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Author Topic: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.  (Read 4556 times)

LunarRainbow

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Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« on: February 16, 2017, 10:15:28 pm »
Sorry if this isn't the right place, but I did think that, based on the sub-categories, this would be the best place to post a question like this.

I don't have faith in the Gods, or the Spirits. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely believe in the Gods, and that the spiritual is all around me, but I have no faith, no trust, no sense of the relationship or connection that I see with so many other people.

I've never had such, and I think that this may form a stumbling block to my path, because I WANT that relationship, that feeling of connection, and especially feel like this could be a problem when pursuing things that require that connected-ness, such as Magickal practice.

Overall, I was hoping that some insight could be provided on how to build that feeling of connection or relationship? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Likewise, please let me know if there are any questions or information you want me to clarify on. : )

Sorcha

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2017, 10:27:27 pm »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202750
Sorry if this isn't the right place, but I did think that, based on the sub-categories, this would be the best place to post a question like this.

I don't have faith in the Gods, or the Spirits. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely believe in the Gods, and that the spiritual is all around me, but I have no faith, no trust, no sense of the relationship or connection that I see with so many other people.

I've never had such, and I think that this may form a stumbling block to my path, because I WANT that relationship, that feeling of connection, and especially feel like this could be a problem when pursuing things that require that connected-ness, such as Magickal practice.

Overall, I was hoping that some insight could be provided on how to build that feeling of connection or relationship? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Likewise, please let me know if there are any questions or information you want me to clarify on. : )

 
Hm. Well, first off, I think trust is earned in a sense, so not trusting a being that you've never met isn't wrong. The gods don't necessarily have any claim on your trust at this point. For instance, it's not that I don't believe in the Norse gods, but I don't work with them, so trust isn't a thing for me when it comes to them.

Do you have specific gods you're interested in? Perhaps start with one you're particularly drawn to and just say hi. If it feels appropriate, TELL them you how you feel; I figure honesty is always best. I don't see a problem with saying something like, "So I like the idea of working with you, but I don't know you, so maybe you could meet me halfway?"

Others may have better ideas, but I figure it can't hurt to make the first overture and just express interest and see what happens.


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LunarRainbow

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 10:43:46 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;202753
-snip-
Do you have specific gods you're interested in? Perhaps start with one you're particularly drawn to and just say hi. If it feels appropriate, TELL them you how you feel; I figure honesty is always best. I don't see a problem with saying something like, "So I like the idea of working with you, but I don't know you, so maybe you could meet me halfway?"
-snip-
Wow, thank you for replying as quickly as you did.

I'm...not really sure. To bee honest, I don't really have any real concept of what Gods exist beyond my basic understanding of spirituality. There's no 'names' to be honest, and since I'm kind of spiritually blind I'm not sure what Gods I feel connected or drawn to, in both a physical sense and a spiritual sense.

My conception of spirituality is a little weird I'll admit. There's individual Gods in all things, but its all part of this underlying spiritual nature that exists within all things. So there's literally infinite deities that I could contact, and spirituality can even be completely removed from deities (although I don't want it to be) by focusing on the universal spiritual nature...I'm kind of at a loss.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2017, 10:49:01 pm by LunarRainbow »

Sorcha

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2017, 10:53:34 pm »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202755
Wow, thank you for replying as quickly as you did.

I'm...not really sure. To bee honest, I don't really have any real concept of what Gods exist beyond my basic understanding of spirituality. There's no 'names' to be honest, and since I'm kind of spiritually blind I'm not sure what Gods I feel connected or drawn to, in both a physical sense and a spiritual sense.

My conception of spirituality is a little weird I'll admit. There's individual Gods in all things, but its all part of this underlying spiritual nature that exists within all things. So there's literally infinite deities that I could contact...I'm kind of at a loss.

 
I'd look into animism if I were you, because that's basically what you're describing, I think. Check out the concept of the genius loci, and maybe try just chatting with your local trees and streams and rocks, or the sky or moon or whatever resonates with you, and such and see what you get. You don't have to follow a specific system; you can just work with the local spirits (something I definitely want to work on even though I also honor some specific Welsh deities).

