|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:12 pm
almisami Whoa, haven't been paying attention to the board all that much... Well, to elaborate on my view of self-deception regarding wicca, I think that performing a ritual (assuming here one believes it's effects are real) in order to achieve a particular result involves a lot of persuasion that it will work on the behalf of one's self, since one cannot quantify or expect any particular result. The individual will then go about his day and then happen upon an event that he will assume is the result of the ritual. Hence, one deceives himself into believing an event is the result (say, he finds a 20$ bill on the floor) as the result of the ritual (that is supposed to attract riches to one's self). Even if the ritual did work, maybe the 20$ bill was just dumb luck and that the ritual instead made your boss reconsider that raise he wanted to give you or maybe it made your stocks portfolio more profitable in the long run, but you have no clue as to what is the result of the ritual and you have to deceive yourself into assuming any or all of the events, good or ill, happened because of some mystical power. To me it just feels like faith-healing applied to every aspect of one's living. I'm not saying placebos don't work, I just think that one shouldn't just go out and affirm that placebos really do work. Wait, so is it just Wicca, or Paganism in general? Or are we talking about magical practices v. non-magical practices? It would seem your concern is more so the latter. In which case, it isn't limited to just those of the non-Abrahamic persuasion. Rituals don't need to involve spell work. I do rituals to make offerings to my gods and to be closer to them. I don't practice magic so I can not say for sure the mindset that one approaches the success v. failure rates.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 4:42 pm
I said wicca, and the pagan traditions that are derived form it. Many restorationist religions and pagan traditions in fact intrigue me. Especially the Greek, Roman and Egyptian ones. Native-american beliefs and traditions are of particular interest to me, since they seem to have a do-it-this-way-to-honor-but-don't-formally-worship kind of faith, which is a new concept to me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:29 pm
almisami I said wicca, and the pagan traditions that are derived form it. To be fair, you did say "Wicca (and, by extension, many pagan-esque faiths) " and that's a pretty wide net to cast. I think we are assigning the words to different, specific groups. Quote: Many restorationist religions and pagan traditions in fact intrigue me. Especially the Greek, Roman and Egyptian ones. Native-american beliefs and traditions are of particular interest to me, since they seem to have a do-it-this-way-to-honor-but-don't-formally-worship kind of faith, which is a new concept to me. Yay, Recons FTW 3nodding . Although I don't look down on Eclectic paths either; putting together your own faith in a cohesive, reasonable way is a s**t-ton of work. Chieftain Twilight no. what i am saying is, the term Wicca seems to be used in different ways by different people in so many different situations that it confuse sthe HELL out of me! xp i'm too dizy about it realy. Ah I see. I know; I wish book publishers could be assed to publish their books under honest titles rather than ripping off the name of an already established, specific faith. IMO on that, the Pagan community does itself the biggest disservice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:41 pm
almisami Chieftain Twilight i have studied all of these an more myself, and i am shocked to hear what you have to say about them, especially since it sounds like you didn't even read up on it yourself, but rather got the info secondhand. Buddhist practices are very healthy, for mind, body and spirit. breathing excercises, meditation, healthy diets, willful love, abandoning negative thoughts and energies, personal hygene and cleanliness... how are these practices a waste? how are they an abandonment of the physical? Shinto involves a philosophy of respect, cleanliness, and the philosophy that the outside is a reflection of the inside, so that by changing one you change the other as well. they strive to be honourable, proper, polite, pure and clean. it is a form of Japanese Paganism. LaVayan Satanism doesn't even believe in any god or gods, and they agree only on that human beings deserve free will. they are neither malicious nor without moral value. they are not rebellious to an extreme, and the fact that disrespectful kids claim to be satanists for the coolness factor has nothing to do with LaVayan Satanism at all. Buddhist practices are indeed of a noble breed, don't get me wrong, however the Buddhist philosophy of ''middle way'' (which is a less extreme and more philosophical version of a Jainism tradition to neglect the body in order to concentrate on the spiritual and thus attain enlightenment). The practices are noble, but the underlying philosophy makes me feel like they think life in this world is but a transitory state, which I think is a real waste, since that I think that, even if this was but one of many existences, that we should live it like our last and that our good deeds should be done in their own right and not towards some underlying goal, even if that goal is enlightenment. The self-worshipping ideas seem to me more like either atheism with a few gimmicks attached or simply something that is meant as a joke towards the established religions. This strictly a personnal impression, but it is one that I stand by. and that is fine. it is merely the understanding and respecting that i tend to get a**l about. xp that, and when people who havn't read up on these things try to talk about it like they know it, or when anyone tries to explain it and they give wrong info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:45 pm
Violet Song jat Shariff almisami I said wicca, and the pagan traditions that are derived form it. To be fair, you did say "Wicca (and, by extension, many pagan-esque faiths) " and that's a pretty wide net to cast. I think we are assigning the words to different, specific groups. Quote: Many restorationist religions and pagan traditions in fact intrigue me. Especially the Greek, Roman and Egyptian ones. Native-american beliefs and traditions are of particular interest to me, since they seem to have a do-it-this-way-to-honor-but-don't-formally-worship kind of faith, which is a new concept to me. Yay, Recons FTW 3nodding . Although I don't look down on Eclectic paths either; putting together your own faith in a cohesive, reasonable way is a s**t-ton of work. Chieftain Twilight no. what i am saying is, the term Wicca seems to be used in different ways by different people in so many different situations that it confuse sthe HELL out of me! xp i'm too dizy about it realy. Ah I see. I know; I wish book publishers could be assed to publish their books under honest titles rather than ripping off the name of an already established, specific faith. IMO on that, the Pagan community does itself the biggest disservice. heh. agreed there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
