Week 18: Personal Religion

Related to Requirement: 
#10 – Personal Religion;
#9 – Relationships to Kindred
Required Reading:  

• Our Own Druidry, p. 19 (The Hearth Oath)  
• Our Own Druidry, p. 123 – 128 (Personalizing Your Paganism)  
• Our Own Druidry, p. xv – xvi (Appendix 1: Adapting the DP to Specific Ethnic Paths) 

Optional reading:  

• Our Own Druidry, p. 62 – 74 (Hearth Cultures and High Days)  
• Our Own Druidry, p. xvii – xxvii (Using the DP for Grove Building);  
• Reintroducing Solitary Work into Your Life by Rev. Michael J Dangler <http://www.adf.org/articles/solitary/reintroducing-solitary-work.html>  
• "Ratri" by Adhitin Ratrija <http://www.adf.org/articles/gods-and-spirits/vedic/ratri.html>  
• "The Case for Choosing a Pantheon" by Ian Corrigan <http://www.adf.org/articles/gods-and-spirits/general/case-for-choosing-a-pantheon.html>  
• "Dual Trad Daily Devotionals" by Tanrinia, <http://www.adf.org/members/training/dp/articles/dual-trad-devotions.html> 

I've fallen frightfully behind over the past month on this. Just have had absolutely no motivation to work on anything more complicated than my sewing. I suppose at least part of it is that May is always really busy and I feel like I should have been out playing at the local ren faire. Instead, I've been lazing, gardening, and reading.

Answers to Week 1 are Here.
Most of my answers are still the same.  The study group has pretty much fallen apart so I'm doing it on my own anyway, which I was trying to avoid, but much of everything else is the same.

Except not really. I still have no more idea now how to meditate than I did 21 weeks ago. The Daily Devotionals are teaching me how to be at peace with myself and the world for about 20 minutes a day, but it's not really what I expect meditation to teach me. Or maybe I'm just comparing too much.

I certainly need to just learn to trust the Kindreds and my own intuition. Even if my conscious mind is freaking out, I was led to this path and I think I need to walk it a while. I have no more idea now if I'll stay with ADF long term or just for a while, but this is my home for a while longer. I

First Oath
I made a point of my first oath being things that I could do. Not necessarily without stretching, but I didn't want to set my obligations so high that I would fail more often than I succeeded. I am seeking the Gods, I am doing my best to be charitable and kind, and I am learning. I'm not teaching yet, but that will come in time.

Hearth Culture
I'm sticking with Norse for my personal hearth. Most of my hobbies right now are leaning that way and this way all my research will feed back into itself. My I-E studies book hasn't changed how I feel about any of the cultures (I'm not sure that my book should even be listed as IE Studies), but that also wasn't its goal. I do want/need to re-work my devotional a bit to make it fit Norse better, but right now is not the time.

Patron/ Matron
Oh, I wish. I hear the same silence that I always have from that corner. I may have felt something like tingles when I was planning the Beltane ritual, but those left as soon as the ritual was over. I'm just doing daily offerings to the Deities as a whole and Freyja and Joerd (friend is seeking help in conceiving). Its a lot like being at Camp Half-Blood: eventually someone will claim you, but in the mean time, hang out and do the best you can.