Our Oceans
Phytoplankton are tiny ocean plants that live near the surface of the water and drift with the ocean currents. Like any other plant they use sunlight and carbon dioxide - photosynthesis - to make food. With phytoplankton, a by product of this process is oxygen. Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is generated from the sea.
The Power of Myth and Storytelling: Part 6 Cailleach, Myth and Spiritual Activism
The traditional role of the local cailleach (pronounced “kylock”) as the wise woman could these days be seen in many ways as spiritual activism. Authentic aspects of her work are to motivate, encourage, facilitate transformation, and educate individuals and communities for their own spiritual pathways.
The Power of Myth and Storytelling: Part 5 – The Sustenance of Myth
Myths are vessels of our collective wisdom treasured and handed down through time. Symbols, dreams and artifacts are keys to their mythic and traditional associations as well as telling their own stories.
The Power of Myth and Storytelling: Part 4 – Your Deep and Eternal Truth
Gandhi believed that the pursuit of truth is true Bhakti (devotion) and the path that leads to God. “It is the talisman by which death itself becomes the portal to life eternal.”
The Power of Myth and Storytelling: Part 3 – Myth and the Otherworld
Myths bring us close to the mystical, to the Otherworld. I wonder if you know what its thresholds look like.
The Power of Myth and Storytelling: Part 2 – Creating Myths for a New World
The great mythologist Joseph Campbell once said that “myths are clues to our deepest spiritual potential.” So what is your story? What aspect of your myth are you living out? How does the land you love relate to this myth? What of the land where you live?
The power of Myth and Storytelling; Part 1: the tradition of the Seanchai
Along the western seaboard of Ireland there are known to be islands that hover between this world and the Other world. If a mortal man steps foot on one of these islands he might disappear. If he lights a fire or scatters ash, the island can become fixed in time and place. This happened to the island we know as Inishbofin not all that long ago in the scheme of things.
Sean nos
Each year with our pilgrimages to Connemara we create community. During our time together in May and in October, we share the incredible experience of a diverse group of people living together, sharing personal experiences and adventure. After our Feminine Warrior group recently left us in May I took time to reflect on all the highlights and challenges of our time together. It was an extraordinary time. From varied backgrounds and life experience, these 10 beautiful women of all different ages each left a deep and marvelous impression on me. I am indebted to them all for their willingness to be spontaneous, to flow with the moment and to be open to the imagination.
Dreaming Back
Ancient peoples of the Earth realised that all illness begins in spirit. This is when we stop following our dreams, when we ignore the signs or omens, when we hold ourselves back from being the best that we can be. How do you react when something happens that stops you in your tracks? It could be circumstances that seem like a random event, bad luck, or a trauma or challenge where you can see a karmic thread, or perhaps where you experience a sense of destiny. Do you see this as an opportunity for change and transformation or as something that you have to push through no matter what, even if it feels as though you are getting nowhere? Do you embrace the challenge or become a victim, or do you carry on in the same old way. Do you ever wonder what you are doing here and what this life is all about?
Our planet’s waterworks
It is vital that we work conscientiously with our water and water resources. Water is a reflector and will reflect back the state of people and the environment around it!! One of the basic principles of the Celtic spiritual pathway is ‘as within so without, as above so below.’
Where pilgrims walk
A pilgrimage can be a powerful rite of passage that signals you are ready to cross a threshold. It is the urge to follow the calling, the deep inner yearning, that draws us out to the “unknown” to seek our connections to the wildness - both inner and outer.