Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Notes I may need Later - Contemporary Paganism

 Anthropological differentiation:

- Etic = outsider point of view, how the culture/society/religious group looks to those outside the group.

-Emic = insider point of view, how the culture/society/religious group looks to those inside the group. 



Sailbi regrets that there is too many options and not enough guidance when it comes to religion, forming a spiritual supermarket that leads people to join NRM's instead of remaining in larger authoritative religions. ----- I would say that a spiritual super market is a great things, although it could lead to loniness in a way. Paganism can be quite lonely if you don't subscribe to a more primary form - even if you find a welcoming group its sometimes obvious when you deviate from it. Can feel isolating. So I can somewhat see where is he is coming from. 

He also regrets that "secularization" has limited how mainstream religion can be expressed in public spaces has given an opening to marginal and alternative religions. 

- he reveals his Christian bias and desire for Christian hegemony.

"Secularization theory" The belief that as society becomes more modern and invested in science its interest in religion will wither and eventually die out. -- I don't think that will EVER happen. A rise in NRM is sort of proof of that.  

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Summer Semester Plan

Class 5:45-9 Contemporary Paganism 

  • 8 Essays out of 12
    • Week 1 - self into essay
    • Week 2 - theories of NRMs
    • Week 6 - theories of Paganism
    • Week 7 - Ásatrú: Modern Norse-Germanic Paganism.
    • Week 8 - Druidry: Modern Celtic Paganism
    • Week 9: Baltic Paganism: Romuva in Lithuania and Dievturi in Latvia
    • Week 10: Goddess Religion and Feminist Witchcraft. 
    • Week 11: Santería: An Afro-Cuban New Religious Movement.
    • Week 12 - Politics and Paganism
  • 500 words, 11pt font, Times new Roman, 1.5 spacing

******How he wants them Written:
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Week #: Subject
Student: Lisa "Pixie" Sawyer
Date:
Title of Essay

  1. First paragraph: Introduction. Explain what the week’s topic(s) was/were about, in a general  way, then briefly describe what you will be writing about.
  2. Info-summary paragraph #1. Explore something from one of the readings, including stating which reading or author you are drawing upon.
  3. Info-summary paragraph #2. Explore something from another one of the readings, including stating which reading or author you are drawing upon.
  4. Info-summary paragraph #3. Explore something from yet another one of the readings, or something further from a reading already commented upon, including stating which reading or author you are drawing upon.
  5. Personal reaction/commentary/reflections: 1 or 2 paragraphs in which you provide your personal perspective on or reaction to something in the readings, or on the week’s topic in general. Use language like “I think that…” , “It seems to me…”, “In my opinion.” Forget your past English class training that discouraged personal viewpoint. Here, it is valued and needed!


Art, Religion, and Culture... none of the materials are accessible yet. 

  • - 2 reflective papers needed
  • - final proposal  & Annotated bibliography
  • - final project
  • - final project presentation

*No Due dates???

**** BRUHHHH she doesn't release the readings until after class.... so you can't work ahead...... what the FUCK

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

School Start

Saturday 5/10

  • Mothers Day With Mom

Sunday 5/11

  • Week 1 Lecture: Introductions - 1hr 8 min
  • Watch: (links provided elsewhere): excerpts from Cults: Explained (Netflix); 
    • Link was not provided
  • Watch:  The Source Family Part One (there is no definite division of Part One and Part Two, but it is suggested to watch half of video this week and half the next)
    • Link was not provided 
  • Essay 1: Autobiography paper

Week 1

Monday 5/12

  • GYM AT 5:30
  • She hasn't posted the PDF's....the way she structures them she posts the reading after class.... to read before the next week. meaning we can't work ahead....
  • Cool. I'm too tired anyway

Tuesday 5/13

  • Week 2 Lecture: Theories of NRMs (New Religious Movements) - 1.5 hours
  • Salibi, Understanding NRMs, Chapters 1 & 2 (64 pgs)

Wednesday 5/14

  • Salibi, Understanding NRMs, Chapters 3 & 4 (76 pages)
  • Discussion/Bulletin Board 
  • Essay 2: Week 2 - theories of NRMs

Thursday 5/15

  • MOVING DAY ROUND 1
  • Class 5:45-9 ---> just plan on it being at work. 

Friday 5/16

  • unpack and relax.

Saturday 5/17

Sunday 5/18

  •  Watch:  Interview with British sociologist Eileen Barker, “What Are New Religious Movements?” 
  •  Watch: The Source Family (Part Two) 


Week 2

Monday 5/19

  • GYM AT 5:30
  • bell hooks, "Beauty Laid Bare: Aesthetics in the Ordinary" [PDF]
  • Ronald R. Bernier and Rachel Hostetter Smith, “Introduction.” p. 1-18 in Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord [PDF available]

Tuesday 5/20

  •  Read: Nick Humez, “Hare Krishna” (Encyclopedia of Pop Culture article); 
  • Watch Week 3 Lecture: Asian NRMs - 1.15 hr

Wednesday 5/21

  • Read: Michael Strmiska, “Eastern Religions in Eastern Europe: Three Case Studies from Lithuania” (regarding Hare Krishna (ISKCON) and Diamond Way movements, also Lithuanian Pagan movement Romuva); 
  • Read: Daniel A. Metraux, “Religious Terrorism in Japan: The Fatal Appeal of Aum Shinrikyo.”

Thursday 5/22

  • Class 5:45-9
  • Discussion/Bulletin board 

Friday 5/23

  • MOVING DAY  ROUND 2 
  • no class work

Saturday 5/24

  • Shamanism Retreat

Sunday 5/25

  • watch: (links provided): documentaries on Hare Krishna, Aum Shinrikyō, Pana Wave, and Diamond Way.


Week 3

Monday 5/26

  • GYM AT 5:30
  • Kandinsky, On the Spiritual in Art (PDF)
  • https://hilmaafklint.se/about-hilma-af-klint/

Tuesday 5/27

  • Watch Week 4 Lecture: UFO Religions
  • John Saliba, “UFO Religions” (Encyclopedia of Religion, 2005); 

Wednesday 5/28

  • Susan J. Palmer, “Raelians” (Encyclopedia of Religion, 2005);  
  • Winston Davis, “Heaven’s Gate: A Study of Religious Obedience” (2000); 
  • “Ancient Pleaidians Return” (booklet from Pleaidian Family movement).
  • Thursday 5/29

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 

    Friday 5/30

    Saturday 5/31

    Sunday 6/1

    • Watch: documentary on Heaven’s Gate, Pleaidian Family video.


    Week 4

    Monday 6/2

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • watch: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - 1hr 20 min
    • watch: Searching Skies (2017) - 10 min
    • Possibly write reflection paper? 
    • Nathaniel Dorsky, Devotional Cinema [PDF]

    Tuesday 6/3

    • Watch Week 5 Lecture: Hasidism, Kabbalah, False Messiahs, and Jewish NRMs - 1.17hr
    • Allison Coudert, “Cabala” (Kabbalah Overview from Encyclopedia of Europe 1450-1789); “Shabbetai Zevi” (Encyclopedia Judaica); “Jacob Frank and Frankism” (Ency. Judaica); 

    Wednesday 6/4

    •  David Assaf “Hasidism” (Overview) (Encyclopedia Judaica); “Israel Ben Eliezer Ba’al Shem Tov” (Ency. Judaica);  
    • Michael Strmiska, “Not Quite Polar Opposites: Judaism and Paganism” (2014 lecture); 
    • Shai Feraro, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back….Israeli Pagans 1999-2012.”

