Autumn Challenges

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It is that time of year again.  That time when kids are starting a new grade, community groups and sports do their sign ups, and it seems like for families, there is this never ending demand for money money money. Sigh.

The world markets are all over the place. We suspect Greece and Italy are going to default on their loans (their loans are greater than 100% of their ability to produce goods).  Canada is doing ok retail wise, but the US…well, 14 million people are unemployed. BC, in the biggest debaucle of tax policy change, voted to return to the old GST / PST system. The Government of BC now owes the Federal Government 1.8 billion to 2.6 billion dollars, which while preserving education and health care will come with cuts to social services, MCFD, and other ministries services, to repay.  Current terms are that repayment is due by Mar 30, 2012.  Sigh.

Jack Layton, after taking the NDP Federal Party to Official Opposition status, lost his battle to cancer. Sigh.  Politics is more and more unpredictable.  The environment is challenged with economic need and risk, as the Keystone pipeline and the Enbridge pipeline projects are on the table, and as I note all these things, I am feeling both a lot of gratitude and joy, and the need to find ways to honour the earth both at home and in my politics.  I do not always like the fact that we are dependent on fossil fuels to do more than fuel (like my personal pet peeve is the amount of plastic that is everywhere), but I also question more the claims of politicians, companies and the like on “how earth friendly something is.” Sigh.

You see, for me, fall marks that time when I am busier in some ways, and I while I missed everyone in the summer, getting out and camping and the like, I also feel sad that the summer is ending.  I am clearing out with a garage sale, hosting all kinds of exciting workshops at the store, and striving to see how far I can go.  I have a psychic fair in the works. I am sorting out what to buy for the holiday season in the store, and all kinds of really good books are coming my way.  So, do not be surprised if I do a review or two on here.  But what really matters is the life that I have, the people I have met and got to know better, and ways I am growing and learning.  I actually now have to make time to read.  And I have the urge to go and crochet something here and there.

So, what are your challenges, going into fall?  What are you grateful for?

Salmon Valley Women’s Fest 2011

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This weekend coming up, the store will be closed and the products will be for sale at the Salmon Valley Women’s Fest.  Once again, the women gather to nurture and heal themselves, each other and just be. It is be a wonderful weekend with workshops, energy healing sessions of various types, and card and oracle readings.

We are camping or staying at the beautiful Salmon Valley resort, with its full campground.  We will have the ability to sing, dance, drum, meditate, relax, and be.

There are lots of demands on women, from the maiden years, to the mother years, to the grandmother years.  We uphold our culture, values, and of course, bring the next generation literally into the world.  We create from our souls.  And, we need our sisterhood to hold each other.

If you have the time, consider attending.  You can find out more at  this link here.

Pagan Parenting–What or Should We Expose Our Children to our Beliefs–part 2

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But to take that as a reason to just not share any religion with your child seems like confusing the issue to me. The tension many converted pagans feel with their families isn’t about the religion as much as it is the expectation—indeed, the demand—that the child follows the parents’ path exactly. Thus, when the child finds his or her own way, there’s conflict.

Teaching a child about your religion doesn’t necessitate that. You can let your children share your religion without binding them to it. The problem is not in exposing a child to religion, but in refusing to accept that children aren’t going to grow up to be exactly like their parents. (Thank the gods for that.) If parents support their children’s choices, there won’t be the rifts that many pagans have had to deal with—those aren’t the fault of religion itself, but the expectations people have put onto them.

 

Thank You Eric Scott.  The biggest thing I see out there is this confusion about the role that religion or spirituality is or does play in family life.  You see, back in the day I attended weekly Mass with my family, it was not just about religion.  The church I attended was created and supported by five French Canadian Catholic families.  Going to church was like going to an extended family reunion.  Each Sunday after Mass, for some time, once some of the Vatican 2 reforms had taken place, we had social with tea and sandwiches or muffins and such.  Really helped a lot of folks get there early, as the reward was refreshments.

What I missed for a number of years after I left the church behind was that sense of belonging, community.  It is hard to have that with the way pagan spirituality or religions come about.  Sometimes, we get to know people, some quite well, through festivals and events, and sometimes, that gives us a false sense of community.  No, community, and family, are places where we learn how to be human and interact with others. So what role does religion or spirituality play for us?  Sometimes, it is a place of community, and sometimes it is not.

