Pagan Fellowship

[eww]

Thanks. I just thought it would be interesting how other pagans saw their condition in terms of their religion. I think more "mainstream" religions have moved away from the ancient fertility aspects.

[canadianmutation]

Lets see... paganism, fertility and me....

Well I found it to be extreamly frustrating to be shaped like a good majority of the fertility dieties out there and battling infertility at the same time. That being said, part of my fertility treatment included trying to re-align the chakra's and trying out tai chi in order to promote good flow. Something I haven't done this time around and I'm still trying.

[SunsetMuse]

Just wanted to say hi. I just found this thread. I can't say I have a religion, but I have tried on quite a few. I never felt right going to church (methodist) when I was younger, luckily I was given the choice at 8 to decide whether I wanted to go anymore and I said no. Then a few years later around 10-12 I started getting into paranormal stuff, tarot, ouija, numerology, you name it I wanted to know about it. I felt drawn to it. I learned about Wicca when I was bout 15 but felt I didn't understand it well enough to get into it, like I wasn't ready. Then a few years ago around 20 I started reading more and more about Wicca specifically, and for the most part I feel good about that path, except it still isn't quite right. So I am left finding myself still at 23 All I know whatever I am meant to be spiritually is definitely pagan in nature. There's my story xD So Hi!

[eww]

Canadian mutation- That IS frustrating! LOL, to be shaped like a fertility deity but have fertility problems. I never thought of that. Do you feel you're more open to alternative remedies because of your path?

Sunset- Welcome!

[canadianmutation]

eww- Probably because I am a multi-generational pagan, I really don't look at them as 'alternative' treatments, but more things you do before you're stuck going into to see a doctor who has no clue WTF is wrong or how to fix it. I think because of my pagan roots I tend to look more inwards for something to help PCOS than just something to take internally.

Sunset- You will never be able to 'find' yourself completely. There will always be a new part that will need to be found. It makes life the journey it is. Welcome.

[eww]

Canadian- Yeah, I meant "alternative" as in not something the dr would suggest. Not anything weird or unusual. For my dr, charting is "alternative" LOL. Oh and perhaps impertinent question, I don't come across many "multi-generational pagans", but how would you describe your family's beliefs? Are they more Wiccan? Heathen? Or folk? I'm just curious. And you've probably said before but I have the attention span of a nit.

[canadianmutation]

eww- lol no I think the attention span has something to do with the PCOS. I blame testosterone...

Lets see- one side is descending from spiritualists and kitchen witches and the other is from first nations and norse ancestry. So its kind of like the spiritual buffet where there's a little bit of something from all the ancestors. I am a huge 100% mixed mess of mutated genes. I know there aren't a lot of multi generational pagan families out there- its unique when the rebellious ones in the family are the catholics and mormons

[eww]

Hahaha. The rebellious ones in my family are Catholics. Well, they were ALL raised Catholic. And then most of them decided that they'd do whatever the hell they wanted to anyway. LOL.

[lovelyinkedlady]

*plops down next to Erin and Canadian*

I'm glad to have found this thread the morning. I've been Pagan or Identified as such since I was 16. How i came in to it is actually kinda funny. I went to a Mormon Church converted with I was about 16 to the Mormon Faith. I thought my parents were gonna have a heartattach when i told them this. So i went with my bestfriend. Well after converting to Mormon faith, she inlightened me to her second faith. She was Wiccan as well as her mom. So i spent alot of time between the church and studying Wiccan/Pagan faiths.

Ended up leaving the Mormon church. And have studied/practiced off and on the Pagan faith. It wasn't till I was 27 that i became very serious about it. Started practicing more.

As far as meditation, who ever said they were bad because they can't do it...your not! I promise!!!! I had a hard time do it for a long time. I took up doing Yoga to help release that extra energy and i can sit or lay down and meditate for quite some time.

Kinda nice to see this thread!

