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#276803 10/22/06 10:27 AM
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I'm currently doing some reading, and they have questions for discussion. Since I am the only Pagan I actually know, I thought maybe opening the discussion here could help me see how other Pagans view Deity. I'm at the beginning of my journey in Paganism, and would value any input on this.
Thank you.



Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha
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#276804 10/22/06 10:33 PM
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For me, I guess it is the goodness and strength that resides in me and everyone. Trying to realize the deity within by being a better person and not getting trapped in negative vicious circles within my life is basically my overall idea of deity.

I like that this fits, in theory, with other religions as well. After all, aren't most Christians really out the better themselves through their god. Just an example, but you get the idea.

#276805 10/23/06 03:10 AM
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I relate to the energy of the universe I feel around me and within me. It's "Deity" in a way, but I prefer not to think of it that way. I just like to try to be in tune with it.


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#276806 10/24/06 02:45 PM
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so you don't really relate to it as a being, so much as feeling? I think I'm feeling most comfortable with that aspect myself. Thanks for your input!



Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha
#276807 10/24/06 05:08 PM
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The strength inside me; the same strength that is inside the universe and every being collectively


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#276808 10/24/06 05:26 PM
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I was at a workshop this weekend and the leader referred to it (the Universe, Creation Force, God, or whatever people call it) as The Limitless.

I loved this idea because to me it illustrates the expansiveness and unlimited possibility that the other words don't.

However, I believe that this "Limitless", or Deity manifests itself to us in whatever way we can best comprehend. So for some it's God, for some it's Goddess and for others its a pantheon of Gods.

I also believe that while Deity is vastly larger than we can even begin to understand, it is also inherant within us and that not enough people recognize that.

Thou art Goddess/Thou art God

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#276809 10/24/06 05:58 PM
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I feel that Deity/Spirit is both within us and outside of us. I definitely don't feel that it controls us or imposes a will upon us. Because I see Spirit in all people and life, I don't take a position of worshipping it, putting myself below or separate from it. I work to honor Spirit and to learn from the knowledge it offers, I try to use it for further and deeper connection.

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Fiona, I like to meditate on the ever expanding universe - it gives me a sense of peace to consider that there is more and more (space for everyone, food, life, money, jobs, careers, whatever - especially when it doesn't feel like that).

Rae, I'm also very uncomfortable with the idea of "worshipping" anybody or anything, it doesn't make sense to me. It simply "is", to me. Besides, someone who requires me to worship them is not worth worshipping <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Coffeeaddict, it's sort of a case that I consider it as "all that is" - so to call it "a being" is limiting what "it" is. It's too vast to comprehend really so I don't want to label it or box it into a category - just let gentle experiences of the all wash over me from time to time.


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#276811 10/25/06 09:25 AM
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I've had some issues growing up with worshipping something and it just didn't feel comfortable to me. I'm glad to hear other's viewpoints. I wasn't really sure how other Pagans viewed the issue. thank you all again for your insights.



Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha
#276812 10/25/06 11:34 AM
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I agree that I don't like the idea of "worshiping" I tend to prefer the idea of honoring or working with Deity.

I, like Rae, work with Spirit/Deity/The Limitless to foster deeper connection.

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I am so glad I got into this site. Just yesterday I was talking to my roomate, who is a Pagan/Druid and he asked me that same question. What is Deity for you and the relationship you have with him/her. I am just learning about diferent beliefs and rituals etc. I am lucky that I have such a great friend who teaches me and can answer my questions. I have also been very blessed to have met, thru him, great people who are in the craft.
I appreciate your reply, and I am looking forward to meet all of you thru e-mails


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I do not know who are pagans. but hinduism has 330 million deities.

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One of the most commonly used definitions of Pagan simply means someone who is not follow Judeo-Christian beliefs, so to many people, Hinduism is considered part of the Pagan family of faiths.

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This is a discussion in deities. There are also some reiki practioners in this forum. Have they tried to connect with any deity? They will be surprised with the energy they receive.

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Jesus Christ is deity.

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Originally Posted By: lovelove
Jesus Christ is deity.


