DP#10 Spiritual Practice
Another essay that dogmatic believers enter at their own risk. I wrote this one at the beginning of June 2004; I've changed quite a bit since then, while remaining essentially myself...
Spiritual Practice
Spiritual practice is difficult for me to pin down, as I find that the more definitive I am with the identity of gods and goddesses, the less inclined I am to believe it. Yet, seeing the gods and goddesses as divine archetypes, as aesthetic sensibilities, I can sometimes go along with it.
My husband is definitely oriented in Celtic spirituality, while my son found a connection to Thor when he was a toddler. As a member of Stone Creed Grove, which practices mostly a hybrid between Celtic and Norse ADF rituals, the family spirituality seems to fit in well.
Personally, I have found that Brigh and Gaia resonate with me as useful archetypes within a meditative practice, but I like the aesthetic practice of the public Grove rites, as well as the more intimate Blessing Rites of First Friday meetings. While I do not usually present my own candle to be blessed for magical workings, I like to lend my meditative support to other grove members for their magical workings. I still have trouble with the belief aspect of magical stuff, although I’m beginning to see the psychological benefit to focusing on certain desires, whether it be psycho-spiritual or just placebo (if there is a difference at all…).
I have started yoga, based on two DVDs that I purchased recently. I find that meditating with yoga is soothing and invigorating.
I have been reading Robert Anton Wilson and opening up neural constructs that enable me to see concepts from differing viewpoints. This past weekend I found myself able to “grok” two seemingly mutually untenable concepts simultaneously: why women willingly don a burka and why women willingly dance on a pole (monetary incentive aside). Mind blowing. And expanding-allowing me to get inside the skins of other humans whether or not I personally agree (and I don’t have a desire to do either, even if I respect those women, respectively…). I think meditative practice has helped create these sensibilities.
I find that song and repetitive intonation (a kind of song) help meditation in a synergistic fashion. Sometimes when I have been playing piano or other instruments, I have had the rare privilege of slipping into a heightened trance, being able to play more accurately as I become one with the music. This heightened awareness is calmly ecstatic. It is connective, in the same way that meditation is connective. And knotwork, my addiction, is another aspect of that connectivity.
I also see spiritual practice rooted in the concrete world. It is of no use unless it relates to one’s experience and actions in the concrete world. Thus, even gardening is deeply spiritual. It is connected with knotworking and other aesthetic activity for me. In a sense, all deliberate action can be spiritual, depending on one’s attitude towards it.
This interconnectedness among all things in some ways stands in the way of my committing to a specific cultural practice. I think it is leading me to a global spirituality rather than a cultural spirituality, but I think my family’s and grove’s Celtic-Norse cultural basis will serve to keep me focused in cultural activities…
Spiritual Practice
Spiritual practice is difficult for me to pin down, as I find that the more definitive I am with the identity of gods and goddesses, the less inclined I am to believe it. Yet, seeing the gods and goddesses as divine archetypes, as aesthetic sensibilities, I can sometimes go along with it.
My husband is definitely oriented in Celtic spirituality, while my son found a connection to Thor when he was a toddler. As a member of Stone Creed Grove, which practices mostly a hybrid between Celtic and Norse ADF rituals, the family spirituality seems to fit in well.
Personally, I have found that Brigh and Gaia resonate with me as useful archetypes within a meditative practice, but I like the aesthetic practice of the public Grove rites, as well as the more intimate Blessing Rites of First Friday meetings. While I do not usually present my own candle to be blessed for magical workings, I like to lend my meditative support to other grove members for their magical workings. I still have trouble with the belief aspect of magical stuff, although I’m beginning to see the psychological benefit to focusing on certain desires, whether it be psycho-spiritual or just placebo (if there is a difference at all…).
I have started yoga, based on two DVDs that I purchased recently. I find that meditating with yoga is soothing and invigorating.
I have been reading Robert Anton Wilson and opening up neural constructs that enable me to see concepts from differing viewpoints. This past weekend I found myself able to “grok” two seemingly mutually untenable concepts simultaneously: why women willingly don a burka and why women willingly dance on a pole (monetary incentive aside). Mind blowing. And expanding-allowing me to get inside the skins of other humans whether or not I personally agree (and I don’t have a desire to do either, even if I respect those women, respectively…). I think meditative practice has helped create these sensibilities.
I find that song and repetitive intonation (a kind of song) help meditation in a synergistic fashion. Sometimes when I have been playing piano or other instruments, I have had the rare privilege of slipping into a heightened trance, being able to play more accurately as I become one with the music. This heightened awareness is calmly ecstatic. It is connective, in the same way that meditation is connective. And knotwork, my addiction, is another aspect of that connectivity.
I also see spiritual practice rooted in the concrete world. It is of no use unless it relates to one’s experience and actions in the concrete world. Thus, even gardening is deeply spiritual. It is connected with knotworking and other aesthetic activity for me. In a sense, all deliberate action can be spiritual, depending on one’s attitude towards it.
This interconnectedness among all things in some ways stands in the way of my committing to a specific cultural practice. I think it is leading me to a global spirituality rather than a cultural spirituality, but I think my family’s and grove’s Celtic-Norse cultural basis will serve to keep me focused in cultural activities…