A Response to the Question of the Use of Catch Phrases and Slogans

June 24th, 2009

I can appreciate what Dr. Myers is saying on this one. (By the way, I love the questions he comes up with, which is why I find myself responding to them so often. You would do well to check out any of his books. They are well written, easy to read, and feel like a breath of fresh air on the brain.)

It would seem like we have all been programmed to be insincere, often pat advice, and move on to the next major event in our own lives—except to do that would mean that we would have very little in terms of personal support in our personal lives. I venture many a family, marriage, and friendship can be burned out and broken by crisis events that happen to all of us, but we all seem unable to offer little more than catch phrases, clichés and slogans. What has become of us as a society, and what does paganism challenge us to do instead? And, why does it seem when we are trying to outline the path of progress, to enriching our lives with value and meaning, that we are stuck with these bits of words we hope help like verbal talismans and charms? Is it really, as Dr. Myers questions, signs of superficial spirituality?

I need to qualify this with some of my experience. I recognize what [info]cailleachsidhe is saying about the cultural use of language as distancing discourses, rather than engaging each other. Social insulation is acts like, if you will. But what exactly is it insulating from?

Clichés, slogans, and catch phrases were a part of my journey to recovery from drug addiction back in 1990. Twelve step fellowships have a discourse of their own, and sometimes, scholars attempt to criticize those fellowships and their programs by examining the discourse or a small segment of the larger world-wide fellowship for behavioral congruence. Problem is, the language used in the programs are unique to both 12 step movements and individual fellowships, and is expressed in both the literature in print and the testimonials of the members. Narcotics Anonymous uses different language in reference to God (after the 12 steps, it is termed “Higher Power” throughout, which is one of the reasons linguistically that pagans find themselves a home within NA rather than AA, which sometimes persists in using obviously Christian prayers in its literature and groups meetings.) However, one of the biggest ways people are taught the basic principles of how to live the principles of the 12 steps is by slogans. If anything, one suffering from short term memory dysfunction needs ways to remember coping strategies. The slogans and clichés are ways to remember how to approach a situation. Sometimes, the discernment of what to use when is not as clear, and people only remember what they can in the moment. In time, compassion and sensitivity comes into play, but in the beginning of learning how, people need slogans and catch phrases to learn bits of wisdom. For some, that opening of awareness is so profound that people confuse the opening of the mind with awareness as the entire process of spiritual growth itself. It is not the process, just an event in a process.

All slogans speak to wisdom. Dr. Myers is right when the proverb speaks to a wisdom a collective culture understands and expresses in language. The problem we have with clichés, like people relatively new to addiction recovery in 12 step fellowships that after one learns what the language is, one overuses the language in an attempt to be helpful. I call this the “five year old with a hammer” syndrome; in recovery groups, where people have rigid ways of responding (their addiction of drug use (which includes alcohol in the language I use) is very much a rigid method of coping), people use the clichés and slogans when what is needed is the language of empathy and compassion, and then, if required, advice, solution seeking, then peace. Empathy involves listening, not talking; attending, not preparing a speech for when it is your turn. Engaging another respectfully is listening to when a person is ready to hear the message. It is not anyone person’s job to express a message to another; a person truly engaged in supporting another empathetically allows the other to disclose, express, and ask for further support attending and listening, not forcefully offering quick fixes and band-aids that are really unsolicited advice. Caring and engaging of one’s time and energy is involved in that supportive work.

The use of the slogan, while it may be indeed true, without allowing the other to express their distress, is tantamount to suggesting they do not matter, and their lot in life does not matter. There is no sense of entitlement to state that to another whom we see as our equal, but at times, when we have the resources of better support, wisdom, education, life experience and so forth, we can take a stance of unsolicited advice to another, and disempowering the other in the process. The slogan or cliché or catch phrase is a band-aid, which could be a ploy to distance oneself from the distress, but it is also reflective of the collective problem our social structures and cultures have created. No one goes deep, no one engages trauma, and no one grieves. Most of the time, language is a poor expression of emotion, especially at a deep emotional level. (Some of the best art and music is inspired by the expression of raw emotion, to the point that we cannot help but be moved by the work of the artist, as we all can relate to the emotion expressed in the work.) The problem is that our culture expects us to shoulder our emotional burdens on our own in some sense of pseudo-independence, suffer in silence, and use wisdom to comfort us when in deep distress.

Babies fuss and fuss, and need a mother’s external reassurance to calm themselves down. The mother serves to teach the child to cope…soothing tones, rocking, soft tones, hugging, and the child settles and calms down. Science has outlined this process of emotional regulation very well, and we now know that children without emotional safety under six do not develop good self-regulation routines in their brains. How much of our culture takes parents away from parenting in the name of survival; how much distress comes from economic uncertainty; how many people have survived all kinds of things in our world. What are we truly seeking when we talk about what is bothering us with a trusted other? This help at settling down, calming down, having faith restored, and being connected once again when we feel so disconnected. The seeking of an external source of comfort comes from the fact we are not born with it, but through a process, we internalize it. Much of spirituality to me serves to do the same thing, that is, internalize a process of responding to life.

It is my observation most of our culture has very poor emotional literacy at best. Some of us struggle with expression in a culture that expects a “weather report” of detachment in using language to describe our feelings, and while some of that is cultural, there is an underlying assumption that “this kind of emotional detachment is the best way, and all of us should adopt this as the best way”, which has been promoted by some in the name of violence prevention. Some have seen the science of emotionality to mean that we are best left in a sense of low arousal in dealing with our emotions. Truth is, emotional arousal and handling it is really a combination of cultural and social expectations. There are many cultures in our world that allow certain types of expression that the prevention advocates would like to see squashed entirely. Frankly, it is dangerous to call all emotional arousal violence, but this is the rigid standard some are slowly creating in their attempts to indoctrinate and educate the masses. An example of this confusion is anger management curriculums, and the attempt to use an educational method to teach emotional skills. It is taught like a course, to people struggling with emotional over-arousal problems from years of poor self management, physical biochemical brain-based systems of flooded arousal, and then we add low language capacity based on poor literacy and reasoning skill, and further diminished reason, as it is for all of us, in the heat of the moment. Kids use hitting in anger long before words, as an expression of the impulse and emotion, and we have to intervene and teach them a different way. What the “best way” is, has been a subject of debate for the last twenty or so years, and keeps changing.

