A Disclaimer for Posts to Come

I have thought long and hard about what it is that I want to write about in regards to my past weekend.  It was very special to me, and because of that I want to share it with the few people who actually read this.  Mainly I know that what I have to say will be welcomed...  but there is always the possibility someone out there will react the way people always do at some point.  I want to say a bit about my spiritual place in the world because it's, obviously, important to me.  It has great value to me.  In order for people to know me in my entirety, they have to know my core being, my central beliefs.


I want to preface the rest of my blogs with an explanation of sorts, and then I'll post about this weekend in a seperate blog.  But I feel this is important to say:

I don't usually talk about my religion too much.  There are several reasons for this.  First, there is the fact that I don't really care if other people believe in my religion or agree with me.  The point of my spiritual path is not to make others join me on it or validate it.  It is solely for me.  I have found an inner calm with the path I follow.  It is something that helps me lead the type of life I want to lead, and strive to be the person I want to be.  So, for many years I never said anything about my beliefs to anyone.  I didn't want to get into the arguments that ultimately would just leave people frustrated and sometimes angry at me for not beliving in their side.  What's the point?  Slowly, over time, I have started talking about it, but only when people specifically ask me.  I DO live in the bible belt, and I think that some people readily think that if I talk about MY beliefs, that I am somehow offending them and trying to discredit their own religion.  This is SO not the the case.  I believe spirituality and religion are very personal things... and I would never be so arrogant as to try to tell someone else what would give their own lives meaning.  That is for each individual person to discover.

But, the fact of the matter is also this:  the mainstream media of today makes MY religion...  which is Wicca, which is a 'subgroup' of Paganism....  out to be a horrible, horrible thing.  It angers me EVERY time I see a movie or show that talks about it.  Well... there are the few times that someone gets it right.  The latest thing, of course, that has brought wicca into the media light is Christine O'Donnell saying that she 'dabbled' in witchcraft.  Uggh.  So, I think I have decided to take some 'teaching moments' throughout the year...  just to help dispel some of the myths, to educate those who want to learn.  After all, if you never hear any other side to it... why wouldn't you believe the one you hear?  You won't hear OFTEN from me about it... I promise... mainly around our holidays...  what we refer to as 'Sabbats'.  And if anyone ever has any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them.  But I also don't see any point in shoving anything down anyone's throat. If you don't want to hear about it, simply skip the post.  It's that easy.   There is one thing I ask of anyone reading this.  Please remember that this is my RELIGION we are talking about here.  It is very personal to me.  I'm not here to argue whether it's right nor not... I'm simply trying to let people know what it is that I believe.  Please don't presume to tell me what you think it is that I believe.  That is not only offensive to me, but it also just shows how ignorant you are when it comes to this arena.  I would never EVER tell you what you believe.  That just doesn't make sense. 


So... with all that in mind, read on....