I mentioned back in August that I had signed up for a meditation class. I’m about a month and a half into the class now, and while I’m still not meditating every day, I am really benefiting from the meditation I am doing. Sitting for meditation is very difficult for me. My daily to-do list, which is full of things that are only marginally important, runs through my head whenever I try to sit. So, I tell myself that I will do the vacuuming, or write that email, or take care of that project for work, or do just a few…
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If the result of seeing a film in which there is a lot of violence is that the viewer’s compassion is aroused, then perhaps that depiction of violence would be justified. But if the accumulation of violent images leads to indifference, than I think it is not. His Holiness The Dalai Lama Ethics for the New Millennium There is so much talk today about how violence on TV, in movies, and in video games effects children. Every time a child commits a crime, the news launches another attack on media in general, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they also…
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In his book Ethics for the New Millennium, His Holiness The Dalai Lama says “…alongside our natural ability to empathize with others, we also have a need for others’ kindness…” The Dalai Lama also says that the combination of empathy and practicality go a long way towards bring us happiness. Life is smoother with we have people around us who are kind and care about our wellbeing. They have good intentions towards us, and we have good intentions towards them.
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If you ask most people, they would likely say that the happiness of others is important to them. Speaking personally, it is important to me that others are happy, and it is important to me that I am happy. Sometimes these desires come into conflict though. For example, sometimes I just want to sit down when I get on the subway car. Maybe I’m tired because I had a long day, or my laptop has just gotten too darn heavy. Whatever the reason, I just really want to sit. But, since I care about other people, I let the old…
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Do not ask God to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet. ~ Unknown I received this quote through my email on Monday. Just like the author of the newsletter it was sent in, I wish I could post this everywhere on the planet in giant neon letters. I can’t count the number of times I have heard people say that they weren’t going to work hard to make something happen because it was obvious that god/the divine/whatever didn’t want it to happen. How awful! The biggest and most prevalent example of this is the…
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I’ve just started reading Louise Huebner’s Witchcraft for All. It is an older book, written sometime in the 1970’s, I believe. The feminist feel of that time is clearly evident. For example, when writing about the Salem witch trials, Ms. Huebner says: “They were impostors who left Salem rich in history, and the real witches, if there were any, left that city long before history started. A witch is not an ugly old hag. A witch is a winner. No self-respecting, energetic, goodlooking witch would have been caught dead in Salem!” That kind of makes me want to laugh, since…
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On Sunday night I watched the first of two episodes of A&E’s new series God or the Girl. For those who haven’t heard about it, it is a docu-drama that follows four men trying to decide whether to join the Catholic Church as priests. I watched it hoping to get a little insight into what draws people to the priesthood, but I have to say that I was more than a little disappointed. One young man, Steve, seems fairly certain that he wants to be a priest, yet he is terrified about telling his former fraternity mates about his decision.…
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The Jewish holiday of Passover began tonight at sunset. Today also marks the day when Jesus and his disciples had what came to be called “The Last Supper”. It is also the day that Judas betrayed Jesus. Why am I posting about this on a Wiccan blog, you may be asking. Well, spirituality in general is important to me, and the Christian Holy Week is a very spiritual time. I think that the proximity of the full moon has heightened my feeling that there is something special about this week. (And, not to be too irreverent, but a long weekend…
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Jaspenelle over at The Painted Dragonfly poses a very difficult question: If a religious civil war broke out in your country, would you stand against it? Or would you flee? (I’m paraphrasing here.) I had to answer honestly that I would flee. I know that I am nowhere near as strong as I pretend to be, and I don’t think I would have the strength to fight, whether that be physical fighting or any other type. I wonder if this makes me any less of a devotee to my religion? I don’t think it does, partly because some of us…
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Wicca seems to have become very caught up in ritual forms and the “proper way” of doing things. Supposed Wicca is a rebirth or re-imaging of early European pagan practices. It seems to me not very likely that they would have 161 rules regarding the functioning of a coven as Alexandrians do, or a rigid circle framework, or a set of tools that are absolutely required. In my opinion, Wicca has become very High Church and high magic oriented. Everyone has a set rule to play, which can become semi-permanent, there can also be set dogma and even rigid correspondences.…