I do not know if you are a reiki practioner. But ifyou stand in front of Christ's idol orphotograph and connect with him, you will feel great energy coming towards you. The symbols change immediately.

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IS that the case with any picture?
Krishna/Ganapathy...?
How can one get connected like that?


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Originally Posted By: engee
IS that the case with any picture?
Krishna/Ganapathy...?
How can one get connected like that?



that is true for any picture of God.
have you learnt reiki?

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Not yet but i want to.I have learned the Art of living by Sree Sree Ravi Shankar and kayakalpa yoga.
I really dont get it.I thought God has no figure or form. so what meaning is there in a picture...

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You are a form of God. Everything is God. Coming to the picture of God, the picture that you pray has energy. why, do not bother now. Even if you have not done reiki, do one thing. go and stand or sit in front of the photo. Pray for energy. You will feel it after some time. even if you do not feel, do not worry, because the energy is reachingyou.

sometimes on the spiritual path you shoiuld behavelike a kid. the mother says- be away from the flame. The kid does not argue but keeps away. Slowly the kid understands. will you do few things like that?

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sometimes on the spiritual path you shoiuld behavelike a kid. the mother says- be away from the flame. The kid does not argue but keeps away. Slowly the kid understands. will you do few things like that?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yes,i promise to be an obedient child.

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One last question......i am always curious...but i shud ask no more qs...?

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Originally Posted By: engee
One last question......i am always curious...but i shud ask no more qs...?


Ask away!! That's what everyone is here for. Just try to be clear in your postings. I mean no offense, and I see you are in Hong Kong, but I sometimes have a little trouble understanding what you mean... Again, no offense intended. I wish that I spoke Indian or Chinese... smile

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hehe...i dont know chinese though.Thanx!

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Originally Posted By: froggie0424
Originally Posted By: engee
One last question......i am always curious...but i shud ask no more qs...?


Ask away!! That's what everyone is here for. Just try to be clear in your postings. I mean no offense, and I see you are in Hong Kong, but I sometimes have a little trouble understanding what you mean... Again, no offense intended. I wish that I spoke Indian or Chinese... smile


Yes, one should try to learn. beyond a point learning does not help.
Because there is so much to learn. After that we take the path shown by Guru in India.

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To me the deity within is the spiritual side.. the soul, the spirit, the inner being. I am a Mystic Jew. I have very pagan thinking almost mystic/kabbalistic mixed with my Jewish identity.

I think it is a matter of what feels right to you. What you are drawn to and feel.

We all have an inner g-ddess and g-d within us.


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Originally Posted By: Jase
To me the deity within is the spiritual side.. the soul, the spirit, the inner being. I am a Mystic Jew. I have very pagan thinking almost mystic/kabbalistic mixed with my Jewish identity.

I think it is a matter of what feels right to you. What you are drawn to and feel.

We all have an inner g-ddess and g-d within us.


Bold

This is the TRUTH that all of us are searching for. You know that. That is rare.

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it has taken YEARS of understanding and education to come to this stance. I enjoyed the process so much I declared a religion/philosophy minor.


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Originally Posted By: Jase
it has taken YEARS of understanding and education to come to this stance. I enjoyed the process so much I declared a religion/philosophy minor.


Congratulations.

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This question is very interesting to me. As a skeptic and an atheist with deist leanings, I try to refrain from attributing human emotions to the universe, but I certainly understand the practicality of trying to relate to the universe on your own terms. Therefore, I have no problem with creating a human image or "god" to represent the creative force of the universe, as long as one does not take it too seriously.

As concerns pagans, I guess my quesition is therefore always this: Do you believe that that avatars/deities that you pray to are actual entities, or do you perceive them as human-created images/icons that help you concentrate on and contemplate the create force of the universe, which they represent?

In other words, are you a true polytheist (one who believes in many gods), or a pantheist (one who believes that the universe is infused with "godliness")?

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I perceive them as human created. I'm like you in that I'm an atheist. However, I do believe in a certain fabric of the universe that ties everyone together. When I perform a ritual or a magickal act, it is easier for me to concentrate on an aspect of the universe which I normally address as the Lord or Lady or a more specific aspect of those two. When you start addressing infinity, it's just too big...

