A is for Afterlife

This one is a little tough. I don't think very many people want to think about death and what happen after that. But it is something we all have to face eventually.

I believe that all people go to an afterlife. The spirit just doesn't disappear into nothingness. I have always thought that where you depends on what you believe. If you believe that you are going to the Summerlands or Heaven or somewhere else,  that is were you are going to end up.

But that does bring up a couple of issues.

If you believe one in one afterlife, and your family believes in another then you won't end up together.

What happens to those who commit, for lack of a better word "sins", or great acts of evil? Surely they can't end up in their religions paradise.

Do we stay in afterlife forever, or are we reborn into this, or even other, worlds?

I don't know.

Perhaps all afterlives exist together on one plane, and you see what you want to. Maybe those who commit evil acts are judged by their particular deity and sentence to another part of that plane. Maybe you get to choose to be reborn to learn more life lessons.

I'm sure that as I grow my ideas of the afterlife will change. But nobody truly knows until that day comes.

Any thoughts?

http://www.paganblogproject.com

A is for Ancestors

One of the beautiful things about paganism is its respect for the ancestors.

I believe that it is important for us to remember those who have passed on. I like the idea that your ancestors do not have to be people that you are related to by blood. It can be friends, past members of your tradition, or people that have made a difference in your life.

I like to think that no matter what religion a person was, wherever they are now they know they are being remembered. They know that the people that they have left behind love and remember them.

Thinking about the ancestors also gives hope to those here on Earth. By remembering them, we acknowledge the existence of a place beyond ours. We have the belief that we have a place to go when we pass on. We have comfort in the idea that we will not be alone in the afterlife, there is someone waiting for us.

Remembering where you come from is essential. It is nice to know that there were people that came before you. We remember those people's actions and words. But it is important that we all are also going to be an ancestors one day. We should always strive to leave a positive an lasting legacy for our descendants.

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”            - Thich Nhat Hanh 

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http://paganblogproject.com/

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post today.

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope that you got to spend the holidays with your family and friends.

For 2013, I wish everyone health and happiness. I really hope that this year will be wonderful.

I plan to get back on track and do some more writing soon.

Happy Winter Solstice

In all the different traditions and different faith celebrations of the winter season, I find that one thing connects them all.

Family.

It doesn't matter what religious group you belong to, everyone wants to get home for the holidays. I truly believe that family and friends are the most important part of the holidays.

No matter what your personal tradition is, I hope that you have a wonderful time celebrating. I hope you get to enjoy spending time with family and friends. Have a blessed winter solstice.

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays, 

‘Cause no matter how far away you roam

If you want to be happy in a million ways

For the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.

- Vince Gill "Home For The Holidays"

Exciting Group-Solitary Druid Fellowship

One of my favorite blogs is Teo Bishop's "Bishop In the Grove." He is a wonderful writer and his posts always leave me thinking. For the past few months, Teo has been writing about creating a fellowship for solitary pagans.

So today I was really pleased to get an e-mail announcing the launch of the Solitary Druid Fellowship website. According to the site

The Solitary Druid Fellowship (SDF) is an extension of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), an independent tradition of Neo-Pagan Druidism. It is organized to provide solitary Druids, as well as any solitary Pagan in the general public, with an opportunity to engage more deeply with their ritual practice, while at the same time forging spiritual bonds with other solitaries through the adoption of a shared liturgical form.(1)

I have spent some time looking around the site. Though there isn't a whole lot there right now, the articles that are up are very interesting. The site is well organized, clean, and easy to navigate. I think that it is an interesting idea that this site will be for information, not a replacement for groves or communities.

I love the idea of being able to share a common ritual with others, but still being able to worship on my own. I believe that this site is going to be a wonderful tool for many Pagans. I am looking forward to reading the Yule ritual and using it my practice.

Notes:
(1) Taken from the "What we are" page- http://www.solitarydruid.org/what-we-are/

I'm a bit of a Grinch

As we head into the holiday season, I need to get something out in the open...

I'm a bit of a Grinch.

There are really about three things about the holiday season.
1) I enjoy getting presents. (Really, who doesn't?)
2) I like the once a year treats and foods.
3) I love spending time with family I don't get to see very often. 

But here's the thing...

I don't watch holiday specials. I don't enjoy listening Christmas music. I don't like the commercials that play over and over and sometimes don't change for years. I'm not a big fan of Christmas decorations. The Elf on the Shelf freaks me out.


And I get frustrated when people don't understand that I don't enjoy these things. It started long before I discovered I walk a pagan path.

I really wish people would let it be.

