Post by Mysti on Aug 6, 2007 19:36:28 GMT -5
Myst : This is a lesson series that i did about 2yrs ago
Myst : these classes are based on deepening spirituality
Myst : it is not theory per say
Myst : but more toward finding the spirit of your paths
Myst : and so we begin
Myst : Class One in Deepening Spirituality
Myst : Lessons taken from
Myst : "The Circle Within"
Myst : by Diann Sylvan
Myst : Quote starting on page 3
Myst : Her sacred grove is a one-bedroom apartment on the East Side, where the traffic noise rattles the windows and rain leaks in through the crack above the door
Myst : In the age of computers and stock portfolios, She has traded Her celestial rainment for a business suit.
Myst : The Hands that spun the web of creation chop vegetables, light incense, type letters.
Myst : The Voice that called the stars into being answers the hotline at the domestic violence shelter downtown.
Myst : The Goddess sings Aretha Franklin in the shower at night, and sometimes She forgets who She is.
Myst : The She looks in the mirror and sees the light of the Sacred in Her eyes. She remembers dancing bare breasted at Beltane and standing with arms upraised in the center of a ring of oaks with chant rining in Her ears as She weighs dragon's blood resin at
Myst : the local metaphysical supply store. She thinks of the praise that falls from Her lips on a moonlit night. She remembers Herself.
Myst : So can you.
Myst : end quote
Myst : These lessons are not to teach you theory..
Myst : They are ment to help you find the divine within yourselves and within your path
Myst : Everyone on any path.. it doesnt matter what one though this lesson will be centered mainly on a pagan point of view
Myst : has read books and studied theory
Myst : till we are blue in the face
Myst : we learn our correspondances
Myst : we learn our directions
Myst : we learn how to pray
Myst : and how to cast a spell
Myst : we do this time and time again
Myst : and then...
Myst : we come to a place that it all just stops
Myst : wham
Myst : what now
Myst : we know the theory
Myst : but have we touched the spiritual side of things
Myst : that is why we started on our paths in the first place
Myst : books do not provide it
Myst : doing rituals do not provide it
Myst : praying does not provide it
Myst : neither does going to a church or joining a coven
Myst : you can do all of these things for years and still not experiance that awe inspiring touch of the divine
Myst : that is when most people stop
Myst : and say .. "ok this isnt working .. it must not be the right religion"
Myst : and so they go looking again and again going through the same steps.. only to not find what they are looking for
Myst : well.. it isnt the religion
Myst : its YOU
Myst : we all have within ourselves that connection
Myst : we must make it
Myst : "religion of any kind is a way to find that something."
Myst : each person's path will not be the same as the next person
Myst : what works for Sally ... will not work for John
Myst : follow me so far?
Myst : Christianity puts it like this
Myst : "The faith of a child"
Myst : the trick is to see things through a child's eyes.. and with an open heart and mind
Myst : Now if you have chosen a path that is not your childhood faith
Myst : you will have a harder time separating urself from it
Myst : but.. when you cut apart of yourself away from the whole to follow a tradition
Myst : you are not wholely coming to that faith
Myst : what ever you were before .. you are now
Myst : you are only adding to it
Myst : see what i mean?
Allan2nd : yes that is what you meant by coming to a cross road
Myst : Those who are true to their paths will only add to who they are when they add another faith
Myst : they cannot take away from who they have been
Myst : it would be like cutting off an arm or a leg
Myst : you would not be whole
Allan2nd : ok understand
Myst : to find the divine within you .. you must have a whole self
Allan2nd : so I am adding onto myself
Myst : yes
Allan2nd : ok
Myst : how can u grow hun if you cut ur roots out from under u?
Allan2nd : true
Myst : now lets talk about nature
Myst : the people here follow at least in part a natural pagan tradition
Myst : the rule is we must do our worshiping outdoors?
Myst : the rain .. cold.. what if you live in a city
Myst : do u then drive for miles?
Myst : the truth is most of the time we are either too busy to get our butts out to nature
Myst : or nature inhibits us from getting next to her
Myst : tis ok
Myst : does our not being able to go out into nature inhibit our getting close to spirit?
Myst : no..
Myst : the trick here is to create a place within your home
Myst : or even within your heart that keeps you close to spirit
Myst : i have a ritual every evening
Myst : even though i do not cast or meditate every night
Myst : i do activate my alter
Myst : right before bed
Myst : i light a candle.. and insence
Myst : i turn on my meditation music
Myst : and i curl up in bed
Myst : take a deep breath ..
Myst : and touch the divine
Myst : it takes only a couple min to do this
Myst : and yet i know it when i do not
Myst : or i miss a night
Myst : the author of this book makes note to an experiance she had in a hospital
Myst : she noted all of the nuns that worked in the trauma wards
Myst : they walked the halls w/ such peace in their hearts..
