beliefs
It's almost as if I knew what I was talking about
Sunday, 25Aug2019
First truth
Thursday, 08Aug2019
❝This is the first truth.
We share life and through life we are all connected. We are measured in the lives we touch. We live to manifest and we manifest by living.❞
Obsessed with Christians
Monday, 29Jul2019
I wrote about my thinking behind the link behavior here at Technopagan Yearnings and how I made it work.
Read More...Lexicon mini-indexes
Thursday, 25Jul2019
“One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.”
Ro3 № 32
Thursday, 23May2019
“Once again there was the desert, and that only.”— Stephen King, The Gunslinger
Ro3 № 31
Thursday, 23May2019
“In the old days, you would chastise people for reinventing the wheel. Now we beg, 'Oh, please, please reinvent the wheel.' ”
Coward's way
Tuesday, 07May2019
Revived 01Apr2019
Monday, 01Apr2019
“We don't think we come into this World corrupt.”
Thursday, 29Nov2018
“It's the end of the world, everybody. Well, it's the end of our mythology series, anyway. This week, we're talking about how mythological themes have made their way into the English language. We're taking on the Herculean task of tracking down phrases that have made their way into language from mythical stories.”
Read More...We don't see ourselves as separate
Thursday, 29Nov2018
You may have noticed that my quote section is building to a truly awesome size.
Read More...Animism means
Thursday, 29Nov2018
NeoNote — Where do pagans fit in?
Thursday, 22Nov2018
How does it make the World better?
Tuesday, 30Oct2018
Rewritten.
This has been the year of politics. Even more, it's been the year of Pagan politics, with Doomsayers announcing that the Current Administration is a threat to paganism, women, children, world peace, climate, and the price of organic rice.
Codswallop.
Years ago I chose to separate my politics from my paganism. Lately I've been trying to separate sex around me from politics. We know that politics corrupts. I've no desire to see my faith enslaved to the cause of the day. And I really don't want to give control of my sex drive to the activists. It's not a circus where we all go home safe and sound afterwards.
It's not a fantasy epic. As John Halstead pointed out, fantasy epics are adolescent. Not even thinking, it's desire unleashed. We're not the Ones Chosen By Destiny to Triumph Over Overwelming Evil.
"Me, ME, ME, ME!"
Any blood paid wouldn't be theirs.
We're people, not legends.
The real world, the mundane world, the everyday World isn't like that. Real heroes make a stand, knowing that the price may be more than they can pay. But these poseurs? These wanna-be Big Name Pagans? These shallow sorta victim types? What's heroic about that? It's wish fulfillment. They will never be satisfied. They never see beyond the next moment of What Could Be, if everything goes the way they want. If nothing goes wrong…
Real change in the real world costs blood, sweat, and tears. It means thinking about tomorrow and the week after that. It means accepting the consequences for your actions. It means knowing that big changes start with small changes, not grand gestures. It means something beyond the fantasy.
Let's say there were these hot, uninhibited, possibly bisexual and very well developed 15 year old twins that lived over on the next block. Now there's a part of me that would look at them and think "me FUCK now!!!".
But that isn't an adult thing to do. Leaving aside the social consequences of boinking two underage girls, just what is going to happen next? What do we talk about between sessions? Do I feed them in the morning? Who cooks? If they mess up the bathroom, do I take time away from screwing to clean it up? Would they want to fuck me? Or is it only about my desire? What happens next week? Would I want them back? Would they want me back? When does this little fantasy stop being about me? When does this become something we share and can build on? Beyond the moment, is there something more?
How does it make the World better?
So when I read about the very public hexing of a Supreme Court justice, I see some very adolescent behavior. It's not that the hex couldn't be effective (although not the way it was set up). I just have to wonder what is the point? All those people doing the hexing weren't wronged. But they were making a very public statement that they AS PAGANS WE ARE NOT GOING TO STAND FOR IT.
Maybe they should try sitting.
And maybe listening.
Is there something they can share? Or is it only about their desire?
We know what they want. They want a Grand Crusade Against Injustice. They want to make a difference in the World and be acknowledged for the good that did. With no risk to themselves and no consequences for their choices. They are Pagan. They are Proud. They are Morally Superior. They want you to know that. They are Those Who Want to Be Noticed, who MUST be celebrated for the stand they took against the fuddy-duddy crowds that said no. But what is pagan about it?
While all this serves the ego, what does it have to do with the sunrise?
How does it make the World better?
This isn't the change we should be making. This is selfish. This is about as far away from the natural World as we can get. It's not about harmony and understanding, it's about threats and demands against our fellow humans. It's about cultivating resentment. It's about driving barriers between us. It's about destruction for the sake of destruction.
How does it make the World better?
It doesn't.
Don't be a great Pagan. Just be a great human.
Be the best human you can be. Leave the World a little better than how you found it. Find something good you can share.
Codswallop.
Years ago I chose to separate my politics from my paganism. Lately I've been trying to separate sex around me from politics. We know that politics corrupts. I've no desire to see my faith enslaved to the cause of the day. And I really don't want to give control of my sex drive to the activists. It's not a circus where we all go home safe and sound afterwards.
It's not a fantasy epic. As John Halstead pointed out, fantasy epics are adolescent. Not even thinking, it's desire unleashed. We're not the Ones Chosen By Destiny to Triumph Over Overwelming Evil.
"Me, ME, ME, ME!"
Any blood paid wouldn't be theirs.
We're people, not legends.
The real world, the mundane world, the everyday World isn't like that. Real heroes make a stand, knowing that the price may be more than they can pay. But these poseurs? These wanna-be Big Name Pagans? These shallow sorta victim types? What's heroic about that? It's wish fulfillment. They will never be satisfied. They never see beyond the next moment of What Could Be, if everything goes the way they want. If nothing goes wrong…
Real change in the real world costs blood, sweat, and tears. It means thinking about tomorrow and the week after that. It means accepting the consequences for your actions. It means knowing that big changes start with small changes, not grand gestures. It means something beyond the fantasy.
Let's say there were these hot, uninhibited, possibly bisexual and very well developed 15 year old twins that lived over on the next block. Now there's a part of me that would look at them and think "me FUCK now!!!".
But that isn't an adult thing to do. Leaving aside the social consequences of boinking two underage girls, just what is going to happen next? What do we talk about between sessions? Do I feed them in the morning? Who cooks? If they mess up the bathroom, do I take time away from screwing to clean it up? Would they want to fuck me? Or is it only about my desire? What happens next week? Would I want them back? Would they want me back? When does this little fantasy stop being about me? When does this become something we share and can build on? Beyond the moment, is there something more?
How does it make the World better?
