A friend asked me how I handle those who judge me based on my path of my spirituality. She's Roman Catholic, and wanted to know how I explained to others my own version of spirituality when they are so faithfully following a "named" path.
Firstly, I have to admit there are a couple of very dear friends of mine whom I shield from my work as a medium and paranormal investigator and my path as an eclectic witch, friends who assume that I'm Christian based on my use with them of "God" as opposed to "the gods" which I tend to use. To me, it doesn't matter what name you choose for the Highest Power(s), or how many deities you believe there are. With some people, I use the term "God" for their comfort. I don't want to stir up fears and upset in my friends, so I just follow what makes them feel better. I'm a minister who works within other people's beliefs for their good. I tend to leave my specific beliefs out of general discussion, and if it comes up, I conform my language to suit the situation and the person with whom I am speaking when necessary. I feel that's just my calling, to work within others' comfort zone, and that is fine with me. If someone wants to get into MY zone, I'm happy to go there too.
It's also very much an understanding of religions in general that has gotten me to where I am. I started reading about various beliefs as a kid, and it was a passion that never left me. I spent years getting an education at the university level in religious history, including all the major religions (Eastern and Western) as well as ancient religions and alternative religions, ceremonies around death and dying, ancestral worship, the social and religious history of various cultures and tribal groups, Pagan history and practice, folklore, and much more. I spent years studying on my own time as well, and spent a great deal of time in actual practice of many set paths before determining the best pieces of everything I'd studied and sort of created my own path. When I started this branch of study, I was searching, believing that there had to be an organized religion out there that fit me, and I tried many of them from a lifestyle level just to see if any suited me. None did all on their own. Either I was judged for my crafting as a witch, or I wasn't up to snuff with their lifestyle rules (I love steak, for example), or there were rules I just refused to follow. It was always something.
I am a witch. I am NOT Wiccan. I am a minister, but I preach no one faith. I am eclectic; I follow pieces of many paths. I do not subscribe to one path, but find no fault in anyone for following a path of their choosing. I honor all faiths as valuable and valid. Whether I agree with them for my own purposes or not, whether I feel they are useful paths for me to follow, they are all valuable because I can learn from all journeys, and valid because they are beliefs that truly do pad the road people walk along. We must learn to accept that we are not on the same road, but we are all on the same journey. We just get there different ways.
The giving spirit of Buddhism has been a huge part of my life. I am a giver by nature. Buddhism also taught me about the beauty in suffering and the value in living for others. As a chronically ill person, understanding suffering and being able to recognize its beauty are hugely important to me, and came before I was really very ill. It was as if I was destined to understand this!
The saints I have as ancestors from the Catholic faith are honored in my family, even though I'm not Catholic. They gave their lives to loving God and serving their faith. I respect that. I wrote a paper for a Master's course once in Religious History on the female saints in my ancestry and found that these women truly gave their lives for service in their faith. Many held abbeys in Europe and were sainted for many amazing reasons. Healing seems to be a common one, and I call on them for their love and protection.
The Jewish people respect time and family. They respect traditions and honor their ancestors. Those things are all hugely important to me, and I love the regular way that the Jewish people honor the things their ancestors did thousands of years ago! I'm a historian, and honoring our past helps keep the traditions alive. Teaching future generations about their cultural history is absolutely mandatory to creating a knowledgeable group of adults who will be coming to the forefront of our planet. They must learn from the past to not repeat the mistakes we made. Jews honor their language, their past, the sacrifices made so they could be here today. I love that!
Hindus have a reverence for gods of balance- destruction and creation are of the same god, and there are gods to attend for a variety of needs! I prefer to see the Otherside as balanced because all things are balanced. Hinduism showed me the balance of the multiverse! I also learned to be more humble, to look within to see without, and to see the beauty of the life in all things from the rumbling of the planet to the very water that keeps us alive, even if it's polluted and imperfect. That's important to remember about people as well- even when they are polluted and imperfect, they are valuable and worth loving.
Wiccan study taught me that none of the multitude of Wiccan paths was right for me. These are all relatively new, and while many claim to follow ancient ways, I've found that because of a lack of historical information on ancient religions, it's impossible to truly claim that you follow a pre-historic (pre-written history) path. Still, the re-creation of ancient paths is valuable and valid!
Native American history taught me about reverence for Nature and the oral history of a people. Listening to the stories of creation from a Native perspective brings up questions about Star People, underground life, and more. They make me think and question, and taught me to see the sacred in the everyday stuff and my surroundings. They teach about the environment and people from a spiritual perspective, they teach of the spirits of the world around us, and these things are incredibly important. When you see the planet as living under your feet instead of just sitting there as a rock, you develop a different attitude towards how you live on the Mother.
Studying tribal religions of Africa and the native peoples of Australia, I learned about ancestral importance, the way that oral tradition can be passed down and how it influences how we live. I learned about the absolute necessity of listening to history in the voices of elders. Just because something isn't written down doesn't mean it's not needed. I learned about the importance of dreams, because the dream world tells us so very much. The Dogon people knew of star systems they could not see, the indigenous Australians talk about the dream world as a real place, and they recognize the importance of the lessons of dreaming.
