Pagan Information Quesdtion # 17. What is your purpose?

Question

Non-Pagans tend to view their purpose as being here to "Serve God". So, thinking along those lines, What is the purpose of life as a Pagan?

I know from MY perspective that we are here to LEARN, gain experience and progress in our spiritual development. Learn our lesson for this lifetime, die, rest a while, search for new things to learn, plan for the next lifetime, search for the conditions that will best enable us to achieve those experiences and be reborn.

Brightest Blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

LOL Hestia's, It comes with the territory. I HAVE been in the Witchy business for over 35 years. If I give the best stuff then ALL my many teachers are to blame, not me. However, EACH of you has something to offer as well. A LOT of it is good and it has been very excellent material as well. Which gives honor to YOUR Teachers. It also gives honor to YOU for having learned YOUR lessons well. If YOUR teachers are half as proud of the many wonderful things you've added to this database as I am. then that speaks the WORLD about every single one of you. Yes, I KNOW that there is a Troll, stalking these Questions and Answers. But, you know what? They haven't found anything in here that they can use to report us on. the questions are valid and YOUR answers are as well. We ARE informing them and doing so in an honest and open fashion. If THEY continue to hate us, then their hatred is based on their OWN charactger flaws and NOT on anything concrete. I can't thank you ALL enough.... cont.

I can't thank you enough for the quality of information that you are providing and for your genuinely openness and willingness to explain what we ARE about without us having to go on the defensive. Your answers are positive and uplifting and I HAVE been getting a lot of positive feedback from a LOT of non-Pagans and SOME attitudes towards us are changing and becoming more understanding and accepting of us as followers of our own respective Religions.

Brightest Blessings and a joyous Yule to ALL,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 1

My purpose is to find my True Will, and accomplish it -- in other words, my purpose is to find my purpose.

But I do think that serving the Gods and honoring them is part of that.

Answer 2

What you said. Exactly. That's what I believe our purpose is. We're here to learn things. If we don't learn them, or refuse the lesson, then the lesson gets progressively harder until we go, "Oh! Okay, sorry, I was missing that point. Thank you." Then we move on to the next lesson.

I don't believe, though, that we always have control over what our lifetimes are. I think if we rack up enough bad karma, or ignore enough lessons, I really believe we'll be "put" into a lifetime from which we are forced to learn what we need to learn and don't have much of a choice about it. Since one of the tenets I've learned as a Wiccan is not to spend time in the company of younger souls, and I've encountered more than one person who obviously just does not want to learn anything from this life, I think at some point there has to be a way for Goddess and God to FORCE you to learn if you're in a rut. That's actually something I realized recently while doing a musical with a group of students with developmental disabilities. I was watching them during tech week, the way they greated each other, like long lost friends who hadn't seen each other in years when actually they'd seen each other a few hours before, and it just came to me that whatever their last life was they probably never learned to appreciate people and life, so now their lives are greatly simplified so they can't lose sight of the little things.

)O(

Answer 3

Quoted: "I know from MY perspective that we are here to LEARN, gain experience and progress in our spiritual development. Learn our lesson for this lifetime, die, rest a while, search for new things to learn, plan for the next lifetime, search for the conditions that will best enable us to achieve those experiences and be reborn."

You pretty much hit it, except I also believet hat while we are waiting to be reincarnated, we can also be Spirit Guides or teachers for those who are still in physical form. We also study for the next lifetime, come back in our new bodies with a new set of rules to learna nd live our lives. We continue to do this until we are fully enlightened: every life lesson has been learned. At this time, we can choose to reside with the God and Goddess or continue to guide others on physical realms.

Answer 4

Raji, I believe that the answers are the same. Learning, experiencing, progressing etc. all ways to serve the Goddess and God. Hope you and yours have a joyful Yule
Blest Be,
FairyBear

Answer 5

"What is the purpose of life as a Pagan."

As a Wiccan, I am taught to look to the natural world around me for clues to the world above me. Plants, Rocks, and animals like us have no inherant purpose in life. There is no purpose by default. We are created at the whim of our parents or by accident, and we are given a blank slate that is written upon first by those who raise us and later by ourselves. Our actions in this life are a result of this life, and what we receive in this life is a result of both random chance and what we have done in this life.

Our PURPOSE, as humans, is to write on the slate. Our decisions about what to write are just choices we make. Some choose to serve a god. Others choose to serve themselves and call it serving god. Others choose to serve mankind.... but there is no force indicating we MUST choose save the force within, which is assuredly the self.

I choose to live the examined life. But it's not a purpose, it's just what I do.

Answer 6

My purpose is to learn and experience this thing called life. Live, die and be reborn until it's time for me to re-join with Spirit. So I guess you'd say I'm here to experience life and bring back what I've experienced to Spirit.

Answer 7

I believe that our primary purpose here on Earth is to make babies, reproduce our own kind. This is what happens to us as a species. We are born, we live, and we die. While we are here, it is our function as members of our species, to make more of our own kind so our species will continue.

My view point has perhaps a more pantheistic slant, but it is one form of paganism, which as we know, has many forms and paths. This one is mine.

Blessings,
Lady Morgana )0(

Answer 8

I would say that my purpose here is to learn and experience as much as I can to fulfill this lifetimes lessons and to tread gently upon our Mother Earth.

Answer 9

My belief is very similar to yours. I believe that we are all a spiritual journey. We have to learn different things in different lifetimes. My main goals in this life, past and future is : Learn, teach and respect.

Answer 10

To "be excellent to each other" and enjoy life as much as possible. Because in doing so I honor the God and Goddess, their creations, and the life that they gave me.