So when I read about the very public hexing of a Supreme Court justice, I see some very adolescent behavior. It's not that the hex couldn't be effective (although not the way it was set up). I just have to wonder what is the point? All those people doing the hexing weren't wronged. But they were making a very public statement that they AS PAGANS WE ARE NOT GOING TO STAND FOR IT.
Maybe they should try sitting.
And maybe listening.
Is there something they can share? Or is it only about their desire?
We know what they want. They want a Grand Crusade Against Injustice. They want to make a difference in the World and be acknowledged for the good that did. With no risk to themselves and no consequences for their choices. They are Pagan. They are Proud. They are Morally Superior. They want you to know that. They are Those Who Want to Be Noticed, who MUST be celebrated for the stand they took against the fuddy-duddy crowds that said no. But what is pagan about it?
While all this serves the ego, what does it have to do with the sunrise?
How does it make the World better?
This isn't the change we should be making. This is selfish. This is about as far away from the natural World as we can get. It's not about harmony and understanding, it's about threats and demands against our fellow humans. It's about cultivating resentment. It's about driving barriers between us. It's about destruction for the sake of destruction.
How does it make the World better?
It doesn't.
Don't be a great Pagan. Just be a great human.
Be the best human you can be. Leave the World a little better than how you found it. Find something good you can share.
Revived 12Oct2018
Friday, 12Oct2018
As always, the most recently converted entries are at the top of the list at the 3rd Yearnings tag page.
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
A Blast from the Past
Faith worthy of freedom
The Magick of Food
Tree Of Life
The Word is Not the Thing
Basking in the moonlight
Study notes
What's in a word?
Paganism isn't a movement
Monday, 17Sep2018
Six new pages
Friday, 17Aug2018
❝I learned a long time ago that it's worth the trouble to make sure she's got at least two climaxes for every one of mine.
Keeps her smiling too.❞
Lady & Lord
Wednesday, 25Jul2018
Broken
Tuesday, 29May2018
Growing season
Friday, 18May2018
“A piece of advice if I may be allowed to give it, is that no philosophy, no creed, no God is worth more than the love that one human being may give and receive in their lifetime – this is what is meant by being ‘involved’.”
Practical philosophy
Sunday, 13May2018
“This week, we continue our look at various Pantheons, and Mike digs deep into the gods of the ancient Greeks. We're talking Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Artemis, Hephaestos, Ares, and Apollo. We're also talking Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Pluto, Diana, Vulcan, Mars, and...Apollo. Similar gods, different names. We'll start with the origin stories of the gods, talk about their family relationships, and what exactly their specialties are.”
Read More...Attention
Friday, 11May2018
Cauldron
Monday, 30Apr2018
“The cauldron in fact represented a great step forward in civilization. Before men were able to make metal cooking pots, which would withstand fire, they had to be content with thick earthenware pots, which were heated by the laborious process of dropping very hot stones into them. The metal cauldron, over which the woman as head of the household presided, gave men better cooked food, more plentiful hot water to cleanse themselves, and herbal medicines which could be decocted by boiling or infused in boiling water. Hence the cauldron became an instrument of magic, and especially of women’s magic.”— Doreen Valiente, “Cauldron”, An ABC of Witchcraft: Past and Present
Peak
Saturday, 28Apr2018
❝We're not wired emotionally to differentiate between 'good' and 'bad.' We just recognize peak passion, the strongest emotions. If your peak passion is with your family and loved ones, those are the experiences you seek out. If your peak passion is because you built an amazing motorcycle, that is what you remember and seek out. And unfortunately, if your peak passion is abuse at work or abusing someone, that is what you seek out.❞— NeoWayland, peak experience
NeoNotes – Government should not be trusted
Sunday, 22Apr2018
NeoNotes — Defending my faith (the long one)
Friday, 23Mar2018
❝I hadn't heard of the "well poisoner" bit, although obviously I heard about "poisoner." There are certain bits that I don't let folks get away with, like the "unbroken matriarchal tradition" or "Never again the Burning Times"
I try to give Christians the benefit of the doubt, mainly because I expect the same. Some make it harder than others (Bob Barr). Live and let live works mostly.
Anyway, I'll go back to my books now.
Satanists are not witches, usually.
One does not like being labeled as the other.
Sort of like comparing an intramural softball team to a volunteer soup kitchen. There are similarities but there are far more differences.
And I've seen extremely energetic discussions why they aren't the same thing. I even agree with most of it, Satanism is usually more self-focused.
As far as the "eternal destination," no one This Side knows.
Which is almost certainly the point of being This Side.
Actually you don't.
You know that I don't like labels and that I prefer to live and let live. You know I think humans are mostly good, given half a chance and a few kind words.
But part of my path means I don't casually share the Names of my gods. It's part of how I honor them.
It's not your place to judge, and it certainly isn't your place to allow me anything.
It's literally between me and the Divine. Your own book teaches that.
Parity. Simple parity. You don't want your stuff questioned by me, don't try to impose it on me. Live & let live. You're not a gatekeeper no matter how hard you try.
I'd like to make this World just a little better than I found it. Where is it "written" that is wrong?
It's not complicated. It doesn't require Divine evaluation.
There you go again, trying to assume authority that was never yours.
There's nothing in that special handbook that gives Christians power over other humans.
I won't bow before your belief, just as you won't bow before mine. You can't require that of me and I can't require that of you.
Parity.
Pardon, but I didn't say anything about forcing. That's not why I'm objecting.
He's disputing my beliefs because he doesn't share them. Nothing wrong with that. But then he attempts to put his beliefs over mine without logic, but faith. He'd be screaming bloody murder if I tried the same thing.
I don't allow it when the climate change crowd tries. I don't allow it when the RadFems try. And I don't allow it when certain Christians try. Not because I disagree, but because no one has the power to dictate faith.
I pointed out that no one This Side knew what the "eternal destination" was.
I pointed out that QM wants me to put his faith over mine."But that doesn't mean we have to stop trying to warn you.""The only judgment he made was that God suffers you to live."
Both those were yours I think.
Pardon, but both those were taken from your replies."The key, however, is the eternal destination is the same…"
That was QM, above.
Absent proof, my belief is as valid as his. That was my point.
And NONE of that matters This Side, where it's up to us to Manifest the Divine in a way that hopefully makes the World a little better than we found it.
You and he are nitpicking about the afterlife when we should be focusing on the here and now.
Oh my, that is just too funny!
Just what do you think you're doing when you continually insist your beliefs apply to me when I disagree?
Oh, and while we're at it, note that I haven't said one blessed word about what I think will happen to you after This Side.
We weren't discussing invalidating, we were discussing calling something invalid.
We also had established that using your beliefs to control others is a Bad Thing™. Just in case you hadn't noticed, my criticism of Christianity is reactive and mostly directed against certain Christians.
