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Earth-centered Spirituality: Pagan, Wiccan, Druid, Native American, Other

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What I feel is true for me, and always has been (even when I was a Christian) is that all is sacred. That is the universalism. The sacred divine used to be present everywhere for all to commune with, find strength in, and care for.

When the Patriarchal men who made Christian dogma in the US began preaching that the sacred is only through one male diety, his son, and a "holy ghost", they intentionally removed the feminine divine and subjugated women and children. They made it so that the people who wanted to receive help or support must adhere to rigid church teachings, tithe to enrich the church's wealth, and put all the decisions about everything in the hands of men, many of whom abused their authority.

They began vilifying all those who did not adhere to their brand of "new" religion, and the people who lived in rural areas were called "heathens." This allowed those in power who were willing to use violence to get more power to dehumanize those who dared to resist, enabling them to torture and kill them all in the name of their "God" and claiming "God's Will" - which all too often matched their own will.

Women used to be revered for their wisdom and life experiences as healers, teachers, spiritual & community leaders, and of course for their
talents in music, song, art, dance, and storytelling.

The witch hunts were used to subjugate and murder any strong women who dared to challenge male authority. Once I started actually studying history, I got angry about the twisted spirituality I was brought up into and which enabled so much of abuse I suffered. I feel like my life could have been very different had Christianity not been used as a hammer on my psyche throughout my life.

When I am in nature, I feel connection. I feel uplifted. I feel gratitude and wonder and the sacred all around me, deserving of protection and reverance.
 
@BloomInWinter your post is awesome. Very true and so well stated, it deserves to be an op-ed in the New York Times. This election taught me that the only thing white supremists hate more than immigrants, are women. I marveled at Hillary's steadfast focus on equality and compassion despite the bogus smear campaign that the ahouse and Senate ran. This country is overdue for a woman's perspective, her ability to feel love for the suffering of others. My daughter and I will be at the Women's March in Boston on the day after the inauguration.
I have discovered through Reiki, Yoga and Shamanism that my spirit left my body when I was 4 years old to protect me from abuse. I am empathetic to all but myself. Too many rapes and violence.
Thank you for your thoughtful words I needed to read that today.
 
Let's get this thread back on-topic, please.

How do you do smudging? I want to smudge my home but...
My T gave me a smudging kit a couple of years ago. I am not native american, so I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about, but she taught me how to use it.
First I get naked - my personal preference since I use the sage to cleanse my body first. Seems to me I should cleanse my damaged body and soul before I can cleanse my home. The naked part is optional, though.
I use bundled white sage and an abalone shell. I light the sage and waft the smoke over all of my body. Then I walk slowly thru every room (including closets, under the stairs, etc.) wafting the smoke as I chant whatever words are appropriate to the cleansing ritual. Something like 'I cleanse this home where only peace abides.' (that was the last one I did a couple of weeks ago). When I'm done, the sage must be extinguished in the abalone shell, and that's about it.
I don't guarantee that my method is genuine, I just know it works for me.
 
I have my spaces smudged by my Reiki/crystal practitioner. I can't tolerate burning smoke so I have to leave for a few days. She does have a ritual that she follows. When I was having serious anxiety about my safety in my house, she also put crystals around the perimeter and also made a crystal model of my house in her studio that she used remotely to help protect me. I was very touched that she did that. I had been trying to sell the house and no one even came to look. It sold a month after her cleansing. I have to be honest, though, my anxiety still haunts me about the house.
 
I find that smudging helps alleviate some of my anxiety. I moved into this place last summer and over time, I have come to notice various signs of violence throughout the house, so I got out my smudging kit. The main difference is that now (after I began smudging the place regularly) the damaged doorways and evidence of broken windows don't affect me like they did at first. The uneasy feelings give way to calm because I remember that there is no longer violence in my life.
 
I have become a big believer in ritual as a means of creating an emotional/cognitive "door" that allows me to leave behind those thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, situations, people, etc. which do not serve me well on my journey now.

I've got several alters in my home and they serve different purposes. One has a photo of my family of origin and I use it to remind myself I am free now, and to honor my time with them, painful and traumatic as it was. It's not like they had many choices, either.

Another I use as a reminder of all of the feminine divine across human existence, drawing upon the reminder that we women are powerful, life-giving beings with fonts of wisdom and strength available in our dna.
 
Just did my annual twelve month spread. Got some incredible cards for the coming months!

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Reported and depending on how it goes intend to put 2 of three people on ignore... course the 3rd is a moderator and therefore I am unable to ignore. If your spell works it won't go my way... however it could also be due to the fact that this site leans left. Why this wasn't in a personal conversation in lieu of tainting a perfectly good thread with US political activism is beyond me. I thought we aren't supposed to do that per owner and admin?
 
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