Stepping off the path

For some people, religion and spirituality are filled with solemnity and ritual.  Formality and rigidity comfort them, they require a script and/or a middleman to speak to their god(s) or goddess.  For some of us, spirituality is more intuitive and organic, it is in the air we breath and the stars that shine on us. Either method is fine, it is just a reflection of who you are and where you are on y our developmental path.

For me, once I embraced the idea that ritual was just a road map and that anyone could communicate with the Divine, if only they trusted themselves enough to try, I gave up most rituals and religion.  I no longer needed them.  As time has gone by, I have had many conversations with the gods.  Some have been intense and dark encounters.  Others as simple and natural as being a child in the Mother's arms.  The deities I know are filled with all things.  They are neither light nor dark; stern and patient as the moment demands.  They  have laughed at my frustrations, but it is never a laughter of superiority or malice; they challenge me to do for myself and they ask no for than I am capable of.  These deities are friends, parents, teachers, challengers, guides, tricksters and even lovers.  They are all that we are and have ever been and could ever be.  We reflect them, and they reflect we.  It has been affirmed, over and over again, that we all choose a path to walk, and that they will respect that choice.  If we accept them, they will be part of our lives, but they will not be dictated to.  Their help is not always what we expect and they do not exist in time the way we do.

Reaching out to the gods is not hard.  It requires no tools or rituals or initiations.  It does require courage and an open heart.  If you ask, and you hear laughter, do not be offended.  They are simply celebrating your accomplishment. If you feel fear, it is because they are challenging you to conquer it.  If you are met with silence, it is a message to ask the right question so that they may give you the answer.  Go ahead, stray off the path; you might even find it gets you where you're going faster if you make your own trail.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

May you find balance in your soul, happiness in your life and enjoy the bounty and beauty of the season!

Why it matters to me

It may be a bit counter-intuitive for me to spend so much time writing about politics and society on a blog developed to address spirituality, but for me, these things cannot be separated.  I am often filled with anger or pain when I learn about suffering or injustices perpetuated on my fellow humans.  After spending years of my life trying to drown out these feelings, I found myself numb to everything.  It is better for me to feel pain and sorrow and frustration than to feel nothing.

So, when I step up on my soap box and yell, I do so because my spirituality is tied intimately to the experiences of humankind.  I will no longer shut off my heart to prevent it from bleeding.  It diminishes me and it helps to create an illusion that we are unconnected. It makes it easy to refer to others in the abstract rather than the concrete.  It flattens  the human experience in all of it's richness and depth to a never ending sequence of random, unconnected events.  It cuts us off from each other.

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. -John Donne

Tears

Tonight Troy Anthony Davis was put to death by the state of Georgia. It may not matter to many people, but to me, it does. He was convited without any physical evidence linking him to the crime he was convicted of. Seven witnesses eventually recanted their testimony claiming that it was given under coersion. I was taught that letting a guilty man go free was far preferable than punishing an innocent man. Tonight has broken all of faith in the concept of justice. For several years, I have been writing letters and signing petitions in support of Troy. Tonight I sit here crying because justice has been perverted and a family has been torn apart.
His last words were a blessing to his executioners. May we never forget that a life was taken in the name of justice, but that justice, as it has been codified, was not served. May the souls of all innocent people everywhere be given peace. May we all never forget that all people who believe in the idea of justice must remain vocal critics of a legal system that disproprtionately prosecutes the poor, the powerless and on the basis of the color of skin and religion.

Laughter from above or below or whatever

"The gods too are fond of a joke."  -Aristotle

Have you ever made a decision and felt like you were being snickered at by the Universe? Or found yourself at the end of a long chain or seemingly random events that caused mayhem? Or maybe you are a devotee of Murphy's Law?  Yeah, me too.

