Frequently Asked Questions

Leadership This will be the hardest question you will ask yourself.

What is your leadership and organization like?

Leadership: you will have to learn and identify what qualifies as a leader. We have found that the lack of trust of leaders due to the lack of leadership and sincere care for individuals and the organization that they are part of perpetuates the lack of good leadership. Let’s grow our leaders and hold them accountable. This is another reason for the building of a tribe and a working societal model.

Each Clan (family of at least 4, Chosen family is acceptable also) has 1 member who is part of a council. Each Religious or Spiritual society has 1 member who is part of the council. Each Guild, or vocational society has 1 member as part of the council.
The council works on and decides on the activities of the tribe. Elders ratify the decision. Elders must be an odd number, and only asked to vote if there is no other means of making a decision. In those cases Elders look to the advocates of the issue to work together to come to an agreement, make secondary and back out plans. Elders encourage council members to cross train and be part of the other societies. Elders choose Elders and are ratified by the Council.

Business meetings require council members and at least 1 Elder. Elders have a meeting on the decisions. Tribal members at large are part of open and general Business meetings. 3 hammers will be used for talking sticks, One for members, one for the Council and one for the Elders. The holder of the hammer can call on someone else to speak to an issue, by pointing the handle to any member. When the handle is back in the hand of the speaker, i.e. stops being pointed at the member, the member stops talking.

This variation of talking stick by use of hammers has several purposes. Hammers are symbols of building a society. Having other members speak is a sign of respect of that member. The control of that conversation is a sign of respect for the holder of the hammer. Council Member then Elder Member indication of the Hammer raised creates a hierarchal point of order to help move the general or council meeting along.
Many people on neurodivergent spectrums, can’t handle multiple conversations, or where people step on what other people are saying. It is endemic in society and is rude and disrespectful. This helps us each in turn to focus on what is said, by whom without interruptions. In Traditional tribal settings, stepping on what other people speaking is exceptionally rude and is noted.

Until there are enough council members to contribute to the organization and day to day matters of the tribe, the elders will make decisions. The Elder’s functions are to grow leadership and facilitate the best outcome for the tribe, being a resource to the council and the tribe.

Are you a cult?

The Advanced Bonewits’ Cult Danger Evaluation Frame

The above link should give you the framework to answer if this is a dangerous cult or not. Technically all religions or spiritual groups are cults.

Who are your Elders?

Bear, Ursa and Archonstone. Archonstone is the main contact for the group. Our real names we will be glad to share with you once we know about you and your intent. Pagans, witches or people being anything other than conservative Christians, are endangered of losing their careers, families and more. It is easy enough find out who we are. Archonstone is out in public with his identity.

What are your qualifications?

Elders and what you might want to expect.

Bear

Bear is our chief elder. He had informal training from his grandmother. He was adopted by a group of Native Americans who shared a Mesa Tradition in Northeast California of sharing shamanic and medicine ways. He has been adopted by the Shoshone and Ute Native Americans. He has learned spiritual practices in Japan and Korea. His core training has been in shamanic practices.

Archonstone More on Archonstone

Bill has had done most of his development and training as a solitaire. He ran a BBS called Wizard’s Workshop in the Late 80’s, promoting self acceptance and development of psychic abilities. He encouraged people to find their own path. He supported Heathens on the Hudson, supported rituals at a Unitarian Universalist church in Schenectady, NY. He has taught Energy work, Chi Gong, Defense against the Dark Arts, meditation, Magic and Materials and other classes, at Ecumenicon (Interfaith Ecumenical esoteric convention), at local Georgia gatherings, and from his home. He has been an apprentice to Bear. He has and continues to study the worlds religions and metaphysical practices.

Ursa

Ursa is the heart of the Tribe. She is a natural healer, psychic empath and works with earth energies. She has received education from a Lakota medicine man in shamanic practices and done private study in other Native American, Wiccan and other world religions. She has had college level study in ancient religion, paganism and the occult. She is very much the earth mother grounded in common sense, but embraces the joy of living.

What are your Qualifications?

However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them? Do not believe what I tell you unless you with your discovery and own intellect find that they make sense to you.

……………… Buddha

Listen to what we say, study, discover yourself and see if they make sense to you. Learn from everything.

The three of us have experience combined for well over a 100 years.

Some of us have studied with Shaman, Mystics and Elders of other traditions. They don’t give out certificates. Some of us went and learned everything on their own. You can only measure us by our character. Both approaches have their own merit. We don’t steal from other cultures and call it our own. We don’t fabricate“New Age” myths or follow people who make them up. We are careful when considering the words of Gods or spirits. They too have agendas. We don’t follow traditions from a book and call ourselves this or that Grand Poobah. We don’t follow sociopaths or support them.

