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Friday, January 30, 2009

Can o' Worms

Thinking about people's opinions. Most people likely think I'm naff for my belief in spirits. Especially in the belief that I can sometimes talk to them. But I would like to know, what is so wrong with the idea that somehow, somewhere, something of these people that have passed from this world, especially before their time, especially painfully and traumatically, still exist in some way. That they still have a chance. Why the hell is this an inferior belief to the cold, hopeless belief that nothing exists after the demise of these shells we live in? Is it really preferable to have a world that is that cold and mechanical, that we are really all just cogs in a giant machine and have no greater purpose than that? Sorry, but to me, that view just plain blows.

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The Rest Room is Open

I know it's short notice, but my Friendfeed chat room, the Rest Room http://friendfeed.com/…-rest-room will be open tonight (January 30) until midnight Mountain time (MST) if anyone wants to drop in. I considered making an announcement and opening it from 8 to 9 tonight, but its a good thing I didn't. I ended up falling asleep about 5 this afternoon and slept till 9.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Pandora


I put this entry about Pandora on my new Pagan Deities page that I'm creating.

Hesiod must have been dissed by a dame big time, because his misogynistic view of women comes out strong in his rendition of the Pandora myth.

The Pandora myth is thought to have originally appeared in lines 560-612 of Hesiod's (ca. 8th-7th centuries BC) epic poem, the Theogony, although the woman in this piece is unnamed. The following is a summary of the Theogeny.
After bestowing the gift of fire from Prometheus, an angry Zeus decides to bestow a punishment on mankind to compensate for the boon they have been given. He commands Hephaestus to mould from earth the first woman, a "beautiful evil" whose descendants would torment the race of men. Athena dresses the woman in a silvery gown, an embroidered veil, garlands, and an ornate crown of gold.
When the woman first appears before gods and mortals, "wonder seized them" as they looked upon her. But she was "sheer guile, not to be withstood by men."

Hesiod elaborates (590-93):
From her is the race of women and female kind:
of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who
live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,
no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.

Hesiod goes on to lament that men who try to avoid the evil of women by avoiding marriage will fare no better (604-7):

He reaches deadly old age without anyone to tend his years,
and though he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives,
yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them.

Hesiod concedes that occasionally a man finds a good wife, but still (609) "evil contends with good."

Hesiod revisists the Pandora myth Hesiod in his Works and Days.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for Pandora:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Chronological sentence for 20 January 2008

Seeing the intensity of their emotions, the evil angels were intrigued.

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Correction

http://www.openzine.com/…rangeworld Mistake on the original link to the zine. Sorry about that, y'all

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Got something to say?

http://jobkiller.qassia.com/ Share your articles, stories, poems, rants, and well-written promotions on Qassia and earn links to your own blog or website.

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Chronological sentence for 18 January 2009

"But some followed the blighted path of those who promised power over others. These were filled with an unholy passion." (Today's chronological sentence from my novel Lost Beneath the Surface.)

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Crown of Creation

http://adjix.com/ae6a Creative types: if interested, please join me tonight at 9 PM mountain time for the first meeting of the Crown of Creation Club by clicking the Adjix link. This is an informal club for artistic individuals and supporters to encourage and help one another, offering brainstorming to break through creative blocks, CONSTRUCTIVE critique of each others work, places to promote our various efforts, and hopefully a bit of fun. It doesn't matter what sort of artistic work you do or if you're "only" a supportive admirer, you're welcome to come on down. The meeting will last for an hour. Hope to see a few of you there. This is my first time trying to run a chat room, so exercise patience with my noobness!

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Sunday, January 11, 2009

My Mini-Zine

http://www.openzine.com/…rangeworld My first issue of my mini-zine was just uploaded. It may not be pretty, but it's got personality!

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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Facebook Cause: Drive for WFMH

http://apps.facebook.com/…ses/190050

Please join my drive to raise money and awareness for the World Federation for Mental Health.

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Friday, January 09, 2009

The "evils" of witchcraft

Principles of Belief
Created 1974

The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience and needs.

We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity manifest through our own being.

As American Witches, we welcome and respect all life-affirming teachings and traditions, and seek to learn from all and to share our learning within our Council.

It is in this spirit of welcome and cooperation that we adopt these few principles of Wiccan belief. In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to those principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race, color, sex, age, national or cultural origins, or sexual preference.

We therefore ask only that those who seek to identify with us accept these few basic principles:

1.We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.

2.We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

3.We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural," but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

4.We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity - as masculine and feminine - and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

5.We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds - sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc. - and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension or the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

6.We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

7.We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it - a world view and philosophy of life, which we identify as Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way.

8.Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch - but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, de4grees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.

9.We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it.

10.Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.

11.As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future.

12.We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil", nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another.

13.We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

The Unofficial Rule of Lily Strange:
Anyone that interprets any of these principles as evil is a damn idiot. I've had it up to here (indicates arm length over top of head) with zealots.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Shame Shame Shame

There are multitudes of inane idiots with computers. This comes as no surprise. The fact that they are using someone else's tragedy as a platform to spew their stupidity is also no surprise. But the Crusty Curmudgeon found it necessary to respond to their religious intolerance, for all the good that it will do. The post that I responded to is here.
According to Mike Evans of evansradio.com, who does the Hollywood report on the radio station that I listen to, Jett Travolta had been on a very strong seizure medication and had to stop taking it because it was destroying his liver. They were trying other medications but none of these were controlling the seizures. Mike did not say this, but in discussing the incident with a fellow medical professional (I'm an EMT, not a doctor, FYI) it became clear that the next step would have been surgery to separate the hemispheres of the brain. This would in effect short-circuit the detrimental electrical activity that causes seizures.
I am incredibly sick and tired of those petty individuals who are using this tragedy as a platform to bash Scientology, stating that Mr. Travolta and Ms. Preston in effect killed their son because "Scientology does not allow for the use of medication." For my own part, I have never heard any compelling reason to convince me to practice Scientology, but the fact that John Travolta and Kelly Preston did practice it did not make them mindless zombies nor unloving parents. It is a shame that many people's thoughts are still so narrow that they would rather belittle a religious or philosophical practice that they do not personally condone at any cost rather than extend thoughts of kindness to their fellow human being in their time of sorrow.

Friday, January 02, 2009

New Strange Blather

http://newstrangeblather.yonkly.com/ Creative, mystical, and open-minded folks: you can cross-post from my microblog, New Strange Blather, to Twitter. Increase your exposure for your thoughts and products even more! Plus find support from like-minded people.

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Great Radionics Software

http://TwitPWR.com/…nchanterx/

Fellow mystics, check it out. I am! I've had an interest in radionics for many years, so this software piqued my interest. I can see the benefits of using radionics for mystic work. If you're like me and were raised in a religion that tells you that if you wish for something "selfish" such as prosperity you will be punished, it sticks with you even if you no longer believe this sort of thing in your logical mind. Your subconscious is very important in spell work, however, and a negative subconscious message can torpedo the most carefully executed spell. Using radionics bypasses your own subconscious sabotage. Plus it has that scientific edge that we modern people treasure.

Energy is energy, pure and simple. Radionics has been around for many years, but now our modern technology has allowed those knowledgeable in computer programming to greatly improve its execution.

Science meets mysticism with radionics. Take a look at the link above to find out more.

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Thursday, January 01, 2009

Mental Illness = A Crime?

http://www.care2.com/…ail/961442

Is being mentally ill a crime? Please read Mary's story. Her mentally ill brother, a heart patient, died in prison. She wants the justice department to investigate and is being stonewalled. Do not persons with mental illness deserve at least the basic rights? Have we not at least come that far?

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