This time of the year should be more about spending time with family and friends then what present you are going to get them. We should be concerned about helping people all year round, not just in November and December. I believe children should behave because they are taught to do the right thing, not because Santa is watching. 

So I'm a bit of a Grinch. I'm not out to ruin your holiday, I may just have a different opinion than you. In any case, I hope everyone enjoy's their holiday season. I will just do it in my way.

"The threat of Christmas hung in the air, visible already in the fretful look of passersby as they readied themselves for the meaningless but necessary rites of false jovialities and ill-considered gifts." 

-Peter Dickinson

Why I Became Pagan

The time has come for the almost required "Why I Became Pagan" post. Though it is something it seems almost all pagan bloggers do, it really is an important thing to write about. Many times when I read a story like this, most people describe a difficult time with the religion or church they were raised in.

My story is a little different. During my childhood, there was not an emphasis on religion that I can remember. My immediate family does not attend church. As a child, the only time I was in church was for weddings and baptisms of extended family members. My parents raised us to be good people. To respect others and think about our actions. And really, isn't that the most important thing?

When I became a pre-teen, I had a friend that started inviting me to events at her church. I went because she was my friend. But I didn't feel anything special. As my teen years went by I did try to be "Christian." I tried to read to the Bible to find some meaning. I tried to pray to a deity that I didn't feel anything for. It was because it was "normal." I live in the South and that is what's expected.

But it didn't work. It didn't feel right.

The theology didn't work. And it still doesn't. I can't wrap my mind around one God. And he is male. Why isn't there a female deity? It doesn't make sense that there is one Son who came down to save mankind from what to me seems like human nature. There is a lot more, but for the sake of the story I will leave it for another day.

It wasn't until the end of high school that answers started appearing. A different friend started talking about Paganism... Wicca to be more specific. She even let me borrow a book on the subject. And it made sense. There was another way of thinking and it made sense to me.

Over the next several years, to about my senior year of college, I did more research on and off about Paganism. Some things worked and made sense and some didn't. But most of the ideas fit me and how I view the world and spiritual life. During college I met people that had different ways of thinking. The important thing I learned was it was okay to think differently and it is all right for me to be different. It sounds silly. But it's true.

Paganism felt right.

In the fall of my senior year, I made a commitment to myself, and to the Lords and Ladies, that paganism was the path for me. I remember sitting on the floor of my room and I asking, "How do I do this?" And something inside me said, "Just try."

And, few years later, here I am. Doing my best to, "Just try." I am still learning and trying to find my way. But I do know that this is the right choice for me.

What Should this Blog Be?

I have started doing some thinking about what I want this space to be. It has been sitting here, untouched for awhile (sorry, been a little unmotivated lately). 

I would like to start using this space to start exploring my personal faith a little more. It is still a work in progress, and there are still more questions than answers. I don't expect everyone to agree with everything I say. In fact, as I explore and do more reflecting, I imagine my views will change. 

I would like to do reviews. On books and movies and stuff like that. I would like them to be helpful. And I plan to be honest about what I think.

I would like to put my two-cents about what I see going on in the pagan community.

I would like to post a couple times a week.

Let me also get this out of the way, so everyone (especially me) knows where I stand in my journey on a "pagan path". Even though in my head I have thought of myself as pagan for many years, I am still in the very beginnings of this journey. I feel that I have a lot basic knowledge, I just need to put it into practice. I don't personally know any other pagans. Hopefully that will change.

I would love some input from those who stumble on this blog. However, if you do have something to say, please make it constructive. Correct me if you think I'm wrong, but don't be mean about it. This is a learning experience and I don't know everything. Be nice to the newbie.

So, with that being said, let's get started...

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...

 not going all the way, and not starting."

-Buddha 

Happy Samhain!

I hope that everybody had a safe and fun Halloween/Samhain. Not to many trick-or- treaters this year. But it is really a pretty evening.

This is important day to think about the people who have passed on. I believe that it is important to remember them everyday, but today make a special effort to spend time thinking about why they are important to you.

It is also a good time to take into account the changing seasons. Here is Georgia, it just really started feeling like fall over the weekend. I really love the fall. Not so much the cold weather, but the other things that come with the season. Pretty colors on the trees, hot drinks, and fall decorations. Those kind of things.

Have a wonderful "new year!"

Been awhile...

Hello all!

So it has been awhile since I last posted. Honestly, I did not feel much like writing anything. For the past few weeks I have just been feeling blah and uninspired. Things have not been going quite like I planned, though it has kinda been that way for the past two years. Guess that's life for you.

