Date: Thu May 15 22:52:37 PDT 1986 From: vaxine!encore!ihnp4!hoptoad!newage (New Age Moderator) New Age Digest #39 Moderator: newage@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney) uucp: {ihnp4,lll-crg,well,ptsfa,frog}!hoptoad!newage arpa: hoptoad!newage@lll-crg.arpa Thu May 15 22:52:39 PDT 1986 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Tonight: Introduction of Sorts Psychic Resources Re: Z. Budapest (two messages) Re: Appropriateness of Everything New Member Self-Description New Age Sexuality ---------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 May 86 00:58:43 PDT From: sunny (Sunny Kirsten) Subject: Introduction of sorts I'm very much a novice, and try to remain open to lots of sources of conflicting info. I tend to explore lots of things trying to see what resonates with my own Being. Perhaps I'm naively blundering along a set of ignorantly chosen paths, but my main criteria for whether to persue anything depends on my own sense of whether I can persue a path as a learning experience which helps me in my search of the right hand path, towards the light, white magic. Practices and people which I see either involved with, or leading me towards, the left hand path, towards the dark, black magic, I avoid. For example, I recently met a guy who was very much into many aspects of occult and metaphysics, who had a really interesting library, and I was very much interested in learning from him and his library, but, as I talked with him, I got an ever increasing "sense" that his involvement was not purely on the side of white magic. A Tarot reading that night confirmed I should avoid him, which I have done since. And so, I find that as I meet others interested in metaphysics, often one of the first questions I ask is: "Why are YOU interested in metaphysics". The answer to that question is often enough to discern whether their present path is on the dark side or the light side. My main interests are to achieve better communication with my higher self, and to become a healer... first so I can heal myself, and then so I can heal others. My path for this latter goal is that of psychic healing. My path for the former has been Tantric. I relate to the Tantric path as the sane approach to learning and growing your balance of body and spirit. That the body is not to be denied in the persuit of spirit, but that as one does get into better communication and oneness with one's spirit, that body becomes less of a focus, need, obstacle. Tantra has in fact, been the path which led me to spiritual awareness at all. The heaviest confirmation I had of my newly awakening spiritual awareness was via a Shamanic vision-quest. Once that spiritual awareness was awakened, I've turned towards the psychic path for the reason that it has been the best combination I've found of acceptance / non-denial of all paths of spiritual/religious belief, and of encouragement towards direct personal communication with one's higher self, and with the supreme being, and towards owning one's own power and being ultimately responsible for one's own life. I find the followers of Jesus to be a bit over zealous and emphatic that His is the only path, whereas my viewpoint is that there were seven avatars who have come to earth teaching the "words of God", including RamaKrishna, Buddha, and the most recent and most evolved of the seven being Jesus. I have this basic approach which says I must keep an open mind to the many paths to the one, and that anyone who claims they have the "only" or "best" path, or that I need a guru or priest or father or other human to mediate between myself and the Supreme Being, is likely to lead me away from the light rather than towards it. I've found the Pagan/Wiccan appreciation of the Earth Mother to be sorely missing in many other paths, though represented at least equally well in the Shamanic path. The recognition of androgyny in Shamanism appeals greatly to me. I would say in summary that my primary paths are Tantrik/Shaman/Psychic-Healing and a lot of secondary level interest in the Mystical Qabalah/Pagan/Wiccan/Hindu/Rosicrucian. I'm also studying crystals, music, color, aroma, massage, rebirthing, alchemical hypnotherapy, etc. Whatever