Some divine beings are tricksters.  They are there to trip up the over proud and humble the haughty.  They delight in turn order to chaos and challenging the establishment.  Theses are the gods of creative destruction and destructive creativity.  Loki, Hermes, Mercury, Coyote, Raven, Anansi, Eshu, Brer Rabbit, Eris, Monkey are the names of a few.  They are the immortal teachers who do not mind getting a bit dirty or wreaking havoc if a lesson can be imparted.  They laugh at our careful plans, especially if we overlook the obvious.  They are not impressed with egotism or greed or any version of entitlement.  They will laugh when you trip yourself up, and help you learn to laugh at yourself (not to mention paying better attention to keeping your feet on the ground).  They will play the fool to teach kings, and they are the driving force behind the innocent mischief of children.

From time to time, I have heard the laughter of the gods.  To be honest, often I set myself up for it, but I am also learning to appreciate the lessons.  My ego has been deflated to more healthy proportions; I am learning spontaneity and the joy of laughter.  I see possibilities now where once I only would have seen destruction.  I appreciate order because I have known chaos, intimately.  When you are certain that everything is out to get you, take a moment and evaluate: are you being paranoid, or are you simply being steered into a much needed lesson?  Learn to laugh at yourself, because really, you'll stop being entertained that way.  You'll also decrease your chances of being the favorite target of these tricksters if you accept the lessons they teach and move on, which, of course, is it's own reward. In more ways than one.

Shadows of doubts

I woke up at 3:15 PST thinking about Troy Davis.  He is scheduled to be executed tomorrow, the Autumnal Equinox, bu there are serious doubts about his guilt.  In America, we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Several witnesses in the Davis case have recanted their testimony, but the State of Georgia will not investigate or stay his execution.

Whether he did or did not commit the murder he was convicted of is now a huge question. Add to the mix race and economic issues and you have a recipe for injustice and murder.  Take a moment to visit Amnesty International and sign the petition to save Troy's life.  We should all demand that the justice system in all countries be even applied across race, gender and economic lines; we should demand that corrupt and abuses of power be investigated and punished.  We should never execute an individual who may be innocent because it makes us all murderers.

Willful ignorance should be punishable

This volcano blew her top on Friday night.  The pyroclastic cloud has yet to dissipate.  It was all brought on by a chronic case of stupid that can't be cured because it's all willful.

It's one thing to not know something.  It's quite another to embrace that ignorance and refuse to remedy it and to also inflict it on others.  I propose that embracing ignorance should be considered the ultimate evil.  A willingness to learn, to change, to grow is healthy.  It cures many misconceptions, vaccinates against recurrence of ignorance and allows for better relations all around.

I don't know everything.  I don't claim to be an expert at anything (except maybe running my mouth), but I don't embrace my ignorance.  I may not really be interested in something, but I will learn a bit about it.  If I don't know something, I look for answer.  Being ignorant is curable.  Being willful stupid should be criminal (a fine and some community service for the first offense, fines plus public mockery for all further infractions?), especially when it messes with other people's lives.  It's damaging to us all when ignorance prevails in any arena.

Equinox- A good time to think about balance

The autumnal equinox is just days away.  My family will celebrate with a quiet dinner, some candles and the scent of fresh air moving through apartment.  I will also take time to offer bread and wine to the gods and spirits.  It is also a time of transition around the house.  Summer things will begin to be packed away, I will switch out the bright summer decorations in favor of pumpkins and leaves.  It's time to start pruning the plants and canning the harvest season's fruits.

Equinoxes are a time in which nature balances darkness and light.  It's a great time for you to work on dealing with imbalances in your life.  Contemplate what is out of balance, then make a resolution to address the imbalance, it doesn't have to be a huge, grand gesture; it can be baby steps.  The autumn equinox is also a really good time to begin any work you may need to do with your shadow self.

Autumn is a great time to perform craft based spells and embrace a bit of darkness in your life.  Deep colors and deep thoughts, candlelight and dark chocolate.  Preparation and transition are the themes of the season both in the inner and outer realms.

Happy Autumn Equinox, Mabon or Harvest time!