[Down With Societal Classification!]

This is not what I had in mind when I posted this. I can understand the idea of being proud of your home country, but why can I not be a proud Irishwoman or a proud German as well as a proud American? If I tried to "go back" as some of you have said, I'd be going back dead and in pieces dependent on the amount of ancestry in each of anywhere from three to seven countries.

Additionally, I stated that I cannot stand the necessity of classification in today's world, and yet I see that same vindictiveness perpetuated in some of these posts. We are all children of the same universe, as the ULC motto goes, and we are also children of the Earth Mother, for without her, there is no us. I fail to see any sort of positive outcome from these ideas of living on the Moon or on Mars, for in abandoning the Mother, we are running away from something we no longer appreciate and respect, and in waves, that will happen to all places and planets on which we reside. We must change our outlook and our thoughts if we have any hope of not collapsing in upon ourselves and wiping out the entire race in a pit of self-denial, hatred, and disrespect.

Never has humanity fixed their problems by turning their backs upon it and running away. For the sake of our world, and those who will inherit it as our world continues to turn, please see the effects that your words and actions are having upon all of us. Break down all the barriers of country, creed and race, and see that we are all one family on this world.

Mystical Philosopher Sephira Midnyght

[Down With Societal Classification!]

While I have felt and expressed the same views on the matter, something inside me feels that even the statement "I AM A PROUD MEMBER OF THE HUMAN" RACE" is a statement which attempts at separating us as more important than the rest of creation.

I personally feel as we become more in tune with creation, the statement and thought "I Am" is sufficient. Yet even with this statement the "I" could be the starting point of our separation from complete and total bliss with All That Is. There is no I in God!

I fully agree with you on that point, Fawzo, but I am currently incarnated as a human being. Though I am both part of and child to the Divine Creative One, and thereby connected to the rest of All That Is and Is Not, I feel pride in connection with this form I have been gifted with. As such, I feel right saying that I am a proud member of the human race.

Being part of the All and Nothing is essential, but the comprehension of that is beyond my mortal limitations, and as such, I pin my pride upon the incarnation I find myself in. I meant no separation from That Which Is and Is Not, but a personal acquiescence of this life and form.

Mystical Philosopher Sephira Midnyght

[Beyond The Veil]

I saw a post somewhere on this site regarding the concept of "not knowing what awaits us beyond" and felt that I should allow my voice to be heard.

I believe the comment about not knowing was made by Wizard Adam, but I no longer remember where I read it.

For those who have read my previous post, "Personal Theology", in the Stories, Beliefs, and Trials section of the Roundtable, you know where I come from with this thought. For those who haven't read it, please do so in order to prevent from getting a little confused here.

As I believe in the Divine Creative One, I believe that every way we call upon the Higher Power is proper and works, and as such, believe that the world that awaits us beyond the Veil of Life and Death is whatever it is that we expect to be there. For an example, I am Neo-Pagan, and believe in the tenet of spiritual recycling (reincarnation) in order for our souls to learn all the wisdom of the One. As such, I expect that when my mortal shell can no longer contain my soul, it will travel to a place that I perceive much along the lines of the Arthurian Isle of Avalon. From there, the wisdom of my life is considered, both by me and the Divine Creative One, as the One is teacher to all throughtout all life, both inside and outside of the mortal coil. When time comes for me to return to this world, in a form befitting the next Lesson I must learn, my soul returns to the world.

Additionally, the world is set in layers, since my perception of time is a bit less than linear. See "My "creativolution" Theory" post and the answer I gave to Fawzo. As it is, the world I return to is not always on the same "layer" of reality and time, so the One finds the best world for me to be placed in and sends me there when the time is proper.

I would voice my opinions on the supposed realms beyond for other religions, but my personal views are kind of limited. I'm currently engulfed in reading up on Buddhism, Kabbalistic Judaism, the Lost Gospels of Christianity, the Celtic and Nordic myths, and the Egyptian religious views during the time of the Pharoahs, so I may be able to expound upon this in the near future.

Your thoughts?

Mystical Philosopher Sephira Midnyght

[Down With Societal Classification!]

