The Hestia Consciousness

Many people speak of spreading a Christ Consciousness or a Krishna Consciousness (I believe the Hare Krishnas have always spoken of such a thing) and I interpret this as meaning that you allow the attributes of the deity to pervade your being, and especially your consciousness so that you almost become as the deity yourself, acting as the deity might (according to your interpretation, of course) and spreading good will as the deity might.

We who follow truly polytheistic religions or who have polytheistic mindsets, as Hindus and other Vedics do even though their religions allude to a strong monistic quality, have the benefit of being able to choose and explore the religions we are a part of for a deity to follow. In my case, it has always been Athena, but the polytheistic system allows me to balance the influence upon my consciousness by the strong and sometimes overpowering Athena with the softer, gentler Hestia, or the loving and sensuous Aphrodite, or the bright and healing Apollo, etc.

When I speak of a "Hestia Consciousness" I am talking about the willingness to allow the influences of this Goddess to pervade my consciousness and become part of it so that as I walk and breathe I become as if a conduit for her will.

Why would I want to do such a thing and how does it benefit me as a human being, and you as a recipient of that will, since my interactions with everyone else is influenced by that consciousness.

I suppose I should be clear that as a polytheist, I allow more than one deity to influence me this way, and as a result I should be referring more to the "Olympian Consciousness" than to that of any specific deity, but I am in a process here, one that is exploring Hestia and her power over me, so I will try to limit myself to her during this particular discussion.

Hestia Consciousness is focused on the ideas of "Home" and "Fire." These can be rather vague concepts to contemplate, so it is easier to understand them in terms of their specific influences. Home, then, becomes analogous to protection, cave, enclosure, limits, boundaries, walls, etc. Fire becomes analogous to heat, survival, health (cooking certain foods is necessary for health), destruction, fear (we faced our natural fear of fire to tame it for our own use), etc.

Contemplating these is how we come to Hestia Consciousness. But rather than just contemplating these, we must contemplate them in relation to the divine and how these are not just experiential concepts, but concepts of eternal truth.

In Home I am forced to not only look at my home as a sanctuary, but also as a prison of sorts. I am forced to see this body as my home, and my mind as the fire that burns within it, perhaps slowly destroying it in the process. I am forced to examine the walls I build around me, both physical and spiritual, and to break those down so that She can enter and touch me the way I truly need.

So, we proceed...