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Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers.
Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.

Better than this

I'm rather fond of bears.

Can't you just see this one watching?

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Two and only two

When someone starts offering two and only two alternatives, that's the cue to look for the fourth, fifth, and sixth choices.
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How we treat the Other

The trust we share among ourselves and how we use that trust is really what defines our community. I've said that how we treat the Other may be the defining characteristic of a great human civilization. I stand by that.
— NeoWayland, Characters
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Casually

Yes, I know this one is staged. But it is the casual acceptance of nudity that I'd like to see more often. We're born in our skin, we shouldn't be ashamed in it.

I’m a naturist in both senses of the word. Life doesn’t always need clothes. I admire the human body. I hope you can too.

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Old saying

This is the first truth.

We share life and through life we are all connected. We are measured in the lives we touch. We live to manifest and we manifest by living.
— NeoWayland
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First truth

This is the first truth.

We share life and through life we are all connected. We are measured in the lives we touch. We live to manifest and we manifest by living.
— NeoWayland
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My eighth sex rule

Fairly good biography and overview of Carl Jung.

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“Change your perspective.”

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Greet the sunrise

Between one and the next.

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See beyond

The price we paid for a secular life

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We forget

Mythology in the movie theater

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Nudity, sex, love

Human beings are as much a part of nature as trees or birds, and the unclothed body expresses this belongingness directly and powerfully.
— Wynn Bullock
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My seventh sex rule

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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Ro3 № 32

Once again there was the desert, and that only.
— Stephen King, The Gunslinger
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Ro3 № 31

In the old days, you would chastise people for reinventing the wheel. Now we beg, 'Oh, please, please reinvent the wheel.'
— Alan Kay
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Humans do change the planet

Humans do change the planet. But humans don't change the climate.
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Gaia is not a frail child

They didn't dare face the crowd.

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NeoNote — For your own good

It means I watch for the exceptions where neither IS nor IS NOT applies. It means our understanding is limited by our perception and assumptions at the moment.

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If monotheism was all that amazing…

Running late again

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❝Knowledge isn't mastery. Eclecticism depends on discipline.❞

We’re developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won’t be able to think.
— Rod Serling
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Better at dealing

The myth can be more comfortable than the truth, but the myth can keep us from growing

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Distasteful

If we wrap ourselves in sorrow and pain and misery and self-loathing, then that is exactly what we attract.
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Part of my offering

Honor and the other classic virtues are part of what we choose for ourselves as Pagans.
— NeoWayland, The Old Breed
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Like calls to like

If we wrap ourselves in sorrow and pain and misery and self-loathing, then that is exactly what we attract.
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Classic virtues

Honor and the other classic virtues are part of what we choose for ourselves as Pagans.
— NeoWayland, The Old Breed
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That's my joke you see.

I've been doing some research and the possibilities look pretty good. Read More...
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The universe has a sense of humor

Science commits suicide when it adopts a creed.
— Thomas Huxley
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Personally I'd be willing to live and let live with Christians.

I don't understand why any group should change their language, practices, customs or actions when the shooter was not part of the group or the community.
— NeoWayland
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I wouldn't call Christian Day an idiot.

“Which one wins, Grandfather?”

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NeoNote — This tragedy does not reflect on Heathens.

“In which John compares and contrasts Greek civilization and the Persian Empire. Of course we're glad that Greek civilization spawned modern western civilization, right? Maybe not. From Socrates and Plato to Darius and Xerxes, John explains two of the great powers of the ancient world, all WITHOUT the use of footage from 300.”

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NeoNote — Politicos want problems they can stage-manage

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“Magick is the essence of change and evolution” banner

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My sixth sex rule

Incest is not a good idea.
— NeoWayland, sex rules
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“Don’t do it if you don’t want it done to you.”



