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2019-02-03 04:20 pm

Witchy practices

We are divine by nature. We are part of, not separate from it. When we recognize the Goddess Brigid, Goddess of Poetry, we recognize the part of ourselves that embodies those qualities. The qualities I am referring to are the creative and intuitive aspects of ourselves. We all possess these qualities, whether we recognize them or not. I am talking about creativity in its broadest sense, that which allows us to build things, to express oneself through song or dance, to start a new project or to write a poem or prose.
Do you wish to enhance your own spiritual practice? I suggest creating to tap into your intuitive nature. In a book, called, “The Artist’s Way,” Julia Cameron 1 recommends an exercise called ‘morning pages.’ She recommends setting a timer and writing without stopping for 10 minutes a day. To create, it is necessary to turn off your internal censor. It doesn’t matter if you write nonsense during that time. You can always edit it later. The creative process requires a person to make themselves vulnerable. It is about the process, not the end product.
The following is a quote by Jeanette Winterson, from an essay and commentary about art: “You could say that whatever is not mechanical is a miracle. That is, whatever is not predictable, statistical, habitual, programmed, planned, running to time, quantifiable, cogged, chipped, causal, will be the thing that we long for and dread in equal measure.” 2
Why do we dread the miraculous? We are terrified of our own humanity. In counseling we know that intellectualization of a problem is a defense against feeling. And we know that feeling can be both painful and wonderful. When we cannot feel negative emotions, we deny ourselves the positive ones too, and then we become depressed. It is no wonder that isolation and depression has become so common given our dominant culture and religious beliefs, which focus on the concrete and intellectual. We dread it because we are terrified of the unknown, and yet, the unknown can be both terrifying and wonderful. Creating is change. Perhaps that is why Brigid is also known as the Goddess of Healing.
Another quote by Jeanette Winterson describes the transformative power of creating:
“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to its transforming power. Art is not part of the machine. Art asks us to think differently, see differently, hear differently, and ultimately to act differently, which is why art has moral force … Art makes us better people because it asks for our full humanity, and humanity is, or should be, the polar opposite of the merely mechanical. We are not part of the machine either, but we have forgotten that…” 2
Tapping into the creative allows us to recognize our connection with the body, with nature and with each other. When we consider our relationships, both the time spent doing things together and the conversations that occur, they also mean very little without feeling. We know that relationships deepen when individuals feel free to express their feelings. Expressing feelings also requires that we have the courage to become vulnerable. When we connect with nature, we can view it as alive. We can form a relationship with it and allow ourselves to love it. When we love something or someone, we are motivated to take action against injustices against her or her destruction.
In Andersonian faery tradition, we believe in a tripartite soul.
That includes a younger self, which focuses on bodily instincts, much like the concept of ‘Id,’ an intellectual self, much like the concept of ‘ego,’ and a divine self. Spiritual practices in this tradition, such as the three souls alignment we just did, focus on integrating the three parts of the soul. We also integrate the three parts of the soul when we tap into the creative and symbolic to reach the divine self.
Intuition is a vital part of any spiritual practice. When we consider our altar dedications, our acts of resistance, our rituals, our prayers, spells or chants, they mean very little without intuition. Thus in our practice today, we seek to plant the seeds of our intuitive and creative natures, infusing them with symbolic practice, song and most of all, feeling.
I challenge you to practice creating in whatever way makes sense to you. If you have a project that has been sitting on the back burner, get it started, whether it be visual art, dance, writing or building something, or if you don’t have a project in mind, start a regular morning pages practice. Whatever it is, blessings to the seeds of your journey.

1 “The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity,” by Julia Cameron. 2002.
2 “Liza Lou,” An essay by Jeanette Winterson. April 10th, 2006
http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/journalism/liza-lou

Otter Rose is a Unitarian Universalist and an eclectic Witch who follows the Reclaiming and Andersonian faerie traditions, though not as an initiate. She co-leads a local pagan group, called the Dandelion Pagan Collective in Tallahassee, Florida. She is an activist and professional Social Worker.
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2018-12-27 08:04 pm

On my personal spiritual paths, oppression and feminism

So, I have a combination of spiritual paths, which some might not understand.  I consider myself pagan, but I also study Buddhist ideology to some extent.  I also believe that a large part of my spiritual path is about working against oppression, both internally and externally.  These ideals seem to clash for some people, but I don't believe they do.  I have heard many a white feminist claim that Buddhism is the antithesis of feminism and that it promotes passivity.  I absolutely disagree.  However, at the risk of feeding into a stereotype, e.g. the one about Asian women being too meek and passive, a.k.a. complicit in their own oppression, I do believe the gentleness is a strength.  Being gentle is a Buddhist teaching, as is introspection, as is having the courage to face your own traumas, in order to not act from them.  Somehow, so many white feminists seem to believe that acting from a place of trauma is appropriate, if they acknowledge their trauma at all.  Many of them don't because that would require admitting they were vulnerable, or in their minds, weak.  So, as a therapist, I can say for certain that if someone can't acknowledge their trauma, they cannot avoid acting in a way that is motivated by trauma.  I think we all sometimes act from a place of trauma, and the idea is to minimize it by learning about ourselves and learning to deal with our own pain without hiding from it or avoiding it.  Hence, gentleness.  If you refer to certain emotions you have as weak, then you are by definition not being gentle to yourself.