    Thursday 6/5

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 

    Friday 6/6

    • OBOD Meeting

    Saturday 6/7

    Sunday 6/8

    • Watch: documentaries on Shabbetai Zevi, Hasidism and Kabbalah. 


    Week 5

    Monday 6/9

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • Lynn Huber, “Coming into Wedding: Envisioning Revelation’s Women with Two Modern Visionaries,” in Thinking and Seeing with Women in Revelation. Bloomsbury, 2013: 127-167. [PDF]

    Tuesday 6/10

    • Watch Week 6 Lecture: Theories of Paganism
    • Sabina Magliocco, Chapter Nine, “Neo-Pagan Religious Movements” from Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements, 
    • Scott Simpson and Mariusz Filip, “Selected Words for Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe,” from Simpson and Aitamurto, ed. Modern Paganism and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe.

    Wednesday 6/11

    • Shamanism Group Call
    • Strmiska, “Introduction,” first chapter in Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives

    Thursday 6/12

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 
    • Essay 3: Week 6 - theories of Paganism

    Friday 6/13

    Saturday 6/14

    Sunday 6/15


    Week 6

    Monday 6/16

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • Listen: Alice Coltrane, Journey in Satchidananda
    • Listen: John  Coltrane, A Love Supreme
    • Bivins, Jason C. Spirits Arise!: Jazz and American Religion. (excerpts) [PDF]
    • For sure write reflection paper 

    Tuesday 6/17

    • Watch: Week 7 Lecture: Ásatrú, Heathenry, and Norse Paganism
    • Michael Strmiska (2000) article in Nova Religio, “Ásatrú: The Revival of Nordic  Paganism?,” (2005)
    • Ásatrú chapter in Modern Paganism in World Cultures, “Ásatrú: Nordic Paganism in Iceland and America,”
    Wednesday 6/18

    • (2007) Pomegranate article, “Putting The Blood Back Into Blot: The Revival of Animal Sacrifice in Modern Nordic Paganism,”
    • unpublished 2012 conference paper, “On Becoming A Pariah.” 

    Thursday 6/19

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 
    • Essay 4: Week 7 - Ásatrú: Modern Norse-Germanic Paganism.

    Friday 6/20

    Saturday 6/21

    • Shamanism Retreat

    Sunday 6/22

    • watch: documentaries on Ásatrú. 


    Reading Week

    Monday 6/23

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • Read Art Spiegelman, Maus, vol. 1-2

    Tuesday 6/24

    • Watch Week 8 Lecture: Modern Celtic Paganism - 1.05 hr
    • Marion Bowman articles “Cardiac Celts: Images of the Celts in Paganism” and “Arthur and Bridget in Avalon: Celtic Myth, Vernacular Religion and Contemporary Spirituality in Glastonbury.”  

    Wednesday 6/25

    • Jenny Butler, Chapter 3 on “Modern Celtic Druidry” in Modern Paganism in World Cultures, 

    Thursday 6/26

    • Essay 5: Week 8 - Druidry: Modern Celtic Paganism
    • Discussion/Bulletin Board 

    Friday 6/27

    Saturday 6/28

    Sunday 6/29


    Week 7

    Monday 6/30

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • Kathryn Barush, Imaging Pilgrimage pg 19-134

    Tuesday 7/1

    • Michael Strmiska and Rudra Dundzila (2005) Chapter 7 in Modern Paganism in World Cultures, “Romuva: Lithuanian Paganism in Lithuania and America,” 
    • Watch Week 9 Lecture: Modern Baltic Paganism

    Wednesday 7/2

    • Janis Tupešu (1987) “The Ancient Latvian Religion-Dievturība,“ 
    • Agita Misane (1999) “National Mythology in the History of Ideas in Latvia,” 
    • Gatis Ozoliņš (2013), “The Dievturi Movement in Latvia as Invention of Tradition,” 
    • (2013) Cultural Fusions article.

    Thursday 7/3

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 
    • Essay 6: Week 9: Baltic Paganism: Romuva in Lithuania and Dievturi in Latvia

    Friday 7/4

    • OBOD Meeting

    Saturday 7/5

    Sunday 7/6

    • Film: documentaries on Baltic Paganism.


    Week 8

    Monday 7/7

    • GYM AT 5:30
    • Kathryn Barush, Imaging Pilgrimage pg 135-267

    Tuesday 7/8

    • Watch Week 10 Lecture: The Goddess Spirituality Movement - 57 min
    Wednesday 7/9

    • Excerpts from Wendy Griffin, ed., Daughters of the Goddess and 
    • Jone Salomonsen, Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco;
    •  also Starhawk and Charlotte Allen articles.

    Thursday 7/10

    • Class 5:45-9
    • Discussion/Bulletin board 
    • Essay 7: Week 10: Goddess Religion and Feminist Witchcraft. 

    Friday 7/11

    Saturday 7/12

    • REN FAIRE WITH MOM

    Sunday 7/13

      • Watch: Signs Out Of Mind, Marija Gimbutas documentary, and/or short films featuring Starhawk and other Goddess Religion leaders.


      Week 9

      Monday 7/14

      • GYM AT 5:30
      • Yohana Agra Junker, “Weaving Land and Water” in  Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord pp. 387-400. [PDF available] 
      • bell hooks, “Diasporic Landscapes of Longing” in Art On My Mind [PDF]

      Tuesday 7/15

      • Watch Week 11 Lecture: Santería and Voodoo: Afro-Caribbean Paganism?
      • Chapters from George Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World

      Wednesday 7/16

      • Shamanism group Call
      • Mary Anne Clark article, “Santería Sacrificial Rituals.

      Thursday 7/17

      • Class 5:45-9
      • Discussion/Bulletin board 
      • Essay 8: Week 11- Santería: An Afro-Cuban New Religious Movement.

      Friday 7/18

      Saturday 7/19

      Sunday 7/20

      • watch documentaries on Santería and African religion.


      Week 10

      Monday 7/21

      • GYM AT 5:30
      • Sacha Crasnow, “Al Buraq: Explorations of Liminality in Contemporary Islamic Art” in Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord  pp. 401-410

      Tuesday 7/22

      • Watch Week 12 Lecture: Politics and Paganism
      • Michael Strmiska, “Pagan Politics in the 21st Century: “Peace and Love” or “Blood and Soil?;” 
      • Egil Asprem, “Heathens Up North: Polemics and Contemporary Norse Paganism in Norway,”

      Wednesday 7/23

      •  Tammy Castle & Tara Parsons, “Vigilante or Viking? Contesting the Mediated Constructions of Soldiers of Odin Norge” (2017);
      •  ADL (Anti-Defamation League) (no author) “Soldiers of Odin USA: The Extreme European Anti-Refugee Group Comes to America” (2016); 
      • Starhawk, “Toward an Activist Spirituality” (2003). 

