Pagan?

It might help us if you define what you mean by pagan.

We are a spiritual program, but you can take what you want and leave the rest. We believe that we cannot get well alone, that we need some kind of spiritual aid beyond our own will power. How you define that spiritual power is up to you. We are definitely not a religious program.

Yes.welcome. please do tell us what "pagan" means.
shazXX

I am aware that the 12-step programs have a spiritual base, and are not religious in nature. I very much like the 3rd-step "God as we understood God".

I am also not intolerant of Christianity. Christ is pretty cool. (He's basically a dying-and-rising-god.) He says some neat things in that book of his. Pretty much everything he didn't say, however, I have a tendency to throw out. (I tend to ignore the Old Testament and the New Testament after the Gospels.)

However, I really feel a need for connection with deity that has a female face. My particular brand of Christianity growing up (Mormonism/LDS, if that means anything to you) lacks female role-models even more than regular Christianity (aka Catholicism, because I don't know that much about Protestant Christianity). Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene are swept aside, mentioned only occasionally, and even though actual Mormons will tell you there is a Mother Goddess, etc., etc. (they get really pissy when you explain to them that you need feminine deity), they pretty much flat-out ignore Her.

By Pagan, I do generally mean Neo-Pagan, Wicca, Druidry, Asatru, Native American spirituality, eclectic earth-centered spirituality. Also (as in Druidry, Asatru, Stregoneria/Stregheria, and others), worshiping the god(s) of pre-Christian cultures (the Celts, the Norsemen, the pre-Christian Romans, who were actually pretty cool).
I include both polytheism (belief in and worship of more than one god-form) and henotheism (belief in more than one god, but worship of a single god, like the temple priestesses of Aphrodite, who believed the other gods existed, but only worshiped Aphrodite).
I include pantheism (the equation of God with Nature), panentheism (the belief that God is both immanent and transcendent), and animism (the attribution of conscious life to objects in and phenomena of nature or to inanimate objects, according to Merriam-Webster). World Religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) don't really count, if only because I'm pretty sure adherents would object to being labeled Pagans.

However, while it is easy to do in a spiritual path that refuses to dictate morality to you, I do not consider Paganism to be without rules/guidance/boundaries. It can be used that way, the same way Christians can use their religion to start wars.
I have had a teacher (in Druidry), who taught me that Honor and personal responsibility were pretty much the most important virtues. Good Pagan books are all about personal responsibility.
It is my understanding that Paganism requires you to write your own moral code, to set your own boundaries. (If you choose not to, it's your choice.)

A bit off-topic, but ...
rosemay: about the Rooted in Grace 12-step group.
I just looked them up again, and I was mistaken.
There are three SLAA groups in my area (actually, because I'm living with my parents right now, none of them are really in my area, they're all about 45-min. away--for those who know anything about Utah, I'm living, currently, near Provo, and these meetings are in Salt Lake).
One is on Sundays and is called Sunday Solution Seekers. One is on Mondays and is a Women-Only Group. The third is on Tuesdays and is the Rooted in Grace meeting.
The meeting I'd feel most comfortable attending as my first meeting ever would be the Women-Only Group, simply because it is an SLAA group, and I'd worry (in a group with men) that I'd be the only woman or the only Love Addict (and not Sex Addict) in the group.


Anyway, if what I mean by Pagan is still not clear, please let me know, I'll try to rectify that.

Wow greengirl. that certainly was an education for me. i hadnt heard of half the things you mentioned. Very interesting, I must say.
To me I just believe in a HIgher Power, a universal power. A power greater than myself. It is all loving

i dont know what it is. Who it is? Whether its male/female? I just see it as "universal energy"

For yrs i was agnostic then aethiest, now Im not sure. I am definetly not religious (dont go to any church, dont read the bible)

All I know is that to start the steps I had to have an OPEN MIND. (i was an aethiest when I started.) Now I truly believe in a Higher power. I have faith that my HP has a plan for me and on most days (99%) I have faith that "God's will be done". The God "of my understanding' .It took me about 1 year to even say the word "god"!!

Thats where i am at right now. sometimes I feel intuitively conected to my Hp other times I doubt there is one.

Im very good at intellectualizing stuff. this program has taught me how to stop questioning and just have faith. At times I had to pray for the willingness to believe in anything. And I had never prayed before!!

it seems to have worked for me.
shazXX

It is not that unusual for society to leave out strong women role models. I really don't think it's just a religious thing. Exploring history further than the books I was educated with I managed to find a woman Pharaoh and many women warriors. I wasn't looking that hard, just at different sources. Hopefully this has improved with women becoming more independent and the strong women of today won't be forgotten in the future.

You wrote about being able to set your own boundaries and determine your own morals. We all do that. What I'm wondering is; if you are happy with how your life is going and the boundaries you are setting then what brought you to LAA? What do you hope to achieve here?

AJ

There is no right or wrong in this. You can find your HP in your heart. it's whatever works for you period. we're individuals, like snowflakes, we are all unique, therefore, your HP will be unique for you and what YOU need.

Just for me, I choose a Male God as my HP, because it represents the loving, caring, unconditional love that comes from a birth father. I do that because that's what I need to feel.

I do the same with Mary, she is the Mother I never had, I pray to her also. She is also equal to God in my opinion. They are my parents. that helps ME.

I also just steal from other beliefs too. I don't believe personally any one belief system has a monopoly on the universe. We're all just guessing. it's dangerous to become too rigid. it can harm other people. we have free will. that is universally given.

Thank you! I had wondered about this, as well. I think the goal is to learn from any kind of HP, whether it be male, female, single or multiple. But I must admit, I do feel the influence of Christianity in such 12-Step Programs, so I am glad to have found another Pagan on here.

Btw, for the others, I echo everything she has said, especially that Paganism, like every other religion, is not without rules. It's not a free-for-all--that's what Satanism is. Every religion (with the exception of Satanism, of course) has a set of moral codes, whether they are clearly spelled out or simply implied. The B.C. era was not rife with immorality because Jesus was not yet born (this is not meant as condescending or anything, if it comes across as such, I apologize).