So, if the community is something you are striving for, consider whether or not you are looking for a place similar to a church.  Pagan run umbrella organizations, that support and foster loose socialization of pagan folk, may be a place to create and foster some kind of kids programming.

But also let us not forget what we share at home, and sometimes, we can let children explore what is out there too through our festival involvements.  Should we let our children into rituals?  Sure if they kid friendly or the child is developmentally ready, by which I mean that where the child is at around life and maturity is more of a guideline, than age necessarily.

Some of the values I see with pagans and paganism is a healthy respect for diversity.  We allow people to live and let live, and we are not threatened by differences.  We can teach our children how to handle that, and maybe oppression and harassment if it comes up. We can also teach our children what our beliefs are in simple ways.  Teaching about the Goddess and God is not the same as binding our children to her.  It is about sharing what we have come to know and understand.

And, if they reject our path, they will have an appreciation, hopefully, of what spirituality can offer.

 

Pagan Parenting–What or Should we Share Our Beliefs with Our Children…part 1

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I was recently pointed to a blog on facebook that a friend of mine thought would be worthwhile reading for parents.  It is entitled “Hand Me Down Paganism”, and you can find it here at http://bit.ly/pWOl3p  

What I appreciate that the author made a point of outlining for us is that our reasons for rejecting the religion of our families and our childhoods may not even be relevant or important to our children.  In our desperate attempt to not force a religion on our children, some argue that letting them come up and decide on their own  when they are adults is what to believe is admirable, if not not misguided.

Our children will be brought up with our beliefs and values.  Being pagan is also pro-supportive of alternative sexuality, and so I do not worry about if my children bring home a same sex partner.  Like many pagan parents, we care that they are loved, not abused, and are happy.  We ask that our children remember that their partners are a reflection and part of the Divine, and thus should be treated as such.  We also use that same virtue to reinforce ideas of self-respect and boundaries.

We recycle in our house, always have, even though our municipality makes it more a choice than a requirement. Doing our part is important.  And, I shop at second hand, not because I cannot afford new, but because saving the planet is also about consuming less.

I do not believe in excluding children from our beliefs, but rather including them in some kind of family friendly rituals that have meaning, more activity.  I believe in hands on practice and exposure to nature.  All the imposed camping trips my family and I go on are about being in touch with nature.  They love it, especially the consumption of smores and learning how to build a fire.  (But not the being in a tent during rain.)

I do what my parents did to encourage acceptance of my intuitive gifts, inspite of their christian values. Then again, some of those values are not uniquely christian.  I expose my kids to the natural world I say to them holds the wisdom of what is important.

It is interesting to note that the Hand Me Down Paganism does point out that there may be flaws in thinking we are keeping our children safe from bad religion when it could have in fact been more bad family issues, but there is also the fact that as converts, some of us learned our beliefs as adults, and have very little idea how to share what we believe with our kids.  More in my next post on this.

He does not acknowledge that some of our practices are not really for children.  Some of the deepest mysteries of life need adult processing in the mind, not the impressionability of the child.  An experience that is traumatic to a child is not a spiritual awakening, it is abuse.  So, there needs to be some thought in this.

What do you think?

 

Happy Canada Day

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July 1st, Canada’s big day. I will be celebrating with others in the community at Ft. George Park, Prince George, BC. Many folks will relax, take in the days events, and play.

We live in a wonder country that spans a large space. We have several climates in our country, four or five different landscapes, and depending on what Canadian Literature class you attended in university, you are well aware that the land affects the people very differently.

You can also map history and the immigration waves of the past to sort out some of the political beliefs across this country. You can see where the land is affected by flooding and fires this year, and you can see how much of the country is still urban. Pagans predominantly live in urban settings, and anywhere there is enough of them, it is usually an urban centre. There are some folks who are living right off the land. I met one today at the shop.

Before I moved to BC, I did not know anyone who lived off grid. Here, I have met ranchers who use a combination solar and wind generation system to run the systems of their ranch. They report that the generator is only for emergencies, and they have run the fossil fuel beast once in five years. That is my dream, find a place somewhere where I can have my off grid paradise. I hope to do that.

