Talking to the gods

[PhantomPhoenix0]

Ok, I see people saying that they talk to the gods/goddesses, and relate to them, get to know them, etc. How exactly is this done? I have tried clearing my mind to talk to them, but it never really works. I think I have ADD or ADHD, although I havent been diagnosed with it, and whenever I try to meditate or clear my mind, my brain races like a chipmunk on crack. There have been a few times that I might have been talking to the gods, but whenever I ask them a question, I think the response, as if I was just talking to myself in my head.

Does anyone have any tips?  

[WebenBanu]

Deities will speak to different people in different ways- a lot of people get fixated on hearing "voices" and ignore other signals, becoming more and more frustrated because they're not getting what they expect to find.^_^ Sound, scent, touch, sight, even taste- and a host of symbolic events and items are at the service of divine communication. At first, you will be far more likely to be receptive to these signals while in a trance state, but they may spill over into waking consciousness in time. Please take the usual safety precautions when entering into trance- whatever your spiritual tradition prescribes.

I've seen teachers in my community begin with exercises meant to develop a person's awareness of their body and their immediate surroundings. Are you aware of what your little toe is feeling right now? I bet you weren't before I asked- most people today live in their heads, and rarely pay attention to other parts of their body unless they're feeling pain or discomfort.^_^ I recommend that you meditate on how every part of yourself is feeling, and gradually begin to work that into your everyday awareness. It is important, believe it or not- how can we expect the gods to get through to us if we aren't even aware of ourselves? The gods will sometimes gesture to you through physical sensations, so you need to be aware of what you're feeling if you don't want to miss it. Look around you and see the gods in the wind, in the sun, and everything else around you- in my spiritual tradition (Kemetic reconstructionism) the gods are embodied in these things! They live and move and-yes, speak- through them, as well as within our own hearts.

I'm one of those people who speaks of hearing the gods, and it took years for me to trust what I was hearing. I began with recognizing symbolic events in my life and surroundings- I lived happily with this sort of feedback for quite some time. For me, I accepted these things more readily- because I knew that I was not causing these events to happen; I could trust them more fully. But in my rituals, especially during meditations and trance states, I did receive vocal signals after a while. And I had one hell of a time trusting them! I kept fearing that any signals that I was receiving would be wishful thinking- that I was, myself, creating these words in my mind to deceive myself! A part of receiving these sorts of communications from the divine is to take a leap of faith- trust that They wouldn't allow you to put words into Their mouths, and go with it for a while. Let this skill develop through use, and keep in mind that everyone has their own learning curve, and their own strengths and techniques.

Now- and this is very important- I'm not suggesting that you should just do whatever you hear without questioning it.^_^ Always examine the information which you receive very carefully before acting on it. If the communication you receive is harmful to yourself or others, do not act on it- the gods are capable of carrying out Their own vendettas, and will not involve you. Do not worry about offending the gods by taking time to consider Their words before accepting them- They will want you to take what They have to say seriously, and consider it carefully, and They will not want a miscommunication to result in harm to you or damage to your relationship with Them. That wouldn't do either one of you any good, right? So consider your signals carefully, but if no harm is involved, act on it. You can't learn a skill if you're afraid to fail while you practice it.^_^

As for how to get to know Them- that depends on the deity.^_^ I recommend reading the deity's mythology, and learning about the culture which originally knew Him or Her. You'll learn a lot about that deity's modes of expression that way, as well, and it will help you to fine tune your listening, and the ever-important interpretation skills.^_~  

[SoilWork]

Well a while ago when I followed Osiris..I was around 15 i think, I got into a deep trance state and called out to him for about 5 minutes, then I saw amazing colors and shapes and movements and out of those a shape began to form, it was him. We had a good discussion. Another metod I have used it to write a plea..or an ummm hmmm what to call it..plea will do for now, but state their characteristics what they are know for, battles they one, foes the defeated, mates the took, just pretty much everything but in a nice poem or littany form...but if the god you seek is a jokester try to make it fun, you don't want some boring a** essay if your known for pulling pranks! Do that and ask them to come to you in your dreams/AP/meditation/trance work and they most likely will!  

[TeaDidikai]

I tend to rant. Lots. If I'm the one starting a conversation without ritual to prep, it's because something has gone wrong at which point vulgar language may be used.

Other times, I sit quietly and listen. I don't try and "Clear my thoughts"- I think there is an aspect of that which found it's heart in the New Age movement from watching way to many kung fu movies in the 70's.

