Anonymous Question #1
OK, I actually have a moment to answer one of the anonymous questions.
"We see Aislinn all the time. Why don't we ever see you?"
It depends on when and where you're talking about. In general it comes down to time, energy or interest.
If you mean why don't I show up for the Emory Pagan Lunch or the picnics, it's because I have to work during the day and when I occasionally have a day off I have too many other things to do. So I rarely ever make it to any of those events.
I am assuming, though, that you mean in a more general sense. The places people generally Aislinn and not me are at parties or at rituals.
So I'll take them one at a time.
There are very few parties that I attend for a very simple reason. I find parties boring. If it's mainly a group of people drinking a lot, or otherwise adjusting their chemistry, and molesting each other, I find that boring to watch and unpalatable to indulge in. Even when I did still drink I found drunks very boring and/or annoying. I don't drink to excess and haven't since I was much, much younger. The list of people I enjoy physical contact with is very short (5 at most), and the list of people I tolerate physical contact with is almost as short. So the group gropes hold no interest for me. And no, this not some "issue" I need to "get over". I am very much myself and I know why this aversion to casual physical contact exists and it is not a problem for me. If it is for others, oh well.
My idea of a good evening involves getting together with interesting people and actually talking to them, maybe with a drink or two but no drunks. I enjoy having a good conversation with people I like. Parties rarely offer a chance for that.
As far as rituals go, I have been withdrawn from most public ritual work for a while now. The places I walk in the Otherworld right now take my attention and energy and I rarely wish to redirect myself to participate fully in public rituals. And if I am not participating fully, I don't go at all. For me, ritual is real and it is important. It is not a social event or just something to do.
That leads to the second reason you rarely see me at rituals. Right now there are no rituals I know of that interest me. There are people doing group work that is exactly what the majority of the participants want or need, and I like to see that. But they hold nothing for me, so I don't participate. In the future I will return to public ritual work, probably by organizing a small group of ritualists to present open public rituals. My theology and my ritual working style lend themselves well to public rituals that focus on connecting to the Otherworld and the other than human people there for the purpose of changing the world and the people in the circle. So I find organizing public rituals to be a good way to also fulfill my own need for working with my co-religionists.
If I find a group that has a deep level of religious devotion and expression that I can sync with, I will be happy to join them for rituals. Since you are asking this question, I assume that if you see Aislinn at rituals then you are part of the groups she enjoys working with, so me finding a group to work with probably won't change how often you see me.
In the end, I am not a particularly social person and many times I just don't want to be around people, for a myriad of my own reasons. So that is why you rarely see me.
"We see Aislinn all the time. Why don't we ever see you?"
It depends on when and where you're talking about. In general it comes down to time, energy or interest.
If you mean why don't I show up for the Emory Pagan Lunch or the picnics, it's because I have to work during the day and when I occasionally have a day off I have too many other things to do. So I rarely ever make it to any of those events.
I am assuming, though, that you mean in a more general sense. The places people generally Aislinn and not me are at parties or at rituals.
So I'll take them one at a time.
There are very few parties that I attend for a very simple reason. I find parties boring. If it's mainly a group of people drinking a lot, or otherwise adjusting their chemistry, and molesting each other, I find that boring to watch and unpalatable to indulge in. Even when I did still drink I found drunks very boring and/or annoying. I don't drink to excess and haven't since I was much, much younger. The list of people I enjoy physical contact with is very short (5 at most), and the list of people I tolerate physical contact with is almost as short. So the group gropes hold no interest for me. And no, this not some "issue" I need to "get over". I am very much myself and I know why this aversion to casual physical contact exists and it is not a problem for me. If it is for others, oh well.
My idea of a good evening involves getting together with interesting people and actually talking to them, maybe with a drink or two but no drunks. I enjoy having a good conversation with people I like. Parties rarely offer a chance for that.
As far as rituals go, I have been withdrawn from most public ritual work for a while now. The places I walk in the Otherworld right now take my attention and energy and I rarely wish to redirect myself to participate fully in public rituals. And if I am not participating fully, I don't go at all. For me, ritual is real and it is important. It is not a social event or just something to do.
That leads to the second reason you rarely see me at rituals. Right now there are no rituals I know of that interest me. There are people doing group work that is exactly what the majority of the participants want or need, and I like to see that. But they hold nothing for me, so I don't participate. In the future I will return to public ritual work, probably by organizing a small group of ritualists to present open public rituals. My theology and my ritual working style lend themselves well to public rituals that focus on connecting to the Otherworld and the other than human people there for the purpose of changing the world and the people in the circle. So I find organizing public rituals to be a good way to also fulfill my own need for working with my co-religionists.
If I find a group that has a deep level of religious devotion and expression that I can sync with, I will be happy to join them for rituals. Since you are asking this question, I assume that if you see Aislinn at rituals then you are part of the groups she enjoys working with, so me finding a group to work with probably won't change how often you see me.
In the end, I am not a particularly social person and many times I just don't want to be around people, for a myriad of my own reasons. So that is why you rarely see me.