Tonight is the first big Storm of the season. I love them for being big and furious and windy and rainy, but sometimes that love is in retrospect as in the moment I'm hearing what's landing on my roof and realizing that we are surrounded by trees many many times the height of our house. It is occasionally of small comfort that the house and trees have lived together for the last 50ish years without incident, but having had a tree miss a house I was living in when I was young, but taking out the deck not five feet away left an impression! Though being me, I slept through the event...
Sipping a glass of whiskey and seltzer on the rocks, thinking it's probably time to do my refresher reading before we meet tomorrow. I have a tendency to read through things and by the time we're supposed to discuss, I've read so many other things in the meantime, I can't remember if the thing that comes to mind to discuss is from the reading our something else any more.
The other night I actually got out my incenses and burned a bunch of it. There's something about sitting and watching the incense smoke drift and curl and flicker in candle light. Easy to trance out on. Sometimes in those moments it becomes clear what is the work that must be done. In addition to some thank you offerings, I took care of some other stuff too. Am thinking what I did might be useful to repeat a few more times as well, though it's more involved than what I usually do.
The rain is coming down so hard it's steamy in here. Perhaps because the heat's on downstairs. And they're calling to me from down there, so perhaps I will take temporary leave from the immediacy of this storm and rejoin it later. Reading can wait, sort of like the henna I was going to do tonight... But mud and no power can be a problem and the lights have been flickering too.
Showing posts with label homework. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homework. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Various Thoughts on Homework Questions
1.) Coven size -- benefits of a large coven is that the likelihood that you'll have enough people to make for a nice sized gathering for any particular even is better. Also, folks can break into smaller 'affinity' groups for the smaller group experience (men/women, folks interested in specific areas, etc). In my experience, a certain number of people are required to get and maintain a certain level of community momentum as well. Drawbacks can be that it's more difficult to get to know everyone (sometimes even find conflicts with some). With really huge groups, there is the possibility of getting lost in the crowd as well.
2.) Jaina Bee and I have been friends since we were 16 and I'd been following along with her process here and elsewhere. For a long time, this aspect of my life had slipped under. We moved into new space and it's... there's a lot going on here, and I started feeling like it was time to dig out. I was sort of mucking through a reintroduction, having lots of thoughts and questions, and when Jaina said, "hey, we're going to give distance aspirant a try", it seemed like the perfect thing to give the digging out a sense of focus and process. Honestly, the distance piece was a big piece of the draw for me. Between kids and work, I haven't got a lot of social energy or going out and doing things space, but I'm a night owl and tend to find that when I have space for thinking and through stuff is after most reasonable people are asleep. Also, initial forays into not nearly as well established attempts similarly made me think perhaps I would like to keep the 'safety net' of interaction online, at least initially. Now I sort of wish y'all lived a lot nearer, but I like feeling connected to people all over the place too, so it's all good. :)
3.) I schedule my time commitments as soon as have confirmation, and often significantly ahead of that if I think something might be coming up. Two kids with school events and swim team makes this imperative. I am pretty rigid about keeping scheduled events -- I flex my weekly gyrokinesis class once or more a month in part because I have teacher training and can (and should more regularly) do it on my own, and in order to fit CAYA in, that's the only way it was going to happen. In the absence of pretty compelling reason, I will be where I say I'm going to be, if it makes it on to my calendar though.
