Saturday, August 25, 2007
Contemplation on Meaning
Life is not fair. Fair is a human concept and the cosmos doesn’t give one whit about it. Life straight up flat out is not fair. But it is purposeful and therefore, it is possible to both discover and create meaning in it. This is the purpose of humanity. We are the meaning-makers of creation. Human beings are resilient. We can survive almost anything except for meaninglessness. This kills our spirit. And when we live in a meaningless world it is because we have not exercised our Divinely gifted creative power, which is to forge meaning from purpose. This is the purpose itself of our Free Will. So that when the One looks at itself in the mirror that is our world of Creation, its reflection is not just a bunch of images—it’s a story.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Lammas Reflections
I know this is all so very late...but I do have some reflections coming from Lammas. Basically, it is this...
Back in Ye Olden Days...when things were not so good with a drought or the harvest (such as now) we might sacrifice a "king" in order to be an intercessor for us in the spiritual world. Willing sacrifice...not murder. And a connection was kept...tied to the community...I think through whoever his lover was. That's my feeling or intuition. This is an idea that is really not understood now. I think it's weird how people get totally freaked out by the idea that we would have someone who might sacrifice himself willingly to be an intercessor and save his people from starvation, but don't think it's weird at all for soldiers to "sacrifice" themselves by killing others and dying in violence. Society is strange.
So, this Lammas, before I could even understand the words (it took me a while to figure them out) I was compelled to learn "The Maid She Sat a Weeping." And then I was thinking about this and I was thinking that this is probably about the intercessory sacrifice. That's my feeling about it.
Steeleye Span has a lovely version...I think it's called "Once I had a true love." But they have some later verses and I think the first three are the only real ones that show up in most if not all of the versions.
The Maid She Sat a Weeping
Once I had a true love, but now I have none
Once I had a true love, but now I have none
He has gone and left me, gone and left me
Gone and left me in sorrow to mourn
Last night in sweet slumber, I dreamed I did see
Last night in sweet slumber, I dreamed I did see
My own darling jewel sat smiling by me
My own darling jewel sat smiling by me
But when I awakened, I found it not so
Yes when I awakened, I found it not so
My eyes, like some fountain, with tears overflowed
My eyes, like some fountain, with tears overflowed
Back in Ye Olden Days...when things were not so good with a drought or the harvest (such as now) we might sacrifice a "king" in order to be an intercessor for us in the spiritual world. Willing sacrifice...not murder. And a connection was kept...tied to the community...I think through whoever his lover was. That's my feeling or intuition. This is an idea that is really not understood now. I think it's weird how people get totally freaked out by the idea that we would have someone who might sacrifice himself willingly to be an intercessor and save his people from starvation, but don't think it's weird at all for soldiers to "sacrifice" themselves by killing others and dying in violence. Society is strange.
So, this Lammas, before I could even understand the words (it took me a while to figure them out) I was compelled to learn "The Maid She Sat a Weeping." And then I was thinking about this and I was thinking that this is probably about the intercessory sacrifice. That's my feeling about it.
Steeleye Span has a lovely version...I think it's called "Once I had a true love." But they have some later verses and I think the first three are the only real ones that show up in most if not all of the versions.
The Maid She Sat a Weeping
Once I had a true love, but now I have none
Once I had a true love, but now I have none
He has gone and left me, gone and left me
Gone and left me in sorrow to mourn
Last night in sweet slumber, I dreamed I did see
Last night in sweet slumber, I dreamed I did see
My own darling jewel sat smiling by me
My own darling jewel sat smiling by me
But when I awakened, I found it not so
Yes when I awakened, I found it not so
My eyes, like some fountain, with tears overflowed
My eyes, like some fountain, with tears overflowed
Done is Good
As of today, I am Dr. Hermione. WOO HOO!!! Sorry it has been a while since I have posted, but I have been very focused on becoming Dr. Hermione and finishing things up. What I have to say is: Done is Good. This has been my motto throughout.
