Revolution of the Spirit

I recently drove down to o local country park, parked up and strolled down to my favourite spot – it’s a beautiful place in a wood near a stream where I often walk to ‘get in touch’ with nature and re-energise. It was a bright clear day and there is a bench where you can rest so the idea came to me to sit and meditate for a while enjoying the energies of the trees and losing myself in the rhythm of the stream.

No sooner had I started than a couple in their 50’s appeared walking their dog – greetings were exchanged, the dog was patted and they went on their way glancing back a few times as they went. A slight smile came to my face as I sensed they were wondering what I was doing sat alone on the bench.

I drifted once again and was happily soaking up the atmosphere when I became aware of another man approaching with his faithful hound in tow. The dog scampered over to me and I again greeted it with a pat on the head “Good afternoon” I said as the man caught up “Good afternoon” he mirrored in reply stopping for a moment as his dog sniffed around. I was aware that he too was wondering why someone was sat alone so I broke the silence in true English style “Nice day” said I, “It’s OK” said he, “Lovely spot” I pressed on, “Yeah, it’s alright” replied the man.

A few more moments passed until his curiosity got the better of him “Are you alright?” he enquired, “Yes, I’m fine thank you – I’m enjoying the peace and beauty – it’s a wonderful day and I love this place” I replied with a smile. “Uh, OK” said the man obviously disappointed that I didn’t have a tale of desperation to impart. “Enjoy your walk” said I, “You too” said he and shuffled on his way. I returned to my meditation with a much bigger smile and once finished strolled back to my car and headed home.

This tale demonstrates to me the human instinct to look for the worst in a situation – these people obviously saw torment where I felt peace and escape where I felt connection. Has the Human Race become so distanced from the beauty of enjoying the moment that they find weirdness where there is understanding? Is this simply the English way of seeing things, and if so, why have we become so distanced from our past?

The British Isles was once known as an Isle of Magic – the land of the faeries. These days the ‘strange’ folk can only be found running stalls in reclaimed mills or huddled together in Civic Centres at weekend ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ fairs surrounded by Reiki beds. The subjects once prized as the knowledge and wisdom of the Mystics is now the fuel of an underground circuit of Pagan Moots, talks and presentations held in the back rooms of pubs or above shops selling crystals and incense holders.

Now don’t get me wrong here as I love nothing more than to attend a good Moot or presentation – these are the lifeblood of the Spiritual Community. The owners of the ‘alternative’ stalls and shops are the foundation of the Art – those that have answered their true calling to provide outposts of sanity in a topsy-turvy soul-less world. Next time you pass one – drop in and say hello – I guarantee they will all have a sparkle in their eyes and a wealth of magical stories to share.

But why is it that this Community is so splintered and isolated – where is the hub of these wonderful and vibrant people? The UK media frequently raise the issue of Britain ‘losing its identity’ but its plainly there for all to see, feel and experience – the Magic of the British Isles is still surging through its veins – if only more people would live in the moment and reach out and feel it.

We have reached the corona of an Evolution of Spirit and a mass awakening has begun. Many are searching for something lacking in their lives and those of us that have been activated in advance have a responsibility to pave the way. We have been primed to act as guides and teachers to signpost the way to the New Assembly. The Community of Light in the UK needs a kick up the arse – and I know that by joining together and coming out of the shadows we really can do it.

Anchor yourself in the Past – Live in the present – have Hope in the future.

Damian

Invoke the magic in others

On the issue of children I found the articles on DruidJournal.net particularly insightful but was especially moved by the following paragraph taken from that site

'Children seem to be born with an innate reverence for nature, which fits right in with pagan belief. They fill their pockets with acorns, oddly shaped rocks, bits of fluff and feathers, and young blossoms ­ they can feel the raw magic sparking off such things. They can easily sense the quiet awe of a forest, and they are most at ease when surrounded by natural materials ­ cotton and wool clothing, wooden toys, silk drapes.'

I have two stories I’d like to share with you that demonstrates Jeff’s points perfectly.

