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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Lost in Religion

Am I slowly becoming an Atheist?

I have done so much research into so many religions, and still need to do more of course, and thought I found Wicca to be mine, but it's not really.  I hardly follow any of the holidays of esbats and my alter is in complete shambles.

Perhaps it is from pure laziness, but I think structured religion of any sort isn't for me.  I can feel the spirituality of the earth and plants, but I feel like I waste too much energy trying to connect.  I rather focus on my art and make it my religious experience.

by Purnima Koli
With this lack of motivation in keeping a traditional Wiccan calendar I think I need to stop wasting my energy looking for spirituality and just let it happen naturally though my art.  This could be a newfound magick for me, perhaps I just need to stop neglecting it.

I know there are witches out there who have no religious connection, perhaps this is the path for me, considering there is nothing invalid about perusing your art and making a soulful connection to the world, I find a special solace rather than panic in evolving my perspective on the many paths people take spiritually.

Honestly, the words, the practice, the calendar never sat well with me, but I tried and explored, however I feel hallow when I shallowly try and have decided to let my heart take me where I should be.

I will not stop posting, but the journey has changed.

Friday, November 9, 2012

The Disney Princess Example

by Lepidlizard
I've watched many Disney movies in my youth, and adulthood, and looking back I see the same themes presenting themselves, mainly, for little girls.  One of these themes was the dependence of a male hero to "rescue" the female protagonist.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were all tired examples of this theme.  Some movies, like Mulan, edge away from this damsel in distress and actually have the male protagonist follow the lead of the female protagonist, however, even in the more modern princess films the female was still put down by a male hero.

The Princess and the Frog was a story with a strong female character, Tiana,  who worked hard for her life and everything in it and it was snatched away from her just before she was turned into a frog.  Only after she collects a man does Tiana realize her restaurant business, even when the bankers said before they found another offer.

What did this story teach young girls?  You can work hard, but it doesn't mean you will achieve your dreams without a man to support you.

Many of the earlier Disney princess movies were subject to a nuclear family setting, but even the modern ones fall short to have a strong female character.

Another similarity throughout the films were the age of the girls:
Snow White-14
Sleeping Beauty-16
Cinderella-18
Ariel-16
Belle-16
Jasmine-16
Tiana-19
Rapunzel -18
Giselle-20

All of these girls were very young to even think about getting married.  Disney raised the age of marriage infatuation over the years, but the place for fairy tale romance pushes girls as well as the pressures of college and becoming a super woman to manage it all.

Even in the animated and live action movie Enchanted princess Giselle never has to fend for herself.  She tries to facedown the dragon, however, this was taken away from her by an overweight chipmunk. Giselle does make the decision to have a "real" relationship and she does sacrifice her child-like perception of love, but she keeps her 
by Raul654
princess magic to create  children's clothing.

Some of these reasons maybe why Disney decided not to do any more princess themed movies, at least for now.  However, the constant promotion of this image of what a girl should want from a young age cannot be healthy. 

There was room for the Disney girl in the past, however, as times have changed so must the franchise, especially if it wants to empower girls.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Has it really been a month?

It really has been about a months since I last wrote and I apologize for being so busy!  I had a wonderful-stressful Halloween (Samhain), but mostly due to decorating my house.  I added the photos to my Flicker account, so enjoy!

Again, I've been so busy with my art and trying to get back into school I haven't taken to time to focus on my spirituality.

For starters, crazy hoarding lady is gone, I no longer work for her and I no longer work with my original nanny family.  Their pre-schooler is going to school now and the mom decided to quit work and stay at home.  I hope the best for them.

I work for a new family now, two kids, 5 and 11 and I am happy with the pay and hours.

Right now I'm going to focus on my art until school begins, I'm starting the winter quarter, and I'm actually happy I'm going back to school.  My older sister, wants me to finish my Creative Writing degree, but I want my Early Childhood education units and to be certified so I can have a better job and then finish my degree.

It took months for the IRS to fix my tax paper issue so I could even go back to school, so there is nothing I could do anyway, plus I'm in good standing at the junior college and need the GPA boost to go back to state.

