#hedgefolk

[therarestartand]

[almanemes]

met Susan from the Swamp in our last Humblewood D&D session and I ❤🦔

[tingethehedgehawk]

@the-darkest-hedgehogs​ started following you!

❝ Hey, faker. ❞ 

Tinge couldn’t keep a straight face and cracked up at her bad attempt at being edgy.

❝ Pfft. Just kidding. Guess we should start a club or something, there’s a lot of red striped hedgefolk around. I’m Tinge. Tinge the Hedgehawk. Who are you? ❞

[bratty-weed-witch-blog]

Going to listen to this later this evening!

~Tell me a story

[paganwiccan-blog]

Ritual Tools Omegartworks Rises From The Ashes

Like many people in Minnesota, I bought my Athame at the Minnesota Rennaisance Festival years ago. It is a true piece of craftsmanship. Unfortunately, these folks were unable to continue to have a booth at fest, and we were without a supplier of custom ritual blades. Well, the good news is, that this year (2009), they are officially back doing custom work through an online store. Of course, we have added them to our Artist Website Links. Heres the description from their website: Omega Artworks is owned and operated by Gary and Suzy Zahradka. All work is done by us in our studio in St. Paul, Minnesota. For over 25 years we have been designing unique and original swords, knives and sculpture. We offer a wide range of options for custom designed swords and knives, but also maintain an inventory of items you can purchase today! Our objective is to combine beauty with functionality -- to create a work of art that is beautiful to the eye, thrilling to the hand and inspiring to the imagination. As you look through our website let you imagination go, then contact us and let us know what you are thinking. Were thankful to see they are working again! I also have to mention that there is also a Pagan Forge which has been firing up the forge, training up apprentices, and creating ritual tools which you may have seen at various festivals or at Pagan Pride. Founded and guided by long-time priest and smith Ken Ra, its called Underhill, and we will be doing a full feature on them in the coming months.

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[pathofknowledge-blog]

Buddhist Meditation

This is a nice introduction to the idea that everyone needs to find the meditation that works best for him or her - there is not one right approach that works for everyone. Oh yeah, and you do not need to be a Buddhist to get the benefits (with apologies to the traditional Buddhists who seem to hate the idea of meditation as a technology separate from the Buddhist tradition). From the Huffington Post. THERE\'S A DIFFERENT WAY TO \'MEDITATE\' FOR EVERYONE Susan Smalley, Ph.D. Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA Posted: May 12, 2010 10:24 AM The other night a husband and wife were asking me about meditation; the wife was a mediator and the husband was not. She clearly reaped great benefit from it and must have trying to get her husband to do it, but to no avail. I told the husband that I've been working to bring meditation to UCLA, in the medical school where our center is located (www.marc.ucla.edu), with a goal to teach meditation practices in a secular way, particularly in light of emerging research supporting its benefits on health and well-being. I also noted that meditation is really a means of investigating the mind, something perhaps we can all benefit from in this very "outward" oriented culture. I could see that he was interested (despite his wife's facial expression of 'I told you so'). But he acknowledged that he has been very 'turned off' by anything that seemed "New Age." It occurred to me how much I cringe at the idea of sounding "New Age" or of people, books, and programs that seem "New Age." I noticed how hard we work not to be seen as "New Age" in any way. But it's clear that these ancient practices of meditation, yoga, tai chi are emerging at a new time or a new age from their origins so that the term is, in a way, kind of accurate. But I know what I dislike about the "New Age" stereotype -- it's not the practice or exercises that are being taught -- but how they are being described. A more New Age teacher might reference "spirit, divine" or other metaphysical term while a more secular-oriented teacher would not. (The same practices taught in a religious setting would likely differ in description as well). Our Center classes provide tools for meditation using a framework of inward exploration, with experimentation and discovery the guiding framework necessary for practice. Many people tells us that through practice they experience a sense of connection to something larger than themselves but prefer terms like "humanity, evolution," the "universe at large" or "nature" to describe it. Others with a religious slant often describe that their connection to God is deepened through practice. Others note that they are happier, more content, and kinder to themselves, others, and the planet without reference to any other constructs. I remember in our first classes at UCLA overhearing someone in attendance say, "I always wanted to learn to meditate and now that UCLA says it's okay I'm going to do it." That made me pause and think how the setting within which we learn something can be deterring or supportive, but it certainly it plays an important role. The husband I met was seeking a tool or means of inward reflection but steered away from meditation because of its New Age clothing. As science dresses it anew, (described in secular terms with research around it) perhaps he can try it on again for size. There is some technique for everyone - whether that is walking in nature, sitting in a lotus position, meditation to music, or practicing calligraphy (among many, many others). There are clearly many ways to explore the mind. (For free guided meditations go to www.marc.ucla.edu and click on mindfulness meditations). Here are the meditations available at the link above (one stop education):