Story One - The wizard

Last Saturday I packed the kids in the car and took them to 'Alderley Edge' (http://www.alderleyedge.org/ if you have a spare minute or two) and spent a good 4 hours walking around showing them the places of interest and telling them the stories of the Wizard, the Goldstone and the Druids. While walking around they were indeed touching, feeling, picking things up and generally communing with nature.

One of the sites has a well in the side of a rock face called the Wizards Well and if you look above it, carved in the rock, there is a face with the words "Drink of this and take thy fill for the water falls by the Wizard's Will". My 5 year old son Ethan (I chose his name as I always wear an Ankh the Egyptian symbol of life, and Ethan means life) was particularly taken with this with lots of questions as to whether the Wizard could become real or not.

I told him, in good Peter Pan style, that if he believed in him then he would always be real. This only encouraged further questioning as to when, where and how the Wizard changed form. These I tried to answer in a way that I would not spoil the enchantment and dispel the magic.

The best bit was when we got back to the car and Ethan said to me 'Dad, if you see the wizard will you say hello', I replied ' If you liked it here maybe you'll see him next time we come'. This produced a big smile and he can't stop talking about Wizards now. On the way home he said 'Thank you Dad, I've had a good day today'.

Story Two - The Animals in the Wood

The other story that links in with what Jeff wrote in his article relates to a day earlier this week when I decided that I would finish work early as it was a crisp, bright, and cheery day. This I did and I went and picked up my 2 year old son, Mason, from nursery so we could share some quality time together.

The two of us we went and fed the ducks and then went for a walk in the local woods. Just a short way into the woods there is a bench in a clearing near to a stream and we both sat there just enjoying the day and basking in each others company when I decided to ask him what he could see.

In response to this he lit up, and then went on for some time in his limited vocabulary to point out elephants hiding behind trees, monkeys swinging from the branches and tigers prowling 'over there' as he put it.

He carried this on for some time and then leaned over and leaned his head on me. I hugged him back, told him 'I loved him' and then we walked back to the car hand in hand.

Another two wonderful days and another two magical memories. I’ll never be able to pass either of those places again without being reminded of those special moments and those sparks of inspiration, imagination and enchantment I brought into mine, and in turn my children’s lives.

This has set me on a journey to fill their lives and my memories with many shared moments such as these and I hope that by reading this it will inspire you to do the same.

Take care and invoke the magic.

Damian

Why I blog? – The Bard in me is tapping into the Awen

Slade from ‘Shift your Spirits’ has ‘tagged’ me with this question and I’ll try my best to answer. If you’ve never visited his site you should go there straight away as him and Jeff Lilly at DruidJournal.net (another must read) are my inspirations to use this medium and the rewards so far have been great.

I’m honoured to be the next in line as the three previous authors are excellent examples as online authors and I’m sure that you’ll find much of interest at all three – just follow the links on my Blogroll. Shift your Spirits, Druid Journal and Adams Peace.

This has also come at a very good time for me as this is my tenth post, and the realisation of a personal target. A few days ago I didn’t know I had this much inside me trying to get out but I’m now seeing that I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface.

To answer the question.

A Bard in ancient Celtic society was the first of three stages in becoming a Druid, but they were highly regarded within their own right and never seen as inferior to the Vates and Druids.

The primary objective of the Bard was to inspire creativity in themselves and others, they believed that through this creativity they could awaken spiritual abilities and access other realities through the power of ‘the Word’ – story telling, poetry, song, and retaining the genealogy of the ancestors.

The word whether it is spoken or written is a strong force and can produce an energy all of its own. You have experienced this power yourself many times through insults, praise, a good book or an inspired piece of poetry, love letters, hate mail, quotes and thought provoking articles.

Through the development of their art the Bards searched the length and breadth of consciousness in their personal quest for inspiration. This in itself led them to discover and connect with a great inner spiritual power.

I’m sure this must connect with you on many levels and the meaning is even more relevant in today’s society as many of us have become distanced from our creative side and the system of education directs and trains us to utilise our mind not our souls.