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Perfect solution

I don’t explain — I explore.
— Marshall McLuhan
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Ro3 № 28

There are three types of history. There's the Official History™, there's the stories that people tell, and there's what really happened.
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Ro3 № 27

A living faith draws from three sources. There's what others have done before you. There's who you are and what you've done. And finally there's the link you make to the Divine. The dynamic tension shapes your faith.
— NeoWayland, Faith Triad, see also Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 24

“Study: People Who ‘Microdose’ LSD and Magic Mushrooms Are Wiser and More Creative”

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Left alone with our faith and our Journey

Nothing is more active than thought, for it travels over the universe, and nothing is stronger than necessity for all must submit to it.
— Thales of Miletus
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My fifth sex rule

I don't tell you who to fuck, and I expect that you won't tell others who they can't fuck as long as it's unpledged consenting adults.
— NeoWayland, sex rules
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My fourth sex rule

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
— Khalil Gibran
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One tripod leg

The lore behind magick is only one tripod leg. Even there it's about real mastery, not rote recitation. I call it moving beyond the recipe. When you can adapt your technique to what is there and what is needed with a minimum of effort, that's mastery. The lore is about core ideas, not specific practices. That's one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn and I am not good enough with it yet.
— NeoWayland, A Rule of Three
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Ro3 № 23

Regret does not equal rape.
— NeoWayland, sex rules
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Ro3 № 22

The honor is in giving truth when needed, helping when you can, and leaving the World a little better than how you found it.
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My third sex rule

Regret does not equal rape.
— NeoWayland, sex rules
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“We don't think we come into this World corrupt.”

“It's the end of the world, everybody. Well, it's the end of our mythology series, anyway. This week, we're talking about how mythological themes have made their way into the English language. We're taking on the Herculean task of tracking down phrases that have made their way into language from mythical stories.”

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We don't see ourselves as separate

You may have noticed that my quote section is building to a truly awesome size.

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Animism means

Thinking by blogging

In passing, I mentioned some of the differences between a Story and a Journey.

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❝I'm pretty sure that the World can take care of Herself❞

It's a fascinating piece

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NeoNote — Nature and the World are not cruel.

I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that's a buzz kill. There's got to be a better code of conduct, some basic etiquette.
— Mos Def
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❝Individuals have rights. Groups have power plays.❞

Here's part of a conversation I had with Shawn Herles

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My second unbreakable sex rule

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One of my two unbreakable sex rules

Dealing with Katrina and New Orleans

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Ro3 № 20

It’s not a real party unless it lasts three days.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 19

Initiate — Celebrate — Operate
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 18

These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.

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Ro3 № 17

It’s not a real party unless it lasts three days.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 16

“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and how a lot of their work was influenced by myth and mythology. While Freud and Jung aren't quite as revered as they once were, they were undoubtedly a huge influence on the practice of psychology and psychiatry, and these two fellas were undoubtedly influenced by foundational stories. Today, we'll learn about Oedipus, the collective unconscious, archetypes, Star Wars, and more!”

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Duality and non-duality

Thinking by blogging

So I am going to talk about the retreat I'd like to build if money were not an object.

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That's what I do.

Difference between the point in time and the celebration

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Ro3 № 15

Don’t hold someone responsible unless they were present, of age, and participating. Remember the Practical Grudge Limit.
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Ro3 № 14

Know what you can do. Know what you're willing to do. Know the price you're willing to pay.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 13

We Are as Gods and Might as Well Get Good at It
Whole Earth Catalog statement of purpose, 1968
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Ro3 № 12

What you think you know is not what you need to know. Where you are is not where you need to be. Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three, see also Systematically
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Ro3 № 11

“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the stories we tell about witches and hags. It's definitely unfortunate that a lot of social orders have generated stories about evil women with magical powers. Today we're going to look at a few of those stories, and talk a little about why these stories appear, and what they mean.”

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Some monotheists

Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.
— NeoWayland
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Meant to be used

This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20100922133520

Gifts from the gods

No matter how beautiful the form, god inspired crafting is meant to be used. It's dishonorable to receive a gift from the gods and put it on a shelf just to look at on special occasions.
Okay, so yes, it's self-referential.

Doesn't mean it's not true though.

May you find your own god-gifts this equinox.