I'm not too worried about money, I'm content, but my sister worries.  I'm glad she worries because it will help me see through my already started degree.

Altogether, really busy, but it's nice to leave a little update, I miss writing here, but I have to promote my Etsy store too, and that can be a full time job.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Getting Married the Right Way?

by Ralf Roletschek


















I just read an article from Fox News, I know, already red flags going up right?  The title of the article was "Waiting Until the Wedding Night-Getting Married the Right Way".  

If you do read the article, the one I linked has added animated gifs, *snort*, there were some words I found to be absolutely hilarious.

snookered
schlepping
floozies
charlatans

I felt like I was on a blast to the past!  I also wondered if he used thesaurus on Microsoft Word to find "intelligent" words for his opinion.

Good for you, you waited for marriage.  But the ignorance spewing out of his mouth makes me shake my head in shame that you call yourself a Christian.  A person who, by definition, should be "Christ like".  

Jesus accepted everyone, from whores to tax collectors and called for people to love your neighbor.  Instead, this man decides to judge strangers he will never meet, focus on his "right" way of thinking, and criticize another married couple instead of enjoying time with his wife.

I understand everyone can be a hypocrite, but this man takes the cake for backsliding just by is pompous attitude. 

Marriage has grown and evolved over time and has not always been between a man and a woman.  There wasn't always Christian marriage sir, the Pagans had it first.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Busy Painting My Life On Etsy

Hi everyone, I know I haven't written in this blog in a while but here is why:

Alice looking at a cardboard tree.

Zombies Don't Eat Cows, will be shown in October at Great Bear Coffee in Los Gatos.

Rainbow City, avaliable on Etsy.

A present for my niece's birthday

Custom order for a friend.

I've done all of these paintings in the last few weeks.  I also opened an Etsy store, ADD Anonymous, and been working away on more paintings and sales.

I'm just so inspired and finally happy that I can't stop, however, I think I shouldn't ignore my audience, so I will be posting about my art here, as well as on my other blog.

My art is apart of my religious path and I'm just so happy I found a creative outlet.

Blessed be!

Monday, September 3, 2012

New Store On Etsy

I just opened up a shop on Etsy called ADD Anonymous, I don't know how much Pagan related items I will put on there, however, I'm really excited and open to any advice.

One question is gnawing on my brain; is it worth it to create a shop related blog?

I have so many blogs under my true name, but I always fall out.  This is actually my most consistent blog if you can believe that!


Two items are in the shop now and more will be on the way.  I'm going to create more and hope for the best.

If you are already on Etsy, drop me a line and favorite me, I will do the same because who doesn't need some positive karma.

Blessed be
to you and me.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Selling Paintings

I have some paintings on Craigslist:

Oh No Snow White!
20X24
Mixed Media
$75


Caution Zombies Ahead
30X26
Mixed Media
$75


Please contact me if you have any questions about the paintings.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dream: 3 Friends, 2 Dead

by INVERTED
I guess Mike and I were living in an apartment complex again full of plants in the center.  We were showing it to some friends, one I knew Mike F. and another one, who I thought was Venkat but I remembered calling him Hijab.  I remember the apartment was very open and full of sunlight.  I looked upward to another apartment I think it was 289, a man in a wife beater, black cap and baggy jeans yells at us.

He ran down the stairs to our apartment and stood outside the large window and took out a gun.  Bang, bang, bang; one bullet in Mike's heart, Mike F.'s head and Hijab's throat.  I grab the guy in a fit of tears and just scream "Why?!" over and over again.  I let him go and call 911.

911 leaves me on the like for half and hour and for some reason each of their wounds has a button on them.  I have to press them to keep them all alive, finally 911 answers, but Mike wanted to just drive to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital I couldn't keep pressing all the buttons, so Mike F. and Hijab die, but I'm keeping Mike alive while driving down the road.

