3/19/2012 - The Bardic Journey - Questions and Answers

In stepping out on my bardic journey down the "Path of Awen", I was challenged to question myself, my mettle and my motives for taking such a journey.  

Here are my naked answers:
  ____________________________________________________________________

Describing Myself

What am I? - I am a 20 year old man with a 2000 year old soul in a 40 year old body, each at odds with one another.  My youthfulness knows what it wants to do, my agelessness knows what it ought to do, and my daily reality finds me in endless mediation.

Who am I? - I am words on paper, a melody on the air, a conscious thought with subconscious intent.   I am a father, lover, brother, friend.  I am a poet, singer, and seeker of truth; a man with questions, a soul with possibilities, a past without regret, and a future yet unrealized.  I am a lover and a leader, a dreamer and a doer... I am me!


 Why am I interested in the Bardic path?

I believe that few are open to true poetic inspiration in life and in love.  Those who are, have a profound responsibility to be the mouthpiece of ageless wisdom, a witness and participant in living and sharing life with others.  I wish to be so open to the awen, and so used in service to my community and the wider world according to the Creator’s plan.

What do I know about it?

I know that I don’t know… and that is the beginning of Wisdom (Socrates)


What attracted me to it?
There has always been an answer within me; while known, was lacking the question.  Once I began seeking with new eyes, I learned of the path of awen and heard the call of identity.

What do I hope to gain by it?

Nothing… I hope to be improved by it and used within it for the gain of those outside of myself.

What experience do I have in creative writing?

I’ve been writing poetry, songs and music, as well as various other artistic media for 25 years.

What experience do I have in performance?

I sing and play bass guitar and to a lesser extent, the penny whistle.  I have also done a little stage acting.

I have a natural ear for harmony, and I find joy in adding my voice to the melody of others.

What would I like to improve or learn?
I would like to learn the art of storytelling, of captivating listeners with words and voice inflection.  I would like to write longer compositions.  It has been said that I have the gift of saying much with very few words… I think that gift comes with the sacrifice of expounding in greater detail as in a book or short story.  I would like to be able to operate in both.


My concerns, questions or doubts?
I am Christian by faith (not religion), and had some concerns as to whether there would have to be "convictional" compromise in following the path of the true Bard…since historically, there has been a deep connection to dogmatic Druidism.  Much of this concern is born of ignorance on my part due to the stigma that many "Churchians" have attached to paganism as being “evil”.  My brothers/sisters in the Silverbranch have, with open arms, helped me with some of my questions.  I have chosen to begin my journey of exploration, and am discarding much of my former dogma, dissolving the box that I had placed God in, so  I can better see, feel, hear, know the wider truth.


What do I think my greatest challenge will be?
Myself.  I must decrease in significance, so better to be a conduit for the awen within.


What do I think my best strength is?
An ability to silence my mind, and be open to the Creator, so possessing an acute receptiveness for being used creatively.

3/15/2012 - Along the Road

There have been few times in my life when I truly feel that I've met a kindred spirit...someone I'd never met, but once introduced, I felt as though I'd known them before, or a deep part of me knew our paths would someday cross and so, without surprise, they did.  Such is my experience with my new friend, William Bruin.

While we admittedly hail from different walks, we nevertheless have converged our paths, and at least for a season are sharing the same road... The Path of Awen.

____________________________________________________________________________

So... What is the "Path of Awen"?  Having previously defined Awen according to my own understanding, I will simply say that first, the path is my own personal journey to leave the safe, comfortable, self imposed boundaries of a fairly predictable life of going where others go, walking as others walk, saying what others say, and contenting myself with a mere glimpse of truth, light and God in order to seek more fervently, dig more deeply, live more deliberately... LIFE.

 I have been searching, studying and contemplating the traditions and myths of the Bard, the historical foundations of the Druid and of the Ceile De (Companions of God), which was the Celtic Spirituality/Pre-Roman Christianity of Ireland and Scotland as exhibited in the lives of St. Patick (Padraic) to Ireland, and  by St. Columba (Columcille) to what is now Scotland and the Scottish Isles.

I am coming to the realization that much of what was good and true, and blessed of God prior to the Pope exerting power and stomping it out, is still alive...and still good, true and blessed of God.

