These forms of meditation can basically be identified as a
triad though they all originate from a single, inner source in a person known
as imbas. Imbas is also said to come
from the gods as the well of inspiration, knowledge and creativity.
The three ways for achieving imbas: to focus exclusively on
an object and its parts until it is completely known to the exclusion of
everything else; to immerse one's self within a sound or chant until its source
comes from one's center as a fire in the head; to cast away everything that is
imagined or thought until the darkness yields to the truth of light.
The first pathway to imbas is based on what is already known
as its beginning:
- Teinm – breaking or cracking
- Laegda – Pith or marrow
- Touching a wand or staff to an object and determining its inner secrets
It consists of focusing on an object and recalling the
linked Ogham keys to its existence in the lore. Nothing else is permitted to
intrude into the focus of one’s attention regarding the object xxxxxx The Seer,
Druid or File would touch an object with their wands and focus intently on it
while seeking its secrets as to its origins, its history or its owner. After
this period of intense focus, the diviner would then provide specific answers
from all of these sources. This is known as Teinm Laegda (Cracking the Shell or
Breaking Open the Pith) which is another way of saying that the contact with
the object through the focal point of the wand, or the realization of it
through intensive and exclusive focus, and it alone, is an opening to truth and
the process of creation. As such, the Seer is able to see beyond present boundaries
into its past history and even its voice. The resulting chant of revelation
(dichetal) is found in its true name which is revealed by the wand or staff;
discovered by the mind’s awareness and sung out through the chanted announcement
of the Seer. Teinm Laegda is an opening of a doorway to knowledge into unknown
realms through focusing on an object and breaking its outer shell, thereby
revealing its inner secrets.
The second pathway to
imbas is the corollary of the process of intensely focusing on an object with
the intension of cracking its protective shell:
- Dichetal – Incantation or hand
- Chennaibh – Pertaining to the head, the tips of the fingers or the bones
Dichetal do Chennaibh involves building up a creation from
an abstract concept into something more concrete. As such, it involves a
process of solidification for that which is insubstantial into something that
is real, hard or objective. This creation of objective matter from concepts and
descriptions is very similar to consctructng an “energy ball” in one’s hands.
The shaping of real from subjective is usually accomplished through visualization,
chanting or sounds (like drums or beats). The sound or the chant can be an
internal one that is amplified or increased through the process known as super
positioning. This is a way in which waves are synchronized in their frequency
and start points, so that they occur at the same time in a cyclic fashion. When
light is handled in this manner the process is known as lasing (for laser types
of effects). A tremendous amount of power can be generated in this way and when
it is focused through the mind and will of a seer, then it can create something
from almost nothing. Its onset and delivery is like the waves and contractions
occurring in the womb for every birth. It produces a “fire in the head” and the
birth announcement of this creation is called Dichetal do Chennaibh in Irish
descriptions and texts.
Another way of taking the insubstantial and creating a
substantial awareness is to quiet the mind and self and then to touch an object or
sense it with the hands. The tingling and fields on the edges of anything are a
psychic impression of the energies that have been captured on its surface.
These are detected and amplified faithfully so that the signals are true and
clear above the noise of other non-related matters. Placing the fingers or the
thumb in one’s mouth and instantly chanting an answer. Rather than opening a
door or cracking a shell, it creates an opening doorway where none previously existed.
It is one’s pathway into a created world. It is a creation of something from
many parts. It is the act of detecting and transferring the essence of an idea into one’s
awareness through touch, and then recreating it through inner/outer song and the
wavelike power of repetition.
