What are you views on eclectic paganism?

5/28/2008 4:35:58 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
suzie23 Little Rock, AR age: 36	Just curious. I see wicca is mentioned alot here. Do any of you all have views (peacefull hopefully) about eclectic paganism? Or pagan beliefs that dosn't consider themselves wiccan?
5/29/2008 6:15:30 AM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
akashaman Brunswick, OH age: 29	The word pagan simply means a country dweller. In the times that the phrase was created it was used to describe rural living peoples who worshipped the various deities that they 'saw' around them. I am not a big fan of labels or of doing it someone else's way. I applaud the fact that you have presented this point which tends to be overlooked a lot of times. Wicca is another structured set of principals just as the other major religions are. JMO
5/31/2008 3:28:10 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
suzie23 Little Rock, AR age: 36	Quote from akashaman: The word pagan simply means a country dweller. In the times that the phrase was created it was used to describe rural living peoples who worshipped the various deities that they 'saw' around them. I am not a big fan of labels or of doing it someone else's way. I applaud the fact that you have presented this point which tends to be overlooked a lot of times. Wicca is another structured set of principals just as the other major religions are. JMO I know what the webster dictionaries definition of pagan is... LoL Thank you I really appriciate you opinion . I was refering more of the general sense of paganism (outside of webster ) I'm not a big fan of labels either, but since we all have one anyway, thought I'd see if anyone here participated in paganism (not wiccan), or if people found anything else other than that structured "religion" of wiccan since that seems to be as over publisized as "Christianity". [Edited 5/31/2008 3:29:50 PM]
5/31/2008 11:35:43 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
dragonfly5555 McMinnville, OR age: 55	I read Tarot every day, use /study Astrology, I Journey (Shamanic Work), I teach Reiki and give Attunements away for no cost, Garden Magical and medicinal Herbs. In short I live according to the Seasons. Does that help! Dragonfly
6/1/2008 3:02:45 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
suzie23 Little Rock, AR age: 36	Thank you Dragonfly... Very interesting, definately!!! Actually you might be of help if I needed some and you were willing to do so. But I wasn't really in the need for help. I don't think.... But actually I totally take that back because it could definately help with this topic...
6/1/2008 10:16:31 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
dragonfly5555 McMinnville, OR age: 55	Anytime . Be Well Dragonfly
7/29/2008 2:28:47 AM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
voevode Seattle, WA age: 55	This is getting to be a habit, Suzie! The second interesting thread I've found tonight and both were by you.[The first was on Dream Interpretation.] This is something that fits where I am at, very well. In my history, I've been Christian, pretty much, by-the-book, Bible-believing. [Damn near drove me insane.] Got out of that and got into Asatru and was pretty much, by-the-book, Edda-following. I finally realized that the way I was going about it, I'd just substituted Asatru for Christianity and Odin for Christ. Had a lot of see-sawing, back and forth. Finally worked out what had been nearly an insoluble problem. Currently I regard my experience as the first teacher. I will consider what a book has to say, adopt it if my experience and sense tell me it is true. Some of these things come from the Bible; some from the Eddas; some from Greek myth; the Egyptians; the Scythians--pretty much, what have you. I find much wisdom in many different places. I seek the truth above all. I will allow no one to limit that truth to any one particular tradition. People who do that are actually a little similar to racists. A racist says, 'Nobody is a human being unless they belong to my race!' And a religionist says, 'Nobody is saved unless they belong to my religion!' One of the silliest things I ever saw was a woman who was pretty strong into Asatru and she was trying to say that Asatru had no cultural connections to any other ancient cultures--pretty much what Christians say about their own Book. [I had been trying to point out the loads of similarities between the Norse God HEIMDALL, and the Indian God AGNI.] She didn't want to hear it. But this Icelandic fellow, whose family had been following the Old Gods for well over a thousand years, and were not just some Neo-Pagan dabblers, told her I was correct. One of the biggest problems I had with Asatru, [and it really pissed that lady off] was that I had a personal connection with ALLFATHER ODIN [I still do!], yet--I felt this incredibly strong connection with the FENRIS WOLF. Now that would be like a Christian saying he loves Jesus, but also feels this strange, beneficial connection with Satan! The FENRIS WOLF, the son of LOKI was the power that would devour ODIN on the great day of RAGNARROK, when the Gods died. I had to decide, was I going to stay inside the tradition? I couldn't, because it would mean denying what I knew to be true. It would be denying my own self. Thanks for posting this thread, Suzie. Keep on questioning, and don't ever let yourself be shoehorned in to fit anybody else's paradigm. Looks like your on the way to finding your own.
8/30/2008 11:12:27 PM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
nico420 Brookwood, AL age: 29	I endorse it 100% to me paganism is anything outside of traditional organized religion, and as I see organized religion as the downfall of humanity's spirituality, i encourage everyone to seek spirituality from within-and take the truths you find from whatever source you find them. There is no need to hold a blind faith when you can experience the spirit directly. Organized religion's are, as Marx said, the opiate of the masses. They subdue people into thinking that because they hold a belief on blind faith, that they no longer need to constantly try to be the best, moral, compasionate and loving people they can be. The dogma and doctrine of most major religions are not even in accordance with the teachings of their own prophets-if christians truly lived lives as christ did, we would not have such judgemental-elitist-narrow-minded people professing to be "religious"-it gives the whole religion a bad name-and horrid things are done by the hands of selfish men in the name of religion. I feel people should be spiritual, not religous-I am an eclectic pagan of sorts- I consider myself a gnostic spiritualist(although I really hate labels), not in the tradition of the early christian gnostics, although I have found truth there- i believe that there are many sacred texts that say the same thing in different ways, and through understanding the similarities, I feel I have the best understanding of reality- I am part taoist-as the Tao Te Ching has provided me with tremendous insight, and provided a means for me to recconnect to the great integrity,through love, moderation, and humility, which as a follower of buddha, I feel is the same as finding my own inner buddha nature, and sidhartha guatama has taught me that I need to cease all desire, as that is the source of all suffering, as an aminist,(called the most 'primitive' pagan beliefs, although most religions stem from it) I understand that there is a spirit that lives in all things, and through this I have a mutual respect for all of creation, as a child of the law of one, I have embraced the universal spirit, and learned to follow universal flow, there is no such thing as coincidence, only sychronicity, i now understand more clearly how my ego plays tricks on me, my 'seperate selfish self' trying to convince me that this body is who I am, that I am a physical being, and i now realize I am a spiritual being having a physical experience, not the other way around...the teachings of the law of one really helped me form a unified view of my otherwise scattered eclectic belief system. if anyone cares to know more...just ask namaste- -nico [Edited 8/30/2008 11:21:28 PM]
9/2/2008 11:32:07 AM	What are you views on eclectic paganism?
wolfyhp Atascadero, CA age: 35	I am pagan by modern definition or "neo-pagan" if you prefer, but the latter is not a term I prefer. I am not Wiccan. The religion I follow is called Dran Rashar. It is a tradition unto itself and does not draw from any other tradition directly. However, we are encouraged to study other religions because we believe that the gods appeared to every civilization in the way that said civilization needed. Further we believe the gods left a modern day puzzle of wisdom and knowledge for us to be gained from studying how they've conversed with various peoples throughout the world. So, we do incorporate things from other faiths on an individual level as we learn and glean wisdom from various cultures and beliefs. Thus, I see eclecticism as a positive movement for those to whom it seems right. Wolf

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