I started this blog with the intention of writing a one year course on getting into contact with the divine daily. The year is almost over by now, and this course draws to a close. I have four more posts planned: one for Imbolc next week, and one final meditation for each of the three aspects of the divine in February. Today, there will be no exercise but a list of book recommendations for everyone who wants to look elsewhere for inspiration. Most of these books have inspired me for this blog.
Meditation – the Complete Guide by Patricia Monaghan and Eleanor G. Diereck
This book deals with meditation throughout all cultures and religions, covering topics as diverse as gardening, pilgrimage, creative meditations, tai chi, sufi dancing, yoga and shamanic journeying. If you want to get an overview over the different aspects of meditation or some inspiration every now and again, this book is a good choice.
Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche
This book treats meditation without any reference to tradition and history. It is a collection of shorter and longer innovative meditation techniques. If you want to approach meditation without a specific world view attached, this is an interesting book.
Wiccan Meditations – The Witch's Way to Personal Transformation by Laura Wildman
If I had to restrict my recommendations to one book, it would be this one. The first third of the book is dedicated to techniques for relaxing, getting into trance and getting out again. In the rest of the book, meditations for learning and transformation, for the cycles of the year and for coven work are given. A significant part of the book is dedicated to group work, but it is still a valuable resource for a solitary Wiccan.
All one Wicca, by Kaatryn MacMorgan-Douglas
This is the basic textbook of my tradition, Universal Eclectic Wicca. All one Wicca is a good place to get started when you want to learn about Wicca, and it is also interesting for more advanced students.
Sacred Time and the Search for Meaning by Gary Eberle
I found this book in a second hand bookstore, and it proved to be a gem. The book is neither about Wicca nor about meditation, but it examines our relationship with ordinary and sacred time.
The Artist's Way – A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
This book is not about meditation, or Wicca, but about finding your personal creativity. There are many enlightening insights to be found. I started writing my Daily Pages after I reading it. If you are interested in art – drawing, writing, creating – but feeling unsure, have a look at this book.
The Earth Path by Starhawk
This book is about rediscovering and connecting to nature as well as how to build a sustainable relationship with the earth. If you want to get into contact with the divine universe in the aspect of the divine earth, Starhawk provides a wealth of exercises and meditations.
The Goddess Companion, by Patricia Monaghan
Patricia Monaghan has collected 366 Goddesses from all over the world. For each, she gives a prayer, hymn, or poem, and a short explanation. If you want to get into contact with the Gods, this book is invaluable.
Showing posts with label theory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theory. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Introspection
In some traditions, the New Year starts at Samhain. The year starts with the dark half, with winter, just as the day starts with the evening, at sunset. Therefore, for me the time around Samhain is the time for introspection, for looking back over the last year, and for looking forward into what I want to do and be next year. In terms of the three aspects of the divine, introspection means getting into contact with your divine Self. And that is what we are going to do during this November: introspection. We start this week with retrospection and look back over the last year. Then we will do two different exercises to explore ourselves. Finally, on the basis of these results, we will make plans for the next year.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Dark One
The fourth face of the Goddess is her terrible one: destruction, war and death. She is the Dark Mother, the one who takes back what the Mother has given. A mythological example might be Persephone, who reigns the underworld, or the war Goddess Morrigan. She is not gentle, and Her wrath is terrible.
Most often, this forth face is not part of the mythology of the moon Goddess. Her warrior aspects can also be attributed to the maiden, and her death aspect may be attributed with the crone, and rightfully so. A fight for freedom and independence is definitely something that would find the approval of the Maiden, and the wisdom of the Crone would help those passing the veil. So if you are uncomfortable with the idea of meeting this dark Goddess, skip this pathworking, go and do some of the earlier ones this week.
The Dark Goddess is different. Experience for yourself.
Most often, this forth face is not part of the mythology of the moon Goddess. Her warrior aspects can also be attributed to the maiden, and her death aspect may be attributed with the crone, and rightfully so. A fight for freedom and independence is definitely something that would find the approval of the Maiden, and the wisdom of the Crone would help those passing the veil. So if you are uncomfortable with the idea of meeting this dark Goddess, skip this pathworking, go and do some of the earlier ones this week.
The Dark Goddess is different. Experience for yourself.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Crone
The Crone is the Old One, the Wise One. Her children have grown up, become independent and so she is free once more. But she has the experience of a lifetime that helps her judge any situation, and from that comes the wisdom that avoids rash actions, but knows when to act.
The crone also has come to know loss, and grief, and in times when we need consolation, we can turn to her. She can teach us how to let go, and how to get rid of attachments, habits, destructive relationships, fears, whatever necessary.
A mythological example may be Hecate, who guides Persephone on her way out of the underworld.
The crone is experienced enough to know the truth, and old enough to speak it, so do not be surprised if you are confronted with uncomfortable truths, spiced with a good bit of humor or even irony.
The corresponding moon phase is of course the waning moon, so we will visit it this week.
The crone also has come to know loss, and grief, and in times when we need consolation, we can turn to her. She can teach us how to let go, and how to get rid of attachments, habits, destructive relationships, fears, whatever necessary.
A mythological example may be Hecate, who guides Persephone on her way out of the underworld.
The crone is experienced enough to know the truth, and old enough to speak it, so do not be surprised if you are confronted with uncomfortable truths, spiced with a good bit of humor or even irony.
The corresponding moon phase is of course the waning moon, so we will visit it this week.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Mother
The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
The mother obviously corresponds to the woman during pregnancy and after childbirth, as long as she looks after her children. This can be quite literally, but it can also be metaphorically, a person taking on responsibility, creating projects, caring for the execution, organising things etc. The mother is the woman with attachments, with dependants and responsibilities, and she nurtures others, cares for them. It is through the mother that the earth, the world is fertile, that new things, new ideas spring forth.
A mythological example is Demeter, who despairs when her daughter Persephone is taken from her, and wanders the world searching for her. The moon correspondence is the full moon, so we will travel there this week.
The mother obviously corresponds to the woman during pregnancy and after childbirth, as long as she looks after her children. This can be quite literally, but it can also be metaphorically, a person taking on responsibility, creating projects, caring for the execution, organising things etc. The mother is the woman with attachments, with dependants and responsibilities, and she nurtures others, cares for them. It is through the mother that the earth, the world is fertile, that new things, new ideas spring forth.
A mythological example is Demeter, who despairs when her daughter Persephone is taken from her, and wanders the world searching for her. The moon correspondence is the full moon, so we will travel there this week.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Maiden
The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
When I talked about the moon, I talked about the three faces of the Goddess: maiden, mother and crone.