It's hard when you're first figuring things out (and gee, I'm pretty new at this too; I'm just suggesting what's helped me). There's no real right or wrong way, either. The gods are forgiving. I think they know that most of us haven't grown up being told how to talk to them so we're kinda lost and are going to blunder around a bit.


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LunarRainbow

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2017, 11:12:28 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;202756
I'd look into animism if I were you, because that's basically what you're describing, I think. Check out the concept of the genius loci, and maybe try just chatting with your local trees and streams and rocks, or the sky or moon or whatever resonates with you, and such and see what you get. You don't have to follow a specific system; you can just work with the local spirits (something I definitely want to work on even though I also honor some specific Welsh deities).

It's hard when you're first figuring things out (and gee, I'm pretty new at this too; I'm just suggesting what's helped me). There's no real right or wrong way, either. The gods are forgiving. I think they know that most of us haven't grown up being told how to talk to them so we're kinda lost and are going to blunder around a bit.


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I actually already identify as an animist, so you're right on the money there! Yay! : D

I was in a very ritualistic path before, and that really didn't help at all to me I'd want to focus more about incorporating spirituality into my day-to-day life and activities. Not have to do them only separate from that, and the rest of my life. I don't think spirituality and life are separate, so I left and only recently started identifying solely as animist.

I think that's the main block I'm running into. Nothing...resonates, as you said, with me. That or I'm just blind to whatever resonates with me. Even if I did know then I wouldn't know how to act or strengthen that resonance.

I think that's the first time I've heard talking to trees and rocks used in a respectful and helpful way. If I knew how I probably would, but I don't. xD

Sorcha

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2017, 11:21:17 pm »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202759
I actually already identify as an animist, so you're right on the money there! Yay! : D

I was in a very ritualistic path before, and that really didn't help at all to me I'd want to focus more about incorporating spirituality into my day-to-day life and activities. Not have to do them only separate from that, and the rest of my life. I don't think spirituality and life are separate, so I left and only recently started identifying solely as animist.

I think that's the main block I'm running into. Nothing...resonates, as you said, with me. That or I'm just blind to whatever resonates with me. Even if I did know then I wouldn't know how to act or strengthen that resonance.

I think that's the first time I've heard talking to trees and rocks used in a respectful and helpful way. If I knew how I probably would, but I don't. xD

 
I guess... I dunno. If you think there's a spirit in there, just walk up and say hi. Wave. Sit down next to and and be like, "Soooo... this is awkward...." Hug a tree. Sit and watch a bumble bee do its thing. Hold a dying dragonfly (I did this over the summer. I was a wreck for hours. I actually probably don't recommend that. It was incredibly profound, but so gut wrenching that I don't wish it on anyone).

I figure that we don't generally feel connections with people until we get to know them. I'm not sure why it should be different with spirits. Compound that with the fact that you need to figure out how they communicate to begin with, and it makes sense that there might be a bit of a disconnect.

One thing that's helped me is to generally connect with where I live. If you learn about what lives in your area, the plants and trees and animals and insects, where the waterways are and where they go, what body of water feeds your tap, what geologic forces shaped the area, that sort of thing, and you do a lot of just sitting outside listening, you'll start to feel connected, and that might open up some communication.


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LunarRainbow

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2017, 11:29:16 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;202760
I guess... I dunno. If you think there's a spirit in there, just walk up and say hi. Wave. Sit down next to and and be like, "Soooo... this is awkward...." Hug a tree. Sit and watch a bumble bee do its thing. Hold a dying dragonfly (I did this over the summer. I was a wreck for hours. I actually probably don't recommend that. It was incredibly profound, but so gut wrenching that I don't wish it on anyone).

I figure that we don't generally feel connections with people until we get to know them. I'm not sure why it should be different with spirits. Compound that with the fact that you need to figure out how they communicate to begin with, and it makes sense that there might be a bit of a disconnect.