So, we have low emotional literacy, poor coping skills, and now we have real distress, and pet slogans. We collectively want to relive the distress, but like an inconsolable baby, some traumas are not easily fixed, some situations not easily resolved. No one of us can offer the “right course of action” to another, really. So, we offer band-aids, but there is really not much we can offer in words. And, some of us do not want to really engage in the others pain, as we do not have a lot of resources to cope with our own pain, so we shut down another’s attempt to express their distress. Some of this is projection, and some of it is avoidance. Still, when it comes to strategies, avoidance is a short term solution, not a long term one. We will in a society of instant gratification, and credit misuse is a sure sign of that. Consumerism is a larger version of exploitation to avoid feeling, and in the end, avoidance of pain does not resolve it.

Paganism to me does address the issues of pain, healing, rebirth, and value head on. To say that those who offer slogans and clichés are superficial in their spirituality is to run the risk of assuming that because we have poor language and coping skills or social intervention skills, we are not validly spiritual. It assumes that those who have better skills are more spiritual. Paganism does not necessarily reward achievement of these abilities per se; I believe that what is expected is progress. Can we get past the use of slogans and clichés? Only through examining self and seeing how one is both a mixture of so called positive and negative traits, that people are consistently inconsistent when it comes to living up to what they believe in, especially when personal costs are involved. People are indeed grey, and paganism is a spirituality that reflects and expresses that grayness as a truth in the world.

How can one go beyond where they are at then? Self-examination, reflection, discussion, mentoring, and, for what it is worth, engage the pain. No one has died from feeling a feeling. They have certainly died from trying to avoid feeling, and have certainly felt like they were going to lose their minds to madness from feeling, but a feeling is a feeling. Emotional arousal is one more thing in the body that happens, and our minds get to choose what meaning it has. I would say paganism challenges us to look at our emotional lives differently, and to sort out what engaging in all of life’s experiences really means, for ourselves.

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Paganism and Ideas of Healing

May 20th, 2009

Brendan Myers put out a question a while back. I thought this would be a good response. I do correct grammar and spelling as I go along, but it is not uncommon for me to drop a word or two along the way, as I do think faster than I can type. I would like to consider the following. порно внук

“But in today’s question, I’m less interested in motivations and explanations. I’m more interested in prevention and healing

. And while an explanation may be useful in the crafting of preventative measures, I’m also interested in what, if anything, principles of earth-based spirituality could contribute to prevention and healing. Are ideas like the beauty of the earth, the reliability of intuition as a source of knowledge, the stories and the presence of the gods, and so on, able to help such people become better human beings? Are any of our wisdom-teachings, such as “The Earth is our mother, we must take care of her”, or “We are a circle within a circle”, or “All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals”, capable of preventing such people from appearing in the first place?”

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That is the question that people who work in the professions of human services answer everyday in their pagan lives.  Earth based spiritualities contribute models of understanding that acknowledge the suffering and pain and yet fosters compassion and understanding.  Things are not “good” or “evil”; they are, in many cases, amoral.  And, all these things that happen in the relationships of human being to human being are also inherently playing out in the relationships of human beings with planet Earth, the Mother and the Source of all sustenance.  We project our internal states on the external world, and we then deny that we are like that.  In the end, as a Druid who spends a lot of my time helping people with finding words of healing,  and encouraging personal self-examination and work, I know that my spiritual beliefs shape and guide my actions in these ways.  I truly believe that we need to examine the space between human beings, to see  that place where the relationship plays, between people, and between people and other beings, or non-beings, to see the place where efforts are needed to focus our efforts.

All violence starts with alienation; the yearning for “nature” started with the Enlightenment period in history, and that yearning, first expressed for Nature, is really about loss; it is an expression about the loss of connection and stability, in which the cycles of the natural world showed us a world that has the predictability and stability of following some kind of routine or structure.

Is the benefit of paganism’s ideas or ideals enough to help guide us in the prevention of so many of the dark spaces we see today, in a world willing to tolerate massive poverty, child soldiers, acts of terrorism to support political agendas, clear cutting of forests, destruction of spawning streams, urban sprawl, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, organized crime, chemical addiction, and complete disenfranchisement of minority groups anywhere in the world?  No; at least, not in the sense that we are guided or told what to do or how to do it, or what to do about it.  We are given very few words to foster guidance on these things.  We know that there must be the shadow and the light, both in balance.  When we see too much darkness, we fail to see the light that also exists.  That is the thinking of the depressed, and those people with ill minds, those teenagers that have suicidal ideation, are facing the darkness and terror of the black despair on their own.  No one is left to deliver the message “you do not have to live like this.”  The pagan paths do tell of this hope, of this power.  In many ways, paganism’s role is in allowing the reconstruction of past ideas in present day modern constructions, as models to restore balance in the way we view those relationships, and in essence, come to accept the world not as black or white, but truly grey;  it  reflects a fundamental choice in what power paganism tells us we have.  That power is the power of choice.

“This is a much more serious question than it may seem at first, and it requires a serious answer. For a purpose like this, “visualizing white light” and tapping the meridian points will not be good enough.”

This presumes that the alternative healing practices or Reiki cannot help.  (I must acknowledge that this is presented in an inflammatory manner, and I am choosing not to defend this or respond with the equivalent of accelerating the discussion past reasonable limits.) Practitioners of these modalities are taught that the process of healing comes with a crisis, and that crisis always appears worse before it gets better, especially in the acute treatment phase.  This is true of medical treatment, but also in counseling or other political or restructuring changes in our institutions.  Those processes are viewed holistically, and that choice of how to view illness is an example of how paganism gives perspective on how to view an issue of health.  We see things differently, understanding the power of words and the word, and in that, we can be agents of change.

I would argue that asking paganism’s beliefs to outline solutions to the world’s problems or our problems is not likely. We have to look beyond paganism’s stated beliefs, and synthesize our knowledge and ideas a bit more.   What we can do is look at the situations that exists, examine them with the models of thinking we have today from the various disciplines, and including knowledge gained through intuition, carefully consider what action to take, and what kinds of preventative measures we can do as well.  The terms “best practices”, used in social service settings, refer to ways of intervention that seem to promote and foster the greatest amount of positive outcomes.  But, like image of the two edged sword; when one intervenes in these situations, are they agents of social change, or social control?  This is the dilemma, and it demarks the difference between passive indifference and proactive zeal.  It becomes then incumbent upon the individual to contribute action in a positive manner that is indeed respectful and mindful of the needs of the others and the needs of individual.  And, after that, negotiation and cooperation are necessary to ensure that the majority of needs, not desires, are met.

I am describing a tall order that I believe we as pagans may spend a lifetime doing. We are subjected to the pressures of social institutions that have created structures with the illusion of power.  We are bombarded by images and words about human suffering from our media services that so many of us can barely stomach, much less respond, without desensitization or depersonalization.  In essence, to survive, we are denying the needs of our soul for the truth, beauty, peace, and more importantly, love in action.

