Writing

The Pagan Pulpit – The Book of Rabyd 1:1 -“If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You.”

/ 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: “Walk” Pantera Cover by Breaking Benjamin with Disturbed’s David Draiman as lead singer. 

Another unique moment in time when you have members of two bands do a cover of another band.  The real problem with music fans is that they tend to be so competitive and in truth musicians might have their rivalries, but they do get along better probably than the fans.  Metal fans can be the worst.  For me if it sounds good I will listen to it. And what sounds good really is a matter of pure opinion. I like this one.

Poem: “I am a Wolf” by Unknown

Image may contain: text

Meditation:

Image may contain: one or more people, text that says '"Fear is not real. Fear is simply the product of thoughts that you create. Danger is very real, but fear is choice."'

Song of Preparation: Humility – Carl Sagan:

Not a song, but a cold dose of reality, as we look at the first verse of the Book of Rabid.

Text: 

“If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You.” – The Book of Rabyd 1:1

Sermon:

I of course ran into my first problem with The Book of Rabyd rewrite right out the gate with verses one and two of the old version: ‘There is a God’ and ‘You are Not God’.  The first verse I would consider a little dogmatic now. The second really is a result of understanding one simple truth; that you are not the center of the universe.  After much debate with myself I came up with: “If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You”to replace them both.

The first part of verse one is a propositional phrase.  The idea is possibility without being sure of it to the point of arrogance. I think there are two dangers I am confronting with this phrase. 1) That given the vastness of the universe it is highly likely that any notion of the divine that any religion creates; if it exists, is probably wrong in some way and 2) To dismiss the notion of the divine altogether is also equally arrogant given the vastness of the universe and how little we know about it.

The second phrase is one of humility.  The real kind, not the fake kind of humility that religion produces, which I find to be attention seeking. “Look how humble I am and how much faith I have.”  Or the kind that life knocking you down achieves, which is actually a low sense of personal honor.  No, real humility is the basis for all the virtues of life Humility leads to love, justice and wisdom because one can acknowledge that you are but one being in a vast universe. But also there are other beings trying to do the best they can on this same planet with you.  Real humility leads to respect of self and others which is the foundation of all the rest.

All the virtues, no matter what you name them, should flow from this humble understanding of self and respect for both yourself and others. For me the Nine Noble Virtues are my way of expression of this, but each person could choose their own. It is where; despite the fact that I am not the center of the universe, I will act with my better and stronger self.

This change of course leads to questions about what legacy I want to pass on here. One simple one really – You don’t have to be the center of the universe to have a great life and great relationships.  Just genuine humility about yourself and respect for others.  This should lead to a Honor, Liberty and Solid Relationships.  Real humility has those results.

Closing Song: George Thorogood – One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer (Live) 1984:

One last Skaal before we go.  Blues. It’s always good. Enjoy Your Week.

Parting Thought:

No photo description available.

Given the vastness of our universe and our humility as we stand before it, we really have one choice before us – to make our own way as best we can and respect that others are doing the same.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – Master Strategy

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin’s) Day. 

Journal Entry:

I still struggle with what the master plan is here.  I don’t have a problem with the business virtues per se, but as I said yesterday, the issue is where to focus my efforts.  I suppose this is natural in any career change decision, but I also am about to hit 50 and time becomes a factor.  I have been addressing the issue of what path will get me the most income in the short and long runs and Business clearly comes out on top if I get and MBA and head that route.

I also could write on the side with that and try to get my first published novel.  I guess I need to really consider pushing this hobby of mine into something else, but would I enjoy it as much?  Probably it would be more enjoyable if I actually so some return on the time I spent writing.  Business is still a better option financially here.

Self-Reliance:

“Self Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual, but also for the family, clan, tribe and nation.”

Principle: Work to be self-reliant in all things.

Independence is still the goal.  I don’t want to put myself in the vulnerable positions of the past where I am dependent on people’s good graces for my livelihood. I want that to be the product of my own efforts.

Industriousness:

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

Principle: Work with enjoyment of work itself.

I do enjoy working, the creation of it does give me joy, it is just I need a greater challenge than my current job.  It would be nice to combine the joy of industriousness with the joy of a job that gives a lot of personal satisfaction.

Hospitality:

“Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one’s fellows, especially when they are far from home.”

Principle: Be ready to be hospitable to those who truly need it.

I keep heart open to help in any way I can.  I also after twenty years of being a pastor have a bull shit meter that goes off a lot when people say they need help.  I watched a lot of people exploit the generosity of others over the years, when their real problem was they were lazy or made willful bad self-centered choices.  I spent a lot of time thinking – “You’re in this predicament because you are stupid, addicted or just plain a liar and a thief.”  Fraud is rampant in that world and I don’t want it in my new world.  It really is a genuine challenge to find people who truly need help.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

Justice.  it is an interesting word, but it also is something I hold dear.  Mostly it is how to let people be free to make their own choices while at the same time pursuing what I want.  Liberty has to meet the grand strategy. This means it takes a little more thought than just a quick decision.  Leaning to slow down a little here has gone a long way to making things better.

