Photo by Justin Goring (www.flickr.com\/jdgoring)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe self<\/strong>\u00a0 One valuable goal of practice is to allow all of our selves to be heard.\u00a0 Most of us live in a world dominated by our rational selves, and the thinking, talking, reasoning, chattering voices we use for things like conversation, problem-solving, and managing schedules often get the lion\u2019s share of our attention.\u00a0 Equally important, however, are our physical bodies, our feelings, and that spark of the sacred that lives in each of us.\u00a0 Having a way to attend to these parts in particular, even if it is as simple as taking a breath to honor each of them, has been a fruitful practice for me.<\/p>\nOur place in community<\/strong>\u00a0 We all belong to something, whether it\u2019s a family, a Pagan community, or the web of life.\u00a0 Honoring our many connections at this level helps to nurture and sustain the connections themselves, but also to keep us aware of them and of the fact of our connectedness.\u00a0 Honoring ancestors of blood, of place, and of tradition is something everyone can do, as is honoring descendants of blood or spirit.\u00a0 So is affirming ourselves as part of the beautiful, interconnected world we share.\u00a0 If we have living teachers or communities, we can rest our appreciative attention on them or ask for them to be blessed.<\/p>\nOther beings<\/strong>\u00a0 If you have working relationships with deities, allies, elements, or other beings without bodies, honoring them is a valuable part of a practice.\u00a0 Just like relationships with humans, these relationships benefit from regular attention, either straight-up or through practices like prayer and offerings.<\/p>\nThe sacred<\/strong>\u00a0 However you perceive what is sacred in the universe, honoring it is a cornerstone of practice.\u00a0 For me, this is a practice that is more likely to take the form of stillness, listening, gratitude, and silence than my relationships with more person-like beings, which often include words, but everyone\u2019s experience is individual.\u00a0 Whatever connects you to life and death, being and the ground of being, and a sense of wonder is worth pursuing.<\/p>\nWhich of your connections do you attend to?\u00a0 Which ones could use more attention?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On honoring connections: to the self, one’s place in community, other beings, and the sacred.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1335,"featured_media":82,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formal-practice","category-how-to","tag-connection"],"yoast_head":"\n
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