Let's look at the main symbols, thanks to Dreammoods.com:

Apartment: refers to finical and emotional state

boyfriend: a reflection of your current relationship with your boyfriend

shooter/gun: confrontation, anger, potential, danger, victimized, targeted

heart: how you are dealing with feelings, love, courage, truth, romance

throat: issues with saying what you think, feelings and expression

head: wisdom, rationality, understanding, not seeing a problem clearly

911: do not fear asking for help
by Fletcher6

3: life, vitality, imagination, inner strength, trilogy

This was a strange dream, but I think I understand what it means.  I'm living a well adjusted life at the moment and even if something goes horribly wrong I can still have some control over the situation.  I chose who to keep alive, I think this shows my love for Mike over any other consequence.  This dream was awful and I woke up shaking, but there was a message to be seen.

My life is stable at the moment, but it can change and I need to be ready for it.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Christian Core Values

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing a woman who just wanted to pass the dream act, however, was voting for Romney, who opposes the dream act, because she disagrees with the Democrats core values.

Affordable heath care, affordable education, a balanced budget, green energy, pro equality for gay rights; really terrible stuff.  I'm not saying Obama is perfect, there were some bills he signed I found questionable, like making protesting a federal offense during certain political events, but I remembered how Congress passed the bill in the first place.

Every president signed questionable legislation at one time or another, like the wiretapping scandal, George W. Bush approved, but my question was, "What are Christian core values?"

I remembered what Jesus said: "Love your neighbor as yourself.", the second greatest commandment.  He did not say, if you agreed with your neighbor, only if your neighbor was straight, rich, or only if they were nice to you, just straight up love your neighbor.

The core value was plainly stated by Jesus, nothing about homosexuality, nada, and this was during an era where grown men were having sex with young boys.  Jesus wasn't passing judgment, he was about love and respect.

When I was a Christian, sometimes I felt the community was all about judging a person by how Christian they were.  I was even once told I could not be a Christian Liberal and was a person without morals.  Seemed to me some Christians needed to find what their true religious core values were before looking at mine.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Religious Manipulation

by JCWilmore
There are extremists apart of every religion from The Westboro Baptist Church to a Muslim cult found in Russia holding followers underground.

The NPR article reports children, ages 1 to 17, were held underground in an elaborate complex with their families with no heat or ventilation for over then years.

Thank the gods police found these families and now they are receiving medical care and hopefully the families will seek counseling to help through this mental trauma.

by Kareesa Tofa
Desperate people listened to this cleric and are now confused about what exactly was wrong with their thinking.  Fear was a powerful tool used to manipulate these families and it makes me sick.  

Manipulation corrupted religions in the past and it was no different for Paganism.  One example was how John Friend used his yoga studio and spiritual practices to manipulate women into being a kind of sex slave.

Of course the media sometimes explodes these scandals and also uses fear to manipulate the public into an overly questioning state.  This can be beneficial, but the lingering effects can be damaging to a majority of worshipers who just want to practice without prejustice.

People need to protect themselves from too good to be true stories from anyone about spirituality.  How?  Ask questions, if you feel uncomfortable voice how you don't and refuse to preform, read everything and don't drink the cool-aid.








Monday, August 6, 2012

Our Budget Has Changed

by Pen Waggener
I received an e-mail from one of my employers stating their budget has changed and they will no longer need me for the foreseeable future.

I don't really have any qualms about this, seven hour work days suck anyway, but what really bothered me was the jabbing text about how they haven't heard from me in two days.  Incorrect, according to my e-mail record I responded to their previous message in about twenty-four hours.  Reasonable and professional timing in my opinion, but there is more.

Last week I worked six hours, a total of $84,  she said she would mail me my check, she lost it in her diaper bag, after a week of me contacting her, she sent one e-mail and still didn't tell me where she sent it.

Honestly, I'm kind of glad I will not be called on again for a while, her home was chaos, she was unclear about what she needed from me half the time, I was scared to throw anything away, she was very over protective, I loved her kids, but she was too dysfunctional to work for.

