The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘commune’

I was lost. I had been in New York city for the past 3 weeks and was looking for a connection. There are many times in life when one can reach out to guides or teachers for help and direction. These guides don’t have to be the mundane kind (i.e. people), they can be of an esoteric nature.

As I said, I was lost and in need of some simple direction, at the very least a nice commune with that gorgeous goddess Caileach would have been pleasant. Brilliant though the brick city is, one can’t help but wonder where is the natural touch?

I meandered around Central Park in the hopes of finding a suitable connective media. A bit like wandering the city trying to find a free WiFi connection. Alas nothing was in the offing. I was confounded! As readers may know I have gained a certain sympathy with trees and yet here I was being blanked.

I got my dowsing rods out and after a while came to the conclusion that I wasn’t being blanked at all. In fact what was the case was that there was no significant energy amongst the trees in this park. My intuition (which was confirmed with dowsing) suggested that the constant inter-play with human energies had left this park feeling and being empty. Wow!

Nevertheless I tried to commune with Caileach, my erstwhile mentor(ess?) and failed miserably. But surely we are talking about a Goddess here, not your average entity. So I tried again a few times and nothing. What was going on?Was she being blocked? Was my calling not loud enough? What???

Musing and pondering (with the addition of dowsing) led me to an interesting conclusion. Caileach is a Goddess of Britain and Ireland. Her power here is amazing, in other lands her reach is as good as those (and amount matters) followers she has there. Which I am guessing in the States isn’t too many.

We have so many theories about deities. Here is one: surely Caileach is an aspect of the Goddess and in other lands she is known by another name and so should still be able to be invoked? No. Really? Yes, really. No.

Invoked is the wrong word to use, communed with, or asked for help of, might be better.

Ask the dowsing rods yourself. Apparently Caileach is a local goddess (entity). This goes against a lot of book learned law I know but I am only going by what I have dowsed. Thus in the land of the America’s I was unable to connect with her.

Gwas and I speculated as to how we could bridge this gap and we came up with a theory. If we could find a connective object which we could associate with (or create an association with) Caileach perhaps this could be used to commune with her from a distant place. Gwas has created numerous such bridges and connections so I was eager to try.

Yesterday, I travelled to a Sacred Site that I really feel a deep connection with, Alderley Edge. At the Magicians wood I asked some questions to confirm my (our) hypothesis and the answers came back as true. I could indeed create an associative object that would allow me to commune with Caileach wherever I was. As I was dowsing these findings a thought came to mind from the works of that famed shaman, Carlos Castaneda. The memory was of him going to a watering hole to find a spirit catcher. My intuition and dowsing told me that this was exactly what I needed. A spirit catcher is a bridge between you and an entity.

Yes, you guessed it, I am out looking for a spirit catcher, the spirit I am interesting in catching (metaphorically speaking) is Caileach.

Kal Malik – in search of a spirit catcher

Continuing on from my recent (yesterday) visit to the Ancient Yew tree in North Wales.

Ancient Yew

It was night time and the stars were out. The day had been cold but in the evening it had mellowed to a comfortable warmth. I had been sitting (looking at the picture above) about the center of the picture and slightly to the left of the trunk for some time happily communingAn interaction with an invisible and natural sentient force that is independently identifiable, even if it cannot be named or classified. The interaction takes place at the level of a subtle amalgamation of the mind of the perceiver such that a dialogue or transference of feelings may occur between the two sentient parties. The interaction that is ‘communing’ is purposefully initiated by the perceiver for the express purpose of learning or simply to transfer feelings in a sympathetic manner. with this marker of times passage. 4000 years! That still impresses me so much.

Many topics filtered in and out of my consciousness as I sat and mused the time away. A few times I wished Gwas was there. It seems natural for me to be out with him rather than on my own. Strange…

Here I was though, wanting to visit with this marvelous tree rather than needing to or being called to – it was a unique experience as on almost all other occasions of me going out on my lonesome it has been in response to some kind of “calling”.

