~*~ August Pagan Familes Circle~*~ - Page 25

[aweynsayl]

hey, map twin! had major map revelations yesterday and thought of you!

[mamaofthree]

tallulahma: i agree with that 100%. so very true. my mom has some mental health issues and although i am sure the medication is helping... her doctor and her refuse to do anything but up the dose. no diet, exercise, helping her deal with exceptionally stressful situations. she has no way to cope at all except take a pill and more often then not it doesn't work really well. now with her lung disease, i see it just getting worse (not being able to breath is a HUGE anxiety issue for people with COPD), now my mom has no way of helping herself. i wish americans saw it as helpful and not as some woowwoo stuff to actually do inner work and think about how they live as contributing to their health.

ds#1 told me last nite he wants to go to middle school next year. i know because my kids are actually making the choice to go got school and they get to pick the school and they know that at any time if they feel done with it or it isn't the right time or the right fit that they can come back home to homeschool again... it just weirds me out that they want to go.

i will be lighting candles and doing something to nite so we get some extra good house buying vibes fir saturday.

h

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by aweynsayl

hey, map twin! had major map revelations yesterday and thought of you!

Wooohoooo!!!! I was thinking of you lately too, and hoping that you were not too busy scrubbing floors!!

Yay for map reveals and joy!

[aweynsayl]

yeah, i'm done with the floors. it was nice to have a good TM moment, though. i feel at peace with it for the moment, and that's really really nice (as you can imagine!).

so.... i'm thinking on saturday i'm going to light a candle... a green one? and maybe do a little altar for maia's house and heather's house... i have a pic of maia's, heather, did you post your listing? i'm thinking pics of the houses and "sold" signs over them.......

[DaughterOfKali]

Since ds isn't feeling great, I'm thinking of having him stay home (to help his father put together his new bed) while I go to the church cookout. Of course, I do realize that I didn't do laundry so I don't have any clean undies to wear. Would have to figure that one out.
It would be nice to do something by myself.

[Aubergine68]

Originally Posted by princesstutu

Well, I talk to mine and they visit me in dreams.

Me too. Who/what do you think "yours" are, though? I am fairly sure that some of the experiences I have had have been related to the spirits of loved ones who have passed on, but some have been more - generic.

The phrase "Angels and Ministers of Grace, defend us!" has been floating to the top of my mind a lot lately. I looked it up to confirm that this quote comes from Hamlet, the first words Hamlet speaks when he sees his father's ghost

Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee...


"A spirit of health or goblin damn'd" - that's the point of the question for me. I feel there is no danger for me in this, but how healthy is it, really, to be engaging with spirits? And how can I teach my kids to be healthy with this?

Anyway, I decided I would just address my unseen company as "Angels and Ministers of Grace" or maybe "Spirits of Health". To make a complicated experience shorter to tell, I am quite sure that it/they approve of and are amused by this form of address.

Of course, now I just want to reread the Collected Works of Shakespeare -- not *see* plays, just . Wonder if I can interest my dd in this journey.

Off topic - I did go back and look up Shakespeare's poem, Venus and Adonis, this past summer. Just as Pagan and sexy as I remembered -- I don't think it gets read much because Venus is older than Adonis and romantically aggressive and she mothers Adonis as well as making love to him. I also think Adonis is probably more interested in homosexual love than in sporting with Venus -- all this is just too transgressive and complicated for Introduction to Literature courses . The various Wiccan/Pagan myths that represent the Goddess giving birth to the God who also is her future mate would fit right in with Shakespeare's poem, though.

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

I
Having 'heard' & one a few occasions seen 'people' who were not actually there, I DO believe that in some cases the mentally ill are just too good at recieving, but not able to make sense of what they pick up.

Interesting topic, during my years of nursing I had quite a few incidents where I was torn emotionally in handling this very thing. Regularly I had to medicate, against their will, clients who were psychotic and unable to provide their own basic needs or were a threat to themselves or others. And on some of those occasions, I really wondered if it was the right thing to do.
!

