The Mountain: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Very few individuals are so blessed as to have the discipline and the time to truly devote themselves, every day, to the life that they wish to lead when it comes to the matters of religion or the occult. Practice these exercises every day, meet for rituals once a month, pray at least once a day, and meditate for thirty minutes all seem to get enveloped in our personal concerns--finding a job, going to work, grocery shopping, doing chores and laundry, surfing the internet, spending time with our significant others, and sewing that shirt for Pennsic this year--all seem to be given higher priorities at different points in our lives.

We are spread too thin, we have too much to juggle. Too many things that separate us from the gods and from being in touch with ourselves. When we break away for any length of time, it can be an incredible struggle back up the mountain to get to the level we were at before and so the longer we spend away from our daily exercises and away from our meditations the harder it is to get back into them.

The Golden Calf

In the Judeo-Christian mythology there is an old story of the Golden Calf along with that most famous of commandments You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). There is an interesting symbolic interpretation of this scene that, while it may not (or may) be the original interpretation I believe that it has merit.

The people were not worshipping a literal golden calf--such is silly--the scene is symbolic. The calf represents those material things that draw us away from the Divine. There is nothing inherently evil in wealth--there is nothing wrong with gold or calves--the problem lies in when these items become more important to us than the lives that we lead or the code that we follow. The people were not worshipping an object with no meaning--they had allowed other things to take the place of YHVH in their lives.

So what?

A similar event happens with us as modern Pagans. We allow a thousand things to interfere and it is incredibly difficult to make our minds shut up for ten seconds--much less thirty minutes to an hour (or longer). Some are better than others at incorporating their faith into their lives but, at least for me, it is a struggle to both live by my faith/code of conduct and to do those magical practices I need in order to learn the paths of magic that I wish to be able to walk.

We set goals for ourselves--resolutions--to get back into it. I'll do so tomorrow or next week or this year will be different and then it fails to ever materialize. Something always gets in the way. Reading a book, checking email, getting some extra work done--whatever it is--our own resolutions get set aside for it again and again until in the end we look back and ask ourselves where the time went.

When we are working at it every day things feel right--they click quickly. Everything in our practice falls into place and, while it is not exactly easy, it is certainly easier given this practice. We can get into meditation's equivalent of a runner's high.

Then something comes up. A vacation, a book, an erratic sleep schedule, something that draws us away. Of course, as soon as one thing is there to distract there is another thing that follows, and suddenly we are being drawn farther and farther away from regular practice and from giving our supposed religions or the kind of person that we are any thought on a day-to-day basis.

My gods have been very forgiving of this--but it has always been up to me to climb back out of it (sometimes with some prompting--those of you who follow tricksters already know that you do so at your own risk). It is a long, hard, and dusty trail.

Climbing the first time is an exciting voyage. Climbing it the tenth is just flat-out difficult.

Getting Started on the Voyage

The first thing to do to restart it is to make the time. The time for this can never be found, so it has to be deliberately inserted into our lives. It can be five minutes while we are waiting for a street car or while on coffee break, it can be whenever you sit down for thirty seconds--just take the time to clear out your mind, ground, center, and refocus your shields.

Once you can do this consistently every day, try to set aside a little time: just five-to-ten minutes at the same time every day. Gradually try to increase this time, and try to set it at a time of day when you aren't going to go to sleep while trying to meditate or pray.

Some ideas to help out:

Carry something in your pocket or around your neck as a constant reminder. Prayer beads (e.g., a rosary), a necklace with a significant symbol on it, a valknut on a talisman, something that you can physically touch to remind yourself.
Set a watch to go off at a particular time. Just set a time and, whenever that alarm goes off, take a few minutes off of whatever you are doing and clear your mind.
Start small. It is tempting, when you first get back into practice, to sit down and try to meditate for thirty minutes (or longer) all in one stretch. This is like trying to run a marathon when you have let yourself get out of shape. Instead, start with little exercises for just a few minutes at a time, and then try to expand it slowly until you get back to where you once were.
Keep it simple. Only practice one thing at a time and try to only get back into one thing at a time. As time progresses more things can be added, but the fewer in the beginning the better.
Keep a journal. This is easier said than done. The entries do not need to be anything significant--little reflections, a note about the day, a jot outline of ideas or images--anything works. Just something with a date stamp on it that can be looked back over.
Find a group. If there is a group you can live with and that can live with you, this is one of the best methods for keeping at something. A weekly (or even monthly) practice, discussion, or class can give focus and help even in times when day-to-day exercises are a seemingly impossible feat.

Conclusion

There are not shortcuts, there are no tricks. Dedication and work are the only way to climb the mountain, whether it is for the first time or the hundredth.

Finally: Good luck. This article was written while I attempt to climb this mountain, as part of my own starting small. I can only hope that it will help someone else as well.

Added: 5 June 2005.
Updated: 5 June 2005.