The Pagan Side

The Reason for the Season

2011-12-07T12:19:00.001-06:00

I would just like to remind everyone about the Reason for The Season - The Return of the Sun!

The Sun has been growing distant from our skies since Midsummer, the days growing shorter and the nights growing longer and colder. If this keeps up, we will be in total darkness and freeze to death! This is the time of year that we must encourage the Sun to return to us! We must light fires - and keep that Yule Log burning the whole 12 days! - and make festive decorations by hanging shiny objects in trees and engage in joyous celebrations to encourage the Sun to return!

This is the season we celebrate the Rebirth of the Sun as it returns to our skies, coming to save us from the darkness as the days grow longer and return warmth to our homes.

Here is wishing everyone a very happy and blessed Solstice!

In Peace and Spirit Be!

Love and Jealousy

2010-11-23T08:12:00.003-06:00

(Theme song that was going through my head while writing this : Love Song by Tesla - you may want to listen while you read)

“"Love" is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy." - Robert Heinlein

“To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self” - Joan Didion

"Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love." - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

"Jealousy is the fear of comparison." - Max Frisch

"Jealousy is the grave of affection." - Mary Baker Eddy

"Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul." - John Dryden

"The surest route to breeding jealousy is to compare. Since jealousy comes from feeling less than another, comparisons only fan the fires." - Dorothy Corkville Briggs

"Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you. There is only one alternative - self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved." - Jennifer James

"Most moral philosophers consciously or unconsciously assume the essential correctness of our cultural sexual code - family, monogamy, continence, the postulate of privacy,… restriction of intercourse to the marriage bed, etcetera. Having stipulated our cultural code as a whole, they fiddle with details - even such piffle as solemnly discussing whether or not the female breast is an “obscene” sight! But mostly they debate how the human animal can be induced or forced to obey this code, blandly ignoring the high probability that the heartaches and tragedies they see all around them originate in the code itself rather than the failure to abide by the code." - - Stranger in a Strange Land, Heinlein

Okay, so I started and ended with Heinlein quotes. The main goal of this post is to promote Love without Jealousy. I think of this as pure love - untainted by jealousy or a sense of possession. If "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own," then how would denying someone happiness or joy be love? The idea that "you can not experience joy with someone else" is imprisonment.

Think seriously about this, please. Jealousy is the dread that you will miss out on something, that you will 'loose.' It is a taint on the ideal of Love.

It is my feeling and belief that Monogamy is a construct of oppression and repression. It places importance on possession, control and restraint while condemning any interest in any other person. This enshrinement of one relationship as the be-all end-all of life fulfillment is absolutely absurd. Humans are not a monogamous species!

"Studies conservatively estimate, Vaughan reveals, that 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair."

The author in the previously cited work declares that "everyone is at risk for betraying or being betrayed." Therein lies the heart of the matter at hand - betrayal. When people accept that beings as complex as ourselves are going to require more than one partner, sexual or otherwise, to fulfill our life, there will be no more "betrayal."

I would like to make it clear that I am not suggesting a lack of commitment in relationships. Quite the contrary! Commitment is the backbone of any lasting relationship. The ideals that I have always sought are encompassed in a movement called Polyamory. It is essentially a practice of Love and Intimacy with multiple partners. Please take note that Sex is not a required part of neither intimacy nor love. Poly has been around since the 90's as a formal term, but the practice has been around since the beginning of time, I believe. It has been making the news sort of recently.

The following is taken from the news article :

Some polyamorists are married with multiple love interests, while others practice informal group marriage. Some have group sex—and many are bisexual—while those like Greenan have a series of heterosexual, one-on-one relationships. Still others don't identify as poly but live a recognizably poly lifestyle. Terisa describes her particular cluster as a "triad," for the number of people involved, and a "vee" for its organization, with Terisa at the center (the point of the V) and her two primary partners, Scott and Larry (who are not intimate with each other) as the tips of each arm. Other poly vocabulary exists, too: "spice" is the plural of "spouse"; "polygeometry" is how a polyamorous group describes their connections; "polyfidelitous" refers to folks who don't date outside their menage; and a "quad" is a four-member poly group.

I understand why many outsiders want to know about the sex arrangements, but I really wish that sex was not discussed along with Poly all the time. Intimacy does not require sex. Sure, sex can enhance intimacy, but it can also distract from it. No matter how many times someone who is Poly says "Its not about the sex", no one who has not lived it will easily get past the "Sex." It could be because of the extreme hangup society places on people.

More from the Article - which you should read in full :

But perhaps the practice is more natural than we think: a response to the challenges of monogamous relationships, whose shortcomings—in a culture where divorce has become a commonplace—are clear. Everyone in a relationship wrestles at some point with an eternal question: can one person really satisfy every need? Polyamorists think the answer is obvious—and that it's only a matter of time before the monogamous world sees there's more than one way to live and love. "The people I feel sorry for are the ones who don't ever realize they have any other choices beyond the traditional options society presents," says Scott.

Poly relationships may not always be easy, no relationship is, but in the long run, I truly feel as though they are easier than the current model of enforced monogamy.

