A Pagan Sojourn

Heart of the Beast

2010-05-02T08:18:00.004-05:00

What's in store for today's May Day parade and festival in Minneapolis? I'm looking forward to finding out. While the "theme" is known (it is dealing with the Census), it's a matter of how it will be presented. And I love the way that the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre goes all out and really puts together a fantastic production year after year. This year's theme delves into questions that are not asked on the census such as "What if all the trees, beetles, fishes, the waters, worms and raccoons were counted?" and "What if we asked each other questions toward our wellbeing?"

The days events start with a parade through the streets of Minneapolis leading up to Powderhorn Park. Next will be the Tree of Life Ceremony and the Festival.

Will you be in Powerhorn Park this afternoon? Do you have another May Day Festival that you will be at?

Blasphemy

2010-01-02T09:57:00.004-06:00

Don't even think of saying something that could be blasphemous in Ireland unless you intend to defend your statement to show that it has value. It could cost you a €25,000-($35,800) fine.

Ireland has passed a law, which took effect yesterday, making it illegal to make a statement, spoken or published, that is "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion."

Sorry, but you no matter what you say and how you say it and what care you take to make sure you offend the least amount of people possible, you will offend people. Statements of personal opinions on matters as richly debated as religion have a high rate of causing offense.

And how are they to determine which statements to deem as blasphemous enough to be considered breaking this law? Will it be determined by the number of people it offends or will it be just a choice few officials who make the decision? How many people is a "substantial number" and who determines this as well? And how will they find out how many people it offends; by taking a poll? Come on.

I love that the Irish Atheists have published 25 blasphemous quotes from people such as Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI, Bjork, and Mark Twain thus breaking the new law.

What is the reasoning behind the law? Apparently, it is because of the influx of immigrants from all different backgrounds that has brought many beliefs and religions to Ireland. According to an article in the Guardian, a previous law only allowed protection to the Christian religion.

This law was supposed to add rights, then?

To say that you will be fined if you make blasphemous statements about any religion to protect a variety of beliefs seems a little twisted to me. Why not just say that all religions have the same protections and rights? Then, rights are being added rather then taken away.

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T13:00:00.007-06:00

There is something that is so beautifully different about a lunar eclipse that draws people out to view it. Even on a bitterly cold night in Minnesota.

Watching the moon go from fully illuminated in all it's glory to glowing bright red and back to fully lit is a quite a spectacular event to witness.

Last night, a group of us met up for dinner and then drove a ways out to get away from the light pollution of the Cities. In between taking shots of the moon, we would jump back into the car to warm up. It was -5°F (-21°C) and we weren't going to take any chances of having our equipment (or our toes) freezing.

As we sat in the car between bouts of viewing and photography, we talked about the symbology of the moon. What the moon symbolizes, the utter confusion and chaos lunar eclipses caused in the past because of not knowing what was really happening, the religious significance that has been placed on the moon by many cultures and how some of the mystery of the moon has been lost due to modern science.

But, in the end, no matter how much we philosophized, nothing could take away the fact that last night, the moon was beautiful in all the stages of the eclipse.

Meaningful Religious Vocabulary In UU

2007-12-31T18:16:00.002-06:00

Can Unitarian Universalists have a meaningful, common religious vocabulary as they have historically had difficulty with the various uses of religious language (Barker, 2004)? In the last few years, this question has brought on much discussion regarding different aspects of religious language and vocabulary within the Unitarian Universalist community (Barker, 2004; Muir, 2003; Arnink, 2003). This discussion has included issues such as what words are not acceptable to most Unitarian Universalists (Barker, 2004; Buechren & Church, 1998), words that are proposed for use within the Unitarian Universalist tradition (Arnink, 2003), problems implementing changes in language use (Latchkeys, 1974; Donovan, 1976), as well as what would constitute as being considered meaningful and how to emphasis that common meaning (Arnink, 2003; Barker, 2004).

One of the reasons why Unitarian Universalists are finding the subject of religious language an important one to talk about is that they are worried about retaining their members and attracting new ones (Barker, 2004). A common speculation regarding this issue has Unitarian Universalists wondering whether having a common language or talking about religion in a different way would help the religious movement to grow (Barker, 2004). As there has traditionally been tolerance for many religious viewpoints within the Unitarian Universalist faith, people fear that implementing a new vocabulary might have the effect of excluding their own personal beliefs (Barker, 2004).

Another reason that Unitarian Universalists seem to be longing for a common vocabulary could be due to the idea that religion would otherwise be a rather private experience without a common language (Donovan, 1976; Maslow, 1970). As most of our religious and spiritual experiences are experienced individually, humans have long had the need to create a language to express the emotions and the meanings behind those experiences (Maslow, 1970). If we cannot understand what someone is trying to explain regarding their personal religious experience, it makes it difficult for others to understand and relate to that person on a religious level. Binkley & Hicks (1962) mention that putting a meaning to our personal, spiritual experiences by the use of common words goes along with the reasoning that religious language helps people to understand religion itself.

Word Usage in Unitarian Universalism

Within Unitarian Universalism, the use (and non-use) of various religious words and phrases can be a blessing and a problem at the same time. So that everyone's beliefs can be acknowledged, many words that would commonly be used in various religions are rejected within the Unitarian Universalist community (Muir, 2003). For example, a word that is not commonly used within Unitarian Universalist language is the word "sin" (Buehren & Church, 1998). Buehren and Church (1998) go on to talk about the reason for this rejection regarding the Unitarian Universalist belief that people are born "good" and therefore they do not include the concept of original sin within their faith. It is also said that they typically chose not to use words like "sin" because of the associations of creed and dogma that usually come with the use of these types of words (Muir, 2003).

