Post No. 083 - Occultists and the Parliament of World Religions

Since the World Fair in Chicago in 1897, at roughly 4 year intervals an interfaith event called "the Parliament of World Religions" has been held (the word "parliament" is used in an old sense, of a place where it is safe to engage in civil debate - see http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/ for the official website. This year it is being held in Melbourne, and I am going.

I would be happy to go for myself - I've got an interest in such conferences which began with presenting a paper on queer spirituality at a Health in Difference conference held in Adelaide (the best link I can find is for the 2010 conference in Sydney), was refined at the National Queer Spirituality Conference held in Adelaide in 2003 as part of the LGBTIQ Feast Festival, and peaked (so far!) at the Victorian Queer Spirituality Conference I helped organise in 2005. However, in addition to that, I have been asked to represent the Correllian Nativist Church International (CNCI), and will be going as the Australian representative of the Australian Chapter of CNCI order: the Order of Hermes-Australia, of which I am the Chief Coordinator and, currently, sole member :)

Before I go any further, I would like to clear the air about what some would consider "dirty laundry". Some years ago, there was a split in the Correllian tradition, with the CNCI being formed as a more progressive (in my opinion) path after its leader was removed from what is now known as the Correllian Nativist Tradition. This split was basically over concerns that the CNT had over links to Left Hand Path (LHP) systems by the current leadership of the CNCI. Now, whilst I can understand the very human desire of many people in persecuted minorities to be "normalised", which can show as LGBTIQ people demonstrating their middle class suburban normalness or Wiccans demonstrating that they are not Satanists, I would like to make the following points:

1. As far as I am concerned, Satan is a actually a Christian concept.
2. Many of the extreme accusations of abuse, sacrifices etc currently levelled at Satanists were levelled at witches during the Burning Times (I can only find a link about a movie about this era, rather than a good link about this description: still, what I saw at that link suggests it will get the idea across to any who haven't come across this term before).Is the pain being shifted along, a bit like a tradie who was abused as an apprentice takes all his frustration, pain, anger and humiliation out on the next generation of apprentices ...
3. One of the nicest people I have ever known (L) was (she passed away a few years ago) a Satanist, and one of the most actively caring people I know has several LHP connections
4. L's description of LHP vs. RHP came down to: LHP is introspective, focused on developing the self, whereas RHP is is focused on outer life (helping others etc). That's a bit of a simplification, but I have read some excellent self development texts which were LHP texts - the sort of thing you see in some of the "nicey nice" emails that float around from time to time.
5. It is worth having a look at Wikipedia's entry on this topic, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism, before reading too much further

So, in short, I think the attitude of shock! horror! revulsion! was overdone, underjustified and, in main, simply showed the leadership of the tradition at that time to be in complete conflict with Australian cultural norms (i.e., there was no "fair go", as the person being accused didn't have a chance to have a say). In fact, some of our Temple members left in disgust at what they considered an unedifying spectacle of public squabbling. (I've also read some blog posts* about all this and other problems with the CNT and Witchschool, some of which appear to me to be normal business problems, some possibly attributable to questionable expectations, some to poor communication, and so on - although, as I mentioned, we decided to move from one side to the other, which wasn't done out of boredom!) Keep in mind that no-one, and probably no thing, on this planet are perfect: we ALL have flaws. It is up to each of us to decide when the "flaws" in a situation become too inconsistent with our personal values, and we should move on (as I decided a few months ago at my former place of employment).

There has been more water under the bridge since then, and the Temple I am in, which originally stayed with CNT, eventually shifted over to the CNCI. I should point out, though, that I have enormous respect for some of the people in the CNT, people I worked with who showed themselves to be caring, sensitive, capable individuals, people who I still stay in occasional touch with, but I think a number of issues were poorly handled.

In fact, as I alluded to in the above, at the time I thought the debate smelled of "internalised discrimination" - a term I have taken from the LGBTIQ world, which refers to the characteristic of some minority groups who are discriminated against discriminating against others, or seeking to "prove" their "normality", in the sense of being able to fit into white picket suburbia. In the case of the LGBTIQ world, I have seen lesbian and gay discrimination against bisexuals and trans people, trans discrimination against intersexed people, and all groups potentially having internalised homophobia/transphobia/etc. So ... going back to the Correllian split, the "debate" at the time of the split came across - to me - as relatively conservative Wiccans trying to avoid being embarassed or discriminated against because of association with a belief system (Satanism) which was subjected to the same form of widespread social disapproval and discrimination that they themselves had recently been subjected to.

It's all a little bit like the teenager saying "Muuummm! (or Daaaad!) ... you're EMBARASSIN' me!"

One thing I learned from Buddhism is that we ALL have dark sides, and we need to be able to look our (dark) side squarely in the eye and be as accepting and loving of that aspect of ourselves as we would of any other person. There are many spiritual paths in this world, and most - if not all - have some validity for someone, at some stage of their evolution. I've experienced (and integrated) quite a few different pathways - Qabbalah, shamanism, spiritualism, Buddhism, Wicca, to name a few - even Christianity was something I tried earlier in my life. They all had a role to play, even the ones I thought were so ridiculous that I couldn't possibly gain anything from them.

Maybe LHP can teach some of us something constructive ...

Now, having got that digression out of the way: there was a programme on the ABC a few nights ago, an episode of "Encounter", which was focused on the forthcoming Parliament. It was quite an interesting programme (there is a transcript at the first link), which obviously included major faiths such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, but also included smaller faiths such as Baha'i and even - shock! horror! - an occultist. (OcCULTist ... OCCultIST ... occultiste ... occultista ... hmmmm - just trying it out, to see how it rolls of the tongue and the keyboard :) ... maybe that is the term I have been looking for to describe myself :D )

There is clearly quite a bit of work happening behind the scenes, and the emails show quite a bit of activity now. If I wasn't so busy at work, I would be quite enjoying this build up to the Parliament ...

Now, as I mentioned, one of my roles in life is as the Chief Coordinator of the Order of Hermes-Australia. At the moment, I am still struggling with organisational stuff like writing a constitution (too much happening in life to get that finished; it will have to cover how to include non-CNCI members appropriately, and adjust terminology to what is used in Australia), but I am planning on taking my role as seriously as I can. I'm currently thinking about what things I should try to do on behalf of pagans generally, the CNCI more specifically, LGBTIQ pagans even more specifically, and LGBTIQ people generally. It's a bit of a head buzz at the moment ... One thing I have decided to do is post (here and on the Order of Hermes - Australia website) a bit of a blog about my experiences.

The following text is something I am working on to post on the Order of Hermes - Australia website in the near future.

The Australian Chapter of the Order of Hermes will be present at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, in December, 2009, being represented by the Chief Coordinator. For more information on the Parliament of World Religions, refer to http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/.

