Drawing a spirit map at the river's edge
This past weekend, I went with three women, witches all, to the sandy bank of the mighty Mississippi River. Rain threatened to fall on us as thunder sounded in the distance, so we waited for a while before walking down to the river. Once we arrived at the river, we determined our collective and individual intentions for the meditation, and we each drew a rune. We placed our runes next to each other in the sand and then drew the runes into the sand of the river beach. Incense was lit, and a blessing of water was given. We grounded ourselves in the shifting sands under our feet. We then cast a circle, and each of us took a spirit journey to the rhythm of Diane's drum. In addition to the entrancing beat of the drum, I used a Sufi method of entering into mystery, spinning in a manner somewhat like a whirling dervish for several minutes. When I stopped spinning, my sensory experience with the river flowing nearby, felt timeless and primal. I felt the sand under my feet as a sensual reminder of my physical existence, and then waded into the river. That which is between the worlds touches all the worlds.Four military aircraft suddenly flew directly overhead. The jets followed the curve of the river through the city. Their unexpected and loud appearance in our sacred space was striking, reminding me that even on the bank of a tranquil river, current events in the larger world are inescapable. The planes reminded of the ongoing and tragic was that our nation is fighting in Iraq, and the immense human and financial cost of this insane war.
I then did a short walking meditation that I learned from Buddhists in the Netherlands, where you walk very slowly, carefully and intentionally. The goal is to be aware of not only each step, but of each minuscule muscle movement that goes into making each step. Each step takes roughly 30 seconds to make. I also vocalized a deep aum as I made each step.
The drumming ended and took some time to map out our spiritual journeys. My spirit map is above. It was one of my first spirit maps but certainly not my last. Months ago, Donald had explained that spirit mapping is a way of visually representing a spiritual journey, be the specific journey one which lasted only a few minutes or an entire lifetime. The map above represents my entire morning. There are some common symbols that one can use to help communicate concepts, persons, things or places. Using understandable common symbols is important if you want other persons to be able to read your map.
The maps drawn by others that morning were interesting and distinctly different from my own. Kristy sketched copies of each of our maps, as she communicated that since words often work better for her than images; her spirit map was a journal entry. She also shared that for her the four jets flying overhead represented the four of us, soaring through the heavens. I was amazed and joyful that she could make the warplanes into something beautiful and wonderful. Something Magical Happens.
Shortly after sharing our maps, Diane left because she had an appointment to make, and we became three. After a time we discharged our circle into the river with gesture and sound. We walked the many stairs up from the river to the street level, and we called it a good morning.
I drove Connie home, and then I went to play soccer.
Labels: river, spirit map, water
JB aka JayBee created this post at 5:31 PM.
