I am Pagan. That means many things to many people. For me it means viewing the Earth and all beings as living, sentient entities (yes, even trees and animals. Actually, even sub-atomic particles.) It means that I believe in and participate in co-creating a culture of honor, reverence, and acceptance for all beings on all paths, while holding my own path as my personally-preferred method of connection with an energy that feels magical and holy to me. It also means that I do not hold myself or the Divine within the confines of any single religion, nor do I hold any deity as more important or valid than another in the grand scope, while reserving the right to participate in any single practice or not as I see fit. It means that I hold sacred the idea that the Divine is visible and invisible, embodied and ephemeral, a multi-faceted Mystery evidenced by the progression of life through the cycles of the Earth and Her creatures and all of our creations, even the problematic ones. It means that I participate spiritually in those cycles- the ones marked by the seasons and moon and the tides of my blood and the wheels of the mind. It means that I investigate the intersections of science, scientific method, spirituality, and spiritual practices. It means that I see and can hold multiple different possible views and explanations for the phenomena of life without trying to reconcile or compare them with one another. It means I connect with history, archaeology, folklore, psychology, alchemy, divination, and metaphysics all as valid inroads to personal gnosis. It means I hold personal gnosis as the most personally-relevant method for observing and conducting my spiritual practices, because I am a Church of One. It means that when I gather with those of like and diverging minds, I equally allow for their individual truths to be sacred and valid. It means that when someone blesses or prays for me in their own way, I thank them and accept the positive energy in a way that feels authentic to me, just as if anyone offered me a friendly greeting or compliment. It means that if someone else treats me in a way that does not correspond with my beliefs and ethics, I nonetheless respond with accountability to my own beliefs and ethics, not theirs. It means that I require no intermediary to facilitate my experience of divinity, but that I see divinity as inherent and non-negotiable within each being. It means that I make offerings, perform rituals, create art and food and celebrations all in the name of what is divine. It means that if I call you "Goddess," I mean that, literally. It means that I know myself to be Goddess as well, humbly but with personal authority.
Today is Pagan Coming Out Day. What does it mean to you?
http://pagancomingoutday.org/
Well, since you're asking, :) What being a Pagan means to me:
ReplyDeleteI am my own Priest. My truths come from my own revelation. You're truth is also true, even if it is opposite of mine.
These are some of my truths:
Nature! The rocks are alive and the plants have spirits also. The winds, rivers and tides are alive. All of the animals are our brothers and sisters as well. Earth, or Gaia, is a whole living organism. Nothing can exist that is not natural. Science is spiritual. Life originated in outer space; we ARE IN outer space! Nothing is separate from anything. We are all connected. Distance is an illusion and you are me. All form/formless is Deity.
Buddha's wisdom was gigantic. There is also wisdom to be found in the words of Jesus. And countless countless others! I believe in Goddess. I believe in the Nameless Light. I believe ultimately that Deity has no gender. Yet Deity manifests in all forms, for our (or its own) experience, in all ways including through gender and sexuality as it has evolved on this good Earth. I don't belong to any religion or prescribed path; I change my mind far too often to stick to one and final story forever. To the best of my ability, I put aside that which does not serve me or the higher good of all. It gets better everyday.
I am responsible for the circumstance in my own life; my fortunes and my misfortunes alike. I am responsible for my own thoughts and emotions. So I've chosen to consciously participate in the creation my own life; to have "the say" and that is magical! I'm a ritualist. I prefer ethics to morals. I prefer alchemy to sorcery. Sometimes I know things without having to be told. I am powerful. I am loving. I honor the spirits and the ancestors. I am grateful. I am a co-creator of the whole world, taking responsibility for the fact that my thoughts, feelings, words and actions effect everything around me.
Mastery of self is my goal; to be able to respond to any and every situation with equanimity, presence, spaciousness and in the spirit of love, gratitude and generosity of spirit always. I'm not perfect; it is a process, a path, a journey. All the lessons I need when I need them, an opportunity to more finely tune and align my vibration.
I don't know what will happen to me when I die (other than knowing my body will return to dirt). The meaning of my life is to give my life meaning. This present moment is so full of meaning NOW that it doesn't matter if when tomorrow comes, I or that which I think I am, ceases to exist forever. I don't "have" a life... I AM life. Blessed Be!!!