Consequences

Sometimes we make choices and take actions that we know may end up with results that are detrimental to us.  And yet we do them anyway.  And when it comes time to accept the consequences we must.  I have made many of these choices over the years.  Everyday for the past several years, I have chosen to partake of a plant that in the eyes of the law is forbidden.  This is a plant that has been used by humans since we first started using plants.  It is now legal in 14 states to use for medical purposes with approval or recommendation by a doctor.  That plant is cannabis.

I use cannabis through a variety of methods, including smoking, ingesting, and as a lotion that eases aches and pains.  Having some anger issues, cannabis helps calm my mind.  It enhances my spiritual practices.  It enhances perception of things like television and music. New medical and scientific studies show that cannabis likely has cancer preventative and curing possibilities. 

My wife has a state issued certificate to consume and grow her own cannabis for legitimate medical purposes.  I have chosen to source mine from local growers and take the risk of misdemeanor prosecution.  (I never have more than is a misdemeanor offense.)  A plant that my wife may legally grow in our house is now costing me my job.  I am not complaining.  I accept the consequences of my actions.  I point out this irony to highlight the disparity in law.  For instance, lets say Coworker A goes home has a few drinks after work.  They may cop a buzz.   It is perfectly legal.  Yet if I want to go home and smoke a bowl or two and relax to some music, it is illegal.  This is ludicrous.  I don't approve of anybody who drinks and drives or smokes and drives.  I am a big believer in personal responsibility. If the choice is made, the consequences whatever they may be must be acceptable.  I do not partake while driving or at work.  

So now I am on administrative leave pending the outcome of the urinalysis test I took this morning.  By the end of the week I will likely be terminated from my job.  I do not fault my company for enforcing its policies within the framework of the law.  I implore those that read this though, to think about what cannabis prohibition really does to society.  In some states possession of even a seed is grounds for felony charges.  In this country we are putting people in prison who use a plant that will grow just about anywhere on Earth.  These folks end up learning new criminal behavior and then end up back on the streets doing worse behavior, only to end up back in prison.  We spend billions on policing and prosecuting millions of non-violent cannabis users.  I support the exponentially growing support for decriminalizing cannabis in this country.  Prohibition didn't work for alcohol.  I suspect that some of my ancestors who lived through alcohol Prohibition, looked at the violence associated with it much as we look at the drug lords and cartels in Mexico and increasingly the Southwest U.S..  It is also likely that some of my ancestors were moonshiners or helped those who were, or were simply supportive of repealing prohibition.

NORML: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

DrugWarFacts.org/marijuana

CannabisNews.org

Control and Tax Cannabis California 2010

HailMaryJane.com

Easier Said Than Done

One of the biggest obstacles we have in our journey to transcend suffering, is not living in the moment.  To be focused on right now.  When we choose to live in the moment, we can think and process the world around us with greater clarity.  As humans experiencing  suffering, we tend to lose track of the moment.  We often get stuck in a past moment with unresolved emotions, or thoughts.  At the same time we can become stuck in the future.  All of these unresolved moments add up to our suffering.

My biggest moment sticker is anger.  My anger often stems from my ego.  If I take slight at something that someone else does, I hold on to angry thoughts.  It is OK to be angry, but to holding on to it is the folly of suffering.  For instance if I am driving and somebody turns out right in front of me, and cuts me off, I get angry.  The problem is when I stay mad for the next ten minutes planning what I would say to this person in an angry manner. This is how easy it is to become stuck in the past and the future at the same time.

By deduction then it must be that the way out of our suffering comes from within us.  If it is true that we hold on to our suffering the it is true that we have the power to let go of our suffering.  This is profound.  It is something I have been able to experience in my life, but it is difficult to maintain if one does not live in the moment.

