There’s a lot of negativity that goes on here because no one wants to take the time to understand that not everything is by the book or what you hear. There’s nothing wrong of seeing how deep rabbit hole goes for the right reasons. It’s astounding how hard it is for people to think outside themselves or their bubble. What people believe is what they believe and that’s okay, but that doesn’t give the right to judge or assume that a person is nuts or immature. I may sound nuts and immature to some people on here, but I know myself better than they do even though I have a tough time explaining myself.
So I’m thinking about deleting my account because there’s just no point in seeking help from a community that can’t see past what they see as “fluff”. I don’t do role play and I have no intention of pretending, but it’s like people are saying that the spiritual world is black and white in a way and it’s really annoying. It’s like no one knows what a therian or other kin is(not that it would matter if they were to know). Why can’t we just let learn and not make it worse by judging?
What are you upset with exactly? People trying to teach new members how magick works so they have a strong foundation and grow over time [you don't teach a first grader trigonometry] Nobody has an issue discussing how you work with Dragons on a spiritual level. People take issue with people claiming to be Dragons. Yes, otherkin and therian are things, but it's spiritual, not physical. As for black and white, while it's categorized as such, anyone who's not a beginner wouldn't classify it as such. Magick is all about intention, and while some like to categorize spells, the actually casting isn't as simple as "good" or "bad."
Many people are "not seeing past fluff" because it could be confusing to new members in certain parts, and the line between things can be blurred, like nekoshema kind of said, but i agree with you, there is much negativity on this site which i do wish could be improved, but is to be expected. The craft can mean different things to different people and which can lead to people being negative with things they don't understand. We see this outside of the site too, many people fear what they don't understand. we all really should respect eachothers beliefs, while also trying to make sure information we are getting is correct.
This seems a little late to the discussion, as the original poster's account seems indeed closed. But I think what I am going to say applies to anyone who has any sort of belief and gets challenged on it. Mainstream or jagged fringe, everyone gets challenged somewhere, sometime.
When any person has a belief, there will be others who don't share in it. No one can call themselves singled out, or picked on because of this. Whenever you have people with ideas, there you can find some form of disagreement. This is pretty normal. Hell even people with the -same- beliefs can still argue over the smaller details.
However what comes from that discord for you, as an individual, is largely dependant on how you choose to take such challenges. They can be cause for anger, spite, vitriol, victimhood... or it can be fuel for growth, evaluation, insight, and sharing. People challenging your ideas is their choice, and for their reasons. How you react is yours, and tells of your level of maturity/experience.
If someone tells you that what you are believing is incorrect, disagreeable, or fluffy, then it is on that individual to give support as to why. If you see none, maybe ask for it... or just ignore the occurence and move on. If there is reasoned arguement then challenge yourself with it. Examine what is said and reflect before you reject. There may be a grain of insight through what is said. Maybe not to change your mind, but assuredly to refine your thoughts.
I've considered myself an Otherkin for many years (and still do), and in that time I have had many rousing debates and discussions regarding my sense and sanity. Sometimes it was someone trying to gain a rise with no actual knowledge. Sometimes by people with knowledge but not understanding the perspective. But every time I come out from the encounter with deeper thought and a bit of self-critical reflection to show from it. Personally, I have found that through every debate I have learned something. Found ways to put ideas into words. Found and explained logical paths of thought. Come to understand the importance of frames of reference, gnosis, and even had the reality button pushed on occasion.
In the end, by being challenged I also challenged myself and grew because of it. As passionate (and sometimes vulnerable) as you want to feel, temper yourself by knowing you are being presented with opportunities to grow and learn whenever you are challenged. The first step of which is having the humility to let go of the idea you know everything, and accept that the person telling you that you are wrong... might just very well be doing so because you are. But being a bit wrong doesn't mean being wholly invalid. You learn something new, become a little bit less wrong, and move on better than you were for it.