It was good timing anyway because I want to go back to school and I'm not going to be able to work two jobs because of how much time it costs me.  Thankfully the school I'm going too offers online classes, so it will be a little easier.  Now can I just get my tax forms from the government?  Please?




Friday, August 3, 2012

Living Goddesses

by Clemensmarabu
Living Goddess is a documentary about three girls in Nepal who are possessed by the goddess Druga, also known as Kali and Taleju.  The youngest incarnation of the goddess is featured and her innocence juxtaposes again the Nepalese Civil War.


Being a goddess you meet perfection according to the religious bodies and advise the king.  These women and girls have power, however, because of the cultural and political sensitivity they are cautious about influencing anything against the king.


People came to the goddesses to ask for peace and blessings while they still incarnate human girls with wants and needs beyond the people who come to worship them.  The youngest still has the physical limitations of a child, but people depend of her spiritual strength to bring them closure.


by Manjari Shrestha
Being a goddess is an empowerment for the girl and family as well as a sacrifice.  When the young goddess does go out she knows she is a goddess; carried not to spoil her painted feet, an umbrella covers her body from the sun, her fine jewelry and garb sparkle under the sunlight, there is no denying she is revered.  But as she sits on her throne she becomes tired, board and wishes to play with other children, it's not denied to her, but she is sacrificing a childhood for blessings and riches.


All of these girls, before their first menstruation, make a sacrifice to the people in order to be an embodiment of peace and of a goddess.  A western equivalent could be any popular young female movie star who people choose to idolize and shower them with box office profits.


The worship of these girls in Tibet may be seen as ancient and strange, but in reality the differences between a young star here in the West and these girls are only in location and respect.  A Western star sacrifices her time, energy and childhood to preform for her worshiping fans, just as the girl goddesses do.


by Krish Dulal
Everyone worships something, but it's up to the person what and how they worship.  I think the Western world forgets the power of the female force and refuses to celebrate menstruation formally.  The Nepal goddesses are an open celebration of her eventual rise to becoming a woman through years of endowing her family with praise and money.


Westerners worship youth and ignore the transition from girlhood to becoming a woman.  I never realized there was any honor about transforming through puberty; it was dirty and not to be spoken about.  This practice honors it, like many native tribes all over the world did long ago.  Maybe the simple truth is this, honor the transition, honor your children and they can become well adjusted adults.




Monday, July 30, 2012

Beautiful People are Funny



Am I supposed to be somewhat sympathetic?  I don't know.  From images to plastic surgery people are constantly slammed with "I'm not good enough".


All you need is diet and exercise, this isn't always true, especially if you have a genetic disposition.  I think men have forgotten to make love with their hands, no their eyes.  Porn is great for a fantasy shot, but as for real sex, having a little fat cushions you for better longer sex.


I don't think America is sex obsessed, but I think America is image perfection obsessed, even when models are being air brushed everyday to meet this illusion of perfection.
Did you know this a Skin Firming cream?


The most terrifying cosmetic surgery is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and I'm not talking just about the back alley tie a six year old down and use a piece of glass, I'm speaking to women, who aren't culturally obligated, who want a "perfect" vagina.  I thought women were trying to stop FGM?


It's so culturally backwards I become shocked every time I hear it.  Unless I have a STI my vagina is just fine thank you very much.  I will openly admit my boyfriend enjoys eating me out and loves to squeeze every part of me.


Who told women the vulva they were born with is not attractive?  It comes down to money, how can the beauty industry make women feel so insecure about their bodies where they pay for a Playboy vulva?  This is the nightmare, we are living it as women, today, not 100 years ago, today.


I love this next video:




Love your tree, bush, breasts, feet, legs nose, down to your ten toes.  Margaret Cho faces this issue daily and she is skinny, but not because she obsesses, but she let go.  I try to just eat to live, enjoy what I'm eating and not just eat a Hershey's bar when I want chocolate. 


Even though I do not listen, even though I try to eat healthy, even though I have a loving boyfriend who loves every part of me in his way it still hurts me when I see the grotesque advertising to women about how they are not a woman unless you are whatever they are advertising.  I don't wear makeup, I'm about 15 lb. "overweight", I don't care to shop but I'm still a woman, just one not interested in feeling horrible about myself.


















