Month: May 2008

Blue Chakra Redux…

On By PaxIn Cross-roads, everydayLeave a comment

So, as I posted recently, I am trying to speak my mind and offer up my honest opinions rather than sitting and/or stewing in silence… among other things.

 

 

In speaking (or in this case e-mailing) my mind recently I have had the realization that I have some very strong ideas of how public rituals should be structured and how some Pagan community organizations should operate/interact with and within their communities.  These strong opinions are at a point where they almost obligate me to stand up and start doing… in the form of working on/with public rituals in my community and/or working on/with/within my local Pagan community.

 

 

I could back down, sit down and shut up.  Goddess knows it would be easier and less fraught with potential for drama and disappointment and frustration! 

 

 

It would not, however, be striving for my highest ideals… darn pesky things ideals!  They complicate things, and obligate us to move from the realm of thought to the realm of action.  Is this an “As Above, So Below.” moment?  I know, or more accurately I fear, that with action comes risk and uncertainty.  However with action one can also find resolution, completion.

 

 

Now … how to go about it?  Better question… how to follow through with these ideas and ideals whilst wrestling with my current career and family obligations?  Now, I realize that this question is something a whole lot of folks wrestle with, especially folks of faith who wish to be involved in their faith communities.  It’s still darn intimidating though, especially at the beginning.

 

 

One thing I know I need to do is to get my A.D.D-blessed-self a day-planner!  More organization certainly would not hurt!  Niether would it hurt to remember to communicate in openness and honesty (I can almost hear my dear friend Phoenix chiming in with “Don’t forget tact, Pax!”) with folks in my community, and with my friends from all over.  I have a lot of things I need to start doing in my life and juggling all of them is something I know I am capable of, even if it does seem or feel difficult.   

 

Funny though, I didn’t have as much trouble at school…  On the other hand, School was all about short term goals and I had to fit myself to the structure, which for A.D.D. blessed little old moi is easier than coming up with one on my own. 

 

 

Perhaps I should be meditating on Balance?  Casting spells for Prosperity?  Praying for Guidance?  Or D) All of the Above?!?

 

 

Well, at least my throat chakra seems to be flowing better…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A few thematic links…

 

 

7 Habits Article

~ I haven’t read the book yet, but I have found this handy article about the 7 Habits. 

 

 

FranklinCovey Planners

~ I will probably be starting at my local bookseller and maybe move up to FranklinCovey later, but this site has given me some inspiration for what I need in a personal organizer.

 

 

Time Management Guide (dot) Com

~ A whole lot of wisdom and ideas about time management.

 

 

Perfomance, Learning, Leadership, & Knowledge

~ A fascinating personal website of essays and articles

For Cat… Libations on Memorial Day

On By PaxIn Chrysalis, Cross-roads, Honoring the Heroes, Memorial Day, Religio-Americana, remembering2 Comments

Don’t give me your ideas on Pagan life, my sisters and brothers. I have ideas enough of my own. And don’t give me answers, because ours is a religious movement with hundreds of answers, thousands of answers.

