aroraborealis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aroraborealis) wrote2006-08-14 02:28 pm
aroraborealis) wrote2006-08-14 02:28 pm
Why Twilight Covening
Several people are surprised, nay, shocked to learn that I'm going to Twilight Covening and have been curious as to why. I had a good conversation on IM recently that I was going to turn into this post, but then my computer consumed the conversation without consulting me, so I'll just have to recreate it here.
As pretty much all of you know, I can be pretty snarky and skeptical about what I call "wifty" stuff, which includes things like talking to spirits, prophetic dreams, energy work, the whole category of "magic", anything that's like divination, and etc. I like lots of people who are into this sort of thing, but I also mock them (friendly-ly, and with affection, but still) and don't take any of that stuff particularly seriously. At the same time, as a skeptic, I also have to look with a critical eye at science and say that it's obvious that what we know now isn't all there is to know, and I suspect there's a lot about how things in the world fit together that we don't yet know about. That said, I'm not convinced that people doing wifty stuff really Know, either, but that's neither here nor there.
One of the things that I like about wifty stuff, though, is the opportunity to get personal (and/or group) insight and introspection. I look at it as a somewhat expanded version of the old coin toss as a method to find out how I really feel trick (where I flip a coin and see if I hope for one or the other outcome, or see how I feel about the one I get): I've heard people describe reading tarot cards in the same way, and this makes sense to me. I know others use tarot in more prophetic ways, and let's just say my jury eyes that sort of thing rather skeptically.
Anyway, Twilight Covening has struck me as a place that I could approach the wifty stuff that I find interesting and compelling in a fun way: the whole clan aspect is interesting to me, and, of course, I'm currently playing a lot with thinking about natural systems and connections, and how people fit into those. Mythical archetypes are useful as placeholders for thinking about a number of things, both personal and systemic, and that's how I'm thinking about them, here. And, of course, I'm curious to explore a broad category of what I'm calling altered states, from trance and meditation to... who knows what? And this seems like a good opportunity to get into some of that.
I like the earth-systems focus of the weekend, at least as I understand it, and I asked a friend if I had to be wifty and magical to enjoy myself there, and she told me I have to be okay dealing with earthy-crunchy hippy-types (of which it could be argued I am one, so that's no problem) and not twitch when people say things like "feel the energy of the earth." She assured me that I would not have to say that, so I expect that I'll be fine.
It strikes me as the kind of thing that what I get out of it has a lot to do with what I bring and put into it. Since I'm an indomitable pollyanna, I can find something good and useful out of pretty much anything, and I expect that not to be a big challenge in this case, since what I'm anticipating is a weekend of new experience and connecting to interesting people. I also expect to find a lot of the people annoying and overly wifty for my tastes, but that happens at parties here in Camberville, too, so big deal.
So, to sum up, I'm going because a) interesting opportunities for being introspective, b) interesting opportunities for connecting with other people, c) playing with altered states, and d) trying new things!
As pretty much all of you know, I can be pretty snarky and skeptical about what I call "wifty" stuff, which includes things like talking to spirits, prophetic dreams, energy work, the whole category of "magic", anything that's like divination, and etc. I like lots of people who are into this sort of thing, but I also mock them (friendly-ly, and with affection, but still) and don't take any of that stuff particularly seriously. At the same time, as a skeptic, I also have to look with a critical eye at science and say that it's obvious that what we know now isn't all there is to know, and I suspect there's a lot about how things in the world fit together that we don't yet know about. That said, I'm not convinced that people doing wifty stuff really Know, either, but that's neither here nor there.
One of the things that I like about wifty stuff, though, is the opportunity to get personal (and/or group) insight and introspection. I look at it as a somewhat expanded version of the old coin toss as a method to find out how I really feel trick (where I flip a coin and see if I hope for one or the other outcome, or see how I feel about the one I get): I've heard people describe reading tarot cards in the same way, and this makes sense to me. I know others use tarot in more prophetic ways, and let's just say my jury eyes that sort of thing rather skeptically.
