life

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Reblog: Dedication, Devotion and Duty

This is a reblog from my channel at Moon Books:

Spring has sprung, and everything, myself included, seems to be go going throttle.  My garden is awash in a sea of yellow daffodils and forsythia, contrasted by the purples and pinks of grape hyacinths, hellebore and crocuses.  The birds are singing their heart out, the owls are very active at night and the air is tingling with the anticipation of warm summer days to come.

And yet I must remind myself to slow down, to savour the moment, to remember my intention for this year; to take a step back and focus on studying, learning and personal development.  Speaking engagements and workshops are kept to a minimum, and I’ve learned to say “no” in order to keep to my resolution.  My third book for Moon Books, a guide for solitary Druid, is in its proofing stages, and after that is done I shall be able to work on a long neglected fourth project; a pagan fiction centred around Avalon.  My focus is set, my path is determined.

As I walked a turf labyrinth with three lovely sister souls before the spring equinox this year, three words kept thrumming through my veins and in my head as I made my way to the centre.  Dedication. Devotion. Duty.  I felt them vibrate in my very soul, the words reminding me of what it means to be a Druid, even when you’re a Druid that’s taking a year off from ceremonial work and other engagements.

These three things are central to my personal Druidry.  Without them, I cannot rightly call myself a Druid.

Dedication – this word has so many slightly varying meanings and applications.  I am dedicated to my gods, to my path, to the land where I live, to my family and to my community.  The word, dedicate comes from the latin dedicare – to declare, to devote, to indicate and consecrate.  I declare to all my spiritual path in the usage of the word Druid.  I indicate my intentions to follow that path through my words and, more importantly, my actions.  The world to me is consecrate – there is no unsacred place. Through how I live my life; I demonstrate my dedication to being a Druid.  Everything that I do reflects my Druid worldview.  I am utterly dedicated to this life path, feeling it stir my passion and fill me with awen.

In our society today, dedication can seem a bit off-putting.  If someone is dedicated to a cause, they may sometimes appear a bit too outside of the status quo.  It can have connotations of fanaticism (another word that’s meaning has changed since its original latin origin).  If I tell someone that I am dedicated to my gods, whether they are pagan or not, I can get some pretty odd looks. A lot of people may think that when I say this, I am giving over my entire life to another.  This is not the case – this is using the inspiration from the gods, from the land, from the land, sea and sky to guide me to living a harmonious, more holistic life utterly attuned with nature.  If I gave my life over to my gods I would not be able to function.  I have free will. I am dedicated to them and their teachings through the natural cycles, but dedication does not equal submission…

Read the full article HERE

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Never stop learning…

Never stop learning.  That should not only be a Druid mantra, but one for the entire human species!

I’ve taken this year off to really dive deep into new studies, experiences and finding a very deep Druidry within my soul.  So far it’s been exceptional – I have learned so many things about myself, about how my brain and body works, how I interact with others and how I take inspiration from the natural world around me.

I’ve always been an avid student of life.  I’ve always loved being a student – whether it was elementary or high school, college or university.  I’ve always had a hunger to learn more about the way life works, about philosophy, history, biology and ecology.  That enthusiasm has never faded, and I should hope with all my heart it never does.

Too often we can become complacent in our lives, thinking that we know all that we need to know for however long a time until the awen hits us in the face and we wake up, wanting to quest deeper, to learn more, to snack on those little hazelnuts of wisdom like the salmon in the sacred well.  For a while I was content that I had learned enough about Druidry, about Paganism – I now see how foolishly wrong I was.  There is always something more to learn, something new to experience. When we stop learning, we stop growing, both mentally and spiritually.  We have such capacity within our brains to ever expand our horizons, but the safe and comfortable instinct can easily override that desire to broaden the boundaries.

At this point in my life, when I will be turning 40 this August, I realise just how little I know about anything.  I also know that I will never know everything about anything at all.  What I do know is that I will never stop learning, never stop freeing my mind so that my ass will follow.  It always leads to wondrous new places filled with the wisdom that can only be gained by combining experience with learning.