One of the most present things in our world today is the idea of racial or ethnic classification. On nearly every job application or online survey I have ever filled out, not to mention the tests that we take in school and the like, always ask for the best classification of your ethnic and racial background. For the majority of my life, I clicked Caucasian or White because, as the term dictates, I have a Western European family lineage.

However, as I got older (I'm only 21, by the way), I realized that labeling myself as Caucasian felt wrong - akin to that feeling when you mix orange juice and milk during breakfast (which actually used to get me sick - I grew out of it). I had found out that there is a faint possibility that one of my ancestors was actually Native American, and when I talked with my fiancee's family, I discovered that despite the Hispanic heritage that they exude in cooking and life, his ancestry actually is Puerto Rican (which is an ecclectic breed to begin with), African-American (which can mean that he's ancestrally from one of many locations in the world), and Indian (which explains why he looks Middle Eastern sometimes). This kind of thing makes it impossible to label oneself as a single certain thing.

So, I did something about three and a half years ago that I haven't stopped doing since - whenever I am asked my race on anything, I answer "Other".

Now, for anyone who asks why, here's my reason - I'm dead tired of racial classification and the overbearing existence of racism and the social divisiveness that it breeds. If anyone (though I know hiring companies cannot) asks me why I labeled myself as "Other" when I look Caucasian, I answer simply, "Because I am a member of the Human race".

I fully believe that I am a member of the human race, and hold to that with every fiber of my being. If I really traced back my heritage as far as humanly possible (that sounded like a bad pun), I would probably find that my German ancestry had come from somewhere further east, or that my Irish heritage was actually originally Scottish, but my ancestor decided to move. Or even further back, the possibility of Native American blood is proved true, but their ancestors came to North America from Asia when there was still the connecting piece of land near Alaska (I think it was referred to as the Bering Strait, but I may be wrong). There are so many possibilities as to where my ancestors originated from that I cannot stand to label myself by societal standards any longer, and so, I repeat...

I AM A PROUD MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE.

[My "creativolution" Theory]

Well, I am glad to see someone out there appreciates my thoughts, as well as sees some validity to them.

The few times I attempted to start this discussion with someone other than my fiancee (it was a few of our friends), they immediately got all self-righteous about the Bible and the fact that evolution isn't held as a valid viewpoint in that book. People in high schoool and at my job with UPS looked at me like I had a second head and walked away.

To Wizard Adam - I'm flattered, but like you said, I'm engaged and you're married. Part of me is a little sorry that my fiancee isn't into theological or philosophical debates and discussions, but I am thankful for groups such as this one that open up a door for me where my significant other hasn't. It isn't that he's not interested or that he's against my practices - it's just that he doesn't like discussing it because he doesn't really know where he stands with religion in his life. He wants to find his own way, and part of that involves keeping me out of the majority of his spiritual journey. Which, of course, I can fully understand. Each person must find their own way, and no one can ever tell them what it is. All that can be offered is advice on ways to find it, and that is when he listens to me.

Additionally, I agree that true reality is something we fail to perceive. Reality is a state of perception and existence solely dependent on our personal experiences and mental faculties. With what limited knowledge we gain in life, we try to sort out what we know, but always that view remains colored by our inner thoughts and feelings. That is one of the reasons that I value intercommunication like we have here at the ULC forum - it allows one to see the world through a new pair of lenses and under different circumstances, and that is something that I value highly as part of the human race. We can see through many eyes and with different histories, and we see more than that which is right in front of us - in a way, we are, as a whole, piecing the puzzle together.

To Fawzo - my theory about God's omnipotence is in some way altered by the character Clockwork from the show Danny Phantom. He describes himself as seeing "the parade from above" when referring to time. It isn't a straight line that we travel in the whole picture of eternity - it's a river that occasionally hits a rise in the landscape and moves onto a new course in order to keep on moving. Linear ideas of time are a mortal, finite concept, because trying to fully grasp the idea that every decision made in every person's life affect the River is just too much for our mind to process. As such, God (keeping with the Christian terminology) can see many of the ways that things will work out, but the idea of free will and the fact that He's not just moving pieces on some grand chessboard affect His vision. It's a constantly changing miasma of chance and possibility, never quite the same as it was before, just as the images from a kaleidoscope never seem to repeat themselves. As the kaleidoscope spins, the image within becomes something new. Change has altered the vision.