      Thursday 7/24

      • Class 5:45-9
      • Discussion/Bulletin board 
      • Essay 9: Week 12 - Politics and Paganism

      Friday 7/25

      Saturday 7/26

      Sunday 7/27

      • Watch Documentary TBD 


      Week 11

      Monday 7/28

      • GYM AT 5:30
      • Read: Natalie Wigg-Stevenson, Transgressive Devotion 144 pgs

      Tuesday 7/29

      • Work on Final paper/Project

      Wednesday 7/30

      • Work on Final paper/Project

      Thursday 7/31

      • Class 5:45-9
      • Discussion/Bulletin board 

      Friday 8/1

      • OBOD Meeting?
      • Finish final Project
      Saturday 8/2

      Sunday 8/3


      Week 12

      Monday 8/4

      • GYM AT 5:30

      Tuesday 8/5

      • Work on Final Paper

      Wednesday 8/6

      • Work on Final Paper

      Thursday 8/8

      • Class 5:45-9
      • Discussion/Bulletin board 
      • Presentation of final paper/project DUE
      • FINAL DUE

      Friday 8/9

      • OBOD Meeting?
      • Finish Final Paper

      Saturday 8/10

      Sunday 8/11

      • Final Paper DUE


      Faerie Fantasy Ball - Fully Immersive

       Alex and I are going to a fully immersive fantasy faerie ball this fall!! I am so excited! I'll get to dance with an actor and go on quests and stuff! Its pretty much larping and i am SO EXCITED 


      That being said.... I chose the Dreamweaver Court (Aether and Stars): The heart if the realm, where fate is spun between celestial light. Dreams and Reality blur in this ehtereal sanctuary where starlit magic shapes destiny. 


      I know everyone is going to go black and sparkly or dark navy and sparkly for starlight....so I want to go more Aether... 


      I need help picking out a dress:


      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-bubble-sleeve-bandaged-high-rise-a-line-square-neck-maxi-dress


      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-off-shoulder-bandaged-sleeveless-high-rise-dress?variant=45430a53-0442-4522-8f8d-2e8762f89d01


      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-sleeveless-plunging-neck-bandaged-embroidered-high-rise-maxi-dress?variant=7111bb31-6e1c-4d1f-b725-4dfff311b8e8


      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-off-shoulder-boat-neck-bandaged-maxi-dress?variant=dbe679aa-8d1d-4525-949b-0b6553e7dde8



      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-sleeveless-off-shoulder-bandaged-halter-maxi-dress?variant=cfe611ca-b8e5-4d5a-b0f4-a39f8f28ed14


      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-sleeveless-plunging-neck-boat-neck-high-rise-maxi-dress




      https://www.kistania.com/collections/gothic-dress/products/elegant-mesh-bandaged-off-shoulder-boat-neck-a-line-maxi-dress











      Wednesday, April 30, 2025

      Tiny living actual options

       Okay if I’m gonna do tiny living that I’m not converting, here are some serious ones to consider. 


      By myself: 

      - finished small skoolie: https://vanlifetrader.com/listing/1991-skoolie-charming-home-on-wheels/

      - actual camper:  https://rv.campingworld.com/rv/2025-forest-river-wolf-pup-16bhsw-2402523-wauconda-il?indexName=rvcw-inventory_recommended&queryID=2ddfe50ba93e6b0796cff1afb6e0f229

      - tiny home camper (loft): https://rv.campingworld.com/rv/2024-forest-river-timberwolf-16ml-2364863-wauconda-il

      - tiny HOUSE on wheels - loft & flex room cheaper: https://tumbleweedhouses.com/emf-shielded-tiny-home/#

      - tiny HOUSE on wheels - loft & flex room preference: https://tumbleweedhouses.com/farallon-built-for-snow/#

      If I have a partner: 

      - 2 lofts and a flex room tiny HOUSE on wheels: https://tumbleweedhouses.com/2023-farallon-30-alta/#

      -


      Beltane flower spread

      1. The energy of Beltane this year: 19 The sun: enlightenment, success, vitality 
      2. What can I learn from Beltane this year: king of cups: focus on being kind and creative, being as good of a person and as true as I can. 
      3. How can I let light into my life: 9hermit and page of wands. I have a lot of internal work to do to get ready for this physical message coming from a person. 
      4. What areas should I release: 6 of swords, 7 of cups, 4 the emperor: releasing troubles and healing, release the fantasy you have or romance and be realistic, release your need to control everything. 
      5. What area of my life is ready to grow: 6 of cups: new perceptions of the past. (Relationships - acknowledge the good from them). 
      6. How can I manifest abundance: Ace of cups: nurture your current friendships 

      Saturday, April 26, 2025

      Summer Semester books

       The paganism syllabus is not available so I can only do the art one right now:


      Required
      • Kathryn Barush, Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience
        • ISBN 979-8765103289
        • screw that I can't find it anywhere for under $35. Its free on the school website. 
        • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.theoref.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/reader.action?docID=6647090&ppg=16
      • Art Spiegleman, The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (contains vol. 1 & 2)
        • ISBN 978-0679406419
        • Also free from library. 
        • https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/scy1zczvs99wl582dx30g/The-Complete-Maus.-Art-Spiegelman.-1.3042.pdf?rlkey=e9x3ldp8hxyi67tybghgysvei&e=1&dl=0
      • Natalie Wigg-Stevenson, Transgressive Devotion: Theology as Performance Art
        • ISBN 978-0334059479
        • too expensive to buy... hate reading edigitally but better to save $$
        • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.theoref.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/reader.action?docID=6485549&ppg=1
      • Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, ed. Michael Strmiska.  Bloomsbury-ABC CLIO. 2005. ISBN: 978185109684
        • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.theoref.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/reader.action?docID=266832&c=UERG&ppg=1

      Summer classes - research paper plan

      •  Contemporary paganism - Asynchronous (Thursdays)
      • Art, Religion, and Contemporary Culture (Thursdays 5:45–9:00 p.m)

      For the Art Class, the final project I am choosing is:

      Final paper/project: this is an opportunity for students to draw on the readings, lectures, class conversations, and previous assignments to articulate their own informed understanding of the contemporary use of the arts as a means of theological or religious expression and reflection. Students will complete ONE of the following and present it to the class at the end of the term. 


      a) The creation of a work of art or popular culture, such as a painting, dance, poem, sculpture, graphic novel, etc. that speaks to an aspect of your religious practice. This will be accompanied by a researched, footnoted artist’s statement of approximately 5 pages that describes your ideas and contextualizes them.  

      I'm going to do do a burlesque dance. I am. I'll make sure not to go down to pasties nor would I be making anything sexy. But there is something truly divine and spiritual about stripping away the surface level story and revealing the vulnerable truth and message underneath through dance. So I'm not sure what yet but I'll have things written on my skin. I may do something with fans or Some form of flow in there as well - this is meant to be BEAUTIFUL not sexy and fun.  I want to show the ART of burlesque. 

      As for the 5 page papers...

      • page breaking down how burlesque is a spiritual act - this will delve into last semester's resources about authenticity as sacred, grab references from my queer performance paper. 
      • Introduction to my spiritual practice - Shadow work and witchcraft; Circle back to burlesque - an example of imitative magic for shadow work. Explain imitative magic. Explain shadow work. Then explain the big picture
      • introduce the gods I work with and which ones inspire me for the dance. (Cernunnos , Lilith, Brigid)
      • Break down the song and costume choices
      If she says no I will do a research paper on burlesque as the art piece and see if she'll approve that instead.  that would need to be 11-12 pages... the practice being witcraft and shadow work, devotional dance, and celebrating the authentic divinity of the soul. 