I am devouring books and exploring the Celtic heritage of the land where I live, in East Anglia, UK.  Often overshadowed in my particular region by the Saxon ship burial and village kingdom near Sutton Hoo, historically there isn’t all that much available about the Celtic Trinovantes that lived in my area (the much more popular Iceni tend to overshadow them). I’m learning more about their stories, from academic research to spending hours listening to the land and the stories gleaned from the wind.

I’ve also spent the winter really looking at my self, the reasons why I have done things in the past, my motives and intentions for the future. It has been a real eye-opening experience, visiting all those dark and light places in the soul, seeing what works in harmony and what doesn’t. Exploring the nature of Truth, looking at how I can live the truest expression of my soul, fitting in not only with my true nature but the entirety of the natural world around me.  Re-reading Graeme K Talboys’ Way of the Druid lead to weeks and weeks of reflection on what the nature of Truth is to the Druid – I heartily recommend that book to anyone interested in the Druid path.  I’m sure there is a future blog post on it when I have managed to put down all that I have gleaned into words…

Taking time out for your self, for your studies and for your spiritual path can be the best thing you have ever done.  It shakes off the comfortable shackles of complacency and breathes pure awen deep into your soul.  It awakens you to life, and that is a gift in itself.

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What does it mean to be a Druid today?

acornWhat does it mean to be a Druid in this modern day and age?

Being a Druid today does not mean trying to live in the same manner as our Celtic ancestors did in this land. We simply couldn’t – with our technology and changed world, our religion or spirituality must change. We can still follow the intention of our ancestors of blood, of the land or of tradition.  We can honour the land upon which we live, work to live in tune with the natural cycles of life, and live a life that is filled with honour, integrity and truth.  These latter three haven’t changed much over the course of millennia; they are still pretty much the same as they always were. Honour is living with great respect for yourself and for the world, for living a life filled with integrity and truth. Integrity is having the will to stand for what you believe in, even through the darkest nights of the soul.  It is standing strong though buffeted by high winds; it is living your soul truth.  Truth is living in accordance to the natural principle of life; it is finding your place in life and not working out of the bounds that our own bodies and souls are bound to in this life.  It is living in accordance with the natural world.

The Druids of old lived their religion – it wasn’t just a matter for the weekend, or eight times a year during the festivals.  Today we too can truly live our religion, allowing it to imbue our spirit with the inspiration to live a life that is wholly integrated between the spiritual and the mundane – in fact, the Druid would say that there is no separation, whether she be a Druid from the Iron Age or a Druid today. It is living in service, giving back for that which sustains us. We may not have the status of the Druids of old, which could be of benefit or detriment – power can corrupt, even as it can make the world a better place. Druids today show their power in their service and devotion to the natural world – from being a judge in the law courts to an RSPCA animal rescuer.  Our love of nature, whether bestowed by ancient or modern Druids, guides our way of life and our worldview.

The Druids of old were of the Celtic peoples – yet today one can be called a Druid without any Celtic ancestry.  Within Druidry, we honour the ancestors in a triad – ancestors of blood, of land and of tradition.  Where we may lack in one, we may find inspiration and guidance from the other two.  As far as I am aware, I have no Celtic ancestry in my recent heritage, however living in Britain and following teachers on the Druid path fill out two sides of the triad, providing me with balance.  I learn from studying what the Celtic worldview was like, from politics and culture, art and history, archaeology and more.  This fills in the last gap, which, all things considered, even those people who can claim Celtic descent should fully investigate. For those of Celtic descent living in other places of the world, their blood and tradition help to balance out their work with the spirits of a new land, and so on.

I do not try to reconstruct what the ancients did – that would not make sense in the modern world.  I understand things that the ancestors did not about nature – equally they understood things that I never could.  I use my knowledge, which is ever growing, to help me adapt my religion to better harmonise and be in balance with the world.  I use the Celtic worldview, as stated above, to guide me to live in accordance with the time and space of the here and now.

Druidry is all about relationship, whether ancient or modern.  While the ancient Druids may have tried to placate the gods with offerings or sacrifice, modern Druids may appear to do the same, but not for quite the same reasons.  We can never truly know the reasons why the ancients did what they did, as they did not write it down.  However, today we may offer daily gifts of thanks to the spirits of place in order to establish a relationship with them, to better understand and to show our gratitude. In relationship there is give and take – we seek the balance in all things.  We may howl at the wind in an attempt to understand why we are standing in the rain, soaked to our underwear, and receive the most blessed inspiration in doing so. We may just get wet.