Celebrate your beliefs and cherish your faith. All I ask is the same. Just don't demand that my beliefs and actions are bound by yours. Live and let live.
There is a difference.
You can call something invalid, but that does not invalidate it.
And yet you're still here trying to convince me.❝Come down off your high horse.❞
This from someone who presumes that the default setting for humanity is Christianity, or at least that Christians are in the majority.
You know, one thing I haven't been able to figure out about you is why when you tell people that they should be Christian, the only reason you give is a vague threat about what "happens" to non-Christians after death.
Yes, yes, I know you're going to tell me it is not you that threatens and it is up to Christians to "warn" others.
I didn't say it was what you said, I said it was what you presumed.
Why are you so desperate for me to bow before your belief? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were threatened by my beliefs.
And of course, this discussion conveniently lets you ignore the here and now in favor of your "Christian duty."
Outside of religion, it's accepted practice to say "I disagree" and both parties move on.
However, some Christians act as if that's a full challenge.
For whatever reason, you feel you cannot allow dissent to your chosen creed. Now, the logical and respectable thing to do would be to accept that some believe differently and not "mark your territory." It would get you allies and a certain amount of leeway.
But that's not the way you're going to do it, is it?❝You need to go back and read everything I've said.❞
No, I don't think so.❝You beclown your by doing so, then whine that the other guy is doing bad things to you.❞
Actually what I do is show that when you can't handle the argument, you go after the person. It's amateurish and you can do better.❝I'm not looking for allies.❞
You should be.
So you've gone from warning to leading me "around by the nose."
Except you haven't.
You still can't address the argument, you have to go after the person..
Having dealt with some incredibly silly propaganda over the years, I beg to differ.
The first step to invalidating something is to prove it wrong.
Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don't.
By the way, have you noticed you're focusing on my "unbelief" and the Christian reaction? Do you remember what I said a few posts back?
❝And NONE of that matters This Side, where it's up to us to Manifest the Divine in a way that hopefully makes the World a little better than we found it.
You and he are nitpicking about the afterlife when we should be focusing on the here and now.❞
Seek paradox for truth.
What you have is an either/or trap. You believe that the conditions of your faith are such that all other faiths and belief systems must be universally false. So when I say my faith tells me different, by your conditions I am declaring your faith to be Untruth.
But by the conditions of my faith. I'm just seeing things from another perspective.
What you need to ask yourself who imposed the either/or trap? Your god? Or people claiming to speak in His Name? Why should Diety be limited by a human logical construct?
It's paradox and illogic because some of the "universal" assumptions that you use aren't exactly universal.
You can mix metric and English parts, but something is probably going to come loose and fly apart.
Assume I am making a pie.
You tell me I need apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, cane sugar, apples that have been cored and peeled (preferably Granny Smith but others will work in a pinch)…
But I am making a key lime pie.
Then you tell me that's not a True Pie®. And it may not be from your perspective.
But from my point of view, it works just fine. It's round, it's dessert, and my guests will enjoy it.
There's not just one type of pie.
Your belief shouldn't control what I can and can not call a pie.
Who knows? Next month I may go with my grandmother's pecan pie. It's a pain to make but absolutely delicious.
My key lime pie and my pecan pie do not negate the existence of your apple pie. Your apple pie doesn't prevent me from making my key lime pie and my pecan pie. They aren't your pies so you may not wish to call them pies, but they exist for me.
You didn't state your motive, at least not all of it.
You stated your justification.
If it were really about "warning" people, you would give your warning a few times and that would be it.
You also wouldn't try to go after another's character when they disagree with you.
This is what you do.
When you can't dismiss the argument, you go after the person. When that doesn't work, you go after the person some more.
That doesn't work with me.
Simple questions.
Would you give up your faith and your beliefs for mine?
Why should I give mine up for yours?
Will it make you a better person?
Will it give you some Divine merit points?
Why should I care about some nebulous benefit that comes to you?
Live and let live.
The questions are central to this discussion. Particularly the first two.
❝Would you give up your faith and your beliefs for mine?
Why should I give mine up for yours?❞
I'm pretty sure if you think about those questions, you'll discover what "live and let live" means.
I've told you before that my faith and beliefs are at least as important to me as yours are to you.
You wouldn't stand for someone like me telling you what and how to worship.
Parity.
Live and let live.
No, you are insisting that your beliefs trump mine.
I'm telling you they don't.
I never take anyone's word alone for their motives. I always include their actions.
Guess which I place more importance on.
Guess which tells me more.❝He is the only reality.❞
You believe that, but you have no proof other than faith.
I do not believe as you do.
I have my own beliefs, they are at least as real to me as yours are to you.
I've no proof other than faith.
Live and let live.
Neighbor.❝You do in deed have "faith" but it is not faith based on a firm foundation.❞
As opposed to you?
Who are you to judge what is a "firm foundation?"
Why do you assume you have that power?❝Go back and digest what I said earlier.❞
Why? Would you do that if I demanded that you do it with what I wrote?❝I don't "assume" to have any power.❞
Again, your own words prove my point better than I could. You're here now, trying to disprove what I wrote, unleashing your "big guns." That's an awful lot of trouble to take against one man who is seriously outnumbered and hasn't really done anything except write "I disagree."
The main point I make is that there are different faiths and it's wrong to act as if Christianity controls the others.
You wouldn't stand for it if someone tried to do that to Christianity.
Parity.
Live and let live.
Very simple.
Again, it's live and let live.
Not the strange rewrite that you keep pushing, but the simple idea.
I have my belief, you have yours. As long as you don't keep insisting that your belief governs mine, there's no problem.
It's your insecurity that makes this happen.
Through each of our every discussions, I've never criticized Christianity. It's always been specific followers.
Except you have.
Every single time you trotted out your afterlife threat. Every single time you've insisted that people with other faiths are bound by Christian rules. Every time you've insisted on deference for Christianity while dismissing other faiths.
Can you show how your "firm foundation" is better than mine?
In fact, let's take it one step further.
Can you give me ANYTHING except a vague threat about the afterlife to tell me what a good thing Christianity is and how it is better than my faith?
I've never seen you do that, you know. You recite plenty of afterlife threats, but never any benefits This Side.
I've never seen you do it for anyone you disagree with.
Always with the threats.
Never with the wonders.
Certainly something to think about.
You still haven't established how your "firm foundation" is better than mine.
So now we've come back to where it all began.
Your problem is that you want me to put your faith first and I tell you "no" because I have something else.
No other reason.
You can't tell me the wonders of Christianity, you can only claim that my faith is lacking because it is not Christian.
That is just sad.
ETA: Okay, that was awkwardly worded. Let's try again.