      For my sources:
      • Lartey, Emmanuel Y., and Hellena Moon, eds. Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care:  Challenges of Care in a Neoliberal Age. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2020
        • - page 27 on what spirituality is 
      • Lartey, Emmanuel Y. In Living Color: An Intercultural Approach to Pastoral Care and Counseling. 2nd ed. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2003.
        • pages 55-59: Lartey, in his solo book In Living Color, provides several models of pastoral care including social action, empowerment, and personal interaction - all of which are embodied in through 
      • Dodds, Sherril. “Embodied Transformations in Neo-Burlesque Striptease.” Dance Research Journal 45, no. 3 (2013): 75–90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43966084.
        • Explain the power of Burlesque! https://www.jstor.org/stable/43966084?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
      • Buszek, Maria-Elena. “Representing ‘Awarishness’: Burlesque, Feminist Transgression, and the 19th-Century Pin-Up.” TDR (1988-) 43, no. 4 (1999): 141–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146802.
        • On women in theater and how their independence is a threat to society (Lilith focus)
        • https://www.jstor.org/stable/1146802?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
      •  Pollack-Pelzner, Daniel. “Shakespeare Burlesque and the Performing Self.” Victorian Studies 54, no. 3 (2012): 401–9. https://doi.org/10.2979/victorianstudies.54.3.401.
        • More on burlesque as a personal performance for self.
        • https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/victorianstudies.54.3.401?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
      • Buckland, Theresa Jill. “Dance, Authenticity and Cultural Memory: The Politics of Embodiment.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 33 (2001): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519626
        • Dance in conversation with other areas of study
        • https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519626?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
      • COYLE, SUZANNE M. Uncovering Spiritual Narratives: Using Story in Pastoral Care and Ministry. Augsburg Fortress, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt22nm7hf.
        • PRetty self explanatory. I'm buying this damn book so it better be helpful in the future
      • Gaskill, Malcolm. 2010. Witchcraft : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 26, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central.
        • Book on Witcraft.. honestly i think i could get some really good quotes from this. 
        • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.theoref.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/reader.action?docID=684591&ppg=1'
      • Benussi, Matteo. (2019) 2023. “Magic”. In The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology, edited by Felix Stein. Facsimile of the first edition in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Online: http://doi.org/10.29164/19magic
        •  https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/magic
        • https://anthroholic.com/forms-of-magic?srsltid=AfmBOoplHEziSc_FdogfJxn52KE_9Zwf34G3Fc-WLAVU1MwbNCwnFrDE
      • BERGER, HELEN A., ed. Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7kf.
        • Another book on Witcraft I can probably use a lot on. 
        • https://www-jstor-org.theoref.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7kf


      recent reflection 2:

       I’m going to be real for a minute.

      My weight has always been a sensitive topic for me. For the longest time I was underweight. Then because of birth control my thyroid stopped working properly and I gained a lot of weight rapidly. Since then I have bounced between 140-150lbs and have hated my body. I did a scan today and it showed that since I’ve been going to the gym regularly… I have not lost weight. I have not slimmed down. In fact since my first scan my body composition has gotten WORSE.

      Other than when my thyroid stopped working this is probably the “chubbiest” I have been. I’ve had people tell me that I would be so much more attractive if I lost weight. I’ve had people with the same body as me tell me how ugly it was. I’ve had people tell me something was wrong with me because I wasn’t alarmed with the fact that technically I am obese (according to body composition). Here’s the thing…there are worse things than being chubby. You know what else? I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been. 

      I’ve been sober (from benzos) almost 8 years. My chronic pain has DRASTICALLY lessened. My mental health has improved (and that’s a good chunk thanks to Kat, Jack, and Rachael… and a LOT of work I have put into it). I havnt been horribly sick in about half a year. My relationship with food is a LOT better (when I first moved up to WI I had an eating problem that was headed towards a disorder). Now what I eat may not be the best but that is a soap box for another time. (No food is guilt free because guilt is not an ingredient. The only “bad food” is food that it rotten or that you’re allergic to.) 

      My body doesn’t decide how beautiful I am. I’m hot. Like seriously - I’m single by choice not from lack of options. I’m funny (especially when I’m not trying to be). I’m optimistic and full of positive energy. I light up a room when I’m feeling confident. I love to sing and laugh and smile - I’m authentic and I insure that in others. I am beautiful inside and out… and yes, I’m overweight and that doesn’t change a damn thing. 

      Will I loose weight in the future? Who knows 🤷‍♀️ as long as I am happy and healthy and loving my best life it doesn’t matter. 

      Reflection 1: Gratitude

       I usually try to do these posts about a year apart but feel called to post early. My cards predict some big positive changes this summer so maybe I’ll post again… but I’ve been reflecting over how my life is going and I just have to say I’m grateful. 

      Last year I had been in wisconsin for a little under a year. I was still trying to find my place up here and even though I was positive I honestly felt a little lost. Lovely. Homesick. I still feel a bit home sick but at the same time I’ve really started to find my way up here. 

      School is going well. I’m finding my path there and just keep getting reaffirmed that it’s the right thing for me. Work is going well, I feel safe and secure and more confident there. Socially I’ve really developed and nurtured some good friendships. 

      Some things have happened that made me feel alone and scared and then i stopped and really looked at the people in my life. I have people to support me - they encourage me and have repeatedly told me that they aren’t going anywhere. I have people who celebrate me even when I don’t celebrate myself. I have people who, even if we don’t agree on something, go out of their way to check on me and make sure I feel cared for. It’s small but I do actually have community and support and I really have no need to be afraid. 

      I just signed a lease for a new apartment. It might actually be the nicest one I’ve ever lived in with a roommate I feel lucky to have. Plus it’s in a safe neighborhood so I can try to start feeling safe again at night. 

      I’d be lying if I said everything was perfect. I’m still lonely and I know my person is out there, but I’m content not to hunt for them. They’ll show up eventually and for the first time in years I’m not yearning - I’m patient. Spiritually I’m not where I wish I was but I’m also learning to let go of control and embrace natural timing and learning to try to trust my intuition. I’m more capable than I realize. 

      My friends and my family are happy and healthy. I have no major stressors. I’m starting to feel secure in life and that’s a new one for me. I’m just blessed and grateful. 

      Tuesday, April 1, 2025

      Self esteem

      In talking with my primary spirit guide, we talked about one of the biggest obstacles in my spiritual growth… I am supposed to be connecting with the god Cernunnos. This God wants me to live more authentically to myself, and that will better enhance my life, my spiritual practice, and make me grow stronger magically.

      The issue is, I do not feel safe to truly be my authentic self, because I attract too much attention when I am too authentic. This attention is unwanted, and often has a negative effect on my emotional mental and physical well-being.

      So I asked him how do I work on this self esteem issue so that I can better connect with Cernnunos, and progress spiritually…. Without having to wait for my life partner to show up and make me feel safe?

      This was his advice:

      - Dancing burlesque played a part in your authenticity, confidence, and self-esteem back in North Carolina. While the time of performing has passed, you should examine what it was about burlesque that strengthened you and helped you truly express your authentic self… Then find a way to bring that into your life now. (36)

      - continue working on your laundry list of unfinished business in the mental and emotional realm with therapy. This includes childhood trauma, relationship, trauma, routing out the cause of the feelings of unworthiness. You can’t make progress forward with things holding you back, actively.  (65)

      - actually rely on the spirit community that you have. You hesitate to ask and feel unworthy of receiving. ask. There are those that would give unconditional giving, you just need to be vulnerable enough to allow it and ask for the help. pray to the gods when you need them, don’t just suffer alone. They don’t know what’s going on in your life if you don’t talk to them, so talk to them and don’t be afraid to ask for help. (46)

      - you need to change the way you think about yourself and take on new perspectives when it comes to yourself. It’s the difference between working out because you hate your body and working out because you love your body. That point of view shift will be paramount. The belief that you are lesser, that you are weak, that you are alone, that you are unworthy… This You need a new perspective. (43 & 56)

      - if you feel things shifting and changing, don’t fight it. Don’t slip back into old patterns, don’t think about the dangers, just embrace it and go with it breaking down the structures that keep you from living authentically will take time. You will need to take it down brick by brick, when you get tired or scared and want to hide behind the walls, don’t let yourself do it. Do the opposite and take a jackhammer. (64)

      - - lighten up! This is some thing that should be joyful and fun. You will have more luck with this in playfulness and goofiness then you will seeing it as a chore. This is not some mountain to take down. Look at it in its simplest form. This is an adventure, not a struggle.


