WolfWonderess
January 3rd, 2004, 06:40 PM
Hiya everyone!
The name's Rhiannon, or Rhi for short. Yes, that's my real name...was named after the Fleetwood Mac song my my parents, who are big fans (as am I...rubbed off on me ^_~). Just gotta clarify, because I've run into situations where people thought I was bluffing or something. ^^;; Makes it even more interesting (and confusing) since Rhiannon happens to be one of the Goddesses I've developed a keen affinity for. :lol:
Anyhoo...let's see...religious background. Well, I have no specific tradition or anything that I follow. My path is a hybrid of many beliefs, first and foremost my own, though I've adopted many things from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Feri Wicca, and a muddle of other faiths. ^_^ Religion's always been a fascinating subject for me, so I've always been studying it and learning as much as I can about it.
As with many Neo-Pagans, I was raised Christian. However, I never felt anything there. And, unlike many former Christians I see, I feel no resentment for the religion, nor did I have any negative experiences (save a few from my mother, like when she flipped when I mentioned I believed in reincarnation in around 8th grade ^^;; To this day the only family member who knows what I am is my dad,a liberal Catholic, and he has no problem whatsoever with it!). There was just nothing there for me in that path; nothing awe-inspiring or enlightening or fufilling. Nothing spiritual for me.
In 8th grade, I started really examining my true beliefs, and realized that, in truth, I was agnostic. I was agnostic for a good many years, until around my late sophomore early junior year in high school, but during this time I also poked around looking at other religions. However, during this time as an agnostic I was also able to really look at myself and figure out what I thought...and this lead to me eventually finding my path by the end of my junior year and beginning of my senior. If you're wondering, I'm 19 now, 20 in February. ^_~
One thing that made the journey difficult for me was the fact that organized religion threw me off (I have always hated the idea of rules when it comes to spiritual growth), and for some reason I had this notion that one *had* to be part of *one organized* religion, and I could never find just *one* religion that encompassed all I believed. Another thing that threw me off was I was very agnostic, and believed you could *never* know what was out there, though I believed in something. But, one day, it suddenly hit me...who said you had to be part of just one religion?
I also started exploring ideas concerning deities...Hinduism and Wicca opened my eyes a lot, and, long story short, I currently believe in a "divine, unknowable essence", if you will, that is within everyone and everything, and that from that essence the gods and goddesses came to be. So, thus, everything is connected. Of course, I still have the occasional bouts with my agnosticism (which I suppose can be seen in my "divine, unknowable essence" theory), but it's slowly fading away. ^_~ This is all very hard to put into words, really...
Anyhoo...that's my story! And wow! This looks like an awesome community! Glad I was able to run across it! ^___^
The name's Rhiannon, or Rhi for short. Yes, that's my real name...was named after the Fleetwood Mac song my my parents, who are big fans (as am I...rubbed off on me ^_~). Just gotta clarify, because I've run into situations where people thought I was bluffing or something. ^^;; Makes it even more interesting (and confusing) since Rhiannon happens to be one of the Goddesses I've developed a keen affinity for. :lol:
Anyhoo...let's see...religious background. Well, I have no specific tradition or anything that I follow. My path is a hybrid of many beliefs, first and foremost my own, though I've adopted many things from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Feri Wicca, and a muddle of other faiths. ^_^ Religion's always been a fascinating subject for me, so I've always been studying it and learning as much as I can about it.
As with many Neo-Pagans, I was raised Christian. However, I never felt anything there. And, unlike many former Christians I see, I feel no resentment for the religion, nor did I have any negative experiences (save a few from my mother, like when she flipped when I mentioned I believed in reincarnation in around 8th grade ^^;; To this day the only family member who knows what I am is my dad,a liberal Catholic, and he has no problem whatsoever with it!). There was just nothing there for me in that path; nothing awe-inspiring or enlightening or fufilling. Nothing spiritual for me.
In 8th grade, I started really examining my true beliefs, and realized that, in truth, I was agnostic. I was agnostic for a good many years, until around my late sophomore early junior year in high school, but during this time I also poked around looking at other religions. However, during this time as an agnostic I was also able to really look at myself and figure out what I thought...and this lead to me eventually finding my path by the end of my junior year and beginning of my senior. If you're wondering, I'm 19 now, 20 in February. ^_~
One thing that made the journey difficult for me was the fact that organized religion threw me off (I have always hated the idea of rules when it comes to spiritual growth), and for some reason I had this notion that one *had* to be part of *one organized* religion, and I could never find just *one* religion that encompassed all I believed. Another thing that threw me off was I was very agnostic, and believed you could *never* know what was out there, though I believed in something. But, one day, it suddenly hit me...who said you had to be part of just one religion?
I also started exploring ideas concerning deities...Hinduism and Wicca opened my eyes a lot, and, long story short, I currently believe in a "divine, unknowable essence", if you will, that is within everyone and everything, and that from that essence the gods and goddesses came to be. So, thus, everything is connected. Of course, I still have the occasional bouts with my agnosticism (which I suppose can be seen in my "divine, unknowable essence" theory), but it's slowly fading away. ^_~ This is all very hard to put into words, really...
Anyhoo...that's my story! And wow! This looks like an awesome community! Glad I was able to run across it! ^___^