Myst : they sang..
Myst : their voices always calm and soothing
Myst : no matter the situation
Myst : she asked one one day how she managed
Myst : she was told ..
Myst : "when i get up in the morning i pray.. at breakfast,lunch,and supper i pray.. at bedtime i pray.. and when i feel the need.. i pray
Myst : the nun walked in her faith.. at one with it
Myst : and very much apart of it
Myst : she kept contact at all times with the divine
Myst : that is how she did it
Myst : there is a great lesson in this
Myst : no matter our faith
Myst : have a daily practice..
Myst : start small.. it doesnt matter how small..
Myst : the trick is to gradually become one with your spiritual tradition
Myst : it doesnt take much
Myst : who here brushes their teeth in the morning.. and brushes their hair?
Myst : so .. what do u think of while ur doing it?
Myst : belly button lint maybe??
Myst : or perhaps what you are going to do that day?
Myst : how about switching that around
Myst : how about a prayer of thanks for a beautiful morning?
Myst : instead of worrying about the day for those two minutes?
Myst : what do u think of in the shower?
Myst : how about picturing all of the spiritual grime going down the drain???
Myst : the truth is .. we can find many excuses not to practice our faiths..
Myst : time is the most frequent
Myst : arguement i get
Myst : i think i proved that time is not an excuse?
spiritofthelynx : mostly what i hear is that life intrudes
spiritofthelynx : its not the time thing
Myst : i think i also debunked the life arguement too..LOL
spiritofthelynx : oh yes....it was just a comment
Myst : and a good one
Myst : i get that too
Myst : a better excuse would be the truth
Myst : as a pagan we have a harder time blending our spiritual lives and traditions
Myst : then christians and jews
Myst : we are not as widely accepted as mainstream paths
Myst : therefore we tend to hide it when it may be harmful to us or others to admit our lifepaths
Myst : brother shaman is a nurse ...
Myst : if someone is sick in the hospital..
Myst : he doesnt say.. wait lemme go get my smudge
Myst : he says h/o ill go get the doc
Myst : truth is there are times(me i never care much but am having to tone it down now in the life i lead)
Myst : when we cannot be out of the broom closet
Myst : to this i say..
Myst : we may have to keep a low profile
Myst : but there is no reason why we cannot be as spiritual as the next person beside us.. no matter our path
Myst : we must find ways to intergrate into our daily lives
Myst : that is the trick
Myst : what works for one may or may not work for someone else
Myst : from the baby on their paths.. to the veteran
Myst : the trick is to view your path like you are working toward a degree in college
Myst : you learn one thing at a time over a period of months and years
Myst : you intergrate that into your lives little by little
Myst : even if no one recognises that you are doing this but you
Myst : you will notice the difference in your life
Myst : and in your spiritual closeness
Myst : our relationship w/ spirit has to be one of give and of take
Myst : how would you feel if you gave and gave to someone and all they did was take from you
Myst : would you stay close to them ?
Myst : or would you move yourself away from them?
Myst : this is the same with spirit..
Myst : ask and ask.. invoke and invoke.. get what you want
Myst : and pay no homage?
Myst : no..
Myst : we must take time also to honor
Myst : just honor
Myst : and not ask them to do for you
Myst : that is how you develope a relationship w/ spirit
Myst : spirit is not just there for us like santa claus
Myst : when you learn to walk w/ the divine .. you begin to see things differently
Myst : "I am but a tiny thread in an infinite web of shpmmering life, no more or less than the rocks and stars... I am miniscule.. a blip on the radar screen..
Myst : and yet.. I am the only one of me"
Myst : "It is not enough to talk about it.. the poetry isnt enough.. You MUST live it"
Myst : and so we begin.. This series of classes is DEEPENING SPIRITUALITY
Myst : ok.. your assignment for these classes is to.. either start a diary on ur computer
Myst : or .. get a notebook and begin one
Myst : this diary will include your reflections
Myst : as well as any questions you may have
Myst : or things you have thought of
Myst : The reflections..
Myst : Up to this point, how have you seen Spirit? Does it have a face or faces.. How about names?.. Is Spirit a presence w/o words?? Give your thoughts on this
Myst : 2. How much thought have you given to your personal path? Why do you do the things you do?.. Is it instinct.. or teachings throughout the years.. If you have an alter.. What direction does it face?? Why???
Myst : 3. List all the things that you do in your life that make you feel spiritually fulfilled.. this may take awhile.. mull it over and list over time.. not just in a moment or two..This doesnt include just things that are traditionally spiritual.. it can be
Myst : anything from playing w/ ur kids to reading..etc..