The maiden roughly corresponds to the age of a woman between childhood and childbirth – without taking both parts overly literal. She is the virgin, the woman without attachments, without dependants, who has the freedom to do as she wills without having to take others into consideration. The maiden Goddess values her freedom, defends it and puts it to good use.
A mythological example is the huntress Artemis. She hunts on her own, or with her maidens. Woe betide any man that dares to invade her privacy. On the other hand, she gifts the results of her hunt to the people who would go hungry throughout the winter otherwise.
(It should be noted that the threefold Goddess of maiden, mother and crone is a relatively modern concept that cannot be found per se in ancient mythology. Ancient Goddesses might or might not fit into the scheme, but the concept itself was not usual. Additionally, the correspondence of the three forms of the Goddess to different ages or phases of life does not mean that we can turn towards one of these forms only, depending on our own age. On the contrary, we all need the freedom of spirit of the maiden, the nurturing abilities of the mother, the wisdom of the crone.)
The moon correspondence of the maiden is the waxing moon, and in this week's meditation, we are going to meet Her by travelling to the crescent moon.
When I talked about the moon, I talked about the three faces of the Goddess: maiden, mother and crone.
The maiden roughly corresponds to the age of a woman between childhood and childbirth – without taking both parts overly literal. She is the virgin, the woman without attachments, without dependants, who has the freedom to do as she wills without having to take others into consideration. The maiden Goddess values her freedom, defends it and puts it to good use.
A mythological example is the huntress Artemis. She hunts on her own, or with her maidens. Woe betide any man that dares to invade her privacy. On the other hand, she gifts the results of her hunt to the people who would go hungry throughout the winter otherwise.
(It should be noted that the threefold Goddess of maiden, mother and crone is a relatively modern concept that cannot be found per se in ancient mythology. Ancient Goddesses might or might not fit into the scheme, but the concept itself was not usual. Additionally, the correspondence of the three forms of the Goddess to different ages or phases of life does not mean that we can turn towards one of these forms only, depending on our own age. On the contrary, we all need the freedom of spirit of the maiden, the nurturing abilities of the mother, the wisdom of the crone.)
The moon correspondence of the maiden is the waxing moon, and in this week's meditation, we are going to meet Her by travelling to the crescent moon.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
New moon
Darkness is one of the primal fears of mankind. We fear what we cannot see, cannot understand. The new moon is the darkest time in the cycle of sun and moon. And yet, if you want to see the stars, they are clearer on a new moon night, without interfering light from the moon. It is through looking into darkness that we can find hidden things.
Darkness is a transition that enables new beginnings, just as the night makes the new morning possible, and the new moon the next cycle of the moon.
Darkness is a transition that enables new beginnings, just as the night makes the new morning possible, and the new moon the next cycle of the moon.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Affirmation
Affirmations are short sentences that we repeat to ourselves over and over again, both in our minds and speaking out loud. Through continuous repetition, you start to believe it, and you – and your life – start to adapt to the affirmation. Choose affirmations that have to do with yourself, your perception of yourself and your life – not affirmations that run completely counter to hard facts. As an example, when you feel you need to attract wealth, do not choose something like “I win the lottery, I am a millionaire” as affirmation, but rather something like “My life is full of riches. I am wealthy.” Of course, it is quite possible that one effect of this affirmation might be that you become more aware of the wealth you already have instead of amassing new piles of money :-).
Some basic rules for choosing affirmations:
Tell them in the present form as if they were already true.
Do not use negations, use positive wording. As a rule of thumb, avoid the word “not”.
Make your affirmations short. You have to memorize them, and repeat them, so choose one or two sentences, not more.
Affirmations are a basic tool of positive thinking and many self-help concepts. If you are interested in more details, I recommend books by Shakti Gawain, Dale Carnegie or Joseph Murphy.
Some basic rules for choosing affirmations:
Tell them in the present form as if they were already true.
Do not use negations, use positive wording. As a rule of thumb, avoid the word “not”.
Make your affirmations short. You have to memorize them, and repeat them, so choose one or two sentences, not more.
Affirmations are a basic tool of positive thinking and many self-help concepts. If you are interested in more details, I recommend books by Shakti Gawain, Dale Carnegie or Joseph Murphy.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Moon
The moon carries a certain fascination. Through the ages it has been connected with Gods, inspired poets and artists, watched over lovers or just given comfort in a dark night. In Wicca, the moon (often) is a symbol for the threefold Goddess, She who embodies change, and the life cycle of women. There is the maiden, the young one, connected to the waxing moon, full of joy, free of burden, without much experience, but with the vigour and passion of the young. There is the mother, symbolized by the full moon, the fertile one who has to care for her offspring, who offers nurturing and love. And there is the third one, the crone, symbolized by the waning moon, the old one whose strength is vanishing, but also the wise one, full of experience. Sometimes, there is a forth face, the dark mother, lady of death, she who takes back what the mother has given, the new moon.
This threefold Goddess is an empowering role model, especially in our world where it sometimes seems that we must always be young, beautiful and dynamic. I want to emphasise one point here: I do not worship the moon – I honer the Goddess whose symbol is the moon.
The charge of the Goddess tells us to meet at the full moon to honour her. In a busy world where everything goes to the rhythm of weeks and months, that can be difficult to accomplish, and there is no real reason to insist on the full moon. However, if we want to do some meditations on the moon, having the moon actually present, visible in the phase we are meditating about, will provide a better focal point.
This weeks exercises are therefore intended for a week of the full moon. You can do the contemplation on every day, but do the meditation on the day of the full moon itself if possible. You can find the current moon phase for example here ; the moon will be full on Tuesday this week.
There will be a post on the new moon in a later week. It is interesting to note that the associations of the three faced Goddess belong to the waxing, full and waning moon, while often rituals and meditations are performed at full and new moon. For magic, on the other hand, you associate the phase of the moon that shows the effect you want to achieve: growing, full of strength, decreasing, banishing.
This threefold Goddess is an empowering role model, especially in our world where it sometimes seems that we must always be young, beautiful and dynamic. I want to emphasise one point here: I do not worship the moon – I honer the Goddess whose symbol is the moon.
The charge of the Goddess tells us to meet at the full moon to honour her. In a busy world where everything goes to the rhythm of weeks and months, that can be difficult to accomplish, and there is no real reason to insist on the full moon. However, if we want to do some meditations on the moon, having the moon actually present, visible in the phase we are meditating about, will provide a better focal point.
This weeks exercises are therefore intended for a week of the full moon. You can do the contemplation on every day, but do the meditation on the day of the full moon itself if possible. You can find the current moon phase for example here ; the moon will be full on Tuesday this week.
