When people start looking into paganism and it’s various paths, they seem to think that they will be discovering some grand, mystical secret to the universe. In my experience there are no such things, just information and understanding we didn’t have for ourselves. Mysteries are such only because they can’t be explained using human language, but must be experienced; there is nothing special about them, any can access them.
So if there is a mystical secret to be had it’s this: it’s not about powers or gods, it’s about perspective.
Am I different form the me that was an atheist? Absolutely! There is no doubt in my mind about that one. But why am I different? Sure I have all kinds of beliefs and experiences that are different, but that’s not what caused it. Rather these are the by products of my change in perspective. It is that change in perspective tat allowed me to learn the craft of the witch, to hear the gods and spirits, to see beyond the world of our physical, every day life.
And there is NOTHING special about my being able to do so. Those that get inflated egos because they can see auras or astral project, or whatever are seriously deluding themselves. This is nothing special about spiritual path. What is special is how YOU incorporate and live it as part of your daily life. Do that, and you’ll understand all those “secrets” that the sages have alluded to through out the ages.
The “law” of returns
Wednesday, July 25, 2007, 11:22 PM PST [Musings]
This one comes up so often that I just had to blog on it J
Pick up pretty much any “magic” book and you’ll run into the idea or the Law of Returns, the Three Fold Law, etc. The idea is that what you put out comes back to you, which is straightforward enough, but then people insist on making it something complicated and mystical.
The idea that there is some power or other that is keeping a tally sheet strikes me as petty and absurd since divine energies (however you view them) should be above such human failings themselves. Does this mean there is no law of returns? Hell no!
It is indeed a law and it does exist, but it’s not enforced by any spiritual watch dog. It is instead enforced by the world around us, and some times that enforcement takes it’s time in coming or seems unfair. Let me make clear that that Law of Returns, as I know it to be, has NOTHING to do with being “fair.” The sooner people get over that notion the sooner they can get on with their lives.
The Law of Return is a very predictable product of living within a society. And no, it’s not found only in human civilisations. Go study wolf packs, whale pods or ant colonies to see what I mean. You see, when you live in a society, everything you do has the potential of impacting on others. Some times this is intentional and other times it’s unintentional. Regardless the result is the same. So if your impact is beneficial (you host a kick-ass public ritual followed by a potluck meal) people will think well of you and you will probably find that you are invited into the lives of others, strengthening your own little community. If, however, people have reason to distrust or even fear you (you’re know to start witch wars and throw around curses) then people are going to avoid you (if you’re lucky) or even take steps to make sure that you can’t hurt them or others.
I would like to share a story about the Law of Returns in action. I was driving into the city one day and this little red sports car came zooming up, driving like a dink and generally being both unpleasant and dangerous. I made sure to stay out of it’s way and watched it go past. A few blocks latter I rounded a corner and who should be pulled over with a police car behind him? That same little red sports car.
Getting pulled up and ticketed wasn’t my doing, it had nothing to do with any divine entity. It was very simple cause and effect. He broke the law, and he got caught. Not everyone does, but getting caught isn’t the point.
But what about those people that shitty things happen to? Lets use the example of a guy whose house burns down. It would indeed be the Law of Returns IF he’d done something like….fallen asleep with a lit cigarette in his fingers for example. It would NOT be an example of Laws of return if the house was struck by lightning and caught fire. But a related example of the law of returns would be if he was nice guy that was involved in the local community, so that same community railed to get denotations and raise money to help him get back on his feet. Or if he was a mean spirited prick, then the community would just go “tut tut” and ignore his predicament, leaving to the insurance agencies and others.
What we put out accumulates and effects how others (and our surroundings) react to us. And THAT is the Law of Returns.
Pick up pretty much any “magic” book and you’ll run into the idea or the Law of Returns, the Three Fold Law, etc. The idea is that what you put out comes back to you, which is straightforward enough, but then people insist on making it something complicated and mystical.
The idea that there is some power or other that is keeping a tally sheet strikes me as petty and absurd since divine energies (however you view them) should be above such human failings themselves. Does this mean there is no law of returns? Hell no!
It is indeed a law and it does exist, but it’s not enforced by any spiritual watch dog. It is instead enforced by the world around us, and some times that enforcement takes it’s time in coming or seems unfair. Let me make clear that that Law of Returns, as I know it to be, has NOTHING to do with being “fair.” The sooner people get over that notion the sooner they can get on with their lives.
The Law of Return is a very predictable product of living within a society. And no, it’s not found only in human civilisations. Go study wolf packs, whale pods or ant colonies to see what I mean. You see, when you live in a society, everything you do has the potential of impacting on others. Some times this is intentional and other times it’s unintentional. Regardless the result is the same. So if your impact is beneficial (you host a kick-ass public ritual followed by a potluck meal) people will think well of you and you will probably find that you are invited into the lives of others, strengthening your own little community. If, however, people have reason to distrust or even fear you (you’re know to start witch wars and throw around curses) then people are going to avoid you (if you’re lucky) or even take steps to make sure that you can’t hurt them or others.
I would like to share a story about the Law of Returns in action. I was driving into the city one day and this little red sports car came zooming up, driving like a dink and generally being both unpleasant and dangerous. I made sure to stay out of it’s way and watched it go past. A few blocks latter I rounded a corner and who should be pulled over with a police car behind him? That same little red sports car.
