2018
Microdose
Study: People Who ‘Microdose’ LSD and Magic Mushrooms Are Wiser and More Creative“Microdosers also scored lower on measures of dysfunctional attitudes and negative emotionality, which is very promising.
Psychedelics microdosing can mean taking five to 20 micrograms of LSD, 0.1 – 0.3 grams of dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms or very low doses of more exotic substances, like 1P-LSD, ALD-52 or 4-AcO-DMT.
No matter the substance, microdosing implies a dose so low that the individual experiences only subtle changes, not hallucinations. People are not “tripping” on a microdose; they just go about their regular day, whether that means studying at school, going to work or taking care of the kids at home.
There has been no published science on whether microdosing works, but despite this, microdosing for self-enhancement and mental health has hit the media.”
Comments
Philosphy foundation
Sunday, 23Dec2018 Filed in: philosophy⭐︎ manifest
“Conservationists plant a 'super grove' of redwood trees cloned from ancient stumps”
Read More...“Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2”
Saturday, 22Dec2018 Filed in: studies
Left alone with our faith and our Journey
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
“Nothing is more active than thought, for it travels over the universe, and nothing is stronger than necessity for all must submit to it.”
❝Dance to the music.❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I'm gonna put a curse on you and all your kids will be born completely naked.”
Listening and lecturing
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die to die decently, but to live manfully.”
Cursed
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“They not only refused to stop listening to God, they started lecturing Him on the way things were supposed to be.”— David Weber, Uncompromising Honor
❝Never apologize for grief.❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees.”
❝Nothing is more active than thought…❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ philosophy
“Nothing is more active than thought, for it travels over the universe, and nothing is stronger than necessity for all must submit to it.”
Heroes know
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.”
In search of honey
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you are looking the wrong way.”
❝The courage we desire and prize…❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“In which John Green investigates the dawn of human civilization. John looks into how people gave up hunting and gathering to become agriculturalists, and how that change has influenced the world we live in today. Also, there are some jokes about cheeseburgers.”
Read More...❝If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel…❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Gotta have opposites, light and dark and dark and light, in painting. It’s like in life. Gotta have a little sadness once in awhile so you know when the good times come. I'm waiting on the good times now.”
❝Gotta have opposites…❞
Thursday, 20Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“A video describing the differences between the subspecies of Alaskan brown bears. To see and learn more…”
Read More...Cloned giants
Wednesday, 19Dec2018 Filed in: tellus
Coincidence
Wednesday, 19Dec2018 Filed in: tellus
Winter Solstice 2018 Coincides With Both A Full Moon And Meteor Shower“The winter solstice, falling on December 21, 2018, will mark the shortest day of the year as well as a full moon in the night sky. The upcoming full moon named the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon will be visible during the longest night of the year.
The two events don't perfectly align. The peak full Moon will occur on December 22 at 12:49 p.m. EST while the winter solstice falls a day earlier on December 21. However, to the typical person viewing the moon, it will appear full for several days.
The winter solstice marks a transition period where days begin getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere and shorter in the Southern Hemisphere. The evening of the winter solstice will be the longest of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. This is because Earth's poles create a maximum tilt away from the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere and maximum tilt toward the Sun in the Southern Hemisphere.”— Trevor Nace
The Aurora Tree
Wednesday, 19Dec2018 Filed in: Gallery
I found this one on the Space reddit. I love how the photographer lined up the aurora borealis with the tree to make a magical image. Click on the picture to go to the original post.
Watching
Monday, 17Dec2018 Filed in: Gallery
She's on rock near a mountain lake. I don't know anything else.I wonder what she's looking at.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
“The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1”
“I reject your reality and substitute my own.”
Added to the lexicon
Friday, 14Dec2018 Filed in: site news
My fourth sex rule
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
❝Difference Between Grizzly, Brown, and Kodiak Bears❞
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: tellus
“Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?”
❝Magic is contagious.❞
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Everything worthwhile is dangerous.”
Earth delights
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
Ultimate speculation
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝Shall I not have intelligence with the earth?❞
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?”
❝I reject your reality and substitute my own.❞
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I reject your reality and substitute my own.”
Boys must win against powerful odds
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Of course, you could stop trying to preach and actually pay attention to what people are willing to share. You might even learn something.
Read More...Psychedelics as a catalyst
Thursday, 13Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
One tripod leg
❝The lore behind magick is only one tripod leg. Even there it's about real mastery, not rote recitation. I call it moving beyond the recipe. When you can adapt your technique to what is there and what is needed with a minimum of effort, that's mastery. The lore is about core ideas, not specific practices. That's one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn and I am not good enough with it yet.❞— NeoWayland, A Rule of Three
Short version, yes, magick works.
“In fact, the ultimate speculation we can make about the nature of Divinity is that Divinity is NO-THING which we can know. In Hebrew, the word for no-thing (nothing) is AIN.”
NeoNote — First lesson
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
Read More...Good vibrations
The Moral Guardians® have taken for themselves the exclusive power to decide who will and will not be heard. Or read. Or even mentioned.
Read More...❝Control every variable and you control every change — lotsa luck!❞
Monday, 03Dec2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“If exactly the same actions are done under exactly the same conditions, they will usually be associated with exactly the same “results;” similar strings of events produce similar outcomes.”— Isaac Bonewits, The Laws of Magic, The Law of Cause & Effect
❝Commonality controls.❞
Friday, 30Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Keep what works. Fix what’s broke. Ditch the rest.”— Sunfell, The Eclectic Redes, Rules of Three
❝Everything worthwhile is dangerous❞
Thursday, 29Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Everything worthwhile is dangerous.”
❝No more sacred civilizations…❞
Thursday, 29Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“No more sacred civilizations, Monsieur. They are too delicate and too costly. Besides priests are no more trustworthy than anyone else.”
“We don't think we come into this World corrupt.”
Thursday, 29Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ beliefs
“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...My third sex rule
Thursday, 29Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
We don't see ourselves as separate
Thursday, 29Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ beliefs
You may have noticed that my quote section is building to a truly awesome size.
Read More...Ro3 № 23
Wednesday, 28Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Will this solve the problem?
Tuesday, 27Nov2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
The Moral Guardians® have taken for themselves the exclusive power to decide who will and will not be heard. Or read. Or even mentioned.
Read More...NeoNote — Taking a stand against politics in paganism
Tuesday, 27Nov2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Culture war
Tuesday, 27Nov2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Ro3 № 22
Tuesday, 27Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝The honor is in giving truth when needed, helping when you can, and leaving the World a little better than how you found it.❞
Tuesday - November 27, 2018
Tuesday, 27Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Flower petals in the bath
Monday, 26Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
The armband caught my eye. But the flower petals and the red hair helped.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
In the sea
Monday, 26Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
Group skinny dipping. Just some folks having fun.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Ro3 № 21
Monday, 26Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Keep what works. Fix what’s broke. Ditch the rest.”— Sunfell, The Eclectic Redes, Rules of Three
“Mythical Language and Idiom: Crash Course World Mythology #41”
Saturday, 24Nov2018 Filed in: studies
Who is quoted
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: site news⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
If you ask the question of thirteen pagans, you'd probably get forty-seven answers.
Read More...Journal - Friday, 23Nov2018
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ site news
Well, I didn't quite meet my goals this week. I didn't get thirteen entires to the lexicon. I did manage quite a bit else though.
I got into a long online discussion concerning the assumptions that people bring from their religion into their lives and what they expect of others. In passing, I mentioned some of the differences between a Story and a Journey.
It dawned on me that right now the "pagan community" has a lot of people who want to write the story for others instead of setting them off on their own journey. I'm going to have to think about that some.
I got into a long online discussion concerning the assumptions that people bring from their religion into their lives and what they expect of others. In passing, I mentioned some of the differences between a Story and a Journey.
It dawned on me that right now the "pagan community" has a lot of people who want to write the story for others instead of setting them off on their own journey. I'm going to have to think about that some.
Ro3 № 20
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝It’s not a real party unless it lasts three days.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Revived - November 23, 2018
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: site news⭐︎ Bless list⭐︎ beliefs⭐︎ modern adult pagans⭐︎ celebrations & passages⭐︎ entertainment
Added to the lexicon
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: site news
Friday - November 23, 2018
Friday, 23Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Ro3 № 19
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals
❝Initiate — Celebrate — Operate❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
❝Individuals have rights. Groups have power plays.❞
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝A garden requires patient labor and attention.❞
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. ”
Mission in life
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.”
Heated debate
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“False words are not only evil themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”
Good ideas and true innovation
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. ”
Education
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.”
False words
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
Tide goes out
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝Even when we are nude, we hide our bodies in shame.❞
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝Clothes make the man.❞
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
My second unbreakable sex rule
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
Thursday - November 22, 2018
Thursday, 22Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
The feelings have taken over. There's no reason to balance.<.h4> Read More...
Reach towards the light
Wednesday, 21Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝The problem with making morality a part of religion is that some priests forget that they are measured by the lives around them. They think that their calling places them beyond "man's law.❞Read More...
A magical morning
Wednesday, 21Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.”
Ro3 № 18
Wednesday, 21Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
Read More...Wednesday - November 21, 2018
Wednesday, 21Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Truly Proper
Tuesday, 20Nov2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Ro3 № 17
Tuesday, 20Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ manifest
❝It’s not a real party unless it lasts three days.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Tuesday - November 20, 2018
Tuesday, 20Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
NeoNote — Nature and the World are not cruel.
“I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that's a buzz kill. There's got to be a better code of conduct, some basic etiquette.”
Ro3 № 16
“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and how a lot of their work was influenced by myth and mythology. While Freud and Jung aren't quite as revered as they once were, they were undoubtedly a huge influence on the practice of psychology and psychiatry, and these two fellas were undoubtedly influenced by foundational stories. Today, we'll learn about Oedipus, the collective unconscious, archetypes, Star Wars, and more!”
Read More...Wading
Monday, 19Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝Start cunnilingus with three to the left, two to the right, one to the left, three to the right, two to the left, and then one to the right.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Horned
Monday, 19Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝Give her at least two orgasms for every one of mine.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
❝Dianna and Actaeon❞
Monday, 19Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
This is one of Titan's more famous works.
We've definitely moved into the Rubenesque Renaissance. No near waifs here.
What's most interesting about this piece is how it lowers Diana to not only mortal, but to the sensibilities of the time. There is no way that a Lady God would be embarrassed if caught nude. Gods make other humans embarrassed, not the other way around. Nude women bathers were a common motif. I suspect it had something to do with the real ladies being covered up most of the time. Note also that the one servant on the right isn't treated as a "real" woman, she isn't sexualized. That was also fairly common.
We've definitely moved into the Rubenesque Renaissance. No near waifs here.
What's most interesting about this piece is how it lowers Diana to not only mortal, but to the sensibilities of the time. There is no way that a Lady God would be embarrassed if caught nude. Gods make other humans embarrassed, not the other way around. Nude women bathers were a common motif. I suspect it had something to do with the real ladies being covered up most of the time. Note also that the one servant on the right isn't treated as a "real" woman, she isn't sexualized. That was also fairly common.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Monday - November 19, 2018
Monday, 19Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
One of my two unbreakable sex rules
Saturday, 17Nov2018 Filed in: sex⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
Saturday - November 17, 2018
Saturday, 17Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Journal - Friday, 16Nov2018
Friday, 16Nov2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ site news
I like mind games.
I used to have a very religious and very superstitious neighbor. One thing that would freak him out was the number thirteen. So when I started doing stuff on the net, I threw in thirteens whenever I could. Even today, I do the same. Three thirteens is thirty-nine, that's the number of entries you'll find on the front pages of my blogs. On this blog, when you hover over one of the internal links that coded, it grows to 113% of it's normal size. The margins on my quote boxes are thirteen pixels. And so on.
There are just all sorts of thirteens in my blogs. And there are about to be more.
Starting this week, I'm setting some goals. Thirteen articles revived. Thirteen lexicon entries added. And thirteen quotes on Wednesdays.
I use other numbers too of course. Threes. Fives, Sevens.
But there is a part of me that can't help speculating what my former neighbor would say if he knew I was deliberately putting all these thirteens out into the world and on the net. It brings a smile.
I used to have a very religious and very superstitious neighbor. One thing that would freak him out was the number thirteen. So when I started doing stuff on the net, I threw in thirteens whenever I could. Even today, I do the same. Three thirteens is thirty-nine, that's the number of entries you'll find on the front pages of my blogs. On this blog, when you hover over one of the internal links that coded, it grows to 113% of it's normal size. The margins on my quote boxes are thirteen pixels. And so on.
There are just all sorts of thirteens in my blogs. And there are about to be more.
Starting this week, I'm setting some goals. Thirteen articles revived. Thirteen lexicon entries added. And thirteen quotes on Wednesdays.
I use other numbers too of course. Threes. Fives, Sevens.
