Pagan Spiritual Counseling??
There is a long list of things that Christians, Jews, and Muslims have in America that Pagan folk do not.
When a Christian, Catholic, or Baptist have some type of spiritual crisis or issues of a religious nature, they have Priests, Reverends, and Ministers to discuss these matters. The same is true for every denomination of Judaism, they have a counselor. One who is both spiritually and legally bound to listen and give advice. Throughout history, every religious group has had an elder, a shaman, or a similarly respected spiritual leader to fulfill this roll. In the entirety of the 24+ years that I have been a practicing Odinist, there has never really been a person in this position to cross my path. I have had friends, and fellow pagan practitioners to vent to and ask advice from, but that is not nearly the same thing. For several reasons.
In Our Tribe
Now, there is a member of our tribe who is ordained, and can legally provide me with this service. I’m sure you all know the honorable Reverend
. The same extends from me to him, and any other member of our tribal group. Being ordained, I can offer them spiritual counseling, and certain legal privileges also come with this. Similar in effect to that of therapists notes, or an attorney / client privilege, it is all confidential. This is great for members of our tribe, because of our Ordained leadership, but when I am asked to counsel or speak to someone outside of our “congregation” these privileges no longer legally apply. Thus causing a conflict, and in many cases hesitation when agreeing to such things. So how can we fix this, or find ways to remedy it?How can leaders among our group, legally give spiritual counseling?
Well, quite simply this all comes down to the definition of who our congregation are. Being an online ministry, actually paints a fairly broad scope in those regards. You see, technically anyone who subscribed to the Grove Of Odin publication is a member of our congregation. The readers are “the church folk” and therefore we can provide Spiritual Counseling. It's not case that this privilege has been blocked, or banned from other religions using it. We just haven't been.
The Underlying Question…
Not all Pagan folk would be comfortable venting to an Ordained Gothi, and that's certainly understandable. Especially considering what has been done to our ancestors in the past. There are those however who are dealing with things in life that seem impossible or hopeless and they will need a spiritual counselor, if not right now they will eventually. So..
If you had access to something like this, would you consider it?
Even if you are fine at the moment, do you know someone who could truly benefit from this?
Mental illnesses like depression and PTSD can often hit extreme points, and the person it happens to often is unable to recognize the dangers of withdrawal and becoming antisocial. They can sometimes talk themselves out of those situations if they just have someone to listen, and not judge them. Someone who can also recognize when they need an ear to listen, and when they need to go further and seek other professional options. They should have someone to trust, and be able to do so without fear that the person helping them is doing it for reasons like monetary incentives or kick backs.
If you know someone suffering through, or dealing with some type of depression, and there are signs that they may either be a danger to themselves or others, call the suicide prevention hotline immediately. Call or text 988.
Hopefully, nobody you know ever gets to that point. Just know that these situations can often be prevented, just by having someone to talk to before it builds up to that critical of a juncture.
You are all valuable, and have someone who will listen. Just know this.
Having spiritual counseling is similar to say regular therapy or counseling, but it is extremely useful to have someone who shares your spiritual outlook or at least, is open enough to be able to understand and not accidently offer advice counter to your deeply held religious beleifs. It's also been for me, way less intimidating speaking to a religious counselor than a secular one. In fact, at one point I thought about going into that path for myself but realized though I admire spiritual counselors greatly I wasn't really ready to be one myself. There are a ton of mainstream religious counselors out there, but having someone who truly shares your religion is hard to come by for a lot of people. I commend those folks who take the extra steps to becoming counselors. It takes a special kind of person to listen and help without making it all about yourself instead of truly being there for others.
Quite pleasant. The Asatru Folk Assembly offers many similar services. Many of our folk have things they need to talk about, but it takes time to build that frith and trust.