working with violent mental patients does not sound like fun.  It's 
funny you talk about your using the Craft being a positive experience 
for you along these lines. (not humorous, but it seems unusual TO ME) 
One of the reasons I dropped out of being a public Pagan priestess is I
realized I wore a pentacle and stones and other items which Identified 
me as wiccan as a way to keep people away from me and to shock them - 
much the way kids today where mohawks and kids in my generations wore 
bell bottoms, long LONG hair, peasant dresses, peace signs and other 
outward marks of a "hippie".  It was sort of my way of rebelling from 
the main culture - and I still don't know if this was "Good" or "Bad" 
for me.  I haven't yet decided my opinion about how making it in the 
world just as myself is going.  I'm still not sure that just plain ol' 
me is good enough for myself, never mind anybody else.
I know what you're saying though about the wards and so on - I still 
use certain techniques of meditation I learned in Wicca, including 
psychic protection stuff, and appropriate symbols to go with them.  I 
find for me when it's done completely internally it seems to be a 
better thing for me as I have no ulterior motive for doing it.  I am 
not trying to shock, impress or test people.  I have sometimes been 
able to make those kinds of things - psychic and psychological 
protection - work for me, but not always.  (Although the law of Karma 
seems to do a pretty good job on it's own)
Setting boundaries usually is not my strong suit.  The only thing that 
works at all is total withdrawal and isolation - and then I am usually 
the one that ends up getting hurt.  This is sort of where I am at now.
--- TriToss (tm) Professional 10.0 - #66
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