There will be a post on the new moon in a later week. It is interesting to note that the associations of the three faced Goddess belong to the waxing, full and waning moon, while often rituals and meditations are performed at full and new moon. For magic, on the other hand, you associate the phase of the moon that shows the effect you want to achieve: growing, full of strength, decreasing, banishing.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Elements
The western concept of elements knows four elements that are the concepts the universe is built from: earth, air, fire, water, sometimes complemented by a fifth element, spirit. This system is by no means universal. There is a different system of elements that is based on the five elements of earth, water, fire, metal and wood. This system is more common in eastern school of thought. However, in neopaganism and western magic, the four elements are a concept widely known, believed and utilized.
Historically the four elements originate from ancient Greek philosophy. Empedokles framed the idea of four qualities, not only corresponding to the states of matter, but also being the eternal, invariable basic building blocks of the universe. Everything is composed of a combination of these four elements.
There have been some changes in the interpretation of the exact meaning of the elements over time. As an example, today we know a lot more about the building blocks of matter and do not take that aspect literally. From Greek philosophy, the elements made it into mediaeval alchemy and magic, and this is how they ended up in Wicca.
So, what are the elements? Once again, I have no definite answer, only a try at my personal explanation. Elements are a central part of the huge network of associations used in western symbolism. Everything can be attached to one element or a combination of two or more elements. Once you mention them, there is an immediate flood of associations. However, they are not empty symbols. They are names, symbols for very powerful – and very real – forces, or rather, energies. On the physical level, they are linked to the different states of matter – solid, liquid, gaseous, plasma. On a personal level, they may be linked to certain experiences, states of mind. On an energy level, they are pure force, each different to the other. On the level of entities, there are elemental beings, or elementals, associated with each element. There are certain Gods associated with each element. The list is endless. The most important part is this: you can experience them. And that will help you much more than any explanation I could give you. We will take four weeks to go through the different elements. I will talk about each of the elements and then offer an exercise.
There is a beautiful song/chant by desert wind about the earth goddess Gaia that goes
“The earth is my body,
her water is my blood,
her winds are my breath,
her fire is my spirit” [1]
The elements are not only the building blocks of the universe, but also the forces of life.
[1] Desert Wind,Gaia, Earth Goddess: Ritual Dances of the Mother, 1992
Historically the four elements originate from ancient Greek philosophy. Empedokles framed the idea of four qualities, not only corresponding to the states of matter, but also being the eternal, invariable basic building blocks of the universe. Everything is composed of a combination of these four elements.
There have been some changes in the interpretation of the exact meaning of the elements over time. As an example, today we know a lot more about the building blocks of matter and do not take that aspect literally. From Greek philosophy, the elements made it into mediaeval alchemy and magic, and this is how they ended up in Wicca.
So, what are the elements? Once again, I have no definite answer, only a try at my personal explanation. Elements are a central part of the huge network of associations used in western symbolism. Everything can be attached to one element or a combination of two or more elements. Once you mention them, there is an immediate flood of associations. However, they are not empty symbols. They are names, symbols for very powerful – and very real – forces, or rather, energies. On the physical level, they are linked to the different states of matter – solid, liquid, gaseous, plasma. On a personal level, they may be linked to certain experiences, states of mind. On an energy level, they are pure force, each different to the other. On the level of entities, there are elemental beings, or elementals, associated with each element. There are certain Gods associated with each element. The list is endless. The most important part is this: you can experience them. And that will help you much more than any explanation I could give you. We will take four weeks to go through the different elements. I will talk about each of the elements and then offer an exercise.
There is a beautiful song/chant by desert wind about the earth goddess Gaia that goes
“The earth is my body,
her water is my blood,
her winds are my breath,
her fire is my spirit” [1]
The elements are not only the building blocks of the universe, but also the forces of life.
[1] Desert Wind,Gaia, Earth Goddess: Ritual Dances of the Mother, 1992
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Wiccan worldview
One of the things most pagans and Wiccans seem to do is to collect – and read – books, lots and lots of them. Through this, we all are soaking up a large collection of common themes for a Wiccan worldview. There is much discussion about the definition or minimum definition of Wicca, and I do not want to get into this topic. (If you are interested, take a look at the homepage of my tradition, UEW).
However, there is a large number of themes that can be found in a variety of traditions, and a lot of books. Typical examples are the four elements: you do not have to believe in them or work with them to be Wiccan. Nonetheless, there are very few books on Wicca I have read so far that do not at least mention them. There are a lot of other examples, too.
Why is this important? These ideas influence our perception of the Universe. The divine universe is something we want to know more about, we want to grow closer to. So the different parts of the Wican worldview gives us a starting point for exploring the divine universe. We will take some of these parts and work with them in the next weeks. However, not everybody agrees on the different aspects that can be part of the worldview of a Wiccan, and each person might incorporate different parts into their personal view of the world. You might even be doing this subconsciously, agreeing to some things and discounting other things whenever you read about them. In fact, you most probably are doing it subconsciously, never realizing what you really believe in, not reflecting on what parts you agree with, which ideas might be worth incorporating, and what concepts might sound good on the surface, but do feel wrong or do not fit once you go into more detail. Of course, I might be doing you an injustice, and you are much more conscious of your believes. It might still be interesting to take the time to look at your believes in detail.
This week, the only exercise will be a contemplation on your personal version of the Wiccan worldview – or, if you prefer, on your personal worldview. We want to grow closer to the divine universe, and a very important step is to know what this universe actually is, what it consists of. A lot of books simply tell you what you should believe, and then present you with corresponding meditations etc. Of course, I will present meditations and exercises that fit into my personal view of the world, but I want you to become aware of your own view of the world, so you can decide whether or not you want to include an exercise. This week's contemplation will give you a better foundation on which to base your decision instead of vague feelings of not liking a particular instruction – which might also come from the subconsious realisation that you probably will not like the answers you are likely to get (wich should not keep you from doing it!).
Of course, you can perform an exercise for a topic you do not believe in or are unsure about. Your experience might change your mind. However, if you decide to skip some exercise, then go back to earlier weeks and choose something else to do instead. Do not break the habit of daily practise.
At this point, I want to include another piece of warning: do not overdo it. Create a regular habit, if possible, but do not try to do a 30 minute meditation, followed by a pathworking, followed by a contemplation on three different topics. You do not have to focus completely on one thing, but take care that the amount of time is something you can reasonably dedicate to daily practise regularly. Also, if you try to do too many things, the experience will probably either get too intense – leaving you disoriented in your everyday life – or too shallow, and you cannot get as much out of it as you could otherwise.
