Desires

Odin’s Eye – My Humanism

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day

Discussion:

This holiday season provided some awkward moments for me. One such moment was when people asked me what I believed. It is about that time that I tell them I am a deist, humanist with pagan tendencies. This of course gets a raised eyebrow. The real tricky part is actually the humanist part that probably gets the most time explaining.  My humanism is about what I look to solve my problems.  Because humanism looks at the one thing we probably really have to solve them – humans.

Humanism has four basic parts as E.M Forster points out above.  1) Curiosity, 2) A Free Mind, 3) Belief in Good Taste and 4) Belief in the Human Race. I concur with this because the only thing I can actually see and interact with when it comes to my problems and the problems of humanity is human beings. More on this when we look through the eye.

Everything else is just theory and hope.  Humanism is the side of my system of belief that engages the reality around me, and moves forward with the best solution that I and other human beings can come up with because; ultimately, it is what we have.  If there is a God;and my deism says their might be, he either expects us to do things ourselves, doesn’t give a fuck or is engaged in more important matters than your or my issues.  Spirituality might help me keep my balance personally, but it is my humanism that tells me to take responsibility for myself .

Time to Look Through the Eye:

Faith:

I suppose the biggest thing of ‘faith’ in humanism is belief in the human race.  I am also convinced that Penn Jillette is also right – 1) We human beings always think things are getting worse but 2) Things are actually getting better. When it comes to humanist the media, politicians and religious folks keep pointing to humanity’s failures and it makes it seem like they are the majority.  The problem is when you look at real facts, humans as a general rule are good and getting better. The truth is when it comes to having faith in humanity it is not as much of a blind leap of faith as people think.  It is those that would rule us telling us the bogey man exists so we will fear and then follow them that paint that picture.  Reality does not really do that.

Religion:

Religion in Humanism is negated by a free mind. In my former Christianity I was never allowed to question people’s beliefs, if they lined up with the basic tenets of the religion.  I certainly we never allowed to question the Bible or the church. In short, there were certain thoughts I was never allowed to consider.  That is pretty much all gone now thanks to my belief in free thought and free speech that goes with that. I can now question literally everything. I now see religion for what it is – a set of chains. Sorry, I refuse to wear them.

Theology:

My theology of humanity has changed somewhat and there is still a lot of questions I am considering.  But the one thing I believe in about humans is that they are ‘good’ or at least they are simply human.  I don’t have this notion; that is purely made up, that people are sinners in need of grace. What I believe is we are human and have limits but we also have potential, strengths and weaknesses.  Thanks to genetics I also know that each of us is truly unique.  Each of us then has our own set of weakness, strengths, abilities and desires. I believe that we can achieve great things as human being in pursuing truth, beauty, liberty and equality.  I know I am running headlong into a few objections most notably this one:

“Humanism was not wrong in thinking that truth, beauty , liberty and equality are of infinite value, but in thinking that man can get them for himself without grace” – Simone Well – French Philosopher (1909-1943)

My counter to this argument is that those who hold the idea of the need for grace to get these things are actually attacking the notion of natural rights they say they believe.  If the natural rights argument is true, there is no need for these things to be given as human beings as they are already given by their creator.  In my case, I say those things are already present in man and the only question is how to grow them and profit by doing so.

Spirituality:

As a humanist I can say I am spiritual.  I am however not religious at all.  For my part, this means I have rejected living off the spiritual experiences of others, or the collectivism and hive mind of religion. I seek my on spiritual experiences and to be honest I find this more in daily life than anything else.  I do however get an interesting reaction to saying I am spiritual but not religious, by said religious people:

Image may contain: 1 person, meme and text

Sorry, my humanism keeps my spiritual experiences in the context of the human experience. I find the spiritual in the moments I am kissing my wife, making love or watching my grandchildren play.  I find the spiritual moments on my walks in the woods, when the wind wraps itself around me and when I hear the lap of waves on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Mostly though my spirituality is based on the humanist notion of curiosity.  My wonder and desire ‘to know’ is what it is based on, not voodoo, just being a human being that wants to know and experience.

Conclusion:

I know I didn’t really cover the notion of ‘good taste” But it kind of ends things really.  The whole thing of humanism is to see the ‘good’ in humanity and minimize the ‘evil’.  I achieve that first and foremost by seeing the good in myself and trying to be a better human being.  If I can help my fellow human beings in their walk along that path along the way, well then I should try to do that as well.

Continuing to Walk the Path,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 4 – Ghost Church

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day. 

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 7th, 2019

After two days of waiting for Lunette to show up; but she remained a no show, I finally had one of those problems that required me to leave the house. I was running out of food. So, I threw my college hooded sweatshirt over my shoulders and after gathering my wallet and my keys headed out.  Winter had finally arrived with the snow and cold; so I braced against the wind as I walked along. It jumped into the Dodge Journey and took off toward the nearest town with a Wal-Mart.

