Long ago, when I wrote
The Art of Conversation with the Genius Loci, I set out to write what I would like to
have read. I don't find many books about Paganism or Druidry, magic
or the spiritual path very interesting. I'm not interested in
beginners' exercises, ritual recipes or guided meditations. I'm not
inspired by the kind of scholarship which cherry picks ancient
tradition, modern myth or any kind of literature to support some kind
of coherent, big picture philosophy which we are meant to accept as
lost or extant wisdom. I'm tired of those books which repeat popular
ideas about our heritage as if they were common knowledge, when the
most cursory research would show them to have been known to have no
basis for decades.
I am not a scholar by any means &
most of what I write does not require the support of literature. I
intend no disrespect to the efforts made by those who would try to
glean ancient lore from the fragmentary material which is available
to us, I'm just taking a different tack. I'm not setting up my stall
or making some kind of argument, more like an encouragement. I'm not an authority on anything,
nor do I represent any traditional body or other organisation. I
would like to refer to myself as “a practitioner,” which is what
the Buddhist side to me would say - it is a neutral enough word in
itself & straightforward in its intent. The world is full of
heroic experts. They make a career out of that. I say that this is a
mistake. “Monetising the blog” as it were. Our spiritual practice
itself is our real career, the rest is secondary.
Some people have told me or have
commented that TAOCWTGL lacks a chapterly practica of graded
exercises with numbered lists of things to do. Well I'm sorry, but if
you read it as it is intended it is a very practical book, absolutely
packed with things to do & some of them are even presented in
numbered sequences! Reading a book is not the same kind of process as
following a correspondence course. There are some wonderful examples
of that out there. The courses of OBOD & the BDO are both well
thought out & beautifully presented. I'm not going to hold your
hand & tell you what to do next.
TAOCWTGL is a non-linear text which
revolves around the idea of investigation, exploration & the
pursuit of deep questioning. Such activities, in themselves are quite
capable of invoking our what I call our deepest nature. Oh yes, & they are not
safe. When the New Age Shaman tells you that everything that they are
teaching is tried & tested & perfectly safe they are just
plain wrong. It is not safe! None of this is safe! Nothing worthwhile
is safe!
Each chapter has a fundamental question
or nest of questions at its heart. The premise is that these
questions are in themselves the tools of a potent magic & a path
to wisdom beyond any concepts of cleverness. The idea is not to
imagine the relief or release in finding the answer, nor the security
of certainty. Like the famous koans of Rinzai Zen , we hold them
close & incubate them. We visualise & pursue them, dance with
them, play them like music instruments, fuck or are fucked by them.
It is impossible to use normal language
without occasionally making definitive statements, so the reader is
urged to treat such statements as the author's own idiosyncratic
opinions & then to think of them as questions instead. “It is
deep,” he says. Is it deep? How deep is it? What kind of deep? Why
deep & not... vast, wide, long, tall or mighty?
Four things are required to pursue this
kind of process, they need not be perfect, but they are essential.
They are: curiosity, openness, courage & commitment.
From animism to mysticism in a
single verse of the song
The Art of Conversation with the Genius Loci raises many questions & I use it unashamedly as a portal
into what might be described as a kind of modern Pagan mysticism. In
attempting to articulate Pagan mysticism without religion, a system
of ritual magic, a package of familiar, popularly redacted mythic
narratives, or an eccentric sermon from a soap box, I must walk a
fine line & there is another line too; the bottom line. What are
we? What is this? What is the deepest nature of reality & the
self? Contrary to popular belief mysticism doesn't attempt to answer
this kind of question rather it takes it to heart & gives it
life. I know that there are many people in the Pagan world who will
say that discussing the nature of reality is pointless, or that it
has nothing to do with being a Pagan, but there are many of us for
whom this is not the case. It is for you that I write.
The idea of mysticism is based upon a
simple set of premises. Verbal language is a limited means of
expressing them. I have done my best. Please think of more mystical
content as riddles rather than definitive statements. Invoking deep
nature depends upon the idea that everything, everything, absolutely
everything is unique in the apparent world of phenomena, but that we
all have a shared nature & that is deep. Unfortunately no-one can
really describe it, explain it or present it to you in a packaged
initiation of some kind. The reality behind the poetic twilight
language is beyond words or concepts.
We, the family of phenomenal beings
may be understood to have subjective & objective dimensions; the
first known only to ourselves, as we experience our lives unfolding ;
the second, as personalities within the apparent world; that world
which may be understood as the sum of all our relations. That these
two dimensions exist as a dynamic polarity & your
subjective experience is inferred by our interactions is
something that I take on faith, otherwise I am a solipsist or
a psychopath.
But there is a mystery in self; self &
other; which all the common sense in the world cannot dismiss. That
is the mystery of existence, beyond duality. It is a depth to
everything. It is our very own shared nature. This is what my book is
about, as much as anything to do with the spirit of place or an
animistic way of relating to our places of power.
It is deep & it is inaccessible to
the senses, outer as well as inner; also to thought, concept or
reason. It is not a monolithic singularity, nor a collective, nor a
mere absence. It can be understood as both immanent &
transcendent depending upon our own condition & perspective at
the time. Sometimes it may seem to be a significant Other with whom
we can dance, play duets or have a conversation.
Even though we cannot know it in a
conventional sense, we know ourselves & each other through it, &
it knows us. Somehow we can awaken to its presence. When we start to
try to sense this, then we begin to invoke deep nature, which is both
Nature in the conventional sense as well our own true nature, the
nature of Nature.
Sometimes I say: “From animism to
mysticism in a single verse of the song,” to me, this means that
invoking deep presence is not dependent upon any particular kind of
belief or practice & can happen instantly, independent of any
guidance or authority. It is our heritage. True mystery traditions &
their exemplars are those who empower, protect & guide others on
the path to such awakening, which, as it depends upon radical
exercises of body, energy & mind, is not safe. False authority
will always seek to suborn this path to its own advancement, so we
must take great care. That said, when our intention has been stated &
we have committed ourselves to deep nature, its presence may arise as
part of any activity, whether or not it is thought of as spiritual,
magical, mystical or religious.
To invoke it means to symbolically,
metaphorically or literally invite the power & mystery of our own
deepest nature into our conscious life. We cannot seek what we really
are. We cannot summon that which is merely our own presence, but we
can align ourselves with its radiance & in doing so manifest
harmony, creativity, love & natural power for the benefit of all
that lives.
This invocation of deep nature is the
heart of the matter. It does not depend upon or preclude being a
Pagan, Christian, Buddhist or a member of any other religious
culture. Neither does it depend upon any particular mythic narrative
or exclusive set of symbols. It is my considered opinion that a
measure of any supposed spiritual path or way of being is the degree
to which this primordial art is encouraged, discouraged or ignored;
implicit, explicit or banned.
We are creatures of the Earth & of
our Land, not of elsewhere. How we understand this is vital to the
health & well being of the global community of living persons,
both human & other than human. Personal enlightenment is
indispensable as a step towards social & global evolution, maybe
even beyond.
Let us invoke our Deepest Nature. Each
in our own way.
