Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox. I haven't really done much to celebrate it over the last few years as it's quite a busy time for me. As it is a harvest festival, I'm usually flat out preserving my crop to keep it over the next year. This year hasn't really been too different, although my garden has been mostly neglected during our horrendously hot and oppressive summer. I'm well known amongst friends and family for this, so I am also often the recipient of their overflows and have been given a lot of fruit to work my magic on.
This year however, the Equinox fell almost a week after the shootings in Christchurch. A far right, fascist, anti-immigration lunatic shot up two mosques killing 50 Muslims at prayer and wounding 50 more.
His hateful reaping however, harvested something truly amazing. The outpouring of love from Christchurch people, from New Zealanders and from the rest of the world has been awe-inspiring and overwhelming.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a contrary person. I am naive and always wanting to believe the best of people while also being a cynical old bitch. So while I hoped for a positive response, I expected the opposite. So the response from people everywhere has left me hiding away from people while I cry often. Those tears aren't fear or an inability to cope with my city being changed again and while there's still sadness for the tragedy, mostly my tears are about people being better than I'd given them credit for.
I'm in awe at the messages of love and support. I'm in awe of the strength of our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her grace in handling this. I'm in awe of the opposition parties in our Government pulling their heads in and supporting our PM. I'm in awe of the actions ordinary people are taking the world over because of this event. I have never seen the goodness in people shine through on such a massive scale and I don't know how to adjust to it. I am in awe of the constant vigils, the markers of respect and support (I think our florists nationwide have run out of flowers repeatedly) and the turnout of people attending these events. I am in awe of our gangs, previously violent rivals, coming together, putting their differences aside to stand in support of the Muslim community. I am in awe of our Police force and emergency services for their hard work and incredible strength.
So this year, my Autumn Equinox celebration is one of genuine thanksgiving and gratitude.
I am grateful that I was wrong about people in general and give thanks that I was wrong.
I am grateful that I live in a place where this is how we react to things like this.
I am guiltily thankful that my family were safe although I can't say that anyone is unaffected by it.
I am grateful that for the most part, this has caused a huge shift in what ordinary people will and won't tolerate with regards to casual racism and hate speech.
I am grateful that our Government has used common sense in tightening up gun laws and gun licensing and done it quickly.
I am grateful that as a nation, we're being held up as a beacon of sense and respect by the rest of the world.
I am grateful.
Blessings
Debbie
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Friday, 22 March 2019
Thursday, 7 March 2019
Self-examination and Doubt
Every so often, I get to wondering about the magic I have performed.
I wonder if the results I have gotten are real. Rather, I wonder if my actions and spells worked have had any effect at all to achieve the results that have occurred. I wonder if the ending would have been the same whether I did anything or not. Do I do these things as a way to fool myself that I'm actually doing anything useful? Am I using confirmation bias to justify the things I do?
Then I wonder if the results happen the way I wanted them, does it matter?
I am a firm believer in brutal self-honesty. I believe most magical journeys will include some aspect of this if the practitioner is to grow as a person, to be fair, most life journeys need this if anyone is to grow as a person.
The times when we look back over past events and ask ourselves how we could have done things differently, take responsibility for the times when we cast ourselves in the role of victim instead of perpetrator and the times when we realise that perhaps our own poor choices led us up that sorry path to an unpleasant event in our lives. Equally, it is important to recognise when things weren't your fault, when there was nothing useful you could have done and to forgive yourself for what you think you should have done but didn't.
There seems to be a popular idea that you should just let everything go, forget about it and move on. I dislike this concept intensely. It gives no closure, it gives no opportunity to learn from your mistakes or even to recognise that you made them and it gives no chance for you to grow into a better you.
The down side to doing this kind of work on yourself is that it can lead to doubts. Doubt in your abilities, doubt in your sense of self-worth and doubt in everything about yourself. As I started this talking about magic, let's also add doubt in your ability to create change in the world and perform successful magic.
Doubt is the magic killer.
Like the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear from the Dune series by Frank Herbert, doubt is destruction. For those unfamiliar with this classic work of science fiction:
Doubt is the magic killer. Doubt eats at your confidence to achieve results, doubt eats away at your purpose until the suggestions doubt makes replace your purpose. This isn't usually a conscious thing, this is the "what ifs" taking over. Doubt is failure. Facing your doubts and freeing yourself from doubts isn't necessarily as easy as allowing them to pass over and through you.
When I have a bout of self-examination and exploring past events I usually focus on the things that went wrong. The catastrophic and painful. I often forget about or gloss over my successes. This is where doubt is able to creep in.
Look equally at what went well. What do you think you did that made this event a success? How can you build that into more successes? Can you reasonably expect that to work again or will it need some tweaking to continue the momentum?
They don't have to be big successes. Some will seem like small ones until you weigh up what the opposite effect would have been. Any success is as valuable and equally a learning opportunity just as much as a mistake would have been.
So when I'm in my "what if all my magic is me using superstition to fool myself that I make a difference" headspace, I remember the time that every car in my street was broken into and siphoned for petrol except mine, which I'd foolishly left unlocked in my driveway overnight. I remember when a stalker suddenly seemed to forget about me altogether. I remember when a friend's father who was not expected to last the week surprised the medical staff in the hospital by getting well and is still going strong months later.
It genuinely might be purely coincidence, I accept that. But I got the results I wanted so does it matter?
Blessings
Debbie
I wonder if the results I have gotten are real. Rather, I wonder if my actions and spells worked have had any effect at all to achieve the results that have occurred. I wonder if the ending would have been the same whether I did anything or not. Do I do these things as a way to fool myself that I'm actually doing anything useful? Am I using confirmation bias to justify the things I do?
Then I wonder if the results happen the way I wanted them, does it matter?
I am a firm believer in brutal self-honesty. I believe most magical journeys will include some aspect of this if the practitioner is to grow as a person, to be fair, most life journeys need this if anyone is to grow as a person.
The times when we look back over past events and ask ourselves how we could have done things differently, take responsibility for the times when we cast ourselves in the role of victim instead of perpetrator and the times when we realise that perhaps our own poor choices led us up that sorry path to an unpleasant event in our lives. Equally, it is important to recognise when things weren't your fault, when there was nothing useful you could have done and to forgive yourself for what you think you should have done but didn't.
There seems to be a popular idea that you should just let everything go, forget about it and move on. I dislike this concept intensely. It gives no closure, it gives no opportunity to learn from your mistakes or even to recognise that you made them and it gives no chance for you to grow into a better you.
The down side to doing this kind of work on yourself is that it can lead to doubts. Doubt in your abilities, doubt in your sense of self-worth and doubt in everything about yourself. As I started this talking about magic, let's also add doubt in your ability to create change in the world and perform successful magic.
Doubt is the magic killer.
Like the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear from the Dune series by Frank Herbert, doubt is destruction. For those unfamiliar with this classic work of science fiction:
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.As an affirmation or mantra, this is not particularly useful. Fear is the main concept focused on and emphasised and this will build fear. So I'm not suggesting that this be reworded to use doubt instead of fear. But the way fear is talked about in this quote is useful for discussion purposes.
Doubt is the magic killer. Doubt eats at your confidence to achieve results, doubt eats away at your purpose until the suggestions doubt makes replace your purpose. This isn't usually a conscious thing, this is the "what ifs" taking over. Doubt is failure. Facing your doubts and freeing yourself from doubts isn't necessarily as easy as allowing them to pass over and through you.
When I have a bout of self-examination and exploring past events I usually focus on the things that went wrong. The catastrophic and painful. I often forget about or gloss over my successes. This is where doubt is able to creep in.
Look equally at what went well. What do you think you did that made this event a success? How can you build that into more successes? Can you reasonably expect that to work again or will it need some tweaking to continue the momentum?
They don't have to be big successes. Some will seem like small ones until you weigh up what the opposite effect would have been. Any success is as valuable and equally a learning opportunity just as much as a mistake would have been.
So when I'm in my "what if all my magic is me using superstition to fool myself that I make a difference" headspace, I remember the time that every car in my street was broken into and siphoned for petrol except mine, which I'd foolishly left unlocked in my driveway overnight. I remember when a stalker suddenly seemed to forget about me altogether. I remember when a friend's father who was not expected to last the week surprised the medical staff in the hospital by getting well and is still going strong months later.
It genuinely might be purely coincidence, I accept that. But I got the results I wanted so does it matter?
Blessings
Debbie
Thursday, 9 August 2018
How Piracy Has Nearly Stopped Me From Writing
Piracy of copyrighted works has been an issue for as long as the internet has been around. When I was a teenager, if we wanted a "free copy" of a book, we either had to steal it outright (or pay the fine for not returning it to the library) or photocopy the entire book - which wasn't really free as we had to pay 20c per page at the library. If you wanted music, you had to tape it off the radio and hope the announcer wouldn't talk over too much of the song, or have a friend who'd bought it on vinyl or tape and copy it onto a tape. It wasn't as simple as an almost instant download.
Now there are pirate websites offering thousands of pdf copies of books for free. Some have been closed down, but I believe for each one that is removed, three more spring up overnight. Some have even started the practice of having reviews and ratings for the pirate works "So at least the author gets some benefit". Author Michelle Harrison took on a pirate site recently and received some rather aggressive and angry emails in response. You can see some of it in her Twitter and a write up about it in The Guardian.
I find myself in a very messed up headspace over the issue of piracy.
On the one hand, I self-published. I never offered my work to a publishing house, I wanted to have total control over my work. Perhaps this was naive of me, I don't know. But I kept my words and my voice intact, I kept my meanings intact and clear, I chose the title, the cover design and the font. All things that another author I know didn't get and it put her off writing forever. The title her publisher gave her book changed the slant of the entire thing and set her up for a world of hurt.
The bio and book blurb that my publisher had someone write for my approval was awful. It was immediately clear that they'd read none of my book past the category. I felt vindicated in my choices.
By self-publishing, I have paid a lot of money to have my work out there. It is more money than I would normally have freely available. I borrowed to have some print copies of my own and while I paid a "discount", you can buy my book on Amazon for little more than I paid for my discounted copies. I paid for marketing. I paid to have copies sent for review - reviews that I don't know if they've ever happened, I've seen nothing of those reviews.
I knew that writing for a Pagan audience would never make me rich. Janet Farrar commented in a group I'm in that even in their hey-day, she and Stewart lived below the poverty line and often had to resort to "dumpster diving" to be able to eat. I went into this with no illusions or delusions about imminent wealth and fame.
However, I didn't think it unreasonable to hope to break even. I expected that I would at least earn enough to pay back the money I had borrowed.
I'm not even close. After almost four years, I think I've had maybe 10% of what I spent back in royalties.
So, I went into a bit of a funk.
My book is obviously crap. My friends love it, but they're my friends, they're supposed to support me and things I do. I'm sure many of them love it purely out of loyalty. Then I started getting calls at home on my unlisted landline. From publishing companies. Asking for me by my married name and not my pen name. Wanting to "invest" in my book. They hadn't read it, didn't know it had been published, didn't know my pen name. They already had my newish email address. Their "investing" in my work would cost me twice what I've already paid. I've clearly been put on a list by my publisher that's been sent to other self-publishing companies and hybrid publishing companies. I'm not making them enough money so they're trying to pass me on to someone else.
My funk deepened.
I'm 45,000 words into a second book. I've spent years reading and researching so that this one can have some authority behind my assertions, it has citations and a big healthy bibliography so readers can learn more from smarter people than me. It's been a huge labour of love, endless hours of reading, even if three weeks of reading and note-taking ends up making a single paragraph.
Why would I bother? It's obviously a waste of my time and no one will want to read it.
I find facebook groups that have hundreds and sometimes thousands of pirated pdfs, they never have my book. What's wrong with my book? There's other fluff in there that I wouldn't use to prop up a table leg, is mine worse than that?
Then I found a few of those pirate websites that have ratings and reviews. There are thousands of reviews and ratings on my book there. Thousands. It's seems to be sitting at 3.8 to 4.6 stars. If each person who left a review had even paid 50c towards my book, I would have broken even several times over. I would have money to put towards the book I'm working on. I would have been able to buy a few more of the books that I want to read, reference and cite in my current work.
My husband asked me what had been my purpose in writing my book. Did I want to make money or did I want it to be read? I wanted it to be read, I wanted the information out there. Maybe those people wouldn't have read it if they'd had to pay for it? I don't know. I also don't know if that makes up for the missed royalties.
But I'm still left with a publisher who clearly doesn't want me, unsure if I can finance this next book I've spent years working on. I'm unsure if I want to continue. I don't know if it's all worth it.
Now there are pirate websites offering thousands of pdf copies of books for free. Some have been closed down, but I believe for each one that is removed, three more spring up overnight. Some have even started the practice of having reviews and ratings for the pirate works "So at least the author gets some benefit". Author Michelle Harrison took on a pirate site recently and received some rather aggressive and angry emails in response. You can see some of it in her Twitter and a write up about it in The Guardian.
I find myself in a very messed up headspace over the issue of piracy.
On the one hand, I self-published. I never offered my work to a publishing house, I wanted to have total control over my work. Perhaps this was naive of me, I don't know. But I kept my words and my voice intact, I kept my meanings intact and clear, I chose the title, the cover design and the font. All things that another author I know didn't get and it put her off writing forever. The title her publisher gave her book changed the slant of the entire thing and set her up for a world of hurt.