So, I guess I'm a pantheist.

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Originally Posted By: Ali - Atheist Editor
This question is very interesting to me. As a skeptic and an atheist with deist leanings, I try to refrain from attributing human emotions to the universe, but I certainly understand the practicality of trying to relate to the universe on your own terms. Therefore, I have no problem with creating a human image or "god" to represent the creative force of the universe, as long as one does not take it too seriously.

As concerns pagans, I guess my quesition is therefore always this: Do you believe that that avatars/deities that you pray to are actual entities, or do you perceive them as human-created images/icons that help you concentrate on and contemplate the create force of the universe, which they represent?

In other words, are you a true polytheist (one who believes in many gods), or a pantheist (one who believes that the universe is infused with "godliness")?


Is this for me?
I know thatthe avatars/deities that I used to pray are actual and not human.

Let me tell you what I know myself. I am not talking of belief but knowledge. God is unknown quanitity. Nobody knows him/her except the enlightened ones who have become one with him/her. God created all these deities for a particular work. All are assigned work. God is in all of us. Universe is God. If you care to read Vedanta, you will understand how this was logically arrived at thousands of year ago.

They took everything- say, sun, and asked is this God? The answer was no. They took everything one by one and all the answers were no. In Sanscrit we say- Neti, Neti- No, No.

Then what is God? If no single object is God, then all objects are God. pl. read Vedanta for further analysiis. I can not explain this at all on this forum.



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That sounds like pantheism to me, combined with a touch of agnosticism:

"God is everywhere. God is in everything. But we do not and cannot know his true nature."

This makes a bit of sense even to me, an atheist. After all, an atheist is someone who denies the existence of defined gods, not of the unknowable creative force of the universe.

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I'd have to say I tend towards the pantheism answer.

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Originally Posted By: Ali - Atheist Editor
That sounds like pantheism to me, combined with a touch of agnosticism:

"God is everywhere. God is in everything. But we do not and cannot know his true nature."

This makes a bit of sense even to me, an atheist. After all, an atheist is someone who denies the existence of defined gods, not of the unknowable creative force of the universe.


according to Hinduism, to know thetrue nature of God is the object of human birth. I do not understand the meanings of the words- pantheism etc. Could you pl. explain?

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pantheism = godliness is everywhere, in all things
polytheism = there are multiple gods; godliness does not exist but through them

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Then I belive in pantheism.

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So do I. I find this a believable concept. I have always felt closer to the 'Divine Source' (to try putting it into language!) when surrounded by the beauty and majesty of Nature than in any church. What greater cathedral is there than the canopy of a rain forest, or the mountains reaching up to the sky?

I see divinity in a flower, a leaf, and even a blade of grass. Divinity shines for me through the eyes of a child, an animal, and in the rays of the sun or the gentle light of the moon. It twinkles in the stars, and the waters of rivers and oceans bathe my body with what I feel is love.

Sorry! I didn't mean to get all poetic! It just strikes me that way sometimes! (smiles)

Ann.

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i agree Ann


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Originally Posted By: anndidetal
So do I. I find this a believable concept. I have always felt closer to the 'Divine Source' (to try putting it into language!) when surrounded by the beauty and majesty of Nature than in any church. What greater cathedral is there than the canopy of a rain forest, or the mountains reaching up to the sky?

I see divinity in a flower, a leaf, and even a blade of grass. Divinity shines for me through the eyes of a child, an animal, and in the rays of the sun or the gentle light of the moon. It twinkles in the stars, and the waters of rivers and oceans bathe my body with what I feel is love.

Sorry! I didn't mean to get all poetic! It just strikes me that way sometimes! (smiles)

Ann.


Ann, do you write poetry?


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Yes, I do sometimes!

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That is good. Will you send me few of them?


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She will I'm sure, if you like!

Last edited by patience; 04/05/07 06:03 AM.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again....

Proselytizing is not permitted here, nor is baiting, thread-jacking, mudslinging, reverse mudslinging or picking a fight because you think it's fun.

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