my other soul is a kobold

[pinkpolarity]

A while back I started posting on the controversial subjects board (mostly politics and religion) of a hobby site. Something to do when LJ was down, but I've become strangely fond of the place. It's majority atheist, with a healthy dollop of Christians and a couple of Jewish members. There are other Pagans, but they rarely post unless someone posts

Comments

[sylvanstargazer]

I would recommend resources on Germanic or Gaulish fair folk/folk lore. If he's picked up "Kobold" from a video game, what he thinks it means will depend greatly on which video game since there are a wide variety of representations (the word's meant everything from small rat-like miners to mischievous dogs to cruel dwarf-like smiths, and that's just in the games I've played). Finding the origins as a helpful house-sprite or tricksy miner might give him the context to work with it. I'd probably recommend to him that he look for primary sources, seek out references in literature and song, see what he can discover about "his" history. Taking it seriously, while pointing him to the wide world of research and pantheon

[misslynx]

Yes, yes, yes! This is pretty much exactly what I was going to reply with. Especially this part:

Whatever the origin of his identity or ties or self, in my faith the important thing is the application. What do we do with what we believe? How do we make the things we do every day sacred? How do we leverage our identities into becoming better people to the people around us, better citizens of the world?I very much agree. To me, no matter what sort of belief you're talking about, the most important thing is not the belief itself (or where you came across the ideas) but where you go with it. The same basic belief system can inspire one person to devote themselves to improving their lives and the world around them, another to retreat into fantasy, and another to actively persecute or mistreat people they regard as "the enemy". This is true regardless of whether you're talking about relatively new and fringey beliefs or long-established religious and political orthodoxies

[pinkpolarity]

Thank you for this, and I completely agree on the "where you go with it", that's how I view it as well.

I suspect it's more passing infatuation, since he seems to pick up infatuations easily and often-- the Otherkin mentions are new, and I'd wonder if he just recently became confident enough to share this if it weren't for his tendency to blurt out whatever he's thinking to the board at large (which always makes me wince, as many of the regulars have stopped needling him but passers-by from the bigger boards aren't nearly as kind). But either way, I think asking the right questions will, hopefully, lead him to cultivate a habit of critical thinking. That alone will serve him well no matter where he chooses to go in his spiritual life.

[pinkpolarity]

Fantastic comment, thank you so much! I love the practical application of this, especially since I'm just not qualified to deal with the more mystical "is this reincarnation or something else" aspects of this, like you I'm more interested in what people *do* with religion than in the "what is the ultimate nature of gods" kinds of questions that seem to be the main preoccupation of people on that board

[thewonderelf]

I was a 17-year-old about 8 years ago, and I still remember pretty well what it felt like. I, too, was rather fantasy prone, and being a total Star Wars nerd I was about an inch away from declaring myself a Jedi at least once a week. I was in the death throes of my Christianity but clinging desperately to it because, well, that's what my family was and expected of me, and it was all I knew, but looking back I was obviously looking for a way out.

My point is, now I'm 25, I have no delusions or desires to become a Jedi and am able to see the difference between things I like and spiritual things. So he will probably grow out of it as he grows up and matures.

However, I second sylvanstargazer's advice to try to get him to actually put his beliefs and thoughts into actions. That is one thing, I know, that pulled me out of the fluffy stage into the serious practicing Pagan stage early on. It's easy to be fluffy if you just talk about it, but when you actually start acting on the talk... things tend to fall apart, in my experience.

[teacup_werewolf]

I had my fluffy stages and my stages of incompetence, I think the most important thing I've gained by my pagan mentors is that they never talked down to me and let me fuck up and realize my own mistakes. I agreed with sylvanstargazer about him researching about the origin of kobolds and their mythology. I also agree with the idea of him getting active with his beliefs, I think what really got me more grounded as a pagan was finding my druid grove. Interacting with them allowed me to both have role models and learn a lot about my primary pantheon and find a strong tie with Dagda.

[dionysusdevotee]

Nothing. I would say nothing and lead by example. The shallow crave the shallow, the deep crave the deep. If he is the latter, merely pointing to the pool will eventually be sufficient.

[seaivy]

I have no advice - just a story
A long long time ago I was part of an on-line group. There was a young man much like your friend. Hardline family, fragile self image he convinced himself he was an "otherkind". It was his security. Nothing anyone said could change his position. Some people gave him a very hard time about it. He eventually joined the armed services still convinced. Time went on and we saw less of him. Just before the site folded we heard from him again. His life wasn't perfect yet but he had found an identity that wasn't "otherkind".

Personally I'd ignore the alternate personality. It's not something I'd want to get mixed up in not knowing what kind of a defense it might be. The human personality is a delicate thing.
But your support of his interest in things pagan should give him some support. Eventually, hopefully, he will find himself.