Mail Call!

Got some nice treats in the mail. The pendant is from the TOTJO store. The necklace rope is from Amazon.

I don't mean any offense, but what importance do you place on this pendant?

I ask because I eventually found such physical attachments in relation to spirituality to be superfluous. Like a Christian wearing a cross. What's the point?

I suppose that's just my Zen thing talking.

I personally place importance on such items because in times of imbalance, it helps remind me. These items are typically reminders or lodestones which help keep you in your best mindset.

Do some people need it? Not always. Others need something. Others wear what they need.

Streen wrote: I don't mean any offense, but what importance do you place on this pendant?

I ask because I eventually found such physical attachments in relation to spirituality to be superfluous. Like a Christian wearing a cross. What's the point?

I suppose that's just my Zen thing talking.

I have a necklace I wear near daily. It's a polished slice of caribou antler between two clay beads. It's simple, not expensive, but I can't tell you how often that little bit of bone and earth have given me the bit of calm, focus, or centering I needed in various times. I’ll touch it to remind me to be present, or that there are people in the world who care for me even when I don’t. I’ll take it off and use it as a meditation focus, gazing into the depths of the marrow to bring me closer to the Spirit/Force, or feeling the clay, and examining the details of the colors and surface texture where you can still see my fingerprints cause me to focus on life and my power animal. During panic attacks, rubbing the antler and feeling the textures will help ground me and give me a bit of something to focus on to not fly into a mindless animal-panic.

Do we NEED physical attachments in relation to spirituality? No. We carry our spirituality with ourselves. But it sure as hell helps

Both very interesting counterpoints. I think that what something like this means to a person is just as individual as the person.

Streen, to answer your question, for me it's a symbol of association and commitment. Very much on the same level of the wedding band on my left hand or my company's logo on my polo. (not all symbols are of equal value and importance - please don't think I see those two examples as equal).

For me, it is a symbol to others but also a symbol for myself. We all strive for ideals and to be the best Jedi (husband, father, son, employee, etc.) It doesn't mean we are always successful at attaining or living the ideals every moment of every day. A reminder to ourselves of who we should be can be a good thing when we need it most (for some, not for all).