The bio and book blurb that my publisher had someone write for my approval was awful. It was immediately clear that they'd read none of my book past the category. I felt vindicated in my choices.
By self-publishing, I have paid a lot of money to have my work out there. It is more money than I would normally have freely available. I borrowed to have some print copies of my own and while I paid a "discount", you can buy my book on Amazon for little more than I paid for my discounted copies. I paid for marketing. I paid to have copies sent for review - reviews that I don't know if they've ever happened, I've seen nothing of those reviews.
I knew that writing for a Pagan audience would never make me rich. Janet Farrar commented in a group I'm in that even in their hey-day, she and Stewart lived below the poverty line and often had to resort to "dumpster diving" to be able to eat. I went into this with no illusions or delusions about imminent wealth and fame.
However, I didn't think it unreasonable to hope to break even. I expected that I would at least earn enough to pay back the money I had borrowed.
I'm not even close. After almost four years, I think I've had maybe 10% of what I spent back in royalties.
So, I went into a bit of a funk.
My book is obviously crap. My friends love it, but they're my friends, they're supposed to support me and things I do. I'm sure many of them love it purely out of loyalty. Then I started getting calls at home on my unlisted landline. From publishing companies. Asking for me by my married name and not my pen name. Wanting to "invest" in my book. They hadn't read it, didn't know it had been published, didn't know my pen name. They already had my newish email address. Their "investing" in my work would cost me twice what I've already paid. I've clearly been put on a list by my publisher that's been sent to other self-publishing companies and hybrid publishing companies. I'm not making them enough money so they're trying to pass me on to someone else.
My funk deepened.
I'm 45,000 words into a second book. I've spent years reading and researching so that this one can have some authority behind my assertions, it has citations and a big healthy bibliography so readers can learn more from smarter people than me. It's been a huge labour of love, endless hours of reading, even if three weeks of reading and note-taking ends up making a single paragraph.
Why would I bother? It's obviously a waste of my time and no one will want to read it.
I find facebook groups that have hundreds and sometimes thousands of pirated pdfs, they never have my book. What's wrong with my book? There's other fluff in there that I wouldn't use to prop up a table leg, is mine worse than that?
Then I found a few of those pirate websites that have ratings and reviews. There are thousands of reviews and ratings on my book there. Thousands. It's seems to be sitting at 3.8 to 4.6 stars. If each person who left a review had even paid 50c towards my book, I would have broken even several times over. I would have money to put towards the book I'm working on. I would have been able to buy a few more of the books that I want to read, reference and cite in my current work.
My husband asked me what had been my purpose in writing my book. Did I want to make money or did I want it to be read? I wanted it to be read, I wanted the information out there. Maybe those people wouldn't have read it if they'd had to pay for it? I don't know. I also don't know if that makes up for the missed royalties.
But I'm still left with a publisher who clearly doesn't want me, unsure if I can finance this next book I've spent years working on. I'm unsure if I want to continue. I don't know if it's all worth it.
Friday, 15 December 2017
Donating to Charity
Most of us like to donate something to Charities where we can and when we can. With Christmas fast approaching it's something that's very much talked about.
This week, a Maori Women's Refuge Charity - The Aunties - spoke out asking that people don't give them tinned tomatoes, chickpeas or lentils.
In an article on Stuff, they explained that they have pantries filled with tinned tomatoes and nothing else and that is not useful to a woman with young children who have just arrived, ripped out of their home, traumatised and grieving.
They point out how much better it is to find out what a charity actually needs and that most publish wish lists that are easily found.
This has led to a sadly predictable uproar. Many people are offended at their pickiness, saying things like "beggars can't be choosers" and "I can make a decent meal out of tinned tomatoes along with x, y and z, why can't you?" and "If you can be picky you're not that needy". Many commenters have sworn off ever donating to Women's Refuge ever again.
I believe this is missing the point. Actually, it's missing several.
Yes, tinned tomatoes are useful and many people (myself included) would go through at least a tin a week. But not on their own. They need meat and onions and herbs to make a bolognese, they need other veges to make a curry, they need bread to go on toast. The article said the pantries were filled with tinned tomatoes and nothing else. The problem is that they have plenty and need the other stuff to make the meals with. Giving them recipes and teaching them how to cook with tinned tomatoes isn't going to make the other necessary ingredients magically appear.
Donating to charities, giving to those in need is supposed to be about what they need not about what you think they should have. It's also supposed to be about compassion for their circumstances not about judging them for not needing what you think they should have.
Donating to charities isn't about you. Feeling good about having helped is supposed to be a side effect. Having your feelings hurt because a charity has asked you not to give something says more about you than it does about that charity. And it says nothing good.
Have a little empathy. This is a Women's Refuge. This is a place where women arrive in the middle of the night with usually small children in tow. They've often just had the crap beaten out of them, they're emotionally drained, they're in shock with a side order of terror because they've finally done something to get them out of that position and they're afraid it won't last or things will get worse because of it and they're trying to keep themselves together for the equally traumatised children. Try putting yourself into that place, try imagining the complete shock and trauma they are going through. Now imagine trying to function well enough to whip up a delicious middle class healthy meal. If you tell me you could do it, I'm going to call you a liar.
It's not as though it's a family at home who are having some rough times and need a food parcel to help them out this week because money's tight and they can't afford to feed their children. This is a totally different situation and unless you've actually been there, you are in no position to judge what they need.
I think everyone's first reaction was to be a little offended. "What do you mean my donation isn't good enough?" In most of my friends, I'm glad to say, they took a step back and examined why they were offended and were good enough people to own it and accept that they were wrong. It's a shame that more people aren't like them.
Blessings
Debbie
This week, a Maori Women's Refuge Charity - The Aunties - spoke out asking that people don't give them tinned tomatoes, chickpeas or lentils.
In an article on Stuff, they explained that they have pantries filled with tinned tomatoes and nothing else and that is not useful to a woman with young children who have just arrived, ripped out of their home, traumatised and grieving.
They point out how much better it is to find out what a charity actually needs and that most publish wish lists that are easily found.
This has led to a sadly predictable uproar. Many people are offended at their pickiness, saying things like "beggars can't be choosers" and "I can make a decent meal out of tinned tomatoes along with x, y and z, why can't you?" and "If you can be picky you're not that needy". Many commenters have sworn off ever donating to Women's Refuge ever again.
I believe this is missing the point. Actually, it's missing several.
Yes, tinned tomatoes are useful and many people (myself included) would go through at least a tin a week. But not on their own. They need meat and onions and herbs to make a bolognese, they need other veges to make a curry, they need bread to go on toast. The article said the pantries were filled with tinned tomatoes and nothing else. The problem is that they have plenty and need the other stuff to make the meals with. Giving them recipes and teaching them how to cook with tinned tomatoes isn't going to make the other necessary ingredients magically appear.
Donating to charities, giving to those in need is supposed to be about what they need not about what you think they should have. It's also supposed to be about compassion for their circumstances not about judging them for not needing what you think they should have.
Donating to charities isn't about you. Feeling good about having helped is supposed to be a side effect. Having your feelings hurt because a charity has asked you not to give something says more about you than it does about that charity. And it says nothing good.
Have a little empathy. This is a Women's Refuge. This is a place where women arrive in the middle of the night with usually small children in tow. They've often just had the crap beaten out of them, they're emotionally drained, they're in shock with a side order of terror because they've finally done something to get them out of that position and they're afraid it won't last or things will get worse because of it and they're trying to keep themselves together for the equally traumatised children. Try putting yourself into that place, try imagining the complete shock and trauma they are going through. Now imagine trying to function well enough to whip up a delicious middle class healthy meal. If you tell me you could do it, I'm going to call you a liar.
It's not as though it's a family at home who are having some rough times and need a food parcel to help them out this week because money's tight and they can't afford to feed their children. This is a totally different situation and unless you've actually been there, you are in no position to judge what they need.
I think everyone's first reaction was to be a little offended. "What do you mean my donation isn't good enough?" In most of my friends, I'm glad to say, they took a step back and examined why they were offended and were good enough people to own it and accept that they were wrong. It's a shame that more people aren't like them.
Blessings
Debbie
What Makes An Elder?
Elder is a term that gets thrown around a lot. I believe it's a misunderstood and misused word probably 90% of the time. Or perhaps it has too many meanings.
From Dictionary.com
adjective, a compar. of old with eldest as superl.
1. of greater age; older.
2. of higher rank; senior: an elder officer.
3. of or relating to former times; earlier:
Much that was forbidden by elder custom is accepted today.
noun
4. a person who is older or higher in rank than oneself.
5. an aged person.
6. an influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior.
7. a presbyter.
8. (in certain Protestant churches) a lay member who is a governing officer, often assisting the pastor in services.
9. Mormon Church. A member of the Melchizedek priesthood.
Okay, so perhaps there are too many meanings for it to be used in a meaningful way. Maybe if we look at it in context.
In the case of the Pagan Community, an elder usually fits meaning number 6 best. An influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior. It can fit the 'higher in rank' definition too. Personally, I think it is a combination of these definitions.
An Elder is an older, wiser, experienced member of the community. Someone who can guide and advise. It is a position of respect not one of power, although it is a powerful position in a different sense - influence rather than authority.
Simply being older means next to nothing. Plenty of people come to Paganism later in their lives. Age does not equal experience, knowledge or wisdom. Quite frankly, in our modern times, it doesn't take any great skill to live a reasonably long and healthy life. It's what you've done with that life that counts.
Elder is a term of respect and like respect it is earned.
In some traditions there are criteria to be met before the title of Elder can be conferred. Make no mistake, it is a title and not just a description. It is also a title that is given by the community served by that person and not something you can claim for yourself.
Common requirements are things like having had a leadership role in your community for a reasonable period of time. A Wiccan Elder, as an example, must have attained third degree and led their coven for several years. However, alone, this is not enough in most cases.
Coven experience needs to be balanced with life experience. Someone young, while they might be already wise or an 'old soul' is not going to have the range of experience to provide useful advice or guidance. They haven't had the opportunity to see the long term effects of simple actions.
Some traditions have Eldering ceremonies - Croning and Saging. Usually your second Saturn return is the first criteria for these titles - which puts you roughly mid to late 50s. Although I have heard of events where anyone who had been part of the community for more than 5 years was declared an Elder and given an Eldering ceremony, such ceremonies and claims seem to be treated mostly with the contempt they deserve.
In other traditions, anyone who wants the title is deemed to be unworthy of it. True Elders fight against the title as long and as hard as they are able. They don't want to be put on a pedestal and treated like some precious object, they still want to be in the thick of things, doing important work and creating change.
Degrees and ordinations do not necessarily make an Elder. I know of one lady who claims she has a Masters degree in Wicca. She clearly knows very little about actual Wicca and is a fount of eclectic neo-Wicca cliches and misrepresentations. I found where she got her 'Masters' from - The Universal Life Church - for $32.99 you get sent a copy of Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, a certificate, a bumper sticker and a clergy badge. Or for $13.99 you can buy the certificate alone. There is no study, no tests, no standards to meet and nothing to prove you've done anything more than click a link and enter your credit card details.
Founding a group, on it's own, does not make an Elder. I've personally experienced several groups and organisations (even charitable ones) that have been founded by people hoping to be called Elders, if not now then some day soon. Some may have been created to provide a service to the community, intentions may have been good, but personalities, ego and self-importance make it clear that the good of the community is not the first priority, or that the service being provided is not necessarily needed or wanted by the community.
This becomes worse when the group's name states or implies some sort of overseeing council that speaks for all. American Council of Witches leaps to mind. There have been several attempts to relaunch the 1973 Council whose only achievement was to publish The 13 Principles of Belief before disbanding. Most of these attempts appear to be people who are hoping for their 15 minutes of glory or to impose their own narrow worldview on everyone else. The Council gets filled with people no one has ever heard of, adding their cronies and sycophants. A few years ago, someone named a couple of genuine American Elders as Council members, but without their knowledge or consent and those Elders publicly distanced themselves from it.
There are some wonderful groups out there, doing some wonderful work for the wider community and they do contain some genuine Elders. However, the obvious difference is that those groups work to support and help their communities, quietly in the background. They don't try to speak for them, or force them into a cubbyhole of their own values or throw public tantrums when questioned or challenged in any way. The organisations have had changes of leadership and continued going strong. Their purpose is to serve the community, not their leaders.
Like other titles, Elder has little to no meaning outside of the community being served. In a recent storm in a teacup, a local chap who is largely unheard of even in our tiny community, claimed to be a Pagan Elder and made a statement to the press that upset and offended many in the local community. Five minutes research showed that he might be perhaps a Heathen Elder, although given his age and time in the community, I question that too - however, that's not my community so my opinion rightfully means nothing. Given that most Heathens distance themselves from Pagans and vice versa, how is a Heathen Elder able to claim Pagan Eldership? He founded a group which does provide service to their community. Great work. I'm all for that kind of thing. But as explained above, that alone does not make an Elder and neither does his claiming of the title. Then I noticed in his online group, anyone he promotes to an admin he also grants the title of Elder. Given that one of his groups "Elders" was openly brand new and asking for advice on Beginner's books only two or three years ago, I am horrified.