However, there is a large number of themes that can be found in a variety of traditions, and a lot of books. Typical examples are the four elements: you do not have to believe in them or work with them to be Wiccan. Nonetheless, there are very few books on Wicca I have read so far that do not at least mention them. There are a lot of other examples, too.
Why is this important? These ideas influence our perception of the Universe. The divine universe is something we want to know more about, we want to grow closer to. So the different parts of the Wican worldview gives us a starting point for exploring the divine universe. We will take some of these parts and work with them in the next weeks. However, not everybody agrees on the different aspects that can be part of the worldview of a Wiccan, and each person might incorporate different parts into their personal view of the world. You might even be doing this subconsciously, agreeing to some things and discounting other things whenever you read about them. In fact, you most probably are doing it subconsciously, never realizing what you really believe in, not reflecting on what parts you agree with, which ideas might be worth incorporating, and what concepts might sound good on the surface, but do feel wrong or do not fit once you go into more detail. Of course, I might be doing you an injustice, and you are much more conscious of your believes. It might still be interesting to take the time to look at your believes in detail.
This week, the only exercise will be a contemplation on your personal version of the Wiccan worldview – or, if you prefer, on your personal worldview. We want to grow closer to the divine universe, and a very important step is to know what this universe actually is, what it consists of. A lot of books simply tell you what you should believe, and then present you with corresponding meditations etc. Of course, I will present meditations and exercises that fit into my personal view of the world, but I want you to become aware of your own view of the world, so you can decide whether or not you want to include an exercise. This week's contemplation will give you a better foundation on which to base your decision instead of vague feelings of not liking a particular instruction – which might also come from the subconsious realisation that you probably will not like the answers you are likely to get (wich should not keep you from doing it!).
Of course, you can perform an exercise for a topic you do not believe in or are unsure about. Your experience might change your mind. However, if you decide to skip some exercise, then go back to earlier weeks and choose something else to do instead. Do not break the habit of daily practise.
At this point, I want to include another piece of warning: do not overdo it. Create a regular habit, if possible, but do not try to do a 30 minute meditation, followed by a pathworking, followed by a contemplation on three different topics. You do not have to focus completely on one thing, but take care that the amount of time is something you can reasonably dedicate to daily practise regularly. Also, if you try to do too many things, the experience will probably either get too intense – leaving you disoriented in your everyday life – or too shallow, and you cannot get as much out of it as you could otherwise.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Interacting with the Gods
"The Gods are divine", and therefore the Gods are one aspect we want to get into closer contact with during this course. In contrast to the Self and the Universe, the Gods provide a divine counterpart, one that makes real communication possible. Therefore, the exercises for this part will be threefold: Listening, talking and communicating or dialogue with the Gods.
However, before we start with those exercises, we should give some thoughts to the Gods: what are they? What is their nature, their intentions? I told you some weeks back that there are a lot of different ideas about that, and that you will most likely have to learn through experience. However, as probably most authors, I have my personal pet theory I will tell you. Feel free to skip this part and move on to the exercises if you are not interested.
So here is my theory: The universe is a huge interconnected "structure". Everything is linked to everything else, more or less directly. There is a very tiny part of that structure that is me. It consists of my body, my heart, my spirit. However, there are much larger parts that are the Gods. They include all those things that are aspects of them. One tiny part of that structure called a God is that anthropomorphic face, the form, the looks they use to interact with human beings. However, their real nature is much bigger, and much more complex than that. Who knows, there might be other "interfaces" for other species, too. Interacting with their anthropomorphic faces, with the Gods, allows us to get into contact with that part of the universe that is that God. Those parts are not exclusive, just as I can have a body and you can, one Goddess can be love and promiscuity and another one love and faithfulness.
So what are the Gods? Beings? Archetypes? Aspects of one God? A bit of all: they are individual beings, they are a symbol for that which is part of their nature and they are a part of the divine universe, which might be called the One God.
Ok, let me get back to the topic: how can we communicate with the Gods? There are two possibilities: Either there is a real dialogue, or the communication goes into one directions: you are either talking to the Gods or listening to them.
However, before we start with those exercises, we should give some thoughts to the Gods: what are they? What is their nature, their intentions? I told you some weeks back that there are a lot of different ideas about that, and that you will most likely have to learn through experience. However, as probably most authors, I have my personal pet theory I will tell you. Feel free to skip this part and move on to the exercises if you are not interested.
So here is my theory: The universe is a huge interconnected "structure". Everything is linked to everything else, more or less directly. There is a very tiny part of that structure that is me. It consists of my body, my heart, my spirit. However, there are much larger parts that are the Gods. They include all those things that are aspects of them. One tiny part of that structure called a God is that anthropomorphic face, the form, the looks they use to interact with human beings. However, their real nature is much bigger, and much more complex than that. Who knows, there might be other "interfaces" for other species, too. Interacting with their anthropomorphic faces, with the Gods, allows us to get into contact with that part of the universe that is that God. Those parts are not exclusive, just as I can have a body and you can, one Goddess can be love and promiscuity and another one love and faithfulness.
So what are the Gods? Beings? Archetypes? Aspects of one God? A bit of all: they are individual beings, they are a symbol for that which is part of their nature and they are a part of the divine universe, which might be called the One God.
Ok, let me get back to the topic: how can we communicate with the Gods? There are two possibilities: Either there is a real dialogue, or the communication goes into one directions: you are either talking to the Gods or listening to them.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
How to meet yourself: body, heart and spirit
"The self is divine". I discussed this idea before. You are divine, I am divine. The Church of All Worlds expresses this as "Thou art God". Therefore, we strife to come to know ourselves better, to come into contact with ourselves in order to know the divine.
But what is our self, what parts does it consist of? There are a lot of concepts, but I will tell you my personal belief. Basically, there are three parts. The first, the most tangible one, is our body. Throughout this life we are bound to this body. We move it, we dance with it, we sing with it, we control it. It does change a bit during our life – it grows, we get thinner or fatter, we get wrinkles, we have long hair or short hair, etc. Your body is your temple. The temple where your heart and spirit reside most of the time. It should be treated accordingly. The next exercise will therefore be about how you can meet your body.
The second part is your heart. Under "heart", I summarize feelings, emotions, motives and subconsciousness. The heart constitutes a large part of our personality. In next weeks exercise we will try to learn more about our heart.
The third part is your spirit. I use the word spirit to summarize consciousness, mind, spirit, soul, higher consciousness. Sometimes, these different components can be approached separately, but more often than not, that is not possible.
