COUNTDOWN TO THE NATIONAL HOLIDAY KNOWN AS MY BIRTHDAY: 1 DAY
I joined an e-list yesterday based on a series of articles that will be coming up on the OldWays website. They are designed to take a student through a year and a day of walking a pagan path - exactly what I needed.
The questions are written by Jeffrey Fritts, oldways.com.
1. What ethical standards do I want to hold myself to and what qualities or characteristics do I want to manifest in my life?
This is not an easy question to answer. I'll start with the Rede and see if I can get anywhere from there:
"An it harm none, do what you will."
In my heart of hearts, I can't abide by the Rede. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be able to go around and spread death and destruction all about me. I just don't think it's possible to follow it. Where is the line drawn, or is it? At the very heart of the statement, nothing on this is living in accordance with it - as Joseph Campbell and many others have pointed out: "Life comes from death." It can't be any other way. Plants and animals give their lives so we can live. We can't exactly stop eating because the wheat our bread is made from lived its brief life in fear of the combine. (Heh - now I have a vision of a little wheat community, quietly shaking down to their roots. Would the combine be like god to wheat - never seen but whose presence is always looming? Ah...getting a little off topic here...)
What if you see a friend doing something destructive? Do you let that friend continue on their merry way, simply because you are forbidden to hurt their feelings when you intervene? Another question could be "What does the word "harm" mean?" Pain? Inconvenience? Spiritual death? The horror of halitosis? Harm can be interpreted in many ways and it depends on who is doing the interpreting. Take the woman from the last entry, for instance. It could be argued that she is being harmed because her free will has been taken away in the slavery of such a relationship. However, she is happy because she feels more free than she ever has. Who's right?
Yes, I know that I can only decide where my ethical boundaries are. It's all anyone can do, ultimately. Basically:
- What happens between two consenting adults is fine and most likely none of my business. Those who have no capacity of making an informed decision for themselves (children, animals, etc.) are a different matter and should be protected.
- You have responsibility for your actions. Is there an ultimate judge? I don't know, other than yourself and the way others will treat you. (In other words: Act like an ass, get treated like an ass.) Treat the beings of living worlds for what they are: individual pieces of the whole. We are all made of the same "stuff" (however you want to see that: star stuff, pieces of the divine, "ugly bags of mostly water" Oh wait, that was Star Trek...)
- You have a brain for a reason. Only you can decide what to believe and think. No one else has the right to tell you otherwise.
Those second and third ones includes some of the qualities I want to manifest as well. I've caught myself being quite intolerant and judgemental in matters of faith, expecially when it comes to fundamentalism.
2. How do I view the spirit realm?
This question has caused me a lot of angst in the last year or two, especially in the area of the gods. I have doubted and questioned in the face of a lot of evidence but now I have to be honest: I know there is a ton of diversity out there. I have had experiences with spirit guides, power animals (I still remember encountering C.M.'s animal, an anole. It told me, "That's all right. He doesn't listen to me either"), ghosts and a few I have no doubt were gods.
3. How structured do I perceive reality to be?
I am a big proponent of free will. I believe there may indeed be a reason why we're here but we have the choice to accept that reason or to do something different. Making the choice may be the underlying lesson, rather than simply taking the trail offered.
On that score, experience has again shown me that magick works, rather it be simple "wishcraft" (like the incident with my truck - I laid out exactly what I would take in a truck and the next day, I found it.) or more elaborate spells. I also know from experience that magick can work on other people, which is why I am very careful about doing those type of spells. Does magick influence the gods? Well, yeah - how else would you get their attention? Do I think you can bend the gods to our will? I don't know. That would seem to imply we were the stronger ones, wouldn't it?
4. Where should my spiritual path help me to grow?
This one is easy. I want to be the best I can be. This includes understanding - of myself and the worlds, and the wisdom to use what I have for the betterment of them.
Page and graphics Copyright 2004 D. Firewolf
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