food for thought

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“When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation.”

~Edain McCoy

I found a great blog post about shamanism at a pretty cool website called Blue Planet Shaman. The whole thing is worth reading – I just pulled the juicy part out for posting here. It’s a list for the basic requirement for a person to be a good Shaman. And hey, I think I qualify! And I’ve gotta say, I like this guy!

  • You need to come from a dysfunctional family.
  • You need to understand abuse, alcohol, drug, sexual, physical, mental, verbal, the more the better.
  • You need to have a fast mind. This is usually shown through a quick humor and/or problem solving skills.
  • You may have a thought that nothing is sacred nor should it be.
  • You will probably have a very strong sex drive.
  • You may think some things are funny while other people severely disagree.
  • You have the ability to teach without formal training.
  • Even the most introverted people will instantly open up to you.
  • You can make friends with the most vicious junk yard dog because you can relate.
  • You had the “visits” from the other side at an early age.

Sometimes we can seem like a twisted bunch, but everyone wants to come to our parties.

They can be all the things that you would never expect a Shaman to be in places that seem so unholy or spiritual. Normally you won’t find them in some air conditioned classroom teaching someone else’s bullshit because the have an “I passed a Shamanic course” paper on the wall.

Shamanism is getting into life and everything that goes with it. Shamanism is about experimentation and testing your theories before you try to teach something. A real Shaman will let you know you are a fucked up individual and not try to dress it up with some white lighter justification. A real Shaman will help you develop who you really are, not who everyone thinks you should be. A real Shaman understands that some things just can’t be fixed and may take a temporary job as a sniper in a third world shit hole.

So Shamanism has evolved a long way from telling the story of when the Great Raven flapped its wings seven times and created the universe, or how some chic that was fucking around on her husband said God knocked her up. Shamanism became the reality show that HBO won’t even air.

“The people you see on this show are real. Their names and identities have not been changed, no one is protected. The situations are real and there are no co incidences between what you see in Shamanism and real life you dumbass, new age flake.”

Personally, I really don’t want to hang with anyone in Shamanism that doesn’t have some kind of bad reputation or rumors. People make mistakes. Or do they? Maybe it’s divine guidance for our higher learning. Yeah, that’s it. I channeled that.

Shamanism is about being yourself, being honest about it, and being ok with that.

Shamanism is living a life that will make a great true story that will be told as a teaching implement. Live it. Don’t leave any blank pages. One day the book will close.

If I was to say there was only one sin, it would be not living true to your nature. A Shaman will live according to their true nature and that’s the main reason they usually don’t fit in. So goes Shamanism through the ages. It will always be one of those places that the out of ordinary people go to fit in with the other black sheep of humanity that people look to for spiritual guidance.

Full Disclosure: I actually wrote this way back in, I think, 2010… so the website mentioned has changed since then, and the original post about shamanism is no longer there. This post is from my old blogger blog.

Ha ha… this is just great!
A very profound comment by the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld! It pretty much sums up where I’m at right now!

“There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.”

I’ve even got it on video!

Believe it or not, this quote even has it’s own page at Wikipedia!

There is a book about love, and the different ways we express it and accept it. It’s called The 5 Love Languages. I read it several years ago, and found it interesting and helpful. Here’s a quickie synopsis of the five languages.

Words of Affirmation

Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

Quality Time

In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Receiving Gifts

Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

Acts of Service

Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

Physical Touch

This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

Not sure what yours is? You can take this quickie quiz. Interesting, huh? The first time I read this book, it was pretty clear that I’m one of those Quality Time sort of people, and I thought I had it all figured out.

Recently, however, a friend of mine also read the book, and we got into a great discussion about it. And as a result, I’m not so sure that Gary Chapman got it exactly right. I think he’s missing a few key components to the whole “I know you love me because…” thing.

For example, what about these?

I Can Count On You

This is the language of you’re the soft place I land on when things go awry. I can count on you to back me when the chips are down. You will tell me the truth as you see it. You will listen to me rail about life and tell me to shut up when it’s time to stop. And when things are going good – you’re right there to enjoy them with me. When I reach for you – I always find you there.

You Know Me

This language is all about knowing who I really am. You don’t just see the outer me. You see past all my bullshit and into the deeper me. If you give me a gift, it’s something I would actually like. It resonates. If you hug me or touch me – it’s a comfort. If you say to me that you appreciate me – or need me – you say it because it’s true not because it’s what I want to hear. If you do something practical for me – it never leaves me feeling less than or beholden.

We Can Be Real With Each Other

This language is all about no barriers. I can say what I think, I can be totally and completely honestly me – faults, flaws, and all. I can be vulnerable and raw with you. And you with me. We trust each other because we don’t hide what we think, we don’t hide from what we don’t want to see, we just simply are who we are. Unflinching. I don’t scare you. And you don’t scare me.

And better yet, what about this one:

You know me, the real me, the raw me, the totally messed up me – and not only do you not run away screaming, you actually stick around because you want to. This one is pretty much self explanatory.

And I think it’s the one love language that we all respond to. Unconditional acceptance. I don’t think it even matters – gifts, words, actions, time, affection… it’s all nothing if you can’t accept me in the raw… me in the real… me at my core…

What if I could be that for everyone I know… what if you could?

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