Ganesh says "You are at the door."

[Sharysa]

I've been doing a lot of ancestor-work lately, and one of my ancestors (a past-husband) mentioned that he'd been Hindi in one of our lives. And I pretty much went, "Well, that's interesting" and forgot about it until later on, Kali and Ganesh showed up. Ganesh showed up first (thank the gods), and my ancestor went, "Ganesh! Hi!" He replied with "It's nice to see you again. I said that you would find her, yes?"

Kali gave me two messages. She noticed that, "You are too loud--that is why everything comes to you." So I've been working on "toning myself down" to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Generally, it's going well.

Then she started dancing with me and the ancestors. When she ended the dance, I tried to stop but got caught up in the music again. She initially thought I hadn't listened to her, and then she realized I'd lost control. She had to grab me and hold me still before going, "DO NOT GET LOST. This is why you cannot learn, and why you cannot remember."

She was definitely warning me not to "get lost" in my art specifically. I asked the Morrigan why she didn't just tell me that herself, and she said that she wasn't a dancer. Kali left after that, but Ganesh is still here. I asked why, and he said, "You are at the door." I thought it was just me at first, but he clarified that he'd meant, "You all are at the door."

And then I remembered that I've met two guys in my theater classes who look exactly like two of my ancestors, and several more ancestors keep saying that "We're coming back."

When I asked Danu, she went, "What does it sound like? You're at the door." And then I asked the Morrigan why Ganesh would show up just to meet up with a past follower, and she said, "He ASKED Ganesh to help him find you. Why wouldn't he check up on him?"

So I've fact-checked and it's pretty much what I already know. Hinduism is one of the most widely-known systems that believe in reincarnation, Kali and Ganesh's appearances and personalities match up, and Ganesh is known as the "Lord of Beginnings" and the "Lord of Doors," so his message and reason for coming also matches up.

I noticed that Kali and Ganesh had very strong accents, and for me language fluency tends to correlate to how close a spirit/deity feels towards me--my closest ancestors are fluent English speakers, most of the Tuatha De Danaan have British/Irish accents, and Ganesh consciously thickens his accent whenever he speaks to me as opposed to my ancestor. He's also emphatic that I don't give him offerings, because he's not calling me to the Hindu pantheon and he's not staying very long.

Has anyone else who believes in reincarnation experienced this? My medicine-woman said that she's met someone from several past-lives, so I know it's possible; I'm just wondering if anyone's gotten a heads-up first. Especially one as blatant as this.

Everyone just treats this in such a matter-of-fact way that I'm guessing it's the idea of reincarnation itself that I'm not used to, at least not on a personal or cultural level.

[stephyjh]

I've been doing a lot of ancestor-work lately, and one of my ancestors (a past-husband) mentioned that he'd been Hindi in one of our lives. And I pretty much went, "Well, that's interesting" and forgot about it until later on, Kali and Ganesh showed up. Ganesh showed up first (thank the gods), and my ancestor went, "Ganesh! Hi!" He replied with "It's nice to see you again. I said that you would find her, yes?"

Kali gave me two messages. She noticed that, "You are too loud--that is why everything comes to you." So I've been working on "toning myself down" to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Generally, it's going well.

Then she started dancing with me and the ancestors. When she ended the dance, I tried to stop but got caught up in the music again. She initially thought I hadn't listened to her, and then she realized I'd lost control. She had to grab me and hold me still before going, "DO NOT GET LOST. This is why you cannot learn, and why you cannot remember."

She was definitely warning me not to "get lost" in my art specifically. I asked the Morrigan why she didn't just tell me that herself, and she said that she wasn't a dancer. Kali left after that, but Ganesh is still here. I asked why, and he said, "You are at the door." I thought it was just me at first, but he clarified that he'd meant, "You all are at the door."

And then I remembered that I've met two guys in my theater classes who look exactly like two of my ancestors, and several more ancestors keep saying that "We're coming back."

When I asked Danu, she went, "What does it sound like? You're at the door." And then I asked the Morrigan why Ganesh would show up just to meet up with a past follower, and she said, "He ASKED Ganesh to help him find you. Why wouldn't he check up on him?"