Sunday, July 29, 2012

Quick Sick Post

Sorry I haven't written in a while, I've been sick and it's hard to have any energy to type up an engaging post.  Along with woking 5 days a week with two families and 4 kids (total) at 7 hours at least three of those days, I'm a little tired.  I do have posts on the way, but I need to finish them with photos, links and general content.

Thanks for reading,
Shadow Moon

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Abortion: Rewinding Time

by Ceridwen
I feel the American mind is going back to the 1950s when I hear Rush Limbaugh call Sandra Fluke a slut and again when Lisa Brown, a Michigan representative, uttered the offensive word vagina.

I don't like the word vagina, it sounds like a dirty word to say, I think my sexual organ should be called electra, but I forgetting the main issue, America, stop acting like the abortion issue is a political one.

An abortion is between a woman and a doctor; it's private, sensitive and a choice, not a political issue.  Even when people make it a political issue just think, how are my medical records any of your business?  The only reason this issue came up again is because of the medical advances available for premature babies.  I honestly believe life begins when a baby is born, until then, the life is just potential.

Unwanted children are a tragedy, but on a very strange note, aborting unwanted children did have a positive effect on the crime rates between 1985-1997.  Freakonomics has fascinating articles and a few podcasts on this topics pointing out how abortion reduces crime.  This is not just a policy for crack whores, but level headed college students who don't want a child now, but later have one.  Most women who have an abortion have children later, when their ready.

by David Roseborough
Doesn't a girl have a right to have a child when she is ready?  I think so, but with America still in the dark ages on sex education, abstinence please, is there any wonder why girls become pregnant as teens?  The rest of the modern world is laughing at America, why is America so scared of sex?  I blame the Puritans and their anti-sex ways.

American's do not want to admit women are having casual sex, abortion makes people confront the issue of woman's causal sex and American's do not like it.  It is an issue dealt with already, Roe vs Wade, learn from the past and move on.  Improve sex education for goddess sakes, teenagers are already having sex, make sure they are educated and have access to check ups and condoms.  Please stop this time travel nonsense and deal with the now issues of Americas sex education.


Saturday, July 21, 2012

Educating for the Future

by Southbanksteve
I am a product of the education system here in the United States and I listen to program after program on NPR only to realize the system does not benefit the children anymore.


Billions of dollars go into the US school system and unless a student is from a wealthy family or apart of a wealthy school, chances are he/she will have a severe lack in basic education.


California spends, on average, about $8,887 per student, this is about $260,000 going into the class room, $68,000, on average, goes to the teacher where is the rest of the money going?


When teachers buy their own supplies, work 70+ work weeks, have to pay off a master's degree where is the money to help they be paid for their time and energy in the classroom?  


Even though California is one of the lowest in paying per student in the public schools, a quarter of a million is still a huge chunk of change and if the teachers aren't getting it who is?


Obviously it's the infrastructure filled with janitors, secretaries, administrators, who take up most of the funding.  I'm not saying schools do not need infrastructure, however, it is far from streamlined considering how teachers have to buy simple school supplies like paper.


This is a monstrous problem in the system and I truly believe no one wants to deal with it.  charter schools can be better, but not always, however the greatest difference between a charter school and a public one is if the charter fails it's shut down, but if the public school is failing it receives more money.


How does that make any sense?  It sounds like an absent father who throws money at problems rather than go to the root of the issue.  I'm not saying looking into the school system will be easy, but it looks like the whole body needs a therapist.


by Stroble, David
Root causes for the issues pop up everywhere; teachers, money, parents, students the government, but I think we need to dig deeper to an older issue.  Placing similar age groups together, learning the same subject at the same time, different classrooms or no, has not  proven to be an effective teaching practice, honestly it is an experiment.  


To go to a more recent time, the 1950s, schools trained college bound students and blue collar workers on different tracks, but with the manufacturing leaving the US to countries like China this system is no longer valid.