Islam and my Muslim friends taught me about honor within humility, generosity, and the importance of dedication to family and faith. I learned a great deal about the culture and history of the Muslim people and realized that peace was truly the cornerstone of the faith that so many see as anything but peaceful. I learned about how easily religion can be misunderstood, judged and disgraced by zealots. Seems that Christianity should understand this better than any other religious group, but I fear that the biggest refusal to understand comes from this group, generally speaking. Muslims accept Jesus as the prophet of the Christians and I've never met a Muslim who didn't accept Christians 100%, but it's never been the other way around, sadly.
There is so much more...I could go on and on. Voodoo, Hoodoo and Santeria taught me about blending religions and magick. Taoism taught me to go with the flow, Confucianism taught me to listen to good advice and see lessons in all things, and after observing a Sufi ceremony I realized the value of focus on faith.
There is something to learn from everyone. There were many things I didn't take from the various religions I have studied. I'm not going to confession, making offerings at temples, or following a regularly scheduled tradition in any way. Still, I have taken a great deal from so many paths that I feel quite fulfilled in my beliefs and my path. And I will reach my destination like everyone else.
The journey is about the little things, remember that. We aren't on the journey to try and change others' journeys; we're here to make it to the destination ourselves, and we'll be making that final jump by ourselves, into the Otherside. My soul has its own lessons to learn in this life, and who's to say that my soul needs what your soul needs? We should all just accept one another, learn from one another, take what we need and leave the rest for someone else, then maybe we'll find something amazing left for us at some point. It's the road we need to smooth for ourselves, and no rules have been written for the whole human race, despite what your book may say. There are a lot of books, believe me. If you study, you'll see that all the major religions have the same stories, same tenets, same destination- Heaven, Nirvana, whatever you call it- we are all going back to the same Ultimate Source, and we are all connected by the Silver Cord. We're in this together, but we must learn some things on our own, and our soul's needs are on that list. No one can just spoon feed us the right mix.
Help someone along their journey if you can. Perhaps when you get to the final destination, you will find that your understanding and open mind are rewarded. Open your heart, study, learn, but be more than just tolerant of those who don't or cannot. Be gentle in talking to others, not preaching, not forcing your beliefs. Listen and learn and adapt if it feels right. All paths are valuable and valid!!
The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Mediums by the Minute
On Saturday, the hubby and I decided to venture out amongst the folk and attend a local festival. It was a very cool festival- definitely our kind of crowd. There were kids busking, and talented ones at that. There were vendors and musicians on stages, food and storytellers. It was really a nice time.
So, down one of the streets was a beautiful historic building with the only store in town that carries typical new agey stuff. I was out of charcoal, and we were there, so we cruised up the street checking things out making our way along. On the side of the street was a lady with a card table, some tarot cards spread out, and a money box, the metal kind you use for a bake sale. The sign on the front said "Palm Readings and Tarot Card's Reading $20" and I didn't know what to be frustrated about first, the misuse of a good apostrophe and horrid English language skills, or the fact that she was charging $20. From the look of the lady with her, she wasn't quite on point, either. As I went back toward the store, a man sat with her looking at her with amusement. I'm sure that preceded his look of dismay at $20 wasted.
Through the door to the store for some charcoal, and what do I see? A sign about their "Tarot Card Reader's" and their "Psychic's" hung in the window. I didn't have the heart to say anything; and of course, they were charging too. Maybe someone who passed English in high school would walk by and save their money and silently shudder along with me. Alas, I had to get coal.
In I went, and with a brief look around, we grabbed the coal, and we were in line when she walked by, one of the "psychic's" who were making their dollar a minute.
She was in her mid 40s, and wore black jeans, hoodie tied around her waist, white tennis shoes and a black tank top. Her bangs were curled under and her long, permed (80s) hair was pulled back in the appropriate 1987 clip. She stunk of cigarette when she walked past again and I realized she had a belly dancer's scarf tied around her waist over the hoodie- you know, the kind with gold coins and every step sends out a jingle? Yep, that kind, bright purple with gold coins, jingle, jingle, jingle. I'm sure my jaw hit the floor. My husband looked at me with that "Please don't say anything!" look on his face. I just shook my head.
Look, and this is REALLY important, so please tell your friends. Don't pay for someone's jingly shit. That is NOT what makes a person a medium, psychic or good card reader. Just because someone can memorize what cards mean and put them in the right order doesn't mean that they really SEE what's going on with you and how the cards apply. Paying someone doesn't make them better at this kind of work. And the more you pay them, the more full of shit they usually are. I don't want anyone to be naive here. Someone's fee doesn't make them better; these are not doctors we're talking about here. We're talking about people who have fuck-all for real abilities, other than the ability to cold read you and convince you, or someone who has the cards well memorized, the people holing up in bookstores and corners of coffee shops and street fairs, just waiting for someone who'll give up just enough to keep a reading going.