Based on what I knew, this would mean crossing the battle lines into mage territory, but it was midday and so I wasn’t to worried that the forces of mages would attack me.  They don’t like that kind of attention.  Despite this, I kept myself alert. Of course the benefit of being a battle-mage is that you carry your weapons with you at all times. No concealed weapon permit required. I went to Wal-Mart, got my groceries and a few other items and after paying, loaded the Dodge up and headed home.

There was some sort of accident; probably due to the snow and ice, on my normal route home. So the authorities were routing people different ways.  I turned on a side street long before that and took a way that was a little more circuitous but would still get me home in short order.  It was one of those roads that thirty years ago had been busy but with the freeway since was pretty abandoned.  I was driving by an old abandoned church and a strange feeling struck me.

Remember that thing about magic being drawn to magic?  That is what was happening. I could sense it.  I stopped the car and backed up into the church’s small parking lot.  The sign read ‘Faith Church” but the message in the message board of the sign said –
‘Closed’.  The snow couldn’t disguise the fact that the yard had been overgrown with weeds. There were no other buildings close by and in fact trees kind of isolated this small church with it’s small steeple on a corner of the road.  It had been painted white, but it was slipping into gray. The front doors were chained.

As I looked at the chained doors, I was thinking about how remarkably similar this church was to my last one as far as design.  Tall steeple with a sanctuary over the basement.  The little white church of song and postcards. Mine had been much larger but just as old and made of Michigan white pine.  It required constant maintenance to just keep it looking good and standing.  Expensive maintenance that I had often wondered what good could have been done to help people with all that money. Didn’t matter anymore, but this whole concept of maintaining a building sure seems to be an excuse not to help people in retrospect.

I approached the doors and looked at the lock. I could feel something drawing me to the inside, but I with the chained door I was pretty much stuck looking through the windows.  They were stained glass, so there was no way to really see inside. Then the lock popped open.  I looked twice and double checked the lock but it had been opened. The chains fell open as I removed it, and I opened the right door.

Oddly enough the inside was in pretty good repair. The entry way had its coat rack and bulletin board on which remained a couple newspaper clippings. It was the obituaries first of the last pastor of the place.  The second of a nineteen year old girl.  Date of death for both was the same day.  Then memory bank in my head awakened and I remembered the story from ten years ago.

The pastor and this young lady had been having an affair. His wife found out and threatened to tell the whole congregation if he didn’t end it.  He did end it, by committing suicide.  The girl was the one who discovered the body and she too killed herself.  Star-crossed lovers.  What a tragic and evil tale. All because of the judgmental nature of Christians, who righteousness is supposedly as filthy rags, but they had created an atmosphere of self-righteousness so strong, that the shame of what was happening was too great, so they ended their lives.

Of course my own failure at marriage fidelity flooded my memories at that moment.  The story was similar, but the end very different.  I guess the difference was I left my faith behind. The judgmental nature of supposed sinners who bask in the forgiveness of God when given to them; but then turn around and judge harshly other sinners is a hypocrisy I simply dismiss as no longer part of my life.  The anger of all that was welling inside me; however, and I could feel the fury building my magical rage.

With that thought a voice spoke behind me.

“Tragic isn’t it?”

I turned around expecting to see some caretaker, but instead I saw a ghost. A literal ghost. Well, two actually.   The first looked like a middle-aged gentleman in a suit and tie. He had glasses and in his free hand was a Bible.  His other hand held the hand of a young beautiful woman.  She was in a dress and had a flower in her hair.  Colors are difficult with ghosts, as they are usually white and various shades of grey.  The flower in her hair however was red and gold indicating it was something special to her.  She smiled at me.  Of course they were both partially transparent, as I could see coat rack behind them

Now I have met ghosts before. Most of them are pretty harmless; just souls with some unfinished business.  I of course had that first moment of queasy stomach knowing you talking to someone dead,  then I was OK.

“Actually, I was thinking about how my own story is pretty close to yours, only without the ending.”

“Yes, that ending could have been different.  What is commonly known is not even true. We were actually found naked in each others arms.  We had made love one last time before taking the pills. They left that out; changed the whole story actually. That and the fact were found up on the pulpit on a blanket on the floor.  One last ‘desecration’ they wanted to forget by not talking about it.  What you probably know is false.  That tends to be the way of things.”

I smirked as I recognized the sarcasm in his voice; so similar to my own.  He chuckled and as I looked at the girl, she looked down and had her cheeks been able to show color they might have shown a little blush.

“Don’t worry about it young lady.  You were in love and had nothing to be ashamed of in truth. I don’t get it though, what’s the unfinished business both of you could have?”

The girl spoke this time.  Her voice was a soft soprano, I could tell she must have sung in the choir.