Posted: Wed - September 22, 2010 at 01:35 PM

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Not exclusively the label

I'm pretty sure this is an actual ritual.

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Ro3 № 10

To ease your pain and shame, share it separately with three people you trust.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 9

Honor expects three warnings before you act.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 8

“This week, Mike is teaching you about the most mythic of mythological creatures: Dragons. Cultures across the world (and across Westeros) tell stories of dragons, and their power to destroy, their power to prop up kings, and their power to cause a nice, refreshing rain shower. ”

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Ro3 № 7

These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories.

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Ro3 № 6

iTunes and it's "random" selections

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Casual nudity

Duality is singularity reflected.
— NeoWayland, weird
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❝Law of Weird❞

Duality is singularity reflected.
— NeoWayland, weird
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❝Law of Perspective❞

Say only one thing for every three things they say.
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Ro3 № 5

If you care for the other person, if you respect them, if you share deep passions with them, then the sex makes all that better.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three, see also Collecting pelts, sex rules
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Ro3 № 4

Start by listening. Before you say anything, listen again. Just to make sure you understand, listen some more.
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Ro3 № 3

I keep collecting them and they keep proving useful.

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Ro3 № 2

The Wheel turns, bringing Bright and Dark Blessings to us all.
— NeoWayland, Good Journey Isaac
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Ro3 № 1

Start by listening. Before you say anything, listen again. Just to make sure you understand, listen some more.
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❝The Wheel turns…❞

The Wheel turns, bringing Bright and Dark Blessings to us all.
— NeoWayland, Good Journey Isaac
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The future we make

“Horses have been human companions for thousands of years, and have been essential companions and tools for the development of human culture. So, it makes sense that horses would make their way into our most important stories. Today, we're looking at horses in myth, and we'll talk about noble steeds from all over the world, including Svadlfari, Sleipneir, Pegasus, Qilin, Bucephalus, Al Baraq, and Unicorns! Let's get to the horsing around.”

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❝We can't afford blind faith.❞

We can't afford blind faith.
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❝That's beyond our comprehension❞

Thinking by blogging

Truth is winning in a small way. I've been finding people that I agree with online.

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Mentioned but nameless

Still, he deserves credit for that and at least mention somewhere. Consider him mentioned. But nameless.
— NeoWayland, Before a Winter's Eve
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Gnostic beliefs

One of the precepts in Gnostic beliefs is that the commonly accepted "creator god" isn't the actual creator at all. He's actually a son who turned against his Parents to seize control of creation for his own selfish needs and had to lie to humans to do it. His mother, Sophia, decided to do something to turn things back the way they should be, and that is where Yeshua ben Yosef (among others) came from. It makes sense when you think of the G*D from the Old Testament as a spoiled teenager who steals from his parents and parties too hard.
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❝ trying to make my way in a monotheistic world…❞

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
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I was born that way

The lady is alluring.

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Story is told


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Stories are signposts

Stories are important, but they are signposts.
— NeoWayland, the Story
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Desire

Your desire does not control another's choice.
— NeoWayland, sexual beings
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NeoNote — Political hexing

I love this planet!

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Journal - Friday, October 12, 2018

Thinking by blogging
It's been a while since I've done a journal entry,

This week I'm really proud of two things. I came up with a definition of "wise" that is practical and better than anything I found in online dictionaries.

And I managed to separate sexuality from politics. I've been trying to do that for years, decades. Our culture took something that is about sharing and coming together and shoved it into tribalism. The labels aren't important unless you're trying to make fun political.

So I had to come up with something that described sexuality without tribalism.

Unless it's with me, who you have sex with, how you have sex, and how many times you have sex is frankly none of my business. Likewise, unless it is sex with me, I'm not responsible for the consequences.
That was the beginning, and now I've got a definition I can point at. If you haven't already, take a look at my lexicon sex index.

I don't know how we made sex about politics. But from now on I'm going to do my damnedest to make it responsibly fun and only fun.

Paraphrasing from The Ethical Slut and my lexicon definition, “Sex is nice and pleasure is good for you.”