But there is a part of me that can't help speculating what my former neighbor would say if he knew I was deliberately putting all these thirteens out into the world and on the net. It brings a smile.
That's what I do.
Friday, 16Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Revived - November 16, 2018
Friday, 16Nov2018 Filed in: site news⭐︎ celebrations & passages⭐︎ modern adult pagans⭐︎ practicals⭐︎ beliefs
Added to the lexicon
Friday, 16Nov2018 Filed in: site news
In Which NeoWayland combines Geekary and Technopaganism to Peer Dimly at Humanity's Potiential
Read More...Ro3 № 15
❝Don’t hold someone responsible unless they were present, of age, and participating. Remember the Practical Grudge Limit.❞
❝We Are as Gods and Might as Well Get Good at It❞
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
We've gotten so used to hiding ourselves that the default assumption is that the only reason you see someone nude is because you are about to get it on. It's not true.
Read More...❝Paganism is optimistic…❞
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.”
❝Where do you learn how to act?❞
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Core of human dignity
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝Adopt the pace of nature…❞
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝I only went out for a walk…❞
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
Home
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“This planet is our home. Our life and hers are interdependent.”
Paths to the Innermost
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ rite & ritual
“There are two Paths to the Innermost: the Way of the Mystic, which is the way of devotion and meditation, a solitary and subjective path; and the way of the occultist, which is the way of the intellect, of concentration, and of trained will; upon this path the co-operation of fellow workers is required, firstly for the exchange of knowledge, and secondly because ritual magic plays an important part in this work, and for this the assistance of several is needed in most of the greater operations. The mystic derives his knowledge through the direct communion of his higher self with the Higher Powers; to him the wisdom of the occultist is foolishness, for his mind does not work in that way; but, on the other hand, to a more intellectual and extrovert type, the method of the mystic is impossible until long training has enabled him to transcend the planes of form. We must therefore recognize these two distinct types among those who seek the Way of Initiation, and remember that there is a path for each.”
Discovering odd scraps
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ studies
“Science is always discovering odd scraps of magical wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness.”— Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography
Genitals
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
“The simple fact is that genitals are no more sexual than any other part of the body--until we use them for sex.”— Is Nudity Inherently Immoral? from Family Skinnydippers
Obsessive modesty
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
It's a false choice to be either technological or natural. Our technology is our nature.
Read More...Ro3 № 14
❝Know what you can do. Know what you're willing to do. Know the price you're willing to pay.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Thursday - November 15, 2018
Thursday, 15Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
The flip side of placebo
Pain can be a self-fulfilling prophecy“Expect a shot to hurt and it probably will, even if the needle poke isn't really so painful. Brace for a second shot and you'll likely flinch again, even though - second time around - you should know better.
That's the takeaway of a new brain imaging study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour which found that expectations about pain intensity can become self-fulfilling prophecies. Surprisingly, those false expectations can persist even when reality repeatedly demonstrates otherwise, the study found.
"We discovered that there is a positive feedback loop between expectation and pain," said senior author Tor Wager, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. "The more pain you expect, the stronger your brain responds to the pain. The stronger your brain responds to the pain, the more you expect."
For decades, researchers have been intrigued with the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy, with studies showing expectations can influence everything from how one performs on a test to how one responds to a medication. The new study is the first to directly model the dynamics of the feedback loop between expectations and pain and the neural mechanisms underlying it.”
Technopagan retreat
“That sacred space of conscience where you can exercise your rights in terms of religious freedom and deeply-held, reasonable beliefs is the core of human dignity. In fact, that's the basis for civilization itself. And when you lose that fundamental principle... you have no basis on which to build.”
Note to my sensitive readers
“Where do you learn how to act? Not at church. America is a lot more like pagan Rome than we think. We still sacrifice to objects to gain our social goals.”
Sometimes the morning is too early
Wednesday, 14Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
Looks like a shining temple
Wednesday, 14Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“This planet is our home. Our life and hers are interdependent.”
Built by Nature
Wednesday, 14Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
Ro3 № 13
“We Are as Gods and Might as Well Get Good at It”
Ro3 № 12
❝What you think you know is not what you need to know. Where you are is not where you need to be. Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three, see also Systematically
Skinny dipping
Monday, 12Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“The simple fact is that genitals are no more sexual than any other part of the body--until we use them for sex.”— Is Nudity Inherently Immoral? from Family Skinnydippers
Pray
Monday, 12Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
Technically not nude, but close. Not sure of the date on this one. By the hairstyle I'd guess pre-WWII. It looks to me like she is gathering and preparing herself.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Very blonde
Monday, 12Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
Her hair caught my attention. Not just the color, but the way it moves. Very blonde is the best description I can come up with.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Napping
Monday, 12Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
The other day I was rightly criticized for not having anything but mostly young nubile females in my nude pictures. So here is a larger and older lady. You can tell she's a witch by her pendant. And since she's sleeping, she qualifies as a casual nude.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Ro3 № 11
“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the stories we tell about witches and hags. It's definitely unfortunate that a lot of social orders have generated stories about evil women with magical powers. Today we're going to look at a few of those stories, and talk a little about why these stories appear, and what they mean.”
Read More...“Witches and Hags: Crash Course World Mythology #39”
Saturday, 10Nov2018 Filed in: studies
❝Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.❞
Ro3 № 10
❝To ease your pain and shame, share it separately with three people you trust.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Revived - November 9, 2018
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.
Sometimes the sad songs do help
Spells for Democracy?
Myth ruminations
“I dare you to do it better!”
orAdventures in Mythmaking
Meant to be used
On the Threefold Law of Return
A Rule of Three
Journal - Friday, 09Nov2018
Friday, 09Nov2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ sex
Anything in the Gallery or albums has to have grabbed my attention. That usually means it has to be unusual.
Read More...Friday - November 9, 2018
Friday, 09Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
“The demand that we always wear clothing while in society causes at least four kinds of alienation: it alienates us from ourselves, from others, from nature, and from the Divine.”
Some monotheists
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.❞
NeoNote — Nudes on Technopagan Yearnings
“I love being naked. I do everything in the nude, even the gardening! We're Cuban, and it's a hot island. Why not go nude?”
Alienates us
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“The demand that we always wear clothing while in society causes at least four kinds of alienation: it alienates us from ourselves, from others, from nature, and from the Divine.”
❝What boys really need are real bodies.❞
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Modesty died when clothes were born.”
❝We're Cuban, and it's a hot island.❞
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I think onstage nudity is disgusting, shameful, and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience.”
Hypocrisy and insecurity
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“The main hangup in the world today is hypocrisy and insecurity. If people can't face up to the fact of other people being naked, or whatever they want to do, then we're never going to get anywhere. People have got to become aware that it's none of their business and that being nude is not obscene. Being ourselves is what's important. If everyone practised being themselves instead of pretending to be what they aren't, there would be peace.”
❝Modesty died when clothes were born.❞
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Modesty died when clothes were born.”
❝But if I were 22 with a great body…❞
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I think onstage nudity is disgusting, shameful, and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience.”
❝Being natural and matter-of-fact about nudity…❞
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Ro3 № 9
❝Honor expects three warnings before you act.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Thursday - November 8, 2018
Thursday, 08Nov2018 Filed in: daybook⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
Ro3 № 8
“This week, Mike is teaching you about the most mythic of mythological creatures: Dragons. Cultures across the world (and across Westeros) tell stories of dragons, and their power to destroy, their power to prop up kings, and their power to cause a nice, refreshing rain shower. ”
Read More...Let freedom ring.
Wednesday, 07Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
Wednesday - November 7, 2018
Wednesday, 07Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Today was not mine
Tuesday, 06Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
“If you are really a polytheist, then you must accept that the gods do not vote.”
Read More...Ro3 № 7
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories.
Read More...Tuesday - November 6, 2018 - election day
Tuesday, 06Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
The Gods Do Not Vote
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
The Gods Do Not Vote, So Why Are You Asking Them?“Meanwhile, I see some Pagans convinced that they know how the gods vote — or would vote, if they could produce a photo ID at the polling place.
Are these the same Pagans who sneer at that subset of evangelical Christians who apparently think that Jesus is a Republican?
If you are really a polytheist, then you must accept that the gods do not vote. Their values are not always aligned with our day-to-day political values. Really, what does Aphrodite care about Colorado’s proposal to change the redistricting process or about who wins the race for Pueblo County coroner? Should I consult Hekate about my congressional candidates?”
Facing the fire
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery⭐︎ rite & ritual
❝Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three, see also Would you know?
At the door
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝Honor expects three warnings before you act.❞— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
Not exclusively the label
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
Casual nudity
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
Monday - November 5, 2018
Monday, 05Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
“Serpents and Dragons: Crash Course World Mythology #38”
Saturday, 03Nov2018 Filed in: studies
Saturday - November 3, 2018
Saturday, 03Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Journal - Friday, 02Nov2018
Friday, 02Nov2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ entertainment
Added to the lexicon
Friday, 02Nov2018 Filed in: site news
“Sexuality is a thing of the mind, not of the genitalia.”— Maggie McNeill, Rope of Sand
Revived - November 2, 2018
“Every person has the right to control their own sexuality, and nobody else’s.”— Maggie McNeill, Standing in the Rain
Ro3 № 5
❝If you care for the other person, if you respect them, if you share deep passions with them, then the sex makes all that better.❞
Friday - November 2, 2018
Friday, 02Nov2018 Filed in: daybook
Somebody please explain to me…
Thursday, 01Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ entertainment
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
Read More...❝Every person has the right to control their own sexuality…❞
Thursday, 01Nov2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
❝Law of Perspective❞
❝Say only one thing for every three things they say.❞
Ro3 № 4
❝Start by listening. Before you say anything, listen again. Just to make sure you understand, listen some more.❞
Not this year
Wednesday, 31Oct2018 Filed in: Befores⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Samhain tree
Wednesday, 31Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Gotta love that sky!
The original poster at the EarthPorn reddit called this an evil looking tree. I don't think it is, I think it just needs appreciation.
So here it is, a tree that looks like it should be marking the gate between the worlds.
The original poster at the EarthPorn reddit called this an evil looking tree. I don't think it is, I think it just needs appreciation.
So here it is, a tree that looks like it should be marking the gate between the worlds.
Wednesday - October 31, 2018
Wednesday, 31Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Unoriginal
Tuesday, 30Oct2018 Filed in: tellus⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Some people have noticed that I use the same responses again and again.
That's because I keep having the same conversations again and again.
If it plays in Peoria, it will probably work in Flagstaff.
I like talking to people who make me think. But if it's the same people, they usually tell me the same things. And most of the rest don't think for themselves, they just regurgitate what they have been told is the the right thing to say.
I recycle a lot of what I say because I can't come up with an original response to the same stuff all the time.
If you want an original response, tell me something original. Or at least something I haven't heard before.
That's because I keep having the same conversations again and again.
If it plays in Peoria, it will probably work in Flagstaff.
I like talking to people who make me think. But if it's the same people, they usually tell me the same things. And most of the rest don't think for themselves, they just regurgitate what they have been told is the the right thing to say.
I recycle a lot of what I say because I can't come up with an original response to the same stuff all the time.
If you want an original response, tell me something original. Or at least something I haven't heard before.
How does it make the World better?
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.
Ro3 № 2
❝The Wheel turns, bringing Bright and Dark Blessings to us all.❞— NeoWayland, Good Journey Isaac
Tuesay - October 30, 2018
Tuesday, 30Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Practical rules of three
Monday, 29Oct2018 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ sex
❝We can't afford blind faith.❞— NeoWayland, Eyes open and watching carefully
Goofy tongue
Monday, 29Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Quiet soak
Monday, 29Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Nudity and water go hand in hand. Why we ever started with swimsuits I'll never know.
This one looks vintage but I am pretty sure it's posed. For one thing that expression is unusual in pictures before about 1970 or so.That reflection is gorgeous.
This one looks vintage but I am pretty sure it's posed. For one thing that expression is unusual in pictures before about 1970 or so.That reflection is gorgeous.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Ro3 № 1
❝Start by listening. Before you say anything, listen again. Just to make sure you understand, listen some more.❞
Monday - October 29, 2018
Monday, 29Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
❝The Wheel turns…❞
Saturday, 27Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ celebrations & passages
❝The Wheel turns, bringing Bright and Dark Blessings to us all.❞— NeoWayland, Good Journey Isaac
The future we make
Saturday, 27Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Horses have been human companions for thousands of years, and have been essential companions and tools for the development of human culture. So, it makes sense that horses would make their way into our most important stories. Today, we're looking at horses in myth, and we'll talk about noble steeds from all over the world, including Svadlfari, Sleipneir, Pegasus, Qilin, Bucephalus, Al Baraq, and Unicorns! Let's get to the horsing around.”
