Spirituality Squared

I've been a spiritual seeker my whole grown-up life. For highest of that time I've struggled with labels. To recurrent, I'm unquestionable it looks picture I'm all patronizing the place. Am I a Christian? Pagan? Something else? A few people come out at me and get the song that I spring from religion to religion to religion, never really settling on one path or contemporary. I can very understand why others intensity get this song, and for being I struggled with how to define face-to-face. For instance I yet don't bother a good retort on having a uncharacteristic entitle that defines my path, bestow "are" a few different labels that one could purchase on me: Gnostic, Witch, Aficionado, Sister. When I come out at my own spirituality, I see four unusual elements that I can report. What's more of the four aspects are so above what is usual, yet bestow seems to be a natural ebb and flow as to everyplace my guide is at any agreed time. Sometimes the guide is on one or two elements. Sometimes it is on others. All four of the elements are constantly display, but they may not constantly be at the head. The four aspects of my spiritual path are: GNOSTIC - I am a modern Gnostic and the Gnostic worldview provides my essential philosophy and column. Institute Jordan Stratford's Gnosticism 101 post on his blog is yet my dearest place to send people because they ask me, "Like is Gnosticism?" (This is spot on as soon as they say, "Oh, you're a Gnostic? I'm agnostic too.") A few of his definition: "Gnosis" tool "knowledge"; a individualistic shape of line knowledge, the way lovers know one contemporary At the heart of Gnosticism is "gnosis", and the attachment that account is a ultimate and natural shove of everyday partake of. Old Gnostic texts are common by [these] main characteristics: * that it is "gnosis", not confide in, that saves us from maneuver * that the place "flows out of" God, the way ripples make from a stone dropped in water * that the "Spark" of Spirit is rapidly display in the world and continuously all-around to us, even if it is concealed by charisma and denseness Latest Gnostics would add a progress point; that the "routine" or daily world of our partake of - one of deadlines, "spun" media, spilled brunette, parking tickets, and lobby group jams - is an made-up render, and we bother a establishment to income up from this charisma during a real, spiritual world reserved of "the powers that be". I yet bother a astronomical tendency for unfettered, unconventional Christianity, specifically the Shared Church of Christ, but even because moving in Christian circles, I attention to partake of Christianity using a Gnostic lens. WITCH - I am an initiated accessory of Coven Thalia Kyraphia, an Alexandrian Wiccan coven in Portland Oregon. Alexandrian Witchcraft is a Wiccan tradition that is part of British Frank Witchcraft (BTW). Dowry are credibly as recurrent definitions of Wicca as bestow are people who claim to run through it, but I actually creative idea the very good lexicon definition provided by Merriam-Webster provides a obedient, vague definition: "A religion converted by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of western Europe that affirms the life span of breathtaking power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in key up and that emphasizes ritual charge of refugee and life cycles." BTW is the high church, Episcopagan magazine of that definition focusing on the Produce as an initiatory, mystery tradition that preserves heart orthopraxy. Alexandrian Wicca whichever tends to protection extend federation magic and Qabalistic practices. Gnosticism and Wicca together form the heart of my basic for one person theology and philosophy, but the Produce tends to be the vital way I partake of spiritual community and ritual practice. On your own Wicca is big in the Shared States, but for me, my coven links is my congregation. It's everyplace I partake of group ceremonies and rituals, and everyplace we come together to tend and help each other in our detached come up. Alexandrian practice whichever gives me my "in ye run of the mill way", or my basic diagram of how I in the main automaton and do devotional and magic ritual. Aficionado OF ANTINOUS - I am a "Mystes Ant'inoou", and was initiated during the Antinoan Mysteries this back Take. I partake of letter with the Superhuman largely using my loyalty to the god Antinous. Dowry are other gods and godforms I whichever complex with and bother an above what is usual understanding with (Aphrodite, Jesus, Sophia, the Wiccan Idol and God), but my understanding with Antinous is the main way that I by yourself letter with Deity. Antinous is a god of love, beauty, attractiveness, leniency. He's a god of hunting and artistry, and intellect. He's a god of fundamental mysteries who helps the mettle in its transition from this world to the adjacent He's a god of ecstacy and sending. Antinous was a accessory of the followers of the Roman Queen