Healing the Violation of Theft

Healing the Violation of Theft

"The children of the wicked
In storm and in wind
Lie in the heather,
Their blood on the field,
Their shafts by their sides,
And their quivers full."
   __Scots Gaelic song (trans CM)

   In our society, theft, robbery, and burglary are very real threats, causing us to take many arcane precautions. Theft - even if it happens when we are out of the house - is a terrible violation of our space and causes great insecurity. The fact that someone has taken our things is almost swallowed up by the thought that a stranger has been in our space and touched our surroundings with his malice.
   It is clear that of thieves there will be no lack till the world's end. Whether theft arises as a result of envy, greed, or need, the one who suffers theft will be just as shocked and violated in the end. So how do we restore a sense of safety or security afterward?
   The healing of such violation as theft requires a ceremony that reconsecrates ourselves or our surroundings. Such a ceremony involves a statement of facts, an expression of anger or frustration at those facts, an actual and a symbolic cleansing of the violation, a reinstatement and marking of our own or our home's boundaries, and a reconsecration affirming our home's sacredness. All these aspects can help reweave the violation after theft.

"Create your own simple ceremony to reconsecrate your home, your car, or yourself after a robbery."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

The Unquiet Mind

The Unquient Mind

"Oh the mind, mind has mountains, cliff of fall
Frightful, sheer no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap may who ne'er hung there."
   ___Gerard Manley Hopkins, "No Worst, There is None"


   As social pressures to be all things to all people increase, so does the prevalence of mental illness. It has been customary to think of such illness as an unfortunate heredity problem suffered by others, but it becomes clearer every day that it common to all of us.
   Signs of mental disquiet are not usually apparent to others and do not impinge upon others' lives until the person's behavior is affected. Behavioral changes do not have to be labeled as madness to draw our attention, however. We may realize that our partner's failure to make good decisions results from his inability to shift his received expectations, for example, or that our friend's addictive behavior is based upon terrible insecurity. We may even notice signs of creeping paranoia in our own lives, a fear so great that we avoid any occasion to notice it, a truth so frightful that we spend our lives projecting it upon everyone but ourselves.
   The ability of soul-friends to recognize the early stages of such states of mind is often acuite. With our own friends, we can keep a watchful eye out for signs of disquiet, offering reality checks, asking questions and giving opportunities for help to be requested. It is not generally our place to treat the early signs of mental disquiet, but it is always our task to encourage, support and befriend in times of turmoil.

"What are your own current 'cliffs of fall'? How did you get there? What help is available (or could you seek ) to help you down?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

Ceremony

Ceremony

"How else but in custom and ceremony are innocence and beauty born?"
   ___ W. B. Yeats, "A Prayer for My Daughter"


   Ceremony enables transition. Rituals of initiation, such as baptism and graduation; seasonal rituals, rituals of prayer and remembrance; dedication rituals, such as marriage; protective rituals in which we invoke our guardian spirits - all these help create a sacred link between us and Spirit, conferring special grace. Ceremony does not have to be dramatic or wordy, and it need not involve a cast of thousands. The constituents of a ceremony are simple:
* The need or impulse for ritual
* Space and time dedicated to the ceremony
* The intentioned, sacred use of objects, elements, and expressive and apposite means of music/speech/silence/meditation
* A role for everyone participating, if appropriate
* A space of silence or emptiness in which divine interaction can happen
* A clear statement of the purpose at the beginning and a thank-you afterward
* A point at which celebrants remember and include the rest of the universe, especially those who share their needs.

  Ceremony can happen in any suitable place: our own home is our hearth and shrine, and as such is quite suitable for personal ceremonies. In times of transition, new ceremonies that meet the needs of a society are urgently needed, so that innocence and beauty - the currency of Spirit - can flow into our lives.

"Choose a real need in your life. Devise a short and simple ceremony that will address that need practically. (Examples of needs include beginning a new job, preparing for retirement, cleaning the home after a burglary, adjusting to children leaving home, and entering the hospital.)
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

The Tune of the Cosmic Dust

The Tune of the Cosmic Dust

"Human beings, vegetables, cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player."
   __ Albert Einstein, interview


   Those who, like Einstein, come daily into contact with the physical laws that order the universe cannot help but catch the strains of the great dance in which we are all whirling. Whether it be in the intricacy of cellular formation, or in the flow of currents, or in the vast patterning of the stellar orbits that illuminate the heavens, scientists are privileged to see into the structure of that dance.
    The inapprehensible motion of life escapes our daily awareness, as does the tune of the cosmic dust that orders us all in one great dance of life. We do not hear it playing until we come to a point where our ordinary and subtle senses are aligned together. Then we come into harmony and awareness of both worlds at once, the apparent and the unseen worlds in conscious communion within us. These privileged moments cannot be sought; they come unbidden, surprising us into mystical vision. It may be that when we interrupt a walk on a high place at evening to admire the view, we apprehend the revolution of the earth as a physical motion beneath our feet; it may be that we become aware of a rhythm that weaves about the steady beating of our own heart, as if it were a partner in the dance.
   The resonances to which we respond and the relationship between ourselves and the music of life give us the only clues available about the nature of the invisible partner - clues reassuring enough that we can trust the source of our music.