Give me your experience. Give me the marrow and the meat of your spiritual life. Because, unless you write it down, no one else ever will. Only from you can I receive this gift: your own lived Pagan journey.

~~~~~ From Cat-Chapin Bishop‘s guest collumn at The Wild Hunt Blog

 

I had had great ideas for my Memorial Day Rite.  A full Witches Circle, interweaving readings from the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights with the invocations of the Goddess and God of Witchcraft, as well as the invokations to Hekate and Dionysus, and, of course, the invocation to the Heroe’s.  The Honored Dead who have given their lives for my freedom and safety.

 

Work, however, intervened.  As it has so often of late, leaving me exhausted, and my ankle throbbing, every step a trial.  A part of me wanting to go to bed and to do something truly worthy of the occassion the next day (today) when I had the time and energy.  Another part of me feeling, knowing, that the proper time was now, on the day when so many minds and hearts are thinking of the Honored Dead.

 

I hobbled through the house, having sat for a long time with my leg up and my ankle feeling a lot better.  I found a large glass, poured some newly opened wine into it, and went out into the back yard.  Despite the warmth of a Florida Summer evening it was just breezy enough to feel comfortable out doors.  Crickets and/or tree frogs thrumming in the distance.  I had turned the string of lights around the patio on, and then went out the screen door.  Walking on some stepping stones I stood in the darkness of the yard, outside the screens of the patio and pool, outside the circle of lights, on the edge of the everyday.

 

First I pour for the Lady and Lord of Witchcraft! ~wine is poured~

Now I pour for Dionysus ~wine is poured~

And for Hecate ~wine is poured~

Now I raise my glass for the Heroes.  Those Honored Fallen who have given their lives for my safety and freedom, those who have served and died for my Nation.  Blessed Be.

 ~Wine is poured, and the last of it is raised again in a silent toast and I drink it from the glass~

 

Then I went inside.

 

The Mystery of it is trying to pinpoint where these simple words and actions became a moment of communion with the Divine and the Fallen.  When few moments in my back yard transformed into gnosis, and magick.  When I started the words a part of me was feeling down, because I wanted to do so much more.  At some point as I spoke to the Gods and poured the Libations… that… something… happened, that should happen in all rituals; where the sum of the words and actions adds up to much more that the sum of their parts.

 

My simple Libations to the Goddesses and Gods of my heart were enough.  My stumbling if heartfelt words of thanks to the Honored Dead were noticed and, I think, appreciated.

 

That strange alchemy where you are trying to live and honor your beliefs and somehow, in someways in spite of yourself, you experience a moment of Gnosis, of Truth, of Right Action, that leaves you humbled, and heart warmed.

 

Peace,

Pax

I’m Rockin’ the Vote, Baby!!

On By PaxIn everydayLeave a comment

So I’ve registered to vote in my new county.  Or at least I used the Rock the Vote system that lets my set up my voter application form for whatever State in the U.S. I happen to live in.

 

Here’s a few interesting facts I found at the RTV site…

~~~~~~~~~

  • 4,039 Americans have been confirmed killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.  An estimated 47,677 Iraqis have died since the Shiite-led government was announced in April 2005.  Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
  • One in three African American men will be imprisoned in their lifetime, compared to one in five Latinos and one in twenty Caucasian men. In 2004, one in twelve African Americans were denied the right to vote because of a felony conviction.   US DOJ and DrugWarFacts.org
  • According to 2007 reports, adults ages 20-24 have the highest rate of unemployment in the country at 8.2%, more than twice that of the national average.  They are followed by 25-34 year olds at 4.7%. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • As of 2007, 13.3 of the 45 million Americans who lack basic health insurance are between the ages of 19 to 29.  The Commonwealth Fund, August 2007
  • Glaciers are now melting twice as fast as they were in 2004, threatening fresh water access for people in the Himalayas, Andes, and the Western United States.  UN Environmental Programme
  • Food prices are rising all over the world, causing riots in Egypt and the Philippines, and forcing a record-high 28 million Americans to rely on food stamps. NY Times March 2008
  • Today an average student will graduate with twice as much debt as a student ten years ago; today’s average job pays less than it did ten years ago. Campus Progress
  • The Iraq War is expected to cost tax payers $3 trillion.  With that money we could give Medicaid Level Health insurance to every uninsured American at $3,067 per person.  Or we could buy 142 million Americans energy-efficient hybrid cars. Or we could send 20 million students to college. www.3trillion.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rest, Renew, Recharge…

On By PaxIn everydayLeave a comment

I am in an inbetween sort of mood.  I am feeling a little under the weather and spent much of my day off today asleep.  All of my writing and spiritual work is kind of in limbo, of late, Work and Sleep are the dominant modes for me right now.

 

I feel strangely like November…  A sensation of turning inward that I used to associate with the comming of Winter and the long nights in Alaska.  Appropriate, I suppose as I enter the depths of Summer here in Florida. 

 

Peace,

Pax

My Battlecry!

On By PaxIn everyday, Its called humor...Leave a comment

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Skulking over the fields, brandishing a mighty sword, cometh Geoffrey! And he gives a vengeful roar:

"I'm going to smash you until you have puppies!!"

Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings :

powered by monkeys

 

Or, if I use my Unitarian Jihad name...

 

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Prowling through the freeway, carrying a burning branch, cometh Brother Dagger Of Desirable Mindfulness! And he gives a spectacular grunt:

"Hail the blood-letting! I lay waste to the landscape like a mad dog who can only get madder!"

Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings :

powered by monkeys

>blink, blink<

<Evil Laugh>

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha~"
 

</Evil Laugh>

 And here's where you can get your own!

http://chaz.bdmonkeys.net/battle.php?

 

 

 

 

 

Ennui and Inspiration

On By PaxIn Chrysalis, everyday, remembering1 Comment

Merriam Webster on-line defines “Ennui” as

“A feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction.”

