Blue Star mini-meme

[sabrinamari]

What are *your* Blue Star Path of Power Sub-Specialties?

1. Answer this post with a brief comment noting our common foci/areas of overlapping interest
2. Copy this meme and paste into your own LJ, removing my answers
3. Substitute your own answers so that the Blue Star/pagan community can pester you for new knowledge,
advice and petition for collaborative exchanges in your areas of specialty or interest.

Herbology - Aromatics, organic container gardening with herbs

Ritual - ROPs, transformational ritual, partnering exercises for ritual officiants (Seaweed and Ocean, hand bonding exercise learned from LJ user and working partner Oaktavia)

Trance and Meditation - Channeling Spirit, Thinging, Mindfulness Meditation, Joybreath

Psychic Development - healing therapeutics and diagnostics, eg., Reiki, High Sense Perception work, pendulum work, magic

Divination - Tarot

Love - loving kindness meditation, dharma classes, developing bhodicitta, differentiation work, journaling

Music and Dance - fire circle dancing/drum dancing, trance dancing

Astral Projection - do not practice unless poked repeatedly with a sharp stick ,
or in a circle led by a Priest/ess conducting an astral projection exercise

Comments

Common Areas

[ingridsummers.livejournal.com]

loving kindness meditation & differentiation work, mindfulness meditation, ROP, transformative ritual and gardening.

[effloresense.livejournal.com]

Interesting... What's Joybreath? And what's bhodicitta?

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Joybreath is the name given to a continuous deep breathing technique that can be used to induce trance and open the body to much larger amounts of energy than it usually channels. It's sometimes called "rebirthing". Many claims are made for the technique, but I see it primarily as a tool for working with energy.

I also think that it's misnamed. For some people, it induces a euphoric state, but for others, it results in body-wide involuntary muscle cramping that can be really frightening and painful. I'm one of these people. I still use the technique occasionally because it acts as a giant "flush," pushing blocks and solidifications stuck in my field out, at least temporarily. The long term result is good for me: I can run mich more Reiki and HSP through my body, my healing abilities are much stronger (until I start building new blocks) and I think it also makes me a more effective magical practitioner.

But it hurts like hell and it usually leaves me with a headache for at least a day afterwards.

So I use it judiciously, and usually in the comnpany of another Braided Streamer. I've taught it to other people on occasion, and there seems to be an even distribution among those who get the all clenched-up painful response and those who find it pleasant or euphoric. Now, I'm more careful, and I don't try it with anyone who hasn't spent several monthsworking with energy in some capacity a couple of times a week.

Bodhicitta is a word taken from the Tibetan that refers to the "opening up and softening of the heart and mind" or the generation of deep compassion. Tibetan Buddhists practice several different techniques to "teach" themselves to stay calm in the face of challenging interactions with others with the ultimate goal of becoming so centered and so strong in the self that they can even feel *real* compassion for those who are acting out of fear, anger and defensiveness around them. This allows them to stay centered, think clearly, and respond to defensiveness or anger in ways that defuse that anger and end up helping the angry person to calm down.

It's not easy, but it's worthwhile. It's sort of like "cultivating love even when that's not very easy".

I am just starting this practice, but already, it has helped me. I'm eager to continue, and to find new ways to bring what I learn to others who might be interested.

[wild-place-king.livejournal.com]

I do herbology in the form of working with wood to make altar tools.

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

Ritual and Music are my top two. I suck at Trance and Astral for myself, but I'm really good at facilitating them for other people. (Which sums up my invocation experience -- haven't managed it yet myself, but I haven't found anyone yet I can't help over the line within a few minutes of working with them.)

My divination is passable (used to be better, but I'm rusty these days); my energy work (psych dev) is pretty good, but I can't 'see' what I'm doing, which can be frustrating. If I know something needs to happen, I can make it happen without difficulty, even if it's incredibly complex (like opening a door into death for a trapped spirit). Usually someone else has to notice the problem, though. :-/

And, of course, you have awakened an aromatic addiction in me that will bankrupt me if I'm not careful. You're worse than a pusher. >:-)

[discoiris.livejournal.com]

Herbology - Aromatics
Psychic Development - healing therapeutics and diagnostics, eg., Reiki,
Divination - Tarot and general...
Love - journaling

i also love working with crystals and gems, i do astral temple work on a regular basis. i do tai chi and karate for meditation.

hmmm...

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

It feels as if we have more commonalities than appear when I simply read through your list. We share: aromatics, organic herb gardening, magic, and fire circle dancing.

[oaktavia.livejournal.com]

LOL
ok I'm in the "misnamed" is an UNDERSTATEMENT group (uproarious laughter)
when it was first described to me "neither of us were uncramped enough to flip the tape over" (?!?) that I couldn't figure out why on earth anyone would WANT to *repeat* the process!

And then I tried it.
I'm definitely in the 'cramp up' group... enough so, that I was *truly* too frightened to open my eyes and look at my hands - which had cramped up enough to look as though I had osteo-arthritis! (which to an artisan was terrifying!)
and lo and behold... I'm actually looking forward to doing it again. go figure. ;-)

[dragonflycai.livejournal.com]

Overlapping: Mindfulness Meditation, Reiki, magic, tarot, differentiation work, journaling, fire circle dancing.

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

We overlap in many ways, all of which I hope to explore with you in the near future. : )

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

We should work on astral temple stuff sometime...I am a remedial student of that art.

I'm so glad Randa is getting better!

[discoiris.livejournal.com]

she is, we're home now! funny thing, the first night i was in the hospital i went to bed and said to myself "i really have to go to my astral temple" i tried, but i found i was led onto a path that kept going till i fell asleep! i will be elaborating in a new post soon...

[dragonflycai.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I look forward to it. :)