works! I'm searching, because I was raised agnostic with overtones of atheism. Lacking any specific religious background, I'm not overly attached to any one path, and I have a fairly open mind which accepts that there are many paths. I also believe that we EACH create our own reality, and that those all can't agree. Therefore I don't expect anyone else's answer or reality to be optimal for me, and I certainly don't expect mine to be right for anyone but me. But I do believe rather strongly that my exploration of these many paths has helped me grow and become aware at whole new levels, that these have greatly enriched my life, and that by sharing my own beliefs, especially given their minority nature, that others may come to question, learn, grow, and even give me feedback I can learn from. Sunny ---------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 May 86 01:01:42 PDT From: sunny (Sunny Kirsten) Subject: A brief Psychic Resource Directory The following listings are extracted from an issue of Psychic Life Berkeley Psychic Institute - sponsored by the Church of Divine Man, main office: (415)548-8020 2436 Haste St., Berkeley, CA 94704 BPI (415)325-4124, 235 Alma, Palo Alto, CA 94301 BPI (415)459-8830, 1752 Lincoln Ave., San Rafael, CA 94903 BPI (916)452-4081, 1614 27th St., Sacramento, CA 95816 BPI (408)429-6166, 1320 Mission, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 BPI (707)545-8891, 1591 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407 BPI (619)224-1797, 3137 Nimitz Blvd., San Diego, CA 92106 BPI (408)298-6443, 180 E. Younger Ave., San Jose, CA 95113 BPI (415)462-3040, 328 St. Mary's St., Pleasanton, CA 94566 Washington Psychic Institute - Sponsored by the Church of Divine Man Regional Office (206)463-9671, Route 5, Box 479, Vashon, Wa 98070 WPI (206)782-3617, 2007 N.W. 61st, Seattle, WA 98107 WPI (509)325-5771, 2803 N. Loncoln, Spokane, WA 99205 WPI (206)759-7460, 4604 North 38th, Tacoma, WA 98407 WPI (206)671-4291, 1311 I St., Bellingham, WA 98225 WPI (503)232-3443, 1906 S.E. Ankenny, Portland, OR 97214 WPI (206)258-1449, 2308 Lombard, Everett, WA 98201 WPI (604)879-8707, 655 W. 7th, Vancouver, B.C. V5Z1B7 Rev. Alanna Marea Karels (Psychic Aura Readings) Anchorage, AK (907)344-0410 Rev. Thelma Meites (Psychic Readings & Healings) Upstate New York (315)347-2100 Rev. Laurie Schryver (Psychic Nutritional Readings) <-- my teacher (415)331-9142, (702)588-4150 Hal Glasser (313)731-3006 Utica, MI Carol Songtree (602)721-8013 Tucson, AZ Lea Swain (502)395-8172 Calvert City, KY Sunny Kirsten U.P.S.: 10329 Hilltop Rd. U.S. Mail: P.O.B. 2025 Loch Lomond, CA 95426-2025 Voice Phone: (707) 928-5546, 987-2477 USENET: ...!{sun,ptsfa,well,lll-crg,ihnp4,ucsfcgl,nsc,frog}!hoptoad!sunny ---------------------------------------- Date: Wed 14 May 86 11:47:00-CDT From: Ellen Seebacher Subject: Re: New Age Digest # 38 In response to Jody's question about the _Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows_: Erica Jong's _Witches_ bibliography gives "Venice, California: Luna Publi- cations, 1976" as the relevant information. (Budapest's first name, by the way, is Zsuzsuanna.) I haven't checked to see if it's still in _Books in Print_, but if it is, I'd be more than happy to order it through my neighbor- hood cooperative bookstore. (Two copies...one for me, one for Jody!) Ellen Keyne Seebacher (x9. ---------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 14 May 86 14:59 CDT From: Brett Slocum Subject: Re Book Search I don't know where you can order Z Budapest's book, but I do have the address of her coven's newsletter: Thesmophoria Box 11363 Oakland CA 94611 You should be able to inquire there. --Brett Slocum -- (Slocum at HI-MULTICS.ARPA) ---------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 May 86 00:15:09 EDT From: "Scott W. Layson" Subject: Acceptance of "Objections to `All That Is, Is Right'" Date: Thu, 17 Apr 86 02:06:43 cst From: ihnp4!seismo!ut-sally!ut-ngp!kjm (Ken Montgomery) Subject: Objections to "All That Is, Is Right" Someone (Owen Rowley, I think...) has put forth the notion that everything that happens is somehow appropriate. I simply can't buy it. Why not? I have several reasons. First I want to say that