I can understand this. My mom *can't* indulge herself in anything woo-woo for fear of losing touch with reality., although she does attend a United Church (don't think you have them in the States, very liberal Christianity, gay woman minister) And I'm sure that one reason her condition is so disabling is that she suffered some brain damage due to treatments/drugs she received for mental illness in the 60s It must have been/must now be awful to be a nurse caring for patients without knowing whether the treatments are right.

(Hope you're feeling better, Cari!)

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

My dad was schizophrenic. The voices he heard had nothing to do with spirit chatter. He would look at people (in real life or on tv) and he would start to 'hear' those people talk badly about him. It's not random chatter of spirits.
Yes, I think there could be a connection of some psychic ability but that's about it.

I totally recognize this. My mom also has to avoid a lot of media because she's *always* hearing stuff about herself and family that is not so.

I used to get really really angry whenever someone would suggest that my mom was demonically possessed. I now have come to think that there might be a spiritual element in her mental illness, but I don't think the demon possession theory is useful at all.

I hope you are doing better and that Roo doesn't get sicker Sending for Roo.

Originally Posted by wombatclay

mental illness and the spirit world- I go back and forth on this. My experiences with my father have made me question (many times) the sort of chicken/egg questions... was his depression "calling out" to negative entities that then made his condition worse? Was there a negative energy/entity in their house that worsened his conditoin or even caused part of it to begin with? Which came first? Were both options equally plausible? And so on... I know I've rambled about it, and gotten great insights from mamas here on this thread over the years.!

I had some subjective experiences of being attacke by negative energy/entities when I was an adolescent. I read a description of sleep paralysis a few years ago, and this matched my experiences to a T. So was it not a spiritual attack, just because there is a biological phenomenon that has these symptoms? I have gone back and forth on this specific issue.


Good idea about the preschool playgroup at your home, btw! I should have done that when my own were younger!

Originally Posted by tallulahma

during my psyche rotation in nursing school we had a therapist talk to us about this topic...

the theories we discussed were the possibilities that it is an increased susceptibility to the spirit world + chemical imbalances from genetics or trauma as infants+ stressors from modern life + dietary triggers.... etc etc

basically a culmination of lots of things- making it so that meds alone would never help- that help should come in the form of meds, relearning how to interpret stimuli, stress reducing/biofeedback and eliminating dietary allergens/triggers.


interesting stuff.

it seems good to remember that rarely is there ever a single cause to any problem- if only western med would catch up.

Yes, *very* interesting, thanks *so much* for sharing.

So, I asked princesstutu some of this, but would like to ask all of you generally -- what do you call your spiritual allies, what do you think they are, and how do you talk to your kids about them?

Originally Posted by _ktg_

M
DS#1 J is getting ready for his foray into school this year!! Its a k4 program but its at the French Immersion school in the city here. DH is a little/very nervous about it, but I think J is going to love it. He needs to be challenged mentally and I think this will be a good thing. Upside too - I will have to brush up on my french a lot more.

Why is your DH worried, ktg? My kids have been in French Immersion, and it has been very good for them -- we are now homeschooling our oldest for Jr high, but not because the French Immersion program was not good for her. We are now looking for ways to keep up her French skills.

ETA ok, I did go on longer than I thought I would....

[princesstutu]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

FYI- calling them 'schizo people' is just not cool. My dad was schizophrenic. The voices he heard had nothing to do with spirit chatter. He would look at people (in real life or on tv) and he would start to 'hear' those people talk badly about him. It's not random chatter of spirits.
Yes, I think there could be a connection of some psychic ability but that's about it.

Sorry. Wasn't trying to offend you. I was nak-ing so I just abbreviated the word.

Originally Posted by Aubergine68

Who/what do you think "yours" are, though? I am fairly sure that some of the experiences I have had have been related to the spirits of loved ones who have passed on, but some have been more - generic.

My grandmother comes around. She died in 1989, but I still see and smell her and she's visited me to talk a couple times in the last 2 years. My mother used to see her, too, so this isn't looked on as weird in my family. When things go missing, we have folks we talk to to get them back. I don't know. We are connected to the other realms and see it as normal, but then we don't (as a family) give it the respect or attention I feel it deserves.

