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From: ba@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (B.A. Davis-Howe)
Newsgroups: alt.magic,alt.magick,alt.pagan,talk.religion.newage,talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Teacher wanted
Date: 4 Oct 1993 23:08:16 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
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References: <28q507$ncl@ionews.io.org>
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mistwolf@io.org (MistWolf) writes:

>Interested in paganism, seeking a teacher.. Please help. :)
> 
>Jamie
>MistWolf@io.org

These are my general recommendations to anyone seeking a teacher in
any of the neo-pagan traditions (paganism is NOT one monolithic
religion) or any magical discipline:

1) Read--lots.  Different sources have different perspectives.  Pay
attention to how different books disagree; figure out why they
disagree; then figure out what you believe and why.

2) Practice--regularly.  When a path seems like it appeals to you, try
some of the practices.  See if they work for you.

3) Talk to others.  Whether they are more experienced, less
experienced, or just about as experienced as you are, you can learn
from interacting with them.  I learn some of my most important lessons
from my students.  Don't accept everything someone else says, no
matter what fancy titles they have, or what powers they have (or, more
often, claim to have).  If someone feels wrong for you, or pressures
you to do something which feels wrong for you, run--don't walk--to the
nearest exit.  They may just be on a different path from yours, but
they are someone you shouldn't be hanging around.

4) Don't believe that you *need* a teacher.  I don't take students
that think they can't learn their Craft without me--most other sane
teachers won't either.  A teacher is only a way to speed up the
process--at best.  Trust yourself, and you will find that your best
teacher is yourself.
===

From: jtraub@sooth.zso.dec.com (Joseph Traub)
Date: 5 Oct 1993 16:43:17 GMT

Br'an writes:
[most of recommendations deleted, in general good ideas]
[quoting #3 of the above recommendations               ]

This is the only part that I really had any problems with.  There is a
difference between something 'feeling' wrong, and something being
wrong for you, and it's something that is glossed over and hidden away
by a large number of books on mystical subjects (by no means all, but
the indeed by the majority which I personally have read).  A lot of
times something that 'feels' wrong might simply feel that way because
of societal conditioning, not because the concept is either right or
wrong, and a lot of teachers, books, and other learning material will
DELIBERATELY challenge those assumptions about the world by presenting
you with ideas that initially 'feel' wrong, but might have a great
deal of validity once thought out and through in a rational and
dedicated manner.  Only reject something AFTER you have thought it
through and made sure that it disagrees with your fundamental beliefs.
Acting as Bran suggests above is a highly emotional reaction, and in
fact could lead you to miss what might otherwise be an interesting
lesson and look into your own perceptions about words, actions,
thoughts, and the connotations thereof.

[rest deleted]

Blessed Be.

--JT (Amythyst on IRC occasionally)
-- 
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[] Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty --Anonymous       []
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