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The Temple forum

  
  

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Sibelian 2.0
14:06 / 26.03.07

I haven't poked too deeply into the Temple, actually, so I might be being a bit unimaginative. I think I would like it best if it were a place I felt I could do lengthy write-ups of actual experiences. Not so much discussion of magic, which I think often almost spoils it a little, but somewhere you can put down the crystallised-out stuff. Um, is it already like that, or was it in the past? Cos it doesn't look too much like that to me just now...
 
 
EvskiG
14:21 / 26.03.07
By the way, are people finding the Bible discussion a bit much?

I can babble on about Genesis and Rashi and the Catechism of the Catholic Church pretty much indefinitely, but is all the talk of Genesis 3:2 and original sin a bit too mainstream religion-ish? Or a bit too much like the annoying guys on bicycles who come to your door early Saturday morning to pester you? Does it have a place in the Temple?
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
14:30 / 26.03.07
Ev G: ...but is all the talk of Genesis 3:2 and original sin a bit too mainstream religion-ish?...Does it have a place in the Temple?

Well, I'm given to understand religion is within the remit of the Temple, and (a) I'm not sure it's useful to hit things with the "Too Mainstream" stick with regard to that and (b) the Bible does have a considerable hold on a number of cultures, making it worth looking at.

Not that it may be my place to say anything; I'm a Temple lurker, quite often, but I don't feel knowledgeable enough to contribute much of anything. Though I do love the coincidence thread...
 
 
electric monk
15:08 / 26.03.07
Sibelian, I don't think "actual experiences write-ups" come along all that often, but there's definitely a place for them in the Temple. I know I've shared a few in my time.
 
 
Quantum
16:20 / 26.03.07
the last thread that had that expeiential quality was the the "Soemthing from Nothing" one Apophenia

I don't know- the Tarot threads have been interesting and the lunar eclipse thread was fun, the equinox livened up the coincidence thread, there has been experiential stuff going on.
 
 
Ticker
16:44 / 26.03.07
I haven't poked about in the bible threads but it does bring a smile to my face to see them flourishing. It's sort of like living in a big house and feeling good because your roommates are using the kitchen even if it's not for making food you're into eating. They appear to be using the space well and having a good time of it.

Seems like a worthy thing to support even if it's not something you want to participate in.

I know many people miss members that used to post more and feel the lack of their contributions. Maybe it's also about more practice and less theory but as others have stated there's a balance to how much practice you can post online.


I'd like to encourage more people to feel invited to participate in the forum. If you need to test out the shallow end of the pool the questions thread is super extra gentle. Really it's quite alright not to be 100% into 'it', you need not be a believer to talk about what interests you. I'd like to hear about what's going on with you and what you're thinking about.
 
 
grant
16:58 / 26.03.07
I'd also like to point out the "need not be a believer" thing applies double to all the religious studies.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
17:02 / 26.03.07
I'll second that.
 
 
Princess
18:00 / 26.03.07
Well, the Bible thread seems perfect for Temple to me. I'm really enjoying it.
 
 
Blake Head
21:29 / 26.03.07
I’m enjoying reading the main Bible thread, even though it’s taken off on its own course, and I’ve utterly failed to do any reading for it yet. It was definitely set up, though, with the intention of inviting cooks from different traditions and varying abilities to attempt variations on a particular style, and offer thoughtful nibbles to those that were interested.

Most of the time venturing into the Temple for me is like wandering into the kitchen of a fancy restaurant: trying not to knock over a boiling pan by a clumsy movement, not quite comprehending the order that arises out of apparent chaos, occasionally startled by the conviction of the gifted but exasperated head chefs, and usually struggling to articulate questions which by comparison to all the instructions for rich creations then being prepared feel like asking the best way to boil an egg. I like consuming a number of dishes that the Temple produces, without feeling that in that field I can do more than prepare basic sustenance for myself.

