Everything Under the Moon

Hi,
I'm Hopeful Child. I'm trying to find a place to learn more and I enjoy learning by hearing peoples stories and opinions and the way they do things.
I'm 40 years, Male, I live in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in these United States of America. I'm not much of a nationalist though. "Nation" and "Country" are contrived concepts to me that are based in manipulation so I don't give much room for them inside my head. Too many other cool things to use that space for.

I'm a Husband, a Father, a Friend, a Brother, a Lover, a Thinker, a Scientist, and a Maker. I make...lots of stuff. Art, Stories, Wands, Toys, Music, Tools, and Messes. I make a lot of Messes.

I'm a life learner. I am constantly learning as much as I can.

So I'll share my story of how I found my way to my path.

Even when I was little I knew there was more to the world than what I could see. I asked questions, and I was directed to the bible. I read the bible, the bible was obviously broken. I told my mom that, and she brought our cousin the preacher to talk to me. I talked with him, he got angry. My mom started taking me to the library to shut me up. I found science. Science was less broken, but incomplete, but at least science was growing, and accepted NEW things. So I went with Science.
As adults, when my brother was dying, he asked me what he could do, to help me deal with what was happening. We had talked about this stuff before, in the middle of the night, on the river bank, fishing. We had talked about what we wanted from our lives, and at the end of our lives. So he knew that I wanted someone to send me confirmation, after death, if they could. An unmistakable confirmation. We both laughed about it. Because it's funny. I mean it's so ridiculous, and over the top that of course that is what I wanted. He told me he would do his best, but he wasn't making any promises. Within the week, he died.
2 weeks later a psychic told my Wife that a male spirit named Crystal had an important message for her. Both of them thought it was strange,because the mans name was Crystal, and the only Crystal my Wife knows is a woman, who is very much alive. My brother, just like my father and his father before him, had the middle name of Crystal. Our great grandfathers first name was Crystal. Yeah it's uncommon. And the magnitude of improbability is so staggering that I was forced to acknowledge that an unmistakable message had been delivered to me from the afterlife. From another form of existence.
Which is good because my model of the universe allows for more than just this shell that we exist in right now.
So having spent my entire life passively studying religions..all of the religions, I decided that the only faith that I can hold in my hands, is the one I make myself. So I went back to the source. I had already studied paleo religion and funeral rights and how science emerged from religion, all of the abrahamic religions, eastern religions and philosophy, western philosophy and everything in between including native religions and paganism. So I decided that paleo Shamanism and Ancestor worship are the keys to my feeling complete. And I do. I know that my ancestors are somewhere, existing still. I'm sure many of them have moved on again to even newer existences that I can scarcely imagine, and that makes me happy. That gives me hope and focus.

So that's me.

Thanks for letting me drop my boots here for however long I can.

Sincerely,
Hopeful Child

Welcome. You have quite an interesting story. I never thought of the bible and science being broken, I thought of them as incomplete. The name Crystal, for a man is certainly unusual. I hope you'll update us on your progress.

Snow

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome!




Blessed Be

Welcome to the board.

I'm very interested in how you view nationalism, if you want to explain
Welcome to the forum!

Everyone: Thank you for the warm welcome.

Snowcat:
Thanks!
The Abrahamic bibles in my opinion are fully broken. Have been since their inception, let alone the continuing politically motivated revisions. Have been since Zoroaster cast the shadow of his infallible, isolated Male G*D of perfect goodness across the people around him and laid blame at their feet for not being able to reach the impossible heights of his imaginary friend.
I hope that doesn't come across as venomous. It isn't intended to be. I'm just trying to be accurate and honest to my view of it. Probably sounds cynical. Which again it isn't intended to be. I have real respect for individuals right to worship as they choose. But for all the sorrow that fills my heart for their plight and the constant state of self doubt and fear and isolation they live through while worshiping based on principles designed and executed to control them, there is a spark of anger that they have been drug so low by their peers, their equals, whom through their own greed or insecurities have decided it is their divine right to shepherd the "meek". That anger is near equal in measure to my sorrow, so my assessment of spark is probably closer to a modest brush fire. I acknowledge that. Keep it in check.