As I continue my journey, I seek to remain guided by conscience and God's Spirit with the hope that truth and enlightenment may be revealed to me, and that my tongue may be loosed to speak, sing and write of the greater mysteries of creation, the Creator and His people.

~Raevensong

3/13/2012 - Poetic Inspiration

The Awen is what I identify as the source of creative inspiration within our own spirit that is unhindered by impossibilities.  

It is the voice of the muse, a place of timeless wisdom and intuitiveness...the very inkwell of the soul where the bards of old have dipped their quill to work their literary, poetic, musical and oratory magic.  

See my poem http://raevnsong.blogspot.com/p/inspirational-poetry.html

                                                                                             ~Raevnsong  

3/12/2012 - Out of the Box

Today, I am acutely aware that what I do for a living is NOT who I am.  It does not and will not define me as an individual; I need no neat box to fit into, though I realize that I tend to put the parts of my day, attention, time and other parts of my life in boxes... not so much for the sake of labeling and identifying, as much as for organizing them in my thoughts, priorities, etc.  This, I feel, keeps me sane.

Until VERY recently, I also put God in his very own, very BIG box.  After following Him most of my life, I have grown comfortable in my knowledge, faith and understanding of God.  Retrospectively, that seems very arrogant of me.

God will not suffer to fit into anyone's box no matter how big, pretty, neat, extravagant or holy it may be.  Who am I to "assign" the Almighty Creator of all that is, a place in my life?  My life should be placed wherever He wills it.  My time, treasure, talent and the testimonial of my every breath should be His to use, spend, enjoy and direct.  May it be so.

I have since discarded said box, and have discovered that I was only accessing a small part of God in my life, because my box had parameters.  Anyway, the box is fading away.  I now find God everywhere and in everything...that is not to say that everything and everyone is God, or a god...it is an acknowledgement that the artist pours him/herself into their masterpiece, infusing themselves into their handiwork.

Thus so, the Creator breathes life into His creation and can be seen, felt, heard, smelled, tasted and otherwise experienced in all of creation.

3/10/2012 - God Is

I sat alone as close to nature as I could get in South Florida today, at a nature center.  I closed my eyes and willed myself to quiet the sounds around me and relax my thoughts, seeking poetic inspiration from my environment, from God and from my spirit with me.

I did not hear, but perceived and understood that God was speaking to my inmost being and simply said, "I am"..."I am the wind thru the trees."

When I was done with my contemplation I wrote:

                                             I AM

                                              I am the wind thru the trees

                                              The apple blossom on fragrant breeze

                                              A solitary sunbeam on a cloudy day

                                              The rhythm of life as the tall oaks sway

                                              I am the stream teaming with life

                                              And the orchard, sweet, when all is ripe

                                              Before creation was spoken to be

                                              I am that I am, and I am He

                                                                                           ~Raevnsong

3/9/2012 - Purpose of this Journey

I find myself a reluctant pilgrim. Having been planted, rooted and home grown to where I am today in fundamental Evangelical Christianity, it is difficult for me now to reconcile my staunch belief in the infallible Word of God with a certain inner awareness that perceives that there is more to the eternal picture than what I have been content to know and believe as truth thus far in life.

God IS. Of that I have no doubt, nor do I doubt that Jesus was at the beginning and, being God, chose to enter the world as a human baby, experience life, temptation and pain and death so none can say that He doesn't understand what we go through between the womb and the grave. I firmly believe that He was not killed, but that he gave himself up to death so that He could conquer it. Jesus rose from the grave and is once more in His place of glory. When he ascended, he sent his Holy Spirit to abide with those of us who should believe, confess, repent from our wickedness and choose to honor Him with our lives.

The Trinity, as Christians have come to term it is three aspects of the one God, just as there are three aspects of each human that walks the Earth...Mind, Body and Spirit.

Ok...that said, I think that I would be very shallow to think that I or ANYONE has it all figured out. Even the Bible says that we should, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling", that is to say that we are to cautiously and respectflly seek understanding of the mystery that is God, and our role on this earth in honoring Him.

With that, I am choosing to view the world with new eyes. I will open my inmost being to experience creativity, truth from various angles, and without prejudice, learn my way cautiously and respectfully forward to wherever my feet may lead me according to God's will.
                                                                                          ~Raevnsong