Category Archives: Religion

Animals, Paganism, Religion

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Animals and Birds

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Image taken from the Amazon page for the book.

I’ve always felt drawn to black bears. I’ve always felt I’ve been able to identify with them in many ways and that they had lessons to teach me. But my feelings about them were often different from how most Neo-Pagans (especially the men) who claim bears as their spirit animal1 view them.

I’m not someone who perceives myself as a fierce warrior. To me, I look at the bear and do not see the legendary rage of Viking berserkers, but the nurturing love of a mother bear. And sure, there’s nothing more fierce than a mama bear protecting her cubs from a real or perceived danger. But that’s not her “default mode of operation.”

Several years ago, i ran across a book called Among the Bears by Benjamin Kilham, pictured at the beginning of this post. Kilham was the first person to successfully rehabilitate orphaned black bear cubs and return them to the wild when they were older. In the book, he describes his experiences doing so, the lessons he learned, and the things he discovered about black bears along the way.

One of the things that Kilham learned while working with the first cubs he rehabilitated — a brother-sister pair who had been abandoned by their mother — was that black bears tend to be quite altruistic. By that, Kilham explains that he means that a black bear will put themselves in danger to help another living being, including one that belonged to a different species. i found myself fascinated by his recollection of the events that led up to this discovery. Furthermore, I realized that this was a man who had an understanding of bears that more closely matched my own.

I will note that part of the difference between myself and other people who feel attracted to bears is that I suspect most of them envision grizzly bears rather than black bears. However, I also wonder how many other Neo-Pagans and members of other modern religious movements take the time to learn to learn about the various animals they feel drawn to through sources outside of books on spirituality, such as what animal conservationists and biologists might have to say about them. I think that it’s well worth it to do so, as there’s so much more to learn.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsBlogChallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing the challenge for more details.)

Footnotes

  1. I think it’s also important to note that the way many Neo-Pagans and other non-indigenous have glommed onto the term “spirit animal” is typically appropriative and otherwise problematic, so I prefer to avoid the use of that term. ↩︎
Religion, Spiritual Development

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Drama

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One year, my old coven signed up to organize and lead the public Yule ritual at our local witch shop. One of our members found a delightful short play for the season that we decided to act out as part of the ritual. It was beautifully written and delightful, as it brought home the themes of the festival in engaging ways. Many members of the community who participated in the rite thanked us and expressed how much they enjoyed it.

Such ritual drama can be an important part of of any religious observance. it allows us to embody themes and ideas within ourselves and identify with them in a visceral way. This often moves us from a more academic or cerebral acceptance of concepts to an experience of mystery.

(This post is part of #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. For more information on this challenge, be sure to check out Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing it.)

Personal Development, Religion, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

#ChangingPathsChallenge2024: Dreams

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Change starts with a dream. Some notion. Some fleeting idea of something we’d like to see. Something that inspires us and draws our interest.

Over time, that dream starts to take a more concrete shape. We add more details. We flesh it out. In time, that dream because a vision we can pour our will into.

We then take that vision and begin to determine how to make it a reality. We start laying out the steps that we can take to bring it about. We look for collaborators and co-conspirators. We transform our vision into a plan.

We then execute that plan. We take the planned actions, re-calibrating and modifying both the plan and our actions as needed. Eventually, our plan and our execution of it leads us to the realization of that dream. We have altered reality itself and built something we can be proud of.

But it all started from that dream. Without dreams, nothing would change. Without dreams, would we even be truly alive?

(This post is part of the #ChangingPathsChallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more information about the challenge.)

Paganism, Personal Development, Religion, Spiritual Development

#changingpathschallenge2024: Change

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I have a complicated relationship with Odin. When I started looking to build a relationship with various Norse gods, I had planned on avoiding Odin altogether. I thought Thor seemed like a much friendlier and jovial sort. And Thor was indeed friendly to me. But one night, he told me he couldn’t stay to talk with me because someone else wanted a word.

And after a beautiful moment of being transformed into a falcon1 by Freyja and an exhilarating flight over a gorgeous canyon, I found myself in the throne room of the Al.father himself, who accused me of avoiding him.. I had been caught red handed and called out. Odin and I had a brief conversation in which he explained to me why i needed the gifts and lessons he wanted to teach me. I saw the wisdom in his arguments and agreed — albeit somewhat reluctantly — to work with him.