The third pathway to imbas is literally creating something
from nothing. It is the journey to nothingness that must be done so that one
can stand at the crossroads of creation for the eternal self; the source for
reality; the home for everything:
- Imbas – bas – hand or top (im – between)
- Forosnai – Lights up, shines, illuminates
Imbas Forosnai is a complete break with the existing self,
the will and the confines of personality or ego. The Seer meditates in a dark
and protected place with the hands placed over their eyes to make a pathway
between touch and sight that leads into the darkness; journeying down into
nothingness. In such a nowhere place one simply is or is not ,and exists or does
not exist. There are no physical parallels or metaphors to adequately describe
this place or process other than to say that it is like being born. It is a
creation or a new awareness of the self beyond conditioning. As such, it is
surrounded by indescribable mysteries that could generate madness in a person.
Many have journeyed to the top of Dinas Emrys (Snowdonia or Mt. Snowden in Wales)[1], while
others have become submerged into the depths of Domnu, only to return to this world as madmen or geilts. Those who
successfully return with some kind of ability to reconnect with reality are called Draoith,
Filidh or Fáidh in Irish traditions. Otherwise, the journeyers have had their
minds so shattered by the experience, that a go-between is required for them to be understood in
normal society. They speak to the visions and the realms that have captured their minds, yet they cannot channel or translate their meanings. Even with expert interpretation, their visions are poorly understood.[2]
This is the mystical task of all Seers to be able to describe and to quantify the unknowable in ways that could safely inspire others to touch the same knowledge or knowing experience. The ultimate in finding such knowledge is a kind of Death and Darkness to Illusions
and Thoughts that Brings Light and Knowledge along What-is-Really-There
surrounding the so-called real world. The real world and other realms are
accessed from that place like library books or I/O ports in a computer. It is a
kind of transportation hub and phone exchange for knowledge and truth. The gifts of this sort of imbas or enlightening experience are psychical in their manifestations in present reality, thoughthey tend to ebb over time to the point that sustaining them required periodic journeys back to the No-Place for a renewed opening of being.
The three forms of meditation that enable access to Teinm
Laegda, Dichetal do Chennaibh and Imbas Forsonai occur in a hierarchy of body,
mind and spirit. The first uses a physical object as a source and focus. The
second uses the hints and suggestions of thoughts and patterns to create a
doorway into new worlds. The last is a complete abandonment of body and mind
for the spiritual truth that sometimes only comes at death. It is the death of
the influences of body, mind and spirit in a surrender to the higher awareness
that can only be empowered by spirit alone. In Druidic traditions, mediation and
awareness are ranked according to weight and power: the most powerful forces
are spiritual, followed by thoughts and supported by the body or form. The
heaviest and confusing awareness is the physical body which is overwhelmed at
times by the senses and emotions. Chaotic thoughts and ideas confuse the mind
when they are not harmonious. It is only the spirit that truly flies above the
muck and the quagmires that are body and mind. In the practices of the past,
many forms and techniques were established to give
students and masters alike a chance to subdue the body and to discipline the
mind so that one’s true power could be discovered and released through the
spirit.
[1]
Mount Snowdon is one of the main attractions for walkers visiting the area, and
the National Park Authority maintain a train service, and 6 paths up the
mountain. Llanberis is one of the longest routes up Snowdon, and this ten mile
trip will take around 6 hours. Classed as a ‘moderate’ walk, it has views of
the mountain railway and Padarn Country Park, and also takes in the Ceunant
Mawr Waterfall, a conifer plantation, and a large rock called Maen Du’r Arddu.
Legend has it that anyone spending the night under this rock will awaken as a
poet or madman! (http://www.wales-walking.co.uk/snowdonia/)
[2]
John Michael Greer: “The approach to meditation that has been part of Druid
traditions since early in the Revival echoes other meditation methods in many
ways, but there's one significant difference. This lies in the attitudes toward
the thinking mind. Most systems of meditation teach the student to stop
thinking altogether, by using mantras (special patterns of spoken sound) or
symbolic visualizations, or concentrating on thought-stopping paradoxes such as
the koans of Zen. This is effective enough as a way to achieve meditative
states of consciousness, but too often it has the awkward side effect of
producing mystics who can reach profound spiritual states but can't think
clearly.” (http://www.aoda.org/articles/primer.htm)
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