The Hindu bible is a much more thoughtful and considerate document, but it also carries a specific taint of control and manipulation and intellectual dishonesty that I find intolerable.

Shinto and The Three Teachings, are also valuable teachings, especially Shinto, but I'm unable to co-exist with the principle of Kegare, anymore than the strict social constructs of Confucianism or the eightfold path, or the standard of individual happiness for the eternally unclean. Too many layers of manipulation and station building. As soon as you create a religious system that itself creates an inequality between one person and another person, you have failed in my opinion. You cannot simply Talk More in order to prove your inequality is righteous or justified.
If I am going to choose to live and abide a system then I choose a system that I can actually live with and abide by, without picking and choosing the parts I like, and the parts I think don't fit with my life.
Justly so with nearly every other practice of faith I have studied...
Then all of the philosophies, Cults, and Con-men parading as religion so they can drum up donations and compete with Rome. No thanks.

And then Wicca.
In Wicca I found a natural, humanist, egalitarian syncretic honesty I hadn't come across before. And the freedom to define my experience as I saw fit in a general frame work of collectively acknowledged and accepted practices that were completely open to modification because they are designed to be modified. Not because you HAVE to modify them in order to get them to work if you choose not to accept one or more part of the whole.

It's like Lego's. For faith. And that fit me just fine.
Shamanism, Asatru, most of the non-ethnic based pagan faiths fall into the lego category in my opinion.

Science: I Love Science. Science and Wicca go hand in hand for me. They support each other and counterpoint each other and compliment each other like a couple of high school sweethearts who fell madly in love the moment they met and will be together beyond even death.
But science as an institution has real bi-polar issues. It's hard to deal with. So I've never felt science was completely broken, just sad for it's self inflicted limitations and bigotry.

Fjall1291:
Thanks!
The whole geographic/demographic, ethnic bonding aspect of nationalism is manipulation. Americans exist on their standard of "The Greatest Country In The World"... Based on what? Should an Ethiopian who has the things they want in life to be happy, feel envious because an American keeps posting to facebook the he is happier just because he is American?
It's insanity.
Then so many other countries like to sneer at America for it's stance, while imitating it as quickly as possible. How does that make sense. If you sneer, then copy, that's jealousy. So you had nationalist jealousy? You felt insecure because some oaf wrapped in a flag is ranting?
I just don't get it.
I've never encountered a flag that did anything for me, to me, with me, or against me.
I've met people from many nations, cultures, economic dispositions, and upbringings who have done all of those things and more.
The importance of flags died with the launching of the first Intercontinental Missile Systems.
I'd point to my belief that they never really held any importance at all, but that would be a waste of time.

At least that is my opinion.

And I do have an update on my progress. I'm just not sure where to post it. I would truly appreciate some feedback on an experience I had that is, quite honestly, eating my brain.

My grandfather raised all kinds of hell at my meemaws church one day. He went on a rant about the bible being translated improperly and how the King James Bible was a piece of ***.

Needless to say he wasn't allowed there anymore haha

But I agree. As much as my being raised has affected me deep down, that bible is indeed broken. It was changed by politics .. Bits are still there. Science is also being changed by politics. If they were put back together the way they were meant to be without politics and propaganda being infused , there would be a lot less drama in the world.

If you go back as far as we can understand at the moment, a funny thing becomes apparent.

Science as we use it and have used it for a thousand years, came from religion. Science and Religion were so tightly woven together that each tribe, village, and later on even every affluent family, had their own Wise Man. He was healer, Diviner, alchemist, engineer, preacher and historian. This role was just the oldest member of the family, male or female. If a village was really lucky they had more than one.

Between the 10'th and 12'th centuries just 200 years, mainly due to the global plagues nearly erasing humans, the rift opened and science was science, and religion was religion. And they've stayed apart ever since.

Two lovers, hand in hand for every moment. One of them catches a cold, and they stop holding hands, and for whatever reason they never reach out to hold hands again.