it's perfect that you can't buy this notion. I don't really know why it's perfect, and not knowing why doesn't shake my faith in its perfection, but being as addicted to understanding as the next person, I offer the following as one possible reason. When I first read your message, my reaction (albeit much milder than it has been in the past) was to be upset, as if my point of view were being "attacked". In fact, I started to title this message "Objections to `Objections to ...'". Then I noticed what I was about to do and had to laugh at myself. So by being a mirror for the part of my mind that agrees with you, you've helped me to further integrate the opposite point of view (which my intuition tells me is right, though my intellect rebels). And actually, something like that is, I imagine, often part of the perfection of situations that may not appear perfect at first glance. Take, for instance, the imposition of the death penalty for murder. The state is saying "Killing is wrong, so we're going to kill you." Eventually, I imagine, people will begin to wake up to the fact that this is what's going on. (Actually, of course, many people have.) So one might well say that, as long as there's so much anger and judgment in our minds that we're willing to impose the death penalty, we *need* murderers to be mirrors to our insanity, literally to act out our subconscious so we can see ourselves. So though I encourage you to believe that the world is imperfect as long as you're so inclined, I gather (since you sent the message) that you're interested in conversation on the subject, so I'll offer more detailed responses to your comments. To begin with, it strikes me as a cop-out. I think that if you understood the entire thought system that goes with the belief in the perfection of all phenomena, you would know that it's quite the opposite of a cop-out: it's the ultimate taking of responsibility. My comments above hint as to why. To experience everything as perfect, I must cleanse my own mind of all negativity. To the extent I do this, I help heal those around me. When no one on the planet is any longer capable of seeing violence, it will cease to exist. What is ever the motive for violence but prior violence? If one can't explain why bad things happen, then simply find a way to label any- and everything as good, and all the trouble will vanish. Right? Wrong! I fail to see how relabelling something changes its nature. That's because you believe that events have meanings in and of themselves, and so are not aware that you literally invent the meaning for yourself of everything that seems to happen to you. "Relabelling something changes its nature" because *it has no nature*. Thus the idea seems like the same sort of nugatory (but supposedly somehow "comforting") nonsense that one hears at Christian funerals. What are you so angry about? The question is not as flippant as it might sound. I am just lately (like, this week) getting in touch with a whole new mass of repressed anger in my own psyche ("new" in the sense that I hadn't been aware of its presence until recently). It seems to go back to the first couple of weeks, or perhaps months, of my life; it seems to have to do with not being taken care of "properly" (not that I was abused or anything, just that I considered the standard treatment of newborns current in the late '50s to be pretty piss-poor). I say "it seems to" and put "properly" in quotes because, as I focus on forgiving my mother and the doctors and nurses at the hospital, I am coming to understand that the real problem was the thought I've had, probably since well before this lifetime, that I don't really deserve to be loved. Probably it was partly as a consequence of holding this thought that I was born when and where and to whom I was. And, to be honest, I feel still quite stuck in the anger. While at one level I know it's perfect -- perhaps I was a really unloving mother in some previous lifetime and am now experiencing that karma -- at another level I'm quite uncomfortable with it. Oh well. So it's not to insult you or make fun of you that I ask what you're so angry about. It's just that you may find the question worth meditating on. The above