Odin has never been a huge part of my life. But he comes around every now and then. And the thing is, life gets interesting whenever he does. Because in my experience Odin usually brings change with him. There got to be a point in my life where I would sense his presence anew in my life and would immediate want to scream, “What now, fucker?!”2

Change is never easy, nor is it comfortable. I recall reading somewhere that all change is stressful and even traumatic, even positive change. And while the changes that Odin brought and asked me to undergo were always a net benefit for me, I didn’t always like going through the process of change.

That’s normal, and sometimes the only way to endure it is to remember that change is vital to life. One of the defining characteristics of living things is that they grow, and growth always means change. I’ve also heard it suggested that if you are not growing, you’re dying (which is typically a much less pleasant form of change in its own right) or already dead.

As someone who wants to go on living — and hopefully living well — I’ve come to accept change. Even with all its discomfort and messiness. So after I’ve sighed and groused about Odin coming around with more change, I usually let out a breath and say, “Okay, bring it on, fucker. Let’s do this.”

(This post is a part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more information on the challenge and a list of keywords/prompts for it.)

Footnotes

  1. If it’s not obvious, I’m talking about things that I envisioned/experienced while in an altered state of conscience. I’m not claiming that I literally shape-shifted. ↩︎
  2. Yes, I occasionally swear at my deities. We have that kind of relationship. ↩︎
Paganism, Religion, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Different groups, different purposes: Free-styling it for chapter 9 of “Changing Paths”

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Back in the early 2000s, I had an online friend who was a member of a Unitarian Universalist church and an extremely active member in that church’s Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) group. As I didn’t have much of a Pagan community at that time, I decided to look up my local (at the time) UU church and check them out. They had no CUUPS group, but I decided to check out a couple Sunday morning services.

I met some delightful people at that church and enjoyed talking with them. I found we shared a lot of values in common. i found the same thing when I decided to check out the UU church in Rochester when I moved up here. At both churches, I concluded that the people I met were amazing people I could sit down and have a great conversation with over coffee and even join with to work towards political causes we shared in common. But the services at those churches did not speak to my soul. So in both cases, I quite going after a couple of Sundays.1

These memories and other like it came to mind as I was reading chapter nine of Changing Paths by Yvonne Aburrow, which is titled “Arriving in a group.” In this chapter, Yvonne talks a lot about the importance of finding a group that shares your values. And I absolutely agree that shared values is absolutely important. I don’t think that I could stay in a group where I had an awesome spiritual experience, but found their values morally concerning. So checking out the values of a group first makes absolute sense.2

And if I’m looking for a group that’s mostly inclined toward social, educational, or advocacy purposes, shared values might remain the only thing I care about. But if I’m looking for something more spiritually fulfilling, I feel there are more things I need to have. For example, I need ritual that’s steeped in the mythology and cosmology that speaks to my soul. Similarly, I need a group that explores the mysteries and the aspects of the numinous that I feel called to explore.3 I may love the people in both of those UU churches and share their values, but we clearly speak different spiritual languages, making communal worship with them less than ideal for me. And that’s okay.

And this is where I note that it’s important to consider that we’re allowed to have more than one group membership, just like it’s possible to follow multiple religious traditions in some cases. Even if I were to limit myself to just Pagan groups, I think this is pretty normal, reasonable, and even arguably expected. For example, I can attend both my local witch’s meetup and have coven with whose members I’m more closely knit. And obviously, my level of commitment to each of those groups would differ based on the reasons I’m a part of them and the level of commitment required to be a contributing member of them.4

Footnotes

  1. Okay, full disclosure time: When I went to the church in Rochester, I was motivated by more than just wanting to find a new spiritually minded group. There was a guy involved. And how things turned out with that guy probably also played a part in why I quit going. Though I’d like to think that if I had found the services spiritually fulfilling, I would have kept going regardless. ↩︎
  2. And lest this post come across as being too critical of this chapter of Yvonne, I will note that the title is “Arriving in a group.” Yvonne dedicates chapter 13 to beloved community and finding that. So one could reasonably argue that I’m jumping the gun here and should save these thoughts for that chapter. To which I say, “Maybe, but that’s not what I decided to do.” So nyah! (I never said I was mature.) ↩︎
  3. Also, a service that is centered around sitting and listening to a sermon or lecture just doesn’t really work for me. Even when I might agree with the sermon. ↩︎
  4. The idea that different groups require different levels of commitment is something Yvonne covers in this chapter as well. In fact, they encourage people to consider the commitment level required by any group they are considering joining and whether they are able and willing to meet it. ↩︎
Religion, Society, Spiritual Development

#changingpathschallenge2024: Reconnecting

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Most days, it feels like our modern society is designed to disconnect us from everything.

