{"id":11906,"date":"2015-12-01T01:10:41","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T06:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=12498"},"modified":"2015-11-23T09:48:04","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T14:48:04","slug":"finding-the-pagan-way-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2015\/12\/01\/finding-the-pagan-way-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Pagan Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living with Spirituality<\/strong><\/span>
\nFor me, Neopaganism is about reaching out to the universe and listening to the messages that spirit gives us. This is not always an easy task,- accepting the advice of spirit does not always guarantee an easy passage through life. Listening to spirit, or the \u201cGod(s)\/Goddess(‘s)\u201d is a path which is open to everyone, regardless of belief. Even an atheist who follows their \u201chunches\u201d is doing exactly the same thing. The beauty and the freedom of neopaganism lies in the acceptance of many paths to wisdom and guidance. My own journey consisted of finding the \u201ctruths\u201d in many beliefs, until I reached a point of total acceptance of my own uncertainty,- and the value of every belief system for people at various points in their journey towards awakening. Over time I widened my views until I was able to accept that almost every belief system is a valid tool for dealing with life, for those who are in need of that particular level of guidance. For example,-as a devout Catholic, I received help and guidance in response to my prayers and questions. Then as I explored many other beliefs,- I found the same loving response from the universe, regardless of my particular view at the time of asking.<\/p>\n

Angels in the Wind<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I stand and feel the wind’s embrace,- as kisses, soft as feathers, touch my smiling face.
\nGentle laughter, hushed as falling snow is calling,- and it leads me where I need to go.
\nSwirling leaves are blowing all around,-that somehow leave a gleaming trace.
\nBut as the seasons meet within my heart, I feel a joy, an all-consuming grace.<\/p>\n

It grieves me little now to say that all I think I know will, someday, pass away.
\nIt does not matter that the world will turn and all my dreams may die and never be reborn.
\nThis perfect moment is enough, within the pause between the night time and the day.
\nWith tiny angels dancing all around in laughter and in play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalk with us between the worlds and let imagination fly.
\nWe will show that all who ever lived , will never die.
\nWe will heal your aching heart and help you understand,
\nThat only love can heal the world and soothe the heart of man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick W Kavanagh 16\/11\/2015<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Art by Bill Oliver boysoblue.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"paganway\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If there was one gift that I could give to the world, it would be the gift of uncertainty.
\nTempered with acceptance,- it is the royal road to calmness and peace of mind. When we accept uncertainty as a working principle in our lives , we can learn to no longer feel threatened by the beliefs of others, and can treat those who are desperately afraid with more patience. The evangelist, the fanatics and the elitists are simply terrified of uncertainty. This is why they cannot reason with others or live in peace. Once we accept uncertainty, we can become open to hearing the song of the universe much more clearly,- although our human condition makes full understanding very unlikely, until we have evolved a great deal more. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool for increasing the likelihood of spiritual awakening.
\nCertainty<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Like a suit of armour,
\nPolished gold that gleams and sparkles in the light.
\nThat Blessed Shield that keeps our ego safe.
\nNo nagging doubts disturb us in the night.
\nNo second thoughts to make our conscience chafe.<\/p>\n

The Joy of never being wrong,
\nThose great eternal truths that beam down from above.
\nOur principles that keep us different from the milling throng.
\nWhen we love Certainty,
\nIt’s charms can keep us safe from any other love.<\/p>\n

We feel misunderstood by those who do not truly Know.
\nTheir dreadful ignorance and anarchy surrounds us every day.
\nIf only we could set them on the path they need to go.
\nIf only they could understand the things we try to say,
\nThen we could let them bask in our enlightened glow.<\/p>\n

But then,
\nHow can I teach the sparrow how to fly?
\nThey seemed to know just what to do,
\nBefore I ever had a chance to teach them how.<\/p>\n

I often watch in envy as they dance and weave beneath the evening sky.
\nThe crimson setting sun, that lights their antics, lights the furrows on my brow.
\nStreaking red and gold across the purple hills and dark green fields,
\nIt’s rainbow glory blinds my eyes and lets me see,
\nThis world was doing fine before there ever was a Me.<\/p>\n

Patrick W Kavanagh<\/span>
\n01\/08\/2013.<\/span>
\nI believe that we are immortal, spiritual beings who are undergoing transformation and evolution trough our interactions on the earth plane. If this is true, then there are no absolute \u201crights\u201d and \u201cwrongs\u201d. I feel that exercising, Love, Fairness and Compassion are likely to lead to less suffering for ourselves and those around us, but regardless of our actions, we will all awaken to our true self in time. This is why I consider reincarnation to be a very strong possibility. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence in favour of its reality, but, of course we cannot be certain!. Brightest Blessings.
\nSo Many Worlds in One<\/span><\/strong>
\nSo many worlds in one.
\nMaybe in some far off time they will return to where they’ve first begun.
\nSpirit flies beyond the bounds of space and time,
\nThe past, the present and the future beat within a single endless rhyme.<\/p>\n