“We are were not sure for a long time. My mother and his wife are still alive. Both of us had harsh last words with them, but it doesn’t explain it.  Although if it is the reason then when they die, we might fade but we no longer think so.  We felt you drive by and now know what it is.”

“Me.  I don’t recall meeting either of you in life.”

The man spoke this time.

“Basically Dickens and his ghost Marley in a Christmas Carol.  One last act of penance to someone who needs our message.  We know now that someone is you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, we know your story, it was heavy on your thoughts a few moment ago. That fury inside you is very powerful. It needs release or it will consume you, like our love consumed us. The fire it creates burns everything and if you don’t find a target outside yourself to direct it towards…. ”

The girls voice was hauntingly beautiful as she spoke.   I nodded at her words.

“My fury is directed at those who have lied about me and at the Council for killing my wife when we were just beginning to love each other deeply again.  In part, I suppose it is fueled by my loneliness and the thoughts of a few treacherous actions I want justice for.  Christianity’s ‘turn the other cheek’ seems very stupid when it comes to justice.”

The man spoke this time.

“Yes, it does cause people to be abused and shamed then justify those that do it to them. Understand we are not saying your fury is bad; just dangerous. Our message to you is a little more centered on letting go of the past, so you can focus that fire of your fury at a proper target now and not at yourself.”

I nodded.  I knew what he meant. My rage was mostly self-destructive right now.  It didn’t create any positive action.  The only positive effect is that it fueled my magic with tremendous power. But where to focus that power?

“You said you had a message for me, each of you.  What is it?”

“You first my dear,” the man said.

“I speak to you as a woman with a woman’s heart. This last year you have loved two women deeply.  One hurt you and the other forgave you.  I want to submit to you that the one that hurt you might have done you a tremendous favor.  You may very well have avoided a lot of rage directed at you and her because of her choice to leave you.  I don’t know her, but I know it crossed my mind more than once to leave; so we could live and maybe love again.  It might have been her motivation.  She may have been the smart one on the decision, because you couldn’t be. If there is a need for forgiveness that will help you and not upset your sense of justice; it is probably to forgive her.”

Tears poured down my cheeks.  The truth of what she said made it hurt again, but her words rang true, and I had made a commitment to the truth. As I  looked at the ghost girl I saw her start to fade.  She had been right.  Her unfinished business was her message to me.

The man looked at her.

“Go my dear, I will be along shortly.”

I watched as the girl completely disappeared.  Then he looked at me.  He looked like he was about to cry himself.

“My message is man to man. I have learned the folly of worrying too much about what people will think of me.  I paid for that with my foolish death. The only honor that matters is what you have for yourself. Remember that, when opinion is against you for doing the right thing or even for just following your heart.  Your honor is within you, it is not the product of whether other people respect you or not. Had I known that, the two of us might still be alive.”

I nodded again and then he too began to fade.

“Looks like we were right.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

He nodded and faded out of sight.  Now the church foyer had a truly empty feeling. Whatever spirit this little church had left and now passed on to the other side.  It was indeed abandoned now.  Kind of a metaphor for my faith in truth. I walked out,  padlocked the chains back in place, and then went home.

I don’t know what the future will hold, but I do know that the lessons those two ghosts taught me are going to be with me for a bit.

Author’s Note: You will notice that the dates for the journals are now slipping into the past.  This is by design as one of the magical forms my character uses is divination. The ability to see the future is part of that. From an authorship stand point that means using twenty- twenty hindsight instead.  There will be times where nothing is happening, and the time line used here can catch up, but I am going to keep it at leas a month into the past from now on to reflect the characters powers.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

 

Of Wolves and Ravens: Industriousness: Focused Effort

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

Industriousness is probably one of the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) that makes things happen the most.  The other is discipline.  There are three elements to industriousness: 1) Hard work, 2) Efficiency and 3) Joy. Each of these elements must be present for their to be true industriousness, but there is one factor that must also be present for them to be useful – Focus.

What are you working for? It is the basic question of industriousness and it is both a deeply personal question and one of ethics and morals. Now I agree with Ayn Rand that there is a virtue to selfishness.  However, most people fail to read her other half of that which is that selfishness does not include exploitation of others.  The issue is what goal are you trying to achieve with your work and are your efforts actually focused in getting it done.  Along the way are you being efficient and joyful.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

We need to work hard.  It is the simple fact that no level of self-sufficiency is achieved without hard work.  Survival depends on work and the harder we work, the easier it is to survive. If there is any tragedy to life is it some people have developed the notion that success in life is a trick or scam that people pull on others.  Anymore who has actually studied the rich and successful will note these two things: 1) Most of them didn’t inherit anything from anybody and 2) They worked long hours and hard days to get where they are today.  They came to understand that industriousness does indeed reward those that work hard.

