This is a stupid question but I'm going to ask anyway thread

[Adalyna]

I think it's finally time I asked right out, in this forum. The pathways thread moves to slowly for something I've honestly lost sleep over. When I first joined, I discussed culture rape, and my juvenile, understanding of it. I believe in Faeries, and my concept of "Faerie" is more based on a modern, primarily fictional notion, than anything else. It's difficult to admit that, but after a while of feeling sad and depressed and trying to give it up, saying it's not real, it's just a bunch of stories, for some reason I still believe. So here is the bottom line I'm trying to ask. Since much of the modern day myths regarding faeries, has descended from a plethora of traditions, some open, some closed, is my belief in and of itself, an act of culture rape, even if I try to separate it from the cultures it derived from in the name of honesty? What of the things I call faeries? I try not to name an entity or go looking for them and so I rarely call a thing anything more specific than "Faerie" but let's pretend that for argument's sake I believed in an Elf, a Pixie, a Goblin, a Sprite, and a Troll, specifically, do any of these creatures come from spiritual traditions at all, or merely from fiction and children scary stories from the Victorian era? What of elves, is there a point where a word falls into generic enough use not to presume that it speaks of a specific culture, or is using 'Elf' always referring to the elves in Asatru? I will not say that whether or not my entities are thought-forms is irrelevant, but their value to me is not lost, or even greatly damaged by them being thought-forms, or actual entities, or a mixture of the two. What I care far more about, is are they disrespectful, dishonest, or do they imply a notion of entitlement to any traditions that I am not a part of, which is to say... pretty much any tradition. I'm actually embarrassed to ask this, because I felt my beliefs would be written off as puerile, however I've honestly lost nights and nights of sleep over the fear that I was being disrespectful and dishonest by the very nature of my beliefs, so I'd rather finally know, and face up to it, or move on and enjoy life. I've spent months toiling over this.  

[CuAnnan]

Asahi Sara

I will not say that whether or not my entities are thought-forms is irrelevant, but their value to me is not lost, or even greatly damaged by them being thought-forms, or actual entities, or a mixture of the two.

If you acknowledge them for what they are and are up front and honest about it, I can't see how anyone would be offended.  

[Adalyna]

CuAnnan

Asahi Sara

I will not say that whether or not my entities are thought-forms is irrelevant, but their value to me is not lost, or even greatly damaged by them being thought-forms, or actual entities, or a mixture of the two.

If you acknowledge them for what they are and are up front and honest about it, I can't see how anyone would be offended.

I am a bit confused still... my stance tends to be that I do not know, or possess the capacity, at least at this time, whether or not they are thought-forms or not. I don't not mean to be argumentative or defensive, but just so I understand better, let's pretend I earnestly believed they were what I thought they were, and that my personal illusions we're dead accurate, if that we're the case, but I were not claiming them to be the entities of another culture, is it still culture rape? Or do their names, or behaviors in and of themselves imply specific traditions?

I'm sorry for my questions, it's difficult for me to sort out the boundaries of this, and it's a bit reminiscent of when my best friend's father explains machinery and electronics to me. even when he tries to simplify it or dumb it down, its still too complex for me because my level of comprehension is so much below his, as an engineer formerly employed by jet propulsion laboratory. I have nowhere near the understanding of traditions or culture that you do, so it's difficult for me to see where you are coming from.  

[TeaDidikai]

Asahi Sara

What of elves, is there a point where a word falls into generic enough use not to presume that it speaks of a specific culture, or is using 'Elf' always referring to the elves in Asatru?

Part of it is that there are titles that are misapplied to other beings. For example, I have heard some of the spirits within my culture called "Forest Elves". It's a gross misnomer in the same way that calling me a Shaman would be. Not only is there a culturally accurate term for both of these, but the nature of the titles do not carry the same meaning.

Quote:

What I care far more about, is are they disrespectful, dishonest, or do they imply a notion of entitlement to any traditions that I am not a part of, which is to say... pretty much any tradition. I'm actually embarrassed to ask this, because I felt my beliefs would be written off as puerile, however I've honestly lost nights and nights of sleep over the fear that I was being disrespectful and dishonest by the very nature of my beliefs, so I'd rather finally know, and face up to it, or move on and enjoy life. I've spent months toiling over this.

I have a person solution you are welcome to use. The term Otherling has two applications. It is used to describe known beings as a whole that do not fall into the realm of non-corporeal human, deity or thoughtform, as well as a place-holder for what may be a specific kind of being that doesn't fall inside those bounds when dealing with other people's traditions, since often there are titles that aren't crosscultural.