Paganism has a way to reframe the way we examine our bias, beliefs, values, and actions.  Because we have little dogma, we have no need to defend any thought or idea evolving from the practices of our spiritual traditions.  In Wicca’s infancy, they dared to question the need to be sexually conservative, offering the way through freedom in the mystery of sexuality as the essence or force of life.  This was a revolutionary idea.  However, Wicca in its infancy spent a great deal of its developmental phase, constructing elements of rituals and ceremonies, not principles and ideas and values. Druidry or Druidism seems to have spent more of its time defining those value statements in its practices.

But there is one more step from this.  Alienation, or soul loss, or heart break, or a lack of attachment (referring to the attachment theory model of childhood development, not the Buddhist philosophy), is likely the reason we can ignore another’s pain, walk away from a person in distress, declare that “not in my backyard” when conversations about where to put adult sex offenders and recovering drug addicts back in the community.  If we do not see ourselves as like the other, we can objectify the other, and mistreat or disrespect the other.  Is that not indeed the way we treat the Earth?

If the Earth is our mother, humanity is guilty of domestic violence of the highest order.  We would then have to declare the planet a battered woman in need of protection and safety.  But, just how exactly do you intervene without interfering?  That is the question.

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Implementing a Tradition of Respect in the Pagan Movement

March 26th, 2009

If you have been following some of my favorite bloggers listed here, you will soon find that Dr. Brendan Myers has responded to the criticism and commentary to his “Clann-Maker” idea in his blog, “North West Passage”.  To me, it is a sound idea and one that when some of the criticism comes in, I found the responses interesting.

Accountability to me and this is a personal definition and paradigm, loosely based on concepts found in my twelve step program, is about being able to “mean what I say, and say what I mean.”  This is also something that can be described as “walking your talk.”  Long before many of us are able to live the teachings of paganism, I believe we try on the ideas and attitudes, in a process, not an event.  We grow into a “pagan” identity.  This means not understanding, or knowing, what to do, and growing into a maturity of understanding in time.

Being accountable also means accepting personal responsibility for role one plays in both their own life and in social settings, whether it is intentional or not.  This means being honest, and being willing to accept feedback on that.  I also see that accountability, which is the ability to account for one’s actions honestly with one’s self and their friends, is entirely dependent on the ability to be self-accepting and having an internalized set of values one chooses to exercise in the choices one makes.  I choose to be courageous, and so I face my traumas and heal from them.  I choose to provide service to others because there is value in helping others and fostering community.  These are not actions dependent on a “supervisor” or a “hierarchal superior.”  In fact, one that needs this kind of “external motivation” has not internalized the values, but rather is cooperating based on enforcement.

No, I think that is the first problem with discounting Brendan’s idea of fostering respect and value in our innovators and teachers.  If we believe it needs “to be enforced,” then the practice ceases to be a sign of respect in the sense of value we are trying to demonstrate.  Anarchists would agree strongly with that, and so do I.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Tipping Point made a very strong case for how a trend or fashion becomes popular.  It refutes most of what we believe is necessary for social changes.  He spends quite a bit of time on how exactly “word of mouth” operates in social groups.  That is why this book is being gobbled up by business people, and while it is very popular press right now, I think it speaks to an implementation method for this idea of the “Clann-maker” or “Elder”, if you will.

I propose very simply we, who are reading this blog, and those who agree with this blog, just share the idea with those who agree that there is a need to create a practice to value those to whom we seek support, guidance and teaching, and just “do it.”  We need no permission to do so.

And, we talk about it, and share about it, and decide that we will do what we can to spread the word about it.  Eventually, others will embrace it.  We may even see some other ideas loosely based on the “sharing of tobacco”, or gifting.  Maybe we will have people offering services and talents to help each other, to show that they value the other.  Who knows?  I agree with Brendan that to do this would be “an exercise of will.”  And, if Tipping Point is a phenomenon worth its salt, just spreading the word about this, again, and again, and again, and why, will create a situation of “tipping point” in the pagan movement that it happens.  Nothing says that the practice cannot be modified to suit one’s tradition more appropriately, but why not? We decide it is worth doing, and then we decide to do it. And we share with others that we are doing this, and why we are doing this, and we continue to do it, no matter what others say or do.

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Cultural Innovation in Paganism (an answer to Dr. Brendan Myers)

March 24th, 2009

There is some really great blogging going on in Pagan discussion right now.  Starting from a Witchvox post, that I quoted before by Juniper, I now will take you to Dr. Myers, who responded by asking us some questions.   Here is the questions, quoted in Northwest Passage by Brendan Myers. He stated:

So my question for this week concerns the innovators in our movement, and how we treat them. Is Juniper correct when she says that the community itself, because of a predisposition to exploit and disrespect such people, tends to prevent them from emerging? Or, in your experience is there an emerging culture which recognises, benefits from, and respects such people? Who do you turn to when you need advice, or help, or information about your path, or even just a kind word once in a while? What qualities do they embody which makes you want to turn to those people, and not others?

I believe that Juniper is right, in a way. What she is talking about, in my opinion, is the pressure that groups create on individuals. It is the pressure of conformity in the tribe. None of this is new. We know that to belong to a group, that belonging comes with a group culture or code. I have observed that there are some people, with weak egos and poor personal boundaries, that project their ideas of “what a good pagan” is like onto others in a group. I have these conversations with a friend of mine, who constantly complains about the pressures of being out and active in the “so called pagan community”. No need to name names here, and I highly doubt that this experience is unique. Basically, an influential person disapproves of person A’s life choices, and somehow, this becomes fodder for the gossip grind, and then person A finds out about it, and feels offended. Or worse, depending on the behaviour in question, person A’s choices are spoken about, as “how could they do that?”, and somehow, this person’s “reputation” in the community is questionable. Not because anything was actually done, not because anyone actually decided to talk to person A, but rather, ignorance and supposition have taken the place of reason, and now we have character assassination.

Now, we are not a unique bunch of humans, but being subjected to the “public” judging, or perceived “public judging”, is enough pressure to send many back to solitary practise. No criticism, no gossip, no problem. And, sadly, back to isolation, alienation, and loneliness. Sigh. What I believe is that we have enough people with unresolved self-esteem issues, jealousy, and plain out-right insecurity, that sometimes we have things that go on in gossip or character assassination that start out as communication problems, or other interpersonal conflicts, and end up being poorly managed to bitterness. Nevermind adding religious argument or legitimacy or authority issues in there. We already have bad or poor behaviour. And, it is incidious, because boundary breaches can happen so easily, without awareness.

