Wisdom Within: Aligning the Heart with the Mind

Discovering how we walk Immanent, at the crossroads of where wisdom is found and practical experience begins.

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Erick DuPree

Erick DuPree

Erick DuPree is a published author, mantra and meditation teacher, and yogi in the Philadelphia area, who seeks to discover the intricacies of life through a Tantric lens. He weaves heart centered practices with ancient Goddess mysteries, holistic healing and art to create better living.

Posted by on in Studies Blogs

I recently wrote about what it meant to priest for the Goddess. In it I quoted, noted Buddhist roshi, Pat Enkyo O'Hara, who once said, "When asked of all the wisdom traditions why Zen, I said, because I live a life of Zen."  In a reframe, I suggested that I live a life of Goddess. Many have messaged me to clarify what I mean by that?

Goddess is the everyday constant in my life. She is the immanent divine within me, around me, the all and the vast nothing; but also the transcendent manifestation standing before me. She is the totality of my life experiences, regardless of circumstance, and I manifest the life I have in Her service because She is worship for me. I confess worship is one of my favorite words. When I was growing up my grandmother would say, “Worship is a verb!” Meaning that there was more to being a Christian than just showing up on Sunday morning or worse, just at Christmas and Easter! She was not wrong, as worship is in fact both a noun and a verb.  But what is worship? 'Worship is the action of religious devotion often directed towards a deity."

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Connie Lazenby
    Connie Lazenby says #
    Every word resonates within me and expresses worship so much better than I ever could, thank you.
  • Courtney Weber
    Courtney Weber says #
    Beautiful, Erick! Thank you once again!

Of late, men have been coming together to discuss how in Goddess traditions and broadly in contemporary Paganism, what it means to serve? This need for men to be heard is what prompted me to edit Finding the Masculine in Goddess Spiral: Men in Ritual, Community, and Service to the Goddess through Immanion Press (note, I am still accepting contributions though July 31). Men have stories, and one way we heal the divide is to welcome men's mysteries, and lift up exceptional men. This however isn't a second wave mythopoetic mens movement, but rather community building, reflection, and dedication to service. My friend Devin Hunter for example recently started a Facebook page, Project Pagan Priest. Such platforms couldn't come at a better time, as our community and the world confronts gender binary, equal rights, and how men plant the seeds as change agents. 

Recently a question was asked in the group, what does it mean to be priest? The conversation has been interesting, considering that Project Pagan Priest isn't about one tradition, but rather inclusive of all pagan men. There was a lot of talk about what priesthood specifically that many find ourselves 'torn between ancient models of priesthood and the modern notion of 'clergy' to quote a group member. Others within the group feel that defining priesthood is tradition specific, and this too makes a lot of sense.

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs

I was in the garden yesterday, devoting these warm weather days to Spring time. I was not born with the greenest thumb, but the more I've tended the sacred garden of my heart in communion with Earth as Divine Creatrix, the more nurturing my hands have become to Her soil, and in life. 

In his book, Spiritual Growth Through Domestic Gardening, Al Fritsch, a Jesuit priest, says, “Gardening enhances our relationship with Earth. Through gardening, we are helping to heal the planet which is part of the work we are called to do.” 

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Our Holy Emptiness

“Holiness is not a personal achievement, It's an emptiness,” says theologian Brennan Manning, “holiness is an emptiness you discover in yourself. Instead of resenting it, you accept it, and it becomes the free space where God can create anew.”

Please read “God” as shorthand. For years, I understood to mean “God” as “love,” as in 1 John 4:8 and 16: “God is love.” Coming out of difficult orthodoxy of my childhood religious experiences, god is love worked for me. I think it works for many. How many look past the bindings of orthodoxy and just say love? Even when love is predicated on dogma, like love the sinner and not the sin, many still slide into the love paradigm.

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  • Michelle Law
    Michelle Law says #
    I can relate to this concept whole heartedly. Just recently went through a separation of a friendship that had been on going for m
  • Erick DuPree
    Erick DuPree says #
    Michelle, Thank you for your kind words and for finding the inner peace that Goddess can provide in helping to make the changes ne

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