The Earth Path - Chapter 3 - The Sacred

Finally, this book is starting to hit home with me! But I'll get to that more in the activities section.
This chapter is all about what is sacred and important to you, the reader, and how you can effect change for that cause. A lot of it is defining certain systems, and commenting on how informative the information is, really doesn't speak to how I'm understanding it. I have a few points, but most of the breakthrough stuff comes at the end.

Impressions and Thoughts

The author takes about frames a lot and discusses that we create these frameworks to contain certain aspects of our lives. This must be why labeling is so popular in mainstream society. As Pagans we are often guilty of this as well, but these frames are also important because they contain the identities we have chosen for ourselves and outline what we feel is important to us. Since Paganism is such a diverse religion, everyone practicing it in a somewhat unique way, we often don't have the exact values as each other. I give talks to my sister's world religions class when she gets to Paganism and Wicca, and the concept that her students find the most difficult to understand is that we have no real set of definite values that we all, as a whole, believe. What this chapter seeks to do, and does so well in my opinion, is break down what we feel is important enough to change when it is broken, and how to go about making that change. The first step is knowing about the system enough to know how to make beneficial change, which includes the health of the system as a whole. We need to learn to speak the language of that system to communicate on a meaningful level with it. Immersing ourselves into it, is the best way to learn about it and then create positive change. She warns us that it is also important to remember and be aware of consequences that will inevitably arise with this change. This is something that is very important to me as I have had several past experiences where the consequences of a certain action affected not just me, but a multitude of people and systems. I understand how important this concept can be. Another concept that I found extremely interesting in this chapter was how we look at something and quantify its value. Starhawk uses the example of buying tomatoes versus growing them. She explains that the value of growing her tomatoes is not just monetary, but brings joy and affirmation to her and those around her enough to account for the cost and time to grow them herself. Looking at ALL the benefits of doing something can help us make decisions about what choices we make when it comes to the things we value. Along with this, she discusses the ability to do what you value and the feelings one may have when they cannot do everything. I've read about this before in "An Ye Harm None: Magical Morality and Modern Ethics", so it is not a new concept to me. One cannot feel guilty for what they cannot do, but should feel accomplishment and pride as well as well being for what they can do. It is also easier to change something from a meeting point, a point that is close enough to what you want to change something into that it only takes a small shove instead of a big one. From there a ripple effect can occur, changing things along the way. For example, if you want a more feminist viewpoint in religion, start with religions that value women, change their ideals first and then from them, they can move to persuade others.

Questions
What values should all Pagans have in common? Wiccans?
What paradigm shifts should be made in society today?
What ideals are beginning to become outdated and useless?

Activities

A Sacred Intention:

What is Sacred to me?

There are many things that are sacred to me. Right now, at this current moment, self esteem is sacred to me as well as sexuality. This is probably because of my work with Aphrodite’s Magic. Other things that are sacred to me include, but are not limited to: Pagan ethics, animal rights, preventing and aiding homelessness and poverty, women’s rights, religious rights and education, and Pagan rites of passage.

What do I care about so strongly that I couldn’t see it compromised or destroyed? What would I take a stand for? Risk myself for?

Out of all those, I wouldn’t know how to pick just one. The one that is closest to my heart at this moment is self esteem and sexuality. I would love to take a stand for promoting these more in women’s lives, having us focus not on our bodies and its link to our self worth, but to our feelings and relationships. I would love to attack the media and fashion industries that put so much pressure on looking a certain way that we are obsessed with numbers such as clothing size, weight and BMI.

Consider for a moment what the world would be like if our social, political, and economic systems all cherished what is most sacred to you. In what ways do they already? In what ways would they need to change? What would change in your daily life? In your community? In the world around you? Can you describe that world in a few sentences?

I think that there are a few systems out there that help support those who feel negatively about their bodies, especially in North America, such as teen health centers, and BANA. It has also become a topic that is discuss, although infrequently, in schools, women and teen magazines and social clubs such as Girl Guides, for example. I do feel, however, that this topic needs a hell of a lot more attention. Fashion needs to reflect the averages as well as the ideal. Support groups and centers need to be in place for people to go to change or seek counseling. Gym memberships should cost less and be more available to those that need them. Programs should be established that encourage people to get healthy instead of “lose weight”. My life would benefit from these programs as well. I know I personally need the support and working on these goals and helping others meet them would help me with my own issues revolving around these topics. I live in such a small community, where we have the highest grossing LCBO in the province. More focus on our health and psychological well being would greatly affect this community for the better. I t would also help other systems such as local farming, which is also very important for this area.
A world where the ideal was happy and self assured would have woman of all shapes and sizes trying to get healthy for the sake of health instead of looks. Gyms would be community places that didn’t charge a membership fee. Groups of women would go for runs together and talk about what they love about themselves instead of focusing on their faults. They would also get along more because there would be less visual competition between them. Healthy, local foods would be cheaper to buy, and schools would focus on self esteem and teamwork. There would be doctors and psychologists in every community to help women who still were having problems. There would be no quick fixes like plastic surgery or “slim band”.

Do you want to bring that world into being? Do you feel responsible towards it?

I do want to bring this world into being, but I don’t feel personally responsible for it. I think it is something that I could advocate and help towards.

Are your best energies directed toward bringing about your cherished vision of the world? Towards service and what is sacred to you?

No. I need to understand my own health issues before I can tackle other women’s issues. I need to create and find ways to make this a reality and plausible first. I also need to get healthy myself and find ways that will support me as well as those around me.

Is there anything you need, support or opportunities or luck, to help you in that work? Who can you ask for support, in the human world? In the larger realms of the universe? What do you need to make that change? Support? Opportunity? Courage? Luck?
 
I would need the courage to start something and a super idea to make it popular enough to work. I would need people in my community who would support and work with me towards these goals. I would need to see a paradigm shift in our feelings towards our own self images.

What is blocking you? How would your life change if you were to put your best energies toward creating a world that cherishes what is sacred to you?

Like I said earlier, I’m only blocking myself. I need to get healthy so I can help others choose to get healthy instead of “lose weight”.

It is my sacred intention to create a world that cherishes: health instead of weight