      Monday, March 31, 2025

      hinduism discussion board

       Interestingly, I find the idea of selfless action to be in line with the Taoist concept of non-action. Selfless action being about doing something for the purity of the duty itself, not because you have attchment to the results and non-action being acting in line with the universe without forcing a particular outcome. This parallel is driven home in Chapter 2, verse 47: "You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction." Its interesting as this is all about how one's mental state is while doing something, not in the action itself. 

      "Nishkama karma is not “good works” or philanthropic activity; work can benefit others and still carry a substantial measure of ego involvement. Such work is good, but it is not yoga. It may benefit others, but it will not necessarily benefit the doer. Everything depends on the state of mind. Action without selfish motive purifies the mind: the doer is less likely to be ego-driven later. The same action done with a selfish motive entangles a person further, precisely by strengthening that motive so it is more likely to prompt selfish action again. (pg 53)"

      I would argue that Krishna abandoning his divine state and reincarnating in human form every so often to guide humanity would be a form of Nishkama Karma. Chapter 4, verse 7&8 : "Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good,to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma." 

      On the one hand he is taking action because life is out of balance; which one might take to mean he is invested in the outcome. However I didn't interpret this as a "I want good to win so I am getting involved!" I see this more in the way that Ma'at was maintained in Egypt - he is not acting out of a personal desire but rather out of  a duty to maintain balance.  Following one's duty, regardless of outcome, because it is one's duty. 

      (I see why Krishna is compared to Jesus often, and why when missionaries first tried to bring Chrisitanity to India Jesus was seen as anaother Avatar of him.)


      Tuesday, March 25, 2025

      Final papers....

       I have 3 final papers. 


      2 (both 7-8 pages; one with a presentation) due April 13th. Meaning one I need to do the 7th - 11th and the other I need to do the 31st - 4th. 

      THE PRESENTATION IS DUE MARCH 3RD. FUCK THATS A TIGHT TURN AROUND. Write paper Monday and Tuesday. Presentation on Wednesday and submit. 

      1. Background and community contexts of the care you offered. Be mindful of confidentiality.
      2. The main issues of pastoral and spiritual care involved. Consider the topics of race, class, gender, and/or sexuality. --> Forigivenes vs revenge. Why he can't seem to move on even though he has won. 
      3. Your theological reflection on the care you provided. --> Forgiveness. Lilithian perspective. 
      4. A possible care plan for the person or the community you provided care for.  ---> Chord cutting ceremony and Therapy recommended


      Meaning I need to do the short one (3-4 pages) - THIS WEEK. I should do it tomorrow...

      https://unitedseminary.instructure.com/courses/1528/assignments/10351

      • Consider intersected issues of spiritual care and social justice and provide the reasons why you have these interests.
      • Describe the insights or new knowledge you have gained from the readings.
      • Discuss what you have found disturbing or disagreeable in the readings.
      • How have the readings affirmed or challenged your theological perspectives?
      • How would you apply the sociocultural and global aspects in the readings to your practice of pastoral/spiritual care?
      I'll just use the chapter I did about the queer community. 

      Saturday, March 22, 2025

      links to read for pagan spiritual direction

      •  https://samaracarecounseling.org/on-being-a-spiritual-director-and-clinical-psychologist/
      • https://pilgrimsteps.org/spiritual-direction/
      • https://www.patheos.com/blogs/naturessacredjourney/2021/02/why-we-need-pagan-spiritual-direction/
      • https://www.waht.nhs.uk/en-GB/Our-Services1/Non-Clinical-Services1/Chapel/Faith-and-Culture/Paganism/#:~:text=Pagans%20believe%20that%20nature%20is,that%20is%20of%20this%20earth.
      • https://www.tokeepsilent.me/what-is-spiritual-direction#:~:text=For%20my%20Pagan%20path%2C%20spiritual,dialogue%20about%20goals%20and%20reflection.
      • https://braidedway.org/spiritual-direction-a-movement-towards-soul-wholeness/#:~:text=Spiritual%20direction%20often%20is%20a,the%20act%20of%20sitting%20meditation.

      Tuesday, March 18, 2025

      I want to fight paul.

       I want to fight the apostle paul. He can catch these hands. 


      That being said his own words can be used against him. 

      “- these things God has revealed  to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depth of God….Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words taught not by human wisdom, butr taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual…Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one’s scrutiny.” 1 CR 2:10, 12-13, 15 


      My take away? Listen not to the words of men and instead listen to the spirit of God and the knowledge it brings. 

      Who wrote the bible? - Men. 

      Do not follow the bible as anything more than suggestion  - it was written by Men. Supposedly enlightened men who are preaching from the knowledge they have been given by Spirit... take it with a grain of salt. 

      Use your own spiritual discernment and you will be above anyone's scrutiny. 

      Thursday, March 13, 2025

      pastoral care short paper #2

       Understanding a person’s context through a sociocultural and global lens is key in pastoral and spiritual care. The aim of this assignment is to broaden students’ interests in intersected issues of spiritual care and social justice. For this assignment, students can extend their presentation from Injustice and the Care of Souls or Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care or choose other topics related to social justice and care from the reading materials. The paper should be 3 to 4 pages in length.

      In this paper, students should address the following:


      Consider intersected issues of spiritual care and social justice and provide the reasons why you have these interests.

      • Describe the insights or new knowledge you have gained from the readings.
      • Discuss what you have found disturbing or disagreeable in the readings.
      • How have the readings affirmed or challenged your theological perspectives?
      • How would you apply the sociocultural and global aspects in the readings to your practice of pastoral/spiritual care?
      ***most of my quotes will come from my presentation. Bring in the 4 pillars from Pastoral care textbook

      Pastoral care final - notes

      •  Classism... i tend to be a bit prejudice towards though in an upper class
      • sexism ... i enheriently trust me less. however i try to remain as empathetic as possible to their struggles and try to make sure i don't cmpare them to the level of women... "its not the struggle Olympics" 
      • sexism: I tend to have a overly protective initial emo0tional reaction to women i feel are forced into traditional or not healthy dynamics and roles 
      • pagan perspective working with a former Christian turned atheist. 


      intersectional  - where my iceburg crosses into his experiences and influences my care (above points)
      life limiting belief that he had 
      values, emotions, beleifs, coping -- identifying his 4 pillars  --- alcoholism 
      wanting to be non religious... opening with a reading and then leading into questions of forgiveness, grudges, revenge, and being unable to let go. pleasure at one upping, etc. --- leading into different points of view - you don't owe anyone forgiveness. Then it turning to psychoology with narcassistic abuse and understanding the power dynamic and manipulation - cptsd and human nature. which also leads to his coping mechanism - alcoholism. weaing his drinks. dry january. he went 6 months and relapsed over new years. 

      look at highlighted and dog eared pages for quotes 

      Tuesday, March 11, 2025

      Ecclesiastes discussion board

       Hey guys. I actually struggled with this chapter a lot. There seemed to be a lot that I felt really conflicted about.