A group is being organised (by others) which is understood to be for LGBTIQ attendees at the Parliament, which the Chief Coordinator has expressed interest in, and pre-Parliament events are underway in Melbourne now. Hopefully the Chief Coordinator's email on 1st August, 2009 (extract below) to the organisers of the Parliament helped get this off the ground, although others were clearly actively lobbying for this.

I have noted that it is permissible to make suggestions with regard to the programme. There is a topic I would like to make a suggestion about, although I am loathe to risk overcommitting myself and nominate myself to run anything.

The topic is people with different sexualities/gender identities - i.e., lesbians, gays and bisexuals, and transgender/transsexual people. As I hope you are aware, not all religions consider being other than heterosexual and cisgendered to be problematic - in fact, my training including comments that being bisexual would result in increased life experience, and hence could be considered advantageous. Unfortunately, however, the situation of people with different sexualities/gender identities (i.e., LGBT people) in some religions is debated or even condemned - a viewpoint which has severe repercussions for those people within those faiths, and others outside it.

With regard to the Parliament, my opinion is that this difference could cause problems with interfaith dialogue between some members of my faith and larger faiths that are intolerant of these sexualities and gender identities. I would therefore like to know if there has been any allowance made for considering ways of giving those faiths which DO value people with different sexualities/gender identities an adequate voice?

I look forward to your advice.

The following item was included in an email newsletter I received:

M_ (_ Movement) has put in a proposal to run a workshop at the World Parliament of Religions: "Voices of Wisdom and Challenge: gay and lesbian perspectives on faith, spirituality and embodied grace". He suggested a panel of several GLBTIQ folks from various religions and cultures, discussing their faith and spirituality etc - with general discussion afterwards. The proposal was accepted - so the workshop is on !! If anyone is interested in participating in the workshop please contact M_direct on

The Chief Coordinator has registered interest, but heard nothing further to date.

Another issue we emailed the organisers of the Parliament about was the list of attributes for which discrimination is prohibited. An extract from the email, and the promising response, are given below.

From the original email:

With respect to this request, I note that you have listed the following in your homestay documentation section regarding discrimination:

Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, marital status, religious belief or activity, industrial activity, political opinion or activity, national extraction, social origin, disability, parental status or status as a carer, pregnancy, lawful sexual activities, physical features or breastfeeding is unlawful.

I was wondering why have you chose not to also included "gender identity", and why have you included "lawful sexual activity" rather than "sexual orientation"? Whilst it is good that some acknowledgement of differing sexualities has been included, it would perhaps be worth noting the following list of attributes under which discrimination is prohibited in Victoria (from http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/types%20of%20discrimination/default.asp). I assume you are using the Victorian legislation, as, as far as I am aware, breastfeeding is only covered under State legislation. (I have CC'd this to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for the purpose of checking that point.)

age

breastfeeding

carer status

disability/impairment

employment activity

gender identity

industrial activity

lawful sexual activity

marital status

parental status

physical features

political belief or activity

pregnancy

race

religious belief or activity

sex

sexual orientation

personal association with someone who has, or is assumed to have, one of these personal characteristics.

I look forward to your reply.

From the response:

This was an oversight on our part and we definitely have every intention of honouring the Victorian legislation

More information will be posted when it is available.

Well, I'll see how it all goes, and I'll do my best to keep everyone updated :)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr
* I have toyed with posting the link to the blog post (after all, they are pretty much in the public domain, but I'd rather get permission before doing that, and I don't have the time, energy or inclination to chase that up).

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: Parliament of World Religions, Correllian, Left Hand Path, Right Hand Path, Wicca, Satanism, discrimination, labels,

First published: Wednesday 18th November, 2009

Last edited: Wednesday 18th November, 2009

Post No. 082 - Control, family and living in the 'burbs: A Rant

One of the topics I have posted on several times is what I have called "control" - which, in the context I use it, refers to people attempting to force others to do things the controller wants, for the controller's comfort or reward.
This can be done in a whole range of ways, including psychic means (which I have talked about), social conditioning (I find the change of attitudes towards "cheer leading", which used to be seen as "obviously" a manly thing and is now seen as "obviously" a feminine thing, to be both hilarious and a good illustration of the effects of this*), and so forth.
One of the ways this control is exerted is through social pressures. Those social pressures come about through a range of means - gossip is one (stopping gossip, including not tolerating others doing that, is a "Personal Change Assignment" in an off-shoot from the Grove of Gyhldeptis called the Rangers of Gyhldeptis - both of which I work with), another is the expectations around houses (I won't call them homes) in the suburbs: lawns will be mowed, lawn grass is expected with vegetation all neatly contained in pots or high-maintenance garden beds, and colourful weeds are to be frowned upon. Now there are some valid issues here - long dry grass is a fire hazard, and piles of rubbish can create problems with vermin, but a lot of it is people getting annoyed at something looking different ... maybe there is even an element of "I spent my lifetime doing all that weeding and sweeping, so they darn well should too" (which suggests being upset because someone else has shown that there was a choice, another option, rather than just following like sheep).
Having a richer, more verdant garden (provided it is done in a water wise and environmentally responsible way!) has a few benefits:

• it attracts and sustains birds
• it attracts and sustains faeries
• it creates a bit of a carbon sink, where we can start reclaiming some of the carbon we have been putting back into the atmosphere.

Of course, that last point won't result in any carbon credits or payment for same to you, but surely one can justify not being paid on the basis of keeping the planet livable? It's not as if we're talking about a major expense!
I mentioned having a garden in a way that is environmentally responsible. Mowing the lawn, taking the clippings away, and then buying lots of artificial fertilisers to keep the grass alive is NOT environmentally responsible!
Consider this. One of the ways to find out what a healthy plant needs is to analyse what is in a healthy specimen. That means, if your grass is healthy, the clippings will actually have what is exactly needed. Don't cart your lawn clippings away! Mulch them back onto the lawn! That, after all, is pretty much how nature operates - have a look at some information on Permaculture for more.
One of that things that people are skirting round with respect to managing climate change is that we WILL have to change the way we live, and this WILL cause some pain. One of the ways that some people will feel that pain is in changing the types of gardens they have - they will have to get used to a different look, one that they probably consider "messy".
This is an issue of contention between me and one of my neighbours at the moment: she doesn't like the flowers that are shed by one of our trees. (We're renting, by the way, so we inherited the choice of plants from others; they're not brilliant.) This woman has been extremely aggressive about this issue, which hasn't gone down well when the owner has had the garden excessively cut back - to an extent that removed our shade and privacy, resulting in the house being considerably hotter, which has exacerbated some health issues - seriously, in my opinion.
And it is basically all about control ... in this case, her wanting to control me, to force me into living the way she wants me to, the way she feels comfortable with.
Actually, that whole (still ongoing) episode is a good illustration of why I don't want to live in the suburbs. Menzies once made a comment to the effect that the control over people's lifestyles, and enforcement of conformity, effected in loungerooms was far more severe than anything he could do in government.
(This was obviously pre 9/11 - and for an excellent commentary on the responses to 9/11, if you can, read Bruce Sneier's article "Beyond Security Theater", originally published in "New Internationalist", ed. no. 427, Nov. 2009, pp. 10-13. For partial copies see:
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/11/security-theater
http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/the_right_kind_of_security.php;
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2009/11/the_future_of_security.cfm.)
I don't want to be living in other people's pockets. I don't particularly want to be forced into interacting with strangers who may well be different types of people to me. I want to have a sense of psychic space around me, and be able to relax and focus on interacting with those I chose to be friends.
(Incidentally, life was easier for me in the rougher suburb I came from, Frankston North, than here in the inner northern Melbourne suburbs - at least back in Frankston North people would generally leave me alone. Also, odly enough, it was easier to get contents insurance in Frankston North.)