Myst : 4. What would u like to add to ur spiritual traditions? Just think on this and add over time
Myst : remember that we cannot add everything at once.. it would be overwhelming and we would quit
Myst : these classes are based on deepening spirituality
Myst : it is not theory per say
Myst : but more toward finding the spirit of your paths
Myst : and so we begin
Myst : Class One in Deepening Spirituality
Myst : Lessons taken from
Myst : "The Circle Within"
Myst : by Diann Sylvan
Myst : Quote starting on page 3
Myst : Her sacred grove is a one-bedroom apartment on the East Side, where the traffic noise rattles the windows and rain leaks in through the crack above the door
Myst : In the age of computers and stock portfolios, She has traded Her celestial rainment for a business suit.
Myst : The Hands that spun the web of creation chop vegetables, light incense, type letters.
Myst : The Voice that called the stars into being answers the hotline at the domestic violence shelter downtown.
Myst : The Goddess sings Aretha Franklin in the shower at night, and sometimes She forgets who She is.
Myst : The She looks in the mirror and sees the light of the Sacred in Her eyes. She remembers dancing bare breasted at Beltane and standing with arms upraised in the center of a ring of oaks with chant rining in Her ears as She weighs dragon's blood resin at
Myst : the local metaphysical supply store. She thinks of the praise that falls from Her lips on a moonlit night. She remembers Herself.
Myst : So can you.
Myst : end quote
Myst : These lessons are not to teach you theory..
Myst : They are ment to help you find the divine within yourselves and within your path
Myst : Everyone on any path.. it doesnt matter what one though this lesson will be centered mainly on a pagan point of view
Myst : has read books and studied theory
Myst : till we are blue in the face
Myst : we learn our correspondances
Myst : we learn our directions
Myst : we learn how to pray
Myst : and how to cast a spell
Myst : we do this time and time again
Myst : and then...
Myst : we come to a place that it all just stops
Myst : wham
Myst : what now
Myst : we know the theory
Myst : but have we touched the spiritual side of things
Myst : that is why we started on our paths in the first place
Myst : books do not provide it
Myst : doing rituals do not provide it
Myst : praying does not provide it
Myst : neither does going to a church or joining a coven
Myst : you can do all of these things for years and still not experiance that awe inspiring touch of the divine
Myst : that is when most people stop
Myst : and say .. "ok this isnt working .. it must not be the right religion"
Myst : and so they go looking again and again going through the same steps.. only to not find what they are looking for
Myst : well.. it isnt the religion
Myst : its YOU
Myst : we all have within ourselves that connection
Myst : we must make it
Myst : "religion of any kind is a way to find that something."
Myst : each person's path will not be the same as the next person
Myst : what works for Sally ... will not work for John
Myst : follow me so far?
Myst : Christianity puts it like this
Myst : "The faith of a child"
Myst : the trick is to see things through a child's eyes.. and with an open heart and mind
Myst : Now if you have chosen a path that is not your childhood faith
Myst : you will have a harder time separating urself from it
Myst : but.. when you cut apart of yourself away from the whole to follow a tradition
Myst : you are not wholely coming to that faith
Myst : what ever you were before .. you are now
Myst : you are only adding to it
Myst : see what i mean?
Allan2nd : yes that is what you meant by coming to a cross road
Myst : Those who are true to their paths will only add to who they are when they add another faith
Myst : they cannot take away from who they have been
Myst : it would be like cutting off an arm or a leg
Myst : you would not be whole
Allan2nd : ok understand
Myst : to find the divine within you .. you must have a whole self
Allan2nd : so I am adding onto myself
Myst : yes
Allan2nd : ok
Myst : how can u grow hun if you cut ur roots out from under u?
Allan2nd : true
Myst : now lets talk about nature
Myst : the people here follow at least in part a natural pagan tradition
Myst : the rule is we must do our worshiping outdoors?
Myst : the rain .. cold.. what if you live in a city
Myst : do u then drive for miles?
Myst : the truth is most of the time we are either too busy to get our butts out to nature
Myst : or nature inhibits us from getting next to her
Myst : tis ok
Myst : does our not being able to go out into nature inhibit our getting close to spirit?
Myst : no..
Myst : the trick here is to create a place within your home
Myst : or even within your heart that keeps you close to spirit
Myst : i have a ritual every evening
Myst : even though i do not cast or meditate every night
Myst : i do activate my alter
Myst : right before bed
Myst : i light a candle.. and insence
Myst : i turn on my meditation music
Myst : and i curl up in bed
Myst : take a deep breath ..
Myst : and touch the divine
Myst : it takes only a couple min to do this
Myst : and yet i know it when i do not
Myst : or i miss a night
Myst : the author of this book makes note to an experiance she had in a hospital
Myst : she noted all of the nuns that worked in the trauma wards
Myst : they walked the halls w/ such peace in their hearts..