Read More...❝We can't afford blind faith.❞
Saturday, 27Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝We can't afford blind faith.❞— NeoWayland, Eyes open and watching carefully
Saturday - October 27, 2018
Saturday, 27Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
≠ ✝ Pastor Appreciation Month 🌖 waning gibbous Moon≠ Navy Day 🇺🇸 27Oct1922 - former US Holiday≠ means acknowledge but not celebrate
❝That's beyond our comprehension❞
Friday, 26Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Mentioned but nameless
Friday, 26Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ Befores
❝Still, he deserves credit for that and at least mention somewhere. Consider him mentioned. But nameless.❞— NeoWayland, Before a Winter's Eve
❝Sexuality is a thing of the mind…❞
Friday, 26Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
“Sexuality is a thing of the mind, not of the genitalia.”— Maggie McNeill, Rope of Sand
Journal - Friday, 26Oct2018
This last week I've been polishing the behind the scenes stuff on this blog. That includes cleaning up the formatting for my quotes & thinkums. There's a goof in 2017 that's throwing things off, but I will find and fix it. I've been reading my old stuff. I've been cross referencing. Most of it isn't obvious.
Mom isn't doing so well. She forgets things. She's having a harder time moving around. We'll see.
One of my biggest frustrations is sex. One companion passed and the other moved. I try to avoid casual sex these days and I don't do the pickup scene at all. The younger women aren't interested in an older guy, especially the kind that makes them think. The older available ladies, well, many are into the victimhood thing. Some of the others want a bad boy. When they find out I am pagan, they think danger and blood and risk. Usually that's not me. I used to have sex six or seven times a week and now it's once or twice on a good week. I'm horny in an age of #MeToo and regret equalling rape accusations. I'm not sure how to fix that.
Truth is winning in a small way. I've been finding people that I agree with online. Of course it will never be a massive or even an impressive number, but there's hope for Isaiah's Job yet. I serve veritas, that has it's own rewards. Widespread recognition for my, um, obvious insights and grand wisdom is not one of them. I'm pretty good, but it won't bring fame and money. Still, it's nice to stumble across some like minded folk here and there. Wisdom is where you find it.
It dawned on me that I can save time by copy-pasting the source code from the quotes & thinkums blog entries in my comments. I'll have to eliminate the <div class="offset"> and the following </div>, but the rest shows up in Disqus just fine. Not with all the bells and whistles, true, but with enough to show it's a blockquote. I sill may have to toss in some <em> and </em>, but it works.
Time for a shower. Then I'll greet the sunrise while sharing breakfast with my raven friend. Then over to check on Mom.
Mom isn't doing so well. She forgets things. She's having a harder time moving around. We'll see.
One of my biggest frustrations is sex. One companion passed and the other moved. I try to avoid casual sex these days and I don't do the pickup scene at all. The younger women aren't interested in an older guy, especially the kind that makes them think. The older available ladies, well, many are into the victimhood thing. Some of the others want a bad boy. When they find out I am pagan, they think danger and blood and risk. Usually that's not me. I used to have sex six or seven times a week and now it's once or twice on a good week. I'm horny in an age of #MeToo and regret equalling rape accusations. I'm not sure how to fix that.
Truth is winning in a small way. I've been finding people that I agree with online. Of course it will never be a massive or even an impressive number, but there's hope for Isaiah's Job yet. I serve veritas, that has it's own rewards. Widespread recognition for my, um, obvious insights and grand wisdom is not one of them. I'm pretty good, but it won't bring fame and money. Still, it's nice to stumble across some like minded folk here and there. Wisdom is where you find it.
It dawned on me that I can save time by copy-pasting the source code from the quotes & thinkums blog entries in my comments. I'll have to eliminate the <div class="offset"> and the following </div>, but the rest shows up in Disqus just fine. Not with all the bells and whistles, true, but with enough to show it's a blockquote. I sill may have to toss in some <em> and </em>, but it works.
Time for a shower. Then I'll greet the sunrise while sharing breakfast with my raven friend. Then over to check on Mom.
Gnostic beliefs
Friday, 26Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝One of the precepts in Gnostic beliefs is that the commonly accepted "creator god" isn't the actual creator at all. He's actually a son who turned against his Parents to seize control of creation for his own selfish needs and had to lie to humans to do it. His mother, Sophia, decided to do something to turn things back the way they should be, and that is where Yeshua ben Yosef (among others) came from. It makes sense when you think of the G*D from the Old Testament as a spoiled teenager who steals from his parents and parties too hard.❞— NeoWayland, comments from Wayist Druid public Samhain ritual draws threats
Friday - October 26, 2018
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Us versus them
“Nature knows best.”— Barry Commoner, third law of ecology
NeoNote — Change the groups
“Everything must go somewhere.”— Barry Commoner, second law of ecology
❝Never doubt that a small group…❞
Thursday, 25Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Nothing comes from nothing.”— Barry Commoner, fourth law of ecology
❝Nature knows best.❞
“Nature knows best.”— Barry Commoner, third law of ecology
❝Everything must go somewhere.❞
“Everything must go somewhere.”— Barry Commoner, second law of ecology
❝Nothing comes from nothing.❞
“If you are drawn to the left hand path, it's usually because you've had some kind of life experience that has shocked you, awakened you.”
❝Cult of fairy❞
Thursday, 25Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“But yes, this is between you and him.”Read More...— Shawn Herles, comments from Pagan Community Notes: exorcism and hexing, Canada Pagan community, Michigan Scholarship Fund, and more.
❝Drawn to the left hand path…❞
Thursday, 25Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝ trying to make my way in a monotheistic world…❞
Thursday, 25Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Read More..."The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."— Lewis Carrol,
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
Thursday - October 25, 2018
Thursday, 25Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
NeoNote — I don't think politics should be a part of paganism
“But yes, this is between you and him.”— Shawn Herles, comments from Pagan Community Notes: exorcism and hexing, Canada Pagan community, Michigan Scholarship Fund, and more.
❝I'd rather not deal with him at all.
I don't think politics should be a part of paganism.
I know that puts me in direct opposition to the "the personal is political" crowd. I know this isn't a political site. I'd rather not see politics here at all.
There are reasons I separated my political blogging from my pagan blogging. There are reasons why there is no "politics" category at my pagan/life blog and there is only a tag for "ugh-politics" there.
Politics corrupt, especially religion. We know that from the People of the Book. Why on Earth are we so damned determined to prove it again?❞❝When you let your politics define your personhood, there's not much room left for your personhood outside of your politics. Without your personhood, you can lose empathy and humanity.❞— label
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Another study guide
weird
Duality is singularity reflected.
label
Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.
sex
Sharing pleasure through sensation.
path versus tradition
Platinum Rule
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and meanwhile, do everything you can to make things better.”
Old Breed
first law of ecology
“Everything is related to everything else.”
second law of ecology
“Everything must go somewhere.”
third law of ecology
“Nature knows best.”
fourth law of ecology
“Nothing comes from nothing.”
Duality is singularity reflected.
label
Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.
sex
Sharing pleasure through sensation.
path versus tradition
Platinum Rule
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and meanwhile, do everything you can to make things better.”
Old Breed
first law of ecology
“Everything is related to everything else.”
second law of ecology
“Everything must go somewhere.”
third law of ecology
“Nature knows best.”
fourth law of ecology
“Nothing comes from nothing.”
Overhead river
Wednesday, 24Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Wednesday - October 24, 2018
Wednesday, 24Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
The pedestal problem
❝I am Pagan because I was born that way, and because I made that choice long before I was born.❞— NeoWayland, Why are you Pagan?
Tuesday - October 23, 2018
Tuesday, 23Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
I was born that way
Monday, 22Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Freckles
Monday, 22Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Posed, but I like her expression and her freckles. The lady is alluring.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Autumn
Monday, 22Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Ritual, provided it uses authentic symbols, is no more or less than what H.P. Blavatsky called 'concretized truth'.”
Redhead with a stick
Monday, 22Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Sex is nice and pleasure is good for you.”
Authentic symbols
Monday, 22Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ rite & ritual
“Ritual, provided it uses authentic symbols, is no more or less than what H.P. Blavatsky called 'concretized truth'.”
Sex is nice
Saturday, 20Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
❝The Story is told while the Journey is lived.❞— NeoWayland, the Journey
“What is remembered, lives.”
Saturday, 20Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“This week, we're starting our discussion of Mythical Creatures with the WORST creatures. Monsters. What makes a monster monstrous though? Mike Rugnetta will guide you through the fine line between a magical creature and a monster. Spoiler alert: like 60% of the time, the difference is that monsters eat people. We'll talk about sea monsters, Sphinxes, and take an elongated look directly into the Canadian face of horror, the Wendigo.”
Read More...Story is told
Saturday, 20Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Monsters. They're Us, Man: Crash Course World Mythology #36”
Saturday, 20Oct2018 Filed in: studies
Saturday - October 20, 2018
Saturday, 20Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Stories are signposts
Friday, 19Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
NeoNote — He would deny it
❝Your desire does not control another's choice.❞— NeoWayland, sexual beings
Desire
Friday, 19Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
❝Your desire does not control another's choice.❞— NeoWayland, sexual beings
Added to lexicon
Friday, 19Oct2018 Filed in: site news
Friday - October 19, 2018
Friday, 19Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Thursday - October 18, 2018
Thursday, 18Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Great owl in flight
Wednesday, 17Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Wednesday - October 17, 2018
Wednesday, 17Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
≠ ✝ Pastor Appreciation Month 🌔 waxing gibbous Moon 🌧rainy day from pre-dawn≠ means acknowledge but not celebrate
Tuesday - October 16, 2018
Tuesday, 16Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Proud man
Monday, 15Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
“This week on Crash Course Mythology, we're getting urban. Mike Rugnetta is the man with the orange umbrella who's about to give you a free tour of mythical cities. We'll talk about a few cities that didn't exist, but we're going to focus on real cities with mythical founding stories. We'll talk about Jericho, Jerusalem, and Rome, among others.”
Read More...Monday - October 15, 2018
Monday, 15Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
“Cities of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #35”
Saturday, 13Oct2018 Filed in: studies
Saturday - October 13, 2018
Saturday, 13Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Journal - Friday, October 12, 2018
It's been a while since I've done a journal entry,
This week I'm really proud of two things. I came up with a definition of "wise" that is practical and better than anything I found in online dictionaries.
And I managed to separate sexuality from politics. I've been trying to do that for years, decades. Our culture took something that is about sharing and coming together and shoved it into tribalism. The labels aren't important unless you're trying to make fun political.
So I had to come up with something that described sexuality without tribalism.
I don't know how we made sex about politics. But from now on I'm going to do my damnedest to make it responsibly fun and only fun.
Paraphrasing from The Ethical Slut and my lexicon definition, “Sex is nice and pleasure is good for you.”
I think it's a mistake to suppress our biology in the name of politics.
I'm going to look at pretty girls and women. I'll flirt unless it makes them uncomfortable. If the lady is unpledged and willing, I may fuck her if I can.
And yes, some clothing sexualizes and objectifies women. It's also something that they choose to wear. Which means they are flirting too. They want to be looked at.
I'm going to enjoy sex. I'm going to talk about sex ethically. Sex is a gift from the Divine and I am going to treat it that way.
Politics doesn't belong in sex.
This week I'm really proud of two things. I came up with a definition of "wise" that is practical and better than anything I found in online dictionaries.
And I managed to separate sexuality from politics. I've been trying to do that for years, decades. Our culture took something that is about sharing and coming together and shoved it into tribalism. The labels aren't important unless you're trying to make fun political.
So I had to come up with something that described sexuality without tribalism.
❝Unless it's with me, who you have sex with, how you have sex, and how many times you have sex is frankly none of my business. Likewise, unless it is sex with me, I'm not responsible for the consequences.❞That was the beginning, and now I've got a definition I can point at. If you haven't already, take a look at my lexicon sex index.
I don't know how we made sex about politics. But from now on I'm going to do my damnedest to make it responsibly fun and only fun.
Paraphrasing from The Ethical Slut and my lexicon definition, “Sex is nice and pleasure is good for you.”
I think it's a mistake to suppress our biology in the name of politics.
I'm going to look at pretty girls and women. I'll flirt unless it makes them uncomfortable. If the lady is unpledged and willing, I may fuck her if I can.
And yes, some clothing sexualizes and objectifies women. It's also something that they choose to wear. Which means they are flirting too. They want to be looked at.
I'm going to enjoy sex. I'm going to talk about sex ethically. Sex is a gift from the Divine and I am going to treat it that way.
Politics doesn't belong in sex.
Revived 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?
Added to lexicon
Friday, 12Oct2018 Filed in: site news
Me, I compare an on-the-fly online ritual to building one custom motorcycle in twenty different places with 459 mechanics and parts from thirteen manufacturers.
Read More...Friday - October 12, 2018
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”
No such thing as bad weather
Thursday, 11Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather just different kinds of good weather.”
Let the rain kiss you
Thursday, 11Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
With a Moon, trees and a reflection, this plays with some of my favorite themes.