Now here comes the catch if it is a Thoughtform. My practice is to test something to determine it's nature as independent or Thoughtform. Some Thoughtforms are shaped like other things, so an accurate description would be "Otherling Shaped Thoughtform" or merely Otherling, allowing specific conversations and discussions to determine context as to which you are addressing.

Asahi Sara

I am a bit confused still... my stance tends to be that I do not know, or possess the capacity, at least at this time, whether or not they are thought-forms or not. I don't not mean to be argumentative or defensive, but just so I understand better, let's pretend I earnestly believed they were what I thought they were, and that my personal illusions we're dead accurate, if that we're the case, but I were not claiming them to be the entities of another culture, is it still culture rape? Or do their names, or behaviors in and of themselves imply specific traditions?

The side of caution to avoid offense would be to allow context alongside a disclaimer to address the situation.

"I don't know what the thing I experienced was, be it thoughtform or an actual X, but it resembled what I have read about X".

Part of the education process is that your understanding of X may be called into question and people may seek to know your sources in order to contrast them with established traditions.

Quote:

I have nowhere near the understanding of traditions or culture that you do, so it's difficult for me to see where you are coming from.

The fact that you're trying speaks volumes.  

[CuAnnan]

TeaDidikai

Quote:

I have nowhere near the understanding of traditions or culture that you do, so it's difficult for me to see where you are coming from.

The fact that you're trying speaks volumes.

This.  

[TeaDidikai]

CuAnnan

This.

3nodding

Asahi Sara, it's all a process.
Most of the regs "have their s**t together" from an outside perspective. And to different extents, we do.

Doesn't mean we were born like this. Conversations with me fifteen years ago would not have looked anything like the conversations I have today. Hell, conversations offline don't always look like the ones online.  

[Adalyna]

TeaDidikai

CuAnnan

This.

3nodding

Asahi Sara, it's all a process.
Most of the regs "have their s**t together" from an outside perspective. And to different extents, we do.

Doesn't mean we were born like this. Conversations with me fifteen years ago would not have looked anything like the conversations I have today. Hell, conversations offline don't always look like the ones online.

I just want you guys to know this little bit of encouragement actually means a lot to me. My friends keep asking why I need your "approval" for my beliefs, but it's not about approval. I'd be lying if I said acceptance within the guild didn't matter, but I also want to be able to express, talk about, and grow in my beliefs with a clear conscience knowing I'm not misrepresenting, insulting, or lying about anyone else's traditions. It's easy for me when discussing titles like "Wicca" or "Druid" being misused, because I don't need special titles for my beliefs, and I'd rather not call something what it's not.

As far as the otherlings, and/or thought-forms in my own beliefs, the reason I tend to use the term "Faerie" is because I believe the stories that I associate with Faerie, IE Victorian to modern stories, to be inspired by entities that actually exist, however embellished or flavored the stories might be. If calling them faeries isn't correct, I guess that doesn't really matter, so much as how they behave and work and the nature of the magic their associated with. I use the term for specificity, as my close friends and significant other know well what I mean when I do use the word Faerie. That said, I'm not bringing that up as a challenge, but just explaining how I was thinking when I used the word.

At any rate as far as whether or not they are thought-forms or actual otherlings, I believe myself to be incapable of seeing them how they actually look, without my personal tastes and ideas affecting their appearance and even their behavior, unless they appeared before me physically, though I do believe they come from something.

At any rate, it sounds like your saying it's culture rape to call them Faeries, unless i know for sure its an actual faerie... How can I know something like that for sure? And who's definition of Faerie is the correct one? Again, these questions, are not meant as a challenge or argument, but I believe that when the boundaries are clearer to me, I can go about this freely within an intellectually honest context.  

[Aino Ailill]

What is a thought-form?  

[Adalyna]

Aino Ailill

What is a thought-form?

It's a thoughtform that got filtered through the spellchecker on my computer razz . At any rate my basic understanding is an entity of energy shaped by a person or group of persons. A fictional, cultural icon can be a thoughtform, because even though its fictional, it exists on some level, by proxy of the acknowledgment of its existence.

I guess your better off asking someone with more experience, as I'm having a difficult time explaining it.  

[Aino Ailill]

Asahi Sara

Aino Ailill

What is a thought-form?

It's a thoughtform that got filtered through the spellchecker on my computer razz . At any rate my basic understanding is an entity of energy shaped by a person or group of persons. A fictional, cultural icon can be a thoughtform, because even though its fictional, it exists on some level, by proxy of the acknowledgment of its existence.

I guess your better off asking someone with more experience, as I'm having a difficult time explaining it.

