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Post by marybeth on Oct 12, 2013 11:45:48 GMT -8
*And this concludes the devotional activities of The Ho-Hum Polytheist* Personally Monica, I think that it's fabulous, and not ho-hum at all, that so many of your "normal" activities have turned into worship. Prayer is an important daily connection, as well as offering incense and a libation daily, but I definitely don't feel like that is a complete practice(or at least it wasn't during a period when that is most of what I was doing). Regular offerings are pretty vital to my practice; I have a monthly schedule around the new moon. So is dedicating certain goals and activities in my life to Them, and expressing gratitude for the help They give me. Being a person with integrity and ridiculously honest is something I try to do for Them. Right now I'm doing a two week period(or more, depending on what's sustainable) of limiting/eliminating certain foods/activities from my life in order to cultivate discipline and "cleanse" myself(and it's been hard for reasons I didn't expect). Performing music, and even the jewelry I make and sell, are hugely important in terms of trying to bring beauty into the world, and ideally I try to use music/art to shake people out of complacency, or at least out of their normal headspace. |
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Post by roguebiologist on Oct 12, 2013 18:18:11 GMT -8
I definitely agree with Marybeth - finding worship and meaning in day to day life sounds fantastic. Actually, that seems to be the overall thread I'm seeing with everyone here. It's really fascinating to read all the different kinds of devotions people have, and have made it a part of their lives. It's pretty inspiring actually - and hats off to Fearlesslyonwards for your charity work!
This isn't going to sound very charitable of me, but I'm find it hard to take seriously people that claim to be religious but don't make their faith a part of their life. To pray and adore a deity, but then live a life that doesn't include them seems almost... hollow, I suppose is the word? I've definitely seen enough people who only pray to their God(s) when they want something, or people whose Deity is very strict in terms of what they expect from their practioners, but they do nothing to change. It seems so distant, and almost like they're treating the Gods as vending machines.
The flip side though is so clear in this thread, and it's put a smile on my face. All the beautiful effort people put in - creativity, ritual, offerings, and even counting oats and contributing to your community if it's meaningful to you - takes such effort and care, and it's lovely. :-) (Yes, I'm a bit strange, but there's just something so heart-warming to me about seeing people be happy in their faith. It registers to me on the same level as seeing families be happy together. If real life were fandom, people and deity being happy together is my platonic OTP)
For my part, like the rest of you, I've incorporated devotion into my lifestyle, and it's actually influenced my career as well. As I said earlier in the thread, pursuit of knowledge and truth in general is an act of devotion and worship to me, but it's also the reason I'm a scientist not a clinician. Healing is something that is valuable and worthwhile, but it's not what is asked of me. Considering my personal form of devotion is related to uncovering truth and knowledge hidden, my job helps me do that. I've got a very busy lifestyle - I'm in the last six months of my PhD, so I literally don't have time for other forms of devotion, but it makes me happy to know there's meaning in what I do.
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Monica
New Member
Canaanite Polytheist & Unitarian Universalist
Posts: 15
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Post by Monica on Oct 12, 2013 19:27:00 GMT -8
*And this concludes the devotional activities of The Ho-Hum Polytheist* Personally Monica, I think that it's fabulous, and not ho-hum at all, that so many of your "normal" activities have turned into worship. *smiles* Tongue in cheek, sorry. It's nice to see so many others who live their religions in their everyday lives and give so much of themselves. You guys are awesome! |
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Monica
New Member
Canaanite Polytheist & Unitarian Universalist
Posts: 15
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Post by Monica on Oct 12, 2013 19:40:56 GMT -8
*nods* I give the newer folks some slack on this because it can take a while to get things figured out and start integrating what you've learned, but I've run into some people who either treat their gods like vending machines, as you said, or their religions like a purely academic hobby. (Or, in one really weird case, a dating pool to cheat on their spouse.) It's kind of baffling, isn't it? You and everyone else here who has earned or is working towards their higher education, you have my awe and respect. That right there reflects the sort of commitments you are willing to make in your life, roguebiologist. Kudos and best of luck to you in your studies. |
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Post by AriadneInExile on Oct 12, 2013 22:34:11 GMT -8
Things I do or have done... dance (in front of my shrines or at clubs), walk or draw labyrinths, give offerings of wine, food, incense, etc. Read or write poetry, write in my blog. Drink wine. Do ecstatic trance postures. Listen to music that reminds me of the gods. (Music is my favorite intoxicant!) I like to take devotional day trips. Sometimes to vineyards or wineries or to see a play for Dionysos. Sometimes just hiking or walking. Going to the art museum or a concert. Getting out of the city when I can. Cooking and preparing food, especially from local ingredients, feels devotional. I haven't done this as much since my husband died, but I used to love cooking for the both of us and especially big "feasts" on festival days. It's been more when I'm feeling "at a loss" for one reason or another, that I just sit in front of my shrines and meditate, pray or just be present. Things I would LIKE to do... make mead, start making incense and herbal formulas from regional plants, and figure out ways to offer myself more to the community or the gods. (Which is partly trying to figure out what I have to offer, exactly.)