Fjall1291:
Thanks!
The whole geographic/demographic, ethnic bonding aspect of nationalism is manipulation. Americans exist on their standard of "The Greatest Country In The World"... Based on what? Should an Ethiopian who has the things they want in life to be happy, feel envious because an American keeps posting to facebook the he is happier just because he is American?
It's insanity.
Then so many other countries like to sneer at America for it's stance, while imitating it as quickly as possible. How does that make sense. If you sneer, then copy, that's jealousy. So you had nationalist jealousy? You felt insecure because some oaf wrapped in a flag is ranting?
I just don't get it.
I've never encountered a flag that did anything for me, to me, with me, or against me.
I've met people from many nations, cultures, economic dispositions, and upbringings who have done all of those things and more.
The importance of flags died with the launching of the first Intercontinental Missile Systems.
I'd point to my belief that they never really held any importance at all, but that would be a waste of time.

At least that is my opinion.

Of course an American would think America is the greatest country in the world, why wouldn't they? Why would they live there if they thought other countries are better?

Now, I can only speak for me and my veiws on nationalism.
Nationalism for me means that you:
1. Want to be able to be happy for the nation you live in.
2. Want to preserve the culture in your nation.

You say you have met many people from different cultures that have done a lot of things for you. That's great! That's the reason we should preserve the culture in all nations. I don't look down on other nations, even though I think Sweden is the best. All nations have their own beautiful things to be proud of.

The flag is a symbol for everything the Swedish people have fought for, and for me, it's a symbol for everything great we have in Sweden. Free healthcare, free schools, one of the happiest populations in the world, and other things.

I certainly understand wanting to be happy with where you live.
Wanting to be happy for the nation you live in...is confusing to me. If you want to be happy for the people in your nation then do so. That sounds like a fantastic use of energy.

Being happy for the nation, is like being happy for a company, or being happy for a plastic spoon.

I'm less understanding about "preservation of culture", but I concede that is based on my concept of culture.

Which version of your national culture do you wish to preserve? Post 80's Egalitarian Swedish Establishment culture?
16'th Century Swedish culture? The Riksdag of the Four Estates? Do you suppose to maintain social classes and to label individuals as peasants still? Because that is part of Swedish culture..depending on how far back you want to go.

As knowledge grows, so should culture. So how do you preserve something that is constantly growing? You don't preserve a child. You nurture, and steward a child so that they can grow and learn and move on to bigger things yes?
I'd say the term most applicable is to : "Steward the cultural principles of your nation".

My issue with nationalism is that it is a form of state sponsored bigotry. It is stating "we are the best" in a situation where there is no best.

No Politician wants to stand at a podium and say, "We are currently adequate for the immediate needs of the majority".. lol. It doesn't sound as good.

A very warm welcome to EUTM. It's great your path has taken you in our direction. We presume you're here to learn and grow magickally and spiritually, and if that's the case, you're in the right place! We're glad you're here.

I hope you enjoy your stay with us and I look forward to getting to know you and to reading your posts in the boards.

I don't know where else to put this so I'll add it to my introduction.

Currently I'm kind of freaking out because I took a chance and now I have an opportunity.

I decided to enter the Miami Animation Festival Pitch to the Industry contest with one of my story ideas and art.
So I did.
And I'm a finalist for the contest.
http://www.miaanimation.com/pitch-to-the-industry/

That is my pitch right there up at the top "The Van Wizards". I have to go to Miami Florida in October to pitch the judges and if I win I get to meet with real network buyers and I get solid information on how to make this work.

I want to see this so badly. Hahha. My husband has an obsession with ' bang vans' as we call them. He has a work van and had a sticker made of Jessica Rabbit holding a gun With the words " Bang Van " on the side. Lol.


I REALLY hope you win. Because this is a brilliant idea. There's a huge vanning thing happening right now so you could absolutely make money from this. Just BRILLIANT , I say!

I didn't win the competition. It's unfortunate but not a deal breaker.
I learned a lot. Met some people and was given a big boost by the amount of support for my ideas. I was told I'm on track and ahead of the curve so I should keep on it.
And that was coming from people who have already made it. I am thus encouraged.