Happy Ostara !!!!!! Pg17 Formerly Blessed Solstice and Merry Yule

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
HeyRedhen.. I personally dont beleive in Physical Gods/Goddess'..I choose to see God/ Goddess in everything.. I feel that our souls are just a lil drop of energy from a all encompassing life force(ie. God/Goddess/The All/ That which has been, Is, and Will Be.. When I do magic I draw on certain aspects of gods/goddess, plus it helps me if I can create an image to encompass the energies I am working with... Beleifs are not something to set and leave.. I feel we all should strive to learn, grow, and experience as much as possible in this life.. After all its what we are here for, to LIVE.......

 

[CoopCrazy]

On dicrimination... YES it does happen .... NO I dont let it bother me... I came out of the broomcloset at 15 after practicing secretly for 5 years... I have been ridiculed by some of my Family , coworkers, clergy, etc... What I made sure to do was learn as much as I can about what I beleive so that when others do taunt me I can politley correct them...I will be honest with co workers and if they have questions I will answer them.... I feel that if you are knowlegdable in your path that other peoples biases can only make you stronger , I use it as a learning tool for them... But they must ask me before I tell them..

 

[PortageGirl]

I’m not practicing any religion really. I call myself a recovering Catholic, I attend Catholic service because I take my elderly father to mass because it’s important to him. Also, it’s how I was raised and I’m comfortable with the ritual involved in the service even if I’m not overcome with zeal when I attend.

I do admit that I’m drawn to Wicca for several reasons. The acceptance, not to mention the honoring of the female AND the male aspect, the spirituality, the security I see in it, and acceptance of others… all to the good IMO.

Those are directly opposed to the cold harshness I find in established modern religions where in general, if you question, differ at all or outright disagree with the mostly male hierarchy, you are darned to hell in short order. This isn’t only a female thought either, I’ve known more than a couple men who see the disparity too, but the ‘label’ of anyone who doesn’t follow the norm like sheep, (pun intended) is hard to overcome.

To me I see the "darning" (gotta love the filter, I'm using "that" word in a proper context!) of anyone of one faith by those of another is a sign of weakness not strength.

Many (and probably most) established religions automatically label Wiccans as devil worshipers etc, which is wacky because as far as I’ve learned, Wiccans don’t believe in the devil. (Not talking about high school kids trying to emulate some horror movie here)

I HAVE witnessed discrimination against anyone not of the ‘correct’ faith in the mind of the person or people dishing it out, but it’s multiplied against Wiccans IMO. I’ve gently suggested that Wiccans in general are strong believers in the same ‘Golden Rule’ that Christ spoke of, and spoken of the precept of ‘harm none’ found in the Wiccan rede… and gotten glares and funny looks in return, though the talk stops. It feels to me like there is a lot more threat felt because women in Wicca appear to have much power, though if done right, it's not more power, it's equal power.... heh, whole nuther can of worms I'm thinking!

I have wondered if thoughts of piles of brush and torches were in their minds behind those glares. Since I have just as quickly defended people who practice Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Bahá'í not to mention other Christian sects, and since I’m seen as a ‘church going’ person, they calm down pretty quickly.

I do suspect that I’m to some extent, in the closet really, but I also feel that I’m living a life now that I need to for now, but that would also be approved to some degree by many of those faiths including Wicca. I fall far short of the specifics of any one of them and maybe as I said, I’m a bit in the closet in a sense, but for now it works well for me.

I'm sorry this got so long, I may *cough* have gotten a little carried away...

ya think??

 

[CoopCrazy]

I'm sorry this got so long, I may *cough* have gotten a little carried away... ya think??

Don't you worry about it.. I have to "sound off" sometimes to get my thoughts in order too.. I just think of it as "Talking it through with myself" LOL
Glad to have you in the thread.. I see this lasting some time..