[eww]

LOL. It was me who said I couldn't meditate. I do other stuff. Mostly I'm just mindful though. I feel the change of seasons and notice the moon phases. I recognize the changes in myself and the world around me. I do very few rituals. I also identified as pagan in my mid teens. I've always been rather skeptical of the Judeo-Christian God though. I first read about Wicca which is very common I think. But there was just some blatant issues with it (Sorry to Wiccans out there! No offense I promise!!) it's just that I'm a big history buff and Wicca seemed to gloss over a lot of realism and historical accuracy. I'm more of a kitchen witch myself, though I rarely use the term.

[Maddy]

Erin I'm very similar to you.

I don't associate myself with Wicca but I do consider myself to be pagan and like to be mindful of the seasons and nature. I think it ties you back to being with the Earth rather than just "living on the Earth"

Okay, not very articulate this morning but I know what I mean, lol!

[Maddy]

Becca. that's interesting about PCOS having been an advantage. How exactly do you mean?

I've copied a paragraph from some science articles you can find around the net.

The main theories are that in ancient times when food was scarce women with the PCOS gene would be the "survivors" of a group and would continue to ovulate when women without the PCOS gene wouldn't - low food levels, starvation periods other women lost their menstrual cycle whereas our metabolism is designed for low food instake and we would still be fertile (quite a parody on today's climate)

Also if we entered a starvation period sufficient enough to stop the menstrual cycle apparently we would become fertile again quicker afterwards - there are also supposedly theories that our pregnancies would be stronger due to anabolic hormones.

So - in ancient times we had an advantage that our bodies could adapt to the seasons and food availability cycles better than women without the gene.

It's just in today's life when we have so much food around and so much fake food around and we don't live by seasonal cycles anymore that it has turned into a disadvantage!

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The question of why a gene that predisposes to anovulation, diabetes and heart disease might have perpetuated so frequently is addressed. Three hypotheses for evolutionary advantage are discussed.

The food deprivation hypothesis considers the role of the observed increase in ovulation when women with the condition lose weight in relation to seasonality.

The refeeding hypothesis considers the androgenic and slightly enhanced anabolic metabolism in relation to periods of privation and the advantage of preferential early ovulation when refeeding after a period of privation.

The transgenerational privation hypothesis considers the effect of persistent, severe, yet subfatal privation on individuals both in utero and throughout life. While an androgenic, anabolic state would improve efficiency in the use of food for protein synthesis and fat storage, benefiting the fetus both in relation to its in utero development and neonatal survival, survival and reproductive capacity as an adult benefits by a genotype expressing itself in women of successive generations.

[Maddy]

P.S. I was just reading the end of the Pagan Questions thread and noticed that some people had expressed an interest in starting a social group but didn't know how to.

I can start one - if anyone's interested n joining? I'll create one and link back to it, if no-one wants to join I can just delete it.

Back in a mo..........

I created a Pagan Cysters Social Group here:-
http://www.soulcysters.net/group.php?groupid=77

You just have to join and add a message! Once you have joined you can find it by going into your user CP and down the left hand side you will "Social Groups" if you click there you will find all of the Social Groups available on the board. You can make them open or closed groups. I've made it open so anyone can join but I've included that people must join to read

Now don't make me the only poster, lol.........

[eww]

Maddy! You know I was having that very same discussion with my mother last night about why indigenous groups are much more prone to diabetes and obesity. We were talking about the feast-famine way humans adapted and it's affects on us today with readily available food sources all year round. I never never thought to apply the concept to PCOS. But I get what you're saying, in terms of evolutionary advantage is does make sense. AHA! Hm. The only question I've got is about the healthier pregnancies. Now we seems to have way more miscarriages than average, so I'm confused about how that would have played out in a hunter-gatherer society. I can see that the successful offspring would be more adaptable. But the pregnancies would be more fragile wouldn't they?

[Maddy]

Something about the anabolic use of food and protein synthesis benefiting the fetus as it develops. I suppose that again was an advantage only in ancient times!