panel discussion from the Florida Pagan Gathering

If you like panel discussions with some pagan elders, you will love this...

Elemental Castings Podcast

(subscribe to this podcast: via iTunes or RSS)

Episode #19, Florida Pagan Gathering, 7/24/09 download
Paganism: Past, Present and Future: A special podcast from the Florida Pagan Gathering. Thorn talks with Margot Adler, Chas Clifton, Gavin and Yvonne Frost and Lydia Crabtree.

chakra

Healer teachings are starting with chakras. Everything she does is connected to chakras.
I can do a chakra meditation to center, balance, energize or relax, that's about the sum total of my knowledge. This is going to be interesting. I will post more later.

festivals

I have found myself ducking out of invitations to festivals. Dragonfest starts in a few days and I am glad that I am working and cannot go.

This has bothered me somewhat. Am I anti-social? No, not really. I am not into partying much, but I socialize with a small group of friends and sometimes a large group.

Am I hiding in the broom closet? No, not really. I don't go around with a pentacle pinned to my chest, but if you ask, I will tell you my beliefs. I find that this doesn't come up any more as a Pagan than it did when I was Catholic, which is to say it is a non issue.

It hit me tonight....paganism is my spiritual life, not my social life.

This is in no way a judgement against those who love the festivals. Go and have a wonderful time.
But for now I will bow out, and not feel guilty about it.

how the universe works

So....I announce aloud my intent to use my journal at least partly to talk about what I have learned and what I want to learn.

And yesterday I was offered the chance to begin training with a healer.
Interesting how that works.

journaling

I am starting a magickal journal.....again.

I have never managed to really keep a good journal of my progress along this path. I would like to have a record and a place to express what I am learning and how and why and what I want to do next week or next year and how that spell I did last week worked out, but I have never actually done it.

I keep a calendar/organizer that I am fairly good at keeping up to date. I keep a running to-do list that works (better all the time the older I get!), I have a gratitude journal of sorts that I bought because it is the artwork of Susan Seddon Boulet and I love it....it is one of those 'fill in the spaces' that is soothing late at night.

But although it has been my intent for a very long time, I have never kept a magick journal.
I think I am too judgemental, not only of my own thoughts, but of silly things like how it looks and what order things go in. I will start it as soon as I find that bit of poetry that I thought would be nice as a first page, or that photo that I wanted to put in it, or just the right pen. Good grief!

So today I am starting my very first magickal journal...it is allowed to be a mess, it is allowed to be illegible, it is allowed to skip from here to there and back, I may put anything in it that I want, magickal or mundane. I make no promises about its content, other than to try and make some sort of notes about new things that I learn. It does not have to 'go with' my BOS. The only requirement is to fill it up....with my thoughts or others...it is not even limited to me.

There is my intent.....wish me luck!
Nitpicking Virgo that I am, this is surprisingly difficult.

meditations and candles on the web

Over at Spotted Wolf Wisdom, spottedwolf (who visits here) is very generously offering to share some wonderful guided meditations. Scroll back to his July 2 post for the first one and you will find where he offers suggestions for how to use the meditations. I will be recording these myself, I love the first one. Thanks so much for doing this, spottedwolf.

And if you are stuck behind a computer all day and really need 5 minutes to light a candle and meditate or offer a prayer, Debra at She Who Seeks found this wonderful free site created by a Benedictine monk, all spiritual seekers welcome at Gratefulness.org
After you light a candle you can open a minicandle and a tiny screen with your candle will appear on your desktop. Thanks for finding this, Debra.