I know this goes against what many spiritual people favour (by which I am referring to the "lets bring back the village", or "lets have street parties and get to know our neighbours"), but I prefer to choose freedom over sociability. I am not so desperate for human interaction that I need to interact with my neighbours; I do wish to have some freedom to live my life the way I choose to do so, including my choice of garden. In fact, if there was a pagan version of the monasteries of various religious paths, I could see myself fairly happily living there - provided it was one of those versions where the inhabitants are in relationships, and my partner genuinely and of her own free will wished to do the same (which I suspect may not be the case :) ).
I know there are elements of forced interaction to deal with karmic issues: the keys ones of those, however, are usually experienced through families. And on the topic of families, here is an edited extract from an email I recently sent a friend regarding families:

I have found my "family of choice" (my friends) to be a far better indicator of what is or isn't good for me than some of my other families. I also have an interesting range of choices of family: I have an adoptive family, who probably fit the definition most people use of "family", and my birth family. I laugh when people comment on the family resemblance between my father and I, but we get on quite well. That relationship improved - also with my mother - when I moved 2,00km south. Maybe doing that was a way of marking myself as an independent adult.

That didn't apply so much to my adoptive sister: she and I didn't get on very well (some strong karmic influences there - my fault, obviously) and still don't always. My birth sister, on the other hand, and I get on quite well.

There is one birth family uncle I will never formally meet. That birth family uncle, however, I think I met at the sailing club in the country Queensland town I spent my teenage years in, but he had such an unpleasant aura that I wouldn't even admit to being adopted. On the other hand, one of my adoptive family uncles, a gentle man who wouldn't tease too far and had been one of the choco's in PNG during the Second World War, I adored.

Being family, in my opinion, doesn't mean one will or even should get on, and doesn't give one any sort of "right" to impose on others. In fact, I think if rellies do try to impose on one, they are actually harming their own spiritual development, and I will generally stand up to them and remind myself that this if for their benefit as much as mine.

So, in terms of something positive from this rant (which it is - my apologies, and normal service will hopefully resume now), perhaps consider how you may be expecting others to conform to pervasive norms, or how you may have been conforming to pervasive norms without realising that was what you were doing. If you consider tit and then decide to conform, that is quite OK: it is the unaware agreement that is a problem.
* There may be some universal constants underlying all this - have a look at "The Green Cardigan Wearer and the Professor: a Story of Hope"for a somewhat sad illustration of this - the story suggests that people have a strong tendency to want to be prejudiced against something or someone, so as we deal successively with sexism, racism, slavery, homophobia, transphobia, etc, etc, etc, there always seems to be just one more thing to deal with ...

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: attitudes, bullying, control, daily life, family, interactions, interpersonal interactions, judging others, lifestyles, personal characteristics, personal responsibility, respect, society,

First published: Wednesday 18th November, 2009

Last edited: Wednesday 18th November, 2009

Post No. 081 - Assemblage point

There is a technique I have found EXTREMELY useful for myself to help shift consciousness/change moods/etc: moving the "assemblage point". I wrote a description of this for a book I started work on a couple of decades ago on regression-rescue techniques, and am confident I will finish sometime in the next decade :) As an introduction, here is what I wrote a while ago:

In Castenada's books [Ref.45 and others], there is a description given of a place in the energy body of people that serves as a focal point. To put the concept in my words, people are considered to be strands of energy or awareness that meet: the point of meeting is the assemblage point, and where the assemblage point is governs the state of being of that person, including literally what physical reality the person is in. There are some interesting descriptions in Castenada's books on what happens when the assemblage point moves, and how to achieve that.

Now, I do not claim to be a shaman - I only say that I do some shamanic work, as I haven't had the full training required to be a shaman. One of the things that I have adapted from my shamanic work for spiritualist circle work is the assemblage point.

I have done this by describing a point in the aura that governs the focus of a person's state of being. This point can be moved by an effort of will, if sufficient energy is available, and so change the sitter's mood and capacity for work. So, if we are to have a trance session, I often get sitters to check where the assemblage point is, and then move it to wherever the guides say it should be. This is not the true movement of the assemblage point that Castenada describes, but it works. The performance of the sitters does improve, and they have a useful tool for changing their mood and frame of mind fairly quickly. (If they don't have enough energy, I get them to borrow energy from the earth, more or less as described in "The Fire From Within" [Ref.45]).

I am not sure whether or not this is somehow affecting the assemblage point, or (perhaps more likely) it is simply a convenient visualisation for altering one's basic frequency. Whatever it is, it has worked for me and my sitters, and I recommend it as something to try.

What I would add to the above is that using focused, intentional breathing can also provide energy to help move the assemblage point.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: shamanism, assemblage point, Castenada,

First published: Wednesday 11th October, 2009

Last edited: Wednesday 11th October, 2009

Post No. 080 - Symbol songs

At the last study group of the Coven I'm in, I had another one of my crazy ideas: a "song", or more properly a "melody", made from a sequence of symbols, rather than a sequence of notes. The following is an edited email I sent to a member who wasn't able to attend (in part so she could also have the joy of the homework we set ourselves :D ... ).

There is a book called "The Glass Bead Game", by a German author Herman Hesse (who was a pacifist, and left Germany in the 30s because of Germany's rising militarism), for which he won the Nobel Literature prize in 1946. To simplify a whole lot, many of Hesse's books have a spiritual theme, and this one is more or less about the contrast between living in the "commercial" world, or withdrawing to focus on - in this case, the literary device of - the "Glass Bead Game". This game is based on the use of glyphs or symbols (on glass beads) which can be used to represent various things like mathematical formulae or musical themes etc. The game is a progression of symbols, each of which is meditated on, which - in my
words - is a bit like a melody.

Each musical note has a particular, unique meaning on its own: but when combined with other notes, there something created which is greater than the whole: a melody, which can be uplifting, sad, rejuvenating, thought provoking, moody, etc.