There has been a certain amount of hurry up and wait, but I've been pushing hard. Now...on to the next adventure. I will be spending the next year trying to determine what I should be doing. I have been telling myself I wasn't going to worry about it until "IT" was DONE. Now that I am Dr. Hermione, Occult Librarian, I can begin this next academic year of thinking about what I am going to do.
So many, many possibilities. I am trying to figure out how to best be of service. What can I do to me of most use to the gods and the world(s). After all, there are many planes and many lives that we are interconnected with that are not necessarily apparent, but that we should be working with. We humans are "The Distracted Ones," as apparently we are known to some of the Fey. I think that is really, really funny. I think the most important use of our mental powers of discernment is to distinguish the Important from the Trivial. I know everyone always says to know the Apparent from the Real...but I think the other encompasses that as well. By the way, it isn't that I do this myself so well...but I am trying.
Here are some of the possibilities:
1. Stay at my current job where I have a decent salary, tenure, and can basically contain it to 40 hours a week and spend the rest of my time on spiritual activities including maybe publishing because I LOVE to write.
2. Try to swing a different position where I set up a Waldorf teacher training center within the context of a university specifically geared towards training PUBLIC school teachers in Waldorf style education and methods. Maybe an additional certificate or something.
3. Maybe with #2 or maybe not...try to establish a Waldorf Charter School in my area. We have broad choice rules and a lot of disadvantaged students.
4. Set up a parochial school for Witches based on a Waldorf model. That would be SO fun and is really tempting...but I'm not sure that there are really enough of us in this area to be able to support such a school. Wouldn't that be fun, though? A real education and a spiritual education for witches or maybe for pagans? Broaden it out.
5. Stay in my current field but pursue a higher level position. The danger there is that I will lose containment and...it just isn't my bliss.
So, those are the five options I'm kind of thinking about right now. I guess there is also the possibility of staying in my current job but teaching as an adjunct in another field...again, we would lose containment and I do need time to focus on my spiritual endeavors. What I really want to do is to have a job that directly supports my spiritual activities and where I can be of use. What I have right now doesn't get in the way of them...except for the time that it takes and, as a librarian, I have access to all the research materials I could want...but it also doesn't directly support it. We shall see.
So, that is my thinking of the moment. On to The Next Adventure!!!!
There has been a certain amount of hurry up and wait, but I've been pushing hard. Now...on to the next adventure. I will be spending the next year trying to determine what I should be doing. I have been telling myself I wasn't going to worry about it until "IT" was DONE. Now that I am Dr. Hermione, Occult Librarian, I can begin this next academic year of thinking about what I am going to do.
So many, many possibilities. I am trying to figure out how to best be of service. What can I do to me of most use to the gods and the world(s). After all, there are many planes and many lives that we are interconnected with that are not necessarily apparent, but that we should be working with. We humans are "The Distracted Ones," as apparently we are known to some of the Fey. I think that is really, really funny. I think the most important use of our mental powers of discernment is to distinguish the Important from the Trivial. I know everyone always says to know the Apparent from the Real...but I think the other encompasses that as well. By the way, it isn't that I do this myself so well...but I am trying.
Here are some of the possibilities:
1. Stay at my current job where I have a decent salary, tenure, and can basically contain it to 40 hours a week and spend the rest of my time on spiritual activities including maybe publishing because I LOVE to write.
2. Try to swing a different position where I set up a Waldorf teacher training center within the context of a university specifically geared towards training PUBLIC school teachers in Waldorf style education and methods. Maybe an additional certificate or something.
3. Maybe with #2 or maybe not...try to establish a Waldorf Charter School in my area. We have broad choice rules and a lot of disadvantaged students.
4. Set up a parochial school for Witches based on a Waldorf model. That would be SO fun and is really tempting...but I'm not sure that there are really enough of us in this area to be able to support such a school. Wouldn't that be fun, though? A real education and a spiritual education for witches or maybe for pagans? Broaden it out.
5. Stay in my current field but pursue a higher level position. The danger there is that I will lose containment and...it just isn't my bliss.