viewpoints are mine. They are unrelated to those of anyone else, including my cat and my employer. *Especially* your cat. Your cat Understands. I wanna be a cat next time, please Goddess? -- Scott ---------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 May 86 00:32:33 EDT From: "Scott W. Layson" Subject: Self-introduction [LAH: you asked me for a self-intro on Paganism months ago. Here, finally.] Hi, Name: Scott Layson (GYRO@MIT-AI.ARPA) Age: 28 Vocation: software entrepreneur Avocation: metaphysical ramblings such as can be seen in my previous message to this Digest. Also assorted mystical practices, of which my favorite right now are the Course in Miracles and Rebirthing. Birthchart data: Double Aries, Libra rising, Venus in Pisces (as a button I have says: I love everyone -- and you're next!), *no planets in Earth signs* (can we say Space Cadet?). As you see, I love to babble metaphysics. If my rantings get to be too much for anyone, let me know and I will confine them to MetaPhilosophers@MIT-OZ.ARPA, on whom I usually inflict them (but they ASKED to have their names on the list!). -- Scott ---------------------------------------- From: Tim Maroney Subject: New Age Sexuality Date: Thu May 15 20:44:30 PDT 1986 I would like to hear others' comments about sexuality in the new age. This includes both social and ritual aspects of sex. This is a topic on which there seems to be a great deal of disagreement as well as nearly universal interest, so.... Where I am coming from. Sexually, I'm not anything. That is, I'm not heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual. I'm not monogamous, nor polygamous, nor promiscuous. Until recently, I thought I was a semi-monogamous bisexual, but I have realized that all such categorizations are formalizations of a fundamentally informal and diverse process. (I held the former attitude for some seven years, and have only held the latter for a few months.) All I have are preferences, not definitions, and the preferences are informal and continually shifting. You might say that sexually, like politically and religiously, I am eclectic. I have sex almost entirely for recreational reasons. Sometimes I will tie meditative elements into my sexual activities (usually in the form of an invocation of Nuit, the Thelemic goddess of love), but usually not. I do no formal ritual or meditative sexual practices, although I have familiarized myself with them in theory, particularly the Taoist, Tantric, and Thelemic practices. One reason I have not experimented with these is lack of suitable or interested partners for this type of sex. Another is that they seem too easy. I usually avoid drugs in my magick work as well, for the same reason. I don't in any sense disapprove of them, but I feel that in my current, Neophyte stage of development, I need to develop my intrinsic skills, and not rely overmuch on this sort of accelerator. Rather like an athelete in training would not take strength or speed-enhancing drugs, and in fact might burden herself down. Would those more experienced than I care to comment on this attitude, and on the relationship between recreational and meditative/magickal sex? I have friends of various persuasions. I probably even know a celibate or two, although I am not aware of it. I know people who are convinced that homosexuality is the wave of the future, people who claim that anything except monogamous heterosexuality is a "sin" (whatever that means), people who think that heterosexuality is intrinsically inferior to bisexuality and homosexuality, people who feel that monogamy is always a "hang-up", and so forth. Until recently, I thought everyone was bisexual at the root, until I realized that was a rather prejudiced attitude; now my only "bigotry" is in viewing celibacy as a serious psychological or physical dysfunction. Why do we feel obligated to put down other orientations from our own? Are there any orientations (excluding the obvious ones like Ted Bundy's) which do in fact deserve to be put down? Where is society heading on sex? I recently moved to California, in which a sort of "reverse bigotry" seems widespread. It seems fairly common for people in the state who are not heterosexual or not