So I've fact-checked and it's pretty much what I already know. Hinduism is one of the most widely-known systems that believe in reincarnation, Kali and Ganesh's appearances and personalities match up, and Ganesh is known as the "Lord of Beginnings" and the "Lord of Doors," so his message and reason for coming also matches up.

I noticed that Kali and Ganesh had very strong accents, and for me language fluency tends to correlate to how close a spirit/deity feels towards me--my closest ancestors are fluent English speakers, most of the Tuatha De Danaan have British/Irish accents, and Ganesh consciously thickens his accent whenever he speaks to me as opposed to my ancestor. He's also emphatic that I don't give him offerings, because he's not calling me to the Hindu pantheon and he's not staying very long.

Has anyone else who believes in reincarnation experienced this? My medicine-woman said that she's met someone from several past-lives, so I know it's possible; I'm just wondering if anyone's gotten a heads-up first. Especially one as blatant as this.

Everyone just treats this in such a matter-of-fact way that I'm guessing it's the idea of reincarnation itself that I'm not used to, at least not on a personal or cultural level.

 
OK, here's my thought, and you're not going to like it. You've got way too many balls in the air, and you're going to end up hurt. The gods are not Pokemon. Trying to catch/interact with too many will burn you out. You need to pick and choose your interactions, because personal relationships with ONE deity are the exception rather than the rule, and you're trying to have close personal relationships with multiple ones. The reason those relationships don't happen more often is that most people can't handle the demands of one god who's taken an interest in them. You're opening yourself up to way too many, and it's going to cost you.

[Shine]

OK, here's my thought, and you're not going to like it. You've got way too many balls in the air, and you're going to end up hurt. The gods are not Pokemon. Trying to catch/interact with too many will burn you out. You need to pick and choose your interactions, because personal relationships with ONE deity are the exception rather than the rule, and you're trying to have close personal relationships with multiple ones. The reason those relationships don't happen more often is that most people can't handle the demands of one god who's taken an interest in them. You're opening yourself up to way too many, and it's going to cost you.

 
I agree with Stephyjh.

It sucks because all deities are wonderful in their own way. Ya kinda just want to "catch 'em all". Which would be cool, except they don't stay in their masterballs, you can't put 'em in the PC when you're tired of 'em and then take 'em out a bit later, and the gods can be considerably meaner than Pokemon.

I worship five deities right now and personally, I'm overwhelmed and trying to figure out how to scale down to two. I'm on the brink of getting burned out. Stephy has a good point here. Try not to spread yourself too thin.

[Sharysa]

I worship five deities right now and personally, I'm overwhelmed and trying to figure out how to scale down to two. I'm on the brink of getting burned out. Stephy has a good point here. Try not to spread yourself too thin.

The problem is that I HAVEN'T been trying to catch 'em all. I only opened myself up to one Filipino deity (Tatay), my main three in the Tuatha De (Ogma, the Morrigan, and Aengus), and my main group of ancestors (who definitely know when to say hi and when to leave me alone), and I had no idea why everyone else was randomly coming up and saying hi.

I never considered opening up to the Hindu pantheon--Ganesh is strictly here to follow up on a promise he made to my ancestor. Which happens to involve me as the subject, and there's no getting around that. Kali was a one-time messenger, and I am very glad of that because even without the skull necklace, swords, and frozen-corpse blue skin, she's just OVERWHELMING.

Her thing about "being too loud" feels more like "you need to use your indoor voice" as opposed to "you need to close yourself off a little." She showed me what I felt/looked like on the spiritual plane, and I was this HUGE column of unrestrained fire. And I went "Crap, no wonder everyone's saying hi to the GIANT SIGNAL FLARE." So I... squeezed the fire back into my skin?

I need to keep checking up on myself and cramming it back in every hour or so, which is hard. On the plus side, it's been a day and aside from Shiva also checking up on my ancestor, there haven't been any new deities or ancestors randomly saying "HI THERE, SHINY."

