| Purity...Page 2 -- Purity of Mind |
| Purity of mind is generally recognized to be important in most (though, again, not all) Pagan traditions, including Wicca, most shamanic paths, and many others. It is very important in my own path as a healer and shamanic practitioner for several reasons. While a lot of spiritual work can be very intuitive and even unthinking, such as some forms of dreamwork, etc., much of it is related very directly to the mind. If we take the time and effort to be absolutely sure of our motives, our intentions, and our preconceptions, we can eliminate many of the obstacles to our spiritual power and to the work we want to do. What is recognized as "purity of mind," however, can vary greatly between traditions and even between individual members of a single tradition. I will define what it means to me and work from that assumption so everyone knows exactly where I'm coming from. I believe purity of mind involves pure motives and motivations (not always the same thing); freedom from hate, guilt, fear or bitterness; and clarity of thought. There may be more aspects to this (and probably are) but those are the ones I feel are most immediately important. The lack of any of these may cause our work to be harmful, self-damaging, ineffective, or just plain wrong. What makes a pure motive? That is a question that will elicit a different answer from nearly anyone you talk to. The easy answer, in my case, is what you & your spirit guides know is right. This is slightly more complicated than the Wiccan Rede or the Golden Rule or most other concise phrases. "If it harm none" is a pretty good start, but if one is working against harmful magick, they may feel unable to avoid harming another. If you are working to help heal a disease or banish an unpleasant spirit, you are very likely going to cause harm to an entity which may be simply following its nature out of no malice toward the victim you are trying to help. And, of course, we will all face situations much more complex and complicatd than these simple examples I point out here; they are just to make a point. I believe the key is to know your deepest motives without lying to, or deluding, yourself. Then we can ask ourselves if this comes from respect and love or from some other deep motivation we would rather not face. Those two steps will generally let you know if you are coming from the right place. Freedom from hate, guilt, fear, and bitterness are seemingly simple and obvious goals. I must say they are definitely not simple and often not even as obvious as we would suppose. I can give a very personal example. When I joined the Navy 10 years ago, I had been raised to believe that all humans are equal in the eyes of "God," regardless of race, income level, religion, etc. I had also been raised in a nearly 100% white town and had known no people who weren't very Caucasian in appearance, if not always ancestry. And I had learned the racially biased jokes about people whose skin is darker than mine. I thought that I was free from racial bias, but when I found myself in confrontation with someone in my company, I heard a racial slur pop out of my mouth without even thinking. Bad! It was bad because it revealed a prejudice I did not even realize I had, and it was bad because it nearly got my butt kicked! Guilt, fear, and bitterness can be just as, if not more, insidious than unrealized hate. We in the Western world have mostly grown up in a culture that not only accepts these things, but often actually encourages them in many ways. The doctrine of Original Sin tells us we deserve to burn in Hell no matter what our actions are in life. We are inundated with TV news footage, newspaper headlines, and 'Terror Alerts' designed to frighten us (and 'sell' us more security). Revenge is such a part of our national culture in the United States that it constantly appears in archetypal stories, from the gunfighting cowboy hunting the 'guy who killed my pa,' to the movie cop whose partner was murdered and must kill the murderers to attain justice. If we can learn to let go of these things we can begin to work from a place of pure mind. Purity of mind also includes clarity of thought. This means we must understand our own intentions and motivations, as well as hold our magical or spiritual intent with very distinct precision. If we are not totally sure of our motives, we can often dilute or diffuse our power to the point of rendering it completely ineffective. If you want to help someone, but are not sure if it is coming from a selfish position, your intention will not be as focused and you will most likely not give the working as much energy. Precise intention is also important for effective work, especially healing work of any kind. If you mean to help someone overcome cancer, for instance, and just send them general energy, you may not only fail to help them but also increase the growth rate of their cancer. There is no point in trying to help someone if you are not confident you will at least not hurt them. |