goddessing

In the West people tend to separate their meditation practice from their lives. Ajahn Chah emphasized that "if you have time to breathe you have time to meditate." You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down.

Buddhist Monk Ajahn Amaro, Inquiring Mind interview (12:1), as quoted at The Path to Nirvana

Do we, as Pagans, separate our practice from our lives? We could easily say no. Our spiritual practices are intimately bound up with our lives. And yet it's an interesting question.

No doubt in the middle of activism or yard-work we're at an intersection of Pagan practice and life. When we work at our altars, our focus is usually about our lives, here and now (or a soon-to-be present). But what about when walking, talking on the phone, buying groceries, doing laundry, taking the kids to soccer, doing our money-work, arguing with our spouses? Do we separate those things out from what we consider to be spiritual practice?

We're a diverse lot, so one Pagan's spiritual practice is not necessarily another's. Some of us meditate for quieting the mind, some for being fully present with the mind, others for giving deep mind the time to communicate with conscious mind. Some of us don't meditate at all, considering meditation a non-Pagan spiritual practice.

These days, my mind is full of what I see — beauty, order, leaves turning yellow; of what I hear — the chit of the chipmonk, the chatter of birds at the feeder, the deep tones of the alto chimes hanging high in the oak by the porch; of what I feel — awe and pride and gratitude at my healing and recovery, a deeper, more complex love for my spouse, fear, uncertainty, urgency, hope; of what I do — cook, clean, craft, create wealth. The Goddess most in my mind and heart is Hestia — domestic flame, She Who has no human form. In Hestia, in the hearth, the mystic is deeply rooted in the mundane.

Labels: goddess, quotes / quotations, spiritual practice

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