So, those are the five options I'm kind of thinking about right now. I guess there is also the possibility of staying in my current job but teaching as an adjunct in another field...again, we would lose containment and I do need time to focus on my spiritual endeavors. What I really want to do is to have a job that directly supports my spiritual activities and where I can be of use. What I have right now doesn't get in the way of them...except for the time that it takes and, as a librarian, I have access to all the research materials I could want...but it also doesn't directly support it. We shall see.
So, that is my thinking of the moment. On to The Next Adventure!!!!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Theological Summary
I just wrote a quick theological summary for a friend that I thought maybe I would share here. Very basic.
At the ultimate level, I am monist (believe in monism). Monism is the belief that at the highest level, all are one. All divisions are ultimately illusions. We are all drops in this mighty ocean. This is the level of the highest divine that is neither being nor non-being, has no attributes, and transcends time and space. In other words, ultimately transcendent and ultimately immanent. The Source of all that is ALL. Part of the philosophical understanding of this ultimate level of divinity is that once you say that something has attributes, then it is limited, and the Divine is not limited. Therefore I am not a monoTHEIST, because as soon as we say that this is a being, then it has boundaries and is not the ultimate. Paul Tillich called this level of the Divine the Godhead, as opposed to God. This is also the level of the Divine that the mystics from all traditions speak about when they say that they "lose themselves" and enter fully into God...in other words they experience their true and highest self as one and undifferentiated from the ultimate divine.
Now, once we are talking about manifestation - the world of differentiated awareness--then we say that the Divine is IN everything in Nature (Pantheism) and that everything in the world is alive, has a type of consciousness (although maybe quite different than human consciousness) and is, therefore, holy (Animism). Finally, although the Divine is in All and is ALL, there are many levels of beings, including beings (differentated beings that are have individual identity) that are more developed than humanity and that are more fully aligned with and manifesting the Divine within than we are. These beings we can call the gods (Polytheism). If you want to, though, you could call them angels or saints or whatever. The idea is that these are spiritual beings that we can relate to more easily since they are not so abstract. Furthermore, being spiritual and compassionate, they often do participate actively in the world as teachers, guides, and helpers for both humanity and other aspects of reality. I mean, we aren't necessarily aware of the gods/angels that are looking out for and trying to protect and guide various of the animal "tribes" or particular environments, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.
That would be my breakdown. I don't know if that makes sense or not...but there it is. This is the way I look at any religion. We, as humans, are not at this moment omniscient...so we're going to make mistakes, by definition. So, given that we are incapable of knowing everything, how can we determine what we should do and what our beliefs should be? I think you have to look at the effects of your beliefs and your actions on your own conscience and being.
Does it [action or belief] make you more loving, more tolerant, more kind? Does it give you strength so that you can face your challenges with greater equanamity and patience, again enabling you to be more loving, tolerant and kind? The same belief or action can be good for one person and bad for another...whatever that belief or action is. So, I think that evaluative decisions, given our limitations, have to be relative, but that there are some principles that guide them...the principles being "love, tolerance, kindness." I think that if we all though like this, the world would be a kinder place and that we wouldn't get so upset over a lot that is, in the end, quite trivial.
Perhaps the most important form of discernment is to be able to tell what is important.
At the ultimate level, I am monist (believe in monism). Monism is the belief that at the highest level, all are one. All divisions are ultimately illusions. We are all drops in this mighty ocean. This is the level of the highest divine that is neither being nor non-being, has no attributes, and transcends time and space. In other words, ultimately transcendent and ultimately immanent. The Source of all that is ALL. Part of the philosophical understanding of this ultimate level of divinity is that once you say that something has attributes, then it is limited, and the Divine is not limited. Therefore I am not a monoTHEIST, because as soon as we say that this is a being, then it has boundaries and is not the ultimate. Paul Tillich called this level of the Divine the Godhead, as opposed to God. This is also the level of the Divine that the mystics from all traditions speak about when they say that they "lose themselves" and enter fully into God...in other words they experience their true and highest self as one and undifferentiated from the ultimate divine.