In Peace and Spirit Be!

(Theme song that was going through my head while writing this : Love Song by Tesla)

Another Politician to like

2010-11-18T14:44:00.000-06:00

Both Franklin and Eleanor also "gave each other space" to cultivate romantic friendships outside of the marriage. Whether or not these relationships were physical is still up for debate, but the language of existing letters shows there's no question they were passionate.

Okay, so the precedent has been set for having a Poly president. I have hope yet!! :D

Magickal Thinking Works!

2010-10-25T09:58:00.002-05:00

Danish scientists have proven that lucky charms work!

Duh...

More Christian Nation stuff

2010-10-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

Founded as a Christian Nation? One more foray into this subject. Why? Because Idiots don't know the Constitution and it's history.

The first amendment states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

You can find transcripts of the debates during the continental congress. I would suppose that this amendment did not get a whole lot of opposing discussion. It is sound and rational and nobody wanted anyone else's religion imposed upon them.

Article Six of the Constitution, however, received much debate because of the following :

"but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

There were arguments that "pagans, deists, and Mahometans might obtain offices among us, and that the senators and representatives might all be pagans." - Henry Abbot and rebuttals of "But it is objected that the people of America may, perhaps, choose representatives who have no religion at all, and that pagans and Mahometans may be admitted into offices. But how is it possible to exclude any set of men, without taking away that principle of religious freedom which we ourselves so warmly contend for?" - James Iredell

Still, with full knowledge of all possible outcomes, the Founders signed the Constitution and the 13 States Ratified it (some votes were close though!). Therefore, I contest, that this was NOT founded as a Christian-only nation on purpose and with full knowledge.

Harmonic Convergence

2010-06-25T08:17:00.003-05:00

Well, we have a rare event coming up soon : The 2010 Harmonic Convergence! Not to be confused with the last Harmonic Convergence in 1987. This will take place July 17 and 18th of 2010.

So, with all the talk of "Divine Thought Moment" and "Unity Consciousness" and "Choice of 3rd Dimension or 5th Dimension" - what are we really looking at happening?

All the jargon is basically saying "Choose a path of Peace and Harmony and continue to thrive, or choose to keep doing things the same and wither."

You will hear people talk of the "Amazing Energy" and awesome realization of potential and all kinds of nonsensical phrases spoken with awe and the weight of something very important and grand. And it is - or can be. However, most people are not going to get that full effect.

I am getting images of one of those movies where the village 'crazy' rambles on about some big, glorious event coming and everyone ignores them, except a few who think it might be possible... then they see evidence and when the big event happens, they stand in awe and bask in the event - but not quite as thoroughly as the 'crazy.' ( Of course I wonder about how choosing to be serious and concerned and fearful is found more sane than choosing to be joyful, curious and at peace. )

There is also talk about "Duality." Here is where I get really interested. (of course, sometimes I think if I hear one more person ramble on about "Modalities" I'll snap!) Anyway, right now, the major belief system, the main thought or lifestyle is based on a sense of separation. Whether that is "God" is above "People" and "People" are above "Plants and Animals" or "I am alone" or "Nobody Understands" or "Man vs. Nature" doesn't matter, people think of themselves as separated from something or someone. The simple truth is that "Duality" is a great big lie.

The Truth of Unity

Yeah, I felt like labeling this section, LOL! Anyone who seriously looks at the "Big Picture" will tell you that everything is totally connected. What happens to someone in Somalia will have some kind of impact on each and every person on the planet. It might not be a big impact, it might not even be noticed, but it will happen. Most of the time Humans are way too focused on only what is right in front of them ( and often don't see all of it ) that they don't notice what is happening around them - or to them. Words fail to deliver the proper impact of "We are All Connected to Everything."

I really wish there were a way to actually get the full message of that statement across. We ALL have a direct and unbreakable connection to everything in existence - "God", "The Divine", "Asteroid 34234453x57", "Mako the Beluga Whale", "Joe Felding", "Feldspar", "Flip the Fox Squirrel" or your friendly neighborhood bacteria.

Energy

Energy is all around us and flowing through all things, us included. It is one of the ways we are all connected. Think of it as a Universal Internet WiFi signal and everything has a connection that is on all the time. Just like a computer, we don't have to be using it for anything - but we could.

So, could a wave of 'cosmic energy' wash over the planet and create a change in consciousness or our very DNA? Its possible, I think. Likely? Maybe not. Still, I'm consciously making the choice for more conscious living and for moving toward Unity as the default state of mind.

How do you do that? Just THINK about thinks a bit more. Consider what and who will be affected by your actions and how. Everything from taking off your shoes in the living room to zooming into the next lane at the last moment to the words and tone of voice you use to order coffee in the morning. Everything you do has a consequence and I try to be as aware as possible to what those consequences are because I am responsible for whatever happens as a result of my actions and reactions. Yes, I am responsible for how I react to someone else's actions. :D

I suppose I've rambled enough...

