Science, knowledge and Spirituality. An oxymoron?

A recent thread on naturalistic Pagans yahoo group got me thinking and questioning my own thought processes concerning Science, Knowledge and Spirituality. Does an understanding of Science preclude you from Spirituality? In short ,my answer is an emphatic "no", and the following is a reflection of my own reflections.
What it all boils down to is that the Ancestors didn't have the privilege of modern science but they had something quite different and in many cases have been lost in the mists of time. eg Ancient humankind were master Astronomers and aster Mathematicians who were able to build Stonehenge of England, the pyramids of Cairo and the temples of Angkor Wat. The best of Human kinds engineers, could not build such elaborate buildings today given the same tools.
The goal of Science is simply, how do we live as better human beings within the world of Nature. I believe that today science has been over convoluted.  I believe that the old ways have much to teach us today in this overcomplicated world. Science, sociology and psychology have been elaborated upon until the true goal has been lost. I believe that goal is simply, how do we live as better human beings within the world of Nature. 

The Science of our Ancestors was rudimentary but it guided people in how to tread lightly on this Earth, understanding that we need her more than she needs us. This may have been a superstition of the past but now proven as truth by science.  I believe that goal is 
  Right and wrong, good and bad within the minds of humankind is never static but constantly changing/evolving throughout the ages,at times moving toward, and at times moving away from, the Cosmic right and wrong, which isn't as fickle as the sense of humankind.

For example, our Ancestors from long ago, lived with nature as a sacred expression of the Divine. All of Nature was considered as sacred and the belief that Nature looks after humankind if humankind looks after Nature was common among so many races.

Compare that description of common Pagan mentality to the modern idea that it is ok to deforest and rape the Earth for minerals for financial gain, causing loss of habitat for the animals that we rely on for balance of our own ecosystem. 

Some may say that I am a romanticist of the Ancestors but I do understand that not ALL the Ancestors had these ideals. Some races did hunt numerous animals into extinction and some like the Australian Aboriginals used middens to observe which shellfish had been collected most recently and avoid fishing for them.  

Humankind is constantly evolving and I am grateful for the sciences that help us to tread lightly on this Earth, understanding that we need her more than she needs us. This may have been a superstition of the past but now proven as truth by science. 

I don't mean to stir up controversy, I am just advocating for healthy superstition. In Lithuania there are literally thousands of superstitions that defy logic and I have been constantly surprised how these have power within the psyche of the people. It does require more investigation and I would say that academics like Ethnographers,Psychologists and Sociologists would be more equipped to do this.

This is my first post in this group. I am an Australian Lithuanian reconstructionist.

I am an adherent of Romuva, an educated and ,(I believe), a rational person, I have chosen to learn how my ancestors thought and rationalised their world, so that I may have a glimpse into what caused such wholesome living with each other, and the natural world around them.

I believe that I can  incorporate the Baltic worldview into my own life so I may learn to live in the same harmony. I am still rational and know that a shooting Star is space dust falling through our atmosphere but I like to see it as an Aitvaras as did my ancestors. I know the Sun is a celestial burning ball of gases but I choose to see it as the mother Goddess Saule (Sun). You see, it's not easy to explain, but having a personal connectedness to the sacred world of nature, one is able to truly connect into the universal web of life. Harmony,within and without, is possible by learning the old ways and worldview.

Now what has this got to do with superstition you might be asking? Superstition within a culture alludes to the worldview of that race of people. Superstition can be limiting or liberating and many come with remedies to reverse bad luck which keep people positive about their future. Some may argue that superstition comes from unscientific ignorance but I have found that superstition of my ancestors have allowed me to see the world as simply magical in all her cycles. Superstition has allowed me to see that all nature is sacred and allowed me a unique personal connectedness with it.

Harmony is ever changing and never static, it can be like a moon bean glowing on a mossy rock. It may be brief and fleeting at times, but I believe that if we constantly strive for connectedness then harmony will never be lost for long.

