Keeping the Sacred Flame

A place to discuss the religion and philosophy of the Sacred Flame, HeartShadow's personal religion. Also random other thoughts of HeartShadow's as she feels like posting them.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Inspired by Gods

The Divine uses many ways to try and communicate with us. Some of these means are subtle inner promptings from within. But sometimes the Divine works through gods.

The gods are indivduals, like us, but closer to an understanding of their Divine nature. They work with people on an individual basis, using images and words to break into our mundane existance.

So what does it mean to deal with a god directly? What does it mean not to?

Having a god bothering one directly is no sign of especial holiness. We are all equal in the eyes of the Divine. Being godbothered, instead, is a sign of having work to do. There is something that we are particularly suited to do, and we have been chosen to do it. And being godbothered can also be a sign that we are being particularly thickheaded, as we cannot find our calling without direct pushing.

To be godbothered is to be called for something specific. This does not mean that there aren't other things we need to do as well. It simply means that we have a specific task. It's not a sign of holiness or something to be especially proud over. It is simply a calling and a way to improve the Universe that we are called to do.

Questions:
What does being called to a task mean to you?
If you could be called by any god, who would that be and why? What do gods mean to you?
Would you rather be called to a task or choose your own? Why?
Personal thoughts

Monday, September 18, 2006

Nurturing each other

Everyone at the beginning of life has at least one person that nurtures them. Someone to change diapers, bathe, feed and cuddle them in their little baby state.

We grow out of being babies, but we don't grow out of needing other people to love and care for us. We do grow into loving and caring for other people, if we grow up healthy. We all need nurturing and caring, both of ourselves and each other.

What does it mean to nurture each other? Who's job is it? I think it's everyone's job. It's often shuffled off into the concept of "women's work", the nurturing jobs. Mother, teacher, nurse. Nurturing itself is often seen as a "woman's job". It's also seen as not important, a lesser job that needs doing when everything more important is done.

Nurturing is of prime importance. And caring for each other as we nurture each other is of prime importance. It's a hard job and a thankless one, because when it is done correctly, it is invisible. The baby is happy and fed, the dinner is ready, the spouse is coddled. Everything is done. It is only when things are not done that nurturing is seen: the screaming child, the screaming spouse, the pain of rejection. Then there is anger, because things aren't done, and no one is cared for.

We need to care for each other. We need to celebrate nurturing and treat it with the respect and value it deserves. Without it, we are all lost. With it, we are all loved and cared for.

Questions:
Who do you nurture? How?
Who nurtures you? How?
How do you value those that nurture you? Do you think it's enough?
Personal thoughts

Monday, September 11, 2006

Minion Day FlameKeepers

They exist in every religion: those people that show up for the holy days, or even regular services, mouth the correct responses at the correct times, and then disappear. Those people for whom faith is an obligation to be taken care of as quickly as possible and then ignored for the rest of the time as something meaningless.

What does that mean for the faithful? It's difficult to work had at something and love it, and see someone else treat it as garbage. So what does it mean? Nothing.

Spirituality is something where you get out of it what you put into it. There are no shortcuts, no easy answers. No quick and dirty ways to enlightenment. The people that treat spirituality is something you do for an hour on the weekends or a social obligation are missing what it can be, certainly, but that's their loss.

It's very easy to get caught up into a comparison game. Who is more spiritual? Who's getting the most out of this? Am I getting what I "should be" out of this? The truth, though, is that all of that is completely irrelevant. You get what you give out of your spiritual life. It's personal, and it's your own work that matters. You can't do another person's work, and they can't do yours.

Someone else using FlameKeeping (or any other religion) as a social stepping stone or other non-spiritual purpose is not a threat to you or your religion. It's just a waste of their own potential.

Questions:
What do you put into your spirituality? What do you get out of it?
What do you think of people that treat spirituality as one more weekly meeting? Do you do that? Do people you care for?
Why are you a FlameKeeper? What do you bring to it? What does it bring to you?
Personal thoughts

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Setting goals and having dreams

An important part of FlameKeeping is seeking to improve the Universe. But that takes small steps as well as large goals, or nothing is ever done.

What goals you pick are up to you. How you pick them, however, is in part a religious matter. FlameKeeping is not a path for those who dream only, but a path for those who dream and then act.

Dreams are singularly useless when not put into action. I can dream of a world without hunger, but if all I do is dream, the dream is useless. There must be concrete goals attached to the dream as well, goals that are actually attainable. Things like working for a food bank are concrete. Finding ways to make a food bank more efficient at the same time is better. Or perhaps one would go into political work and seek to address the causes of hunger, or create a charity that helps grow food specifically for the poor. There are many ways to deal with hunger. Simply sitting and dreaming about it, however, does nothing. Nor does deciding the system is broken and then refusing to act.

Our dreams need to be out of reach to make us strive for them. A world without dreams to reach for is dead. But we must also find concrete ways to make our goals come true. If we do nothing, then we know the Universe will not be improved. We may make a mess if we try, but then we can clean it up as best we can. What is certain is that if we do nothing, nothing will happen at all.

There is no leaving the system.

Questions:
What do you think needs improvement most? How do you work on it?
Are there things you think need improvement but you refuse to act on? Why?
Can you distinguish between your dreams and your goals? Are they set too high? too low?
Personal thoughts