I think it's a mistake to suppress our biology in the name of politics.

I'm going to look at pretty girls and women. I'll flirt unless it makes them uncomfortable. If the lady is unpledged and willing, I may fuck her if I can.

And yes, some clothing sexualizes and objectifies women. It's also something that they choose to wear. Which means they are flirting too. They want to be looked at.

I'm going to enjoy sex. I'm going to talk about sex ethically. Sex is a gift from the Divine and I am going to treat it that way.

Politics doesn't belong in sex.
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Paganism isn't a movement

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Those who walk between the worlds

“This week, Mike Rugnetta re-introduces Herakles, the strong man of Greek and Roman myth. Strongman with a darkside, that is. You'll learn about Herakles' 10 actually 12 labors, the story of his birth, his death, some of his marriages, none of which turned out that great, and some of his character flaws that definitely wouldn't fly in the modern world.”

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So the paganism bothers you too.

“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the hero of The Congo, Mwindo! Mike will tell you the stories of Mwindo's birth, his many deaths, and his evolution from a braggy superhuman baby to a wise, superhuman leader of his people. Along the way, we'll learn about the Wiki game, and when you should and shouldn't drink banana beer.”

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Lock it away

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Something else

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Climax

That's a practical use of her shirt.

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Love & sex

“How do you remove the memory of a particularly bad emperor from the history books? Or what if your brother is just so annoying that you can't stand the sight of him anymore, and don't want to share power? You perform a damnatio memoriae, erase all inscriptions, destroy all public images, and pretend as if he never existed.”

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Lady & Lord

It's not the easiest to search, particularly the comments.

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I rub people the wrong way

When feelings are high, I rub people the wrong way. I focus on getting things working and leaving the emotional stuff for later. It's practical in a business setting but doesn't work with most long term pagan groups. I recognize that passion drives us, but it's not a good tool for effective decisions.
— NeoWayland
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It's only shame if I accept the premise.

Yes, this pose is a little submissive.

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Like calls to like

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
— anonymous, misattributed to Albert Einstein, Rita Mae Brown, Max Nordau, George Bernard Shaw, George A. Kelly, Werner Erhard, Jessie Potter, and others
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Experience


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We're The Ones Who Walk Between The Worlds


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Most mornings

Fake clergy can screw people up big time.

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Growing season

A piece of advice if I may be allowed to give it, is that no philosophy, no creed, no God is worth more than the love that one human being may give and receive in their lifetime – this is what is meant by being ‘involved’.
— Robert Cochrane
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Practical philosophy

“This week, we continue our look at various Pantheons, and Mike digs deep into the gods of the ancient Greeks. We're talking Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Artemis, Hephaestos, Ares, and Apollo. We're also talking Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Pluto, Diana, Vulcan, Mars, and...Apollo. Similar gods, different names. We'll start with the origin stories of the gods, talk about their family relationships, and what exactly their specialties are.”

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Attention

If you are Pagan because you need attention, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. You can't be Pagan just to be weird or to make people nervous. Faith isn't a costume, it lives and flows inside of you.
— NeoWayland, faith
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Journey

Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman.
— anonymous
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Ecology vs. environmentalism

Ecology studies how living systems interact and interconnect with each other. Environmentalism is about teaching and compelling behavior. These words are not synonyms. As both a pagan and a libertarian, I can not support environmentalism.
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John McConnell & Earth Day

Much of the justification for "establishing" a Greater Pagan Community® is so that certain individuals can get the adoration and deference they believe they deserve.
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Peak

We're not wired emotionally to differentiate between 'good' and 'bad.' We just recognize peak passion, the strongest emotions. If your peak passion is with your family and loved ones, those are the experiences you seek out. If your peak passion is because you built an amazing motorcycle, that is what you remember and seek out. And unfortunately, if your peak passion is abuse at work or abusing someone, that is what you seek out.
— NeoWayland, peak experience
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Greater Pagan Community

Much of the justification for "establishing" a Greater Pagan Community® is so that certain individuals can get the adoration and deference they believe they deserve.
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Coming home

I do not believe that a government agency should be trusted with caring for the environment.