But, instead, I will be doing some camping after the July 1st day. My plans are to take my children to a local campground, where we will explore the surroundings, play, eat, laugh, and be. Off grid (ok, my tent trailer does have a furnace, and lights….now using led lights…so much more power efficient.) But the best part is just relaxing. My kids have a hard time being able to amuse themselves without the stimulation of the electronic gizmos and gadgets. It is hard to imagine what people used to do with their time (make stuff, play board games, do puzzles, walk around….) At any rate, I am closing the store for a few days to get in some family time and some me time.

I believe that being spiritual means making time to practice what you preach. I need the time to finish up some assignments, and do some experiments. I cannot do them unless I get out into nature. So, back to the summer….and if you are out there, spend some time getting really close to nature. Examine it, nurture it, and let it be in your heart.

Blessings on this Canada Day.

Foraging Identification of Wild Medicinals

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Very soon, we have the privilege of having a Chartered Herbalist from Dominion Herbal College lead a local identification walk in Prince George. It is the only workshop that I am going to organize over the summer, as I have been working on workshops for festivals and events.

What is special about this is that we have a variety of plants that are medicines and foods, if we know what to look for and what they look like.

It is hard to consider yourself walking a nature based spiritual path and not have any connection to the plant world. Plants feed us, they recycle our CO2 into O2 (or oxygen), and provide a sense of living well-being to indoor landscapes. We use them to beautiful our outdoor spaces as well. We eat them, they have provided fibres for our clothing for many years, and finally, we pull them out in frustration when them seem to grow in our lush grass lawns.

Wildcrafting is the practice of going out into the landscape and harvesting herbs and food plants from the land. If you know what you are doing, it can be very productive. It can also be very dangerous if one does not avoid prickly plants, like stinging nettle or devil’s club, or poisonous ones. Knowing what is what is very important.

If you are new or a beginner, come join us for this special event. I know you will appreciate it as much as I will.
Pre-registration is $45 per person. We can take Visa, Mastercard, and Debit card, as well as cash at the store for payment.

Who Can Claim the Use of the Word Wicca for what they believe?

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This is a slippery slope in the pagan community.  It is the start of nasty politics amongst Wiccans from the time Alex Saunders claimed to be a witch as well as other Gardnerian tradition folks, practising a mystery initiatory religion that was created in the 1950′s,  and has become popularly embraced since then by many others.  However, it seems like this discussion of who can use “wicca” and under what circumstances seems a little like people of the fruits all agreeing they are fruits, but the bananas  are not apples and think they are most able to claim being a fruit, and while the apples are fruits, just not the banana type, are claiming to be fruit too, just not bananas, nor should they be….they obvious come from different roots.

But for some folks, the use and the claiming of the term Wicca for their practices and beliefs is challenged, just like my fruit analogy, by bananas who are not apples, and by apples who seem to be offended to be considered not similar to bananas, at least as a fruit is defined.  I deliberately use my analogy of fruit here, because this is the logic used to defend how BTW, or British Traditional Wicca, is different from that  which is not traced from Gardner, yet there can be no question that it has been the inspiration of most of the other traditions of Wicca that exist.  While Gardner himself never intended Wicca to be accessible to the masses, the internet, books, and the disenfranchisement of  people from the organized church and congregational religions of the book, all have contributed to the  popularization and consumption of a set of beliefs and ideas that make up Wicca.  Even Gardner himself wrote the book “Witchcraft Today”, which was the first book about modern Wicca I read.