But yesterday I started feeling myself for the first time in awhile. I felt lighter, both physically and spiritually. Like it was finally time to move on and try again. I have lots of ideas running around in my head. Not sure what to do about them all yet, but at least it is a start. Hopefully things will start going my way soon.

Q is for Quiet Moments

Quiet is wonderful. I like when it is quiet because I find it easier to think. I think that sometimes we get to caught up in the day to day. We don't always find a time (or a place) where we can go just to be quiet and think. I find the quiet, calm moment to be important.

In that moment we have time to reflected on the things that are going on in our lives. We have time to deal with problems without the interference of others. We can listen to our own thoughts without them being drown out.  We can decide if we are happy with the way things are going. During the quiet moment, we get to find ourselves again.

I think that everyone, everyday should take some time out and have a quiet moment. Maybe people would be less stressed. Maybe people will take time to think.

Spoken Prayers

I have pretty good at performing a morning and nightly prayer everyday for a bit more than a month now. It has become part of my everyday. And it is great. I had been saying them in my head. For some reason I felt shy about saying the aloud. Just this past week I gathered up my courage and started saying them out loud.

I found something that I had not expected.

I got butterflies in my stomach. I felt more of a connection. It felt more real. It is scary and wonderful all at the same time.

I wonder if that is something that others experience. Do other feel a difference speaking to the Divine out loud?

----
On a side note, I have made it to twenty posts. I wasn't sure I was going to make it this far. But having this blog has helped me figure somethings out. Here is to twenty more.(Hopefully a bit longer than this.)

P is for Paths

I think that one of the wonderful things about paganism is how everyone comes to it in a different way. Some come from a difficult situation in another religion. Some come out of a search for a world view that fits with their own. Some now are being born and raised in a pagan household.

All of our experiences are a little bit different. We all believe slightly different things. We are all in different places in our practices. It is wonderful that paganism allows us to walk these different "paths".

But now the question becomes, "Where are these paths leading us."

I am not referring to what happens when we die. That is part of the believing different things.

I wonder if we can ever pull our paths together to create a community. That appears to be a hot button issue right now across the pagan blogs and websites. And it is something that I think about. I have to admit I don't have a lot of real world experience in this area. Right now I am looking at the pagan community through the computer screen. And some of what I read about makes me nervous. I know with all groups there will be bickering. I know that not everyone will agree with everything. And I know that what I see through the internet is just a small part of what is going on.

What I hope is that people are going to be willing to work together.
I hope that we are going to be working toward a future where people are not afraid to "come out of the broom closet".
I hope we are headed toward a place where bickering is put aside to work toward a common goal.
I hope we have a group or groups of people that are willing to stand up and take charge when needed.
I hope we don't only focus on the spiritual side of things. We should do things here in the physical world. Build things (centers, business, etc.) and show positive character to world around us.

It is going to take time. It is going to take commitment. It is going to take money. It is going to take some people learning a new set of skills. It is going to take people (including myself) coming out from behind computer screens and their own personal bubbles. It is going to take those people saying "I am pagan (or what ever your 'path' is). I am here. I am ready to put the little things that separate us aside. I am ready to create a community and a future for us."

I hope our paths eventually converge. And when the do, I hope they have lead us to a place where we are all still individual, but united toward creating a wonderful future.

P is for Polytheism

When I first started exploring paganism, I started of with a picture in my head of a male god and a female goddess. That's what I had been reading about and thought that was it.

But that just didn't fit. I just could fit my mind around the all gods are the Lord and all goddess are the Lady.

I truly believe that all gods and goddess exist. They are each individual. They have their own personalities and stories and domains. You have to work on forming relationships with them. Those relationships are special and should not be taken lightly. I believe that they can be offended and get angry. But I also believe that if you show them respect and love, they can guide and help you.

I am still working on forming these relationships. It is going to time. But I look forward to getting to know the gods and goddess better.

http://paganblogproject.com/

A Religious Game Show?

My family and I were watching Family Feud on GSN last night. During the show, Jeff Foxworthy appeared on a commercial to advertise a new game show that starts at the end of August. The name of the show... The American Bible Challenge. The first thought that ran through my mind after the commercial ended was "Really?" And the expressions on my family's faces said they were thinking the same thing. I even said, "I expect this on the Bible channel or the Gospel channel. But not on the Game Show Network."

This is the description of the show from gsntv.com,

"The American Bible Challenge is a spirited game show that will celebrate the Bible and its place in American culture. Bible enthusiasts from all across the country will compete in a variety of challenges that put their knowledge of the Good Book to the test."

