The Secrets In Plain Sight!

Sorry for my absence last week, but my wife and I were terribly sick.  Hopefully, that's over and now we can make some progress. Nothing bothers me so much in what passes for news these days as the number of examples of hate I see, especially when it appears to be organized.  And most especially, when it appears to be orchestrated and managed by people who have enough education to know better!  Did they cut class that day in Sunday school?        A solution offers itself which will create a situation which might well be a hate-monger's worst nightmare.  Let's go for it! Blessed Be!

Religion and spirituality need to work.  That is an absolute.  There are some people who might follow a religion even if it didn't accomplish anything and there are others who would not follow any religious or spiritual path even if it would guarantee to make them rich, but most of us want religion and spirituality to work. And that means more than Pollyanna-style appreciation of flowers and butterflies or thoughts of someone watching to keep score on our sins.   It begins with an active spiritual life, and it will grow.  Your spiritual life is your own, and more personal even than your underwear.  And nobody gets to mess with it! Equally important is to be able to recognize the results, and give appropriate thanks for them.  Some might not be as obvious as others, but you can learn how to see them!        Blessed Be!

Imagine that a spiritual path which you might know for its history of hate, bigotry and violence had another, less known, path which is known for just the opposite.  Of course, that other path is not known by many, nor recognized by some who see it, but it is there.  And, that other path mixes well with every other path which it encounters, allowing it to survive and thrive in spite of persecutions and so-called "reforms". While the more major, well-known path with its infamous history has as the main author of its doctrine a person who learned second-hand from others who had known the actual founder, the founder of the branch less evident is someone who learned directly from the actual founder, and apparently knew that founder very well.  And the difference shows in the fruits each path bore.  And the fact that the less-known path survived and thrived quietly might be for the reason of that teaching. Let us look at Glastonbury and what it can offer us.  Many of us know Glastonbury, but who knows what all there is to Glastonbury?        Blessed Be!

When various groups are confronted by hate and ignorance, one of the first things people call for is unity.  Unfortunately, the concept of unity carries with it connotations of uniformity, conformity, organization and structure.  And, in the same manner that we won't see every African-American marching in step with Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, you won't see groups of Pagans, Wiccan, or other minorities merging together, because they do not want to lose the individuality which they cherish. There was a time when traditional unity was deemed necessary.  An example was the early Christian church even during persecution.  Church leaders such as Iranaeus of Lyon enforced doctrine, dogma and hierarchy to insure uniformity.  When other group spit away, they did likewise, with the added occasional use of armies to add to the persuasion. Let us not forget that in those days, since ancient times and until less than 200 years ago, people and messages could not travel faster than the fastest horse available.  Things changed in the 20th century, to the point that a meat boycott came to be because of angry retail customers who had no organization, and a comedian's monologue sparked a nationwide toilet paper shortage!   In the early 1990's, someone wrote that while it was once said that freedom of the press once belonged to those who owned a press, "If you own a computer, welcome to the fourth estate".  And we are only beginning to experience what can be, and no politician or anyone else will be able to force that genie back into the bottle!      Blessed Be!

Even though "Faith Crime" is not a term you can find in a law book, they do happen.  Faith Crimes are those acts which a reasonable person should be able to see might destroy another person's faith.  This goes beyond any question of religion, denomination, or deity.   One form of faith crime is interference with a person's free exercise of their faith, especially if the perpetrator could reasonably see that it might damage the person's faith.  Routinely interrupting someone's prayers might be an example, as would a base chaplain prohibiting a particular faith's services in the absence of a military chaplain of that faith.   Another form of faith crime is putting words in the mouths of deities, especially when there is no legitimate basis for such a statement.  Telling a three-year-old girl that her beloved daddy died because of "God's will" is as wrong as claiming that Jesus wants a particular candidate elected! Yes, there is some overlap between the two types of faith crimes.  Nevertheless, they are crimes against people.      Blessed Be!

Why not?  Wiccans and Pagan have no problem with any number of gods and goddesses, and it is apparent that Yahweh does not mind.  He does want "top billing" from those who followed Moses out of Egypt and their descendants, but are you one of them?  And the tenth chapter of Acts gives some further exemptions!  And I am not about to abandon Allfather Odin! The fact that certain early church missionaries followed by others demanded abandonment of other deities does not make it right!  And, there were other Christian traditions, rooted in places like Glastonbury and Alexandria which were different from the Roman.  Some say they "disappeared", but did they? Before he ascended, Jesus told his followers that he still had many things to tell them, "but ye cannot bear them now" "John 16:12).  What happened to them?  Since the Bible was closed to any additions, where are those things he wanted to tell us?  Many of the people who think they follow Jesus are following several strange routes, but for the rest of us, there is a quest with eternal rewards!   Blessed Be!

Imbolc has a powerful gift which we can put to good use throughout the year, but especially during the time which spans from Imbolc itself to the following Sabbat.  While the celebration of a particular day is important, we need to be aware of what the Sabbat brings to us.  And Imbolc has something which can be highly relevant. Think of our most ancient ancestors, still learning how the world works.  Some will have figured out the cycle of seasons, but there might be doom-sayers among them who claim that winter has come to stay.  But when the first shoots poke up through the snow, they accepted the fact that they are seeing the fulfillment of the promise made at Samhain and repeated at Yule. And we can harness this power to meet our needs!   Blessed Be!

I really did not want to bring up the subject of hate again, but current events make it unavoidable.  And those of us who are not totally in the mainstream have cause for concern.  President Trump's so-called "Muslim ban" might be just the first of several acts which will become historically infamous.  There is talk of another measure in the offing concerning the LGBT communities, and that's cause for more concern. History proves how wasteful hate invariably is, and how the consequences are usually more than expected and often tragic.  And people do not seem to learn from the mistakes of past hate campaigns.  All that, and it distracts effort from more worthwhile causes.  As an example, where is the federal disaster aid for the tornado victims in Mississippi? My basic feeling can be summed up if I might please adapt from the masterful words of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  He once said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  I say "The only thing we have to hate is hate itself!"   Blessed Be!

The most important thing about prayer is that it needs to work.  Unfortunately, some people's introduction to prayer is such that it doesn't get much of a chance to show itself working.  In my own case, I had to learn the difference between what I was taught and truth. There's a basic principle which some seem to want to avoid: if you want something, ask for it.  That is as it should be.  What few legitimate restrictions there are fall under the basic heading of common sense. From there, proceed to bring what you wish into being, maintaining a focus of the results.   Blessed Be!

My own spirituality has been under fire almost since I considered myself old enough to take responsibility for it.  Whether it was in college where any religion was suspect, to the Air Force where "such stuff" was sup-posed to be confined to the base chapel, to later when it seemed so many spiritual paths seemed to forget tradition in favor of bending with the social/political winds.  And now, we face some groups who seem to think that their way is the only valid way! It is possible to confront such groups publicly and often it is necessary.  But, it is necessary to maintain control over the situation and to insure that we do in fact get the right attention.   But, in addition to what we do in the open, our private spiritual lives are the backbone of what we do and what we accomplish.  All the more reason to jealously guard your prayer life and never lose sight of the fact that your spiritual life is your business.   Blessed Be!