Odd it is

“Odd it is” as Yoda would say, that we need to find some higher purpose and meaning when walking a more spiritual path. In “normal” cases we look for approval from some Guru or from some spiritual text. In less normal cases we look for approval from “the universe”. We wait for a sign or for “when the time is right” In the parlance of a personal development coach (which is what my day job is) this is referred to quite simply as an avoidance tactic (or to put it less mildly an excuse not to do anything).

As my commune continues with the ancient yew, I asked for any guidance as to where I was going and what I should do and when I should do it? You have already seen that the Trickster was at work – see previous post – where I was admonished for deriving meaning from the meaningless. I would like to elaborate on that as there was much more wisdom to go with it.

You are very strange, you do not know what you have inside of you. You walk around asking for help and understanding from rock, branch and water when they can only give to you what you give to them.

This telling of had stopped me in my musing and made me pay attention…What are you saying? That I should be leaving more gifts? Offerings?

Tch, I am a mirror, a reflection, why do you think it is that all who come to me see a different persona, a different feeling, a different experience? Co-creation!

Yes, I know that already. This is a path of co-creation as determined by both off us.

No, it isn’t!

Okaaaayyyyy…???

The path is of “your” creation, I am the world in which you walk it.

Ah…Er…What?

Paths

It’s quite simple. Are you dense?

Hmmm Trickster? Yes, I am dense (as per usual) explain.

You come to me looking for meaning and purpose. I am a reflection…I will reflect back that very question “What is your purpose and meaning?” I cannot give your life meaning, just as much as you cannot give me meaning.

You have meaning inside of you, you cannot ever have no meaning and purpose, should you sit here and do nothing ever again, every breath you take will be as meaningful as if you went out and explored the world, indeed…(smile) if you saved the entire world.

Wow, that is deep to be sure I am going to have to muse on that for – a life time.

Let me ask you…What is the meaning of your life?

The commune went totally strange now because, before I could get an answer in, the question was repeated again and again, kind-of hauntingly until it wasn’t even a question or words any more but a deep sound, like a drum beat that, with every beat, dug deeper inside of me. Now that I think back to it, it was like the Earth Song I had heard in Alderley Edge forest. See this post.

I think it was trying to get deep inside of me so that I could feel the “meaning” inside of me, but I fluffed it I fancy because intellectually I understood it – but didn’t get a “feeling” from it.

The beat had also knocked me out of commune and I settled back against a gravestone (ooops) and took in the smell of incense – did I mention I had lit some?

One of the most fantastic things about this old (I assume its old) churchyard is the wonderful backdrop to it. Again if you look at the picture above…Behind the Tree it goes into a slope (which incidentally has  power center on it) and then into a graveyard that is sectioned off by a couple of paths.

Walking along this path is a wonderful way in which to garner further insights into any meditation. The use of the dowsing rods with this musing provides mental (questioning) paths to follow. Quite remarkable.

One day Gwas and I will go there during the day and with Gwas’s new camera take some more revealing pictures.

Anyways stay tuned for the final part of this “Yew” post which is tantalisingly entitled – “Spirit Walk” – oooh!

Fin,

Kal

Waking to a cold and frosty morning. I reckoned that the sun was going to be out before long and so opted for a trip to Delamere forest for a walk and general closeness to nature. Wayne Dyer recommends this kind of stuff as ‘wilderness therapy’ although exactly what I was being therapised for in this instance was unspecified. Perhaps it is like going to the gym and more of a ‘maintenance therapy’? Hmmm!

Delamere Forest

So it was that some time in the morning I found myself walking amongst the last of the Autumn leaves and enjoying the sense of treeness that has been my companion throughout this year.

As ever, the clanking of the dowsing rods stuffed in my utility belt – or in this instance the whole in the back pocket of my jeans – suggested that I should do some dowsing.

Gwas and I have done some dowsing in this forest before, concerning tree auras etc. So I didn’t really fancy that kind of investigation.

Tree aura work is interesting exercise however at the moment we have no understanding as to how it relates to anything – for example is a small aura mean the tree is ill or well? What do the aura colours mean? Only once have we encountered an aura that gave us more information and that was when a tree had no aura. So until we know what we can correlate aura information with – it remains interesting knowledge only.

