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Protected: Atheopaganism U. Alumni Class Content Archive
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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An Appeal
I don’t usually flog this much–I make a mention in the Facebook group once a month or so, but that’s all–but I have a Patreon account to help support my creation and promotion of Atheopagan ideas, resources, events and art. Patreon is a pretty cool idea, and I hope whoever invented it is getting rich from it. It is a system that allows people to become patrons of artists and creators they enjoy. They pledge a little money each month, and collectively, it adds up to significant funds for the creator. I know musicians who are reliant on their Patreon income to augment their touring and CD sales income, for…
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UNFROZEN: A Ritual for Getting Unstuck
Call it anxiety or procrastination or what have you*, life often grips many of us in a tense paralysis wherein we know we must act, we have obligations and deadlines and must-dos, but we just can’t move. It is a terrifying feeling: to watch the sand dripping through the glass and yet not be able to make one’s self do what must be done. It can affect every aspect of a human life. It’s crippling. What it’s about, fundamentally, is how the brain processes dopamine, the neurotransmitter of initiative and reward, but also of dread and anxiety. Personally, I have problems producing dopamine. I take medications to keep my dopamine levels elevated, because…
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An Appreciation
It’s Summer’s End weekend—or Lammas, or Lughansadh, if you prefer—and we are busily baking bread and baking in our sweltering home. I’ve written before about what this Sabbath means to me, but I’m putting together the final lesson of Atheopaganism U., and I have many feelings now that I thought I’d capture while they’re fresh. First, I’m struck by how interesting, thoughtful, and committed to their own growth and process this first class of students has been. They come from wildly different backgrounds and circumstances, but all are explorers, curious, looking for how a spiritual practice consistent with their values can best integrate into their lives. Secondly, this process has…
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Atheopagan Practice and Mental Illness
It is said that about 13% of people worldwide suffer some kind of mental illness and/or substance abuse issue. That figure goes as high as 18% in some countries; poorer countries tend to have lower reporting, so these figures are skewed to the low end. That’s 970 million people. I am one of them. I have lived with—and suffered through sometimes severe bouts of—Major Depressive Disorder since I was a young child. It has deeply affected and colored my life, for better and for worse. As we learn more about the ways mental illness affects so many of us, it is important for us to be aware that, whether we…
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Summer’s End—The Sabbath of Work
There were three Menne came out of the West Their fortunes for to trye And these three Menne made a solemn vow John Barleycorne must die. Welcome to the end of summer and the beginning of autumn! …though it may not feel to be so where you live. Where I am it is HOT and going to be hotter for the next two months…but I can see in the coloring of early leaves and the hard blue of the sky that the Wheel is turning, that Autumn is coming on. This holiday, titled Lammas by the Catholic Church and Lughnasadh by the Irish, Scottish and Manx people, has historically celebrated…
