New Devonia was conceived by the Divine Dipsters over many years around a kitchen table during Friday Happy Hours. We had, and have, a lot of laughs (we take Happy Hour very seriously!). We continue to enjoy the process of imagining how things will evolve – given the chance.
We, like most folks, are seeking values and understanding that will carry us through this life with something more than surface satisfaction. We are seeking substance, relevance, direction, humor, and opportunities to grow. We are looking for “bedrock” upon which to build our lives. The bedrock below our kitchen table is Devonian limestone – thus the name.
The Calendar: New Devonia’s most public expression – is an attempt to address the capricious and somewhat unconscious way we measure the passage of time and our relationship to the Cosmos. We hope you find it attractive, entertaining, and educational. We still have “Year One” Calendars available. Mail your twenty dollars with your address to New Devonia, 203 N.Clifton, B.,Louisville,KY 40206. We will pay the postage for the calendar.
New Devonian Sainthood: Our Saints are alive and working on it. We really do believe that everything and everyone is Divine. The full realization of that status is something special and those who achieve it are known as Avatars, Holy Men, Teachers, Shamans and such. We enjoy taking existing concepts – like Sainthood – and remodeling them with humor to fit our own needs. Just like Christian Holidays were grafted onto earlier pagan celebrations – so our Sainthood plays on and expands earlier conceptions of human divinity. You are already Divine and as “Saintly” as you want to be. However, if you want a certificate to hang on the wall…that will cost you $30. Our Sainthood Certificates are printed on Fair Trade Elephant Dung Paper. You could, of course, make up your own certificate and hang it on the wall. You could even call yourself a New Devonian Saint. No one will come after you. Any funds we get from Calendar profits or Sainthood Certificates go to local organizations supporting sustainability. A Sainthood Application is below.
Sainthood is an experiment. Will people who start considering themselves “Saints” change their thinking and behaviors in other ways? Will they behave “better”, or just feel more justified in doing as they always have? Will they be more aware of the Divinity of Creation? Will they feel more responsible for it? We really hope to hear from our Saints, and anyone who wishes to weigh in on this discussion. Personally, I think I am a better person for wrestling with my own Sainthood. I am less judgmental, more patient and forgiving, and less burdened by the human failures around me – and in myself. I am still active with issues I feel are important, but less vested in the outcomes of that activism. “Me grant me the Serenity……….”
Whether you choose to acquire a Sainthood certificate or not, try on “Sainthood”. It is something like wearing a “What Would My Favorite Avatar Do” button, without the sectarian baggage. I doubt that you will find it comfortable, but I guarantee you will find it interesting.
Indulgences: Each Sainthood Certificate comes with a 6-pack of Indulgences. We have had great fun talking about Indulgences. They are a wonderful vehicle for Satire and Irony, but they are fraught with peril. Humor is Double Edged. They come with “guidance”.
“Pleasures of the Flesh”: Yes we believe that pleasures of the flesh are also Divine. Eating, Dancing, Singing, the wind in your hair, the sun or rain on your skin, sex…. the Divine is in all of it, and all of it serves to inform the Divine Mind. The human body is an incredible expression of Divinity. It would be a waste not to enjoy it. But the body and mind must be taken as a whole and the individual must take responsibility for the repercussions – good or bad. Sex is not without dangers, both physical and emotional. We are all wired differently. Finding the balances with pleasures, responsibilities, self and others is tricky, and done poorly can be quite painful. If you survive, it does get better. Good luck.
New Devonian Celebrations: New Devonia is a loose collection of ideas, with a few props thrown in. It is a tabula rasa and we invite you to write all over it. Traditions are important. Christmas and Easter, Hanukah and Passover, Ramadan and the Haj are examples of symbolic and unifying traditions. The essence of the New Devonian traditions are more of a “when” than a “what”. It doesn’t matter what you do to celebrate as much as acknowledging our relationship to the Sun at those times of celestial significance generating the seasonal rhythms of our planet.
The New Devonian traditions are yours to create. There are four major Celebrations around the Solstices and Equinoxes. For the last decade the Divine Dipsters have celebrated the Winter Solstice by erecting a monolith. It is work – like choosing and decorating a Christmas tree – and satisfying in the same way. (There does seem to be an innate human drive to erect things – pyramids, menhirs, Christmas trees, church steeples, minarets, totem poles, etc.). See what kind of party tradition your community will support – maybe just a bonfire and good food.
We are not setting this website up for comments at this time. But if you would like to comment or contribute please email me at david@newdevonia.org.
Peace, Love, and Laughter,
St.David