Pantheism

Week 31 - the letter "P"

I've never felt a true connection with any one God or Goddess, and it certainly is not for lack of trying.  When I am leading group rituals within one of my groups, we tend to follow a Wiccan-style format where we honor a generic God and Goddess and call them as such - God and Goddess, Lord and Lady, etc.  Because balance is a major key for me, the male and female aspects make the most sense but still do not feel right.

While I have been working on defining my spirituality/religious beliefs for a while, I've been focusing on it since the start of the year.  I'm not deity-driven.  One aspect that has caught my attention is Pantheism. 

According to the World Pantheist Movement, these are their basic concepts:

• Reverence for Nature and the wider Universe.
• Active respect and care for the rights of all humans and other living beings.
• Celebration or our lives in our bodies on this beautiful earth as a joy and a privilege.
• Strong naturalism, without belief in supernatural realms, afterlives, beings or forces.
• Respect for reason, evidence and the scientific method as our best ways of understanding nature and the Universe.
• Promotion of religious tolerance, freedom of religion and complete separation of state and religion.

For the most part, those basic concepts resonate with me.  The "without belief in supernatural realms, afterlives, beings or forces" concept is the main one that isn't quite me but I haven't really explored it fully.  But, I do believe in reincarnation so that disbelief in an afterlife doesn't work for me.  But I'm eclectic and modify concepts - with respect - to create my own personal vision. 

The idea that everything and everyone is divine and interconnected is something I can really get behind.  We are equal and we are divine.  I am accountable only to myself.  My thoughts on Karma also fit nicely into the Pantheistic point-of-view.  I do not live my life with the intention of being rewarded once I die and I do not believe that asking for forgiveness for the things I do can be remedied so I can move on to "heaven" or someplace similar.  I am responsible for all of my actions - good, bad, foolish, etc.  I know there are consequences, and I evaluate those potential consequences as part of my decision-making process...so that is the Grey in me.  Animism, according to some sources, goes hand-in-hand with Pantheism so that's yet another check in the "pro" column in my book.

I found a Pantheist calendar that celebrates the 8 Sabbats and a host of other holidays such as Martin Luther King day as a time to focus on anti-discrimination, Hiroshima day to focus on peace, and World AIDS day.  The holidays include birthdays of people key in the Pantheism movement, days that focus on nature, the universe, and the environment.  There is honoring of humanitarians and aspects that represent facets of our being and special roles we may hold.  The holiday make sense to me and I see why they are celebrated in Pantheism.  The full moons and principle meteor showers are also noted as important days of recognition.

The idea of celebrating and honoring the things, moments, and people we cherish is sensible because those are the things that shape us, and inspire us, and hold deep in our hearts for all time.  I really like the idea of regularly celebrating life and our own journey.

I plan to explore Pantheism more but feel that it will take a prominent place in my belief system.