Third Principle

I really think this is an interesting way of looking at the principles. They line up a bit differently.

Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. This one does seem on the surface to be very UU specific. Perhaps they should change the wording very slightly, as I will for this post. To make it more inclusive, I will simply change that last word to community. As Pagans, we should should strive to accept others as they are, especially if we want them to accept us how we are. I

What does this mean? I think it means that we should allow people to be who and what they are. There are, of course, limitations to this. I am not about to advocate that a mass murderer should be allowed to run free. It is more to do with allowing others to run their lives as they want, so long as they are not hurting others or themselves. It also means that we should help others on their path. This could be simply talking about yours, not trying to convert, merely giving information. It could be deciding to take someone to spiritual place that is different for both of you and comparing notes afterward.

This one reminds me a lot of the fourth principle. We need to be free to think for ourselves and allow others to have the same freedom. It is another one that stresses community. I think we have lost community recently. Many think it is because technology changed us. I don't think so. It does make it easier, but it was us who decided to forgo community.

How does this play into druidry?

Druids historically have been teachers, healers, and priests. Today, they are mentors, teachers, and seekers. Seeking and helping others along their paths. UU's also like to learn and share and help others. Both groups are very similar in these respects.

Fourth Principle

One of these days, I will post on time.

Now, on to one of my favourites. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

Part of this one is to allow everyone to search out his or her own path. UU's seem to follow this one very religiously. As do druids. Every druid I've seen has her own way of practising. Both groups have some core bits that define their paths, and they allow for many variations on the theme.

The other part is the hard part, responsibility. You are responsible for how your views affect others. Not only is it hard, many ignore it. This is also why I take issue with libertarian ism. There are some aspects of it that are good, like not forcing people to conform. It, and much of modern American culture, unfortunately don't take how things affect others into account. It is all about the individual doing what he or she wants. If it negatively affects someone else, that is that someone's problem.

This is related in many ways to the principles about community and interconnectedness. When we search for truth and meaning, we have to think about how our beliefs will affect others. Some beliefs, say the number of gods you believe, don't affect anyone but yourself. However, there are belies, the ones about how we interact with the world and with others, that influence how we treat others. This is where we need to take responsibility for our beliefs.

Fifth principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.

This is one that I think doesn't really have a connection to druidry. It's not that druids are against using the democratic process; it is just something that does not come up. Many are single practitioners, so a democratic process isn't likely to be of much help with one voter. In a grove, I can see it being a good way to govern, though not always the best way to write a ritual. setting goals and deciding where to spend effort and money are more likely to be amenable to a vote. Allowing everyone to have a say increases ownership in the group and can, if done right, increase the cohesion.

Alright, now to actually be on time. Or not.

The sixth principle is "The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all."

I doubt we will ever see this, never-the-less, I think it is an excellent goal. Some goals are more about the journey than the destination and that is good. We need to always be making ourselves and our world a better place. You can't do that if you stand still.

Now, how does this principle fit into druidry?  Let's start with community. Community is important to druids, whether it is our spiritual community, the community where we live, or the community we build with our friends. We are a part of these communities and need to take active roles in them.

Peace, liberty, and justice for all are good things to have in a community. Would you want to be a part of a community that was always in conflict?  Or one that wants certain members to not have all the rights of others?  I know I wouldn't want to be a part of one that wasn't at least trying to have all three. There will always be some sort of conflict but, there are things that can be done to lessen that conflict.

This relates to the seventh principle by showing us how we can have respect for the interdependent web. Part of that web is the world community and peace, liberty, and justice for all is how we show that respect for everything and how everything interrelates.

Sorry about taking so long, last month was a bit busy. Among other things, I gave a sermon about druidry last week, so I spent a good part of the last month finishing it.

The seventh principle of Unitarian Universalism is "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part". This one is likely the easiest of the seven to relate to druidry.

Reverence for nature is a core part of druidry, so is connection to everything. For me, everything has a spirit and honoring those spirits is important. People, community, the environment, all of creation is connected to and is in relationship with everything else. Humans need to stop separating ourselves from nature and each other.

Druids, and pagans in general, revere mother earth and try to live in harmony with her. UU's tend to do the same, though many would word it differently. I believe the seventh principle calls us all to live in community with the whole of our world. We are a part of it and a part of nature. We are not masters of either and need to stop acting like we are. We should be caretakers of this home of ours. As a part of nature, humans are no more nor less deserving of respect than anything else.

Introductory Stuffs

Hello and welcome to my blog. I intend to write once a month about druidry and spirituality. There will likely be posts about recent events as they happen if I feel they would make good articles. I apologize for taking so long before writing my first post.

My first posts will be about the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, in reverse order. And how they all interconnect. I will also show how they fit into druidry. This blog will be used help order my thoughts, and these are the ones that I feel need ordering for me first. After that, we'll see what needs to fall out of my head next.

Now for a little about the humble writer of this blog. I am physicist and employed as a scientist. I have also been reading about druidry for several years and not doing much with it. This year has seen that change and steps taken to really bring it into my life as a core part of it. 

I plan to start with a post about the Seventh Principle, respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. This will happen by the end of the month, followed by a post by the end of the first full week of every month.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave any comments that might help to make this blog better and more useful.