Being famous or a Big Name Pagan does not automatically make one an Elder, although this is probably the most common way Elders do get named. Some deserve it and their on-going service to the wider community is how they became famous. Others are narcissistic drama queens who seem to believe that any publicity is good publicity when in reality they are harming their wider community more than helping it. There are also demagogues who seem to believe that likes and followers equal proof of how right they are. BNPs can become a cult of personality rather than a positive resource for their community.
So when trying to define an Elder, I find myself thinking of the older folk who have been in the community for a long time. They have seen groups and individuals rise and fall. They have seen the community go through many changes and shifts. Their work may not be obvious or well-known but their experience shines through. They will be the ones who challenge you and sometimes make you uncomfortable or hurt your feelings when they do, but when asked the right way will offer up useful advice - even if it's not what you want to hear at the time. They demand that you own your shit and you can see that they do the same. They will judge, be brutally blunt and direct and sometimes give you more chances than you deserve. They make mistakes and they own them. They don't need anyone else to apologise for them and they won't apologise for anyone else. They accept, even invite, being questioned and challenged because they understand that you never stop learning and at no point does anyone know it all. They don't expect you to follow their advice as gospel, they are not offended if you choose a different option and they won't get pissy and refuse advice next time. They expect you to take it all on board and think for yourself.
I do have a group of wonderful people like this. If I told them I was talking about them as Elders, I dare say I'd be slapped into next week. But they are who I go to for advice. I respect their experience and honour the hard roads most have walked to where they are now.
In doing some research for this blog, I found that I'm not alone in questioning this. The Wild Hunt asked several well-known people in the wider Pagan community the same question. The comments page also raised some valid thoughts and experiences. Some of which I have used in this blog.
Interestingly, I also found this piece by Shauna Aura Knight which goes into the next step of Pagan Elders. Accepted Elders who have become abusive and what can we do about them.
Blessings
Debbie
From Dictionary.com
adjective, a compar. of old with eldest as superl.
1. of greater age; older.
2. of higher rank; senior: an elder officer.
3. of or relating to former times; earlier:
Much that was forbidden by elder custom is accepted today.
noun
4. a person who is older or higher in rank than oneself.
5. an aged person.
6. an influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior.
7. a presbyter.
8. (in certain Protestant churches) a lay member who is a governing officer, often assisting the pastor in services.
9. Mormon Church. A member of the Melchizedek priesthood.
Okay, so perhaps there are too many meanings for it to be used in a meaningful way. Maybe if we look at it in context.
In the case of the Pagan Community, an elder usually fits meaning number 6 best. An influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior. It can fit the 'higher in rank' definition too. Personally, I think it is a combination of these definitions.
An Elder is an older, wiser, experienced member of the community. Someone who can guide and advise. It is a position of respect not one of power, although it is a powerful position in a different sense - influence rather than authority.
Simply being older means next to nothing. Plenty of people come to Paganism later in their lives. Age does not equal experience, knowledge or wisdom. Quite frankly, in our modern times, it doesn't take any great skill to live a reasonably long and healthy life. It's what you've done with that life that counts.
Elder is a term of respect and like respect it is earned.
In some traditions there are criteria to be met before the title of Elder can be conferred. Make no mistake, it is a title and not just a description. It is also a title that is given by the community served by that person and not something you can claim for yourself.
Common requirements are things like having had a leadership role in your community for a reasonable period of time. A Wiccan Elder, as an example, must have attained third degree and led their coven for several years. However, alone, this is not enough in most cases.
Coven experience needs to be balanced with life experience. Someone young, while they might be already wise or an 'old soul' is not going to have the range of experience to provide useful advice or guidance. They haven't had the opportunity to see the long term effects of simple actions.
Some traditions have Eldering ceremonies - Croning and Saging. Usually your second Saturn return is the first criteria for these titles - which puts you roughly mid to late 50s. Although I have heard of events where anyone who had been part of the community for more than 5 years was declared an Elder and given an Eldering ceremony, such ceremonies and claims seem to be treated mostly with the contempt they deserve.
In other traditions, anyone who wants the title is deemed to be unworthy of it. True Elders fight against the title as long and as hard as they are able. They don't want to be put on a pedestal and treated like some precious object, they still want to be in the thick of things, doing important work and creating change.
Degrees and ordinations do not necessarily make an Elder. I know of one lady who claims she has a Masters degree in Wicca. She clearly knows very little about actual Wicca and is a fount of eclectic neo-Wicca cliches and misrepresentations. I found where she got her 'Masters' from - The Universal Life Church - for $32.99 you get sent a copy of Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, a certificate, a bumper sticker and a clergy badge. Or for $13.99 you can buy the certificate alone. There is no study, no tests, no standards to meet and nothing to prove you've done anything more than click a link and enter your credit card details.
Founding a group, on it's own, does not make an Elder. I've personally experienced several groups and organisations (even charitable ones) that have been founded by people hoping to be called Elders, if not now then some day soon. Some may have been created to provide a service to the community, intentions may have been good, but personalities, ego and self-importance make it clear that the good of the community is not the first priority, or that the service being provided is not necessarily needed or wanted by the community.
This becomes worse when the group's name states or implies some sort of overseeing council that speaks for all. American Council of Witches leaps to mind. There have been several attempts to relaunch the 1973 Council whose only achievement was to publish The 13 Principles of Belief before disbanding. Most of these attempts appear to be people who are hoping for their 15 minutes of glory or to impose their own narrow worldview on everyone else. The Council gets filled with people no one has ever heard of, adding their cronies and sycophants. A few years ago, someone named a couple of genuine American Elders as Council members, but without their knowledge or consent and those Elders publicly distanced themselves from it.
There are some wonderful groups out there, doing some wonderful work for the wider community and they do contain some genuine Elders. However, the obvious difference is that those groups work to support and help their communities, quietly in the background. They don't try to speak for them, or force them into a cubbyhole of their own values or throw public tantrums when questioned or challenged in any way. The organisations have had changes of leadership and continued going strong. Their purpose is to serve the community, not their leaders.
Like other titles, Elder has little to no meaning outside of the community being served. In a recent storm in a teacup, a local chap who is largely unheard of even in our tiny community, claimed to be a Pagan Elder and made a statement to the press that upset and offended many in the local community. Five minutes research showed that he might be perhaps a Heathen Elder, although given his age and time in the community, I question that too - however, that's not my community so my opinion rightfully means nothing. Given that most Heathens distance themselves from Pagans and vice versa, how is a Heathen Elder able to claim Pagan Eldership? He founded a group which does provide service to their community. Great work. I'm all for that kind of thing. But as explained above, that alone does not make an Elder and neither does his claiming of the title. Then I noticed in his online group, anyone he promotes to an admin he also grants the title of Elder. Given that one of his groups "Elders" was openly brand new and asking for advice on Beginner's books only two or three years ago, I am horrified.
Being famous or a Big Name Pagan does not automatically make one an Elder, although this is probably the most common way Elders do get named. Some deserve it and their on-going service to the wider community is how they became famous. Others are narcissistic drama queens who seem to believe that any publicity is good publicity when in reality they are harming their wider community more than helping it. There are also demagogues who seem to believe that likes and followers equal proof of how right they are. BNPs can become a cult of personality rather than a positive resource for their community.
So when trying to define an Elder, I find myself thinking of the older folk who have been in the community for a long time. They have seen groups and individuals rise and fall. They have seen the community go through many changes and shifts. Their work may not be obvious or well-known but their experience shines through. They will be the ones who challenge you and sometimes make you uncomfortable or hurt your feelings when they do, but when asked the right way will offer up useful advice - even if it's not what you want to hear at the time. They demand that you own your shit and you can see that they do the same. They will judge, be brutally blunt and direct and sometimes give you more chances than you deserve. They make mistakes and they own them. They don't need anyone else to apologise for them and they won't apologise for anyone else. They accept, even invite, being questioned and challenged because they understand that you never stop learning and at no point does anyone know it all. They don't expect you to follow their advice as gospel, they are not offended if you choose a different option and they won't get pissy and refuse advice next time. They expect you to take it all on board and think for yourself.
I do have a group of wonderful people like this. If I told them I was talking about them as Elders, I dare say I'd be slapped into next week. But they are who I go to for advice. I respect their experience and honour the hard roads most have walked to where they are now.
In doing some research for this blog, I found that I'm not alone in questioning this. The Wild Hunt asked several well-known people in the wider Pagan community the same question. The comments page also raised some valid thoughts and experiences. Some of which I have used in this blog.
Interestingly, I also found this piece by Shauna Aura Knight which goes into the next step of Pagan Elders. Accepted Elders who have become abusive and what can we do about them.
Blessings
Debbie
Saturday, 25 March 2017
Taking Credit Where It's Not Warranted
I've found within the Pagan and Magical community a tendency for self-aggrandisement. This isn't a new thing, not by any stretch. There have always been the people who are so uber powerful and so much more special than everyone else.
But the one I've noticed the most lately is taking credit for other people's misfortune, or taking credit for surprise or miraculous major events.
As examples, one chap took credit for a storm changing it's predicted path and turning away from a major city, another claimed they'd caused a huge cluster of destructive earthquakes. Another has taken credit for one man's death and another's misfortune.
There was a guy a few years ago (I think I mentioned him in another blog) who rang me to tell me he'd changed the weather so that I had sunshine for a party and was seriously expecting me to thank him. Even though the weather was completely seasonal and fit what had been forecast.
There is also the mass curse of Daesh a year or so ago, it was a public event and because Russia did a bombing run a week or two after the curse, success was claimed.
I've recently had a bad run. I know the causes, they were rooted in choices made years ago and actions taken or not taken way back then. It's not my personal misfortune, it's extremely bad health in someone very dear to me and while it's partially their own fault and partially genetics, it's still very distressing for me.
I find myself reluctant to talk about it though. In many of the places where I would normally be asking for support and would normally get it, I find it difficult to raise. This has hit me on a personal level and I realise that my struggle to ask for support is rooted in fear. I don't want to have it come back to me that anyone I might have upset or offended over the past few years is taking credit for this. And word of that will come back to me, it always does - just because I don't react publicly or obviously doesn't mean I don't know.
I think if I was to hear of someone bragging about how they caused this to happen, I would lose my shit on a spectacular scale. All of the rages and tantrums I've ever had combined could not equal the reaction I would expect to have. I would, in the end, be most likely facing some serious jail time and the loss of everything I hold dear. And I would feel my wrath was justified.
So I don't talk about it with anyone outside of my close inner circle. And it sucks.
I also find myself angry that my fear of other people's narcissistic behaviour and my potential reaction to it holds me back and prevents me from asking for what I need. I am angry mostly at myself for buying into this shit, for letting it get to me before it happens and for overthinking myself into expecting it to happen. It might not, although there are people in my wider circle who have done this sort of thing repeatedly so not being prepared for it would be equally foolish. So I am also pre-emptively angry at the people who have done this in the past who may or may not try it with me this time. Even though right now, I haven't given them the opportunity to be good people to me, I feel as though I'm punishing them (to some extent) because of what they might do.
And that sucks.
I find it a challenging and painful thing to talk about anyway. I often cry when I am talking about it with the few I do trust enough to talk to. I hate showing any weakness, I hate not being strong enough to cope with this. I'm everyone's rock, I'm always okay, I'm not okay with not being okay. I don't do vulnerability when anyone else can see, it's a secret and private thing that I am always a little ashamed of and embarrassed about. Yes I've been lectured about it and I know that's not healthy and I am working on it.
And that sucks some more.
I sometimes wonder if this is part of the Keep Silent part of the pyramid/cornerstones/all sorts of different names depending on who you're talking to. Even if you believe your magic caused this result, claiming it publicly makes you a wanker. Save yourself the ridicule. Especially if it's equally likely that it was nothing at all to do with you.
Blessings
Debbie
But the one I've noticed the most lately is taking credit for other people's misfortune, or taking credit for surprise or miraculous major events.
As examples, one chap took credit for a storm changing it's predicted path and turning away from a major city, another claimed they'd caused a huge cluster of destructive earthquakes. Another has taken credit for one man's death and another's misfortune.
There was a guy a few years ago (I think I mentioned him in another blog) who rang me to tell me he'd changed the weather so that I had sunshine for a party and was seriously expecting me to thank him. Even though the weather was completely seasonal and fit what had been forecast.
There is also the mass curse of Daesh a year or so ago, it was a public event and because Russia did a bombing run a week or two after the curse, success was claimed.
I've recently had a bad run. I know the causes, they were rooted in choices made years ago and actions taken or not taken way back then. It's not my personal misfortune, it's extremely bad health in someone very dear to me and while it's partially their own fault and partially genetics, it's still very distressing for me.
I find myself reluctant to talk about it though. In many of the places where I would normally be asking for support and would normally get it, I find it difficult to raise. This has hit me on a personal level and I realise that my struggle to ask for support is rooted in fear. I don't want to have it come back to me that anyone I might have upset or offended over the past few years is taking credit for this. And word of that will come back to me, it always does - just because I don't react publicly or obviously doesn't mean I don't know.