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Diversity of channels

I don't believe in enabling power through victimhood. I know that can seem cruel, but it's not. After a time, the training wheels get in the way.
— NeoWayland
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Kirlian photography

“In which Mike Rugnetta begins our unit on pantheons, which are families of gods. We further define pantheons and talk about why they're important. Then, we discuss pantheons from the myths of the ancient Mediterranean, starting with ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia. The Egyptian pantheon brings us the story of Osiris and his envious brother Seth. We learn what these two pantheons suggest about the cultures where they originated.” Read More...
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Power through victimhood

Just a touch.

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Personal

Diversity of opinion is strongly discouraged.

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Tolerant


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Vital & fresh

Power has to be shared. It is the key to survival.
Andromeda TV series
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Fundamentalism denies others choice

The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.
— Mark Twain
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My paganism isn't separate

If you give your passion to them, then they win. You'll always be reacting and you'll always be unhappy.
— NeoWayland
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Giving away your power

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.
— Henry David Thoreau
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Heirs of dreams

Sometimes, the heirs of dreams do better than the heirs of blood and bone.
— NeoWayland
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You don't know

Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.
— C.S. Lewis
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Take care of each other

As a rough definition, measurable intelligence is the practical knowledge and skills necessary for a given set of problem solving.

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Difference between the Story and the Journey

The best version of this uses freshly squeezed juice.

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Born dreamers

Politics has tainted paganism in my mind and I am working to re-establish the separation.

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Common good

Those parts of the Divine that you touch, you can’t keep the magick to yourself and still be pagan. You have to send it out. We take the Divine Gift and share it.
— NeoWayland, Dirty hands
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We walk between the worlds

As a pagan, I've long since learned that the World isn't mine to control.
— NeoWayland
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Limiter

Thinking by blogging

I'd stop blogging for a while, but I think that's one thing keeping me going.

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Can't keep the magick

Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine.

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I've learned

As a pagan, I've long since learned that the World isn't mine to control.
— NeoWayland
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Imposed

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
— Martin Luther King Jr.
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Share and enjoy

If you had faith, you wouldn't need threats.
— NeoWayland
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Threats

If you had faith, you wouldn't need threats.
— NeoWayland
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Get religion

If his work can't stand on it's own, people will find something else.

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Three sentences

You can't childproof the world. You can only worldproof your children.
— probably L. Neil Smith, The American Zone
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Secret shame

“Accusations of abuse surface against ADF founder Isaac Bonewits”

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My own werewolf story

"Supernatural" depends on the definition of "natural."

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If this were a horror movie

We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.
— John Lennon
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Pain

I believe that Paganism offers an immediacy that I couldn't find in Christianity.
— NeoWayland, Why a Technopagan?
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Hurting

When we are hurting, we pull back. We shut things out. We shut our loved ones out. We wrap ourselves deep in our strongest passions. We keep the world at bay.
— NeoWayland, Feeling
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Failure

These older blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories

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Immediacy

The next step depends on the focus of your faith and your choices. It's not enough to be just pagan.
— NeoWayland, Blessed Journeys
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Next step

Whenever I see these ads for shamanic weekends, I'm suspicious. Because shamanic ecstasy is terrifying.
— Rachel Pollack, from "The Gods of the Funny Books: An Interview with Rachel Pollack and Neil Gaiman," Gnosis № 32, Summer 1994
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Defined

Why do some Pagans believe they are destined to save the world?

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Organize

Faith is a personal choice. So are politics. One does not define the other.
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How easy it is to join

See, the internet is an equalizer of sorts. If I am in a "community," my statements have the same weight as the flakiest member who joined just last week. The chances of anyone sticking around and making that community actually worth something is inversely proportional to how easy it is to join.
— NeoWayland, Flake off
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Choice

Faith is a personal choice. So are politics. One does not define the other.
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The stars

The first Otherkin essay popped up at Witchvox. How is this going to change the Neopagan movement?

