Dear Readers:

I am writing to inform you that the Witchmoot website will soon cease to exist indefinately due to a variety of factors. I would like to thank you for your readership over the last couple years. Do not dispair. Your favorite bloggers may have moved their blogs to other locations!

Bloggers:
Thank you so much for being part of Witchmoot, I am sorry to see it end. I sent out two emails in the past few months about this and asking you to back up and move your blogs because this was coming. However, email is one of the things that hasn't been working very well on this server, so if you didn't get it don't panic. Contact Dawn at dawn.black@gmail.com. She has backups of all your articles minus videos & photos.

Again, thank you all readers and writers! It's been fun!

Yours,
The Witchmoot Staff

    The problem with the United States, perhaps all of the world, is the over-stimulation and desensitization of the individual. ADD, ADHD, learning disorders, depression, anxiety, and the works, are plaguing our very existence. This is largely to blame on technology, no, our response to greater technology. Television teaches us from a young age how we ought to live our lives or rather, how our lives are not. How imperfect our jobs, families, and bodies are. Our brains are constantly being stimulated... making sure that we are entertained every second of the day. It's no wonder that we have "ADD" or the inability to not constantly be stimulated. Movies and television shows introduce us to realistic representations of wars, murders, rapes, and all sorts of travesties. Technology has made us bored, spoiled, and impatient beings. And ambition suffers due to distraction, and a general laziness spreads. Overall our lives lack purpose and reward.
    In the past one turned to religion, government and/or work for purpose. Our government now is removed, we have representatives bought out by lobbyist and so removed from everyday life that they are hardly able to represent at all. Religion lacks spirituality, discourages questioning and knowledge, and suppresses individuality. As far as work is concerned, I don't feel that corporations have become any more greedy than the lords, dukes, and counts of old, but that the work itself is less fulfilling. Reaping has become much easier than sowing. Psychologically we are not stimulated with a sense of satisfaction from buying a meal at the local market and pressing a button on a microwave or turning a dial on the stove. Fast food and restaurants are even less satisfying.
    The diagnosis is clear, but what are you going to do to solve it? The body and mind are interlinked, chemicals from the body affect ones mood and ones mood effects the energy, strength, and power of the body. It's a downward spiral that even I am guilty of. Less computer, television, and mobile time is definitely a good start. Increased physical activity may help as well. A hundred years ago, men and women slaved from sun up to sun down... exercising for an half-hour or hour hardly compares, but it's a start. Search for things that inspire you, projects that insight ambition and reward. Thomas Moore describes soul as somewhere between the body and mind, I think that to be soulful, one needs both a healthy mind and body. However, the body is our foundation, our vessel for life, and is perhaps the most influential. If you are physically weak or ill, the rest crumbles. Keep in mind that only a few decades ago individuals worked to survive, struggled everyday. If they didn't feel like making dinner they didn't eat, there was no McDonald's or Steak'n'Shake. Things don't do themselves.
    Everyday is a struggle, it's supposed to be. Life isn't easy, that's not gratifying. Succeed or fail, the human psyche thrives on challenge and completion. The only way we can change the world is to change ourselves. Make yourself as human as you can be, and inspire others to do the same. You're alive, so live.

Gratitude is defined by the World English Dictionary as a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation, as for gifts or favours

Gratitude is a powerful force that can bring many blessings to your life. When you recognize the things in your life as gifts, rather than your due, you are a happier person because you appreciate what you have rather than regret what you don't. The universe rewards a person with this attitude because like attracts like. The happier you are, the more happiness you attract. The Gods recognize gratitude and reward it with more gifts because, let's face it, Gods are people too. When you show anyone appreciation for the gifts they provide you- by writing a thank you note (or prayer) or sending them a return gift (or offering) - they recognize that appreciation and it makes them feel good about giving you a gift, thus making it more likely they will give you more gifts in the future.

Living with Gratitude

Living with gratitude is easy, it just takes practice. Most of us enjoy a good pity party and these don't have to end, but they should be balanced with recognizing the blessings in your life. The more grateful habits you foster in yourself and your family, the less you'll feel inclined to spend time wallowing in self pity anyway, so don't worry so much about breaking the pity habit as fostering the gratitude habit. Here are a few habits to get into.

Say "Thank You"
It is important to recognize when people are doing things that help us. Whether it's the bagger at the grocery store or our own child picking up his laundry. Now these people may not have a choice, the bagger gets paid to bag and your child may be required to take care of his own laundry, but the fact remains- if he didn't do it, you would have to. So say "Thank you" with feeling. Look them in the eye and say "Thank you for your help". You just might make someone's day.

Write "Thank You" Notes
People go above and beyond the call of duty all the time but rarely get much recognition for it. Teachers spend a little extra one-on-one time helping you or your child understand a difficult concept, your neighbor helps you catch your straying puppy, your child's friend's mother offers to give him rides to soccar practice when your car breaks down, your labor and delivery nurse spends extra time calming your husband down, your veterinarian works with you on vet bills you just can't afford right now. All of these are "Thank you" note-worthy occasions.