So ... my crazy idea is: why not string together a whole sequence of things, symbols, crystal types, oils/incenses, etc, to create a "song of symbols", where, in addition to the meaning associated with each component, there is a greater meaning associated with the sequence of
symbols. I suspect there could be considerable potential benefit from seeing the use of symbols etc as something which is dynamic, rather than just applying them all at once, or at a single point of time.

I had made one example up when I first tried working with this idea, which is as follows (for ease of writing, I've used the words (names/descriptions) rather than the actual symbols (or actual crystals or incense: for a final version, perhaps a small chunk of crystal, and a dab of each oil, could be incorporated). I've also included a commentary.

Saturn - severity, sternness, discipline
Taurus - strength and solidity
Square (the astrological notation for a 90 degree angle) - testing
Geburah - strength
Opposition - lack of harmony, conflict, testing
Conjunction - the opposite of an opposition: harmonious joining
Taijitu (the "yin-yang symbol") - flow from one polarity to the other,
the essence of one polarity is held within the other, growing from the
tension between opposites
The rune Uruz - strength, an outcome from said growth
Isa - stillness, the steadiness of strength

so ... this "song" flows from severity to strength

During study group, we had a go at writing a couple more "songs of symbols". At this point, we discussed the potential value of using this to help with Coven study: basically, we could work with the various symbols/elements of the various pathways we are studying, and actually use them in a way that is meaningful to us - which, when we discussed them, helps develop the ability to know, understand and use these aspects. It also gives a purpose to researching symbols & aspects of paths other than "work".

My "songs" from the study group are:

Christian cross - sacrifice (this was the nominated starting point)
Amethyst - the spiritual perspective that can lead to one choosing to make a sacrifice for "the greater good"
The Zoroastrian sacred flame - the "light of divinity", which can inspire to sacrifice for others' good
The rune Kenaz - light, fire and communication
Mars - energy
Thoth - amongst other things, communication (through the means of writing)
Mercury - communication
Ka - the Soul, the part of oneself that is communicated with when being inspired (by amethyst, etc)
Myrrh - communication (amongst other things)
The Tarot card "The Lovers" - partnerships
Ka - the part of oneself one can form a partnership with
Slippery Elm Bark (I lost the association for this)
Ka
Gemini - the twins, the partnership between oneself and one's Soul
The rune Mannaz - community - the partnership, in a sense, between oneself and others more generally
Ace of Swords - new beginnings, which a great self sacrifice can lead to, partly through improved partnership with oneself and with community

New Moon (nominated starting point) - commonly considered the lowest energy point of lunar cycle (which is debatable)
Isa - stillness, which seems to be low energy to many
The rune Barkano - healing and growth, which can happen in the quiet, still parts of cycles
Lemongrass - for tiredness and exhaustion
Orange - penetrates depression, using focus
the third eye chakra - perception
The rune Stan - a sacred space
Yesod - foundation
Pink tourmaline
Isa - stillness
The earth sigil - seems steady or still, but very rich, fertile, and a
springboard for growth
Angles - in the sense of the watchers
Lauviah - angle that refreshes at night time, helps musicians & poets
Patchouli - balances & unwinds the mind
Cypress - meditation, balance & stability
Mindfulness - relaxed alertness & focus
The Ogham Muin - introspection
The Ogham Nion - developing rebirth & peace

I was less successful with this one: I wanted to develop a sense of being relaxed and watchful from a safe, secure place.

It was easier to discuss these verbally than to try to put the concept into words now, several days later.

As a late thought, perhaps the "song" which goes with the "melody line" of symbols above is the meditation and discussion we can have on each.

Hopefully someone can build something out of that: I know people have attempted to develop a Glass Bead Game: this idea is not so general. I am thinking of this as a device for exploring symbology, and learning new ways to work with these. It led to some interesting discussions on the night, and I am looking forward to the member who was away being present, as she knows far more than the rest of us on many paths, and could contribute quite a bit to this.

It would also be good to see people thinking about dynamic sequences generally, rather than just a single treatment/symbol/healing technique/meditation technique.

Well, I'll see what comes of this (I hope!).

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: cross-fertilisation (ideas), symbology, Herman Hesse,

First published: Monday 26th October, 2009

Last edited: Monday 26th october, 2009

Post No. 079 - Don't overrate me!

Although I have practised these techniques and ideas I post about, in some cases for a very long time, please do not consider me a perfect, or neceesarily even good, example of applying these ideas and concepts. I'm not perfect: in fact, in common with many people still alive on this planet (I like the test Don Shimoda gave Richard in the book "Illusions" for checking whether one had done all one is meant to in a life: if you're still alive, you haven't), I'm quite flawed.

Every time I finish one of these posts I think: "Hmmm ... I must remember to do more on that", or "Hmmm ... I think I have a serious lack of application of idea X in area of life Y".

I'm not a guru: don't ever take me as one. In fact, you might like to keep in mind the old adage "we teach best what we most need to learn" - for yourself, as well as when considering me :)

As a final point on this, I would seriously hope that anyone younger, or older and better, than me, can do a lot more with this than I have. I hope to be able to see improved applications, improved teaching methods, improved techniques with respect to ALL that I write about.

Go to it :)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: about me, evolution,

First published: Monday 26th October, 2009

Last edited: Monday 26th October, 2009

Post No. 078 - Some thoughts towards a permanent crystal layout

This post will consist exclusively of scanned pages: double click on each image, and you should get the full size version (which is a file with size ~1Mb).












































In addition to the above, I've added some photos of crystals and a clearing session using them below. I don't know where all the people in the photo are, so I have obscured all (a bit crudely, I admit). I've also posted a couple of photos of a cat I used to have, Hazel, interacting with crystals. Knowing what I know now, I would call her a familiar :) I think she may have come back as Willow ... who will be in a future photo. (I've posted another photo of Hazel elsewhere ...)


A clearing session


Some of the crystals


Hazel sleeping amongst the crystals


Hazel and wand

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is ... the pages posted :)

Tags: crystals, energy work, rescue, links, karma, past lives,

First published: Monday 26th October, 2009

Last edited: Monday 7th June, 2010 

 

 

Post No. 077 - Gender stereotypes

I'm reading Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series. It's infinitely better than the dreadul TV adaptation, although I don't consider it anywhere near as good from a magical perspective as other series, such Katherine Kerr's Deverry series, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" or even J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series.

However, what really gets up my goat is the gender stereotyping: one type of power only vests in one gender, one type of power vests in "the other" gender, and who the hell ever heard of trans, bigendered or intersex people?

I can understand the writing, to some extent, as being a product of its time, as the first writings in the series came from the 60s, when (to simplify!) gender stereotypes were being identified so that they could be broken down (partly) in the 70s, but more importantly than that, people live sequences of lives where they experience male, female and other gender options. (I am NOT talking about gay/lesbian/bisexuality/other sexual orientations here: they are variations within a gender role, and are NOT variations of gender identity*!).