One thing that's helped me is to generally connect with where I live. If you learn about what lives in your area, the plants and trees and animals and insects, where the waterways are and where they go, what body of water feeds your tap, what geologic forces shaped the area, that sort of thing, and you do a lot of just sitting outside listening, you'll start to feel connected, and that might open up some communication.


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I want to thank you for your help thus far. Its a little late to be going out, but I'll definitely try some of your suggestions! : D

Talking to trees...well...I suppose people already think I'm crazy! xD Anyways, I definitely will see what comes up. Maybe not talking to the tree in a conventional manner, but reaching out spiritually and just kind of, listening? I could do that while reading or writing, or drawing, or whatever. : )

Also yeah, that makes sense that understanding the local area as a part of the greater whole is probably a much better way of going about things. : )
« Last Edit: February 16, 2017, 11:31:24 pm by LunarRainbow »

Sorcha

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2017, 11:57:28 pm »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202761
I want to thank you for your help thus far. Its a little late to be going out, but I'll definitely try some of your suggestions! : D

Talking to trees...well...I suppose people already think I'm crazy! xD Anyways, I definitely will see what comes up. Maybe not talking to the tree in a conventional manner, but reaching out spiritually and just kind of, listening? I could do that while reading or writing, or drawing, or whatever. : )

Also yeah, that makes sense that understanding the local area as a part of the greater whole is probably a much better way of going about things. : )

 
Eh, I have literally hugged trees, so believe me, I'm not going to think you're weird. :)


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sevensons

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2017, 01:25:30 am »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202750


I've never had such, and I think that this may form a stumbling block to my path, because I WANT that relationship, that feeling of connection, and especially feel like this could be a problem when pursuing things that require that connected-ness, such as Magickal practice.

 
If you require a very deep connection you would be found simple enough the key part of the connection is to be in a more advanced state. by learning witch craft and realising what state of being your in. its like a combat daily to reach the highest level.
Awaken myself alive and well loving to start learning today ahead a challenge set by the Gods. Haven't

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LunarRainbow

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2017, 01:35:13 am »
Quote from: sevensons;202763
If you require a very deep connection you would be found simple enough the key part of the connection is to be in a more advanced state. by learning witch craft and realising what state of being your in. its like a combat daily to reach the highest level.

I see...I suppose what I meant more of was that I feel a need to be in tune with and connected with the universal spiritual energy around me, and have no idea how to do that really. Its good to know that its normal to struggle with this issue, if to a slightly different degree.

Do you have any advice on that...possible where to start? I don't know. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've come to the view that I need some spiritual awareness, and feeling of connection to the spiritual, before I can start going into Magick.

sevensons

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2017, 01:50:30 am »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202764
I see...I suppose what I meant more of was that I feel a need to be in tune with and connected with the universal spiritual energy around me, and have no idea how to do that really. Its good to know that its normal to struggle with this issue, if to a slightly different degree.

Do you have any advice on that...possible where to start? I don't know. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've come to the view that I need some spiritual awareness, and feeling of connection to the spiritual, before I can start going into Magick.

 
First off I would learn about grounding look it up.
Awaken myself alive and well loving to start learning today ahead a challenge set by the Gods. Haven't

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Jenett

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2017, 08:15:18 am »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202750

I don't have faith in the Gods, or the Spirits. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely believe in the Gods, and that the spiritual is all around me, but I have no faith, no trust, no sense of the relationship or connection that I see with so many other people.


One way to look at this is reframing this. Do you have faith in your friends existing (and being your friends) without experiences to back that up? One way to look at interactions with deities has nothing to do with faith, and everything to do with "There are these experiences I've had, and I use those to make some choices" just as you might with your job, or a hobby, or a family member. It's not about faith or belief, it's about doing the thing.

That said, a bunch of things you might find useful to chew on. Darkhawk has a set of three seriously awesome articles on her website that you might find helpful:
- how do I find what god(s) to worship
- how have various people imagined relationships with the gods?
- how do I develop a relationship with a power?

