{"id":7045,"date":"2017-09-28T03:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=7045"},"modified":"2017-10-05T08:27:06","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T14:27:06","slug":"pagan-work-matters-dont-get-distracted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2017\/09\/pagan-work-matters-dont-get-distracted.html","title":{"rendered":"Your Pagan Work Matters \u2013 Don\u2019t Get Distracted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I started to title this post YOUR Pagan Work Matters. But all caps looks awful, so I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This post isn\u2019t about prioritizing your Pagan work in relation to your professional work, family work, and other work. Rather, it\u2019s about valuing the Pagan work you do in relation to the Pagan work I do, your friends do, and all our other co-religionists do. What your Gods and ancestors have called you<\/em> to do is important. It matters \u2013 don\u2019t get distracted from it.<\/p>\n

Shared Personal Gnosis (SPG)<\/h1>\n
Most of us are familiar with UPG \u2013 Unverified Personal Gnosis. It\u2019s the term for the wisdom, information, instructions \u2013 and sometimes, mysteries \u2013 we receive from various Gods and spirits. It recognizes the fact that such communication is personal and unverified \u2013 we cannot expect others to take it as authoritative, no matter how powerful it may be. At the same time, it is gnosis<\/em> \u2013 knowledge. It is valid for those who receive it and those who choose to accept it.<\/p>\n
A related concept is SPG \u2013 Shared Personal Gnosis. When different people get the same message, that carries more weight than if only one person gets it. It is still personal gnosis and you are under no obligation to accept it, but when I hear three or four people relaying more or less the same thing, I pay close attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Pagan work matters \u2013 don\u2019t get distracted.\u201d Last week I heard this in meditation with one of the deities to whom I am oathed. Two other people I know and trust heard the same message, from two different sources. I did a Tarot reading to confirm it and the results were about as clear as could be.<\/p>\n
$\"Tarot$ <\/a><\/p>\n
This is Shared Personal Gnosis\u2026 and it\u2019s close to being Verified Gnosis. You can decide for yourself, but I\u2019m paying attention.<\/p>\n
Go fast but don\u2019t rush<\/h1>\n
Last December I had a post titled The Gods Are Getting Impatient<\/a>. Here\u2019s a quote:<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m hearing from the Gods (or more specifically, from the handful of Gods with whom I and many of my friends and co-religionists are working) is \u201cwe told you to do this last year\u201d \u201cwhy isn\u2019t this done yet?\u201d and \u201cthis is needed now, not next Summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gods have the perspective of immortals, but even immortals can get impatient. And They are getting impatient.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This year I\u2019ve seen why They were getting impatient. The things we\u2019ve been told to build are needed now. I\u2019ve had several people come to me asking for something we\u2019re working on and I\u2019ve had to tell them \u201cwe\u2019re not ready yet.\u201d The Otherworld is still bleeding through into this world and Tower Time<\/a> continues unabated.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year some of the people I\u2019m working with (some local, some not) committed to a timetable. It doesn\u2019t catch us up to where we would be if we had gotten started on time and hadn\u2019t made any missteps. But we\u2019ve stuck to it and we\u2019ve made good progress.<\/p>\n
It appears They\u2019ve taken notice.<\/p>\n
Now the message has shifted from \u201cwhy isn\u2019t this done yet?\u201d to \u201cyour Pagan work matters \u2013 don\u2019t get distracted.\u201d Keep your foot on the gas but not on the floor. This is a time to move forward diligently, not to try to speed through a busy highway and end up in a crash.<\/p>\n
Distractions aplenty<\/h1>\n
\u201cWhat might have been\u201d is a terrible distraction\u2026 and one to which I\u2019m quite susceptible. I look at key errors I made in 2014 and again in 2016 and I wonder where I\u2019d be without them. But those errors are no longer relevant, except as a reminder to not make them again. Regret is a distraction from the work of today.<\/p>\n
Participating in the democratic process is an obligation of living in a free society. But obsessing over politics is a distraction from the work you need to do. Watching Fox News or MSNBC 24\/7 is a distraction. Endless political arguments on Facebook isn\u2019t \u201cchanging hearts and minds\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a distraction from your work. If you need to stand up and say something, stand up and say something and then get back to work. Arguing with the guy you went to high school with a zillion years ago doesn\u2019t accomplish anything.<\/p>\n
The mainstream has discovered witches again. All of a sudden, witches are the in-thing to be. We\u2019re inundated with articles on witch fashion, witch accessories, and witch attitudes. Getting caught up in pop culture\u2019s idea of witchcraft as a fashion statement is a distraction. So is going on rant after rant about how they\u2019re not really witches. Pop culture will do what pop culture will do. Let them play with fantasy witchcraft until they get bored. You stick to doing your Pagan and Witchy work \u2013 it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
The list goes on and on. Learn to recognize distractions for what they are, so you can stay focused on the work you\u2019re called to do.<\/p>\n
$\"CUUPS$ <\/a><\/p>\n
This post isn\u2019t for everyone<\/h1>\n
When I wrote about the Gods getting impatient, I made it clear I wasn\u2019t speaking to everyone.<\/p>\n
I am not speaking for all Gods or all traditions \u2026 If your intuition, divination, and first-hand experience says you\u2019re on schedule, then you should assume you\u2019re on schedule. If you\u2019re hearing \u201cjust keep working\u201d then you should not feel any special urgency about your religious and spiritual work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The messages I\u2019m hearing have gone from impatient finger-tapping to gentle and even reassuring reminders, but this post isn\u2019t intended for everyone either.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re avoiding the work you\u2019ve been called to do, this isn\u2019t for you. Your Pagan work matters \u2013 get to it.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re waiting to have everything you need before you get started, this isn\u2019t for you. You\u2019ll always need something else. Your Pagan work matters \u2013 get started with what you have.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re waiting on someone else to show up so you won\u2019t have to go it alone, this isn\u2019t for you. Your Pagan work matters \u2013 don\u2019t let someone else\u2019s procrastination keep you from it.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re doing your Pagan work and you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed, this post is for you. The work of the Gods and ancestors is important, and your piece of that work matters. You may not be able to see exactly where it fits into the bigger picture. That\u2019s OK. Sometimes we have to do our work and trust<\/a> that others (and Others) will do their parts too.<\/p>\n
Your work will never be perfect \u2013 mine certainly isn\u2019t. It will never be complete \u2013 the work of the Gods is an on-going process. Sometimes it\u2019s hard, sometimes it\u2019s frustrating, sometimes it seems impossible, even though it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Stay with it. Your Pagan work matters \u2013 don\u2019t get distracted.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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