  • It disconnects us from other people.
  • It disconnects us from our heritage.
  • It disconnects us from our own bodies.
  • It disconnects us from our emotions.
  • It disconnects us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Is it any wonder we often feel lonely and isolated? We desperately need to get reconnected to these things. For me, my spirituality plays a significant role in that reconnecting process. I often say that my religion is a celebration of life, and reconnecting ourselves to these various things we’ve allowed ourselves to become unplugged from is a part of that celebration. It’s also an important part of maintaining and enhancing that life.

  • Reconnecting to other people and forming a community provides us with support.
  • Reconnecting to our heritage (in as much as is possible) allows us to better understand who we are and how we’ve become that person.
  • Reconnecting to our bodies enables us to live fuller lives rather than feeling like brains trapped in a meat suit.
  • Reconnecting to our emotions allows us to feel fully human again rather than unfeeling automatons.
  • Reconnecting to other living things helps us understand our place in the world over all and is an important step in connecting with the numinous.

That’s a lot of reconnecting to do. And I think the process of reconnecting to everything is a lifetime process. Maybe even a process that spans several lifetimes. But I also think doing so is well worth it.

(This blog post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. Be sure to read Yvonne Aburrow’s post to learn more details about the challenge.)

Paganism, Religion

#changingpathschallenge2024: Nature

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Image: A picture of the Genesee River from the Gorge Trail in Letchworth State Park. Taken during my birthday hike in 2015.

I’ve hiked off and on for much of my life. It’s an activity that I’ve gotten fairly serious about at some points while walking away from it at other points. The last time I got into hiking was from 2013 until about 2015. In fact, the above picture is probably from one of the last hikes I took.

I enjoy the sense of seclusion and isolation from the bustle of civilization that I experience with hiking. While on a good trail, it’s just me, whatever companions I’ve chosen to invite along, and the beautiful views. I’d often hike alone, with my own thoughts my only companions. Such an environment is practically a breeding ground for new perspectives on old ideas and new solutions for old problems.

And yet, while out in nature and being isolated from most of human civilization, I don’t feel quite alone. I’m surrounded by the sounds of wildlife and am often blessed with glimpses of the occasional animal. An encounter with a bird or a deer can remind me that I am not alone in the world and humans are not alone in this world either. It can also remind me that all life on the planet is connected.

These days, health issues and higher priority activities keeps me closer to home. To be honest, I don’t think I could hike the gorge trail pictured above any more.1 But I still try to keep the lessons I’ve learned from hiking in mind years later. And I try to remember that even in my suburban home, I am still a part of the greater community of the world. The community that is made up of more than just humans.

(This post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more details about the challenge.)

Footnotes

  1. Given that I usually had to take a day or two of serious rest after hiking that trail when I was at my peak physical health in 2015, I’d say I could barely hike it back then. ↩︎
Emotions, Love, Paganism, Personal Development, Religion

#changingpathschallenge2024: Love

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Jesus Loved Me. Freyja Taught Me to Love Myself.

That was my joking answer back in 2022 when Meghan Crozier1 asked her followers what they would title their own deconstruction memoirs. The statement has stuck with me ever since. It’s funny how sometimes what we say when joking turns out to be profound truths, even if only personally true or profound.

My understanding of love was somewhat limited when I was an evangelical Christian. This was due to the fact that in that religion, I was taught that love — or at least pure love — was something that was only given out by the perfect god of the religion, who poured his love out on the undeserving — that is, everyone else. Realizing that I was only receiving love because the Almighty was giving it to me despite myself ruined my sense of self-worth, something I’ve talked about multiple times.

So when I came to Paganism, I was confronted with a new in which I could see myself as inherently worthy of love. That changed so much about the way I saw both myself and love. In time, I’ve come to realize that love — whether for myself or others — is a natural reaction to recognizing the sacred nature — which I define as the inherent value — of the beloved. If I and other are sacred/inherently valuable, how can I do anything other than love them? This allowed me to pour out love2 — both for myself and for others — more freely.

(This post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post for more details on the challenge.)

