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Author Topic: Living FK: Nuturing your Dark Flame  (Read 3471 times)

veggiewolf

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Living FK: Nuturing your Dark Flame
« on: July 06, 2011, 01:53:43 pm »
Originally posted by FierFlye

Quote
There are 3 goals of FlameKeeping: a healthy dark flame, a healthy bright flame, and a Universe in harmony. I'd like to start some dialogue on we each personally work towards these ends. Though the three paths continually cross and intertwine, we can't be effective at the second two with out a good start on the first. So for this conversation, I'd like to discuss how we each nurture our dark flame.

If the metaphor of the dark flame is confusing to you, consider this explanation from Veggiewolf:

"to nurture our dark flame is to take responsibility for our own care and happiness"

Further narration can be found on the FlameKeeping website, where HeartShadow writes:

When we want to nurture our dark flame, we must nurture ourselves. Some of this is simple self-care: exercise, eating well, the occasional treat because we like them. However, it also involves things like meditation, automatic writing, prayer, or simply being alone with our thoughts. We need time to think, time to understand ourselves, time to compare our actions against what we claim are our beliefs. It’s of integral importance for us to take that time, to give ourselves a chance to pause in stillness and examine ourselves.

How do you nurture your dark flame? In what ways do you take care of yourself? What brings you joy? In what ways is your internal self stunted or lacking? What do you think you can do to develop it?


Entire thread is here.
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"Religion does not define a deity- it defines the human approach and interpretation of deity." - Juni
"I hate magical thinking in my magic." - Darkhawk
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Fier

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Re: Living FK: Nuturing your Dark Flame
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2013, 12:33:02 pm »
Quote from: veggiewolf;1992
Originally posted by FierFlye



Entire thread is here.

 
Since I am apparently supposed to be doing Dark Flame work, I'm dragging up this topic from the last page!

Quote
"to nurture our dark flame is to take responsibility for our own care and happiness"


I thought I was doing a fine job of this, but seems I'm missing something. While I ponder what that might be, how about you all tell me how YOU take responsibility for your care and happiness?

Fier

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Re: Living FK: Nuturing your Dark Flame
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2013, 11:52:12 am »
Quote from: FierFlye;114039
Since I am apparently supposed to be doing Dark Flame work, I'm dragging up this topic from the last page!
I thought I was doing a fine job of this, but seems I'm missing something.

 
So I listened to Sophia's podcast featuring Shad and Veggie this weekend. There is a part where Sophia (or her co-host, I forget who now) asks, "what do you do to nurture your Dark Flame"? Shad's answer is knitting, Veggie's is swimming and playing video games. This made me think about what mine is.

It used to be horseback riding. No matter how crabby a mood I might have been in, I always felt relaxed and centered after a lesson. Riding lessons forced me to focus on my body and it's relationship to the horse's movements, my balance, my posture, my communication. There were so many things to think about, everything not related to riding was pushed aside.

I haven't been riding in a over a year now, and due to a lot of new financial responsibilities, I don't think I can take it back up at this time.

My Dark Flame nurturing has since shifted toward "alone time". I work with people all day, and my favorite weekends are ones where I can stay home, not have to go anywhere or do anything, and recharge by doing my own thing.

This weekend I had a breakdown when I couldn't get that time. My husband and I were dog-sitting for my sister-in-law, and her dog was suffering from some major separation anxiety. He followed me around and whined and whimpered at me all Friday evening and most of Saturday. He paced back and forth across the room until I finally shut myself into my craft room. I desperately needed that down-time, but my house was no longer my sanctuary to get it. I was trapped in that room if I wanted any peace.

My new goal is to get a bit of that recharge time every day, so that I'm not waiting until the weekend for it. I am also going to be trying out different activities to see if I can find one that replaces horseback riding.

veggiewolf

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Re: Living FK: Nuturing your Dark Flame
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2013, 02:03:58 pm »
Quote from: FierFlye;114039
...
I thought I was doing a fine job of this, but seems I'm missing something. While I ponder what that might be, how about you all tell me how YOU take responsibility for your care and happiness?

I've got to say, I'm tending more toward the video games lately since my swimming time has been taken up with water walking with a friend who is desperately trying to build stamina.  She's not a good swimmer, so the lap pool with its gloriously cool water and endless lanes is on hold...

Can you tell I miss it?

Anyway, I want to add in another activity of some sort and think I may go back to Death by Swan Arms, at least temporarily.

I started playing Defiance over the weekend and I've got to say that it is helping me work out my stress.  I felt so good after playing it yesterday...although that might be due to the fact that I pictured a little troll-like CEO every time I killed a mutant.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2013, 02:04:54 pm by veggiewolf »
Fluid Morality - my spiritual blog
Eating Monsters - my mental health blog

"Religion does not define a deity- it defines the human approach and interpretation of deity." - Juni
"I hate magical thinking in my magic." - Darkhawk
"...a baseball club; a soccer unkindness; a hockey murder; a football team..." - Cecil, Welcome to Night Vale

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