There is a tendency that whenever we come to learn something about ourselves that is a starting point for changing ourselves. Of course you cannot change if you do not knwo who you are. But it is more important to know yourself and accept yourself first. Then you can decide if and what you want to change. But acceptance is the first step
But what is our self, what parts does it consist of? There are a lot of concepts, but I will tell you my personal belief. Basically, there are three parts. The first, the most tangible one, is our body. Throughout this life we are bound to this body. We move it, we dance with it, we sing with it, we control it. It does change a bit during our life – it grows, we get thinner or fatter, we get wrinkles, we have long hair or short hair, etc. Your body is your temple. The temple where your heart and spirit reside most of the time. It should be treated accordingly. The next exercise will therefore be about how you can meet your body.
The second part is your heart. Under "heart", I summarize feelings, emotions, motives and subconsciousness. The heart constitutes a large part of our personality. In next weeks exercise we will try to learn more about our heart.
The third part is your spirit. I use the word spirit to summarize consciousness, mind, spirit, soul, higher consciousness. Sometimes, these different components can be approached separately, but more often than not, that is not possible.
There is a tendency that whenever we come to learn something about ourselves that is a starting point for changing ourselves. Of course you cannot change if you do not knwo who you are. But it is more important to know yourself and accept yourself first. Then you can decide if and what you want to change. But acceptance is the first step
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Visualisation
One of the most fascinating abilities of the human being is the ability to visualize something: to see it in his minds eye as clearly as if it as before him. That ability is a prerequisite for making plans for the future, for engineering something, for creative work, for a lot of things. Incidentally, it is also a component of magic and of some meditation techniques like pathworking.
Visualisation means to create something in your mind – to see it, to hear, taste, smell and feel it. Often, our strongest senses are our eyes – that is why it is called visualisation. However, the more senses you can include, the more life-like your visualisation will be – and that will make it more successful. Therefore, this week includes a classical visualisation exercise that tries to engage all of your senses.
Visualisation can be used in a variety of different contexts. If you want to draw a picture, you visualize it before you start. If you want to create a machine, you visualise its different parts working together to see how it would work. That is not what I am going to be talking about. As you probably realized already last week, visualisation is necessary to do pathworkings. In pathworkings, visualisations are used to bring you – your mind, your spirit – into a position, a situation where you can make an experience. For example, in the guided meditation from two weeks ago you were brought to a place of safety, a place that allowed you to experience safety. Typically in a pathworking, you are controlling your surroundings, visualising everything in the beginning. Then, at some place/situation, you let go of that control and begin to register what is coming towards you, to receive answers, parts of the experience. A typical example is when you are led to meet somebody, ask him/her a question and "listen" for the answer. You do not actively visualize the answer, but receive it from somewhere. Now, the "where" is an interesting question. Probably most of the time it will come from your subconsciousness or higher consciousness. However, it might come from separate entities, from guides or even the Gods. Whatever your own theory is, be sure to be open to the answers you get.
A different application for visualisation is working with your body, your subtle body, or with energy: you can actively effect change using visualization. A classical example is autogenic training for working with your body, or grounding exercises for working with energies. This topic will hopefully be covered in more detail later.
Visualisation means to create something in your mind – to see it, to hear, taste, smell and feel it. Often, our strongest senses are our eyes – that is why it is called visualisation. However, the more senses you can include, the more life-like your visualisation will be – and that will make it more successful. Therefore, this week includes a classical visualisation exercise that tries to engage all of your senses.
Visualisation can be used in a variety of different contexts. If you want to draw a picture, you visualize it before you start. If you want to create a machine, you visualise its different parts working together to see how it would work. That is not what I am going to be talking about. As you probably realized already last week, visualisation is necessary to do pathworkings. In pathworkings, visualisations are used to bring you – your mind, your spirit – into a position, a situation where you can make an experience. For example, in the guided meditation from two weeks ago you were brought to a place of safety, a place that allowed you to experience safety. Typically in a pathworking, you are controlling your surroundings, visualising everything in the beginning. Then, at some place/situation, you let go of that control and begin to register what is coming towards you, to receive answers, parts of the experience. A typical example is when you are led to meet somebody, ask him/her a question and "listen" for the answer. You do not actively visualize the answer, but receive it from somewhere. Now, the "where" is an interesting question. Probably most of the time it will come from your subconsciousness or higher consciousness. However, it might come from separate entities, from guides or even the Gods. Whatever your own theory is, be sure to be open to the answers you get.
A different application for visualisation is working with your body, your subtle body, or with energy: you can actively effect change using visualization. A classical example is autogenic training for working with your body, or grounding exercises for working with energies. This topic will hopefully be covered in more detail later.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The sun God: The Wheel of the year
Different mythologies can be found for the wheel of the year, the seasonal cycles. Two of them are most prominent in Wicca: The Sun God, who is born in winter, grows with the sun in strength, courts the Goddess, grows old and dies only to be reborn again, and the mythology of the two Gods who rule for half a year and do battle at the equinoxes. For this meditation series, I will stick with the mythology of the Sun God. We will meet Him eight times around the wheel.
At the winter solstice, he is born, the sun child, the promise that the light will return, that life will be fruitful once again. The winter solstice is the longest night, and from now on, the days grow longer again. At February Eve, or Imbolc, this influence can be felt, and the days are much longer again, yet it is still winter. He has grown into an adolescent by now. At spring equinox, He is a young man. Day and night are of equal length, and the return of spring can be felt. At Beltane, He is courting the Goddess. Their love brings fertility to the land, and He begets his son. At summer solstice, He is at the peak of His strength, just like the sun on the longest day of the year. From now on, His strength decreases slowly, until the harvest festivals. The first one is August Eve, or Lugnasad, when the harvest starts. The next one is autumn equinox, when day and night are again of equal length. The God ages, and looses his strength until Samhain, the last of the harvest festivals. Now He dies, and the days grow even shorter, until winter solstice, when His child, the sun child, is born once again and begins the cycle anew.
At the winter solstice, he is born, the sun child, the promise that the light will return, that life will be fruitful once again. The winter solstice is the longest night, and from now on, the days grow longer again. At February Eve, or Imbolc, this influence can be felt, and the days are much longer again, yet it is still winter. He has grown into an adolescent by now. At spring equinox, He is a young man. Day and night are of equal length, and the return of spring can be felt. At Beltane, He is courting the Goddess. Their love brings fertility to the land, and He begets his son. At summer solstice, He is at the peak of His strength, just like the sun on the longest day of the year. From now on, His strength decreases slowly, until the harvest festivals. The first one is August Eve, or Lugnasad, when the harvest starts. The next one is autumn equinox, when day and night are again of equal length. The God ages, and looses his strength until Samhain, the last of the harvest festivals. Now He dies, and the days grow even shorter, until winter solstice, when His child, the sun child, is born once again and begins the cycle anew.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Meditations
Meditation is a word that is used often, and in more than one meaning. Linda Chrisman at answers.com defines meditation as „a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.“[1]
Originally, the word comes from the Latin word „mediatio“, which meant physical or intellectual exercise, but later was used more specifically for „contemplation“[2].