* the idiots who try to determine "who is the male/female" is same sex relationships, or look for alleged failures of upbringing (by which they mean, "failure to inculcate then current gender stereotypes") are just that: idiots.

The crap where power is exclusively belonging to one gender and not another is as much crap when applied to the psychic and spiritual worlds as it is when applied to society!

If you have problems with that, consider this: a few decades ago cheerleading, that bastion of female sexuality and "womanliness", was an exclusively male domain, with heated "debates" about whether women could cope with being a cheerleader, and what effect their inclusion would have on (a) those handsome, "manly" (read: "sexy", in today talk) young men, and (b) the poor woman included, who would no doubt become sadly manly themselves.

Consider also the continued existence of the Anglican Church, with a functioning that rational, objective observors would consider the same, and the continued location of the sky above us, after the Anglican Church allowed - shock! horror! - women priests ...

Things change, and in the changing, show our assumptions and stereotypes for the absolute stupidity that they are! NO psychic/spiritual power/potential is the exclusive preserve of people, no matter WHAT group, whether ethnic, race, religion, gender, sexuality, or some other characteristic that we don't even recognise as a characteristic yet (in much the same way that ancient Romans would be bemused by our current differentiation of same and opposite sex attraction), they happen to be part of in this one, solitary, single incarnation out of a line of many.

Unfortunately, that concept doesn't sell books ... (which is a shame, as I have a multi-incarnation story line all worked out, too :D )

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: discrimination, gender, change, limitations, restrictions, restraints, society, sexism,

First published: Sunday 25th October, 2009

Last edited: Sunday 25th October, 2009

Post No. 076 - The trouble with change: your other yous

If there is something spiritual growth ain't, it's easy. Sure, you've got to learn new stuff, and change perspectives, and force bits of the psychic/spiritual anatomy to work - like learning to walk as a toddler, or forcing newly acquired bits of brain to work as a young adult, but sometimes it seems like ... you learn and know and do something, and all of a sudden its like you don't know that. What happened (to my grammar, if nothing else!)? :)

Well, my opinion is that ONE of the problems with change, apart from all the dealing with new ideas and learning new skills and so forth, lies in the realm of what is often termed "the unconscious".

Now, Lobsang Rampa is a writer with his good aspects (such as much of his knowledge) and his bad aspects (such as his sexism, verging on misogyny), but one of his, in my opinion, "good bits", is his explanation of the unconscious: parallels.

Rampa's take on this is:
- we have a Soul (or Higher Self, or Atman, or any of a number of other terms)
- that Soul experiences, learns and grows as we do
- that Soul is also responsible for sustaining our existence on various levels, and influences our behaviour through its own essential characteristics
- that Soul often does not limit itself to directing just one of us: there may be a number of other entities who are part of the same Soul
- these are termed parallels (or soul parts, or part of the same Soul Group, and so on and so forth)

At our level, our awareness of these other parts of our Soul is through our unconscious (by the way, I prefer to use "unconscious" rather than "subconscious", as the latter term implies some sort of inferiority).

Rampa goes further, and explains the apparently unused capacity of our brain as being those that are allocated to use by our Soul for the purpose of directing other parts of our Soul group. On that, I'm not so sure ...

Going back to parallels, our inherent connection with them means that we do share their attitudes and urges. That is a two way street: if they are having a bad day, we can be dragged down by that, or we can do something to lift them and relieve their angst.

In terms of change, it basically means that, for a change to be permanent, we have to change mot only ourselves, but also our other parts: our Soul, and our parallels. So, as I wrote in the title, (one of) the trouble(s) with change is your other yous - you other soul parts.

Then again, that can always be one of your strengths: they could actually be more evolved than you, and you could be the one dragging them back :)

It's worth thinking about: it puts a different perspective on the effort and repetition that is sometimes required to effect change, whether for the better or the worse.

You can also, if you wish, start to take some control of this process. I've emphasised a few times in this blog of the importance of self knowledge, of being honest about what one is feeling and thinking (even if only to yourself). Well, if, while doing this, you feel like your almost talking to another person, you could well be. To effect the change, you have to, basically, talk your Soul into believing in the change, and ALSO talk your other parts into believing in the change.

That might not seem fair, but remember that those other parts of you represent your experience in reality to date: to deny a reluctance that comes from that accumulated experience, perhaps because it is not convenient or "nice", is to deny who YOU really are, what you have been through, and what has made you who you are now - both good and bad. It is to take a superficial, selfish view of who you are, and what your responsibilities are.

It is far, far better to deal honestly with your urges, including those urges of yours that have their origin in another "person" who is really simply another part of yourself. Do so, and what you are seeking to do is more likely to become a genuine part of yourself. Fail to do so, and you will be spiritually trite, glib and facetious in all that you do or say.

It also throws a new aspect open with respect to the view that we are all connected ...

As a final point, by the way, parallels almost NEVER meet (although I've often wondered, given the similarities and connection which may be there, if twins are sometimes parallels?): if they do, it is generally for a major task.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: growth, personal responsibility, selfishness, selflessness, Seth, parallels, Soul, soul parts, unconscious, subconscious

First published: Saturday 24th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 24th October, 2009

Post No. 075 - The trouble with guides: Unca Bert Masgorious and Great Auntie Edie G. Obelwyn

I have to say (write) ... I had fun with that title :)

OK, so having got the fun bit out of the way, the article itself, which I rather suspect will cause a few proboscii to suffer dislocations (i.e., in English: some people will get their noses out of joint after reading this post).

In many Spiritualist groups, and in other groups and with some people since then, there has been a great emphasis on receiving guidance from people who were related to you when they were alive as being a good thing. Now, sure, I can understand that they may have loved you, but then, they may also have put a facade on and been abusive in private. If you, as a medium, get a message from someone who claims to be related the person receiving a reading from you, keep in mind that, to them, they are in a public domain, and what you may see is the facade. If the person receiving the reading (who I will now call the readee) is closed to the message despite knowing the person, that may be due to grief (including the stage of anger at the person for having died - read Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' books if that seems strange to you), discomfort with the public nature of the reading (even if only the two of you are present, you count as a stranger), a held over discomfort or anger from a misperception or misunderstanding of an interaction when the readee was a child, or the problem of private abuse. YOU have to work with your own guides to work which of these (or other) options is happening here.

It may well be that the discarnate person wants to apologise to the readee - they may have been healed of the flaw that caused them to be abusive, and genuinely been remorseful, but that still doesn't mean the readee has to accept their desire to apologise. If harm has been done, good must be credibly demonstrated and the victim healed until they feel they have had their own integrity and power restored before an apology would be considered. (As a persoal example of this, I am adopted: my birth family paternal grandparents had quite a bit to do with me being adopted, ad have indicated that they want my forgiveness. Well, the key to me being able to forgive them is them makig peace with my mother - THEN I will be able to forgive them.)