      At first it felt very Nihilistic and honestly a bit judgmental. He kept treferring to how meaningless everything was ( All was vanity - EC 1:2) and how foolish people are to persue happiness. Any attempt to to influence to seek happiness was like "chasing the wind"... but to me he just seemed ungrateful. There is joy in chasing the wind, there should be gratitude for the ability to chase, for the wind itself, and for the desire to do so (to continue his anaology). So the beginning of the book immediatley rubbed me the wrong way. 


      I only pulled a few examples but can easily add more - I had a few trains of thought as I read. 

      1) Certain verses were truly depressing and nihilistic 

      • 1:8-10 "All things are full of weariness;  a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun 10 Is there a thing of which it is said,  “See, this is new” It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembranceof later things yet to be among those who come after."
      • 7:2-4 "2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. 3 Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."

      1) in some areas I could see how it could be used to bring comfort. Almost in a very Buddhist/Taoist sort of way.

      •  3:12-13 "12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
      •  3:19-22 "19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?"
      • 5:15 "Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands."
      • 7:14 "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future."
      • 8:15 "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."

      2) In others I could see how it could easily be used for opressing others.

      • 5: 12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.
      • 5:18-19 "This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God."
      • 6:10 "Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger."
      • 7:26 "I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare."
      • 7:28 "while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all."

      3) And in a similar vein... It speaks about the opression from God. 

      • 2:24-26 "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
      •  3:14 "14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him."
      •  5:7 "7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God."
      • 9:1 "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them."

      I promise I am not trying to beat a dead horse, but the more I read of the bible, the more flawed I see the Christian God. I would not go so far as to describe him as an evil god, not by a long shot, but he is definitley just as flawed as any other deity. As much as I like the peaceful parts of this book, the thing that just stands out to me the most in the most frustrating way is how much of unpelasant deity this description of the biblical God is and how that can have such a negative effect on those that follow him - such as the depressive nihilism of the beginning chapter

      EC 2:17-20

      "17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun."

      Although I find it odd that almost the entire chapter 9 contradicts the energy and angst of the first 8 chapters. 

      RT Final Paper parts 1 & 2

      1. Sacred Texts in Society Essay (25%): As will likely be the case in your vocational work, we are often tasked with interpreting and wrestling with religious texts from a diversity of religious traditions that are unfamiliar to us. This assignment aims to further develop students’ competency in interpreting a sacred text from multiple historic and religious/philosophical perspectives. It also encourages them to consider the potential impact of this religious text in society by imagining how this text might serve as a resource for a particular population or community (i.e. an interreligious community, sexual abuse survivors, religious nones). [In service of CLOs 2, 3, 4]

      2. Proposals should include: proposed chapter of focus; a 300-350 abstract explaining what approaches you will engage to interpret the passage and what primary questions your analysis seeks to address; the population/community you will reflect on and the text’s potential impact; an annotated bibliography of 4 academic sources you plan to engage in your essay; a list of any additional (unannotated) sources that you may consider using in your research.

      3. Essays should be 5-7 pages (double-spaced) and should include: a summary of the selected passage; an introduction to the religious/philosophical tradition the text is rooted in; a brief overview of the historical and cultural context of the text; an analysis of what key question(s) the text seems to be answering; a brief naming of your own social location as an interpreter and 2 potential interpretations of the passage from two different religious/spiritual or philosophical perspectives; a constructive reflection on how this text might resonate with or serve as a resource for a particular population or community. Students must cite at least 7 scholarly sources in their essay and are encouraged to conduct research beyond course readings with the resources offered by the Spencer Library and the DTL2

      I know I want to focus on the concept of action via non action in the Tao Te Ching. I could focus my paper on chapter 37 or  48. 


      37

      The Way is ever without action,

      Yet nothing is left undone.

      If princes and kings can abide by this,

      All things will form themselves.

      If they form themselves and desires arise,

      I subdue them with nameless simplicity.

      Nameless simplicity will indeed free them from desires.

      Without desire there is stillness,

      And the world settles by itself.


      48

      Those who seek knowledge,

      Collect something every day.

      Those who seek the Way,

      Let go of something every day.

      They let go and let go,

      Until reaching no action.

      When nothing is done,

      Nothing is left undone.

      Never take over the world to tamper with it.

      Those who want to tamper with it

      Are not fit to take over the world.



      Proposal:

      For my sacred texts in society paper I intend to explore more of the Taoist theme of non-action. There are two main chapters of the Tao Te Ching to explore for this that I am torn between using: chapters 37 and 48. Given how short these chapters are, I would prefer to write my paper using both. If allowed, I am confident that I could get at least a good paragraph for interpretation. To start I would break down the premise of non-action as I understand it, then I would break down the examples provided in the two chapters and explore possible modern equivalencies. This will become important for the last section of my paper. 

      Given how non-action seems to contradict our capitalist way of thinking in the united states, that is where I will reflect on and how different our society would look if this became a more popular form living philosophy. What does non-action look like in a capitalist society? How would this effect our economy? How would this affect the health of the population? I would use information about the rise of Capitalism in China despite the emphasis on non-action that was predominant in pre-western Chinese society. I would also pull from research about mental and physical health in the United States in relation to economic stress. I would focus more on a microlevel of exploration as my primary lens and then from there build outwards to what it could mean for the population as a whole.

      To conclude my paper I will tie it all together referencing the modern examples from my first section and how leadership through non action better fits the actual model of democracy as opposed to oligarchy we currently have in our government. What would elections look like? What would policy making look like through this philosophical lens? I would start with presenting what pure democracy is supposed to be and compare it with how our government is currently run; then will apply the leadership behaviors that Lou Tzu dictated. 

      Sources:


      This is a book from the school library which explores styles of leadership

      Guo, Wu. The Sacred and the Secular in Taoism : Theories, Practices, and Communities. 2024. MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/139268.

      Matthews, David. “Mental Illness and Capitalism.” Spectre Journal , September 14, 2023. https://spectrejournal.com/mental-illness-and-capitalism.

      This article written by the program leader of the Health and Social degree at Bangor University goes into an overview of the effects of capitalism on mental health. While it does have a section on the biological causes of mental illness, I will be specifically referencing the sections "The Misery of Capitalist Life", "Capitalism and the Social Character", and "Labor and Discontent". This article will be used to back up my argument about the negative effects of Capitalism on our country and how shifting to an eastern influence through the concept of non-action can be a remedy. 

      Moon, Seungho. “Wuwei(Non-Action) Philosophy and Actions: Rethinking ‘Actions’ in School Reform.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 47, no. 5 (January 28, 2014): 455–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.879692.

      This source is predominantly about reform in schools with inspiration from the concept of Non - action. However given that the concept of non-action is explored as apolitical philosophy I feel this source portrays it in a way that I can use for my essay. I would also argue that school reform could provide examples that I could translate into political reform at the end of my paper. I would be mostly pulling from sections such as "Context of the Tao-Te-Ching and Wuwei (Non-Action)", "Theory of Governance: Wuwei", and "Implications for School Reform: Lessons from Wuwei". I think it is also important to note that this paper is applying the concept of non-action to American schools; in a similar way I want to apply it to American Government.  

      Mullinax, Marc S. Tao Te Ching: Power for the Peaceful. Augsburg Fortress, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv17vf4pp.

      This is a variation of the Tao Te Ching. Not only does this provide an alternative translation to the textbook which we are using, but it includes annotated notes which include historical, social, and cultural context top help understand the chapters. This will be one of the key sources I use for my essay as I will be drawing from it in the first half. Along with my own interpretation this will primarily be the source of breaking down the two chapters line by line. Where as other sources are applying the concept I am exploring, this will explore the concept itself in depth with me. 

