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Abstemiousness

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
I tend towards a plant based diet due to the benefits on my health (which impact how I feel about life) and my ethical concerns for the modern meat industry as well as the environmental impact.

Spiritually, I tend towards a mysticism based on philosophy, comparative mythology, science, experience, and art that manifests as a kind of primitive paganism with some Christian symbolism.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
One man is rich, another is poor,
But food remains for him who shares it.
As to him who was rich last year,
He is a vagabond this year;
Don't be greedy to fill your belly,
You don't know your end at all.

Should you come to be in want,
Another may do good to you.


- Wisdom of Ani.

When a heart heeds only its belly,
it puts resentment of it in place of love of it.
His heart is afflicted, his body unkempt.
The great of heart is the gift of god,
the one who obeys his body belongs to the enemy.


- Wisdom of Ptahotep.

Edit: to be clear, in Kemet, 'belly' was usually a synonym for base desires in general.
 
Last edited:

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
What does your faith say about abstemiousness, if anything. Do you try to apply it?

Afaik, not much. Paganism as a whole is rather doctrine lite.

But the Havamal has this to say:

-11
A traveler cannot bring
a better burden on the road
than plenty of wisdom,
and he can bring
no worse a burden
than too much alcohol.


— 12
There is not as much good
as men claim there is
in alcohol for one’s well-being.
A man knows less
as he
drinks more,
and loses more and more of his wisdom.


— 13
It’s as if a memory-stealing bird
flies overhead while you drink,
and steals your mind away.
I myself have been trapped
in that bird’s feathers,
when I drank at Gunnloth’s home.


— 14
I was drunk,
I was too drunk,
at Fjalar’s house.
The best kind of feast
is the one you go home from
with all your wits about you.

And:

— 17
A foolish man
misuses his mouth—
he talks too much, or says nothing.
As soon as
he gets a drink,
he’ll say anything he knows.

— 19
Don’t hold on to the mead-horn,
but drink your fair share.
Say something useful or stay quiet.
And no one else
will judge you poorly
if you go to sleep early.

Edited.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Afaik, not much. Paganism as a whole is rather doctrine lite.

But the Havamal has this to say:

-11
A traveler cannot bring
a better burden on the road
than plenty of wisdom,
and he can bring
no worse a burden
than too much alcohol.


— 12
There is not as much good
as men claim there is
in alcohol for one’s well-being.
A man knows less
as he
drinks more,
and loses more and more of his wisdom.


— 13
It’s as if a memory-stealing bird
flies overhead while you drink,
and steals your mind away.
I myself have been trapped
in that bird’s feathers,
when I drank at Gunnloth’s home.


— 14
I was drunk,
I was too drunk,
at Fjalar’s house.
The best kind of feast
is the one you go home from
with all your wits about you.
Reading this after two glasses of rum, lol.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Self control, basically.

Different people take it to different degrees. And that's fine. There is no one size fits all approach.

I did read something in a book as a young woman that stuck with me on the topic of vegetarianism. While the author was advocating for everyone to become not only vegetarian, but fruitarian(eating only the fruits of plants so that no plant would die either), she said that if you couldn't take this action out of love, don't try to force it. Instead, try to build love so that it becomes intolerable to do anything different. That really stuck with me. Honestly, in my own path, I've found 'forcing' any kind of abstinence backfires. I have to go to the root of what's causing me to turn to what I wish to abstain from, rather than simply pull at the leaves.

I also find that having too much attachment to abstaining from something to be detrimental. We have an acquaintance that abstains from alcohol. That's perfectly acceptable. However, she can be judgmental towards those who don't. Abstaining should bring out your better qualities. If its bringing out negativity in you, its worth re-evaluating what the point of it is.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Don t indulge in drinking beer,
Lest you utter evil speech
And don't know what you're saying.
If you fall and hurt your body,
None holds out a hand to you;
Your companions in the drinking
Stand up saying:
"Out with the drunk."
If one comes to seek you and talk with you,
One finds you lying on the ground
As if you were a little child.


- Wisdom of Ani.

Ani Wisdom (perankhgroup.com)
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
20210926_235153.jpg


:)
 
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