Day 14,611 - Out of the Mouths of Babes

It just amazes me how much, as children, we innately "remember" with regard to our origins. That is, before we're taught to believe otherwise.

This morning, my littlest one, who we'll call Aine, and I were having a discussion that went something akin to this:

Aine: When you were a little girl, did you play dress up?

Me: Yes, I did.

Aine: Who did you play dress up with?

Me: I played by myself. I didn't have brothers or sisters to play with...

Aine: Awww. Well, when you grow up and then get smaller again, I'll be your big sister.

Now, naturally, I believe in reincarnation, but this is not something that I've yet addressed with her. She'll only be 4 next month. I don't want to say that she wouldn't understand because taking into consideration this conversation, I have little doubts that it's a concept that she still "remembers". Still... That, I believe, is on a spiritual level. On a mental one, though, I'm not entirely certain that she would understand...

This does cause me to recall a conversation that my mother related she and I had when I was still very small...

Apparently, we had been in San Francisco. As we walked along the street, I pointed out some old houses and told her that I used to live in a house like them. Now, she knew that we never had, and, therefore, concluded that I was recalling a past life memory.

This leaves me to wonder - How much more could we remember of other times, other lives, other states of being, if we were allowed to do so?

Day 14,610 - Ebbs and Flows

As of late, I have found that I am very focused upon the outward. My writing, it seems, has finally moved to the forefront of my life. It is a fact that I find I am most pleased about, but with the new steps I'm taking, I also realize that I've rather lost touch with some areas of my life. Namely, my spirituality, which one can easily recognize simply by looking at this blog.

For me, the time of the Little Sun (as the "dark" part of year is referred to within the Celtic Tradition) is a time for focusing within. That is exactly what I did. Now, though, as we move further into the time of the Big Sun, indeed, I am focusing more without. But to what sacrifice? What is being sacrificed within so that I may address the outward?

Indeed, I continue to look within to some degree. Memories long forgotten or tucked away, I have drawn to the surface and am reflecting upon. Yet, if I am honest with myself, I will realize that, truly, it is only surface reflection, if you will. Not the deep introspection that I am accustomed to during the time of the Little Sun.

This, however, is the time for planting seeds. Seeds which, when nurtured, will grow and, eventually, bear fruit. Do I only wish to plant seeds with shallow roots? Or do I wish to plant seeds, whose roots will spread and grow deep? I think I would much prefer the latter, and it is for that reason that I consciously make my decision to flow from the spiritual ebb I have been engaged in. It is time to address and regain balance between the outer and inner once more...

~N

Day 14,591 - A New Leg of the Journey

As I mentioned last night, I was applying to be a writer for a new blog project that Pagan Newswire Collective is launching soon. I received a response this morning! They invited me to join in and write for them! Words cannot express my excitement with regard to this newest opportunity...

With this expansion in creative outlets, I have decided to move my blog Notes From the Road, which originally resided over at Wordpress and was purposely left to be obscure, here to Blogger. As you'll also note, I tweaked the name a bit. It is my intention to finally reach out to others and invite them for a read. Who knows if anything shall ever come of this, but... I'll never know unless I do so, right?

Until this newest expanse of road brings us together again, dear friends, many blessings upon you and yours.

~N

Day 14,590 – Pagans Within A Military Family

It has been some time, my dear friends. My apologies for such being the case. For the past month, I have been entwined in a creative journey that, even now, continues to unfold before my very eyes. In fact, it is this journey that has brought me full circle and back to this beautiful space of being.

This morning, I received an email from a dear friend of mine in which she forwarded to me a call that she had come across on The Wild Hunt from the Pagan Newswire Collective. Apparently, they're beginning a couple of new projects. For one, they are looking for Pagan writers within the Military Community.

As soon as I read it, something told me that I ought to apply. I think I could do quite well with it. However, I cannot say I have any writing samples to submit as of yet that fit the desired subject at hand.

Indeed, I most recently started a blog in which I write from the perspective of a military spouse and mother. I also have this blog in which I have been writing from the perspective of Spirit, but I have yet to put the two perspectives together, and in all honesty I'm not entirely certain why such is the case.

I am not what I consider to be an "in your face Pagan". I am not even one that tends to make my particular brand of spirituality well known. It's not necessarily because I'm afraid to be open about my beliefs, as much as I don't think it's really most people's business what I do or do not believe. If I open up and share with someone, there's a reason for it. Perhaps it's because I believe that there is something to be learned by either of us through an exchange of ideas or there is just seems to be a compatible exchange of energy. Whatever it might be, there generally has to be something that causes me to open up.

Too, in my experience there seems to be something of a standard mindset where the military is concerned. A uniformity. Just like everything else of a military nature. In much the same way that my perceptions with regard to life in general have changed over the years, so, too, has my perceptions where the military is concerned.

Growing up, I was one that was really quite frightened where authority figures were concerned. Anxiety would flood through me at the very thought of getting in trouble with someone in authority for any reason. Over the years, and through my spiritual studies as a Pagan, though, I've loosened up quite a bit. I've come to realize that one only has the power over me that I allow them...

Oh, for certain, there are some aspects of being one within a military family that one cannot get away from. Being told where to move, where to live, and in my husband's case, where to go and when. But, even those things, I suppose, are done out of choice. In our minds, they are a means to an end. Retirement is only a few short years around the corner for us, and then we'll move to a little plot of land that we purchased beside the plot next to some dear friends of ours. There, we shall homestead and be One with All That Is around us.

From my perspective, being a Pagan, living the military life, it is difficult for one to remain completely true to one's Self. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the actions that the military are directed to take is neither here nor there. While one, technically, has a choice whether one follows those directions or not, the consequences of not doing so are quite often undesirable. In our eyes, it is a job, like any other job, which in these difficult economic times, when so many people are out of jobs, their homes... It is a security that one cannot simply thumb one's nose at.

It is also difficult in the periodic relocation of one's family. As Pagans we are not among the majority of the population and many of those that inhabit any given area are often solitary, keeping to themselves. It makes it really rather difficult to connect with those of like mind in the physical, which often - at least in my experience - leaves one feeling rather alone.

So, indeed, it is my belief that Pagans, whether they be in the military, themselves, or within a military family, are within a category of their own. It can often be a difficult life, but add to the fact that our chosen form of spirituality is not among the majority or even well accepted, it can make it even more difficult at times.