Growth is one of things that I tend to wonder about. I wonder how on Earth it happens at all, and how best to measure it? How do I make it happen, if I even can make it happen? Spiritual growth is extremely hard to quantify, at least for me. I am never sure what to measure it against.
After moving to my new religion, I measured my new growth against the feelings and experiences of the old. This doesn’t really satisfy, because the old religion of my childhood ain't the religion I have come to embrace. The new experiences, in many ways, are not as intense, but they are a great deal deeper and more meaningful (not to mention frequent). My childhood religion was re-enforced by everyone around me, even by the greater culture at large, but the new is more of a solitary venture in many ways. The old defined who I was by what I believed, the new doesn’t really seem to care too overly much what I believe.
Who I am as a Druid is not defined by my beliefs, while at the same time those beliefs are exceptionally important to me personally. My actions, my way of doing ritual, my daily practice... these are the things that define me and make me a Druid. Actions are physical manifestations of beliefs, but sometimes the actions help to foster a new way of thinking.
My daily practice has been this type of "action creating belief." I light the candle and pray. I feel the presence of the spirits and I begin to believe they are with me. When I let my daily practice stop, I begin to feel the distance begin to seep in.
They say Paganism is an experiential faith, so how do you experience it? How do you define your own spiritual growth?
After moving to my new religion, I measured my new growth against the feelings and experiences of the old. This doesn’t really satisfy, because the old religion of my childhood ain't the religion I have come to embrace. The new experiences, in many ways, are not as intense, but they are a great deal deeper and more meaningful (not to mention frequent). My childhood religion was re-enforced by everyone around me, even by the greater culture at large, but the new is more of a solitary venture in many ways. The old defined who I was by what I believed, the new doesn’t really seem to care too overly much what I believe.
Who I am as a Druid is not defined by my beliefs, while at the same time those beliefs are exceptionally important to me personally. My actions, my way of doing ritual, my daily practice... these are the things that define me and make me a Druid. Actions are physical manifestations of beliefs, but sometimes the actions help to foster a new way of thinking.
My daily practice has been this type of "action creating belief." I light the candle and pray. I feel the presence of the spirits and I begin to believe they are with me. When I let my daily practice stop, I begin to feel the distance begin to seep in.
They say Paganism is an experiential faith, so how do you experience it? How do you define your own spiritual growth?
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