Roguebiologist -- I hadn't really thought of research in and of itself to be devotional, but now that I think about it, my experience agrees with yours -- I do feel closer to the gods when I do this. Even before I found myself devoted to Ariadne, I sometimes called this "following the thread"! That feeling that you're onto something significant and that Someone wants you to know.
Marybeth mentioned music, which suddenly gave me some great ideas to start approaching my instruments and practice time with a devotional mindset. (Perhaps set up a shrine to the Muses where I practice? Hmmm.)
Certainly the variety of activities discussed show that intention is what makes any particular activity devotional. Which is a lovely thought, especially for those of us who might feel that it's sometimes difficult to find as much time to devote to the gods as we might like. So the answer to that riddle might be not so much "How do I find the time...?", but "How can I bring devotion to this seemingly mundane activity?" I will be pondering this!
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Post by roguebiologist on Oct 13, 2013 3:16:51 GMT -8
Monica - Aw, thank you!  Also... I'd love to know how on earth someone would have co-opted their deity to increase their dating pool. That sounds wrong on creepy on so many levels, and I... just... how...? O.o AriadneInExile - Interesting, I call it the same thing! I was also recently startled to see Sannion of the House of Vines blog use similar phrasing in some of his recent posts. And being 'onto something significant and that Someone wants you to know' is exactly the feeling I get too. I've got a bit of a private theory about this actually. There seem to be people drawn to be priests or diviners for their Gods, and others to be bards, and others to be leaders within their faith. I wonder if this isn't another sort of role? I'm not sure what you'd call it though. Loreseeker? Religious research librarian? |
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Post by moonwolf23 on Oct 13, 2013 4:43:28 GMT -8
Things I do or have done... dance (in front of my shrines or at clubs), walk or draw labyrinths, give offerings of wine, food, incense, etc. Read or write poetry, write in my blog. Drink wine. Do ecstatic trance postures. Listen to music that reminds me of the gods. (Music is my favorite intoxicant!) I like to take devotional day trips. Sometimes to vineyards or wineries or to see a play for Dionysos. Sometimes just hiking or walking. Going to the art museum or a concert. Getting out of the city when I can. Cooking and preparing food, especially from local ingredients, feels devotional. I haven't done this as much since my husband died, but I used to love cooking for the both of us and especially big "feasts" on festival days. It's been more when I'm feeling "at a loss" for one reason or another, that I just sit in front of my shrines and meditate, pray or just be present. Things I would LIKE to do... make mead, start making incense and herbal formulas from regional plants, and figure out ways to offer myself more to the community or the gods. (Which is partly trying to figure out what I have to offer, exactly.)
Roguebiologist -- I hadn't really thought of research in and of itself to be devotional, but now that I think about it, my experience agrees with yours -- I do feel closer to the gods when I do this. Even before I found myself devoted to Ariadne, I sometimes called this "following the thread"! That feeling that you're onto something significant and that Someone wants you to know.
Marybeth mentioned music, which suddenly gave me some great ideas to start approaching my instruments and practice time with a devotional mindset. (Perhaps set up a shrine to the Muses where I practice? Hmmm.)
