So I'm curious, my fellow creators. Since you and I are in charge of making a new world - not just breaking the old world - where do we begin? What stories do we want at the heart of our experiments? What questions will be our oracles?
I'm allergic to dogma. I thrive on the riddles. Any idea I believe, I reserve the right to disbelieve as well.
But more than any other vision I've ever tested, pronoia describes the way the world actually is. It's wetter than water, stronger than death, and truer than the news. It smells like cedar smoke in early spring rain, and if you close your eyes right now, you can feel it shimmering like the aurora borealis in your organs and muscles. Its song is your blood's song.
Some people argue that life is strife and suffering is normal. Others swear we're born sinful and only heaven can provide us with the peace that passes understanding. But pronoia says that being alive on the rough green and brown earth is the highest honor and privilege. It's an invitation to work wonders and perform miracles that aren't possible in any nirvana, promised land, or afterlife.
I'm not exaggerating or indulging in poetic metaphor when I tell you that we are already living in paradise. Visualize it if you dare. The sweet stuff that quenches all of our longing is not far away in some other time and place. It's right here and right now.
Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning knew the truth: "Earth's crammed with heaven."
Monday, October 03, 2005
"Earth's crammed with heaven."
Many Pagans (and lots of other people) love Rob Brezny's Free Will Astrology. I think of Rob as a prophet of joy for the jaded hipster set. (I include myself in that demographic, although my hipster cred is questionable.) The other day I picked up his book, Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia, which promises to be a holy book of fascination and clear-sighted optimism. I want to join Rob's tribe.
Cleansing my work space
On Friday, I finished a chapter draft and sent it to my advisor. Today, I begin to write the next chapter. I've decided to do a purification ritual in my study nook to prepare for new work. Fortuitously, today is the new moon.
I'm going to clear the extraneous paper from my office and dump it in a basket in the living room to take care of later. (My office, by the way, is a 3'x5' former closet with a window and no door; it opens onto the hallway that runs the length of my apartment. Into the space, I've tucked a table and chair, a file cabinet, and many, many books, as well as all the charms I keep around me while I write - postcards, action figures, crystals, small pieces of art....) Then I will dust the books (a feather duster makes short work of this) and wipe down the surfaces and floor with rosemary water. I will tame the cords beneath my desk as best I can, fill the pencil holder with new pens, stack fresh paper and notecards on my desk, put away books that are lying around, neaten and straighten. Purify with salt water and incense.
And begin to write what comes next.
I'm going to clear the extraneous paper from my office and dump it in a basket in the living room to take care of later. (My office, by the way, is a 3'x5' former closet with a window and no door; it opens onto the hallway that runs the length of my apartment. Into the space, I've tucked a table and chair, a file cabinet, and many, many books, as well as all the charms I keep around me while I write - postcards, action figures, crystals, small pieces of art....) Then I will dust the books (a feather duster makes short work of this) and wipe down the surfaces and floor with rosemary water. I will tame the cords beneath my desk as best I can, fill the pencil holder with new pens, stack fresh paper and notecards on my desk, put away books that are lying around, neaten and straighten. Purify with salt water and incense.
And begin to write what comes next.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The Circle Within, 1
Whew! I've spent the last couple of weeks finishing a draft of a dissertation chapter. It's handed in, and I'm back, just in time for my favorite month of the year, culminating in my favorite holy day.
TurtleHeart is reading The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Practice by Dianne Sylvan and writing about it on her blog. I recently purchased this book myself. Sylvan gives suggestions for how to develop a daily, personal spiritual practice and integrate one's mundane and magical lives. Like Turtleheart says, the book is useful for those who follow Pagan paths other than Wicca. It's also very well-written. I've decided to accompany TurtleHeart on her journey through The Circle Within by posting my responses to the exercises here. I welcome you to post your own responses in the comments section or on your own blog.
"Take a moment, or even a few days, to make a list of all the things you do in your life that make you feel spiritually fulfilled. This doesn't only include things that are viewed as traditionally spiritual, like ritual and prayer. It can be anything from playing with your children to reading, painting, gardening, dancing, or writing if it makes you feel closer to your gods. Think of your list as your current spiritual practice, and look it over. Where are the empty spots? What sorts of activities would you like to add more of? Don't make any decisions, or judgments; just think on it for a while." (pp. 16-17)
What activities make me feel spiritually fulfilled? (I've placed an asterisk after those I do daily.)