Rushing Time

2009-04-15T10:50:00.001-05:00

Somebody mentioned this morning that they were ready for Friday to get here, so they could enjoy the weekend - even though it goes by so fast.

So, that got me thinking, which admittedly can be a dangerous thing to start me doing.

This is a prime example of our thoughts controlling the universe (or at the very least, our perception of it). This person is busy from Monday on thinking of getting Friday here quicker. Therefore, time is picking up speed in order to get their desire - Friday. So, by the time Friday gets here, things are moving along fairly quickly - as per their desire.
So, Saturday is here and time is now flying. Sunday rolls around and they start trying to put on the brakes to keep Monday away. Time slows down - as per their desire. So, when Monday gets here, the brakes have been applied and time is going slow.

:D

Predictions

2009-04-06T14:24:00.001-05:00

I often have prophetic dreams that come true. There is a difference between "fluff" "meaningful" and "prophetic" dreams that is often difficult to convey.
Anyway, I had an odd dream last night involving a Young God running from his Father, whom I knew to be in Egypt. He was at a shipping yard and I believe had a crate of some sort that he was shipping somewhere. He was telling the person taking his paperwork that the date on top was critically important. Going to the extent of taking a pencil (yellow #2) and slowly pointing to each number of a digit sequence "08232010"

So, what the heck is supposed to happen on that date??

Ethics and Belief

2009-01-20T09:46:00.006-06:00

A comment on a The Wild Hunt post got me to wanting to write about this topic - Pagans, Belief and Ethics.

For many of us, when someone asks the question, "what do pagans believe," we tend to give the answer to the stated question. "Paganism is an umbrella term for many earth centered.... " What we often fail to do is to answer the question they really wanted the answer to, "What do YOU belive?"

In this post I am going to ask myself some questions and give myself some answers. I would enjoy seeing others answer the questions too in comments.

1. What do you believe?

Skipping my "about what?" response, I am going to assume a religious connotation here.

A. - about God? I belive that there is One Source of Creation. I believe that the Source is Creation and that all Creation is part of the Source. I believe that we are unable to comprehend the Source in it's entireity. I believe that all the gods are a part of the Source and they are all as real as we are. So, if you want to call the Creator "the Divine" then we are all Divine, as we are all part of the Source. We are each a small part of the Source, the same as a blood cell is a small part of each of us. The gods are each a bigger part of the Source. As for my personal Gods, I follow Cerridwyn and Cernunnos. (Kear - id - win and Kur - noss )

B. - about the Soul? I believe in the more and more scientifically accepted idea that everything is energy, that we are all interconnected - to everything, each other, the Gods and the Source. Energy can not be destroyed, only transformed. Therefore, I believe that the Soul (our divine spark, conciousness, spirit, whatever you want to call it) does "live" on after we die. I also believe that our "Soul" is not defined by what we incarnate as this go around - which kind of reflects my belief in re-incarnation. Is there an "End" to reincarnation, some 'nirvana' or 'ascention' of some sorts? I don't know. Having all of eternity to exist, I think we would find any one situation, incarnation, existence, place, whatever, to become a bit boring after a while and want to move to forward or back to something different.

2. What are your Ethics
Well, Ethics is a philosophy or study "right conduct" and a "good life." So, I suppose I can sum up my Ethics with one of my "mottos" - "Do that which is Right." Given that "Right" is highly subjective, I suppose that is hard to pin down without a situation to analyze. As a Pagan and a Druid Shaman, I suppose my definition of "Right" is whatever I am willing to be held personally responsible for. I'll cover the big three subjects relevant to the issue.

A. Murder - is, of course, wrong. I define Murder as an intentional and unjust taking of life, premeditated or not, whether with malice or (worse) indifference. I have no problem with intentionally killing a murderer. I have no problem killing someone who needs killing, ie, killing them is justifiable and/or necessary due to circumstances. In an admittidly contrary position to many Pagan and New Age people, I support the death penalty and lament that it is not handed down as much as it should be. There are people whose mere existance (not to mention their coddling) is a blight on society. That being said, any time someone kills someone else, it is a horrible thing to have to go through, at least for any reasonably moral and sane individual, whether it is the Right thing to do or not.

B. Theft - Stealing is wrong. No big explanation here. Taking something from someone against their will, whether by force or by subterfuge, is, was and always will be wrong. Of course, mitigating cirumstances come to bear here - as in, stealing bread when you are starving and penniless kind of things.

C. Lying - One should never lie - which is to tell an untruth. I try to adhere to only telling the absolute truth. One issue that often gets in the way of that is the sad fact that many people prefer to be lied to. Telling the truth has very often gotten people mad at me. So, often, telling a partial truth has to suffice, "No, I don't think you are stupid," leaving off the "but you are certainly behaving like it." I prefer the level of "truth" as exampled in this bit about "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein : "Fair Witnesses are prohibited from drawing conclusions about what they observe. As a demonstration, Harshaw asks Anne to describe the color of a house in the distance. She responds, "It's white on this side". Harshaw explains that she would not assume knowledge of the color of the other sides of the house without being able to see them. Furthermore, after observing another side of the house would not then assume that any previously seen side was still the same color as last reported, even if only minutes before."