Certainly the variety of activities discussed show that intention is what makes any particular activity devotional. Which is a lovely thought, especially for those of us who might feel that it's sometimes difficult to find as much time to devote to the gods as we might like. So the answer to that riddle might be not so much "How do I find the time...?", but "How can I bring devotion to this seemingly mundane activity?" I will be pondering this! |
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basicmanfitz
New Member
Unitarian-Universalist and Celto-Norse Polytheist
Posts: 17
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Post by basicmanfitz on Oct 13, 2013 5:52:12 GMT -8
This thread has been inspirational to me. roguebiologist, sometimes it feels as though my spiritual life is just like the "hollow" one you described, and I want to figure out ways to integrate my Gods into my life as Monica does. Last week I came up with the idea of dedicating my graduate studies to Brighid, as both a way to infuse my schoolwork with the energy I give my religious studies, as well as to give Brighid an offering truly worthy of her. It lasted one night so far, but I really want to get back on the bandwagon. Sometimes it feels as though I have so far to go and so hard to work at it. Also, roguebiologist I really respect your devotion to your Gods. Merging it with your career aspirations with your devotion is honorable and a fine example to us all. |
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Post by liadine on Oct 13, 2013 16:14:28 GMT -8
Does what it says on the tin, basically. It was during a period where I had been seriously slacking off with my devotions - not because of mental health reasons (which appears to be excusable), but just because I was tired and overworked and fundamentally feeling lazy. You know, that sort of mood where you feel whiny, entitled to be whiny, and entitled to kind of put everything else on the back-burner for a while because life is haaaard. Add to that some personal drama where I was hardly acting like a great person, and it just wasn't a good month for devotional activities. So when I got the urge to put out an offering of oats, I procrastinated. I'll buy some more, I said. What's in the cupboard is getting old and maybe stale. I'll do it later. Except I kept thinking about it, and 'later' turned into weeks; when I finally went to do it (with the same oats I'd thought of as too old and stale) I was cranky and getting ready to go to bed and figured, okay, what the hell, I'll get this over with. "Getting this over with" turned out to be one of those Moments - the big ones, the ones that keep me from spinning my wheels and wondering why I'm even bothering. The half-hearted "okay, here's your bowl of oats" was very clearly rejected, and rejected, until I sat down on the floor and started transferring oats one by one until the bag was empty. I kept that jar on my shrine - it was about the process of it, but the jar was a symbol of that - until I had to move continents, and now I'm getting the itch to do it again. |
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Drekfletch
New Member
Hellenic-ish polytheist in NH
Posts: 10
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Post by Drekfletch on Oct 15, 2013 19:51:43 GMT -8
The only devotions I do are my daily rituals. Morning and Evening offering of water to the Gods collectively, with a special mentions for Ganesha and Ma'at in their embodiment/personification forms. Then water sponde to the Mistress of Keys
(Hekate/keys), Lord of Travelers (Hermes/herm), and the Lord of the House and its Grounds (Zeus Herkeios/a brick) the first time each day I pass Their altar on my way out of the house.
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Drekfletch
New Member
Hellenic-ish polytheist in NH
Posts: 10
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Post by Drekfletch on Oct 15, 2013 20:08:34 GMT -8
I wonder if this isn't another sort of role? I'm not sure what you'd call it though. Loreseeker? Religious research librarian? Theologian. Also, I'm raising my hand to confess that my approach to religion is almost purely academic exercise. I didn't notice there was another page of posts, or I would have hung my post there. |
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Post by MadGastronomer on Oct 15, 2013 22:18:37 GMT -8
Theology is a lot more than doing research. It's an attempt to build a coherent and systematic understanding of the gods and religious thought. It encompasses mythology, symbolism, semiotics, morality, ethics, meaning, and how the world works at an incredibly basic level.
Which is a fine thing to do. But just doing the research and reading, and putting together an understanding of how things have been done, so that others might not have to do all the work over again for themselves, is also a fine thing to do. Religious historian, religious ethnographer, mythologist... all of these are different viewpoints to tackle the research from, and there are many more.
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Post by MadGastronomer on Oct 15, 2013 22:26:45 GMT -8
Man does not theologue by research alone.
No, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.
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Post by roguebiologist on Oct 16, 2013 6:39:05 GMT -8
*considers* Even so, theologian does kind of fit the bill considering some of the specific research I'm steered towards. There just are other hats I wear too. To be fair, I think everyone tends to wear a multiple hats anyway, so this is hardly a problem. |
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Post by MadGastronomer on Oct 16, 2013 13:21:19 GMT -8
I'm not saying anybody in specific isn't a theologian, and if that's what you're doing, then that's what you're doing. I just mean that it may not be a good term to apply broadly, as it doesn't sound like it's what everyone's talking about when they say they're doing research.
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Also... I'd love to know how on earth someone would have co-opted their deity to increase their dating pool. That sounds wrong on creepy on so many levels, and I... just... how...? O.o