Read More...Feel the rain
Thursday, 11Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
I don't think people should be objectified, that almost always means no face associated with the body.
Read More...Thursday - October 11, 2018
Thursday, 11Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
≠ ✝ Pastor Appreciation Month 🌙 waxing crescent Moon 🌧rainy morning starting pre-dawn≠ means acknowledge but not celebrate
Double moon
Wednesday, 10Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
Objectify
Not surprisingly, much of the traffic on this site comes from people looking for nude pictures.
I've said before that this is not a pornography site.
So here are my guidelines.
Photos that show genitals and breasts should include faces or at least heads. I don't think people should be objectified, that almost always means no face associated with the body.
In fact, that is one of the biggest differences between porn and photos. Porn seeks to objectify.
No photos of nude underage kids. There are just too many legal and ethical issues.
No photos of sex or carnal acts. Although some of the kisses and embraces come very close.
I'm straight, so most of the nudes I publish are ladies.
I do share drawings, paintings, and sculpture that show sex and orgasms in ritual or mythological context.
I've said before that this is not a pornography site.
So here are my guidelines.
Photos that show genitals and breasts should include faces or at least heads. I don't think people should be objectified, that almost always means no face associated with the body.
In fact, that is one of the biggest differences between porn and photos. Porn seeks to objectify.
No photos of nude underage kids. There are just too many legal and ethical issues.
No photos of sex or carnal acts. Although some of the kisses and embraces come very close.
I'm straight, so most of the nudes I publish are ladies.
I do share drawings, paintings, and sculpture that show sex and orgasms in ritual or mythological context.
Wednesday - October 10, 2018
Wednesday, 10Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Tuesday - October 9, 2018
Tuesday, 09Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Monday - October 8, 2018
Monday, 08Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
I played hooky and climbed up on the roof, just so I could enjoy the moon peeking through the trees on the greenbelt in my desert.
Read More...Sunday - October 7, 2018
Sunday, 07Oct2018 Filed in: daybook⭐︎ celebrations & passages
Added to lexicon
Friday, 05Oct2018 Filed in: site news
My lexicon covers multiple topics, from politics to philosophy to economics to magick to religion to civics to electronics to law. Basically everything that I find interesting.
Read More...Revived 05Oct2018
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.
Relics of faith
The Red Book - First Impressions
Charlie's story
Gnosis Journal
On commitment
Friday - October 5, 2018
Friday, 05Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
“Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
On-line biding ritual
Thursday, 04Oct2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ manifest
Not enough
Thursday, 04Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“I could care less what a religion calls their God, so long as they adhere to constructive and ethical beliefs and practices.”
Thursday - October 4, 2018
Thursday, 04Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
❝27 days, 27 moons❞
Wednesday, 03Oct2018 Filed in: Gallery
This is from the Space reddit. Click on the picture to go to the reddit page.
It is a fake.
There is no way the moon could be caught again and again from the same spot so it would look nice and symmetrical.
Still, it looks impressive.
It is a fake.
There is no way the moon could be caught again and again from the same spot so it would look nice and symmetrical.
Still, it looks impressive.
Wednesday - October 3, 2018
Wednesday, 03Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
Granpa was a letter writer. He had a well-used old Royal and he would write letters all the time. Getting a letter from him was special. It just felt wonderful. Every time I got one I could just picture him at his typewriter hunting and pecking out the letters.
Read More...Care less
Tuesday, 02Oct2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Tuesday - October 2, 2018
Tuesday, 02Oct2018 Filed in: daybook
❝Religions are not created by the Divine.Read More...
Religions are created by people claiming to speak for the Divine.❞
Remember Granpa's old Royal
My biological father left my mother before my first birthday. Mom has mentioned his mother, but I've never heard her mention his father. I've never asked.
About a month after my second birthday, Mom married the only man I would call Father. And later, much later, Dad. I was very precocious. A father was a big thing to me and I didn't have one. So I called him Father. It took me years to adjust. It took him years to accept that I was trying to honor him.
Along with Dad, I got three step-sibs, an uncle, some aunts, and another grandfather. Paternal step grandfather. Grandad.
Granpa.
I already had Grandpa and Grandma on my mother's side. But I saw them often. My new Granpa lived in Arkansas. That's a fair distance from Arizona. So I didn't see him as often.
Granpa was a letter writer. He had a well-used old Royal and he would write letters all the time. Getting a letter from him was special. It just felt wonderful. Every time I got one I could just picture him at his typewriter hunting and pecking out the letters.
So of course when it came time to design my sites, I wanted a typewriter font. American Typewriter was my first choice, but the licensing is a little much. Courier worked but not as well. So I used Special Elite from Google Fonts.
I really wanted to use it in my lexicon, but it doesn't play well with other fonts. So I use Courier for the lexicon.
But the quotes from me, the NeoNotes, and now the Taproots entries, all those use Special Elite.
It helps me remember Granpa when I read those. And I want to pass those good feelings on to you..
About a month after my second birthday, Mom married the only man I would call Father. And later, much later, Dad. I was very precocious. A father was a big thing to me and I didn't have one. So I called him Father. It took me years to adjust. It took him years to accept that I was trying to honor him.
Along with Dad, I got three step-sibs, an uncle, some aunts, and another grandfather. Paternal step grandfather. Grandad.
Granpa.
I already had Grandpa and Grandma on my mother's side. But I saw them often. My new Granpa lived in Arkansas. That's a fair distance from Arizona. So I didn't see him as often.
Granpa was a letter writer. He had a well-used old Royal and he would write letters all the time. Getting a letter from him was special. It just felt wonderful. Every time I got one I could just picture him at his typewriter hunting and pecking out the letters.So of course when it came time to design my sites, I wanted a typewriter font. American Typewriter was my first choice, but the licensing is a little much. Courier worked but not as well. So I used Special Elite from Google Fonts.
I really wanted to use it in my lexicon, but it doesn't play well with other fonts. So I use Courier for the lexicon.
But the quotes from me, the NeoNotes, and now the Taproots entries, all those use Special Elite.
It helps me remember Granpa when I read those. And I want to pass those good feelings on to you..
“Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.”
Saturday, 29Sep2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“Mythical Mountains: Crash Course World Mythology #33”
Saturday, 29Sep2018 Filed in: studies
“Caesar, The Colosseum, Republic, Nero, geese, plebeians, legions — everything that you once knew, but forgot, in a crash course video by Arzamas.
Narrated by Brian Cox.
"Ancient Rome in 20 minutes" is an English version of a Russian video by Arzamas.”
Read More...Added to lexicon
Friday, 28Sep2018 Filed in: site news
“Ancient Rome in 20 minutes”
Thursday, 27Sep2018 Filed in: studies
“When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.”
Lexcion 3.6 ready to use
Thursday, 27Sep2018 Filed in: site news
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”
Transformed
Thursday, 27Sep2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
First comes thought
Thursday, 27Sep2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Standing in driftwood
Wednesday, 26Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
Long story short, without monotheism, the meaning of good and evil aren't so clear cut. It tends to be more in the nature of "this HELPS my tribe/city/nation" and "this HURTS my tribe/city/nation." It becomes relative and based on cost/benefit. It depends more on individual judgement and less on an Official List of "THOU SHALT NOTS."
Read More...The lady inside
Monday, 24Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝Lately sex has also been one thing that drags politics into paganism. Politics corrupts, and I've no desire to see my faith or sex reduced to politics.❞Read More...
Ocean swimming
Monday, 24Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
“This week, Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about mythical gardens and caves, which appear in cultures all over the world. Caves and gardens can stand for different things, but in the two stories we're talking about today, they tie into the creation of the world in general, and the origins of humans in particular.”
Read More...NeoNote — Good and evil
❝Obviously I am not heathen, but I question that phrase "forces of darkness." Our World has both light and darkness, both are necessary for life, death, growth and renewal.
Perhaps it is just me, but I have issues with assigning good to light and evil to darkness. I probably have issues with the dualistic ideas of good and evil too. Sometimes what is "evil" for one group is "good" for another. If they are anything like the ones I've argued with, your "extreme right ideologies" probably see inclusiveness as very evil and damaging. I disagree, but it is their "evil."
Ah, now that is an interesting bit.
Bonewits pointed out that dualism, especially religious dualism, quickly shifts things to IS and IS NOT. If something IS NOT on the approved list, it is evil because the definitions and underlying assumptions don't allow any other possibility.
Long story short, without monotheism, the meaning of good and evil aren't so clear cut. It tends to be more in the nature of "this HELPS my tribe/city/nation" and "this HURTS my tribe/city/nation." It becomes relative and based on cost/benefit. It depends more on individual judgement and less on an Official List of "THOU SHALT NOTS."
But, since Bonewits is on the Disapproved List, this is just academic, right? An accused sexual predator and pedophile couldn't possibly have had good ideas…
I disagree.
I agree that unrestrained greed and unrestrained tribalism are bad. But so is unrestrained sex, unrestrained pacifism, unrestrained sugar, unrestrained sunbathing, unrestrained hair dyeing, unrestrained television, and unrestrained concrete. A little goes a long way, or as the old saying goes, moderation in all things.
Competition keeps us honest and is one big reason why we try to make things better.
*grins* I may bring the philosophy bit out. I enjoy it, I practice it, and I encourage it.
I was thinking about the Greeks and some of the philosophy of the Golden Mean, although the Buddhist version applies too.
Specifically I was thinking about self-discipline and responsibility. The Ethic of Reciprocity is usually associated with Christianity but predates Christianity and exists independently in other cultures. One of my party tricks is showing how people can build an entire social, ethical, and legal system using the EoR and without depending on authority granted from an Official Religion. And that brings us to unrestrained.
If we are talking about ethical restraints, those restraints have to be self-imposed. It's not really ethical otherwise. If a choice is imposed by force, it's not really a choice, is it?
Self-restraint goes right back to the EoR. If I want to be treated right, it's in my best interest to treat others right. We expect others to act morally and honorably. That gets into defining the Other which is a long subject. I'm going to skip that for our discussion here.
Every morning I have a glass of citrus juice with my breakfast. But it's a water glass, not a juice glass. Is that excessive? Some might say so. But it's my breakfast and my choice. As long as I am not depriving or harming others, then how is it anyone else's business?
That brings us to greed. If I want to continue having OJ, somehow I have to do something that someone else wants and is willing to pay for. With the division of labor, that becomes the free market. Voluntary exchanges between mutually consenting adults. To get what I want, I have to provide something they want.
Competition brings the second keystone of the free market: I can do better than that! Most fail, but the successes change everything.
You're absolutely right pointing out that competition doesn't mean destroying the other (odd how that word keeps cropping up). But the free market means that a company or person has to offer at least as much value as those around them, or someone else will sell.
It's not just buying and selling. Most people reading this site chose paganism or an alternative religion because that religion offered something that they couldn't get elsewhere.
One of the things I recently added to my lexicon, the two most important phrases in human history (www DOT neowayland DOT com SLASH lexicon SLASH tt SLASH #two)
“Let me help.”
“I can do better than that!”
And yes, I gave credit to Star Trek for the first.❞
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
“Mythical Caves and Gardens: Crash Course World Mythology #32”
Saturday, 22Sep2018 Filed in: studies
Added to lexicon
Friday, 21Sep2018 Filed in: site news
“Skyclad for Samhain in the graveyard.”
Monday, 17Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Ma'ui, prominent hero of many cultures in Oceania, aka the Pacific Island nations. Ma'ui is just the kind of hero we're interested in here at Crash Course. He's a culture hero, he's a an adventurer, he has a divine birth, AND he's a trickster. In short, he's pretty cool, and the tasks he accomplishes in his life are great examples of how human stories can touch on universal themes.”
Read More...Broom Ritual
Monday, 17Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Ma'ui, Oceania's Hero: Crash Course World Mythology #31”
Saturday, 15Sep2018 Filed in: studies
Added to lexicon
Friday, 14Sep2018 Filed in: site news
Those who walk between the worlds
Wednesday, 12Sep2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
“This week, Mike Rugnetta re-introduces Herakles, the strong man of Greek and Roman myth. Strongman with a darkside, that is. You'll learn about Herakles' 10 actually 12 labors, the story of his birth, his death, some of his marriages, none of which turned out that great, and some of his character flaws that definitely wouldn't fly in the modern world.”
Read More...Handprints
Monday, 10Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
I never really have understood the whole cultural appropriation bit. Syncretism happens.
Read More...NeoNote - White sage, Amerindians and virtue signalling
Sunday, 09Sep2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ modern adult pagans
❝White sage is really not that hard to find. You need a little care when harvesting to avoid harming the plant. If you're in the right area and you don't overwater, it's fairly easy to keep in a container garden. Oh, and if you're harvesting your own, avoid polyester thread or yarn to tie the bundles, that smells terrible when burned.