Which is fine, I think. It doesn’t seem like the Temple needs to be for everyone, and hopefully sporadic “unprofessional” intrusions aren’t too distracting – and that somebody would say if they were. The biggest problem I find is struggling to use the right language, and to avoid saying the wrong things, and occasionally feeling there’s a shorthand that everyone else assumes through constant use that as a visitor you’re unlikely to pick up.

That said, if there were too many amateur cooks cluttering the place up with basic questions I can see how that would impact on the overall functionality of the space for those that want to use it for practical ends.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
23:02 / 26.03.07
On that note, I've never really felt my experience of the Temple lessened by the intrusion of newcomers asking basic questions. Then again, I don't really use the Temple for practical ends so much as a resevoir of information, so maybe my opinion on the subject isn't worth didly.
 
 
illmatic
23:19 / 26.03.07
Lovely restaurant analogy. Who's Gordon Ramsey? Who's Ainsley Harriot?

I like consuming a number of dishes that the Temple produces, without feeling that in that field I can do more than prepare basic sustenance for myself.

I think to a degree everyone feels like this: with occult practices "there aren't any experts, there's just people who've been doing it for longer than others". That's why most questions get an answer like "try it and see".

I agree with Tuna Ghost that my experience of the forum is n't degraded in any way by nOOBs with questions. If anything I think they add to the forum - though the bumping of the "Stupid Magick Questions" thread seems to me to be a sign that not much is going on in the forum. It seems to me to have less traffic than before. Not to knock the thread - I like it - but I think some of the queries in there could spin off into their own threads quite easily.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
23:22 / 26.03.07
Starting new topics can be daunting, especially when the sum-total of the topic might just be a basic question, when one isn't comfortable in a particular forum; could there be more encouragement in the questions thread toward starting threads off the initial spark? It could be used as a way of refining initial posts for potential new topics?
 
 
Make me Uncomfortable
04:40 / 27.03.07
Expanding on my experience beyond "I think it's great":

At least for me, the Temple forum has been a bit of a catalyst. I've been doing magick-y things since forever, switched dieties a few times and sometimes not had any at all, but have never really had any kind of focused effort about it.

I think this lack of focus was mostly due to lacking community, and specifically lacking feedback. Its hard to be critically reflective of your own spiritual practice beyond "maybe I should be doing more/less/different." and its hard to break out of your old ways of thinking without having a place to leap to.

My first post to the entire board was actually to the temple "Stupid Questions" thread, and it actually got such a response that it got spun off into its own thread (Something for Nothing). Which was amazing and enheartening and made me feel like "hey, maybe I do have something to contribute beyond just lurking." Go you guys for being cool like that.

Since then (about a month, month and a half ago) the Temple seems pretty alive- the Eclipse thread was awesome, although I feel like there could have been a little more wrapup about how things worked out, but maybe I'm impatient, or maybe I need to start that ball rolling myself.

Anyway, the point about these two threads is that I got enough feedback to actually get up off my ass and go practice some magick-y stuff, which is the whole point!

The bible thread is facinating- its been a long time since I've read really open, honest debate about those really core early things in Genesis, etc. The old testimate is a hard nut to crack, but they've been doing a good job of breaking it and picking over the interesting pieces. I agree with a few people who posted above that although it is a bit mainstream for a forum full of eclipses and tarot readings and stuff, it certainly hasn't been hostile, and maybe we need a little bit of mainstream, especially to examine how it influences current practices, and how older religions affected it (norse origin of christmas, may day == easter, etc) Actually, that makes me want to start another thread.

The issue I do have is that there is a bit of a chasm between good questions in the Stupid Questions thread and individual threads being spun off. But thats an issue any of us could potentially be solving. We just have to do it.

Slowness is another issue- compared to a few other boards I have frequented, the response time is orders of magnitude slower- days instead of hours. Part of that may be that I am on East Coast USA time and usually post late at (my) night, which is 3 or 4 in the morning across the pond (where most Barbelithers seem to be from). Low traffic and time zone shift is an issue for Barbelith as a whole, though. Although it seems particularly bad in the Temple, but the temple is not as bad as, say, the Books forum.
 
  

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