Well, with the winter solstice approaching I thought that it might be good to see if I can garner any information about what to do, where to go, any preparation work etc. On these lines I began walking around following the rods to find a suitable location to ask these questions. After a suitable amount of random wandering the rods swirled and indicated a nice comfortable spot.

I would add a picture of the spot – but since these spots tend to be highly personal what would be the point?

So there I was sitting on the frost harden floor – fortunately way outside of the walkers paths and trying to commune with nature…and failing miserably?

What was going on? Usually I am really good with trees (see all my tree posts) but here I was getting a non sequitur response.

Another shot of Delamere

Okay… I double checked that I was in a good spot? Yes I was. I checked that it was a good time of the year to meditate and/or ask for answers – it was. I asked whether all conditions were suitable to commune with nature. Yes – go for it came the dowsing response.

Indeed, I am going for it but not getting anywhere I thought! Trickster? Is you about? If the dowsing rods could laugh, they would have. So I had a bite to eat (note to self – get a thermos for hot drinks!) and refreshed had another bash at communingAn interaction with an invisible and natural sentient force that is independently identifiable, even if it cannot be named or classified. The interaction takes place at the level of a subtle amalgamation of the mind of the perceiver such that a dialogue or transference of feelings may occur between the two sentient parties. The interaction that is ‘communing’ is purposefully initiated by the perceiver for the express purpose of learning or simply to transfer feelings in a sympathetic manner..

Nil Point! Ok, whatever! I got up and said to no one in particular, “fine, be like that” and stomped off! I had got about ten feet when I tripped and fell on my face! Lovely!

As I was pushing myself up, a thought occurred to me…was this the place to meditate, was this a sign? Hmmm…So I sat where I tripped and tried again to commune and lo and behold…Nothing!

Now I was puzzled…why? Why was I getting nothing when the dowsing, the spot, the trees where all in place. O and no it wasn’t because of the season (see the above bit of dowsing).

Shot of the forest

More dowsing was required…was i missing some ingredient to todays work? Yes. Ahh now we are getting somewhere…Did I need to ask permission or give some offering? No…You’re a welcome guest…Aw…Aren’t trees nice? Did I need to focus on something? Kind of.

For those who are new to dowsing – or indeed old to it – a “kind-of” response is indicated by a very lame “yes” response.  Perhaps next year we will do some youtube videos of dowsing responses. Then again we’re not here to teach but rather to describe.

So, some kind of focus was needed. What kind though? A question? Yes came the rods response “I needed a question”. This is strange because in previous communes I happily sat with a “I wonder what I’ll get attitude” and now it seemed that things had changed. Or had they? So I asked whether this was a one-off thing where I needed a question? No, well sort of No.

Ok to cut a long session of dowsing short here is how the results mounted up. Before I was semi-directionless and so that was a reflection of the commune. It provided ways in which to find direction rather than direction itself. Now that I had direction it provided knowledge and wisdom based on the questions that I asked.

Interesting isn’t it. As Gwas indicates its a two way street. Here is another set of interesting responses that I got – don’t know what put me on this track of questioning but…

Nature is nature…sounds weird at first but here is a thing…if you have bad energies in an environment and someone with no intent in mind puts a plant into that environment the negative energies will flourish and/or the plant will die. Life grows and intends other things to grow too. A tsunami swept away hundreds of people a few years ago on the coast of Sri Lanka and India. Earthquakes happen and kill humans, animals and plants. Nature is what it is. Sometimes if all the conditions (or enough of them) are favourable then the interaction proves fruitful.

Pardon that little interlude, once you get into this questioning and dowsing spiral you can end up in really strange places (and thought proving as above).

Getting back to the forest. Now I was casting about for a question and came up with the one I had gone there in the first place with Doh!

