Starting Over and Becoming Druid

Never stop being a beginner. No matter how much you know about magic there is plenty left to explore. I am about a month into studying The Dolmen Arch by John Michael Greer. I am starting as a complete beginner studying topics some of which I have been working with for decades. Also, it will probably take me almost two years to finish.

So why am I doing this program which will take almost two years to complete? A course covering topics and skills I have already studied and practiced? Why do I suggest you find your beginner’s mind?

There are two reasons. Perspective and filling in gaps.

Okay, there is a third for me. The books. They are written by an author I very much respect and are exceptionally well made physically. Call it a book fetish. Whatever. There is something about quality bookbinding combined with high quality content which inherently carries power.

But back to the first two reasons.

Perspective.

Starting as a child I learned how to do various types of trance, visualizations,and meditations. Other skills and abilities unfolded over the years as well. What I have never really experienced is a comprehensive course of study.

Getting stuck in one perspective is easy. Humans are designed to do what works. If it works why change? The reason to change is there is slow or no growth in the stuck or static place. Choosing to grow faster means welcoming change. One way to welcome change is to learn to see the world from new perspectives.

In magic, I wanted to shift my perspective so I could grow. Which is why I began to look for approaches which were new to me. New yet resonated because if the new perspective didn’t resonate it wouldn’t be effective.

Magic is much more than an intellectual exercise. Growth won’t happen working a system which doesn’t fit. Kinda like learning to dance with shoes two sizes too small.

Why become a Druid? My magic background has been strongly influenced by nature immersion and connection. Which is why the Druid emphasis on nature is a good fit for me. One way it differs from my prior background is in using gods and goddesses in the rituals. Granted, the choice of entities is very wide and cross cultural to the extreme.

I have recently begun to work with entities in a pretty free form manner with a strong chaos magic vibe. Druidry, being very light on dogma, has been pretty easy to get into as a result.

So here I am getting new perspectives. Another example, Welsh mythology is at the core of The Dolmen Arch. I have zero prior study of the myths of the Welsh. Truly interesting.

Then there is filling in gaps.

Many aspects of my magic practice I picked up intuitively and through direct experience. The occasional workshop and various books over the years helped me understand what was unfolding. For some reason I never encountered the idea of a more formal form of magic training until I was decades along the path. At least not that I recognized. I do suspect this was by design and an intentional part of my path in this incarnation.

My rather random feeling path while positive in many ways did leave a few gaps. Meditation for example. I am now practicing a type of meditating which focuses on themes. Amazing. Delving into the depths of a topic without straying is helping me increase my abilities to focus among other things.

Another gap, and this is a big one, is I have been unfocused and sporadic in my practices. How did I get this way? The energy work came very naturally to me.

There was no effort in developing the skills and opening to the flow of energy.Coupled with a twenty plus year intense focus for learning to develop energetic connections I didn’t have to develop a regular practice. My life was my practice.

Now though things are different. I am in a new phase. Regular daily practice fort he course are helping me develop positive, supportive routines for going deeper with magic.

The process of learning is multidimensional. There is the matter of developing the facilities as a physical, energetic, astral, mental, spiritual being. Then there is learning to evolve beyond the obstacles to growth.

We don’t know what we don’t know. At least not intellectually. I was being guided through intuition. Fear though would block my path and drown out the quiet voice. Fear wants to keep us safe. In doing so fear interferes with growth. Our evolution includes learning to go beyond.