Ancient Druids were the educated class, from what we can gather from the historical accounts by others about Druidry.  Today, Druids seek to sacrifice ignorance and to learn all that we can about our place in the world.  A Druid might be inspired to heal with herbs, and learn all that he can about that path. Another might be a poet or author, and use words to convey the awen bestowed by the gods, the ancestors and the land. Yet another might be a park ranger, working to protect wildlife – the possibilities are endless.  What links them all is in the continuous learning – we can never know everything about anything.  Druids are constantly learning. Even teachers and priests in the community are always learning, and never afraid to do so, for to do otherwise is simply allowing pride and passivity to come in the way of our relationship with the world.

It goes without saying that all Druids have a love and affinity with nature.  This love guides us in all that we do; it is our inspiration, our awen.  To be a Druid today is to live in accordance with nature, honouring nature in all that we do, with dedication and devotion, in service to the land, our gods and the community. In that, it is not so different from what we believe the ancients did!

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Spring Cleaning for the Soul

Spring – it certainly has sprung here in the UK!  The tulips and daffodils are out, the sun is shining (at least where I live on the east coast) and the earth is warm to the touch.  The birds have changed their song to ones of sunlight and warmth, of nesting and mating, of the months ahead and the lengthening days.  The foxes are creating an almighty ruckus at night, and the lizards are coming out to bask in the sun.

It’s time for spring-cleaning in my home – really cleaning the house from top to bottom, doing the floors and dusting the blinds, washing the windows and cleaning every nook, cranny and crevice. It’s amazing how great the house feels after a good cleaning. Every autumn and every spring I do a Big Clean, getting ready for the months ahead.  I feel I am overdue for my spring cleaning.

The chores of housework can seem daunting to some, boring or tedious to others.  To me they are a delight.  Really, I hear you say? Really?

Yeup.

I used to hate housework as a child – we had our daily chores of trying (and in my case failing) to keep our rooms and closets in order. We also had our chores every Saturday when my Mom got the house clean – I cleaned the bathroom, my sister dusted the living room and my parent’s room, my brother tidied the boot rack (to this day, I believe he got off too easily…) while my Mom did laundry and cleaned the kitchen. Dad was usually outside doing gardening in the summer or gone to work in the winter. Every Saturday morning, I dreaded the drudgery of chores when I’d rather be watching cartoons, reading or playing outside.

As such, my room and closet were always a mess, and I may not have done as good a job as I could have in the bathroom.  It’s funny how much a person can change though. I hate living in a messy place these days. I find that it depresses me, makes me sluggish and feeling just plain lazy.  When the house is clean, the dishes are done and the floors swept there is a different energy in the house. It smells clean. It feels clean. The energy seems to move easier, flowing with ease where it might otherwise become stuck on a stack on dirty plates, or picking up bits of cat fur from the “dustbunnies” on the floor (oh Spring, for anyone with a pet – you know what I mean in the shedding season!).

Doing the work is just as rewarding as having the clean house at the end. It can be enjoyable.  I can stop thinking about all my other jobs that are waiting – the essay due, the proofs of the next book, getting my dance class organised, arranging diary dates, thinking about upcoming workshops, retreats and speaking engagements.  I can simply focus on the task and let my mind rest while my body works. It’s marvellous.

Really taking time and care can also help you to get back in touch with your home.  Really picking up each item you dust, looking at it, feeling the surface that it sits on.  Feeling the dishes and warm water on your hands in the sink- washing dishes is lovely in the winter, when my hands are so often cold. It’s so nice to sink them into warm water and let them do their work.

I love housework. I love laundry. I love dishes. I love cleaning the toilet. I love dusting. I never, ever thought I would say that.

Now, I must turn that way of thinking towards all the chores – I mean delights, waiting in my garden!

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Reblog: Welcoming the Light at the Spring Equinox

This is a reblog from my Druid Heart, at SageWoman’s channel on http://www.witchesandpagans.com:

The sun rises ever earlier, the days becoming longer. Soon the balance will tip, when the night gives way to the lengthening days. The spring equinox falls on March 20th this year, and after a very wet winter I am very much looking forward to it.