Myst : they sang..
Myst : their voices always calm and soothing
Myst : no matter the situation
Myst : she asked one one day how she managed
Myst : she was told ..
Myst : "when i get up in the morning i pray.. at breakfast,lunch,and supper i pray.. at bedtime i pray.. and when i feel the need.. i pray
Myst : the nun walked in her faith.. at one with it
Myst : and very much apart of it
Myst : she kept contact at all times with the divine
Myst : that is how she did it
Myst : there is a great lesson in this
Myst : no matter our faith
Myst : have a daily practice..
Myst : start small.. it doesnt matter how small..
Myst : the trick is to gradually become one with your spiritual tradition
Myst : it doesnt take much
Myst : who here brushes their teeth in the morning.. and brushes their hair?
Myst : so .. what do u think of while ur doing it?
Myst : belly button lint maybe??
Myst : or perhaps what you are going to do that day?
Myst : how about switching that around
Myst : how about a prayer of thanks for a beautiful morning?
Myst : instead of worrying about the day for those two minutes?
Myst : what do u think of in the shower?
Myst : how about picturing all of the spiritual grime going down the drain???
Myst : the truth is .. we can find many excuses not to practice our faiths..
Myst : time is the most frequent
Myst : arguement i get
Myst : i think i proved that time is not an excuse?
spiritofthelynx : mostly what i hear is that life intrudes
spiritofthelynx : its not the time thing
Myst : i think i also debunked the life arguement too..LOL
spiritofthelynx : oh yes....it was just a comment
Myst : and a good one
Myst : i get that too
Myst : a better excuse would be the truth
Myst : as a pagan we have a harder time blending our spiritual lives and traditions
Myst : then christians and jews
Myst : we are not as widely accepted as mainstream paths
Myst : therefore we tend to hide it when it may be harmful to us or others to admit our lifepaths
Myst : brother shaman is a nurse ...
Myst : if someone is sick in the hospital..
Myst : he doesnt say.. wait lemme go get my smudge
Myst : he says h/o ill go get the doc
Myst : truth is there are times(me i never care much but am having to tone it down now in the life i lead)
Myst : when we cannot be out of the broom closet
Myst : to this i say..
Myst : we may have to keep a low profile
Myst : but there is no reason why we cannot be as spiritual as the next person beside us.. no matter our path
Myst : we must find ways to intergrate into our daily lives
Myst : that is the trick
Myst : what works for one may or may not work for someone else
Myst : from the baby on their paths.. to the veteran
Myst : the trick is to view your path like you are working toward a degree in college
Myst : you learn one thing at a time over a period of months and years
Myst : you intergrate that into your lives little by little
Myst : even if no one recognises that you are doing this but you
Myst : you will notice the difference in your life
Myst : and in your spiritual closeness
Myst : our relationship w/ spirit has to be one of give and of take
Myst : how would you feel if you gave and gave to someone and all they did was take from you
Myst : would you stay close to them ?
Myst : or would you move yourself away from them?
Myst : this is the same with spirit..
Myst : ask and ask.. invoke and invoke.. get what you want
Myst : and pay no homage?
Myst : no..
Myst : we must take time also to honor
Myst : just honor
Myst : and not ask them to do for you
Myst : that is how you develope a relationship w/ spirit
Myst : spirit is not just there for us like santa claus
Myst : when you learn to walk w/ the divine .. you begin to see things differently
Myst : "I am but a tiny thread in an infinite web of shpmmering life, no more or less than the rocks and stars... I am miniscule.. a blip on the radar screen..
Myst : and yet.. I am the only one of me"
Myst : "It is not enough to talk about it.. the poetry isnt enough.. You MUST live it"
Myst : and so we begin.. This series of classes is DEEPENING SPIRITUALITY
Myst : ok.. your assignment for these classes is to.. either start a diary on ur computer
Myst : or .. get a notebook and begin one
Myst : this diary will include your reflections
Myst : as well as any questions you may have
Myst : or things you have thought of
Myst : The reflections..
Myst : Up to this point, how have you seen Spirit? Does it have a face or faces.. How about names?.. Is Spirit a presence w/o words?? Give your thoughts on this
Myst : 2. How much thought have you given to your personal path? Why do you do the things you do?.. Is it instinct.. or teachings throughout the years.. If you have an alter.. What direction does it face?? Why???
Myst : 3. List all the things that you do in your life that make you feel spiritually fulfilled.. this may take awhile.. mull it over and list over time.. not just in a moment or two..This doesnt include just things that are traditionally spiritual.. it can be
Myst : anything from playing w/ ur kids to reading..etc..
Myst : 4. What would u like to add to ur spiritual traditions? Just think on this and add over time
Myst : remember that we cannot add everything at once.. it would be overwhelming and we would quit