“Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices,
for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Therefore, let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.”
― Doreen Valiente, Charge of the Goddess
“What do you believe in?”, she asked
“You mean politically?”, I asked with a smile. I wanted her to work for this one. A complicated answer deserved a considered question at the least.
“I mean spiritually. Do you believe in God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, nothing?”
“All of the above and many others and perhaps none of them.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve heard me talk about the elephant. That combination of all partial viewpoints that each of us have. The truth that lies beyond any one person’s or one group’s understanding.”
“Yes, I’ve heard you mention it. The five blind guys and all that… But then who do you pray to?”
“I pray to the universe, to the guiding spirit that resides in everything and that everything resides in. I pray to god and I pray to goddess and I pray to the union of them all. I pray to all the different aspects of the universe that became personal deities for individual or for groups. I give homage and respect to them all because they are all part of the bigger picture. At the same time I acknowledge that no one has quite the correct view because by its very nature, the ultimate deity, that universal entity has to be bigger than us all. I also acknowledge that I may be wrong and their might not be any guiding force. That doesn’t feel likely for all kinds of reasons but I acknowledge the possibility”
Her brows furrowed and I wondered if my babbling was losing her interest. “Tell me about goddess”
“She is mother who nourishes us and soothes us, she is lover, she is confident, she is wonderful and terrible, storm and temptress, daughter and wrath… she is Venus, Kali and Nuit. Think of every female archetype you can think of and she is at once all of them and none of them”
I thought it might amuse you to know that your mermaid image from a few weeks back is currently my desktop’s wallpaper.
I’ve always thought that a lot of religions have some curious similarities, more often, than they have dissimilarities. It would be funny if it weren’t tragic that there’s so much fighting over those differences. Your way of looking at it is peaceful and pleasant. I’ve had those thoughts myself. Maybe there’s something out there, maybe there’s not, but I find it hard to believe that I was raised in the “one true down to the exact letter, word, and translation” religion now.
I have to say I agree with you as I’ve said in the past here, that feeling of exceptionality of being the ones chosen by the universe to have the truth has caused some of the greatest crimes we humans have done to each other. Thanks for commenting
I thought it might amuse you to know that your mermaid image from a few weeks back is currently my desktop’s wallpaper.
I’ve always thought that a lot of religions have some curious similarities, more often, than they have dissimilarities. It would be funny if it weren’t tragic that there’s so much fighting over those differences. Your way of looking at it is peaceful and pleasant. I’ve had those thoughts myself. Maybe there’s something out there, maybe there’s not, but I find it hard to believe that I was raised in the “one true down to the exact letter, word, and translation” religion now.
I have to say I agree with you as I’ve said in the past here, that feeling of exceptionality of being the ones chosen by the universe to have the truth has caused some of the greatest crimes we humans have done to each other. Thanks for commenting
Reblogged this on jazfagan and commented:
I luuuuuuuv this…It is eloquent in its very nature and thought provoking in its voice….
I liked this very much…it spoke volumes to my perspective on belief…Thank you
Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it
What a glorious goddess quote and image for my birthday – the mother and tamer of the Leo beast – thank you…
Glad you liked it. That picture flowed very nicely