Personally, I differentiate three different things that are commonly called meditation: meditation, contemplation and pathworking. I use the word meditation for the classical version I have described already. It means emptying the mind, shifting the focus of our attention away from the everyday chatter of the conscious mind. There is a difference between the centre of ourselves and the voice that talks on and on constantly. Most of the time, this voice is our filter, our reporter, our commentator. We observe the world through this filter. However, through mediation, we can still this voice or turn our attention away from it. This enables us to experience the universe directly, completely, without an intermediate. This experience is something that brings us closer to the divine universe.
There are a great variety of methods to achieve this state. One is breathing meditation and I talked about that last week. Other possibilities include walking meditation, candle meditations, variants on the breathing mediation, za-zen. This week, I will introduce you to a variant of the breathing meditation. This type of meditations, especially breathing meditations, are often used to calm the mind in preparation of other activities like prayer, contemplation, etc. This is a perfectly valid application of breathing meditation. Calming your mind before you begin helps to focus all attention, our mind, our will on the following activities. It helps us to anchor ourselves here and now before we go flying off, and makes sure all of us is going into the same direction.
However, keep in mind that this type of meditation has a lot more potential. Practising it regularly will not only increase your ability to „switch off“, it will also help you to gain the direct perception of the universe described above. But to reach this state takes patience and practise.
The second type of meditation is contemplation. I use it for meditations that are focused on specific topics. If you get the instruction to meditate about peace, how do you do it? You cannot use meditation the way I described it before. You use contemplation instead: You start out with a short meditation, to empty your mind. Then, and this is the important difference, you bring the topic of your contemplation to the center of your focus, your attention. There is nothing left that could distract you. You are completely focused on the topic, i.e. peace. The result is varying, actually depending on the topic. You will find that you get a lot of associations connected to the topic. Those can vary significantly. With peace, you might associate a white dove, a wondering why a bird is used to symbolize peace, you might realise that it also symbolizes freedom, and that freedom is possible only in peace. Do not try to think things through logically. Just focus on your topic and see what happens, what intuitive connections you are building automatically.
An additional effect that might happen is that you experience what you are meditating on, especially if you are focusing on strong emotions, like love, peace, joy. To a certain extent, this is great. However, you should take care not to be swept away. This is especially important if you try to meditate on less positive emotions like anger.
The topics for contemplation can be very general, like the examples already given: peace, love, joy. However, they can also be much more specialised. An example would be „Every man and every woman is a star“. Mediation is a way to learn more about the universe in general. Contemplation is a way to learn more about special parts of the universe. During this course, I will include some topics for contemplation every now and again.
The third type of meditations is what I call pathworking, which is in some cases also called guided meditation. A pathworking is a journey of your mind – or soul – that is guided by a script. Most often, this script is given by a facilitator who leads through the journey or recorded on tape or CD and played back to actually perform the journey. Typically, a pathworking starts at some safe place and leads you somewhere. There you can interact with your surroundings and the people or entities you meet. Depending on the actual journey, you might search for something, or ask for advice, or make an experience. The messages gained on those journey might come from our subconsciousness, but they might also come from the Gods. Finally, you are guided back to the safe place and the journey ends. The major difficulty is to provide enough guidance that you can really travel to the intended place/situation, but leave enough freedom and time for interaction that you can actually get messages, have some interactions, visions, inspirations. That is true for somebody actually guiding others, and it is even more important for a recording done before the actual journey.
During this course, I will give a lot of pathworkings in written form. I recommend that you record them yourself for your own journeys if you want to try them. The alternative is to memorize the journey by heart and do it without any external guidance. However, I have found this to be more difficult. It is easier to get lost on a side track and loose the focus of the journey. If you memorize the workings, I advise that you set an alarm to remind you to get back after a certain amount of time. Once it rings, return to your safe place and from there to your body.
There are other concepts somehow related to the three types of meditation described herein. An example is shamanistic journeying. However, that would probably go beyond the scope of this year. Additionally I do not feel competent enough in this area to say much about it.
Of course, the presented distinction is not a generally accepted one, but my own perception and definition. It tells you how I am going to use these words – meditation, contemplation, pathworking – in this blog.
To summarize, I distinguish between three types of meditation: meditation, contemplation and pathworking (guided meditation). We will encounter all these types in the next exerceises frequently. As a start, you have one of each type of meditation as an exercise for the next weeks.
[1] Linda Chrisman, „Meditation“, http://www.answers.com/Meditation, 04.11.08
[2] Wikipedia, „Meditation“, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation, 04.11.08
Originally, the word comes from the Latin word „mediatio“, which meant physical or intellectual exercise, but later was used more specifically for „contemplation“[2].
Personally, I differentiate three different things that are commonly called meditation: meditation, contemplation and pathworking. I use the word meditation for the classical version I have described already. It means emptying the mind, shifting the focus of our attention away from the everyday chatter of the conscious mind. There is a difference between the centre of ourselves and the voice that talks on and on constantly. Most of the time, this voice is our filter, our reporter, our commentator. We observe the world through this filter. However, through mediation, we can still this voice or turn our attention away from it. This enables us to experience the universe directly, completely, without an intermediate. This experience is something that brings us closer to the divine universe.
There are a great variety of methods to achieve this state. One is breathing meditation and I talked about that last week. Other possibilities include walking meditation, candle meditations, variants on the breathing mediation, za-zen. This week, I will introduce you to a variant of the breathing meditation. This type of meditations, especially breathing meditations, are often used to calm the mind in preparation of other activities like prayer, contemplation, etc. This is a perfectly valid application of breathing meditation. Calming your mind before you begin helps to focus all attention, our mind, our will on the following activities. It helps us to anchor ourselves here and now before we go flying off, and makes sure all of us is going into the same direction.
However, keep in mind that this type of meditation has a lot more potential. Practising it regularly will not only increase your ability to „switch off“, it will also help you to gain the direct perception of the universe described above. But to reach this state takes patience and practise.