Watching the sun rise and set every day, honouring it with a short prayer and ritual gesture, I can attune myself to the cycles of the sun, of growing life and nourishing decay.  I honour the cycles of the moon, with ritual and spontaneous prayer upon seeing Her face.  Feeling these rhythms deep in my blood and bones, I also feel the shift as the equinox approaches. Similar to the autumn equinox,  I feel like we are on the edge of a knife, ready to be tipped over into a new cycle.

Unlike the autumn equinox, where all seems hushed, teetering on the precipice with dignity and solemnity, the spring equinox is filled with the songs of birds urging us to simply open our wings and fly into the great unknown.  Yet we must take that reaching towards the light as seriously as we take the descent into darkness, otherwise we could get burned. We must protect what we sow in the spring for it to reach fruition in the autumn…

To continue reading, please click HERE to see the full post. x

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Everyday Spirituality

How can we incorporate more spirituality into our everyday lives? By truly living our religion, our spirituality, our calling.

A religion or spirituality cannot be read about, or simply thought about – it must be experienced. Like life, it is in the doing that counts.  Yes, we must think – carefully and deeply, about what we do as human beings. We must also act upon that thinking with full awareness, otherwise the opportunity to really live slips us by.

There are so many ways we can bring more awareness and more spirituality into our daily routines.  For instance, a prayer upon awakening is a brilliant way to start the day. Whether you believe in the gods, or spirits of place, the ancestors or nature itself or all of the above is a matter for your own path.  But coming to an awareness of them physically, emotionally – through living your meditations can make all the difference.  Saying a prayer, either aloud or in your head first thing in the morning can put you in the right frame of mind to be mindfully spiritual for the rest of the day.  You can pray in all kinds of ways – prayers of thanks for a new day, prayers of peace and love, prayers of love for those in need.  It matters not what type of prayer; what matters most is that it is done, in a way that best suits you to get into a spiritual frame of mind.

When we then get up and perform our ablutions, we are already aware of the sanctity of life.  We can say a prayer of thanks to the goddess of the waters, the local water source, to the oceans of the world as we run the tap to wash our face.  We create an awareness of the sanctity of water.

When we make our breakfast, or pour a cup of tea, we give thanks to gods, the spirits, to the earth for her abundance.  We take time to acknowledge where our food and drink comes from, and in that acknowledgement continue in a sacred manner.  We are establishing a strong relationship with the world around us by doing so.  A prayer that I like to use before I eat is simple:

“I give my thanks for the food I am about to eat. To the spirits of land, sea and sky, know that you are honoured”. 

I not only say the words, but honour the lands that the food and drink came from, the blessings of sunshine and rain, the people who worked to bring it food to my table.  Seeing the bigger picture allows me to truly be grateful for all that I have.

I can say a prayer or chant a charm when I am about to drive my car somewhere. Equally, I can say a prayer of thanks for hearing the blackbird’s song of Spring, or upon seeing the sunshine after months of rain.  Seeing the moon, or a particular constellation in the sky evokes spontaneous prayers within me, said either aloud or in my mind.  Prayers to the rising and setting sun, to the rising and setting moon are said, as well as prayers before bed. Even getting into the bathtub can become spiritual, with an honouring of clean, hot water, or a pentagram or symbol of awen drawn on the water’s surface to acknowledge the sacredness. Gardening, working with others, before or after meditation – these are all good times for a quick prayer as well.

Certain times of day might be better for those who like a stricter routine. A set time in the morning, noon, afternoon and evening might be more suitable for those who can follow a tighter regime. It is all about personal choice.

It is not only prayer, but short rituals we can use – a bow to the sun or moon, the lighting of a candle upon awakening, offering of incense or food at the end of each day.  Taking the time is what is most important – taking the time to connect with the spiritual world around you. We are never alone; we cannot be separate. We all live together on this planet side by side. Seeing this connection is pure awen.

Create songs for the sunrise, or write new chants for the full moon.  Sing something improvisational when you see the first blackthorn in flower, or raise your arms to honour the sun dog’s myriad colours in the sky.  The secular world may try to make us feel silly about doing so – but just try it. You may just find that your soul opens in response.