Wants (Freki):

We also want to enjoy the fruits of our labors. This is the product of learning to enjoy working.  To enjoy work in and of itself. It is also a sad tragedy that people have come to see leisure as something to be enjoyed, while work is something to dread. To me there is a joy in creation of something that didn’t exist before. I mean every day I start with a blank digital page in front of me and in often less than an hour there is a blog post.  There is a joy in this that is good for me. But that carries over to all things. Whether it is business or art, the joy of creation is in the industry of creation.

Reason (Huginn):

Reason of course, helps our focus with one thing – efficiency.  I mean as much as one can come to enjoy work, part of being industriousness and being focused is to not waste effort. Economics comes in here with its focus on getting the most efficient way to get the maximum results. This issue is finding the greatest prosperity for the minimal effort.  Then, however you also realize that more efficient effort (working hard) will bring even more prosperity because of the extra effort. The more efficient you are in working hard the more prosperity is brought to yourself.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom comes in to this discussion in the idea that the fruits are the reward and that such fruits are not the result of exploiting others for gain.  In fact wisdom makes you realize that the greatest amount of joy, efficiency and effort will come from looking to benefit more than yourself  When others join your efforts because it benefits them as well, that is far better than when they work to slow you down because you are exploiting them and so they resist.  It is better to look at ways every one benefits, so that greater things can be achieved than you can alone.

Conclusion:

I have learned a tremendous amount from looking at this virtue.  I have always tried to have a good work ethic. The issue has been constantly ‘what am I working for?’  Industriousness has allowed me to address that question.  I need to work to be self-sufficient. I want to work because there is a joy in creation.  I reason my way to be more efficient in my work to get the most out of my efforts. I work not just for myself but for others to achieve even greater things. Industriousness is focused effort toward certain goals and this is what makes it a very powerful and active virtue.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – Between Battles

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Moon’s Day. 

Journal Entry:

I have a lot more time off this week than normal from work.  I only work three days and for a total of a little more than twenty hours.  Not the greatest for the bank account but from a certain perspective it is an opportunity to do some other things and have the time to get my new career going.

So this week is also a good opportunity to do some thing to make life at home better and take a look at what can be done about things that are not getting down right now.  It is not truly going to be a week of rest so much as time between battles to adjust, train and fix my weapons and adjust my armor to use the warrior analogy.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – Be positive about my future

I am feeling my life is getting more about the future and less about the past every day.  That is good. It’s nice to put past battles in the past and look forward to see what new ones are on the horizon. Self-worth or honor is something that is growing in me and has reached the point that I feel I am more valuable than my current employment level. Time to find a more honorable occupation.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

The real issue as always is Courage. Putting myself out there are my age and with kind of restart attitude is a little challenging, but a little courage goes a long way.  The right thing to do all across the board is to act and get this next step moving in my life.  The time between battles is a time to focus and prepare and then take those steps toward the next challenge.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness to be honest and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

Truth is, I still find this task daunting at times.  It is not something I was completely unprepared for.  I was going to school for a reason after all.  It is jut the events of this last year have made this a little bit of a crisis moment instead of smooth transition.  Trying to smooth out some of that bumpy road is also a between battles task.

Higher Virtue: Love:

My motivation is all this is the woman of my life now.  My wife of almost thirty years.  The sad thing is this relationship almost came to an end.  The joyous thing is that at the last moment we both decided to give it another shot and so far it is working.

The one thing that is truly good is the realization that love does not allow you to take relationships like this for granted.  You can’t assume because love is active not passive and you have to keep expressing it to have it work. I guess if there is a silver lining to all this; it is this lesson, and we both have learned it. Forgiveness is definitely a needed, but more importantly is the need to proactively keep your love growing and pure.

Morning Routine:

  1. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) and Principles
  2. Review Goals and Bucket List
  3. Meditation
  4. Full Body Stretch
  5. Shower and Personal Hygiene
  6. Get Dressed for the Day

I like the changes and meditation is starting to feel more normal.  I did give up the lotus position thing and settle for just sitting in my chair instead but I feel that this still is a relaxed position that allows me to meditate without distraction.  I still want to add candle and incense to the whole thing but it is mostly a matter of money that this hasn’t happened.  This is an important thing to me and I don’t want to be cheap about it or not get something that truly works for me.  It should be noted that I look forward to getting up in the morning which is one of the goals here.

Bucket List:

  1. Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation.
  2. Get My Tattoos.
  3. Actually Get Drunk.
  4. Smoke a Joint.
  5. Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
  6. Write My Novel.
  7. Learn Latin.
  8. Learn Hungarian.
  9. Weightlifting – Bench 225 lbs, Squat 315 lbs, and Deadlift 405 lbs.

Yeah, I know I can do some things on this list very quickly if I wanted to.  However, as I sit here between battles and think to myself one of the harder things needs to come off of here by July.  It needs to be something significant.