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I can hear the capitals

I am what I am - updated

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the Forbidden

Putting up one of my old chants

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Questionable behavior

Unfortunately sometimes polyamory is a convenient label for questionable behavior. A healthy poly relationship is long term based on mutual respect. It's not an excuse to sleep with as many people as possible.
— NeoWayland
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Moral absolute

Just out of sight.

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Sandwiches

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Journal 15Dec2017

Where to find out what's happening.

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Known

A pagan take on a holiday classic.

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Syncretism happens even if it offends

Yes, it really does look like that sometimes.

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Concede the war

I'd be remiss if I didn't put up a link.

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Master the discipline

What makes the so many modern pagans fluffy? And why don't they seem to want more?

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Being a victim

Dealing with life - updated

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Difficult truths

It isn't as far as you think

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Truth is…

Freedom from the Known is death, and then you are living.
— Jiddu Krishnamurti
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Internet debates

Back to the basics' works if you chose the right basics. (We could debate that.)
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THE truth

Enjoy!

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Born with a spark of the Divine

We humans were born with a spark of the Divine. We spend our lives trying to pass that on.

Sometimes we succeed.
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Your own worst impulses

We create our own mythology. We draw our history through that myth. We anchor our dreams in that history.

But so do all the people around us…
— NeoWayland, Skeins
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Where the miracles are

Your will may be an 880 pound gorilla, but it doesn't matter if you don't have your own heart behind it. That is where the power is.

The heart is where the miracles are.
— NeoWayland, Snap out of it!
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The Lady Always Chooses

My feelings were irrelevant, I told him. My personal beliefs mean that The Lady Always Chooses. She was in a monogamous marriage to his dad. And that is where it stood. What he suggested wasn't even a possibility because her honor was more important to me than my own.
— NeoWayland, Bittersweet honor
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Anchor our dreams

The day has eyes; the night has ears.
— Scottish proverb
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You can't be worthy

The Wheel turns and the World touches me.
— NeoWayland, Migration noise
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Celebrate

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
— Mark Twain
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Turns

These older blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories

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One of my better short efforts I think

Life is just a chain of moments strung together by spirit and will.
— Juliaki, In the moment
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Legend

Another conversation with Juliaki

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Observing what others think of “Pagan Community”

Douglas Adams Passing Day

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Think you know

Thinking by blogging

Sometimes when you're feeling down, one of the best things you can do is do for others.

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Those Who Want To Be Noticed

A song that helped me recently

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Loudest voices

I'm the only one who has a key anymore.

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Full-blown plan

Okay, that was embarrassing.

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On some issues

That library shelf says a reader lives there.

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Law of fives

Ah, Lady Moon, the kiss of your light works wonders.
— NeoWayland
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Lady Moon

We can't let our faiths and our creeds control how we touch other people. Faith is between you and the Divine. But we're measured by how we touch the lives of other humans.
     — NeoWayland, Journal 07Jul2017
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Draw my strength

How anyone cannot see that Nature is God is amazing to me: that they's rather worship something that can only exist, really, in their own minds.
— Alice Walker
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Control how we touch other people

What I carry is what I use.
— NeoWayland's Pennyworth iPod Touch engraving, 19Nov2012
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I can’t hoard the magick

Thinking by blogging

So I've learned to do small pleasures.

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❝What I carry is what I use.❞

The virtue is in the manifestation, not the doctrine.
from the private journal of NeoWayland, 16Oct2012
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Labels

We define the labels, the labels should not define us.
     — from the private journal of NeoWayland, 07Nov2012
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Virtue

I am the roar of the ocean. I am a powerful ox. I am a hawk on a cliff. I am a salmon in pools. I am a lake in a plain.
— from the Song of Amergin
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She was more than a bit put out

I'd say she's a child of the sun.

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Dreams seem small

It's inspired.