      Ng, Julia. “The Action of Non-Action: Walter Benjamin, Wu Wei and the Nature of Capitalism.” Theory, Culture & Society 40, no. 4–5 (June 10, 2023): 219–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764231169944.

      I will be using this article as one of my key sources for this paper. This article features how Capitalism is treated in China; especially from pre-western influence which seemed to resist capitalist ethics. The article itself focuses on development of Capitalism in China, the accumulation of debt in the community under capitalism as a society, and how capitalism is impossible to fully escape as an individual (which is fair to compare since we also accumulate debt through capitalism). I will be mostly focusing on how the premise of no-action is viewed in context to the rise of capitalism in China and the friction between them. I will primarily be drawing from Sections such as "capitalism as religion" and "No One's Actions". 

      Pregadio, Fabrizio. 2008. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism. London: Routledge.

      Schumpeter, Joseph A., and Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2010. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. https://app.kortext.com/borrow/216.

      Shuyu. “Rule Through Non-Action.” Key concepts in Chinese thought and culture, 2022. https://www.chinesethought.cn/EN/shuyu_show.aspx?shuyu_id=4010.

      Zeira, Anna. 2021. “Mental Health Challenges Related to Neoliberal Capitalism in the United States.” Community Mental Health Journal 58 (2): 205–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00840-7.



      Thesis: Throughout our reading of the Tao Te Ching I found myself intrigued by its theme of action through non-action and the sharp contrast it has to our western capitalist mindset in the United states; through this essay I will explore what our country could possibly look like if we adopted this eastern philosophy in our daily lives and in government. 



      Quotes to pull from/cite:
      • good governance; wuwei (无为non-action) does not mean doing nothing, but instead not acting in an over-assertive manner, inother words, not imposing one’s will. In Daoist thinking, this expression means the ruler must respect the natural conditions of those governed (the people); he must not interfere unduly in their lives but allow them to follow their own desires and ways to fulfill themselves. Through “non-action” everything will be actually achieved (Shuyu, 1)
      • “non-action” means the ruler governs by influencing and motivating his subjects through his moral example and achievements, not through decrees, or coercive punishments, so that they act without being ordered, and social harmony is achieved. (Shuyu, 1)

      •  Jullien speaks of ‘that which defeats our Greek opposition between the natural and the technical  by ‘assisting what comes about all by itself’ which is his partial translation of a line from §64 of the Daodejing that reads, in its entirety, or, in the 1842 translation by Stanislas Julien, ‘he dares not act in order to help all beings follow their nature. (The word that customarily translates ‘nature’, zi ran, is composed of two words denoting ‘self’ and ‘so’ and also bears the meaning of ‘spontaneity’, which Jullien brings to the fore by replacing Julien’s ‘suivre leur nature’ with ‘venir tout seul’ while retaining the ‘aider’.) In Jullien’s account, assisting the coming-about-by-itself of things, or fu zi ran, thus involves precisely not a restoration to a static nature by withdrawing purposive action but, rather, what he calls a ‘strategy’ of ‘maturing the effect’, a harnessing of the potential in things to themselves disaggregate such that there is no longer a need for ‘action’ (wei) as such. For Dufourmantelle, the power of this assistance – what she calls ‘gentleness’ – intensifies the ‘metamorphosis of becoming into acquiescence to that same becoming’ since it ‘contains the seed of its opposite’ and effectuates a ‘change of nature’ in harmony with ‘the capacity of processes for self-deployment’ in the ‘natural’ environment. Gentleness, Dufourmantelle argues, therefore poses a particular threat to neoliberal society because not only does it not ‘offer any possible foothold on authority’  it immerses its practitioner in the negativity, insufficiency and precariousness of all beings, the histories and understanding of which contemporary ideologies of productivism and consumerism set out to devastate. (Ng, 220)
      • Yet Jullien himself never denies that Chinese ‘tradition’ is itself an emergent and conflictual field that participates in modernity and has a contemporaneity of its own, even if he leaves the implications unexplored. The definition of ‘silent transformation’ that Dufourmantelle cites, ‘taking part in the propensities at work over time as well as the capacity of processes for self-deployment’, is used by Jullien to describe Deng Xiaoping, the ‘“ Little Helmsman” and “silent transformer” of China: advancing step by step, or “stone by stone”, as he said, rather than projecting some plan or model, yet without falling back into an empiricism (or pragmatism) that is the reverse of our idealism’ . For Jullien, ‘silent transformation’ finds its historical expression in the ‘more efficient than spectacular’ reforms that Deng initiated in the 1980s to foster villagers’ self-governance, rule of law, and entrepreneurship and marketization, particularly in the rural regions, such that ‘China was able to completely reverse its social and economic system by continuous transition while leaving the regime and the Party in place’ (Ng, 221)
      •   Capitalism, he writes,‘saw’ an ‘unmistakable member of its community’ even in those who are not gainfully employed. Like religion, which according to Benjamin did not categorically exclude the individual who was irreligious or of another faith, capitalism makes no ‘moral’ distinction between those contributing and not contributing to productivity; the bottom line, after all – the Bilanz, which calculates gross products and net worth according to a ‘balance sheet’ of plusses and minuses – is itself the bottom line for the way in which religion counts its acolytes, who are redeemed and disposed of by the same calculus.... In capitalism, therefore, no one is neither productive nor non-productive; no one falls outside of the calculus of net productivity. As Benjamin writes in an earlier passage of the fragment, the burden of debt is spread across the community by the various ways in which it reckons (Ng, 223)
      • ‘therein lies what is historically unprecedented about capitalism: religion is no longer the reform of Being but, rather, its shattering’ And, just as there is no ‘reform’ available to ‘Being’, there is ‘no way out’ of this ‘condition'; not participating in capitalism is just as much participation in capitalism, and ‘we cannot close the net in which we stand’...Yet, he suggests, we must try to survey this possibility. In his effort to ‘close the net’ of net productivity, Benjamin turns to Weber’s work on the economic ethics of religious thought. He glosses its main argument as follows: ‘capitalism [is] a religiously conditioned construction’....Confucianism and Daoism, of 1915  in which Weber sought to establish for the first time what he believed to be unique to the development of modern industrial capitalism: that it was necessarily facilitated by the religious tradition that emerged in early modern Europe (Ng, 223)... 
      • Weber attributes the emergence of rational entrepreneurial capitalism to the presence of a certain kind of religiously conditioned mentality by arguing that the lack of such a mentality in China prevented the development of a capitalist economy, in spite of the fact that Confucianism shared certain rational traits with Protestantism.5 In characterizing religion as a ‘condition’ of capitalism, Benjamin refers to the argument presented in Weber’s latter work that an identity can be supposed of religious calling and capitalist ethos and that, moreover, the ethical qualities that are indispensable for the modern capitalist, which include a ‘radical concentration on God-ordained purposes’  was a prerequisite for ‘a horror of illegal, political, colonial, booty, and monopoly types of capitalism’ (Ng224)
      • Weber, for his part, substantiates his thesis by describing what he sees as China’s two main religions, Daoism and Confucianism, as essentially derivative of the same mystical-naturalistic impulse: for him, both were expressions of the same ‘uninterruptedness of magic as such and power of the clan’ (Weber, 1921: 369),6 and both were consistent in regard to their underlying theories of ‘Nichtstun [doing nothing]’ – one of the translations of the principle of wu wei that Weber adopts (Weber, 1920: 465) – as well as their sense of cosmic order and direction of nature, or dao. In both his translations and interpretations of these two principles...., perfection is ‘emptiness (hü)’ and ‘nothingness (wu)’, and it is achieved by suppressing desires and passions, removing knowledge, striving for nothing through ‘inaction (wu wei)’, ‘quiescence (tsing)’ and ‘taciturnity (puh yeh)’, and thereby becoming free from ‘cares..., inasmuch as dao is not action that causes any movement, it is therefore the law of movement itself, of inward spontaneity, and therefore was also interpreted as a principle of rulership. Abiding by inaction therefore translates into the spontaneous transformation of myriad beings. (ng, 224)
      • For Weber, ‘the religion of China’ lacked a theologically-based despair at the universe and was therefore devoid of the creative impulse to dominate over nature and transform the world, which confirmed for him – in the language of a Daoist elite seeking to define itself in opposition to the eschatological practices of its popular counterpart – how the Protestant ethic and its facilitation of impersonal and universal trust alone could have been conducive to the genesis of modern capitalism’s entrepreneurial spirit and depersonalized credit system. ...  capitalism was not only ‘a religiously conditioned construction’ but ‘an essentially religious phenomenon’ with no need of ‘special dogmatics’ to underpin its meaning (Benjamin, 2021: 90). Capitalism itself has the features of a religion for Benjamin; its existence is independent of the ‘special’ structures of Christianity as such – and hence as defined by Weber. Whereas Weber argues, inversely from his analysis of China, that capitalism is conditioned on a salvation religion featuring a supramundane God and tension between earthly conduct and afterworldly compensation that are exclusive to Protestantism, Benjamin maintains that capitalism shares an ‘essence’ with that which also brought about salvation religion and that capitalism might thus take root anywhere this essence can be found. (225)
      • Gu identified in the imperialaristocratic class the potential to renew the movement and rescue ‘culture’, so Benjamin paraphrases, from ‘a chaotic time’... Nevertheless, Gu left an important trace in Benjamin’s oeuvre: his conviction that in both East and West there exist internally divergent tendencies, including the tendency to decline, suggesting a deeper consensus between the two traditions than can be adequately explained by the model of a clash of civilizations (Gu, 1911: 6, 22–7).14 In fact, Gu’s popularity in Europe – and probably his attractiveness to Wyneken and the Free Student Movement – may have been due in no small part to his idea that Western imperialism and the ‘westernization’ of China alike could be traced back to the reintroduction of liberal ideas in the 19th century in both Europe and China after they had been corrupted by utilitarianism and the interests of financial capitalism...For Gu, Confucianism expressed values that were analogous to those that the West had abandoned in the name of modernity, and which stood in direct contrast to those espoused by classes that were driven by work, convenience, and unchecked consumption. As an antidote to both the modernized West and westernizing China, classical Confucianism was presented by Gu as a resource for restoring values. (ng 227)
      •  the West is caught up in an internal struggle against its decline and that ‘a kind of askesis’ might be retrieved from Chinese thought as an antidote (Ng, 228) 
      • Caught up in the all-consuming presence of everyday events, chance occurrences and obligations, the ‘I’ loses the ‘youthful and immortal time of thousandfold opportunities’ to the serial progression of the days and seconds. Then, in response to this condition of ‘despair’ in which he finds youth, Benjamin makes a radical proposal: the one who is in such a condition of despair should look down into the ‘current’ from which they emerged and ‘lose, slowly, finally and redemptively, their comprehension’. It is out of this ‘forgetting’ that the ‘diary’ emerges. In response to the loss of the time of thousandfold opportunities and the time of maturation to the emptiness of having and striving, the youth, according to Benjamin, should keep a diary, the act of which, he writes, will ‘transform’ all that has been inadequately lived into something ‘perfected’ and ‘completed’, in the sense of being ‘brought to an end [Vollendeten]’ (GS 2: 97). Herein Benjamin can be seen to radically depart from Wilhelm but also Gu, who had recommended a return to tradition as an antidote to modern, middle-class ‘pseudo-liberalism’. Benjamin, by contrast, finds in the act of diarizing ‘an act of liberation, secret and limitless in its victory’ because it will have discovered in its ‘perfection’ of life a ‘life that has never been lived [eines nie gelebten Lebens]’. The diary, the ‘book of life in whose time everything that we inadequately lived is transformed into the perfected-completed’, is an ‘abyssal book of a life that has never been lived’ because in its act of recounting all the ways in which the self consumes itself in its desires, willing, lust for power, idleness, and however else self-consumption occurs under the regime of ‘calendar time, clock time, and stock-exchange time’, another ‘I’ emerges altogether to whom none of this has happened because it is, precisely, the no one who has not consumed itself in ‘calendar time, clock time, and stock-exchange time (Ng  229)