For more ideas on how to incorporate spirituality and devotion in your everyday life, I am holding a retreat weekend in the sacred Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury from 11 – 13 April.  This weekend, entitled The Little Pagan Monastery, will be a weekend filled with prayer, devotion and ritual, visits to sacred sites, as well as discussion, meditation, and personal time to incorporate ideas into your life.  For more information, see the Retreat Weekends on this site.

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Elen – The Wild Spirit

This is a reblog from my channel at SageWoman. Photo credit: Keeper of the Forest, by Rania Maria

elen1

She is with me – I can feel Her as soon as I step out the door.  She calls to me, she pulls me further away from the houses of humanity, deeper into the wilds; the windswept heath, the dark forest, the bright birch glades.  I smile and answer her call with a song in my heart, my footsteps getting lighter and lighter as I head out to meet Her. I walk taller, with more grace, my body flowing and moving without the restrictions that are usually placed upon it.  I feel an almost eldritch tingling in my blood – the awen is awakened.

My sense of self fades away, sloughing off in evanescent shades flowing behind me to melt into nothingness.  I blend in with my surroundings – wearing faded greens and browns but also my personal space, my nemeton, dissolving into the land around me. This dissolution, this immersion in the landscape brings me closer to Her.

Each step is a sacred prayer.  Gentle, aware, heel rolling to toe, I feel the earth beneath my feet.  This land is holy ground.  The air is sweet, tinged with scents of Spring and I see it reflected in the budding narcissus, the already blooming crocus.  The birds have changed their songs to those that speak of warmth and sunshine, soft rains and the greening.

My joy in Her flows out of me and back inwards in an endless cycle.  That joy is a quiet joy – there is no need to shout, no need for a fuss.  It is pure, it is simple. It is utter awareness of the present moment, and the present moment is all that there is.

I look into the shadows beneath a stand of low pines, and there they are – her children.  A small herd, of about a dozen, lie beneath the darkened canopy where no footpaths lie.  Here they can rest undisturbed.  I greet them ever so softly with my mind – I do not enter into myself to do this – it is merely an honouring and acknowledgement of their beauty without breaking the immersion in the present moment.

I continue on, blessed by the gift of seeing her children.  I know that I will see more.  I know too that I am of Her, related to Her, to her children.  She is within me and I am within her. The deer are within me and I am within them.  I only have to open my awareness to this to see the brilliance of this blessed gift. So simple, so easy.

The sunlight is warm upon my skin, the breeze is cool, playing with my hair and scarves, making them dance in the wind.  I come to a very special place, and there they are – a herd seventy strong.  They see me and wait – I wait also, allowing them the first move.  The leaders are then startled by something, and they run across the open grassland from forest cover to the cover of brush, all in a line, along a sacred trackway that they have made over hundreds of years.  This is Her trackway, and I watch with soaring spirit as they follow the flow of spirit across the heath.

I go to the birch trees to offer my greetings and leave a gift – a brilliant white egg-shaped stone I found amongst the heather.  I then make my way back across the heath, coming across the trackway that cuts the green sward in half.  I can still feel their energy – their silent, swift energy running towards the pine trees and dried bracken.  As I cross that line, I feel it moving through me, and I swirl it through my soul before letting it run free again along the deer path.  I am filled with golden light.

I can feel Her eyes upon me, watching from the forest edge.  Her antlered head is thrown back with laughter, Her green eyes dancing even as my soul dances.  Silently she shares in my joy and I in Hers, and then she disappears.

I make my way back towards home – there are a couple of deer hidden among the brush near to one of the paths I wish to take. I do not want to startle them – I choose another path.  Moving along the forest edge I look up, and see the large herd again, this time ghosting through the trees, running silently and swiftly between the beech trunks, flashes of light and darkness.  I bend down where I stand and bring my hands to the rich mossy ground.  Looking down, my pale skin shines silver-white in the light against the vibrant green of the soft carpet, as if moonlight, not sunlight shone upon them.  I close my eyes and breathe deep into the earth, giving of myself to Her.

Making my way homewards, I am always loathe to leave Her sacred ground.  She is always within my heart, and always within my spirit – a sense of wildness, of laughter and play, of wariness and strength.  She is muted when indoors, but She is there, deep within my soul even as I greet my Lady of Sanctuary upon entering the home. She smiles and reaches out to her Sister, Nemetona, the Lady of the Sacred Grove.

