Athenaeum
A Place for study of the arts
In ancient Greece students of the arts gathered
in the temples of Athena to exchange ideas, philosophies, and techniques.
The purpose of the Athenaeum in
Ravenwynd is the same. Here you will find things from many different
traditions. And we hope you will find something useful to you on
your path.
Alone at All Times?
A poet once said that we are
only alone in our skins and another said that we are all born alone, and
all die alone. A common feeling amongst pagans is that of being alone
or lonely because we are still afraid to come "out of the broom closet"
in a lot of communities despite legal protections. But are we truly
bereft of comfort? Or are we just isolated, for one reason or another,
from people of like mind? This is the difference between alone, and
lonely. The following is a meditation to reconnect with our own best
selves and with our aspects of the the God/dess.
Ground and center yourself
in your most comfortable fashion, clothed or unclothed makes no difference.
What does make a difference, is if you are comfortable.
Begin, as all life must, with
a breath. Feel it come in through your nose, go down the back of
your throat and into your lungs. Feel it enter your blood and the
exchange of waste for fresh. Then contemplate it rushing out of your
lungs and out through your mouth. Do this a few times until the depth
of the breathing becomes natural. Now, as the air is exchanged into
your blood, instead of following the air out, feel yourself follow the
blood as it makes it's way through your body. When that breath reaches
your feet, transfer your awareness to the earth beneath your feet.
Even in a carpeted apartment, you can find the earth and feel it's movements.
After you have "seen" the Earth, move upward with the blood and feel every
aspect of your body, all of it. Every part, in it's function, all
of the microbial life that helps make yours possible. You truly are
a work of art and a Universe within yourself! Now, move with the
blood up to your brain then reach out through the top of the skull towards
the heavens. Feel the breath taking shape amongst the stars.
See yourself as you are: a wonder in your own right, a special thing amongst
many special things, a precious life that is part of all life and part
of the God/dess in all the myriad aspects. Coming back to yourself, journey
back to the Earth, let yourself come back to your lungs and then out through
your mouth again at the last.
My hope is that you will leave
this meditation more in touch with yourself and with the God/dess within
and without and take it into your mundane life.
Blessed Be
~~Kara Shima