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Posts Tagged ‘meditation’

Meditation Journal – Week 20: Tigers and Cranes

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2013| 1 Comment »

I’ve finished 20 weeks of documented meditation! Yay!

I went back to check though, and my first documentation was on November 5, and I don’t want to lose credit for this because I did “20 weeks” instead of “5 calendar months”, so I’m going to do another two weeks just to make sure. Since I’m doing a lot of meditation right now, that’s not too hard, I just have to remember to write it all down every Monday.

This week I did several sitting meditations (some were very short, so I’m not sure how to count the little 3-5 minute ones, versus the usual 15-30 minute ones). I included one meditation that included the Two Powers, and combined that with Embrace the Tiger, Return to the Mountain moving meditation – I really do wonder if they serve the same purpose. I’ll definitely be writing about that practice as part of my Two Powers/Grounding and Centering essay, since it helps me so much to balance the powers around me, and involves drawing in energy and balancing it within my body.  (I’ve also discovered that there’s enough room in the larger bathroom stall to do this moving meditation at work, which is useful, since I am both very stressed and extremely visible at work. I share a cubicle with three other people, and it opens across from the break room, so it’s a high traffic area.)

I’ve returned to a focus on my mindfulness practice, since I’m struggling with some mental health cycling, so I’m trying to do at least 15 minutes of sitting meditation daily. This, when combined with more trance-like visualization meditation (like the Two Powers, or visiting my Mental Grove) has been really powerful for me, and will probably be the one practice that I continue doing with solid regularity after I finish my “requirement” for the DP.

This week also included my Ostara celebration, and the devotional aspects of that ritual went very well. I’ll have a full write-up tomorrow.

Also, of note this week, when I was sitting in my Mental Grove, I was visited by the Crane. I’m not sure if this is “just” because I’ve been reading about the Order of the Crane (and considering joining it), or because there are bigger subconscious forces at work. I’ll be seeing if I can nurture that relationship. Usually in my Mental Grove I see animals and spirits that I have relationships with, or who are symbolic of the Gods, so this would fit into that pattern if the Crane is seeking me out as well as I am seeking to see if that path will be right for me.

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Conversations

Posted in Kindreds, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , , , on March 13, 2013| 6 Comments »

>> In which the Druid in the Swamp reveals that she is, in fact, a complete barking moonbat. Enjoy. <<

Breathe in, Breathe out.

Breathe in, Breathe out.

I am breathing in a long, slow in-breath. I am breathing out a smooth, calm out-breath.

Breathe in, Breathe out.

You’re still thinking about breathing.

Breathe in, Breathe out.

Find the stillness. Think about trees. Remember the mental grove? Big tree. Oak tree, loooooong limbs that stretch out all around, breathe into the limbs, breathe into your toes and grow roots, breathe in, breathe out. Be inside the tree, reach out to the water and the sky, breathe in, breathe out.

Still thinking.

Breathe in, breathe out.

That’s better.

Stop thinking about better. Just breathe, dammit.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Hi.

!

Uh.  Hi? Hi! What am I supposed to say now? Who are you?

You know who I am.

Really? Ok, well I figured I was still guessing. I’ll guess that’s right for now, or at least stick with it.

… now what am I supposed to say? Oh great… thing… god? You ARE a god, right?

<laughter>

So I’m supposed to be talking to you. I guess this is like praying, right? I introduce myself and say hi and then tell you all about… what? My desk job? How boring am I, really. I’m glad you liked the cedar incense though. Do you like the pine as well?

<pause>

I like the pine AND the cedar. Maybe I’ll burn both together?

<pause>

Ok, mental note to buy more cedar incense. Um. Now what do I say? Do you… uh… do you like tea?

<laughter> Yes, I like tea. And honey and mead, but you knew that already.

I did? Oh. I guess I did, yeah. Ok, so honey with your tea. What about cider?

<pause> Mead is better.

Ok, Mead. Though you won’t mind if I drink the cider myself right? And maybe share some?

Of course that is fine.

If I can find some, I’ll bring you some raspberry mead. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s amazing. I guess I get to learn about meads now, too. Hey I have tea every morning, maybe I can … um … say something when I drink it? If you don’t hate my office building? Which would be OK, I kind of hate my office building.

<laughter> Just good morning is a start.

I can do that.

>>To be continued (maybe) <<

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Meditation Journal – Week 18

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Four sitting meditations this week, about 20 minutes each time, usually focused on breath, or on trees. I also did the Two Powers in two of them, near the end once I was feeling settled. I tried out a new meditation as well, from a book I’ve been reading about mindfulness. Basically it’s a mindful body scan, breathing in and out of your body from head to foot. I’ve been doing this at night as I’m getting ready to fall asleep, and I think I like it.

Did Tea with the Kindreds on Sunday as well, and I think that went well. It wasn’t as conversational as past weeks, but I didn’t feel like I had as much to say (if that makes any sense). I lit cedar incense, since that seems to be a favorite, and shared a mug of tea.