But do they, the bananas, have an exclusive right to the term fruit? Like the sands of time, language is fluid in its meaning, and the meaning has been shifting since the time of Gardner. A BTW will claim that their group training makes those things special, but that seems to be more of the same Masonic logic of knowing the right handshake.  Is there really an outer and inner court in Wicca?  I would not know.  Being a Druid for many years, I find this whole thing silly, because all these people are looking for something in Wicca, maybe finding it, decide to practice something in the name of Wicca for many years, feel just so slimed and looked down upon when a BTW person tries to explain the difference.  So much of the meanings of the Charge of the Goddess, the Wiccan Rede, and other pieces of the ceremonies can be found on the internet, it is possible to come close to re-creating the experience, if that is the key difference.  Maybe it is because Druidic history is so fraught with myths of various kinds, that claims of this and that make no difference.  To be Druid means to be comfortable with the idea that legitimacy and authority come from your ability to claim the term Druid.  Druids have a few different re-creations that the term has to be claimed by the person using it.   Each Druid claims it in their heart.  What kind of Druid am I? That is a question that only a lifetime of practice will answer. This is not to suggest that Druids of differing traditions agree on the the kind and type of Druid practises: they don’t, but for some reason, at the end of the day, Druids do not seem to have this ongoing issue with the use of the term Druid. Maybe that comes from the history of how British Traditional Druidry, which is more what I practice, and ADF/Celtic Reconstructionalist Druidism, came about simultaneously in America and Britain just around and a little after Gardner’s Wicca.

I  would like to refer you to another blog on the internet, an this person has done a much better job of explaining the problem.

http://serpent77.wordpress.com/is-there-a-difference-between-wicca-and-witchcraft/

The part from the blog I will quote is this, as it is closer to my own opinion:

“I mean no disrespect to members of British Traditional Wicca (BTW) groups, but if they want to distinguish themselves from the myriad of newer traditions or beliefs that have sprung up, either in groups or among those seeking to study the Craft as a solitary practitioner, they should continue to refer to themselves as British Traditional Wiccans, The Wica, or by some other name that adds to the label ‘Wicca’ rather than seek to claim a monopoly they don’t have sole claim to. At one time, it was reasonable to be considered the only legitimate Wiccans in the world, since closed covens were the only source of knowledge for Wicca. Even today, seekers will not learn the rites and mysteries or have that particular instruction, training, or experience outside of BTW and such should never be lusted after outside of those traditions. They have worked hard to have and hold them. However, now with multiple books and information on the history of European Paganism and Witchcraft, it is quite possible for someone to learn about and come to the Craft on their own, guided and taught by the gods. Every effort should be made on the seeker’s part to do this as honorably and with as much knowledge as possible.”

At some point, I wonder if the exclusive claim can be made for Wicca? While that may be uncomfortable for a BTW Wiccan, it may be too late to claim an exclusive right to using the term for what their tradition is about.  I think that Wicca as a religion is not bound to one tradition, and may have grown beyond what Gardner intended for it.  What the future of Wicca’s development will be will be interesting to observe.

Peace and Blessings

Charlene

Community Tolerance

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“Tolerance doesn’t mean that everyone has to like you and that you have to like everyone and that there’s something deeply wrong with an entire community because some of its members can’t disagree without being douchebags. All tolerance means is that you put up with people in exchange for being put up with yourself. You don’t have to approve or embrace or endorse or even like someone to be tolerant. You just have to endure them. There are assholes and douchebags in every community.” ~ Dan Savage

One of the things that comes from being human on the path, whether that path is “recovery” or “spirituality”, or in my case, “druidry”, is the fact that we all want to get to know or find like-minded individuals to hang out with.  While this work on self is deeply personal, it is also at times, lonely.  Our paths are not for the feeble-minded or the cowards.  Lots of people want the benefits that come with the work of the path, but truthfully, finding people willing to tolerate the “works in progress” that we are is difficult at best.  Some people never seem to get past the need to judge another from afar; some just look at the surface of a person’s life, and based on an action, decide that that person is not worth the time of day.  If do not think you are or could be like that, consider a murderer, for a moment.

Oh, we want the freedom, the self-esteem, the certainty of faith, the capacity for wellness, the ….magic, power, prestige, status, charisma?  Some of the folks in the community have it, but we ignore them because it does not come with the hollywood flash we expect. (Did anyone mention that we have a vision of the spiritual person, and that the real thing is seldom what we visualize?)  Why is it that we tend to imagine outcomes for a journey that we have no idea what will it be like….for us?  So, then we seek out others on the path we are, and engage them in conversation.  We connect to them, we have dinners with them, we go and play sports with them, we watch sports with them, we drink or not drink with them, we spend time with them.

