Today I'm sharing an email interview I did with former council member and friend of the group, Paul. Many of us have enjoyed Paul's meditation and energy work classes, and have met him at rituals over the past year and a half. He is starting up a new group of his own, The Elementals, which will be a sort of sister group to Ancient Oaks.
The basics - Who are you? - name, age (if you want to share), where are you from, etc.
My name is Paul Holsinger, I’m 34 years old, and I’m from a lot of different places. I was born here in Boise and lived in Emmett, Idaho, The Philippines, and Okinawa Japan as a child. I came back to the treasure valley when I was 19 and have been a resident here ever since.
Describe your path, how you got started with it, and how that impacted your decision to start The Elementals.
I grew up in an intensely Mormon family and left that path when I was 18 when I was finally forced to confront the problems that belief system was causing me. I was drawn almost immediately to Witchcraft. I found that its methods and openness were a much better fit for me and became initiated as a solitary practitioner. I cast my first spell when I was 19 and have been fine tuning my craft ever since.
While I was in Okinawa, I began practicing martial arts and I have always been intrigued by eastern energy and health sciences. Three and a half years ago I had a very intense experience while meditating with someone who had a unique and powerful energy. This sparked my interest and I began to research energy cultivation methods. In my studies, I eventually came across the science of internal alchemy in ancient Taoism. I have since put these learnings into practice and have had some very interesting experiences.
I am also a 3rd degree Reiki instructor and I have been practicing energy healing arts almost as long as I have magickal arts. I learned to read auras about the same time. By nature I’m a fairly intuitive person, and I’m always looking for ways to refine these abilities and gain new skills.
What is the philosophy of your group? What can members expect from it, what is its main focus, etc.
The group’s philosophy is centered around openness. At its core we are magick practitioners, and energy workers. Every spiritual path has these things in one form or another and there is a lot of value not just in finding the right fit for a path, but also in understanding the methods other paths use. This involves finding common ground among diverse views and to do this we have to spend a bit less time on the religious side of various paths and more time understanding the philosophies and sciences underneath.
As a group we have two objectives: to share information regarding spiritual practices, and to get a chance to work with others in putting these practices into use. To do this we are looking at having monthly presentations on various subjects ranging from working with ghosts to applying yin/yang theory to magick. We are also going to have spell casting and energy healing workshops as well as more traditional classes such as a meditation class and hopefully more. We are just now getting started so many of the details are still open for discussion and change.
In terms of what to expect, even I can’t answer that question just yet. I intend on encouraging an open, ego free learning environment where people feel comfortable sharing their views and practicing with others. I’m hoping we get to spend at least as much time doing things as we do talking about them. Being an open group means you can’t really know quite what to expect though. You just have to come and see.
How can people get more information and contact you or your group?
Go to http://www.meetup.com/The_
Anything else you'd like to share with readers?
There are many solitary practitioners of one path or another in the valley. Many people find that their own unique path doesn’t fit perfectly in a more structured religion or group. Many of these people practice on their own, but find that with everyday stresses and complications it’s very easy to go months without practicing. This group is for those kinds of people. The kinds of people who’d rather make up their own minds then to just be told what to do. The kinds of people who have a wide range of views, or maybe haven’t made up their minds and just want to stay open to possibilities. This group is open to everyone with the intent of equality and acceptance while getting a chance to put ideas and practices to use.
We are having an opening meeting around the first of June, please come by and share your ideas of what spiritual adventures you are interested in pursuing.
Thank you and Blessed Be!