[My "creativolution" Theory]

I am including herein the participation post I submitted in my online classes last week. I tried to get my classmates to discuss this, but there was only one response, and even that was only eleven words long. I was hoping to see what others thought of this topic since my classmates seemed hesitant or resistant to the idea.

Thank you for your opinions, and please note, this is a direct copy of my assignment post, so nothing has been edited or removed. There are a few apologies included because four of my classmates, in their biographical introductions, mentioned that they were either Catholic or Christian.

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In our assignment last week regarding the scientific theories that have been presented to the world, the first one in the Chapter reading was Darwin's famous (or is it infamous?) theory regarding evolution. Now, throughout the years, this theory has been hotly contested, but nowhere in my life have I seen it catch more heat than from religious groups. In direct opposition to the Creation we are told about in the Bible, evolution seems to, in the eyes of some, try to dispute the claim that God made man and all the creatures of Earth, explaining away all things as one thing growing and mutating into another in order to survive.

Personally, and I do not wish to upset anyone with this thought, but what if both theories are right? I have brought this subject up with my fiancee once, but he is not a big fan of any sort of theological discussions. Therefore, I present it to you, and I hope that you take an open-minded approach to what I am about to say. However, I will apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I tend to be a little forward in my views on this particular topic.

If you were God (pardon the bluntness), you would have all of Eternity to spend creating a vast and wonderful tapestry of life and beauty. As it is, I find myself figuring that all that time leads to some degree of boredom. True, you have the power of creation and destruction at your fingertips, but you have to have something to pass the time other than just sitting there.

And here comes the beacon of not-boredom: Creativity. Why not test out what happens to certain creatures if you plant them in different environments? So, here you are in the middle of a vast nothingness and BOOM! The power to create just unleashed a cataclysmic amount of energy and material into the void of space. So, with millennia to spend, you watch the wild materials you unleashed start to coalesce into something, much like kids nowadays watch crystals grow in those little home crystal growing kits. Cool, huh? Over the next who-cares-how-long, a few of these somethings become stars, others become planets, and the Universe is just sitting at your hands, waiting for Stage 2 of development.

So, now you find a planet that seems that it can do okay when it comes to supporting life forms. Little by little, you introduce new species to that planet here and there, watching how it grows and develops, adjusting to the environment. Once it can support enough wild vegetation, why not introduce something to eat the vegetation? Creation gives rise to the animal kingdom. Not only that, but you create smaller creatures that help aid the world in its cycles of life and death - and there was bacteria.

But wait! All the animals are eating all the plants, and they are not dying off fast enough to keep a sustainable environment possible. Why not have something else to eat the animals? (Please note, God just built the foundations of the food chain.) So, voila! More animals! And why not introduce little things into the world that can be eaten by the smaller animals, like krill or algae? The fish need something to eat. And bugs for the birds. You get my drift.

And on and on it goes, the Universe's greatest scientist watching what His creations do with the world they have been gifted with, observing and changing things little by little, or by a lot, (look, I just explained hurricanes!) to see how they all respond. Gifted with different abilities, each finds their own way to survive in a sometimes hostile environment, while others suffer for their lack of ability to survive or escape catastrophe (Natural selection, anyone?).

Sorry if that was long-winded, and I apologize again if I offended anyone. It is just a thought, and one that I would like to know what others think about it. Thank you for reading and for your patience, and if you reply, thank you for that, too.

[Discussion Of Time]

I read a few of the things in the Fabric of Time post, and it got me thinking about something.

I am a fan of the now-cancelled TV show Danny Phantom, and there is one thing that the "Master of Time" character, the ghost Clockwork, said.

"The Observants look at time like they're watching a parade - one thing after another passing by in sequence right in front of them. I see the parade from above - all the twists and turns it might - or might not - take."

There's a lot more to our lives than just the path we have seen so far, the path we label the past, and we fail to understand time and our lives outside of the linear flow that our eyes and minds see. In this, we often fail to see how our lives could have been changed by a decision we have made. A perfect example is the fact that, one day, I decided that I didn't want to spend my ride home on the subway in Chicago, so I opted to take the bus. That night, I found out that the train that I would have been taking to get home derailed, and although there were no serious injuries, I was pregnant at the time. So many things could have been different, and the thought never crossed my mind until I found out that night what had happened.