Then we find out about their fatal human flaw…that gnaws on our consciousness.  That part of those people who seem to forget manners, boundaries, social decorum, what have you. They are, as the quote said above, “assholes.”

Everyone that is human has a dark side, or a shadow self.  We do not want to be considered greedy, selfish, or rude, but at times, we all are.  Having tolerance is to recognize a strength in one’s own identity as human, knowing that we can forgive and move past this behaviour cause that behaviour is not about us, it is about them.  And, those who “still have trouble playing in the sandbox” are not beyond hope, just not yet….even that behaviour is about them, not us, so we have no need to fix or change them, or in fact, do anything about them.

Communities of like minded individuals take time to develop, and the tolerance that creates it comes from self-acceptance first, and other acceptance second.  If one accepts their own faults, and flaws, and sees their own misgivings and misdeeds from the heart of compassion, then tolerance is an easy exercise, not a teeth gritting experience from hell.  And writing off the entire group because two or three are “douchebags” who cannot disagree without creating drama and crisis, does not mean the entire group is worthless.  We all find some people easier to connect with than some. And, some folks cannot abide with people in their lives at all.  It is all at that point about managing expectations–mostly your own.  My own expectations are the ones that can change, that I understand, and create attachments to beliefs that do not serve me well.

I challenge you to consider the communities you are a part of, and consider the one’s that try your tolerance the most.  Do they act out a part of you that you deny? Do they act against a personal value you have? Do you feel they “need to change”? And, when you are intolerant, do you own it?

Tolerance in the community is necessary for community to grow.  How we foster tolerance as a community standard determines whether the community we are a part of will support our ongoing growth or whether or not it will be an unhealthy attachment to avoid feeling lonely.  The choice is ours and the role we play creates or fosters the growth or the community in one direction or another.

Celebrating Earth Day, and Every Day

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Some people would quip that for a pagan, every day is earth day.  Maybe, but it is interesting to note that most pagans in Canada live in major urban centres, and not in rural Canada, and that makes an interesting statement about both the need to be close to the natural world and worship it, and yet also an attachment to modern conveniences. It is not that the choice to live in the city is a bad one; in some ways, it perhaps minimizes the effects of humans on the planet.   But when the green spaces, which city planners create in our cities to keep us as humans happier, less violent, and so forth are littered with garbage, you begin to wonder when we will see value in our spaces around us.

All kinds of people have studied common spaces, and remark how they are treated poorly as a resource, and how no one will take action to clean them or keep them clean.  Civic clean up in Prince George happens at this time of year, and I thought I would share what my group found on our civic clean up day.

Two house keys

An inverted broken umbrella

Piece of rebar

Several chunks of concrete

Forty or more plastic bottle lids

Lots of disintegrating fast food lids from beverage cups

Now, some of this stuff is obviously lost–like the house keys. Winter snow makes a lost key a lost cause to find, at least till spring, and by then most of us would have moved on.  But the fast food lids bother me.

One, because while they obviously have an additive to make them disintegrate quicker, I still see the problem as litter in the first place.  One youth with me on clean up day said “why could they not find a garbage can somewhere?” That is an attitude and laziness thing.

The other thing that bothered me was the fact that there was so much of it.  Instant, fast, gratification right now, and now it is disposable, like the income used to buy it.

Tim Horton’s offers a discount to their products if you bring your own mug.  I hope other places will do the same.  In the meantime, it is the habit we need to create around reusing a cup instead of getting takeout containers with additives in the plastic to make it disintegrate that we need to change.  Because making our garbage breakdown quicker helps, but not with the attitude that the earth is not sacred.

So, your challenge is two things: one, participate in your communities civic clean up, and two, bring your own mug if you need your beverages.

And, tell me on what was the weirdest thing you found in your community clean-up?

Psychic Self Defense

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This weekend, I will be teaching the first psychic self defense class that I have been able to offer in my hometown since I started my business.  I originally wrote the curriculum to cover most of what I learned, and from teaching the course, I have found that in doing so, people start to repair the energetic breaches in their energy field.  However, not having the space locally to teach, and trying a number of options to do that, when this opportunity came up, I seized it.  I have my own classroom space for small group teaching, and I will be adding to the comfort as time goes on.