monogamous to ascribe heterosexuality or monogamy to a sort of mental disease. The motivation seems to be largely self-aggrandizement. I went to a clothing-optional party of this sort in which the people were clearly very aware that they were "the enlightened ones" for being able to walk around without clothes -- an attitude that I went beyond during my initial experiments with semi-public nudity, when I was sixteen years old. It became obvious then that un-self- conscious nudity was purely a matter of acclimitization, and that the lowliest of human beings would learn to cope with fears of nudity within a few days of exposure to it. In short, that nudity was really just a different style of clothing. Most people there seemed to be of the "We are not neurotic like everyone else" mindset. This I would class with the belief that hetero- sexuality is inferior to homosexuality and bisexuality, as self-serving, "cheap shot" (because incredibly easy, requiring no genuine work on self) methods of self-aggrandizement. Will this become the norm? Are people destined to always over-react against restrictions and swing to the opposite extreme, which in reality is just as restrictive? If this is the way we're heading, what can we do about it? Incidentally, I have nothing against clothing-optional parties, provided they are not self-conscious, and the people don't boast before and after the parties about how non-neurotic they are and how most people wouldn't be able to take it, which is blatantly false. I view them as being costume parties; but no one is silly enough to make a cultish affair out of their costume parties. I feel much the same way about ritual nudity; there are operations for which nudity would be the appropriate costume, and operations for which other costume would be more appropriate. I don't agree with the Gardnerian unconditional glorification of nudity. I've gone on long enough, and antagonized enough people. I would be interested in any and all opinions on the subject of sex in the new age, whether on these topics or others. Specific discussions of magickal and/or meditative sexual techniques would also be appreciated. And remember, I am willing to conceal the identity of anyone who requests it of me (in case you missed the "From" line, this is the moderator speaking), though no one has yet gotten into deep enough waters to request it. If you don't want me to know who you are, you can always send it through a third party. -- Tim Maroney, Electronic Village Idiot {ihnp4,sun,well,ptsfa,lll-crg,frog}!hoptoad!tim (uucp) hoptoad!tim@lll-crg (arpa) "There =isn't= any evil, Alec... no special blackness reserved for demons and monsters. There's just weakness... I had a choice..." --------------------- End of New Age Digest --------------------- * Via Fido 100/51 21 May 86 05:04:02 !Aa #=#?$A"$CEb$G$I$K$M$O%Q"%SUb%W%Y%[%]%_&a"&cB&eb&g&i&k&m&o'q"'O'ub'w'y'{())*"*B*o***(~y4=XI-LZrkv&"2z=緘^3:TY=+'2)e5鍃roCKxv&R-[9N;Tj 4pRxmRaxU!.3p;Iߠh>n5bｆ&!//!|>B56~rM@9M*+R70jX"O}6̆*C35Quj,Rb&<ᆊP#6UPl9X-I_K2[sg#>[7#(p) X#M9QO8,.#:@##;1룊 #T38ϸ1PR)_V%1tOI(Rk_t/EQ$N[> o*i@}ir)\Q1;[1DrA#XV/(?K4J!<[`.bS`hsnc\"^mq.TP-` RS}[ %A5s1hPr)hA-YQP+gfLDzfe&%8$ qo >ߟOh33⍁gѭF@/A"L/xѳ=gW~Vߟ[Z0d?.NH5ˆ F3&a_8L{I4 E] tL:9r&~t[dR"r2G^?%x")O GE&u0sv%]^SAIz[v2׼eÈs+7u%*W5aVH4oaI0lGE&u01udR'U1%'UcJHL4s4go^'%|&&m9uAHL4~("W,s4eSOee#Zā$LQ0u o<[n׼ei#׼eÈs+7u ")RJ,Oz:`2Ai`0GE&u0zX=ER /})1D-n1G*yXU7l=I0Vy9K.2CT@/ EL7e%GsEK JY0Vy9K.CT@/ EL#2G/EPlyCCK JY0}+ywE,"CT@/ EL0/Ǭ'0"<( As q(_21*1,/'{o1Xk.1I@TBPLAsj&<( q(_u_?QP{.Xk.1I@TBPL:2Yƒ"k ׌"uQ yzv#CT@/ EL7YXj&<( q(_I!\NG/'k14"CT@/ ELPbXCyh&<( q(_7$,/'_Xk.1I@TBPLBTpS̱KPlG*yXG*Y?f_h.1I@TBPLxBTpS NFJ 7QACT@/ ELTpS NFJ 7QABPL1I@T0"BPL1I@T0!Ne/V$Fq%?`m>BPL1I@T"C0I@TBPLRє}A6S W/Spgg/Ĺf) Q1 D+TAd"%1rU2WONMxZNf) Q1^ uXNS W/SpB*Bi cb ea㮆|'k$;W1ivf," beU02dM&SPuGPEL><KYP#;3S̟YcM&̅UwAYA53:żԵ0NǤ-1qi4R6bMRNPVW`fG53_3X:@a'ٸj&&1H!*Ng/y'oMY)WU/HrA;dxA]A^F5͹Pw(f`TN=(>VQ1*Wt140%ɀ,kHɑD@Ng/ҡ"8yCjZ@Zatx"j7/!3Y'3S:+.Me0N0x6!*H#.1A/ %bTMlNңQ8VF,XזLNBI1+NӇ4?[+1.AՄ$-cS}V9>Hb !< LE`ڈwH@!iIC5# S]lN#Af`9j]q+Hj˨2Xk!S0My)GY&`N)g`N [fE7 A7jjPPP0N/goQs]#@/<;$$o!M'?\1R",}_F 5EZQXJ_`!-Lrgp 7#Z%fTkS=Ne* ʗ4EANңQ8VF,Xb!LGpS1RMlhClNLˆ48 \wXp,As޶С! 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