Another common word that is typically used in other traditions but is frowned upon within a Unitarian Universalist setting is the word "God." This can be demonstrated by the fact that the word "God" is not included in the Principles of Unitarian Universalism and people tend to get upset when there is any hint of people suggesting to include it into the Principles (Arnink, 2003). From my personal experience, the word "God" is not commonly used within church services; if the word is used, the speaker is often accused as being insensitive to the needs of those in the congregation who use other terms to describe their personal relationship with the divine (if they express their experience in such a way).

Instead of using words that are based in creed and dogma, Unitarian Universalists "dip into the language of science; [they] dip into the dictionary of psychology; sometimes [they] borrow words from politics, to describe what ordinarily the language of faith would be describing" (Muir, 2003, pg. 4). However, in recent years there has been a move towards a religious language that can be claimed by the Unitarian Universalist faith. An idea that has surfaced in the last few years is the idea of a language of reverence and it has become a hot topic in UU circles (Arnink, 2003). Arnink (2003) continues his discussion of a language of reverence by suggesting the word "mystery" for use in Unitarian Universalist language. Arnink (2003) talks about "mystery" as a way to describe personal experiences including those events that we have experienced in the past and those events that we could experience. At the same time, he suggests that we should not propose a particular "poetic image for this absolute Mystery" (Arnink, 2003, pg. 5).

Besides the offered suggestion of mystery, Arnink (2003) also suggests the use of metaphor for explaining our experiences to others. Arnink (2003) remarks that "when a metaphor 'grabs you' as somehow significant, meaningful, you can be assured that it is not speaking to you from the Great Beyond; it is speaking to you of some natural area of your experience" (pg. 9). In other words, metaphor is a useful tool to bring about and share the meaning behind our personal experiences. Arnink (2003) furthers this idea by mentioning that metaphors can be a way to confirm similar personal experiences as drawing associations between two perspectives which can be an effective tool in the understanding of someone else's experiences.

Implementing Change

While mystery and metaphor are only two of many examples of vocabulary changes that are proposed in the Unitarian Universalist language, there is also the issue of how to implement those changes. After all, each Unitarian Universalist church has a tendency to have a different feel to it in regards to congregational beliefs and the services lead by the minister of the church. With this in mind, it makes it difficult to create a language that is totally inclusive as what works for one group will not necessarily work for another. Therefore, any changes that are proposed to be included will bring about choruses of both yeas and nays.

Some problems with trying to create a religious language stem from the idea that we can not know exactly what other people mean as there can be many connotations and associations that go along with certain words. Rev. Victoria Safford (2007) mentioned this concept in a sermon when she said, "philosophers of language, linguists and theologians, argue a lot about the limits of what we actually can say to one another" (pg. 5). Unlike Maslow (1970), Safford suggests that it may be the language that comes before experience. She gives the example that "if you come from a tradition that has the word "forgiveness," then you are more likely to practice it or long for it" (Safford, 2007, pg. 5).

Along with the use of particular words, phrases, and abstract ideas, the use, and sometimes misuse, of religious language has sometimes been known as the "language game" (Raschke, 1974; Donovan, 1976). This term was used by some philosophers as a way to understand how we use religious language (Donovan, 1976). Donovan (1976) says "learning a religion and understanding the language is rather like learning to play a game," (pg. 88) where we learn the rules first and then learn to put those rules into action. To further our understanding of "the game," we need to put the knowledge of "the rules" into use as it brings on a whole different level of understanding (Raschke, 1974).

Meaningful Language

It is a common understanding and set of meanings that is ultimately what Unitarian Universalists are striving for (Muir, 2003). But what constitutes the idea of a meaningful religious language? Muir (2003) mentions three criteria for understanding the "relationship between our reality and the words we use to describe reality" (pg. 1): words that retain their integrity throughout many years, "understanding when our experiences exceed our vocabularies" (pg. 2), and that there are times when there are no words to describe our experiences. Even with these three guidelines, religious language is difficult as the words are often tied to dogma, especially Christian dogma (Muir, 2003). Because of Unitarian Universalism's rejection of dogma, there is a tendency towards using more secular (and scientific) language (Arnink, 2003; Muir, 2003).

Another point that Muir (2003) mentions in regards to making religious language meaningful is that since Unitarian Universalists are such a small percentage of the world's population, they need to incorporate other faith dictionaries instead of rejecting language that is already know. It is this that will help to bring about understandings between faiths rather than creating barriers by creating a whole new vocabulary for faith communities to learn (Muir, 2003). In other words, we need to keep ways of communication open between all faiths to bring about understanding.

Conclusion

Even though this is a subject that is being discussed more often in recent years, there is still much to consider before Unitarian Universalists can create and implement a common religious language. Issues such as word usage (including what is acceptable and what is not), the meanings of the new vocabularies and how to use them, as well as how to bring about the discussed changes to the general populations of Unitarian Universalists will require much more discussion before they will feel comfortable with making any changes. In the end, it could be that the Unitarian Universalist Association will have to decide on changes that will not be approved by everybody involved within the tradition. As Safford (2007) said near the end of her sermon, "The dream of a common language is only that at best - a wispy ideal that cannot hold or celebrate complexity" (pg. 8).

References:

Arnink, D. (2003). Religious language: The language of reverence. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org/news/2003/vocabulary/arnink.html.
Barker, L. (2004). Language of reverence. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org/ga/ga04/2004d.html.
Binkley, L.J. & Hick, J.H.; (1962). What characterizes religious language? Journal for the scientific study of religion. 2(1); 18-24.
Buehren, J.A. & Church, F. (1998). A chosen faith. Boston: Beacon Press.
Donovan, P. (1976). Religious language. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc.
Maslow, A.H. (1970). Religions, values, and peak-experiences. New York: Penguin Compass.
Muir, F. J. (2003). Watch your language. Retrieved 03/01/07 from http://www.uua.org.news/2003/vocabulary/muir.html.
Raschke, C. (1974) Meaning and saying in religion: Beyond language games. The Harvard Theological Review. 67(2). 79-116.
Safford, V. (2007). Dreams of a common language. Retrieved from http://www.whitebearunitarian.org/html/sermons.html.

