Structure vs Fluidity?

How much structure do we have in our beliefs? How much structure do we need in our beliefs? A Pantheon? A Ceremony? Ritual? Worship?

What makes me an effective massage therapist is that I am very intuitive - my hands are constantly asking questions, and the client (equine or human) is answering in one way or another. That is how I practice my Spirituality - always asking, and waiting for the answers. It's organic, like tree roots that follow the water, and grow along the path of least resistance.

This does lead to problems; I am at once trying to keep up with some Internet forums, write a novel, build a massage clientele, and working a 48+ hour per week job. Sometimes the tree needs pruning, or at least trimming.

So instead of a grid, or formal structure of any significant scale, I have fluidity. Anyone's beliefs are valid to them, and I respect that. In the case of Osama bin Laden and other fundies, I don't agree (in that they are detrimental to society as a whole), but I still respect these views as being truth from a certain point of view.

What structure I do have is on a very small scale, sort of like the grains of sand in an oyster; these grains being along the lines of all life is sacred, even tasty life such as deer and apples, or everyone has something to teach me, even if it is negative in nature, or if I'm not enjoying myself, I need to examine my intent.

Certainly lack of structure has hampered me in some ways. I accept this as an imperfection, but I hardly expect myself to be perfect. Being effective is much more important. Perhaps more structure in some aspects of my life would help me be more effective, but that is something that will have to grow, organically, once I give it permission.

Thoughts?

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Non-Human Communication

I find that with some of my crystals I can have rather in depth conversations, there responses being mostly emotional, intuitive feelings. With plants I can communicate, but it is a lot more difficult. And when I comes to animals I just can't get information to go either way.

Does anyone else find this to be true? If so do you have any ideas as to why? I have some ideas of my own, but I'll wait to see if anyone else experiences the same thing before I tell it.

If you don't find this to be true is it because you don't try to communicate or is it because you find "plant talk" and "animal talk" as easy or more so than "crystal talk"?

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Dealing with Doubt?

How do you deal with doubt? What happens when you suddenly think "What if I'm just making this up?" and what do you do to get on track?

I'd post an answer if I had one.

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Review: The 13 Original Clan Mothers

This unique book is unlike anything else that I have read. This collection of Native American wisdom is delivered in a oral-tradition style which I found quite appropriate. Although directed at a feminine audience, the advice proffered by each of these Clan Mother's is also the very best I've ever read for anyone, male or female, in how best to approach Life and view Self. Nor does it have even a drop of "self-help" feel in the writing.

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Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion

I picked it up today at the library after seeing one of my friends reading it in my work-study job the other day. I have to say, I am intrigued, amused and thoroughly enjoying the little I have read so far, despite my disinclination to follow his advice (and goal) and "be atheist when I put it down." As I told one friend today who was looking at it, I've already had one spiritual crisis in which I left the religion of my childhood. Ain't about to have another.

Has anyone else read this? Thoughts? Responses? Criticisms? Rants?

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Dislocation and Getting to Know Your Local Environment

I have trying to become more in tune with my environment as it relates to my practice--noting when the leaves come out, when they fall, when the first snow comes, the first blistering hot day of summer and so on. I would like to incorporate these things into my practice, and set up a more "localized" calendar that will help me feel more in tune with the earth.

The thing is, I'm a little displaced. I am a student living in Philadelphia, PA who originally hails from (and returns to in the summer and winter breaks) San Antonio, Texas. As might be inferred, the climate is quite different in Texas than Philly--for one thing, we have no fall, and summer lasts from April to November. In Philly, there is such a thing as fall and such a thing as snow, and there is such a concept as "fall weather fashion."

My question is: Are there others in my position, and how do you reconcile your displacement with the local seasons and changing climate? Do you try to adapt to the environment you're temporarily in? Or do you follow the seasons of where you feel "at home," even if that home is miles away?

To me, the latter seems a little like what Neo-Paganism does anyway--celebrating basically the climate and seasonal change of Ireland--which is quite a long way away, but convenient (and widespread) enough for use.

Since I am here in Philly nine months of the year, most of my "seasonal acknowledgements" would occur during my stay here. But Texas... is where I truly feel at home, and truly feel connected, because my family and my "hearth" is there. When I am in Philly, I never really shake off the student feeling--that I'm just here temporarily, I'm not here to stay. How do I stay connected to a "home-y" pattern when I'm away from home for the majority of the year, and how do I still honor traditional seasonal changes like fall and winter (and important festivals like Imbolc) when I am at home where summer is the general rule of the year?

Any thoughts?

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Your Book of Shadows/Grimoire/Journal/Blog?

What, if anything, do you keep to record your path, experiences, spells or whatever it is that you feel the need to record?

I have a private wiki myself. Kinda geeky, I know, but it's working for me so far.

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Making Things Up?

How can you tell when you are just making things up? Like I went on a, I guess you'd call it a vision quest, but I wasn't in a trance or anything. In fact, I felt like only a tiny piece of me was in that world, and the rest was firmly in this world. And the weird thing is I could hear myself narrating it, which makes me feel like I just made it up. It doesn't feel fake, but it doesn't really feel real, either. Does that make sense?

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Pentagram vs. Pentacle?

have been a solitary Wiccan for almost 5 years now and one specific topic continues to puzzle me. The usage for the terms pentagram and pentacle.

-Some people say that Pentagram is used for Satanism and a Pentacle is used in Wicca.

-Some say the Pentagram is inverted and a Pentacle is upright.

-Some say the Pentagram is simply the term for the 5-pointed star and a Pentacle is the the 5-pointed star in a circle and that's all that make them different.

-Some say that the term Pentagram is used to describe a 2-D design such as on paper and Pentacle is used for a 3-D design of the same thing such as a necklace.

-Some say the circle doesn't have anything to do with the terms...some say it has everything to do with it.

I am just so confused when it comes down to this. I encountered one Wiccan who had tattoos of a 5-pointed star in a circle. She called it a pentagram because it was drawn.

Another that I ran into was offended that I called her tattoo a pentagram because it was obviously a pentacle because of the circle encompassing the star.

HELP!! I am tired of offending people.

I myself have Wiccan tattoos and have always referred to them as pentagrams regardless of the circle or not...because I always followed the 2-D/3-D version of terminology. I need a hand with this one!

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How Do You Interact With Your Deities?

Awhile ago I was intrigued by something an Asatruar had posted about encounters with deity; it seemed that in his tradition, this was something that was considered rare and happened only to worthy people at very important times. He was confused by the flippancy with which many Pagans here spoke of their encounters with deity; something that, as they described it, happened fairly often at very mundane, everyday moments.

So, I'm curious: How do you interact with your deities? Are face-to-face encounters something reserved for special occasions, or at the deity's whim? Do you have a little chat over tea every day? Do you do anything special to contact or communicate with Them, such as meditation or trance or augury, or is it as easy as turning your attention to Their presence? What form does this communication take for you?

Bonus question: Do you ever wonder if your ego may be coloring the nature of the encounter? Is that even a bad thing?

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