milestone

Wordpress notifies me this is my 200th blog entry, I’m going to take that as an accomplishment. I started this blog four and a half years ago, and I’ve enjoyed my time writing and musing with everyone. I know there are times when I haven’t made it enough of a priority in my life and went too long between postings, but it was never due to lack of interest, but due to having a busy life that I find kind of awesome.
When I started this blog I was just starting my second year of university, having returned in my mid-late twenties in order to attempt to follow my wishes and get the degrees required to get what has been my dream job since the second grade. I had moved back in with my father to save costs while in school. I was starting to take my Buddhist practice more and more seriously, along with the rest of my magickal practices. I always had some degree of seriousness towards my practices, but it was around then I started to take it to another level.
I like seeing the stats and figures behind my blog. Like any blogger I’m sure, I’ve written posts that received far more attention than I expected they would, and written others that it boggles me that people didn’t engage with them. I’ve never been able to predict it, and that intrigues me. For instance my post on tulpas is my fourth most popular post of all time, despite only being six months old. I never expected my rant would get that much attention. My most popular post ever, being twice as popular as the second most visited post, is of course my Sex with Angels post which while I thought it was amusing I never thought it would be the bizarre hit that it is.
The most searched term to reach my blog is of course “sex with angels” followed by “angel sex” and then “sex angels.” Oh internet, I don’t pretend to understand you.
A lot has happened in all this time. I finished university with two degrees, and was part of the Golden Key Society (or the Smarty Pants club). While I don’t have my dream job yet I am currently working at a job I enjoy with a team of people that I like. I’m not upset about not having my dream job because where I live it is literally 8000 applicants per position, so it’s not an easy thing to get into. I now live on my own in a house in a wonderful neighbourhood and while it’s in need of fixing up it’s a nice house. I’ve received training in chöd and adopted it as my primary Buddhist practice for the last four years. (That happened within two weeks of starting the blog, but I didn’t talk about it because the attitude/exoticism around chöd in the West, I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging or cashing in on what is cool, so I waited until I was well established in the practice to begin talking about it.) I completed the Abramelin working sticking very close to the letter of the text and received Knowledge and Conversation with my Holy Guardian Asshole. (In a similar way, since K&C is such a big thing, I didn’t actually let most people know I was working on it, or achieved it, until a few years after the fact when I felt more stable with what it was all about.) Just a few months ago I received a minor Buddhist ordination, which I don’t think I’ve brought up here at all, though hints and comments were put on twitter and facebook. But yeah, I’m now considered a lay-monk, with actual authority and obligations in the tradition…it’s kinda surreal and scary. I’m not just a weird Buddhist sorcerer, I’m a weird ordained Buddhist sorcerer…who thought that was a good idea?
Through the blog itself I’ve met some awesome people, some are just casual contacts, and others have become friends. It’s been interesting to get feedback on posts, to be challenged either to defend my ideas or think differently. The interaction with others is what really helps with the growth. As people have commented on my blog, linked to it, and reblogged it I’ve had the chance to expand my resources and followed and met even more people, with even more neat ideas to think about.
While I’m not living a perfect life, I’m living one that I love, with clear signs of where I came from, and where I’m going, always going the way of my wishes.
So thank you all for being part of the journey, and I’ll be curious to see what develops over my next two hundred posts.