I can chatter away in my head and as long as I am not trying to hold on to a thought, the gods are happy to "chime in" when they feel like it.


This of course raises the question- how do you know it's a god and not yourself. Well, gnosis at this point- but in the beginning I would test them. Which usually involved them lecturing me on how silly I was being for trying to test them- in a way that I couldn't have come up with if I tried. Now I can just tell the difference.  

[maenad nuri]

Alright, so I do have ADHD, and a rather severe case.

My talking to the gods is almost always active. In the form of performing sacrifice, of writing, ect. A lot of writing, because I can always follow my thoughts well, and refine them later.

I meditate in short bursts. I take a song that I am used to, and try to clear my mind for the duration of the song. Eventually, I take longer and longer songs. Right now I'm using any of Layne Redmonds works from "Invoking the Muse"

MY most direct contact with a God, Dionysos (who tend to be much more of a 'present' god than others) was after I slipped into a state in the bath. It wasn't so much of a talking as it was an estastic state, following by sheer panic.

Teas chattering meditation happens to me every so often. Which always begs that question, so its very difficult.  

[PhantomPhoenix0]

TeaDidikai

This of course raises the question- how do you know it's a god and not yourself. Well, gnosis at this point- but in the beginning I would test them. Which usually involved them lecturing me on how silly I was being for trying to test them- in a way that I couldn't have come up with if I tried. Now I can just tell the difference.

This has always been my biggest problem. A while ago, I thought I found Thor to be one of my patrons, but alot of it seemed to prompt itself from my thoughts (that and it probably didnt help that I thought Thor was my patron, and was thinking about it when I was trying to enter a trance. So I could have just seen what I wanted to see). By prompt itself, I mean that I would look at him and say "Who are you?" My almost heard my brain say "I bet its Thor", and then he smiles and says "I am Thor." When I think back to it, he didnt have Mjollnir with him, and I was under the impression he never goes anywhere without it. This makes me wonder if it really was him.  

[Jasta]

Quote:

This of course raises the question- how do you know it's a god and not yourself.

To get around this in the beginning, I was pretty shallow and asked for "signs" The first time I talked to my totem (an arctic wolf), I asked for a sign that it was him - and a week later my mum bought me a silver and white opal wolf necklace. I didn't really ask for a sign from my shadow totem (an orchard spider) when I contacted her for the first time a couple of weeks ago, but it was kind of hinted at, and a few days ago, I was sitting in bed when this little spider came out of nowhere and landed on me. I'm terrified of spiders, which is why I believe it was only a little one. It disappeared after I noticed it... I searched the bed for it, but it had gone. Yeah, there's probably a very mundane explanation behind it.. [grins]

I'm very involved with the Goddess Bast; when I first asked her for a sign, I found that my mum bought me a black statue of the Goddess. I thought, well, my mums pagan too, so maybe she just noticed i've been reading up on Bast and thought to get me this - I was only 12 at the time, so I stomped my foot and demanded a "better" sign... haha. Soon after, a Christian friend bought me a white statue of the Goddess, practically identical to the black one. So I decided it was real enough, hehe.

Ermm... others would include... asking Kali to get rid of my abusive father, and finding myself in a refuge for abused families the very next day - yah, my dad flipped, and my mum finally got help. Or... my mum surviving a pulonary embolism, throughout which I prayed intensively to the Goddess.

So.. don't be afraid to ask for proof. Most God/desses understand that in this day and age, we have been conditioned to NOT believe what we see/ hear... and give them time, maybe like 7-28 days to get around to it. Just don't always be asking.. I imagine that would get tedious, hehe. and in time.. you'll just know smile  

[SlaineWildfire]

The way I see it is that you'll never truly know that it isn't just yourself ranting at you. You have to have faith. *shrugs* You have to have faith that the Gods exist in the first place, so having a little more that they're talking to you doesn't seem like that big of a stretch to me.  

[Jishin]

Add another vote in here for "don't be afraid to ask for a sign". I got mine. *wry grin* Give it some time, and be open to possibilities -- it may come in a form you don't expect.

As for Thor and Mjollnir, who's to say he doesn't have it with him all the time? Just because you can't see it doesn't mean he can't access it. I don't usually get the sense that it's anywhere I can see, but I know it's never far away. And speaking as a Lokean, I've been playfully threatened with it once or twice myself. sweatdrop

If Thor is calling you, by all means, I encourage you to work with him. He's a good guy. Tough, but good.