"Attune to the cosmic tune and rhythm of life; stand and dance."
]From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

(the image above is The Fox Fur Nebula

The Service of Beauty

The Service of Beauty

"The concern of the Primary Imagination, its only concern, is with sacred beings and sacred events. The sacred is that to which it is obliged to respond; the profane is that to which it cannot respond and therefore does not know."
   ___ W. H. Auden, "The Dyer's Hand"


    We each have an instinct that informs us when something is aesthetically pleasing; we are aware of the interplay of order, balance, and harmony. When a house or an object is ill-conceived, when a garment or a plan does not sit well, we have a strong sense of physical discomfort or agitation.
   The 'primary imagination' reveals to us the hidden beauty and order of the universe, giving us a sense of the sacred. Unfortunately, our society now seems to foster a stronger instinct to acclaim the profane, to deviate from the sacred simplicity of harmony and beauty as a 'fashion statement.'
   The difference between sacred and profane is this: the sacred includes all that can be conceived of in the history of existence, while the profane excludes everything except what serves our present craving. The profane can be easily spotted because it lacks beauty and harmony. The primary imagination will not dance to the profane: it is a servant only of the sacred.
   The sacred is often narrowly defined as pertaining only to religious institutions, but the service of the primary imagination runs in every aspect of our lives. We ourselves are not exempt from the service of beauty. The way we furnish our homes, the objects we buy, the kinds of theories we buy into - all these are subject to this sacred service.

Look around your home with the eye of the primary imagination. What grates upon your sense of harmony and beauty? How can your home better reflect the service of beauty?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

Kinship of Nature

Kinship of Nature

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."   ___William Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

  As we walk through the countryside at this time of year, it is easy to feel our symbiotic connection with nature. The rich profusion of colors and the abundant seeding and fruiting of the land in preparation for autumn all beckon us into a wider family circle. We return home after such a walk, perhaps to the city, brimming with a sense of belonging, but this feeling fades sooner or later as we are immersed once more in the daily running of our lives.
  We place reminders of nature's beauty about our home. Driven by recognition that our kinship with nature is slipping, we surround ourselves with 'natural' or 'organic' things. While such things may remind us of our wider relationship, they do not truly connect us, since kinship must pass beyond strictly visual reminders if it is to be authentic.
   It is in the touch of nature that connection is most strongly made, for it is at the most physical levels that recognition of kinship is triggered. We engage with our kindred when we are in physical contact: whether we tend our garden, groom our dog, or receive the kiss of rain upon our skin. These moments of precious contact are opportunities for loving thankfulness, in recognition of the fact that we are wholly akin to a greater family. When we live our lives open to such moments, we enter a wider embrace that includes us all.

"What relationships do you have with your natural kin, apart from other human beings? What trees, animals, rocks and places call out to you as kindred? Become more aware of these precious kindred and the way in which you yourself are included in the relationship."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

Landmarks

Landmarks

"We can have inherited no single syllable from the names given by Paleolithic hunters, but never since their day have our landmarks been without them, without some sound to enrich and confirm their personality."
     ___ Jacquetta Hawkes, "A Land"

   The abiding landmarks of our country have personality, quality, and emotive properties. Landmarks - features of the and that speak to us of the ancient sculpting of the earth in distant eras - recall the coming of humankind, who raised and shaped the land in new ways; and they embody the myths, deeds, and actions that have happened there.
   The process of naming places in the land began in ancestral eras too distant to imagine, but we can guess that our ancestors, like us, saw the broad outlines of gigantic figures - the jut of a giant's knee, the rocky profile of a noble face, the upturned breasts of a goddess, the vast cauldron of a river-filled canyon or valley.
   Every natural landmark is redolent of the myths and legends of the land. Even in seemingly featureless places, those stories still run like veins of golden song beneath the sleeping earth. The utterance of the landmark's name can be a magical evocation of its stories and remembrances.

"Recall the features of the landscape around your own home. What would they be like without manmade structures upon them? What stories, traditions, and songs abide in your land? If your land was once occupied by other peoples, what was its name in that time, and how does it preserve that meaning?
   When you next walk in your locality, be sensitive to the spirit of the place. Name the area; get to know it; let its story be told again."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]

September

Month of September - benign are the planets;
Tending to please, the sea and the hamlet;
Common it is for steeds and men to be fatigued."
      ___ anon. Welsh poem

The month of September sees the fruit and berry harvest, and the turning of the trees to their many
colors. The meditation themes for this month include appreciating the harvest, home, wandering,
belongi9ng, boundaries, nationhood, music, beauty, and ceremony.