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.
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.
I wholeheartedly agree on this. A christian reverend will often focus on suffering if you go to him in council, which is often not what our 'type' want. Similarly, it is said that a psychologist is there to bluepill you, to make you accept the societal standard/illusion and be a productive member of society at least, regardless of your spiritual qualms.
I also believe one of the strengths of paganism is that it's more informal, so we need not necessarily mirror christianity by having a formal structure for confessionals. Sometimes a witch or a seer will know more about your problems than a high ranking Gothi. So, our members should be more prepared to both give and receive when it comes to spiritual and psychological issues, which, quite frankly, shouldn't be hard.
Quite true. I also have contemplated how Pagan counseling might be delivered to those in need. You are right to point out that the counseling role carries great responsibility and ought not be entered into lightly or without true professional preparation.
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.
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.
I wholeheartedly agree on this. A christian reverend will often focus on suffering if you go to him in council, which is often not what our 'type' want. Similarly, it is said that a psychologist is there to bluepill you, to make you accept the societal standard/illusion and be a productive member of society at least, regardless of your spiritual qualms.
I also believe one of the strengths of paganism is that it's more informal, so we need not necessarily mirror christianity by having a formal structure for confessionals. Sometimes a witch or a seer will know more about your problems than a high ranking Gothi. So, our members should be more prepared to both give and receive when it comes to spiritual and psychological issues, which, quite frankly, shouldn't be hard.
Quite true. I also have contemplated how Pagan counseling might be delivered to those in need. You are right to point out that the counseling role carries great responsibility and ought not be entered into lightly or without true professional preparation.