Elders, in my opinion, are particularly visable, and knowledgeable, and sometimes targets of jealous and envy.  I would also add to this pagan organizers, teachers of traditions, book authors, and anyone at times willing to be a public pagan.  Too bad there is no short cuts to getting that experience without the work, but it is as simple as that.  And, because of that experience, we tend to put them and others onto pedestals, based on these constructed ideas of what “a good pagan is”.  One of the research issues for clergy in other Xtian faiths that was discussed in a course I took last term was the fact that we tend to see “clergy” as “living the faith.”  If everyone in pagansim or studying paganism is “clergy”, it also follows that we would expect them to “live as pagans.”  Problem is, by whose definition, and for what  it is worth, “who gave you the authority…to define what is a good pagan…?” Here we go again in circular arguments.

This is not to say that there is no “good pagan” concept out there.  I think there is, but that is another discussion.  What we have though is unconscious, disowned concepts playing out in social behaviour, and people are not accepting their own role in the dynamics that go on.   While this all plays out, we also need to not hinge our self-worth on the approval of others, yet at the same time, we should not be assassinating the character of another pagan because they are different or make different life style choices than we do.  Pretty evident right, but it would seem that some of us are not at that place for some reason in our behaviour.  I am not really all that interested in the drama and crisis of this and that, but sometimes, we judge from afar rather than go up to the persons in the drama and say “so…what is going on?  can I help? are you ok?”.  Somehow, unless we get really close to others in our community, we do not give them the benefit of the doubt, and that means we are now not supportive.

I am not suggesting here that we enable underfunctioning, or incompetence, but sometimes, we shoot off our mouths and decide that Person A is acting poorly or not like we think that they should, or better yet, we discount everything else they say or do…wondering if we might be tainted by them or something…by association.  I am basically suggesting that some of this is more in the individuals, and less in the groups.

Sigh. (I really think we would be better off leading by example, and allowing “live and let live” prevail a bit more, rather than trying to “moralize” each other into behaving as better pagans.)

So, we have a critical mass of folks gathering, and then we have an unwritten code or rules. Some people are good at leadership or taking charge, creating groups, gatherings, simple coffee meets and so on, but it is an evitability that someone  will pipe up and say  “who put you in charge”, as if taking a chance on creating a group or social structure to meet a community need in pagandom was based on the approval of others. Our innovators did not need the approval of others, but for community to be supportive, approval seems to be playing a factor in some cases. Maybe it is simple politics, I do not know, but I know that politics is enough to send some pagans running “for the hills”, pun intended. On the OBOD website, Philip Carr-Gomm gives a wonderful, thoughtful response to small politics.  Consider his words on this.

I used to groan when I heard the word politics. I used to run a mile when I smelt a whiff of politics in an organisation or group. But over the years I discovered that where two or more people are gathered together there are politics, and I stopped running away, because unless you become a hermit, there’s nowhere to go! Any relationship, if it is to be more than superficial, runs into politics – by virtue of being human we have different views and opinions, and we have to negotiate, compromise sometimes, refuse to compromise at other times, give in, stand firm and so on. Likewise in a group. It is simply naïve to think that a group of people can run anything without sometimes disagreeing or needing to negotiate. Rather than pretending politics isn’t relevant to spirituality, I think it’s time for us to recognise that it is an integral part of it, since politics is about being human. If you’re having difficulty with this, change the word to community. World Politics becomes the World Community and the difficulties and challenges it faces. We all know now that we are one People on one Earth and if we’re not careful we might just mess the whole thing up completely.

I think that in some places in Canada, we have an emerging culture of pagan community. In some places, there is too much conflict, too many disagreements, too many people invested in serving themselves and not others, to the point that unless there is something in it for them, they do not support it. Some people do not want to admit it, but there are people in paganism that are very closed minded, and intolerant. That does not help.

And, there is a fundamental factor of dealing with human beings at any level. Human beings resist change, even welcome change, and being different and daring is not what some folks want in their spiritual life. I have heard many a person with a good job in healthcare, teaching or some other public career that defended their broom closet status based on the very real fear of experiencing the potential loss of their job; sadly, though, is that innovators are not built on security, but on the ability to take risks.  Not that being closetted is bad; it is just very restrictive in some ways.

And Juniper is right. We have in some cases developed into a critical mass of folks that are not interested in risk taking, adventure, or plain imagination. We are looking for security. Now, to me, Druidry is not a path for security, and true Wicca, in its demands, is not a path for “babies”. Whining is not an option, and the ability to be personally responsible for one actions means the ability to accept oneself as they are, not as they want to be. What a lot of people are not acknowledging is that fear prevents them from taking reasonable risk, and social risk is not desired by some people looking at paganism today.  And, when a couple of folks get to define “the code” for the whole group, we can very easily create intolerance, character assassinate on nothing more than rumour, and push people away that could bring real strength and growth to our communities, if they are not driven away from our groups first.

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Well, my favourite elders that I have met in Canada thus far are not perfect. All very flawed human beings,  and they understand how paganism has shaped their experiences. They live the ethics of their paths. And, they have big opinions on what they think should be in the community. And I, in deciding to not lump them into one category or another, decided to accept them as they are, and learn from them. I have had my life enriched from getting to know these folks, that I would recommend listening to them anytime. Still, they have character and personality, but I would not have it any other way. Diversity makes the difference, and being perfect is not my goal as a pagan.

It has not been easy to find people where I am, with the experience I have. Ironically enough, another wiccan with 20 years experience turned to me in her chemical addiction, and asked me to help her with the 17 odd years of experience I have with being chemical addiction free, and a pagan, in my life. She is more than the Goddess’ answer to a request I had; she gives me the words I need to hear, and I do not have to explain things to her. She is learning how to embrace the truths of her path and the Goddess’ s call once again, to keep her well and clean. Much of good 12 step program work is consistent with “Know Thyself”, and other goals of the Witch. She has the capacity to listen. My other friend is a phone call away, living in another city, and a woman kindred spirit I met at a festival I like to attend. We have learned to tell the truth to each other in a way that many do get to experience in a lifetime. She is an “anam cara” in many senses of the words.

They have the capacity for courage, honesty, respect, and a willingness to grow in their lives and their paths.  They are dynamic and changing as human beings who are becoming the people they want to be.  I support the decisions they live by, and extend genuine care and concern for them as friends in my life.  Do people in the pagan community have this capacity?  Sure they do, in time.  I think that from gatherings and festivals, we network and find friends, perhaps a teacher, or an elder or two.  I also think Juniper is right.  We need to be the innovators, even if it means that we annoy some people in our pagan communities.  The only way to prevent exploitation is to not give too much, and to learn to respect what is received from others. This is about boundary work, and this is within, not without.