I also find myself trying to explain what it is, and had one interested party ask for a flyer or brochure.  Well, in the next round of courses I offer, I will include that.

Getting the storefront space at 533 Dominion St, Prince George, BC,  has meant opportunity for me to expand and follow my calling to teach and share what I have learned, and to develop a space for others to do the same.  It is hard to find affordable space to do this kind of thing in Prince George, and I know that while I keep working on stocking items for spiritual practice, most of the time, it is getting people together to talk and share about what they know or not know that is the real gem.  I am finding myself so busy, I need to discipline myself to stop; and rest.  I am so pumped about the workshops.

Self-care is a basic thing that is involved in the basics of psychic self defense.  If you are not in tune with yourself, getting beyond your own energy can create opportunities for attack, or just plain drains.  That, and while I mentioned being excited earlier to the point where I am doing so much, I also find myself learning and adding material to the course I have written.  I will likely revised the student reading material, as it seems like a lot.  But there is so much out there about the need to improve the energy around you, from so many culture and metaphysical understandings, that I really felt that a course like this was needed.  And, so I offered it, and may offer it again this calendar year.  I am not sure when I will offer it again, but if you did have to pass on it this time, contact me.

We live in society where people have learned to exploit others energetically, believing it to be appropriate. This course will help you stop becoming a victim of energetic exploitation. We will also connect these techniques to modern psychology, sociology, and health and wellbeing, so that psychic hygiene is understood as a necessity of the modern age. This is not the same as restoring “personal power”, or “gaining empowerment through awareness.”

So what does all that mean? I understand that both an ethic of the use of energy, as well as the techniques, are necessary.  We live within and in a social ecosystem.  Depending upon a person’s personal understanding, that may include the universe as well.  It is not enough to just look at tactics that involve attacking back, or advocating just empowerment.  It is possible to gain the use of power, but a person’s motives may not necessarily mean that they are less exploitive, or they may be still justifying their boundaries.  An example of this is the idea that one needs to maintain a boundary, and in their relationships, they maintain it with abruptness and rigidness, and communicate the said boundary in such a way that is mean spirited. In the beginning, people do this with zeal, and usually, their connections to others suffer.  Rebalancing of those connections is necessary.  Anything that is maintained with a “my way or the highway” approach is by definition exploitive somewhere.

I had a conflict with a woman in the community who basically was an aggressive bully to me, telling me how things we’re going to be, based on her boundaries.  I knew that her ego was fragile, so those boundaries were equally fragile, and she would call anyone who intimidated her attempting to put her down. She was unable to look at her own stuff, and acknowledge how her behaviour affected others, and blamed others for her feelings, and this built on the “one up”, af approach to how she dealt with other women…vicious and sarcastic, and soft voiced.  Still mean, no matter how nice she presents.  I told her very nicely, and precicely, how I felt when she said what she said the way she said it, after a few years of hearing it repeated.  We tried socializing, but it just irritated me how she did not seem to get how her opinion did not require everyone to agree with her Her sense of things is that friends co-sign each other  from loyalty.   Apparently, blunt is not allowed, and confronting her on how her behaviour towards me is not allowed in her world.  I was rude, according to her.

I stood my boundary, and did it as nicely as I could.   No, I was not presenting her with a reflection of her behaviour is sunshine.  She was hostile, jealous, and did tell me how to have a house party, in my own home. And, I was never going to agree with her about most things, as I have my own opinion, and own it.

We are not friends anymore.  At the time I connected up with her, I assessed her as someone unable to handle that kind of honesty that I live my personal life by.  So, when the conflict happened, and I spoke up with as much tact and diplomacy I could muster, cause I was avoiding her and her family, mostly because I felt so irritated by the constant judging, putdowns, and self-rightetousness about all kinds of health and environmental issues, that I got to the point that honesty was required.  Am I better off? Yes.  In the long run, tolerating that subtle kind of teardown over and over again in my life is not worth it, even when I know the other person is not psychologically strong enough for the truth.

So, take a look at the vampires in your life, or the people that when you in contact, you feel used around, and decide for yourself.  Sure, not every relationship will work out, but maybe they should not.

Peace and Blessings,

Char