There’s an old aphorism in the field of teaching mysticism: that if you endeavour to do something of significance; something that requires careful planning and even more careful resourcing, then
Category: Mystical Travel
Lakeland in Winter (1) Bowness-on-WindermereLakeland in Winter (1) Bowness-on-Windermere
I thought you might like a walk through Bowness-on-Windermere. It’s the place that most people think of as ‘Windermere’, but the actual town of Windermere is a 45 min walk
a lighthouse of mana lighthouse of man
We have friends who live on the Isle of Man, a once-Viking stronghold which lies in the Irish Sea between England and Northern Ireland. Once or twice a year we
Season Changing: Levens ParkSeason Changing: Levens Park
We had just begun our evening walk, the collie and I. We were going to visit ‘the oak’, and say our goodbyes to its ‘fullness’; its summer glory, as we
Two journeys, one destination (9) – Dunrobin CastleTwo journeys, one destination (9) – Dunrobin Castle
The beautiful vision of the ‘fairytale’ Dunrobin Castle, seen here from across the bay during our visit to Portmahomack, had tantalised us with the reported splendour of its architecture and
Two journeys, one destination (8) – the thousand year fingersTwo journeys, one destination (8) – the thousand year fingers
Despite the world of the Picts being so far away in time, there was one man who reached back and ‘touched’ their minds with a language they shared… Art. (1300
Two journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black IsleTwo journeys, one destination (7) – Rosemarkie, The Black Isle
Our final visit of the Saturday was to Rosemarkie, a beautiful village on the Black Isle, whose seafront looks south across the vastness of the Moray Firth. Rosemarkie was also
Two journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizonTwo journeys, one destination (6) – a Pictish horizon
With the wonderful Portmahomack behind us, it was time to meet the three Pictish stones that marked the horizon line of the Tarbat Peninsula. These would originally have been visible
Two journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hillTwo journeys, one destination (4) – two sides of the hill
On the second day of the Silent Eye’s ‘Pictish Trail’ weekend, we are beginning in what is, for me, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Portmahomack is
Rambling RocksRambling Rocks
I thought it might be interesting to take some of the less relevant episodes – the ‘out-takes’ – from the just-completed Scottish workshop (and subsequent journey to Orkney) and run
The Moment that TeachesThe Moment that Teaches
Most people who venture into the mystical encounter it before too long – that momentary sense of the world dropping away and an intense silence taking centre stage. In that
Fear and Love in the High Peak – (2) “I want a posset!”Fear and Love in the High Peak – (2) “I want a posset!”
The first visit of the Silent Eye ‘Rites of Passage: Seeing Beyond Fear’ weekend was to the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced Eem) – The Plague Village. Our family has
Fear and Love in the High Peak – part oneFear and Love in the High Peak – part one
It’s not the best of photo resolutions, but the above image says it all. Briony saluting the Derbyshire landscape in her own way at the end of three days of
Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 7 Final) Face to Face with MacbethThree Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 7 Final) Face to Face with Macbeth
We were standing in the car park near Drumin Castle. Dean was using the visitor map of the Glenlivet Estate to describe the day ahead. We were to begin by
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 5) – Stone in the SkyThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 5) – Stone in the Sky
You can’t miss Sueno’s stone. It sits on its own plateau, just off the old main road between Findhorn and Forres; now bypassed. You see its ‘hangar’ first, then realise
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 4) – Sea and StoneThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 4) – Sea and Stone
I didn’t want to leave Burghead, not even for Findhorn; a place I’d wanted to visit for a long time. Burghead had filled me (many of us, I think) with
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 3) – A Pictish HeadlandThree days of the Oyster-catcher (Part 3) – A Pictish Headland
The Moray Firth is vast, wild and beautiful. Examined on a map it resembles a child’s geometry exercise in triangles, with the coast between its ‘origin’ at Inverness and far-away
Three days of the Oyster-catcher (1)Three days of the Oyster-catcher (1)
We were standing close to the River Spey in the grounds of Strathallan church a few miles from the centre of Grantown-on-Spey: one of the gems of the north-eastern highlands
The Way to Dusty Death?The Way to Dusty Death?
We were in Ulverston, Dean and I. We’d just climbed the famous ‘Hoad’ – a tall monument on the top of a tall hill that looks like a lighthouse… but
A Walk with dogs, The Lune and St MichaelA Walk with dogs, The Lune and St Michael
The Lune Valley is always worth exploring. The river Lune rises as a stream near Ravenstone Dale, Cumbria, and gathers momentum and volume as it winds towards the sea at
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (3)Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (3)
Something had happened when we decided to approach the strange village by walking along the beach and coming to it via the old but grand harbour, with its mighty blocks
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (2)Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (2)
‘Surreal’ is an often used word and does its best to convey a moment, usually quite fleeting, in which there is both a heightened sense of ‘being there’ and another
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouseBright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse
The tiny airport was a refreshing change to the madness of modern flying, with its scarring signature of ‘security’. You could imagine a kindly local lady rushing out and saying,