I find that I personally struggle with how to present my ideas in such a way that helps people see outside of their own ethnocentric views on things.  I find it hard to share my views because white women don't often think I have an opinion about anything.  And well, when I do share this one, it isn't a popular opinion. And it's easy for someone like that to assume that I don't know enough about White American culture to be able to comment at all about it.  What people don't seem to understand is that I do understand white American culture, because I grew up as part of it.  I was raised by my mother, who is a white woman, and I have two sisters who pass as white.  I did not grow up in an Asian community, rather I grew up in a white community.  I did not even know any other Asian families.  I identify more with white people than I do with Asian people.  Although many people fail to realize it, I identify as a Feminist. 
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2018-12-27 07:12 pm

on sexual abuse in pagan and other spiritual communities

I hear discussions about sexual abuse in the Pagan community, I realize that American culture struggles to define sexual misconduct. On what is sexual abuse, I like the Buddhist concept of sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct very much depends on the context of the individuals in question and what vows they decide to take and how far they take it. Most Buddhist don't believe sexuality is inherently bad, but there are individuals who choose to be celibate. Most practitioners tend to believe that sex within a fully consensual relationship is fine assuming there isn't an abuse of power happening. That isn't to say that sexual misconduct doesn't happen in Buddhism, because it does.

I also think that many people in American culture fail to recognize power dynamics as a whole.
On the question of why sexual misconduct is rampant in the pagan community, I don't think it has much to do with pagan communities subscribing to "free love." I think sexual misconduct is common anywhere you have power differentials because it creates situations in which people are vulnerable and easily exploited. If you consider the fact that pagan traditions are ideally passed on from teacher to student, here you have an unbalanced power dynamic from the start.

As a counselor, I have heard many stories of sexual abuse in which the victim questioned the validity of the abuse because they did not understand the power dynamics. Oftentimes, the victim does not believe it is abuse because they were fooled into believing that they had more power in the relationship or convinced that there wasn't a power differential. I have heard of many situations in which pre-adolescent individuals, often male were sexually abused by a someone who was much older than them, but they were groomed into believing that they were adult-like. In a similar way, prison staff often establish relationships with prisoners, convincing them that their relationship is the same as any ordinary relationship, ignoring the fact that staff have the ability to arbitrarily punish prisoners or manipulate the relationship in multiple ways that prisoners do not have the ability to do. I also see situations in which people in positions of power convince themselves that if they teach in a certain way, that there isn’t a power differential, and then continue a relationship with a vulnerable individual. These situations are similar, though people vary in their intent and the degree to which they abuse situations.

It doesn't matter how you act as a teacher. There is an inherent power dynamic no matter your style. There is nothing a teacher can do to change the fact that the power differential is inherent in the relationship. When you have knowledge to impart and you are one of the few if only source by which a student can learn, then that gives you power in the relationship if the student is seeking said knowledge. The student is vulnerable and the relationship can become an opportunity for abuse. I write to prevent abuse and to help individuals realize when they are experiencing sexual abuse.
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2018-12-25 11:10 am
Entry tags:

Bodhicitta

“In the gentle garden of sanity, may you be bombarded by coconuts of wakefulness.”

At some point, I decided I did not want to hide from reality anymore.

I have this quote in my office, placed so that when I look up from my work, I see it.

I know I will do my work more effectively if I see how things really are,

but then I suppose I struggle to deal with all I see.

I see my insignificance. I see how others hurt and make mistakes.

I see my own compassion.

I see how my inaction fails me sometimes.

I see how I suffer and I see how my actions also sometimes cause me to suffer.

I feel wrong often and am frustrated by all of it.

I see how imperfect we all really are.

Why do I expect perfection?

The quote reminds me to be gentle with myself.

I remember from other Buddhist works to find the Bodhichitta,

my soft place and allow it to be.

My heart breaks and breaks.

It is part of life.
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2018-12-23 04:59 pm

Witchy practices

I picked up a small leather pouch that can be worn around the neck, which I will use to carry herbal charms.  I like the idea of using it to work with herbs in a really personal way.  It is something that I will wear all of the time, even to sleep with.   I consider working with herbs an important part of my spiritual practice.  Some of my ancestors were Shinto, which is an animistic theology.  My personal theology is similar in its animism.  I believe plants have a spirit or soul as much as any human.  The properties of plants vary as much as human personalities, and thus they can have properties that benefit humans.  Mind you, there do not exist solely to benefit humans.  They must be honored in a relationship the same way that we honor our human relationships (hopefully). My rituals with herbs involve recognizing their properties and personalities intuitively and giving thanks as is appropriate.