{"id":4539,"date":"2016-01-03T08:20:57","date_gmt":"2016-01-03T14:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=4539"},"modified":"2016-01-03T08:20:57","modified_gmt":"2016-01-03T14:20:57","slug":"4-steps-to-a-deeper-pagan-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2016\/01\/4-steps-to-a-deeper-pagan-practice.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Steps to a Deeper Pagan Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Hot<\/a>Tomorrow morning I go back to work, ending this year\u2019s 11 Days of Solstice. It was supposed to be 12 Days of Solstice<\/a>, but while my paying job usually accommodates my vacation requests, this year there was something that had to be finished before I could leave, so I ended up working the 23rd<\/sup>. Gordon White at Rune Soup calls this an intercalendary period<\/a>. It is for those of us who work in some industries, but for those in retail and hospitality, it\u2019s a busy time.<\/p>\n

While much of life returns to normal starting tomorrow, there\u2019s still something not-quite-ordinary about the month or so in between Go Back To Work Or School Day and Imbolc on February 1st<\/sup> (or whenever you celebrate it \u2013 Denton CUUPS<\/a>\u2019 Imbolc Circle is January 30). The gym will be packed with people starting New Year\u2019s resolutions<\/a>. The worst of winter starts this month: most outdoor activities are curtailed, construction stops in some parts of the country and slows in others, and commerce is generally down.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve often suggested the Pagan community use this period as a contemplative season<\/a>. Rather than some ill-conceived<\/a> New Year\u2019s resolutions, simply bring a new emphasis to your daily spiritual practice. The longest night has passed, but the days are still short, and the cold will keep us indoors. Most of the Pagan conventions don\u2019t get started till February (and let\u2019s face it: far more of us don\u2019t attend them than do, though I have three between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox). For most of us, this is an auspicious time to commit to deeper religious and spiritual practice.<\/p>\n

I say something along these lines most every year, but this year it feels different. It seems like there\u2019s something in the air, or something in the \u00e6ther. Since the week before the Solstice, I\u2019ve had more people contact me about starting or re-starting a Pagan practice than I have in the previous six months. It\u2019s like people are telling themselves \u201cthe new year is coming \u2013 I need to do\u00a0something with this call \/ obligation \/ God in my ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The details of these situations are of course confidential, and in any case their value to blog readers is not in their specifics but in their commonalities. Several of my better college professors said something along the lines of \u201cif you have a question, ask \u2013 there\u2019s probably someone else with the same question who won\u2019t ask.\u201d So in that spirit, here are four steps to starting or strengthening a Pagan practice in 2016.<\/p>\n

1. Make a choice<\/strong>. When it comes to religion, the only thing we can be certain about is that there is no such thing as certainty<\/a>. If you insist on certainty you\u2019ll either be waiting till you\u2019re dead or you\u2019ll latch onto some fundamentalist who claims to have certainty when in fact he has no such thing. It\u2019s not all the same<\/a> \u2013 different religions and different traditions have different beliefs, practices, and foundational stories, and different ideas about the core questions that religion should address. So choose something.<\/p>\n

What does your heart and your brain tell you is true? What whispers that there\u2019s more<\/a><\/em>? What calls to you? Who calls to you? Here\u2019s a hint \u2013 you\u2019re reading a Pagan blog. Something brought you here, and whether that something is internal or external, perhaps you should pay attention to it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been wanting to explore Paganism, or if you\u2019ve been exploring and now it\u2019s time to get serious, then make a choice to start now. Or if this isn\u2019t for you, then make a choice to be a Buddhist<\/a> or a liberal Christian or whatever seems like a good fit. But make a choice and commit to something.<\/p>\n

\"Hot<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Build your foundation<\/strong>. We live in a society that is nominally Christian but that is thoroughly materialist at heart. Nature is valued only for how its \u201cresources\u201d can enrich humans. The only God anyone knows is the God of Abraham\u2026 or perhaps all Gods are made up. Magic is fantasy for children. These assumptions \u2013 and that\u2019s all they are, unproven assumptions \u2013 are embedded in our wider society and in our lives. Mainstream Western society has made us blind and deaf to mystery, to the Gods and spirits, and to everything else that doesn\u2019t involve buying and selling.<\/p>\n

We need to build a foundation for our Pagan practices based on our experiences of Gods<\/a> and of Nature, and on the results of our dedicated spiritual practice. We need to read: the stories of our ancient ancestors, the great works of Pagan philosophy<\/a>, and the wisdom and experience of contemporary Pagans and polytheists. Paganism is as reasonable<\/a> as any other religion or no religion at all. But we have to get past the unstated assumptions of the mainstream society.<\/p>\n

3. Begin a devotional practice<\/strong>. If there is a God or Goddess who is making Their presence known in your life, then begin a devotional practice to Them. If not, then what deity seems like a good match for you? Whose myths always struck you as more than stories? Relationships can be initiated by either party \u2013 pursuing the Gods is a good thing<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Read Their stories and read the scholarly work about the cultures in which They were originally worshipped. Talk to Their priests and see how They\u2019re being worshipped today. Tell Their stories and invoke Them in ritual. Speak to Them in prayer and listen for Them in meditation. Build a shrine. Make offerings. Do Their work in this world. Pick one or two things to get started, then add others as you go.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always good to honor the Gods.<\/p>\n

4. Keep it up<\/strong>. Don\u2019t be the Pagan equivalent of the January gym goers! Commit to practice every day between now and Imbolc \u2013 it\u2019s only four weeks. The best way to insure that you do is to start small. Start with once-daily prayers and once-weekly offerings. Or once-daily meditations and twice-weekly study sessions. This will require some discipline<\/a> and may require some tricks \u2013 schedule your practice time on your phone, or set an offering bowl on your kitchen table.<\/p>\n

Do the easy stuff first \u2013 whatever is easy for you. You\u2019ll get into the habit of practicing every day, and that will make it easier to keep it up when you start to add practices that are harder and less fun, but still necessary.<\/p>\n

The holidays are over and the new year is here. The season of Imbolc calls us to deeper practice. Something is in the air, or in the \u00e6ther.<\/p>\n

What will you make of this opportunity?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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