I grew up next to the Diné and Hopi and near the Havasupai and a handful of other tribes. I promise that pretty much any sage ceremony from a book or a pamphlet or a website isn't anywhere near culturally appropriated, much less "authentic."
Okay, maybe I am not understanding because the stuff is all over New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
Maybe I'm wrong, but if it was a native supplier who was selling, how is wrong for the company to resell?
I never really have understood the whole cultural appropriation bit. Syncretism happens.
Pardon, but it's some of the First Nation folks. Some of the Diné I know are far more concerned with the abuse of corn rituals than sage rituals.
I guess what I am saying is that this strikes me as politics, a way to control other's behaviors using little-understood religions. Look at this, we're talking Native, we're talking First Nations, but these groups are absolutely not the same as the various tribes.
This was acceptable and practiced behavior a couple of days ago. No one was hurt, no one was abused, no one was demeaned. From what you yourself have said, anyone who is not Native should Stop Now. This isn't about honoring the First Nations, it's about control through guilt.❝Why does your enlightenment require that I sacrifice?❞
Granted I haven't been able to talk to more than a handful of people in the last day or so about this issue, but most of what I got was laughter.
This is not a "bubble," I was born on the res, the Diné and Hopi are some of my friends and neighbors.
This whole thing about honoring the First Nations seems very selective. A few months back during the Dakota protests I tried to point out how the state of Utah was using legal maneuvers to steal land and money from the Ute and Diné (Navajo). That didn't rate so much as a burp, but the discussion on the protests went on and on.
Trust me, white sage is not endangered. Not even in the wild. The land is mostly desert and the plant life is not as plentiful, but it is all over the place. It's not the most common plant, but it's not rare.
That's something else we've been tiptoeing around, isn't it?
That also drags the FedGovs in. Truthfully there are some peyote users that aren't interested in the ritual.
The whole mess between the NAC and the Feds is one thing that convinced me that government and religion should be strictly separated from other. And that was when I was (briefly) a Young Teenage Republican Male. Twelve years old and I could see what a farce it was on both sides.
Well, the hunt is part of the ritual, but yeah.
==>Insert obligatory lengthy libertarian anti-drug law rant here<==
For the record, I don't even drink or otherwise imbibe. I even try to avoid aspirin.
So you can use the higher authority gambit to cite the Good Amerindians, but I am not allowed to question?
These are questions that should be asked.
Starting with the big one that almost everyone keeps tiptoeing around. Why should white sage be forbidden to anyone not of First Nations stock?
That in itself raises questions, very political questions in fact. Some tribes have taken a hard line on who is and is not a member.
Do you have to be Officially Recognized before you dare consider using white sage?
I do that when someone claims higher morality so they can control the choices and actions of others.
It's a first step.
You should see what I do with self-righteous Christians.
Pardon, but some Native Americans are upset. The (admittedly few) that I talked to just thought it was silly.
They still think the plant and the smudging ceremonies are sacred. They just think there are more important things in the World than this fuss.
Which, BTW, didn't exist a week ago.
I have a bit of a problem with lumping different tribes under one heading like First Nations or Native or Amerindian. Whenever possible, I prefer to refer to the tribe name and not the generic label. The cultures and ceremonies are different.
That being said, the handful of Diné I talked in the last couple of days thought this was silly and virtue signaling. I think they were more irritated by "whites" trying to "protect" Amerindian rituals and plants than "whites" using sage in purification rituals.
It was only a small number of people. It would be a mistake to claim their opinion is representative or that I have a greater understanding of their culture.
But that's parity again. It cuts both ways. If the people I talked to are not representative, then what about the Amerindians who complained? If my understanding is insufficient, then what about all the non-Natives who are making a fuss now?
That happens a lot.
Thomas Sowell said “When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
Just because it is truth doesn't mean people will listen.❞
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
“Herakles. Or Hercules. A Problematic Hero: Crash Course World Mythology #30”
Saturday, 08Sep2018 Filed in: studies
Added to lexicon
Friday, 07Sep2018 Filed in: site news
So the paganism bothers you too.
Tuesday, 04Sep2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals
“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the hero of The Congo, Mwindo! Mike will tell you the stories of Mwindo's birth, his many deaths, and his evolution from a braggy superhuman baby to a wise, superhuman leader of his people. Along the way, we'll learn about the Wiki game, and when you should and shouldn't drink banana beer.”
Read More...In a field
Monday, 03Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
❝The only reason I started writing about pagans and sex is because there is a strong movement to lock all that away where Respectable People Will Not Talk About the Embarrassing Stuff.❞
Looking
Sunday, 02Sep2018 Filed in: Gallery
The combination of the lady's expression and her pose sell the shot. The tattoos don't hurt either.
Read More...“The Mwindo Epic: Crash Course World Mythology #29”
Saturday, 01Sep2018 Filed in: studies
Added to lexicon
Friday, 31Aug2018 Filed in: site news
Yoga
Monday, 27Aug2018 Filed in: Gallery
I can't even laugh at the irony anymore. These are the seeds that will destroy paganism in a way that monotheisms never could.
Read More...“Galahad, Perceval, and the Holy Grail: Crash Course World Mythology #28”
Saturday, 25Aug2018 Filed in: studies
An Arizona monsoon storm.
I'm going to go watch it on the patio for a while.
I'm going to go watch it on the patio for a while.
Added to the lexicon
Friday, 24Aug2018 Filed in: site news
For something with no moral relativism, there's an awful lot or relative morality going on.
Read More...NeoNote — Not about paganism
Thursday, 23Aug2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
“Starry Night as seen by Van Gogh”
Wednesday, 22Aug2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Those who hunt for treasure must go alone, at night, along the way they lose some blood, and when they find the treasure, it's never what they expected.”Read More...
Rain, rain, stay a while
Tuesday, 21Aug2018 Filed in: tellus
Something else
Monday, 20Aug2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans
“We are our bodies”
Monday, 20Aug2018 Filed in: Gallery⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
“The next entry in our parade of heroes is Rama, the protagonist of the Ramayana, one of India’s oldest stories. We’re going to be talking about Rama’s importance to Hindu culture, and how Rama fits into Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey. Although, Rama may not even be the hero.”
Read More...Those who hunt for treasure…
Sunday, 19Aug2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ entertainment
“Rama and the Ramayana: Crash Course World Mythology #27”
Saturday, 18Aug2018 Filed in: studies
Six new pages
Friday, 17Aug2018 Filed in: site news⭐︎ beliefs⭐︎ celebrations & passages⭐︎ philosophy⭐︎ rite & ritual⭐︎ sex⭐︎ studies
❝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.❞
NeoNote — Responding to another Bookworm rant
Thursday, 16Aug2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Worst experiences with paganism
Thursday, 16Aug2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Climax
Wednesday, 15Aug2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex
Philosi-bear
“This week, we're continuing our discussion of heroes by talking about Gilgamesh, star of one of the earliest written hero stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a terrible ancient king who left his kingdom seeking adventure, and eventually on the prowl for immortality. Along the way, he checks pretty much all the boxes on the checklist of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.”
Read More...Sleeping in the sunlight
Monday, 13Aug2018 Filed in: Gallery
“The Epic of Gilgamesh: Crash Course World Mythology #26”
Saturday, 11Aug2018 Filed in: studies
Love & sex
“How do you remove the memory of a particularly bad emperor from the history books? Or what if your brother is just so annoying that you can't stand the sight of him anymore, and don't want to share power? You perform a damnatio memoriae, erase all inscriptions, destroy all public images, and pretend as if he never existed.”
Read More...“Damnatio Memoriae, or How to Erase Someone from History”
Wednesday, 08Aug2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans
NeoNote — Excuse for sex
WebTree fire festival & cross quarter day. Harvestpoint marks the beginning of fall and the return of the dark, staring at sunset the day before the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox and ending at sunset on the day after (traditional three days).
Godmask
Monday, 06Aug2018 Filed in: Gallery
I'm pretty sure this lady is channelling a god.
I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
First day of Harvestpoint
Monday, 06Aug2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages⭐︎ studies
“The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25”
Sunday, 05Aug2018 Filed in: studies
Anti-Christian
“Ragnarok! It's the end of the world, Norse style. It's got everything you want in an apocalypse. Earthquakes, destruction, armies of the dead, a giant evil wolf, giants with flaming swords, and a kind of happy ending. It's got it all. But is it really Norse? It wasn't written down until after Christianity had arrived in Europe. So how much influence is there?”
Read More...Spear
Monday, 30Jul2018 Filed in: Gallery
“May the Gods always stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.”
Worship
Monday, 30Jul2018 Filed in: Gallery⭐︎ rite & ritual
“If a bible is left outside in the sun and rain it will eventually fade and decompose. A pagan's bible IS the sun and rain.”
“Ragnarok: Crash Course World Mythology #24”
Saturday, 28Jul2018 Filed in: studies
“Churches are hospitals for the sinners, not mausoleums for the saints.”
Empty places
Thursday, 26Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ Bless list
“May the Gods always stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.”
Sun and rain
Wednesday, 25Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
❝The Lady's touch is life. The Lord's touch is love.❞
Hospitals for the sinners
Wednesday, 25Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Make amends
Wednesday, 25Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums
Lady & Lord
Wednesday, 25Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ beliefs
Standing at the river
Monday, 23Jul2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Far more erasure is happening at the hands of our own people than the old Christian fundamentalist crowd could ever hope to do.”Read More...— Kenneth Goze, comments from Column: the Mainstreaming of Pride
The river knows
Monday, 23Jul2018 Filed in: Gallery
“Nothing supernatural exists.”probably inspired by a Star Trek filmSearching The Wild Hunt
“Mike Rugnetta is going to tell you stories of death, destruction, divine judgment, damnation, and the occasional happy ending. That's right, this week we're talking about the Apocalypse. Actually we're talking about a bunch of ways the world could end. Prepare for stories of the end times from Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam! It's the (mostly) Abrahamic Apocalypses on Crash Course World Mythology.”
Read More...In the name of inclusion
Sunday, 22Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans“Anthony Howe has been sculpting kinetic structures for nearly 30 years. In 1996, he filled his own sculpture park with metallic pieces that dance in the wind. His work has even appeared at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the holiday display for Barneys in NYC! Howe hopes his artwork gives viewers a moment of semi-meditative peace.”
Read More...Nothing supernatural exists.
Saturday, 21Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ philosophy“The Apocalyspe: Crash Course World Mythology #23”
Saturday, 21Jul2018 Filed in: studies“Mike Rugnetta is going to tell you stories of death, destruction, divine judgment, damnation, and the occasional happy ending. That's right, this week we're talking about the Apocalypse. Actually we're talking about a bunch of ways the world could end. Prepare for stories of the end times from Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam! It's the (mostly) Abrahamic Apocalypses on Crash Course World Mythology.”
Read More...“How These Metal Sculptures Move With The Wind”
“Sometimes today's Pagans seem to think that wearing a Thor's hammer should grant them the presumption of honor of a Viking king.”— Kenneth Goze, comments on Anatomy of a failure: the Piedmont Pagan Pride collapseThat smile
Monday, 16Jul2018 Filed in: GalleryI do not usually do carnal pictures. TPY is not a porn site.
But lovers are certainly everyday nudity. The smile does more to sell this.
And yes, I know it's posed. It still delivers.I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
I rub people the wrong way
Friday, 13Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals❝When feelings are high, I rub people the wrong way. I focus on getting things working and leaving the emotional stuff for later. It's practical in a business setting but doesn't work with most long term pagan groups. I recognize that passion drives us, but it's not a good tool for effective decisions.❞It's only shame if I accept the premise.
Sunday, 08Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans“American Floods: Crash Course World Mythology #18”
Saturday, 07Jul2018 Filed in: studiesLike calls to like
Thursday, 05Jul2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”Beads
Monday, 02Jul2018 Filed in: Gallery❝I don't think our worship belongs enshrined in some fantasy setting.❞— NeoWayland, Bringing it homeI love a lady with a guitar
Monday, 02Jul2018 Filed in: GalleryDefinition of insanity
Saturday, 30Jun2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Experience requires taking that first and seventh step into the unknown.❞— NeoWayland, the Journey vs. the StoryFantasy setting
I was working on the lexicon and realized I had totally forgotten Isaac Bonewits' The Laws of Magic.
Read More...“Yu the Engineer and Flood Stories from China: Crash Course World Mythology #17”
Saturday, 30Jun2018 Filed in: studiesStudy guide - Bonewits' Laws of Magic
Sunday, 24Jun2018 Filed in: studies“Floods in the Ancient Near East: Crash Course World Mythology #16”
Saturday, 23Jun2018 Filed in: studiesCelebrate
Thursday, 21Jun2018 Filed in: site news⭐︎ celebrations & passages“Archetypes and Male Divinities: Crash Course World Mythology #15”
Sunday, 17Jun2018 Filed in: studies“This week on Crash Course Mythology, Mike is teaching you about the archetypes that are often associated with male divinities. We’re going to talk about Fathers & Sons, Kings & Judges, Saviors & Sages, Shamans, Tricksters, and Lords of Destruction. Along the way, we’ll look at the story of Hwaning, Hwanung, and Dangun from the Korean peninsula, and we’ll learn about Arjuna and all the help he got from Krishna. We’ll also touch on a ton of other myths from around the world. These things play out this way all the time, man.”