I'm still not sure what exactly the dance meant in itself, but it seemed more like an evaluation than anything else. There was this one part in the middle of it where she just... stopped and stabbed me, and I flailed around for a minute before realizing everyone was waiting to see what I'd do. So I calmed down and healed myself, at which Kali laughed and struck up the drumbeat again.

And then when the dance actually ended, I lost control and got the "DO NOT GET LOST" message.

I keep hearing the drumbeat now and then--my ancestors say that it's the earth's heartbeat, which is why it's so infectious. Again: Hard to keep myself from dancing whenever I hear it, but I've managed to tune it out whenever it gets too loud.

[Shine]

The problem is that I HAVEN'T been trying to catch 'em all. I only opened myself up to one Filipino deity (Tatay), my main three in the Tuatha De (Ogma, the Morrigan, and Aengus), and my main group of ancestors (who definitely know when to say hi and when to leave me alone), and I had no idea why everyone else was randomly coming up and saying hi.

I never considered opening up to the Hindu pantheon--Ganesh is strictly here to follow up on a promise he made to my ancestor. Which happens to involve me as the subject, and there's no getting around that. Kali was a one-time messenger, and I am very glad of that because even without the skull necklace, swords, and frozen-corpse blue skin, she's just OVERWHELMING.

 
Just because they're knockin' doesn't mean you have to let 'em in. It's probably a good idea to at least answer to say you're not interested. I get that it might be tough because the gods are awesome in the modern and ancient sense of the word. But it saves energy and sanity on both sides and possibly feelings on the mortal side.

Not that I'm trying to talk as the almighty expert of all things deity-esque.

I don't know what to say about Ganesh. Sounds like he's not going to be hanging around too much. The point still stands, however.

I know what it's like to have deities come knocking. I've had a few Netjeru do that to me. One or two Hellenic gods on top of that. I think Elegua might have poked his head in once or twice. I have no idea why, but I think it's part of the learning experience and is not necessarily about connecting with these deities beyond what the lesson requires. Still, it gets overwhelming and I've had to become very judicious about who I "let in", so to speak. There's only so much of you to spread around, and that's kind of what I was getting at in my previous post.

[Faemon]

Has anyone else who believes in reincarnation experienced this? My medicine-woman said that she's met someone from several past-lives, so I know it's possible; I'm just wondering if anyone's gotten a heads-up first. Especially one as blatant as this.

Everyone just treats this in such a matter-of-fact way that I'm guessing it's the idea of reincarnation itself that I'm not used to, at least not on a personal or cultural level.

Speaking of reincarnation, when Martha told you that your previous incarnation had "good hair" because your dad was Indian, I thought South Asian Indian. Did you/she mean Native American?

As for "heads-up", well... I practice divination extensively, so I certainly hope so. As for spiritual beings giving a heads up meeting past life people... no. Why should it? I mean, you're right, for me at least who fully accepts and believes in reincarnation (even though I don't want to and I don't like it-- that's another topic) this is a matter-of-factly common thing. It happens when it happens, and it happens so often that it would be easier to pick off the people in any given person's present life who weren't in any past life.

So, all of that said, I'd suggest wondering why this reincarnation reunion seems worth thwapping someone over.

I'm still not sure what exactly the dance meant in itself, but it seemed more like an evaluation than anything else. There was this one part in the middle of it where she just... stopped and stabbed me, and I flailed around for a minute before realizing everyone was waiting to see what I'd do. So I calmed down and healed myself, at which Kali laughed and struck up the drumbeat again.

Much as I love Kali, that action kind of illustrates what is it about karma (associated with reincarnation) that rubs me wrong.

Recently, among people who are really into that cosmology, I've heard various expressions of "processing karma"-- basically, if you have pain in your life that seems unstoppable... it's because you did something horrible that you can't remember. The thing is to accept the pain, and be in it, not to resist it.

For example, a psychic mentor of mine had her house burn down, and instead of calling the fire brigade right away to save her things, she meditated upon the rightness of it happening (because she'd left somebody destitute in a past life, or had forgotten the transience of material happiness and her spirit guides had to remind her, or something-- I'm just guessing it's something along those lines, but really the only thing she said was that she had a long moment of clarity.)

