Increasing Your Contentment

1. Let of toxic people in your life- in my experiences, they drain me of vital life energy. I found healthy relationships are better.

2. Let go of fretting about past mistakes- forgive yourself and move on.

New Age Spirituality!

What is New Age Spirituality?

Spirituality involves the relief of suffering! It is a practice, a path and a duty. It is an integrity which is integrated into the character and behaviour.

Neurosis is the inability to understand reality. We need to question more and the word 'why' is perhaps the most important word in the English language. We need to avoid colluding with untruths, and we need to question all we are told! Consumerism wants to brainwash us and prevent us from thinking for ourselves! The New Age promises us all kinds of things, especially it tells us what we want to hear! It also tells us to think 'positive', even though it might be against our better judgement and our long term interests. 'You can have it all', we are cajoled by those who think we are naive, or worse, stupid! They speak about us in perjorative terms whilst encouraging us to put money in their pockets. Beware!

Pagans and Ecology

Making generalised statements about Pagans is rarely a good idea as Pagans are incredibly diverse. My current working definition for Paganism(s) is recreated, reconstructed and/or reimagined indigenous traditions from around the world, many of which see the sacred in the landscape. So Paganism isn’t just one tradition, but many, from all sorts of different origins around the world. 

One of the causes for the differences you might find in Pagan traditions is the very landscape they originally emerged in, because, in different landscapes, with diverse ecological conditions, the way people perceive and interact with that landscape will vary.

It is fair to say that a great many traditions see the sacred in the landscape, which means that interacting with that landscape equates to interaction with the sacred. As the sacred is very important, a great many Pagans will be keen to see and work for a more sustainable way of living- a way of living that is less likely to damage the local environment and more likely to honour it. This may take the form of activities to clean up rubbish left in waterways, forests and open land, by others. It may take the form of protesting against business that could be considered to damage the landscape- hydraulic fracturing (fracking), building on greenbelt land or destruction of ancient woodland. It could take the form of guerrilla gardening activities, permaculture or simply in tending to their own gardens. But running through all those activities is an understanding that the land is sacred, that we do not inherit the land from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children. Of course, these kinds of activities are not the sole province of Pagans. But a key motivator for Pagans to engage in them is that recognition of the sacred in nature.

Jenni Roditi interview

I would like to introduce Mind Body Spirit Magazine readers to Jenni Roditi: 

Please tell us something about yourself Jenni:

I’m a vocalist and composer and I live in North London. I studied composition at the Guildhall and Brunel University, which I adored and which provided me with the technical tools which still underpin my musical work. I’ve written two chamber operas, and a variety of other orchestral and choral works, and continue to compose alongside my teaching and therapeutic practice.