Showing posts with label psychology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psychology. Show all posts

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Mental Miasma Is Real

All religions, that I know of, have an emphasis on being clean and pure, especially before religious or spiritual activity. Even Christianity, the religion that is supposed to accept the dirtiest among us, often has holy water at the doors of its churches for people to use before they enter. Specifically in Hellenic Polytheism, we routinely practice purification not only of our clothes and bodies before rituals, but also of the altar, altar tools, and offerings themselves. We even clean our statues on a regular basis, sometimes ritually. Nothing is left to chance with negativity or impurity, because we believe that too much negativity or miasma (pollution) on something, in whatever form that pollution may be, can hinder one's connection with the Gods, if not disrupt it completely. This holds dire consequences in both the short and long term. In the short, it may obstruct your ritual activity. In the long run, it can have a profound impact on your relationship with the Gods and therefore your general feelings and attitudes in daily life. The good news is that miasma is normally easily remedied with simple purified sea or sea salt water and good hygiene. The only thing that would require higher measures would be unusual miasma like coming into contact with a dead body. In that case, you might want to use sulfur for purification along with the other elements. A good scrubbing with Lava soap might do the trick.

But I think there is another form of miasma that I myself have experienced, and that may be overlooked in some circles, and that's the pollution of the mind. Mental negativity on the quality of life is not just an opinion, it's scientifically documented. Think about it, the body cannot live without the mind. In fact, you cannot do anything correctly or productively without your brain. If it is in disrepair, you will be too, and the bad part is that a mind which has been damaged a lot or allowed to deteriorate, can take a little while to mend, although it's certainly possible to do so. So what do I mean by mental miasma? It is any ailment of the mind that causes you to lose connection with the Gods or Higher Powers in any way. This normally happens during prayers or rituals, but can impact you at any time. It's really a problem with people who have depression, anxiety or other mental problems, but it also consists of simple negative thoughts entering your consciousness during the given time period that disrupts your connection with the Gods. It can actually make you feel so terrible that you don't feel as if your prayers or rituals did anything, literally a feeling of nothing. It's the worst state you can find yourself in. 

In my own experiences, I have consistently recorded these negative impacts of mental pollution on myself. I have noted, for example, the difference in how I feel during a simple prayer when I have a positive vrs a negative mindset or attitude. The first thing I considered was the building up of negative energy and emotions over time, because these can have a lasting impact on the brain. If you're routinely pessimistic about life, hate people or the world, think negatively of yourself or others, or do things to others or yourself that are negative, that can infect your mind with enough negativity to divide your connection with goodness (the Gods). Or, simply not thinking rightly about the Gods, Higher Powers, or yourself can cause it, and I am not talking about your personal beliefs. I am referring to an attitude of pessimism toward the Gods. If you fear things such as, They aren't listening, they don't care, they don't like me, what if I am wrong or doing something wrong, etc. This will overwhelm you with negative feelings of the mind and body and you won't feel spiritual. Furthermore, if allowed to persist, this is how your mind will be conditioned to respond to all forms of spirituality at any time. You'll find yourself in constant combat for the right to simply be spiritual.

So, the question, is how do we curtail mental miasma? The answer is good news. Quite simply, don't be a negative person in your actions or thoughts, and when it comes time to do rituals or prayers, leave all else behind. In other words, focus and don't let go of it. If you feel it slipping away, just realign back to the former state. Think goodly about the Gods and yourself at all times. The Gods are good, they always do good, there's no evil in them, life is beautiful, I am a good person, I can achieve, etc. These self-statements are typically called affirmations, but depending on how badly your mind has been polluted, you may have to do them several times during the day instead of just once or at a certain time. The important thing to always do when reciting these affirmations is to hold firm. Never let them slip away into any form of doubt or fear, because then all will be lost and you'll have to refocus. Just literally shut it all out, give it no consideration or thought at all. It can be a battle, but eventually, your mind will recondition itself and a positive feeling will happen naturally for you.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.

If you enjoy my blog posts and writings, please keep in mind that I am the author of several Pagan and fantasy books that are sold at very low prices in the right hand column of my website, some of which have been sold around the globe and loved by all who read them.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

How Do I Love Myself?

Many people ask this question unsuccessfully, pondering to themselves how they can love who they are instead of living in a state of self-loathing. And I think a lot of people confuse an attempt to love themselves with an attempt to love everything around them, or everything that is part of their life.

I don't know if we're necessarily meant to love ourselves because everyone has things about them that they dislike. The idea that you should try to love something that you, in fact, don't love, is absurd. Besides, having an over abundance of self-love results in arrogance eventually. Having a head that's too big can and does bring out the worst in a person. What we're meant to do is a system of weights and measures.

From the years 2009 to 2012, my entire life completely changed. My grandmother lost her beautiful home in Thomasville, North Carolina, a house I had grown up in during my teenage and young adult years and come to love as my true place of belonging. I also ended up leaving my home state and immediate family entirely and moving half way across the country. The choice now is simply that I can either choose to dwell on something that will never be again, or I can look at what has happened in my life as a result of the tragedy or the change. In other words, can I place parts of my life on a scale and either balance them out or make good things outweigh the bad? And if so, can I love those things instead of hating the others? When it comes to my life personally, one thing I certainly dislike is the fact that I spent so many years wasting time instead of making a future for myself. A lot of pain and dead ends have resulted. But the choice is to either hate myself for all that, or focus on the life I have now and what I am doing in present time to indeed obtain a better life. And, most importantly, am I grateful that the opportunity still exists and will I now take it as far as I can?

The reason so many people have no sense of self-love or self-satisfaction, is because they base their self-worth on all the things they don't like about themselves, and/or on the opinions of others concerning them. We may not be meant to love ourselves as much as we're meant to love the lovable things about our lives. Many things can't be loved, but love can be found in many things.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.