a little about me...

a little about my spiritual/religious family upbringing with some thoughts on it and how this encouraged me to get interested in paganism.

My mother was a Roman Catholic and went to Church every Sunday. She was strong in her religious beliefs and made sure that me and my sister were brought up this way also. She was (and still is) a good person and instilled in me her strong sense of values. My father was an Athiest - he didn't believe in anything, and often put my mother down for her spiritual beliefs. Although I went to Catholic schools, Sunday school, Church on Sundays and was even an altar boy, I often felt that many of the beliefs I was being taught were either shallow, boring, without any obvious meaning or reason, didn't fit with modern thinking, or just didn't seem right. When I asked questions, either the person teaching me palmed me off with a superficial answer, or gave me a text-book answer without any real understanding of what they were saying. Over time I began to develop my own ideas about what the problems were with the religion being taught to me, and my own ideas on what 'this God thing' was all about.

From the age of fourteen, I was spending a lot of time down the bush with my dogs, and used to go exploring everywhere. I used to go, partly for the adventure, and partly to escape the house (as my father didn't make it a pleasant place to spend). I guess it was mainly during this time that I started thinking about life. I used to go to a few special places, and just sit down and think. These places would often have a particular energy that I would unconsciously look for. One place I used to go to from time to time had an amazing energy, day or night, and it was there that I developed my ideas about nature being a life-force, a type of energy that flowed through all living things. But there seemed no-one I could talk to about it. All of my friends seemed caught up with superficial things, and even my spiritual teachers at the time (Priests and monks) didn't seem to have a spiritual bone in their bodies.

It wasn't until, I think, toward the end of my first year at uni, when I stumbled across a spirituality that just seemed to 'click'. I discovered the word 'pagan' through a fiction book I was reading, and then events just snow-balled. The main discovery was through internet chat relay (irc) where I discovered Wiccans and pagans, read some books, and then, through another string of co-incidences, discovered 'Pagans at the Pub' - an informal pagan discussion group at a pub in Newtown. Suddenly, there was a wealth of people that I could discuss my spirituality with, and were on the same or similar 'wavelength' as me - they understood where I was coming from, and seemed to have similar beliefs to me. 

I read more, started going to "Pagans at the Pub", attended public gatherings, began going to an open teaching circle (Alexandrian witchcraft), and met the most amazing people. It was like riding a spiritual wave after living in a spiritual desert, although I also met some pagans who were either on power-trips, or had left their brain in an alternate reality - not everyone was "spiritual" or "enlightened". You just have to take the good with the bad.

my thoughts on the ideals expressed by different religions in the world

I believe that every religious path has its place in the world. Some religions have different ways of thinking or looking at the world, some are oppressive and control people, and others draw people along like sheep and encourage religious righteousness. I believe that there is a common vein within most religions in that people are looking for ways to connect with and understand the world/universe (ie why am I here?) - whether or not they achieve this is another question.

my particular path - where I'm coming from (or going to..)

My particular path originates from me! I have my own personal beliefs and values which I have developed over the years through reading, talking, interacting with the world, and meditating. As many of my beliefs are similar to that of paganism, I chose to use this label. My beliefs also hold some similarities to those of Buddhism, Chinese Taoism, Native American Indian, and general shamanistic values. I'm also attracted to Celtic culture and spirituality. All of these interest me, so I can't claim to be following a particular tradition. Sometimes you just have to make your own path rather than follow in someone else's footsteps.  

I could write an enormous amount on my beliefs - but will try and 'summarise' them to the best of my ability. As you may probably imagine, there are many limitations in the printed word (and the spoken one too!) and there really aren't enough words to explain fully my meanings, but I will do my best.

I believe that my beliefs are only truly relevant to me (my personal path), but may be similar to many others. No one person has the true and only way - there are many paths to 'enlightenment'. The way my beliefs differ most significantly from, say, 'New Age', is that my values are earth-based, whereas I feel that New Age has its head up in the clouds (not to say that it doesn’t have its place, only that I disagree with its value-sense). I believe that all of us are on this planet to learn - that of growing spiritually, and understanding our place in the universe - by learning our life lessons and seeking to connect with the earth on a spiritual level.

I believe in balance in all things - that everything has its place, but to walk the easiest path, we need to find that balance. To try and explain this concept further (and you could write a book on this concept alone) the drug Morphine has its place in the world as a pain-killer. However, if it is abused and taken recreationally, you walk an unbalanced path, and slide down the dark and destructive path of the drug-addict. If, on the other hand, you completely ban it from existence, your actions may cause great pain and suffering from those dying from a painful cancer and have a valid medicinal use for it. You walk the high (and also unbalanced) 'holier than thou' path of the righteous.

