Newbie in desprate need for advise

[Kara Tam]

Re: Newbie in desprate need for advise

step 1) purge any directives regarding who to honor given by those three from your mind with fire and sword

Umm... Alright... ummm... How exactly do I do that?

Thank you MoonRaven for the opposite side to Freya. Amy did kind of portray her as being a "all good" goddess. Thank you Tylluan Penry for advise and I'll be sure to watch your video. And last but not least Thank you Rae'ya for answering all my questions in depth. Your answers are greatly appreciated and I'll be sure to check out the books you suggested.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Newbie in desprate need for advise

Umm... Alright... ummm... How exactly do I do that?

Assume that at best, their perceptions were flawed enough to require independent verification of everything and at worst their advice could be actively detrimental. It's normally safe to not take me literally once I mention fire and sword. Exemptions exist but most of the time you see me reference fire and sword when I'm not talking about truly despicable human beings, I don't mean it literally.

I give fair warning. I like my theatrics, I use odd turns of phrase when it suits me and I have a warped sense of humor. You'll get used to them all with time but all three conditions exist and are unlikely to change.

[thalassa]

Re: Newbie in desprate need for advise

Can someone be human while also being a different spiritual/mythical creature?
No--biologically, physiologically, genetically, anatomically, literally...no. Psychologically could they *think* they are <enter creature> here? Sure, people do crazy things all the time for a number of reasons from escapism to narcissism. Sometimes they even convince themselves. Sometimes, seeing something, its easy to want to believe enough that you suspend disbelief. This is perfectly natural, and part of what is amazing about humans and about our brains and how they work.

Somewhere between absolutely no and self-delusion though, are some of the possibilities that Reya brought up: "past life memories, animal guides, traits from god-meddling, subconscious 'parts' (where you separate aspects of yourself out into a sort of different identity, like 'angry me' and 'happy me' and 'me that I try to pretend doesn't exist') or simple escapism". Individual beliefs within the Pagan community vary greatly here. Some people will believe in none of this, others in all of it...though most people are probably somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I don't believe in the literal existence of dragons, elves, werewolves, etc....and I think the idea that someone being human and *also* being one of these things is a violation of the basic laws that govern the cosmos. I don't believe in the supernatural---everything has an explaination based in nature...someo of them we just haven't discovered yet. We don't have the ability to break the basic laws of science...bend them to our advantage and develop technology that can work with them to do things that we can't, sure...but every fantastical fantasy creature from mythology has a rational explaination if we are familiar enough with mythology, culture, history, sociology, psychology, neurobiology, physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, etc.

What is a creation god or goddess? What is their role in your life? How do you know who it is?
A creation deity is one that is part of a culture's cosmology mythos--they created life/earth/man/the universe (it depends on the cultural myth). You know who it is because there is an established mythos about it. Their role in your life depends on your relationship with them.

How do you remove a block on your third eye?
What we call the "third eye" is just the sixth chakra in the seven chakra system (there are actually many more chakras than this, depending on which school of thought one falls into), it is associated with the pineal gland and with the senses. "Opening" a chakra (which I think is a misnomer) is about accessing the area of our perception and interaction with the world associated with whatever chakra. Opening the sixth chakra is about heightening awareness, gaining insight, and channeling inspiration. Meditation and breathing techniques are a standard way of achieving this.


What is circle? How is it important? What are its functions?
A circle is creation of sacred space for ritual. It acts as the marker or boundary for sacred space and working space for a ritual. It can be used as a container for energy, segregating the inside from the outside. Some people use it as a filter to let "positive" energy in and "negative" out, others to prevent anything from going in or out, etc. How important it is will depend upon whether or not it is part of one's practice. Plenty of people don't use circles.


Water can kill you. If you drink too much water, you can die of water intoxication. If you inhale it, you can drown (even if there's not a lot of it present). If you are submerged in it continuously, your skin will break down and you will develop leisons and infections, even if the water is sterile. And yet, we depend on water to live.