Anyway, Twilight Covening has struck me as a place that I could approach the wifty stuff that I find interesting and compelling in a fun way: the whole clan aspect is interesting to me, and, of course, I'm currently playing a lot with thinking about natural systems and connections, and how people fit into those. Mythical archetypes are useful as placeholders for thinking about a number of things, both personal and systemic, and that's how I'm thinking about them, here. And, of course, I'm curious to explore a broad category of what I'm calling altered states, from trance and meditation to... who knows what? And this seems like a good opportunity to get into some of that.
I like the earth-systems focus of the weekend, at least as I understand it, and I asked a friend if I had to be wifty and magical to enjoy myself there, and she told me I have to be okay dealing with earthy-crunchy hippy-types (of which it could be argued I am one, so that's no problem) and not twitch when people say things like "feel the energy of the earth." She assured me that I would not have to say that, so I expect that I'll be fine.
It strikes me as the kind of thing that what I get out of it has a lot to do with what I bring and put into it. Since I'm an indomitable pollyanna, I can find something good and useful out of pretty much anything, and I expect that not to be a big challenge in this case, since what I'm anticipating is a weekend of new experience and connecting to interesting people. I also expect to find a lot of the people annoying and overly wifty for my tastes, but that happens at parties here in Camberville, too, so big deal.
So, to sum up, I'm going because a) interesting opportunities for being introspective, b) interesting opportunities for connecting with other people, c) playing with altered states, and d) trying new things!
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I'm at best a secular pagan, akin to being a secular jew, and fairly skeptical. I've rarely had to "put my church face on". They keep the language pretty generic.
I'm currently playing a lot with thinking about natural systems and connections, and how people fit into those. Mythical archetypes are useful as placeholders for thinking about a number of things, both personal and systemic, and that's how I'm thinking about them, here.
Hmm, never thought about at it from that perspective! I'll be interested to read your observations afterward.
I also expect to find a lot of the people annoying and overly wifty for my tastes, but that happens at parties here in Camberville, too, so big deal.
Hee!
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This is pretty much how I look at it. Having *been* a scientist, I can say that open-mindedness and true investigative curiosity and technique can be rarer than you think. My immediate reaction to anyone who claims to Know the Truth, be they scientist or pagan, is to want to argue for the other side. I think of my own practice as empirical, I'll try stuff and note the results, then try again and see what aspects can be repeated. There's lots of things I now do that I don't have the rational basis for yet, but that may come in time ... or it may not. :) Not having a theory doesn't change the fact that some things work.
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And you've summarized a lot of what I think about wifty stuff (I keep reading wifitti there!). I would add to it the research being done about meditation and other spiritual disciplines and how they affect not just biology but biochemistry and biopharmacology. Blood pressure, depression, blood sugar and other disorders have been dramatically affected by spiritual discipline. So I feel like the sprit/science divide is not nearly as wide as both sides often think it is.
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And I would like to talk about this (Covening, not so much the forehead ridges) more with you.
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I can't remember if you have my real email address, but my LJ one works and I'll write back to you from the right one if you'd like :)
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This is actually another reason that I think it could be good for me to go. Challenging myself to get the fuck over myself on at least some of this stuff seems useful :)
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I went to TC the year before last and it was a positive experience on the whole. One thing I did feel, though, especially compared to many other events of its kind that I've been to, is that it had a bit of a "theme park" kind of atmosphere. I also felt very much like I was frequently being told how and what I should be feeling, rather than be able to be in my own moment with my own feelings.
(This was especially true of the big event thingie at the end, which I enjoyed much more once I decided to just think of it as an amusement park ride rather than a spiritual journey.)
You may see what I mean or you may not, but I do feel that if I'd been told this ahead of time, I would have had an even more positive experience myself, so perhaps it will be helpful, anyway.
I'm certainly glad I went (and glad I chose Wolf Clan), but I don't know if I'll go back.