who was
quoting 19th Century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)
Jesus loves you. Odin wants you to grow up.
We make our decisions. And then our decisions turn around and make us.
F.W. Boreham
Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious.
Jane Elliott
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing.
(based on
writing by) Edmund Burke
The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
Albert Einstein
We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
Robert F. Kennedy 1968
There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy
If we could change ourselves, the
tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so
does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see
what others do. (Often degraded to “Be
the change you want to see in the world” – see here)
Gandhi
Tags: about me, abuse of power, accountability, energy work, examples, leadership, meditation, peace, personal characteristics, personal responsibility, runes, society, violence, war,
First published: Sunnudagr, 28th September, 2014
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Sunday, 28th September, 2014