You can shoot them an email, but it is better to write a "thank you" note in your own hand on stationary. It doesn't have to be fancy. Writing the note yourself gives you time to reflect on the blessing this person has brought into your life. It is a meditative practice and it helps the other person to recognize just how special and meaningful their act is. This makes them feel good and increases the likelihood that they will perform generous acts in the future- not just for you, but for others that they may meet.

Meditate and Pray
It is important to set aside some time each day to count your blessings. Whether it's at the dinner table or before bed, take some time to think about your day; the wonderful things that happened and the people who made it just a little better. You can write these down or just think about them and once you've made your list, send your gratitude to the universe in the form of a prayer. "I give thanks for these people and these events in my life. So mote it be." If you've written your list down, you may wish to burn the piece of paper as you say this as a physical representation of your prayer.

Parenting with Gratitude
It is often commented upon by parents and grandparents of this upcoming generation that today's kids seem to have an inflated sense of entitlement. While fostering gratitude from an early age will help prevent this problem, we must keep in mind that much of this behavior- the bossiness, the ingratitude, the unwillingness to compromise, the determination to throw tantrums no matter which way things go, and the tendancy to complain loud and long to their friends no matter how hard you try to make them happy- is simply our children testing their boundaries, experimenting with their ability to control their experience of the world and letting off steam. However, even while all this is going on, your child will still have that reservoir of gratitude deep down inside and if you stick to your guns, keep your boundaries firm and continue demonstrating gratitude, your child will soon realize that embracing gratitude feels better than embracing entitlement.

Thank Your Child
Thanking your child is a powerful form of positive reinforcement. So often our childrens' positive contributions are overlooked and they hear "No" more than anything else, but "Thank you" says "You did well, I recognize it and I appreciate it". Positive reinforcement encourages a child to repeat the behavior.

Saying Thank You to your child and to others in your child's presence is also an important modeling behavior. It teaches your child that saying "Thank you" is the best way to respond when someone does something positive for you. It is much more effecting than saying "What do you say?" which often just embarrasses the child by putting him on the spot. It might take awhile before he really picks up the habit, but he will.

Say Grace
While it is important to spend some time thinking about what we are grateful for in specific terms, it is also helpful to say a general grace. Saying grace does more than express gratitude. It causes us to pause for a moment and consider our meal before we wolf it down. It creates a family tradition which helps cement family values and bonds. It demonstrates to our children our attitude toward these things.

Obviously the food we eat is a gift from the Earth. It wouldn't be here without Her help, so at each meal we can take a moment to acknowledge Her. Here is a simple little prayer my family and I created.

The Earth gives us the food we eat
The sun warms it and makes it sweet
And we remember all who give
Of themselves so we may live.

More graces from various religions and cultures can be found in the book Bless This Food: Ancient and Contemporary Graces from Around the World by Adrian Butash.

We at Witchmoot would like to take a moment this season to remember those who have been particularly influential in our lives and in our world who have crossed over since last Samhain. The lives of each of these people have made an impact on the world we share, for better or worse.

Note that we start our litany immediately after Samhain 2010.

Richard Holbrook, Diplomat, Peace Corps official, Assistant Secretary of State, Ambassador to Germany and the UN, special adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan under the Obama administration. Crossed over December 13, 2010

James Moody, influential American jazz saxophonist, crossed over December 9, 2010

Leslie Nielson, comedic actor. The Naked Gun, Airplane! Crossed over November 28th 2010

Sargent Shriver, first director of the Peace Corps, crossed over January 18, 2011

Jack Lalanne, fitness guru, crosssed over January 23rd, 2011.

Micheal Gough, Actor, (Alfred, Batman's butler), crossed over March 17, 2011.

Liz Taylor, actress, crossed over March 23rd, 2011.

Geraldine Ferraro, the first female American Vice Presidential candidate, crossed over March 26, 2011.

Osama Bin Laden, terrorist, crossed over May 2, 2011

"Macho Man" Randy Savage, professional wrestler, crossed over May 5, 2011

Jack Kevorkian, aka Doctor Death, crossed over June 3rd, 2011

Peter Falk, actor. The Princess Bride. Colombo. Crossed over June 23rd, 2011.

Betty Ford, former First Lady and social activist. Crossed over July 8th, 2011.

Sherwood Schwartz, TV Producer. The Brady Bunch. Gilligan's Island. Crossed over July 12, 2011

Amy Winehouse, singer. Crossed over July 23rd 3011.

Bubba Smith, Football player and actor. Police Academy. Crossed over August 3rd 2011

Jani Lane, lead singer for the band Warrant. Crossed over August 11 2011

Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple, Inc. Crossed over October 5, 2011

Muammar Gadaffi, Libyan leader, crossed over October 20th, 2011.