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Beware

You should beware the politician who wraps himself in faith and the minister who wraps himself with the flag.
     — from the private journal of NeoWayland, 01Mar2002
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One thing I wish I could literally pound into Christian heads

For most of us, our bodies have become storage vaults for undigested impressions, for impressions too charged or painful to confront.
— Dennis Lewis from “The Further Reaches of Self-Observation”, Gnosis № 29, Fall 1993
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Changing

Now, should I reject Bonewits and all he stood for because he and I didn't agree?

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Promise

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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Exits

“This week, Mike introduces you to Tricksters, starting with Anansi, the West African trickster god who is also sometimes a spider. Tricksters are, well, tricky. They're wise and foolish, they're promiscuous and amoral, but in a lot of ways, they're good guys. We'll also talk about the occasionally tricky Hercules and Atlas, and touch on more recent tricksters like B'rer Rabbit.”

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Environmentalism crusade

Not strictly casual, but it is striking

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I call myself pagan

The union of elements

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Borrowed

I know that when you borrow from another culture you should honor those elements.
     — NeoWayland
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Know

Things are always more complicated than you think.
— Peter Adamson
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Make it better

Beware of jargon.
— Peter Adamson
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Journal 14Jul2017

From the hairstyle of the brunette lady on the right, I'm guessing that it happened in the late 1960s.

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Connected

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
— George Washington Carver
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Communities

You don't build communities by excluding people you don't like.
     — NeoWayland, Solitary
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Worthy

Thinking by blogging

My high desert has been absolutely gorgeous.

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Religion for the politics

Exactly who does this threaten?

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Glimpses

This one is unusual because of the setting.

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Every woman I meet

Gods make you stretch.
     — NeoWayland
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Wonders

The only faiths worthy of freedom are those freely chosen.
     — NeoWayland
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Story

The Story is not the Journey.
     — NeoWayland
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Stretch

We are not on this planet to ask forgiveness of our deities.
— Scott Cunningham
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Worthy of freedom

How do you explain a Journey without moving into a Story? I am not sure you can.
     — NeoWayland, Blessed Journeys
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Explain a Story

The virtue of paganism was strength; the virtue of Christianity is obedience.
— Augustus Hare
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I am pagan

A spiritual organization with a hierarchical structure can convey only the consciousness of estrangement, regardless of what teachings or deep inspirations are at its root.The structure itself reinforces the idea that some people are inherently more worthy than others.
— Starhawk
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Men & Women

I don’t believe in objectivity, but I do believe deeply in fairness.
— Margot Adler
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Marvel at the real Milky Way

Stewart Farrar * deceased birthday

Lived 28Jun1916 to 07Feb2000 (83)
Witch, author, novelist. May have encouraged the sexual initiation of minor girls.

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Properly

We should enjoy our skins.

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Question

Modern American pagans are especially bad, we tend to celebrate some of our worse nutcases as gifts from the gods.
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Absolutely

Weirdness for the sake of wyrdness is not enough.
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Nutcases

Why does your enlightenment demand that I sacrifice?
— NeoWayland
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Weirdness

Gods and magick have always lived in technology.
— NeoWayland
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Acknowledge

Our Dieties aren't suspended in “once upon a time,” they transcend us. They inspire us. They tantalize us.
     — NeoWayland, Anachronism
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Enlightenment

Magick is the essence of change and evolution. But you choose the direction.
     — NeoWayland

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Technology

Gods and magick have always lived in technology.
— NeoWayland
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Once upon a time

Our Dieties aren't suspended in “once upon a time,” they transcend us. They inspire us. They tantalize us.
     — NeoWayland, Anachronism
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Magick is the essence…

A lesser known Greek myth set on the isle of Lesbos

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Technopagan

We are starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective.
— Delen in Babylon Five
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Truth behind the curtain

And that raises the first philosophical question. What exactly is that something beyond?

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Blessed

But there is no one place where everything thrives.

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I'm taking my dreams back

We can make things better tomorrow. But not if we limit ourselves today.

Raise your eyes above your feet.

Raise your eyes above the horizon.

Raise your eyes to the STARS.

That's where we need to be.