 

[charmed one]

Ok...It's my turn....My DD, when she was about 12, started bring home books on witchcraft. Scared me to death not knowing anything about it. So, wanting to be more informed about what she was doing, I started reading books on Wicca. I think what scares most people is not understanding the religion and believing the stereotype. Has anyone ever read " The Secret"? Oprah was touting it awhile back. Alot of what is in "The Secret" is what is taught in Wicca. It is all about positive thinking. What you put out is what you get back. I was amazed at how much the two were alike. Oprah sure wouldn't have been touting that book if it was called "The Witches Creed" or something like that. My daughter is very Christian now and is currently on a missionary trip in Thailand. She rolls her eyes at any other religion thinking hers is the only way and if you believe any other way you are going to "he double hockey sticks". This must be why I am her mother because my open mindedness is just what she needs to balance. Anyway...now you have my 2 cents worth!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
HeyRedhen.. I personally dont beleive in Physical Gods/Goddess'..I choose to see God/ Goddess in everything.. I feel that our souls are just a lil drop of energy from a all encompassing life force(ie. God/Goddess/The All/ That which has been, Is, and Will Be.. When I do magic I draw on certain aspects of gods/goddess, plus it helps me if I can create an image to encompass the energies I am working with... Beleifs are not something to set and leave.. I feel we all should strive to learn, grow, and experience as much as possible in this life.. After all its what we are here for, to LIVE.......

Thanks! Thats helps me out some... See my SIL is a wiccan mentor (I'm sure there is another name for it..) and so i've gotten alot of info and help from her.. Shes taught me the basics and some spells and about the circle ..and about making your alter.. etc...etc..
So i've dabbeled in it abit.. but when i started to read about gods and goddess i kinda shut down because i have a hard time believing they actually existed (and in the christian god also..).. but i DO believe in energy and how its in everything... and how we can call upon it. I dont know..i have alot to learn and think about.

 

[Reinbeau]

Redhen, look into pantheism. All the gods and goddesses shut me down, too (I'm not condemning, it just isn't for me). I realized I was a pantheist when I said to someone 'Nature is my church' and she told me I was a pantheist. I've always been a gardener, and that little ditty:

Kiss of the sun for pardon.
Song of the birds for mirth.
You're closer to God's heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth."...Dorothy Frances Gurney

always meant something to me a bit differently than what the author intended, I believe

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

This is pretty much what I believe in. I believe in Physics. All molecules in the universe are in motion. Vast incredible amounts of motion, from the spinning of protons around your nuclei to the rotation of the entire galaxy within the expanse of the universe. That much motion has to have a harmony to it and must at a harmonic level be connected. As so we are all connected to each other, the earth, the universe. To think that there is some extra-terrestrial invisible petty polygamist floating out there that controls it at some level just always struck me as so absurd.

Getting in harmony with the energy and the motion is my goal.




We have experienced terrible oppression here. I have not had a problem, but my poor DD was attacked at school by thumpers who were trying to "save" her and was once involuntarily "baptized" by bigoted relatives. It is mostly either ignorance or some version of their belief that compels them to "save" you. I feel sorry for them and their fear. My higher power could not be so petty.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Hey! Maybe that's what I am then.....I've always felt Nature was more of a church for me than any church building I've ever been in....I always felt that was one of the reasons I was drawn to Native American beliefs.

 

[deb1]

Okay, a lot of your views on a power greater then ourselves is what I believe also.

Some of what I learned in church about God always seemed contradictory. It has never struck me as plausible that a being who was all loving would also be jealous. Why should God be jealous of what name we call him or her? If I call God by a Hindu name, Allah, Buddha, Isis, Cerridwen(spelling?) or Christ, it shouldn't matter.

I don't get upset if I am called Mom, Deb, Sweetie(hubby's name for me) or Mrs. X. How can an all powerful, all knowing Deity be more petty then me with all my faults?

I admit I like a lot of aspects of Wiccan, so I think that is where my focus will be in my reading.

I have been reading about re constructionist paganism also. They are interesting and inspire the nerd in me who loves to read about mythology and how ancient people lived. But they also seem much more rigid then I would like. (although that is fine for the practitioners)

Your all's connection to nature hits a nerve with me also. I have always felt closer to something bigger then myself when I was outside drinking my morning cup of coffee, instead of sitting inside on a hard pew.