Overwhelming

[Serendipity]

/begin whine

I'm so overwhelmed at the amount of material there is on the net. If I'm looking for something and I find what I'm looking for theres another 100 lbs of information to sort through.

I think maybe my problem is that I 'don't' know what I'm looking for and I'm 'surfing' the information. Jumping from one subject to another without getting the full effect of what I was looking for in the first place.

This morning I was trying to find a New Age shop in my area, I found one 6 miles away after 2 1/2 hours of searching. I started crying LOL I was sooo happy. I get there, and they were closed!! Noooo

Is my search supposed to be this difficult? Am I trying to hard? I mean, I know it isn't supposed to be "easy" but I just figured at some point something has to give.

/end whine

[Gwyndara]

Wow I know how you feel. I was hopeing to find that someone had answered you, but not yet, hang in their someone who knows what they are talking about will.
I just wanted to let you know your not alone.

[DarkSidhe]

When you first walk into a Public Library in any major city, and you realize that there are a thousand books inside, you can be a bit overwhelmed. First you have to walk through to realize that the books are sorted by groups, and Google is like the Dewey Decimal System. So you walk over to the New Age section, and find few books with nifty looking covers, read the backs, page through, and
eventually one or more of those books will catch your attention.
After a bit, you realize that certain types of those books are more appealing than others, and begin to read more of those types. You also will realize that some of those books are the same one written over and over, some are written by ppl who have no idea what they are talking about, and some of those books are so kewl that you'll eventually buy them.
There's a Search Engine built into Mysticwicks, and you can use that, but basically just by spending some time looking through other ppl's posts, you will eventualy find something that interests you, and you can go from there.

[Serenity's LostSoul]

Sometimes the search has to be difficult in order to make the results that much more meaningful.



:sailing:

[Xentor]

As DarkSidhe implied, the search itself is an important lesson. You have to learn from the search, what interests you. After a while, you will begin singling out only that.

[Elfa Wylde]

there's a saying: getting there is half the fun.

I agree with the above posts and add this to them:
You can't always count on finding new Age and occult shops listed as such. some communities just simply refuse to allow them if they know what they are.
There's one in my area that's listed under CRAFTS. because their "front" is selling the notions for beaded jewlery. but.. if you go up the couple steps into the second room.... you KNOW what kind of shop you're in!!

Good luck in your searches! Learn and crave learning!

[Jenett]

It can be overwhelming yeah - but a good lesson to learn is to take it slow.

For example, in the case of the store, now you know that you might want to give them a call before coming over (assuming they don't have a website with their hours listed.) A lot of esoteric stores don't necessarily keep 'normal' business hours (a lot of them open later in the day, and close later, or may be open on weekends, but closed on a weekday to give the store owner a break.)

More than that, though ... remember that you don't need to know everything *now*. Try picking one specific thing you want to know and focusing on that. When you find other things you're interested in, don't go chasing off after them - just keep a list somewhere. When you've found an answer to your current question or decided to stop looking at that for right now, you can always come back.

(It is possible to juggle different searches at the same time, but it's usually a lot harder when you're new to a subject)

One other suggestion I'd make (and I've been doing a lot of thinking about this due to some professional reading) is give yourself time to just get familiar with what information is out there. Look for lists of highly recommended Pagan websites. See which sites get recommended more often (either in general, or for specific subjects) - and start by at least skimming those. If you do that, you'll get a better feel for what information is out there.

[Serendipity]

They say that patience is a virtue, unfortuantely it's not one of mine. LOL I'm working on it tho. Thanks for all the words of wisdom!

[banondraig]

there's a saying: getting there is half the fun.

I agree with the above posts and add this to them:
You can't always count on finding new Age and occult shops listed as such. some communities just simply refuse to allow them if they know what they are.
There's one in my area that's listed under CRAFTS. because their "front" is selling the notions for beaded jewlery. but.. if you go up the couple steps into the second room.... you KNOW what kind of shop you're in!!

Good luck in your searches! Learn and crave learning!
yep, the nearest one to where i am right now is a "used book store", and it does sell used books of a non-pagan nature. it also sells incense, crystals, cauldrons, etc.

[Ben Trismegistus]

I think maybe my problem is that I 'don't' know what I'm looking for and I'm 'surfing' the information. Jumping from one subject to another without getting the full effect of what I was looking for in the first place.
Well, you have to have *some* idea of what you're looking for before you start looking, or else none of it will sink in. Are you looking specifically for information on Wicca? Witchcraft? Other pagan faiths? Are you looking for basics of ritual, information on holidays?