I think you answered my question quite nicely. heart I wasn't certain whether it was something made real to an individual (they perceive what is not there) or whether it was something made real on a more broad scope. It is the latter?  

[Wrath of Ezekiel]

Aino Ailill

Asahi Sara

Aino Ailill

What is a thought-form?

It's a thoughtform that got filtered through the spellchecker on my computer razz . At any rate my basic understanding is an entity of energy shaped by a person or group of persons. A fictional, cultural icon can be a thoughtform, because even though its fictional, it exists on some level, by proxy of the acknowledgment of its existence.

I guess your better off asking someone with more experience, as I'm having a difficult time explaining it.

I think you answered my question quite nicely. heart I wasn't certain whether it was something made real to an individual (they perceive what is not there) or whether it was something made real on a more broad scope. It is the latter?

It can be both. For example, people can make lower forms of thought forms to accomplish certain tasks, while an example of the latter would be a spirit or entity that a group really believes exists kind of like Santa Claus. Yes, he's thought to be a real thought form do to the amount belief put into him by children over generations.  

[TeaDidikai]

Asahi Sara

I just want you guys to know this little bit of encouragement actually means a lot to me. My friends keep asking why I need your "approval" for my beliefs, but it's not about approval. I'd be lying if I said acceptance within the guild didn't matter, but I also want to be able to express, talk about, and grow in my beliefs with a clear conscience knowing I'm not misrepresenting, insulting, or lying about anyone else's traditions. It's easy for me when discussing titles like "Wicca" or "Druid" being misused, because I don't need special titles for my beliefs, and I'd rather not call something what it's not.

No problem. Deo made a thread that encouraged a lot of folks.

Quote:

At any rate, it sounds like your saying it's culture rape to call them Faeries, unless i know for sure its an actual faerie... How can I know something like that for sure? And who's definition of Faerie is the correct one? Again, these questions, are not meant as a challenge or argument, but I believe that when the boundaries are clearer to me, I can go about this freely within an intellectually honest context.

I typically turn to etymology to deliver context when it comes to English because other cultures and languages often had formal titles for their otherlings that people who write books in English have a habit of homogenizing.

Aino Ailill

I wasn't certain whether it was something made real to an individual (they perceive what is not there) or whether it was something made real on a more broad scope. It is the latter?

There are cosmological systems that suggest that the creation of a thought is as "real" as any other thing, but it is simply not corporeal.  

[Maze]

I'm looking for.. either a path or a .. uh.. thing - hah, way to be specific - collection of methods, maybe, where you turn your hands on and.. give people boosts.

Or turn pain off.

Or a combination of both, I'm not sure.

The boosting is usually coupled with an increase of body-heat (especially around the hands as I use them to pass on said boosts) and I was wondering if this was something that anybody recognized.

It appears to occur naturally - I went to work today and I noticed my hand was on (tingly). Later on, a former teacher showed up feeling crap. I gave him a bit of a massage (I'm tactile with folk I know and care about) and he felt better.

.. And warmer.

I also spilled hot tea across my hand and felt nothing. I mean, I know it went over it, but there was no pain and as I look at my hand now, there's no discolouration of 'burnt flesh', whereas the same area has a decidedly discoloured patch of flesh where I burnt it the week before.

I've been able to turn people's pain off from time to time before (mind, I don't heal, I just.. turn it off or.. make it go away for a bit) but today made me wonder because my hand was still on when the tea went over it and the other times I spilled tea of the same warmth (fresh from the machine) over it, I did receive burn marks.

This stuff usually doesn't work when I try to make it work, so I probably need a better study method..

Anybody have any directions?

I should, perhaps, note that my mother was taught a similar thing for turning fire-pain off by my grandfather/her dad, but that involves a prayer, and I have not yet received said instructions.  

[Nines19]

This seems like a really basic question, or something I should be sure of by now, but I'm not; is or is not Asatruar a/the proper name for those who practice Asatru?

Following that up with more of what seem like basic questions, are there any other names for them?
Is Asatru the correct term for the religion of anyone who worships the Norse pantheon, or are there other terms for more specific religions? If so what differentiates Asatru from these other religions?  

[Maze]

Keeping in mind that I'm not, actually, Asatru, I do believe I've read that Asatruar (ack, with the thinger) is the proper way to denote someone who follows the Tao of the Asa.

There's also Vanatru, I think. For the Vanir?

But Deoridhe should probably be consulted in this case. 8D;

Finnish people have different names for what they do, because they kill and fool bears, post-death. And that's not mentioned anywhere in the Havamal as far as I'm aware.. >.>