Weightlifting:

I am thinking of baby steps at this point.  A portable dumbbell bench and a few dumbbells might get me back into the basics for muscle tone purposes. Once I know where I am working, I can look for a gym but even then a good home gym long-term is a better solution.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Book of Rabyd – Introduction

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

This is the beginning of a revision of a project I called The Book Of Rabyd.  Over the coming months you will see each verse of The Book of Rabyd first be preached about in the Pagan Pulpit and then slimmed down and revised again here in The Book of Rabyd posts.

In life I have heard a lot of things.  I have also pondered, thought, felt and experienced life.  I have loved so deeply that it has led me to mountain tops and the lowest valleys of emotion.  I have tried to act in justice to the point where I have fought tyranny in my own life and in the lives of others. I have above all tried to live a wise life full of balance between love and justice with varying degrees of success and failure.

Along the way I collected in my head a list of Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and a few Family Sayings.  The Book of Rabyd is my attempt to categorize these and place them into an organized form for future generations to read.  The original version appears here: The Book of Rabyd (All Things Rabyd)

It was written in this form from February 2015 to July 2015.  It needs revising. Mostly my faith and religion of the time need to be removed and everything needs to take on a more inclusive form.  Because of this there is going to be some of the parts of The Book of Rabyd that will be deleted. Others will experience wholesale revision and others will be left alone and continue to stand.

The Book is divided into three sections: Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and Family Sayings.

Life Principles are things that are the core to what I believe is effective life philosophy.  I have found them to be true the vast majority of the time and form the highest level of the hierarchy of The Book of Rabyd.  They are the core and everything flows from them.

Points of Wisdom are wise sayings that I have collected over the years that resonate with me.  Like all wise sayings they have their limits and require wisdom in understanding them and applying them to life. They have been found by me to be rather helpful in navigating life and I felt they should be passed along.

Family Sayings are simply that.  Things various family members have said that resonate with truth and are worth passing on to the next generation.  Some of them are from family members that are dead; so there is a preservation of memory attached to this as well.  This was actually the unfinished part of the original The Book of Rabyd that was still in progress.

In truth, the entire book is not a closed canon.  It always subject to review, mediation and debate. Over the coming months I plan on preaching it one verse at a time.  There will be a second post (This One: titled simply – The Book of Rabyd) on Sun’s Day in the afternoon that will be The Book of Rabyd in its pure, non-Pagan Pulpit form.  In the end my hope is to have a more compete version in a few months.

I hope you enjoy it.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Self-Reliance: Leaned Out and Building Strength

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

The thing about the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) is that the definition of self-reliance is simply ‘the spirit of independence’ and I find the simplicity of that definition to be its greatest strength. The rest of the virtue simply extends that out to the family, tribe and nation but the definition is that self-reliance is ‘the spirit of independence’. Independence is defined as free from outside control, not dependent on another for living and subsistence and thinking and acting for yourself.  To be self-reliant means to embrace the process by which you live in freedom of choice, lifestyle and thought.

There is probably no virtue of the NNV that I resonate with more. Liberty and the freedom that goes with it, is something I hold very dear. I get more angry about people trying to control me, make me dependent on them or trying to tell me what to think and do than anything else. I will not be controlled.

I also get mad when I watch people in my country casually sacrifice their rights and freedoms on the altar of security.  Dependence makes you less secure not more secure. You want security? Embrace the spirit of independence that allows you to secure as much of it as you can for yourself and by yourself. There is really no true security in his world, so live free so that way you at least you will have a wonderful life without fear.

There are two obstacles to self-reliance and both of them are internal.  1) Is to attach to many things to yourself, so that you are so obligated to other things and people who you never really can make a choice about what you want.  2) To not strengthen yourself enough to stand on your own. I say both are internal because to become dependent involves a choice to do so.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

People thrive more in freedom.  They become more of what they are capable of, when they have the liberty and freedom to pursue what makes the happy and fulfilled. Now, I don’t care what circumstances surround you, this need can always be fulfilled.  The government, religion and other factors really cannot bind a truly free person. The Virtue is always livable.  It is something we need.

The problem with this is we need to spend time strengthening ourselves and not weighing ourselves down with obligations that really do not serve us.  We should act on what gives us Joy rather than what others think we should do. It is why I embrace minimalism as a part of my philosophy. It allows me to lean myself out so that I can concentrate more on strengthening the things that give me joy.  I will talk more about the aspects of my minimalism the next cycle, but if there is any key to maintaining an attitude to independence, it starts there.

Wants (Freki):

Yes, I want self-reliance.  The one thing that I have learned is that dependence can lead to disaster.  I was very dependent on others in my last job; and quite frankly it is what bit me in the ass in the end, because those people proved untrustworthy.  I want to be in a place that even if relationships turn out to be false again, it doesn’t throw me off because I am not dependent on them.