The Night Sky

2007-11-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

The last week or so, I've been watching the night sky. Even with the nights becoming crisp, I've been drawn outdoors for a couple of hours at a time. I've taken to grabbing a blanket and my backpacking mattress and driving a good distance from the light pollution cast off from the brightly lit Twin Cities.

What first drew me outside last week was a comet called 17P/Holmes. A friend and I had heard about the comet and decided to try to get pictures of it. We drove out to a spot that allowed us a good look at the sky, pulled over to the side of the road, and set up our cameras.

We were too late. As we were setting up our photo equipment, we noticed that the full moon was rising in the north-eastern sky right where the comet was. Although the comet was bright, it was quickly overpowered by the light of the moon.

Instead of taking pictures of the moon, I took a few minutes to lean up against the car and look at what else was in the sky as I waited for my friend to finish taking pictures. I saw the usual stars, satellites, and planes and my friend and I both saw a shooting star that streaked across the sky.

But the one thing that really caught my attention was the Big Dipper. No matter what I watched or where I looked in the sky, my gaze always went back to that constellation that has been acknowledged in many cultures throughout the ages. My thoughts continued to be centered on this famous constellation for the next few days as I found myself going outside to watch the night sky.

Tonight, as the air was very brisk (there were even some snow flurries today here in Minnesota), I decided to stay in and read tonight. A few days ago, I had picked up a used copy of American Gods by Neil Gaiman on a recommend from Paul at Evoking the Goddess, and I decided that it was the night to start reading it.

Soon after starting it, I realized that can't get away from the Big Dipper even when indoors. Two of the characters in the book climbed up on the roof of a house, where the woman points out the Big Dipper and tells the man about how three cultures view it. The one that caught my attention was Odin's Wain.

Learning The Lore

2007-10-28T12:12:00.000-05:00

I've spent a lot of time over the past 6 months or so reading the Lore that Heathenry bases it's beliefs. There are so many ideas and opinions on the translations and the interpretation of what has been written that I'm having a hard time sorting through everything. Unfortunately, there is not much out there that helps a person that is new to the information.

It's hard learning about a religion on your own. With no one to guide you, you have to figure things out on your own. Questions that come up are:

Where does one start?
What information should be learned first?
Which authors are good ones?
And in the case of Heathenry - what translation(s) of the do you use?

One of Ravencast's episodes, Asatru 101 - Lore, gave me a great idea: Start with one of the sagas, Eddas, etc and look up several different versions/translations of it. Learn the different versions and compare and contrast them. Form an understanding (and know your reasons behind that opinion) about that particular set of a saga or Edda that you have started to research.

With this in mind, it becomes more about thoroughly thinking about the meaning behind the passages rather than just reading and familiarizing yourself with the information. It's about forming your own opinion on their meaning rather then having that interpretation force fed to you. And it's about being able to defend your opinion using the sources as inspiration.

While I have a long way to go before I would feel comfortable with debating my ideas about the Lore with anybody, I think that that this approach laid out by Sandi and Dave at Ravencast is something that I will adopt for my own studies.

A Night Of Remembrance

2007-10-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

Since starting this blog, the night of October 31st has become much more meaningful to me than it had been before. Sure, I knew about the secular meaning (from being an avid trick-or-treater back in the day) and some of the religious connotations (from my interest in various religions), and I have also learned a lot from what other Pagan bloggers have had to say regarding what the day means to them in both a personal and religious sense.

But even though I understood what had been written about and discussed, I now realize that I didn't have a full grasp on the feeling behind the day.

This year is different.

I will now know have an understanding of Samhain as a night of remembrance. There are three people that have been heavy on my mind this year. Within two weeks of returning from England and Germany, three people within my circles of family and friends passed away.

One, a friend's child, a long awaited pregnancy. While we had not met the child yet to come, we felt the loss within my circle of friends. We all grieved with the parents and tried to support them in their time of need.

Another, a second friend's child, who had been struggling with health issues since birth. It was both a day of sadness and of relief (as we kept in mind that the child would no longer be suffering).

The last, a close relative, who had lived a long life and was the only one left of her generation within our family. Her smiling face and sassy quips will be missed as the holiday season comes closer.

These are the three people that I will keep in mind this coming Samhain night. These are the three people to whom candles will be lit in remembrance. These are three people who will serve as reminders of what is important to me.

Sitting By The Falls

2007-08-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

Still out by the water.....

By The Water

2007-07-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Living in Minnesota gives me the opportunity for all sorts of outdoor experiences, especially when it comes to water. Minnesota is the "land of 10,000 lakes" after all. But its not only the lakes that are a draw for me.

I love hiking along the rivers, streams and creeks that feed into Lake Superior along the North Shore. The rushing rapids of the rivers and the crashing waterfalls contrasts with the quiet views of Lake Superior that come from the tops of the Sawtooth Mountains. (You didn't know that Minnesota has mountains, did you? Not huge, mind you, but there they are.)

Spending the last couple of days along the North Shore made me realize how much I miss living near so much water. It also made me realize that this summer's focus has been about being outdoors - camping at Gettysburg, hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains, kayaking, visiting the ocean, and of course hiking the waterways of the North Shore.

I've gotten a few emails and comments asking where I've been. With the wonderful weather lately, it has been hard to sit down and write when I have the opportunity to be outside. So, as long as the weather is great, I'll be out by the water.

On The Road Again

2007-07-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

I've been recruited to be a part of the Gettysburg battle reenactment this coming up weekend for Forth of July, so I'm on the road again.

Camping on the battlefield of Gettysburg? How could I pass up that opportunity!

Heading to Pennsylvania......

Have a safe and happy 4th everyone!