Three parts of the Lithuanian Cosmic Tree

The Lithuanian Cosmic Tree is a culturally unique representation of the worldveiw of the ancient Lithuanians and even Baltic peoples. Although the Cosmic/world Tree is a global phenomenum in so many religions of such cultures including the Indo Europeans, Siberian and North American Indian. You might think that these cultures are few in our huge world. The Indo Europeans were a very large tribe who developped into the nations we know today as:

*Baltic, 

*Slavic, 

*Celtic, 

*Germanic, 

*Anatolian, 

*Indic, 

*Indo Iranian, 

*Hellenic

The following clip explains quite well the diversity of nations that grew from the Proto Indo European peoples (PIE)          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_3i53u8so

The World or Cosmic Tree features in the mythology of so many cultures that it really is evident of the importance of this motif in the way peoples lived day to day, worshipped, and rationalised the world and universe around them. The variations on the description and theme of the World Tree is very diverse and too numerous to state the differences. The differences are really inconsequential to the over all ideal of the World Tree. The basics are still the same:

1. The tree is a symbol representing the 3 realms of the cosmos,the upper worlds of the Gods, Goddesses and heroes in the branches, the middle world of the living in the trunk and the lower world of the past,deceased Ancestors and earthly deities in the roots. This symbol of the Tree, transcends time and space. The Cosmic Tree not only represents the cosmic order of the universe but also is superimposed in our psyche and being. It is for this reason we could also refer to the Cosmic Tree as a heirogyph.
2. The Tree remminds us of the continual harmony between these 3 realms of the cosmos. The Tree inspires us to strive for/nurture and maintain this same harmony, in our own personal lives.
3. The Tree is a gateway to the other realms through which we can communicate with our ancestors, the Deities above and below, and all Spirits in between.
4. The tree is also symbolic of nature's nurture of all life including humankind. Trees produce oxygen vital to all animate life, Trees are natural ecosystems and homes to all manner of life, from insects to mammals. Trees provided for early humans in a very practical earthly way, provides for us the wood to build our homes, wood to cook our food, wood to keep us warm and light the way in the night.

Winter Solstices 2012-2013

It's been an unusual last 12 months because I am about to experience my 3rd Winter solstice in the last 12 months.For me, I associate the time between Autumn Equinox until Winter Solstice as a time of commemoration and reflection. Last year, in June, 2012, I celebrated Kucios at home. In December, 2012, I had a wonderful day in Venice, always  mindful of the auspiciousness of the day and feeling like I should be doing Kucios. I watched the Sun set on the train back to my accommodation, to the former residence of the Queen of Cyprus, in Casasavagra. Now I'm back home in Australia, I'm approaching yet another Winter Solstice. Talk about, "Pagan jet lag!", as I call it! I always try to live where I am and so was obliged to honour the customs of the land, where and when, I am. So of course, I have honoured my Ancestors many times this year. In June, I performed the Velines rites at Cooranbong Colonial Cemetery, on ANZAC day, 2012, I honoured the fallen heroes along with my ancestors and deceased loved ones, in preparation for the Kucios meal where I honour solely, my deceased loved ones and ancestors.

This year,(2013),I commemorated Velines at Jilliby cemetery, in preparation for the Kucios meal this year.
To use the Neopagan language, this is my "Year of Yule"! or my, "Yule Year"!

This year I transcended the seasons

Inspired by travel and without good reasons

I prepared my garden for a fallow Summer

no sucker from my garden, for me, this Summer!

I flew over the equator, traversed the globe

crossed many a border,

to experience yet another Winter

a cold snowy, but beautiful Winter

Journey from Australia to Lithuania,

to Bee with my kindred ancestors

to see the sights and feel my Motherland,

journey was long, much like a quest,

From west to east,

from the temples of Rome and Damanhur,

to the Rocks of Externsteine and sacred Hills of Lithuania,

to learn the ways of my blood and my earth.

After 3 months,in Europe abroad

flew back to Australia and Autumn after being so awed,

and inspired, knowing better, to what I aspire

I headed back into my 3rd Winter, in 12 months.

3 beginings, 3 new starts in Nature

3 times to dine with the Veles,

at Kucios, your flame flickers higher

I hear your voices louder,

3 candles of my life

Prince, King, Sage,

Princess, Queen, Matriarch,

Son, Father, Wise one,

Daughter, Mother, Crone, 

Boy, Man, Grey haired Fellow,

Girl, Woman, Elder. 

Searcher and Explorer throughout the age,  

I've been nurtured by nature to become,

A leader and Nurturer in every page, of every stage.

My true self is unisex, both genders in one,

All qualities, all paths, all dreams, in me,

as Yin Yang, I become whole, in my life and within my Soul. 

when I accepted that all the power of the Universe resides in me.

Steve Kryzius