by Wyrmwood
In the various pagan paths, and for you in particular, how important is it for people to be individuals, and find their own path, and to what extent should diversity of views be encouraged, and why?
It is extremely important for people to be individuals and follow their own path, whether they be pagans or just recognise themselves as spiritual beings. Sometimes it is useful to be part of a group or a particular path (Wiccan, Asatru), but this is only one way for the individual to learn and grow. Ultimately, all of us are alone on our path.
The Buddhists have a saying: many paths, one goal. To have a diversity of views is just another angle of the same picture. Who is to say which is the 'right' view? There are definitely some views where it is easier to see or 'make sense' of the picture, but not everyone likes a front row seat. Particular views are more acceptable to some people, easier to work with or to understand. They also allow exploration of ideas with the possibility of a new way of looking at the picture. The more diversity, the more colourful the view. Ultimately, the paths do not matter if the goal is the same.
Share an experience about what drew you to paganism.
What drew me to paganism. well...
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic - went to a Catholic Primary School, High
School, etc etc At the age of about 14 I started questioning what or who 'God'
was. At that time I used to spend a lot of time down the bush (a.k.a forest for
those not from Oz) with my dogs, exploring, and just plain-old sitting on a rock
and contemplating life, stresses in my life, and 'the nature of god'.
Christianity wasn't giving me any answers that I felt could answer the questions
I asked. To cut a long story short, I started noticing energy changes in
infrequent places in the bush, which made my hands go 'tingley'. From this and
other observations, I came to a simplified conclusion that 'god' was in fact
'nature' and there was an 'energy force' associated with nature. This was the
beginning of my change in consciousness and my affinity with paganism...
I actually only discovered the term 'pagan' and what it meant while at uni. I met other pagans at 'Pagans at the Pub' in Sydney and discovered that their views were not unlike my own. I read, met people and discovered my own path.
Why did the idea of a male-only group appeal to you?
I felt a need to talk about paganism as it relates to men and men's issues as I don't think that enough is discussed about male needs and we have forgotten exactly it is that we need, only the awareness of an internal disharmony which we can't put our finger on and figure it will just go away if we ignore it. I first went to a men's gathering several years ago and felt that it taught me a lot, much of which seems to be lacking in modern society.
What do you do that's different from the "mainstream" religions?
I find my own path.
I work towards environmental and community based ideals.
I take responsibility for my actions.
To me, paganism is a religion full of thinking people looking for answers.
Not everyone asks the same questions and not everyone understands the answers
the same way. but we grow. we learn from each other. eventually we find
understanding. we find what works for us as individuals, with our own individual
needs.
How important is balance, and why? In what areas of life is balance important, and how do you see it being brought about?
To me, balance is a fundamental understanding of my particular beliefs. Balance in food, in experience, in reaction, in emotions, in energy, in all things. Sometimes it can be useful to explore an extreme, but if someone is out of balance, for example, they might turn to drugs, or they may drink too much coffee. Coffee itself is not dangerous in small quantities (in balance), but a coffee addict may drink 12 or more cups a day, which is likely to affect their functions and their heart. This is just one example of imbalance. To me, being in balance helps in my connectedness and helps me to have a whole and complete life - basically helping in my whole wellbeing and enjoyment of life to the full.
Balance is something that I work at - by taking every aspect of my life and applying a concept of balance to it. When I am not in balance in an aspect, say eating habits, I will notice : maybe I will put on weight, have less energy, or have stomach problems. I attempt to put myself back in balance by eating more healthy foods, understanding why my eating habits have gone out of balance (eg depression), and resolve to address that, and even address exercise and emotional wellbeing in an attempt to 'balance' my life. It is a complicated concept, but one that has been of great value to me. It means I can, for example, eat what I like, but in quantities that are not extreme, and balance unhealthy eating (eg chocolate) with healthy eating (eg apples). Perhaps more apples than chocolate though... These are only basic examples.
In real life I tend to use my logic as well as my intuition to achieve balance. With my body I will listen to what my intuition tells me is needed as well as look for obvious signs or logically assess my eating patterns.
How do you feel connected to other people, the environment and yourself? How important is that to you?
Everything is energy and emotions. By feeling connected, you are sharing in that energy and the emotions, you are more in tune with what is happening around you and within you. To me, an important part of spirituality is connectedness, and not just to the higher self. It is easy to place a wall or shell around yourself and isolate yourself so that you can't get hurt emotionally. By doing this, however, you also isolate yourself from your intuition and your spiritual guides. By spiritual guides, I mean incidents in your life that you can either use to grow, or ignore them without any understanding why it is happening ('why me'). With a better connectedness, you are more easily able to understand why things come your way, more easily able to learn the lessons that life provides, and more easily able to grow spiritually.
blessings,
Wyrmwood