Solstice Sunset

2007-06-21T23:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer Solstice to all who celebrate the day!

As I sat on the shores of one of Minnesota's lakes tonight watching the sunset at the end of a wonderful summer's day, I thought about some of the past Midsummer's Day that I could remember. I also found myself thinking about the traditions of summer solstice (due to my recent post regarding tradition and innovation), whether they are religious, personal, or regional.

When we think about traditions associated with this day, the longest in the northern hemisphere,* we may think about the first harvest, the height of a god's power, dancing, and watching the sunrise. What do I think about? Naked hiking.

Wait......... Naked hiking?

Yep. You read that correctly. Now let me tell you a little about it. Naked Hiking Day is a little tradition that is rumored to have started by thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail to break up the boredom of the third month of hiking (with another three months to go). It is not uncommon to pass people on the AT on June 21st only to realize that they have nothing on but a pack, some boots and a smile.

When hiking the last few miles of the state of Virginia on this day five years ago, I came across a huge group of fellow thru-hikers that were hiking one behind the other. Because I was walking behind them, I didn't realize that they were all naked. It was only when I started to pass them that I realized that they had not a stitch on their bodies. As I started laughing, I was invited to join them.

So, to all those hikers out on the AT today who followed the tradition of hiking naked today, I hope yours was a great day (and I hope that you didn't get too sunburned). For those of you that are just learning about this tradition, there's always next year to join in on the fun.

________________
* In case you are wondering, you can go to timeanddate.com to find out how many hours/minutes/seconds of daylight you got in your location today. St. Paul, Minnesota had 15 hours 37 minutes and 8 seconds of daylight.

Religious Tradition And Innovative Ideas

2007-06-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

In their beginning, all traditions within a religion started as new ideas, or innovations, that helped to move the religion forward. But at what point do innovations become traditions? And how or why are they accepted by the participants of the religion? And does acceptance and adoption of innovations by groups equal success vs. individual adherence? There are so many questions that need to be looked at when discussing tradition and innovation.

Tradition And Innovation

When we think of traditions, we think of those rituals and rites that are a long standing part of our religious practice. Our traditions help to bring us comfort with their familiarity and help us to connect with others who believe as we do. We like the feeling that we are connected to our ancestors and communities through following the traditions that have been handed down to us.

When thinking of innovation, I think of change – either slight changes or something that brings about radical differences. Innovation comes about when someone suggests changes to a system that is currently in play, with the presented innovation taking the form of a new idea or even a new method of a tradition. While traditions can be considered the foundation of religion, innovations are the building blocks that help the religion grow up and out.

All religions focus on both tradition and innovations. Wade Roof (1998) implied that tradition and innovation are parts of the same process when he stated that “religious traditions are socially constructed, at times absorbing, other times resisting, influences within their environments; they are unfinished creations, always evolving, their boundaries drawn and redrawn to fit new circumstances.” [1] We need new ideas to help evolve the “creation.”

At what point do innovations become traditions?

The truth is that we all have boundaries when it comes to what we are willing to accept into our system of belief. When new ideas are presented, they sometimes cross the boundaries of what we consider acceptable.[2] (These boundaries can be on either a personal level or on a group level.) But when changes are accepted and brought into practice, the have the possibility of eventually becoming traditions.

I see the process of accepting innovations in religion as being somewhat akin to the acceptance of new paradigms in the sciences:

someone presents an idea
it tends to be rejected as it is in conflict or competition with a currently accepted paradigm
as more people voice their opinion on the new paradigm, the idea starts to root itself in the knowledge base of the field and more research is done either to find support or to discredit the new paradigm
if research is supportive, the idea slowly takes precedence over an older idea
new paradigm comes into acceptance

Tambey, Powell & Johnson (1989)[3] lay out similar guidelines on how religious innovation becomes accepted:

people are exposed to the innovation
the innovation must be accorded some level of legitimacy
successful innovation must have group that can experiment
there needs to be motivation to adopt the new idea

How/Why are Innovations Accepted by Participants

I like both the second and third points that Tambey, et al (1989) make in their research. Experimentation is an important part of the creative thought process of new ideas. Tambey, et al talk about how changes such as moving, going off to college or a new marriage can be times that allow for experimenting in regards to our religious beliefs. (While the research focuses on “religious nones” or the “unchurched,” I think that these ideas can be generalized to any religious change.)

Legitimacy also seems to play a part in the acceptance of a new idea. By saying that an innovation is legitimate, we are saying that there is some truth to it. But who gets to say what is legitimate? I’ve noticed that legitimacy tends to come from the social realm where the more people that except a new idea, the more legit it becomes. But ideas can have personal legitimacy as well.

Individuals Verses Groups

In a comment that I made on Erik's post regarding tradition and innovation, I had this to say about individual expression verses group expression: But what happens when what is reasonable for one person is not for someone else? Does that mean that the individual religious experience counts for less than what the group has to say? I’m thinking that there needs to be several levels or layers of religious experience and practice because each individual (and group) has preferences in how the innovations, or new ideas, are presented and adopted.

We live in an age that allows for more personal freedom when it comes to expressing our personal beliefs in regards to religion then any other age in history. We no longer need a religious authority to interpret religious writings and practices for us. Instead, we have the ability to read those texts and come to our own conclusions.

Why can’t there be both individual expression (which includes your personal traditions) and group expression within the same religious path? This is what I was referring to when I mentioned religions needing several layers.

In Conclusion

Does there need to be a war between innovation and tradition where we have to choose one over the other? No, because both innovation and tradition are needed to keep a religion alive. We need to find a balance between the two so that religion doesn’t become stagnant (weighed down by tradition) and so it doesn’t change too fast (because of too many new ideas).

[1] Roof, W. C., (1998). Religious borderlands: Challenges for future studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31(1). Pg. 5.

