I love rivers. I have for many years lived away from rivers. Yet, when I ever felt unhappy or uninspired I would seek out a pathway along the nearest river to my home.
I have returned home to Ireland following many happy years in England. I am blessed now to live close to the River Shannon near to the first village on the Shannon. This is the village called "Dowra." In Irish the name is an Damhraith, which translates either as "the black stream" or "the stream of the oxen."
I live near the source of the Shannon. This is called "Shannon Pot". This place marks the beginning of the longest river in the British Isles. This is a place where the beauty of the land and myth come together. This is a deep place not just symbolized by the deep, dark peaty waters of the pool.
The Shannon Pot is a place of placidity. It reminds me of how I am to move in the world. It reminds me to go placidly amidst this noise and haste of 21st Century living. It reminds me to deepen my connection to this extraordinary flow of energy we call "life."
Here at this place of beginning I am reminded of the timeless. I am reminded of the boundary between the now and forever and our everyday social reality. This river is where the maiden Sionann devoured the "salmon" of wisdom and then dissolved into this great river. It is a place of magic and mystery.
Rivers flow. They are feminine. They are powerful beyond measure. They do not force but find a way past any resistance. They are eternal. Yet, they come and go. You cannot ever say where a river truly begins. Is it in the raindrop? Is it the cloud above the ocean? Is it the dew upon the grass? Is the ice cap of the Antarctic?
Hermann Hesse in his wonderful book Siddhartha tells us that Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened when sitting contemplating a river. Rivers are like life ? they have no beginning and end. You cannot hold them. The life of a river is in this flow to the sea and its' return.
The Shannon Pot is a physical place but in truth it is not the source of the River Shannon. Our bodies are a physical reality but they are not the source of our being. Like a river, our bodies are a flow. Like a river, they are mostly a flow of water. Water is the symbol of our feeling energy.
Like a river, we sometimes hit rough water. Our fixed ideas are the boulders that block the free flow of our feeling energy. We all have boulders in our Pandora's box of "bad thoughts." Some are big and some are small. Some are so huge that we dam our energy and we become damned. We block our life force and we become dis-eased.
When this happens we need to return to the source. We need to return from the exile of our feeling selves and go home to the homeplace of our heart. We have to stop trying to make the river contained. She has power beyond our limited knowledge. She is contained in the wisdom of your body and when you allow her to flow you let the healing begin.
A very dear friend is currently feeling stuck. When he wisely returned to one of his sources, she told him to make a beginning. First, he was to turn off the television for one week. Second, he was to go to the sea.
When he is at the sea he will be at a place where the end and the beginning meet. The river flows to the sea and turns towards the sky. The clouds pass over mountains and fall upon the land. This water flows to pools, streams and rivers in a cycle of forever becoming.
Return from exile. Come home to your "being." This is your true source and what we call in Ireland "The Homeplace." This homecoming will be a delight to your heart.
May the river of your life flow with blessing for you, your family and friends, so allowing the return to the source of all love. This is God. This is the Beloved. Yet it is beyond all labels and words. This is the dance of life, ever becoming everlasting. No beginning. No end. Only the ever present flow of now.
Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means "Soul Friend." He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony's Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.
Get your free report called "7 ways to it's a wonderful life" at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/ where you will find links to information related to spiritual parenting, spiritual coaching and spirit in business.
affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..Billy Graham once said, "Being a Christian is more than... Read More
Love...it's a deep emotion. Sometimes we say it in jest... Read More
Adam had it right when he covered himself with fig... Read More
It doesn't matter what magazine or newspaper you pick up... Read More
Behold, a certain young maiden did often times and at... Read More
Baptism and christening ceremonies are an important event that signifies... Read More
"Everything in the universe is a pitcher brimming with wisdom... Read More
Am I dreaming? The sign outside the skyscraper reads: "Spiritual... Read More
Within every obstacle there is an equivalent or greater benefit.~Napoleon... Read More
Those living on the highest levels of life have learned... Read More
Sometimes trying to be spiritual holds us back from actually... Read More
Rabbi Kushner in his book "When Bad Things Happen to... Read More
Each time our children graduate from one stage to another... Read More
The psalms of the Bible are a literary treasure chest... Read More
Enlightenment, which is as varied as each individual's fingerprint, is... Read More
Acknowledgement of our need of God and reliance upon Him... Read More
The time we spend on earth is very short when... Read More
Can you imagine being sent out into the wilderness for... Read More
In Feng Shui, water symbolizes wealth. The word "fish" in... Read More
Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to... Read More
How does God see you? Does He like what He... Read More
'O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom... Read More
Attachment... Bondage... Moha... state as we may but the meaning... Read More
Peter is a man after my own heart. I feel... Read More
Continued from "Origin of Certain Thoughts, Part I"If you haven't... Read More
affordable house cleaning Mundelein ..Matthew 3:1-3 The Preaching of John the Baptist1 In those... Read More
The possibility of almost 400 Old Testament prophesies coming to... Read More
Irish myth has the power to transform your life into... Read More
Eden, the garden of ecstasy is no longer available to... Read More
In my work as a Medical Intuitive, I come across... Read More
In the responsibility we have as Christians, we are displayed... Read More
Meeting someone so attractive, so beautiful. Your heart beats like... Read More
Mormons like to give testimonies. Unlike Mormon testimonies, I will... Read More
To understand the nature of esoteric and occult secrets it... Read More
Some people go to physics and spiritual readers for advice... Read More
We all sin. To avoid using the "s" word, we... Read More
Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 (NIV) We... Read More
With another year full of family events coming upon us,... Read More
The teacher of the future.... will be a master of... Read More
I had visions of my daughter for about five years... Read More
It happens to us all from time to time, especially... Read More
(Channelled)The greatest gift you can give me, is to acknowledge... Read More
(Channelled)Roy, what a marvellous job you are doing on your... Read More
Can I be honest with you? There are days when... Read More
Greetings Divine Ones, I am going to ask you a... Read More
We may sometimes consider the difficulty that occurs with our... Read More
A Tarot card deck typically consists of 78 colorful cards... Read More
1. The name Uriel means "Light of God" or "Flame... Read More
Often, in being dishonest about our own faults and failures,... Read More
For the past several years I have struggled with getting... Read More
Spirituality |