Doh

In a end of year post that I will be putting up I named the upcoming Winter Solstice as the twilight of the year and so I sat there in the spot asking whether there was any preparation required for the coming twilight of the year? It was quite a while before images and sensations crept into my thoughts. The first was…

It isn’t the twilight of the year. More accurately this time is the sunrise of the year when those that have slept begin to yawn and stir. For you who have tried to buck this trend by keeping active, the preparation will be to still yourself up to this time and so you will see some benefit.

Otherwise it will be like you going into a warm place and not taking your coat off, and so you will not feel the benefit of the coat when you return to the cold. So if you choose to stop for this short period of time you will see the rewards of starting again after the solstice. But if you don’t the rewards will still come but you they just won’t be so obvious (or seen). Just like the coat will keep you warm when you return to the cold but you don’t notice that it does.

Wow! what a piece of wisdom! Sunrise of the year! How is it that it makes sense after you see it? “So will there be anything in particular that I need to do on the Solstice itself” is the question I put out there…

The solstice is inevitable (I knew that!) it is a doorway that you can use to connect with spirit should you choose (ok…not spirit again). You’re best times is in the summer sun. You should work towards that time being the peak of your activities then they will be most fruitful. The Solstice marks the turning point. For all, it is the time of the New. It all begins then. Or rather the spiral starts its new orbit then. The energy that is released on that day is that…of beginnings…of starts…of rebirths. Use it to that effect.

Ok useful, but not as directed as ‘go here and do that’ which I was rather hoping for. The doorway to spirit stuff…I wasn’t to sure about. Note to the universe or its local representative…please refrain from all this spirit malarkey.

Next bit of meandering thought I had in mind was, what would the after effects of the Solstice be?

None, I got this in mind…before the solstice – work and eat – after the solstice – work and eat

OK, I guess GIGO applies to this kind of query too…Garbage In Garbage Out although I felt that the ‘work’ part wasn’t referring to work work.

Was all this of value? Value is a strange concept in this world and can only be defined from a personal perspective. I found the above knowledge to be profound in some instances, valuable in others. But that is me.

I did do a lot of other little bits of dowsing after to clarify a few things and search for the meanings behind others. But that information was personal to me and it’s not that I don’t want to share it here – there would be no point…

It’s like me saying I like vanilla flavoured ice-cream. Why would you want to know that?

O and I will leave you with this juicy note…Often Gwas and I have wondered why we don’t dowse more often at home…surely distance doesn’t matter? Surely I should be able to connect with the spirit of tree from anywhere? Why do we need to go out to sacred places for such communes…Here is an answer…

When communingAn interaction with an invisible and natural sentient force that is independently identifiable, even if it cannot be named or classified. The interaction takes place at the level of a subtle amalgamation of the mind of the perceiver such that a dialogue or transference of feelings may occur between the two sentient parties. The interaction that is ‘communing’ is purposefully initiated by the perceiver for the express purpose of learning or simply to transfer feelings in a sympathetic manner. with places or ‘things at places’ we still have to go there. We can connect to these places/trees/whatever from another location. But that connection still means that we go there in a non physical way.

If we go there in a non-physical way we lose that part of the commune. My dowsing around this area tells me that we are and we are not a trinity. The trinity is Mind, Body and Energy. The bit that makes us not a trinity is our Spirit. I’m not going to go into what I think each of these are here – because its only my view. But in terms of visiting a place here is what dowsing tells me happens…

When we visit a place our mind, body and energy are interacting with the place/tree/whatever. However when we distance connect it is only our energy that connects with the place – our mind gets a secondary input and our body a tertiary one. So when we go out there and visit sacred places we get a holistic experience. When we distant connect we get a translated experience.

Does that sound kooky? Again, my caring gene seems to be faulty on that score. However I dowsed the truth and for me that is what it came up with.

Speculate via the comments section below!

Kal

Not California

It was a beautiful late summers evening when Gwas and I decided to visit one of the oldest trees in the world. Recently I had been speculating on setting off on a journey somewhere in the world and thinking of combining this with some energetic exploration I thought I would visit, what I thought would be the oldest trees in the world, those giant red-woods in California.

Red-woods

Blessed be the Internet as a swift Google search took me to a wiki which suggested that one of the oldest tree’s in the world was but a an hour or so away from where I lived, in North Wales.