Read More...A book fell on my head
“Thou shalt mind thine own damn business.”— David Weber, Torch of FreedomShower in the sunlight
Sunday, 10Jun2018 Filed in: practicals“Fire and Buffalo Goddesses: Crash Course World Mythology #14”
Sunday, 10Jun2018 Filed in: studiesA pretty good “thou shalt”
Friday, 08Jun2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Most mornings I share breakfast berries with a raven. I talk to him, but he doesn't think much about human stuff. Now sunrises, he and I agree on. Not so much on sunsets, that's when he is off doing his own thing.❞Fairytale path
Wednesday, 06Jun2018 Filed in: Gallery“Serena, Found of Savages” by Thomas Benjamin Kennington
Monday, 04Jun2018 Filed in: Gallery“This week on Crash Course Mythology, we're talking archetypes. Specifically, we're talking about archetypes as they're applied to female deities. Goddesses, man. You'll learn about prehistoric fertility goddesses like the Venus of Willendorf, life and death goddesses like the Ancient Greek Fates and the Norse Norns. And we'll learn about regeneration goddesses like Ireland's Nimah, and Japan's Oto-Hime.”
Read More...Most mornings
Saturday, 02Jun2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ tellus“Great Goddesses: Crash Course World Mythology #13”
Saturday, 02Jun2018 Filed in: studiesNeoNotes - clergy claims
I'm seeing people using their victimhood to control what others in the group will do.
Read More...Shiprock
Wednesday, 30May2018 Filed in: GalleryThe first couple of dozen times a nude, pretty woman is presenting herself, it's artistic.
Read More...The secret albums
“This week, we're talking about theories of Myth. We'll look at the different ways mythology has been studied in the last couple of millenia, and talk about the diffeent ways people have interpreted myth, academically.” Read More...
“Venus” by Henri Pierre Pico
Monday, 28May2018 Filed in: GalleryAnother swimming hole
Monday, 28May2018 Filed in: Gallery“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.”“Theories of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #12”
Saturday, 26May2018 Filed in: studies“We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.”Excellent schoolmasters
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ tellus“The earth laughs in flowers.”Here to help
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.”Mother of all people
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness.”Laughs
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsLights are stronger
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ tellusPart of the metaphor for this site is a loose-leaf binder jammed with all sorts of stuff.
Read More...Staircase to Heaven
Thursday, 24May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ tellusBubbles
Monday, 21May2018 Filed in: GalleryYes, it's probably posed. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a pretty lady. I'm also a sucker for the outdoors and blowing bubbles.
This is a great example of ALMOST showing you something. You know she's nude but you don't actually see anything questionable.I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Encyclopædia Brittanica gets it wrong
Not once, but twice.
I've been working on version 3 of my lexicon. It's steady work, and helps calm me. I don't write all the definitions, I take clips if I can find well written ones.
So I was looking at Brittanica's Quarter Day page, which actually refers to the Lammas page.““The Quarter Days—Candlemas (February 2), May Day (May 1), Lammas, and All Saints’ Day (November 1)—marked the four quarters of the calendar as observed in the British Isles and elsewhere in northern Europe. ””Every single reference I've ever seen from Valiente forward calls these the cross quarter days, they mark the transitions between the season. The actual quarter days are the solstices and the equinoxes. It helps if you visualize the year as a wheel.
— Encyclopædia Brittanica, Lammas
The second mistake is about May Day, and I am pretty sure it's a translation error and misunderstanding about agriculture. I'll just quote my own note here.❝Enclyclopædia Britannica has it wrong here, it's a very common mistake. In some European countries especially further north, there were two seasons, winter and summer. May Day traditionally marks the beginning of the growing season, not the beginning of spring. If the summer solstice is midsummer, that makes May Day the beginning of summer.❞I doubt that anyone except a calendar geek or a pagan would have caught it. But when you're both at once, you have to tell people.— NeoWayland, May Day“African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology #11”
Saturday, 19May2018 Filed in: studiesGrowing season
“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’.”The magic circle
I've had three deaths in the past month. One a friend, one an uncle, and one person who I did not get along with.
Read More...Purpose of ritual
Between that and the floating, it's a pretty good bet that this depicts a psychedelic trip.
Read More...A piece of advice
Thursday, 17May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicalsJournal 15May2018
Tuesday, 15May2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ celebrations & passagesThis is both my Tuesday entry and a journal entry.
I've had three deaths in the past month. One a friend, one an uncle, and one person who I did not get along with.
I really don't think these "poor little me" bits are healthy, but my blogging took a hit and I wanted people to know why. Since my companion passed last fall, I'm not dealing well with people I know passing.
The friend wasn't a close friend, just someone I had known for a long time.
My uncle was my mother's older brother. You know that old story about the oldest son being allowed to get away with anything because he was the older son? That was my uncle. He was the troublemaker. Still, he did things mostly right. He gave the world two sons and laid the groundwork for many grandchildren. He was a party guy, but he'd bend over backwards and jump for family and his friends. This was the guy who'd take you fishing and hunting and then help you bury bodies.
And then there was the other person. We kept bumping into each other over the years. There were a few epic arguments. I can't blame it all on her. She did win in the end though. She left special instructions that I be invited to the funeral. What was I supposed to do with that? Say no? Tell her family that I couldn't be bothered?
People passing makes me think of mortality. I'm my mother's caregiver and I worry about her. But I worry about me too. I can't hike and walk like I used to, my feet don't like me and I don't like them. I can hear my joints rubbing against each other, especially in my neck. My handwriting has gotten worse. There are days it hurts too much to type. I spend more time than I should coughing up phlegm. I don't sleep particularly well and that makes me even more paranoid. I'm getting older and I don't think it will end well. My family is long lived but I'm not sure.
These toxic politics have made things worse. I see pagans more interested in making their mark than in nurturing the Earth. I see devotion to the gods replaced by tribal identity. I see the endless oneupmanship and "gotcha" attacks. I see us concentrating on our differences rather than what we share. And I think I have been too big a part of that.
The sun still rose this morning. It was particularly gorgeous, but I only noticed after I took the trash out. I stopped to think then, I had not greeted the sun in more than a month. Thoughts of death pushed thoughts of dawn out of my head. Only happenstance made me notice. That's not who I want to be. That's not what I want to share.
I still have time. I do not know how much. But some.“Witches on the Sabbath” by Luis Ricardo Falero
Monday, 14May2018 Filed in: GalleryLuis Ricardo Falero, Duke of Labranzano, was a Spanish painter with a taste for female nudes in mythological and fantasy settings. This 1878 piece is called Witches on the Sabbath.
Notice the juxtaposition of the human figures with the non-human. The non-human seem even more carnal than the human in twisted ways. Between that and the floating, it's a pretty good bet that this depicts a psychedelic trip. It was understood that a lot of the imagery reported by witches may have occurred under the influence. Does that make it any less valid? Well, that's a question for another time.
Pay attention to the lady in the lower left corner. The expression on her face indicates something is going on, and it's a bit beyond a night out with friends. My guess is that it has something to do with the man whose arm she is hanging onto. I don't think it's an accident that his face is mostly averted. I think this is detailing an affair.I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Shower
Monday, 14May2018 Filed in: Gallery“This week, we're headed north. To check out the gods of the Northmen. Or the Norse. That's right, we're talking Thor, Loki, Freyr, Freya, Odin, Frigg, Baldr, and Tyr. And Fenrir. And the Frost Giants. There's a lot to cover here, and it's going to be fun. Watch this prior to Ragnarok, as this video probably won't be available after the end of the universe.”
Read More...NeoNotes — Women's studies
❝Okay, seriously though, and this relates to one of my long standing criticisms of women's studies (and any number of gender studies, skin color studies, etc.)
If these various fields of study have any worth at all, they have to acknowledge that they are only part of the picture. Limiting your studies to one subgroup is going to limit your understanding. Especially if you dismiss without question other subgroups. It's the difference between rigorous study and fantasyland. It's why the theoretical has to cross over with the practical. It's not enough to say how things should work, you have to examine how things actually work together. You have to look outside your preconceptions and expectations for the things you can't explain. Otherwise you never leave the echo chamber.
Or, women's studies without human studies is sh*t.❞NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Practical philosophy
“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 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ beliefs“The Greeks and Romans - Pantheons Part 3: Crash Course World Mythology #9”
Saturday, 05May2018 Filed in: studiesJourney
“Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman.”Coming home
Tuesday, 01May2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsI do not believe that a government agency should be trusted with caring for the environment.
Read More...Cauldron
“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 PresentEcology vs. environmentalism
Sunday, 29Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Ecology studies how living systems interact and interconnect with each other. Environmentalism is about teaching and compelling behavior. These words are not synonyms. As both a pagan and a libertarian, I can not support environmentalism.❞— NeoWayland, ecology vs. environmentalismForest nymphs
Saturday, 28Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman.”Building
Saturday, 28Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“In which Mike Rugnetta continues our unit on pantheons with the complex Indian pantheon, focusing on stories that were written in Sanskrit. We start with a violent creation story. We talk about the concept of Brahman, and the personification as three deities: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Then, the goddess Durga teaches us how to behead a buffalo demon while riding a lion.”
Read More...John McConnell & Earth Day
Saturday, 28Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ celebrations & passages❝Much of the justification for "establishing" a Greater Pagan Community® is so that certain individuals can get the adoration and deference they believe they deserve.❞— NeoWayland, Greater Pagan Community®Peak
Saturday, 28Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ beliefs❝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 experienceGreater Pagan Community
Friday, 27Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Much of the justification for "establishing" a Greater Pagan Community® is so that certain individuals can get the adoration and deference they believe they deserve.❞— NeoWayland, Greater Pagan Community®Diversity of channels
Tuesday, 24Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝I don't believe in enabling power through victimhood. I know that can seem cruel, but it's not. After a time, the training wheels get in the way.❞Kirlian photography
Monday, 23Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ studies“In which Mike Rugnetta begins our unit on pantheons, which are families of gods. We further define pantheons and talk about why they're important. Then, we discuss pantheons from the myths of the ancient Mediterranean, starting with ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia. The Egyptian pantheon brings us the story of Osiris and his envious brother Seth. We learn what these two pantheons suggest about the cultures where they originated.” Read More...
Power through victimhood
Saturday, 21Apr2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Pantheons of the Ancient Mediterranean: Crash Course World Mythology #7”
Saturday, 21Apr2018 Filed in: studies“Oedipus and the Sphinx”
Monday, 16Apr2018 Filed in: GalleryShaft of sunlight
Monday, 16Apr2018 Filed in: Gallery“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and meanwhile, do everything you can to make things better.”“In the Footsteps of Brasidas”
Saturday, 14Apr2018 Filed in: studies⭐︎ quotes & thinkums❝Faith is a personal choice. It has to be, or it has no meaning.❞“Humans and Nature and Creation: Crash Course World Mythology #6”
Saturday, 14Apr2018 Filed in: studies“In which Mike Rugnetta brings you the final installation of our unit on creation myths. This week, we're talking about human beings and their relationship to the natural world. It turns out foundational stories have a lot to teach us about the ways in which people relate to the physical world around them, and the other organisms that inhabit that world. We'll talk about the Biblical idea that humans have dominion over animals, and we'll talk about Native American stories in which people and nature collaborate to create the world.”
Read More...“Social Orders and Creation Stories: Crash Course World Mythology #5”
Saturday, 07Apr2018 Filed in: studies“Earth Mothers and Rebellious Sons - Creation Part 3: Crash Course World Mythology #4”
Saturday, 31Mar2018 Filed in: studiesNeoNotes — Diversity
Wednesday, 28Mar2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ modern adult pagansBear Lake
Wednesday, 28Mar2018 Filed in: GallerySorry, I'm stretched a bit thin this week. This was another collaboration with Juliaki.
The bear symbol is actually my medicine shield bear pendent
I used to do photography until my camera was damaged. That was back in the 35mm days. Maybe I should look at digital photography.Who's a good boy?
Monday, 26Mar2018 Filed in: GalleryThey want to know why they should even consider your faith when their faith is absolutest.
Read More...“Zeus and Antiope”
❝I think it's vital to have friends outside your faith and outside your work. It helps you to balance. We need people we don't agree with but still trust to keep us out of the ego traps. We need other outlets for our passion just to keep ourselves fresh.❞Journal 23Mar2018
Friday, 23Mar2018 Filed in: thinking by bloggingI try to give Christians the benefit of the doubt, mainly because I expect the same. Some make it harder than others. Live and let live works mostly.
