113 episodes

Embark on a transformative journey with 'Creation's Paths,' a podcast that delves into the heart of Creation Spirituality, Druidry, and Christo-pagan Druidcraft.

Our quest is to explore the intricate tapestry of the One Life, as we seek to find and follow our Awen. We embrace the living essence of the Divine, celebrating the sacredness in all creation as we connect to the Nwyfre flowing through all things.

In each episode, we traverse the mystical ways of Druidry, intertwining them with the inclusive and compassionate teachings of Christo-pagan Druidcraft. We explore with a deep respect for the earth, a commitment to spiritual growth, and a desire to foster unity and understanding across diverse spiritual practices.

Join us as we seek to illuminate the spiritual journey, offering insights and reflections that resonate with the soul's longing for connection and meaning. 'Creation's Paths' is a haven for those who yearn to deepen their spiritual understanding, embrace their true selves, and celebrate the love of the Divine that embraces all - irrespective of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Subscribe to 'Creation's Paths' and be part of a community that values wisdom, compassion, and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Together, let's proclaim the beauty of existence and the joy of spiritual discovery in every step we take on this sacred journey.

www.creationspaths.com

Creation's Paths Charlie Dorsett

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 5.0 • 1 Rating

Embark on a transformative journey with 'Creation's Paths,' a podcast that delves into the heart of Creation Spirituality, Druidry, and Christo-pagan Druidcraft.

Our quest is to explore the intricate tapestry of the One Life, as we seek to find and follow our Awen. We embrace the living essence of the Divine, celebrating the sacredness in all creation as we connect to the Nwyfre flowing through all things.

In each episode, we traverse the mystical ways of Druidry, intertwining them with the inclusive and compassionate teachings of Christo-pagan Druidcraft. We explore with a deep respect for the earth, a commitment to spiritual growth, and a desire to foster unity and understanding across diverse spiritual practices.

Join us as we seek to illuminate the spiritual journey, offering insights and reflections that resonate with the soul's longing for connection and meaning. 'Creation's Paths' is a haven for those who yearn to deepen their spiritual understanding, embrace their true selves, and celebrate the love of the Divine that embraces all - irrespective of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Subscribe to 'Creation's Paths' and be part of a community that values wisdom, compassion, and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Together, let's proclaim the beauty of existence and the joy of spiritual discovery in every step we take on this sacred journey.

www.creationspaths.com

    Gazing into the Void

    Gazing into the Void

    Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
    – Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

    Letting go of our outrage against injustice is hard. Not gazing into the abyss doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to harm, it means not fixating on it. It means letting go of the performative anger and actually working for the better.
    Notice, I didn’t say the good or the best, but toward the better. Once we believe we know best or we are working for good, the focus becomes defeating evil or those who are wrong. What could be wrong with that?
    Change requires us to let go
    Everyone involved has to let go. If we are ever going to make progress against fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia, we have to let go of those qualities within ourselves and our society. If our focus is on those monsters who promote those qualities and not dismantling those systems, they win.
    It is so easy to be distracted by the words and actions of people working against justice. That is the plan. The more we focus on the spectacle, the less we focus on dismantling the systems of oppression and climate harm.
    The other side is being outrageous on purpose. They want us distracted, angry, and off message so they can win.
    What I am not saying
    This is not a call for civility. I do not believe that we have to take the high road just because they are taking the low road. Civility is a tool of colonialist oppression to discredit those they seek to oppress. It is a double standard applied to marginalized populations that they never have to live up to themselves.
    We should work to defeat dangerous politicians and stop authoritarianism.
    What I am saying
    We cannot take our eyes off the prize. Our actions need to be focused on achieving our goals, changing minds, and growing our ranks. We have to advocate for the changes we want to see and not simply against the other side.
    If we are nothing but an opposition, we will never achieve anything.
    Gazing into the abyss
    It is all too easy to spend too much time watching what the other side is doing and ranting against it, while doing nothing to advance our causes.
    Yelling about a particular baddie is not the same as working for change.