But you still can't bring yourself to say what the wonders are.❝I'm not telling you how, or what, to worship. I've simply pointed out the warnings of the consequences of rejecting Christ.❞
Behold the contradiction.
Or the paradox if you prefer.
As I told RHW above, if there's a paradox, chances are pretty good at least one of your core assumptions is wrong.
He can claim Biblical justification all he wants, but he needs something other than "the Bible told me so." If that's all he got, then his faith is no different than mine, is it?
He may believe that it's more, but he can't control my belief. That's why he trots out "my God suffers you to live."
Instead of looking at the World and how we might make a difference, he presumes his faith gives him the power to give judgement, even as he denies the judgement is his.
And if anyone disputes it, well, it's Holy Writ, isn't it?
It certainly has very little to do with the message of the Bible.
Unfortunately this is not my first or thirteenth dance with QM, we have a history. He has in fact at different times done everything you said he hasn't done on this specific thread.
I'd still prefer live and let live. Which means not publicly insisting that the tenants of your faith control the actions of others. It also means finding a common morality without putting one religion over all others.
Is it more important that I acknowledge that "the Bible is Holy Writ," or is it more important that I agree that government mandated and funded abortion is A Really Bad Thing™?
Which is more practical?
That's the thing. You and others believe that the Bible is "Holy Writ," but that doesn't make it so.
I happen to think there are some good ideas there, but I don't think it's particularly holy.
Now we can get hung up on my "unbelief" and Christian reaction to it, or we can find things we do agree on and work from there.
Again, which is more practical?
And why do you feel compelled to speak for your God? Did he call you on the phone? Was there a registered letter?
More importantly, how does that get us closer to agreeing?
My faith and beliefs are at least as important to me as yours are to you."The Almighty, however, probably has a different perspective on what you believe."
Beats the usual. Most Christians just cite chapter and verse.
Nothing wrong with that PROVIDED you don't use it to try to control others.
And yes, I know Christians are supposed to spread the news. However, Christians don't appreciate it when others do it to them.
Parity. Or the Golden Rule, if you prefer.
*shrugs* Which is why I don't usually make it except under very specific circumstances.
Some Christians insist that the rules defined by their religion are universal and everyone must comply or else.
I disagree. That's usually when I'm accused of attacking Christianity."Neither of us have accused you of attacking anyone."
Give QM time."Listen to us or don't, that's your choice."
Stars above, if only it were that simple."But that doesn't mean we have to stop trying to warn you."
And if you only did it once each or once each per thread, that would be great.
But I didn't lie.
As for the afterlife, you have your belief and I have mine. No one This Side knows.
You were the one who took exception to that statement."You are your source of authority."
No, I'm not.
Perhaps what frustrates you most is that you can't denounce my faith without undermining your own. At the end of the day, we don't have anything but our faith. Mine is just as valid as yours by every "objective" measure you trot out.
Live and let live. Why is that so hard for you to accept?
My posts "reveal" that I answer to an authority different than yours.
I never claimed an "objective" standard. Truths are incredibly subjective.
How many times have I told you that a man is measured in the lives he touches?
That's not exactly about the self, is it?
Of course it is not you that threaten, it is your God. He just sits down at your keyboard and types away.
That tells me is that you don't know your God very well.
Yep, too many people are into religion for the politics.
No, you believe that the Bible is God-inspired. So do a lot of other people. That doesn't make it "objectively true." Especially since it is the most heavily edited, redacted, and revised book in history. Remarkably well preserved, but still.
What I "fessed up to" was that I didn't remember the Hebrew that I studied briefly for a few months about three decades ago. Since I don't use Hebrew regularly, that's hardly surprising.
Again, if you don't like what I have to say about the Bible, stop insisting that I am bound by it. Even Christians are extremely selective when it comes to the portions they use.
ETA: I don't think the Christian message was ever intended to be confined to dusty writings.❞
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
In the spirt of the season
Wednesday, 21Mar2018
“I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.”
Disconnect
Tuesday, 20Mar2018
I don't suppose it's really important in the overall scheme of things, but I find it unnerving.
Read More...NeoNotes — IQ is culture dependent
Monday, 19Mar2018
If the winter solstice is the middle of winter and the summer solstice is the middle of summer, the vernal equinox is the middle of spring and the autumnal equinox is the middle of fall.
Read More...NeoNotes — the middle
Saturday, 17Mar2018
Tainted frisson
Tuesday, 27Feb2018
We've not had one of these in a while, have we?
I've been busy, but that is not the reason. Politics has tainted paganism in my mind and I am working to re-establish the separation.
Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. Politics is not a part of that.
This author is Officially Approved this week, but that doesn't mean anything about next week. Next week it may be old fashioned. The week after there may be some scandal as defined by Today's Morality that wasn't immoral when it happened. If it happened.
This isn't new. One of my favorite symbols is the wheeled cross. But it has white supremacist connotations, so I can't use it in "public" pagan discussion. Never mind that it makes more sense to me than the pentagram. It's racist. Off limits. Not allowed.
Sex play and flirting that was allowed a decade or so ago is now denounced. And everyone who participated is expected to abase themselves before the new morality.
As this leaks more and more into how pagans act, it's less about paganism and more about doing the "right thing." Enforcing the echo chambers. Closing out dissent or contrasting opinions. Expelling all that might be tainted by immorality or evil. Part of it is politics, but it goes beyond that.
Some pagans want to change paganism from an experienced faith to a revealed faith. Something with all the bumps and twists and turns ironed out. No unexpected surprises. Nothing not previously declared. No uncomfortable truths. No juice. No frisson. Everything nice and neat and perfectly defined.
The experience has been sanitized for your protection. Truth will be revealed, but only if you do as you are told.
It has been approved by the powers-that-wanna-be.
Not necessarily the gods.
It's politics, not faith.
Some things will be revealed. If you pay attention and ask the proper questions. In the proper order. And no more. Politics will advance you more in this new pagan faith than experience.
Except those people aren't really a part of paganism.
It's about your Journey. Not about their Story.
Paganism is about the experience. The juicy, sexy, messy, screwed up experience that you struggle to make a part of your life. It's about embracing the passion. It's about where the gods point you. It's about finding and living your own way.
Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. It can't be revealed, it can only be experienced.
Will you live it?
Or will you avoid the taint?
I've been busy, but that is not the reason. Politics has tainted paganism in my mind and I am working to re-establish the separation.
Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. Politics is not a part of that.
This author is Officially Approved this week, but that doesn't mean anything about next week. Next week it may be old fashioned. The week after there may be some scandal as defined by Today's Morality that wasn't immoral when it happened. If it happened.
