After I’d already put this essay up, I got a quote from a friend that made me realize it would be worth it to add one last bit at the end. I’ve talked the detail about how the six ways work, but my friend eloquently delineated what it meant to see the other ways through the lens of one’s own spiritual favorite. Brandon E. Hardy is a henotheistic Christian (meaning that he is primarily a Jesus guy but also secondarily worships several Pagan deities), and he wrote:
When first reading through the six ways, I kept thinking, “Oh, I do some of this,” or “Wow, I do a lot of that,” and started to wonder at my lack of depth in all these areas. But then I asked myself not just about what I was doing, but about why I was doing it. This was when I noticed a pattern that showed the lens I had been reading all the other paths through: Devotion. Reasoned Inquiry was getting to learn more about the focuses of my devotion. Shamanic Meditation helped me go closer to those to whom I’m devoted, while I was more open to them here through Mystical Quest. Then Right Action kept me with them throughout my daily life. And Sacred Rites were only part of my practice when they were devotional acts. It ended up not being about what tools I was or wasn’t cherry-picking from the different ways, but about where it all stemmed from. Without Devotion, the rest of it just fell apart.
Brandon’s words inspired me to see clearer how much of a Right Action person I am. I’m a karma yoga guy. If I do religious research, it’s in order to write something that would be of help to people. I’ve done ritual for my church for decades, but it’s not because I glory in ritual; it’s a service to the congregants when there’s no one else inspired to do it. I’m learning to use the tools of Mystical Quest … in order to make myself a better, clearer, and saner tool to help others. With one exception, I rarely kneel in front of my altars and pray with devotion; instead, I create and maintain dozens of online shrines that facilitate other people in leaving their prayers – over twenty thousand at last count. Even Shamanic Mediation, which takes up so much time in my life – I am a professional shaman – is done for the sake of helping those who come to my door seeking counsel or aid. It’s all service.
My Gods understand this, and set me to the appropriate tasks. Once I stood in a grocery store feeling guilty because my acts for them didn’t look like other people’s, and in a flurry I bought far too many flowers to put on their altars. As I cut, vased, and presented the flowers, I got a strong message from them: “We don’t expect that of you. We know that Work is your prayer. If you’re spontaneously and joyfully moved to buy us flowers, all right, but don’t do it if that’s not what you’re feeling, and don’t feel guilty that you don’t feel that way. Doing any path out of grim duty or guilty shame isn’t what we want. We want inspired people. Do what inspires you, and let that be your gift.”
So I encourage you to think about how you see the other paths through the lens of the one that most inspires you. Then, if possible, think about how people on other paths would see your favorite through their own lens. If you can write about that, send it to me! The more we bring this out into the open, the better off we will all be.
Blessings,
-Raven Kaldera