[2] Ideas of boundaries taken from: Roof, W. C., (1998). Religious borderlands: Challenges for future studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31(1): 1-14.

[3] Tambey, J.B., Powell, S. & Johnson, S., (1989). Innovation theory and religious nones. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 28(2): pg. 216.

Back to England

2007-06-15T02:11:00.000-05:00

After arriving back in England, I headed to Dartmoor National Park to do some hiking and letterboxing. I found it interesting that most of the public footpaths I walked were on private land. I was walking next to houses, like this thatched house, and through fields with sheep and felt like I was trespassing. What a different experience from hiking in the US.

This was the area that I had come across the standing stone in the middle of a field where I had stopped for lunch.

I spent a few days hiking and exploring the area before heading to Bath.

I spent a few days in Bath exploring museums, Roman sites, and gardens. There was so much to see and do and I wish that I had more time to spend in and around the area of Bath as I found it to be a beautiful area.

While some of the things that I did were rather "tourist-y" (like the Bizarre Bath Tour and the Ghost Walk), I made sure to get some advice from locals about where to go and what to see. This was how I ended up a college performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

From Bath, I was able to take a tour that went to Avebury and Stonehenge. At Avebury, we were able to walk around the circle. It was an interesting experience, as most of the circle was within sheep fields. Our tour guide took us to one of the quarters (the circle is divided into to four quarters by two roads that run through the middle) to show us how dowsing works and explain about the lay lines in the area. He then set us loose to find the lay line that the circle is on.

Stonehenge was an interesting experience as it was both a powerful experience and a disappointing one at the same time. Why two seemingly conflicting feelings? Well, when first walking up to the structure, I realized that the structure was not as big (as in bigger circle, not the height of the stones) as I thought it was. I had a moment of "This is it?" I got the distinct impression that if Stonehenge was used for religious ceremonies, it was only a privileged small group who would have been directly involved with the ceremonies within the circle.

What made it a powerful experience was that I realized that there is much more to Stonehenge than just the stone circle. The surrounding landscape is full of sites that have associations with Stonehenge, but hardly any of it gets any attention from the thousands of people who visit the area each day. With the focus on burial sites (called barrows) in the area, it's not to difficult to come to the conclusion that this area had associations with death. As these barrows are the burial sites of the community leaders, it made me think more on Chas Clifton's comment when I mentioned Stonehenge before I left. As I walked around, I realized that even though we don't have the whole story regarding Stonehenge, there is something that continues to attract people to the area today. (Besides the tourism advertising, that is.)

I finished up my trip spending a couple of days in London, where just a few hours before flying home, I walked by Buckingham Palace just in time to see the Queen leaving from the main gates.

Visiting Germany

2007-06-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

After about a week in England, I flew over to Germany. I knew I was in for an interesting experience as I speak absolutely no German, had never been in country where the predominant language wasn't English, and am not familiar with German food. I was in for an interesting time. This is what was learned:

1) If there was somewhere I wanted to go in Trier, this would be the place I would end up (unintentionally). I learned to love the shopping area, as it eventually helped me to find my way around the city. (And the best ice cream could be found in this area, too!)

2) Give me a phrase book and see find out how many words that I mispronounce. Luckily, people in Trier are very friendly. This was the city that I learned how to pronoun one of my favorite coffee shop drinks (heisse milch mit honig). I had a good laugh with the woman behind the counter as she taught me how to pronounce it correctly.

3) In Munich, I learned that street art is breathtaking. I don't know how long the artist had been working on this (this is a small portion of the whole), but I'm sure that it had taken several days. And most of it wasn't done yet.

When I passed by, the artist was packing up his art supplies for the day. I took this picture along with a few others before he started pealing the tape from the edges of the canvas.

4) I needed to slow down in Munich, as I was getting overwhelmed by the language barrier. Instead of trying to see everything, I mostly walked around the city and went to a few museums.

5) If I could move to Germany, Hannover would be my new home away from home. I fell in love with the city of Hannover. It seemed as if there was a garden or park in every area of the city.

6) In Hannover, I realized that a good public transportation system is a wonderful asset to a city (Minneapolis/St. Paul, please take note).

7) The city of Hannover is protected from evil spirits by the placement of various "envy heads."

8) This stone carving was a landmark for traveling journeymen, who had to find it it to be able to say that they had been to Hannover.

9) I learned to take a closer look at church buildings because they might be hiding their "true" message.

11) After a week and half of exploring Germany, it was time to head back to England. I look forward to the opportunity to return to Germany.

Visiting England

2007-05-31T12:59:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to figure out what I have wanted to say about my trip to Europe. It is difficult to sum up a month long trip in just a few words and pictures. While it is easy to tell you about what I did and where I went, there is definitely more to it than that.

As I didn't specifically go there to "learn," I found that I did learn a lot anyway. I learned a lot about different sacred spot in England, I learned first hand that there is more to a culture than just a difference in language, and I learned a lot about myself. Traveling alone gives you a lot of time to think.

My first few days were spent in the area in and around York. I got to visit several sacred sites thanks to Paul and his wife, who were willing to introduce me to a few of their favorites. As I had mentioned that I enjoyed labyrinths, they took me to two: Julian's Bower and the Caerdonia labyrinth (a.k.a. - The City of Troy). While the first was fenced in due to re-turfing, we were able to walk the second one. (The picture above is of Julian's Bower.)

While I won't mention all the sites that Paul and his wife introduced me to, I will say that one at the end of the second day was my favorite - the river Wharfe, which was a sacred site of the Goddess Verbeia. Even though I spent a lot of my time taking pictures, I could feel the calmness of the area. Seeing the river from above and then walking down into the valley where the river was was a neat experience. Experiencing the feeling of the place from a even a slight distance was very different from getting to experience it close up.

