Yup. I personally suffered from acute depression a couple times - there and gone. My late mother suffered from chronic depression - there and there and forever just there. We both have lived great lives regardless.
I've encountered no compelling evidence of extraterrestrial visitors and reject said notions and all the mythology that goes along with it. I understand the appeal of this mythology even though it's not my particular thing. It has no place in my religious traditions.
Speaking in the...
Eh, I'm a Pagan/Druid/Witch who has been practicing for a couple decades and has done academic research on the subject as well. But that research and practice focused on contemporary religious practices, not historical (and largely unrelated) antecedents. I don't have much thoughts on...
You do realize that this means you will never, ever find what you are asking for, right? Nothing is ever exact with these things. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem with pay disparities.
I'm so sorry this is something you are dealing with - I can't imagine what it's like. To have others sabotaging the flow of Awen in your life is just gross.
On the plus side, it's pretty much impossible to stop the flow of Awen. It's the very stuff of life and life experience. Just by...
Maybe it's a social skills thing. I wonder how the dynamics of modern communication will continue to upend this. What does the right time and place look like anymore when so much of our interactions have become impersonal and through a screen?
(yes, I recognize the irony of these words...
What a weird thing to ask. What kind of human randomly starts asking about stuff like this anyway? That's weird.
The relevant literature is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a decent education. Calling that an "extreme source of knowledge" is also a bit weird. At least in...
It's best to ask the individuals engaging in the behavior directly. Reasons why I might "preach" about my religion:
My religion is who and what I am and I can't avoid being who and what I am
I like who and what I am, so I am comfortable sharing that and putting myself out there
I like sharing...
Okay. I can already do all of that using imagination and journeywork and while dreaming.
I do also like gaming, but not really for the power fantasy as I'm not a power gamer and never have been. I've always been a storytelling gamer, who is vastly more interested in worldbuilding and...
In my religion, imagination is an essential part of theology (the study of the gods). Imagination is the gateway to the otherworlds and many of the gods have a strong (or stronger) presence in the otherworlds than in the apparent world.
Yup. This is a major part of the reason why I find this whole situation so horrifying. Almost any other candidate would have been preferable - literally any other candidate who wasn't a sexual abuser and blatant misogynist (among other things). Especially in an era where women's rights have...
I've been a practicing Witch and Druid for about two decades now. And longer than that, I've been a prude who found the notion of taking substances to be off-putting and beneath them. So much so that at times I've struggled with staring down my nose in disgust at anyone who partakes in them as...
Yeah, that's what I'm getting at - religion is one's foundational narratives and traditions frame things in different ways. Teleology (purposiveness) is very much a religious thing - I don't believe the universe is designed to (or purposefully) creates problems for humans. If you don't believe...
Many of us have been struggling with making sense of the state of contemporary human affairs in light of the recent election cycle in the United States. Many of us gave into apathy and contempt that kept us from participating at all in the mutual betterment of our peoples. Many of us as well...
Hmm, I guess I make a distinction between telling the story that there's some sort of teleological purposiveness (aka, existence is somehow designed to be problematic for humans, specifically) and what is said here. Obviously, life can be difficult... which to me is more consistent with a...
I don't think that's a useful way of framing it - it sounds too much like blaming them for circumstances beyond their (or anyone's) direct control.
The fact of the matter is the underlying causes of socioeconomic dysfunction run so deep that neither political party can effectively resolve it...
Yeah, and that's the problem - folks are more or less brainwashed by a culture predicated on dissatisfaction to drive it. Post-colonial America is a wendigo nation and that's one of its most fundamental problems.
Well, MidAutumn's Eve was last night. With everything that's been going on, I wasn't going to do ritual. MidAutumn is probably the hardest and most intense ritual I do. Knowing that, I didn't do the full ritual. I didn't throw open the Gates. Didn't matter - the Ancestors and Nameless Ones...