The roots of the educational system are flawed and unless we rip out the old dying roots the system will just try to grow again leaving the education of the future no better than before.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Nuns vs Vatican

uploaded by Sporti


The most poignant question pertaining to this religious raking of nun was about the sex scandals surrounding the priests in the Catholic church.  Time and time again these sex offenders were left to teach under the ambiguous protection of the church, but these nuns are confronted with the fears as to how "'the church's interpretation of how we talk about God, interpret Scripture, organize life in the church — how have they been tainted by a culture that minimizes the value and the place of women'".

by José Cruz/Abr
Why I left Christianity in the first place was because of the suppression of women.  I never felt like I could be myself and follow the Christian faith, I think these nuns are hitting the same wall, but on a larger scale.

They wanted to provide services to the communities they but the Catholic church wants to control these nuns and black out their agenda of making women equal under the eyes of the church.

Again, the Catholic church was putting their image before the needs of the people.  Even in the assessment of the nuns their concern was not about how they were helping the poor;  "For example, the LCWR publicly expressed in 1977 its refusal to assent to the teaching of Inter insigniores on the reservation of priestly ordination to men" and that was the Catholic church finds important, the absolute power of the male priesthood.
by Gerbilo

Change comes slow, especially in the Catholic church, it took centuries for the Holy Bible to be interpreted into common English why should the equalization of women in the church be any different?  I hope Christianity grows from this, rather than shutting people who have a different perspective out.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Dream: Escaping North Korea

by Gilad Rom

I watched many documentaries about North Korea and every time I found myself in a more depressed state.  Maybe this was what influenced my dream a few nights ago.


I remembered being in North Korea with my boyfriend and there was a rally where everyone nearby was distracted.  Hundreds of people decided to escape during the rally with the help of an underground railroad group.


We traveled through a run down building and there was a chain link fence in the way.  Some of us, including me and my boyfriend, tore down the fence.  After the fence was removed the underground group started to celebrate and I said, "Why don't we enjoy freedom after we go over the fence?"  Everyone looked at me, stunned at what I said, but I went over the fence.


There were some themes in this dream and I went onto Dream Moods to help me interpret them:
rebel: stand up for yourself, take action
by Ksd5
I certainly did by escaping and speaking my mind to the rest of the escapees.


escape: escaping from restriction, running away from restrictions
Sense I cut the fence and escaped I don't think I was running away from my problems, but confronting and dealing with them by cutting them out.


foreign land: change, how did the country make you feel
Obviously, I didn't feel very secure and happy because I was escaping from North Korea.


boyfriend: an expression of what I feel about my current boyfriend
We were both escaping together, working together and escaped together, I think this was rather positive.


fence: unable to express myself
Sense I cut the fence I maybe cutting away my creative barriers.


group: a merge between different aspects of yourself
I don't remember anyone else with us when my boyfriend and I escaped, so perhaps my aspects were faceless because they were my collective will towards a goal.


by David Eerdmans
ruins of a building (building): self image has taken a blow, need to change, perspective is wrong
I was escaping from the impoverished country of North Korea and cut through the building to leave, so perhaps I am changing.


I think these were the most significant signs in my dream and now I see a recurring theme.  I wanted to change and took action to do so and escape a former life of unhappiness and supression.


This could be a recent as how I finally changed my career to a nanny rather than persue a writing career or even how I finally broke up with my x-boyfriend Brian about two years ago.  I needed a change and this dreams showed me I'm on the right track.


Any weird dreams lately?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Faith Healers

This is just a general opinion, I'm not targeting any specific faith healer.  On Paganspace.com there is a post about a young woman hurt by her mother when the mother asked her daughter not to pray to her fake gods for her health.  The topic leads to faith healing when more information reveals how the mother's minister tells her she will be healed by faith, not medication.


I'm no fan of over prescribing antibiotics, but when you have a chronic condition or a deadly one I don't think doctors are trying to kill you any faster.  There is nothing wrong with looking to faith to help heal you, but reputable herbalists and Riki workers will tell their patients to seek modern medical help along with their alternative testaments.


