I am always an Odin's gyðja. I am it sleeping, I am it waking, I am it singing, I am it telling jokes, cooking, spinning...in every breath and thought. Even if I am in service to another power, it is as a priest of Odin that I do so: always wandering, learning, taking up runes, learning mysteries, sharing what I've learned.
I am the Tree, Steed of the Terrible One, the Gallows--and I am its rider. I dangle in the breeze that I may learn what I had not known, what only I might learn, and then share it with my people, that they may know, and go, and learn more in some way I could not have imagined, that only they could learn.
I am self sacrificed that Self may be born in each moment.
At least...that's the idea. It is not always the reality, but overall, I keep on it, keep towards it.
The struggle seems to please him. The accomplishments certainly please me.
I think the underlying idea here, if I read correctly, is one of a less compartmentalized life. Religion and
( ... )
Exactly, and you put it much better than my currently overwhelmed brain did. :-)
He usually isn't far from my mind, but its still not the fully integrated every day thing that it should be. And it makes it all the much harder to keep him front and center in my thoughts when my physical surroundings don't reflect such an attitude (and in fact reflect the opposite). Best way to get me to make the change I suppose is to take away my other options.
Keeping in mind that it will take forever, assuming that's even possible at all, to become a person with the daily worship schedule what with my difficulty maintaining routine, if I could learn to consciously connect with him during the daily shit I already do, the end result would be much the same. That might be a lot easier for me to do, learn to talk with him while doing the dishes as one example, than learn to do a separate ritual every morning every day.
Plus, my habits have remained static for several years now, and Hermes is a god of change. Its about time for something like this. :-P
He usually isn't far from my mind, but its still not the fully integrated every day thing that it should be. And it makes it all the much harder to keep him front and center in my thoughts when my physical surroundings don't reflect such an attitude (and in fact reflect the opposite). Best way to get me to make the change I suppose is to take away my other options.
Well, now, if/when you do get the "data jack in your brain stem" sort of experience, life in this world is also important--or we wouldn't be in it. While Odin is certainly the center of my life, he's not always the primary focus of my awareness. If that were so, there's some work for him that just couldn't be done, because I wouldn't be as immersively in each moment as he would greatly prefer I be.
You will, in time, strike your own balance; I've no doubt. Hermes can appreciate the idea of dynamic equilibrium. ;)
Thanks. I have a small hammer attached to my keyring as well for Hephaestos--I need all the help I can get since I can't pay to fix my car if it breaks :)
I'm actually poor at having/keeping altars in my home. After years of practice wearing down my mental internal barriers, by this time anyone who needs my attention has my number.
On the other hand, the relationships that I've worked out with the voices in my head all have a guideline of "look, guys, if I can't function in consentual reality, I can't do your work either". Sometimes they butt in louder than that, but as long as I do, in fact, get to my "voice mail", this works out tolerably all around.
It can be hard to distinguish between:
You talking to yourself.
You with a god-shaped puppet on your hand.
A god.
A god with a you-shaped puppet on his hand.
Signal clarity, as in so many other matters of the spirit, is more art and experience than science
( ... )
do you have a mental/conscious connection with Hermes? I mean, does He talk to you spontaneously on a regular basis? My friend R. calls this having a "god phone."At the moment, no or at least not a steady and reliable one. It comes through on occasions, when I really need to get the message or a few other times (have gotten the "buy me things" routine while out at stores). I can't call it "hearing voices" per se, more like thoughts that pop suddenly into my head, sometimes very obviously not mine and sometimes its more questionable but outside confirmation usually weighs in his favor (and this may be the exact same kind of thing everyone else is talking about, I can just be weirdly picky about some terms
( ... )
This all sounds very good, very Right, to me. That's why I've never wanted to have a temple room, per se, because I like having all my shrines completely interwoven into my daily life. However, I *do* have the adyton, where my more personal and intense stuff is kept - most of my gods and spirits have second shrines in there.
I know how scary it is to have to reinvent even the most basic things, like how you approach your god (believe me, I know, I'm in a terribly difficult transition phase with Dionysos right now). Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, any advice I can give, etc. I think this is a wonderful first step, though.
Comments 17
Oh gawds, please no...
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Also there.
bwahahahahaha!
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Perhaps a parallel experience might help?
I am always an Odin's gyðja. I am it sleeping, I am it waking, I am it singing, I am it telling jokes, cooking, spinning...in every breath and thought. Even if I am in service to another power, it is as a priest of Odin that I do so: always wandering, learning, taking up runes, learning mysteries, sharing what I've learned.
I am the Tree, Steed of the Terrible One, the Gallows--and I am its rider. I dangle in the breeze that I may learn what I had not known, what only I might learn, and then share it with my people, that they may know, and go, and learn more in some way I could not have imagined, that only they could learn.
I am self sacrificed that Self may be born in each moment.
At least...that's the idea. It is not always the reality, but overall, I keep on it, keep towards it.
The struggle seems to please him. The accomplishments certainly please me.
I think the underlying idea here, if I read correctly, is one of a less compartmentalized life. Religion and ( ... )
Reply
He usually isn't far from my mind, but its still not the fully integrated every day thing that it should be. And it makes it all the much harder to keep him front and center in my thoughts when my physical surroundings don't reflect such an attitude (and in fact reflect the opposite). Best way to get me to make the change I suppose is to take away my other options.
Keeping in mind that it will take forever, assuming that's even possible at all, to become a person with the daily worship schedule what with my difficulty maintaining routine, if I could learn to consciously connect with him during the daily shit I already do, the end result would be much the same. That might be a lot easier for me to do, learn to talk with him while doing the dishes as one example, than learn to do a separate ritual every morning every day.
Plus, my habits have remained static for several years now, and Hermes is a god of change. Its about time for something like this. :-P
Reply
Well, now, if/when you do get the "data jack in your brain stem" sort of experience, life in this world is also important--or we wouldn't be in it. While Odin is certainly the center of my life, he's not always the primary focus of my awareness. If that were so, there's some work for him that just couldn't be done, because I wouldn't be as immersively in each moment as he would greatly prefer I be.
You will, in time, strike your own balance; I've no doubt. Hermes can appreciate the idea of dynamic equilibrium. ;)
-- Lorrie
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(the rest of this is more directed at chironcentaur, but the relevance is to what ignited_spark wrote, 'cos I know ignited_spark knows all this...)
I'm actually poor at having/keeping altars in my home. After years of practice wearing down my mental internal barriers, by this time anyone who needs my attention has my number.
On the other hand, the relationships that I've worked out with the voices in my head all have a guideline of "look, guys, if I can't function in consentual reality, I can't do your work either". Sometimes they butt in louder than that, but as long as I do, in fact, get to my "voice mail", this works out tolerably all around.
It can be hard to distinguish between:
- You talking to yourself.
- You with a god-shaped puppet on your hand.
- A god.
- A god with a you-shaped puppet on his hand.
Signal clarity, as in so many other matters of the spirit, is more art and experience than science ( ... )Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
I know how scary it is to have to reinvent even the most basic things, like how you approach your god (believe me, I know, I'm in a terribly difficult transition phase with Dionysos right now). Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, any advice I can give, etc. I think this is a wonderful first step, though.
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