Spirit animals are central to Celtic paganism because they live at the border of worlds. They are non-human, yet sentient. They are earthly, yet of the otherworld. They are embedded within nature, yet signify the divine. The interest spirit animals continue to attract attests to our hunger for a
Mighty. Violent. Serene. The eagle is sky’s king. He rules by force, cunning, and stillness. His images can be found on sacred vessels and weapons the world over. In European paganism, he accompanies the king of the gods, Zeus and Talanis, in their rule over heaven and earth. He
Celtic paganism centers itself in the wild god of the world. And for that god, the human realm is interwoven within the natural and magical. Our place within these realms is as but a drop of water in the ocean. Celtic paganism isn’t all about we humans. It’s
How do I meditate on light? For beginner-intermediate, I suggest two different meditations: candle gazing (easy) and light visualization (intermediate). 1) Candle Gazing It’s just as it sounds. Set-up a candle about a meter away so you can comfortably stare at it without straining your eyes or
How do I meditate on the foulness of the body? Before getting into the details, I’d like to address something that you’ll probably encounter later: there’s no mention of this meditation nor loving-kindness in any of the Far East Zen traditions. That doesn’t mean that
How do I meditate on the breath? There are two ways that I recommend for beginning and intermediate meditators: 1) simple and 2) controlled. For the simple breath meditation, the best way for me to teach you is for me to step you through it. You ready? One second…OK,
How important is posture in meditation? What posture’s easiest to sleep in: lying, sitting, standing, walking, or running? Lying, duh. And what do you do if you’ve been working for a few hours and are starting to feel yourself dragging? How would you freshen yourself up? Doomscroll through
How long should I sit for starting out? Depends on where you’re at and what you want. If you’re happy to take your time and slowly reign in your mind, 30 minutes a day is a good starting point. If you’re dead-set on enlightenment, 10+ hours
This time I’m starting because there’s an important question which I doubt you’ll ask about: what are the key factors of a successful meditation practice. Last time, we discussed the why, what, and how of meditation in broad strokes. However, we didn’t cover how with sufficient
I’ve come across so many meditation techniques - staying with the breath, mantras, chanting, visualizing a lake, etc. I’ve even tried a bunch myself at this point. What’s the Zen way? And how do I make sense of all these options? Before telling you how to meditate, let’