I have a few issues with "The American Bible Challenge."

The first, does this show belongs on GSN? I think that as it gets closer to the air date this might be a question on a few people's minds. In my opinion, I don't think it does belong on GSN. My personal opinion. If it was on a religious channel, I would understand. Before anyone gets on my case, I do understand that nobody is forcing my to watch this show. If I don't want to see it, I can change the channel.

The second, should we turn religion into a game show? Honestly, this is the thing that bothers me the most. I don't mind questions about religion on Jeopardy. But when you make an entire show on the subject, in my mind, that is when you start crossing a line. Are the producers of the show out to create a entertaining program? To promote Christian religions? Just to make money?

The one thing that I am okay with is that, according to the promotional video on the website, the contestants are donating the winnings to charity. At least people are not going on to make money. However, in an article written by the Washington Post,

"...teams of contestants will represent 'worthy faith-based organizations,' said GSN, without elaborating as to how it planned to weed out the unworthy ones."

I guess we will have to wait an see what is "worthy."

Let me make something perfectly clear. The idea of making religion into a game show bothers me no matter what religion you are talking about. I guess for me I think that religion should be treated with more care.

The whole thing just rubs me the wrong way. Thoughts?


Websites:
http://gsntv.com/shows/the-american-bible-challenge/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jeff-foxworthy-to-host-the-american-bible-challenge/2012/03/21/gIQAtYcYSS_story.html

Weighing in on Health

In the last post I discussed my weight and health. In this post I would like to discuss something I would like to see both inside and outside the pagan community.

Over the past several months I have been reading books and watching documentaries about food and the food system in America. Honestly, I have been disgusted by the things that I have found.

-The way animals are treated before the are killed.
-The amount of food that comes from corn and soybeans and the amounts of these plants that are genetically modified.
-The chemicals that are put into processed food.
-The amount of people, especially in inner city areas that do not have access to fresh food.

Overall the message that comes from these sources is that our food system does not work and that what we are eating is making us sick.

So instead of worrying about how to deal with obesity in the pagan community (your body, you decide how to live), we should instead be thinking more about what we are eating. We should be encouraging people to make healthy choices about how they treat their body.

I don't care it you are heavy or thin, young or old, tall or short. What I care about is that you are healthy.

I would like to read posts that encourage people to live healthy.
I would like to see discussion on how we can help people who don't have access to fresh food.
I would like to hear people's opinions and ideas and feelings on healthy living.

I want to know if people even care.

I am not perfect. I am working on leading a healthier life because it is important to me. I want my body to be healthy in the same way I want my spirit to be healthy. I think that living a healthy lifestyle should be part of pagan life.

Weighing in on Weight

One of the hot topics of the past couple of weeks has been obesity in the pagan community. I knew that I wanted to write something on the topic the last week, but I thought it better to wait and think of something constructive to say. I have decided to break it up in two separate posts because this is a topic that I feel very strongly about, and I've got a lot to say.

Body image and obesity is something that hits very close to home. I don't think that I have ever been "thin" before. Through middle school and up through college I just let myself get bigger and bigger. I did not feel good about myself or my body but didn't really do anything about it. There was one summer my between my junior and senior year of high school that I went on Weight Watchers and lost some weight. A soon as I left, I gained it all back and then some.

It wasn't until the summer before my senior that I realized that I couldn't take it anymore. I was is a dressing room a found that the size 14 shorts that I was trying on were too small. I remember standing there thinking, "I can't let this get anymore out of hand." I went up to my mom after I left the dressing room and told her, "I need to join Weight Watchers." Same day I bought a scale and when I return to my apartment joined the program. I choose Weight Watchers because they talked about changing your lifestyle and that is what I needed. Over my senior year of college I lost about 25 pounds, which is a lot considering that I am only 5"2'.

It is now about three years later and I have gained a little bit of the weight back. I am not obese, maybe about 7-10 pounds outside my medical "ideal" body weight. And as all these pieces about obesity have come up I have done a lot of thinking. While I do think that obesity is a problem for America, not just the pagan community, I am not here to condemn anyone for what they weigh. It is your body and your choice about your health.

However, at this point I am not okay with the way that I look and feel. I would like to lose some weight for me and my health, not because society or my community wants me to. And it is not just about losing weight, it is about take better care of my overall health. I have started exercising regularly and have been thinking more about what I eat.

Some things I have seen written seem to give the impression that wanting to change your body is not an okay feeling to have. Lots of people seem to think that you should be happy with how you are now regardless of how you look or how you feel. I don't necessarily think that is the right attitude to have. If you are unhappy with your health and lifestyle, change it. I know that once my body feels better, than my spirit will feel better too. I believe that part of my spiritual path involves eating healthy foods in the right amounts and exercising regularly.

