Spiritual Overload

[Jinx]

As I mentioned in my introduction I am just coming back to a spiritual and religious path of life. I love being able to connect with something more again and believing in something again but at the same time I feel so overwhelmed. I don't really have a strict path that I follow at the moment, I do lean towards Wicca because that's what I grew up with and know, but I want to learn about other paths as well. I just want to read everything I can get my hands on and explore and learn everything all at once.

Has anyone else ever felt this way? Any recommendations on how not to feel so overloaded? All opinions are appreciated.

[Willow]

Re: Spiritual Overload

Write a list of all the topics that interest you and the resources you would like to read. Then go through it, one book/resource at a time. Just don't lose that list.

I have the same problem; I tend to read 4 different books simultaneously and it can get frustrating so I am trying to stick to one at a time myself too.

[Jinx]

Re: Spiritual Overload

Write a list of all the topics that interest you and the resources you would like to read. Then go through it, one book/resource at a time. Just don't lose that list.

I have the same problem; I tend to read 4 different books simultaneously and it can get frustrating so I am trying to stick to one at a time myself too.

I'll try that! I feel like all my reasonable thinking has gone out the window with trying to learn so much.

I used to be really good about reading one book at a time and devoting my complete attention to that book but I seem to have gotten over excited. I'm now trying to finish the books I have going one at a time and get back into that.

Thank you!

[Willow]

Re: Spiritual Overload

I'll try that! I feel like all my reasonable thinking has gone out the window with trying to learn so much.

I used to be really good about reading one book at a time and devoting my complete attention to that book but I seem to have gotten over excited. I'm now trying to finish the books I have going one at a time and get back into that.

Thank you!

Same advice I give to my associates. When in doubt, get back to the basics.

[Jinx]

Re: Spiritual Overload

Same advice I give to my associates. When in doubt, get back to the basics.

Those are wonderful words of wisdom.

[dreamweaver]

Re: Spiritual Overload

My suggestion for you is to slow down,relax and take it easy.I do not believe things were ever meant to over complicate this way.Mother Nature has placed so many wonderous things before us and there is many great lessons to be found in them.Don't allow yourself to become bogged down as by doing this you will only become more frustrated with the results.

Life is a never ending learning experience.

[Jinx]

Re: Spiritual Overload

My suggestion for you is to slow down,relax and take it easy.I do not believe things were ever meant to over complicate this way.Mother Nature has placed so many wonderous things before us and there is many great lessons to be found in them.Don't allow yourself to become bogged down as by doing this you will only become more frustrated with the results.

Life is a never ending learning experience.

Thank you so much for this. I have been trying to just slow down in my everyday life in general, I like to think that's what I've been doing but it's clearly not the case. It's nice to be reminded that it's okay to relax. I'm strictly holding myself to one book right now so hopefully that will help. I need to set aside time to just enjoy the nature surrounding me.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Spiritual Overload

I have to admit every time I see this thread I think about being over burdened by ones spirituality and either the elation or trepidation one gets by having their god / goddess coming to them in whichever form / method they take. It's like I go through periods where Artemis and / or Hecate - Hekate will fill every second of my day, either by thinking about her and what she means or by blind determination and drive to research her. Letting every little fragment of a mention drive me to seek more and more. While under that influence nothing else matters, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc you ignore as you surrender to the quest she / he has set you upon and the clues they place before you.

Yet that differs in that it is not about pathways and knowledge of them. I to love to read and have many books either downloaded or in hand copies that I may read all at once or one at a time. Especially so if I am only interested in a section that pertains to a given interest at the time. The thing is I am often reminded that Rome was not built in a day nor can ones knowledge level be increased in a day. Especially if one is to have a stable foundation of knowledge to build upon and not have it constantly collapse beneath the weight of change.

So in that regard I do think one has to outline their plan of attack so to speak. Yet that to me usually indicates books will be read by subject and influence and not entirely by front to back. Consider comparison of ethics / morality for instance, ceremony structure and creation, tools of the trade and their usage, tools of the trade and their obtainment and / or construction, etc as ways of looking at things and comparing them to other practices.

One thing I find useful though is an expanding dictionary of terms and phrases that can be used for quick reference with cross references. Like taking notes in college you have key words that serve to remind you of major concepts or ideas. After a while you may find that you have more than one dictionary of terms defined against spells, stones, colors, oils, plants, etc and start to merge them but I would advise against simply copy and paste methods of creating it as it seldom is a one thing one way for everyone.

