Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine #25, Aug 2011 --
August 01, 2011
Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine #25
Erasing The Separation Between You And The Divine
and
How To Explain Wicca To Others
August/September 2011
Editor's Note
Merry Meet! Welcome to the Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine!
Ah... the energy of the Earth has been much lighter lately.
There's a sense of buoyancy that I've been feeling, and perhaps you've been feeling it too. I'm not sure if it's due to the practices I've been using to get me through what are challenging times, personally… like:
EFT
Allowing sadness full rein for an hour a day, as needed
Affirmations
Gratitude Journal
Posture correction -- especially opening up the heart area
But I think there is a general ease in the rather relentless process of transformation that the Earth has been calling for, from us.
Whew, eh? : D
Now is the
time to do these proactive exercises. We don't need to dig ourselves out of the dumps, lately, so we can use our energy to clear out old baggage. This is how we graduate from the Pain School to the Joy School. If we wait for the universe to kick us in the pants before we do our inner work, we are learning through pain. If we don't wait, but take the initiative and do our work voluntarily, then our lessons begin to come to us through joy!
Our choice. That's what karma is all about.
In the Tarot Readings/spiritual guidance I've been doing for people lately, what I'm noticing is that the Divine is almost banging down the doors, trying to get through. It's really so simple to just stop pushing back, and open the door.
It's just not so easy to get the ego to give up his job as doorman. ; ) But it's possible. And it's getting easier all the time.
THAT's learning through joy!
So that's what our feature article is
about this month: a simple yet transformative practice for opening the door to the Divine.
This article is in answer to all the emails and posts on Facebook and Twitter about how to explain to Christian relatives that Wicca is not an evil religion.
Who better to dispute this myth than a Christian? One with an open mind, and an actual copy of the whole Bible (not the abridged "Coles-Notes" kind so many Christians seem to have.)
If you have
questions or problems that you can't seem to resolve, now is the time to get some answers!
I'm offering 25% off Spiritual Guidance and Tarot readings for the first 12 customers.
Book now to reserve your space.
Offer expires Aug 31 for payment, Sept 30 for readings.
Let's get right to the heart of the matter.
There is no separation between you and God (however you choose to call Her).
The only thing that keeps you separate from the Divine is your thought that you and God are separate beings -- an entirely false idea.
This simple practice will help you break free of that illusion of separation.
Please note: it may seem a little redundant, but it is actually reprogramming you on various levels. The original programming is extremely redundant, repeated over and over and over until you don't even notice that it's being repeated.
It takes repetition to replace that old programming with a new one.
Erasing the Separation: Phase 1
Bring yourself to calm openness, for example by meditating for a bit.
Say to yourself: "There is no separation between me and God," and look at the world through that belief. Allow that realisation to blossom within you.
Then close your eyes. Look inside your body and say: "There is no separation between me and God."
Experience the truth of that.
Remind yourself of this all day. Whenever you give yourself a hard time about how you look, what you're doing, what you've done/not done, etc. Whenever you are giving yourself praise or credit. Whenever you are eating, walking, watching TV, going to the bathroom, listening, talking: "There is no separation between me and God."
Keep returning to this statement: "There is no separation between me and God." Carry a reminder through your day: write, "Me and God" or "TINSBMAG" on your hand, tie a ribbon on your ring finger, set an hourly alarm to remind you, put up notes all over the place, set it to pop up on your computer.... "There is no separation between me and God."
How much lighter life becomes! How much easier it all seems to flow. How much more natural kindness and compassion
become.
Taking It Deeper
Now to integrate this awareness on an even deeper level. Close your eyes and speak to your heart. Tell it: "There is no separation between me and God."
Keep this idea in your consciousness. Keep returning to this idea in your heart, like a homing pigeon invariably returns to its nest.
"There is no separation between me and God."
Your thoughts keep God out. Your thoughts can allow God in. At any moment, you can rip aside the veil of illusion.
So let this be your "Mantra" for the day: "There is no separation between me and God."
Phase 2
When your heart is comfortable there, when this feels normal and natural to believe -- in a day, a week, a month -- move on to Phase Two:
"There is no me; only God."
Say it silently to yourself, and hear what God,
with infinite warmth and humour, replies.