Yes, I'm very outspoken on this topic, because if I don't charge, why should anyone? This gift is free, and charging just sullies that in my opinion. I used to manage one of these types of stores, and watched our band of idiots come through and give people shit readings that all sounded the same for the same buck a minute. I was forced to give those people time in our store, and I listened in on the same bullshit, reading after reading. Then people would leave usually having purchased something and come through me at the register. Having listened in, I'd often give my own reading there as they checked out, just as part of conversation. My disagreements came out, and often one of the charging horde would challenge me, then I would just read them...on the spot, cards on the table, and bam! Speechless, back to the corner they'd go. No thank you, I don't want your money by the minute. If it takes us 10 minutes or 2 hours, we just get through it. In the end if someone wants to donate to the time I spent with them, I am grateful, but if not, it's no big deal. I never expect it, so I'm not upset when it's not there. Not everyone has a dollar a minute to spend for some help and guidance.
And yes, there are going to be some people who make a shitload of money as mediums and psychics who will hate that I am saying all this, but oh well. My readings never come with a price. Deeper grief leads to deeper pockets; people will pay anything for one more word from those they love. Don't be taken advantage of, and don't let anyone convince you that money equals a better connection to the Otherside.
Maybe I should set up a free table at the next festival, right across the street from those who are charging a dollar a minute. I'll put a big sign, with no poorly placed apostrophes and see what they think.
Purple belly dancing scarf over a hoodie over your jeans and tank top....really?!?!
I'm not big on women looking naive.
So, down one of the streets was a beautiful historic building with the only store in town that carries typical new agey stuff. I was out of charcoal, and we were there, so we cruised up the street checking things out making our way along. On the side of the street was a lady with a card table, some tarot cards spread out, and a money box, the metal kind you use for a bake sale. The sign on the front said "Palm Readings and Tarot Card's Reading $20" and I didn't know what to be frustrated about first, the misuse of a good apostrophe and horrid English language skills, or the fact that she was charging $20. From the look of the lady with her, she wasn't quite on point, either. As I went back toward the store, a man sat with her looking at her with amusement. I'm sure that preceded his look of dismay at $20 wasted.
Through the door to the store for some charcoal, and what do I see? A sign about their "Tarot Card Reader's" and their "Psychic's" hung in the window. I didn't have the heart to say anything; and of course, they were charging too. Maybe someone who passed English in high school would walk by and save their money and silently shudder along with me. Alas, I had to get coal.
In I went, and with a brief look around, we grabbed the coal, and we were in line when she walked by, one of the "psychic's" who were making their dollar a minute.
She was in her mid 40s, and wore black jeans, hoodie tied around her waist, white tennis shoes and a black tank top. Her bangs were curled under and her long, permed (80s) hair was pulled back in the appropriate 1987 clip. She stunk of cigarette when she walked past again and I realized she had a belly dancer's scarf tied around her waist over the hoodie- you know, the kind with gold coins and every step sends out a jingle? Yep, that kind, bright purple with gold coins, jingle, jingle, jingle. I'm sure my jaw hit the floor. My husband looked at me with that "Please don't say anything!" look on his face. I just shook my head.
Look, and this is REALLY important, so please tell your friends. Don't pay for someone's jingly shit. That is NOT what makes a person a medium, psychic or good card reader. Just because someone can memorize what cards mean and put them in the right order doesn't mean that they really SEE what's going on with you and how the cards apply. Paying someone doesn't make them better at this kind of work. And the more you pay them, the more full of shit they usually are. I don't want anyone to be naive here. Someone's fee doesn't make them better; these are not doctors we're talking about here. We're talking about people who have fuck-all for real abilities, other than the ability to cold read you and convince you, or someone who has the cards well memorized, the people holing up in bookstores and corners of coffee shops and street fairs, just waiting for someone who'll give up just enough to keep a reading going.
Yes, I'm very outspoken on this topic, because if I don't charge, why should anyone? This gift is free, and charging just sullies that in my opinion. I used to manage one of these types of stores, and watched our band of idiots come through and give people shit readings that all sounded the same for the same buck a minute. I was forced to give those people time in our store, and I listened in on the same bullshit, reading after reading. Then people would leave usually having purchased something and come through me at the register. Having listened in, I'd often give my own reading there as they checked out, just as part of conversation. My disagreements came out, and often one of the charging horde would challenge me, then I would just read them...on the spot, cards on the table, and bam! Speechless, back to the corner they'd go. No thank you, I don't want your money by the minute. If it takes us 10 minutes or 2 hours, we just get through it. In the end if someone wants to donate to the time I spent with them, I am grateful, but if not, it's no big deal. I never expect it, so I'm not upset when it's not there. Not everyone has a dollar a minute to spend for some help and guidance.
And yes, there are going to be some people who make a shitload of money as mediums and psychics who will hate that I am saying all this, but oh well. My readings never come with a price. Deeper grief leads to deeper pockets; people will pay anything for one more word from those they love. Don't be taken advantage of, and don't let anyone convince you that money equals a better connection to the Otherside.
Maybe I should set up a free table at the next festival, right across the street from those who are charging a dollar a minute. I'll put a big sign, with no poorly placed apostrophes and see what they think.
Purple belly dancing scarf over a hoodie over your jeans and tank top....really?!?!
I'm not big on women looking naive.
Alexander McQueen
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