But, in practice, that is a bit impractical and tends to get one yelled at often.

"Do that which is Right" and "Harm None" are both big parts of my morality and ethics. Do what you need to do in order to survive and live well, try not to hurt anyone, even their feelings and try not to hurt yourself.

Any questions you would want to ask?

The Bleeping Secret Prophecy and Beyond

2009-01-16T09:04:00.004-06:00

After watching documentary movies such as "What the bleep do we know?", "The Secret" and "The Celestine Prophecy" as well as watching the 'special event' "Beyond the Secret" discussion before that DVD comes out, I find myself wanting to gather discussion groups about the topics they put forth. It has been blasted at me for the last couple weeks, really. I watched both "The Secret" and "The Celestine Prophecy" and listened to Ariel's Druidic Craft of the Wise episode on Polarity and started realizing my own methods of going about utilizing "The Secret."

I am really hoping that these documovies get out into the mainstream a little bit more. Actually, since they are all so synergetic, I'd love to see them combined somehow. None of them are actually all that religious. "Bleep" and "Secret" are more scientific and corporate based and the "Celestine" is more a general spiritual thing. I suppose it is just a matter of wrapping the teachings of these great works into a very attractive package. "Self-help" is not the way to go, nor is "Success Training" or "Life Training" - that is only reaching people who have already realized that something needs to change. What about those who don't know any better yet?

It is not like the concepts are unique at all - and in fact, none of them claim that they are. The ideas and practices have been around for millenia. I think it is that those who know, have no idea how to tell other people. At least, not in a way that others can grasp easily. In all honesty, it is a very hard thing to actually put into practice. It is a very easy thing to do, yet very hard to actually start doing consistently.

Here it is : Everything, including us and rocks, is made of Energy. Matter is only energy moving very slowly. Everything is connected and interactive. We have the tools - Intellect, Imagination, Free Will and Thought - to alter our environments. The Mind is a powerful tool for us.

There are Universal Laws that are always working - always. If we can understand and apply these rules, nothing is impossible. "Bleep" shows how our thoughts affect ourselves, our environment and, to some degree, other people. "The Secret" shows how our thoughts become manifest. "Celestine" shows that just by being aware of our energy and how our thoughts affect it, we can alter how our lives work.

The Law of Attraction states that you attract what you think of. For example, if you think about the bills you have, you get more bills; if you think about getting the money to pay the bills, you get more money. It doesn't matter if you think about "Not Wanting" something or "Wanting" something - that something will manifest. So, think about what you want to happen and ignore even the possibility about what you don't want. (that is not to say you shouldn't be paying your bills. :D ) Think of everything in the Positive. Even the small things. If you find yourself at a nice resturant and taste a new dish, many people immediatly say "This is not bad." - they are stuck in the negative - instead, they should be saying, "This is really good."

The problem with just reading the book or watching the movie is that such a dramatic change in thought patterns and attitude is HARD to accomplish. It takes work and practice and a lot of self-awareness. One has to shed years of training and indoctrination into negative thoughts and take on a whole new way of looking and reacting to the world. Things like the "Beyond the Secret Alumni" will help those who can dedicate themselves to it. All in all, it takes a lot of work and help, but, the rewards for yourself and the world are totally worth it.

In Peace and Spirit Be!

Civic Minded Pagans

2009-01-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about my time in the Mississippi Jaycees - a civic service organization. I really enjoyed being a part of making a difference in my community. A lot of that 'urge' to do community service comes from my spirituality. "For the good of the wolf, the pack, for the good of the pack, the wolf." When the pack is the community, my local area, city, region, the need to improve conditions is obvious.

I see all of the murders (73 in 2008 just in Jackson alone) and shootings, stabbings, thefts and other violent crimes and I am appalled. I see the homeless rambling around my work in downtown Jackson. I see angry, unhappy people all over the place. I see all of this and I want to do something more than talk or write letters demanding action.

With all the "Indigo" children and "Star" children people talk about, being here for a purpose, to 'raise the vibration' and all - what are We, as Pagan members of our communities, actually DOING? Doing a Google search, I find quite a few Pagan organizations - mostly aimed at fighting discrimination and educating the public about 'nature religions.' I found, Red Hills Pagan Council that puts "goodwill" in their purpose statement and The Pagan Alliance that seeks to 'work for justice and connect our communities'. Fellowship of the Earth also seems fairly good and they list "Community Service" as part of their purpose.

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." ~Khalil Gibran

If you know of a pagan or pagan-friendly group that is taking action to make a difference in the community, post it! Promote it. If not, what can we do to start that group?

Same Sex Marriage

2008-12-29T10:33:00.003-06:00

I've been battling on this issue. A major battle was whether to take a stance on it or not... and then whether to say anything about it or not.

On the face of the issue, my response is "Why not?" I don't really mind a gay couple. I have a few gay-couple friends and some gay friends who are not so attached.

