Our panels present an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to compare their perspectives, share their experiences, pool resources and find out what we have in common as well as how we differ, so that we can build on our combined accomplishments. Come and join our speakers, ask questions and contribute yourself. The panels will last one hour, then we will leave time afterwards to pursue further discussion if you like. Please feel free to leave suggestions for panel subjects on the feedback page if you have an idea that you’d like to hear explored.
Welcome also to Coffee and Philosophy- a Morning Brain Warm-up hosted by Willow Taylor
For those who like to take that first hour slowly, yet talk about interesting things while they adjust their blood-caffeine balance.
Ancestral Manifestations and Relationships
The presence and familiarity with Ancestors, people who have passed over to the Other World, will be discussed, highlighting the importance and necessity of traditional and continued engagement of these intimate spirits and the ways we connect with them across cultures and spiritual practices.
Birth – Sacred Rite of Passage
We all are born and we all die. How to we make the births in which we participate, as mothers, or as midwives and doulas, the sacred experience that can enhance our lives and that of everyone involved?
Can you read for yourself?
Some say yes. Some say no. Can a psychic reader, even an experienced, talented one, have the objectivity to do an accurate reading on topics that are important to him or her? Come for a discussion of this controversial topic.
Crossing the Veil: Preparation for Death
Death is one of a very few universal experiences we all share, and has huge impacts on both the person doing it and those around them, yet the modern world often tries to ignore this powerful transition. What can we do to make it a better experience? What have other cultures got to teach us, and how to we open the discussion with the people with whom we need to make preparations?
Embracing the Dark
“When we embrace the dark and allow ourselves to enter into the unknown dimensions of our minds, we can be led toward our healing, salvation, transformation, and renewal…..” Demetra George
Do you work with they dying and those in physical and emotional pain? Do you work with Goddesses/Gods associated with death? As Healers and practitioners of many sorts it is important to be balanced spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. This means we must be able to turn and face our Shadow Selves.We must travel into the dark places and move through them to heal. How do we help ourselves and others in this process? How do we fit into the broader Community? Join us for this discussion and share your insights.
The Healers Choice: the Ethics of removing blocks
Are we playing God/ess? Should all blocks be removed or all cords… are there good block and bad ones…? What is a block, and why is it there?
Healing the Healer
Healers are notoriously difficult patients when they get sick. They seem to forget that they are part of the pool of humanity worthy of healing, and of course, it’s often hard to heal oneself. Let’s discuss ways of helping ourselves and the healers we care about, and techniques for dealing with this special population and the issues that get in the way of their accepting help when needed.
How to ask the right question- the key to divination
Whatever method of oracle you use, asking the right question the right way is the key to getting the answer you need (as opposed to the answer you want, or the answer to what you asked). How do we learn how to ask the question when sometimes we need answers because we don’t know whats going on?
Indiginy, Paganism and Social Change
Panelists will engage the application of indigenous and other earth/nature-based spiritual practices in the resolution of social problems.
Offerings for today’s practitioner
Offerings are common in many of our traditions, ranging from libations poured by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the animal sacrifices in the temples of the ancient world to bread and milk left out for the fair folk. How many of these practices are still appropriate for us now? What new kinds of offerings might be appropriate instead? Do we need to make offerings at all?
Otherworld contacts: Guides, angels, ancestors, totems
Are you a team player? Cultures around the world have traditions of working together with otherworld partners, such as spirits, guides, angels, gods, or totems. Let’s talk about different aspects of working with beings from the other side
Modern Shamanism
Normally associated with primitive societies, Shamans are alive, well, and working effectively in the modern world of IPhones, Facebook, and Hybrid Vehicles. The panel discussion will seek to define exactly what a Shaman is and does, the basic principles involved with Shamanic work, the role of the Shaman in the modern world, and what it means to be a practicing Shaman today.
Teaching Children about Energy work/magick
When do you teach children about what they can do, and where do you start? What rules do they need to know? What level of maturity is necessary for which practices? What can they learn from fairy tales and Harry Potter and the rest of the world around us? (What do we need to counter from the rest of the world?)
Unpacking Loaded Words
How to speak each other’s language when we hit a “hot button” word.
Can you identify your hot button words? Can you tell when an innocuous word for you has pushed someone else’s button? When the words are spoken, can you then open your view to a new perspective to meet someone with compassion and interest without compromising your beliefs? Can your own beliefs be expanded or cleansed from bias?
When Others Fear Us
How do we deal with it when our tradition or practices cause fear and other negative reactions in the general public? How can we alleviate that fear when it’s due to simple lack of knowledge? What do you do when educating the person doesn’t fix the problem? What causes fear and how can we allay it?