Recently I've been thinking about the limits of digital offerings and how Spirits interact with them, and during those thoughts my mind wandered to how I'd have an easier time communicating with them if I could write down and store everything I said to them.

Then I got the idea of making a personal private chat purely for my Spirits. I'd log everything from music to information to things I want to tell them. Once I got a new laptop I could even edit videos and photos for them too.

Do you think they wouldn't be able to get any bonding from this? Would it be as good as talking out loud? How do you think your personal Spirits would react if you did something similar?

Part of me thinks having a space to devote to them online might make them feel thought of, but the anxious side of me thinks they might feel pushed to the side somehow...

Maybe it's not the same as 1 to 1 time between the spirit and their keeper? It's a bit public? Just a thought.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. Any way that you feel most comfortable in welcoming them into your life, making them part of your life, sharing your life, etc is going to be an exercise in bonding. The more you feel natural in engaging and sharing your life with them, the more you build a connection.

I'm assuming by "private chat" you mean something only you share with them. If it's going to be something public I would make sure they are comfortable with that.

Lewk wrote:Maybe it's not the same as 1 to 1 time between the spirit and their keeper? It's a bit public? Just a thought.

No it will be completely private. Just for the Keeper and their Spirit Family. As said below...

Ishvala wrote:a personal private chat purely for my Spirits.

creepyhollows wrote:I'm assuming by "private chat" you mean something only you share with them. If it's going to be something public I would make sure they are comfortable with that.

Given that I mentioned their being digital offerings etc I wouldn't share this with others. Period. Seems kinda inconsiderate lol.

Ishvala wrote: Given that I mentioned their being digital offerings etc I wouldn't share this with others. Period. Seems kinda inconsiderate lol.

Mmm then there's no need to do it online, offline within your personal computer is enough, no? Whenever you want to to add something, just open the folder. Or google drive etc if you save it online.

darkwing dook wrote:

Ishvala wrote: Given that I mentioned their being digital offerings etc I wouldn't share this with others. Period. Seems kinda inconsiderate lol.

Mmm then there's no need to do it online, offline within your personal computer is enough, no? Whenever you want to to add something, just open the folder. Or google drive etc if you save it online.

Well, yeah for a normal person with a computer that'd work well. However I use a phone 99.9% of the time due to the computer I have having technical issues and being unable to run for relatively average periods of time without crashing. That said, I could use the notes on my phone, but a private server allows for far more organizational opportunities as well as creative ones. Also, it'd take up less space overall than having several different notes saved, as I do log quite a lot. And because I'm sure it'll be mentioned, I don't own a journal yet...and even if I did, frankly, my handwriting is poor and I enjoy being able to edit photos and such or store music for my Spirits. So having the Server makes that easier as well.

When concerning Google drive, it's a similar issue that I have with notes on my phone but add freezing and occasional forced closing of the app to the list and you've got a very agitating setup to work with.

In short, a Server - - - currently - - - feels more practical for me, personally. Hence, why I asked about it. Besides, if it's purely private it might as well be offline...no? Whatever the answer, it wasn't the original point. I'm not asking about whether I should have offline or online storage of notes and such.

I'm asking if communication and bonding through online means is a common thing keepers do? I was interested if others did it, and if not, what they thought of it...

Ishvala wrote: I'm asking if communication and bonding through online means is a common thing keepers do? I was interested if others did it, and if not, what they thought of it...?

I have a small place digitally that I journal, note down conversations, ideas, etc with my spirits. Im too busy and lately its been hard to find the energy to talk with them, so it helps when I can do that. Ive also started taking in the idea of aesthetics boards or music lists for them as well. Its not a bad idea at all. Ive seen many people over various social media use the social media for an offering / digital altar space for either gods or spirits :) Whatever works for you works, but you’re definitely not alone in this idea.

featheredstar wrote:

Ishvala wrote: I'm asking if communication and bonding through online means is a common thing keepers do? I was interested if others did it, and if not, what they thought of it...

I have a small place digitally that I journal, note down conversations, ideas, etc with my spirits. Im too busy and lately its been hard to find the energy to talk with them, so it helps when I can do that. Ive also started taking in the idea of aesthetics boards or music lists for them as well. Its not a bad idea at all. Ive seen many people over various social media use the social media for an offering / digital altar space for either gods or spirits Whatever works for you works, but you’re definitely not alone in this idea.

Thank you.
Your response gave me a sense of comfort.

I keep a journal in Microsoft One Note on my laptop but before that I used the Jotterpad and Evernote apps on my phone. You can take a look into those and see if they offer more organization options for you. I think Evernote would be more what you might want.

I personally don't see the need to use online means to bond with my spirits. For me it's more to organize my notes and journal my experiences, conversations, and the like. I would feel the electronic medium is just an additional layer between me and my spirits that is unnecessary.

But then I do very little online compared to most. I despise most social platforms and refuse to participate in them. This board is the most I've done online in years.

For me electronic offerings seems impersonal, but that's just how I am. It's like the difference between texting Happy Birthday instead of sending a real birthday card, or sending a picture of flowers to someone to show you're thinking of them instead of actually buying flowers for them. Seems impersonal and flat.

That said, the truth is what any of us say doesn't really matter. Offerings from the heart are appreciated by our spirits no matter what method we choose to express them. I say do what feels right to you.

Regholdain wrote:You can take a look into those and see if they offer more organization options for you. I think Evernote would be more what you might want.

I used Evernote for notes in general but it wound up not being versatile enough to do everything I wanted, plus, it's organizational methods look sloppy on mobile. Especially when you have over fifty different conversations, records, etc. to scroll through.

Regholdain wrote: For me electronic offerings seems impersonal, but that's just how I am. It's like the difference between texting Happy Birthday instead of sending a real birthday card, or sending a picture of flowers to someone to show you're thinking of them instead of actually buying flowers for them. Seems impersonal and flat.

I'm almost the exact opposite. Flowers die and getting a vase for them is annoying since I don't normally just have one lying around. They wind up just being a waste of space to me, and the only person who's gotten me a flower that I appreciated was a boyfriend and it was painted in rainbow colors. He got it because and I quote, "It was as weird as you were so I figured at the very least you'd appreciate that."

I did. Still didn't put it in a vase though. Then it got ugly and died. Rip my weird flower. Anyway, point is, it seems like a waste of money and time to get flowers or a card for someone. Then again, I normally lose or throw away those sorts of things, so perhaps I'm biased. Granted, I hate those happy birthday wishes online too, but at the very least they don't clutter up my space.

This isn't to say I don't want to present my Spirits with physical shows of appreciation; I do so quite a lot, I just happen to dislike those specific things, and by extension, cannot relate to the logic put behind them. Also, with my recent move I know I won't be able to present them with offerings much if at all (maybe once a week) so setting up a digital space for daily shows of appreciation just felt like a nice addition.

If you had to go in the closet with your practice and didn't want to open a digital space, what sorts of things would you do?

I've already begun investing in sources of energy offerings and attatched them either to my MV or my Spirit. So I figure at the end of the day they'll always have three different sources providing for them. But that, while caring and covering my bases, seems impersonal to me. I want to be more involved...

Regholdain wrote: That said, the truth is what any of us say doesn't really matter. Offerings from the heart are appreciated by our spirits no matter what method we choose to express them. I say do what feels right to you.

This is true, and I plan on it.
Yet I enjoy hearing others opinions and experiences. They fuel my own growth as well and offer great insights.