Yuletide is nearly upon us. The time for giving thanks and cherishing all that we have, speaking as an American, is here. Amid all the talk of family, love, sharing, and thanks is this raving torrent of consumerism. YOU NEED a new TV, PS4, Xbox One, etc, etc.
I remember when I was a child Thanksgiving was a time reserved for family time, overeating, playing football, and napping. The day after was for putting up Christmas lights and eating leftover pies. Now we are inundated with this cultural push to leave our hearths and families ON Thanksgiving to get those deals before the next guy. Hell, why bother with family. You have to get that new TV by standing in line for 14 hrs. Let's not teach our children the values of being thankful for each other and the limited time we share on this planet. Instead, let's reinforce the idea that what you have isn't good enough. You have to get better stuff.
I am so glad that I spent my holiday with family that shares this sentiment. We spent a lazy day relaxing and an afternoon and evening of sitting down to a delicious home cooked meal....not once, but twice! Good conversation and games were played. The older I get the more these times mean to me. I think back to my parents and grandparents playing games with us as kids and I am profoundly thankful for those memories.
As we are beaten in the face with this increasingly ridiculous amount of consumerism during this holiday spirit, let us not forget that Heathenry is a family based faith. It is a faith that celebrates these moments of connected-ness between us and our loved ones. Build frith and be happy. Screw the presents and enjoy good beer, a warm fire, and great people. At the end this journey it's all that matters.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Best Laid Plans
As some may know, I have been aiming my sights on getting my nursing degree and bridging from being a paramedic to RN. Recently this plan encountered a small setback in the form of being rejected from the bridge program that I had applied for due to one of my classes not being accepted for transfer credits. Life hands you lemons and all that jazz. This has caused me to come to terms with some things about myself and my future plans.
Concerning myself:
1) I like plans. In fact, for some reason, I have grown so attached to the concept of having a plan of action that I get anxious without one...even if that plan involves just staying the course.
2) I don't like staying the course. Over my adult life, I have come to realize that I dislike staying in a situation or place. I set a plan of action, see it through, and then as soon as I achieve it I immediately begin setting my sights on something else. Forget resting on my laurels. I don't take enough time to even acknowledge them. I can't sit still.
While these two attributes have their good points, they have primarily served to detract from my life. For the most part, they have kept me from enjoying what joys I have around me in the present. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better one's standing or lot in life, but to focus so rigidly on the future leads one to ruin.
Concerning my future plans:
I still want to get my RN license. I briefly considered other areas of healthcare, but RN still seems to be the most sound. That will be down the road, though. For now, I am damn near determined to STOP obsessing over the planning and start living again. Time to support my wife and help her get her own career started. Does it mean that funds will be tight due to the horrendous pay that medics make? Yes. But I will have time, and that is far more important. Time to be a husband and friend. Time to enjoy my folk. Time to create. Time to be me instead of a worker drone.
In Heathenry, time spent with friends and family is a spiritual affair. When your plans and obsessions keep you away from taking part in that, you invite a certain kind of soul sickness into your life. It's high time I remember that.
Sisu.
While these two attributes have their good points, they have primarily served to detract from my life. For the most part, they have kept me from enjoying what joys I have around me in the present. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better one's standing or lot in life, but to focus so rigidly on the future leads one to ruin.
Concerning my future plans:
I still want to get my RN license. I briefly considered other areas of healthcare, but RN still seems to be the most sound. That will be down the road, though. For now, I am damn near determined to STOP obsessing over the planning and start living again. Time to support my wife and help her get her own career started. Does it mean that funds will be tight due to the horrendous pay that medics make? Yes. But I will have time, and that is far more important. Time to be a husband and friend. Time to enjoy my folk. Time to create. Time to be me instead of a worker drone.
In Heathenry, time spent with friends and family is a spiritual affair. When your plans and obsessions keep you away from taking part in that, you invite a certain kind of soul sickness into your life. It's high time I remember that.