Getting pulled up and ticketed wasn’t my doing, it had nothing to do with any divine entity. It was very simple cause and effect. He broke the law, and he got caught. Not everyone does, but getting caught isn’t the point.
But what about those people that shitty things happen to? Lets use the example of a guy whose house burns down. It would indeed be the Law of Returns IF he’d done something like….fallen asleep with a lit cigarette in his fingers for example. It would NOT be an example of Laws of return if the house was struck by lightning and caught fire. But a related example of the law of returns would be if he was nice guy that was involved in the local community, so that same community railed to get denotations and raise money to help him get back on his feet. Or if he was a mean spirited prick, then the community would just go “tut tut” and ignore his predicament, leaving to the insurance agencies and others.
What we put out accumulates and effects how others (and our surroundings) react to us. And THAT is the Law of Returns.
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Picking Up the Slack
Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 08:51 AM PST [Musings]
Something I’ve come across and even joked with myself is the idea that we humans do our damnedest and then the rest is up to the gods, as though the gods will pick up the slack for us. However the other night I realized that the idea is in fact backwards.
You see, we START with what the gods give us, whatever that be, and then it’s up to US to pick up the remaining slack. And some times it SUCKS. But it’s YOUR life. No one has a responsibility to make it work except you.
So start with the gods and end with your own effort. It’s worth it.
You see, we START with what the gods give us, whatever that be, and then it’s up to US to pick up the remaining slack. And some times it SUCKS. But it’s YOUR life. No one has a responsibility to make it work except you.
So start with the gods and end with your own effort. It’s worth it.
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Spirituallity as self help
Thursday, April 19, 2007, 05:45 PM PST [Musings]
go look in your local bookstore or library and scope out the "self-help" section. its' pretty massive, if less then impressive. In this day and age we seem to have a never ending stream of woes. and of course there is always some self-proclaimed guru that has the solution, though the solution offered is rarely complete, but are meant to foster MORE dependence.
Can you tell I'm not a fan of the current self-help fads?
The thing is that self-help isn't a BAD thing. It's a growth process. And guess what, the ultimate in self-helpis once spiritual path. If someone is really serious about their path, it WILL result in growth, just because of it's nature.
But this isn't limited to pagan paths, or even theism. What this all boils down to is spirituality. Yet in Western Culture, spirituality is a very esoteric concept. Adan those that think they knew what it is, often get it wrong. Spirituality isn't' about gods. Nor is it about religion. So yes, an atheist CAN be spiritual.
Spirituality is about your connection to and understanding of your world. if that world involves deities, great. if it involved multiple realms of being, wonderful. But these things AREN'T needed. I really which spirituality wasn't treated as the realm of "the god touched." It's available to anyone willing to establish it. And when you establish your spiritual nature, you've started your path. And by walking your path your are GROWING.
So don't spend money on books that promise happiness in 7 Easy Steps, don't fork out butt loads of money for peep rally seminars. Look within and find what you already HAVE. Work with what you have and let yourself grow. Its not nearly as hard as we've been lead to believe.
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Where real magic comes from
Tuesday, April 10, 2007, 05:48 PM PST [Musings]
This came up on a shaman list I'm on. Some asked about how we see ourselves when journeying, that is do we see ourselves as we physically are? In my case there is very little difference between physical and mental image...unless I'm shape shifted of course :P
But it did get me thinking. For a lot of people there is a BIG difference the reality of the waking world and that of the magical realms. This is turn cases no end of problems, a very common example of which is failed spell attempts. Why? Because the working of magic, or the traveling of the various realms puts us in touch with what the new agers call "the true will" or that which we really are behind all the masks and socially acceptable layers. On the subconscious level we KNOW what we really want, but also what we really NEED in order to be happy and successful. It's only when those wants and needs line up that we can work successful magic. The problem is that they rarely line up.
Why? Because we humans are so very good at deluding ourselves. We can convince ourselves of just about anything, as long as whatever it is serves some purpose. But it doesn't just end there becuae we use the same ability with other people, convincing them of things whether it be that a set a designer jeans looks good on them or that the planned suburb expansion is going to be a good thing for the community or that some is a good person to trust with one's investment savings.....
So is it any surprise that we delude ourselves without even thing about it? Not really. However, the result is that if you want to be en effective witch you need to invest the time and effort into learning what your true will have to say about any given thing.
Your true will isn't going to do anything to hurt you, or to put you in danger. If anything it's going to work to keep you OUT of trouble. But you probably won't like discovering that your true will couldn't' care less about that guy you've fallen head over heels for. Or that you don't REALLY want your prick uncle to die so that you can get that inheritance.
It's not that the true will is your moral conscience, it's just very honest and pragmatic. There are often a dozen better ways to go about something then whatever you've convinced yourself is right. So instead of trying to get prick uncle's money through an inheritance, maybe a better way is to do a prosperity spell as start looking for a new job.
See, it's when we are in touch with the true will that real magic happens, because it's then when we stripe away all the expectations, all the fantasies and see what is truly there. The wonder of it is that what is under all that is itself utterly fantastic.
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