 Daily Routine:

  1. Communication / Cuddle Time
  2. Blogging
  3. Reading / Study – Half-hour per day minimum or until all necessary work is completed.
  4. Clear In Box/ To Do List
  5. Financial Transaction Input
  6. Carb Count – currently one a day.

Pretty solid here.  I probably need to be a little harder on myself about getting things done. The carb count has dropped to one a day which is a true challenge.

Goals: 

  1. Be transparent with my wife to improve communication
  2. Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship.
  3. Find a new, better paying job by the end of January 2019 or before.
  4. In 2019 have  a clear budget and financial plan working by the end of the year.
  5. Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).
  6. Keep gym membership going somewhere and lift weights minimum of four times per week and walk minimum four times per week through end of 2019
  7. Follow Paleo Diet completely and use intermittent fasting until the end of 2019
  8. Cross one thing off bucket list every six months (Deadlines July 1st, and December 31st of 2019)
  9. Be in the best shape I can be by March 18th, 2019 (50th birthday), take pictures.

I may have to change the gym membership goal at least temporarily until I get a new job. I am working on the new job and the internship has started. Blog streak is at 129 days today. Diet and fasting in place and being followed – mostly.

Goals achieved since Summer 2018: 1

Budgeting: 

  1. Basic Emergency Fund – $1000
  2. Debt Snowball
  3. Fully funded Emergency fund
  4. Invest 15% of income into retirement
  5. Pay off Home Early
  6. Build Wealth and Give

Working it and things are a little better.  I just think faster progress would be made if I just made a little more money to the point things are going a little faster.

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!!!

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!!!

The Rabyd Skald – The Grey and The Wayfarer (Part 5) – A Time of Memories

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

 

Happy Thor’s Day

It is hard to believe but I haven’t written a The Grey and the Wayfarer post since early Yuletide. I have been busy enough; I think, to keep The Grey at least in check in my life and continue to walk the path. Recent days have seen a change in my mind I guess and mostly it is due to the fact that at this time last year, I began to start a time of year that is now a bittersweet memory. Mostly bitter in the end. It is not just a time of memory and struggle for me, but for my wife as well.  There is a flood of emotions about these memories for both of us and they run the whole spectrum, but mostly I notice that they have a depressive effect for me.

I think the best way to walk this path through The Grey is to firstly know that these memories are not just going to go away.  Ignoring them will not help me; nor will pretending they do not exist. That just leads to a worse mental state and that is not going to help.  There is a lot of guilt associated with many of them now, and I need to work through them to get over that.  Personally, I know it is going to be rough but I need to walk through it to make myself a better man on the other side of it.

The second thing I think needs to happen is that new good memories need to be created.  I have two significant milestones coming up during this time:  1) My 50th birthday – personally I don’t care if it celebrated, and I am not sure given last year who would come to such a thing, but it is a significant thing to be a half a century old.   2) My wife and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary on June 10th. Given that we spent last anniversary apart, I think it is very important that we celebrate this one and do it together. I guess I would rather see a celebration here by family as well for a lot of reasons. Mostly we need a celebration of our love for each other.

In the meantime, every day is a journey of another step toward where I want to be.  There are many forks and crossroads ahead. I need to make wise decisions as to which path to take. The problem of course with The Grey, and why I am taking it pretty seriously right now, is that it is like an overcast sky that can make the things unclear and not as illuminated as they could be as I choose which path to take.  It is why I stick to my plans and goals with discipline, despite what I feel at times, so I keep moving.

The one writing note I have at this time is that I am planning on doing some fiction writing soon.  It has just been a little difficult to get my Muse to kick my ass into gear about it. I don’t know, she might be asleep or on vacation. In any case though, I have a lot of time off from work next week; and unless that changes, I plan on filling that with school, continuing my  job search and writing fiction.

Thanks to all that read this blog. You are appreciated.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

Crossing Bifrost – Gods and Goddesses – The Norse Pantheon

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

 

Happy Saturn’s Day

The center piece of course of Norse mythology is the characters that play on its stage and that is the Gods and Goddesses of the pantheon.  The interesting thing about the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology is that they are very real.  Some critics of such pantheons say that these gods are all too human, but then again so is the jealous and vengeful god of the Bible. The point of such stories is not to be historically accurate or factual but to be morality plays that people think on.  Religion dwells in the realm of ethics and one has to wonder if the stories are the smart clergyman’s way of illustration of the values people are trying to pass on.

