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Thread: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

  1. #1
    Member Jaxxie's Avatar
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    Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    Some of you may remember my "coming out of the broom closet" post about my mother not taking the news very well. She came around for a bit, and even shared some of my enthusiasm. She bought a tarot deck, crystals and a Scott Cunningham book. Over the past month she's gone back to being full-blown "fundie" again.

    This whole debacle has me drained emotionally and spiritually. I haven't done a ritual. I'm not doing magic. I'm not reading tarot. I feel no connection to the Divine or Nature. I just feel so disconnected from all of it and I don't know how to snap out of it.

  2. #2
    Bronze Member Munin-Hugin's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    I've been through this a few times, and in fact am just trying to get myself out of it again. While for me, the catalyst is different, the result is the same: a whole lot of nothing going on in the realm of spirituality. Luckily for me, recently I received a bit of a "kick in the ass" in the form of a few signs and dreams that gave me the peace of mind that even though I felt disconnected, the divine forces had not turned from me. Perhaps that is something that you should take to heart and spend some time thinking about. No matter how far away we may feel, the divinity that we respect and honor will be there for us no matter what. Just that bit of solace could be something to help pull you through the slump.

  3. #3
    sea witch thalassa's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    Do you have anywhere that you can go outside? Some place to escape?

    Sounds a bit like you need to separate yourself from you mom's guilt and indecision. If I remember correctly, you live at home, yeah? Find somewhere to be alone on a regular basis and get back in touch with you!
    “You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom

    “We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
    ~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    "We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
    ~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

    "Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett

    Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible

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    Member Jaxxie's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    Yes, I do live at home. The past month has been super stressful (medical emergency in the family) and it just feels like everything is falling apart. I really do just need to spend some time alone, because at this point even my husband is wearing my nerves down.

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    Copper Member Norse_Angel's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    I cannot say I've experienced this, but what Thalassa said, go on a hike, reconnect with nature. Refresh yourself with some good surroundings.
    "In the shade now tall forms are advancing,
    And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming;
    They beckon, they whisper, 'Oh! strong armed in valor,
    The pale guests await thee - mead foams in Valhalla.'"
    - Finn's Saga

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    Sr. Member Gas Mask's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    I've gone through a crippling bout of self-doubt that I've only recently gotten over. Sometimes you just need to clear your head, if only for a moment, and find something to get your spiritual energy flowing again. Go for a walk, listen to some music, find something that helps you clear your head. It couldn't hurt.

  7. #7
    Newbie Nixis's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    I know whenever I feel cut-off and out of sync, I usually find a new book and head outside.

    I go to a bookstore, or amazon, or wherever, and just look for a book on paganism that I know nothing about. I'm a Pagan who uses a lot of Ancient Egyptian mythos and practices. So when I grab something on Druidism, Celtic practice, Odinism, and the like, it's a little out of my initial comfort zone. Sometimes learning about a whole different tradition, seeing things from a different perspective, reading from a new author, is all you need.

    The last time this happened to me, I picked up The Rites of Odin, sat my happy little butt outside, and read until the sun went down. Between getting out in nature, and learning things I've never heard about/thought of before, it gives me back my enthusiasm. A cool perk is that since I've started doing this I've amassed quite the Pagan library on a number of traditions....

    But anyway, sometimes reading books by an author who is deeply spiritual can be the kickstart you need to get back in the game. And being out in nature can help foster a re-connection. If nature isn't a possibility, try going to a quiet-ish place you've never been before and read. A different coffee shop, a downtown bookstore, etc. Being in a new place can help, where the people have no idea who you are and vice-versa.

    Hope you feel better!

  8. #8
    Eldritch Priestess Willow's Avatar
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    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    I tend to make myself do a little something for the lunar phases (full moon, new moon). Even if nothing else appeals or I'm lacking the energy, it's something I can do in 30 minutes and in its most basic form includes setting my elements, burning some incense, sitting on the floor, drawing a card from my Oracle deck and then sitting outside while I ponder the card.

    Short, succinct, makes me slow my mind down to focus on one thing and its various aspects, and shifts me out of my everyday routine of work/sleep/forum reading/work.

  9. #9

    Re: Stuck in a Spiritual Rut

    Perhaps you could find books and movies that have a hint of Paganism/spirituality but are not about it. Sometimes distancing yourself can give new insights.

    Take care, eat well, listen to music. Perhaps it's not about spirituality, all the other things just take so much time and energy. Keep it simple, spirituality is not something that is meant to exhaust you (some hardcore monks would probably disagree though). Pray, visualise, collect small things from nature to remind you of the connection (like stones, they can easily fit into the pocket and can be used as decorative objects as well), write... And read Pagan Forum! (Personally, this place might be the very reason why I am still a Pagan. Community does good for the spiritual side.)

    And also, one more vote to going out to the nature. If possible, take a really long walk. Walking has so many benefits; physical, mental, emotional and surely also spiritual.
    baah.

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