Wisdom from the Celtic World

[doc benway]

A friend of mine recently suggested I check out John O'Donohue so I decided to pick up a collection of talks called Wisdom of the Celtic World. I admit that I am new to Celtic spirituality and find it marvelous, at least as seen through O'Donohue's eyes. Anyone uncomfortable with words like God, prayer, angels, and divine may be turned off but to pass this over due to semantics or ideology would be a mistake. His talks are full of poetry and wonder and he describes Wu Wei (among other things) in a unique and insightful way that I don't know I've ever seen presented more clearly.

 

He died suddenly and very young in 2008. I'm sorry it took me so long to find him.

[Jetsun]

Thanks I will look into him. I have been interested in the Druid side of the Celtic world for a while, some people believe they once had a knowledge comparable with Eastern paths like Taoism but most of it has been lost as it was mostly orally recorded. When Julius Caesar came to conquer Britain he remarked that the Druids had complete knowledge of the seasons and astrology in his official records, but unfortunately he did quite a good job at eradicating it all. I would love to find an existing working Celtic path of spirituality as it would feel more native to me than the Chinese paths do.

[suninmyeyes]

Hello Steve,

Intersting, never heard of him. Will look him up in the video section too.

Just googeld him and found something written by him that I liked:

 

'Plato said in The Symposium that one of the greatest privileges of a human life is to become midwife to the birth of the soul in another. When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become. The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it through our protective barriers of domestication and control. The normal way never leads home.

 

Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns. Now you realise how precious your time here is. You are no longer willing to squander your essence on undertakings that do not nourish your true self; your patience grows thin with tired talk and dead language. You see through the rosters of expectation which promise you safety and the confirmation of your outer identity. Now you are impatient for growth, willing to put yourself in the way of change. You want your work to become an expression of your gift. You want your relationship to voyage beyond the pallid frontiers to where the danger of transformation dwells. You want your God to be wild and to call you to where your destiny awaits.'

[Edward M]

Thanks Steve,

 

Will check his work out!

 

Some one I have looked into and whose work i liked is RJ Stewart. He leads a celtic spiritual group http://www.rjstewart.org/index.html Jetsun, you might want to check his group out... although he is now based in the USA his students hold groups in the UK.

 

Ed

[Edward M]

Sorry, forgot to ad this link: http://www.dreampower.com/

 

Sorry also for derailing thread!

 

Ed

[C T]

I first bought John's book 'Anam Cara' while waiting for the ferry to take me from the UK to Ireland back in 93, thinking that i needed to at least familiarize myself with some knowledge of celtic spirituality before setting foot on Irish soil. Unfortunately i did not get a chance to do anything constructive at all during the 4-hour crossing as i was too busy getting sea sick as we encountered really rough seas shortly after we left the UK port. I eventually got round to reading it not long after settling in to my new 'adopted' land of Guinness, rugby and women who could outdrink men in the local pubs, a rather fascinating phenomena which was totally alien to me at that time.

 

Yes, its obvious John O'Donohue is a gifted man with great insights which he generously shared with people. Its tragic to have to lose him so early.

 

Nineteen years on, and the book still rests on the bedside locker in the guest bedroom, and i would pick it up occasionally when the mood favors getting back to the memories of those Guinness-drinking days.

 

For those interested to explore a little more of Celtic spirituality and shamanistic practices, this link may help:

http://www.sacredfire.net/shaman.html

Edited January 5, 2012 by C T

[Harmonious Emptiness]

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-White-Magic-Paddy-Slade/dp/0792454286

 

This is a good book of how the old Celtic and Druidic seasonal changes were celebrated.

 

Oct 31: New Year Eve / Samhain

 

December 21 or 22, Winter Solstice

 

Feb 2: Imbolc

 

March 21 - 22: Vernal Equinox

 

April 30: Beltaine

 

June 21 & June 24: Summer Solstice and Midsummers Day

 

Aug 1 - 2: Lammas

 

September 22 - 23: Autumn Equinox

 

September 29: Michaelmas

 

Oct 31