I know it's hard to set aside the skepticism. I go through months at a time where I don't believe I'm hearing anything but the inside of my own head either. This is particularly difficult because a deity you're called to usually has a lot in common with you (why be friends with someone you have nothing in common with?). So he or she will sound like the inside of your head in many ways! *facepalm*

Faith is not easy, and the gods understand when we can't always manage it. I find my faith comes and goes, but it has always been restored.  

[TeaDidikai]

PhantomPhoenix0

TeaDidikai

This of course raises the question- how do you know it's a god and not yourself. Well, gnosis at this point- but in the beginning I would test them. Which usually involved them lecturing me on how silly I was being for trying to test them- in a way that I couldn't have come up with if I tried. Now I can just tell the difference.

This has always been my biggest problem. A while ago, I thought I found Thor to be one of my patrons, but alot of it seemed to prompt itself from my thoughts (that and it probably didnt help that I thought Thor was my patron, and was thinking about it when I was trying to enter a trance. So I could have just seen what I wanted to see). By prompt itself, I mean that I would look at him and say "Who are you?" My almost heard my brain say "I bet its Thor", and then he smiles and says "I am Thor." When I think back to it, he didnt have Mjollnir with him, and I was under the impression he never goes anywhere without it. This makes me wonder if it really was him.

Well, did you challenge him to prove it?
If your doubts were more than your instincts- I'd say it's a safe bet that it wasn't him. If it was him- my experience with Thor leads me to believe he would have bapped you upside the head and told you as much before you were given enough time to doubt it.  

[PhantomPhoenix0]

TeaDidikai

PhantomPhoenix0

TeaDidikai

This of course raises the question- how do you know it's a god and not yourself. Well, gnosis at this point- but in the beginning I would test them. Which usually involved them lecturing me on how silly I was being for trying to test them- in a way that I couldn't have come up with if I tried. Now I can just tell the difference.

This has always been my biggest problem. A while ago, I thought I found Thor to be one of my patrons, but alot of it seemed to prompt itself from my thoughts (that and it probably didnt help that I thought Thor was my patron, and was thinking about it when I was trying to enter a trance. So I could have just seen what I wanted to see). By prompt itself, I mean that I would look at him and say "Who are you?" My almost heard my brain say "I bet its Thor", and then he smiles and says "I am Thor." When I think back to it, he didnt have Mjollnir with him, and I was under the impression he never goes anywhere without it. This makes me wonder if it really was him.

Well, did you challenge him to prove it?
If your doubts were more than your instincts- I'd say it's a safe bet that it wasn't him. If it was him- my experience with Thor leads me to believe he would have bapped you upside the head and told you as much before you were given enough time to doubt it.

I didnt challenge him, because I didnt think it would matter back then, and I more or less know it wasnt Thor, because I havent heard anything from him since.

I think Loki is screwing with me though. I had to wake up at 5:30 the other day to be at school by 6:30, and I woke up to my alarm going off quietly at 5:45. And fitting in with the helping you after he screws you up thing he is good at, I went outside to find that my car didnt have any ice on the windows (lately ive had to scrape ice off the car every day). I was only about 5 minutes late instead of 15.  

[Cerulean Crayon]

Talking to the gods, for me, has always been a matter of looking up and mentally bitching at whoever might be listening. This makes life interesting when suddenly I find odd things happening...well, I suppose it's not uncommon to fall flat on one's face when looking up and walking. But really, I fell that I'm heard, but they find me to insignificant to answer personally.  

[TeaDidikai]

PhantomPhoenix0

I think Loki is screwing with me though. I had to wake up at 5:30 the other day to be at school by 6:30, and I woke up to my alarm going off quietly at 5:45. And fitting in with the helping you after he screws you up thing he is good at, I went outside to find that my car didnt have any ice on the windows (lately ive had to scrape ice off the car every day). I was only about 5 minutes late instead of 15.

Or... you know- you could have just overslept.  

[Jishin]

PhantomPhoenix0

I think Loki is screwing with me though.

Nah. If the boss is screwing with you, you'll know. Said prankage will be accompanied by unhearable fits of laughter, unseeable smirking, and way too much mental porn. sweatdrop  

[BookWhore]

I've never really taken the time to meditate and look for signs. I usually just have a stream of thought running through my brain. I chatter to Bast or Hecate (hey, what can I say? they work for me) as I go about whatever I'm doing. I do occasionally sit down and pray for a bit. Sometimes I'll see something that can be construed as a sign and I'll follow it. Clearing my mind though has never been something I'm good at. Theres just to much going on in there. rofl