Footnotes

  1. As an aside, Meghan co-hosts a wonderful deconstruction-themed podcast with Cortland Coffey called Thereafter. I highly recommend it. I’m their number one fan. (Pay no attention to the sledgehammer behind my back.) It also occurs to me that I should see if I can help get Yvonne Aburrow on their podcast. I think many people in their audience would appreciate Yvonne’s book(s). ↩︎
  2. I will note that as an evangelical Christian, I always found it other to be loving toward others than toward myself. Much of (white) evangelical Christianity is designed this way. After all, we are commanded to love others, but deny ourselves and do things like “put our sinful nature” — which is often conflated with “the flesh” — to death. Plus, I grew up learning that “Jesus, Others, then You” spelled J-O-Y, and that was the order you were supposed to prioritize people in. The reality was, I rarely got around to the Y part, so I had more JO than JOY. ↩︎
Politics, Religion, Society, Spiritual Development

#changingpathschallenge2024: Peace

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True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.

Source: Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story

Dr. King was a brilliant man and downright prophetic. He had quite a few things to say about peace and justice, though the above quote is probably my favorite commentary that he offered on the subject.1

I hope that Dr. King and those who most directly benefited from his legacy can forgive me for using his quote as a starting point for my post. I will try my best to make sure that my own thoughts. if not worthy of following his words, at least do them no disservice or injustice.

With this quote and elsewhere, King wisely notes that a peace that is not rooted in justice — and an all-inclusive justice that applies to all — cannot last. In effect, true and lasting peace is the result of justice. So if we want peace, we must seek justice.

And yet, I might suggest that some semblance of peace is necessary for the pursuit of justice. Not a false peace, but some small island of inner peace that provides us a firm foundation from which to plan and work. I’m reminded of the the 1997 movie Wishmaster,2 In that movie, Tammy Lauren’s character talks to the basketball team she’s coaching about stillness, and speaks of an inner stillness that will help them to makes baskets if they can find it in the moment before attempting to score. This advice returns to help Lauren’s character in the climactic moment as she calms her mind in order to find the perfect wish that undoes all the harm caused by the djinn she accidentally released and traps the creature once again.

I also think that both peace and justice are not necessarily static states but involve and require an ongoing process. It is something that we will always need to strive toward as circumstances and needs arise and our own understanding of these things change. So let us continue to strive for both justice and peace, building on whatever islands of peace we and those before us have already established.

(This post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. See Yvonne Aburrow’s post about the challenge for more details.)

Footnotes

  1. I will note that I’m more familiar with this sentiment as Dr. King expressed it in his Letter from a BIrmingham Jail, which I’ve taken to reading every MLK Day as part of my personal process of self-examination. In that letter, he criticized white moderates, rightly accusing them of preferring “a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” ↩︎
  2. Back in college and when I was still a Christian, I was plannings to become a minister. I think this post and others like it demonstrate that had I continued down that path, i would have been one of those ministers who liberally peppered my sermons with pop culture references and sermon illustrations. ↩︎
Personal Development, Religion

#changingpathschallenge2024: Hope

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Hope is that thing that gets me out of bed. It is the recognition of the potential contained within each new day and what I envision might become reality from that potential. Those visions can be well formed or they might still be vague concepts that I am developing.

My hope is bolstered by my community, made up of individuals who have hopes and dreams of their own. We share our hopes and dreams and work together on those that we hold in common. Often, we help one another with the hopes and dreams that we do not hold in common because (1) it delights us to do so and (2) we know those we help will likewise help us achieve our own personal goals and dreamsl. This web of mutual support and encouragement is another source of hope. It reminds me that I do not have to do this alone.

My deities are a part of that community, and their wisdom and faith in me also bolster’s my hope. it’s strange to consider that my deities believe in me as much as I believe in them. “You’re doing great! You got this!” they seem to say, and I take another cleansing breath as I continue my labor to bring my hopes to fruition.

Some days are rougher than others. Some days, my hopes and dreams don’t materialize as much as I’d like. It can be discouraging. And yet, as I lay down for the night, I take comfort in the knowledge that tomorrow will be another day full of yet ore potential and opportunities to turn that potential into something real.

I know that tomorrow, hope will be there to help me get out of bed once again.

(This blog post is part of the #changingpathschallenge2024. For more information on the challenge, see Yvonne Aburrow’s post announcing it.)