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Post by liadine on Sept 30, 2013 7:58:01 GMT -8
I'm mildly obsessed with reading about other people's daily practice/worship, and Heliocoptero's fantastic post on getting started has made me even more curious about what everyone's current routine(s) are. I'm still in the process of creating/retooling my current routines so I won't post anything myself just yet, though hopefully I'll have something workable to talk about soon.
So: what's your ideal daily routine? Did you create it methodically or did it form organically? Do you ever skip days, and if so, are there any emotional or religious consequences?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 8:17:41 GMT -8
I don't do anything on a daily basis at the moment, not in terms of ritual or shrine time. I've never been particularly good at maintaining daily practices, not just due to my spiritual wanderings that didn't really leave me time to make any habits stick long enough to be useful. I'm thirteen years into my Pagan path, and right now, as I rejig things and figure calendars and festivals out, I'm beginning to think it might be best for me to just focus on the festivals, and if I manage to spend a few moments in shrine a few times a week, well, that's a bonus.
For me, at least, I find I tend to get too overwhelmed if I have too many things to do at once, and have to worry about finding something to offer the gods every morning, so paring back my practice so I can focus on the rites that are important is probably better for my sanity. I have other ways of showing devotion to my gods other than being in shrine every day, such as painting or drawing, writing, or doing other sorts of devotional things. Preparing for ritual is a devotional act in itself as well; spending a week or more thinking about a festival, what I'll do, the gods involves, and what I need to get and prepare, is really fulfilling to me. It gives me the space to prepare for major rites properly as I have the time and space to think about them. I may be unusual in that regard, but that's how I work best. Daily rites aren't so important in the grand scheme of things, at least for my practice. If my gods ever wanted a daily practice from me, I'd oblige, but right now, it's not important.
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Post by captainspellingerror on Sept 30, 2013 8:35:58 GMT -8
My daily practice is actually terribly boring and hence why I didn't submit it to the God 2.0 project or anything.
In the morning, directly after showering:
-Perform a devotional (usually to Athena, Aphrodite, or Hermes)
In the afternoon, sometime after lunch but before dinner:
-Perform divination and make any offerings for blessings I have received thus far
At night, shortly after the sun has set (preferably after civil twilight has ended)
-Perform a devotional
Shortly before bed
-A short prayer of gratitude or thanks
Some of this developed organically and some of it I forced myself to get into the habit of doing. The one which I err on the most is the nightly devotional, but I'm getting really a lot better about it. Usually if I skip the morning devotional I just feel *off* for the rest of the day. I also don't really perform them on the weekends. It started out because my boyfriend can't handle the smoke, but I've remedied that and the habit has kind of stuck. Probably should work on breaking it.
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lorna
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by lorna on Sept 30, 2013 10:16:52 GMT -8
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Post by David Dashifen Kees on Oct 3, 2013 5:55:08 GMT -8
Like @sobekemiti, I'm not so good with the daily thing. I find that it ends up feeling like something I _have_ to do rather than something I want to. I focus more on lunar and solar calendars rather than anything of the ancient world, since I'm not a reconstructionist, and so I usually try to split my month into four devotionals at the full and new moons and at the quarters. Then, the equinoxes and solstices are for the solar calendar. The typical Pagan cross-quarters on the solar calendar are harder for me -- they seem forced rather than natural, especially August 1st, so sometimes (usually) I just skip those. captainspellingerror - Nice shirt in your avatar. Woot.com? |
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Post by holdasown on Oct 3, 2013 6:47:12 GMT -8
All I do daily is offerings to the wights and ancestors. I do try to either ground, center or meditate every day.
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Post by marybeth on Oct 4, 2013 18:33:09 GMT -8
I change containers of fresh water on my Ancestor and Deity altars, bow and thank Them for their help and ask for Their guidance and protection throughout the day. At night I sit before each altar individually, light the candle and offer incense(I used to burn clove cigarettes for Hermes and the Gods, having found that They liked them; I need to see if I can find them again), and pray out loud for several minutes at each one, sometimes just saying "thank you"s for blessings in general or specific occurances, or more in depth depending on what's going on in my life. I'm trying *very* hard to add a daily meditation practice, but I'm struggling hard with time constraints, ADD, and perpetually being short on sleep.
