Reiki and kids and raising them pagan

Told Ms. Red Hair yesterday that I wanted to start doing the eastern healing again. That's what we called Reiki, when I used to do it. I'm not sure if I do it right, never was sure. I already did it to myself a little during the Commune yesterday morning, and then in the evening I spent about 10 minutes with Curly Sue, and about 10 minutes with Ms. Red Hair. The question arises whether this is enough time to make a difference, but I think so.

Earlier today I came upon a post from Nydia, whose blog I just started to follow. Specifically I stumbled on her article, on being a witch and raising a witch. She mentions that many pagans raise their children on a "neutral" path, and she has chosen not to. It seems natural to her to raise her son with pagan beliefs as long as they feel right to him. She raises an interesting point: if she were Jewish or Christian or Muslim, she would likely raise her son to follow her religion, and so why not raise him to be Pagan? And, why not? Why should paganism be different from other faiths passed down from parent to child?

Maybe because paganism is mostly made up of solitary practitioners. It's so personalized. What is right for the parent may not be right for the child.

Religion would do Curly Sue good--she's got a lot of Lost in her. But I can't raise her in the Christian faith because I don't believe in it myself, I can't raise her as a pagan because I've barely started to follow it. We tried taking her to the Unitarian Universalist church when we moved here several years ago, but the fit wasn't right.

If I felt like my roots in paganism were firm and deep, I would be more open about this with Curly Sue. And maybe someday I will be in that place. I applaud the parents who teach their children about their faith, and raise their children with religious beliefs.

Today during Commune I took a picture of the beautiful orange flower below. I went a little deeper down the creek today and had to duck under a tree to get to this spot. I don't want anyone to see me at work. I'm already somewhat known for my weirdness around the office but I'd rather not be that spacey chick who meditates by the creek too.

I'm wearing a skirt today, looking semi-pretty, so I brought a box top to sit on. It so happened that I sat down in front of a tree trunk where some ants were marching up and down in a single file line. There was a crazy bird across the creek who was bouncing up and down in the dirt, pushing dirt around, as if digging. 

I brought a blank book from home. It's my hope to start writing some prayers or helpful observations; make note of some colors or some feelings that will help me develop some rituals.

And then I talked to goddess again and said thanks to her. I wish I was back there right now. I'm thinking about increasing Commune time to 20 minutes but I'm just so busy.