You may feel a tremor -- or a tsunami -- of unease when you say this. If so, go back to the original: "There is no separation between me and God." It is a very comforting thought.
The unease is the ego, wanting to stay in control of you, craving its own survival even when it puts you at risk. This is the only "barrier" between you and the Divine.
You will live, you need not fear; even when submerged into the Divine you still exist. You are a flavour, a thought, an inner voice of God.
As you merge into God, God also merges into you. As Kabir put it: "All know that the drop merges into the ocean, but few know that the ocean merges into the drop."
But the ego, with its false idea of separation, fades in the presence of Divinity like a mist in the noonday sun.
And it knows this! That's why it resists everything that will liberate you.
Still, you can't force the ego to surrender. Fighting is what the ego does. You add fuel to its fire by resistance.
Instead, move gently and with compassion, from one thought to the other and back again: "No separation; No me; No separation." Gradually your ego will learn there's nothing to fear, and let go.
Keep experimenting with "There is no me; only God."
"There is no me; only God."
Carry this reminder through your day. Keep coming home to it.
Why This Works In 2011
As we get closer and closer to the 2012 Transition, it becomes easier and easier to step outside ordinary material belief and step into immediate union with the Divine. Sometimes it only takes a turn of the head to completely shift the mental landscape of where you live, who you are, and what is real.
It wasn't always this way. This practice wouldn't have worked, for most
people, a thousand years ago. But humanity is ready now, and absolutely poised to step across the line of separation. This makes it fairly easy to cross over.
And this is how we are changing the world. To quote A Course In Miracles:
"As my thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real thoughts awaken the real thoughts in them."
This practice is one such turning of the head. You can change the world in an instant, you can begin calling others across the line into Divinity, just by opening this door in your awareness:
"There is no separation between me and God."
"There is no me; only God."
Phase 3
Now you can begin to encounter the world on a whole different level. Greet everyone you see (or think about) with the silent acknowledgement: "There is no you; only God."
How
would you treat people, especially the troublesome people in your life, with this new awareness? -- "There is no you; only God."
Every spiritual tradition basically says the same thing: Whatever you do to another, you do to God. With this practice, you can experience for yourself how this is literally true.
With every "friend" and "lover" being God, how does that change your perspective of the help and blessings and love you receive?
With every "enemy" or "problem person" being God, how does that change your perspective of the trials in your life?
Phase 4
Try saying this next time you hit a roadblock or earthquake in your life: "There is no problem; only God."
There is no real limit to where this practice can go....
Using this simple statement as your touchstone, your entire life will transform, and quicker than you may think.
Ask The Priestess
How To Explain Wicca To Other People?
Dear Priestess,
Hi. First of all I'd like to say that i love learning more about Wicca. My boyfriend is a Christian (i have personal issues with Christianity), well he thinks Wicca is "crap" and although i try to explain what it is about, he doesn't get it.
I'd like to make him at least try to understand it better so i just wanted to know a better way to explain it to him.
Thanks for your time.
Blessed be!
SB in Trinidad / Tobago
Dear SB,
I wish there were one easy answer, but what will work for one person doesn't always work for another -- it really depends on what each one's beliefs, values, and misconceptions are.
One person might just need to hear that there is no "devil" deity in Wicca.
Another person might need to know that "Harm None" is the most fundamental Wiccan law.
A third person might not ever get it, if they are rigid in their mindset, and determined that only they know the One Truth.
If they are throwing Bible quotations around as proof that all other religions are evil, you might want to print them out a copy of this letter from a Christian, to other Christians, about Wicca: A Christian Speaks On The Faith And Path Of Wicca.
If that doesn't convince them to open their minds and hearts a little, probably nothing will.
And They Just Won't Listen…?
As frustrating as it is, you can't explain anything to someone who is unwilling to listen. It won't matter what you say, because their ears are closed. (As Jesus might say, those without ears can't hear.)
Most of the time, it's best to just wash your hands of it and walk away. You can't change them. So why inflict their judgements and criticisms on yourself?
In your case, since it's someone you love and want to keep in your life, you'll really want a way to bridge the differences between you. If they have an open heart, there is the possibility that you can reach them.
You can explain how Wicca touches your heart and inspires you to be a better person, and that's often the most powerful way.
