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Daily Meditation

Meditation (source unknown)Meditation is a very important part of my spiritual path. I remember when I was a student with Bobcat (Emma Restall Orr) back in 2007, and the amount of meditation that she suggested was the minimum we do each day – it had seemed like a lot at the time (I had only begun to delve in Zen meditation at this point). She said that we should spend more time at our altars, at least with two twenty minute sessions per day. At first it was hard to get into, but then became easier at it became part of my life, part of my daily routine.

I took the sessions to longer periods of time, two thirty minute sessions. It meant getting up earlier and finding time when I came home from work before cooking dinner, or if that wasn’t possible finding time in the evening whenever it could fit in. There was great value in spending time before my altar, sitting in silence and communing with the gods, the ancestors and the spirits of place. It is often said that prayer is talking, and meditation is listening.

Learning more and more about meditation in its various forms, I realised that it could be done anytime, anywhere really – it didn’t have to be in front of the altar in a seated position. Seated meditation is still, for me, the best form, as quieting our bodies and our minds allows us a chance to get beyond our talking selves and into a space of pure being, where in stillness we settle even as the dusk falls upon the land. Like mud being churned in a pond, if we allow it to settle things become clear.

However, meditation could be taken out of that space and into the wider world. If I was away from home, and had no altar, I could take a walk and do some walking meditation. Lying in a bath, I could meditate there, fully aware of the water against my skin, the sounds and scents. In essence, meditation is simply giving your full attention to something, whether it is a stillness of the mind, the working through of a problem, walking down the street or paying attention to your breath. Work can become meditation – washing the dishes is meditation for me, as are other house chores. They are much more pleasant that way.

Riding my bike, driving my car, paddling my canoe – all these can be meditation. With meditation, if you are doing mindfulness meditation, you are not “zoning out” so to speak – you are fully aware of everything, allowing the illusion of the self to fade away in order to hear the wider world around you. Stopping the incessant internal dialogue, we step beyond our selves, allowing us a break from our egos. The more we do this, the more we are not ruled by our egos, living a life that is not reactive but completely and fully active: lived with intention.

Meditation is not all about sitting on a cushion chanting Om. It is living with full awareness, using techniques such as seated meditation to help you begin your journey. I would always advise seated meditation first, and then take that into other aspects of your life. Pretty soon you will find that you are living with much more awareness, much more mindfully. It’s not difficult to do.

Often people say that with the raising of a family they do not have the time to meditate. What I would suggest is that raising your family becomes a meditation. Pay attention to cooking the meals, when your children are speaking, when you are reading them a bedtime story. Be fully present with them and you are meditating. Be aware of your actions and reactions and you are meditating. Be aware of your breathing and you are meditating. You can do it.

Explore the many ways you can meditate. From finding that still centre, explore journeying, guided meditation, trancework and so on, keeping coming back to the simpler forms and the still centre. It will be well worth it.

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The challenge of the ancestors…

I’ve had some hard teachers in my life. Teachers who challenged me on every level, whose words inspired me to look deep into my soul, my habits and behaviour, my relationship with the world. Accepting a challenge is a very difficult thing to do. We have to be willing to take on that challenge, otherwise when it seems that the challenge is thrown upon us we can react defensively, our barriers instantly put up, walls to surround ourselves with.
I give my utmost thanks to my teachers who have inspired and challenged me in every part of my life. Even when I did not agree with their words, I saw the intention behind them, to wake myself up and be in the world, aware of my story and the stories of others. To these ancestors of tradition, know that you are honoured.

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CONTEMPLATIVE DRUIDRY: PEOPLE PRACTICE AND POTENTIAL

Now available on Amazon, check out this lovely book – something to sink your teeth into! x

contemplativeinquiry's avatarContemplative Inquiry

Since last February I have been working with others on a book about contemplative Druidry. It has now been published and it is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in paperback and on Kindle.

‘Contemplative Druidry: People Practice and Potential’ was written to show that contemplative approaches are growing in modern Druidry, and to look at ways in which they might be fostered. Practices discussed include solo and group meditation, contemplation in natural settings and contemplative arts.

In my approach to this project, I decided to take a snapshot of contemplative Druidry in a particular place and time. The place is England, with a particular (though not exclusive) focus on a Druid contemplative group meeting in Gloucestershire. The time is March-July 2014, where 15 Druids responded to a questionnaire either through face-to-face interviews or in writing.

The questionnaire was designed to let respondents talk freely about their understanding of ‘contemplative Druidry’…

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Human-Centric Paganism

A great blog post here folks, that challenges the “traditional” with real engagement, making us think fully about what we say or do in ritual and in the rest of our lives in accordance with our Paganism.

corvusrouge's avatarA Corvids Viewpoint

Advisory:

The subject matter of this post, to some, will be challenging. It is not my intention to cause offence as such but I will be questioning some core aspects of some general Pagan frameworks. If your path is clearly defined for you and you are happy with that definition, it would probably be better to now move away from this post. Any comments directed to this site that adopt an antagonistic or personal attack will be deleted.

Ever since I embarked on this journey of what at this time, is self defined as Druidry, there have been aspects of general paganism and, indeed in some quarters, Druidry, that have created problems for me. These problems at this time, the summer solstice of 2014, now appear to be at the forefront of my thoughts and it’s time to address them.

Both myself and my partner have been recently getting involved…

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Breaking News!

TDN to join Inter Faith Network

On the 29th of September 2014, at the Annual General Meeting of The Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom (IFN UK), The Druid Network (TDN) was admitted to Membership.

IFN works to promote understanding, cooperation and good relations between organisations and persons of different faiths in the UK.

