Was going through some old emails sent me from back when I ran a Vodou and shamanistic website and forum of my own and it asks a terribly vital question. In it the person told me he was struggling to find his "path", did not know what religion was right, wanted to find where he fit in, where his path was. My service when I was actively in Vodou was interesting and quite varied. I got a lot of questions, especially from younger people or other adults in service as clergy themselves - both very under-served groups out there. I think many of those who wrote to me at first were expecting that a Vodou priest was going to advocate for Vodou as a religion, but, I rarely found that to be the right answer for most. I always felt my calling was to help people, and that could not mean a set of canned answers as much as people differ. I have one godson whom I dearly love and actually did take through baptism but refused to give him Sevis tet - the first ritualized step into the Vodou religion. I did not feel he was ready, did not feel it fit from my own lwa, there was another way for him to go and it proved true. Today he is a Buddhist priest in Indonesia and very happy. I feel I did my calling right. I helped him find his way into where he was wanting to go for his own needs. When you serve, it is about the person you serve, not your ego or your own road. Niral trusted me, I always want him able to do that. I did not take advantage of his trust that I really did mean him well. I approached all my god children this way. They are all in different places today. I ended up taking none of them to Haiti to make him or her into my own kind. A few went later with others, and right or wrong it is not on me their own choices. I honored the trust and responsibility placed on me the best I could. 

I say all this to tell you I am offering you the same. After a lot of prayer, meditation and inner searching, I decided to start a new mini-series here in my blog about beliefs and how to find yourself and where you fit in somewhat into the big scheme of things. 

It seems really confusing when you look over the great soup pot of ideas and beliefs out there these days. But, the key to finding a closer and better fit is getting to know where you are now, and who you are and what you honestly think and why. With this in mind, I am going to open this first post on the topic by asking questions. As you answer them for yourself, keep in mind most questions about matters of faith are a number line more than they are a solid "yes" or "no". 1 meaning not much, and 9 meaning a whole lot, for example.

1. For you, are there any definite truths or laws you see as being true, right now? For example, do you think it is wrong to kill someone who is not attacking you or someone violently? How about theft? Do you think it is always wrong to take money or valuables from a person without their willingness to let you have it? Perhaps, to you, it is always wrong to abuse animals, or children. Spend some time with yourself and think about these things and your own present values and personal codes and take the time to list them out. You can even do two sections with the ones that are always wrong to you in one section and the ones that are usually wrong or you aren't sure always are wrong or right in the second category. 

Whether you realize it or not, you are already on a path, which is the culmination of your actions, thoughts and choices up until now. Where you stand today is the sum total of many factors, which include the values and truths you accept for yourself, how you were raised and the religion or lack of one you grew up knowing as the normal thing to think. Even your politics can help indicate the specific faith or religion you might find an easier place to be at right now. Was your ethnicity a big factor growing up? Were you raised a Jew, or was your family Scottish and you were raised Pagan, or perhaps you are Irish and Catholic or Protestant?

You also should realize that what fits you fine today or a decade ago, may not always be the right fit. Sometimes this sense of being wrong can be easily righted by a deepening of your original basic faith. Sometimes, another one will have teachings that can reach you better now and enhance your effort to find your own right spot today.

I will leave you a day or two to work with this and make your list of things that feel true to you today. We will go on to more questions then.

Be well.

I write to serve.