She is Elen, the wild goddess.  I honour Her with all that I am.

To find out more about my writing, please visit my author page at Amazon, where you will details on my books such as The Book of Hedge Druidry as well as The Path of the Hedge Witch. 

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The Present Moment

mudraThe present moment – it is a gift, and that is why they called it the ‘present’.

This quote is true on so many levels.  When we are awake, when we are aware to the present moment, we can see it for the very real blessing that it is. For the majority of people who aren’t living in fear through war or famine, who aren’t suffering from chronic pain or disease – simply being in the present moment is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves. Being aware of the present moment, even when faced with such conditions, may help to alleviate suffering.

When we wake up in the morning, we can become fully aware of that moment upon waking. We can lie in bed, feeling our selves in our bodies, listening to any sounds around us. We can do a mental body scan, to see how we feel, if there is any pain or stiffness, any tightness held through residual stress. We can consciously work to try and let that go, in order to start the day right.

We get up, we go to the bathroom.  We can do this with full awareness. When brushing our teeth, we hear the water flowing through the tap, we give thanks that we have clean water at our disposal when so many others do not.  We brush our teeth while concentrating on the simple task of brushing our teeth. So often our minds are already in a meeting at work, that when we brush our teeth, the whole meeting is there brushing our teeth with us!

Concentrating on one task at a time not only does a better job at the task itself, but can also help us to overcome areas in our lives when we are not at the best we can be – say, due to stress perhaps, or depression. If we focus on one task at a time, taking it and really being in each moment, we do not have the opportunity to be stressed, for to be stressed we need to be thinking ahead.  We alleviate our own suffering by being fully aware – in the case of depression, we may not see an end to the suffering, which brings it about in a continuous cycle. By being in the moment, we are not looking forwards or backwards, inwards our outwards – we are simply being.

By being, we are not mindless zombies – we are, in fact, more fully aware than most people by using concentration and focus in order to move about our daily existence.  We will make less mistakes, we will be less clumsy. We will brush our teeth so much better. We will be mindful of each step we take, and so we will trip less, stumble less, walking in total awareness to wherever it is that we need to go.

We eat our breakfast mindfully, thankful for having food to eat. We close the door to our houses, thankful  that we have a home, a sanctuary from the elements in which to live.  We drive our cars mindfully, thankful that we have such luxurious modes of transportation. We work, thankful that we have a job to provide us with the means for food and shelter, as well as the opportunity to work with others, be creative, make the world a better place – whatever it is that your job entails. We do our work with full attention, whether it is sweeping a floor or updating a database. We are mindful of our posture during the work, of our breathing – we take moments to simply be, to assess our bodies and our minds.

Try doing this for an hour or so a day, then a full morning.  Try to maintain awareness for as long as the sun is shining, or the rain is raining.  Become more aware not only of yourself but of your environment. By doing so, you will find that life may flow more easily and that you see where you can fit in more harmoniously.  Your actions will become more graceful, your movements filled with awareness and intention. Let your thoughts follow your body, flowing gracefully and with intention instead of running rampant through the mind.

Notice how this makes you feel – and if it feels good, keep doing it! May you all be gifted with the present.

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Sanctuary, Compassion and Freedom

We all need a little sanctuary in our lives. A place where we can let down our walls, let the barriers fall and simply be ourselves, wrapped in the security and safety of knowing that we are held.  My patron goddess, Nemetona, provides me with many opportunities to savour this precious moment, and to help create it for others.  She is the Lady of Holding, of Sacred Space, of Sanctuary.

Often when we meet others, especially human beings, our walls shoot up if they haven’t already been erected, and we are on the defensive.  We regard others warily, perhaps even as enemies; guilty until proven innocent.  A certain wariness around strangers makes sense – it’s an innate human instinct that we also see reflected elsewhere in the animal kingdom.  It is a form of self-preservation.  However, what I would posit is that we become so used to keeping those walls up, that we barricade ourselves inside our selves, unable to see the bigger picture, unable to truly experience compassion.