The Norse God’s family tree is complicated.  Like most myths the central characters are not the first generation.  Rather they are often the third and fourth generation.  There is also the complication of the fact that the Norse Pantheon also has two separate races of gods the Aesir and the Vanir.  Plus the Gods often mate with the giants producing offspring.  So most people can relate to such gods as the whole family question seems to be pretty relative. The whole Vanir /Aesir question seems to be the result at least as far as I understand it of two mythologies of different parts of the Scandinavian / Germanic world merging.  The result is a little confusion but it makes for an interesting story in and of itself when Freya, who is Vanir, is sent as an exchange to Asgard which is the home of the Aesir.

The stories of the Norse Gods are quite extensive but they have a couple challenging issues. 1) The goddesses do play prominently very often and so their personalities as far as characters in the story or even a full idea of what their sphere and powers are is sometimes missing. 2) There are gaps in the stories like there are supposed to be more of them but they were not written down. My guess is that there are tons of stories that were told but only a few were preserved.

From my perspective as a writer this is a blessing in some ways because I can fill in the gaps when I use Norse mythology and no one can really bitch about it. I can for instance take what little is known about the goddess Hel for example and then fill in the gaps with my own imagination which is what I did in this post: The Grey Wayfarer (Fantasy Serial) – Chapter 5 – Evil Intent (Hel).  I can also do this with other blank spots in the story and characters.  So Norse mythology becomes a rich backdrop that my imagination as a writer can fill in the blank spots. It is primarily why The Grey Wayfarer will center on female goddesses because I can fill in the gaps and there are a lot of gaps.

In popular culture of course the Norse Pantheon is prevalent from the comics all the way to books and movies and has been so for a long time. The influences of this pantheon are seen in other characters indirectly as well.  JRR Tolkien’s Gandalf the Grey is certainly inspired in part by Odin.  There are simply tons of this kind of thing in fantasy literature and that is kind of my reason for delving into it.  To find my own inspiration for my own characters and writing.

There is also the fact that a religion built around a warrior culture is fascinating.  It is amazing to me how many of this pantheon are gods and goddesses of battle or war. I would say very few of them could not be invoked before a battle by a Viking, and that makes conflict a central aspect of the pantheon.  War and battle are common but also politics and diplomacy. Adventure in these stories is often high and powerful.

In the future the Gods and Goddess’ section of Crossing Bifrost will center on a singular god or goddess.  There basically will be dossier of them and then some thoughts about them from my perspective.  My goal is to draw inspiration with Crossing Bifrost and this section will be no different. I will probably start with Odin of course and then work radially out from him.  It seems if there is one thing that binds the whole thing together is the All-Father.

As always I claim no expertise here.  I am still learning and reading but I want to keep a record of my thoughts as I do.  The goal of Crossing Bifrost is to record my journey in understanding this rich mythology, not necessarily to educate.  If while I am doing that you are inspired and learn something then that is a bonus for me.

I hope you continue to enjoy this.

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

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues – Smithing My Fortune

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin’s) Day. 

Journal Entry:

I don’t believe in fate or destiny or any of that crap. I look at what people call fate or whatever, and it looks suspiciously to me like you are just reaping the rewards of your own decisions good or bad.  I also don’t believe everything happens for a reason.  I believe sometimes good things happen and there is no reason to it. Of course, I have long rejected the notion that God causes all things to happen to us; as it gets very difficult to explain that there was a good reason for a woman to be raped or for parents to see the five-year old child drown.  Sorry sometimes shitty things happen and there is no greater plan.  You can learn from these things; and be a better and stronger person for it, but there is often no sense to be made from it.

So when I look at making my own way in the world and building something for my wife and I, I look to my self and my own decisions.  As the Icelandic proverb states – I am well aware that I am the smith of my own fortune.  There are two issues right now. 1) Finding a better job and 2) whether or not to continue with my education.

I am trying not to be as picky, but at the same time my previous work and life experience should count for something. I don’t think being a lawyer would work for me.  I would rather do business, writing or even, somebody mentioned this to me. journalism. Mostly though I have to make up for twenty years of doing a professional grade job (pastor is white-collar) for wages at the hourly Joe job level for twenty years, and so I lean toward business.

If this is the case then an MBA might be a better plan long-term.  The nice thing is that there are so many completely online MBA programs these days.  Even one at the college I just graduated from.  I have to give this one serious thought.

Self-Reliance:

“Self Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual, but also for the family, clan, tribe and nation.”

Principle: Work to be self-reliant in all things.

The goal is complete self-reliance in all things. To do that now and in the future requires a growth in prosperity.  You can’t just get content even late in life. It leads to stagnation and death. Self-Reliance is very much about staying strong long-term.

Industriousness:

“Industriousness is the willingness to work hard, always striving for efficiency, as a joyous activity in itself”

Principle: Work with enjoyment of work itself.

I can work any job with some enjoyment to it.  However, I do long for a job I love, but any work can be enjoyable if you look at it through the right frame of mind.