That, however, is a bit of a digression. My main concern over the apparent favouring of relatives as guides is the spiritual insularity it shows and the second rate choice approach it is.

I will choose a few analogies to try and illustrate this.

First, there is an assumption that the relatives love you. If they do, good, but what about the other relatives you have had from other lives who also love you? You may have known someone as a grandparent in this life, and had a wonderful relationship, but why does that count for more than someone who may have had, say, a dozen or more loving relationships with you, but chose not to come into incarnation with you this time so they could be a guide? ow, love ca be a powerful motivation to be protective, but it does not always lead to what is in the best interests of the recipient - I know people who won't let their seventeen year old daughter date, for instance, which I consider a case of love beig excessively overprotective. Similarly, the character played by Richard Dreyfuss, Pete Sandich, in the film "Always" is excessively "protective" of the character played by Holly Hunter, Dorinda Durston, (actually, read that as "possessive"). As the worst case imaginable, cosider the early suspicios that the terrible massacre of hudreds at the Beslan school was thought to possibly have been initiated by the actions of distraught parents with rifles outside the security perimeter, which seems to have been too close to the school. (The investigation has not clarified this, so, although plausible, I do not consider it definite.)

Next, there is the issue of skill and knowledge. Sure, when you die, and finish dealing with transition issues and the issues which come out of reviewing your past life you will have a broader perspective, and less psychic/spiritual clutter from the psychic sewer we have created in so many places on this planet (in fact, just the transition helps with that increased perspective and awareness), but that does not necessarily mean that person has enough knowledge/perspective to be able to effectively help you as you really need - which may not be what the deceased person thinks you need. Your BEST guides may be people you were not related to in this life at all - they may even be people still alive in other parts of the world.

If you have a child who is ill beyond your means to help, you get the best help you can. If you have a child who wishes to learn something beyond your capacity to teach, you get the best teacher you can. If you want to build a house, you don't go to Unca Bert Masgorious, who once built a tin shed in a corner of his back yard that blew down three years later, but he got a rep as a handyman: you get the best, most experienced, most competent builder you can. In the same way, if you want guidance, get the best guide you can (in fact, they're probably already there) - not Great Auntie Edie G. Obelwyn who thinks she is the bee's knees at anything to do with metaphysics but may not actually be.

It shows a sad insularity to be so focused on your comfort zone that you would accept only people you know as guides, or that you would rate them more highly than the guides who were trained and then allocated to you before birth. At the time of your transition (death here/rebirth in the Summerlands), you will probably be under considerable stress or trauma, or unwell, and so you may be sent people you are familiar with (and friends may rate more highly than family here) as a device to most effectively and easily get your attention: that is fine, that is OK - but that DOES NOT mean such people are the best people to guide you while you are incarnate.

There are problems with that approach also: the number of "Red Indian" etc guides probably far exceeds the number who ever lived, even allowing for parallels and guides maybe helping more than one person. Some of my guides are present images of normal, everyday, boring, mundane people. There is nothing wrong with that. If you crave the exotic, OK, then maybe go back to Great Auntie Edie G. Obelwyn who once spent a day at Frankston when the big smoke hadn't got that far. But don't ever claim to be genuine or serious about your spiritual growth.

Of course, your dead rellie could actually be the best person for you, so ... as you consider what I've written, keep your thinking cap on, and make your own decisions. After all, I could be wrong - at least in your case :)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: attitudes, awareness, daily life, discrimination, family, forgiveness, judging others, love, mediumship, spiritualism, growth, guidance, guides,

First published: Saturday 24th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 24th October, 2009

Post No. 074 - isa mawt tat: emotions I am not

Let me begin by explaining the heading. According to Rampa, one of the benefits of proper meditation is a realisation that we "are" really our soul, not the transitory specks we call incarnated bodies. That realisation is described in the phrase "Tat Twam Asi". Well, I am going to talk about something we are NOT: our emotions.

I'm going to begin this with an analogy.

Consider food. Right, done that? Shall we get on to the analogy then? :)

Well, it's a food analogy. Many of us tend to identify so strongly with particular emotions, or sets of emotions, or emotional reactions, that we forget we are NOT the emotions. It's a bit like saying, "I like icecream, therefore I am an icecream", or "I like chilli, so I am a chilli", or "I like fishfingers, so I am a fishfinger" (don't laugh too much at that one: both I and Jamie Oliver, the "Naked Chef", have a weakness for fishfingers!).

Many of us tend to say "I am an angry person", or "she/he is a calm person" - yes, folks, that right: we can make the mistake of overidentifying with emotions that we consider "good", or "desirable" in some way, JUST AS MUCH as we can with unhealthy emotions. It's like the simplification many people make when they say, upon meeting someone for the first time, "so, what do you do?", meaning "what employed/paying job do you have?", thinking that this somehow tells them what sort of person they have, when it is REALLY more about social status, and ignores (indeed, actively belittles the value of "unpaid" (in the sense of financially not adequately rewarded") jobs like child rearing, or home building, etc, etc, etc.)

Keep in mind that we NEED emotions: I've given a clue there when I mentioned "healthy" emotions. It's much the same as eating healthy food: as an ideal, we should be using "healthy " emotions, rather than "unhealthy" (there may be variations, where "unhealthy" emotions may need to be experienced/used for the purpose of causing or forcing growth of our soul, or for the purpose of paying off karma the hard way [as opposed to paying off karma an easier way]).

An issue to consider here is that we very, very rarely ever experience only ONE emotion. If we have done some personal growth/self awareness work, or have been counselled, we may know of , say ... half a dozen emotions that we use ("experience") in a particular situation, but the truth is that it is more likely to be dozens of emotions.

Let's chose an example of, oh ... say, a parent or grandparent expressing love for a child/grandchild. As a step grandparent, I know just how competitive this expression of love for a grandchild can be. If I was to put some numbers to it, the emotions involved could be, say: 70% love, 10% self gratification, 5% competition with someone they hate, 5% wanting to feel "holier than thou", 8% guilt/sense of duty and 2% boredom.

Wouldn't it be far better to get rid of the 30% crap emotions, and just leave the 100% love - a love which is OK with allowing other people to have a chance to show their love without feeling an urge to compete? The person in the example concerned might even find, in dealing with things like the 2% boredom, that they develop a far more rewarding life. The child may find that they don't have a series of successively larger, more expensive and spectacular presents, but that is probably a good thing for them.

When one has got rid of the crap emotions and been left with only healthy expressions of emotions, like healthy versions of self esteem, motivation and even competitiveness (yes, it DOES have a healthy expression), not to mention love, the basic point still remains: we are not those emotions: to continue my previous analogy, don't make the mistake of saying "I am only healthy foods". We are something beyond that, something which, at this level, needs those emotions just as much as food, water and oxygen, but they are not our essence. (This, by the way, can help with developing psychism: if one is trying to become more psychic when one has lots of unacknowledged/unknown/unresolved emotions, it is a bit like trying to tune into a radio station when there is lots of interference from other radio stations or static.)