TurtleHeart is reading The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Practice by Dianne Sylvan and writing about it on her blog. I recently purchased this book myself. Sylvan gives suggestions for how to develop a daily, personal spiritual practice and integrate one's mundane and magical lives. Like Turtleheart says, the book is useful for those who follow Pagan paths other than Wicca. It's also very well-written. I've decided to accompany TurtleHeart on her journey through The Circle Within by posting my responses to the exercises here. I welcome you to post your own responses in the comments section or on your own blog.
"Take a moment, or even a few days, to make a list of all the things you do in your life that make you feel spiritually fulfilled. This doesn't only include things that are viewed as traditionally spiritual, like ritual and prayer. It can be anything from playing with your children to reading, painting, gardening, dancing, or writing if it makes you feel closer to your gods. Think of your list as your current spiritual practice, and look it over. Where are the empty spots? What sorts of activities would you like to add more of? Don't make any decisions, or judgments; just think on it for a while." (pp. 16-17)
What activities make me feel spiritually fulfilled? (I've placed an asterisk after those I do daily.)
- Writing my morning pages*
- Saying a prayer*
- Lately I've been lighting incense in front of Kwan Yin on my altar in the morning before I begin writing.*
- Greeting the five elements/directions in the morning*
- Lighting candles in the evening
- Meditating - when I manage to do it
- Yoga - I've been attending class once a week.
- Tending my altar
- Reading tarot - which I haven't done in months
- Tending my herb garden - when I have one; I don't right now
- Taking walks in nature
- Wearing a pentacle or goddess necklace*
- The Dances of Universal Peace
- Sex* - most days!
- Going on retreat
- Swimming in the lakes during summer - especially when I can go naked
- Burning smudge sticks
- Camping
- Sitting around a campfire
- Sleeping outside
- Looking at art that reflects my spirituality*
- Reading books that reflect my spirituality* - even if just a little
- Participating in ritual
- Watching the moon through its phases
- Watching the seasons change
- Cleaning my house
- Breathing
- Seeing my astrologer
- I would like to have a regular practice, even if brief, for observing the sabbats and esbats. My celebrations are pretty ad hoc, if they happen at all.
- I would like to develop a daily meditation practice.
- I realize how much I miss my herb garden and would love to have one.
- I like TurtleHeart's idea of a self-blessing on the new and full moons.
- I would like to do more spellwork.
- I would like to return to a more regular tarot practice.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Worshipping the creation
It is commonplace for Christian critiques of Paganism to admonish us to "worship the Creator, not the creation." (See for example Focus on the Family's Dare 2 Dig Deeper: Breaking the Spell, a pamphlet for youth describing the so-called dangers of Wicca). The implication is that Pagans worship "creation," or nature. But to say that Pagans worship "the creation" is to commit the fallacy of begging the question: if we call nature "the creation," that presumes a creator. And most Pagans, like atheists, won't grant that there is a creator who stands outside of nature and creates, like a potter at his wheel. To make the point another way: Goddess is not the Judeo-Christian God in a skirt.
That is why the problem of evil isn't a problem for Wiccans and other Pagans. We don't believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful God who should have stopped the Holocaust, or Hurricane Katrina. (The problem of evil asks how such a God can also be all-good, given that he allows bad things to happen to his people.) Since Pagans don't believe in a vengeful or retributive God, we don't say stupid things such as, God visited the hurricane on New Orleans to punish the people for their sins.
Pagans don't believe in sin, and we don't believe in that God. Rather, we "believe in" the creative and destructive forces of the universe. We honor, not "worship," the cycles of nature. We believe in living in accord with nature and learning her lessons. For example, it is foolish to warm the seas, build a city below sea level, destroy the protective barrier wetlands and let the levees crumble, permit poverty to flourish among the people of that city, and have no plan for evacuation. A hurricane is a force of nature, but its severity and its impact on human lives have everything to do with humans taking responsibility, or failing to take responsibility, for our roles within nature. For we, too, are a part of nature. Human intelligence and human goodness are ours to use or forsake. We are given many gifts. But we accept few of them with humility or gratitude.
