THE 5 VALUES OF SWEETWOOD TEMENOS
Giving Thanks by Iacchus (2004)
Dear Good Folk of Sweetwood Temenos;
I wonder at the goodness that has associated, assembled and become a group of folk, an evolving clan. I appreciate the level of trust, honesty, intelligence and love there is among us. I am thankful that I belong to such a good folk!
We have varying belief systems and recognize their limits and assumptions in knowing the truth. This recognition is part of the value we all share, that of Self Knowledge. What a wonderful experience it is to be part of a group of folk, a clan, whose ears are more open to hearing what one another has to say, because they recognize the limits to knowing!
Upon this value for Self-knowledge comes an appreciation of multiple perspectives and for diversity in our clan. As a clan, our culture is rooted in the value of pluralism, which informs our ethos and our religious or philosophical attitude. A religion whose value of pluralism is reflected in its rituals and has places at its feast table for agnostics and atheists. Imagine this! Yet, the good folk of SweetWood Temenos do just that! This value of pluralism and its ethos allows for peace making, finding common ground and wholeness of human spirit in conscious harmony with Nature. This value is the common loaf we all share.
We hold the value of doing rituals that attune our minds, bodies and our souls with Nature. We recognize that there are formal & informal, public & personal and collective & individual rites that we do. These rites or rituals have significant and profound import upon our souls in maintaining conscious interdependence with Nature. Their symbolic and experiential actions encourage the creation and the sustaining of conscious harmony with Nature and its seasons. This Nature is large and includes the ecology of our souls, our interpersonal relationships and the way of being that is our planet and universe. For those good folk of Sweetwood Temenos that are religious, ritual attunement is a way of communicating and communion with Divinity expressed through Nature. It also is a way of feeding our selves as a community. I appreciate the time and effort SweetWood members have given to the rituals/festivals that have built and sustained our community.
Part of the nature of being human is friendship. I want to say not only how much I appreciate the continued growth of friendship among the good folk of Sweetwood Temenos but also that we as a group, as a clan we have made it a fundamental value of our bond. The roots of the word friend have to do with being free and being a dear one. So our evolving clan is a beloved community whose bond creates a realm of Dear Ones who are free. Our friendship is essential to our spiritual bond and generates a circle of freedom, a beloved community. Part of this friendship is the recognition that each human soul is an individual expression of Divinity, a greatness hidden in the smallness that wants to become. This is why we have a ritual where in we honor and bless one another, and remember, Thou art Goddess, Thou art God. Our use of water not only symbolically emphasizes humbleness and being special but also the interdependence of independent beings that is human and Divine.
I appreciate all the members, the good folk of the SweetWood Temenos clan, for a circle of Dear Ones where there is sexual peace between women and men. What a gift we have given to our selves, our descendants, our community and the world. We value the self-definition of what it means to be a woman, man, inter-sexed or trans-sexual. We value nakedness as an expression of freedom and self-acceptance as a very human and divine way of being with kin that fosters intimacy, gentleness and fealty. We value human sexuality as an essential goodness whether it is expressed in a homo-erotic and hetero-erotic manner. We value and encourage the use of sexuality when its effect, pleasure and intimacy, serves to bless and confirm the self worth, equality, and sovereignty of those who are being sexual with one another. We call this kind of sexuality, positive sexuality and see this use as an act of love and pleasure that is deemed a sacred rite.
I give thanks for all of the good folk of SweetWood Temenos and their friends, who individually and collectively live these values. They have shown great heart in doing so and brought great goodness to one another and to the land we call SweetWood Temenos. For me, this goodness is a great offering to the mystery we call Divinity. I feel a great sense of humility in this offering. I am humbled by the generosity that you, the good folk of SweetWood Temenos, have shown to the organization (Church/Clan/Kin) and the land. I am humbled by your continued acceptance of me as a priest, president and caretaker of the land and will continue to endeavor to be a better steward to the Good Folk of SweetWood Temenos, a commonwealth that feeds all of our souls.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
never thirst
Iacchus
Giving Thanks by Iacchus (2004)
Dear Good Folk of Sweetwood Temenos;
I wonder at the goodness that has associated, assembled and become a group of folk, an evolving clan. I appreciate the level of trust, honesty, intelligence and love there is among us. I am thankful that I belong to such a good folk!