My values are important in my spiritual belief, and are mainly; love, forgiveness, compassion, honesty (except in self-defense or minor dishonesty - ie white-lies to avoid inconvenience), balance, open-mindedness, and community. These values, I believe, are highly important to my path - they ensure that I am a good friend, and they ensure that the people I call friends also have these values - in other words, they also are true friends. There are many people in the world who have many friends and appear successful, but as soon as they need support from their friends, discover that their friends don't care or want to know them. This is a sad by-product of our selfish societal values and lack of community.

One of my beliefs that affects me the most is my belief that there is no such thing as co-incidence - that everything happens for a reason (well almost everything). This has allowed some amazing strings of apparent co-incidences to occur to me far beyond what is probable in our structured world. Another is my belief in the value of community - this has often been the greatest source of my learning, and the greatest area of my constructive and creative talents. With a sense of community, great things can be achieved that would otherwise be impossible to the individual.

I believe in spirit guides, guided energy (ie magick, spiritual healing), true love, life, and living life to the fullest. I believe that the use of magick or energy manipulation is mostly for healing, and that by remaining open to the energies of the universe (through dream interpretation, divination, being aware of 'co-incidence', being aware of 'hints' from the universe (such as getting sick when you're stressed - indicating that you need to slow down) and learning your lessons from life) that you will be happier, travel through life easier, and feel greater fulfilment.

This is my path. It guarantees (so far) my happiness and fulfilment, my love of life, and makes the most sense (the answer to life, universe and everything - well some of it anyway) to me. I hope to keep on learning and strive to always better myself.

thoughts on how I integrate my path and the topics I mentioned earlier into my everyday life

my path is my life, my life is my path. Every interaction with the world, every contact with people I make, I bring my beliefs and value-structure with me. I also understand that not everyone sees the world as I do, and so I feel the need to keep this in mind when interacting with people who are likely to see the world differently. I also work intuitively, and so not always understanding why I do some of the things I do, I feel that they are the right things for the moment - my belief in this, I am happy to say, is usually positively validated.

I don't personally see any negativities with my path, although there are probably some that others can see. I do, however, recognise that there are problem with people who use the same label as me, just as there are problems with some people who use labels of different paths and religions. The people I speak about are the people who hide behind their religion, who use the label as an excuse for bigotry, atrocities, racism, intolerance, lies, theft and even murder. This is not religion. This is using religion to gain personal power.

People coming into paganism are prey to the manipulative abilities of power-seeking 'gurus', just as there are in any religion. This is where 'gurus' prey on the innocence and ignorance of a person seeking their path and/or healing. The only words of warning I can say to such seekers who are new on their path is - to beware of gurus, have faith in your own judgement, your own self-worth, and your own abilities, and trust your intuition. If something doesn't 'ring true' or 'sound right' then it is something to be extra wary of.

Another problem I guess, is the issues arising from religious intolerance from local practitioners of mainstream religions. People who follow a pagan or witchcraft path are sometimes discriminated against, threatened, and even harassed, usually by religious fundamentalists or just followers of Christian-based religions. In this case I say fight for what you believe in and for what you believe to be true (ie your right to believe in and practice a non-intrusive, non-destructive religion or path). This can sometimes be a difficult and trying path, but if you find yourself in this situation, you may be able to find support in others with similar experiences. In this way, a sense of community can really help the individual.

what I think is causing some of these problems and what I think could be done to improve these issues, especially towards those just coming into paganism

The problems arising from religious intolerance are twofold. There are those who discriminate and harass due to their own ignorance of what the path of paganism entails, and there are those who believe their God to be the one-and-only and followers of other beliefs should be righteously smited. There is nothing you can do about the latter, only stand up for your rights. The issue of the former is slowly being addressed through documentaries, the abundance of books on the subject, positive news articles, positive addressing of paganism in television, magazines, the internet and even movies. It isn't to say that these mediums for communication are clearly putting across the issues, values and concepts of paganism, but at least they are starting to show the positive side of them (as opposed to many hundreds of years of Christian propaganda).

The problems arising from power-hungry 'gurus' are problems that the pagan community is a long way from solving or even addressing. Sometimes staying in touch with a wider community can help (such as the Australian Pagan Alliance - a networking body). There has been occasional talk of a 'body of elders' who would judge and then announce a 'guru's' guilt - however, not only does this have the issue of slander to address, but it also has the potential to end up as corrupt and self-inflating as the 'gurus' that they were set up to protect us from in the first place. There are no clear answers here yet - good communication seems to be the best defence.

what lead me to run a "Pagans in the Pub" myself and start the National Pagans in the Pub Network website, and what I hope to achieve from them. 

I first started "Pagans at the Pub, Canberra" in 1996 after coming to Canberra from Sydney. As I mentioned earlier, I had been going to Pagans at the Pub in Sydney when I lived there. After moving to Canberra, I discovered that there wasn't anything like it around, and so with the help of my partner and a few friends, slowly got the idea off the ground. To me, Pagans at the Pub was a contact point for new pagans, a venue where you could share your spiritual ideas with other people of like-mind, and overall, develop a sense of pagan community within Canberra. It is still going - we often have between 10-15 people there a night, with sometimes up to 5 people new to paganism. Some people come back, some don't - it isn't for everyone, but the many who do turn up often get some value from it.