The connection with the spirit that has been visiting in my meditations comes and goes – I’m trying to find ways to reach out that result in more contact, and trees seem to be a good way to do that. I’ve had several mental images of trees come up when I’ve been meditating, so I’ve tried to continue that theme. I’ve also had mental images of an area I spent a lot of time as a child. In the house I spent my elementary years in, we had a large, heavily wooded area at the back of the yard, and there was a small clearing there, near the edge. I used to call it my “nature sanctuary”, and I’d play and make little nature offerings there – which is pretty pagan, but my parents must have just thought it was cute. Anyway, I’ve had that place come to mind several times as well, which has been comforting in a way. Whoever this spirit is, He has a strong connection to trees and nature in some way.

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Meditation Journal – Week 17

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , , on March 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Three sitting meditations this week, plus tea with the kindreds. Nothing particularly noteworthy about any of it. I’m becoming more sure of the spirit that has been visiting during my meditations, though I didn’t feel like I made particularly strong contact this week.

I think mostly this exercise has become very perfunctory – I’m doing the exercises to complete a requirement, but I’m not getting a ton out of it right now, because I haven’t had a ton to actually put into it. This is a common thread in most of my practice of Druidry over the last few weeks, related directly to other things in my life. I’ve got some thoughts about that to post later.

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Meditation Journal – Week 16

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , , , on February 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Not a lot to report this week. I did two sitting meditations that went reasonably well. I spent more time this week thinking about meditation than I did actually meditating. While this is somewhat fruitful and brings some measure of insight, I think I need to channel that impulse into actually doing more meditations.

I did not do Tea with the Kindreds this week, simply because I forgot on Sunday to sit down and do it. I remembered as I was getting into bed last night, and by then it was late, and I start work very early. I’ll be sure to do it this week, maybe more than once. I’m hoping to have a little extra time tonight after work, so I will probably do a mini-Tea then. Since I usually do my weekly rune drawing while I’m doing tea with the kindreds, I didn’t do that part either. Yesterday was just nuts! I’ll do that drawing tonight instead.

Last week’s rune was Kenaz, which I read as “pain” – which turned out to be actually pretty applicable to my week. I had an appointment with one of my doctors. It was a rather surreal sort of visit, as I was told that I should continue to do something (in this case strength training exercises) even though they caused me increased joint pain, since it would be protective in the long run. While I understand the point, it’s still pretty hard to get up the enthusiasm to exercise when I know I’ll just be taking pain medication to help deal with the aftermath (not muscle soreness, actual joint pain).

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Meditation Journal – Week 15

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , on February 18, 2013| 3 Comments »

3/4 of the way done recording my meditation experiences for my mental discipline requirement!

Another 3 sitting meditations this week, plus Tea with the Kindreds. All went well enough, though my focus is still inconsistent. I did a slightly different version of the two powers this week, this time combining the two powers script with a tree visualization (roots stretching down, leaves reaching upwards). I think I liked it better than without the tree visualization. I like trees, and I’ve been doing various tree visualizations for years, so the combination feels very familiar in a good way.

I encountered the same presence in Tea with the Kindreds this week that I’ve encountered a few times before. Mostly I just said hello and that I was pleased he was there. He and one of my cats have now been introduced as well, since Max came and sat on me in the middle of my tea. I get a very positive energy feeling from these encounters, which is encouraging.

I also thought I might start drawing a rune a week, to help familiarize myself with them more. This week, of course, I drew Kenaz – a notoriously difficult rune to interpret. The question I asked was “What do I need to focus on this week?”.

Kenaz: Torch, Ulcer, Cheer, Pain, Death

Kenaz can be read either as torch (from some rune poems) or ulcer (from other rune poems). I get a generally negative feeling from this rune this time, so I’m not going to jump immediately to the more positive interpretation. I think, though, I understand what this particular rune drawing is trying to say. Not that I am supposed to focus on pain in a wallowing, self-defeating sort of way, but that I should focus on managing and dealing with pain (something I deal with frequently, as I have chronic pain from a joint disorder, as well as dealing with mental illness). It’s not exactly a happy omen, but one that I probably needed to hear.

I’ll try to remember to check back in with this rune throughout the week, and see if my gut reading about it is correct. (On a much more mundane note, I’m going this week to see the specialist who is helping me with pain management as well, so there may be some of that referenced in the reading.)

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Into the Googler

Posted in General Things, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2013| 1 Comment »

One of the things I like best about my wordpress stats is the list of search terms that have led people to this blog. Usually it’s things you’d expect for a neopagan blog, but occasionally I get things that I wish I could actually answer (or things that are amusing). While mine are not nearly as hilarious (or obscene) as other bloggers (NSFW), I still like looking over them to find out what people are actually reading.

Also squirrel.