Different spiritual traditions have common spiritual practices, techniques and methodologies. We have studied and practiced them, verifying the effect, the method and made comparisons to similar practices. We have studied the cultures, the people and the psychology for these different traditions, how they work in those cultures and made comparisons. Moreover we have hands on and spirit focused experiences. They have been verified by others and by traditional sources.

We are not sales people, flaunting tenuous connections to celebrities we don’t believe in. We are not selling our version of rituals copied from someone else’s book. We are not selling a relationship to a God or a pantheon. We are not selling off of charisma and ego for ulterior motives regardless of what they might be. We are not plastic shaman misusing or approbating cultures and methodologies that are not ours. We are not vampires, leeches or social parasites. Those are all things we want to protect people from. To be able to protect you from them we have to have your permission, and more importantly trust.

We are human. We make mistakes. We own those mistakes and fix them.

The only truths are the ones you find out for yourselves. Do we live up to these ideals? Are our actions and words in agreement? In many cases, have you attempted to learn what we mean by what we say and see if there are connections to what we do? Or, have you done that for anyone else? Leaders and Elders are not titles. They are relationships that have to be earned every day. To contact us: Email: secretary@peopleembracingchange.com 678-643-2366

What do you Teach?

PEC Training Outline

• Syllabus
• Ethics
• Social Skills
• Common Sense
• And with everyone’s help, everything
  • Auto Repair
  • Farming
  • Crafts
  • Home Repair
  • What are you bringing to the Tribe?

There are many definitions of pagan, and what we do does not fit totally in any of those definitions. Are you witches, again it depends on your definition, and what we as a tribe intend to do, many of us won’t be.

We support and teach spiritual and ethical practices that are for the benefit and betterment of the individuals and the tribe, regardless of their spiritual path.

We are People who Embrace Change. We are a tribe. Until we find a word that describes us or until we create a word, we are who we are.

Are you Pagans?

Richard Hutton’s definition of Pagans are white Europeans recreating and practicing their original aboriginal beliefs before the Abrahamic Beliefs. If that was so, then we would be limiting what we want to represent in our tribe.

We support Hindu, Buddhist, Daoist, Shinto, Voodou, Lucumi, Ifa, Wicca, Aboriginal practices around the world, Norse, and everything. We support any person who practices and follow the Abrahamic beliefs, Christianity, Judiasm and Islam. The one and only requirement is this, will they see each other as a family, a tribe, live peaceably with everyone in the tribe and will they continue to develop their spiritual development? Yes, it is a list of requirements. Pagans were outlying tribes from the larger societies as they were being converted to Christianity. To say we are Pagan would isolate us from all other religions. If your definition is anything that isn’t just an Abrahamic faith, then yes, the founders are pagan. More importantly we are people who want a better world for our tribe and to be a model for the rest of the world.

What are our opinions of LGBTQIA+ People? YES!

Many religions and society dictates are about growing and maintaining control in society, along with its ultimate growth. Some of this in history and even today is about cultural demands breeding and a growing society. It ends up around control, hate and isolation. We are against that.

All societies grow to a point where social and environmental stresses cause an increase in percentage of non-breeding individuals. It is natural in many animal groups. There is a lot of science that describes the variations of sexuality, gender and about self identity.

PEC is about our own personal evolution, which includes identity, expression and freedom.

What we all have to remember is we are all family. For the sanity of all individuals, honest, loving and responsible relationships are needed.

This is what our tribe is about, honest, loving and responsible relationships. Not everyone is suited to have or raise children. That includes breeding couples. What matters is that families are supported by individuals who care and nurture. Those who are better suited to do other productive things for the tribe are free to do so. When you have children they thrive better when there is a larger community insuring there are resources supporting it. This makes a tightly woven and cohesive clan or tribe.

As long as there is honest, loving and responsible relationships, they will be supported and recognized, as part of the family, with milestones of relationships including marriage.

What makes a society is a cross generational and diverse support for the needs and realities of everyone in the tribe. As long as humanity thrives, just like any other species, there will be LGBT and inter-sexed individuals. What matters is whether their choice, like anyone else, is to be part of and contributing to the tribe as a whole.

There is a biological imperative with breeding individuals that is about perpetuating the species, themselves vicariously and other natural responses. What needs to be managed is the acceptance they may have children that won’t. That is natural. All children need to be loved by parents and role models.

We must remember this.

As long as there are honest, loving and responsible relationships that are consensual, there is not a problem. We all have to remember not everyone is able to understand what we are all about. Not everyone is able to deal with all realities. As part of a tribe and being responsible, like any other adult in society, many things are meant to be private.

What about other lifestyles or tribal societies?

Are you first a solid member of the tribe? Is there a council member that will sponsor the society until there is an individual in it that can be raised to the council? Does it serve to empower individuals and add to the spiritual or functional experience of the tribe? If it is yes, to all of these, then absolutely?