This isn't new. One of my favorite symbols is the wheeled cross. But it has white supremacist connotations, so I can't use it in "public" pagan discussion. Never mind that it makes more sense to me than the pentagram. It's racist. Off limits. Not allowed.
Sex play and flirting that was allowed a decade or so ago is now denounced. And everyone who participated is expected to abase themselves before the new morality.
As this leaks more and more into how pagans act, it's less about paganism and more about doing the "right thing." Enforcing the echo chambers. Closing out dissent or contrasting opinions. Expelling all that might be tainted by immorality or evil. Part of it is politics, but it goes beyond that.
Some pagans want to change paganism from an experienced faith to a revealed faith. Something with all the bumps and twists and turns ironed out. No unexpected surprises. Nothing not previously declared. No uncomfortable truths. No juice. No frisson. Everything nice and neat and perfectly defined.
The experience has been sanitized for your protection. Truth will be revealed, but only if you do as you are told.
It has been approved by the powers-that-wanna-be.
Not necessarily the gods.
It's politics, not faith.
Some things will be revealed. If you pay attention and ask the proper questions. In the proper order. And no more. Politics will advance you more in this new pagan faith than experience.
Except those people aren't really a part of paganism.
It's about your Journey. Not about their Story.
Paganism is about the experience. The juicy, sexy, messy, screwed up experience that you struggle to make a part of your life. It's about embracing the passion. It's about where the gods point you. It's about finding and living your own way.
Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. It can't be revealed, it can only be experienced.
Will you live it?
Or will you avoid the taint?
NeoNotes — Fluffies and Crusaders
Friday, 23Feb2018
“The pagan loves the earth in order to enjoy it and confine himself within it; the Christian in order to make it purer and draw from it the strength to escape from it.”
No Grand Cause here
Wednesday, 17Jan2018
If it works for you and challenges you to be a better person, more power to you. It is not my place to question that, it's between you and the Divine.
Read More...In defense of Bonewits' work
Monday, 15Jan2018
Since the reddit comments on my blog entry saying that I don't think Isaac Bonewits abused Moria Greyland, this site has been labeled as "supporting abusers."
Over the years I've developed a small reputation for straight talk and honest answers about sex, particularly sex in a pagan context. My two personal carved-in-stone sex rules are consenting adults and you're off limits if you promised to be someone else's "one and only." I believe that those two rules cover most of the sexual issues in American society. I've recently added two more. "Regret does not equal rape." "Acknowledge but not celebrate." These are personal rules, they affect me. I can't impose them on anyone else. But honestly, the first two cover so much of what is wrong with American sexuality that I often use them in discussions to show how messes could have been avoided. If it's not consent, it's not right. Now I could go into the why and wherefore, but that is not really relevant here. I will say that my sex category on this blog doesn't include porn. There are essays on ethical pagan sex and how responsible sex can fit into paganism. I also point out frequently that sex is not love, nudity is not sex, and love isn't nudity.
The site gallery does include nudes. With a couple of exceptions it does not include sexual nudes. And you will not find photos of nude children anywhere on the site. Many of my vintage nudes are classical pieces of art where I point out things that the artist was trying to convey.
I discourage sexual abuse and sexual misunderstanding. I condone truth, I do not condone abuse. Before the accusations against Bonewits, no one questioned that.
I have this habit of pointing out truths, even when they are uncomfortable. Look at the motto of this site. I firmly believe that I am called for veritas.
My introduction to Isaac Bonewits was in Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon. For a seminary dropout with magickal experience but very little formal training, it was eye-opening. His ABCDEF talked about how people were treated. Bonewits didn't focus on the "correct" Deity or if the priesthood/leadership had special "rights" beyond the membership.
Of course Bonewits wasn't the first to focus on how people were treated. But it was the first that I have ever seen that didn't start with a religion-specific context. I wore out my first copy of DDTM because I used to copy that chapter for minister friends when they asked for help. There was no web addy to hand out in those days.
Real Magic wasn't my next purchase, but I did buy it within a year or two. Rural location, a lot of road trips, no real bookstore, no internet, yeah, it took a couple of years. When I started studying, I was hooked. Here were explanations that actually fit in the real world. Bonewits credits Sir James Frazer with isolating the laws, but points out that anthropologists don't acknowledge him. Still, here was a framework where I could hang my own studies. Even when I goofed up and had to backtrack, I never had to throw out Bonewits. His stuff was just too damn useful.
That should be a law. Oh wait, it is. Bonewits calls it the Law of Pragmatism.
Were the Laws of Magic as defined by Bonewits absolute? No. But he allows for that too.
To this day, I've a poster of the laws hanging near the altar in my sanctum.
So here's the question. Now that P.E.I. Bonewits has been "shown" to have questionable character, should his work be forgotten? Should his name never again be mentioned in polite pagan company? Should we conduct a cultural scrubbing and remove any influence that Bonewits might have had?
No. I don't think so.
He was a flawed man. How flawed is still open to discussion. But his contribution to neopaganism and anthropology can't be denied. We can accept the work without accepting his sexual activities. And if his work can't stand on it's own, people will find something else.
I think removing him and his work is very close to what a fundamentalist Christian would do. I don't think the world is either/or, and neither did he. I tell people that if they tell you the choice is black or white, you should go for the fuzzy. Or maybe the minty. Reducing the choice to all or nothing means you probably overlooked some things.
For ourselves, for our understanding, we should keep Bonewits' work.
Over the years I've developed a small reputation for straight talk and honest answers about sex, particularly sex in a pagan context. My two personal carved-in-stone sex rules are consenting adults and you're off limits if you promised to be someone else's "one and only." I believe that those two rules cover most of the sexual issues in American society. I've recently added two more. "Regret does not equal rape." "Acknowledge but not celebrate." These are personal rules, they affect me. I can't impose them on anyone else. But honestly, the first two cover so much of what is wrong with American sexuality that I often use them in discussions to show how messes could have been avoided. If it's not consent, it's not right. Now I could go into the why and wherefore, but that is not really relevant here. I will say that my sex category on this blog doesn't include porn. There are essays on ethical pagan sex and how responsible sex can fit into paganism. I also point out frequently that sex is not love, nudity is not sex, and love isn't nudity.
The site gallery does include nudes. With a couple of exceptions it does not include sexual nudes. And you will not find photos of nude children anywhere on the site. Many of my vintage nudes are classical pieces of art where I point out things that the artist was trying to convey.
I discourage sexual abuse and sexual misunderstanding. I condone truth, I do not condone abuse. Before the accusations against Bonewits, no one questioned that.
I have this habit of pointing out truths, even when they are uncomfortable. Look at the motto of this site. I firmly believe that I am called for veritas.
