What Every Pagan Needs To Connect To Deity

[deepkissez]

This has been X-posted to my own LJ

Comments

[peskipiksi]

Some other helpful tools that I deem necessary for the practicing pagan

So are they "helpful," or "necessary"?

Bearing in mind, of course, that "you might could use these" and "you have to have these or you are Fail" tend to get two radically different responses from an audience. ;)

[deepkissez]

Totally see what you mean.

I was trying to convey that others may see the tools as helpful but for myself I deem them necessary.

Suggestions on wording to convey that?

Perhaps ....

Some other tools that you may find helpful (I deem necessary for my personal practice):

[brock_tn]

And I haven't required any of these tools to connect to deity in more than fifteen years. OTOH, there's not been any time in the past fifteen years when I've not been aware of my connection to deity. So there's been no need of them in my case.

Suggestion for rewording:

"I have found the following things to be useful to me in my personal practice..."

[deepkissez]

Thank you for suggestion on the rewording.

I completely understand the awareness of being connected to deity.

[stellamaris]

You might adjust this to present things that have helped you along on the path instead of making sweeping statements about all pagans everywhere. Connecting with the divine is a deeply personal thing. There is no universal magic formula that works for everyone. We are all perfectly capable of figuring out what we "deem necessary" for ourselves in this regard, I'm sure.

[deepkissez]

I completely agree that connecting with the Divine is a personal thing. And again I also agree that there is no universal magic formula that works for everyone - all the time. I would even add that as each of us travel our path we might even change how we connect as we grow as the sacred beings that we are.

I thought I did present the information as my beliefs. Was there a specific spot that prompted you to think otherwise? If you have the inclination to go back and point it out, I would appreciate it. I want to go back and read it and perhaps reword it.

Thank you!

[stellamaris]

Well, we can start with the title...

Seriously, you don't at all present this as "what works for me." The tone is definitely more bossy. I don't have time to go through and highlight all the bossy language for you, but I'm sure you'll see it for yourself upon rereading it.

[brock_tn]

What stellamaris said.

The whole piece needs a complete rewrite.

As I pointed out previously, you can state that certain things worked (and continue to work,) for you. You can suggest that these same things MAY be useful for others.

But you cannot legitimately insist that the methods that seem to work well for you are, of necessity, the correct methods for every other pagan in the universe. Not only is such a statement false and misleading, for those of us who have been doing this stuff since you were in diapers, it makes you look like a self-aggrandizing twit.

[conure_herder]

Besides the above mentioned rewording of the one line about 'necessity', I find this article informative and well written. I don't see anything bossy about the tone. I see an experienced practitioner explaining what they've experienced and what has worked for them. You've made it clear that what you stated has worked for you and everyone may not agree with what you have learned.

As far as I'm concerned - Well done! :)

[deepkissez]

Thank you.

I would love to edit the original post on here to reword that line and change the title but I don't see that option.

This essay is my response to this post: Bones Beneath the Skin and the article she noted in her post: Witchvox.

[luna_dea_82]

iawtc

[lokiiago]

We're giving her crap about a well-intentioned article and saying everyone finds their path differently when this is the same community that gave me problems for not following Gardner word for word. Interesting.