Now, once we are talking about manifestation - the world of differentiated awareness--then we say that the Divine is IN everything in Nature (Pantheism) and that everything in the world is alive, has a type of consciousness (although maybe quite different than human consciousness) and is, therefore, holy (Animism). Finally, although the Divine is in All and is ALL, there are many levels of beings, including beings (differentated beings that are have individual identity) that are more developed than humanity and that are more fully aligned with and manifesting the Divine within than we are. These beings we can call the gods (Polytheism). If you want to, though, you could call them angels or saints or whatever. The idea is that these are spiritual beings that we can relate to more easily since they are not so abstract. Furthermore, being spiritual and compassionate, they often do participate actively in the world as teachers, guides, and helpers for both humanity and other aspects of reality. I mean, we aren't necessarily aware of the gods/angels that are looking out for and trying to protect and guide various of the animal "tribes" or particular environments, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.
That would be my breakdown. I don't know if that makes sense or not...but there it is. This is the way I look at any religion. We, as humans, are not at this moment omniscient...so we're going to make mistakes, by definition. So, given that we are incapable of knowing everything, how can we determine what we should do and what our beliefs should be? I think you have to look at the effects of your beliefs and your actions on your own conscience and being.
Does it [action or belief] make you more loving, more tolerant, more kind? Does it give you strength so that you can face your challenges with greater equanamity and patience, again enabling you to be more loving, tolerant and kind? The same belief or action can be good for one person and bad for another...whatever that belief or action is. So, I think that evaluative decisions, given our limitations, have to be relative, but that there are some principles that guide them...the principles being "love, tolerance, kindness." I think that if we all though like this, the world would be a kinder place and that we wouldn't get so upset over a lot that is, in the end, quite trivial.
Perhaps the most important form of discernment is to be able to tell what is important.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Onion Test
I am thinking a lot about the vegetable kingdom these days. The vegetable kingdom, in so many ways, embodies the reality of loving sacrifice. The spirits of the vegetable kingdom love to give of themselves and are amazing teachers.
One of the plants that we may overlook is the onion. Onions are FANTASTIC for absorbing "bad vibes." They can clean up the astral conditions in your home. I've been doing the "onion test" for a few days now. Basically, cut an onion in half and leave it out. It will absorb any negativity. You can tell how much there is in your place by how funky it gets. Fortunately, mine isn't too bad. It's probably a good thing to do on a semi-regular basis. YAY ONIONS!!!!
One of the plants that we may overlook is the onion. Onions are FANTASTIC for absorbing "bad vibes." They can clean up the astral conditions in your home. I've been doing the "onion test" for a few days now. Basically, cut an onion in half and leave it out. It will absorb any negativity. You can tell how much there is in your place by how funky it gets. Fortunately, mine isn't too bad. It's probably a good thing to do on a semi-regular basis. YAY ONIONS!!!!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I Love Crows
This past few weeks have been unusually hectic, leaving me no time to myself. But I have noticed one really happy change since I last wrote.
For those who do not know, West Nile Virus has been decimating the crow population. I believe Washington, DC, where I live, may be the hardest hit as 90% of the crows have died. This is a full blown crow holocaust.
This has been really upsetting to me (as well as even more upsetting to the crows). I used to have two crows that lived in the tree right outside my window and they would wake me up really early every morning. And I would get mad at them and tell them to go away. And then one day, right when West Nile began to hit and I didn't even know about it yet, my crows weren't there in the morning and I got really worried about them. I think they probably died and I was so sad that I had been mad at the crows and I want them to come back. They can wake me up whenever they want.
Crows can live for a very long time and are extremely smart. I had not seen a single crow in the District for a couple of years, where they used to be all over the place. About a month and a half ago, I started trying to think information about West Nile Virus from my research towards the crows...or, more accurately, towards the spirit of "Crow" but mostly I have just been trying to intensely wish that the crows will be okay and safe from West Nile and come back to the District and flourish.
Since the last time I wrote, I have seen or heard four crows. This makes me so happy. I love crows. So, if anyone else sees this and wants to think good thoughts towards crows, that would be great. While you're at it, think good thoughts towards the bluebirds (also being hit by West Nile) and polar bears who need more ice.
This is an important polar bear picture that I want to print out and put by every light switch.