Then you have my love of language. Marriage is a union of a man and a woman, a husband and wife. I can see where married couples feel that allowing "Marriage" to be also between a man and man or woman and woman that their "Marriage" will loose some of it's specialness.
Then you get to the, well, in the same sex marriage, who is the "husband" and who is the "wife"?

Then I question, why Re-Define an established institution? Marriage is unique to heterosexual unions. I believe it would be a benefit to Create a unique institution for same-sex unions.

I have rallied against "marriage" before. The 'roles' associated with the terms assigned are usually not the roles that wish to enter into. I do not want to be the "Husband" - head of household, bread-winner, decision maker, law-enforcer kind of thing. I don't want a "Wife" - home maker, keeper of the household, care-giver, comfort-provider. I want a "Marriage" to be a partnership of equals where responsibilities are shared, strengths are shared and weaknesses are compensated for. One partner 'lording' over the other doesn't work for me.

An article I just read, expressing similar ideas, got me thinking even further. Why limit recognition to only two-party unions? I am polyamarous at heart and it would be great to have that be a viable option - that would not get a loving triad (or more) arrested for simply being in love with more than one person at a time.

Of course, what would be good terms for the various relationships?? Like cohabitation - the short-term, temporary marriage? ( Handfasted? - and how would I feel about my Pagan term used for any-and-all short-term cohabitation? ) How about a term for Man-Man Union? ( Dudeunon? *groan* Manwed? *lol*) How about two women? ( Sapphos Union? ) Or Woman-Man-Woman ( Heaven? ... Triage? *roflol* ) *Sigh* Perhaps I see why some would want to re-define an existing term. Then, what would you say instead of "husband/wife" ? Wife/Wife?

Any suggestions on relationship terms?

Government BY the Rich, For the Rich

2008-12-17T09:43:00.002-06:00

This Article (which I find kind of hypocritical considering the Bush dynasty) points out a large failing of our government system. “There are three issues behind this trend,” said Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause and a former Pennsylvania congressman. “Money is issue number one, money is issue number two and money is issue number three.”

Nobody can win office without spending lots and lots of money. If you are not at least very well off, you don't stand a chance of becoming an elected official on a state or especially national scale.

I'd like to open this up for some discussion - How can we change those three big issues facing potential candidates?

Judicial Discrimination - Its Illegal

2008-11-21T14:19:00.002-06:00

From a story pointed out on The Wild Hunt.

Summary of the Story :

Woman looses custody based on her alleged involvement in Wicca. She then looses the appeal. The Judges who ruled against her use her alleged religion of Wicca to support the decision.

Two dissenting Judges agree that this is a travesty of justice and blatant religious discrimination.

The same kind of Judiciary religious discrimination has happened to a friend of mine. She was ordered to keep her children away from Pagan influence and activities - or loose custody.

Instead of ranting on how most christians will be gathering torches and protesting how any person be allowed to raise their child other than christian, I am going to provide some resources that might can help those in this situation.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against because of your religion (no matter what that may be), here are some contacts or ways to contact.

The American Civil Liberties Union of your area
The United States Department of Justice : Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination
Maybe a Local Lawyer.

Bailouts, Bailouts, Bailouts

2008-11-17T12:37:00.004-06:00

Fannie and Freddie. AIG. Financial Institutions and Wallstreet. AIG - again. Now the big three Auto Manufacturers.

People feared Obama would take us toward socialism. Bush not only ushered it in, his economic policies and his pet wars made it absolutely necessary (they say).

The Bailouts are the government "buying stock" in the companies, thereby becoming shareholders - or part owners of - each company. We now have government owned banks and insurance agencies.

People are asking, "Why?"

Well, for that, read Bailout pays Bonuses and Sugar Daddy and End the Bailouts and America Discovers.

I like to blame Bush for this economic crisis because of the policies of his administration, his decietful war and admittidly the fact that he sounds like an idiot when speaking. Here I will admit, there is a much broader blame to be placed.

I am not sure whether it's placement should be on the exectutives and boards of these companies or on the greed of human nature. Greed(1)(2)(3). I realize that Greed bears the fault of this crisis. However, the executives of these companies have gorged themselves on greed. The fables behind the links (1) and (2) are fine and good, but now we have another, more true fable to tell of greed. How the few greedy executives paid, praised and rewarded themselves to death.

They preyed on the people they were serving until the people they were serving no longer had money. The government tried to bail out the companies - and the executives did not use the money to re-invigorate the economy, no - they used it to reward themselves more, buy more companies and go on company-paid vacations. How much responsibility should rest squarely on the shoulders of these greed-filled people? Now, it seems, these executives and CEOs are not satisfied with eating themselevs out of food (draining our economy), they are gorging themselves on the public assistance and not using it to re-plant the fields. So, basically, the farmers are spoiling their fields and the fields of their neighbors who tried to help out as well. When does it end? When will these greedy people be held responsible for what they have wrought upon this country?

Are we going to face a "French Revolution" - complete with freedom fries? What is it going to take to get rid of this Greed-over-common-sense ideal in our financial markets? I would not mind at all if they were only hurting themselves, but they are hurting me and millions of other people with their endless, thoughtless greed. CEO pay is 15 times the average salary. For any idiot who thinks all of our money is not just going UP without any "trickle down" at all, WAKE UP!