My introduction to Isaac Bonewits was in Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon. For a seminary dropout with magickal experience but very little formal training, it was eye-opening. His ABCDEF talked about how people were treated. Bonewits didn't focus on the "correct" Deity or if the priesthood/leadership had special "rights" beyond the membership.
Of course Bonewits wasn't the first to focus on how people were treated. But it was the first that I have ever seen that didn't start with a religion-specific context. I wore out my first copy of DDTM because I used to copy that chapter for minister friends when they asked for help. There was no web addy to hand out in those days.
Real Magic wasn't my next purchase, but I did buy it within a year or two. Rural location, a lot of road trips, no real bookstore, no internet, yeah, it took a couple of years. When I started studying, I was hooked. Here were explanations that actually fit in the real world. Bonewits credits Sir James Frazer with isolating the laws, but points out that anthropologists don't acknowledge him. Still, here was a framework where I could hang my own studies. Even when I goofed up and had to backtrack, I never had to throw out Bonewits. His stuff was just too damn useful.
That should be a law. Oh wait, it is. Bonewits calls it the Law of Pragmatism.
Were the Laws of Magic as defined by Bonewits absolute? No. But he allows for that too.
To this day, I've a poster of the laws hanging near the altar in my sanctum.
So here's the question. Now that P.E.I. Bonewits has been "shown" to have questionable character, should his work be forgotten? Should his name never again be mentioned in polite pagan company? Should we conduct a cultural scrubbing and remove any influence that Bonewits might have had?
No. I don't think so.
He was a flawed man. How flawed is still open to discussion. But his contribution to neopaganism and anthropology can't be denied. We can accept the work without accepting his sexual activities. And if his work can't stand on it's own, people will find something else.
I think removing him and his work is very close to what a fundamentalist Christian would do. I don't think the world is either/or, and neither did he. I tell people that if they tell you the choice is black or white, you should go for the fuzzy. Or maybe the minty. Reducing the choice to all or nothing means you probably overlooked some things.
For ourselves, for our understanding, we should keep Bonewits' work.
Journal 12Jan2018
Friday, 12Jan2018
I don't approve of older men having sex with young teens, but it has been happening from the beginning.
Read More...So much for avoiding the topic
Thursday, 11Jan2018
I don't approve of older men having sex with young teens, but it has been happening from the beginning.
Read More...NeoNotes — Man separate from Nature
Tuesday, 09Jan2018
“The Christians and the Pagans”
Monday, 25Dec2017
“Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.”— Doctor Who, A Good Man Goes to War
Lady Moon
Wednesday, 15Nov2017
❝We can't let our faiths and our creeds control how we touch other people. Faith is between you and the Divine. But we're measured by how we touch the lives of other humans.❞
— NeoWayland, Journal 07Jul2017
NeoNotes — Roy Moore and the Decalogue monument - updated
Wednesday, 15Nov2017
She was more than a bit put out
Thursday, 10Aug2017
Ego-trapped
Tuesday, 25Jul2017
“As a pagan, I've found that 99% of my practices and worshiping consists of just going outside, sitting still, shutting up, and listening.”Read More...
Magick everyday
Wednesday, 19Jul2017
❝I know that when you borrow from another culture you should honor those elements.❞
— NeoWayland
Beyond patriotism
Tuesday, 04Jul2017
❝I look for the Divine in every woman I meet. Can you think of a better way to find people who are honorable, passionate and reasoning at the same time?❞
— NeoWayland
Pure
Tuesday, 27Jun2017
Holy places
Thursday, 22Jun2017
“If you don't question what a book or Authority Figure™ tells you, you aren't doing your part.“
Penetration into the darkness
Thursday, 22Jun2017
❝As a rule, absolutes don't.❞— NeoWayland, as a rule, absolutes don’t
Question
Wednesday, 21Jun2017
❝Modern American pagans are especially bad, we tend to celebrate some of our worse nutcases as gifts from the gods.❞— NeoWayland, Depression and the Modern Pagan
Absolutely
Wednesday, 21Jun2017
❝Weirdness for the sake of wyrdness is not enough.❞— NeoWayland, Depression and the Modern Pagan
Once upon a time
Tuesday, 20Jun2017
❝Our Dieties aren't suspended in “once upon a time,” they transcend us. They inspire us. They tantalize us.❞
— NeoWayland, Anachronism
Science and Paganism
Monday, 05Jun2017
No one
Tuesday, 16May2017
“I'm taking my dreams back. You can share them if you want. But don't buy into this sacrifice "for the greater good."”Read More...— NeoWayland, Why does your enlightenment demand that I sacrifice?
Affirmation of NeoWayland
Wednesday, 26Apr2017
Pagan anti-environmentalist
Monday, 24Apr2017
☿ Mercury retrograde ☯ waning crescent moon
Am I, NeoWayland, pagan philosopher and libertarian, an anti-environmentalist?Well, yes.
❝Environmentalism is a political movement. It’s about controlling other people to achieve utopia. It’s about closing yourself off from the possibilities.
I don’t want to be limited by the word “environmentalism” anymore. I don’t think ecology is about saving the Earth. I think it’s about understanding how things fit and the tradeoffs we make. It’s about looking at where we were, where we are, and where we could go.❞
Environmentalism is like any other crusade. It wants to change society for our own good even if we disagree with the cause.
I resist it just as I do the extra-enthusiastic Christians who want to enshrine their beliefs as the law of the land. And for PRECISELY the same reasons.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a draft to finish for tomorrow's article.
NeoNotes — 10th anniversary of “Pentacle Quest”
Sunday, 23Apr2017
If you don't like gambling or shows, there's not much that sets Las Vegas apart.
Read More...❝Love begins at home❞
Thursday, 20Apr2017
Sterility cults
Thursday, 13Apr2017
❝Leave the World a little better than how you found it.❞— NeoWayland
Nothing supernatural exists
Tuesday, 04Apr2017
“The old Irish when immersing a babe at baptism left out the right arm so that it would remain pagan for good fighting.”— Mark Twain
★ Earth Day (original) as “the first day of spring”
Tuesday, 21Mar2017
21Mar1970 San Francisco
My entry on Earth Day and politics.
Winter begins
Sunday, 06Nov2016
I've not been handling people very well this season. I'm glad that winter is finally beginning.
Wintergate is my three day WebTree High Holiday that marks the gateway between autumn and winter. The middle day (tomorrow) of the holiday is the cross quarter day or midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
Wintergate also marks my semi-annual Hair ot the Bear. I did it myself yesterday this year. This autumn made me prickly, I've been trying not to take it out on the people around me that I care about. That includes my companions, bless their hearts. Well, my mood should start improving in a couple of days. Then I owe them both big time.