Starhawk says that human beings are co-creators with the Goddess. That reminds me of an old Jewish aphorism: "Why did God give us wheat and not bread? So that we would participate in creation." We are part of the creativity of nature. We are part of the conscious universe. By praying, performing ritual, and moving energy, we acknowledge our human role. We live not only in the more familiar, material world, with its vast resources, but also in a liminal space where we can converse with the spirits of place, the animals, and the ancestors. Our humility is not that of subject towards king, but of participants in the web of life and death. We can ask for help and guidance, just as we can offer those things when we are asked. By watching, listening, feeling, and applying our intelligence, we can learn our place in the fabric of things. With arrogance, hierarchy, greed, and willing submission, we kill ourselves and our earth. With humor, generosity, respect, humility, and loving kindness, we honor the Goddess, however we conceive of Her, and we honor ourselves.
That is why the problem of evil isn't a problem for Wiccans and other Pagans. We don't believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful God who should have stopped the Holocaust, or Hurricane Katrina. (The problem of evil asks how such a God can also be all-good, given that he allows bad things to happen to his people.) Since Pagans don't believe in a vengeful or retributive God, we don't say stupid things such as, God visited the hurricane on New Orleans to punish the people for their sins.
Pagans don't believe in sin, and we don't believe in that God. Rather, we "believe in" the creative and destructive forces of the universe. We honor, not "worship," the cycles of nature. We believe in living in accord with nature and learning her lessons. For example, it is foolish to warm the seas, build a city below sea level, destroy the protective barrier wetlands and let the levees crumble, permit poverty to flourish among the people of that city, and have no plan for evacuation. A hurricane is a force of nature, but its severity and its impact on human lives have everything to do with humans taking responsibility, or failing to take responsibility, for our roles within nature. For we, too, are a part of nature. Human intelligence and human goodness are ours to use or forsake. We are given many gifts. But we accept few of them with humility or gratitude.
Starhawk says that human beings are co-creators with the Goddess. That reminds me of an old Jewish aphorism: "Why did God give us wheat and not bread? So that we would participate in creation." We are part of the creativity of nature. We are part of the conscious universe. By praying, performing ritual, and moving energy, we acknowledge our human role. We live not only in the more familiar, material world, with its vast resources, but also in a liminal space where we can converse with the spirits of place, the animals, and the ancestors. Our humility is not that of subject towards king, but of participants in the web of life and death. We can ask for help and guidance, just as we can offer those things when we are asked. By watching, listening, feeling, and applying our intelligence, we can learn our place in the fabric of things. With arrogance, hierarchy, greed, and willing submission, we kill ourselves and our earth. With humor, generosity, respect, humility, and loving kindness, we honor the Goddess, however we conceive of Her, and we honor ourselves.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Starhawk: "A Pagan Response to Katrina"
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Tuesday, September 13, 2005
The religion/spirituality meme
This meme appeared at TurtleHeart's, too. It was started at A Pagan Sojourn. Sojourner has links to those who have responded so far.
1. Why do you choose the religion you embrace?
It makes sense to me that the universal divine creative force is female, is Goddess. Wicca teaches me to love myself as a woman, as queer, as a sexual being, as an animal. ("You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles in the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." - Mary Oliver) Wicca, like yoga, permits an embodied spirituality; we meet spirit through, not in spite of, our bodies. Wicca reveals to me an enchanted world. It teaches me to look beyond and behind my rationality, which I have overvalued to the point of fetishism. Wicca makes sense to me psychologically; here I am influenced by the Faery Tradition of Victor and Cora Anderson, Starhawk, and Thorn Coyle. Wicca honors the Younger Self. It honors poetry and the mystery at the heart of existence. Nakedness of all kinds is holy.
2. How religious are you? How often do you practice your religion?
I study often. I practice ritual frequently but sporadically. I observe the wheel of the year, the solar and lunar holy days. I pray. I acknowledge the presence of the divine daily.
3.Why is this religion the right one for you?
It's a gut feeling more than anything. Wicca feels right. It makes me happy. Many Witches believe that we were Witches in past lives, too. I'll drink to that.
4. How does the practice of this religion improve your life or what benefit do you recieve from its practice?
I am more grounded. I have a strong sense of myself on a path, a journey, and I'm learning to trust the signposts. I have more compassion for myself and others. I am more likely to trust my intuition. I am more open to the movement of energy and the way that affects our dense bodies. Wicca permits me synchronicity. It helps me understand myself and others better.
5. Are you spiritual as well as religious? Or is one more prevalent then the other?
I don't distinguish between spirituality and religion.