The poet and the prophet speak with just one single voice.
\nWe listen to their ramblings and their ravings, for we sense they have no choice.
\nThey only say the things they hear, and try to show the things they see.
\nBut neither they, nor we, can truly understand, until our ego’s cease to be.<\/p>\n

Yet the world we know is sometimes kind,
\nAnd the worlds beyond this world can heal the heart and mind.
\nIf we open up our eyes and see the vastness of eternity,
\nIt’s there in front of us, if we could only stop the world, and simply be.
\nPatrick W Kavanagh<\/span>
\n27\/04\/2014<\/span><\/p>\n

\"paganway2\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living with Spirituality For me, Neopaganism is about reaching out to the universe and listening to the messages that spirit gives us. This is not always an easy task,- accepting the advice of spirit does not always guarantee an easy passage through life. Listening to spirit, or the \u201cGod(s)\/Goddess(‘s)\u201d is a path which is open to everyone, regardless of belief. Even an atheist who follows their \u201chunches\u201d is doing exactly the same thing. The beauty and the freedom of neopaganism lies in the acceptance of many paths to wisdom and guidance. My own journey consisted of finding the \u201ctruths\u201d in many beliefs, until I reached a point of total acceptance of my own uncertainty,- and the value of every belief system for people at various points in their journey towards awakening. Over time I widened my views until I was able to accept that almost every belief system is a valid tool for dealing with life, for those who are in need of that particular level of guidance. For example,-as a devout Catholic, I received help and guidance in response to my prayers and questions. Then as I explored many other beliefs,- I found the same loving response from the universe, regardless of my particular view at the time of asking. Angels in the Wind I stand and feel the wind’s embrace,- as kisses, soft as feathers, touch my smiling face. Gentle laughter, hushed as falling snow is calling,- and it leads me where I need to go. Swirling leaves are blowing all around,-that somehow leave a gleaming trace. But as the seasons meet within my heart, I feel a joy, an all-consuming grace. It grieves me little now to say that all I think I know will, someday, pass away. It does not matter that the world will turn and all my dreams may die and never be reborn. This perfect moment is enough, within the pause between the night time and the day. With tiny angels dancing all around in laughter and in play. \u201cWalk with us between the worlds and let imagination fly. We will show that all who ever lived , will never die. We will heal your aching heart and help you understand, That only love can heal the world and soothe the heart of man.\u201d Patrick W Kavanagh 16\/11\/2015 Art by Bill Oliver boysoblue.com   If there was one gift that I could give to the world, it would be the gift of uncertainty. Tempered with acceptance,- it is the royal road to calmness and peace of mind. When we accept uncertainty as a working principle in our lives , we can learn to no longer feel threatened by the beliefs of others, and can treat those who are desperately afraid with more patience. The evangelist, the fanatics and the elitists are simply terrified of uncertainty. This is why they cannot reason with others or live in peace. Once we accept uncertainty, we can become open to hearing the song of the universe much more clearly,- although our human condition makes full understanding very unlikely, until we have evolved a great deal more. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool for increasing the likelihood of spiritual awakening. Certainty Like a suit of armour, Polished gold that gleams and sparkles in the light. That Blessed Shield that keeps our ego safe. No nagging doubts disturb us in the night. No second thoughts to make our conscience chafe. The Joy of never being wrong, Those great eternal truths that beam down from above. Our principles that keep us different from the milling throng. When we love Certainty, It’s charms can keep us safe from any other love. We feel misunderstood by those who do not truly Know. Their dreadful ignorance and anarchy surrounds us every day. If only we could set them on the path they need to go. If only they could understand the things we try to say, Then we could let them bask in our enlightened glow. But then, How can I teach the sparrow how to fly? They seemed to know just what to do, Before I ever had a chance to teach them how. I often watch in envy as they dance and weave beneath the evening sky. The crimson setting sun, that lights their antics, lights the furrows on my brow. Streaking red and gold across the purple hills and dark green fields, It’s rainbow glory blinds my eyes and lets me see, This world was doing fine before there ever was a Me. Patrick W Kavanagh 01\/08\/2013. I believe that we are immortal, spiritual beings who are undergoing transformation and evolution trough our interactions on the earth plane. If this is true, then there are no absolute \u201crights\u201d and \u201cwrongs\u201d. I feel that exercising, Love, Fairness and Compassion are likely to lead to less suffering for ourselves and those around us, but regardless of our actions, we will all awaken to our true self in time. This is why I consider reincarnation to be a very strong possibility. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence in favour of its reality, but, of course we cannot be certain!. Brightest Blessings. So Many Worlds in One So many worlds in one. Maybe in some far off time they will return to where they’ve first begun. Spirit flies beyond the bounds of space and time, The past, the present and the future beat within a single endless rhyme. The poet and the prophet speak with just one single voice. We listen to their ramblings and their ravings, for we sense they have no choice. They only say the things they hear, and try to show the things they see. But neither they, nor we, can truly understand, until our ego’s cease to be. Yet the world we know is sometimes kind, And the worlds beyond this world can heal the heart and mind. If we open up our eyes and see the vastness of eternity, It’s there in front of us, if we could only stop the world, and simply be. Patrick W Kavanagh 27\/04\/2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}