Over the next few days, I began to think about how there is a connection to the land, to a specific area, of which a person lives. There is a sense of disconnection when at a distance. Paul talked about this when he talked about being rooted to place he lives. Like Paul, I began to wonder if those of us in other areas of the world feel at least somewhat cut off from the Gods and Goddesses that we respect and made a part of our lives.

The next few days were spent in Glastonbury and Wells. I started out the day biking from Wells to Glastonbury, seeing the Tor in the distance almost the whole way. After getting lost, ending up taking a long detour, and witnessing a lesson regarding the birds and the bee from a couple of local cows, I finally reached the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. As it was May Day, there were many spiritual seekers walking around, lots of candles and incense that were lit, and some drumming coming from somewhere in the gardens.

After an hour or so in the Chalice Well gardens, I filled up my water bottle from the Lion's Head and headed into town.

Next was a visit to the Abby, where I walked around the ruins and the grounds and also stopped in to hear a presentation by one of the Abbey Monks regarding some of the history of the area. After the presentation, I decided to spend an hour or so sitting in the herb garden to read; It was nice to find a quite place away from all the people that were in town for May Day. The town was packed with visitors for the day's celebrations!

Later in the day, I hopped on a bus to get to the Tor. I climbed up the Tor with the intention of having Lunch at the top. When I arrived at the top, I had to find some shelter from the wind so that I could eat my lunch; I didn't realize that it would be so windy!

Looking at the Tor from the top of hill revealed something interesting: multiple tiers. Due to my interest in labyrinths, I wondered if it could have been a giant labyrinth. Apparently, other people have had similar thoughts.

After a few hours of walking through the throngs of people, visiting Glastonbury Abbey, and going into some of the shops, I headed back to Wells.

I will continue with more from my trip tomorrow.

___________________________________

First picture: Julian's Bower Labyrinth in North Lincolnshire
Second picture: The River Wharfe in North Yorkshire
Third picture: The Chalice Well in Glastonbury decorated for May Day
Forth picture: Glastonbury Tor (Yes, the building is on the top!)

Blood Sucking President, Anyone?

2007-05-30T11:22:00.000-05:00

No, not the blood sucker you're thinking of. This one actually claims to be a vampire.

Minnesotans were first introduced to Jonathon Sharkey last January when he announced that he was running for Governor as the leader of the "Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party." Fortunately for Minnesota, a stint in jail prevented him from running, even though the changes were later dropped. Like he had a chance, anyway.

Now, Sharkey, a.k.a. "The Impaler", is back - and announcing that he is now going for the White House. This time, he's getting more exposure through the new documentary about him, as well as a recent interview by a local news station. Like that's going to help him.

I thought that the rest of you may be spared when his campaign for governor failed. No such luck. Now, he's spreading the love.

Like he has a chance, anyway.

Interfaith Event: Faith

2007-05-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

While I was in Europe, the sixth Interfaith Blog Event took place. As I wasn't able to get to a computer around the time that it was posted, I am now getting around to posting my response to this month's question. So here it is.

Welcome to the sixth Interfaith Blog Event! In each installment of this monthly series, we'll take a look at a single topic from the perspective of our different religious traditions. I am writing from a Pagan/Unitarian Universalist perspective. Mike, from Unknowing Mind, writes from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and Jon, from Jesusfollowers Journal, will be writing from a Protestant Christian perspective.

And introducing our two new members: Jeff, from Druid Journal, writes from the Druid perspective and Matt, from Journeys In Between, writes from an Evangelical Christian perspective with influences of Wicca, NeoGnosticim, Yoga and Zen.

The topic we'll be discussing today is the following:

What is your view regarding the meaning and the role of faith? What importance does it play in your community and in your daily life?

(Links will be provided as they become available)
[Jon's Essay] [Mike's Essay] [Jeff's Essay] [Matt's Essay]

The Meaning/Definition of Faith

One of the first questions that comes to mind when talking about faith is "What is it?" According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of faith has many parts to it:

(1) allegiance to duty or a person
(2) sincerity of intentions
(3) belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(4) firm belief in something for which there is no proof
(5) complete trust
(6) something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

While we have this formal definition, we also have the connotations that go along with the word that also tell us something about the meaning. Words that come to mind when thinking about the meaning of faith are hope, trust, belief, relationship, complete confidence (in someone or something), love, peace, religion, intuition, gut feeling and wishing. And I'm sure that everybody reading this can think of other words as well. Faith is a much bigger concept than just a irrational belief (i.e. - not based in fact) in something that can't be confirmed by our senses.

As the word "faith" is used for so many purposes and has so many connotations, it is sometimes difficult to come up with a meaning for the word that everyone would agree with. Because people have different ideas of what it means, it has almost become a word that is not to be talked about in some circles (religious or otherwise). One reason why this might be (especially in Pagan circles), is that some definitions of faith give the impression that to have faith in something/someone, one must follow blindly and believe what is presented to them. I have noticed that there are not many Pagans that discuss faith in regards to their religious views because of this very idea. Pagans as a whole do not like to think that they are blindly following anything. However, there is more to faith than just believing that something is true.

The Role of Faith

Faith is not something that can happen over night; it is something that needs to be developed over years. It is something that is developed as a result three ideas - believing, practice, and experiences. While most ideas of faith revolve around believing, we can't forget that putting belief into practice, as well as the experiences that result, helps us to strengthen our faith and make it personal.

But there has to be a balance between all three of these ideas for faith to be personal. I think that making faith personal is what should matter. If one has faith in something, but it is based on someone else’s beliefs, it would not be an authentic faith; it would just following the words of someone else. For faith to be authentic, it has to based on all the three of mentioned ideas of belief, practice and experience.I see the role of faith as helping to discover and bring about a deeper, personal understanding of our religious belief through these three ideas.