We talk about things like divination, spirit guides, values, methods, ethics, and any other topics as they relate to paganism and pagan values. The most fun topics are the ones on ethics, as there is often no 'right' answer - and sometimes people will come from a totally different perspective. The most important thing about it is that everyone is entitled to their view, and even if you disagree with someone, you respect their right to have different values and ideas.

The National Pagans at the Pub Network was set up on the internet to encourage other Pagans at the Pub (also known as Pagan Moots) to start up and to provide an information hub for what and where the latest Pagan Pub moots and events in Australia were. It has had a lot of support since it started in 1997, and has provided a good network base for pagans seeking others of like-mind.

comments on my male-orientated pagans email group, what made me start it, and where I plan to take it

the paganmen email-group sprung up out of my interest in male issues and male spirituality. It seemed over the years that the majority of people coming to paganism were female, and the majority were choosing the path of witchcraft. Firstly, this meant that many of the men who were choosing this path were sometimes dominated by the many strong women (often drawn to witchcraft as a self-empowering path), and secondly that the female/Goddess side of paganism was being strongly developed but leaving the male/God side in the dust. You remember that I believe in balance? So I started to see if I could address this balance, as well as develop a forum where men could discuss their ideas on male paganism and spirituality.

It is amazing how many men are on the list who don't seem to have opinions on anything spiritual and so don't feel that have anything to contribute. This may be due to past societal oppression of personal spirituality paths, or just lack of 'self-worth'. Something drew these men to the list, however, which gives them the opportunity to "listen" to others, and give them something to think about. There are also other men on the list who use it to help them develop their ideas (by contributing as well as reading what others have to say) and are well on the way to being true leaders, teachers and healers. Sometimes by putting your thoughts into words or writing, you help give them shape and can develop them more clearly, but you also have to not be afraid of occasionally putting your foot in your mouth. 

There have been two male pagan gatherings (weekend camp and workshops/discussions) in the last year, but both did poorly in attendance - mainly due to apathy and lack of vision as to what may be achieved and lack of understanding of what men's spirituality is about and has to offer. But, from little things big things grow (like the song says), and I will continue to learn about and put my energies into men's spirituality until the snowball is rolling. If that point is reached…. Well, it would be a great thing indeed. Even if I manage to only get the snowball a little way and a little bigger than it was, that would be something. From everything I understand about tribal systems and the gender-based spirituality that each had (Australian Aboriginal, American Indian, etc, etc etc), there was a rich plethora of learning and growing within it that is absent in our present society, and at it's cost.

those who have been my greatest teachers or spiritual influences in my life 

One of my greatest spiritual teachers was a witch by the name of Hawthorn (who has since moved up north to follow her dream of living from the land). She ran an open Wiccan teaching circle in Sydney that I went to for a number of years by the name of Eldergrove, and had and taught many of the principles that I had then or have since adopted. She was one of the few people I have met who 'walk their talk' and I miss her greatly. Despite my learnings and practices at this time, I don't consider myself a witch, as it means to me 'a way of being' that is a great deal more than is voiced by popular opinion. I don't feel that I currently have the personal discipline or the spiritual strength to follow this path and what it means. Maybe one day…

One of the other main spiritual influences I have currently in my life is my radiant and loving partner Ravensfire. She daily teaches me about love, passion, the joining of two spiritual beings, and integrity. She supports me in my beliefs and is forever showing me her views and ways of handling the world. I don't always strictly agree with those views but I am learning a lot from her. She is a wonderful mother, both to her kids and my daughter, and to me, a true friend and lover - and for now, we are together - giving support and love to the other, and receiving it in turn.

some things that I enjoy doing

I enjoy living! I enjoy eating good food, drinking good wine, having great sex, connecting with nature through bushwalks and gardening, bike-riding, roller-blading (on Canberra's bike paths - it’s a lot of fun!), firedancing, tribal drumming in a group (Djembe), playing with my children, being creative in a variety of ways, fixing things, laughing, loving, and spending quality time with my very special other-half.

a little about community

Most people will ask, "why should I give? What's in it for me?" My answer to that is, "more than you can believe!" To me, giving is what community is all about - each person gives something towards it - and the parts together shape a whole that is greater than the individual sum of those parts. A strong and loving community is where people are encouraged to grow and shape their ideas and ideals - and from this, the human race grows.

Well, thanks for listening me rave on about myself and my beliefs. I strongly recommend checking out the rest of this site, and come back at least once every few months. This site is still in its early stages yet and has a long way to grow...

blessings, Wyrmwood

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