#thriceborn

Thank you @cynical-tuba for finding this!

Some excellent questions to ask yourself when deciding what to submit:

Is this my personal experience or do I have permission to share this story?

Why am I telling this story?

What did I learn from this?

Is there something specific I want others to learn from this?

Will sharing this story be mostly helpful or mostly hurtful to myself or others?

Am I willing to have this story posted on our membership page, possibly reproduced with or without permission?

Am I able to practice “ignore the chickens, collect the eggs” without taking things personal, or is this too personal?

1) We admitted we were powerless over our circumstance, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2) We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3) We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood them.

4) We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5) We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our inventory.

6) We were entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character.

7) We humbly asked them to remove our shortcomings.

8) We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

9) We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except where to do so would injure them or others.

10) We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11) We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our concious contact with God as we understood them, praying only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that out.

It seems to me that many people do not want to rule the world. Many people do not care if the whole world looks, thinks, acts just like them, they just want to live in a community they feel safe in, and cared about. As a result, we don’t have to change all that much for everyone’s needs to be met and our interests to be aligned.

I do not want to eradicate or replace any outside organization operating in love. I do not want to put an end to anyone’s religion or culture. I want Thrice Born to be a hub where differing beliefs can work together to better organize our communities and help our followers find the community they feel best in. I want the concerned minister to call me and say “There’s someone here who isn’t really fitting in; there’s someone asking questions I don’t have the answers for; there’s someone here I don’t think I can protect from xyz. Would you send someone to meet with them, listen with an open mind, answer their questions, and see if there might be a community they are happier and safer in? Would you send someone to speak to my congregation or give a series of lessons on how we could become a safer place for this person?”

There are so many different facets to community and I think humans are so quick to forget that we don’t have to be the same just to get along. It’s okay to have an opinion. It’s okay to have an identity. It’s okay to want to stay close to what feels familiar. It’s also okay to let the new in a little at a time, and it is okay to ask for help when we are ready it. Christ didn’t die for you to be all things to all people-- Christ died so you could be you. For those of you who don’t relate to the sentiment, just be yourself. It’s not a cure all, it’s not a pair of ruby slippers, but it’s all we have. Until we learn to prioritize ourselves, nothing else matters. Once we learn this, however, nothing else matters.

It seems to me that so many people want someone to guide, to teach, to comfort, to sit with them. Sometimes, we might even wish someone would just tell us what to do, and even someone competent and willing to help us accomplish the task at hand. We can find community and purpose in spiritual communities, in religion, in careers, in being parents, in being friends, in being lovers, in creating, in serving, in giving, in pleasure, in rest.

One thing is certain, no matter who we are or where we fall on the vast spectrum of humanity, the answers we really need are within us, not with some external source. Others can offer guidance, advice, comfort-- sometimes control, for better or for worse-- but no one has the answers for us except us. Therefore, the content here will be less about moral advice and more about encouraging conversations and habits that lead to a more intimate understanding of what works best for us as individuals.

Sometimes we prefer to be on the outside looking in, and sometimes the center of attention. Everyones center of balance is unique though, and encouraging each other to lead with our most authentic selves is critical to a thriving community. Conversely, uniformity strangles our communities.

The only requirement for participation is the capacity to be Honest, Open-minded, and Willing. Members are expected to be respectful of each others views, and respectful when sharing their views. We encourage members to take what they are able to apply to their own lives, and let go of whatever does not apply to them. We encourage members to participate through asks, dms, submissions, sharing our content, donations, participating in gatherings, and investing in their own Labor(s) of Love.

We are choosing to launch our ministry across a variety of social media platforms for the sake of accessibility. We realize that some people will not wish to interact with us this way, and others will be curious about using social media in a more intentional way with us. We encourage our members to participate in the ways that speak to them, and to use all media with intention and discretion.

In closing I feel it important to clarify some of our core beliefs. Our primary purpose is to be a universally safe, accessible, and affirming community. To accomplish this we cannot hold space for pedophilia, racism, transphobia or any queerphobia, ableism, body shaming, sexism, acts of violence, hate speech, or the abuse of children or vulnerable persons. We are a home for anyone seeking community and a more fulfilling way to live, and we agree to be patient and find compromise with each other so long as we are all committed to loving each other in this regard.

I look forward to meeting and growing with you all.

Cheers!

Matching Seal of Metatron tats from Silent Hill.

"As far as the Order is concerned, the Seal is nothing more than a talisman, and is of no particular significance. That is not to say it is worthless, or even powerless for that matter.

Putting the finishing touches on the trailer for "Cram Session Reflections".  We are going to be releasing short interviews with participants from this year's Cram Session.  The idea is to give you, the listeners and those interested in doing the Cram a taste of what Cram Session is and what it means to people.  We have MCs who have been coming for 7 years to those who experienced their first Cram Session.