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Ideas on a Spiritual Life

March 21st, 2009

I thought that this time, I would share with you a video that the OBOD has made.  I think it really speaks for itself.  Many of the statements, by OBOD’s Chosen Chief Philip Carr-Gomm, emphasize various aspects of Druid philosophy, and these ideas underlie what makes druidry attractive.

Without further adieu….enjoy. Happy Ostara, or Alban Eiler.

[youtube vqO93g-FofA]

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Is it Morally Wrong to Pay for Spiritual Services? ( an answer)

March 19th, 2009

This week, I will answer a difficult question, for me as a business owner to answer.  (This is only because I am a business owner of “spiritual supplies”).  I found a partial answer last term in the M Div course I took on the Professional Role of Priestess. I will summarize it after I quote Dr. Myers in his latest blog on the matter. He asks us, after many contributed to the conversation, the following, when asked initially “who would we pay $100 to listen to from the pagan community?”

Why, exactly, is it morally wrong to contribute and/or accept money for spiritual services? Why is it wrong to pay someone for performing a hand fasting, a wiccaning, a rite-of-passage, a counseling session, a teaching circle, a public lecture? Do we have a right to expect that people in a position to offer such services, whatever their qualifications or experience, should work selflessly and therefore for free? Is there in your thinking an inherent contradiction between material services like car maintenance, and immaterial services like spiritual guidance counseling? Or is there another reason?

Here is my answer.

Gardner had in his initial laws of Wicca a prohibition for taking money for spell work and spiritual work. Initially, these workings would be for healing, and it is considered wrong to be “paid” for the work. Later, in the course I took, Dr. MacDowell further explained that being paid for doing “spiritual work” would also put a Wiccan in the position of becoming paid clergy, and thus that would be in contradiction with the idea that all are clergy, or priests and priestesses, in Wicca.  Well, paid clergy usually come out of a model of religion organized around congregations. It is not how Wicca started out, and some people in Canada are experimenting with efforts to try and gain the religious privileges of religions with congregations by forming a “Congregationalist association” in an effort to get our clergy in a position to perform “legalized” handfastings or marriages, and pastoral work as well. There are certain things that “legitimate” religions can do without impunity.  I guess as well there is the problem with being now corrupt-able because of the use of money, but that is another issue.

So, is there anything inherently wrong in being paid to do spiritual work? No. But to those that have the “Wiccan” ethic in mind, yes. Everything that Wicca stands for, and yes, the rest of the pagandom must follow suit (please hear the sarcasm dripping), is that it is wrong to be paid to do a spell, offer healing, or otherwise be compensated. I think the rule probably had more to do with profiting than compensating, but the ideas are confused by most people, who have no idea how much time and materials go into the preparation of these services, or whether or not the person performing them has made any sacrifice of time or energy to the matters of service. (I know how much stuff costs, and why those of us on budgets make our own stuff and do our own work.)

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I think what we have is a situation in paganism where we expect “selfless service”, or people wanting to serve the greater good without reward, and yet, nothing comes for free. We do not have a culture in which we are all expected to contribute to a “greater good” or “common effort”. And, the history and structure of Wicca makes this almost impossible to expect. Other pagan reconstructionalist religions and paths, such as Druidism, Asatru, and so forth, have no tradition of “selfless service”. Many of these paths have a value for community, tribe, and service. I do not see that service is necessarily a Wiccan value as stated from its origins.

Where things get dicey for me is around teaching.  Curriculum and texts cost money and time to prepare.  Also, classroom space, festival space etc., all need to be rented.  If I go to my local gathering, I expect that costs are covered by the fee I pay to attend.  In a way, the workshops I go to there are taught by volunteers, but the space and time are not. Somewhere along the way, the expenses of having the event need to be paid.  So, I have taught some workshops for free, but I also do in depth teaching for a cost.  I also believe that the material needs to be affordable, and cover costs for travel, accommodation and so forth.  So, I do what I can in my business of selling goods and providing services to keep things reasonably affordable, but they are not free.

And that is a problem we have.  We as pagans are not self-supporting in our learning or teaching, as we expect the teachers and elders to “provide” it to us.  I do not see any reason or incentive to contribute to the pagan community pot, because we do not have established structures of the “community” pot.  So, while we pagans say “we” do not “pay” for teaching, we have covens that have “candle fees”, “photocopy fees”, or better yet, criticism for not making a distance education program a “cost only” program.  Many times elders we would like to learn from need help in accommodating travel costs, but we have a hard time extending this or accepting this. So, how does one make teaching available?  The other side of not paying for something is that one does not commit. There is a reason universities charge tuition, and if you do the work, you may get a degree someday.  Paying for it gives you some ownership in the process, and not paying for it suggests that commitment and effort are not necessary.  Sigh.

Dr. MacDowell also explained in my course that the prohibition for taking payment for spiritual services also forces people who are high priests and priestesses to have to take on some other way of supporting their spiritual work, based on the need to pay their own way for their own needs.  Many run businesses, but some end up in other careers. By doing this, it makes the clergy role in Wicca not professional. Problem is, we expect our high priests and priestesses to ACT professional and ethical, but we have taken the one way of making them accountable in the role away; that is the compensation required to do that community based role.

The reason I am taking the M Div now is for the pastoral counseling training. If I want to be able to go out into the community at large, to serve as a religiously trained pagan; to do so, I need to have the equivalent training as the other pastors out there.   I have the skill, and see the call to work for the Goddess in my life path as a Druid, but I also know that I am not trained enough for the rites of passage stuff I may be asked to do.  I want to be better prepared for the “professional” role that will be placed on me.  Judy Harrow writes a book Spiritual Mentoring, discussing how to share the way with another.  Many of us will not have that benefit, and will struggle with our students in paganism without that knowledge.

I know that I may have to venture into other things to make ends meet.  I also recognize that I do what I do because I am meant to do it.  I have already been paid by the universe for the services I render to other people, helping them along the healing path.  My wisdom came with pain and hardwork, but I also share it because I get to remember my own heroic effort, and encourage others with it.  But, does that mean that the other should not put something into the spiritual mentoring process, or that financial compensation should not happen? No.  The student needs to put something into their learning to benefit, and that may mean compensating me for time or materials, depending on the situation.

I also teach Reiki in its various forms.  To me, exchange of energy in any form is acceptable, not just money.  The respect for the service that comes from exchanging something for it means that customer service is a reasonable expectation.  When we expect our elders to give knowledge, time and energy away for free, we also give up the right or ‘entitlement’ for on demand customer service.  Just the way it is, and for Wicca to pretend or hang onto this confusion means that the practical realities of spiritual learning are not addressed, but rather, we get silly assertions about not accepting financial compensation, but find ways to “loop hole” around the moral wrongness by calling the direct compensation “something else.”  And, the rest of pagandom gets to be dragged along for the ride in the confusion as well.

