The Temple of Cybele

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About Our Practice

By Priestess Jean

Each time our clergy receives a new inquiry from the public, we find that many of the same issues are raised... how is your religion different than the others ? Why do you believe that the Goddess is real ? What should I do to find genuine spirituality ? And so, this month I'm going to talk about our practice, and try to answer some of those very basic and very important questions.

One of the most obvious things that makes our religion unique is it's simplicity. As our website explains, the primordial Great Mother Goddess has been recognized instinctively in Neolithic cultures all over the world. Later, as man sought to gain power and profit through religion, he began to fabricate all sorts of false deities, to serve his own agenda. Our contention is that only the Goddess is genuine, and that She may still be perceived instinctively, by those who posses an enlightened heart. In addition, She may also be encountered through direct personal experiences, which are an important part of our practice.

Yet another noteworthy quality of our religion is it's freedom from repressive dogma. We manifest our reverence for the Goddess by leading an honorable life, without any precise set of rules and regulations. Our philosophy is that each person should establish a relationship with the Goddess, come to know Her will, and then use their own judgement in making personal decisions.

We strongly reject beliefs which are spread through force and intimidation, or which indoctrinate people using stories in books, or the word of their clergy. No truly spiritual organization operates in such a way. Deity must be alive in our hearts, or it is nowhere. Even in ancient times, when our religion was popular and influential, we never engaged in forced conversions or caused our followers to abuse others.

Still another significant difference in our religion can be found when we speak of a relationship with the Goddess... for we are not talking about a mere awareness of Her historical image, or dogma which was passed on to us through books or clergy, but of a genuine, ongoing, interactive relationship. We believe that the Goddess exists in a metaphysical universe, which we may have contact with, in certain specific ways. For example, She may communicate with us through prophetic dreams or visions, or join with us during rituals.

There are two ways that a relationship with the Goddess will typically begin... through intellectual study and contemplation, or by being "called". Each path is valid, and ultimately leads to the same destination, although they are quite different in the way that they occur.

Being called can be a very sudden and surprising experience. That is the way my own relationship with the Goddess began. After a lifetime of having been an atheist, and without any previous knowledge of ancient history or spirituality, the Goddess began to appear to me through a series of dreams and visions. Naturally, I was quite disturbed by this, and doubted my own perceptions... however as the experiences continued, I realized that they were not merely products of my own subconscious mind, but that I was indeed in direct communication with a wonderful and loving metaphysical entity.

Most people of course do not receive a completely unexpected spiritual calling of that sort. Rather, their instincts tell them that there are other dimensions to life, beyond the mundane world that we see around us, and their curiosity leads them to investigate such things as philosophy, spirituality, and metaphysics. As their intellectual study proceeds, they find that although there is a great deal of information available on such subjects, much of it is false or misleading. This can be very confusing and problematic for those seeking to find a genuine path.

Our main website is one of the best intellectual study resources that I know of, and I highly recommend it. Intellectual study is very satisfying, in terms of revealing to us the noble heritage of our tradition, and the way the world came to be as it is... but the deeper beauty of our religion lies in it's direct personal experiences with deity, and the profound understanding of the universe which that provides.

How then should a person who is coming to the Goddess by the path of intellectual study, seek to have direct personal contact with Her ? Of course there are things which you can try on your own, however you would probably be wiser to join an established temple such as ours, which has specific practices in place, and can provide some helpful training and guidance.

Most people assume that such training begins with spiritual matters, but in fact that's not the case. What is needed is to first re-examine our own way of thinking, in order to find and correct certain flaws which may exist. Everyone that I know of, who was successful with their quest for spirituality, has done this... whether it was consciously, through some formal process, or in a more informal, intuitive manner.

Although I'm sure that it's not the only way, there is a formal process that I highly recommend, which worked very well for me. In our March newsletter, I discussed the benefits of the practice of Zen, and since that article is still available, I will simply suggest that you refer to it for furthur details.

March 2009 Newsletter

Perhaps another amusing analogy would be to regard Zen training as being similar to installing new and better software on your computer. Although the physical hardware remains the same, the new software runs much better and gives you much greater power and capability. I credit my own success in many areas of life to my Zen training, and believe it was by far the best thing I ever did to prepare myself for the future.

For now, let me just say that Zen is a well-proven method for opening the mind, and achieving our full potential as human beings. Of course the process is not easy... it requires determination and hard work. However, once a certain degree of enlightenment is attained, you will have much better results in your spiritual practice.

Following that, a person should begin working towards establishing a direct contact with the Goddess. There are several factors which will affect the degree of success that they generally have, including the quality of their preparation, their natural abilities, and the dedication that they bring to their practice.

One of the methods which we have found useful is to try clearing your mind before bed each night, and asking the Goddess to show Herself to you. Of course, it takes some skill to distinguish between genuine dream-state contacts and normal dreams. Another method involves learning to perform an offering ritual. The presence of the Goddess is often felt during the offering, and a waking experience is less ambiguous than one which occurs in dream-state. Using methods such as these, and with the help of a good mentor, you may encounter the Goddess, and begin to learn more about Her nature... how She works, what She does, and what She asks of us.

Basically, the Goddess exists in a metaphysical dimension, which is all around us. This was once quite commonly perceived, although it is seldom recognized now, because people have been blinded by the tyranny of logic, intimidated by skeptics and pseudo-intellectuals, and disillusioned by the hypocrisy of false religions.

As people lost contact with the Goddess, they placed the very survival of this planet in jeopardy. Unless we can once again regain an understanding of Her ways, then the Earth is doomed, and the human race will perish. A great battle is now upon us... one which will not be fought with the sword, but with words and ideas alone.

In this, the Goddess will guide us, once we have opened our minds to Her voice... for She does not act directly upon the affairs of this world, but requires us to be Her eyes and ears, and the hands which do Her work. Every follower of the Goddess therefore has certain duties... to strive for peace, to preserve the beauty of the Earth, and to defend the lives of all creatures which She has placed here.

Over time, you will become more familiar with the metaphysical dimension in which the Goddess exists, and more skillful at bringing yourself into contact with Her. No one can predict what sort of things She may reveal to you, or exactly how it may affect your life. In some cases She may call on you to join the clergy. This can be a very serious committment, however it is also one of the most rewarding ways of life that you will find.

If you continue the study of metaphysics, you will discover that there are several other types of entities besides the Goddess. Human spirits, for example, are a relatively common phenomena... however there are also some more unusual entities, which may be rather troublesome. Suffice to say that dealing with such things is one of the more difficult responsibilities of our clergy.

We are all engaged, in various ways, in attempting to understand the true nature of the universe, and it's metaphysical dimensions. Our religion has made a formal study of this. Yet it remains, in many ways, a work in progress. We have accumulated a substantial body of knowledge, but there is certainly more to be learned. This is another one of the great challenges that we currently face.

By now, you have probably come to realize that our religion, which seems simple on the surface, is not quite as simple as it appears. It requires not only an intellectual study, but also a high degree of personal dedication and development. It is an ancient path of courage and honor, which like a chain, begins at the dawn of human history, and leads forward into an uncertain future. We are the links in that chain, at a critical moment in history, and we must do whatever is necessary for the cause of the Goddess.

I invite everyone who shares our passion and committment to join with us now, and help us to bring the wisdom of the Goddess back into the hearts and minds of men.

Bright Blessings,

Priestess Jean