[Serendipity]

I'm wandering. I've read up on Wicca, and wasn't really interested. However, after a certian post on this site, I've dug out a book I had bought and never read, and I'm reading it again. I've read 2 books on general Paganism. I've also done a little online research on some of the other Pagan paths, but not enough to really -learn- them. *Shurgs* Like my Sig says, I'm lost, but I know I'm headed in the right direction. It's here, I'm just really bad at treasure hunts. =P

[Kaylara]

Hee hee hee... Next time, check www.witchvox.net (http://www.witchvox.net) for local shops or groups. :)

This path isn't an easy one, and weeding through all of the junk information out there can be daunting, but once you're sure of what you believe and what you know to be true, it'll be a little bit easier. :) Plus, if you have specific questions, you can always come here and ask, and get a ton of good answers!

[Serenity's LostSoul]

Just a comment...I had hoped that there was one particular path for me to follow, and quickly discovered that Wicca wasn't it, so I wandered down the Celtic path, then the Norse, Taoism, Druidry, etc....What I came to realize was that there is not ONE perfect path for me. I've been Thor's for as long as I can remember, and recently thought Hathor was calling me, but it turned out it was Yemaya. (And boy can she make an entrance! *L*) Magic overall isn't for me, but candle magic is...I don't use circles, but believe that everywhere is sacred if I believe it is and act accordingly. Etc.....

I take what works for me from all of my explorations and just try to live my beliefs as truly and whole-heartedly as I can. I used to feel that having one path to align myself with would make me 'whole' and 'fulfilled', but now I see it was more my need to 'fit in' somewhere...and I don't. *L* I continue to learn and to explore...and I use what calls to me (discovered this neat concept of "Pagan Lent" -Imbolc to Spring Equinox- that I just added to my rituals this year) and let what doesn't fall away.

Being an 'eclectic' pagan seems to be what I was meant to be. :) :spaceman:

[Serendipity]

I very much appreciate your insight. It helps to hear that there doesn't have to be -one- thing that is right for me. I know it says that in the books, but sometimes you just need to be reassured. =) So far I havent found any -one- thing that is right, just little tid bits here and there.

I imagine it would be hard for a Christian to come in and accept some of the ways of Paganism, but I came in as an Atheist, and this is one of the larger obsticles I've come across. The gods and godesses -are- intreguing, it's just hard for me to overcome how I've lived my life in the past few years. I mean, I've always had a thing for Odin (not in the worshiping sense, just what I had read in books, etc), but now it seems that anything is possible. One day I'll be open and accepting and the next minute I tell myself I'm crazy. LOL I know I don't have to worship a god, but for some reason I feel like I should.

I just know I'm still in the really confused stages and I'm going through a lot of mental changes. I'm a very rational person. I don't 'just do it'. I set and think about things, and then I -always- talk it over with someone before I react. There isn't anyone to talk with about this in my life, and I'm sure I'm not alone there. So maybe this is why I feel like I need to have a god/dess in my life. *shrugs* I'm still working through it and I'm glad I have a place to go to voice my feelings.

[Serendipity]

I also want to add this, and even though this isn't the dream thread, I was speaking of my Atheism, so I feel it fits here.

About 9 or 10 years ago I broke up with a guy who I was madly in love with. Infact, I couldn't date anyone for about a year or 2 aftewards. Well one night I had this dream that I had died and he was there. I don't remember all the details, all I know is that dream meant that the part of my life that included him had died. After that I was fine and dated as normal.

Last night I had a dream that I was dying. I really feel the symbolism of that dream was that I'm leaving my past beliefs. Today I feel much stronger than I did the yesterday, and even the day before. Infact, yesterday I had decided that I was going to put all of this down and wait (again). I don't feel that way today.

[Serenity's LostSoul]

AutumnFaery,
To your first post: I know exactly how you feel! :) I have a tendency to question myself...I think I'm one of those 'need physical proof' kind of people, and at the same time I believe. I can drive myself nuts with the 'yes it is/no it's not' debates that go round my head. *L*

That's why my sig quote is so meaningful to me; it reminds me to just believe. And also, I remember reading somewhere that sometimes it's just a matter of finding what feels right, and investing yourself into it every single day...eventually it becomes 'real' because you've made it so. As the saying goes, "A belief is just that - a belief. Otherwise it would be fact." Sometimes it helps to realize that in many ways it's 'all in your head', and is to you exactly what you make of it; you can see the synchronicity of things and pull a meaning from them, or you can just think "that's kind of weird"...it's all in how you want to approach it. It's the same for faith and belief...all in how you look at it. :)

To your second post; congrats to feeling stronger! I hope your path becomes a bit clearer to you as a result. :)