    Naming monsters
    A monster cannot change. It is a monster’s nature to do monstrous things. They are irredeemable and must be slayed.
    When we name something or someone a monster, we limit the options we have to take actions. We can no longer work for our cause, we have to work against them. What other options do we have?
    I am not saying there are not terrible people out there doing monstrous things, but the people are not the problem, the systems of oppression are.
    Becoming monsters
    We all live in bubbles, surrounding ourselves from those who disagree and who are different from us. This creates a cycle of self-affirmation that blinds us to the thoughts, opinions, and pain of others.
    When I see an environmental activist defacing a famous work of art, I know they have hurt the cause. I live in a very conservative area that is suffering from the effects of climate change. Every time they do these stunts, they are making my work infinitely harder. They transformed themselves into a monster that support environmental harm. They are the best ally polluters have.
    Such actions revolt the natural allies living around me. They are pushed farther away from climate activism, and into the arms of the fossil fuel companies. Their protest harms the cause and they have become a monster in the eyes of those who should be their allies.
    This isn’t a problem with civility or decorum. Their actions are so disconnected from the cause they are advocating for, it is indistinguishable from random violence. It feeds the narrative that climate activists are unhinged cult members who act irrationally.
    They are the best ally the fossil fuel companies have.
    They went out to slay monsters and became one.
    Letting go of monsters
    I am not saying

    • 5 min
    Pride: The Holy Courage to Stand Up for LGBT Liberation

    Pride: The Holy Courage to Stand Up for LGBT Liberation

    Pride is a protest, a riot, a celebration, a rite of mourning. Pride is not hubris, it is the truest act of humility.
    So many misunderstand the meaning and purpose of humility:
    Occupy a rightful space, neither too much nor too little. Focus neither on your own virtues nor the faults of others.
    Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar, p. 45
    LGBT Pride is humble. It inspires people to take up their rightful space, not too much or too little. In a culture that tells us we are worthless and lesser, it is a shout to inspire people to know their value. We have a right to exist, to be happy, to live our lives with no one telling us we are wrong.
    I grew up hating myself. The church taught me my existence was a sin and hated by their false God. They embraced the demonic urge to hate and attack people who reject the forced conformity and lust for control and power.
    Our duty to Christ and God is love. Love for God, for Christ, and for one another.
    This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
    Jesus, John 15:12
    Let all that you do be done in love.
    Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:14
    We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
    John, 1 John 4:16
    So let’s talk about LGBT Pride.
    On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Uprising crystalized the heart of the modern Queer Liberation Movement. It wasn’t the beginning, but it was the spark that lit the powder keg. The next year, the first Pride Marches started, and the movement carries on to this day.
    Pride is the one thing that Allonormative. Amatonormative, Cisgender, Heterosexuals take for granted. It is baked into our culture. Where is the heterosexual pride? Most movies, music, books, video games, laws, and cultural institutions are designed to celebrate heterosexual and cisgender norms. Some even put in the effort to mock and denigrate those who don’t live up to those norms.
    They assume children to be cisgender and heterosexual until they come out as something else. Our communities forcibly coerced many of us to conform to these expectations, and threaten to disown us or send us to conversion therapy if we do not deny ourselves and conform.
    We are attacked, slandered, beaten, and killed for being who we are. That is why we need pride. With 500 bills to take away our rights in the states, we need Pride today more than ever.
    Truth is empowering
    Too many Christians and conservatives not only spread lies about us, but want us to live a lie rather than be who we are. They claim to be doing the Lord’s work, but the god that encourages lies is not the one who sent Jesus into the world. It is the one who reveled in his crucifixion.
    They claim to follow the ten commandments, but ignore:
    You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
    Exodus 20:16
    They can’t even be honest about this commandment saying that it is, “Do not lie.” The actual commandment is about giving false testimony against others. In other words, don’t slander people.
    As a huge part of the upside down morality, they reject science and state their opinions as facts. I am not going to waste my time and energy debunking there lies. I will let Jessie Earl to that.
    There is your homework if you need all the receipts.
    Embracing Love and Inclusivity
    Compassion and love are at the heart of Christ’s message.
    The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
    “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,to proclaim release to the captives,recovering of sight to the blind,to deliver those who are crushed,and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
    He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulf

    • 7 min
    Entering the Flow of Creativity

    Entering the Flow of Creativity

    At the dawn of creation, the big bang flared forth, carrying all the energy this universe would ever have. It flowed through the cosmos, transforming and cooling and giving rise to all the materials around us.
    We are all rooted in this flow. These are the Divine Energies that flow from God into the cosmos to gather, break down, create, and transform everything that is, was, and ever shall be. This flow forms the basic web of interconnectedness between God and nature. We are a part of nature and we are always connected to the Divine.
    Building a connection to this great underground flow of creative energy, even if only in our imagination, nourishes our spirit. This greening helps us to grow and transform the elements of our life into creativity.
    We are a process, an intricate web of interconnections. That doesn’t mean we are not whole in ourselves. It means that everything we are and ever shall be exists in relation to others. We are woven into the plants and animals we consume and the microscopic ones that live on and within us. We are connected to the farmers, the farms, the soil, the sun, the moon, and the stars. We live in God, the very being that is the ground of all being and becoming.
    This being, this existence, is in God. That same God is in us as much as we are within God. This gives us connection to a greater well of power than we allow ourselves to know.
    When I and others say there is a great underground flow of Divine Power, we are trying to open our eyes to this reality. This creative energy flows through everything that is. This underground river nourishes us, the earth, the sun, everything. Entering this flow opens us up to the wellspring of creative potential longing to flow through us.
    This creative flow vibrates in our skin. It beats in the electric pulse of our hearts. It is so close to us and beyond us all at the same time. In its closeness, it is infused into the substance of our bodies. It is only distant in that its limitless potential and power is so far beyond our comprehension. The more we connect to this flow at the depths of our being, the more we hear its invitation to delve deeper into its well of inspiration.
    How do we tap into this flow? Mindfulness, visualization, and simply believing or trusting it is there. We learn to see it in the flowers, the trees, the rush of the water down the mountain. Once we accept the same power moves through us that raises mountains and grinds them to dust, we awaken to the world as it is.
    Many misconstrue this power as the power of manifestation. No, we cannot simply will the cosmos to change. We can affect the subtle and crude energies of the world to move it in a different direction. Action produces change. Whether it is subtle action through our thoughts and words, or embodied action, it changes the course of events that follow.
    There are many paths forward. Many seek this truth in the scriptures and traditions of a myriad of faiths. How many of us read the Book of Nature written by the very hand of God. I am reminded of a song by my friend, Kathy Mar, the Word of God:
    From desert cliff and mountain top we trace the wide designStrike-slip fault and overthrust and syn and anticline. .We gaze upon creation where erosion makes it knownAnd count the countless aeons in the banding of the stoneOdd, long-vanished creatures and their tracks & shells are found;Where truth has left its sketches on the slate below the groundThe patient stone can speak, if we but listen when it talksHumans wrote the Bible; God wrote the rocksThere are those who name the stars, who watch the sky by nightSeeking out the darkest place, to better see the lightLong ago, when torture broke the remnant of his willGalileo recanted, but the Earth is moving stillHigh above the mountaintops, where only distance barsThe truth has left its footprints in the dust between the starsWe may watch and study or may shudder and denyHumans wrote the Bible; God wrote the skyBy stem and root and branch we trac