[Jinx]

Re: Spiritual Overload

I have to admit every time I see this thread I think about being over burdened by ones spirituality and either the elation or trepidation one gets by having their god / goddess coming to them in whichever form / method they take. It's like I go through periods where Artemis and / or Hecate - Hekate will fill every second of my day, either by thinking about her and what she means or by blind determination and drive to research her. Letting every little fragment of a mention drive me to seek more and more. While under that influence nothing else matters, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc you ignore as you surrender to the quest she / he has set you upon and the clues they place before you.

Yet that differs in that it is not about pathways and knowledge of them. I to love to read and have many books either downloaded or in hand copies that I may read all at once or one at a time. Especially so if I am only interested in a section that pertains to a given interest at the time. The thing is I am often reminded that Rome was not built in a day nor can ones knowledge level be increased in a day. Especially if one is to have a stable foundation of knowledge to build upon and not have it constantly collapse beneath the weight of change.

So in that regard I do think one has to outline their plan of attack so to speak. Yet that to me usually indicates books will be read by subject and influence and not entirely by front to back. Consider comparison of ethics / morality for instance, ceremony structure and creation, tools of the trade and their usage, tools of the trade and their obtainment and / or construction, etc as ways of looking at things and comparing them to other practices.

One thing I find useful though is an expanding dictionary of terms and phrases that can be used for quick reference with cross references. Like taking notes in college you have key words that serve to remind you of major concepts or ideas. After a while you may find that you have more than one dictionary of terms defined against spells, stones, colors, oils, plants, etc and start to merge them but I would advise against simply copy and paste methods of creating it as it seldom is a one thing one way for everyone.

This is exactly how I feel right now! I haven't found a specific God/Goddess that truly calls to me yet but I'm constantly thinking about the path to get me there. I'm a thinker anyways, my mind is always on the move, and I have found myself going back and back and back again to my spirituality while trying to think about other things. I think in part it's because I'm so happy to have found my spirituality again, I just want to dive right in!

I have taken some time to make a list of what interests me. Right now I'm reading Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, I read it ages ago and want to refresh myself. I thought it would be good for me to refresh my memory of what I know the most before I move onto other things. I'm not the type to just and choose passages from a book to read, I have to read the whole thing.

Needless to say you have given me a lot to think about. It's a huge help to know that I'm not the only one that feels this way.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Spiritual Overload

The only warning i'd really give is to remember one may drown in a whole ocean of water or knowledge but may just as easily drown in a teaspoon of water or knowledge. In that light I tend to think of obtaining knowledge like drinking a drink. When it is boiling hot it scolds on the way down and burns long after you've stopped drinking it but the sensation is left. All you tend to recall is the pain and discomfort of it. When it is frozen cold it numbs the throat and hangs heavily in the stomach and gives one a brain freeze that causes more hurt than good. All one is left with again is the sensation rather than actual enjoyment of the drink. Yet when it is just right it soothes the throat and ones thirst, can be taken in through both sips and gulps but doesn't leave you feeling bloated or with a sensation that is more painful than what was taken in. But what is even more important you actually get to taste the true taste of the drink, to experience it, to breathe it in, the feel it as it sinks or slides down your throat, to smell it as it lingers upon the palette and to equate it to similar tastes which allows you to compare it to other drinks for how they are similar yet also different.

[Jinx]

Re: Spiritual Overload

The only warning i'd really give is to remember one may drown in a whole ocean of water or knowledge but may just as easily drown in a teaspoon of water or knowledge. In that light I tend to think of obtaining knowledge like drinking a drink. When it is boiling hot it scolds on the way down and burns long after you've stopped drinking it but the sensation is left. All you tend to recall is the pain and discomfort of it. When it is frozen cold it numbs the throat and hangs heavily in the stomach and gives one a brain freeze that causes more hurt than good. All one is left with again is the sensation rather than actual enjoyment of the drink. Yet when it is just right it soothes the throat and ones thirst, can be taken in through both sips and gulps but doesn't leave you feeling bloated or with a sensation that is more painful than what was taken in. But what is even more important you actually get to taste the true taste of the drink, to experience it, to breathe it in, the feel it as it sinks or slides down your throat, to smell it as it lingers upon the palette and to equate it to similar tastes which allows you to compare it to other drinks for how they are similar yet also different.

This really is a good metaphor for learning. I will have to remind myself of this as I try new things and move forward on my path.