Saturday 30 March 2013

Change

I have just been watching a pod cast ( I think) about gay marriage in the US. The arguments were all the same and nothing different really from either side but it made me think about why people may be against the change (and that is effectively what it is CHANGE).

Now I understand that there is also fear and mistrust of change and that no 1 wants things to change for the worse. But what slams me in he face the most is the hostility and the name calling that goes on behind the scenes even here in the UK with the same issue. It was in the news today that the ex- bishop of Canterbury has said that the government has alienated Christians and their faith, he attacked gay marriage in particular saying that it would be a step too far. Now beyond the fact that I think the gay marriage has become a scape goat, I also think people are afraid of what is happening in the world.

I'm friends with people from spiritual circles and have found that we seem to all be aware or embrace the element of change and the fact that nothing stays the same for ever. So much so in fact that the fact things change and are made new is celebrated and enjoyed. The idea that nothing stays the same and that everything is subject to change can be really exiting and within my faith it serves as a core belief.

I would even say that this ability to embrace change and adopt what you see to fit your spiritual needs is not subject to just someone who follows a purely spiritualist path. Recently I have been to a passover meal with my grandma and other members of the family. Now as I may have only done the evening purely to experience something different, I did understand and appreciate the meaning behind things. But my Family is Christian......not Jewish, so why did they do passover. Now I didn't really understand the reasons for doing it other than to enjoy a ritual meal to celebrate Easter. What I did understand is how lovely it was and how just sharing a ritual experience of another faith with people of your own faith that share core fundamentals can be a magical and wonderful thing

The economy all over the world is changing and there are talks of war in some places. There are rebellions and political unrest wherever you look governments are whining about money. In all this people are trying to have faith in whatever they believe and the ONE thing that stands out is that those who are able to adapt are the ones who seem to be struggling the least. Embrace change

My vote is to let it change, not because I am in favour (all tho I am) but because its about time people embraced change and tried to go with the flow instead of resisting because of fear or uncertainty.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Faith.........??

My faith??

I suppose that's the better question. I can't say of other peoples faith because, I just don't know. Everybody has an individual level of faith even if it is a shared belief like Christianity, Muslim or Pagan. Your experiences of spirit, god, the divine or whatever are all going to be tailored to you in a way that you will understand.
This brings me to my point. What is faith without belief? Do you have to believe in something to have faith in it, do you have to believe in something with others, do you have to know what it is you believe in intimately and beyond comparison to then have faith in it or can you just have faith without knowing and with trust in your heart. I suppose you could have a combination of the four but personally I just do the last one. I trust my heart and my experiences of the divine have shaped my faith through my beliefs.

My life started not to differently to many other peoples, my family were and still are Christian and I was raised to believe in the god described in the bible. However up until last year during a summer solstice healing event (not anything to do with Christianity) I had never had an experience of god, spirit, the divine or anything, I had never understood what it was I had to do and I just plain didn't like or get it. All I had in me was a strange personal faith that out there was a beautiful divine with me in mind.

I have now been a practising pagan for 8 years at least and have found that the things I have faith in have made me better in my self than anything I could have been told and that simply having faith is not something to be sneered at.


I now experience the divine in the form of the god Apollo, the goddess Hecate and the Faye spirits that live all around me in the very living world that I am a part of and I have faith in them and all that I do. Hopefully with their help my faith will see me through the rest of my life.