I think if I was to hear of someone bragging about how they caused this to happen, I would lose my shit on a spectacular scale. All of the rages and tantrums I've ever had combined could not equal the reaction I would expect to have. I would, in the end, be most likely facing some serious jail time and the loss of everything I hold dear. And I would feel my wrath was justified.
So I don't talk about it with anyone outside of my close inner circle. And it sucks.
I also find myself angry that my fear of other people's narcissistic behaviour and my potential reaction to it holds me back and prevents me from asking for what I need. I am angry mostly at myself for buying into this shit, for letting it get to me before it happens and for overthinking myself into expecting it to happen. It might not, although there are people in my wider circle who have done this sort of thing repeatedly so not being prepared for it would be equally foolish. So I am also pre-emptively angry at the people who have done this in the past who may or may not try it with me this time. Even though right now, I haven't given them the opportunity to be good people to me, I feel as though I'm punishing them (to some extent) because of what they might do.
And that sucks.
I find it a challenging and painful thing to talk about anyway. I often cry when I am talking about it with the few I do trust enough to talk to. I hate showing any weakness, I hate not being strong enough to cope with this. I'm everyone's rock, I'm always okay, I'm not okay with not being okay. I don't do vulnerability when anyone else can see, it's a secret and private thing that I am always a little ashamed of and embarrassed about. Yes I've been lectured about it and I know that's not healthy and I am working on it.
And that sucks some more.
I sometimes wonder if this is part of the Keep Silent part of the pyramid/cornerstones/all sorts of different names depending on who you're talking to. Even if you believe your magic caused this result, claiming it publicly makes you a wanker. Save yourself the ridicule. Especially if it's equally likely that it was nothing at all to do with you.
Blessings
Debbie
Friday, 25 November 2016
Euphemism and The Naming of Things
I've been working away on my next book. It's a book about ritual. Included in this is a chapter about the journey from cradle to grave that goes into all the well-known and commonly celebrated milestones and a few suggestions for others that aren't necessarily recognised as often. Most of it has been fairly easy to write, but I found myself stopping at one and writing other parts of the book. Over and over again. I kept finding excuses and reasons to avoid writing about this bit. Death.
I have been rather erratic in writing the last few parts of this book. I think I've done most of the bits I'm passionate about and I'm working on the parts that I feel are important to include to make it a well-rounded book. I value the information, but I'm less excited about it. Except for writing about death, I am passionate about that, but for some reason I just kept shying away from it.
Over the last few months, I've been getting nudged from all directions about finishing and publishing this book. I've been told off for self-doubt, I've been nagged by admirers, I've had friends build me up and give me a well-deserved bollocking. I've also had nudges from other powers. Some I've made promises of writing for when this is finished.
So I sat down and started writing. I came round to the Death part again. I chose not to tackle it head on, but start by discussing superstitions, beliefs and expectations surrounding death. So rather quickly it came to all the euphemisms commonly used around mortality.
I hate euphemisms. I'm a big fan of saying what you mean and meaning what you say. To say things like "left us" and "passed over" instead of "died" has always struck me as pussyfooting around the subject and trying to pretend that they're just sleeping and will wake up soon. I put it out there to my facebook friends, trying to understand why using the actual words is considered tasteless, impolite and rude.
Most of the answers began along the lines of softening the blow and that death and dying are harsh words. There were some about respect for the families and sensitivity for how they're feeling. There were the times when "karked it", "kicked the bucket" or "croaked" were considered appropriate. Then there were the answers that made me sit up and pay attention. They were answers that made sense of it all for me. They fit neatly amongst beliefs I already held without realising that there'd been a part of the puzzle missing.
Naming is powerful magic.
This is a feature of many a fantasy story and folklore. Magic users who know the true names of things gain power over those things. Speaking an evil one's name is to attract their attention and can turn their gaze toward you. Never name the well from which you will not drink.
Variations of this are obvious or sometimes hidden in common superstitions. My Granny wouldn't have Arum lilies in the house unless there had been a death in the family. They were a funeral flower and to bring them inside without an accompanying funeral was to invite Death in to take someone.
Touch (or knock on) wood when discussing the expected misfortune that passed you by. Don't bring particular baby gear into the house before the baby is born.
While someone dying or being pregnant seem to be fairly mundane evils, if evil they are, they can still be things that people fear, things that people don't want to attract more of and things that sometimes get anthropomorphic personifications. The Grim Reaper and the Stork. One brings life and the other takes it away.
In the answers to my question was a response from a very wise woman who has spent time on the Isle of Man. She says that no Manx would say "rabbits" or "rats" for fear of the island being over run by them. They call them "short-tailed fellows" and "long-tailed fellows" instead. This one makes me smile rather than annoy me, it's less like the He Who Shall Not Be Named that gives what you fear power over you and more like the Gentry, Shining Ones and Good Neighbours.
Saying Their names aloud is an invitation. If you're in a group, crowd or at a party and you hear your name spoken, you pay attention. Sometimes you might go over to see if whoever said your name was calling you or talking behind your back. This is no different. They might come if you call and most sensible people really don't want Them to come visiting. If They don't actually turn up, They may still turn Their attention towards you. They may be listening.
A Fijian Indian told me that suicides are contagious. There is a demon that hangs around a suicide and takes other young folk to keep their friend company. I don't know if this is a Fijian belief or an Indian belief or specifically her belief - we were dealing with the suicide of a friend so the sources were unimportant at the time. Looking back now, I see a similarity and a connection. In my experience, there are no gentle euphemisms to explain suicide. When someone has been informed that they've lost a loved one, a friend or a workmate, especially if it's sudden and unexpected, one of the first questions is "how?". Usually the answer details the how, as in what method was used. I can't think of a single time that has been softened with euphemism, although that may also possibly be because the friends I've lost to suicide were all boys and men. Statistically, they tend to prefer more violent means.
I think most of us like to believe (even if we don't admit it) that we're immortal. We say silly things that suggest we have some sort of control over the timing of our eventual demise, "I'm not getting life insurance at this stage, it's okay, I don't have any plans to die any time soon" or a favourite from an ex-boyfriend "I don't need to wear my safety gear on my motorbike, I'm not going to have an accident". Facing our impending death usually scares us and generally speaking it's something we can't avoid thinking about when we've just lost someone.
All the euphemisms for Death have probably sprung from similar beliefs. Death, the Grim Reaper, the Dark Angel, Mighty Thanatos has already come calling once, He might still be nearby. Calling to Him might make Him take closer notice of you and yours, He could see something He overlooked the first time. He might decide to take you or your partner or your child.
Best not to call. Let Him carry on His way and pass the rest of us by.
Blessings
Debbie
I have been rather erratic in writing the last few parts of this book. I think I've done most of the bits I'm passionate about and I'm working on the parts that I feel are important to include to make it a well-rounded book. I value the information, but I'm less excited about it. Except for writing about death, I am passionate about that, but for some reason I just kept shying away from it.
Over the last few months, I've been getting nudged from all directions about finishing and publishing this book. I've been told off for self-doubt, I've been nagged by admirers, I've had friends build me up and give me a well-deserved bollocking. I've also had nudges from other powers. Some I've made promises of writing for when this is finished.
So I sat down and started writing. I came round to the Death part again. I chose not to tackle it head on, but start by discussing superstitions, beliefs and expectations surrounding death. So rather quickly it came to all the euphemisms commonly used around mortality.
I hate euphemisms. I'm a big fan of saying what you mean and meaning what you say. To say things like "left us" and "passed over" instead of "died" has always struck me as pussyfooting around the subject and trying to pretend that they're just sleeping and will wake up soon. I put it out there to my facebook friends, trying to understand why using the actual words is considered tasteless, impolite and rude.
Most of the answers began along the lines of softening the blow and that death and dying are harsh words. There were some about respect for the families and sensitivity for how they're feeling. There were the times when "karked it", "kicked the bucket" or "croaked" were considered appropriate. Then there were the answers that made me sit up and pay attention. They were answers that made sense of it all for me. They fit neatly amongst beliefs I already held without realising that there'd been a part of the puzzle missing.
Naming is powerful magic.
This is a feature of many a fantasy story and folklore. Magic users who know the true names of things gain power over those things. Speaking an evil one's name is to attract their attention and can turn their gaze toward you. Never name the well from which you will not drink.
Variations of this are obvious or sometimes hidden in common superstitions. My Granny wouldn't have Arum lilies in the house unless there had been a death in the family. They were a funeral flower and to bring them inside without an accompanying funeral was to invite Death in to take someone.
Touch (or knock on) wood when discussing the expected misfortune that passed you by. Don't bring particular baby gear into the house before the baby is born.
While someone dying or being pregnant seem to be fairly mundane evils, if evil they are, they can still be things that people fear, things that people don't want to attract more of and things that sometimes get anthropomorphic personifications. The Grim Reaper and the Stork. One brings life and the other takes it away.
In the answers to my question was a response from a very wise woman who has spent time on the Isle of Man. She says that no Manx would say "rabbits" or "rats" for fear of the island being over run by them. They call them "short-tailed fellows" and "long-tailed fellows" instead. This one makes me smile rather than annoy me, it's less like the He Who Shall Not Be Named that gives what you fear power over you and more like the Gentry, Shining Ones and Good Neighbours.
Saying Their names aloud is an invitation. If you're in a group, crowd or at a party and you hear your name spoken, you pay attention. Sometimes you might go over to see if whoever said your name was calling you or talking behind your back. This is no different. They might come if you call and most sensible people really don't want Them to come visiting. If They don't actually turn up, They may still turn Their attention towards you. They may be listening.
A Fijian Indian told me that suicides are contagious. There is a demon that hangs around a suicide and takes other young folk to keep their friend company. I don't know if this is a Fijian belief or an Indian belief or specifically her belief - we were dealing with the suicide of a friend so the sources were unimportant at the time. Looking back now, I see a similarity and a connection. In my experience, there are no gentle euphemisms to explain suicide. When someone has been informed that they've lost a loved one, a friend or a workmate, especially if it's sudden and unexpected, one of the first questions is "how?". Usually the answer details the how, as in what method was used. I can't think of a single time that has been softened with euphemism, although that may also possibly be because the friends I've lost to suicide were all boys and men. Statistically, they tend to prefer more violent means.
I think most of us like to believe (even if we don't admit it) that we're immortal. We say silly things that suggest we have some sort of control over the timing of our eventual demise, "I'm not getting life insurance at this stage, it's okay, I don't have any plans to die any time soon" or a favourite from an ex-boyfriend "I don't need to wear my safety gear on my motorbike, I'm not going to have an accident". Facing our impending death usually scares us and generally speaking it's something we can't avoid thinking about when we've just lost someone.
All the euphemisms for Death have probably sprung from similar beliefs. Death, the Grim Reaper, the Dark Angel, Mighty Thanatos has already come calling once, He might still be nearby. Calling to Him might make Him take closer notice of you and yours, He could see something He overlooked the first time. He might decide to take you or your partner or your child.
Best not to call. Let Him carry on His way and pass the rest of us by.
Blessings
Debbie
Monday, 23 May 2016
Lenses and Filters
There's a person I've kind of known for some time now. Let's call them Fred. In the last few weeks, I've been talking with Fred more often and I have found myself realising that Fred is actually a good person and I really do like them. That might not sound like a big thing to realise, I know. But there is surprise with that realisation. I'm surprised to find that I like Fred. I am surprised to find that they're really a good person. This made me think.
It came to me that most of my interaction with Fred up until recently has been coloured by another person. We'll call them George. George has known Fred for longer than I have and doesn't have a particularly high opinion of them.
It shocked me that I'd only seen Fred through the lens of George's opinion. I had thought after being caught out by this sort of thing in the past, I'd learned from it. I had thought I'd be better able to recognise it.
It then occurred to me that seeing many things in life is often coloured by the lenses and filters provided by other people. This is a huge part of the conditioning we receive as children - our parents ideals and opinions shape the way we see the world, then the teaching we get at school, the books we read and the tv channels we choose to watch.
As an adult, I like to think that I'm past all that. Question everything is a huge part of my personal philosophy and I know I drive a lot of people a little bit nuts by questioning things they take as gospel. I play Devil's Advocate often when someone says something that I'm sure they haven't thought through very well. So it really did shock me when I realised that I'd allowed this to happen.
Why am I writing about this on a Pagan/Witchcraft blog? Because I feel it's relevant. Much of my frustration with the idiocies I have to deal with as an admin online comes from, I believe, the lenses and filters that people have. There are a heap of dreadful authors out there - this isn't news, I'm sure - many decent groups have a "recommended reading" section and a "books/authors to avoid" section. While we're busy bagging Silver RavenWolf, DJ Conway and Edain McCoy, there are still times when they were the first things we read and we still see our paths through the filters they initially provided.
This may be and probably is an unconscious thing for most of us. We haven't thought about where an aversion to something comes from, why we shy away from certain types of work or the way we still tend to think of Goddess as a generic all-encompassing Divine Feminine Cosmic Barbie Doll.
For me, much of my early days were Dianic. I found it unfulfilling and unbalanced and I found myself besieged by bestial masculine Gods who demanded Their share of my attention. But every now and then I still find myself seeing things from a Dianic point of view.