Reason (Huginn):

Reason tells me that I must make decisions that regularly reflect on the question of do I need this or do I want this?  To many times we are following the impulses of what we want without thought of how dependent we are becoming on others to get them.  We also don’t think of how that new thing or relationship might make us obligated to the point we lose some of our freedom. I need and want self-reliance and we will not get it by simply following our impulses.  We need instead to be very deliberate about our choices in who we are in relationships with and what things we take on responsibility for.  That requires thought every time.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom tells is that liberty, freedom and self-reliance are precious things that need to be guarded and maintained. They are not easily won and so they should not easily be discarded. This constant vigilance of mind and heart is the price for it, but the benefits are truly better than the alternative.

Conclusion:

Self-reliance is something I strive for.  I have to on the one hand not bring anything in my life that drains it and I also have to strengthen myself in ways so I can maintain it. There is a constant battle here but one that is well worth it at the end of the day.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – Finding Peace and Rest (Part 1)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

 

Happy Moon’s Day. 

Journal Entry:

The Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) for me are about peace and rest in the end.  It is about putting yourself into a position to be free to the point where there is nothing but peace. The NNV are about achieving this warrior’s peace.  They may be a warrior code but the end result; the end desire is peace. It is the image of the honorable king on his throne.  His acts of courage have cause his enemies to sue for peace and his commitment to truth means his people trust him. He and his realm are at rest, peace and growing in prosperity.

The Foundational Virtues achieve this in a multitude of ways, but mostly they end anxiety and worry.  Honor means you are at peace with yourself and no longer are anxious about your inner battles. Courage means you act instead of worrying about things.  Truth means you are not anxious about what you understand and believe. You know you pursue what is honorable, courageous and true so there is little to fear when it comes to inner conflict, cowardice or lies unless they are in others.  You simply know and are at peace that you are honorable, courageous and truthful.

This week has a simple goal.  To complete as many things as possible each day but also to introduce some rewards for completion of the day, so it is in my best interest to start living things.  The planning and all the organization is mostly over.  There will be small adjustments to be sure and a growing understanding of what I am doing, but the skeleton of my vision for myself is finished. Now it is simply time to flesh it out by living it.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – Be positive about my future

The meditation each morning has really started to help with my sense of inner honor and peace. I have gotten to the point also where I can move through life and don’t give a shit what dishonorable people think about me. But I also value people and their opinions when I can see honor in them.  I don’t know if I have achieved everything here; but I feel like I have achieved a level of honor, and I am looking to try to build to the next one.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

I have actually acted in courage a lot this past week.  There were people to talk to and confront about certain issues and I have done that. I don’t know what the results will be, but I have don what needed to be done at the right time. I still have some people who try to push this Alpha Wolf around.  They find it more difficult than they think and it is amusing to me. I working on making sure this doesn’t spill over into asshole behavior as I try to respect the humanity of others no matter who they are. But if you don’t respect me; well that’s not my problem, but it will be yours if you take it too far with me. I accept the loneliness tha goes along with some of this but that’s the price of being a wolf instead of a sheep.

See the source image

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness to be honest and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

The truth that is most challenging is the one you find in the mirror.  That said, I don’t mind looking at myself in the mirror anymore. That’s the truth of it.

Higher Virtue: Love:

I find a great deal of peace these days in the arms of my wife.  The love we are growing has old roots but it has new branches and that is very good. It pulls everything together when I am holding her.  The king needs his queen’s love and that is particularly true for me.

Morning Routine:

  1. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) and Principles
  2. Review Goals and Bucket List
  3. Meditation
  4. Full Body Stretch
  5. Shower and Personal Hygiene
  6. Get Dressed for the Day

Thus routine is getting more and more automatic.  The meditation time is becoming more productive and focused and so another goal is achieved here. Of all my routines it is the one with the least problems, if any.

Bucket List:

  1. Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation.
  2. Get My Tattoos.
  3. Actually Get Drunk.
  4. Smoke a Joint.
  5. Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
  6. Write My Novel.
  7. Learn Latin.
  8. Learn Hungarian.
  9. Weightlifting – Bench 225 lbs, Squat 315 lbs, and Deadlift 405 lbs.

This is the stuff that makes life worth living.  I need to look at it that way and I think something will cross itself off of here very soon.

Weightlifting:

Until I have a new job and know where I am working for a while, the gym question is a little problematic. I probably could solve this problem by building up a set of dumbbells slowly over time as I can afford them plus a compact but functional weight bench. It isn’t the best equipment for what I do, but it would save time and be versatile.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – Robin Williams – What We Stay Alive For

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods and goddesses, or whatever powers that be either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves, and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here.  We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it.  Let’s be honest, offerings are not giving to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it.  Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never see a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Opening Song: “Blame Canada” by Robin Williams (South Park)

One of my favorite moments of Robin’s career and oddly enough a song I have been singing from time to time these days.  I play a lot of a PC game called The Long Dark.  it basically an apocalypse simulator where a freak magnetic storm destroys all electronics and your plane crashes in the Canada wilderness.  You task is simply to survive as long as possible. As I am trekking along trying to find the next resource to survive I find myself on occasion remembering this song and singing the verse of it.

