If you comment on this post, I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.
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synystershadows chose the following of mine -1. achluophobia - A fear of darkness. This was really in conjunction with catoptrophobia, which is an irrational fear of mirrors. My problem was a fear of mirrors in the dark, but I should really remove them both from my interests because neither frighten me anymore.
2. Dario Argento - One of my favorite directors. His visual style has always been very dramatic and artistic. You would never expect murder to ever appear beautiful, but there is one scene in Inferno where this woman falls through this white fabric partition in a living room and it was done in such a compositional manner, you just sit there horrified and amazed.
3. integrity - One of the most crucial characteristics a person can have. It's more important than beauty, talent, intelligence, wealth and acquisition, and everything else society seems to deem important. When I meet someone who has sincerity and honesty, it really makes an impression on me and those are the people I want to surround myself with. Integrity doesn't mean "perfection" to me, it means someone who is self-aware, tries to make balanced and thoughtful decisions and understands "cause and effect" - that actions have consequences, whether they be positive or negative.
4. paganism - This is an interesting interest of mine. ;) Mainly, because, though I embrace a lot of the ideals within this particular spiritual path, I don't consider myself exclusively pagan. I don't really consider myself exclusively anything because I am open to a lot of different ideologies and I also construct my own belief system from various places. When pinned down, I usually call my religion a "Frankenstein" one. :) However, as a child, I always spent a great amount of time with nature by myself. I feel comfortable there and understand the cycles of the seasons and how birth, life and death all have their place in the scope of things. However, I believe the female figure in spirituality is just as important as the male figure - I don't necessarily put an importance on one over the other. I think I also like that solitary paganism gives one some flexibility in his or her belief system. See more at "spirituality" below. :)
5. prayer boxes - I developed an interest in these originally for their intended purpose as opposed to their aesthetic value. I used to wear one all the time and would carry various prayers or wishes for either myself or for someone I cared about who had something going on in their lives that needed attention. Then I started to appreciate the beauty and cultural history behind many of them and bought a few more for that reason. I still wear one every once in awhile when I feel I need to.
6. sign language - I was part of a program in school between ages 9 to 11 called "Spectrum" that pulled me out of regular class three times a week in order to do special projects and expose some of us to a different style of learning. I'm not sure if this was an experimental thing, one because it was a private school, and two, I've never heard of any other schools doing this, but it was definitely interesting. We were allowed to a lot of private study on various subjects and we went on field trips to art museums and other educational places. We studied different cultures and languages...one of those languages being sign language. I learned the alphabet when I was nine and got books in order to expand my knowledge. I'm not an active member of the sign language community, which is obvious when I try to converse with people and I'm using old signs for things. *L* It's a living language so certain words change occasionally. I try to buy books to keep updating myself. :)
7. spirituality - Of course, this started in parochial school learning about the Christian perspective of God, but I found as I got older, that this Christianity being the only "true" concept of God was a bit narrowing. I don't think any one particular religion has an entirely true grasp of God or gods. Some theories are very interesting, but I see a lot of it as trying to fit this enormous and limitless being/beings into a little human box of human rules and human ideas. I have my own ideas as well, but I do think that there is a tremendous amount of compassion there that gets forgotten or overlooked. I think there's too much of a focus upon the vengeful things.
I still haven't done that introspective post that I have been meaning to do. Tiredness + Topamax = lack of focus. :)
Mood: 
happy
happyMusic: The Mating Game - Bitter:Sweet
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