I think if we make a conscious effort to examine our ideas and beliefs every now and then we can take away the rosy tint, fuzzy focus or blinkers that our early learnings have placed over and around our vision. Make an effort to consider the whys and hows of what we think.
It can be brutal, I'm not going to lie to you. Any time you go through a process of honest self-examination, there are things you find that challenge the picture you have of yourself, that show you up to be not the person you think you are or aspire to be. The trick is to accept it, learn from it, change what needs changing and move on. If you allow yourself to wallow in self-loathing (which is easy to do), then it turns into a blame and punish situation rather than an opportunity to learn and grow.
Blessings
Debbie
It came to me that most of my interaction with Fred up until recently has been coloured by another person. We'll call them George. George has known Fred for longer than I have and doesn't have a particularly high opinion of them.
It shocked me that I'd only seen Fred through the lens of George's opinion. I had thought after being caught out by this sort of thing in the past, I'd learned from it. I had thought I'd be better able to recognise it.
It then occurred to me that seeing many things in life is often coloured by the lenses and filters provided by other people. This is a huge part of the conditioning we receive as children - our parents ideals and opinions shape the way we see the world, then the teaching we get at school, the books we read and the tv channels we choose to watch.
As an adult, I like to think that I'm past all that. Question everything is a huge part of my personal philosophy and I know I drive a lot of people a little bit nuts by questioning things they take as gospel. I play Devil's Advocate often when someone says something that I'm sure they haven't thought through very well. So it really did shock me when I realised that I'd allowed this to happen.
Why am I writing about this on a Pagan/Witchcraft blog? Because I feel it's relevant. Much of my frustration with the idiocies I have to deal with as an admin online comes from, I believe, the lenses and filters that people have. There are a heap of dreadful authors out there - this isn't news, I'm sure - many decent groups have a "recommended reading" section and a "books/authors to avoid" section. While we're busy bagging Silver RavenWolf, DJ Conway and Edain McCoy, there are still times when they were the first things we read and we still see our paths through the filters they initially provided.
This may be and probably is an unconscious thing for most of us. We haven't thought about where an aversion to something comes from, why we shy away from certain types of work or the way we still tend to think of Goddess as a generic all-encompassing Divine Feminine Cosmic Barbie Doll.
For me, much of my early days were Dianic. I found it unfulfilling and unbalanced and I found myself besieged by bestial masculine Gods who demanded Their share of my attention. But every now and then I still find myself seeing things from a Dianic point of view.
I think if we make a conscious effort to examine our ideas and beliefs every now and then we can take away the rosy tint, fuzzy focus or blinkers that our early learnings have placed over and around our vision. Make an effort to consider the whys and hows of what we think.
It can be brutal, I'm not going to lie to you. Any time you go through a process of honest self-examination, there are things you find that challenge the picture you have of yourself, that show you up to be not the person you think you are or aspire to be. The trick is to accept it, learn from it, change what needs changing and move on. If you allow yourself to wallow in self-loathing (which is easy to do), then it turns into a blame and punish situation rather than an opportunity to learn and grow.
Blessings
Debbie
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
UPG and Weather Magic
Yesterday, in a group I admin, someone posted looking for others to help them with controlling the weather. They rambled on about jet streams and that we're doing it unconsciously anyway, why not make conscious changes. It also became clear that we weren't talking about holding off rain for an outdoor wedding, we were talking about working on a global scale.
Aside from all the obvious "Why would you?" and "That's above my pay grade" type responses, there were also the expected smile, nod and back away slowly.
I'm sure we've all met someone who claims and possibly even believes that they can affect the weather on a grand scale. One chap I met a few years ago, rang me to tell me that he was responsible for the fine weather we had last week and seemed to honestly expect me to thank him and show some kind of homage. Most of the time, it falls under the heading of UPG - Unverifiable Personal Gnosis - they may be sure their work created that change, but there is no way to prove it and it is therefore impossible to know whether they did it or whether it's pure fantasy.
Thing is, this question and the initial discussion came just before I went out to milk my cow. As I slogged through the cold rain and mud to my leaky milking shed, it occurred to me that this is the wettest Summer I can remember.
Last Summer we had a crippling drought. We couldn't mow lawns for fear of hitting a stone and striking a spark, it didn't really matter because they dried out so much that they didn't grow enough to be worth mowing for a whole year. Animal feed and hay was like gold. Local farmers were destocking to the point of sending their prize breeding animals to the freezing works. This Summer was expected to be worse, with a prediction of a 95% chance of the worst El Nino Summer ever recorded.
I've had several friends from normally wetter parts of the country tell me they were working to send their nuisance rain down to our part where the drought was making national news. And the last few weeks have been mostly notable for the rainfall. Sometimes it's just light rain - the good sort that soaks into the ground and sometimes it's heavy downpours, but there has been more rain than dry weather.
It is possible that the last six months of drought predictions were wrong, or something in the natural weather patterns changed drastically - so drastically that the East Coast is getting all the rain expected for the West Coast, but part of me finds it terribly unlikely.
So at what point do I go from thinking of weather magic on a grand scale as being delusional fantasy and start being more impressed by their skills? How could I know that it is their weather magic and not the combined prayers of thousands of farmers? Is there any way to tell?
Thoughtful Blessings
Debbie
Aside from all the obvious "Why would you?" and "That's above my pay grade" type responses, there were also the expected smile, nod and back away slowly.
I'm sure we've all met someone who claims and possibly even believes that they can affect the weather on a grand scale. One chap I met a few years ago, rang me to tell me that he was responsible for the fine weather we had last week and seemed to honestly expect me to thank him and show some kind of homage. Most of the time, it falls under the heading of UPG - Unverifiable Personal Gnosis - they may be sure their work created that change, but there is no way to prove it and it is therefore impossible to know whether they did it or whether it's pure fantasy.
Thing is, this question and the initial discussion came just before I went out to milk my cow. As I slogged through the cold rain and mud to my leaky milking shed, it occurred to me that this is the wettest Summer I can remember.
Last Summer we had a crippling drought. We couldn't mow lawns for fear of hitting a stone and striking a spark, it didn't really matter because they dried out so much that they didn't grow enough to be worth mowing for a whole year. Animal feed and hay was like gold. Local farmers were destocking to the point of sending their prize breeding animals to the freezing works. This Summer was expected to be worse, with a prediction of a 95% chance of the worst El Nino Summer ever recorded.
I've had several friends from normally wetter parts of the country tell me they were working to send their nuisance rain down to our part where the drought was making national news. And the last few weeks have been mostly notable for the rainfall. Sometimes it's just light rain - the good sort that soaks into the ground and sometimes it's heavy downpours, but there has been more rain than dry weather.
It is possible that the last six months of drought predictions were wrong, or something in the natural weather patterns changed drastically - so drastically that the East Coast is getting all the rain expected for the West Coast, but part of me finds it terribly unlikely.
So at what point do I go from thinking of weather magic on a grand scale as being delusional fantasy and start being more impressed by their skills? How could I know that it is their weather magic and not the combined prayers of thousands of farmers? Is there any way to tell?
Thoughtful Blessings
Debbie
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Cycles and Learning from Them
It never ceases to amaze me how many people seem to have the same dramas over and over in their lives and never realise that there is a single common factor each time. Surely, a simple examination of what has happened in those events would lead anyone able to tie their own shoes to the conclusion that the common factor is at least part of the cause.
Recently I noticed a facebook friend had frequent complaints of how people weren't there for her, she never had any money and was always sick with terrible migraines and what she was sure was a neurological problem. From a distance admittedly, I was having my suspicions about what the causes were, but they were confirmed when people who knew her better staged an intervention and made it public. She's an alcoholic who gets sick when going through withdrawals. She takes advantage of people who then get sick of her crap.
However, she's in complete denial. Everyone else is the problem and the world is against her.
A teenage girl of my acquaintance has the same sorts of things. It's always the same drama, just the supporting roles are played by different people. At what point will she realise that her choices and the types of people she surrounds herself with are the cause?
Now if you stick a fork in an electrical socket, you learn not to do that again. Why is it that when given the equivalent electric shock of having your choices or behaviour repeatedly called out doesn't ever seem to teach the same lesson?
It really doesn't matter how right you convince yourself you are, if the same dramas keep happening in your life, it's something you are doing. You are the common factor.
If you keep putting yourself out for other people, unsolicited, then you should expect that it's not going to be very well received and that you won't be respected for it. In my experience, most of the time, it's interfering, not even remotely being helpful, regardless of what you tell yourself. The people who do it might have the best of intentions on the surface, but there's usually also a sense of superiority that goes with it. For the most part, such 'help' is often rude and unwanted.
You might bleat about how you've made sacrifices and are disappointed because your expectations weren't met. If those sacrifices weren't requested or required, if you were just assuming that you knew best what other people wanted or needed, then that's all your own fault. This isn't people taking advantage of your generosity or good nature. I personally do not respond well to other people's expectations of me if I have made no commitment to meet those expectations - and often, I'm completely unaware of those expectations until I'm being bitched at about them.
This is just people, you might say. Silly people. And I'd agree. But this disappoints me more in Witches and Magicians.
Now I'm not saying that we're any better or different, we are human first with all the beauties and failings that go with that. However, with any serious magical path there is usually a lot of reflection, self-examination and looking for cause and effect. Self-honesty is important (in my opinion) to magic, because if you're not honest with yourself about your true deep down motivations and intent, then you're setting your work up for failure and unexpected results. It's something I heard early on in my Witchcraft journey and I took to heart at the time and have had no reason to remove it from my praxis. Witch, Know Thyself.
When patterns are repeating in my life, my first response is to see if there is something I am doing that may be causing it. Am I allowing people to push me into doing things I don't want to do? Do I need to say "no" more often? Have I been enabling things in other people? Am I that much of a bitch? Do I keep being hearing the same complaints from different unrelated people? Have I not learned the last two times I gave that person another chance?
It's not a pleasant process every time. Sometimes it's quite demoralising and depressing. Sometimes, although not often, it's heartwarming.
It's only after I can honestly say that the cause is not of my own doing that I look outwards for other causes. Is there a physical reason for these cycles and patterns? Is it repeated after a certain event or activity? Does it repeat at a regular time? Could it possibly be that someone else is just an arse?
In a magical setting, this kind of brutal self-honesty is essential. When you're planning a spell or working, if you're not truly honest and open with yourself about what your goals and motivations are, you could be working at cross-purposes with yourself.
There's a woman I've written about before. She was wanting me to do something to get rid of her ex-husband. I spent hours asking her questions (seriously, it was hours) and it seemed that she genuinely wanted him to be gone from her life and to leave her alone. It was the three weeks of phone calls that I got afterwards that showed her true motivation - she really wanted him to realise he'd treated her badly and that she really was the love of his life and to come back to her and treat her like a princess this time. It was never something she admitted to or even said, but it was clear in the way she talked about him, it was obvious in the way she hoped that if she called him for help with this thing, he'd feel some sense of honour or duty and choose to behave differently (this is something she actually did say).
I use this example because it's an easy way to paint this picture. Imagine if she'd been doing her own spell and working. She was adamant she wanted him to be gone from her life and just leave her alone. If she'd crafted a spell for that, but underneath she really wanted him back as her repentant shining white knight, how do you think that would have worked?
Even if it had been successful, how happy do you think she would have been with that result?
If you're trying to heal yourself but deep down you enjoy the sympathy and attention you get from being sick or injured, how well do you seriously think that's going to work?
If you're doing a spell to get a job, but really it's not a job you are truly interested in or you'd rather be at home collecting benefits, can you honestly say you'd put the required energy into the spell?
I personally believe that the cycles are lessons about yourself. I don't have any clear idea whether I believe there's some Oversoul or Cosmic Teacher guiding these things but I have noticed that in my own case the lessons are repeated until I learn from them. When I break the cycle, I stop being challenged in that way.
But it's always up to me to learn and break it.
Blessings
Debbie
Recently I noticed a facebook friend had frequent complaints of how people weren't there for her, she never had any money and was always sick with terrible migraines and what she was sure was a neurological problem. From a distance admittedly, I was having my suspicions about what the causes were, but they were confirmed when people who knew her better staged an intervention and made it public. She's an alcoholic who gets sick when going through withdrawals. She takes advantage of people who then get sick of her crap.
However, she's in complete denial. Everyone else is the problem and the world is against her.
A teenage girl of my acquaintance has the same sorts of things. It's always the same drama, just the supporting roles are played by different people. At what point will she realise that her choices and the types of people she surrounds herself with are the cause?
Now if you stick a fork in an electrical socket, you learn not to do that again. Why is it that when given the equivalent electric shock of having your choices or behaviour repeatedly called out doesn't ever seem to teach the same lesson?
It really doesn't matter how right you convince yourself you are, if the same dramas keep happening in your life, it's something you are doing. You are the common factor.
If you keep putting yourself out for other people, unsolicited, then you should expect that it's not going to be very well received and that you won't be respected for it. In my experience, most of the time, it's interfering, not even remotely being helpful, regardless of what you tell yourself. The people who do it might have the best of intentions on the surface, but there's usually also a sense of superiority that goes with it. For the most part, such 'help' is often rude and unwanted.