Anyway.

god of the swamp – I … don’t actually know of any swamp gods. Other than the usual local swamp spirits. Maybe you can talk to them?

druid grove meditation – I’m a solitary Druid, so I don’t do much grove work. Frequently, Druid groves use a variation on the Two Powers meditation, or another grounding and centering meditation to prepare the group for ritual.

how to use a druid phone – there’s a druid phone? Can I get one? I’d like to use my Druid phone to call up my ancestors and chat with them. I wonder what the long distance rates would be?

the magical druid – is an excellent shop run by two dedicated members of ADF. You should check them out.

significance of my ancestors essay – I think this is as significant as you make it. I am still learning to work with my ancestors, but it’s been the ancestors of spirit (other Druids and ancient people) who I’ve had the best luck connecting with. I’m trying to connect more to my own actual family ancestors now.

mental discipline essay – is a big requirement. You need to do 5 months of weekly mental discipline practice and then either submit your journal or an essay of reflections on it. I’m still working on the 5 months part. My best advice is to schedule time to write the journal, and if you’ve not done any meditation that week, you’ll at least do one immediately before writing.

druid tarot app – There’s not specifically a Druid tarot deck that has an app (that I’ve seen), but I like the Mystic Dreamer tarot app.

squirrel – OVER THERE. LOOK!

non-religious/secular/thanksgiving grace – this is by far the most common search term that brings people here, so I thought I’d repost the non-religious, secular grace I modified for Thanksgiving, that you can read about in this original post.

For this meal we are about to eat, let us be truly thankful
for the blessings of sun and wind and rain, that grow the fruits of the Earth

Let us be truly thankful
for those who planted the crops
for those who cultivated the fields
for those who gathered the harvest

Let us be truly thankful
for those who prepared this food and those who served it.

In this time of plenty let us remember too
those who have no festivity
those who cannot share this plenty
those whose lives are more troubled than our own
and all those who are hungry, sick or cold

As we share in this meal, let us be truly thankful
for all the good things we have
for warm hospitality, loving family, and good company.

Our thoughts go out to family and friends who are not here with us;
We hope that they are safe and well.

May this bountiful meal strengthen our bodies, our minds, and our ties to each other.

Which seems like a happy note to end with.

Squirrel!

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Meditation Journal – Week 14

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , , on February 11, 2013| 3 Comments »

Three sitting meditations this week, with varying degrees of focus. The only one that really didn’t work was done when my husband was on the phone in the next room, and the cats were trying to claw open the door/yowling outside the door. It was just too much distraction, so after 10 minutes of that I was more annoyed than when I’d sat down. I don’t usually need true quiet to meditate, but I was already agitated, so I couldn’t even get focused on my breath.

I’m not doing the Two Powers meditations as much lately, at least not “officially” – I do still ground and center in my sitting meditation, but it’s less of a visualization than the full Two Powers. I still visit my mental grove each night before I fall asleep, using it as a way to help me relax and not get too caught up in thinking.

I also did Tea with the Kindreds this week, and it went OK. No great revelations, but I am definitely feeling a presence(s) while I do it. More so than in my formal Ewemeolc ritual, which is interesting. I’m hesitant to name them, since I don’t want to be wrong or jump to conclusions, and since they tend to be slightly different each time. I’m trying to be as communicative as possible, and make frequent incense and food offerings to try to open up the connection. I don’t know if this will end up as a patron relationship or just someone I develop a working relationship with.

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Meditation Journal – Week 13

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2013| 3 Comments »

More sitting meditation this week! I have some mental health issues that are cropping up (as they are wont to do a few times a year), and the sitting meditation is, as always, helpful. I’ve had my husband helping to remind me to do it, which is also helpful. I’ve taken up lighting incense as well, so I’m doing most of my meditation sitting in front of my altar.

I had one moment in meditation this week where I was absolutely certain that I was being visited by one of the Gods, though I’m not sure which one. I thought to myself “I wonder if this rose incense is ok?” and I got a very clear “It’s alright, but the cedar is better.” answer that I’m quite sure wasn’t me answering myself (because while I like cedar, I personally kind of prefer the rose). I did not do a tea with the Kindreds, but I will be doing that again this week. I need to find out who likes my cedar incense!

I did the two powers meditation during my Imbolc ritual on Friday (more on that tomorrow), and found that swapping from “work mode” to “ritual mode” was kind of hard. I need to allow more time for meditation if I’m going to do my rituals after work in the evenings.  I’m still working with my mental grove exercises as well, usually in bed just as I’m falling asleep. It helps me to relax and unwind from the day really effectively.

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Meditation Journal – Week 12

Posted in Dedicant Path Essays, Meditation Journal, tagged , , , , on January 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

Nothing new and exciting to report. I did a 10-15 minute seated meditation three times this week, and found that my focus is getting better again. Also that I tend to focus better when I meditate sitting in front of my altar – which is probably a combination of quiet space, a place that I’m used to doing work, and something about sitting on the floor feeling more “meditation-y”.

Also, this week, one of my cats has decided that he wants to try meditation too. Or rather, he finds my sitting on the floor to be a good excuse to bug me for pats. I’ve had to start locking him out of the room when I want to really focus, though at one point I just made HIM the focus of the meditation and tried to be really in the moment about it. Both approaches worked alright.

I did the full Two Powers meditation once this week as well. I’m getting better at feeling the sky power consistently – aided by the fact that it’s been very warm and sunny this week.

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