Well, I’ve been feeling a lot of it lately.  Great big heaping gobs of it.  It’s not as if I don’t have things to be doing, to keep me busy, or goals to work on.  I am working on some projects to develop my Hospitality and Restaurant Management career, I have a number of writing projects, and I am working on my spiritual and religious development through a variety of projects and meet-ups.  Still, I have felt, Bleagh!  Why bother?  Not so much a dark self-defeating voice of fear as much as a desire to do little except sleep and stare into space.

 

I sometimes wonder…  My family and I look at my Mom, and her alcoholism, with 20/20 hindsight and see it not as her core problem, but as the symptom of years of depression.  I sometimes wonder if this, too, is an inheritance I have from her, as well as a keen mind and an occasionally addictive personality.

 

Last night I was sitting near the pool, watching my Partner swim around and telling him I wasn’t feeling like swimming when the wind changed.  I took a deep breath and there, flittering into my fore-brain on the winds of intellect, having flown over the ocean of intuition, was a quote from the Al-Anon daily affirmations…

 

“Just for Today ~ I will do 2 things I don’t want to do – just for exercise.”

 

…actually it’s part of a larger affirmation about exercising your soul in 3 ways.  But, here at least, that’s not as important as the realization I had that there have been a lot of things I have been hesitating to do, and especially say, because I have been afraid of the hassles or backlash associated with the saying of them.  Anytime, recently, when I have meditated on my Chakra’s there has been this big blockage or sense of stumbling at the throat chakra… ?hello? … communication issues anyone?

 

So in the short term I climbed into the pool and swam around a little.  In the long term I am getting off my butt and speaking my mind, with some careful thought beforehand, but no more wallowing in what’s-the-point-itis!

 

I swear…, I had better start giving daily prayers of thanks to the Goddess and God of Witchcraft, and the other Gods I honor, for being gentle with me and not just hitting me with a clue-by-four!

… or was last night my clue-by-four?!

 

Well, here are a few things I am going to be taping copies of to my bathroom mirrror, to remind me and to keep me inspired…

 

Peace,

Pax

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Affirmations from Al-anon…

(Not a bad beginning on a daily practice)

 

 

Ø      Just For Today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle all of my problems at once.  I can do something for 12 hours that would appall me If I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

Ø      Just For Today I Will Be Happy.  This assumes to be true What Abraham Lincoln said, that “…most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be”

Ø      Just For Today I will adjust myself to what is, And not try to adjust everything to my own desires, I will take my “luck” as it comes and fit myself to it.

Ø      Just For Today I will try to strengthen my mind.  I will study. I will learn something useful.  I will not be a mental loafer.  I will read something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.

Ø      Just For Today I will exercise my soul in 3 ways;

                               I.      I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; If anyone knows about it, it will not count.

                            II.      I will do 2 things I don’t want to do – just for exercise.

                         III.      I will not show anyone my feelings are hurt; They may be hurt, but today I will not show it.

Ø      Just For Today I will be agreeable.  I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, keep my voice low, be courteous, criticize not one bit.  I won’t find fault with anything, nor try to improve or regulate anybody but myself.

Ø      Just For Today I will have a program.  I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it.  I will save myself from two pests; hurry and indecision.

Ø      Just For Today I will have a quiet half-hour, all by myself, and relax.  During this half-hour, sometime, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.

Ø      Just For Today I will be unafraid.  Especially, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Desiderata

            By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

 

 

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Daily Prayer 1

Pax / Geoffrey © 2004

 

Mother Celestial and Father Divine,

Let me walk in Strength and Beauty,

Let me exercise both Power and Compassion,

With both Honor and Humility,

Let me always remember Mirth, as well as Reverence,

That I may be worthy of Thy Perfect Love and Perfect Trust,

And that of those in whose hearts you dwell,

Blessed Be,

So Mote It Be.

 

 

 

Daily Prayer 2

Pax / Geoffrey ©2006

 

Father Celestial and Mother Divine,

Let me embody, and evoke from, within myself

The Bravery and Confidence,

To act with Your Inspiration.

Help me to not fear to move forward,

And if I occasionally stumble then so be it.

At least I will be moving forward,

And I can always get up,

Dust myself off,

And continue forward,

Towards happiness and success.

Blessed Be,

So Mote It Be.

 

Blessed, Blessed Month of May!

