By Alan Watts

This examine of the need of mystical faith, additionally exhibits how conventional Western doctrine may be reconciled with the intuitive faith of the Orient.

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Extra resources for Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion

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Although I still like this description of the Triple Goddess (that I wrote ten years ago), during the past decade I have begun to wonder if this configuration is sufficient to describe the lives of the women I know. 5 They died young, worn-out from too much childbearing and manual labor, from too little rest and nutrition. ” For several years, therefore, it has seemed to me that we need something between Mother and Crone. ” The Queen is the Mother whose children have grown up. While she’s an empty-nester, she’s hardly ready to retire.

Many of us are no longer satisfied with this setup. We’re tired of sin and guilt and bloody gods. We long for caring and nurturing and loving-kindness. We want open access to the divine, and we’ve figured out that the divine essence of the world manifests as the world — in people, in plants and animals, in rivers and canyons and plains. We understand that the divine can manifest in our cities and neighborhoods and communities. Many of us have read the books that explain how people used to worship a Mother Goddess who created the world and embodied the earth.

It’s time to call on the Goddess Serenissima, She Who holds our hands, rubs our shoulders, tempts us into a bubblebath, and teaches us the vital, life-preserving skills of self-love, self-care, and self-time. Bringing Serenissima into Your Life This is a two-part ritual whose intention is to bring the power and beauty of Serenissima into your life and relief into your schedule. Your intention is to create a whole day of self-time two weeks or one month from now. You are, therefore, asking Serenissima to intervene in your life in all Her ordinary, magical ways to reschedule your obligations and clear a day on your calendar.

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