I'm taking my dreams back. You can share them if you want. But don't buy into this sacrifice "for the greater good."
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I already have.

Do I think I can change the universe? I already have. Can I make it better? Maybe.
     — NeoWayland
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Better human

Go tell three really dirty jokes. Share a piece of fruit with someone you can't stand. Cuddle with someone you care deeply about. Leave the place a little nicer than when you found it. And greet the sun when it wakes up.

No, that isn't all that there is to be a Pagan, it's just a taste of how to be a better human.
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Bilagáana

You would have thought that our first priority would be to ask what the ecologists are finding out, because we have to live within the conditions and principles they define. Instead, we've elevated the economy above ecology.
— David Suzuki
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Pagan anti-environmentalist

Mercury retrograde       waning crescent moon

Am I, NeoWayland, pagan philosopher and libertarian, an anti-environmentalist?

Well,
yes.

Environmentalism is a political movement. It’s about controlling other people to achieve utopia. It’s about closing yourself off from the possibilities.

I don’t want to be limited by the word “environmentalism” anymore. I don’t think ecology is about saving the Earth. I think it’s about understanding how things fit and the tradeoffs we make. It’s about looking at where we were, where we are, and where we could go.

Environmentalism is like any other crusade. It wants to change society for our own good even if we disagree with the cause.

I resist it just as I do the extra-enthusiastic Christians who want to enshrine their beliefs as the law of the land. And for PRECISELY the same reasons.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a draft to finish for tomorrow's article.

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Sexual responsiblity

First liquid-fueled rocket

Robert H. Goddard launched on 16Mar1926

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Seriously

I don't know who the young lady is but she is certainly enjoying herself.

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A secret of life

Leave the World a little better than how you found it.
— NeoWayland
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History

I make it a practice to never call it history until a year and a day after the event.
— NeoWayland
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Freedom of religion

I half expect a fairy knight to emerge from all that fog.

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Mythical bonfire

Don't get too concerned about fighting evil. You lose your own center that way.
— Robert Anton Wilson, from “Doubt! The GNOSIS Interview with Robert Anton Wilson”, Gnosis № 50
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NeoNotes — 10th anniversary of “Pentacle Quest”

If you don't like gambling or shows, there's not much that sets Las Vegas apart.

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Nothing supernatural exists

The old Irish when immersing a babe at baptism left out the right arm so that it would remain pagan for good fighting.
— Mark Twain
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Must be chosen

October 24, 1946

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Fellow-feeling

Thinking by blogging

The best thing I can do is find a way to channel the passion.

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Take the power

Her expression is what sells it.

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Train

So it's with shorter hair and hot chocolate that I anticipate this High Holiday.

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Patterns

Raven is about bridging the worlds.

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❝Mother Nature was the only one who fit❞

I didn't have a word for what I was for years. I was the small kid who announced to his family that if there was a God the Father, it was only natural that there had to be a God the Mother too. And Mother Nature was the only one who fit the bill.
— NeoWayland, Why are you Pagan?
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Gets sent out for snacks

Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I honor those who helped shape my life

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Personal Choice

She is a parasite who is capitalizing on tragedy

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A dangerous pagan

No, I am not quite foolish enough to do it on my own. I don’t know enough about explosives and I don’t own an anvil.

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Truthful answers - new site slogan

Construction starts next week

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Humantics

Musing on assumptions

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Impress Me

Sun tea

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Written at the crossroads

Bright and Dark Blessings to you all

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Struggle Nobly…

I can't be the white knight. I can only be a friend. I can't be a savior, but I can lend a shoulder and an ear. I can't shield anyone from the cold darkness, but I can share a little body heat under the blanket. I can't bring joy, but I can give a smile.
— NeoWayland
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I can't be the white knight

There is an advantage to insomnia.

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Unsent note to a Christian

Check out the new pages at the top.

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“In the absence of understanding, triviality dominates.” - UPDATED

Rocket in my garden

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Sunfell Tech Mage Rede Nine Words Serve The Tech Mage Best Keep What Works Fix What’s Broke Ditch The Rest

A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.

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