The second type of meditation is contemplation. I use it for meditations that are focused on specific topics. If you get the instruction to meditate about peace, how do you do it? You cannot use meditation the way I described it before. You use contemplation instead: You start out with a short meditation, to empty your mind. Then, and this is the important difference, you bring the topic of your contemplation to the center of your focus, your attention. There is nothing left that could distract you. You are completely focused on the topic, i.e. peace. The result is varying, actually depending on the topic. You will find that you get a lot of associations connected to the topic. Those can vary significantly. With peace, you might associate a white dove, a wondering why a bird is used to symbolize peace, you might realise that it also symbolizes freedom, and that freedom is possible only in peace. Do not try to think things through logically. Just focus on your topic and see what happens, what intuitive connections you are building automatically.
An additional effect that might happen is that you experience what you are meditating on, especially if you are focusing on strong emotions, like love, peace, joy. To a certain extent, this is great. However, you should take care not to be swept away. This is especially important if you try to meditate on less positive emotions like anger.
The topics for contemplation can be very general, like the examples already given: peace, love, joy. However, they can also be much more specialised. An example would be „Every man and every woman is a star“. Mediation is a way to learn more about the universe in general. Contemplation is a way to learn more about special parts of the universe. During this course, I will include some topics for contemplation every now and again.
The third type of meditations is what I call pathworking, which is in some cases also called guided meditation. A pathworking is a journey of your mind – or soul – that is guided by a script. Most often, this script is given by a facilitator who leads through the journey or recorded on tape or CD and played back to actually perform the journey. Typically, a pathworking starts at some safe place and leads you somewhere. There you can interact with your surroundings and the people or entities you meet. Depending on the actual journey, you might search for something, or ask for advice, or make an experience. The messages gained on those journey might come from our subconsciousness, but they might also come from the Gods. Finally, you are guided back to the safe place and the journey ends. The major difficulty is to provide enough guidance that you can really travel to the intended place/situation, but leave enough freedom and time for interaction that you can actually get messages, have some interactions, visions, inspirations. That is true for somebody actually guiding others, and it is even more important for a recording done before the actual journey.
During this course, I will give a lot of pathworkings in written form. I recommend that you record them yourself for your own journeys if you want to try them. The alternative is to memorize the journey by heart and do it without any external guidance. However, I have found this to be more difficult. It is easier to get lost on a side track and loose the focus of the journey. If you memorize the workings, I advise that you set an alarm to remind you to get back after a certain amount of time. Once it rings, return to your safe place and from there to your body.
There are other concepts somehow related to the three types of meditation described herein. An example is shamanistic journeying. However, that would probably go beyond the scope of this year. Additionally I do not feel competent enough in this area to say much about it.
Of course, the presented distinction is not a generally accepted one, but my own perception and definition. It tells you how I am going to use these words – meditation, contemplation, pathworking – in this blog.
To summarize, I distinguish between three types of meditation: meditation, contemplation and pathworking (guided meditation). We will encounter all these types in the next exerceises frequently. As a start, you have one of each type of meditation as an exercise for the next weeks.
[1] Linda Chrisman, „Meditation“, http://www.answers.com/Meditation, 04.11.08
[2] Wikipedia, „Meditation“, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation, 04.11.08
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Aspects of the divine
One of the five basic creeds of my tradition is the Ethic of Attunement to the Divine. That means for me that throughout my life, I should constantly try to grow closer to the Divine. "Attunement" means growing closer, coming to know better, becoming more similar to the Divine.
This idea uses a very general word: "Divine". What is this Divine? I cannot answer this question for sure, and probably nobody can - only your experience will tell you. However, throughout the history of the different religions, there have been a number of different answers to this question. In Wicca, basically an eclectic and undogmatic religion, you can find different answers represented. While many religions find their ideas or concepts rather exclusive, in Wicca it is not uncommon to find different ideas represented in one circle or coven. You might even find Wiccans believing in more than one answer to the above question about the nature of the Divine.
Kaatryn MacMorgan[1] has written about the concept of three different levels or aspects of the Divine. It can be summarised as:
The Gods are Divine
The universe is Divine
The self is Divine
(in whatever permutation you prefer). All of this can be true together, and all of it has certain implications.
The Gods are Divine
This might be the most obvious statement about a religion that is considered polytheistic. The Gods, the ones we invoke, we talk to, we pray to, we feast with are Divine. Nevertheless it is interesting to know that at least some Wiccans believe that the Gods are not Divine beings but for example archetypes of the subconsciousness. However, if you do believe in the Gods as divine beings, as divine Others, , divine counterparts, that means you can in one way or the other get into contact with these beings, open a dialogue with them. Between to beings, communication is possible. This communication might take different forms. In its simples form, it is pure prayer. In its more complex forms, a number of rituals have as their sole purpose to enable a communication with Gods; one of them being the well known rite of Drawing Down the Moon.
Of course, believing in the existence of Divine Beings raises a lot of difficult theological questions. Where do they come from? How can they interact with us, with our world? What is their world? What, exactly, are they? How many are there, how similar or different are they? The list of questions is endless, and trying to give answers to them is much beyond the scope of this text. The best way to answer all those questions is probably to meet the Gods, to ask them the questions themselves, to learn the answers through experiences. This is what we want to do in this course: Find ways to interact with Divine beings.
The universe is Divine
The Kybalion, a magical text from the beginning of the 20th century[2], claims that the All is Mind. In other books I stumbles upon the concept of Immanence[3]: the divine is not separated from creation, but is immanent in creation, is present within everything. All parts of the Universe are divine, and the Universe as a whole itself is divine. The implications of this concept are immense. First of all, if everything is divine - the tree, the animal - then everything should be treated with respect. Secondly, it means that even things we see as trivial - like a TV, a stone - are divine, are part of the divine universe. Additionally, if everything is part of one divine universe, then everything is interconnected, separation is an illusion. The experience of this basic unity for me has always been one of the most profound mysteries, one that is difficult to put into words. It can be experienced through allowing yourself to experience existence directly: through meditation.
On the other hand you can learn something about the divine universe by learning about its parts and the divine nature of its parts. Grow closer to the divine by growing closer to its parts. Understanding something fully, understanding its divine nature and its connectedness to the rest of the universe can be very enlightening.
In this course we are going to use meditation to experience the divine universe, and we are going to focus upon some parts of the universe to investigate them.
The self is Divine
This is a direct consequence of the fact that the universe is divine. You are a part of that universe - therefore you are divine. You have that divine spark, and the blessings of life. And not only you, but your kid, your spouse, your neighbour, your enemy, everyone.
What is this self I am talking about? Is it the mind? Or the soul? It is everything. It starts with the body, the physical part of our selves. It includes our emotions, our mind, our logic and intuition, our subconsciousness and our higher self, our spirit or soul. Our selves are made up from all these components.
The self is Divine. How do we attune to this divine self? The most important step is to really realize this truth. From then on, there are a number of possibilities. Come to know your body, it is sacred. Learn more about your emotions, your reactions, your mind. Take good care of yourself, you are divine.