So it's with shorter hair and hot chocolate that I anticipate this High Holiday. Solar Festivals last from dawn to dawn, but High Holidays last from sunset to sunset. I still have a few hours to prepare.
And that means I need to put this entry up.
Bright & Dark Blessings, everyone.
Wintergate is my three day WebTree High Holiday that marks the gateway between autumn and winter. The middle day (tomorrow) of the holiday is the cross quarter day or midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
Wintergate also marks my semi-annual Hair ot the Bear. I did it myself yesterday this year. This autumn made me prickly, I've been trying not to take it out on the people around me that I care about. That includes my companions, bless their hearts. Well, my mood should start improving in a couple of days. Then I owe them both big time.
So it's with shorter hair and hot chocolate that I anticipate this High Holiday. Solar Festivals last from dawn to dawn, but High Holidays last from sunset to sunset. I still have a few hours to prepare.
And that means I need to put this entry up.
Bright & Dark Blessings, everyone.
Season of my idiocy
Saturday, 05Nov2016
❝Mother Nature was the only one who fit❞
Wednesday, 02Nov2016
❝I didn't have a word for what I was for years. I was the small kid who announced to his family that if there was a God the Father, it was only natural that there had to be a God the Mother too. And Mother Nature was the only one who fit the bill.❞— NeoWayland, Why are you Pagan?
Lady in repose
Monday, 31Oct2016
Gets sent out for snacks
Thursday, 27Oct2016
Before this Year ends
Tuesday, 25Oct2016
❝The simple answer is that moral responsibility is always a personal choice. You can't compel virtue or it ceases to be virtue.❞
— NeoWayland
NeoNotes — What witch?
Tuesday, 21Jun2016
I don't think animals should be killed for ritual use. I have issues with animals being killed for food. It's why I still pray before meals. I'm honoring their sacrifice even though I know they don't understand.
Read More...Interconnections
Tuesday, 14Jun2016
Since I don't have much time this week, I thought talk about the daily things we sometimes overlook.
Read More...Bloody sacrifice
Tuesday, 10May2016
This year it's a bit cooler than I like. And we had scattered rainstorms, so the party was inside. Then the heat pump blower quit (on a Saturday), I built a fire in the firepace (fire GOOD grunts Neo).
Read More...Intuition & Inspiration
Tuesday, 03May2016
According to popular culture, magick is about breaking the rules and molding reality.
Nope.
Read More...Religion and politics
Tuesday, 03May2016
Hold her hands, gently, almost like a caress. Tell her how you feel about her. Tell her how you feel when you are with her. Do it again in thirteen minutes, precisely.
Read More...Sex advice
Wednesday, 23Mar2016
Hold her hands, gently, almost like a caress. Tell her how you feel about her. Tell her how you feel when you are with her. Do it again in thirteen minutes, precisely.
Read More...The Lady Always Chooses
Tuesday, 15Mar2016
Faith Triad
Tuesday, 08Mar2016
No, it wasn’t responsible. No, I’m not proud of it. And yes, it lasted longer than it should have with me.
Read More...Collecting pelts
Tuesday, 16Feb2016
Mom ended up with a broken clavicle, a punctured lung, massive bruising, and some confusion.
Read More...Totems I have known
Wednesday, 30Dec2015
It’s a day of contrasts and promises. Even as winter is at it’s greatest, light is born again. Read More...
Earth centered
Tuesday, 01Dec2015
You can see that politics corrupts pretty much any religion, faith, or path you’d care to name.
Read More...Before the Gate of Winter
Tuesday, 27Oct2015
But kids (especially BRIGHT teens) know when you’re different. They like different, they’re attracted to it.
Read More...Naked pagans & sex - updated
Thursday, 15Oct2015
Do you know what I get asked about the most?
Tuesday, 13Oct2015
Lughnasadh
Friday, 31Jul2015
Religion
Tuesday, 07Jul2015
Suncrest
Friday, 19Jun2015
You take a plot of land. Now you can grow flowers or vegetables or both. You choose.
Read More...Hermit and the noise
Monday, 15Jun2015
Gaia
Tuesday, 28Apr2015
I mentioned some of my concerns, but their future is full of utopia and collective effort.
Read More...Earth Day & politics
Tuesday, 21Apr2015
The Pope and his Pagan Christians
Sunday, 09Nov2014
☯ Lady in the Court of Stars
Tuesday, 04Nov2014
Before the Deepest Night - updated
Tuesday, 28Oct2014
Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I choose to honor these people this season
Read More...Meant to be used
Wednesday, 22Sep2010
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20100922133520
Gifts from the gods
❝No matter how beautiful the form, god inspired crafting is meant to be used. It's dishonorable to receive a gift from the gods and put it on a shelf just to look at on special occasions.❞
Okay, so yes, it's self-referential.
Doesn't mean it's not true though.
May you find your own god-gifts this equinox.
Doesn't mean it's not true though.
May you find your own god-gifts this equinox.
Just One
Tuesday, 24Aug2010
On the Threefold Law of Return
Thursday, 19Aug2010
In which body modification technology catches me by surprise
Sunday, 27Jun2010
A sun worshiper welcomes summer
Tuesday, 04May2010
"all of that sunshine,
all of that sweet golden sunshine,
that thrills me and fills me and…"
Several rewrites later…
Saturday, 13Feb2010
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20100213150023
Dealing with life - updated
I can't be politically correct on this one and writing it has been frustrating. I think the only thing that would be more frustrating would be to shelve it.
So here goes.
Back in 2006, I wrote about Pagans and victimhood. Recently online and IRL, I've been talking with Pagans who believe that Christianity* is a Big Bad Evil that must be confronted.
Here's the thing.
Drawing your power from your victimhood depends on the other recognizing the wrong done and expressing guilt. Without the "oppressor" doing both those things, your victimhood has no power. It also only lasts as long as the Big Baddy feels guilty.
Here's the real scary bit.
As long as you embrace victimhood, you can't possibly be as "worthy" as the person who made you a victim. You'll always need "help."
And yes, you should recognize the abuser/abused pattern here.
I put it simply in my Quick notes to a new seeker.
Do you really want to give the Christians that much power over you?
Find yourself. And remember that like calls to like.
_____
*Okay, so I forgot the word Christianity in the original post. Sorry about that.
So here goes.
Back in 2006, I wrote about Pagans and victimhood. Recently online and IRL, I've been talking with Pagans who believe that Christianity* is a Big Bad Evil that must be confronted.
Here's the thing.
Drawing your power from your victimhood depends on the other recognizing the wrong done and expressing guilt. Without the "oppressor" doing both those things, your victimhood has no power. It also only lasts as long as the Big Baddy feels guilty.
Here's the real scary bit.
As long as you embrace victimhood, you can't possibly be as "worthy" as the person who made you a victim. You'll always need "help."