We need to be aware of the real costs of asking someone to serve us.  Paying for travel, meals, accommodation, supplies, rent for the room, well, we all need to pay for this.  The servant, the elder, the person we are asking to teach us, should not pay for that.  If we value what we are learning, we will put some energy, effort, money and time into it, because we value it.   In other words, we would be willing to enable our own learning, because we value it.   I would pay for the travel costs to hear someone I wanted to hear.  If my share is $100 for a two hour lecture, then it is worth it.

And that is how the “big name pagans” get to attend some of the festivals and gatherings….the organizers build the travel costs into the festival fee for attendance.  And, maybe the “big name pagan” only gets their travel or accommodations covered.  They are still covered, as they should be.  I think we really need to think long and hard about how and why we pay for what we pay for in our practices.

I buy books, for my library, because these people who have written their words have taught me so much, changed my life, and I have shared that in my journey.  I have paid retail between 20 and 30 dollars a piece for each book, and I have a small library of about 400-500 books.  I have enjoyed each one, and with my short term memory loss, I needed to be able to reread the books several times to understand them.  I have paid for my learning, and paid for my OBOD course.  I am still working through it, as it takes a lot of emotional work.  Now, I know that the authors take is not much, but thank you for enriching my life.  I know that people are willing to buy a book, but to pay for a course? a lecture?

But, insert here, the “I do not need your big name” learning, as “I can learn it on my own” (as they buy another book about their spiritual journey, ironically enough).  We have some real inconsistencies about what and how we will acknowledge the financial exchange for our spiritual learning.

Unless paganism comes up with some way of creating community differently, we are in no way capable of making our learners self supporting and directly contributing to their learning, and lacking a cohesive sense of service, we are drifting around with very unpractical ideas of advancing our own learning and the learning of others.  We have no method of compelling people to give to us when we expect that we are “entitled” to pay nothing for a service. (The only way that is working now is writing a book, and it seems to be working just fine, much to the chagrin of those traditionalists that insist that face to face learning should be the model of training in Wicca.)  I think that “entitlement” is a grandiose and false one, based on a misinterpretation of traditional intent, and taken now well beyond an extreme.  I also do not think that expecting to be compensated for your time and materials is “acting like a prostitute.” (Actually, a prostitute is doing better than a pagan elder or teacher, because nothing is done till she is paid. The fact that it is sexual I think has more to do with the communal disapproval, which is ironic given how paganism is supposed to be sex-positive.  Being paid for sex does not cheapen it, but rather makes it a commodity.)

Whether we like it or not, buying books, tools or other gifts or crafts does not make our religion a commodity, nor does it cheapen our religion either.  These things are helpful and meaningful to people, and there is a market for jewelry, clothing, statues, candles, and other things.  So while the aspect of being paid directly for a service rendered makes some people feel “cheapened”, others would see it as fair value for services that they cannot do for themselves.   I really truly believe that somewhere along the way, we need to see that “free” is not acceptable, nor are we “entitled” to something for nothing.  I believe that our communities will only thrive with people becoming willing to cover the costs of the events, gatherings, and other opportunities for learning directly, and that means the costs for specific people to teach and offer their time.

The other side of not accepting payment for these services is that the elder or teacher has the right to say no, and not be on demand or on call. Too bad if that is not ok for you, but you are not paying them for their time, and if that annoys you, well, consider who is really cheapening the services by being unwilling to compensate for them.

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Where is the Elders? The Gardners? The Crowleys? (a response to a response)

March 18th, 2009

There is a very interesting post that was posted by Juniper on Witchvox this week (March 15th, 2009).  She attempts to answer the question by stating points she believes will be controversial, perhaps rattling some cages, or ruffling some feathers.  She attempts to get under the skin of other pagans, by stating something that some people notice, and some do not.

(You can see her article here.)

One part in the beginning speaks to me here.  She says:

Gardner and Crowley were trailblazers. They were bold and daring, they said and did outrageous things. People like Gardner, Crowley, Cochrane and Hutton (to name a few) were eclectics, they tried stuff out, and they mixed and matched. They mixed pantheons and traditions. Nowadays we pagans use the word “eclectic” like a dirty word, an insult to be slung at anyone who dares to mix traditions or practices.

Paganism, or its rebirth as a religious expression in modern day, was all about doing something “outside the norm.” Gardner believed that sexual oppression and mores of his time were outmoded, outdated, and probably did more to create psychological problems than to solve them. He also believed, like many others in the English folklore movement, that people needed to be closer to the land, to nature; that we had in the modern age divorced ourselves from nature, and that divorce was part of our alienation. Crowley was also a trailblazer. As the words of Philip Carr-Gomm in the last Druidcast I heard, speaking about his new book on English Magic, like him or not, Aleister Crowley pushed beyond almost all boundaries and decorums that existed. Was that worth it? Philip is not so sure in his own opinion, and neither am I. The other side of Crowley’s work is the research into magic that has not still been replicated, and thus he is still the most accomplished magician of his time. His magickal theory is well met.

Innovation is the key. Both of these folks were innovators, reconstructing, like most pagan movements, from fragments of history, archeology, myth, legend and other bits.   Are we looking for leadership in paganism, or innovation?

It is an interesting question.  She talks about how some people discount eclectism as a “dirty word”, but I am, in fact, an eclectic, in the ways I explore my path, explain it, and sometimes practise it.  I have been taught a few things about the Red Road, and I will, out of respect for the spirits of the land, use them to the best of my ability.  I know that it is not perfect, but my intentions are pure.

I also find correspondence charts and the like for creating rituals in hoodoo/wicca/folklore practises.  I will use specific herbs and colours, coming from various places.  I also consider my primary path druidry, as practised by OBOD, but I have been seen reading and appreciating the teachings of ADF and AODA and other groups and leaders in druid practise.

I do not consider myself anywhere near an expert on Wicca, but I have been, by virtue of spending lots of time with them at gatherings and events, learning from them where my books do not.  And, I do appreciate the oath bound stuff, but a lot of my questions are not really about that, more about how things fit or do not from a Wiccan perspective.  Questions about theology and philosophy, and the metaphysics of the universe, these are the things I am curious about.  Truth is, Wicca began more with practises and less with ideas.

