As I was thinking about writing this article Lydia Crabtree wrote this article Guide for Beginners, and Do the F**king work for Newbies . It is worth reading to set the tone for this article.
Pagan spirituality, religion and development are very different endeavors.
Work. It is a scary word to many, and it is a fundamental question that anyone who wants to be good at something, what and how much are they willing to do to invest in themselves. I have met many who throw their whole lives into it, few with focus, many wandering, happy, miserable and some it is just a fad.
When I was running the Wizard’s Workshop, it was offered to do two things. First help a person recognize that their interests and natural abilities are valid, and that there is a world of paths to pursue if you choose. Most were simply happy to know that their empathy, visions and senses were real, that there are other people out there like them, and they are perfectly capable to figure things out for themselves without bowing and scraping to the first “so-called authority” that came along. And to develop those natural abilities, to get a sense of what those experiences may or may not be.
Two major realizations came out of this group. Work and doing the effort in self development wasn’t interesting enough of and in itself for anyone to keep up with. The desire to be part of a religion wasn’t there either.
Religion is taking a new upswing now. It is fulfilling what was needed. People need community, a sense of belonging. And the churches today either do that, or pander to fears, hatreds and generate the acceptance for the lowest denominator of self awareness. Or more likely the actual lack of self awareness but a feel good sense of self.
People Embracing Change is about focusing on the community. What we as people need to build each other up. To develop wisdom in a culture supporting each other as they are capable of.
Evil tears things down. Good builds things up. Up, down, black, white, dark or light, build each other and ourselves up.
Lets do the work. If nothing else give to each other to build our environments up. None of us live or can exist in a bubble. More than spiritual development, more than a religion, build each other up and a community and the rest will follow.