Polar Bear Picture
For those who do not know, West Nile Virus has been decimating the crow population. I believe Washington, DC, where I live, may be the hardest hit as 90% of the crows have died. This is a full blown crow holocaust.
This has been really upsetting to me (as well as even more upsetting to the crows). I used to have two crows that lived in the tree right outside my window and they would wake me up really early every morning. And I would get mad at them and tell them to go away. And then one day, right when West Nile began to hit and I didn't even know about it yet, my crows weren't there in the morning and I got really worried about them. I think they probably died and I was so sad that I had been mad at the crows and I want them to come back. They can wake me up whenever they want.
Crows can live for a very long time and are extremely smart. I had not seen a single crow in the District for a couple of years, where they used to be all over the place. About a month and a half ago, I started trying to think information about West Nile Virus from my research towards the crows...or, more accurately, towards the spirit of "Crow" but mostly I have just been trying to intensely wish that the crows will be okay and safe from West Nile and come back to the District and flourish.
Since the last time I wrote, I have seen or heard four crows. This makes me so happy. I love crows. So, if anyone else sees this and wants to think good thoughts towards crows, that would be great. While you're at it, think good thoughts towards the bluebirds (also being hit by West Nile) and polar bears who need more ice.
This is an important polar bear picture that I want to print out and put by every light switch.
Polar Bear Picture
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Exploring Elementals by Painting
In DC we have several of those "paint your own pottery" places. I'm sure they are all over the country now. Anyway, I am in the midst of a project to explore the nature of the elemental spirits through painting pottery. Now, I am not particularly artistic, but I am playing around using some techniques that I learned at Rudolf Steiner College.
The nice thing about the pottery places is that it's pretty close to wet on wet water colors...a VERY forgiving medium. If you do something you don't like, just paint over it. So, each week for the past three weeks I have been going and painting a plate and trying to experience the essence of the elementals through the colors.
The main guidance that I got from my painting class at RSC is to trust the colors. Perfect Love and Pefect Trust. Trust the colors. You just start laying them on and see what arises. Once you see it, all you do is to to work with it.
So far, I've done a Salamander...not the amphibian, but the man of fire. I painted some fire and then a man of flames kind of came out of it. He really kind of formed himself. And then I did Sylphs...white forms on blue background. Here's the wildest thing about those. There is one that as I just splashed the brush down carelessly, a very delicate fully formed face was there. I certainly didn't make it. I don't have that kind of skill. The one I made looks like I made it. But there on this plate is a little Sylph with a fully formed beautiful face made up from how the background blue happens to show through the white. I also did an Undine that I have yet to see how she came out. She will be fired this week. Next week, gnomes.
My recommendation is that others should try this. It's fun and in both the Salamander and the Sylph, things came out of the process that I certainly didn't consciously intend, they were just there. They arose. It was a cool form of meditation.
Trust the colors.
The nice thing about the pottery places is that it's pretty close to wet on wet water colors...a VERY forgiving medium. If you do something you don't like, just paint over it. So, each week for the past three weeks I have been going and painting a plate and trying to experience the essence of the elementals through the colors.
The main guidance that I got from my painting class at RSC is to trust the colors. Perfect Love and Pefect Trust. Trust the colors. You just start laying them on and see what arises. Once you see it, all you do is to to work with it.
So far, I've done a Salamander...not the amphibian, but the man of fire. I painted some fire and then a man of flames kind of came out of it. He really kind of formed himself. And then I did Sylphs...white forms on blue background. Here's the wildest thing about those. There is one that as I just splashed the brush down carelessly, a very delicate fully formed face was there. I certainly didn't make it. I don't have that kind of skill. The one I made looks like I made it. But there on this plate is a little Sylph with a fully formed beautiful face made up from how the background blue happens to show through the white. I also did an Undine that I have yet to see how she came out. She will be fired this week. Next week, gnomes.
My recommendation is that others should try this. It's fun and in both the Salamander and the Sylph, things came out of the process that I certainly didn't consciously intend, they were just there. They arose. It was a cool form of meditation.
Trust the colors.
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