This may empower our intellect but our soul feels undeveloped and undernourished. The constant craving leaves us with a feeling that something is missing, that we are not whole in some way and that we need more than just food (earth), drink (water) and to breath (air).

This too corresponds with the beliefs of the ancient Celts in that to be whole we are made up of earth, air, water, and fire. Fire was symbolic of inspiration and intuition – the missing piece that we all seek.

This all relates to the here and now.

Today we may call that creative energy many things – Spirit, the Light, Chi, Qi, Ki, Gaia or even ‘the Force’ but in the ancient Bardic world this was known as AWEN which translates as flowing spirit.

My belief is that the sense of loss that is felt by many is that we have come adrift from the earth, from nature, from AWEN. To regain this connection we need to tap in by exploring our creativity and sharing with others in the hope that they to will be inspired to connect in whatever way they feel.

The challenge is to see through the constraints of conformity, if only for a fleeting instance, and to break through and embrace the feminine side; our creativity and inspiration.

My journey has recently taken me onto the Druidic path and part of my development was to embrace my creativity and skills in the written word. I didn’t really realise that until I began to write this post so thanks to Slade for tagging me and through answering the question of ‘Why do I Blog?’ I’ve realised another stage in my own journey.

Take care and nurture the Bard in yourself.

Damian

So as two of my latest visitors I'd like to tag Trixibelle http://www.trixibelle.blogspot.com/ and pickthebrain http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog

The Light is evolving along with us

I’ve spoken to many spiritualists that say they have lost their ability to connect with their energy and others that say that the intensity has increased. This seems to be happening more so in the last year indicating that the energy we tap into is evolving.

My feelings are that as we are all part of the Light and we ourselves are having new ideas or building on the concepts of others that Spirit is absorbing that energy and is in a constant state of flux.

This is our purpose in life - to experience all there is to feel and to report back to source on our death for our wisdom to be absorbed in to the One. Each soul is a tiny speck of energy that breaks away from the group consciousness, manifests on earth as you and me and then returns when our time is up to file the report.

If this is so then why are long established practitioners losing their contact? Quite simple, they have reached a point where they have stagnated and have stood still while the Light has moved on. They need to find new sources of inspiration and open up to new thoughts and activities.

We are all at times victims to this process as we find a comfortable way of doing something and then failing to look at this process to see if it can be done differently or improved.

What I am seeing is a change of approach to spirituality as it becomes more mainstream to search for your own belief structure and follow your own path. A move away from the rituals and arcane arts of the past with a more workable integration into the way we live our lives.

Anchor to the past, exist in the present and have hope in the future.

But having said this we must not move too far away from our ancestors established structures as that too would lead us to lose our way. There is much to be found in every religion and organised society that values integrity, morals and truth amongst their pursuits.

Grounding yourself in your culture and ancestry is equally as important as reaching for the heavens and in the pursuit of mystery. Without your feet firmly on the ground you’ll end up flat on your face.

If you are new to your path their can be no greater recommendation than that of browsing through your local book store on subjects such as Druidry, Kabbalah, Christianity, Hinduism, Pagan, Wiccan, Zen, etc and adopting some (or all) into your own ethos towards your higher self and life purpose.

Take the time to talk to others and actually listen to their responses. Everyone has ideas about why we are here and what our purpose may be its just that nobody has taken the time to ask them.

As Spirit flows through all of us then this is a vastly untapped resource and a sure-fire way of increasing global awareness and understanding. If you take the time to discuss this subject with just one person I can guarantee that they will go on to ask at least three more, and so on and so on. Take pride in yourself for instilling the spark in another and step back and watch it grow.

Make it your mission today to awaken the thirst for wisdom in someone else. Do this in person, in internet chat rooms, on forums, wherever. The answers will never be found by one person alone but together we can develop a group consciousness and work through it together. Let me know what responses you uncover, I’m really interested to know.

Assist your evolution and take care.

Damian

Note: Image reproduced from http://xkcd.com/