Which makes the idea of trailblazing interesting.  It starts with the supposition that Wicca has a body of material that is whole from the start.  This is furthest from the truth.  Wicca is an evolving, developing religious tradition.  Some would claim that the evolution, or devolution, of Wicca is far from what Gardner intended, but each innovator after Gardner and Crowley have put some sort of personal interpretation into the religion.  With this, comes the fact that, for example, Cunningham’s God concept is weak and under-developed, as it was not a focus at the time of the teachings of the coven, but later, it seems that when he tries to explain the God in Living Wicca, we find him stumped and the explanation thin. He explains this by stating that in the early days, more time was spent putting together rituals than trying to explain the ideas.

Now, that explains the thin theology Wicca has in places, never mind the diversity of pantheons of gods and goddesses to choose from. There is also different styles now, ranging from the traditional approaches of the Gardnerians and Alexandrians, to the feminists of Starhawk and others of the Reclaiming movement, to folks of the “book”, learning from the various books available. Sounds to me like Wicca does borrow from many places, being its own version of “eclectic.” Does beg the question, does it not, why one form of eclecticism is acceptable, while other kinds are not?  Let me know if you can explain it.

Juniper does discuss one thing that has not been a part of the Wiccan community. That thing that is not there, and needs to be there, is a sense of tolerance. There seems to be a missing piece around addressing the human being side of Wicca, both in terms of what “makes an Elder an Elder”, and “what makes a learner a learner.” It is hard to imagine how threatening it is to see something you have spent a lifetime learning, with a face to face teacher and group, now easily digested in a book, with some oath bound material you swore not to reveal, with it revealed for all to see. It is also hard for a new Wiccan, several years of study from a variety of books, to be discounted as “not a real Wiccan” because they have not been taught by the “right” person. Either way, the insecurity of “one up manship” or out right ego boosting, or appealing to some sort of “authority” or “legitimacy” based on a conflict of values makes “community” virtually impossible, at times.  What needs to happen somewhere along the line is some kind of respect, based on the idea of “disagreeing without being disagreeable.”  Without it, our communities devolve into petty human dynamics and petty politics of the highschool years, with some people “putting their ideas” of what is a “good pagan” onto others, without so much as a discussion or a chance for people to even be informed why their ideas of what is “right” are not ok.  We will get people who get tired of defending their right to be who and what they believe, and this makes some folks just “fed up” with the community.  Sad part is, this community also does not address supporting elders or newbies, much less each others.  Lacking the building blocks of commonality and mutual common interest, groups end up in the service of themselves.  Without leadership, nothing happens in community building efforts, but try to be a leader, and you will find someone openly accusing you of “being interested in the power.”

Wicca started out as a small group religion. It has never tried to be congregational; it started out with everyone is clergy, which also means no one is clergy. Traditional covens are hierarchal; reclaiming traditions experimented with “power with” rather than “power over” structures. Festivals and gatherings, coffee meetup or pub moots, were the beginnings of fostering community. Somewhere along the way, people were wanting to look for each other. And, the Internet, in its development, helped many of us find each other far sooner than it would have taken in the past. Who are the Elders? Today’s “Gardners?” Well, Juniper does say that we are a bit spoiled by the availability of resources, but the new visionaries of today are us, as she puts it.  And how can we be visionaries?  Making pagan community function in a healthy, supportive, vibrant manner.  Find ways to resolve conflicts, and make our communities stronger and vibrant.

So how are we going to do this? The same way they did it in the past, ignoring those who discount you, listening to your heart, and being willing to experiment, and share the results.

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Interview with Chris Penczak at Pantheacon; Evolution in Wicca

March 17th, 2009

From Youtube, Magick TV

[youtube 43qfOIzTvPI]

I hope you enjoy what he has to say.  What I find interesting is that he refers to his method of teaching and curriculum development not based on an initiatory tradition or a traditional three degree system.  He, like others, have used the curriculum development of teaching others about Wicca, and then now turned these into books.

What is interesting about this is that there is discussion in some circles about whether or not Wicca needs initiation.  Certainly people trained outside of a coven or group would say that.  But what is missing when one does not have a teacher, but rather a book?  Is book learning a valid way of learning?  Is there a difference in the experience?

Anyone who has done a distance education, or now, with the Internet, online education program, knows that there are many ways or media presentations to convey information.  I have also set up an online school to deliver information to people using the Internet.  I also want people to learn from each other, hence the value of a class.  The online school I have set up should do the job.

So, that is how it is.  A book, while able to give you exercises, practises, teachings, and other tid bits, does not give you feedback on how you are progressing.  Also, doing the exercises, if done properly, will bring about growth and change as learning, but what about those sections where the author is a little vague?  Pronouncing the names of Gods and Goddesses is an example.  How does that old Welsh word go again?  But a book also brings you the best of the teaching, without the commitment to a group or class.  And, I have learned from other students as much as I have learned from teachers.

Which makes what Chris Penczak is doing interesting.  He is taking what he knows and has learned, and wrote it so that one is not joining an initiatory tradition to learn and grow with a group, but rather one is now able to grasp the teachings of Wicca without the traditional teaching and learning structure. In other words, no more group, no more “vouching” for someone else, and if you master the teaching, it is yours.

What say you?  First, the tradition of not paying for teaching in wicca, is well, moot.  You pay for the book.  A small part of the book, as a royalty, goes back to the author, (or in the case of Scott Cunningham, his estate.)  So, all those reluctant to pay for learning, ummm, well, you are, even if it is very little.  And, to truly master what is in the book, you need to take time and effort to practise it, so you are paying for your learning with time and energy.  If this evolution is anything, it shows that Wicca is responding to the newest, self-dedicants, with more advanced material and teachers willing to teach them, with books of curriculum to do this.

Bythor, at the Canadian National Pagan Conference in Vancouver this year 2009, will be presenting on initiation.  I think this paper will help with understanding the other side of the issue.  People who have undergone or taken up initiatory traditions in Paganism can certainly vouch for the power, change and time spent in integration of the shifts, learning and so forth.  But, with the way small group religion works, that people need to be safely with others to experience the mysteries, it does make Wicca some what exclusive.  It is not an “equal opportunity” religion per se.  And, this is the source of many conflicts, debates, and so forth in Wicca.

Trouble is, when people say that “I read a book about” does not make you a Wiccan,  I wonder how many people would say the same thing for people who “read a book about Jesus”?  Depending on the group, that would make them Xtain.  Wicca has never claimed to have a “book” or “dogma”, but this insistence on being a part of a “group” or “degree” system, or “one must be trained face to face”, well, for the many looking to embrace the Goddess’ call, it is not working.  So, I see that there is this tension in the pagan community, in which people who have been researching, living, learning, and training in their paths, are being discounted and put down by those that are not so trained or taught.