    • 6 min
    Journey into the Heart of the Cosmos

    Journey into the Heart of the Cosmos

    Christ has died.Christ is risen.Christ will come again.
    All my life, I have received mockery for my belief in Jesus. I understand why some conservative Christians have a chip on their shoulders over their belief in Christ. It is important to always remind my siblings, sisters, and brothers across the aisle that we should respond to this treatment with the grace, compassion, and humility of Jesus.
    What we have to remember is the frame Meister Eckhart gave us to understand our relationship with the life of Christ:
    What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to the son of God fourteen hundred years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born.
    So let’s ask the question we need to answer every year:
    What is the Ascension happening today?
    It is easy to see the face of the crucified Christ in the refugees and those killed by the police and mass shooters. We strive for resurrection in our work for justice, healing, equality, and reconciliation, but what is the ascension for today? How can we experience the ascension of Christ today?
    When we consider the life of Christ through the lens of the chakras, it becomes evident that the virgin birth is symbolic of the awakening of the heart chakra, Anahata. This chakra represents the energy center that embodies love, compassion, and selflessness. It is considered the center of our emotional and spiritual being, where we learn to connect with others, experience empathy, and cultivate a sense of oneness with the universe. Christ's virgin birth is a representation of the purity and unconditional love that we all have the potential to embody when we awaken our heart chakra.
    We live this power through embodying compassion and grace in all our actions and interactions with others. We strive not to react, but to act from our heart. This is how we bring this purity of action to our life.
    Similarly, the ascension of Christ represents the journey from the sixth chakra, Ajna, to the seventh chakra, Sahasrara. Ajna is often referred to as the third eye chakra, and it represents our ability to perceive reality beyond what is visible. It is associated with intuition, spiritual insight, and enlightenment. Sahasrara, on the other hand, represents the highest state of consciousness, where we move beyond all discursive language and experience the non-dual reality of the cosmos and God.
    In the ascension of Christ, we see the journey from the limited perception of the material world to the infinite, all-encompassing reality of God. This is the ultimate goal of spiritual evolution, where we transcend our ego and experience the oneness of the universe. Christ's ascension represents the attainment of this state of consciousness and serves as a reminder of the potential that exists within each of us to reach this level of spiritual awareness. By understanding the connection between the chakras and the life of Christ, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the transformative power of spiritual practice and the universal nature of spiritual awakening.
    Again, to quote Meister Eckhart:
    The Ultimate and Highest leave taking is leaving God for GOD, leaving your notion of God for an Experience of That which transcends all notions.
    The Ascension is the Breaking of Idols
    We live in the power of the Ascension when we realize Idols are not statues made of wood and stone. An idol is any image, even if we make it from words and beliefs, that distracts us from the reality of God as the one in whom we live, move, and have our being.
    Jesus is our mediator, our high priest. Even though many of us believe that Jesus is God, we cannot allow Jesus or Holy Spirit, or even the Father, to become an idol that distracts us from the truth that God is so much more than any of us can ever express in words.
    In the act of ascending, Jesus rises into the air and disappears in the clouds because God is present in nature, in the earth, an

    • 4 min
    The Sound of Screaming

    The Sound of Screaming

    I woke up this morning to the sound of screaming and it took a while for me to realize it was a nightmare. At least I think it was a nightmare, but the more I contemplate it the more I wonder if it wasn’t more a psychic scream I was just sensitive enough to hear.
    There is so much suffering in the world right now, and the more we cling to the lies of late stage capitalism, the more there will be. I live in what so many lovingly call the heartland… I’ve never been comfortable with that kind of language. It is a bit too self aggrandizing for my taste. It is also a misnomer.
    Jobs are going away because of the mismanagement and greed of the megacorps that run them. Government aid is restricted to make people desperate enough to take whatever job they can find. Climate change has brought more storms and flooding to the region. Women’s rights are under attack. Trans people are being outlawed. Suffering is a growth industry.
    I am still shaken by the experience. That scream haunts me. It wasn’t a singular voice, It broke into my mind as a symphony of pain, shaking me awake from a sound sleep that didn’t have anything dark, scary, or painful in it.
    My life itself has become a metaphor…
    All our lives are metaphors if we choose to read them like that.
    Letting go, in our lives, of all our pain and strife,Releases the burden that we carry deep within,Liberating us to seek the path to freedomTo break the binds that tie us.
    For in our hearts there lies a hidden source,A river of divine flow, waiting to be tapped,So wisdom can spill forth and enlightenOur minds to imagining a better world to build.
    This river runs beneath the surface of life,A force that flows through all creation,Connecting all that is, and ever shall be,A current of vital energy, waiting to set us free.
    Draw from this wellspring, and we shall find,The strength to rise above all that holds us down,To face each trial with courage and with grace,And to walk with ease, on paths once so hard.
    For in this river, there lies a gift to cure,A healing balm that soothes our weary souls,And gives us wings to rise above the fray,To touch the sky and dance among the stars.
    So let us not hold onto all our pain and strife,And tap this underground river of divine flow,For in its depths, we'll find the strength we seek,And all the love and light our heart can hold.
    Isn’t that what I am supposed to say? Isn’t that the advice we always offer in times like this? It isn’t wrong, but it isn’t really helpful. A hollow truth isn’t a lie, but it cannot sustain us for very long.
    the truth of hollowness
    Over the last year, I’ve come to see the difference between the trite, hollow truths that are often given out as spiritual advice and the hard truth of hollowness that those of us who have reached this place quickly forget how to talk about.
    I talked about this recently on my other substack:
    Hollowness is painful to achieve.No one should strive to reach it.Welcome it in when it knocks.Fighting against it is futile.
    Hollowness is the other side of the ennui coin.
    ennui
    noun
    a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: (Dictionary.com)
    * Ennui is the state of weariness and discontent from being too full or uninterested in something.
    * Hollowness is the state of weariness and discontent from being emptied out or disillusioned by something.
    They can be hard to tell apart. How can we know if we are too full or too empty when we don’t have the energy or interest to do anything? Does it matter which it is?
    Yes. Ennui fills us up and holds us in place like an anchor. Hollowness has an empty space that can be filled to fuel forward action.
    Hollowness hurts more than ennui. I probably shouldn’t say that since I am advocating for it, but it is important to be honest here.
    All of the pain and suffering pressed upon us by this post modern age as it collapses around us will destroy us if we don’t let them go. Suffering, if we