We can teach ourselves to live in the moment.  The best way is through meditation.  meditation is difficult.  If it weren't everyone would be doing it.  Meditation with focused breathing is very powerful.  Meditation is simply sitting with legs folded and one leg in front of the other, and hands on knees palms up.  Burning incense while meditating helps open one to spirit.  I also like to listen to meditation music or chanting while meditating.  Start by taking slow deep breaths.  Focus on deep rhythmic breathing.  One will notice various thoughts and emotions coming to the surface especially when one is new to meditation.  Acknowledge the thought and then refocus on breathing and or music.  The more you practice this, the easier it is to live in the moment.  We soon learn to let go of our attachments to our thought and emotions.  We resolve each moment as it happens.  It is also easier to see when we are becoming stuck in a moment, and correct it with a simple deep breath.

" A saint is a very simple man:  when he walks, he walks.  When he talks, he talks and that's all.  He doesn't think while listening, daydream while walking, see while touching.  This is hard.  That is why he is a saint."  Sujata, Beginning To See


Blessings
Rev. Jeremy

Suffering Is Natural, Fortunately It Is Also Optional

When I started this blog, I had no idea what direction it would go, but here it is.  It started as a place where I was examining my beliefs, and looking for something.  I was stuck spiritually.  I let the corrosion of the rat race and day to day life get in the way of practice.  That has changed recently.

I wanted to share that change with you now.  I am ordained through the Universal Life Church.  I was ordained in 1996 while I was incarcerated.  I recently came across The Universal Life Church Ministers Network.  It is an open place to share and discuss anything spiritual or religious.  It is a place where folks of many diverse traditions can come together and find and share common ground.  I have met several Heathens and Asatruar in the network, as well as Druids, Wiccans, Christians and many others.  There is a requirement of being ordained, but it does not have to be ULC. The ULC is also a liberal ordination church.

  We will Ordain anyone for life, without question of your faith

  We believe only in that which is right and everyone has the right to determine what is right          

  for themselves.

Towards the end of my period of incarceration just over ten years ago, I spent my time living a semi monastic lifestyle, with daily exercises in meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga, working, and working out.  After I got out, life happened and I have walked other paths.  As such these practices had pretty much stopped.  I have recently rededicated myself to the seekers path.  I have also taken up the study and practice of Buddhism.  I wanted to share a great  forum called Zen Sukoyaka Buddhist Forum/E-Sangha.  The Dharma of the Buddhas has given me insight into the other traditions from which I have incorporated many principles into my spiritual belief structure.

I have studied and practiced several varieties of Christianity, Wicca, Buddhism, and a whole host of other things.  My main faith lies in Asatru, the gods of northern Europe, the faith of my ancient ancestors.  I am finding new insights into all of these things in both of these forums.

For those who are unfamiliar with Buddhism, it is less a religion, and more of a path of transformation that shows us how to end our suffering.  Buddhism teaches Four Noble Truths.

1.  There is suffering.

2.  There is a cause for suffering.  It is our attachment to our desires, our emotions, and our negative habits.

3.  There is a way to end suffering.

4.  The way to end suffering is known as the Eightfold Noble Path.

1.  Right Understanding

2.  Right Thought

3.  Right Speech

4.  Right Action

5.  Right Livelihood

6.  Right Effort

7.  Right Mindfulness

8.  Right Concentration

The Eightfold Noble Path leads us toward developing three things in ourselves

1.  Moral sensitivity:  We learn to overcome ego, we become more sensitive to others needs and become more compassionate towards our fellow man.

2.  Meditation:  We learn to focus our mind with concentration on mind, body, and breathing.

3.  Wisdom:  Wisdom is developed when the mind becomes more resilient with practice of moral sensitivity and meditation.

If you are interested in learning more please visit the links I have provided above, or visit my profile pages at:

Universal Life Church Ministers Network:  My Profile 

Zen Sukoyaka Buddhist Forum/E-Sangha: My Profile

On Twitter:  @Ravenlaughing

--
Rev. Jeremy Cook

Skald Crafter Replacement

Nearly ten years ago I set up a Geocities web page to express my pagan rantings. This month Yahoo is declaring eminent domain on the Geocities servers. I had not updated Skald Crafter for some time and kept the page mostly as an archive. I have now saved the original and put it in the vault as Disney might. I have blogged for a few years on the blogger format writing blogs on my differing interests. My spiritual rantings can now be found here in this format. Thanks for reading.