I also have my totem animals and other animals that maybe aren't totems as far as a lifetime of guidance, but they do stay with me as I make it through specific areas of my life. Various variations of the Goddess come to me in dreams and visions (I don't know what else to call them, but they aren't like visions people in movies/tv shows get). As I become more in alignment with my true self, I find that I am more aware of who is around me. I've always felt presences, but as I ask for guidance and ask them to show themselves, they do. I love it.

My daughters also see totem animals. Dd2 was really scared to see a huge, white snake on her bed once, but I told her about the connection between snakes and the Goddess and how lucky she is to be able to make that connection (that bedroom was an activity bed of realm activity, too). My sons aren't telling me if they are connecting with anyone. One is very scared to think about such things and isn't sure, yet, if he believes in any Gods. I think he has a bit of trauma to work through; some of it past life and some of it this life.

[Aeress]

This should be my last drop in ...I am finally catching up after a long week

Love and light to all!

[tallulahma]

Originally Posted by aweynsayl

gods, i miss you. have i said that?

i realllllllly miss you too...must visit soon

Originally Posted by aweynsayl

yeah, i'm done with the floors. it was nice to have a good TM moment, though. i feel at peace with it for the moment, and that's really really nice (as you can imagine!).

so.... i'm thinking on saturday i'm going to light a candle... a green one? and maybe do a little altar for maia's house and heather's house... i have a pic of maia's, heather, did you post your listing? i'm thinking pics of the houses and "sold" signs over them.......

i will join you in that. After the stress of selling our house- I know the stress involved.

Originally Posted by Aubergine68

I
So, I asked princesstutu some of this, but would like to ask all of you generally -- what do you call your spiritual allies, what do you think they are, and how do you talk to your kids about them?

i call them my guides, or my spirit guides. i also see spirits randomly and it appears dd1 does too. she is nervous to talk about it too much it seems, but i hear her talking to people sometimes.

nak bbl

[wombatclay]

peach/ginger/lemon conserve

Yummity yum yum YUM!

I have some "peach honey" I canned (more of a peach syrup) but this sounds amazing! Mmmmmmm....

We survived yesterday's playdates and bday parties intact. One bloody faceplant by Tor, and lots of scrapes on the girls (swimming pool scrapes since the bday party was at the local community pool) but we made it! DH wont be home till tonight so we're still in the crazy times, but we're getting there.

I'm hoping to have a few minutes today to reconnect wit my treasure map... I've been feeling the desire to sit with it and see what is going on.

ADF- I'm still reading, and rereading, the suggested books. It's kind of fun though it's also frustrating. I like that many of the books are "serious" texts, but with thee little kiddos? I need something I can read in one page doses! Has anyone read BEING A PAGAN? It's a bunch of interviews and /almost/ that "one page at a time" book.

[Maiasaura]

Reading, finally, the last of Jean Auel's books. Probably about halfway through.
Next is "Your Nine Year Old" by Louise Bates Ames. Even though DS is 9-1/2 now!

Today is the open house

Everything is clean, aweyn has been helping me with little feng shui tips, I think I am ready to go. I hope!
I have laundry in the dryer. I have to wait till it's out so I can shower, because my towels are in there. Then one more blanket in the dryer and the laundry's done.

Then shower, then out with DS to buy flowers and maybe a couple more candles.

Then waiting. The realtor shows up around 1pm, the open house is from 2-5 and we have to be out of here for that.
The magic 8-ball says we will get people in to look, and that there will be a buyer out of it

Thank you to all who are lighting candles for me! MO3, have you heard anything yet?

M survived his interferon mess yesterday. I don't even think I told y'all about that. He has been uber sleepy lately and that's how he realized something was wrong, when he was first diagnosed.
So he went to the Dr yesterday and he was running a 101.5* fever and didn't even realize it! They gave him a low dose of interferon and he went home and slept from like 4:30 to 7:30.
I was freaking cause I hadn't heard from him at all, till then. Then we spent till 9:30 on the phone, and this morning he doesn't even remember the whole thing
So he's supposed to be going into Boston today, to bop around and take photos.
I'm a nervous wreck. I want this house sold! And then...venture into terra incognita

I wish M would call. I just called and he didn't pick up. I just need a reassuring voice today!