During this course, we will mostly work with introspection. You will look at yourself and learn more about yourself, your goal, your hopes, your fears, your dreams.
The title of this course is "Daily practice - getting into contact with the Divine daily". I have summarized what I consider to be the Divine: the Gods, the universe and the self. The course will cover all of these aspects. So far, I have introduced three practices, one for each aspect: basic meditation to further your awareness of the divine universe, prayer to get into contact with the Gods, and Daily Pages to get into contact with your divine self. All of these are basic techniques that will be helpful for more advanced techniques.
[1] Kaatryn MacMorgan-Douglas, All One Wicca, Covenstead Press, 2007
[2] Three Initiates, The Kybalion. A study of the hermetic philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greek. Free full text at Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14209)
[3] Starhawk, The spiral dance. A rebirth of the ancient religion of the great goddess. Harper Collins, 1999
This idea uses a very general word: "Divine". What is this Divine? I cannot answer this question for sure, and probably nobody can - only your experience will tell you. However, throughout the history of the different religions, there have been a number of different answers to this question. In Wicca, basically an eclectic and undogmatic religion, you can find different answers represented. While many religions find their ideas or concepts rather exclusive, in Wicca it is not uncommon to find different ideas represented in one circle or coven. You might even find Wiccans believing in more than one answer to the above question about the nature of the Divine.
Kaatryn MacMorgan[1] has written about the concept of three different levels or aspects of the Divine. It can be summarised as:
The Gods are Divine
The universe is Divine
The self is Divine
(in whatever permutation you prefer). All of this can be true together, and all of it has certain implications.
The Gods are Divine
This might be the most obvious statement about a religion that is considered polytheistic. The Gods, the ones we invoke, we talk to, we pray to, we feast with are Divine. Nevertheless it is interesting to know that at least some Wiccans believe that the Gods are not Divine beings but for example archetypes of the subconsciousness. However, if you do believe in the Gods as divine beings, as divine Others, , divine counterparts, that means you can in one way or the other get into contact with these beings, open a dialogue with them. Between to beings, communication is possible. This communication might take different forms. In its simples form, it is pure prayer. In its more complex forms, a number of rituals have as their sole purpose to enable a communication with Gods; one of them being the well known rite of Drawing Down the Moon.
Of course, believing in the existence of Divine Beings raises a lot of difficult theological questions. Where do they come from? How can they interact with us, with our world? What is their world? What, exactly, are they? How many are there, how similar or different are they? The list of questions is endless, and trying to give answers to them is much beyond the scope of this text. The best way to answer all those questions is probably to meet the Gods, to ask them the questions themselves, to learn the answers through experiences. This is what we want to do in this course: Find ways to interact with Divine beings.
The universe is Divine
The Kybalion, a magical text from the beginning of the 20th century[2], claims that the All is Mind. In other books I stumbles upon the concept of Immanence[3]: the divine is not separated from creation, but is immanent in creation, is present within everything. All parts of the Universe are divine, and the Universe as a whole itself is divine. The implications of this concept are immense. First of all, if everything is divine - the tree, the animal - then everything should be treated with respect. Secondly, it means that even things we see as trivial - like a TV, a stone - are divine, are part of the divine universe. Additionally, if everything is part of one divine universe, then everything is interconnected, separation is an illusion. The experience of this basic unity for me has always been one of the most profound mysteries, one that is difficult to put into words. It can be experienced through allowing yourself to experience existence directly: through meditation.
On the other hand you can learn something about the divine universe by learning about its parts and the divine nature of its parts. Grow closer to the divine by growing closer to its parts. Understanding something fully, understanding its divine nature and its connectedness to the rest of the universe can be very enlightening.
In this course we are going to use meditation to experience the divine universe, and we are going to focus upon some parts of the universe to investigate them.
The self is Divine
This is a direct consequence of the fact that the universe is divine. You are a part of that universe - therefore you are divine. You have that divine spark, and the blessings of life. And not only you, but your kid, your spouse, your neighbour, your enemy, everyone.
What is this self I am talking about? Is it the mind? Or the soul? It is everything. It starts with the body, the physical part of our selves. It includes our emotions, our mind, our logic and intuition, our subconsciousness and our higher self, our spirit or soul. Our selves are made up from all these components.
The self is Divine. How do we attune to this divine self? The most important step is to really realize this truth. From then on, there are a number of possibilities. Come to know your body, it is sacred. Learn more about your emotions, your reactions, your mind. Take good care of yourself, you are divine.
During this course, we will mostly work with introspection. You will look at yourself and learn more about yourself, your goal, your hopes, your fears, your dreams.
The title of this course is "Daily practice - getting into contact with the Divine daily". I have summarized what I consider to be the Divine: the Gods, the universe and the self. The course will cover all of these aspects. So far, I have introduced three practices, one for each aspect: basic meditation to further your awareness of the divine universe, prayer to get into contact with the Gods, and Daily Pages to get into contact with your divine self. All of these are basic techniques that will be helpful for more advanced techniques.
[1] Kaatryn MacMorgan-Douglas, All One Wicca, Covenstead Press, 2007
[2] Three Initiates, The Kybalion. A study of the hermetic philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greek. Free full text at Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14209)
[3] Starhawk, The spiral dance. A rebirth of the ancient religion of the great goddess. Harper Collins, 1999
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The beginning
Here we go: today the one year course for coming into contact with the divine daily starts! We will start slowly through the first weeks, with some very, very basic exercises. The important first step is to create a habit of doing something daily. So this week, we will start with prayer. There are a lot of reasons to speak a prayer, and it will not take much time. If possible, you should free some time – perhaps in the morning, before leaving for work, or in the evening, once the active part of the day is over. Think about this carefully – it is easiest to build a habit if you do it every day at the same time, so you should pick a time you can probably keep free most of the time. But if this is not possible on every day, no problem. You can still say a prayer – or more than one, if you want to – some time during the day, in a break, when a sunbeam touches and warms you, when you hear the song of a bird, when you feel the need for it.
I am excited about this course finally starting. Welcome to anyone reading this post, and if you are interested in a series of thoughts, insights, exercises and meditations about getting into contact with the Divine, I certainly hope you will check back every now and again. I will post weekly, probably some time during the weekend.
Hail and welcome, everyone!
I am excited about this course finally starting. Welcome to anyone reading this post, and if you are interested in a series of thoughts, insights, exercises and meditations about getting into contact with the Divine, I certainly hope you will check back every now and again. I will post weekly, probably some time during the weekend.
Hail and welcome, everyone!
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