Sisu.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Unsubstantiated methods and beliefs in Heathenry
After some recent interweb discussions I would like to chime in on a topic that comes up frequently in Heathen/Asatru groups, the subject known as unsubstantiated personal gnosis (UPG for short). This is the term that many use to refer to a person's own experiences and practice that are not backed by our Lore. Many times it is used in reference to the many authors out there that espouse methods and worldviews that are not traditionally Northern European but offer it up as a traditional belief or practice, either magical or religious.
As an occultist, I am first and foremost concerned with results. If a method, however time tested and traditional, doesn't garner the necessary results then I am not going to make use of it (though I will continue to explore it). The inverse is also true. I could not care less if the method is only 20 yrs old, if it garners the expected results then I will be using it. Take note that I am speaking primarily of techniques and tools. Our ancestors did not have access to binaural beat synthesizers, laptops, or strobe lights. I do and I have used them to good effect. Being a magician, in my eyes at least, means being a technician. There is a problem, I will use the tools at my disposal to find a solution. End of story. I highly doubt that our ancestors would have an issue with this.
Please do not misunderstand me, as a heathen I fully understand that our faith is founded on the Lore. The Lore assists in reclaiming that worldview that is our spiritual heritage. As such, it is of the utmost importance to study both the written, linguistic, and archaeological evidence that has been left to us to help us understand the world as our ancestors did. But let us not forget that we are living in a different time with different tools at our disposal. I say let the Lore guide our interpretations and interactions.
Some might harangue me for using the runes this way, doing a particular ritual this way to honor a god or wight, clearing land, or sacrificing for a need due to their not being any evidence that it was done this way by our ancestors. I am glad that they know their Lore. For them I can only offer them this, I am not unlearned nor do I disregard our historical lineage. Take note, however, that I look at this in the same light as families developing their own customs. Again, I honor my ancestors, read the Lore, and sometimes can even be a "Havamal Thumper" (Thanks Bodi, I love this term). But my path to the present has led me down some pretty interesting roads and I have learned a thing or two that works for me.
The takeaway from this long winded and somewhat poorly written diatribe is this: I think that as long as folks don't preach it as some ancient practice they should be left to their own workings.
In the words of Forrest Gump....."and that's all I got to say about that."
As an occultist, I am first and foremost concerned with results. If a method, however time tested and traditional, doesn't garner the necessary results then I am not going to make use of it (though I will continue to explore it). The inverse is also true. I could not care less if the method is only 20 yrs old, if it garners the expected results then I will be using it. Take note that I am speaking primarily of techniques and tools. Our ancestors did not have access to binaural beat synthesizers, laptops, or strobe lights. I do and I have used them to good effect. Being a magician, in my eyes at least, means being a technician. There is a problem, I will use the tools at my disposal to find a solution. End of story. I highly doubt that our ancestors would have an issue with this.
Please do not misunderstand me, as a heathen I fully understand that our faith is founded on the Lore. The Lore assists in reclaiming that worldview that is our spiritual heritage. As such, it is of the utmost importance to study both the written, linguistic, and archaeological evidence that has been left to us to help us understand the world as our ancestors did. But let us not forget that we are living in a different time with different tools at our disposal. I say let the Lore guide our interpretations and interactions.
Some might harangue me for using the runes this way, doing a particular ritual this way to honor a god or wight, clearing land, or sacrificing for a need due to their not being any evidence that it was done this way by our ancestors. I am glad that they know their Lore. For them I can only offer them this, I am not unlearned nor do I disregard our historical lineage. Take note, however, that I look at this in the same light as families developing their own customs. Again, I honor my ancestors, read the Lore, and sometimes can even be a "Havamal Thumper" (Thanks Bodi, I love this term). But my path to the present has led me down some pretty interesting roads and I have learned a thing or two that works for me.
The takeaway from this long winded and somewhat poorly written diatribe is this: I think that as long as folks don't preach it as some ancient practice they should be left to their own workings.
In the words of Forrest Gump....."and that's all I got to say about that."
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