[witchygrrl]

Aubergine, pm'ing you.

[Maiasaura]

So M ended up falling asleep and not going to Boston, which is why he didn't answer But all's good.
I am reassured

I'm just nervous. Open house at 2pm. It's 1:12 now and my realtor isn't here yet. I'm slamming a sandwich cause I'm starved.
My friend isn't up for company after all, so we have nothing to do for 3 hours while the open house is going on. DS doesn't want to see a movie. It's not nice enough out to actually do anything outside: overcast, misty/rainy, cooler than it's been. PERFECT kind of day for me-- if we could stay home Might go check the theater sitch-ee-ation out anyhoo. I could stand being in a dark theater with a giant tub of popcorn

Could go to Goodwill. My favorite new orange Tshirt has got stains on it, somehow
I'm not usually an orangy fan, but lately I kind of have been. 'Tis the season, almost, I guess If I find a new one that I like, I'll put a jack-o-lantern face on this one. JUST the face

Wish us luck on the open house, mamas!

I'm kind of worried-- I wanted to play ambient music so I put on Pandora, and then paused it to go out and get flowers- came home to find my laptop's really hot. What's up with that?

[mamaofthree]

fingers crossed for you maia!

we haven't heard anything yet, but i have no idea when the viewing was going to happen. it may not even have happened yet. i can't remember if we are 2 or 3 hours behind maine now. lol so it could be only 12:30, or maybe 13:30.

dd is off to a friends 16th birthday for the weekend. ds#1 has a friend over for the weekend. i am going to try and get to the farmers market when dh gets back.
dh and i got into this argument last night. there is this saturday farmers market in phoenix, it is about 30 minutes away. this rancher goes there that we use to get beef from back in tucson. i was very excited to see that. so i wanted to go. PLUS i have heard good things about this market. well dh finds one closer and says i should go to that one. but alot of the produce is from cali. and the beef guy isn't at that one. so i explain AGAIN why i am going to the other one. he keeps pushing about the one he found. i said "you don't have to go or drive, so why do you care?" i just want to make it easier for you. ???? what??? i tell him where i want to go, why i want to go, that he doesn't have to come or drive and he is trying to make it easier? i wanted to brain him! finally i just said "i am done talking to you about this. i do the cooking and the shopping and i am going to the one in phoenix. you can come or not i don't care at all."
it was very weird and felt a bit controlling. he also said he wanted to go see his brother since he was going to be so close to his house when he dropped off dd. i said ok. and he says he wants to go because he doesn't get to see anyone like i do. what is he talking about. the homeschool groups haven't started meeting yet. since we moved here i have had ONE friend come up to see us and drove to tucson once. we have had his family over, my family over, and otherwise we have seen no one. he actually works at a job full of people. if someone doesn't see anyone everyday it is me! the only other people i see weekly are the trader joe's check out people! lol and the kids. i mean i don't care if he goes to see his brother, i am all for it. but his reason... because i get to see people... what is he thinking? then he says well when park days start you will be seeing other moms. OH OK. so in a month i will. ugh! we are having some serious communication issues. it is very frustrating. and he is being really negative again. especially about the house. i keep telling him... good thoughts, the house will sell. but all he does is grump!
what is going on with the stars? cuz i am going nuts!
grrrr!

h

[redveg]

Afternoon all

This week and this weekend are just getting out of hand here. So much running around. When I get home I am just to tired to do anything but sit on the couch and veg out! My kids go back to school on the 30th and it seems we have put off all our shopping until now. I live so far away from everything and it's in different directions so it's all day in the car.

I hope everyone's weekend is a bit more relaxing than mine

[wombatclay]

Thinking home buyer/seller thoughts!

I just got roped into teaching at our UU this year. Honestly, just this morning I was wondering if we should attend this year (we REALLY need to get the house done and giving up Sunday 9-1 is tough, and we really only go for the kiddo RE program... between Tor and Ro I never get to hear the sermon since I spend the whole time out in the hall). But a friend is the new RE coordinator and they really need teachers sooo... I'll be tag teaming the preschool class that Ro will be in. Laia will be on her own in the kindy/1st grade class and DH will have Tor in the hall.

