Questioning Your Path
Choosing your own Spiritual or Religious Path is part of the ability to make honest, powerful life choices. These choices should be made with a clear perspective and with honesty to yourself.
Open up your Book of Shadows and write down the following questions with your answers.
You can make this a meditation or a a spiritual exercise by clearing and releasing before hand, lighting a candle and/or incense. Relax and do this in a space that is comforting and where you feel secure to think and turn inward without disruption.
- Why am I exploring the Wiccan Path?
- Where am I coming from? What are my previous spiritual and religious practices?
- How did my past practices lead me to investigate Wicca?
- What do I hope to gain from exploring Wicca?
- What am I afraid of as I look at the path before me?
- How will I handle others who might not approve of my new practices? How will I handle friends who don't approve? Family? Strangers?
Aside from this spiritual transition, is there anything else going on in my life that is effecting me at this time? (Deaths, births, marriages, divorce, job change?)
How is this transition effecting my decision to explore Wicca?
If there are major life events going on, is this a good time to explore a new path? Why/why not?
Then, Evaluate Your Personal Belief System and Religion. The following questions from An Enchanted Life by Patricia Telesco are very helpful in this matter. Some of the following you may not be sure of how to answer yet. Write the question down and come back to it as you learn more along your path. Do not be surprised if your answers change along the way.
- Which Ethical guidelines does your faith or personal vows require of you?
- If you agree with the guidelines of your faith, but do not find yourself following them, what do you believe is holding you back?
- Which emotional, physical, and mental guidelines or challenges does your faith offer? (remember that you are body, mind and spirit and all three must be served to become adept at anything)
- What are the basic strictures of your beliefs and how flexible are they to meet the moment and a changing world?
- How do you see god? (active, passive; as one or as many?)
- What is your view on other spiritual paths, even those with which you might not always agree? (This question may be uncomfortable but be honest with yourself and remember that no one else need ever read your BOS unless you allow them and even then, you do not have to be and open book on everything)
- How do you see your beliefs changing as time goes on, and will that effect by what name you call yourself (Wiccan, Christian, Shaman, etc)?
- How do you see others in your faith changing as time goes on, and how will this affect the stability of the whole?
- Which role(s) do you see yourself accepting in your faith and why? (we will be covering many roles in these lessons and this answer can change as time goes on and as you learn other positions and archetypes in the Craft)
- What attracted you to your current belief system and does that factor still hold appeal?
- Has your faith grown and changed with you, or is it stagnating and potentially holding you back?
- Are you as happy now with your choice of Path as you were in the beginning? Why?
- What will continue to make you happy or improve things?
- Does your belief system uplift and motivate the individual's potential or undermine it? How?
- Does your belief system honor the Earth or view it as something over which to have dominion?
After finishing, take a moment to read your answers, aloud if you like, and contemplate them. Write more if you need to. Do any other questions come up? Write them down with your answers.
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