Foxglove is a plant that is poisonous. It was used by herbalists (very, very, very carefully because the window in which it is theraputic is very narrow) historically in very small amounts. Digitalis, which comes from foxglove, is used in some medications to improve cardiac output in some heart patients.

"Harm" is a very relative term.

Maybe. TBH, probably. And there is nothing wrong with that. The human imagination is one of our greatest assets. If divine experiences are "all in our head", does it matter?

IMO: If you use your experience to make you a better, more connected, more compassionate, more insightful, stronger, more diligent, more creative, more involved person........does it matter if the experience was nothing more than your imagination?

We have been using stories (myth) to elevate the human psyche for eons. Mythos expresses a truth that is greater, deeper, and more expansive than what is literal, observable, and tangible.

Two things I like to remember about myth and the gods:

(snip)

Should real divine advice feel like this?

Why shouldn't it? ALL advice should feel uncertain...it should be a mirror to your own desires and preconceptions, reflecting what others see so that you can see more clearly from other perspectives. Just remember that mirrors also have flaws.

Pagan gods as a whole aren't perfect, they aren't all powerful, and they aren't interested in humans beyond their own confort.

If this is so, how do I fix this so I no long have inner doubts about my intuition?

There's nothing wrong with inner doubt. Years ago, the UUA had a logo with a slogan that said "When in doubt, pray. When in prayer, doubt."

Doubt everything, and be proud of it.

Or, more expansively expressed, this quote from Richard Feynman:

In a meditation, what does a god feel like? How their presence is different from a spirit guides?

Individual experiences and how they intrepret them vary wildy here. I have no idea what this would be like for you (heck, I'm not convinced of my own experiences), and if anyone is difinitively convinced that they know, take it with a grain of salt.

With my need for freedom in how I approach Paganism? Is it a religion I should consider?

Sure....religion, any religion is what you make of it. What you *can* make of it depends on which individual tradition you are part of. Paganism is pretty infinite in the possibilities.And most important question. What do I do now? What is the next step in becoming a pagan?


Read alot. Meditate. Go outside. Pray.

Repeat.

Add in other stuff when inspired.

[Heka]

Yes. If you met me on the street you would never guess that I'm a Demonolator who is sworn to a Norse deity who's job it is to decide when people die, who also happens to get along very well with deities who are keepers of the dead and who are known for smiting their enemies with death and disease. lol. You'd also never guess that I use blood in my magick on a regular basis and that I'm not opposed to a well placed curse when warranted.

You really wouldn't. When I saw her last, I'm pretty sure it was her natural hair colour, and no thick lines of black eyeliner. Torey, maybe a little bit of this, but not Rae'ya haha

Pretty much I agree with everyone else, ignore that experience with those nutters, go out and find your own experiences. Good luck

[Heka]

You really wouldn't. When I saw her last, I'm pretty sure it was her natural hair colour, and no thick lines of black eyeliner. Torey, maybe a little bit of this, but not Rae'ya haha

Pretty much I agree with everyone else, ignore that experience with those nutters, go out and find your own experiences. Good luck

Plus Rae'ya works with fluffy little animals all day. If you looked at her at all you'd probably think she was a "whyte wytch" Bahaha sorry I cant help myself :P

[Rae'ya]

Re: Newbie in desprate need for advise

You really wouldn't. When I saw her last, I'm pretty sure it was her natural hair colour, and no thick lines of black eyeliner. Torey, maybe a little bit of this, but not Rae'ya haha

...

Plus Rae'ya works with fluffy little animals all day. If you looked at her at all you'd probably think she was a "whyte wytch" Bahaha sorry I cant help myself :P

Yep. I have very long light brown hair, I almost never wear makeup, I smile a lot, I have a high pitched voice, I gesticulate when I talk, I wear coloured clothing... if you even realised that I was pagan you'd definitely think 'whyte wytch' before you thought 'deity of death and blood magick'. 'Dark' deities do not equal 'dark' worshippers.

[Medusa]

Re: Newbie in desprate need for advise

Hell I'm a Satanist who loves Hello Kitty and my fave color is pink! And I love Barbie Dolls.