Poem: “Slow Dying Flower (poem about Robin Williams)” by Shay Callow

 

He was the brightest star the world had ever seen,
but no star can burn bright forever, although that was unforeseen.
He was a man who brought joy to all those around him,
so that he never had to show them how his life was grim.
He made them laugh until their stomachs hurt,
even though inside he was full of despair, sadness and disconcert.
Like a clown, his smile was painted on,
only when he removed it did you see the wretchedness in his deep blue eyes; that’s when it dawned
that he was a slow dying flower,
fading petal by petal and losing power
until the day he’d been poisoned enough by this ghastly world,
and he died once and for all by his own hand – that’s when the truth of his life really unfurled.

Meditation:

Image may contain: sky, text, outdoor and nature

Song of Preparation: ‘Why Do We Read and Write Poetry’ by Robin Williams (scene from Dead Poets Society).

I figured the man who said the quote today should be the one to say it. plus he adds his own commentary which is nice. It is a great disappointment to me that Robin didn’t win the best actor award in a leading role. He should have with this performance.

Text: What We stay Alive For – Robin Williams

“Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”

Robin Williams – “Dead Poets Society”

Sermon:

“O captain, my captain!”  I can’t tell you how much the Dead Poets Society shaped my life.  I still difficulty watching it as it is very sad, but if has a theme it is what Robin’s character is trying to get across the entire movie – seize the day, live life, find something that makes life worth living. Write your verse and make it a good one.

I have long taken the message of this movie to heart and this quote reminds me of something I need to remember.  There are many things we do to sustain our lives but there also needs to be the things we live for otherwise life isn’t worth a damn. There are many things that are noble pursuits but if you can’t get up and have something to live for then you’re going to struggle.

In my life right now i have spent a lot of time setting goals and establishing the discipline I need to achieve them. But I can’t say the overall aim is simply to live.  To exist. There is something in life we must have a a passion for or the reason to live will run out and we will find ourselves much like Robin himself. With no reason to continue.

I  for all I am worth that no matter what life throws at me I remember that what I may be doing in life that is noble and good, I remember I need something to stay alive for.  So reason beyond life’s purpose being life itself.  To go from being alive to living life. May we all find that.

Closing Song: Friend like Me – Robin Williams from Aladdin 

I don’t know that I will ever be able to look at Aladdin the same way again or in particular the genie without thinking of Robin Williams.  This performance and animation are some of his best work. It is a pretty unforgettable song

Parting Thought:

Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'People Will Quit On You! Truth Inside OfYou You gotta get up everyday and make sure you never quit on yourself.'

If I take any inspiration from Robin’s life it is to always make sure I get up and not give up on myself.  Something we all need to remember.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Truth: Love’s Joy

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day:

Discussion:

If there is a holdover from my days as a Christian it is the connection between truth and love that is found in 1 Corinthians 13:6.  The idea that truth is something that love rejoices in is very real to me.  Of the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Truth is probably the most challenging in terms of thinking of it in love, because we often think we are more loving by protecting others or ourselves by not facing or revealing the truth. Nothing is less true.  Lies are not loving actions.  They are protective ones, but they are not loving ones.

There is a challenge here as the virtue of truth says it is better to be silent than to not tell the truth. But sometimes silence is the lie. You have to be careful here as sometimes as painful as the truth may be; it needs to be said or the silence of it perpetuates other lies.

Truth is something that loving people share with each other and being offended at the truth shows a lack of love.  With all the political correctness and people getting offended at things, you probably now know where I stand on all that.  If your offended, then you have no love there.  Love is indeed patient, not easily offended. Truth is something that challenges that on a regular basis.  Truth has the potential to offend as I have discovered on several occasions blogging.

People have their prejudices; that’s all of us by the way.  Everyone has their biases and everyone objectifies. It isn’t about race, creed or sex on this on;, it is simply a fact of being human. This is a truth that first must be faced by yourself and toward yourself. Facing your own prejudices and how you objectify others is something that is a constant battle.  Too many people take one of two tactics, either to deny their existence or to claim has arrived to a higher plane where they are no longer there. Or worse they justify them.

Objectification is particularly daunting because we do it probably every day and often to people we claim to love. Spouses objectify each other, siblings, parents to children. When you stop seeing people as human, and see them as an object to gratify your needs then you have crossed the line.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

We need truth, because it allows us to go forward to achieving what we need without objectifying others.  There is a connection here between Need and Reason that truth provides.  Our need to love and be loved has to have truth or we cannot reasonably approach the subject of how to fulfill our needs without exploitation of another’s rights. You will never be loving if you don’t face the truth about your relationships with others. Truth is needed or its is just one big game of objectification.