The Importance of Faith

As I mentioned before, I really don't think that the concept of faith is seen as overly important in Paganism. Sure, people have faith in their beliefs, their gods, and their experiences, but they necessarily talk about it in terms of faith. The concept of faith has too many strong connections to Christianity for many Pagans. I think that we need to learn to express our faith, no matter what our beliefs are.

Part of having faith is making your views known. Declaring your faith in something, either to others or just yourself, helps to not only to come to an understanding about your beliefs, but also helps to strengthen those beliefs.

Faith in My Daily Life

I admit that I have a difficult time putting my beliefs (and experiences) into practice. Part of my problem is that I tend to intellectualize my beliefs rather than listening to feelings and intuition. Understanding for me tends to come from facts, research, and study. I forget that there is more to understanding then knowing "facts;" understanding can also come many other areas of my life.

Even with this dilemma, faith is something that I try to keep in mind on a daily basis. I know that sometimes I tell myself that it is a matter of not “having enough time” or it is a matter of not knowing what to do to express my beliefs and faith; I have to change this. Instead, I know that I need to make the time for practice and realize that knowing what to do comes through my experiences. Even though I know that, it still is difficult. I am coming to realize that the concept of faith is much more complex than just pure belief.

Thinking Blogger Award

2007-05-25T06:27:00.000-05:00

Well, time to take care of a few things that happened while I was traveling. Apparently, I was nominated twice for a Thinking Blogger Award; first from Kay at Songs of Unforgetting back in April and secondly from Cosette at Pandora's Bazaar just a few days ago. I would like to thank them for tagging me as a "thinking blogger."

Now, it is my turn to tag five bloggers who make me think. I definitely could name so many more. So, here are my picks (in no particular order):

1. Bernulf Oswin from Expanding Inward
2. Colorado Celt from Tír na nOuray
3. Paul from Evoking the Goddess
4. Inanna from At The End Of Desire
5. Jeff Lilly from Druid Journal

For more information about this meme, go on over to The Thinking Blog.

Home

2007-05-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

Home. Home at last. It feels so good to sleep in my own bed again.

This picture was taken while I was hiking in Dartmoor National Park. I was following a public footpath, crossed a stile and looked up to see this standing stone just off the pathway. As I wasn't expecting it (there was no mention of it in the description of the walk in the book that I had with me), I stopped to take several pictures and realized that it would be a great place to picnic. Soon after finishing my lunch, I realized that the clouds were building up in the distance and were heading my way. So I packed up to leave, stopping just long enough to take this shot.

I will be posting more of my pictures and stories in a day or two.

Interfaith Event #6

2007-05-16T05:07:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would drop by real quick and let you know that the sixth Interfaith Event is now posted. I haven't been able to type mine up yet, as computer time for me has been scarce and expensive, so I will give you the links to the posts that have been put up. I will be posting mine when I return home next week.

In the mean time, hop on over to the blogs of Mike, Jon, Jeff, and Matt (post not up at the moment of writing this) to see what they have written regarding the following question:

What is your view regarding the meaning and the role of faith? What importance
does it play in your community and in your daily life?

I hope you enjoy!

Heathen Hospitality

2007-04-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

As I read more about Heathenry, one concept that is mentioned a lot is hospitality. It is mentioned on websites, blogs, forums, and mailing lists. It is also mentioned in the Poetic Edda, which is one of the books that Heathens use as inspiration on how to live their life. Here are few of my thoughts on the concept of Hospitality.

What does hospitality mean to me?

When I think of hospitality, I think of inviting people into my home with the intention of making them feel welcome so that they have the space and opportunity to be themselves as well as letting me be myself. They are my guest and as such I have given them a promise that while they are in my home, I will treat them with respect and take care of them.

But hospitality doesn't just have to be that invitation into my house, my space. The concept of hospitality can happen anywhere. This idea was brought to my attention the other night when I was at a restaurant. It was busy, yet the restaurant remained "seat yourself." There was a couple that was having trouble finding a table and were a bit stressed; my friend and I were waiting for our check. I invited them to sit with us, telling them that we would be leaving as soon as the waitress came back. They were grateful. I had the opportunity to show hospitality to someone and put them at ease in a situation that was causing them stress, even if it wasn't in my own home.

Just as your hosts have the responsibility of being welcoming and gracious, you also have the responsibility of being a gracious guest. To be a guest means cleaning up after your own messes, offering to help out with various task, and as well as a few other things that are necessary depending on the culture.

What does hospitality mean to Heathens?

As mentioned above, hospitality is talked about in the Poetic Edda, especially the second poem, Havamal. From the first few stanzas, you get an idea of what hospitality meant to the Germanic peoples:

2.
Hail, ye Givers! a guest is come;
say! where shall he sit within?
Much pressed is he who fain on the hearth
would seek for warmth and weal.
3.
He hath need of fire, who now is come,
numbed with cold to the knee;
food and clothing the wanderer craves
who has fared o'er the rimy fell.
4.
He craves for water, who comes for refreshment,
drying and friendly bidding,
marks of good will, fair fame if 'tis won,
and welcome once and again.

What I find interesting is that even though guests are to be welcomed, the guest himself is supposed to "keep his wits" and be wise to what is going on around him as shown by several stanzas including:

6.
Let no man glory in the greatness of his mind,
but rather keep watch o'er his wits.
Cautious and silent let him enter a dwelling;
to the heedful comes seldom harm,
for none can find a more faithful friend
than the wealth of mother wit.

Is It Appropriate Not To Extend Hospitality?

When does the concept of hospitality end? I mean, is there a time and place where it is okay to not to extend hospitality? I was looking at what Bernulf wrote when he was a guest blogger back in January and found that this is what he had to say:

True hospitality does not lock itself indoors, nor does it suffer the hindrance of inconvenience. In other words, wherever I happen to be standing, it's within my power to offer hospitality, and unless I've been insulted or offended somehow, I can generally be counted upon to do just that.