These days there isn't much on my mind that doesn't involve babies. So I'll be doing a series for new and expectant moms, talking about those things that new moms think about.

Feeding Pagan Babies

Option One - The Breast

Luckily, most moms have the food bit covered thanks to our natural anatomy. Breastfeeding is the choice closest to nature and the one with the most benefits for both mom and baby. Breastfed babies are healthier overall, receiving valuable antibodies from mom from day one. Breastfeeding moms regain their pre-baby figure quicker, have a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer and they tend to be more concious of food and lifestyle choices knowing that they have a direct impact on their child's nutrition.

On a spiritual level, breastfeeding mothers enjoy a kinship and closeness to the Mother Goddess and all the Mothers of nature that can't be matched. As our Mother provides for us of Her body, so we provide for our own beloved children of our own bodies.

If you choose to breastfeed, you can save up to $2000 on baby formula, not to mention saving on the waste from the containers the formula comes home in. Assuming someone other than yourself will occasionally be caring for your baby, you'll need a breast pump and a handful of bottles as well. Manual pumps are less expensive, but electric pumps are quicker and easier to use, which means you're more likely to use it rather than give up and go the formula route. My midwife also told me about a hands-free pumping bustier so I can pump and blog (or read, or knit or clean up...) at the same time!

If you're nursing, the bottle should be introduced when your baby is 4 to 6 weeks old. This gives her a chance to become a proficient nurser but doesn't give her time to develop nipple prejudice. I prefer glass to plastic as there are no worries with glass about harmful chemicals such as BPA. I also feel glass cleans up better and lasts longer so you can use them again for the next baby or a cousin. I am personally a fan of the Born Free bottles. However, if you will be storing your breastmilk for any length of time, a plastic container is recommended as some studies show that, given enough time, important immune-building cells in breast milk can stick to glass. If you primarily feed fresh milk and only give stored milk on rare occasions, this won't make much of a difference.

There are some inconveniences associated with glass. They can break if dropped (or thrown) and sometimes break while being sterilized (plastic bottles can also break, and I've seen them melt too!). Glass bottles are also a little heavier than plastic so baby might have a hard time holding the bottle on her own. These issues don't bother me much because I don't encourage my babies to hold bottles on their own and I don't prop the bottle. As soon as baby starts solid food (5-6 months) she should be introduced to the cup and as soon as she becomes solidly proficient with the cup, the bottle should disappear. If you really don't like the idea of glass, consider Stainless Steel. They didn't have these with my last batch of little ones, so I have no experience with them, but I think I will buy one and see how it goes.

Unfortunately, most breastfeeding supplies are not something you necessarily want to get as a hand-me-down, so you'll probably want to buy all this new. You're looking at about a $400 investment here, but it's still a $1600 savings over formula.

Option Two - Formula

If you must work long hours outside the home and put your child in daycare and you do not have a convenient place to pump at work OR if you or your baby have a medical condition that makes breastfeeding inadvisable, your baby can grow up just fine and healthy drinking formula. I prefer powdered formula to the pre-mixed kind for several reasons.

The baby I care for three days a week is formula fed and I must say that powdered formula is a super convenience. I can take her to the park, out shopping, anywhere and mix fresh formula when she needs it and as much as she will drink. No waste. Speaking of waste, one canister of powdered formula makes dozens of bottles so you end up with less landfill waste than you do with premixed formula.

My bottle recommendations with formula are the same as with breastfeeding, but you'll need a few more bottles if you formula feed. Give them a good scrubbing with a bottle brush after every use then run them through the dishwasher. You do not need a bottle warmer, by the way. Most babies enjoy room temperature bottles and a chilled bottle on a hot day can be refreshing. If you do warm up your baby's formula, you should warm it up first and then put it in the bottle. Plastic bottles leech chemicals and can melt and glass bottles can crack when they are being warmed. Also, you don't want the bottle hot, you want the stuff inside it warm.

The type of formula you choose will likely be decided between you and your baby's pediatrician. There are several organic options you should ask about. As I've never used them, I can't comment on this too much. Unfortunately, programs like WIC are very specific about the types of formula you can get so you might not have much of a choice.

Option Three - Mix It Up

When I had my second child I was working nights and my husband was working days so my son was breastfed all day and formula fed all night. This can work out for some folks and can be a happy medium for a working mom, but it does have some problems associated with it.

Before you choose this option you need to know that you will need to pump. Otherwise, you will find yourself engorged and leaking in the early days and as time progresses your milk production will go down. Also, if you work in a place that has the occasinal infant visitor, as I did, you will find that every time you hear a baby cry, you will start to leak. Make sure you invest in some nursing pads">nursing pads!

Some moms are told they simply aren't producing enough milk for baby. If this is the case than supplementing with formula may be a necessity. Don't let it get you down. Nurse when you can, formula feed when you can't.

If you've got a little one on the way and haven't picked a name yet, be sure to check out the Pagan Name Database for some great and meaningful options.