In the fundamentals, Wicca and Christianity aren't so far apart. Both are ways to get closer to the Divine. If you can get past the surface -- the different words, the
different rituals, the different ways of perceiving divinity -- there is an underlying unity in spiritual experiences that you both can share, regardless of what religious wrappings they come in.
The Gift Of Being Challenged On Our Beliefs
In any case, the clearer you are on what Wicca really is for you, the more clearly you can explain it to someone else.
This is the gift that comes wrapped in the hard conversations. As we try to explain things to others, we can discover where our own understanding is less than solid. We find out what is really important to us, and why.
And we are tested on our dedication to our own Path.
If you find that you stumble on explaining why Wicca is so important to you, reading some of the things that others say about Wicca, like on my website, can help clarify your feelings.
Have you read these pages on Wicca, and on Christianity? They might
help...
Some of these will provide helpful fodder for your discussions. Others will help you clarify what Wicca
really is all about, in your view.
But it's your own enthusiasm and passion that really reach people's hearts. And the example you provide, as you live your life according to Wicca's codes.
Why Do You Need To Explain?
Another question to ask yourself is why you feel the need to explain it to anyone?
There can be good reasons for this; I'm not saying we should just keep our mouths shut. But feeling a NEED to explain signifies that something is going on.
After all, Christians aren't expected to explain why they want to be Christian. They aren't expected to explain what Christianity is really about. (Lucky for them, since so many seem to have entirely missed the point of what Jesus asked his followers to do.)
You don't have
to explain.
You do have a right to have your beliefs respected, regardless.
So the question really becomes, why do you care so much what he thinks? You don't care for Christianity, why should he have to care about / understand / believe in Wicca? If he ridicules your faith, I would suggest he's maybe not a great person, and why would you want to be with someone who disrespects you?
Wicca is your own Path; let it live and thrive in your heart. It IS nice to share our spirituality with our partners, but not always possible. If you want to stay with him, you must accept him for who he is and what he believes. (Although if he can't treat you respectfully, agreeing to disagree, you can insist on something better!)
I wish you all the best!
With Blessings,
erin Dragonsong
Do you have a question you'd like answered? Email the Priestess and your question could be answered in a future issue.
(Note: questions may be edited for brevity or clarity. No real names will be disclosed. For reasons of legality, all questions become the property of Wicca-Spirituality.com.)
Fave Quotes
"I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God".
~ Sufi Proverb
When you discover for yourself, however dimly,
that you are rooted in something that is infinitely vast and potential, you have found the soil wherein you grow unconsciously into a most wonderful tree, the tree of life blended with knowledge.
~ N. Sri Ram
Each must discover his own way in life, and that way lies in his heart. Let him delve deeply into the depths of his being; his true centre is not far from there.
~ N. Sri Ram
It’s the vanity of the ego that claims thoughts as “mine.” Genius, on the other hand, commonly attributes the source of creative leaps of awareness to that basis of all consciousness--which has traditionally been called divinity.
When you surrender completely to God, as the only truth worth having, you find yourself in service of all that exists. It becomes your joy and recreation. You never tire of serving others."
~ Mahatma Gandhi
"The ultimate and highest leave-taking is leaving God for God, leaving your notion of God for an experience of that which transcends all notions. I and you, this and that, true and untrue--every one of them has its opposite. But mythology suggests that behind that duality there is a singularity over which this plays like a shadow game."
~ Meister Eckhart
Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to
God.
~ Krishnamacharya
God is none other than the Self. To see the Self, having destroyed the ego, is to see God; all else is but a vision of the mind.
~ Sadvidya
God cannot be attained by so simple an act as merely dying! To die is easy, but it is very difficult to attain that high level of consciousness in which the soul can merge back into Infinity.
I just wanted to write to say, "thank you," for this wonderful site so very packed with information.
I am 30 years old and have finally accepted my calling to Wicca that I have felt for the past 20 years.
Being raised Catholic/Christian I have been feeling very conflicted and scared of this transition and was so comforted by your section on Christianity and Wicca. For years I wondered why I had all of these other beliefs that were so different from what I was taught and was constantly feeling guilty and lost.
Again, I thank you. I have already ordered some of the books that you recommended and am now on your E-zine mailing list. -- L. McC. in USA
Thanks for writing!! I appreciate hearing from you!
: )
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