Hospitality In Other Contexts

As I leave for Europe, I find myself thinking about hospitality in context with visiting other countries/cultures. Just getting a passport doesn't mean that I will be welcome in a certain country, some countries require permission (in some countries, as represented by a visa) for you to enter. When you are given this visa, you have been granted hospitality.

However, this doesn't mean that you can do what ever you want (when in the other country) just because you have been given permission to enter. I was talking to a friend about this and we came up with the idea of being like acting as a type of Ambassador - a social ambassador. As world travellers, we are required to (informally) represent our country and show respect (keeping the concept of hospitality in mind) for that country's customs by how we act. I am going to keep this in mind as I travel.

Spring Is Here!

2007-04-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

On my way home from the UU church that I am involved with, I noticed something that I forward to every spring. The trees are starting to green up here in Minnesota. If it wasn't raining, I would have had a picture to post.

Even with though we have officially been in the spring season for about a month now, I finally feel that spring is here!

Allport And Solitary Practice

2007-04-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

Today, I was going over my notes that I wrote when I was reading the book The Individual and His Religion(by Gordon Allport) and came across his ideas regarding religion as a solitary endeavor even within the context of a religious community. I found myself thinking about how this could fit in with the Pagan identity of being largely a solitary practice.

Allport talks about how religion is very personal and and is up to the individual to come to their own religious reality. He is not saying that each person can "make up their own religion." Instead, the idea he is trying to get across is that we each experience religious sentiment in our own unique way. We do not experience our personal sense of religion and our personal sense of faith in the same way as the person sitting next to us. There is not a standard form.

One of my thoughts that I wrote down at the time I read the book says "there doesn't seem to be any one way that everyone will experience religiosity - people have different ways of expressing similar concepts." In the book, Allport says that there is "no common point of origin" of religious experience (p. 6). This makes religion a very personal form of expression.

This has given me a new perspective regarding what it means for one to be a solitary Pagan as well as why there seem to be so many systems of belief within Paganism (that everyone seems to believe something different). While a lot of Pagans say they prefer practicing their beliefs on their own, could it be due to there being no common way to express those beliefs? Being that they are expressing forms of reconstructionist religions, Pagans tend to emphasize their personal experiences by expressing them in ways that are intuitive to them. In other words, it makes it hard to form a solid community around several different forms of expression.

Although I tend to favor having a religious community, I found myself thinking "well, if religion is a solitary or personal endeavor, why is there religious community at all?" While there is definitely more to it than what I will say here, I like to think of a community as a place that inspires personal growth. We often find inspiration in the communities or groups that we are active in. A community is also a place/group that we can go to for support and help. But even within religious community, I am learning that we ultimately have to have an active roll in our own personal religious expression and sentiment.

__________________________

Reference:

Allport, G. (1951) The individual and his religion. New York: Macmillan Company.

Pagan Blogs 4.18.07

2007-04-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite blog posts from the last week or so:

I recently ran across a new Heathen blog, The Northern Path, that has so far concentrated on news relating to Heathenry in Sweden. This news includes an article regarding the Swedish Government's recognition of a Heathen group as a religious organization.

Speaking of Heathens, one that has been MIA for awhile has resurfaced after some recent health issues. Welcome back, Bernulf!

Kay, from Songs of Unforgetting, recently discovered the concept of Interdependent Origination while reading about Buddhism.

Both Jaspenelle and Jason posted about the shooting at VA Tech, while Chas talks about the shootings from the perspective of a professor. I have not posted these past couple of days as I have been contacting those I know who either go to the school or work there to make sure they (and their families) are okay. Thank the gods, they are.

Jeff at Druid Journal, has been talking about how to determine the meaning of your name. While I've read the article, I haven't worked through my name yet. I plan to print out the article and work on it during my trip.

Paul at Evoking the Goddess mentioned that Blackthorn is currently blooming in his area of the UK and says that he is looking forward to the Hawthorn. I can hardly wait to see it myself when I make the journey to England next week.

Stonehenge: A Monument To What?

2007-04-13T11:16:00.000-05:00

"Stonehenge is a monument to the failure of religion. Whatever or whoever was worshiped here for two thousand years failed."

and

"Faith is only as strong as its believers."

and

"Where do you find yourself in the midst of such dramatic times?"

These quotes/questions come from a book, The Spiritual Traveler, that I am reading while getting ready for my trip to Europe. These quotes jumped out at me as I have not thought of Stonehenge to be a "monument to failure." How can something like Stonehenge be considered a failure? Just the size of the stones alone are a testament to the resolve that these people had. It took them years to plan it, bring the stones from the distance they came from, and to erect the stones in a way that they were aligned with the sun (or moon) on a certain day at a particular time. To me, all of this taken together makes it seem as if it is a testament to their success.

But that is not what the authors are talking about. They are saying because this particular group seemingly abandoned their space of worship, they failed. More to the point, their god(s) failed. I find it interesting that the authors posed their statements in this way.

While I was reading this particular section regarding Stonehenge, I was reminded of the book Catspaw, by Joan D. Vinge. In this book, there is a scene where a group of University students go to a planet that has been abandoned to study various artifacts that have been left behind. The main character, Cat, comes to the conclusion that the main artifact (The Monument) is actually a monument to death. Using this idea as a comparison, the authors of the guidebook are seemingly saying it was the death of a religion that surrounded Stonehenge. The difference between the book Catspaw and the guidebook is that with Catspaw, you get the impression that even though the original inhabitants are gone, the monument is a testament to their success of getting their message across (even though they are no longer around).

I think we need to look at it in way that helps us to realize that things do change. It could be that the people came to a different understanding and no longer needed to use Stonehenge as a religious monument (if that is what it was). But do we really know what happened? No. We can only make assumptions based on what we do know.

This will be something that I will be keeping in mind as I visit Stonehenge (and Avebury) myself.