Contemplative Druids

Today, I am involved with a Contemplative Druid gathering, which James Nichol has organised and I, amongst others, will be helping to facilitate.

Meditation has been a part of my Paganism since I was a teen – it pre-dates my involvement with Druidry. Part of the attraction at first is that I’m an imaginative, living in my own head kind of person and meditation plays to my strengths and keeps me in my comfort zone. However, exploring Druidry has encouraged me to look at how I might be more present in the world. Over the years I’ve stopped using meditation to escape and started using it to engage.

My first non-fiction book was on the subject of meditation – more here should you want it. Since then I’ve also contributed to James Nichol’s Contemplative Druidry book, and contributed an essay on prayer and meditation to the Paganism 101 anthology.

My own current practice is haphazard to say the least. I’m not really very good at working with a fixed pattern of practice. I try, and in the short term I may manage, but a daily practice is beyond me. I’ll do *something* every day, but it works better if I’m more spontaneous about what form it takes, and when. The edges of sleep remain my most productive times, but not the only times I pause and contemplate.

Stepping up to help facilitate is a big deal for me. I used to do a lot of this sort of thing and have run meditation groups. I’ve become very wary of the desire to be important, and possessive of my own energy reserves, and the combination makes me slower to offer than I used to be. I have to be sure that it’s more about service than ego, and not about crafting a place for myself based on the work I do, because that causes me all kinds of other problems.