So there it is. I'll be organizing the weekly preschool for Ro and then the weekly RE preschool group too, helping with the Druid Scouts (which is a 2hr drive each way), and sharing the full moon potluck hosting for the Earth Child group I helped set up. Cause I wasn't busy, right?

Dh called and said that a lot of the furniture has been damaged and he isn't going to bring it home. Since I have no emotional attachment to it, I'm actually ok with that. Apparently the will worked out so that we (on behalf of the girls) can turn down items so here's hoping we have room for everything he's bringing home. He was going to send pictures but I can't get my phone to open them so it'll be a bit of a surprise. We'll just load them into the addition and cover well with a few painter tarps or plastic while we sand drywall. Oh the joy of sanding drywall! I'm hoping now that the addition will be approved by the code office by Yule. It HAS to be approved by Yule. or... or... or I'll do something I will!

[DaughterOfKali]

Maia and mamaofthree- Hoping your houses get sold by the end of September!

[wombatclay]

redveg- we just, today, got a backpack for dd1. It's actually a sugarbooger backpack style diaper bag but don't tell her that! She picked it out at the mama thrift shop and it's actually really cute... lots of polkadots and clear plastic with a matching small bag that will work for lunch. She'll be going 2/day week to her "waldorf for homeschooled kiddos" program and then one day a week to grandma's school on the hill so she decided a back pack was a must.

Our school year doesn't start till Sept 8th though. I feel like we're way behind everyone else, but that's the standard NYS school start date and some actually don't start till Sept 14th! (the 8th-14th are for teacher orientations, orientations for families with special needs, planning days, etc)

[saphire]

Originally Posted by Indigo73

Ack, I've really done it... returning to school. Registered for classes. Can't buy books yet because I am on a couple waiting lists, but it's happening. I could be sitting in my first class in 11 days.

Congrats!

Originally Posted by mamaofthree

just heard from our Realtor... she has a showing at our house and the person seems really interested! woot! fingers crossed, good house vibes and all that for saturday! i told her to let the person know we are totally open on the price. here's hoping!

h

Both you and Maia- I've been sending great home selling vibes out. Have either of you considered posting on Craigslist too? In 2008 when dh and I were selling for sale by owner, we got lots of interest off Craigslist. And drive by's- having flyers out front with pictures, info and price got us a few people through too. The houses WILL sell, hopefully sooner than later.

Originally Posted by aweynsayl

hey, map twin! had major map revelations yesterday and thought of you!

I've had some TM success too. About 2 wks ago I was looking at a picture (on my TM) of a forest stream with a few people casually floating the stream. The water was really clear and enticing! After seeing the pic again I told dh "I want to do that. I put it on my map, and I wanna do it." Fast forward to last Thursday morning, and dh and I decide to make a spontaneous camping trip to go up with some friends for just one night. And; Yay! There was my gorgeous clear stream and rafting, canoeing, swimming, and frog catching. We got back about 9pm last night, dirty tired and so happy.

I've been getting ready for our upcoming hs year. I've ordered some new books, and started some planning, but I have so much to do. I'm pretty excited.

Clay- to Tor! ( and just take everything else one thing at a time )

Maia- I love Jean Auel's books! They are some of my most favorite.

I hope every one's weekend slows down a bit - enough to be able to relax for a while!

[Maiasaura]

Nobody showed up at all
It was a torrential downpour, and DS and I had nowhere to go. So we spent lots of time at all the Goodwill stores and I got another black Tshirt and one for DS with a skull on it, and he got a film camera that probably doesn't work, but he had to have it

I came home and M called and I burst into tears. Oh, mamas, I am just so ready to go be with him. He's trying to be so encouraging, telling me don't lose faith and it WILL happen-- but I am just not on the universe's schedule. I feel like it brought M and me together and now is dangling our far-away relationship going "ha-ha".


I'm trying so hard to be positive.