1. Why do you choose the religion you embrace?
It makes sense to me that the universal divine creative force is female, is Goddess. Wicca teaches me to love myself as a woman, as queer, as a sexual being, as an animal. ("You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles in the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." - Mary Oliver) Wicca, like yoga, permits an embodied spirituality; we meet spirit through, not in spite of, our bodies. Wicca reveals to me an enchanted world. It teaches me to look beyond and behind my rationality, which I have overvalued to the point of fetishism. Wicca makes sense to me psychologically; here I am influenced by the Faery Tradition of Victor and Cora Anderson, Starhawk, and Thorn Coyle. Wicca honors the Younger Self. It honors poetry and the mystery at the heart of existence. Nakedness of all kinds is holy.
2. How religious are you? How often do you practice your religion?
I study often. I practice ritual frequently but sporadically. I observe the wheel of the year, the solar and lunar holy days. I pray. I acknowledge the presence of the divine daily.
3.Why is this religion the right one for you?
It's a gut feeling more than anything. Wicca feels right. It makes me happy. Many Witches believe that we were Witches in past lives, too. I'll drink to that.
4. How does the practice of this religion improve your life or what benefit do you recieve from its practice?
I am more grounded. I have a strong sense of myself on a path, a journey, and I'm learning to trust the signposts. I have more compassion for myself and others. I am more likely to trust my intuition. I am more open to the movement of energy and the way that affects our dense bodies. Wicca permits me synchronicity. It helps me understand myself and others better.
5. Are you spiritual as well as religious? Or is one more prevalent then the other?
I don't distinguish between spirituality and religion.
A book meme
TurtleHeart tagged me for this meme ages ago, and I'm finally getting around to it.
What is the total number of books you own?
I'm guessing between 1500 and 2000. I have no idea.
What was the last book you bought?
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
What was the last book you read?
The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir (A novel that examines the extent of individual moral responsibility under times of widespread crisis - in this case, WWII in France)
What are five books that have been particularly meaningful to you?
1. Little, Big by John Crowley (Magical realism, a family saga, and faery religion)
2. The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk (A detailed and hopeful vision of the future; gorgeous and starkly inspirational)
3. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (The founding text of modern feminism, and a visionary if ill-understood work of art)
4. I'm not Stiller by Max Frisch (Mid-century Central European fiction examining the instability of personal identity)
5. A Room of One's Own by Virgina Woolf (Began my passionate devotion to women's art and creativity.)
6. Feminist Theory From Margin to Center by bell hooks (Jolted me out of my white girl's perspective and gave me respect for the role of men in feminist movement)
What is the total number of books you own?
I'm guessing between 1500 and 2000. I have no idea.
What was the last book you bought?
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
What was the last book you read?
The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir (A novel that examines the extent of individual moral responsibility under times of widespread crisis - in this case, WWII in France)
What are five books that have been particularly meaningful to you?
1. Little, Big by John Crowley (Magical realism, a family saga, and faery religion)
2. The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk (A detailed and hopeful vision of the future; gorgeous and starkly inspirational)
3. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (The founding text of modern feminism, and a visionary if ill-understood work of art)
4. I'm not Stiller by Max Frisch (Mid-century Central European fiction examining the instability of personal identity)
5. A Room of One's Own by Virgina Woolf (Began my passionate devotion to women's art and creativity.)
6. Feminist Theory From Margin to Center by bell hooks (Jolted me out of my white girl's perspective and gave me respect for the role of men in feminist movement)
Monday, September 05, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Katrina
I've been blogging incessantly about Hurricane Katrina at my other, more public, blog. I haven't the energy or heart to continue here. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of New Orleans.
I keep three blogs. My oldest blog is widely read, and I blog under different psuedonyms here and there. I started this blog specifically to talk about the more interior aspects of my spirituality, which is why I rarely talk about politics or my work here, and why my blogroll here is limited to Pagan blogs. My third blog is quite specialized; I'm using it to write my dissertation. If this blog is silent for a few days, it's usually because I'm busily writing somewhere else. I very much value the space I have here to write about my spiritual life, and I appreciate the small audience that has formed here. Blessings to you all.
I keep three blogs. My oldest blog is widely read, and I blog under different psuedonyms here and there. I started this blog specifically to talk about the more interior aspects of my spirituality, which is why I rarely talk about politics or my work here, and why my blogroll here is limited to Pagan blogs. My third blog is quite specialized; I'm using it to write my dissertation. If this blog is silent for a few days, it's usually because I'm busily writing somewhere else. I very much value the space I have here to write about my spiritual life, and I appreciate the small audience that has formed here. Blessings to you all.
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