In April 2012, IFN refused the first application for membership of The Druid Network due to its current membership policy restricting membership to the ‘big’ nine faiths.  This refusal resulted in TDN becoming involved in dialogue with IFN, with a view to reviewing their membership policy to become both more inclusive and to remove any suggestion of discrimination against minority faiths.  Other interested parties also took up this challenge and this led to a meeting, hosted in the House of Lords, discussing religious freedom within the UK. This meeting was held in November 2012 and representatives of some twenty religions gathered in the House of Lords to raise their voices in defence of religious freedom.  The meeting was admirably led by the excellent Rev’d Peter Owen-Jones and TDN played a key role.  This event was recorded in pictures and is available at:  http://www.demotix.com/news/1636944/religions-come-together-house-lords#media-1636867  The eminent human rights lawyer, John Halford, from Bindmans LLP publicly issued a legal opinion for the event at the House of Lords in November.  http://religiousfreedom.org.uk/guidance.pdf

Following the House of Lords event TDN was invited, along with other interested parties, to provide input to the IFN Strategic Review, this review to include consideration of the membership criteria of IFN.  The Pagan Federation (PF) and TDN were further invited to a meeting with some representatives of IFN to provide information and clarity on their beliefs and practices.  The prior membership rejection was reported in an article by Ruth Gledhill of The Times newspaper in December 2012 available to subscribers at: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/faith/article3617192.ece (non subscribers can only view the first couple of paragraphs of the article).

The process of IFN’s Strategic Review, giving consideration to all the arguments placed before them, resulted in a revised membership policy that is more inclusive whilst still holding the right to determine membership.  In light of this change The Druid Network re-applied for membership under the new membership policy.On 29th September 2014 at the AGM of the Interfaith Network , the following new faith bodies from Minority Religions/New Religious Movements were admitted to membership of the Inter Faith Network:
• THE DRUID NETWORK
• THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF THE LATTER DAY SAINTS
• THE SPIRITUALISTS’ NATIONAL UNION
• THE PAGAN FEDERATION

In addition, Revd Prudence Jones of the Pagan Federation, was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Inter Faith Network – the first person outside the “nine mainstream faiths” to achieve this position.

This is an historic achievement on many levels, it is the fruition of the work of many people seeking to find resolution within conflict, those people coming from many diverse backgrounds, professions and faiths.  The Druid Network extends its appreciation and thanks to all who helped bring about this momentous change.

TDN to join Inter Faith Network

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Joy and hard graft in the autumn

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The hedges have finally all been trimmed, and the garden is winding down after a really long season. Hard work from March through to November, our garden gives us immense joy as well as hard graft. Though the space is used more for enjoyment and relaxation rather than for growing food, next year we will be turning our front garden into a vegetable garden (out back the terrain isn’t ideal, and it’s full on sun so we’d have to water every day, and even with three water barrels it wouldn’t be enough. The front garden has some shade in the morning, so watering in the evening will last longer and be more efficient). We have three apple trees, two of which are groaning under the weight of the fruit. I see even more work in the future, but it is well worth it.

Half of our garden is on a steep slope, so it’s really difficult to grow anything there.  We bought a load of old railway timbers a couple of years ago, and created tiers going down the slope to stop the soil erosion that was happening. Planting a lot of hardy bushes where before a few perennial and some annual flowers simply could not stop the soil from washing away after a rainfall, we’ve also been blessed with lots of newcomers to the gardens that we never previously had – new butterflies, loads of crickets, ladybirds – even a mole! The bottom of the garden is delineated by a hedge, where muntjac and even fallow deer come through to have a drink from our pond and nibble on various things. It’s an organic garden as we wouldn’t have it any other way, so weeding is a constant chore, but it has encouraged so much wildlife that it only supports our decision to keep it pesticide free.

Working the land, even if only in a landscaping as opposed to a food producing endeavour, really puts me in touch with the ancestors. Not only my blood ancestors, such as my father and maternal grandfather who were landscapers by trade, but also the ancestors of place. Our house deeds go waaaay back, and we have framed in our hallway one of the grandest deeds, written in the time of George III, when the land went up for auction. Included in the details of the land were “hovels” where our house was situated, where obviously the poorer people in the village lived. I have no idea what happened to these people after the land was sold, whether they remained here or not, but I can feel their spirit still in the songs of the land. There also used to be an old apple orchard on this land, and the songs of apples and autumn are still heard on the cool breezes and lazy golden sunshine at this time of year. Though I may not work the land in the same way as the ancestors did, at least I can feel this connection with them through my sweat falling on the soil, my in breath and out breath mingling with the old ash trees that are hundreds of years old. The smell of dirt on your hands after gardening. Bit of tree and hedge in your hair. Sandy soil in your boots.

There is so much life in my garden. Roaming neighbourhood cats, owls, pigeons, mice, beetles, bats, spiders, swallows. Every day it changes, and something is different. At this time of year, when the sun sets ever further south on the horizon, I sit outside and watch as it jumps over the landscape, the days getting shorter and shorter much quicker. The light is always different, casting new shadows across the lawn, creating new shapes and colours. The smell of woodsmoke is on the wind, and the decaying leaves from the beech tree mingle with the tingly scent of freshly trimmed leylande. Life and death are all rolled into one beautiful cycle in my little haven, my little sanctuary.

My garden is pure awen.

Blessings of autumn to you all.

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Blessings of the Autumn Equinox!

Many blessings to you as we tumble into the darkness. May you find your roots and take comfort in the coming winter, resting in the twilight and preparing to dream. May your harvests be fruitful, and may you let go of all that is unecessary.  Joy and happiness to you all, swishing in the dry leaves and smelling woodsmoke on the wind! xoxo