You might bleat about how you've made sacrifices and are disappointed because your expectations weren't met. If those sacrifices weren't requested or required, if you were just assuming that you knew best what other people wanted or needed, then that's all your own fault. This isn't people taking advantage of your generosity or good nature. I personally do not respond well to other people's expectations of me if I have made no commitment to meet those expectations - and often, I'm completely unaware of those expectations until I'm being bitched at about them.
This is just people, you might say. Silly people. And I'd agree. But this disappoints me more in Witches and Magicians.
Now I'm not saying that we're any better or different, we are human first with all the beauties and failings that go with that. However, with any serious magical path there is usually a lot of reflection, self-examination and looking for cause and effect. Self-honesty is important (in my opinion) to magic, because if you're not honest with yourself about your true deep down motivations and intent, then you're setting your work up for failure and unexpected results. It's something I heard early on in my Witchcraft journey and I took to heart at the time and have had no reason to remove it from my praxis. Witch, Know Thyself.
When patterns are repeating in my life, my first response is to see if there is something I am doing that may be causing it. Am I allowing people to push me into doing things I don't want to do? Do I need to say "no" more often? Have I been enabling things in other people? Am I that much of a bitch? Do I keep being hearing the same complaints from different unrelated people? Have I not learned the last two times I gave that person another chance?
It's not a pleasant process every time. Sometimes it's quite demoralising and depressing. Sometimes, although not often, it's heartwarming.
It's only after I can honestly say that the cause is not of my own doing that I look outwards for other causes. Is there a physical reason for these cycles and patterns? Is it repeated after a certain event or activity? Does it repeat at a regular time? Could it possibly be that someone else is just an arse?
In a magical setting, this kind of brutal self-honesty is essential. When you're planning a spell or working, if you're not truly honest and open with yourself about what your goals and motivations are, you could be working at cross-purposes with yourself.
There's a woman I've written about before. She was wanting me to do something to get rid of her ex-husband. I spent hours asking her questions (seriously, it was hours) and it seemed that she genuinely wanted him to be gone from her life and to leave her alone. It was the three weeks of phone calls that I got afterwards that showed her true motivation - she really wanted him to realise he'd treated her badly and that she really was the love of his life and to come back to her and treat her like a princess this time. It was never something she admitted to or even said, but it was clear in the way she talked about him, it was obvious in the way she hoped that if she called him for help with this thing, he'd feel some sense of honour or duty and choose to behave differently (this is something she actually did say).
I use this example because it's an easy way to paint this picture. Imagine if she'd been doing her own spell and working. She was adamant she wanted him to be gone from her life and just leave her alone. If she'd crafted a spell for that, but underneath she really wanted him back as her repentant shining white knight, how do you think that would have worked?
Even if it had been successful, how happy do you think she would have been with that result?
If you're trying to heal yourself but deep down you enjoy the sympathy and attention you get from being sick or injured, how well do you seriously think that's going to work?
If you're doing a spell to get a job, but really it's not a job you are truly interested in or you'd rather be at home collecting benefits, can you honestly say you'd put the required energy into the spell?
I personally believe that the cycles are lessons about yourself. I don't have any clear idea whether I believe there's some Oversoul or Cosmic Teacher guiding these things but I have noticed that in my own case the lessons are repeated until I learn from them. When I break the cycle, I stop being challenged in that way.
But it's always up to me to learn and break it.
Blessings
Debbie
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Learning to Walk Before You Can Run
One of the reasons I started writing was because of the sheer volume of rubbish that is available regarding Witchcraft and Paganism. Some of it is superficial, some of it is incomplete, some is very prejudicial and skewed towards or against certain paths, some of it is pure fantasy and some of it is completely incomprehensible.
It has always left me confused as to how some of it comes to be published. In some cases, it's clear that a person practices that way and possibly it even works for them (if they actually do most of what they talk about), but their tone or their words say that this is the only right way to do it or that.
In the last couple of weeks, I have watched the creation of a new website that first laid claim to being a Shaman's archive and is now claiming to be a Wiccan archive. The creator of this website, lets call him Mr. V, posts it up on his facebook group, now that he has decided to be a part of his group again, and asks for feedback. There follows generally a loop: Firstly, the experienced practitioners point out failure to cite sources, that this article has been scraped directly from another website or out of a book, going through the flaws in each article one at a time and suggestions that spellcheck is your friend and that an editor or proofreader would be a valuable thing. Then Mr. V says things like "You guys have opened up my eyes" and "Okay I get it" and removes all content from the website. He asks for suggestions and gets a lot of useful ones about learning to walk before he can run, getting some experience before trying to teach others and perhaps keeping a journal detailing this stuff he's trying rather than putting it up somewhere public where other beginners may assume that he knows what he's talking about. I can only assume that the next step is someone in the background blowing smoke up his arse and bitching about what a bunch of negative nellies those people are and he changes his mind and puts it all back up again and the cycle begins anew.
Normally, I would laugh and leave most of this alone. But some of the information he has put up has been dangerous. He claimed some things were safe to eat in small doses when really they are not. They are toxic if uncooked and/or unripe. Other completely toxic herbs had no warning about the dangers of ingesting them. On his facebook group there were recommendations for ingesting crystals. When this was thoroughly discussed including warnings from medical professionals, a PhD in Chemistry and others pointing out his failure to state which crystals and how they were prepared - it came way later that he was talking about only two specific crystals (which still remained unnamed) and making elixirs rather than grinding and eating the crystals as was first implied, he just told everyone that we have no idea how much he knows and what he's done successfully and finally he just deleted the thread.
The other concern about Mr. V is by his own accounts, he took a bunch of the herbs he claims are perfectly safe, to go on a Shamanic journey and ended up spending time in a Mental Health Facility after having a three month long psychotic break. He's only just come back into society from this event. We can't possibly know all the ins and outs of the story, but it doesn't inspire confidence in what he has to teach - especially as it doesn't seem like he wants to serve as a horrible warning or a "What Not To Do". He also believes that because he's in Canada, he won't be legally liable for an American teen coming to harm by following his herbal advice. This is completely fallacious by the way.
He claims he'd like "constructive criticism" this time, but what he means is a validation echo chamber. He doesn't want to hear what is wrong with his article, he wants his ego stroked and for all of us to suddenly recognise how wise he is and how wrong we were about him all along. We frequently hear complaints of "You don't know me, you don't know what I do or what I know" in petulant tantrums worthy of a terribly misunderstood teenager. He's right, we don't. All we can judge him by is what he posts and that is dreadful.
Although today that took a new turn. Apparently he's fed up with the women picking on him even though he expected it because such sexism is common in pagan circles. Somehow he's totally missed the men have been calling him on his stuff just as much as the women. For the most part, the women have been far more polite. But well, why pass up a chance to be a victim? And such a whiny pathetic victim he was.
None of this is new, many people before him have done the same things and I know that. It just scares me that there is this entire community of people basing their practices on this kind of website. I keep telling myself that I know the type, they won't hear the warnings from those who know better, but I try anyway. I keep feeling disappointed when they don't hear the warnings and resort to name calling, perpetual victimhood, flounces and bannings. But I still find it in me to hope that the next one will be different.
Disheartened Blessings
Debbie
It has always left me confused as to how some of it comes to be published. In some cases, it's clear that a person practices that way and possibly it even works for them (if they actually do most of what they talk about), but their tone or their words say that this is the only right way to do it or that.
In the last couple of weeks, I have watched the creation of a new website that first laid claim to being a Shaman's archive and is now claiming to be a Wiccan archive. The creator of this website, lets call him Mr. V, posts it up on his facebook group, now that he has decided to be a part of his group again, and asks for feedback. There follows generally a loop: Firstly, the experienced practitioners point out failure to cite sources, that this article has been scraped directly from another website or out of a book, going through the flaws in each article one at a time and suggestions that spellcheck is your friend and that an editor or proofreader would be a valuable thing. Then Mr. V says things like "You guys have opened up my eyes" and "Okay I get it" and removes all content from the website. He asks for suggestions and gets a lot of useful ones about learning to walk before he can run, getting some experience before trying to teach others and perhaps keeping a journal detailing this stuff he's trying rather than putting it up somewhere public where other beginners may assume that he knows what he's talking about. I can only assume that the next step is someone in the background blowing smoke up his arse and bitching about what a bunch of negative nellies those people are and he changes his mind and puts it all back up again and the cycle begins anew.
Normally, I would laugh and leave most of this alone. But some of the information he has put up has been dangerous. He claimed some things were safe to eat in small doses when really they are not. They are toxic if uncooked and/or unripe. Other completely toxic herbs had no warning about the dangers of ingesting them. On his facebook group there were recommendations for ingesting crystals. When this was thoroughly discussed including warnings from medical professionals, a PhD in Chemistry and others pointing out his failure to state which crystals and how they were prepared - it came way later that he was talking about only two specific crystals (which still remained unnamed) and making elixirs rather than grinding and eating the crystals as was first implied, he just told everyone that we have no idea how much he knows and what he's done successfully and finally he just deleted the thread.
The other concern about Mr. V is by his own accounts, he took a bunch of the herbs he claims are perfectly safe, to go on a Shamanic journey and ended up spending time in a Mental Health Facility after having a three month long psychotic break. He's only just come back into society from this event. We can't possibly know all the ins and outs of the story, but it doesn't inspire confidence in what he has to teach - especially as it doesn't seem like he wants to serve as a horrible warning or a "What Not To Do". He also believes that because he's in Canada, he won't be legally liable for an American teen coming to harm by following his herbal advice. This is completely fallacious by the way.
He claims he'd like "constructive criticism" this time, but what he means is a validation echo chamber. He doesn't want to hear what is wrong with his article, he wants his ego stroked and for all of us to suddenly recognise how wise he is and how wrong we were about him all along. We frequently hear complaints of "You don't know me, you don't know what I do or what I know" in petulant tantrums worthy of a terribly misunderstood teenager. He's right, we don't. All we can judge him by is what he posts and that is dreadful.
Although today that took a new turn. Apparently he's fed up with the women picking on him even though he expected it because such sexism is common in pagan circles. Somehow he's totally missed the men have been calling him on his stuff just as much as the women. For the most part, the women have been far more polite. But well, why pass up a chance to be a victim? And such a whiny pathetic victim he was.
None of this is new, many people before him have done the same things and I know that. It just scares me that there is this entire community of people basing their practices on this kind of website. I keep telling myself that I know the type, they won't hear the warnings from those who know better, but I try anyway. I keep feeling disappointed when they don't hear the warnings and resort to name calling, perpetual victimhood, flounces and bannings. But I still find it in me to hope that the next one will be different.
Disheartened Blessings
Debbie
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Sacred Storytelling and Mythology
It took me years to grasp the concept of Sacred Storytelling.
On the surface, it seems obvious but really it is not. I thought it was the Myths and stories of Gods and Heroes, an attempt to understand Them but at the same time a thing that diminished Them. It reduced Their strengths and virtues, Their passions and rages to human concerns, human emotions and sometimes an all too human pettiness.
I felt that it was a humanocentric way of pigeonholing Beings that were really beyond our comprehension. Rather tragically, I think this may be the way many people think.
Many of our Deities are described in scathing terms because of what may have happened in one of the stories. People rail over a different interpretation, or ask how can you worship a God who is little more than a serial rapist or a Classical version of a bitchy sorority princess.
Then there are those who take the stories as facts. As lost history that has been covered up by the "winners".
Both are missing the point.
The Stories are more than that. They can be the language of worship much like invocations and ritual. They can be our way of telling our Gods how clever or wise or powerful we know They are. A way of praising and honouring Them.
They can be a way of expressing our spirituality. Even rewriting or retelling old stories with a slightly new twist can be a meaningful expression. I read a version of the tale of Persephone and Hades that was a seduction rather than abduction and rape. It was a beautiful and moving story that spoke to me about perceptions depending on the point of view of the storyteller.
They can be teaching tools. Most stories have a lesson involved. The Boy who Cried Wolf and Red Riding Hood are obvious ones from a Fairy Tale point of view. I saw George RR Martin's open letter about the deaths in his works and I believe he raises the same point. The deaths in A Song of Ice and Fire (or it's tv alterego Game of Thrones) all serve a purpose - they teach the consequences of foolish choices and decisions, especially those where the concept of honour has led to those choices.
For me, it was when I read Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes that I got it. She talks about the bones of the stories. How those bones hold a truth that speaks to us on an instinctive spiritual level. Everything around the bones, the meat of the story, the skin that covers it is a way to support and protect those bones. These are my words, it's been a while since I read it. She describes the stories as map fragments, psychic markers and soul vitamins.
The stories might not have the same meaning to everyone but they often cause a reaction somewhere deep down. For me, there was a story about a river woman who married a farmer and had his children. Every so often she would creep off alone to sit by the river for hours, an activity she described as "going home". It was something she needed to do to be able to continue in her life as a wife and mother. In that story, I finally understood the roots of the breakup of my first marriage. I grasped on a deep soul level the boundaries I'd failed to set for my own well-being and what I needed to do to heal. I learned how to be a better me and it empowered me, it required me to be stronger about my own needs and not allow myself to feel selfish for doing so.