    • 6 min
    Embracing our Royal Personhood

    Embracing our Royal Personhood

    “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
    Jesus, Matthew 20:16
    That is a hard sentence to understand and accept: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” It has divided Christians for millennia. I never really understood it myself until I spent many years in Creation Spirituality and it took the help of Rabbi David A. Cooper’s wonderful book, God is a Verb, before I fully understood.
    As panentheists, God is in all things and all things are in God. So what does it mean for God to call or choose anyone or anything? Is this an expression of ego or something else?
    The Call
    The word of God echoes through the cosmos, spoken a new in every moment as it continually makes, expands, and evolves creation. We can hear it in the stillness of meditation, the rush of the wind, the song of the birds, the trickle of water, and so many other places I could list them forever.
    Within this word is a call to wisdom, to justice, to co-create the world to come with God. This call rings out for anyone who listens, but it isn’t our fault if and when we don’t hear it. This still, small voice is all too easily drown out by the noise, pain, and chaos of the life in the world.
    There are also many forces in this world that work hard to keep us distracted from this voice, this word. Greed, power, white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, fear, terror – these are all diversions from the path meant to keep us divided, feeling alone, weak, and scared so those with power can keep what they have and not be blamed for the inequality and suffering they need to bake into the system so they can keep what they have.
    When we are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over our head, pay for medicine and healthcare, or whatever we have to do just to survive, we can’t hear the voice. We cannot even hear our own thoughts, much less the voice of the Holy One. It is almost impossible to respond to a call we cannot hear.
    We are called to live. Not to this life or that life, but to live, to be alive. If we want to help people hear the call, the solution is not to preach to them but to alleviate their suffering. We have to tear down the systems that oppress, divide, and keep people down and build up new systems that facilitate life.
    Many are called… everyone is called… the word of God calls out continuously. So why are few chosen?
    The Chosen
    There is nothing special about being chosen. Chosen is a response to call.
    “The closest we can come to thinking about God is as a process rather than a being.  We can think of it as ‘be-ing’ as verb rather than noun…Most of our verbs are considered transitive, which require a direct object, or intransitive, which do not.  [Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi] suggests that God-ing is a mutually interactive verb, one which entails an interdependency between two subjects, each being the object for the other.”
    Rabbi David A Cooper, God is a Verb, 69
    The word calls, but we are not chosen until we respond to that call and come alive.
    So many people get distracted by the sin and the forgiveness of sins and forget that Jesus came that we “may have life, and may have it abundantly (John 10:10).” As he said, “For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven;' or to say, 'Get up, and walk (Matt 9:5)?'”
    It is hard for us to accept our royal personhood. We know all that we have done, and often have guilt for either our past actions or those of our culture, nation, religion, or community. That bitterness goes both ways. The misdeeds and violations done to us and our peoples also cloud our minds and keep us from hearing the call and accepting our chosenness.
    This is why Jesus encouraged us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. (Matt 6:12)” or “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us (Luke 11:4)...” It is easy to see how forgiveness is a part of the Via Negativa (Th

    • 5 min

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SafetyPants ,

Insightful, Informative, Innovative

This is the first podcast on Creation Spirituality. They do a wonderful job exploring the mystical depths, deep wisdom, and profound understanding of spirituality and Christianity from this enlightened perspective. Highly recommend!

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