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I want to know about the spiritual side of life. I am a student of politics. The world i live in disgusts me. I would like to find out how i can explore my spiritual side. Is paganism the right way to live? Were the dark ages not really dark? Are we as a race, on the verge of extinction. Is postmodernism destroying us? Are neo-pagans just a phoney postmodern fraternity? I am confused, i have a need for some honesty. Thankyou.

Bonna,

You can read the articles here and decide for yourself. Proselytizing, trying to convert someone else to your faith, is not a part of paganism.

Pagans try to cultivate a respect for all forms of life. Wicca, one of the major pagan religions, maintains the Law of Three as one of the major tenents: the belief that whatever energy you put out into the world will return to you threefold.

Neo-paganism tends to refer to spiritual practices that are not an exact decendant of a specific practice. I identify as a neo-pagan in that I am an eclectic, one who practices their faith in a solitary fashion as opposed to as part of a formal group.

In exploring your spiritual side, you have to decide what you are seeking. When I was in college, I felt that the spirituality that I had been raised with didn't feel like the person I was inside. I too have felt conflict with the outside world and its beliefs in my life. I read a lot, as I didn't like how many spiritualities tried to "grab" you and make you one of theirs if you went speak to someone. I thought about what was important to me, and read about various faiths until I found descriptions of beliefs that matched my own feelings.

Can you be more specific about this concept of "honesty" that you are seeking?

Thankyou for your reply. I respect your objective explination. I hope i did not offend you with my asumptions of neo-paganism. If i had to assign myself to any "school of thought" it would be that. I beleive that what you put in to life you will recieve it back, I am not talking in terms of hard work or anything like that, i think it is how you treat people and realising that you must respect every thing as much as yourself. I have always thought that faith is a private thing. My only concern is the decline in faith within our society. This leads me to your question about honesty. I think that i used the wrong word, I meant that i rarely meet someone with an opinion on how their life is organised. I find it frustrating that people are passive, and accept their position in a world governed by wealth, fraternity and hierarchy. It feels wrong to me. Sorry for talking to you like an agony aunt but there is no one else i can ask advice from. Are you worried about secularisation?

For those following along, secularization n 1: the activity of changing something (art or education or society or morality etc.) so it is no longer under the control or influence of religion

Am I worried about secularization? No, but I think many people associated with formal religious structures and organizations are.

I'm more worried that the opposite will happen, that the separation between church and state in this country is going to be removed, as has been the trend as of late. I do not want my health care choices based on someone else's religion, one that is not my own, I want health care choices that are based on medical knowledge. I want to be able to make the art I want to make and view the art I want to view. I see those facets of my life as being threatened somewhat right now.