Practices that still work

[EclecticWheel]

Are there any practices or ideas from your previous religious background (if you have one) or prior worldview that still work for you? or that you have adapted to a new context?  How did you adapt them?

Because of the nature of my path, there are lots of things for me in this category, but for me, my style of prayer is largely the same, but the content and interpretation of the prayers are different.  I have had to write the bulk of my prayer rule, but the matter is that I still have one, and the style is largely the same.

[Darkhawk]

Are there any practices or ideas from your previous religious background (if you have one) or prior worldview that still work for you? or that you have adapted to a new context?  How did you adapt them?

I think the big one is my mental take on the Christmas festival, which I have adapted into a ka festival, largely.

While I was raised nominally Christian my family was never particularly religious.  But we took Christmas very seriously in the following ways: reaffirming connections to neighborhood and family, particular food, giftgiving, traditions rooted in light, storytelling.

The ka is the portion of the Egyptian soul linked to family line, vital energy, food, reproduction, and magic/enchantment. Offerings are made to the gods with "may your ka be fed".  And I personally consider a good apprehension of ka theology to be essential to good Kemetic practice, but the ka itself is commonly quite neglected.  But basically all the things my family marked in Christmas are ka-linked or at least -linkable things.

So, a solution is possible.

[TheGreenWizard]

Are there any practices or ideas from your previous religious background (if you have one) or prior worldview that still work for you? or that you have adapted to a new context?  How did you adapt them?

For my practice, I'm still figuring things out. I was raised (loosely) Catholic - we celebrated Easter, Christmas, and went to Church when our grandparents were watching us. Part of this has carried over to my current practice, in that I don't do regular service to the Gods a la Sunday Service like I would if I was Catholic. Instead, I've taken to doing my prayers at the New and Full Moons, and celebrating the Equinoxes & Solstices.

Christmas, I connect with Winter Solstice - it's to celebrate the halfway point between Autumn and Spring Equinox, and that is something that should be celebrated with others. So that was an easy connection. Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox really don't have Catholic holidays associated with them to my knowledge... However, Easter sometimes is in the vicinity of the Spring Equinox, and so, I've taken to the practice of putting flowers on my altar at that time (though I do have to be careful because of my free roaming rabbits in my bedroom...).

Autumn Equinox is in late September - I didn't celebrate All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day as Catholics do... but I still recognize that that time of year is a point where things are coming to a close and that we should prepare for winter, as well as celebrate and give thanks to our Ancestors. So between the Equinox and Halloween, I try to be reflective, and keep my Ancestors in my thoughts, usually through prayers, offerings, and wearing something that they wore when they were alive (e.g., Grandma's knitted cardigan) or do something that they did while they were alive (e.g., Grandpa read a lot).

I didn't address Summer Solstice because when I was growing up, there really wasn't any holiday that marked the beginning of summer. Memorial Day was considered the "start of summer" and still is, but that's a month out from the actual Solstice. Fourth of July - easily the biggest holiday I could connect to - we celebrated a bit, but it wasn't til much later on in life that my family decided to do cook outs and such. But, as of late, it's lost its attraction as I've become more aware about the effect of fireworks on animals and PTSD victims. But that might change too - I distinctly remember we would go camping after school let out, so I may have to try camping again in Summer 2020 to see if that works for my practice.

[PerditaPickle]

Are there any practices or ideas from your previous religious background (if you have one) or prior worldview that still work for you? or that you have adapted to a new context?

I was raised to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but without it being made explicit to me that this was one of Christ's teachings - I've always found it sensible, so I see no reason to make a departure from this principle, though this is the only one I've specifically kept to (or tried to).