The old stories do have a kernel of history in them. They tell us about the morals and values of the time, they give a glimpse into how life was for those who told them and those who listened to them. Sometimes that glimpse is about what is considered to be fantastical and the pinnacle of desires and dreaming. Sometimes that glimpse is about what is normally done in a day's work. Sometimes, those glimpses are easily overlooked - in Dickens' tale A Christmas Carol, almost no one seems to notice that the shops were open on Christmas Day (otherwise he wouldn't have been able to go out and buy the feast for Cratchit and his family), people were working and going about their lives as they did every other day.
There are aspects of society that have a strong oral tradition. Many claim that their stories are told the same as they have always been for thousands of years and that makes them more valid. This may be true (even allowing for translation and semantic shifts) and this may be thousands of years of chinese whispers. It is my own belief that the bones of the stories, the kernels of truth within them will still remain even if the meat has changed species completely in the meantime.
However, I don't believe anyone should be telling others what those bones are. In my own beliefs, the truths you find will speak to you in a way that is for you alone. You'll find the bones that you need right now and not notice the ones you're not ready for. When you reread a book (fiction or non-fiction) you last read years ago, have you ever noticed how you get something different out of it? There are parts of the story or details in the telling that you missed completely first (and sometimes second) time through, but they stand out glaringly obvious when you read it again. This, I believe, is about the changes in you in that time. Your growth, your priorities, what you value, the way you think will all have changed. So if you can get different things from reading the same text twice, think about what it would be like for a different person entirely. Their bones are for them, they'll have their own "Aha!" moments, their own lightbulbs going off and their own realisations and revelations.
And that is the heart of the Sacred Story.
On the surface, it seems obvious but really it is not. I thought it was the Myths and stories of Gods and Heroes, an attempt to understand Them but at the same time a thing that diminished Them. It reduced Their strengths and virtues, Their passions and rages to human concerns, human emotions and sometimes an all too human pettiness.
I felt that it was a humanocentric way of pigeonholing Beings that were really beyond our comprehension. Rather tragically, I think this may be the way many people think.
Many of our Deities are described in scathing terms because of what may have happened in one of the stories. People rail over a different interpretation, or ask how can you worship a God who is little more than a serial rapist or a Classical version of a bitchy sorority princess.
Then there are those who take the stories as facts. As lost history that has been covered up by the "winners".
Both are missing the point.
The Stories are more than that. They can be the language of worship much like invocations and ritual. They can be our way of telling our Gods how clever or wise or powerful we know They are. A way of praising and honouring Them.
They can be a way of expressing our spirituality. Even rewriting or retelling old stories with a slightly new twist can be a meaningful expression. I read a version of the tale of Persephone and Hades that was a seduction rather than abduction and rape. It was a beautiful and moving story that spoke to me about perceptions depending on the point of view of the storyteller.
They can be teaching tools. Most stories have a lesson involved. The Boy who Cried Wolf and Red Riding Hood are obvious ones from a Fairy Tale point of view. I saw George RR Martin's open letter about the deaths in his works and I believe he raises the same point. The deaths in A Song of Ice and Fire (or it's tv alterego Game of Thrones) all serve a purpose - they teach the consequences of foolish choices and decisions, especially those where the concept of honour has led to those choices.
For me, it was when I read Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes that I got it. She talks about the bones of the stories. How those bones hold a truth that speaks to us on an instinctive spiritual level. Everything around the bones, the meat of the story, the skin that covers it is a way to support and protect those bones. These are my words, it's been a while since I read it. She describes the stories as map fragments, psychic markers and soul vitamins.
The stories might not have the same meaning to everyone but they often cause a reaction somewhere deep down. For me, there was a story about a river woman who married a farmer and had his children. Every so often she would creep off alone to sit by the river for hours, an activity she described as "going home". It was something she needed to do to be able to continue in her life as a wife and mother. In that story, I finally understood the roots of the breakup of my first marriage. I grasped on a deep soul level the boundaries I'd failed to set for my own well-being and what I needed to do to heal. I learned how to be a better me and it empowered me, it required me to be stronger about my own needs and not allow myself to feel selfish for doing so.
The old stories do have a kernel of history in them. They tell us about the morals and values of the time, they give a glimpse into how life was for those who told them and those who listened to them. Sometimes that glimpse is about what is considered to be fantastical and the pinnacle of desires and dreaming. Sometimes that glimpse is about what is normally done in a day's work. Sometimes, those glimpses are easily overlooked - in Dickens' tale A Christmas Carol, almost no one seems to notice that the shops were open on Christmas Day (otherwise he wouldn't have been able to go out and buy the feast for Cratchit and his family), people were working and going about their lives as they did every other day.
There are aspects of society that have a strong oral tradition. Many claim that their stories are told the same as they have always been for thousands of years and that makes them more valid. This may be true (even allowing for translation and semantic shifts) and this may be thousands of years of chinese whispers. It is my own belief that the bones of the stories, the kernels of truth within them will still remain even if the meat has changed species completely in the meantime.
However, I don't believe anyone should be telling others what those bones are. In my own beliefs, the truths you find will speak to you in a way that is for you alone. You'll find the bones that you need right now and not notice the ones you're not ready for. When you reread a book (fiction or non-fiction) you last read years ago, have you ever noticed how you get something different out of it? There are parts of the story or details in the telling that you missed completely first (and sometimes second) time through, but they stand out glaringly obvious when you read it again. This, I believe, is about the changes in you in that time. Your growth, your priorities, what you value, the way you think will all have changed. So if you can get different things from reading the same text twice, think about what it would be like for a different person entirely. Their bones are for them, they'll have their own "Aha!" moments, their own lightbulbs going off and their own realisations and revelations.
And that is the heart of the Sacred Story.
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Pagan Unity and Councils
Yet again there has been a Council formed to represent Pagans and Witches. Another American Council, planning to revisit the 13 Principles of Belief that was the only outcome of the 1973 Council before it fell apart due to internal divisions.
This one didn't make it that far before imploding it seems.
You can see all the drama on this blog. There is also a good discussion about it on The Wild Hunt I particularly recommend reading through the comments, although take care not to be drinking anything while using a screen that won't tolerate having liquid sprayed over it. Repeatedly. I also feel a need to share this blog because it's awesome and sums up many of my own personal feelings.
History has shown that such a venture is doomed to failure. Any group that tries to speak for such a varied and disparate collection of individuals would make cat-herding look like child's play.
Not so long ago, there was an attempt to form a Council of Elders in New Zealand. I received a call from a then-friend and was told I "needed to get on board so I could look after the South Island". What was meant by "look after" was attempt to control. I didn't really understand the purpose of such a group and didn't trust the motives of those who were trying to create it so I never got involved. It never got past the discussion stage, it would seem because I wasn't alone in my reservations. I think this is no different from what has been happening in America - just theirs is on a far larger scale.
Pagan Unity has been presented as a reason for this Council, or a justification for why it's believed to be needed by some. I'm afraid it just sounds like a cliched catch-phrase to me.
When Pagans cannot even agree on what 'Pagan' means or what it means to be Pagan, how can any kind of Unity be achieved? Then let's throw in Witches - many of them aren't Pagan for a start - how are you going to gain Unity when we also can't agree whether Witchcraft is a religion or a skill set?
Personally, for all I'm both Pagan and a Witch, I reject unity in any form. I frequently tell people off for referring to me as their Pagan Sister because that is something that's earned with me, assuming that kind of familiarity based purely on a shared label is something I find to be presumptuous and rude.
"Unification through Diversification" is the oxymoronic catchphrase of United Pagan Radio. They claim "We CAN be unified as pagans and hold onto our unique diversity." How exactly is that supposed to work? Many bash anyone who disagrees with their own narrow view - be it harming none, karma, the Burning Times Myth, Christianity or whether self-initiation is valid - most of the time, agreeing to disagree isn't an option as both sides seem to think that the other has disrespected their path. When rampant sexism (misogyny and misandry) is treated as a virtue in some paths, racism in others and paedophilia in others still, how can we want to achieve any kind of unity with these people. I certainly have no wish to be associated with any of those groups, but I would be if this vague ideal were realised. I have to question the values of anyone who would want that kind of association.
It is also my personal belief that even without the 'fringe elements', unity would mean a kind of homogenisation of belief. A watering-down and dumbing-down that would render it meaningless.
Now don't get me wrong, I've run coffee meets and festivals, I am not against Pagans coming together, but there is a major difference. In coffee meets and festivals, there is a place for people to meet and discuss ideas, to learn about each other and perhaps organically form connections with like-minded people. There is no forced unity, there is no expectation of agreement or over-riding requirement to get along. There is a requirement for manners, but if you don't like someone's path, you don't interact with them.
For some people, this lack of unity is seen as a failing and one of the major flaws in the Pagan Community. I choose to see it as a strength and a beautiful thing.
Blessings
Debbie
This one didn't make it that far before imploding it seems.
You can see all the drama on this blog. There is also a good discussion about it on The Wild Hunt I particularly recommend reading through the comments, although take care not to be drinking anything while using a screen that won't tolerate having liquid sprayed over it. Repeatedly. I also feel a need to share this blog because it's awesome and sums up many of my own personal feelings.
History has shown that such a venture is doomed to failure. Any group that tries to speak for such a varied and disparate collection of individuals would make cat-herding look like child's play.
Not so long ago, there was an attempt to form a Council of Elders in New Zealand. I received a call from a then-friend and was told I "needed to get on board so I could look after the South Island". What was meant by "look after" was attempt to control. I didn't really understand the purpose of such a group and didn't trust the motives of those who were trying to create it so I never got involved. It never got past the discussion stage, it would seem because I wasn't alone in my reservations. I think this is no different from what has been happening in America - just theirs is on a far larger scale.
Pagan Unity
Pagan Unity has been presented as a reason for this Council, or a justification for why it's believed to be needed by some. I'm afraid it just sounds like a cliched catch-phrase to me.
When Pagans cannot even agree on what 'Pagan' means or what it means to be Pagan, how can any kind of Unity be achieved? Then let's throw in Witches - many of them aren't Pagan for a start - how are you going to gain Unity when we also can't agree whether Witchcraft is a religion or a skill set?
Personally, for all I'm both Pagan and a Witch, I reject unity in any form. I frequently tell people off for referring to me as their Pagan Sister because that is something that's earned with me, assuming that kind of familiarity based purely on a shared label is something I find to be presumptuous and rude.
"Unification through Diversification" is the oxymoronic catchphrase of United Pagan Radio. They claim "We CAN be unified as pagans and hold onto our unique diversity." How exactly is that supposed to work? Many bash anyone who disagrees with their own narrow view - be it harming none, karma, the Burning Times Myth, Christianity or whether self-initiation is valid - most of the time, agreeing to disagree isn't an option as both sides seem to think that the other has disrespected their path. When rampant sexism (misogyny and misandry) is treated as a virtue in some paths, racism in others and paedophilia in others still, how can we want to achieve any kind of unity with these people. I certainly have no wish to be associated with any of those groups, but I would be if this vague ideal were realised. I have to question the values of anyone who would want that kind of association.
It is also my personal belief that even without the 'fringe elements', unity would mean a kind of homogenisation of belief. A watering-down and dumbing-down that would render it meaningless.
Now don't get me wrong, I've run coffee meets and festivals, I am not against Pagans coming together, but there is a major difference. In coffee meets and festivals, there is a place for people to meet and discuss ideas, to learn about each other and perhaps organically form connections with like-minded people. There is no forced unity, there is no expectation of agreement or over-riding requirement to get along. There is a requirement for manners, but if you don't like someone's path, you don't interact with them.
For some people, this lack of unity is seen as a failing and one of the major flaws in the Pagan Community. I choose to see it as a strength and a beautiful thing.
Blessings
Debbie
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Week 9 (and 8 because I was away): Powers and Gifts
I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to a lot of things within the Pagan realm. You'd think someone who works with magic and Gods and other unseen entities would have less disbelief towards others' claims of 'powers' and 'gifts' and yet I often find myself rolling my eyes and scoffing when I hear claims of this that type.
What prompted this musing was a question on a Facebook group about the 'gifts' people have and the ensuing discussion. There were a lot of claims of 'gifts' and 'powers', each one appearing to be a one-up on the previous. I sat reading, shaking my head at the stories people offered up, thinking about how deluded each person was. Then I sat back and wondered, why did I react like that? It's not like I haven't personally experienced many of these things; dreams, visitations, the success of a spell and the fluctuations in energies around me. This got me thinking. Why the skepticism?
Personally I think the experiences are the exceptions and not the norm. I don't mean I'm the exception and I'm not discounting that things can happen, but I don't think they are 'powers' and 'gifts' that a person has. I've been known to ask for rain during a hot, sunny and cloudless day only for the heavens to open up five minutes later. I've also found myself out in the sun with no shade and burning from the heat wishing that the wind would pick up and blow a cloud across the sky to cover the sun, which has happened on a couple of occasions. With this sort of 'success' do I think that I have some special weather power/gift? Not at all. I'm inclined to believe it's a happy coincidence. Yes I believe words/thoughts have power, but my ego is not big enough to think that my thoughts are actually going to change the weather, regardless of how strange and closely correlated the events are.
