One of the things I got told on the solstice is that I am not spending enough time manifesting my faith in my life.

That was pretty much the phrase.

That got me to thinking. I'm not exactly a "contemplate your belly button" type of guy. I've tried the semi-hermit bit for a while and it's not exactly healthy for me. And I am not thrilled with the emerging "evangelical" pagan that I am seeing more and more.

I really groove on politics, but that is not all of who I am. I really groove on the geek factor, but that is not the rest of who I am either. The question comes down to how do I bring my faith into my life without cramming it down other people's throats as The One True Way™.

There was a time not so long ago when I would have done exactly that. Hopefully I have mellowed some since then.

My faith and my connection to the Divine gives me balance in my life. I believe very strongly that my "fellow-feeling" grew out of my faith and ceremonial practices, and possibly a few Divine thumps in the head while I wasn't looking. I can be stubborn, you see.

So how do I honor my faith (and my Patrons) without going the True Believer route? I think my solution starts by focusing on the philosophy of Paganism, or at least my version of it.

As I look back, I realize that lately I have been a lot like those C&E people that Christian ministers dread. You know the ones, the people who show up two days out of the year and tell everyone in earshot just what is wrong and what needs to be done, but disappear before any work is actually done, all while still claiming to be a devout Christian. I don't think I have gotten that bad, but I have gotten awfully good at blending into the background on some things.

So here is my plan of action, publicly witnessed as it were.

First, I am going to update this particular blog more.

Second, there are some devotionals I am going to dust off and use more often. Like greeting the sunrise.

Third, I need to find ways to show my particular path so people can see that I'm not some sort of wacko who is only out to bash them and their faith. At the same time, I need to give people their space so they can find their own way and not try to control them.

I will make an exception for when they try to impose their brand of silliness on me though.

Fourth and most importantly, I need to find ways to honor my Patrons and the other gods more. And that is going to take some thought. I know it is going to mean that I need to find ways to bridge my interests and not hide in my comfort zones, but beyond that, I am not quite sure.

Which is probably why I am being encouraged to write in this blog more often. It make me shift gears and think about my faith. I can go through the motions of ritual, but that doesn't manifest my faith. When I talk about it and when I write about it, that is when my reasoning side talks to my intuitive side. My reasoning side doesn't like playing second fiddle, which is probably why I don't let my intuitive side out as much. His solutions don't necessarily make sense.

But they work.