Read More...
For space reasons, this entry has it's own page.“Rotating Moon from LRO”
Friday, 23Mar2018 Filed in: tellus“I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It's still my symbol of rebellion -- against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others' ideas.”NeoNotes — Defending my faith (the long one)
❝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.
Vital & fresh
Friday, 23Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsWearing black
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsFolly
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsI don't suppose it's really important in the overall scheme of things, but I find it unnerving.
Read More...I believe in God
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“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.”Without
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsIt's not that they don't have the raw ability, most just don't have the skills.
Read More...Religion is dangerous
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ simpleFundamentalism denies others choice
Thursday, 22Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.”Lady in violet
Wednesday, 21Mar2018 Filed in: GalleryIn the spirt of the season
“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
I don't suppose it's really important in the overall scheme of things, but I find it unnerving.
Read More...NeoNotes — accusation
Monday, 19Mar2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”NeoNotes — IQ is culture dependent
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...Sleeping
Monday, 19Mar2018 Filed in: Gallery“The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back.”“Andromeda Chained to the Rocks”
Monday, 19Mar2018 Filed in: Gallery“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”Not so silly
Sunday, 18Mar2018 Filed in: GallerySome mornings it's too much to bear
Sunday, 18Mar2018 Filed in: GalleryJournal 16Mar2018
Friday, 16Mar2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging❝My paganism isn't separate. It's not something enshrined in the past behind a glass door in some museum. It's a living part of me and my world.
And it's going to shape my future.❞— NeoWayland, Thursday at lastCharacter
Thursday, 15Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsFirst chapter
Thursday, 15Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsMy paganism isn't separate
Thursday, 15Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝If you give your passion to them, then they win. You'll always be reacting and you'll always be unhappy.❞Read More...Tunnel of trees
Wednesday, 14Mar2018 Filed in: GalleryGiving away your power
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”Dance
Monday, 12Mar2018 Filed in: Gallery❝Sometimes, the heirs of dreams do better than the heirs of blood and bone.❞"The Woman, the Man and the Serpent"
Monday, 12Mar2018 Filed in: GalleryJohn Byam Liston Shaw was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and worked in a wide variety of mediums. Today he's best known as a teacher and not an artist in his own right.
Obviously this is a depiction of the Garden of Eden. Pay special attention to how the man is so passive, even to the point of being hidden behind the woman. He's still tense and resisting, but he obviously doesn't want to be there. This is emphasized by him being in the shadows.
The woman is embracing life and blossoming right before our eyes.I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.
Heirs of dreams
Sunday, 11Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Sometimes, the heirs of dreams do better than the heirs of blood and bone.❞Truest life
Sunday, 11Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsYou don't know
Saturday, 10Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”Read More...Journal 09Mar2018
Friday, 09Mar2018 Filed in: thinking by bloggingSo here I sit, putting my mental house in order.
A little sketching. A lot of reading. Listening to music.
I've been so wrapped up in politics, paganism, and taking care of Mom that I didn't let my wheels spin for me.
I'm feeling more of myself.
Splitting focus really helps. But it helps even more indulging in both fiction and non-fiction. Even if the fiction is old favorites I've not read in a while.
Reading is a dying art, especially the way I do it.
I've been thinking about many things in the last few days. But I don't think I'll share them. More stuff for the private journal.Take care of each other
Friday, 09Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsAs a rough definition, measurable intelligence is the practical knowledge and skills necessary for a given set of problem solving.
Read More...Heard of brave knights
Thursday, 08Mar2018 Filed in: Gallery⭐︎ quotes & thinkumsTuesday and Wednesday entries combined. A bit of art, a bit of dream, a bit of speculation.
Read More...Fairy tales
Thursday, 08Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Does the Church in our time foster the inner life? Rarely. Does the Church hold the keys to a new consciousness? Yes.”Acquiring knowledge
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”One tree falls
Thursday, 08Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsFoster inner life
Thursday, 08Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsAbout all we know for sure is that Bosch was mixing the profound with the profane of his day and age.
Read More...NeoNotes — multiple intelligences
❝It's important to understand that The Bell Curve deals with intelligence, not potential ability. As a rough definition, measurable intelligence is the practical knowledge and skills necessary for a given set of problem solving. There are probably multiple intelligences, each with it's own scope and limitations. The upshot of which is that English literature doesn't grant the ability to tune up a motorcycle. "Street smarts" won't help you balance a checkbook.
I did say probably. The theory does have it's detractors, but it is effective. Much of the problem lies in the definition of "intelligence."
Look at it this way. Leg presses build up your torso and leg muscles, but don't do much for your arms or hands. Different muscle groups are used for different things and they aren't all useful for everything. Likewise, different intelligences work for you in different situations.
I've got three problems with Gardner's original model. He didn't allow for as yet undefined intelligences (he fixed that when he added to the original group). And he left out two obvious (to me anyway) intelligences. First, he didn't distinguish between gross motor coordination (a baseball pitcher) and fine motor coordination (a jeweler). Second, he didn't allow for awareness and interaction with the Divine. Historically and across many cultures, there have been examples of this particular intelligence, even if we ourselves don't understand it well. I call it gnostic intelligence, the identifying and labeling is my own small contribution to Gardner's theory.
Jordan Peterson would be the first to tell you not to treat anyone as the absolute authority on everything, including himself. While I admire Peterson's work, my studies and experiences have shown that Gardner's theory does produce practical results. Too many results to dismiss the theory out of hand.
Peterson didn't say IQ, he said intelligence.
I still think much of the problem is in the definition of that word "intelligence." It's not a general problem solving ability. As you pointed out, Gardner used examples who were extremely gifted in one area but deficient in others. That alone means that "intelligence" as it's usually defined is inaccurate.
I just wrote a short piece at my pagan slice-of-life blog going into further detail. I understand if people here don't want to go there, so I'll sum up. An intelligence is a set of mental tools that can solve a problem. What works with one challenge won't work with another, anymore than you could exchange a pipe wrench with a smartphone and expect the same results.
I understand your concerns, but I still think the problem here is in the definition of that word "intelligence."
For example, you might be able to recite Shakespeare, but I'm pretty sure you can't speak Navajo. While those skills are probably related (sort of - the Navajo use different assumptions about time & distance), neither gives you the skill to bake a cake from scratch or help you deal with the loss of a loved one.
We develop patterns of behavior that we use to deal with life. Sometimes we have the patterns we need, sometimes not. But there are patterns that just don't help with other things.
The problem isn't with multiple intelligences, the problem is with a badly defined word that doesn't really do what we are asking.❞NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
I said above that much of the problem is in that word "intelligence." Understand, the word is not the thing. Just because you have a symbol for something doesn't mean you have the thing itself. Manipulating the symbol doesn't let you manipulate the thing unless unless you've built the framework and links. Your cell phone is the front end of a very complex network, pressing 7 on the phone does nothing unless you are connected to the network.
And yes, magick works the same way. The symbol is not the thing.
Intelligence in it's strictest sense is not something easily measured. We know it's an approximation. We use chronological age to calculate the intelligence quotient. We know it's not linear. We know that gaining intelligence has to do with the plasticity of the brain. That slows down after the age of 25 or so. We know that older people find it difficult to gain new intelligence and adjust behavior patterns, especially if those behavior patterns have generated passion in the past.
Not success, but passion. Your brain doesn't care if it's "bad" or "good," "successful" or "failure." The feedback mechanism isn't designed to distinguish between positive or negative, only the amount of passion.
And yes, obviously that means that the more you focus on how bad you failed, the less likely you are to achieve your result.
Gods, I could write pages on the passion feedback loop, but it really does boil down to three words. Amount, not polarity.
With that in mind, let's refine the definition from my NeoNote above. Measurable intelligence is the practical knowledge and skills necessary for a given set of problem solving AND the ability to change the knowledge and skills as needed.
In other words, it's not enough to succeed. You need to adjust your thinking and skills as needed for new situations.
Intelligence IS NOT general problem solving. The ability to compose a song does not translate to the ability to weave a rug. A sledge hammer doesn't work as a screwdriver. A pry bar won't start a fire.
So let's refine the definition again. Remember, this is still only an approximation. An intelligence is a set of mental tools that can solve a problem.
With that definition, it's easier to accept that you use one mental toolkit for English literature and another for algebra. Hence, different intelligences.
One last thing, the picture above is not complete. I already wrote about the differences between gross motor coordination and fine motor coordination. And of course there's gnostic intelligence. There are almost certainly intelligences that haven't been identified yet.
An intelligence is a set of mental tools that can solve a problem.Under the full Moon
“There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge... observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination.”Citrus mix
Monday, 05Mar2018 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ effective“Even if one tree falls down it wouldn't affect the entire forest.”Wet
Monday, 05Mar2018 Filed in: Gallery“Everything you want in life has a price connected to it. There's a price to pay if you want to make things better, a price to pay just for leaving things as they are, a price for everything.”Read More...
— Harry Browne“The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch
❝We were born dreamers.
We can learn to be makers.
Technology lets us bridge our thoughts and our milieu.❞— NeoWayland, Why a Technopagan?Woods
Sunday, 04Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsIt's the mix, it's the argument, it's the conflict that will give us some of our best new ideas.
Read More...Journal 02Mar2018
Friday, 02Mar2018 Filed in: thinking by bloggingOne thing that cropped up a lot lately online is the idea that "we" have to win, and the only REAL way to win is by eradicating "them."
All or nothing. Win at all costs. The only way to succeed is to do away with anything else.
Conservative or liberal, pagan or Christian, city or rural, it doesn't seem to matter. "They" must be vanquished, exiled, destroyed for "us" to win.
But veritas comes out. Because if the only way for "them" to win is by Total Eradication, doesn't that mean that as long as one small spark exists, they didn't win? If the only was for "us" to win is by otal Eradication, doesn't that mean that as long as one small spark exists, we didn't win?
It goes deeper than that of course. It goes back to borders. In order for any side to progress, ideas have to be mixed. It's where ideas evolve. It's where change happens.
It's where magick happens.
We need those ideas that we totally disagree with. We need truths that make us uncomfortable. We need challenges that we can't meet alone.
It's the mix, it's the argument, it's the conflict that will give us some of our best new ideas. And almost all of the bad new ideas too.
We've no way of knowing which is which until we've tried them. All we know for sure is that our old ideas don't always fit our new circumstances.
Eradication isn't the answer. That's not where the Spark of Inspiration lies.
But some disagreement, some need, some faith, and the willingness to try something else, that gives miracles. Messy miracles, but still miracles.
Just something to think about.Enough to destroy
Thursday, 01Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsLaughing in their own ways
Thursday, 01Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ celebrations & passagesCourage
Thursday, 01Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“The accusation is enough to destroy. That's why I compared it to Witch Trials. There is no defense against the accusation. You're assumed guilty by the mob, tried, and executed. There's no recourse, no chance to challenge the accusers.”Born dreamers
Thursday, 01Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsPolitics has tainted paganism in my mind and I am working to re-establish the separation.
Read More...Everything has a price
Thursday, 01Mar2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ celebrations & passages“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”Tainted frisson
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?Grand Canyon officially 99
Monday, 26Feb2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages“Sound and color can be used to 'play' the human body like a musical instrument and put it in a healthier state of being.”“The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli
Monday, 26Feb2018 Filed in: Gallery⭐︎ quotes & thinkumsUh oh, I just revealed Secrets That Must Not Be Revealed. The Powers-That-Wanna-Be may insist I turn in my lucky charm.
Read More...Healthier state of being
Monday, 26Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsNeoNotes — Fluffies and Crusaders
“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.”Journal 23Feb2018
Friday, 23Feb2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ tellusI saw a horse "broke" once. It was time consuming. It was brutal. That was enough to convince me it was wrong.
Read More...“Why are we facing a conundrum?”