That being said, one book cannot make one a Wiccan.  If I read a book about Buddhism, I would not claim to be a Buddhist; I could invariably say ” I am studying Buddhism”.  I have found that some people are struggling to “have a label” in the pagan community because somehow, saying you are something makes you more serious or committed to learning or something.  I think that people need to be ok with saying ” I am exploring”.  I do not know how many times I have met people who have found Wicca, but once they found druidry, they really found what fit them better.  I went through a similar event, by the same way; at the time, there were very few books in print about Druidry, and two of the three were horrible.

So, some things to think about.  One, if you are paying for a course in Wicca, even a beginner’s course, please do not pay more than costs for paper or curriculum materials.  Anything more is some one making a profit off of religious teaching, which is in many Wiccan circles, unethical.

And, there are topics in Wicca, Druidry, and related that take time and energy to learn and master.  If you want to learn from a teacher, there are many out there.  But, not only is the time of the teacher valuable, there is also gathering with other students.  Consider the other costs of teaching, such as a space to teach in, and go from there.  And, at many festivals, people offer to teach workshops, and spend weeks and months preparing activities and lectures on various topics.  This is a gift, and a time to learn.  Consider that also a part of attending a festival, as networking, socializing, and just plain fun is also going on as well.

I hope Chris Penczak continues to write books.  He is probably going to redeem Llewellyn from some of the poor stuff they put into print in the early 1990’s.  Just goes to show you cannot judge a book by its cover.

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Nudity or &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Clothing Optional&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; at Festivals

March 13th, 2009

One of the nicest things about paganism to me is the sex-positive attitude it has.  Coming from a history of Skyclad practice of Wicca from Gardner, who found the benefits of naturism back in the day (so did Ross Nichols, a friend of his and founder of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, of which I am a member), being naked in ritual practise served many purposes, including the shedding of repressive sexual mores of the dominant culture, being “naked” before your gods with nothing to hide, and “being no better” than any other, as we all have bodies, with differing shapes and sizes.  We are who we are.

But, sometimes this can be really hard to manage.  It is difficult for folks to organize gatherings that allow for skyclad practise, or to be nude.  Can be hard.

I have attended a couple of gatherings that are clothing optional.  First few years, weather made it virtually impossible to be skyclad (one year there was snow, in August).  Another year, it was horribly buggy.  So, while visions of basking in hot sun skyclad make for a wonderful fantasy vision, sometimes the reality of it is not the same.

There was a post of Witchvox a while back that commented on this issue.  Sia tells us several rather good reasons for not being “skyclad.”  She lists 13 rather well defined reasons why it is not always a good idea. You can check out her work here at

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usor&c=festtips&id=2823

So, while written in 2000, some of the reasons given do apply to us as Canadians, and some of these are things we need to consider when organizing events.

I would not want to see an event where people felt that they “had” to shed their clothes to participate, nor should people feel pressured into accepting this.

I once had a student who thought my unwillingness to participate in skyclad practise was some kind of expression of body shame.  It is not.  As a North American Druid, being naked for ritual just is not necessary.  I can see how it can be effective, but I do not see sexuality as the central mystery of life.  I actually wrote a paper about that last term for my M Div.  I did participate in the Women’s mysteries circle, partially nude, as it was “that time in the month”, so I had to wear something (funny how that works.)  I do not know.  I have spent a lot of time on this, but it comes down to me that I see sexuality as sacred, and I like how sex is a positive experience, but sharing the body is something I do with my husband.  It is something I agreed to, and given how he is not a pagan, it is something I cannot really do without it having some impact on my marriage.  Sounds old fashioned, but these are my values, because as a Druid, if sexuality is sacred, I need to treat my body as sacred.  I have enough trouble with that as it is. (Like avoiding exercise, but that is another story.)

No, for me, it was about not needing to conform with others.  I do what I feel comfortable doing.  I prepared my children for the nudity by explaining how this was a place to safely do this, and that they did not have to look, or be around, or stare. I explained that here, people could shed their clothes if they wanted.  You know, my kid would rather chase down a butterfly than look at nude people. But I do not feel any need to be naked too.  I like having parts of my body free from bug bites ( I am highly allergic to mosquitos), and I do not do cold very well.  I like playing dress up too.

Give it some thought.  I know that the festivals I have been too, that have clothing optional, have very strict “non-harassment” policies, and they will enforce them, because their freedom to be naked depends on the safety of everyone to be free from sexual harassment. I would look to see if the event you are planning to attend has something like that in place.

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Spirits of the West Druid Gathering 2008 and 2009

March 10th, 2009

I promised last year to write a review of the Spirits of the West Druid Gathering, and with me running about in Northern BC and Alberta with festival vending, I found myself at a loss trying to sort out when and how I would get this done.

First, the link to the event for this year is:

http://www.druidgathering.ca .

Second, I wanted to say, if you are looking for like minded folks, great workshops, really good accomodations, and wonderful, wonderful food, this Gathering is the one to make a point of coming out to take in.

In fact, my husband will even come, and he has not been impressed with pagan folk at pagan gatherings.  That is another story.

So, I will be attending this gathering.  Druids of all makes and models will enjoy the beautiful, waterfront camp and wonderful food.  This event is a Friday Evening, full day Saturday, and Sunday Morning.

This year’s special guest will be John Michael Greer, author of many books, and Chief of AODA.  He has all kinds of work over the years, been a member of OBOD and ADF, completed training with both, and more.  He has years of experience, and would be well worth hearing.

There will be other workshops, likely a Solstise ritual, and more.

Last year’s guest was Kirk Thomas, and we learned about ritual awareness in the ADF format. Now, it is not something I usually do with my experience with OBOD, but I still found it challenging and facinating.

We also dabbled in a bit of weather work (yes, I was taught some things during my time working with air on how to do weather work by a weather witch), and we managed to move some storm clouds off to keep our ritual dry.  Our offering, of “Pussy” incense ( a scent I carry, it is wonderful), seemed to help, as well as the Reiki work.

I was asked to do a workshop on Service, which is planned to be this year’s theme.  More will be revealed about the event in time.  I will also be there vending.

I hope that if you are Druid, you seriously consider attending this event.  It is very well worth the effort to attend, and will be fantastic.  It is one of the highlights of my calendar.

Now, the above post mentioned that JM Greer was to attend this year’s gathering, but alas, he could not make it.  Instead, we have the honour of having Dr. Brendan Myers in attendance, who will be signing books at the West Edmonton Mall bookstore on Friday June 12, 2009, and joining us for the weekend at the Gathering.  There was a change, and I am now going to announce it here as well, in case this comes up again.

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