I never found out what happened, but if, say, it had been caused by an arsonist, then I really wouldn't elevate that horrible harmful person to a position of divinity.

[Sharysa]

Speaking of reincarnation, when Martha told you that your previous incarnation had "good hair" because your dad was Indian, I thought South Asian Indian. Did you/she mean Native American?

Yep, she meant Native American Indian. We were somewhere in the Midwest, and I ran off to a reservation on the Great Plains.

So, all of that said, I'd suggest wondering why this reincarnation reunion seems worth thwapping someone over.

Yeah, Danu said that "LOTS of people come back." It's just that Moritz has been trying to find me for at LEAST a few thousand years, but very rarely does because I've also been running off trying to find HIM, so we're constantly just missing each other.

The only two lives we were actually together was in a Pictish/Scottish clan (at least a few thousand years ago) and 1900s-ish Ohio (nearly a century ago). He said I was at "university" when I met him, and when I found Ursuline College's Wiki article, he went "YEAH, YOU WENT THERE."

Fact-checking: I was Arabic in that life, and Ursuline is the only school at the time that would have accepted a female Arabic student (without making her go through hoops). Also, Moritz's totem is a bear and he met me at Ursuline College.

And now we're reallyreallyreally close to meeting again, which is usually when I run away trying to find him. Or die. There's literally ONE life that I know of where I'm confirmed to have lived long enough to have teenaged children. And that was in an early-contact Chickasaw tribe, so I would still have only been thirty/forty-something.

The general vibe I keep getting is, "Even if you've made lots of progress, old habits die hard. And you have REALLY old habits, so we're just making sure that they don't force you into screwing up again."

Recently, among people who are really into that cosmology, I've heard various expressions of "processing karma"-- basically, if you have pain in your life that seems unstoppable... it's because you did something horrible that you can't remember. The thing is to accept the pain, and be in it, not to resist it.

On the Irish side of reincarnation, they DON'T have that specific type of karma. The Tuatha De have frequently stated that "You get bitchy/dense sometimes, but nothing that would deserve lifetimes of pain. Sometimes shit happens for no reason."

My family doesn't accept my career because I'm just not in a time or culture that fosters artistic pursuits. There's no Big Important Plan for my brother dying that's going to make it easier to deal with, and I'm actually kind of glad that nothing's happened to make me go "Oh, THIS is why he died." There's no reason I'm a closeted pagan in an extremely Catholic family, it's just that I agree with Irish Recon and Native medicine more than I agree with Catholicism. (A lot more.)

[Nyktipolos]

Yep, she meant Native American Indian. We were somewhere in the Midwest, and I ran off to a reservation on the Great Plains.

Er, it was incredibly hard for Native people to move in the US once the reservation system was in place, even more so if you belonged to a tribe that wasn't from that reservation (and I think in some cases wasn't possible?). Not to mention it would be incredibly unusual to see a lone Native woman traveling around the country side by herself, leaving behind her family, clan, etc.? Unless this isn't what you are implying?

[Sharysa]

Er, it was incredibly hard for Native people to move in the US once the reservation system was in place, even more so if you belonged to a tribe that wasn't from that reservation (and I think in some cases wasn't possible?). Not to mention it would be incredibly unusual to see a lone Native woman traveling around the country side by herself, leaving behind her family, clan, etc.? Unless this isn't what you are implying?

Whoops--sorry to leave out a key detail. I was mixed, not pure Native. My mother was black and lived in the city, so I went TO the reservation, not from it. Evidently I took more after my mother, so I wouldn't have stood out TOO much while travelling.

Also, I ran away without telling anyone, so I would likely have kept a low profile regardless of which race I looked like.

[veggiewolf]

Whoops--sorry to leave out a key detail. I was mixed, not pure Native. My mother was black and lived in the city. Evidently I took more after her, so I wouldn't have stood out TOO much.

Also, I ran away without telling anyone, so I would likely have kept a low profile.

