Big Changes for the Blog

These last few weeks (months?) have been anything but boring. The energy moving about North America and the planet in general is hard not to notice. Lots of unsettling feelings are being stirred up for many people.

Times like this are really clarifying for me. In this chaos a special mirror gets held up for us to see into ourselves in new ways. Questions pop up.

Who am I and what path am I walking? What energy do I want flow with in life?

Then there is my daily divining with the Tarot. I have been getting very consistent readings related to resolving intellectual and energetic conflict and interference. The Hermit has been the card showing up this week to resolve the conflicts.

So it is time to make a few changes.

Merlins's Path, Occultra, HexTxtWmECole

My history with domain names is colorful. So many changes as I have been finding my online path. Each change though has represented a new level of clarity and focus. Merlin's Path was very close yet too tight. I have plans to include more observations about modern culture and magic. Merlin may well have been all this kind of blog but most people don't see the archetype that way and neither do it.

MerlinsPath.com was too confining. While my personal studies and practices still have a heavy Druid element I have always researched broadly across cultures. A long and time honored tradition in magic and the occult across the globe.

<del><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occult">Occult</a> typically refers to magic, alchemy, and sorcery. More generally occult means obscure or hidden from view. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ultra">Ultra</a> is a prefix to indicate going beyond somehow.</del>

<del>Putting them together we get what? Beyond the Occult? Beyond the hidden and obscure? Beyond plain sight? All of which feel appropriate for what readers are most curious about when they drop by this blog.</del>

## Dropping Social Media

Changing domain name once again is certainly big. The real big news for me is I finally let go of almost all social media. Which means I have deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. My Linkedin profile has been gone for a while now. All that\'s left are a couple of newer sites I am trying out.

What happened is I have reached a place of no fear. For a long time I stayed with the big platforms out of fear of missing out socially. Many of my friends and family use Facebook and Instagram. With time I noticed a downside. I had this tendency to allow the likes and shares to replace actual social engagement. I was getting the brain chemistry hit of connecting without engaging meaningfully with people.

The other side of the coin was fear of staying on the platform. Am I being manipulated? How is the data being used, etc... I didn\'t want to leave as a emotional reaction to the way the platforms are run or their business models.

By moving beyond reaction and fear I was able to see with more clarity. Neither personally nor professionally was I seeing a net positive energy in my life. I fully acknowledge meeting a few fabulous people via Twitter. All in all the return on my attention and energy is just not there for me. Superficial connection was sucking time and energy away from creating and connecting.

I feel so clear and calm about my choice. I don\'t see going back.

## Other Ways to Connect Online

What are the alternatives to platforms like Facebook and Twitter? Other social media platforms are popping up. Experimenting with them is something I am trying out. The big change is really going back to what has worked for me in the past.

Blogs and forums. For me this is where there is real bang for invested time and energy. There is enough focus as far as topics or at least more personal moderation, a lot of drama can be avoided. Even more importantly, anonymous third parties (human or AI) aren\'t creating a bubble of what they think I want to see. Or what they are willing to let me see.

One of the advantages I found in Twitter especially was being able to keep track of what people were publishing in one spot. Luckily there is an answer which works even better than those SM platforms. RSS. With an RSS reader I see what new posts or forum entries have been published. I can either go to the site or read them in the reader.

## Wrapping it Up

Looking forward I see greater clarity from both decisions. First, being clear on where I am focusing my energy as far as what I am creating is helping me create and connect authentically. Removing the distraction and energy of the big social media platforms gives me more time to do the creating and connecting.