I couldn't say it any better than S. Woods Bennett, a 57-year-old lawyer in Baltimore when he said, "Their sense of entitlement is appalling.''

There is not any situation that any one person 'deserves' a $125 Million Dollar bonus. None. If a company makes that kind of money off of people, it needs to cut back what it charges people. Not by a lot, but by some. Spread the money around a bit more - raise salaries for the next year, increase employee benefits. Cut the executive's bonus back to 1 or 2 million. It is just a bonus. Spread the other $123 Million around by giving bonuses to all employees who all helped contribute to the success. Give a Bonus to your customers who are soley responsible for the company's profit - make one full payment on their loan you hold for them.

One of the most, in my mind, idiotic practices of the Financial system is to charge people who have less money available higher interest. The less money you have, the more money they force you to pay for something. The 'system' calls this practice 'mitigating risk,' but in fact they are pretty much ensuring the defaults of those loans. In what kind of 'logic' does it make sense to make people who have less pay more?

The bottom line is that the Financial companies created their own misery by their culture of greed. They have devoured and deprived their customer base.

People have funny ideas that a financial analyst is a very smart individual and most people think of a simple farmer as, well, simple. Looking at the way the Financial complanies have run their business, I have to say that even a farmer knows to fertalize their fields to continue to reap a harvest. Farmers also rotate crops between ones like corn that deplete the soil and ones that are easy on the soil like wheat. They also plant cover crops after harvest, like winter rye or buckwheat and till those back into the soil before planting season. The Farmers know that you have to treat your "Soil" good to make sure that it will provide for you when harvest time comes. The Financial companies don't seem to grasp the concept.

Obama Wins!

2008-11-05T16:39:00.006-06:00

Last night, I was able to witness Barack Obama winning the election for President of the United States of America - by 52% of the popular vote. Many called the results a "mandate" for Obama - or against G.W. Bush.

I made a twitter shortly after the victory was announced, "I am very happy, but still worried - the Republican corruption machine may not be done. They are tricky and evil to the core." Shortly following Obama's victory speech I tweeted, "I am trying to remain pessimistic, but that Obama speech gives me more hope than I have had in a long time." Honestly, I was barely holding back tears at the time and had to show the text message to my girlfriend because I didn't trust myself to speak.

I find my Hope in Obama to be for the Healing of the United States of America, to usher in a return to the hopes the founding fathers had in our country of Freedom, Liberty and Justice for All. I hope to see a Government free from Religion, a Government run by the People for the People. I hope to see this country able to stand tall and proud, generous and peaceful, confident.

I LOVE the line from Obama's Victory speech, "Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."

Hopefully we will have seen the last of the Republican "Party First" politics. Hopefully they will, as McCain stated in his concession speech to the gathered rich-preppy-white crowd, offer Obama good will and earnest effort to help the country grow. Hopefully they will not continue to simply work against the Democrats in every way. Hopefully all politicians will now put Country First, not party affiliation.

I was terribly disappointed that the Right-Wing Fear-mongers got initiatives passed, in States belonging to a country that was founded on Freedom, Liberty, Justice for All and Pursuit of Happiness, that denied or revoked basic human rights. I really don't have a stake one way or the other in Proposition 8 or the others that passed, but it is a sad sign in this time of Hope. Thankfully, Anti-Choice items failed to be passed, so those Rights are preserved for the time being.

I pray and envision a United States of America that is again grounded in reason, consideration, tolerance and charity. I long for an end to unreasoned hatred of those who are different in some way - whether color of their skin, nation of their origin, gods to whom they pray or political leanings.

UPDATE: 11/6/08
Just two days after the Election, Republicans are already swearing vengeance and spewing hate. Articles like "Unity - no thank you" and the comments on it show that the unreasoning, blind hate is not subsiding. Many are calling for increased hate and sabotage of the USA. Some articles swing in the right direction then go just as far in the wrong direction.

Political Items:

I would like to see an adjustment to the Electoral College to make it more a reflection of the popular vote.
I would like to see Term Limits on House of Representatives and Senate.
I would like to see the elimination of the government exclusion of "third" parties and government support of the two 'big' parties.

Links of Interest:
Op-Ed on Powell Endorsement ; NPR's Fresh Air - Mickey Edwards ; Republican Corruption website ; Liberals Like Christ - GOP corruption ;

Books:

Bill Maher's Religulous

2008-11-03T10:05:00.009-06:00

I went to see the Bill Maher's Religulous over the weekend. It was only playing in one out of five major theaters in the 10-city area.

The film was, for me, very funny. A great movie with a wonderful, logical conclusion. It was also very frustrating at times.

It attempts to expose the ridiculous beliefs of religions, their contradictory ideas and the vehemence with which the believers hold to their beliefs, even in the face of logic and rational thought to the contrary.
"It worries me to have a national leader who believes in talking snakes" Bill laughed at one point, referring to the tempting serpent in the garden of eden.