And so it was that Gwas and I set off to visit this wonderful 4000 year old yew tree.

4000 year old yew

We arrived at the churchyard in darkness and were pleasantly surprised to find the gates unlocked – which precluded the need for Guerilla dowsing. As is quite normal for us now, we both went off on our seperate ways looking for meaning that was individualistic and personal.

As you look at the above picture you can see a path to the right which leads beyond the magnificent tree. Well, following this path leads to a gentle slope down into the major part of the graveyard (which we will visit during the day sometime to get some pics). This part of the graveyard has a path around and through it which will be of import later. As another aside there is a lovely river that flows along the right side of the church too. Please look out for my next post regarding some of the energies of this particularly fabulous site.

Meditation Spot

Almost upon arrival I wanted to do a meditation with this age old wisdom and so after minimal exploration I dowsed for the best place to sit whilst meditating and came up with a spot just beneath the canopy of the tree facing towards the camera in the above picture.

I sat cross-legged and let my mind and thoughts relax. In no time at all I felt the warmth of the Yew settle around me and visions flowed. To begin I saw this really large trunk of a tree in front of me. It was huge and as I looked up at it, either I shrank or it grew bigger, I don’t know which but this tree was at least sky-scraper tall.

Triple Split

As I examined this huge tree I realised that is trunk was split into two. Not all the way to the ground but perhaps half to three quarters its length it was split. As I wondered about this splitting and what its significance might be my perception changed and suddenly I was looming over the tree, which now seemed to be the size of a small plant. Now I could clearly see the split and it looked like the tree was almost cloven in two. This view was presented for a few moments before my perception switched again and I was some small insect-like creature attached to the trunk of the split tree.

Now that I think back to the event it was like I was being given different perspectives of the situation. But what each of these mean is lost to me now as it was then or at least the greater detail of it is lost.

This reminds me of a tale from Carlos Castaneda’s work. At one time Castaneda went to visit a Brujo (shaman) without his Mentors permission and knowing. The Brujo saw that Castaneda had the power and so gave Castaneda a powerful gift. Unfortunately the truth of it was that Castaneda only seemed to have the power and so the Brujo’s gift was totally wasted.

- smile – perhaps I seemed to whatever was presenting the vision to have the power but in actuality I didn’t or don’t?

Whichever the case I was being shown (from several perspectives) a tree that had been split assunder. As time (I don’t know how much, how can you tell?) passed further illuminations came.

Paths

Some sense came to me to tell me that I was the tree or perhaps that the split tree represented two paths for me. I was told that I could either take the left path and become a spirit walker or I could become a worldly person.

My confusion over this decision was compounded by my lack of understanding as to what was meant by the paths description. Ever helpful? I was further shown – or rather this was a kind of feeling – that the spirit walker path was a lonely path. It was a path that would be and allow me to walk amongst spirits. To be honest I was scared by the proposition that it was a lonely path. Although the devil-may-care attitude along with a good dose of curiosity was somewhat compelling. The other path was one in which I would live a worldly life, materialistic and semi-normal.

What a decision to be faced with? Talk about the red pill vs the blue pill dilemma?

Red or Blue?

Even as this musing was going on my sense of perspective was still going through the trinity of views. It was at this time that another piece of tree wisdom came to my mind. Am I not the “Magician who creates his own worlds?” surely that must weigh into the equation? As you can see I wasn’t fond of either of the alternatives – hmmm whilst in the meditation I believed that these paths were real for me. In hindsight I could have just chalked them up to an interesting visualisation.

magician of Alderley Edge

Healing

Ok, again I dont know how much time elapsed in the above dilemma but after some time I decided to become an active part in this visualisation.

As a side note – ever since I can remember I have had the ability to change my dreamscapes. By this I mean whilst in the middle of a dream I have been able to consciously create things I needed or change the aspects of a dream to my favour.

