Pagaian Cosmology Forum

Only on the condition that each remains inviolably itself can the traditions help one another.  'Religion in the Global Human Community' Thomas Berry The Sacred Universe p28 2009

Whether we call ourselves Aborigine, Agnostic, Atheist, Avatar, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Pagan or PaGaian, we inevitably make all our decisions using our very 'own' unique body mind. It is this moment to moment personal activity that has the greatest influence on how we behave and who we become. It is with this feature of human consciousness in mind that I briefly story the expression ‘each to their own’.

I was fortunate enough to attend one full day of the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne as it was the day my partner Glenys Livingstone took part in two separate presentations namely, Australian Pagans Speak Out and The New Archaic. I was also able to spend some valuable time during my visit on the periphery of the conference taking in the amazing sites and variety of religious expression that were so enthusiastically and colourfully presented by so many different faith practitioners. 

While my main interest was in the Pagan, Goddess and Indigenous faiths, it was particularly encouraging to see and hear so many people enthusiastically sharing their stories with each other. The experience confirmed my long held belief that we humans have - for better and for worse, long since become the kind of creature for whom religiosity is an essential part of our being. According to the presenters of The New Archaic, our relatively large thirteen ounce brain enjoys the deliberately altered states of consciousness we can experience when participating in prayer, ritual, meditation, ceremony and or shamanic practice. 

In a short letter to the editor of a Melbourne newspaper someone wrote about how good it was to see so many religions gathering together without killing each other. Shocking but true. Why is it that we humans now have the capacity to be both in awe of and celebrate the sacred nature of life yet still be prepared to deliberately end such life? This question reminds me of the expression - each to their own. If only more people had the self confidence and security of their own way of knowing and being to honestly respond to conflict - potential or real, with these four simple words.

While it is important that we are free to express ourselves according to our preferred ways of knowing and being, we are first and foremost unique individuals who live among a creative community of planetary creatures. I am very grateful for having arrived at PC, a cosmology that enables me to feel confident and secure enough to honestly say –  each to their own.

Taffy,
Jan 2010.