      Thursday, March 6, 2025

      Academic Planning UPDATE: Spiritual Direction

       Okay so I was show a differenrt academic planner which shows a pretty different outline of whats needed compared to what the degree page shows. So i''m going to start from scratch

      • Semesters: 2 classes each? (maybe add a third in spring?)
      • Semester 1 - Fall 2024
        • Spiritual Personal Development
        • Intro to theology 
      • Semester 2 - Spring 2025
        • Spiritual and Pastoral Care
        • Intro to religious texts
      • Semester 3 - Summer 2025
        • Contemporary Paganism
        • Art, theology, and contemporary culture
      • Semester 4 - Fall 2025
        • Pagan Ritual? 
      • Semester 5 - Spring 2026
        • Interreligious diaolgue seminar
      • Semester 6 - Summer 2026
      • Semester 7 - Fall 2026
      • Semester 8 - Spring 2027
      • Semester 9 - Summer 2027
      • Semester 10 - Fall 2027
      • Semester 11 - Spring 2028
        • M. Div. Capstone
      • Semester 12 - Summer 2028 - Walk in May?




      1. Religious texts (4 needed)
        1.  Intro to religious texts  
        2.  Buddhist texts  - every other year (2026)
        3.  Pagan Ritual  - Fall 2025 only?
        4.  Hebrew Bible - once a year 
      2. Theological Tradition (3 needed)
        1. Invitation to Theology 
        2. Contructive Theology - once a year
        3. History of Modern Theologies - once a year
        4. Contemporary Paganism  
      3. Ethics/Justice (2 needed)
        1. Comparative Religious Ethics - once a year
        2. Queer and Trans Theologies - once a year
      4. Formation and LEadership (2 needed)
        1.  Intro to Spiritual and Personal Formation
        2.  Organizational Leadership and Administration - once a year
      5. Cultural Context 
        1.  World Religions - once a year
      6. Art and Theology
        1. Art, Religion, and Contemporary Culture 
      7.  Social Transformation
        1.  Leadership and Strategies for Social Change - once a year
      8. Integration (End of degree)
        1. MDiv Capstone Seminar - Spring Semester once a year
      9. Vocational:  (6 needed)
        1.  Introduction to Pastoral and Spiritual Care 
        2.  Trauma, Suffering, and Care - every other year (fall 2025? if not then 2027?)
        3. The Art of Discernment - once a year
        4. Spiritual Direction/Companion 1 - Every Fall? Every Spring? - once a year
        5. Spiritual Direction/Companion 2 - Every Spring? Summer? - once a year
        6.  Practicum -- 2 semesters for 3 redits - once a year
          1. practicum 1 - Every Fall
          2. practicum 2 - Every Spring?
      10. Electives (2)
        1. Interreligious Dialogue w/Dr. Wheeler - Spring 2026
        2.  Sex and Religion in the Public Square, What is Religion, or if I end up having to have Contemporary paganism as my elective if they don't sub it in.