Coming Out

Today, I'm coming out. Even though I don't really hide this aspect of my person, I must say I don't drone one about it either. I'm pagan.

Pagan? What does that mean? She worships the devil (no - the concept of the devil is based in western, monotheistic religions). Worships multiple gods and goddesses (no - I'm not Wiccan). Can she be dabbling in witchcraft and voodoo (two very different things, I might add)? What exactly is a pagan?

Wikipedia sums it up nicely: "Many current Pagans in industrial societies base their beliefs and practices on a connection to Nature, and a divinity within all living things, but this may not hold true for all forms of Paganism, past or present. Some believe that there are many deities, while some believe that the combined subconscious spirit of all living things forms the universal deity."

So, everything is connected? Yes. Respect all living things? Yes. Sacrifice small creatures while dancing naked under the moonlight? No. Though the dancing naked in the moonlight thing has happened under different circumstances.

Wikipedia also says "It is possible that the various pagan practices were not seen as instances of a more general 'paganism' at all until the point when the term was used to blur distinctions between non-Christian beliefs and make of them one homogenous, primitive mass....Religions of Southern and Eastern Asian origin (eg. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Shinto) are generally considered to be pagan."

Blur me away from Christianity. Many of the things I do believe are Buddhist.

I believe that everything I do comes back to me (Karma - originally linked to Hinduism). If I'm good, I get good. If I'm bad, I get bad. I'm responsible for my actions. Obviously, it is much more complex than all this, but that is the general premise. I think everything is connected - that all people, places and things are part of the greater something.

This is the point where I stop talking about my beliefs. I don't need to share everything, and most likely, you don't really want to know everything. Everyone has his or her own beliefs. You don't have to agree or disagree with mine, just as I don't have to agree or disagree with yours.

This post is really about me writing to the great unknown Internet about things I believe instead of telling some people (who have recently tried to "convert" me to their religion) to back off. I guess I just needed to vent.

At some point though, there will come a time when I have to tell those same people that I'm so glad they have something they believe in. I'm happy that they are happy with who they are and what religion they represent.

And I'm going to say that I'm happy too. I like me and I am firmly grounded in what I believe. I'm not going to change everything that I am to fit into their perfect view of what a person should be. If they don't like me for me, it isn't my problem. It's theirs.