Regarding time, I see time as a river, a vast river running from the beginning of time until its end. However, rather than being one straight line, it branches off again and again into little tributaries, changing its flow as the world changes, moving onto a different path because of the choices that have been made and the events that have transpired.

Just wanting to know if anyone else has ever had a moment like this, or what they think about the flow of time comment.

Sephira Midnyght

[Personal Theology]

To Fawzo, I experience the deities as ethereal entities, as powerful spirits within our world and among us when we need them to be. The mention of the horns of the stag is just the mental image I bring to mind when I call to them, so as to strengthen the bond between us. It works much in the same way as connecting names to the face of a person you know, allowing you to call out to them in the middle of a crowded airport to get their attention.

To Hexalpa, yes, it is metaphoric, not actual. What I said to Fawzo answers your question as well.

To fidelis, you mentioned that you find divinity as both energy and entity. They are energy alone to me, their being (or entity) experienced as a solely ethereal thing. However, I do experience a physical side of their power in being outdoors, as their creation breathes and lives with them, as a part of them. Just looking for your thoughts on this.

To emalpaiz, thank you for your warm welcome.

Sephira Midnyght

[Personal Theology]

One thing that I've come to find throughout my life is that there is never enough time to enjoy everything there is to enjoy about living. This is often compounded by the fact that a lot of people out there will try to push their faith on you, saying things such as 'Our way is the one and only true way to God'. If that's true, then why are there so many faiths that want to preach that they have the found the one true path to God? Doesn't that make some of the ones preaching their 'true' paths liars?

Personally, I don't think that there is such a thing as one and only one true path to God. Technically, I don't believe in God anyway. I believe in the Divine Creative One, who is both male and female, yet is also neither. This One is the perfection and existence of all things within itself: male and female, light and darkness, sorrow and joy, and is the reason that all things exist (and yes, I mean that the One is responsible for pain and suffering).

The names that we give to the deities, whether it be Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, God, The Goddess, The Almighty Father...it's all the same power. The names are just that: names. They are our way of familiarizing ourselves with the Divine, just like we learn the names of our friends so that we are able to talk to them without having to say, "Hey, you! Yeah, you!" in order to get their attention. When we drop to our knees, bow our heads, turn our eyes to the sky, raise our hands, or however else we pray, we call out to the Divine One through the invocation of the name we have been taught to address it by.

Now, I'm not saying that I have found the one true way for everyone. I have only found the true way to the Divine for myself, and that is all that is truly important. To each their own, and if you feel that connection, that sense of being in the presense of the Divine, when you worship, then all the blessings of the Divine One upon you for finding that comfort in their presence.

Me, I'll fully admit that, yes, I am a Neopagan, but that does not mean that I am evil, nor does it mean that I worship the Christian devil. Satan is not a name by which I address the cosmos, so therefore, I do not believe in him. Yes, many of the gods of my faith bear the horns of the stag, the ram, or the bull, but I do not worship the Christian Prince of Darkness. No, I worship the Horned Lords of the Hunt, masters of the wild world in which we all try to live. I worship the Goddess as Mother Earth, as the fertile and sacred Mother of us all, for without her precious womb (Earth), none of us could survive. Yes, I call upon the God and Goddess, yet I do so with the understanding that they are but names for something beyond human comprehension, something so great that it would require the perfect language to express it, a perfection that I, as a mortal, cannot achieve. I use the names to make sense of the infinite and the nothing, for that is truly what the Divine One is, both everything and nothing, for the Divine One is all things at once.

I see every moment of life as sacred and special, something given to us by a Higher Power that is to be treasured and taken care of. I see the Divine One in every living creature, in every stone and river and even in the air, because nature is part of the Divine One's creation.

To each of you who reads this, I do not push my faith upon you, nor do I push my belief of the Divine One. I post this only to show what my understanding of the Higher Power we all seek for is, for that is my only goal - to speak to others what I see if only to let them know what I believe.

Sephira Midnyght