We have varying belief systems and recognize their limits and assumptions in knowing the truth. This recognition is part of the value we all share, that of Self Knowledge. What a wonderful experience it is to be part of a group of folk, a clan, whose ears are more open to hearing what one another has to say, because they recognize the limits to knowing!
Upon this value for Self-knowledge comes an appreciation of multiple perspectives and for diversity in our clan. As a clan, our culture is rooted in the value of pluralism, which informs our ethos and our religious or philosophical attitude. A religion whose value of pluralism is reflected in its rituals and has places at its feast table for agnostics and atheists. Imagine this! Yet, the good folk of SweetWood Temenos do just that! This value of pluralism and its ethos allows for peace making, finding common ground and wholeness of human spirit in conscious harmony with Nature. This value is the common loaf we all share.
We hold the value of doing rituals that attune our minds, bodies and our souls with Nature. We recognize that there are formal & informal, public & personal and collective & individual rites that we do. These rites or rituals have significant and profound import upon our souls in maintaining conscious interdependence with Nature. Their symbolic and experiential actions encourage the creation and the sustaining of conscious harmony with Nature and its seasons. This Nature is large and includes the ecology of our souls, our interpersonal relationships and the way of being that is our planet and universe. For those good folk of Sweetwood Temenos that are religious, ritual attunement is a way of communicating and communion with Divinity expressed through Nature. It also is a way of feeding our selves as a community. I appreciate the time and effort SweetWood members have given to the rituals/festivals that have built and sustained our community.
Part of the nature of being human is friendship. I want to say not only how much I appreciate the continued growth of friendship among the good folk of Sweetwood Temenos but also that we as a group, as a clan we have made it a fundamental value of our bond. The roots of the word friend have to do with being free and being a dear one. So our evolving clan is a beloved community whose bond creates a realm of Dear Ones who are free. Our friendship is essential to our spiritual bond and generates a circle of freedom, a beloved community. Part of this friendship is the recognition that each human soul is an individual expression of Divinity, a greatness hidden in the smallness that wants to become. This is why we have a ritual where in we honor and bless one another, and remember, Thou art Goddess, Thou art God. Our use of water not only symbolically emphasizes humbleness and being special but also the interdependence of independent beings that is human and Divine.
I appreciate all the members, the good folk of the SweetWood Temenos clan, for a circle of Dear Ones where there is sexual peace between women and men. What a gift we have given to our selves, our descendants, our community and the world. We value the self-definition of what it means to be a woman, man, inter-sexed or trans-sexual. We value nakedness as an expression of freedom and self-acceptance as a very human and divine way of being with kin that fosters intimacy, gentleness and fealty. We value human sexuality as an essential goodness whether it is expressed in a homo-erotic and hetero-erotic manner. We value and encourage the use of sexuality when its effect, pleasure and intimacy, serves to bless and confirm the self worth, equality, and sovereignty of those who are being sexual with one another. We call this kind of sexuality, positive sexuality and see this use as an act of love and pleasure that is deemed a sacred rite.
I give thanks for all of the good folk of SweetWood Temenos and their friends, who individually and collectively live these values. They have shown great heart in doing so and brought great goodness to one another and to the land we call SweetWood Temenos. For me, this goodness is a great offering to the mystery we call Divinity. I feel a great sense of humility in this offering. I am humbled by the generosity that you, the good folk of SweetWood Temenos, have shown to the organization (Church/Clan/Kin) and the land. I am humbled by your continued acceptance of me as a priest, president and caretaker of the land and will continue to endeavor to be a better steward to the Good Folk of SweetWood Temenos, a commonwealth that feeds all of our souls.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
never thirst
Iacchus