There has been a ton of news coverage concerning the passing over of young Jahi McMath. I feel great sadness for the family as they have lost a beloved child. Jahi's fate has been cast by her parents and other family members as they try to do the impossible, bring the dead back to life. I do understand the parent's desire to keep her alive at all costs. I have a dear friend who recently went through the same thing...and its a daily struggle for her to move through each day with a sense of purpose knowing that her beloved child is no longer in this world.
Situations like that show a great light on how earth based practitioners and Abrahamic religions view death. Pagans know that death is but a doorway in to another dimension and that it is not an end but is the start of another cycle of birth for that persons soul. Abrahamic religions view death as finite. Once you are dead you go to their afterlife and that's it. You stay there until...whenever your worldview says it ends (if it ever does) Pagans know that the physical body is not THE person but we understand that the soul is THE person and that as long as the soul is intact somewhere (most Pagans believe that souls do not die, they just transition from realm to realm, body to body) then that person is still "alive".
It is sad that no one in the Christian community has stepped forward to help this family move on. It's sad really that the family is given continued hope that Jahi McMath will recover from brain death. It's also sad that no one in the Christian community has pointed out that Jahi McMath is being kept out of the one place her family claims she belongs (heaven) because they are using artificial means to keep her body alive. After all, the mother has stated repeatedly, "as long as I see my daughter's chest moving, no one will be able to convince me she is dead." Even in the Christian faith, they have placed their daughter in limbo. What about the lessons that Jahi would be able to teach with her passing? What lessons are her friends and family NOT getting because Jahi's body is still artificially functioning? Not only has Jahi's body in limbo, but her family is also stuck in their grief too.
Contrast these actions with Pagans. We are not afraid of death or dying. Yes, we do what we can as long as its medically feasible to assist with sustaining life. But we are not afraid to remove those artificial means once it becomes clear that nothing more can be done. We actively carry that person in our hearts and we know that that person's spirit will always be close by to us. We know that the bones, tissues and organs are just a vessel that souls are carried in and like everything in this world, it breaks down and sometimes just cannot be fixed. We understand the limits of medicine and science and work in harmony with them, not against them.
I'm sorry that Jahi McMath is dead. My heart goes out to the family during this most difficult time. I respect their faith that is making them takes these actions. I also wish that they would take a moment and sit down with someone Pagan who could share their perspective with them as well. Maybe it would help...maybe it won't but either way is better than the current situation.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
When the student is ready, the teacher will come...part 4
I guess that this will be the last part of this particular subject. One of the things that I have not touched on yet is what to do when students and teachers have disagreements. This can be a touchy subject for some but it is something that you need to hear, not only if you are a student but also if you are a teacher as well.
The whole idea of the student/teacher relationship is to ensure that the student gets the educational and emotional support they need as they start out their walk on this path. I strive to ensure that any student that I have is challenged to their limits not only mentally but emotionally and physically too. I don't take on students to be taking them on...in fact my last one was almost ignored and if I had my way, she would have been simply because I am not a fan of teaching. However, the Goddess had other ideas and I had no choice but to ask her to be my student. I'm glad she answered yes. Like all good students, she taught the teacher a few things too and for that I am grateful. The lessons are seldom for the student alone.
However, as the group we had been working with broke down, I cautioned her to not become overly involved with the other students. She was not ready to be a teacher and I KNEW...10000% KNEW that they saw her as a pseudo-teacher since she had spent a year working with me and was more advanced then they were. Despite my repeated cautions in this area, she chose not to listen to me and in the end she felt that I was trying to control her and dictate to her just who she could hang out with. I've agonized over this fall out...running conversations over and over in my head trying to determine if I could have said something different, could I have said it in a different way? I always come up with no...I could have said nothing more and I could not have said it differently.
While I accept the fact there are teachers out there who control their students with an iron fist, dictating all they can do, say or people they can hang out with, that has never been the case with me OR my tradition. I should know, I'm a co-founder. We built this tradition on people exploring all those things that interest them and incorporating them in to their path if it feels right to them. We don't believe that all knowledge is wrapped up in a single practice or path. It comes from everywhere and everyone.
However, as teachers we do have an obligation to protect our students, as much as possible, from taking on things that we know could harm them or others. My former students willingness to have rituals in her home and arrange get togethers around Craft related topics meant that the students of the group that broke down did not have an opportunity to step out and embrace their own path. My former student was actually stunting the growth of the others in the group. They didn't need to look elsewhere, they had her. They had her and she wasn't ready for that role yet.
Sadly she didn't see it that way and she resigned from the Clan. I hope that she finds what she is looking for and that she finds people who will see her for the amazing shaman she could be and help her along the way. Students, please know that we do have your bests interests at heart and that sometimes you just to have to take a chance on us and trust us.
The whole idea of the student/teacher relationship is to ensure that the student gets the educational and emotional support they need as they start out their walk on this path. I strive to ensure that any student that I have is challenged to their limits not only mentally but emotionally and physically too. I don't take on students to be taking them on...in fact my last one was almost ignored and if I had my way, she would have been simply because I am not a fan of teaching. However, the Goddess had other ideas and I had no choice but to ask her to be my student. I'm glad she answered yes. Like all good students, she taught the teacher a few things too and for that I am grateful. The lessons are seldom for the student alone.
However, as the group we had been working with broke down, I cautioned her to not become overly involved with the other students. She was not ready to be a teacher and I KNEW...10000% KNEW that they saw her as a pseudo-teacher since she had spent a year working with me and was more advanced then they were. Despite my repeated cautions in this area, she chose not to listen to me and in the end she felt that I was trying to control her and dictate to her just who she could hang out with. I've agonized over this fall out...running conversations over and over in my head trying to determine if I could have said something different, could I have said it in a different way? I always come up with no...I could have said nothing more and I could not have said it differently.
While I accept the fact there are teachers out there who control their students with an iron fist, dictating all they can do, say or people they can hang out with, that has never been the case with me OR my tradition. I should know, I'm a co-founder. We built this tradition on people exploring all those things that interest them and incorporating them in to their path if it feels right to them. We don't believe that all knowledge is wrapped up in a single practice or path. It comes from everywhere and everyone.
However, as teachers we do have an obligation to protect our students, as much as possible, from taking on things that we know could harm them or others. My former students willingness to have rituals in her home and arrange get togethers around Craft related topics meant that the students of the group that broke down did not have an opportunity to step out and embrace their own path. My former student was actually stunting the growth of the others in the group. They didn't need to look elsewhere, they had her. They had her and she wasn't ready for that role yet.
Sadly she didn't see it that way and she resigned from the Clan. I hope that she finds what she is looking for and that she finds people who will see her for the amazing shaman she could be and help her along the way. Students, please know that we do have your bests interests at heart and that sometimes you just to have to take a chance on us and trust us.
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