On By PaxIn BeltaineLeave a comment

Summer is here!

The heat of the days and nights are slowly creeping up into the 90’s and the humidity will soon roll in off the Gulf and we in Central Florida will see what the Atlantic winds bring.  The pool has been cool and refreshing, as opposed to the brisk slap of cold that it was hovering around earlier in the year.  The Crape-myrtle has come to life and the Live-oaks have stopped dropping their leaves… mostly.  Birds fly about and ants and spiders have been making their appearances.  The gecko’s have learned to avoid the screened in patio as our cat has become a mighty hunter.

 

I find myself fantasizing about gardening and what I would do with our property, were it ours and not a rental.  Although I am debating the idea of (if the lease allows) putting in a vegetable garden.  Thoughts of the gardens of my childhood home dance with ideas I have read in books and some of the ideas I have gotten at some of the botanical gardens here in Florida…

 

Anchorage, Alaska, my childhood home, is known as (among other names) the City of Flowers because of the riotous enthusiasm Alaskans bring to their garden beds and planter boxes and baskets as Winter and Spring Break up let go and the short but spectacular growing season begins.  Here in Florida, well, as I’ve said there is always something in bloom… fruit and flower seem to my Alaskan attuned eyes to intermingle at whim.    There are rythms here, and slowly I am begining to attune to them and learn the Mysteries of Natures Rythms here in my new home.  The ebb and flow of the seasons and the tides of time and so many other secrets seem just around the corner.

 

 

What can we Do?

On By PaxIn An Important Message..., Cross-roads, Food for Thought, Honoring the Heroes, Religio-AmericanaLeave a comment

This was a question that popped up on the Spells-for-Democracy list recently.  Here, edited for wider relevance, is my response…

 “Looking at the key question, “What can we do?”… it
seems to me that the best thing we can do is to call on those who
have lived for, and died for, democracy in the United States.

We can call on our Spirits and Ancestors. We can call on the
Founding Fathers to aid in breathing inspiration into our elected
officials. We can call on the Honored Dead of our Nation to guard
and guide our soldiers acknowledging that while we Honor the Fallen
of our Nation in our hearts we do not wish to see their ranks
increased.

We can invoke Liberty and Columbia and Uncle Sam in our rites.

We can in sacred space read from the Constitution, and the Bill of
Rights, and work that our words might reach every ear and heart in
our nation.

I would suggest going to Pagan Religious Rights (dot) Org and
clicking on the Ritual link, and read the essay Celebrating Religous
Freedom by Diana Paxson…

http://www.paganreligiousrights.org/index.htm

I can also reccomend signing onto and reading some of the essays in
the links at the Religio Americana list….

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/religio-americana/

just a few thoughts,
Pax”

Beyond the Magick of spells and ritual, I believe that any responsible pagan citizen owes it to themselves to educate themselves about what is going on here in the U.S., to that end here are some useful and educational links….

 

Charters of Freedom ~ a website from the U.S. National Archives

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html

 

 

Our Documents ~ a U.S. Historical Documents Website

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/

 

 

Thocracy Watch ~ TheocracyWatch is a partner project of the
CRESP Center for Transformative Action at Cornell University

http://www.theocracywatch.org/

 

 

First Freedom First ~ First Freedom First is a joint project of The Interfaith Alliance Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State to raise public awareness and promote education about religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

http://www.firstfreedomfirst.org/

 

 

Free Speech Radio News ~ An independant news organization

http://www.fsrn.org/

 

 

Independant Media Center ~ Indymedia is a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage.

http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml

 

 

Beltaine 2.0 ….

On By PaxIn Beltaine, Cross-roads, Pagans of NoteLeave a comment

Cora Anderson passed away today…

While i am not Feri Trad, I still feel a sense of loss.  It is enough to know that we Witches have gained a new member of The Mighty Dead.

~~~

Traditional Lore tells us that the walls between the worlds are thin at Samhain and Beltaine.  I tend to think of Samhain as the walls between the worlds of the living and the dead, and Beltaine as being the walls between the many worlds of life.

Yet, truly, these times of year the walls between all the worlds of the living and the dead are thin.  Spirits, Ancestors, Faeries, all are present at these times of year.  Indeed the Walpurgis Night bonfires, May Eve, is a time when in ancient Germany bonfires were lit to keep Ghosts and Spirits at bay…

Hail and Well Met Cora Anderson,

Merry Meet, Merry Part, Merry Meet Again.