Do I believe some people have talents that can be learned and exercised like any other mundane talent? Sure. I've seen some great tarot readers who have had to learn and hone their craft. Do I believe people who have psychic talent are crackpots? Of course not. Many of my friends have psychic leanings and of those I would trust a few with my life so if they see/feel things then I believe they see/feel them.
I wonder if my skepticism at someone claiming to be a great and powerful XYZ is that I'm really a scientific girl at heart. If a claim can't be quantified and verified then it is harder for me to accept it happened and wasn't a part of an imagined experience. I sometimes wonder if my own experiences are imagined because of this same skepticism. Is that something that other practitioners experience? A self doubt? I'm not talking about bringing doubt into spell work because I never doubt that. Doubt leads to failure. I mean that after you get good results, or after you have an 'otherworldy' experiecnce, do you have a moment of doubt where you wonder if it is just a coincidence or perhaps you just imagined it happened?
I will say though that I should be more tolerant when someone makes a claim of having experienced something. Sure it might not be verifiable, and could quite possibly be a coincidence, but does their believing it actually hurt me? As for my own experiences, why does it matter if the end result is the same? Do I really crave validation that my experiences are real? And real by what standards?
Unfortunately today's post is loaded with more questions than answers and crazy idle thoughts.
What prompted this musing was a question on a Facebook group about the 'gifts' people have and the ensuing discussion. There were a lot of claims of 'gifts' and 'powers', each one appearing to be a one-up on the previous. I sat reading, shaking my head at the stories people offered up, thinking about how deluded each person was. Then I sat back and wondered, why did I react like that? It's not like I haven't personally experienced many of these things; dreams, visitations, the success of a spell and the fluctuations in energies around me. This got me thinking. Why the skepticism?
Personally I think the experiences are the exceptions and not the norm. I don't mean I'm the exception and I'm not discounting that things can happen, but I don't think they are 'powers' and 'gifts' that a person has. I've been known to ask for rain during a hot, sunny and cloudless day only for the heavens to open up five minutes later. I've also found myself out in the sun with no shade and burning from the heat wishing that the wind would pick up and blow a cloud across the sky to cover the sun, which has happened on a couple of occasions. With this sort of 'success' do I think that I have some special weather power/gift? Not at all. I'm inclined to believe it's a happy coincidence. Yes I believe words/thoughts have power, but my ego is not big enough to think that my thoughts are actually going to change the weather, regardless of how strange and closely correlated the events are.
Do I believe some people have talents that can be learned and exercised like any other mundane talent? Sure. I've seen some great tarot readers who have had to learn and hone their craft. Do I believe people who have psychic talent are crackpots? Of course not. Many of my friends have psychic leanings and of those I would trust a few with my life so if they see/feel things then I believe they see/feel them.
I wonder if my skepticism at someone claiming to be a great and powerful XYZ is that I'm really a scientific girl at heart. If a claim can't be quantified and verified then it is harder for me to accept it happened and wasn't a part of an imagined experience. I sometimes wonder if my own experiences are imagined because of this same skepticism. Is that something that other practitioners experience? A self doubt? I'm not talking about bringing doubt into spell work because I never doubt that. Doubt leads to failure. I mean that after you get good results, or after you have an 'otherworldy' experiecnce, do you have a moment of doubt where you wonder if it is just a coincidence or perhaps you just imagined it happened?
I will say though that I should be more tolerant when someone makes a claim of having experienced something. Sure it might not be verifiable, and could quite possibly be a coincidence, but does their believing it actually hurt me? As for my own experiences, why does it matter if the end result is the same? Do I really crave validation that my experiences are real? And real by what standards?
Unfortunately today's post is loaded with more questions than answers and crazy idle thoughts.
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Week 4: Honouring Nature in Air Conditioned Comfort.
As a group (I'm well aware this is a wild generalisation) Pagans like to think they're all about honouring Nature in all Her forms. You know the images. Dancing under a full moon. Dancing outside around a Maypole at Beltane. Dancing through meadows as you pick flowers in Spring. Dancing around a bonfire at... Hmm... there is a lot of dancing here. Let's change that to sitting around the bonfire at Winter Solstice. Actually you probably need to dance to stay warm.
Regardless there is a lot of celebration outside in Nature. Then there is the gardening with the moon, meditating in the woods, observing the changing seasons by celebrating when the last leaf falls or the first buds bloom.
Now I'm a Winter girl. Always have been. Introspection is my thing. Darkness, cold weather, and hibernation. I like big sweaters and heavy duvets on my bed. Gloves on my fingers and scarves, oh do I own so many long, thick, woolen scarves.
My problem is that right now it's hot. Today the mercury rose well above 30 degrees Celsius and in some parts of the country I'm in (Australia) it went above 40. There are no scarves or gloves or thick comfy sweaters in my near future. In fact it's so hot that even sitting relatively idle leads to uncomfortable sweating and stickiness so much so that like many I seek refuge under the cooling jets of an air conditioner.
I've just been wondering, how does using technology to artificially get around Nature's all too warming embrace during the Summer months, fall in the realm of honouring Her in all Her forms? There are two issues I see. Firstly the use of air conditioning is a use of electricity and with that, unless you're harnessing the power from a renewable source, you're wasting finite resources. And secondly, by seeking to avoid the warmth (well sweltering heat is more like it) that She provides, are you presuming that by having a Summer Solstice celebration of some sort you can still be honouring Nature, while thumbing your nose at Her by putting your comfort ahead of Her 'gifts'? Are you saying you know better than Her when it comes to the correct temperature for the world to be?
On the other side of the coin are you of the opinion that we have been given free will and an inventive spirit so that we can make things and advance technology to where air conditioning is standard and that's also an example of us honouring Nature, because we, as humans are also a part of Nature. By denying our gifts of knowledge and ingenuity, are we also choosing not to use gifts we have been given?
It's a trivial argument really and to be completely honest I don't know if I fall on either side, or if I care enough to actually find out where I stand. Perhaps it's the heat that addled my brain before taking refuge in a nicely air conditioned room. It's just I've been reading so many Facebook posts from friends and hearing people complain about how hot it is and how they love their fans/air conditioners/swimming pools that I wondered how seeking to adjust the natural temperature the world is (even though it's just your tiny portion of it), fits into honouring Nature.
Any thoughts?
Regardless there is a lot of celebration outside in Nature. Then there is the gardening with the moon, meditating in the woods, observing the changing seasons by celebrating when the last leaf falls or the first buds bloom.
Now I'm a Winter girl. Always have been. Introspection is my thing. Darkness, cold weather, and hibernation. I like big sweaters and heavy duvets on my bed. Gloves on my fingers and scarves, oh do I own so many long, thick, woolen scarves.
My problem is that right now it's hot. Today the mercury rose well above 30 degrees Celsius and in some parts of the country I'm in (Australia) it went above 40. There are no scarves or gloves or thick comfy sweaters in my near future. In fact it's so hot that even sitting relatively idle leads to uncomfortable sweating and stickiness so much so that like many I seek refuge under the cooling jets of an air conditioner.
I've just been wondering, how does using technology to artificially get around Nature's all too warming embrace during the Summer months, fall in the realm of honouring Her in all Her forms? There are two issues I see. Firstly the use of air conditioning is a use of electricity and with that, unless you're harnessing the power from a renewable source, you're wasting finite resources. And secondly, by seeking to avoid the warmth (well sweltering heat is more like it) that She provides, are you presuming that by having a Summer Solstice celebration of some sort you can still be honouring Nature, while thumbing your nose at Her by putting your comfort ahead of Her 'gifts'? Are you saying you know better than Her when it comes to the correct temperature for the world to be?
On the other side of the coin are you of the opinion that we have been given free will and an inventive spirit so that we can make things and advance technology to where air conditioning is standard and that's also an example of us honouring Nature, because we, as humans are also a part of Nature. By denying our gifts of knowledge and ingenuity, are we also choosing not to use gifts we have been given?
It's a trivial argument really and to be completely honest I don't know if I fall on either side, or if I care enough to actually find out where I stand. Perhaps it's the heat that addled my brain before taking refuge in a nicely air conditioned room. It's just I've been reading so many Facebook posts from friends and hearing people complain about how hot it is and how they love their fans/air conditioners/swimming pools that I wondered how seeking to adjust the natural temperature the world is (even though it's just your tiny portion of it), fits into honouring Nature.
Any thoughts?
Saturday, 17 January 2015
Week 3: The Pursuit of Greatness
I'm a movie fan and I just watched 12 Years a Slave. I couldn't bring myself to actually go to the movies to see it. I figured it would get messy and I would want to be alone when that happened. As predicted my eyes are still sore and the skin on my cheeks feels tight from the tears.
Once it was over, while I was still in the post movie... I want to say glow, but this was more of shock I think, I watched a few actor's interviews on YouTube. I wanted to know if there was some insight into how they (particularly those who had the task of doing and saying some rather horrific things) handled that. How were they able to get through it. I did read that in one scene Michael Fassbender actually passed out - not sure if that's true.
The actors were all very professional, and said the usual 'I tried to blah blah blah when portraying my character blah blah' answers. Not sure why I needed to know, I guess I wanted to see if they were affected by the story as much as I was. (I'm pretty sure that unless they were sociopaths they would have been in some small way).
Anyway, it was while watching Fassbender's interview that the inspiration for this blog post came because something he said struck a chord with me. (And it had nothing to do with the original reason for watching the interview - lol). He said he read the script and told Steve McQueen that he wanted to be a part of it. Even if it were just a small role with a 1-2 day shoot, he didn't care. Obviously he would prefer the lead role he got, but he just wanted to be a part of something important.
That got me thinking. Isn't that something that a lot of people strive for? To be part of something important. To feel like they made a contribution and rather than just being on the sidelines, they were a part of the making of something great? In the movie world in NZ I wonder if that extends to people who wanted to be a part of the Middle Earth phenomenon that took over our little country. Just to be able to say, I was a part of that.
For myself I've been wondering. What part of greatness have I had a hand in, or want to have a hand in helping to achieve?
I've come to the realisation that greatness doesn't have to be on a grand 'let's change the world' scale. Yes people who fought for women's right to vote, marriage equality or against any number of human rights atrocities, have a hand in what I would call greatness. However I don't think it necessarily needs to be on that scale. At the end of their life, I believe most people would like to be able to look back and point at something and say, I did that or I was a part of that and that was my contribution to the world.
It's my birthday today and I've been joking with friends that I'm officially closer to 70 than birth (which is an arbitrary figure if you think about it). I guess it's helped spur me on to contemplate whether I would look back on my life and say there's where I achieved, or helped to achieve, greatness. I'm not sure I've done it yet. The problem is, I'm not sure what I want that greatness to be.
My other question is, how does one recognise that they are in the midst of doing something that is 'great' or is it that for us mere mortals greatness is the sum total of all the little things we do and the little victories we have? Or are we destined to move into oblivion with no more impact than a bug on a windscreen?
Just a bit of navel gazing today....
Once it was over, while I was still in the post movie... I want to say glow, but this was more of shock I think, I watched a few actor's interviews on YouTube. I wanted to know if there was some insight into how they (particularly those who had the task of doing and saying some rather horrific things) handled that. How were they able to get through it. I did read that in one scene Michael Fassbender actually passed out - not sure if that's true.
The actors were all very professional, and said the usual 'I tried to blah blah blah when portraying my character blah blah' answers. Not sure why I needed to know, I guess I wanted to see if they were affected by the story as much as I was. (I'm pretty sure that unless they were sociopaths they would have been in some small way).
Anyway, it was while watching Fassbender's interview that the inspiration for this blog post came because something he said struck a chord with me. (And it had nothing to do with the original reason for watching the interview - lol). He said he read the script and told Steve McQueen that he wanted to be a part of it. Even if it were just a small role with a 1-2 day shoot, he didn't care. Obviously he would prefer the lead role he got, but he just wanted to be a part of something important.
That got me thinking. Isn't that something that a lot of people strive for? To be part of something important. To feel like they made a contribution and rather than just being on the sidelines, they were a part of the making of something great? In the movie world in NZ I wonder if that extends to people who wanted to be a part of the Middle Earth phenomenon that took over our little country. Just to be able to say, I was a part of that.
For myself I've been wondering. What part of greatness have I had a hand in, or want to have a hand in helping to achieve?
I've come to the realisation that greatness doesn't have to be on a grand 'let's change the world' scale. Yes people who fought for women's right to vote, marriage equality or against any number of human rights atrocities, have a hand in what I would call greatness. However I don't think it necessarily needs to be on that scale. At the end of their life, I believe most people would like to be able to look back and point at something and say, I did that or I was a part of that and that was my contribution to the world.
It's my birthday today and I've been joking with friends that I'm officially closer to 70 than birth (which is an arbitrary figure if you think about it). I guess it's helped spur me on to contemplate whether I would look back on my life and say there's where I achieved, or helped to achieve, greatness. I'm not sure I've done it yet. The problem is, I'm not sure what I want that greatness to be.
My other question is, how does one recognise that they are in the midst of doing something that is 'great' or is it that for us mere mortals greatness is the sum total of all the little things we do and the little victories we have? Or are we destined to move into oblivion with no more impact than a bug on a windscreen?
Just a bit of navel gazing today....
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