Thanksgiving is a celebration of giving thanks for a good harvest, which is what is being celebrated in the US in the coming week.  And we're looking into what makes a bountiful spiritual harvest.

Taking refuge is one of the more important things you do to insure a good spiritual harvest.  And to see what's involved, there is no better example of taking refuge than the Three Refuges Of Buddhism.  Go to almost any Buddhist handbook and you will find them:

A bit of basic knowledge of Buddhism will give you a grasp of what these are.  And do you know what?  They, or their equivalents are found in almost any spiritual path.  And do you know what?  The cluster of paths which we follow have them in abundance, and at all of the levels you can imagine!

In refuge, we find comfort, reassurance, nurturing, strengthening, and all else we need to follow our spiritual quests and deal with the mundance world at the same time! 

And with that and what we discover, we can really have a major harvest!

Blessed Be!

Your inner vision.  That is probably one of the most powerful of the so-called basics.  Even the most mundane of the mundanes recognize its power, and some actually fear its power, especially the inner visions of others.  After all, the inner visions of some people have grown to the point of founding empires, or destroying them.

Your inner vision is what you see for yourself in the future.  Some people might have more than one inner vision, but there is usually one inner vision in a person which dominates the rest.

It is said that Walt Disney decided to see what he could make out of a mouse.  More than one big name known in the world of retail began with a vision of owning a store - that is, one store.  And when that store prospered, then the inner vision began to include more stores.  They can even break through challenges, such as the hardware chain whose first store had its grand opening on the very day of the stockmarket crash which heralded the Great Depression in the US.

To have an inner vision work for you, there are some factors that need to be considered.  Is it long-term?  What will fulfill it?  Will it adapt to its first fulfillment, or will it "expire" at that time?  What will it accomplish?  How long will its effects last?  And so, let's look at a couple of examples.

If the inner vision is so central to the success of so many non-magickal people, imagine what it can do in the hands (and minds) of those who are magickal!  It is the thoughtform of spellwork and meditation, transformed into a template for the future!

And this is just the beginning!

Blessed Be!
 

Veterans' Day, November 11th in the United States, will happen in the coming week.  As usual, I have something to say about that.

We also had a tragic shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.  That's the physically largest military installation in the country, and also home to the Fort Hood Open Circle, one of the best military Pagan groups you'll find anywhere.  I don't know if any of their members was directly involved, but having lived and worked on military bases as much as I did, I can say that the mere fact that it happened on their base means that they're involved and affected.

I'd like to offer you something to think about, and it is something that might not have occurred to you.

And it kind of ties in with one of the main points I was already prepared to make, but the news of the day underlined the point far beyond anything I could accomplish.

If you are looking for learning, there is plenty in the news today that qualifies as learning for The Craft (or whatever you call what we do).  And part of the learning process is to recognize where a lesson might be found.

Blessed Be!