At one point, I did have to yell out at the screen. I thought it was a clip of George Bush, but apparently it was John McCain saying, "I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation," to which I loudly responded, "Bullshit." (see my second post on this blog) (McCain, Bush, whats the difference? 10%?)

Bill Maher 'interviews' people of various faiths and asks some hard questions about their beliefs. Sadly, he just makes fun of their answers instead of actually giving them room to speak. Granted, most of the answers are funny and deserve to be made fun of. Including the woman in Florida who is all peppy about dying, being raised to heaven and 'come back on a white horse.'
Still, I would have appreciated a more serious debate or discussion of religious beliefs and goals.

He is met often with the "you are questioning god!" mentality for defense of their beliefs. After one exchange where Bill points out how silly a belief in some 'miracle' is, the answer is, "He IS God." As if that explains everything. There is, indeed, no making a rational argument when someone has that defense, "its magic." "You just have to have faith."

The interview with the Vatican Bishop who scoffed at most of the church's tenants, including the 10 commandments could have been a lot more interesting. Why the segment with the Gay Muslims in a bar was even included, I have no idea.

If the purpose was to show that religions have no good answers, the movie showed more that Bill wouldn't let them give full answers. Granted, some of them refused to answer or gave blank looks.

I did enjoy the reactions to questions about the stories of Osiris and Mithra comparing them to Jesus.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no mention of my pet scripture - Matthew 15:21-26 - but, thems the breaks.

The conclusion of the documentary was basically that Religion in all its forms is destroying the world. Wars and hatred are all rooted in religion. Rational, thinking men who do not obfuscate reality with religion, will run the world, their own countries, better. Basically, Bill states that in order to save the world, we must eliminate religion.

Mostly, I can see his point and somewhat agree. Getting rid of the organized religion that preaches "One Truth" and that everyone else is lesser or in some way the enemy, would cut down on a lot of the killing and hatred in the world.

Religion is indeed a crutch, but people are lame.

Intelligent Design

2008-10-28T08:48:00.004-05:00

Thorswitch posted on christians teaching their kids to disrupt classrooms when evolution is brought up. (typical). Reading the post, I followed a link to a wikipedia article on Intelligent Design. Reading through it, I found that I pretty much agree with the theory.

What? You thought this was the "Pagan Side?" Well, it is. I do, pretty much, agree with the theory that there was some 'intelligent design' guiding evolution, even the creation of life. Granted, I probably disagree with the Source of that design. I don't think it was some grumpy old man in the sky.

The theory of Intelligent Design though, I believe in. Look, for example, at the interconnectedness of everything on earth. Animals (including people) breathe in Oxygen and use it in their bodily functions, then breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants then take in carbon dioxide to use in photosynthesis and growth, then 'exhale' oxygen. What a brilliant design - the Carbon cycle! Look at the human body! The lungs to take in oxygen, the blood stream, the immune system - we're a complex system! The design elements of the Human body are used over and over in vastly different arrangements. One interesting thing is that we are pretty much dependent on bacteria to live. "There are approximately 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells in the human body, with large numbers of bacteria on the skin and in the digestive tract."(link and more info) How can that be an accident? Really? A symbiotic relationship with a single cell organism is essential to our survival. Brilliant!

The religious part of the Intelligent Design movement point to a separate, Christian, deity as the source of this wonder of engineering. That is one point that I greatly disagree with. In order to explain my theory, I feel that I must explain the process of reaching this conclusion.

I grew up in the Southern Baptist church. When I went to college, I was part of the Baptist Student Union. I was eventually on the BSU Leadership Council. At one point, I was giving testimonials and preaching with full intent to continue into the ministry. Unfortunately, I am smart and ethical. I read the bible and, in good christian form, believed what it told me. Essentially:
Jehovah created Adam and Eve, who then ate of the tree of knowledge and did not die despite Jehovah telling them they would - what I call the 'first lie'. They then began the Tribe of Israel with Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel took wives from the other tribes - in my humble belief, pre-existing, established tribes of people NOT created by Jehovah. Over hundreds of years Jehovah guides the Jewish people, the House of Israel. Eventually sending Jesus, who tells us that he was only sent to the lost children of the house of Israel - no one else. Now, Christians tell us that "the Lord" - which includes Jesus - can not lie. They describe this as a "test" of faith. Either it was a 'test' and Jesus lied about not being sent to everyone or he told the truth. I take it that he told the Truth. So, having done family genealogy, I find that I have no Jewish ancestry and therefore Jesus was not sent for me, leading me to the conclusion that Christianity was never meant for me as I am from the Other Tribes.

So, I did a LOT of prayer and observation and natural study. Eventually having a spiritual revelation about my path to Truth. I, having lead a fairly sheltered baptist life, thought I had come upon a new way of thinking, a new enlightenment! It was about two years later, after I had a pretty good outline of explaining my new faith, that I was told by a listener, "Oh, you're Pagan."