 
Maybe it is just me, but I'm noticing a pattern of "left-out details" whenever someone points out information that conflicts with your story.  It is interesting, because your usual posts tend toward having more info than needed rather than less.

[Sage]

Maybe it is just me, but I'm noticing a pattern of "left-out details" whenever someone points out information that conflicts with your story.  It is interesting, because your usual posts tend toward having more info than needed rather than less.

 
Fascinating pattern, isn't it?

[Nyktipolos]

Whoops--sorry to leave out a key detail. I was mixed, not pure Native. My mother was black and lived in the city, so I went TO the reservation, not from it. Evidently I took more after my mother, so I wouldn't have stood out TOO much while travelling.

Also, I ran away without telling anyone, so I would likely have kept a low profile regardless of which race I looked like.

 
So at what point is this past life taking place in? Because of the reservation system is in place, once again, it would have been nearly impossible for your "mother" to leave. You needed permission from an Indian Agent to leave your reservation up until 1924. To quote Wikipedia (which is referenced): "For example, the Indian agents were now required to notify other reservations of the departure time of Indians, names of Indians, and the route they intended to follow."

And once again, a lone woman traveling from a city to a reservation would not have gone unnoticed, especially since traffic in and out of a reservation was pretty well monitored. It doesn't really matter if you looked more black or more Native. Everyone on a reservation was documented, everyone was accounted for. Why? Natives were not even considered *citizens* until 1924.

[stephyjh]

So at what point is this past life taking place in? Because of the reservation system is in place, once again, it would have been nearly impossible for your "mother" to leave. You needed permission from an Indian Agent to leave your reservation up until 1924. To quote Wikipedia (which is referenced): "For example, the Indian agents were now required to notify other reservations of the departure time of Indians, names of Indians, and the route they intended to follow."

And once again, a lone woman traveling from a city to a reservation would not have gone unnoticed, especially since traffic in and out of a reservation was pretty well monitored. It doesn't really matter if you looked more black or more Native. Everyone on a reservation was documented, everyone was accounted for. Why? Natives were not even considered *citizens* until 1924.

They didn't have *full* rights of citizenship until 1948, and even then, according to my great-grandmother, it didn't help her any. She lied and claimed to be black because it was safer. She didn't go out in public with her children. She had them tell people she was their black housekeeper, not their mother.

[Nyktipolos]

 
I just realized you stated that your past-self's mother was black, not Native. Please disregard that sentence.

[Sharysa]

Maybe it is just me, but I'm noticing a pattern of "left-out details" whenever someone points out information that conflicts with your story.  It is interesting, because your usual posts tend toward having more info than needed rather than less.

Well, I've been trying to keep too many details out of my posts and back in my blog after people kept saying I needed to get to the point.

And I mentioned specifically that Martha was African-American in the other thread about her (the "animal-spirits" one), but that was a while ago. I forgot to mention it in this thread again because it's been a couple of months. Plus, things keep happening and they're either really mundane or they don't make sense.

I really wish they had a distinct "YOU ARE A SPESHUL SNOWFLAKE AND WE ALL LOVE YOU" pattern, but 90% of the time, spirits literally just come up, say "Hi! You smell like sweetgrass!" or "Hi! I noticed someone has bird-sight and I just wanted to see!" and leave, and everything just starts blurring together.

Someone else on LiveJournal mentioned that she also has something called bird-sight, and had similar trouble controlling it at the beginning.

And once again, a lone woman traveling from a city to a reservation would not have gone unnoticed, especially since traffic in and out of a reservation was pretty well monitored. It doesn't really matter if you looked more black or more Native. Everyone on a reservation was documented, everyone was accounted for. Why? Natives were not even considered *citizens* until 1924.

For some reason, Martha is the least forthcoming about details of her/our past life. She looks a LOT like the original actress for Martha, which in my experience correlates to being distant or undecided somehow. Her vagueness makes ,sense considering that.

And come to think of it, she's never QUITE said so herself that she's coming back with the others. She tends to nod and smile along whenever everyone gets excited about it. I think I need to ask her.