What's going well? What do you need a little help with?

Hi! I took my time to think about this before I reply. Aside from being more consistent in my practice. I tend to worry a lot about the proper pronounciation of the original Greek names and epithets for the Gods. Some names or epithets are easier for me to pronounce than others. Another thing that I've been thinking is what to do with food offerings and libations. I live in an apartment so it isn't possible for me to burn the offered food or pour a libation in the earth. What should do? It doesn't feel right to throw it out in the trash. Eating it seems wrong too.

Also this may sound silly but I always get tongue tied the times I've said my prayers out loud. Maybe it's because I'm used to being in my head. That's a habit I'm trying to break now.

So yea those are my stumbling blocks in my practice.

Wynn Dark: I live in a concrete jungle but I do have plants in my care, two different types of ivy for now. Making compost is something I haven't thought about honestly. I'd really appreciate any advice you could give me on that, if it's alright with you.

I've always been attracted to ecstatic worship. However I know I'm not ready to fully emerse myself in it. It's something I'd like to experience but also frightens me a little. I do like dancing for my Gods, so I stick with that for now.

I am going to reply to everyone in a single post, which will work out perfectly and not be confusing at all, I'm sure.

IvyMerlot, I usually dispose of my offerings by wrapping them in a grocery bag before putting them in the trash. Especially with you living in crazy-urban-area, that may be a better solution, and I have not had any problems with this. If you were going to compost in your house, I would think a small vermiculture bin would be the best solution(worms, yo!), but that's somewhat limited in terms of how much and what kinds of food you can put in at a time. Plus you need to give the soil to somebody, or use it yourself! I think it'd be awesome if you decided to do that and made it work. I have never tried it(just researched it a bit while considering it at one point), so I can't offer any advice. But yeah, I feel like keeping offering leftovers separate from the trash is the best many of us can do.

Truth be told I have trouble with Greek epithets and names of deities, too. I figure that is something I will work on and study for eventually, but I just don't have the time for now.

I think praying out loud is *very* important. Gods are not reading your thoughts all the time(in my personal experience, and I think I've read things in the past about how you were supposed to pray out loud back in the day, too, but I have no links or names and YMMV!), and also I feel like it is good just to not have inhibitions about talking openly with Them on principle, in my personal opinion. I have always had the hardest time praying out loud in front of others though, because it was(is) so very personal to me. I'd rather talk about my sex life sometimes, and I'm a pretty private person. A struggle of mine, for sure.

I am sad to say that I have little to no experience with slipping into ecstatic states, myself. Would certainly LIKE to know more. I always felt like a group something would facilitate that best for most people, but I know it's not the only way.

Wow about moving into an old church!! Please do share about that after you've had time to work on things! I almost always move into some apartment with some little nasty I have to force out, but that's a new one for me! Good lord, that must mean a lot of cleansing.

Well, *this* week I've been struggling with the urge to sit on my computer, eat chocolate, and waste time after work everyday instead of working on music and meditating because my job is borderline soul-killing and does not pay well enough(probably everyone here's problem, also) and I feel like I have to have recovery time, but lately I've also been considering ancestor-honoring, especially those ancestors of disciplines rather than blood, and having absolutely no real idea of how to connect or start that sort of practice. I've also been thinking about how one might directly work with one's creative spirit/daemon other than doing the work said daemon spurs one to do, and again not really having any idea where one might start with that.