I am not saying that we should allow others to do as they will to us – wilfully harming another person in any way is completely wrong.  So often when I speak of compassion, people think it is an open invitation to be trod upon, to be used and abused by those who would seek to take advantage of us.  Instead, I try to explain the ideas of compassion, and also of engaged Buddhism – simply put, compassion is about trying to understand, to see around our own sense of self into the bigger picture. Engaged Buddhism is being active in a world to stop suffering, to speak up against violence and injustice and work to spread love and compassion.

My Lady Nemetona helps me with this.  By coming into her sacred embrace, I find that I remember what it is like to be open, to be held, to be free in utter sanctuary.  Thus inspired, I try to find ways to bring that inspiration out into the wider world, making it a better place.  When we are held, when we are free to be our true selves, we also provide the opportunity for awen, for inspiration, to fill our souls with joy and wonder at the simplicity of simply being.  We can then become a conduit for this energy, bringing about positive change in the world, even in the midst of suffering.

Working with Nemetona, we become aware of our boundaries, when we erect them and when we let them dissolve. We also see how we involuntarily create barriers, whether it is in our energetic fields, our communication, or our perception.  Through meditation and work with this particular goddess, I have found a way of both strengthening my inner sanctuary, thereby being able to let down those walls and openly experience situations with complete awareness.  In this, intention is key.

By being open, I am also being receptive to input that might otherwise pass me by through my own ego-centric mindlessness.  By working with sanctuary, I can see where I have lapsed and allowed others to abuse my trust, and where I will never allow that to happen again.  By being aware of how, why and who we engage with, and with what intention, we can change how we react to situation, acting with intention instead of a more reactionary type of living.  By becoming engaged with my boundaries, I am aware of when I need to strengthen or release them as appropriate.

It’s been a tough ride, sometimes, working with this goddess and with compassion.  It has shown me where I have failed so many times in the past.  Understanding and awareness of those failures, however, is not there to deter me; they are there to remind me, lessons learned and opportunities for further growth.  The key to working with boundaries and compassion, and indeed Nemetona Herself, lies in awareness – of the self, of others and of the world at large.  It’s not an easy path, but one well worth walking. It can lead us down the shadowy paths in the long dark night of the soul, but we can emerge into the light of the sacred forest grove, whether it be dappled sunlight, pale moonlight or starshine.  In that emergence lies our true nature, inspired by nature and surrounded by our natural sanctuary.

In that emergence lies our freedom.

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Slow Down…

teaSlow down.

This little phrase may not only save your life, but can continue to make your life a lot easier.  I’ve been slowing down a lot this year, saying “no” to many things, acknowledging that there is already enough on my plate.  I’m taking time to simply be, to be in the moment, to stop the running around and to well and truly live.

Slowing down, physically, (and mentally, as a result – thoughts eventually stop racing around in your mind when your body slows down) can bring new joys in an otherwise missed-out world.  Eat your breakfast mindfully, slowly. Drink your tea mindfully, slowly.  Drive your car mindfully, slowly.  Just try these three things for the first week and you will notice a distinct improvement in how you feel. It’s amazing how changing small habits can have such a grand effect.

Eating and drinking too quickly, unaware of your food, can lead to stomach upsets, food waste, and over-eating just to name a few things.  Driving too quickly can result in loss of control of your car, and ultimately your life or the life of another.  Taking the time to really be in the moment of these “little” things, these everyday things, can bring a new awareness and gratitude for the small pleasures in life.

Feel the consistency of your breakfast banana, really smell it, touch it, run your fingers over it before you even peel it and begin eating.  Be thankful that you have that banana to eat. Savour each mouthful, chewing slowly, swallowing purposefully – it may sound silly, but just try it.  Drink your tea in beautiful china cups, taking the time to brew it carefully in a teapot, aware of every movement of your body as you do so.  Pour the tea with full awareness.  Raise the cup, feel the smooth porcelain on your lips just before the warm liquid dances on your tongue.  Be thankful that you have tea.  Touch your car before getting into it.  Sit down gracefully, feeling your body in the seat.  Start the engine mindfully, and drive with total awareness of the steering wheel beneath your hands, the road beneath the tires.  Be thankful that you have a car.

By slowing down you will may find yourself less stressed when you get to work, or when you arrive back home from work.  We are not meant to live under the constant stress that our everyday lives present us when we live un-mindfully.  By taking a few moments to slow down, to become aware of where we are and what we are doing, we can help heal and restore the balance in our lives.