Finding the Pagan Way

Touching Mother Earth

I was sitting in my van one morning, quite recently. The windows were open and I was listening to a pretty little bird chattering away as I gazed across the misty fields. It was a cold damp morning, everything tinged with silver and grey. I could hear the distant traffic from the M180,- it sounded like waves on shore. I relaxed and allowed my mind to wander.

I began to ponder on the myth, and the hidden purpose of civilization. I found myself sitting in a cave, looking out past a large fire in the entrance. Behind it, I felt protected from wolves and bears, but I Knew That I was still surrounded by nature. In the cave with me were spiders, all sorts of bugs… and of course, the very rocks themselves.

I began to think of Star Trek, the popular television series when I was young. I loved it!, however, there were certain assumptions behind the series that do us much more harm than good. The series promulgated the assumption that somehow, man would ‘conquer’ the universe,- that he could, somehow, feed himself with an unknown source of power that was controlled by computers. As if the barren planets on which he landed were of no real consequence. This idea of being independent of our own mother planet has moulded us into an attitude of carelessness and dulled our realisation that we depend very much for our survival on mother earth.

Since the dawn of ‘civilisation’, mankind has destroyed the ecological balance around his cities at an alarming, and accelerating rate. We have deserts where we once had huge forests,- caused by early cities stripping the woods for fuel, then allowing over-grazing by livestock. We raze millions of acres of tropical forests every single year. We pump billions of tons of gasses into the atmosphere, without any idea of the full impact of our actions. And the reason for our actions?

This has always seemed the craziest part of an insane history. So many people have lived and died for gold. It is pretty, and it makes lovely jewellery, but its true value is so much less than that which society places on it. Yet, those who have risen to the upper echelons of our society, seem to be those who love and worship wealth above all things.

Counting Up and Counting Out

Shiny coins and crisp new notes. Counting money,- counting votes.
Counting on my new friend, Mammon, hoping He will help me out.
Anticipating envy in the eyes of all who see my mounting wealth,
Images inside my avaricious eyes, of all my enemies who’ll scream and shout,
but not for joy.

Pile it up beneath the bed. Dig a hole beneath the floor inside the garden shed.
Mustn’t say too much, or have too many people stopping by,
I tell them just enough, To see the envy growing in their eyes.

Sometimes, I think a party would be nice, Counting Up and Counting Out.

Shiny coins and crisp new notes. Counting money,- counting votes.
Counting on my new friend, Mammon, hoping He will help me out.
Anticipating envy in the eyes of all who see my mounting wealth,
Images inside my avaricious eyes, of all my enemies who’ll scream and shout,
but not for joy.

Pile it up beneath the bed. Dig a hole beneath the floor inside the garden shed.
Mustn’t say too much, or have too many people stopping by,
I tell them just enough, To see the envy growing in their eyes.

I could show my many pretty things and hand out free advice,
But then I think about the price,
and change my mind.

It’s coming with me when I die,
A coffin made of solid gold inside a temple reaching to the sky.
And if you want to know the reason why,
It’s mine!, and I don’t wish to share it.
I doubt that you would care for it ,
the way I do.

It’s for the best that all my wealth should stay with me.
And I’ll be rich for all eternity…
I think it is so truly fine, that until the very end of time,
I’ll have more wealth than you!

Patrick W Kavanagh
18/02/13

Worship of Mammon, by Evelyn de Morgan 1909

But how have we reached the insane conclusion that cash is more important that corn or crops,- or even the air that we breathe?. More importantly, how do we cure this strange illusion?

Modern society has made us become divorced from reality to a great extent. We foolishly believe that we are somehow separate from nature. I was as much a victim of this illusion as many other people are. I gazed at the stars, while being totally oblivious to the earth beneath my feet.

Meaning

A single feather falls from a clear blue sky,
into your open palm.
Mystery,
Truth,
Beauty,
Love,
The Universe is still, and has a meaning of its own.
It simply Is.
The busy human mind has spun a web of fantasy and lies.
We trample on the flowers,
But never once look to the skies.

Patrick W Kavanagh
21/01/2013

Art by Boy So Blue Graphic Arts and photography

A whole new world opened up for me when I met my wife Tina. I had spent my whole life in searching for the meaning of life. I read thousands of books,- most of them now totally forgotten.

Tina and I became friends about two years after my late wife passed. When I was around her, I felt a peace that I had not had for a long time. Tina has a beautiful, healing aura that mny people notice as soon as they meet her. I was sitting in her garden one day, and she persuaded me to take off my shoes and feel the grass and the earth under my feet. I had been reading about how the build up of positive ions in the body is believed to cause bad health,- so I agreed to try it. I really believe it was the begining of my new life that day. Slowly, as the weeks passed I began to feel much more alive.

Then, my whole world seemed to open up. I have described many of the events in previous articles, so I will not repeat them here. I believe that Tina and I were guided to each other, so that we could help each other in our work. Once I had begun to ground again, and reconnect to the earth, my health, vitality and spirituality all took on new life.

Tina and I were handfasted last year, by a wiccan priest and priestess, who have become good friends. I can still remember my first converation with D,- who tried to explain the level of aliveness and connection that is felt when totally open to the elements. I still have a lot to learn in this area myself. I would certainly advise everyone to spend as much time barefoot, and away from synthetic floorings, as much as possible. In a few short years, I have regained much, simply by going barefoot as much as possible.

We need to reconnect to nature if we wish to save ourselves, and this beautiful planet which nutures and sustains us. To me, a large part of paganism is about re-establishing that connection. We do not have time to squabble about different ideologies. They do not matter in the overall scheme of things. Either we are awake, connected and seeking the light,- or we are asleep.

There are awakened people in every culture and belief system.

The universe is alive and intelligent. Spirit exists and interacts with us in many forms, depending on our expectations. We can open up to the meaning and the help available, simply by deciding that we need to. Intention is everything. If we hold to our intent, then a path will be opened for us. It will most likely be a slightly different path for everyone who seeks to walk it,- but, the journey needs to be taken.

Spirit and Nature are intertwined. They are all around us. We all like our comforts, but the balance needs to be restored with nature. It starts with the realisation that we are a part of nature and always connected. We are also connected to each other,- everything we do impacts on the whole world and everyone in it. Tina and I do all we can, in our small way, to increase that connection. We share all that we have learned and are still learning. We give spirit readings and heal with the spirit drum. More and more people around us are becoming active in drumming and healing. There are many paths, and many others are doing similar things under different labels. Our hope,is that the trickle of spirituality will become a torrent which will sweep away the stupidity of world governments who care only for profit and power. Many call us “Tree Huggers” and “New Age Hippies”. I do not mind either term. I try to live for peace and love,- and the most empowering thing any of us can do is to hug a tree and feel the energy and healing that pours from them.