January 17, 2023
…the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot
…there is a process, either physical or internal, required – something that would spark a change of consciousness, and altered perspective. There was also a common, but mystifying, belief that if you were attempting to approach the Otherworld, you were already within it, as if the very act of committing yourself to it brought you there… Manchán
That the Irish are rooted in a heritage of Otherworld consciousness will not be a news flash to anyone who has read my books, been to Ireland with me, or spent any time with me. For those of us with Irish heritage, this consciousness is literally in our DNA, our blood and bones. Time in Ireland is a coming home to a familiar landscape and lens-scape. Indeed, that mystical connection begins to unfold and amplify the moment we decide to journey to and through Ireland’s sacred and liminal landscapes. We are already within it.
However, opening to the full potential of that mystical engagement calls us to step beyond the bounds and boundaries of our cultural constructs and conditioning. We are called to a new way of being in the world. We are called enter those liminal landscapes with a new perspective, a new lens. An old lens.
These ways of being and seeing are embedded in our spiritual heritage. I find the mental construct of this easy to take on board. The full body and soul manifestation of it is another matter entirely. Yet the more I step through the veil the easier it becomes. And the deeper the experience. It seems there is no end to this deepening and why I’m ever surprised by the amplification of it…well, perhaps one day I will get beyond that.
Whether in this lifetime or in echos from past lifetimes, it is, as Eliot observed, something of a circular journey. Perhaps more accurately a spiral journey. We explore and return with and to an expansion of familiar consciousness. We are in a new place and familiar place at the same time, now with a deeper perspective. And, something for future exploration, it’s all happening at the same time.
The very act of committing brings us there. The act of committing and embracing a liminal lens-scape. We might just discover liminal landscapes everywhere in our lives.
Beannacht,
Judith
I appreciate this approach to the liminal, as if in committing we might be wrapped by it already. Eliot, Manchán, and you are just the right guides.
After visiting Ben Bulben with you on a trip with you, I have found more liminal landscapes during my travels. I find the places are with Sidhe and they talk to me each time! It always takes me back to Ireland but also reminds me they are with me all the time! I am forever grateful for my trip with you!