Can I be an honorary pagan?

[beenherebeforeagain]

Are there any specific methods you can suggest? I find that touching things is a good way of connecting, though with what I'm not sure.

Not everything you experience needs to be named...(going back to Taoism, and the Tao that can be named is not the real Tao)...If you worry about putting it into a box, naming it, too soon, you might miss noticing something about it...

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Are there any specific methods you can suggest? I find that touching things is a good way of connecting, though with what I'm not sure.

What worked for me: to start, sit or stand facing the tree, rock, plant, animal, person, statue--best to start with something that isn't going to walk away, of ask what you're doing. Reach as if to touch the object with the palms of your hands, but don't touch it. I find it best to close your eyes and to pay attention to what you feel through your hands. slowly move your hands toward and away from the object, still without touching it. Move your hands slowly up and down, around the object. All the while, still your mind, but you may also ask the object for permission to feel it. You may also do this between your open hands. I feel a very slight pressure, a resistance, on my hands as I do these things, as if feeling a slight push of wind, or a very soft fabric. Sometimes, almost like a static charge. If I move my hands too fast, or lose my concentration, the feeling goes away.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

What worked for me: to start, sit or stand facing the tree, rock, plant, animal, person, statue--best to start with something that isn't going to walk away, of ask what you're doing. Reach as if to touch the object with the palms of your hands, but don't touch it. I find it best to close your eyes and to pay attention to what you feel through your hands. slowly move your hands toward and away from the object, still without touching it. Move your hands slowly up and down, around the object. All the while, still your mind, but you may also ask the object for permission to feel it. You may also do this between your open hands. I feel a very slight pressure, a resistance, on my hands as I do these things, as if feeling a slight push of wind, or a very soft fabric. Sometimes, almost like a static charge. If I move my hands too fast, or lose my concentration, the feeling goes away.

Thanks, I'll give that a go. I have some pet rocks who I think would be comfortable with the idea.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Thanks, I'll give that a go. I have some pet rocks who I think would be comfortable with the idea.

lol. That's the spirit!

 

[Quintessence]

Are there any specific methods you can suggest? I find that touching things is a good way of connecting, though with what I'm not sure.

What @beenherebeforeagain suggested is pretty solid. When I first learned energy work, it was... well... I stumbled upon it as a kid in total ignorance of it being an actual thing. I observed that, when I held my hands with palms facing each other, closed my eyes, focused, and slowly moved them together, I'd feel something. And in moments of being bored in my room before going to bed sometimes, I would just play with it and experiment. I learned that if I pointed from one hand into the other, the feeling would intensify. I could close my eyes and tell exactly where I was pointing on my palm without needing to visually see it. I could feel the "beam" of energy hitting my hand. Things like that might work for others. Or they might not. Back then, I never really thought to try sensing the energy of other things. It was just this odd novelty that I had no reference point for, so when I got older, I set it aside and didn't think about it. Then I learned Neopaganism was a thing, that energy work was a thing, and... well... the rest is history.

There is a book I came across that deals specifically with energy work called "Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters." I have mixed feelings about the book and am not a fan of it on the whole, but it can be a place to start with exercises and I'm not aware of any similar title on the market.

 

[rocala]

Some simple suggestions (things I do on a fairly regular basis as part of my religion):

• Pay attention. No, really. Pay attention. "Nature" is literally all around us, all the time. Start paying attention to it. It's funny, put paying attention is probably the biggest gateway to the Mysteries there is. Just look. Listen. Watch. Don't judge. Just observe.
• Study the sciences. A lot. A lot a lot. Between paying attention and studying sciences, you will learn your place in the world. You will see how things relate and interrelate. And you will know the names and roles of the other-than-human relations around you, which is a sadly rare thing nowadays.
• Learn mystical skills. Specifically, I mean three skills: energy work, meditation, and journeying. All of these are exploratory tools that help you pay attention and experience in new and different ways. Book lore and sciences are great, but they only take you so far.
• Explore the arts. Get creative. Read stories. Tell stories. Weave meaningfulness into your life in a way that expresses your values and experiences. Write about the sunset, press leaves for an herbarium, compose a song for the storm spirits.

An excellent list Quintessence, a must for copy and paste. Many thanks.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

lol. That's the spirit!

I spent some time earlier resting my hand one my Irish rocks, and got a sense of it's sheer age. ( I think it's granite, so it really is very old, maybe a billion years or so )
It was somewhat reminiscent of the feeling I when get looking at deep space objects through a telescope.

 

[Quintessence]

An excellent list Quintessence, a must for copy and paste. Many thanks.

Thanks! It seems many folks don't understand that this sort of list is what religion can look like. I wager this might also give folks insight into why I get ornery about some of the moronic things folks say about religion both on the forums and elsewhere.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I spent some time earlier resting my hand one my Irish rocks, and got a sense of it's sheer age. ( I think it's granite, so it really is very old, maybe a billion years or so )
It was somewhat reminiscent of the feeling I when get looking at deep space objects through a telescope.

If you can, go to a hikers park. In the non-family area on a nice day and walk/hike. Get a sense of "who has been here before". If you are a native there, you may get a sense of where youre from. Rocks hold spirits (or how some say energy). Thry communicate different things. Have been a Rock N' Hike hound since I dont know when. Anway, I used to do that often. Thinking of going back. Its an hour and a half ride in the same town! Public transport.

Anyway. Everyone is a pagan. Our bodies have to survive in connection with the earth. Its when you dedicate yourself to the Earth it kinda makes your passive practice active.

Go for it!

(By the way, Ima go to that retreat. I let the Dharmic community know how it went. )