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Post by MadGastronomer on Oct 5, 2013 21:51:12 GMT -8
I'm trying *very* hard to add a daily meditation practice, but I'm struggling hard with time constraints, ADD, and perpetually being short on sleep. Having ADD and a sleep disorder myself, may I suggest that you try some sort of moving meditation? Personally, I use spinning (as in making thread) as meditation, but any simple repetitive movement that you don't have to concentrate on, but can, works as well. Walking, cycling, dishwashing, making maille. Especially if you can find something that you do everyday (or almost everyday) anyway, so that it fits into your scheduling |
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Post by captainspellingerror on Oct 6, 2013 8:20:51 GMT -8
Like @sobekemiti, I'm not so good with the daily thing. I find that it ends up feeling like something I _have_ to do rather than something I want to. I focus more on lunar and solar calendars rather than anything of the ancient world, since I'm not a reconstructionist, and so I usually try to split my month into four devotionals at the full and new moons and at the quarters. Then, the equinoxes and solstices are for the solar calendar. The typical Pagan cross-quarters on the solar calendar are harder for me -- they seem forced rather than natural, especially August 1st, so sometimes (usually) I just skip those. captainspellingerror - Nice shirt in your avatar. Woot.com? Yes indeed! It is my favorite shirt at the moment. |
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Post by marybeth on Oct 6, 2013 9:40:06 GMT -8
I'm trying *very* hard to add a daily meditation practice, but I'm struggling hard with time constraints, ADD, and perpetually being short on sleep. Having ADD and a sleep disorder myself, may I suggest that you try some sort of moving meditation? Personally, I use spinning (as in making thread) as meditation, but any simple repetitive movement that you don't have to concentrate on, but can, works as well. Walking, cycling, dishwashing, making maille. Especially if you can find something that you do everyday (or almost everyday) anyway, so that it fits into your scheduling I do spin and knit sometimes; may have to try that. Thanks.  |
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Post by tekalynn on Oct 6, 2013 18:36:43 GMT -8
Every morning, since February 14, I've gotten up and poured water and said prayers at the foot of the apple tree in the back yard. Ideally, I do this at dawn. Sometimes it's dawn-ish. Sometimes it's an hour later, and a couple of times it was considerably later, but that just felt wrong. But first thing when I get up, anyway. Blow nose, wash face (and anything that might need attention), rinse out my mouth. Get fully dressed (including shoes and socks), brush and comb hair. Fill tall water glass for offering. Say "May this water be blessed, may this water be hallowed, may this water be holy, may this water be an acceptable offering. Amen." Go outside. Toss a little water in the air and say "Hail Sunna!" if the sun is visible. Go to apple tree. Praise and hail Gods, the dead, landspirits, and day/sun/night/moon. Bow slightly, take three steps back, try not to trip over cats if any have come up to "help". Go back inside, wipe off muddy shoes, start day.
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Gandillon
New Member
This Halloween: to costume or not to costume?
Posts: 15
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Post by Gandillon on Oct 7, 2013 5:51:23 GMT -8
I hate to post a link to the same blog post I just linked to in another thread, so I'll give the short version:
I do prayers and give offerings to Ganesha and Hestia in the morning before anything else gets done (and recently I made a family shrine for Dionysos downstairs, a smaller version of his main shrine in my bedroom, and I've started doing prayers for him when I wake up, too, although I usually wait a while so I'm not burning three sticks of incense in one room at a time). I give worship to Parvati at naptime, Dionysos (again) when my husband gets home and babysits for me, and Krishna before making dinner.
Usually, it's not a very in-depth routine; worship on a daily basis is mostly reciting a hymn, lighting a tealight and incense, and making a small offering or libation. It's also not very punctual, either, because I have visits to shrines planned out through the day and there's always a chance there's somewhere to be or something to do at a certain time.
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Post by theaomai on Oct 7, 2013 7:08:02 GMT -8
Right now, I only practice Deipnon, Noumenia, and Agathodaimon's day, but if I am (for whatever reason) focusing on a particular god or goddess, I will give them special honors during the Deipnon/Noumenia and then perform a short devotional to them on each day proceeding the full moon. Then at the full moon, I'll give them offerings and pray.
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Post by roguebiologist on Oct 7, 2013 17:35:41 GMT -8
I'm very time limited these days and so don't really have set daily practice, although I mark holy days. I reliably do say hi to the in-house spirits every day, and try to do a little reading and research, but that's by and large it. That said, considering I'm a scientist and a bit part of my faith revolves around knowledge, I do feel glad that I can at least bring spirituality into my work - even if it's an odd field to bring it into!
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Post by anfiasaloch on Nov 8, 2013 17:38:06 GMT -8
My upkeep with my daily practices can go back and forth, but I do try to do them as much as possible. In the morning I light the hearth fire (a candle or our actual fireplace) in honor of the gods, ancestors, spirits, and especially Brigid. I will give simple offerings of tea, coffee, breakfast food, or incense to the three, and pray in thanks and for protection and guidance throughout the day. At night I smoor the hearth fire (symbolically or literally) before bed with prayers and perhaps another simple offering. And then a prayer before sleep.
That isn't including the various prayers I have for daily activities (work, cooking, eating, travel, protection prayers after bad omens, gardening, blessings, healing, and whatever else may happen). The secular and sacred are one and the same to me and I feel like my daily practices help guide me towards piety and honor in my everyday life and towards the mindset that I wish to keep as a Gaelic Polytheist.
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