So, I said out loud but still in meditative (commune) state. Can I not have a combination of both of these – have my cake and eat it – is I guess what I was asking. I was then taken to the view of me standing over the tree and seeing it cloven. Then I (or something) took some rope and bound the two halves together, also as this was happening some green sludge like liquid was being poured down the crack and I saw the tree become slowly whole and one. Also I could sense that I was peerring into the future now, meaning that the process of healing had started but that it would be completed in the future. I was given to understand that I had to bring the two paths together myself – and that because I was a “Magician who creates his own worlds” I could do this.

I know it sounds really corny or whatever you want to see it as – to be honest I wouldn’t bother revealing this whole episode because of what you the reader might think – but then I realised – I don’t really care anymore – it stands as it does!

Corny

After seeing the tree become whole, I wondered whether that was the point of the vision from the start i.e. that it was a duality that needed to become whole rather than two paths that could have been chosen? I don’t know – but I am a believer in co-creation and self-determination and that it seems is what I did.

If you think that was weird what about this…

My vision hadn’t finished with me it seemed as then I was taken on another one. This began with this world, the world we live in with all the strange para-normal stuff that it encompasses. I then somehow grew or expanded out of this one and into what I can only say was the world of the afterlife – stay with me  – my sense of understanding was that the dimensions were layered. The Earth plane was an inner plane (like onion layers) and the spirit one contained it, or was an outer layer or sphere. I could see the differences between the two – but I cannot remember them now.

But…whilst I was expanded to the outer realm I knew or could sense that there was a sphere beyond even that one. So I tried to expand myself higher into this third realm. But couldn’t even though I tried a few times. When I gave up I got a kind of answer…you can only expand to the third sphere from the second not from the first. (below image taken from here)

dimensions

Yes, I know cloud cuckoo land? Maybe I don’t know I am just reporting what I experienced. If your asking whether I think this latter vision was true? Well, today being Monday I will say, yes. Tomorrow however is a different day!

Paths of the dead

With that final vision it seemed that the connection was done and I was left to ponder what I had experienced. The latter sphere vision had and has me confused as I dont know what it means or what relevance it has to me. Nil point!

The first however had lots of intriguing answers and so I was off to the aforementioned path at the bottom of the churchyard to walk and dowse some meaning out of the visions. My conclusions came to the following:

• That I have a choice – you dont have to accept what you are given
• That I had decided to opt for a combined world rather than a singular more focused path
• That the tree was symbolic of me and that I needed to work out how to synergise the two halves.

Notes:

I love that churchyard, with its Yew and its Graves and its flowing river and for the two times we have been there – its wonderfilled starlit sky. Although it being a graveyard – there is absolutely no sense of badness about it. We have dowsed in other graveyards and felt uncomfortable as if we disturbed the rest of those therein. But here we were welcomed and befriended by spirit and tree, water and earth, moon and star.

Where has the matter been left?

This visit to the Yew was around early September, if not late August of 2009 and since that time – although it has only been 3 months – ha – who says time flows fast?? Much work has been done on myself – in particular see this post from Samhain – and there is, as always much more to do. I am welcoming the transformations and journey everyday!

Kal

PS – here are the notes I took the night I returned:

• beautiful moonlit night
• finding the meditation spot
• a tree splitting down the middle
• size perception going weird – from something small clinging to the bark of the tree to something huge and the tree being as small as a plant
• the two paths – spirit and wordly – choosing one path
• binding the split tree and pouring healing fluid down its center – the fluid was a green sludge
• combining the two paths (parts of the tree)
• secondary vision of the afterlife
• seeing life as being more than the living world
• going to the next sphere that encompassed the “spirit” world
• knowing that there was another sphere beyond the spirit one
• trying to “grow” beyond this third sphere and not being able to
• wandering along the “paths of the dead” whilst (dowsing) and trying to put all of it together
• coming to an understanding that “i have a choice”
• choosing to merge the two paths (heal them) rather than become a spirit walker
• postulation: was the tree symbolic of me and did/do i need to synergise my spirit and non spirit halves?

PPS – speculation: was this just imagination. I would have taken it as quite possible exept for one point…why wasn’t i able to grow beyond the third sphere – if it was just imagination I should have been able to.