A sermon on unity through diversity, equity, and inclusion as it relates to environmental justice through the lens of divine pluralism.
Tag: spiritual practice
An Interfaith Sermon on Unity Through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Divine Pluralism
A sermon about the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in uniting our country.
Mesopotamian Artwork by Samuel David (Plus me rambling/infodumping about Pazuzu and Inanna)
I’m showing off some artwork I received from Samuel David (@rodandring) from his Sum(m)er of Giving raffle to raise money for The National Domestic Violence Hotline, The Trevor Project, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Iraqi Children’s Foundation, and the Central Asian Institute. I also infodump/ramble about Mesopotamian polytheism, history, and my practices.
Inanna’s Descent as a Metaphor for Suicide and Depression
In this video I present an alternate interpretation of Inanna’s Descent, in which this myth could be read as a representation of suicide and the effects it has on loved ones left behind. This was a thought I had while meditating on this myth during Samhain.
Inanna as a Nature Goddess: Can We Cool Her Raging Heart?
A sermon about caring for the environment, and the goddess’ presence in natural phenomena. I was inspired by the ancient literary composition “Inanna and Ebih” by the High Priestess Enheduanna. I wrote this because I had to write and record a sermon for the pagan clergy training class I’m taking. I’m sure I would have made a video about this topic eventually anyway though, because it’s a topic that’s been on my mind a lot.
My Experience with Rod and Ring: Part 4 – Ascent
Join Me for the Kin Inanna Festival!
Kin Inanna was an ancient festival celebrated to honor Inanna in the city of Nippur, dating to the third dynasty of Ur. I’ve decided to do a series of public rituals for this festival as part of my ordination project. What better way to begin my pagan ministry work than with helping to revive an ancient celebration of Inanna! I hope this will be interesting to the Mesopotamian polytheist community and even people on other pagan paths.
I’m planning out a series of public (online) rituals to celebrate Kin Inanna. I’m thinking Thursday, September 19th for the first, either the 21st or 22nd for the second, and the 24th for the third. It will probably be around 7 or 7:30 pm on Facebook Live. I have to rehearse and put the finishing touches on my rituals to see how long I’ll need for set up and for the actual rituals. I’ll put up a Facebook event when I get it all sorted out in the next couple of days. I believe Live videos can be re-watched later, so if you wanted to participate, but can’t make it, you can still participate asynchronously (unless I mess up too bad and decide to remove it!)
My Statements of Beliefs
One of my assignments for my pagan clergy training class this week was to create a “statement of beliefs” featuring ten statements about my beliefs. The instructor suggested using the 10 Commandments as inspiration for formulating our statement of beliefs, which I was resistant to, as the bible isn’t at all part of my belief system, and the first couple statements in the 10 commandments are a blatant slap in the face to my beliefs and practices. I ended up taking a look at them and – very loosely – using them as inspiration for my statement of beliefs list.
Here’s what I came up with (these could, and probably will at some point, change as I progress in my practice):
- The Gods are real and are accessible to anyone who seeks Them.
- Myths are meant to help us understand the Gods and their relationship to us, nature, and each other. They aren’t meant to be read literally, but to be used as a source of inspiration.
- Deeds are more important than beliefs. Live an ethical life and respect the beliefs of those walking different paths.
- Honor the divine and live according to your spiritual values in your everyday life. Living a spiritual life is an act of devotion.
- Nature is sacred, and we are all a part of it. It is our sacred duty to protect the Earth, and to strive to repair the damage that our species has caused.
- Honor the cycle of life by honoring the dead and caring for the living. Know that death is not the end.
- The Gods value all forms of gender and sexual expression, and all forms of consensual sexuality and love. You are a sacred being just as you are!
- Own your actions. Don’t be afraid to take credit for your accomplishments, and responsibility for your shortcomings. Always strive to do better and to learn more.
- Be true to yourself and your beliefs. But remember that beliefs aren’t set in stone. It’s normal and healthy for beliefs to evolve as you progress on your spiritual path.
- Love is everything. Love the Gods. Love the Earth. Love yourself. Love each other.
The class I’m taking is through Greenwild Mystical Academy for anyone else who is interested!
My Experiences with Rod and Ring parts 1 and 2 (Threshold and Foundation)
I finally got around to making videos of my experiences with the Threshold and Foundation sections of Rod and Ring. These videos are pretty brief. I’ve already shared more about the Foundation rituals earlier in this blog. (I don’t think I did blog posts about Threshold. That might have been before I started writing openly about my spiritual explorations).
“Deity Work” and Beginner Pagans
I’ve been seeing an idea that deity work is only for advanced practitioners of paganism or witchcraft popping up in online pagan spaces lately. In this video, I talk about why I disagree with this idea, and why I believe that deity worship is the foundational aspect of pagan religious practice.
This was just a quick video I made after seeing some Reddit posts this morning, even though I already have a whole list of other videos I want to make.