| Purity |
| I chose to list 'Purity' first, not because it is more important than the others (I believe they are all equally important), but because it the one I am working on the most right now. I realize it may also be the most controversial of the four virtues I espouse because it brings to mind the guilt-driven, traditionally Christian teachings about sin. I do not espouse the doctrine of sin, of guilt, or of eternal damnation for earthly faults. I do, however, believe that purity of mind, body, and spirit are essential to our growth as individuals and specifically to my work as a healer. I would begin my discussion with purity of body. How is this relevant? That depends quite a bit on your personal philosophy regarding Spirit. Most shamanic paths (though probably not all) see Spirit as imminent rather than transcendant. This means they believe (as do I) that the Spirit is intimately connected and inherent in everything, including our own bodies. It is a direct result of this belief that allows us to do spiritual work for physical healing, allows tattoos to mark us spiritually as well as physically, and gives dance a spiritual signifigance, among other things. I believe that the body affects the spirit and vice versa. This is not simply a directly correlated, exclusive relationship but a complex interweaving of subtle connections that often allows spiritual problems to manifest as physical maladies and also allows physical damage or weakness to affect our spiritual well-being. As a result of this I believe that when we damage our bodies, especially consciously and willingly, we are damaging our spirits. Drug addiction, poor diet, lack of exercise or sleep, and other willful neglect of our bodies is likely to weaken our ability to function, not only in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual. Here are some of the issues that I see related to purity of the body, several of which I am personally working on: eating organic whenever possible (for some this may include vegetarianism or veganism), refraining from over-consumption of alcohol (in my case, complete abstention--I have had a problem with this one), keeping our self from harmful habits such as drug addiction, overeating, smoking tobacco (at least outside of ritual use), even over-use of caffeine and sugar. How, you may ask, is the use of caffeine or sugar a spiritual issue? In my practice, everything is a spiritual issue. There is no separation between the spiritual and mundane. While I admit to falling far short of the ideals expressed here (I smoke & drink coffee, for instance), I am working toward a goal. Purity of body might also include things such as personal hygiene and a healthy diet in general. Personal hygiene matters are one way we keep our bodies healthy as well as being an expression of self-respect, especially in our society. A generally healthy diet fills the same need to maintain a healthy immune system and efficiently operating body. As I mentioned before, I make no strong distinction between the mundane and the spiritual, so even my eating is an expression of my spiritual path. |