MINDFUL MEDITATIONS

For an introduction to mindfulness meditation that you can practice on your own, click on the following links, turn on your speakers and click on the forward arrow "play" button. To download an mp3 meditation, please right click 'download mp3' and select "Save Target As..." or it may do so automatically. To play a.wma file on a Mac computer you may need to first download Windows Media Player (free). 5 minute BREATHING MEDITATION (play) (mp3 download) 12 minute BREATH, SOUND, BODY MEDITATION (play) (mp3 download) 19 minute COMPLETE MEDITATION INSTRUCTIONS (play) (mp3 download) 7 minute MEDITATION FOR WORKING WITH DIFFICULTIES (play) (mp3 download) 9:30 minute LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION (play) (mp3 download) 3 minute short BODY AND SOUND MEDITATION. (play) -->this is an mp3 download 3 minute short LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION. (play) All meditations by MARC's Director for Mindfulness Education, Diana Winston. MINDFULNESS CLOCK (for PC Users) MINDFULNESS CLOCK (for Mac Users) Tags: Buddhism, meditation, Health, stress, Psychology, Susan Smalley, There's a Different Way to Meditate For Everyone, Huffington Post, Breathing Meditation, Loving Kindness Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, secular practice, well-being

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[paganwiccan-blog]

Occult To Ouijor Not To Ouija

You scream; I scream; we all scream for - scary movies! Yes, even the upcoming ones that have just a smidgeon of a chance to turn out totally lame. Enter "Ouija," Universal Pictures' newest interest in the realm of paranormal-genre movies. Although the idea sounds a bit cheesy, hit director Michael Bay's production company is being mentioned often, which is doing a great job of keeping the interest factor high. So what is all the hype about? Why is the Ouija (or anything relating to the use of one) always so intriguing? "Ouija," with a release date set for sometime in 2013, has been on and off of the chopping block in the past, with a script that seemed left for the dead. It was, however, recently revived, only with a budget that seems to have lost a little blood. Interestingly, Jason Blum; the producer behind the "Paranormal Activity" set, is also poised to pounce on this opportunity to connect the dead, with the living, again. We can only hope for him to pull off something as insidious as, well, "Insidious." A movie about the Ouija board? Well, at least that hasn't been done for a few years... but wait, if we WATCH someone doing the Ouija, isn't that supposed to open us up to being bothered by evil spirits? Or is that only if you're touching the board? So really, you are signing up to join a movie theater full of demon-possessed zombies? Count me in. I'm certain watching five million dollars be totally wasted will be worth it, as long as I get to take home my very own ghost! Technorati Tags: demon, ghost, ghost hunters, ghost hunting, ghosts, haunted, haunted house, haunted houses, haunting, horror, horror movie, media, movie reviews, movies, News, ouija, ouija board, ouija movie, paranormal, scary, scary movies, thoughts

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[paganwiccan-blog]

Christian Theology

Interesting to see the emergence of a postmodern theology - not surprisingly, he's Episcopalian. He has received both praise and criticism for his efforts to reform Christian theology and bring it into the 21st century. Bishop Spong's call for a new reformation includes 12 Theses for a new Christianity: The complete document in Bishop Spong introduces the 12 Theses is his "Call for a New Reformation"

THE 12 THESES

1. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found. 2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt. 3. The biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense. 4. The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible. 5. The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity. 6. The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed. 7. Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history. 8. The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space age. 9. There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time. 10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way. 11. The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior. 12. All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.

Spong ends this article by saying:

"So I set these theses today before the Christian world and I stand ready to debate each of them as we prepare to enter the third millennium." The whole article is worth the read if you are interested in understanding the ways Christian theology and practice might change for the better, although there are many - even within his own denomination - who do not agree with Spong's position. Bishop John Shelby Spong leads the 2:00 pm audiences through a week-long conversation based on his newest book: "Eternal Life: A New Vision - Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell". This week having been inspired by the Eileen and Warren Martin Lectureship Fund for Emerging Studies in Bible and Theology, Jack Spong in his unique style makes accessible to the ordinary layperson emerging understandings within contemporary theology, and offers new ways in which to engage with traditional concepts. John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. Acclaimed as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson, he is considered the champion of an inclusive faith, both inside and outside the Christian church. In one of his recent books, "The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love" (2005), Bishop Spong sought to introduce readers to a new way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition. A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says that he is a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply, but who recognizes that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence. A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room-only crowds. He was previously a 2:00 pm Lecturer of the Week at Chautauqua in 2000. His bestselling books include "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism", "A New Christianity for a New World", "Why Christianity Must Change or Die", and "Here I Stand". His extensive media appearances include a profile segment on "60 Minutes" as well as appearances on "Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Politically Incorrect, Larry King Live, The O'Reilly Factor, William F. Buckley's Firing Line," and "Extra." His newest book is "Eternal Life: A New Vision - Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell". Tags: Religion, culture, Philosophy, postmodernism, FORA.tv, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Transcending Religion, Christianity, Eternal Life, A New Vision, Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell, theology, 12 Theses, New Christianity, Call for a New Reformation

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