All three touch on different parts of your question in ways that might be useful to you.

Some people have a major mystical experience with a particular deity or power (and then that guides a lot of what they do next), but other people have a much more pragmatic thing: they make offerings to deities associated with the things they're interested in, and go from there. One option is to try that for a bit, and see how that goes, doing it respectfully but in a "open to possibilities, not making any commitments here yet."

My particular training had us spend a month researching a bunch of different deities (a month on each one) and doing some sort of creative project associated with each one (I've got a write up that touches on that on my website here, and you might also find this article and this article there of use.)

A lot of the people I worked with started out the process with a "Well, okay." sort of approach, and somewhere in the middle had an experience of either a specific deity they clicked with a lot that was on our research list (our list was deities the tradition worked with regularly, plus a few like Brigid who are commonly mentioned in the larger community, and where knowing a bit about them can be handy) or they'd have a dream, or some experience in meditation, or they'd go "Ok, not *that* deity, but now I know I really want to explore deities who are interested in Y."

It's sort of like a process of moving somewhere new and figuring out where you're going to find friends. You try a bunch of stuff, hopefully politely, without making big commitments, and some of it won't work, and some of it will be okay but not what you're really hoping for, and hopefully there'll be at least one or two people you go "Hey! YOU! Hi!" with, and then you can sort out what kind of interactions work for you both.

The other thing I'd suggest is read around here - you'll find some stuff in this folder, but also the Gods and Goddesses folder, and in other threads. We've got a huge backlog of material. Don't just read for specific deities (though if something catches your eye, that's worth following up on), but look for the kinds of interactions people describe, or emotional stuff that speaks to you, and then explore that. (You can also the same thing elsewhere, as you read blogs or Tumblr or wherever else you might be around conversations of Pagans talking about deity.)
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LunarRainbow

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2017, 11:15:55 pm »
Quote from: sevensons;202765
First off I would learn about grounding look it up.

I've looked up some stuff about it, but I'm having some difficulty with understanding some of the basic concepts. Like how I'm supposed to 'feel' my energy, or how to I know when enough's enough, and all that. I'll definitely take a look in the more magick-oriented forums for this, but if you have any further things to look up or keep in mind that'd be absolutely grand! : )

I guess essentially I'm going to need a complete set of Magick 101 and Magick for Dummies. Cheers though to everyone so far for the help! xD

Also, Jenett, I'll be responding more properly in just a tad, but thanks so much. : )
« Last Edit: February 17, 2017, 11:20:17 pm by LunarRainbow »

Beryl

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #13 on: February 18, 2017, 03:58:45 am »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202809
I've looked up some stuff about it, but I'm having some difficulty with understanding some of the basic concepts. Like how I'm supposed to 'feel' my energy, or how to I know when enough's enough, and all that. I'll definitely take a look in the more magick-oriented forums for this, but if you have any further things to look up or keep in mind that'd be absolutely grand! : )

I guess essentially I'm going to need a complete set of Magick 101 and Magick for Dummies. Cheers though to everyone so far for the help! xD

Also, Jenett, I'll be responding more properly in just a tad, but thanks so much. : )

 
It may be worth finding a guided meditation or other audio thing to listen to while you practice (for me that helps because I don't have to keep referring to a book or other text) and just... go through the motions for a while. I definitely felt, well, a little silly, and a general sense of "okay but HOW? WHAT AM I MEANT TO DO?" at first, but I've been just trying to go with the flow, and I think I'm getting there.

sevensons

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Re: Building a relationship & connection with the Gods.
« Reply #14 on: February 18, 2017, 04:44:43 am »
Quote from: LunarRainbow;202809
but I'm having some difficulty with understanding some of the basic concepts. Like how I'm supposed to 'feel' my energy,

 
Try and focus your self with basically decreasing into earth letting go of all your negativity. now imagine a sway of pure energy rising from the solid earth. now imagine a beam of light reaching for the stars.
Awaken myself alive and well loving to start learning today ahead a challenge set by the Gods. Haven't

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