will always feel like a kid in a candy store

[chesirecat]

I think I will always be new to the religion. I am constantly learning new things. I am just not sure if I have grown any. I just recently went through a little religious crisis. I was full of doubt, not in the religion, but in myself. I have gotten past the doubt but I don't feel changed. I am not asking anything in this post. I am not even sure if I have a point or why I am saying anything in the first place. Part of me just wants to feel like I have accomplished soemthing in the religion.

[Annyka]

I know what you mean...

Sometimes it feels pointless following any religion as it never seems to change you. Especially in the short term.

Maybe if you keep a journal of the way you feel and think and maybe include photos - and then when you go back and read it at a later date you can see exactly how you have changed. You may not feel it - but it is probably happening.

:)

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Keep a journalas Annyka said. Do you have a BOS....that'd be the perfect place to start your journal. Sometimes I have so much energy going just from gettin through the day that I can easily direct it toward my path, which is good cause it helps to calm me....but sometime I just feel that I'm going in too many directions that I can't do anything.....but I think it's a good thing cause it keeps me motivated....I'm stoppin now cause I feel a ramblin comin on.

[Flar's Freyja]

I agree, keeping a journal or BOS helps you record what you've done and measure your growth when you go back and look at it later. Most of all ~ have fun! There is so much to learn, so many things to try ~ and such joy when the magick works

[shnen]

welcome to MW chesirecat! :wave:

Find something about the religion that drives you, that excites you, and get excited about it and dive in! :)

[Faery-Wings]

Just my two cents......

I do keep a journal. I am still relatively very new to this Path also. I started learning and practicing about a year and a half ago, did a dedication Beltane 2001. However, because this is the way my personality works, I tend to write about all of the things that get me down, all of my doubts. So when I go back and read my Bos/journal, I seem to still have a lot of the same issues. Obviously that shows me where I need work, but doesn't show me how much I have grown. And I know I have, really. :)

So my advice, is the focus on both the positive growth as well as the doubts when writing. And remember, there is so much to learn, to explore both within and without. You probably could study until the day you die and still have only put a dent in all the knowledge that is out there. I know it gets overwhelming to me sometimes too- how little I feel that I know.

I love Freyja's advice and have to remember it for myself always too- Have fun!

[LunarSun]

I am very new also... Kid in a candy store is exactly how I feel. I really think it is because for so long (in my case), I feel I have "out of place". Now - Its like you found something long lost. Anyway .... just my 2 cents worth!!

[Ryhla]

I'm relatively new to the path as well. Keeping a journal is a grand idea. I've been keeping one for about 10 years. I'm amazed at how much I have changed in that 10 years when I go back and read some of the entries today. We all grow no matter how old or new we are, although at times we don't feel like it. If there wasn't growth, then stagnation would set in and that would be very boring.

[Wicce]

I know just how it is...the wonder of it all and the wealth of knowledge that is still to be found...

I'm coming off a six-month hiatus from Witchcraft, in which I was filled with doubt, in everything. But I have found that skepticism does not hinder spirituality, only enhances it, since your mind will always be open and questioning.

Adventuring through Paganism yields as much treasure as any sunken ship, lost city, or hidden art gallery...I love it :)

[SagaDraco]

Do not limit your "candy-store" outlook to religion. Apply it to life. Here's a case in which I wish I could take my own advice. Seems childhood's starry eyed wonder is safely comatose or dead. Anyway to reclaim it? I envy you!

[LunarSun]

Thanks. That is very good advice. :)

[mol]

The ever changing spiritual Path is the gratifying one...

[Sequoia]

Journals are always a good thing. . . :)

a few days ago, I was reading through my journal from back when I started energy work and when I was just getting into paganism, and such. . . *giggles* it's rather amusing sometimes to read it. I was sitting there smacking my forehead laughing outright at myself. . . and suddenly getting insight into things I never would've thought about before. Had forgotton some things. . . it's fun to read. And. . . sometimes it tells you secrets you didn't hear at the time, but you can now.

Always feel like a kid in a candy store. Always look at that tiny flower, or that big tree, or gosh just anything that is new and amazing and special. Take the time for it. Religion, life. . . anything. Let that wonder stay. If you find it. . . go with it. Follow your heart and just. . . always take the time for those little wonders. They're the things that make life worth it.

Now, I'm off to smell that rose oil! mmm!

[Blue Dolphin]

my boy friend feels the same way you do and he has been practicing Paganism for 10 years and has been studing longer than that.