And yes, you should recognize the abuser/abused pattern here.
I put it simply in my Quick notes to a new seeker.
❝Beware of anyone who tells you power comes through victimhood. That power can only be borrowed and only at the sufferance of another.❞But the real power is not in victimhood. Overcoming victimhood can be the first gate to power because that is your power that you discover.
Do you really want to give the Christians that much power over you?
Find yourself. And remember that like calls to like.
_____
*Okay, so I forgot the word Christianity in the original post. Sorry about that.
Redux: Christians & Pagan Tolerance
Thursday, 11Feb2010
On Christians and Pagan tolerance
Tuesday, 05Jan2010
Skeins
Thursday, 19Nov2009
❝There is an old saying that the difficult truths are the only ones that must be told.❞— NeoWayland, Discipline, the Modern Pagan, and power from victimhood
Love
Tuesday, 17Nov2009
❝You're so determined to struggle nobly against dark forces that you can't see what is casting the shadow.❞— NeoWayland
Bittersweet honor
Monday, 03Aug2009
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20090803073939
Unexpected and delightful
I had visitors over the weekend. Unexpected ones, but delightful ones all the same.
An old friend and her husband and her 14 year old son dropped in on Wednesday.
She and I had dated and slept together, well, at least fifteen years ago I guess. Probably closer to eighteen. Guess I am getting older. She has aged remarkably well. Originally from Haiti, her lovely accent and marvelous skin color triggered some great memories. Oh, and her scent, can't forget that. If she hadn't married and promised to be a one-and-only, I might have tried again for old times sake.
Her husband is well educated and knows how to use that brain of his. I heartily approve of her choice.
Their boy shows every sign of being just as smart as his parents. So of course he asked if I used to date his mom.
I told him yes.
Then we wandered into one of those awkward social areas that teens (and especially BRIGHT teens) love to nose out. And I could tell that his dad was laughing at his wife and I.
The kid asked if I wanted to sleep with his mom again. Actually he said fuck his mom, I'm sure he was going for the shock value. It's one of the few times I have seen that particular lady embarrassed, and I had the feeling that I missed the first act in this particular drama.
Deep breath. Only one way through this.
My feelings were irrelevant, I told him. My personal beliefs mean that The Lady Always Chooses. She was in a monogamous marriage to his dad. And that is where it stood. What he suggested wasn't even a possibility because her honor was more important to me than my own.
At that point I looked at her. She winked because she knew me well enough to know what I might do next.
In fact, I told the young man, he should be proud of his mom because she had honor and obviously loved his father. Just because she could be an insatiable fuck didn't mean she would make the Two-Backed Beast with just anyone. She chose to fuck me, but she chose to love her husband. And I told the boy that I thought he dishonored both his parents by trying to put his mom on the spot like that.
That was Friday.
Things went much better after that. I spent much of the time trying my darnedest to bend his brain. But his parents had already made things pretty flexible.
This morning, the young man proved he had honor after all. He apologized to his mother, his father, and then to me (which I didn't expect). And then he cooked breakfast.
A few more like him and this world might have some hope after all.
Thanks to Coyote for the lessons.
Lightning and ritual
Friday, 26Jun2009
“Paganism should spread through experience and art, not theology. The theology comes later, if it comes.”Read More...— Chas Clifton, Looking at Your Polis as a Pagan
Snap out of it!
Thursday, 11Jun2009
❝Master the discipline or be mastered by the victimhood.❞— NeoWayland, Discipline, the Modern Pagan, and power from victimhood
Bringing it home
Monday, 04May2009
Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I choose to honor those who touched my life
Read More...How to be Pagan for a day
Thursday, 30Apr2009
Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I choose to honor these people this season
Read More...Of gods and men
(updated)
(updated)
Tuesday, 17Mar2009
Magick in the modern world
Thursday, 19Feb2009
❝When someone starts talking about THE truth, it's to exclude the thoughts and ideas they find uncomfortable.❞— NeoWayland, Quarter Moons and Semi-Truths
“In the absence of understanding, triviality dominates.” - UPDATED
Thursday, 06Nov2008
Rocket in my garden Read More...
I suppose it is an inevitable question
Tuesday, 30Oct2007
Knot truth
Tuesday, 03Apr2007
Invoking passion for failure or success?
Thursday, 15Mar2007
Lost Wonderers
Tuesday, 13Feb2007
“When you think of “driftwood” you usually don’t imagine a hollow log big enough to stand up inside.”
Read More...Synchronicity, coincidence, perception, and perspective
Sunday, 28Jan2007
War Chant
Thursday, 28Dec2006
Assembly of NeoWayland
Sunday, 17Sep2006
Mistress Moon
Thursday, 13Apr2006
“You're not doing what I wanted you to do!”
Thursday, 06Apr2006
Reflections in a laptop screen
Monday, 06Mar2006
In the moment
Tuesday, 31Jan2006
Reincarnation Neo style
Friday, 13Jan2006
h4 class="blurb">Drama kings and queens and their effect on worship Read More...
The "war on Christmas" got me thinking
Wednesday, 04Jan2006
I do not fear the dark
Friday, 30Dec2005
Self-initiation
Thursday, 22Dec2005
The next step depends on the focus of your faith and your choices. It's not enough to be just Pagan.
Read More...Belonging
Thursday, 08Dec2005
Related to who?
Tuesday, 11Oct2005
Sorry about that. I wasn't going to load the new stuff until I had all the changes made.
Read More...Study notes
Monday, 05Sep2005
“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”
The Word is Not the Thing
Thursday, 04Aug2005
Tree Of Life
Tuesday, 02Aug2005
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories.
Read More...Some thoughts from my
WebTree tradition path - updated
WebTree tradition path - updated
Sunday, 31Jul2005
Faith worthy of freedom
Friday, 27May2005
“This week on CC Myth, Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about mythical trees. There are lots of trees in myth, and we've touched on some of them before, but today we're going to focus on three trees from three different traditions. We'll talk about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from the biblical tradition, Yggdrasil from the Norse Tradition, and Ashvattha, which is important in both Hindu and Buddhist tradition.”
Read More...Comments on "Teach Me, My Way"
Wednesday, 18May2005
Calling yourself pagan
Monday, 16May2005
A Blast from the Past
Sunday, 15May2005
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E1479161501
A selection from the original version of Technopagan Yearnings - updated
By way of making it up to you, I uploaded converted one of my old pages from the original Technopagan Yearnings site.
Not all the links are active, but here is The Affirmation of NeoWayland.
Enjoy!
Not all the links are active, but here is The Affirmation of NeoWayland.
Enjoy!
“Follow” is not exactly an accurate term
Monday, 09May2005
