About Me

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About Me

 

          I was born on August 13, 1977, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Myles and Doloris Aldous. I was the second of what would eventually become five children, and the eldest girl. Both of my parents were raised to be Mormon*, but my father never really embraced the faith and stopped attending church when I was still young. He had a lot of questions that couldn’t be answered by the LDS religion, or any other Christian faith, so far as I have found. I feel he may have liked Buddhism better, had that been an option in such a Mormon-heavy state. His questions and the lack of satisfying answers eventually led to my own break with Mormonism at the age of sixteen. Unable to accept the more unlikely aspects of the Mormon faith, I looked around for something else to believe in. I did a little research into Rosicrucianism (This was long before the days of the internet, so I was limited in the scope of my research.) but didn’t quite find what I was looking for there. I did discover in myself a talent for witchcraft at the age of seventeen, which I practice to this day. (My personal version of witchcraft invokes gods as human-constructed archetypes that have taken on a certain energy from being around for so long.) Buddhism appeals to me on a philosophical level, although I would not call myself a practicing Buddhist per se. I do keep a Buddhist shrine, along with my pagan altar, but I only take bits and pieces from each faith. They served as the primary inspiration for my own self-constructed spiritual path.

          I was basically an atheist for a while, here and there being inspired to believe in something, only to encounter the same bitter disillusionment and return to my base state of non-belief (excluding witchcraft, which I have always practiced in some form). Something was clearly missing in my life, but none of the creeds and philosophies and religious traditions rang true enough to me to invest in. Then, in 2015, I realized what I needed to do: I needed to craft my own religion, taking those ideas that appealed to me on a philosophical level, from all the sources I had at my disposal. I needed my own core tenets, my own sacred writings, my own belief system, something that made sense to me. I went on the internet and got ordained by the Universal Life Church, and then sat down and started writing. Most of what I have written is here: edited, modified, and expanded upon. Some of the writings are included in the official Book of the Path, and others are merely philosophical reflections that helped to shape the Path in some way.

 

          The best way to understand the Path is to start with the official Book and the other writings here, and then read some of the sacred texts. I know there are a lot of books there, but they each offer some insight or provided some inspiration for the Path. (I would suggest starting with the Dark Tower series.)

 

          *It is important to know that the environment in which I was raised was racist, sexist, patriarchal, and homophobic. It took me a long time to shed those old, harmful ideas, and I still periodically have to check my own privilege or question an idea that may be toxic. (My dear friend Courtney has done more to help me overcome those toxic ideas than any other person. Thank you, Courtney!)

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