![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lindeviI've begun to read In the Spirit of Happiness by the Monks of New Skete, a book that explores spirituality and happiness within a loose context of monasticism, albeit form a Christian perspective. (They've also written books on raising and training puppies and make a mean cheesecake, or so I've been told.)
I admittedly picked it up since I've somewhat lost my way on the pagan path, but the discussion within the pages is surprisingly applicable even to a pagan worldview (such as asserting that happiness is in fact possible in this life as opposed to only in the next, and to pursue it is only human), and I've begun to use it for comparative purposes--a sort of light to shine on my own spirituality so that from the shadow I can begin to see the true shape of my moral/ethical paradigm. There is no real "canon" in paganism (at least, in a non-culturally-specific context), and often I find that I go on ethical assumptions that are holdovers from my Episcopal upbringing without considering "why" paganism also holds them to be true.
What really caught my attention was the discussion of the "first fervor" in the second chapter. In a nutshell, the "first fervor" is the emotional and physical high many of the monks feel when they first enter the monastic life, extending even to the point of physical arousal after or during church services. They all feel so mystical, so close to God, and so enthused by these feelings that it gets them joyfully through the first six months or so of their journey at the monastery.
I see clear parallels between the "first fervor" of monastic life and the spiritual excitement that accompanies most pagans as they begin to explore their path, mine included. I "heard" so well, felt so close to my gods, that it really came quite naturally at the beginning. And then, like many people, I found it began to fade, and likewise, so too did my daily devotions and practice. (As some of you have said before, celebrating the sabbats for a full year and a day without skipping any is a kind of true barometer of one's dedication precisely because it isn't easy.) According to the monks, I stopped when journey was no longer emotionally fulfilling to me--basically, when the personal gain ceased, I had nothing to keep my practice going.
Their Christian answer is that the first fervor is a phase to pass through so that one might begin to seriously and maturely follow the spiritual path. Without the emotional high, one is no longer religious just to feel good yourself, but instead you get to the heart of what God and Jesus were about--selfless love for others, and giving of yourself.
Is this where the pagan parallel stops? Does paganism ask us to "rise above ourselves" and move on to loving others, and where? As an intensely individual religion, and one often given to whims of the ego, is there a theological basis for
x-posted to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
the_thinking_pagan
I admittedly picked it up since I've somewhat lost my way on the pagan path, but the discussion within the pages is surprisingly applicable even to a pagan worldview (such as asserting that happiness is in fact possible in this life as opposed to only in the next, and to pursue it is only human), and I've begun to use it for comparative purposes--a sort of light to shine on my own spirituality so that from the shadow I can begin to see the true shape of my moral/ethical paradigm. There is no real "canon" in paganism (at least, in a non-culturally-specific context), and often I find that I go on ethical assumptions that are holdovers from my Episcopal upbringing without considering "why" paganism also holds them to be true.
What really caught my attention was the discussion of the "first fervor" in the second chapter. In a nutshell, the "first fervor" is the emotional and physical high many of the monks feel when they first enter the monastic life, extending even to the point of physical arousal after or during church services. They all feel so mystical, so close to God, and so enthused by these feelings that it gets them joyfully through the first six months or so of their journey at the monastery.
I see clear parallels between the "first fervor" of monastic life and the spiritual excitement that accompanies most pagans as they begin to explore their path, mine included. I "heard" so well, felt so close to my gods, that it really came quite naturally at the beginning. And then, like many people, I found it began to fade, and likewise, so too did my daily devotions and practice. (As some of you have said before, celebrating the sabbats for a full year and a day without skipping any is a kind of true barometer of one's dedication precisely because it isn't easy.) According to the monks, I stopped when journey was no longer emotionally fulfilling to me--basically, when the personal gain ceased, I had nothing to keep my practice going.
Their Christian answer is that the first fervor is a phase to pass through so that one might begin to seriously and maturely follow the spiritual path. Without the emotional high, one is no longer religious just to feel good yourself, but instead you get to the heart of what God and Jesus were about--selfless love for others, and giving of yourself.
Is this where the pagan parallel stops? Does paganism ask us to "rise above ourselves" and move on to loving others, and where? As an intensely individual religion, and one often given to whims of the ego, is there a theological basis for
"[giving] of ourselves regardless of what we feel [... and] stripping the bonds of selfishness that enslave us" so that, as they see it, those bonds can be "transmuted into bonds of union with God and our fellow human beings" (46)?If we substitute the Universe, the All, or the Goddess in place of God, is there a pagan theological basis for a similar statement? Or is that a uniquely Christian way of thinking, and I am simply trying to translate something that has no pagan equivalent?
x-posted to
the_thinking_pagan