Celtic Spirituality
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Welcome to Celtic Spirituality Honoring the Earth, Respecting the Presented by Land through Peggy Reeder Moore Honoring the Spirits of the Land What is Celtic Spirituality? Embracing the interconnectedness of all living beings. Every hill, rock, flower, tree, or stream is sacred. Manifesting the connection through… Sacred ceremonies Poetry, Songs Clooties Holy wells Prayers Art Seeing the Divine in All of Us The Celts believed humans to be guests of the Earth, dependent on her. In the Western world, we seem to believe we are Earth’s masters— she and all living creation are here for our use. In Celtic Spirituality, Every person is good and full of promise. Every tree could be a dwelling place of a deity. Wait, are those faces in that tree? A comment from John O’Donohue from his book Anam Cara “Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits.” “OTHERWORLD” The ancient Druids of the Tuatha de Danann, who pre-date the Celts, stored hundreds, even thousands of stanzas of versical wisdom, history and lore—our oral history passed down. The Tuatha de taught 3 important things that are foundational for Celtic Spirituality: Honor the gods Do no evil Live courageously Loughcrew, Ireland Tuatha de’s teaching are still important today. Over time, our natural need for wholeness and balance with the Earth has been abandoned and forgotten Technology, engineering, and even Western religion convinced us that we are the “masters” of the Earth In our spiritual life, organized religion has used a human mediator to separate the individual interaction from the sacred and divine. We have become exiled from our own spiritual link Yet…there is movement toward the rebalancing of nature and humankind: Ecological and environmental research Jungian psychology And even science Old Thinking—all Things Are Separate Science Today—all Things Are Connected Today, science represents the atom as a vibrating pulse In the past we viewed the atom as a nucleus with energy lines around it and considered all things as separate unto itself. Today, the Electromagnetic Field Around the Human Body Can Be Measured Your Heart creates an electro- magnetic donut-shaped field known as a Tube Torus. This toroidal field shows the way in which energy flows Maybe the Celts and ancient indigenous HeartMath Institute has lots of information about the heart cultures knew something that our https://www.heartmath.org/ Western culture lost… We are all one and interconnected. Mystical literature of all people sees visions of the spirit behind and within nature In addition to people being interconnected, Celtic Spiritually believes that the natural landscape is spiritually alive with indwelling spirit nature An Earthing Morning Ritual Each morning go outside. Before saying your morning salutation, take off your shoes and put your feet directly on the earth Take your favorite morning drink and before your first sip, pour a small amount on the ground. Make life a Thank the universe for your abundance living prayer. Sit and listen to the sounds around you. Respecting the Earth and Honoring Spirits In Celtic belief, the elements of nature are not just out there someplace but in our souls and our bodies. As people, we are made of fire, earth, air and water. Everything is a stream of consciousness flowing from non-ordinary reality Earth-Centered Celtic Practices Honoring Fire, Earth, Air, Water Acknowledging that the “old ways” still have something to teach us Valuing the elementals, the Faeries, the other beings Respecting animals, trees, plants, rocks, minerals….. Being kind to our fellow human beings And revering the Ancestors Air—element that sets the rhythm of life in motion, the ebb and flow of breathing Our inner world is composed of air— the world of spirit within each of us We honor air in ceremony with Calling the winds of the 4 directions Prayer flags in the wind Wind Sound Time Silence Beauty Truth The Spirit World Birds of the Air Birds allow fresh ideas to fly in through the windows of your mind. The ancients believed birds were messengers of Otherworld The Children of Lir The Birds of Rhiannon From Irish stories From Welsh myth Fire Primary agent of transformation Origin of the world Fire Within our physical bodies The fire within the core of the earth Honoring the fire through ceremony Water—cleanses and heals Water carries information Source originating in the Otherworld Danube River—Ancient Celts who lived nearby named it after the goddess Danu meaning “waters from heaven” Shannon & Boyne Rivers in Ireland—originate in Pool of Hazelnuts Salmon and Wisdom originate from the Land of Truth Sites where water met land were seen as “thin and are guarded by places” where humans could connect with the goddess Boinne invisible spiritual forces River Boyne, Ireland Holy Wells Estimated 3000 in Ireland alone Celts respected natural springs and built shrine-like structures around the places where springs emerged. Today’s honoring of wells is testimony to how powerful a belief this was for the Celts. St Brigit’s Well, Uisneach, Ireland Holy Well Glastonbury The Holy Well at Tara in Ireland Earth strong and full of substance We refer to both our planet and the element of earth—rocks, dirt, and … rooted beings So, to honor the When we work with the earth, ask what earth can you give to earth, not what you can Be more alive…… take from her. Bryce Canyon, Utah We go to the earth to recharge but forget to think what we can give in return. Be more alive, more awake and sensitive to the divinity pulsing throughout the universe. Mother Earth Jaques Cartier Park, Gatineau, Canada, 2017 Celtic spirituality’s relationship to the Sacred and to the Earth allows us to see a mystical aura that enlightens and warms everything before us. Loop Head, Ireland And today what does Celtic Spirituality ask of us? You are always creating INTENTION and these desires do manifest. To be mindful of what you project Keep focused on your goals and desires, while at the same time into the world— releasing them into consciously the wisdom of your soul. and Focused Intention, unconsciously. united with your heart, creates your life experience. .