The statement may be just a legal nicety, but I believe using both alternative and Western medicine can aid in healing the body and soul.  Western doctors tend to treat the symptoms and find the cause later, perhaps a little spiritual guidance is what the mind needs when prospecting suffering and pain?  If yoga, riki, herbal remedies, meditation make you feel better why not try them?  

by Mysid
There is no harm in trying alternative techniques, however, if anyone tells you to ignore medical advice and says only they can heal you, roll your eyes and walk away.  Faith is one idea, but absolute trust in an individual who goes beyond simple assistance and into I'm the one territory is dangerous.  There are many people who just want to be healed and have their pain go away, but this want doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind.


Do not let people take advantage of your hope, it's yours, trust a few people with it alone because if it sounds unbelievable, it probably is.


Have you ever been scammed by a spiritual practitioner?

Monday, July 16, 2012

What are Pagans fighting for?

by Niusereset
I recently listened to Pagan Centered Podcasts (PCP) 214-216, 239 and 240 for help with my drama on Paganspace.net recently.

The drama was over and done with, but what did the confrontation mean in the longer life run?  The drawn out debate wasn't pointless, but I learned how to handle it better next time.  If someone has a personal problem with me I will try to keep it private, publically stating this of course and hopefully comeing to a resonable discussion off the flame war board.

I meditated on the point of me being a warrior for Luna and recieved a question back, "What are you fighting for?"  This question made me aware about how lost I was about where I need to be.  I can't just pick useless fights, I need to do something with my fighting spirit to help the community, not add fire to the drama.

People in general are drawn to drama, but what is the Pagan community fighting for.  PCP points out how Pagans hang on the tail ends of any universal ideal important to us; gay rights, religious rights, employment rights just to name a few.  The Pagan community cannot just take a backseat in other's protests, letting them do all the work while we cheer at the victory.

I'm not saying there aren't Pagans out there who don't stand up and take a frontal position in social protecting, but I'm concerned the larger community is complacent in preforming their occult practices behind closed doors.

However, if Pagans stay behind closed doors public pagan figures like Fiona Horne, Silver Ravenworlf, Edain McCoy and others will continue to sell a false history and money hungry image.  Even if you want to stay in the broom closet, like me, there are ways to take a stand in the Pagan community.  I write a blog, Brook Stargazer has a podcast and even just talking to individuals about your fatih can help bring about a change in perception about Pagans.

How will you change the Pagan community?

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Finding Nature in Urban Living

My little herb garden
I live in downtown in a large city surrounded by other cities.  There are nice parks around my home, but I wouldn't call them "natural" because they are constructed greenery for the eye.

I'm lucky that I have a decent size backyard where I can cultivate, but also let nature grow.  I have a garden and a few planters, but otherwise I just sow the seeds and let them sprout on their own.  Not everyone has this luxury and I recomend heading out to a local bike path, it may be the closest picture to a nature scene from a National Park.

If you want to create a little space for nature in your apartment, it can be a little more difficult.  Some buildings do not even allow plants or there isn't any space for them.  If possible you could always speak to your landlord and ask if he would allow a small garden for everyone to enjoy, unlikely, but there is no harm in it.

If your landlord says no, you can always plant a small herb garden in your kitchen window, just don't forget to water.  I have one outside my front door, it's close enough for cooking, but if I could fit the herbs in my kitchen I would have.

Also, there are local community gardens you could sign up for or just walk by and enjoy.  This will not only help the community, but add some vegstables and geen visuals into your life.  I've seen these pop up around schools and if people don't parpisipate they will just dissapear.

buckets of plants
I think having acess to nature is not only important for Pagans, but as a community as a whole.  I'm not talking lawns with immigrant workers mowing the lawn, but places where nature is allowed to be or even just a garden in the front yard.

I have asked my friends to plant with me in my large back yard to offer them a place to relax and some fresh vegstables.  Gardens and nature promote community and make the block look presentable for people just walking by.

What do you do to connect with nature?