Hospitality:

“Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one’s fellows, especially when they are far from home.”

Principle: Be ready to be hospitable to those who truly need it.

I really don’t have much opportunity to be hospitable, but it is always there.

Higher Virtue – Justice:

This question of ‘is this decision just’ is always in front of me now. Every time I do something related to other people, I find myself thinking on what the best or most right decision should be for all parties and advocate for that. I guess I am pretty good at being a negotiator in some terms, at least in the terms of seeing both sides of an issue.

 Daily Routine:

  1. Communication / Cuddle Time
  2. Blogging
  3. Reading / Study – Half-hour per day minimum or until all necessary work is completed.
  4. Clear In Box/ To Do List
  5. Financial Transaction Input
  6. Carb Count – currently two a day.

Carb count drops to two for this week and next.  The rest now reflects three online classes and an internship, plus staying on top of keeping my marriage strong.

Goals: 

  1. Be transparent with my wife to improve communication
  2. Finalize last requirements for my degree – Internship.
  3. Find a new, better paying job by the end of January 2019 or before.
  4. In 2019 have  a clear budget and financial plan working by the end of the year.
  5. Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).
  6. Keep gym membership going somewhere and lift weights minimum of four times per week and walk minimum four times per week through end of 2019
  7. Follow Paleo Diet completely and use intermittent fasting until the end of 2019
  8. Cross one thing off bucket list every six months (Deadlines July 1st, and December 31st of 2019)
  9. Be in the best shape I can be by March 18th, 2019 (50th birthday), take pictures.

Gym Membership is on hold and the job search has yielded so far no results.  The rest of them are all in progress.  When today’s post drops we will be at 115 straight days of blogging.

Goals achieved since Summer 2018: 1

Budgeting: 

  1. Basic Emergency Fund – $1000
  2. Debt Snowball
  3. Fully funded Emergency fund
  4. Invest 15% of income into retirement
  5. Pay off Home Early
  6. Build Wealth and Give

Still working # 1 but it is getting closer.  The key is still a better paying job for myself. Time to smith a better fortune for myself.

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!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – How to Deal with Illness

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Moon’s Day. 

Journal Entry:

I spent the majority of the weekend in bed.  I even called in to work to tell you how bad it was. Except I have learned that the best way for me to handle things when I am sick is to rest and sleep as much as possible.  Let my body have all the resources it needs to fight off whatever it is and then I recover quicker.

When it comes to my routines, meditation, etc. It pretty much goes out the window that day.  Some things take precedence over those things and recovery of health is one of them. That said, I woke up Sunday, did my morning routine and headed out the door to work. I wasn’t 100 percent but I was capable of working so there I went.  My hope was hope was to get back home and rest some more.

That said some meditation found its way to my sick-bed.  It is strange the things you think of when you are sick and perhaps it is best not to dwell on anything too much in that state of mind.  Nothing positive will come of it.  But Meditation was used to calm myself down a couple of times and relax so I could rest.  The point of routines is to develop strengths that you can use in moments of crisis or struggle and sickness is a little of both.

I started the week coming out of sickness but still managed to go the first day pretty strong but probably resting and sleeping more than I wished.

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 think one of the hardest things to do while sick is maintain a positive attitude. You really have those moments of challenging your self-worth or honor.  it is hard to see the end of things when sick, like certain sicknesses will end eventually.  It’s probably the only positive thing you can think of at the time – ‘this too will pass’.

Courage:

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

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

I don’t know if courage counts while sick unless you are facing something major and life threatening. The normal flu and colds are mostly a matter of Perseverance.  But I have to say when you feel sick and have to function and do so I might take an action of courage to keep going.

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.  I am not immortal. I am not invulnerable. I am not super man.  I am human and subject to human frailty. Hard lessons every time I am sick but lessons I need to remind myself of each day.

Higher Virtue: Love:

My wife is a saint when I am sick.  I ask very little of her because I don’t want to be one of those men who is a big baby when he is sick.  That said, she often does a lot of things on her own to help me and take care of me. I have to say there is a lot of love to it and for that I am very grateful.  I always plan to return that when she is sick.

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

Major adjustments here are the removal of Breakfast and Supplements and Medications which are now part of the evening routine.  Meditation is now more ‘formal’ but also more focused on what it needs to be.

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.

I think number 2 is up first. then number 6 for the second half of the year.  I just need a better job with more income to make the first happen.

Weightlifting:

I don’t know, the problem of getting a new gym is made more complicated by the fact that I have no idea where my new job might be. This would have a tremendous bearing on that subject.  I don’t want my new gym to just be a temporary place but a new gym home and that means I would have to have some sense of permanence to both my work and life which is something I don’t have right now. I might simply have consider what I can do at home for minimal cost.

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

Skaal!!!