Wants (Freki):

We also want the truth, but we also want comfort and security.  This is probably the main reason we lie.  We don’t want to offend but in so doing we are objectifying the other person assuming they will be a problem and be offended at what we have to say.  I suppose in our culture these days this is an easy assumption to make.  But being offended and fearing to offend are equally objectification.

We want truth because it cuts through both of these things and gets to the real healing and often progress in meeting our needs and wants.

See the source image

Reason (Huginn):

Reason cannot function in lies.  It just can’t.  Reason requires truth to function and make sound decisions.   Reason simple faces the truth and draws conclusions.  It is why being a reasonable person is a loving action.  Not cold, like some would say, driven by pure logic. Reason is connected to truth and truth is the joy of love. Love sees the truth and then engages reason to genuinely help.  in this era of feelings first this needs to be stated over and over again.  Feelings cannot make right to wrong decisions, they are just feelings. reason guided by truth will always lead to loving decisions.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom says that this connection between Love, Truth and Reason needs to be constantly respected and kept in balance.  Truth becomes the pivot point between Reason and Love.  Decisions become based in truth so they are both beneficial and yet compassionate.  Wisdom respects Truth’s efforts to keep both in balance.

Conclusion:

I knew when I set up my progression though the NNV that Truth would be one of the more difficult.  Combine that with the fact I connected it the Higher Virtue of Love and you create a large and very difficult pair of concepts to grasp. Abstract doesn’t even begin to describe the difficulty. That said both of these ideas are why I believe something is out there beyond the biology and physics.  Truth is a little bit more than biological and physical facts.  Just like that which takes joy in it – Love.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Courage: Becoming the Bear

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day:

Discussion:

My first run though in Of Wolves and Ravens with the schedule I will probably focus on the Nine Noble Virtues, the second time I will focus on the flip side. In the case of courage, the other side is Western Philosophy.  Last week it was pretty easy to mesh the ideas of Honor and Eastern Philosophy. This week was becoming a challenge until I realized that part of Western philosophy is the Viking Philosophy of Courage. Much of this is related to their understanding of bears.

The vikings revered bears on a very spiritual level.  The admired them to be sure for their raw power and courage, but it was the fact that one could encounter a bear in the wild and that bear would not act in fear in the presence of man.  I am fairly certain while bears might note man’s presence, they give him little regard as far as being a threat. It was this philosophy indeed that led some to become Berserkers. Men who would work themselves up into a fearless frenzy invoking the spirit of the bear.

Courage as a Virtue for me has been a challenge.  In large part I think my Christianity is to blame. Modern Western Christianity both lessens the potential of women by keeping them in a subservient role to men and emasculates men by forcing men to deny their more basic masculine instincts.  Both of these issues cause both men and women to act with less courage than they should.

For myself I have had to reevaluate what it means to be a man and part of that has involved facing the fact that as a Christian, I was not as courageous as I should have been. If there is a spiritual reason for my rejection of Christianity outside my four theological objections, it is this attempted emasculation of men by Christianity as it stands today. For me this embracing courage and facing life more as a man of courage is central now to my philosophy.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

See the source image

This quote from the Havamal shows the need for courage on a deeply spiritual level.  The times one should have acted in courage but didn’t will haunt you and leave you without peace of mind. Regret is the final outcome of cowardice and it makes a man less of a man and a woman less of a woman. Mankind needs courage.

Wants (Freki):

I want courage as well as it allows me to achieve more than I could without it.  Taking action is the way to greater things and that requires courage.  I have come to realize that procrastination may very well be at times an act of cowardice, because I don’t want to take a risk on certain things. Other times it might be I am still thinking on it to long or I lack industriousness that I need as well, but there are a few acts of procrastination that should and would not happen if I simply had the courage to act.

Reason (Huginn):

Being reasonable about courage is hard.  But you cannot deny as a rational person that courage is something that is at times rational, because without it many things that are beneficial cannot be achieved.  There is of course a difference between being courageous and being foolhardy. The difference is found in whether the act has a rational outcome believe it or not.  Does the act of courage lead to self-exaltation and to no positive outcome, or does it lead to the protection of all that one holds sacred and achievement of goals that are beneficial.

See the source image

Wisdom (Muninn):

Wisdom is hard with this one other than to say that courage is not always found in the big actions that we often say are acts of courage but in the small actions of living life and going forward each day.  The Viking philosophy of how one dies is important, but I can only face my actual death once.  I face life every single day and there are multiple acts of courage and confidence I need to do so.  Courage is far more regularly needed in living life than the one-act of death I will face.

Conclusion:

I would say the Viking philosophy of courage is true.  It is needed, wanted and it is both rational and wise to be a courageous person. The Spirit of the Bear needs to be invoked regularly. Something I need to embrace far more for my own benefit and the benefit of those I love and that which I hold dear. The journey of the Grey Wayfarer is hopefully going to be a long one and will require many more acts of courage to be a good one. May I take each action with courage.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!