And now for my Theory. The Source of the Intelligent Design is, well, The Source. I believe that there is a Source of All Things and that everything is a part of The Source and it is within everything. Summing up, The Source is Omni-present. I see The Source as including all things - plants, animals, minerals, angels, gods, goddesses, devils, demons, stars, planets.... everything. The Source is the design as well as the designer. Within each of us is the model of the whole. We are all connected to each other and everything. Our survival depends on each and every thing in existence.

The Source - as in everything in existence - is constantly evolving. As rare species die out, something must evolve to replace them or a hole, a sickness of the whole is created. I hope, despite evidence, that Mankind is not becoming cancerous to the whole. I hope that we can reverse the trend of being more damaging than good. I hope we can become a part of the whole again instead of continuing to believe and act as though we are separate and above creation.

One Nation (not under God)

2008-10-27T14:06:00.005-05:00

The Constitution

Not a Christian document

Religion is a very important topic for me. I strongly support the Freedom of Religion that our forefathers saw was needed for this country. I strongly support the statement made in the Treaty of Tripoli, written by Joel Barlow and signed proudly by John Adams that "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion". ( I find Buckner's Article on the Treaty very helpful on that matter and this article on the Tripoli treaty from NoBeliefs.com and Infidels.org article on the "Christian Nation" myth and even this EarlyAmerican.com piece on a Secular Government.)

The fact that this is a purposefully secular government is well documented and proven, over and over as you can see. Why do they still protest the facts?

I like this all-creatures.org article. It points out the Constitution, Article VI, Section 3: "No religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." In these days and times, that important part is thrown out and if anyone fails the religion test, they have almost no hope of attaining any office - and may lose any office which they have won. That is thoroughly against what our founding fathers envisioned. I really enjoyed listening to Colin Powell's speech endorsing Obama (also, also):
"I’m also troubled by…what members of the party say, and is permitted to be said, such things as, ‘Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, 'He is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian, he’s always been a Christian.'
But the really right answer is, 'What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?'
The answer’s 'No, that’s not America.'"

I have to include this from one of the articles above. Many claim that our laws are founded on christian concepts, but one of our founders totally disagrees:
Thomas Jefferson, elaborated about the history of common law in his letter to Thomas Cooper on February 10, 1814:

"For we know that the common law is that system of law which was introduced by the Saxons on their settlement in England, and altered from time to time by proper legislative authority from that time to the date of Magna Charta, which terminates the period of the common law. . . This settlement took place about the middle of the fifth century. But Christianity was not introduced till the seventh century; the conversion of the first christian king of the Heptarchy having taken place about the year 598, and that of the last about 686. Here then, was a space of two hundred years, during which the common law was in existence, and Christianity no part of it.

. . . if any one chooses to build a doctrine on any law of that period, supposed to have been lost, it is incumbent on him to prove it to have existed, and what were its contents. These were so far alterations of the common law, and became themselves a part of it. But none of these adopt Christianity as a part of the common law. If, therefore, from the settlement of the Saxons to the introduction of Christianity among them, that system of religion could not be a part of the common law, because they were not yet Christians, and if, having their laws from that period to the close of the common law, we are all able to find among them no such act of adoption, we may safely affirm (though contradicted by all the judges and writers on earth) that Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."

I will go on to point out that the Saxons were Pagans. So, in point of historical fact, the laws of the United States of America are rooted in Paganism.

Another thing, dealing with the Title of this post, that I would like to point out is the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge, as written by Francis Bellamy, was : 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' This is a fine pledge for all Americans - even those who don't believe in any god. Bellamy was a Christian and he didn't feel the overwhelming need to force his religion on others.

"In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, changed the Pledge's words, 'my Flag,' to 'the Flag of the United States of America.' Bellamy disliked this change, but his protest was ignored."
I suppose this was the beginning of the Idiot's Reign in the U.S. - who wouldn't know that they were pledging allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America? It is a superfluous addition more than anything else.

"In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer. Bellamy's granddaughter said he also would have resented this second change." This, in my humble opinion, goes completely against the Constitution. It is the start of the insinuation of christianity into our government. This little addition purposefully excludes a large portion of United States citizens.

I already say only the (mostly) original pledge:

'I pledge allegiance to (the) Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'

but I think I am going to start with this one :
"A few liberals recite a slightly revised version of Bellamy's original Pledge:
'I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty and justice for all.'"

I would love to see our Nation return to more of the principles of our founding fathers. I would love to see a more inclusive society, run by intellectuals grounded in tolerance.

I have found another source for more quotes and discussion on this :
The Volokh -- in particular, comments by Cityduck.

Welcome to the Pagan Side

2008-10-27T13:52:00.002-05:00

The purpose of this Blog is to comment on Society, Religion, Politics and (probably mostly) news stories from a Pagan perspective.

Please note that it will be from the point of view of a Centergistic Celtic Shaman Druid - not a Wiccan or Asatru or Egyptian flavor of paganism. Comments are very very welcome from other Pagans on the posts to be made here.

I will be reviving a few older posts or topics from other areas that I have written to flesh out the first few days here.

There will be no personal info on this blog. I have a LiveJournal for those type posts. :D

Welcome!