Welcome to Gaia! ::

So I'm still new to my religion, been practicing for just a few months (studying for about 6). My boyfriend and a couple of close friends know, that's about it.
My boyfriend is an atheist and is still getting used to the idea that I'm religious (wasn't for majority of our relationship) so he kind of laughs at it from time to time. I have midterms toorrow so I made an offering and a promise for further offerings to Minerva for her guidance and wisdom for my midterms and studying for them so I told him to not go into the bedroom for a while while I do it (because if he enters the room or anything happens that means I have to finish the ritual and start all over again). I just told him I had to pray and didn't tell him the reasoning. He kept asking me what I was praying for, but I was nervous to tell him because I'm afraid he'd laugh.


So I was just wondering if anyone else has this issue with their loved ones. Do you hide parts of your religion (or all) because you're afraid of laughter? Do you get nervous when people ask you what your religion is because that means you'd get weird looks and the "oh.." response after you had to explain what it meant?

I guess my thing is is because I've never had to explain my beliefs before. As a kid I was Christian, everyone knows what Christians believe in. Then I just wasn't anything and had no beliefs and didn't worry about the existence of Gods so I didn't have to explain that either. That's my main thing.

I think you may need to dig a little deeper below the surface on this. Start at the begining. How did you change? To what might you attribute the awakening of a spiritual interest?

Your original post said that you hadn't previously been very religious. Yet now you feel the need to have a more active religious life. I think you need to understand within yourself how and why this changed before you can start trying to help others understand.

Sorry, I guess I did. I got the impression that you were wondering how to deal with awkward situations.

Exactly what Raven said, just if someone had any similar situations as I have.
All my friends are either Christian or agnostic or atheist. Mainly Christian or atheist..so you can just imagine lol.

Also seeing as my religion is orthopraxic..the whole spirituality side if it isn't really huge for me anyways so I don't feel a need to do some "spiritual searching deep within". I mean I believe in the deities that I worship, but it's not like I have some intimate relationship with them or anything.

To be honest I don't really talk to any one in my family about my beliefs. They know I am a witch and that I hold a different belief in God than they do. Occasionally my mom and I will discuss things as she considers me her teacher, but that is about it. Hell I don't even know if my fiance' understands everything I believe in.

Sometimes its best to keep it that simple.

I've been told that I'm not a true Pagan because I believe Jesus Christ existed, and I believe he was the son of a God. I believe he is a wise and enlightened man who had an important lesson to teach humanity. I honor his birthday and his sacrifice (Christmas and Easter) for this reason. To them keeping him in my spiritual teachings at all goes against Paganism.

If I knew more about Buddha's teachings (ie having read them and pondered them) I'd honor his birthday as a holiday as well. Why? Because I believe that he has a message and that wise men like him deserve to be honored if only with a meditation and candle lighting in their honor.

I also believe that all deities exist. So I don't feel the need to really argue my views on deity most of the time. Its also why I feel that I could respectfully join in a ritual from basically any religion. I may not worship their Gods specifically, but that doesn't mean I can't respect them and I have to deny their existences. No. I believe they exist, I just don't worship and know them.

My highly evangelical family members have stopped pressuring me to join their Church. I told them that if they ask me to attend a service they are running, or visit for a special occasion I will out of respect for them, and to try and understand their views a bit more. It hasn't happened since I've become much more public about my posts supporting Paganism and witchcraft.

I think if you can find a simple way to explain it you will be better off. I find the more details I get into the more confusing it can be.

I've asked myself this question several times before. I've felt the need to have a more active religious life. I'm just now starting to feel that I can get back into that possibility. For years I have been over medicated and not really able to feel and express my self spiritually as freely as I would have liked.

I've found that I need to find more inner peace and self acceptance. For me that means actively working harder on my spirituality and spiritual development. The last three weeks while my medications have been wearing off have been giving me several more revelations as to what I can do for myself to be more spiritually and religiously active.

I had lost the other side of my religious spirituality. Now the two are more united. I see more beauty in darkness and in light than I have before. I have felt a renewal. The fire of this summer for me is a Summer of rebirth and renewal.

Mysteries are falling into place and my roles are becoming more clear. What I need to learn and where I need to find those lessons is falling into place. I now have a much better idea of where the various bits and bobs from other traditions are fitting in together.

I have truly started to see who I really am, and it's where I wanted to be in High School at this time in my life.