4.) Ritual -- Chrystal mentioned as part of ritual a potlatch that we both experienced at different times. Potlatch in the big house was SUCH a formative experience for me. And listening to Bill and Carla and Karen's stories around the campfire, and the big canoes. I miss them all so much. Jaina and I bonded at sixteen on the Indian canoe trip, the canoe that was taken out by the ancient madrona branch a few years ago. I still sing a mangled version of either a canoeing song or it might be a lullaby that Karen taught us. Such a tremendous honor that Bill was given these dances to share with us all. Such an amazing experience. I watched on the sidelines from 10-16, then participated in a couple when I was older. Cedar burning still triggers really strong, good memories for me. Deep soul food. And the art of the coastal tribes too. But ritual. That was a huge summer ritual, between the dances, the canoes, the salmon baked traditionally staked up around pits of cedar bark. There was the Sunday ritual of going to church (Lutheran) with my parents where I learned some sense of structured religious ritual, both in complex ritual, as well as how simple and stripped down the ritual could be and still be fairly profoundly meaningful. Now I have my daily practice, parts done in the morning as soon as I'm coherent enough to remember where I am in the recitation and parts done in the evening as part of my getting ready for bed, cleaning off the day, sending love, best wishes and gratitude out, and checking in/grounding. I do the Mothers of the New Time at full moon. I clean and sweep with intent at new, and burn down the remains of candles that are too far gone for their candle holders in a big ceramic plant dish. Sometimes I plan rituals, sometimes they happen spontaneously. Sometimes daily acts (cooking, cleaning, etc) are ritual acts, and sometimes they're just getting stuff done... Ritual is such a state of mind thing -- it sometimes seems anything in the right mind set can be ritual.
2.) Jaina Bee and I have been friends since we were 16 and I'd been following along with her process here and elsewhere. For a long time, this aspect of my life had slipped under. We moved into new space and it's... there's a lot going on here, and I started feeling like it was time to dig out. I was sort of mucking through a reintroduction, having lots of thoughts and questions, and when Jaina said, "hey, we're going to give distance aspirant a try", it seemed like the perfect thing to give the digging out a sense of focus and process. Honestly, the distance piece was a big piece of the draw for me. Between kids and work, I haven't got a lot of social energy or going out and doing things space, but I'm a night owl and tend to find that when I have space for thinking and through stuff is after most reasonable people are asleep. Also, initial forays into not nearly as well established attempts similarly made me think perhaps I would like to keep the 'safety net' of interaction online, at least initially. Now I sort of wish y'all lived a lot nearer, but I like feeling connected to people all over the place too, so it's all good. :)
3.) I schedule my time commitments as soon as have confirmation, and often significantly ahead of that if I think something might be coming up. Two kids with school events and swim team makes this imperative. I am pretty rigid about keeping scheduled events -- I flex my weekly gyrokinesis class once or more a month in part because I have teacher training and can (and should more regularly) do it on my own, and in order to fit CAYA in, that's the only way it was going to happen. In the absence of pretty compelling reason, I will be where I say I'm going to be, if it makes it on to my calendar though.
4.) Ritual -- Chrystal mentioned as part of ritual a potlatch that we both experienced at different times. Potlatch in the big house was SUCH a formative experience for me. And listening to Bill and Carla and Karen's stories around the campfire, and the big canoes. I miss them all so much. Jaina and I bonded at sixteen on the Indian canoe trip, the canoe that was taken out by the ancient madrona branch a few years ago. I still sing a mangled version of either a canoeing song or it might be a lullaby that Karen taught us. Such a tremendous honor that Bill was given these dances to share with us all. Such an amazing experience. I watched on the sidelines from 10-16, then participated in a couple when I was older. Cedar burning still triggers really strong, good memories for me. Deep soul food. And the art of the coastal tribes too. But ritual. That was a huge summer ritual, between the dances, the canoes, the salmon baked traditionally staked up around pits of cedar bark. There was the Sunday ritual of going to church (Lutheran) with my parents where I learned some sense of structured religious ritual, both in complex ritual, as well as how simple and stripped down the ritual could be and still be fairly profoundly meaningful. Now I have my daily practice, parts done in the morning as soon as I'm coherent enough to remember where I am in the recitation and parts done in the evening as part of my getting ready for bed, cleaning off the day, sending love, best wishes and gratitude out, and checking in/grounding. I do the Mothers of the New Time at full moon. I clean and sweep with intent at new, and burn down the remains of candles that are too far gone for their candle holders in a big ceramic plant dish. Sometimes I plan rituals, sometimes they happen spontaneously. Sometimes daily acts (cooking, cleaning, etc) are ritual acts, and sometimes they're just getting stuff done... Ritual is such a state of mind thing -- it sometimes seems anything in the right mind set can be ritual.