Anyway, to get the the point of this post.

As much as we should support people who are happy with their body's as they are now, I believe that is important to support the people who are making positive changes for their health.  We shouldn't assume that people are doing it because of the pressures of society. We should use language that is positive and encouraging. We should create a positive atmosphere to have these types of discussions in. And we shouldn't be afraid to have these discussions.

Pagan Festivals

I have never been to a Pagan Festival before.

That seems like a bit of an odd statement on a post about festivals, but it is true. Right now, I am a solitary "cyber-pagan." Any contact I have had with other like-minded individuals has been over the internet.

The reason I am talking about festivals at all is because over the past week it has been a hot topic on many blogs. When I am talking about festivals I am a talking about large gatherings of people for an event not related to a holiday.
Some people believe that big festivals are going to be a part of the community for a long time. Other say that they are on the way out and that local events will take over. Some discuss the reason for low attendance. Is it the economy? Lack of interest? Concern that long distance travel negatively effects the environment?

I think there are two problems with pagan festivals.
1) Lack of advertising
2) Lack of accessible festivals 

Lets start with lack of advertising. If nobody knows that the festival exists, nobody will attend. Sure you can go to an internet search engine an search for "Pagan Festivals." Then you are trapped in a world of outdated or broken links, outdated pages, and outdated information (that seems to be a pretty common theme on a pagan website).

Then comes the lack of accessible festivals. I live in Georgia. At the moment I do not have the money for an airplane ticket nor is it feasible to drive hundreds of miles to attend a festival. That is probably true of most people. So that leaves local festivals. Sadly (unless the have fallen victim to lack of advertising), there seems to be a lack of them. For example, according to Witchvox, there are only seven dated events for Georgia with a little bit less than half the year left to go. I don't think there is a lack of interest. I believe if they were available people would want to attend.

These are just the problems that I see from the point of view of a pretty brand new pagan. I understand that planning big events like the ones I am talking about is a huge undertaking. I also believe that I takes a special group of people to organize, plan, and staff such events. Do I have an real solutions to the problems I am talking about? Not really. The only thing that I would say is to get the word out when there are events going on.

So the questions remains... what is the future of pagan festivals?

N is for Losing Negativity

Unfortunately for me, as much as I would like to look on the bright side of everything, I am truly a pessimist. When ever a situation arises my mind tends to go to the worse possible outcome. I have even caught myself imagining situations and found myself worrying about the worse thing that could happen, no matter how unlikely it may be.

And that's a problem.

If you think negative thoughts that is what is going to come to you. And I would really like some positive things to happen in my life.

So I think that in the morning, I will think about all the good things that could happen to me that day. And at night, instead of focusing on what didn't happen or what went wrong, I will think about the positive things that happened.

That will probably take some getting use to. But I hope that over time, the good will outweigh the bad. Maybe I will become an optimist.

"What we focus on, we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours: Which do we want more of?"
-Julia Cameron

A Little Vacation Victory

So I skipped this weeks Pagan Blog Project post since I was on vacation. I will have to come up with something really good for this coming week.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes going on vacation makes you more tired than you were before  you left? And here I though vacations were meant to be restful.

Anyway, the point of this post is to talk about something that I would like to consider a little victory for my pagan path. First though, a little background.

I spend a lot of time reading different people's blogs. There are some that I try to read everyday. One of them is Pantheon written by Star Foster over on Patheos.com. (By the way, the have a great group of bloggers over there. Check them out if you get a chance.) A few weeks ago, she had a posting called "Slacker Paganism". In the post, she talks about picking out five things you can do everyday in your practice. She talks about trying to do each one everyday, even if it is on the fly. Since I am really just starting to incorporate Paganism into my everyday life, I thought this would be a good way to get started. Instead of picking five things, I decided to start with three and build up. My three things were a morning prayer, meditation, and an evening prayer. Surprisingly, up until I left for vacation, I did all three everyday.

My little victory comes though on my vacation. While I didn't mediate (way too many people around to find a quiet spot), I was able to do a little prayer both in the morning and at night everyday. It takes me a long time to build up a routine, so the fact that I kept that part of my practice up is a little win for me. And it really makes me feel better and more connected to my path.

Thank goodness for little victories.


Websites:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/pantheon/2012/06/slacker-paganism/ - Star Foster "Slacker Paganism"
http://www.patheos.com/Pagan.html -Patheos Pagan Channel