The other issue here is that the 30% crap emotions exist: they have to be dealt with: the emotional energy has been created, it has to be recycled. The energy cannot be destroyed: it can be neutralised, but better still would be to recycle it - which directing it through Mother Earth can be quite good for. That lesson is one that Wicca, the identification I no longer use :), has been particularly good at teaching me. My past involvement with things like spiritualism/New Age suggested that the energy could be "dissolved", but I now tend to thing that is a bit of a simplification. I'll use that simplification for beginners, but it IS a simplification.

So, when it comes to emotions: they are necessary, they can be extremely beneficial, but keep in mind that we choose the emotions we wish to use (that is subject to a caution about habits, and levels of awareness, and core values, etc) and they are not all that there is to be about us. We might have to revise how we introduce ourselves to people, in that we may need to find more appropriate, meaningful questions to ask other than "what form of paid work do you have, and you're not meaningful if you don't have it?", or "what sort of emotions do you most commonly use?", with maybe something like "so tell me something about yourself", or better yet, say "my soul is ..., how 'bout yours?"

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted.

Tags: emotions, family, forgiveness, love, personal characteristics, personal responsibility, interpersonal interactions, judging others, psychic health, purpose, social status,

First published: Sunday 18th October, 2009

Last edited: Sunday 18th October, 2009

Post No. 073 - A service to guide the souls of the Dead

As I was re-reading some of Rampa's books, I came across a description he gives of a service to guide the souls of the dead. That description is obviously based on a Buddhist ritual, so I thought I would have a go at writing a pagan version. That is below, and hopefully will be improved :) . I've left out the invocations (the ancestors would be particularly important) and casting of circle

To perform this ritual you will need:
- three sticks of Sandalwood, Sage, Dragon's Blood and Patchouli incense
- a purple candle inscribed with the rune Perthro
- a green candle inscribed with the rune Berkano
- a yellow candle inscribed with the rune Dagaz
- an amethyst, clear quartz and rose quartz crystal

I wrote the draft in Word, so I will copy it to note pad first to get a text version, then hope I can copy it into blogger without the problems I had earlier with copying (line breaks!).

SERVICE TO GUIDE THE SOULS OF THE DEAD
Hail Yinepu, Guardian of the Realms of the Dead, Guide to the Souls of the Dead and Protector of those who are lost!
Hail Gyhldeptis, Lady Hanging Hair, Goddess of Synthesis and working together!
Hail Kwan-Yin, Goddess of Compassion and Protector of Women and Children!
Hail White Tara, who guides the spirits who desire to leave this earthly realm!
Hail Hina, the Warrior Queen and Death Mother who misses nothing and guards against the oppression of those who have power!
Hail Freya, ruler of the Valkyries, controller of the Spirits of those who have died in battle!
Hail Durga, Goddess of Boundaries and Slayer of Demons!
Hail Selkhet, who guides the Souls of the Dead and instructs their behaviour!
Hail Inanna, Queen of Heaven who visited the Realms of the Dead in her search for wisdom!
Respectfully, we beseech you to
Listen to the Voices of our Souls.
The Purple Candle inscribed with the rune Perthro is lit, the First Stick of Patchouli Incense is lit, and the Amethyst Crystal is activated;
May you use it to unite and build a path
from this realm to the Summerlands

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who are confused, lost, seemingly rejected by your loved ones,
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find peace, clarity and acknowledgement,
That ye may be connected to those who love you.
As the First Stick of Sandalwood Incense is lit and its smoke rises upward,
Let yourselves draw near and find Kwan-Yin, to find peace, clarity, acknowledgement and love

Listen to the Voices of Our Souls
All you who cling to your possessions, your life or the beauty of this world,
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find the beauty of the Universe, the joy and rewarding activity of the Summerlands.
As the First Stick of Sage Incense is lit and its smoke rises upward,
Let yourselves draw near and find White Tara to find the joy and reward of the Universe and the Summerlands.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who cower in fear and hide from oppressors, or are enslaved by those with evil strength or skill
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find courage, freedom and peace.
As the First Stick of Dragon’s Blood Incense is lit and its smoke rises upward,
Let yourselves draw near and find the protection of Hina to find the courage to take freedom and peace.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who continue battles long past
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find peace.
As the Second Stick of Patchouli is lit and its smoke rises upward,
Let yourselves draw near and find Freya and the healing of peace.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who are faint with the weariness of Life
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find renewal in the beyond.
As the Second Stick of Sandalwood Incense is lit and its smoke rises upwards,
Let yourselves drawn near and find Durga, and the renewal of passing beyond the boundaries of this earthly plane.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who are stranded at the gulf of ignorance,
Who know not the way forward,
Nor what you are,
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may find Knowledge and move forward.
As the Second Stick of Sage Incense is lit and its smoke rises upwards,
Let yourselves draw near and find Selkhet, and in her instruction find Knowledge to let you move forward.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls
All you who scoff with disbelief,
All sceptics trapped in your blindness,
Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
That ye may open your minds and find Truth.
As the Second Stick of Dragon’s Blood Incense is lit and its smoke rises upwards,
Let yourselves draw near and find Inanna and in the Wisdom of her journeys to death and back find Truth.

Listen to the Voices of Our Souls!
The Green Candle inscribed with the Rune Berkano is lit, the Third Stick of Patchouli Incense is lit, and the rose quartz crystal activated
That all who are lost or in need of help may draw near
and find Lady Hanging Hair, Gyhldeptis,
and thus find and receive all healing, growth, balance, mental calm and clarity, and knowledge & wisdom.
Listen to the Voices of our Souls, and let yourselves draw, that ye may find healing, wholeness and happiness.

Listen to the Voices of our Souls!
The Yellow Candle inscribed with Dagaz is lit, the Third Sticks of Sage, Sandalwood and Dragon’s Blood Incense are lit, and the clear quartz crystal activated
That ye may all be guided from this realm to the Summerlands.
Listen to the Voices of our Souls, and let yourselves find and follow Yinepu, that ye may be guided, with the protection of Kwan-Yin, Hina and Durga, and the wisdom of White Tara, Selkhet and Inanna to that place of joy, peace and love known by many names, and may ye find there, with the help of Gyhldeptis and Freya, all that ye need or could possibly wish for.
Go in peace, and with the blessings of the Goddess upon you all.
Go with Yinepu, and Kwan-Yin, and Hina, and Durga, and White Tara, and Selkhet, and Inanna, and Gyhldeptis, and Freya.
Go forth, into the Light!


Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: rescue, energy work, crystals, rituals, Buddhism, pagan,

First published: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Post No. 072 - Definitions of spirituality: a postscript

After so many words by others, and by me, anything I write on the subject of a definition of spirituality can only be a post script :)

Anyway, here goes my post script: one of the key elements, it seems to me, of being more spiritual, is being more aware.