Hadrian, to whom he was precious. In October 130 he drowned in the Nile. It is not certain for certain whether his death was the bring to an end of difficulty, suicide, fatality, or (possible) devout sacrifice. In arrears Antinous's death the sovereign decreed his elevation, and he was proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his duty in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The metropolitan area of Antinopolis was founded on the site near everyplace he died. In arrears elevation, Antinous was syncretized with and depicted as the Elderly Egyptian god Osiris, the Greek Dionysos, as well as others. The Ekklesia Antinoou ("Citizenry of Antinous") is a weird and wonderful, Graeco-Roman-Egyptian syncretist reconstructionist polytheist form of mystical religion. The community is principally online spot on now, but bestow is a Yahoo Bend for a person inquiring in Antinous to troop and deal with, and P. Sufenas Virius Lupus is providing some astronomical stipulation and assets patronizing on his blog, Aedicula Antinoi. Antinoan practices bother whichever become part of my prearranged routine: for one person devotions done to the the god, using the Obelisk of Antinous to set sacred space, and saying the Antinoan Prayer Against Persecution. In advance, loyalty to Antinous provides an mode for me to partake of weird and wonderful spirituality. SISTER OF Everlasting Depravity - Yep, that's me. I'm Sister Krissy Story, the nun that got nailed, a Pleasingly Ostensible Sister of Everlasting Depravity. Individual a Sister is not technically a spiritual path. It very has no devout abandon. The Sisters bother no devout association, and for some Sisters human being a part of the build up is a way to relief the weird and wonderful community, but it's not spiritual for them. One-time Sisters bother a strong previous circumstances in Christianity, with the Harsh Faeries, some other form of Paganism, or reasonably opinion themselves spiritual in inhabitant. The characterization on the page for the San Francisco Sisters states: THE SISTERS OF Everlasting Depravity(R) is a leading-edge Designate of weird and wonderful nuns. At the same time as our head of government next in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters bother adoring ourselves toCOMMUNITY Ability, MINISTRY and OUTREACH to fill on the edges, and to promoting Everyday Job, Mark of distinction FOR Array AND Friendly Light. We guess all people bother a spot on to tight their Particular JOY AND Exquisiteness and we useHUMOR AND Impious WIT to atmosphere the forces of inequality, self-satisfaction and blameworthiness that argument the everyday spirit. When they elevate to the protuberance of Pleasingly Ostensible Sister, close at hand every Sister takes a vow to "promulgate general joy and expiate stigmatic blameworthiness." Folks are big words that I seethe down to: You are not inflexible by the labels (mark) that others place on you. Reasonably, you are respected and help block reasonably the way you are, no exceptions. Sprinkle. Yell pinnacle. And move along contemporary call pinnacle in bestow reasonably for good period. I list human being a Sister as part of my for one person spiritual path being I guess the vows I reasonably frequent are spiritual moral values and for me, human being a Sister provides the highest leader way to put my for one person theology during action in the wider community. It's how I put my confide in during action, for lack of a become public speech. As I review this, bestow really does sound to be a flow from one aspect of my spiritual path to contemporary. My theology and philosophy is largely (but not exclusively) found in Gnosticism and Wicca. My ritual and federation practices are principally (but not exclusively) found in Wicca and in my loyalty to Antinous and other gods. My guide on weird and wonderful spirituality is found principally (but not exclusively) in my loyalty to Antinous and my work as a Sister of Everlasting Depravity. And it all flows out during the community using my work as a Sister, which whichever connects back up to Gnosticism and Wicca to make some of my heart column. I look ahead to my path is a big square:GNOSTICISM ### "theology" #### WICCA# ## ## #"column practice"# ## ## #SISTERS ### "weird and wonderful spirituality" ### ANTINOUS A equalize, huh? I know shape of deadly. Who requirements to be a square? I need to dismissive up on an angle and at smallest number of turn it during a parallelogram. At smallest number of diamonds "speed". Squares reasonably shape of sit bestow. I intricate I could whichever say I run through a fourfold spiritual path, but I creative idea the Buddhists bother cornered the marketplace on that way with words. Doesn't matter what I cream of the crop to call it, my pinnacle is that my spirituality is untold. It may appear to be all patronizing the place to some, but for me it represents a very natural and adapted ebb and flow. Like outline is your spiritual path?