Monday, May 12, 2014
April Homework
In your journey in finding a coven or a Pagan organization to join what are some of the things you personally are looking for in a group. What are the things you watch out for. Please write a summary on each.
- I'm looking for a group of generally like (but open) minded folks who are diverse, yet traveling a similar-ish non-mainstream spiritual path. I think I'd be merrily on my solitary way, except for Jaina speaking so highly of the inclusiveness of this group, and thinking it would be nice to travel this path with some like-minded folks for a while. I'm also looking for a group that allows me a significant amount of autonomy in my practices as [working, parent] put my "me" time to where I can fit it in between that whole working, homework, school events, extracurricular activities, etc stuff. I also really like online communities -- the whole sense of Indra's net connecting bells or jewels that ring/shine all over an extended geographic community.
- What I watch out for -- "True Believers"- anyone whose way is The Way. Like one of Indra's jewels, I believe we all facet/reflect/refract the Universe's experience in a unique way. What works for one sometimes works for others, but it can't be an assumed "universal" experience because we're all coming to each experience with our own histories, cultures, interests, and connections to the Universe. I watch for other intolerances as well. As I get older, my yellow flags of caution have played out often enough to be red flags that I'm taking any flagging of slow down/caution as srsly caution, and needs substantial justification rather than 'that's interesting, I'll have to keep an eye on it..."
Fun Question! Yet a serious one. If you would form your own/new coven today. What will be the focus of the coven and why?
- I think if I were to form my own/new coven, it might try to look very similar to what CAYA looks like in terms of inclusive diversity of paths, tied to my answers to Chapter 4 questions. It's possible that coordinating disparate geographic locations for ritual might play into that somehow as well...
I would like you to take time and think about your ideal coven meeting place. Will it be in a forest? Or at a friends house? Or every place just seems right. Please share your thoughts of your ideal meeting stop.
- My favorite gatherings have been fairly spontaneous outdoors events. There is something very comfortable and connecting about being outside. I find inside not to be quite as connected, perhaps a stronger influence of "civilized" that makes it more difficult for me in a social, "civil" setting to access that part of me which is pretty gleefully feral. That said, I'm pretty comfortable online as well.
Friday, April 11, 2014
March Homework
(Answering questions not captured here)... Starting with the thing I think I want to prioritize as most important first:
3. Recognition that we all have our own personal practices and beliefs, that we all bring something unique to the table to share that the rest of us can learn from, enjoy vicariously if we can't/don't access The Universe, God/dess/es, Kami, Devas, Loas (and respectfully All The Rest) in the same ways our fellow travelers can/do is a powerful reminder that we are strengthened through our diversity. In building out strong groups of people, one looks to balance one's weakness (not quite the word I'm looking for) with others' complementary strengths -- why should spiritual practice be any different?
1. My idea is that witch is defined by the person claiming the title. A coven is a group of people who choose to practice/celebrate together. I feel that many very effectively dismiss a broad swath of witches with 'western Europe' and '="Wicca"' in a way that I find pretty disrespectful, right off the bat. I don't care if a root worker or shaman or anyone else and/or self-identifies as a witch. I tend to think of witch as one who works in liminal spaces, outside a context of 'mainstream', I think you can be a witch and not a pagan and vice versa or both/and. Some witches have a tendency to ritualize intent to accomplish something which then is followed by significant elbow grease to get the job done (and now and again The Universe kicks us a freebie that makes us look/feel good).
2. The code of ethics, down with it conceptually. The framing of this in pseudo/archaic language and framing sets my teeth on edge, possibly irrationally so. It makes it significantly more difficult for me to take seriously. Possibly why I haven't bought any books on the topic matter save one or two on recommendation from deeply trusted friends in a long time... There's so much tooth on edge to wade through to get to what are often pretty useful ideas and practices. Perfect love and perfect trust... Somehow either I managed to entirely tune this out until the teen witch phenomena of the mid-90's or glossed over it because gleefully anti-authoritarian solitary reasons. Gonna roll with 'assume the best' and move right along!
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