Young children tend to be aware only of themselves, to be focused on themselves. As one
grows (matures), that awareness becomes wider. When one starts to develop spiritually,
one is often learning new things, or developing new aspects of oneself. Some people may choose to "retire from the wrold" a bit - like the hermits in Eastern traditions. That may be valid for their stage of development, as it may enable them to focus on developing a skill or attribute of themselves.

However, in my opinion, one cannot be spiritual if one is choosing to ignore world problems, or envrionmental problems, if one is unaware of the magic of the bird chirping outside a window, the pleasure of green under grey skies, or the needs of those around one (their tiredness, or distress, perhaps), or the needs of oneself (perhaps for rest, perhaps for partying, perhaps for friends, perhaps for "solitude" amongst nature), or even the need to empty a rubbish bin. You might choose not to empty the bin if it is over-ful because someone else is neglecting their duties and needs to learn, but you should be aware of it.

Incidentally, some of the hermits, seemingly oblivious to the world, are probably more aware of what is happening, through psychic means, than some people in the West who choose not to read papers or watch TV news "because it is negative". It IS negative: find out what is happening, and do something about it.

I will now dismount from my soap box ... Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: growth, spirituality, awareness

First published: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Post No. 071 - Disenchantment and labels

I've posted a few times about labels, and about the various changes of spiritual
path/identification that I have made in the journey I am on in this lifetime. Well, I'm about to do more of the same :)

In a nutshell, I've been thinking about what labels feel satisfying to me in terms of my path:
labels that are useful in terms of communicating my beliefs to others (which rules out
almost everything except a multiple paragraph list ...), and that I feel proud to use. The
stimulus to change identifications in the past has been, to some extent, because I was no
longer "proud" (pleased, "OK with" may be better phrases: they just don't roll off the
keyboard as nicely :D ) to identify as, for example ... oh, say ... Christian (because of the
Sunday Christians - people who went to church on Sunday and stabbed you in the back on
Monday: but I tend to think of them as mostly being neo-Christians now anyway).

Well I've realised what my main discomfort with the term "Wiccan" is: people whose sole
or main focus is celebrating Esbats and Sabbats, and do not think to apply their skills
(whether those skills are rituals or magic or both or other) to trying to make this world a
better place. We've recently had some major earthquakes and some tsunamis: how many
Wiccans did a ritual for the survivors, let alone a ritual for the planet herself?

Some will have - I'm lucky to know such Wiccans, both here in Australia and overseas,
who would in fact have done exactly that. Unfortunately, I know others who wouldn't have
thought to.

That lack of awareness and lack of caring was made very apparent to me during the tragic
bushfires earlier this year here in Victoria. I was moved to go and start performing rituals, while some others I happened to contact at those times were barely paying attention. (That certainly cannot be said to apply to all the Wiccan and pagan communities: others organised public rituals, relief fund raisers, etc.) It is, however, on reflecting on the reactions of people now, as the bushfire Royal Commission progresses its work, that has led me to decide I will no longer identify as Wiccan.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is yet to be posted

Tags: attitudes, change, commitment, daily life, energy work, evil, healing, judging others, love, morality, personal characteristics, personal responsibility, responsibility, respect, self knowledge,

First published: Satuerday 17th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Post No. 070 - Practising or non-practising: how many full moon rituals can I miss before I lose my status as a witch?

When I was growing up, it was a perfectly acceptable response to answer the question
"What religion are you?" with something like "I'm a Methodist [or Anglican, or Christian, or
X], but I don't practise". That was generally interpreted as meaning one had been raised in
a family which said it was Methodist, maybe because they had got into the habit of saying
it, but no-one went to church, or did any of the things one was supposed to formally do.

Actually, maybe their practice of their faith was simply not based around the outer
dressings of their faith. As an example, when my (adoptive) mother died, I found out how
many church activities she had been involved in (day trips, fund raisers, social groups,
volunteer work), but she had never been strong on going to church. I don't think she liked
the sorts of sermons they dished out in those days.

Well, this is a topic that has been exercising my mind lately. I missed the last full moon
again, though illness, and started thinking: at what point should I say I'm a practising or
non-practising pagan/Wiccan/Druid? There are quite a few aspects of being
pagan/Wiccan/Druid that are about your attitudes and thinking processes, so the rituals
are, to some extent, merely the outer trappings that result from your inner thoughts and
attitudes - which is something Rampa wrote about.

On that, I've been rereading some Rampa books, and getting annoyed at the sexism and
misogyny as much as enjoying aspects of the books. I've also realised that one of the
problems I had with being Buddhist, back in the days when I was, was that when people
asked me about being Buddhist, they really meant "what are the outer manifestations of
your inner state of being that you do?" They didn't care that I was committed to being as
decent (compassionate) a human being as I could be: they wanted to know if I meditated
naked round the may pole under the full moon. OK, so I mixed my stereotypes then, but -
hey! I mix my paths as well :D

On questions about being Buddhist, that also applied to questions I had about what version
of Buddhism I followed - questions usually asked by people who knew a little about
Buddhism. Well, even that was problematic. For a start, when I "converted", people talked
about Mahayana and Hinayama, which is a split that I understand dates back to the fourth
Great Council, held in Kasmir in the first or second century CE under the patronage of the
Kushan Emperor Kanishka: suddenly there was all this talk about "Theravada": Theravada?
Where the hell had that come from? (I've also since discovered that "Hinayama" may be
seen as a pejorative (abusive) term for what is now more widely known as Theravada,
which is probably closest to the original teachings of Buddha. I guess all my early texts
had been written by Mahayana Buddhists!)

I've now realised that, effectively, what I was following was Vajrayana, sometimes called
Tantric Buddhism, which - to simplify it to the elements I practised - means "self
generation as the Deity". In other words, being the change you want to see. BEING
compassionate and caring and aware and responsible in your thoughts, attitudes,
emotions, actions and deeds. It didn't matter what rituals you did or didn't do, it mattered
how you lived your life. (I used to think this was a division of Mahayana Buddhism, en
Buddhism is a division of Mahayana Buddhism, but Vajrayana really is a third "version" of
Buddhism.)

I guess, in that sense, I was an actively practising Buddhist despite not being able to
answer with the appropriate label. My mother was an Anglican despite not having set foot
in a church since I'd dragged her in there when I was confirmed (yes, I had a Christian phase too!).

And I'm pagan now whether I do the rituals or not.

But I might just say I'm a non-practicising pagan occasionally, just to stimulate a bit of
thought :)

I'll also answer any question about "So what do you do as a 'X' [insert religion of choice]?"
with "I think like one."

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

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Tags: attitudes, Buddhism, commitment, communication, daily life, interpersonal interactions, growth, life lessons, personal characteristics,

First published: Saturday 17th October, 2009

Last edited: Saturday 17th October, 2009