Threads of Life

Luck is the gold of Fools,
For when things do not go
the way the of the fools wantings
it is bad luck.
When things go well to the fools desires,
it is good luck.
Luck is an excuse that
people make to justify their existence when
they have no true spiritual base,
or have lost the way.
Luck is the sibling of coincidence.
Learn to see the patterns of your wyrd,
and you will not have to rely on the vices
of luck and coincidence,
and can live by synchronicity which is to follow
the pattern of your life.
If your life doth not please you,
change the pattern
and when this life is done
you will have a most beautiful
tapestry.

Modern Heathen II?

I started this particular blog after I started a new spiritual awakening. I have been wondering in a period of apathy and hibernation. Over the last couple of years I have been feeling the call of self improvement. It has been 16 months since I smoked a cigarette. It has been 6 months since I have had a mountain dew. I used to drink at least two liters a day. I was consuming a pound of sugar each day just by drinking this poison. I have started eating healthier. I have started fulfilling other goals. One of my goals is to practice my word craft regularly. So I write four or five blogs. I don't write all the time, but I write.

Back to my new spiritual awakening. I have been opening myself up again to that which is greater than ourselves. I have been trying to define my spirituality. Eventually that is what I hope to accomplish with this blog. I choose the label Heathen for myself, but my pantheon is not dedicated solely to the Aseir. I try to live my life with the ideals held by the nine noble virtues. I am a member of several online Heathen groups, and often I find that most of the conversation is stuck in the past. It is rehash of lore and mythology. It is debate about ancient lore and its relation to modern Heathen life.

I think though that my ancestors would have been a bit more realistic. I believe that deeds are better than debate. They would of said there is work to do. I spend my time working my trade to support my family. My wife and I run our "Urban Farmstead." When the work is done we enjoy life. We home brew. We are working to start our online retail business with products we make by hand.

I guess my definition of modern heathen has come down to living my life by ancient values such as courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, self reliance, industriousness, and perseverance, while acting in a responsible manner towards the planet and humanity. I honor my ancestors and my many gods, including my modern deities such as Score, goddess of free cycling, dumpster diving, and good deals.

I think I am going to ask in online heathen groups what most people think a modern heathen should be. I will report results here later.

Modern Heathen?

I am a modern heathen.  I find myself living in a fast paced world that increasingly sickens me in many ways and yet awes and inspires me in so many more.  I ask myself often what it means to be a modern heathen.

I live fully in the modern world.  I have a nice house in suburbia.  I have a career in the auto glass replacement industry.  I have a twenty foot circle in my back yard for doing ritual.  The circle is marked by tall post stones in the quarters and smaller cube stones in the cross quarters.  We recently planted slow growing mugo pines in between the stones.

I live on the internet and tivo all my favorite shows and news.  Yet I spend hours working in the garden.  I love working with the soil and plants.  It is relatively cheap therapy.  For me, being a modern heathen is as complex as it was to be a heathen in earlier times.

When a person asks me my religion I usually throw out Asatru.  This is the pantheon of human deities I feel the closest too.  I was raised in a Christian background.  In my late teen years I fell of the mainstream path and wondered lost.  I once told a jail official that I was a paranoid agnostic.  He said, "What the hell is that?"

I replied that I didn't know if there was a god or not but if there was he was definitly out to get me.  He chuckled and asked me to move on.  My late teens and early twenties were a heavy mix of drugs, alcohol, and bad decisions.

I went through several years of searching before I found Wicca. I studied and practiced Wicca for awhile and then I discoverd Asatru.  While I am not as devout as I once may have been I am still close to several members of this pantheon.

It was approximatly nine years ago that I found the Aseir and Vanir. They suited my personality.  I have also since found some more modern dieties such as Score.  She is the goddess who helps find good deals or freebies.  She is prominently found hanging out on Craigs List  I have a basic understanding of runes and tarot cards.  I do energy healing work.  I have a broad general knowledge of writing ritual and performing it.  Did I mention I love gardening and cooking.  My wife and I will be soo raising rabbits for meat and fur.  My wife and I are working to live a more simple and self-sustainable lifestyle.  I work to pay for it all. She keeps the hearth.  We both tend the garden and other household projects.  We try to live one day at a time.