Thursday, 22Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Why are we facing a conundrum? The works from Bonewits have proven themselves as functional and relevant to their fields. Just because there is a glaring flaw in the man means we have to toss away his legacy? The idea is nonsense.”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsWe walk between the worlds
❝As a pagan, I've long since learned that the World isn't mine to control.❞NeoNotes — Define magick
Tuesday, 20Feb2018 Filed in: NeoNotes⭐︎ practicals“Neither bound by tradition nor decree, but my own actions and deeds.”Loves the earth
Sunday, 18Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Ever notice that when someone starts talking about the common good, they try to take something away from you?❞Bound
Saturday, 17Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals❝“This is the world, there is no other.” That’s the limiter. Everything moves because of dynamic balances, magick is the essence of change and evolution. Life changes. Magick moves. We connect.❞— NeoWayland, Dirty handsCommon good
Saturday, 17Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Those parts of the Divine that you touch, you can’t keep the magick to yourself and still be pagan. You have to send it out. We take the Divine Gift and share it.❞— NeoWayland, Dirty handsI've learned
Friday, 16Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝As a pagan, I've long since learned that the World isn't mine to control.❞Journal 16Feb2018
Friday, 16Feb2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging“If Music is a Place -- then Jazz is the City, Folk is the Wilderness, Rock is the Road, Classical is a Temple.”Usefulness
Thursday, 15Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Bonewits' works form the backbone of my own work and beliefs. However, those works have that place in no way do to the character of the man who created them but instead on the usefulness of those works instead. I am a strong proponent against 'the cult of personality' so to idealize a man and accept his works solely do to that idealization is repugnant. I think Bonewits would understand and agree. At least that is the sense I get from the works I have from him.”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsNot evil
Thursday, 15Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“The so-called Dark Side is not wholly an evil or negative place or force; after all, some things remain in the shadows because we've placed them there out of fear and squeamishness.”Pagan virtue signaling
Tuesday, 13Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝A choice that is imposed is no choice. A religion that is imposed in the name of 'freedom and decency' will be neither free nor decent.❞Music as a place
Tuesday, 13Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ entertainment“Because enchantment is not a belief; it’s an experience.”Imposed
Tuesday, 13Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”Great work
Tuesday, 13Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ practicals“It's long been a point of mine that the freedom of religion, which this country alleges to support, works two ways. We're not only free to practice the religion of our choice, we should be free from having someone else's religion practiced on us.”Not a belief
I wonder. If a symbol can be "tainted" no matter what it was used for previously, what does it take to "purify" the symbol?
Read More...Honour our Pagan Elders
Thursday, 08Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Why can we not choose to honour our Pagan Elders and past with humility and honesty? What prevents us from including a shameful past while holding on to what good treasures they contributed?”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsTrue compassion
Wednesday, 07Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsFreedom of religion
Wednesday, 07Feb2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Hylas and the Nymphs”
Monday, 05Feb2018 Filed in: GalleryYoung couples
Monday, 05Feb2018 Filed in: GalleryJournal 02Feb2018
Friday, 02Feb2018 Filed in: thinking by blogging⭐︎ sexA bonding behavior
Tuesday, 30Jan2018 Filed in: sex⭐︎ practicalsSo.
I've been researching. I've been talking and writing people. I've been trying to understand exactly how we got into this mess with sex where seemingly no one knows what is going on.
I think it's simpler, and then we try to make it complicated.
The two most common purposes of sex are fun (including the hormonal rush) and bonding. The problem comes when we confuse these purposes.
If you are using sex for fun, it's not going to be emotionally fulfilling. It won't be the basis of a relationship.
If you are interested in a relationship, you can't start with sex.
People should decide what they are looking for. Each purpose has different goals and measures it's successes accordingly.
Men who are into Game aren't interested in relationships, they want notches in the headboard.
There is amisconceptionmisunderstandingfalsehoodmyth pushed by some feminists that the goal to female sexual empowerment is to have sex often and with numerous partners. This is supposed to be emotionally fulfilling AND fun. It doesn't work that way. Sex without the emotional connection to the other person is just masturbation. I'd argue that real sexual power comes from the discipline.
Is it about your orgasm? Or is it about sharing?
Every thing I have experienced, everything I have heard, everything I have read tells me that the best sex is a bonding behavior. The more you share before sex, the better the sex. And that is going to be my new #1 sex rule.
Sex can be a bonding behavior. Why fuck someone you don't really like? Do you know if you like them or not?
With that in mind, let's look at how modern Americans get sex.
If you are using sex for fun, you may have a couple of drinks to "loosen up." You may go home with someone you've only known for a couple of hours. And since you don't know them, it's going to be hit or miss. You don't know their non-verbal cues and they don't know yours. You don't know what they like to talk about. But that's not what you're looking for. You want the sex. You want the hormonal rush. You want the fun.
But if you start with a relationship first and add sex later to build that relationship, your emphasis is different. You already know things about the other person. You already share things with the other person. And you're won't depend on porn-star techniques to "cinch the deal."
The important thing is to know what you want. Many think they want fun when they want a relationship. Then they wonder why they wind up emotionally unconnected.
Sex can be a bonding behavior. But not if it's just sex.
Know yourself. Know what you want.Those who did no wrong
Monday, 29Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“If we were to look back and see all our Elders as those who did no wrong, do we not fail ourselves first by setting our own selves up to fail? We learn so much from example. Even from the bad examples, we learn what not to do.”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsDropping in
Monday, 29Jan2018 Filed in: site newsJournal 26Jan2018
Friday, 26Jan2018 Filed in: thinking by bloggingNot enough evidence
Friday, 26Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsHere's the quick take for those of you who don't want to dig through the whole internet.
Read More...NeoNotes — Shift happens
❝1 pint Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream dumped into a sixty-four oz thermal mug (yes they exist). Fill up the rest with double-strength Circle K coffee at 2 a.m.
It didn't keep me alert, but it did keep me awake. Sometimes for a couple of days.❞Blue Moon Eclipse
Tuesday, 23Jan2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages⭐︎ tellusAnother passing
Tuesday, 23Jan2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages⭐︎ entertainmentShare and enjoy
Tuesday, 23Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex❝If you had faith, you wouldn't need threats.❞Every brilliant man or woman
Monday, 22Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“I have found it seems to be a universal rule, every brilliant man or woman have inside an equally breathtaking flaw. We humans are simply not all good or all bad but a mix of differentiating proportions of both.”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsSumming up the circus
Saturday, 20Jan2018 Filed in: sex⭐︎ modern adult pagans“Our own heart, and not other men's opinions, forms our true honor.”Journal 19Jan2018
Friday, 19Jan2018 Filed in: thinking by bloggingOur own heart
Thursday, 18Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsSometimes humans are silly
Thursday, 18Jan2018 Filed in: Gallerydiv class="blentry">Just a picture to brighten your day
Old discussions
Thursday, 18Jan2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ sexNo Grand Cause here
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...NeoNotes — A long hard look
❝Sending kids to "get religion" instead of practicing it with them is one of the surest setups for failure I know.❞Awake
Tuesday, 16Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsWhen pagans jump up to recite approved scripts to this week's Officially Designated Outrage, they make paganism look silly.
Read More...Get religion
Tuesday, 16Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsThree sentences
Tuesday, 16Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ sex“You can't childproof the world. You can only worldproof your children.”— probably L. Neil Smith, The American ZoneSlice it
Tuesday, 16Jan2018 Filed in: tellus⭐︎ modern adult pagansMore and more I'm convinced that I was smart to (mostly) separate my political blogging from my pagan blogging.
Anyway you slice it, politics is about controlling other people. What that has to do with the dawn or the coyote's howl drifting through the night is anyone's guess.
When pagans jump up to recite approved scripts to this week's Officially Designated Outrage, they make paganism look silly.
I think it grew out of when paganism was part of the American counterculture. Pagans had to rebel against established mores. Existing culture wasn't good enough, it had to be replaced even if the replacement didn't work. In the 80s it got worse. Pagans became moralistic busybodies when it came to the Earth, and of course when it came to minorities.
But what does that have to do with the Dark Moon or the chill of the night air? What does that have to do with a winter rain or the clouds as they stretch to cover the sky? What does that have to do with a vigil kept in front of the fire all night?
That's paganism.
It's almost sunrise. I'm going to share some oranges with my friend the raven.In defense of Bonewits' work
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.Unrealistic standard
Monday, 15Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“If anything is clearer to me now with this information coming out about Bonewits, there is far more work to be done with dealing with our shadow sides. Our Elders are not saints. I never expected them to be and I refuse to hold them to that unrealistic standard.”— Isabella LeCour, comment on Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac BonewitsWorldproof
Saturday, 13Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“You can't childproof the world. You can only worldproof your children.”— probably L. Neil Smith, The American ZoneJournal 12Jan2018
I don't approve of older men having sex with young teens, but it has been happening from the beginning.
Read More...Secret shame
Friday, 12Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“As if withholding belief was a moral crime…”
Friday, 12Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝But every October, I remember. It's my own werewolf story, with me cast as Henry Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll chose to be Mr. Hyde you see. That's my shame.❞So much for avoiding the topic
I don't approve of older men having sex with young teens, but it has been happening from the beginning.
Read More...Bonewits accused
Wednesday, 10Jan2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ sexMy own werewolf story
Wednesday, 10Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsIf this were a horror movie
Wednesday, 10Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.”More popular than Jesus
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝You can't keep wrapping yourself in the passion for failure and then wonder why you fail.
Cherish your passion and embrace the magick.❞— NeoWayland, Invoking passion for failure or success?Pain
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝I believe that Paganism offers an immediacy that I couldn't find in Christianity.❞— NeoWayland, Why a Technopagan?Hurting
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsFailure
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsThese older blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories
Read More...Immediacy
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝The next step depends on the focus of your faith and your choices. It's not enough to be just pagan.❞— NeoWayland, Blessed JourneysToday
Tuesday, 09Jan2018 Filed in: daybook“The second coming of the Goddess has proved of inestimable value to people everywhere, for it has provided them with a new mythic pattern, a saving story to live by.”Revived 06Jan2018
🌖 waning gibbous moon
≠ ✝ Epiphany - Old Christmas - Feast of the Three Kings - Twelfth TideNext step
Saturday, 06Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“Whenever I see these ads for shamanic weekends, I'm suspicious. Because shamanic ecstasy is terrifying.”Inestimable value
Saturday, 06Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“The second coming of the Goddess has proved of inestimable value to people everywhere, for it has provided them with a new mythic pattern, a saving story to live by.”Shamanic weekends
Saturday, 06Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsSandwiches
Thursday, 04Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.”Today
Thursday, 04Jan2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages⭐︎ BeforesRevived 03Jan2018
Wednesday, 03Jan2018 Filed in: site news❝My faith isn't defined by my politics.❞— NeoWayland, Paganism is not politicalDefined
Wednesday, 03Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagansOrganize
Wednesday, 03Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums⭐︎ modern adult pagans❝Faith is a personal choice. So are politics. One does not define the other.❞— NeoWayland, Paganism is not politicalHow easy it is to join
Wednesday, 03Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝See, the internet is an equalizer of sorts. If I am in a "community," my statements have the same weight as the flakiest member who joined just last week. The chances of anyone sticking around and making that community actually worth something is inversely proportional to how easy it is to join.❞— NeoWayland, Flake offChoice
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkums❝Faith is a personal choice. So are politics. One does not define the other.❞— NeoWayland, Paganism is not politicalThe stars
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsThe first Otherkin essay popped up at Witchvox. How is this going to change the Neopagan movement?
Read More...I can hear the capitals
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsthe Forbidden
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: quotes & thinkumsWalk away
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ manifestYesterday on a comment board I lost patience.
I could handle the backhanded compliments and schoolboy taunts.
But as I was composing a long reply, I realized I was talking about something I didn't really want to talk about. What's more, I was investing time and effort doing it.
I'll give the guy another chance maybe in three months or so.
But I don't like him, I really don't enjoy extended conversations with him, and I don't like what he brings out in me anymore.
Better to walk away.Today
Tuesday, 02Jan2018 Filed in: celebrations & passages⭐︎ BeforesToday
Monday, 01Jan2018 Filed in: daybook☯ Lady in the Court of Stars - Midnight to midnight. A WebTree three day celebration from midnight to midnight marking the full Moon or bright Moon and honoring the magick.≠ ✝ Twelvetide - Christmastide
≠ ✟ Circumcision of Christ
☿ Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
🌝 bright moon - supermoon
,_by_Luis_Ricardo_Falero.jpg)
A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.
A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.
Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker, NeoWayland keeps truths alive despite a wash of nonsense. But don't be surprised when he's doing the “nekkid pagan guy” thing.
There are pagan news & opinion sites. Technopagan Yearnings is not one. It’s more like a digital binder with interesting pagan stuff. And nudity. Don’t forget the nudity.
Since Wren Walker retired the Wren’s Nest of The Witches’ Voice, there is not really a pagan news site anymore.
The Pagan Vigil Reader is a pagan news aggregator.
You won’t find porn or erotica here. I do discuss nudity & sex, but I do not describe sexual events. As a naturist I admire the human body so you will find nudes here. You will not find photos of sex. There is some art showing sex and orgasms in a ritual or mythical context.
Updated weekdays when possible, otherwise irregularly as circumstances permit and the mood strikes.
This is the fourth major version of Technopagan Yearnings. I still have № 3 on file with it’s comments. I’ll convert that bit by bit as I get the chance. This version uses
RealMac’s RapidWeaver instead of Lifli’s iBlog.
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WitchesAndPagans.com
Gods & Radicals
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The House of Vines
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book
celebrations & passages
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effective
entertainment
Gallery
journal
manifest
modern adult pagans
NeoNotes
philosophy
playtime
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simple
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