Ireland: Land of Shapeshifters and Dreamers
I’ve always been fascinated with ancient civilizations.
As a child one of my favorite books was a Childcraft Encyclopedia volume about the seven wonders of the ancient world. I started reading adult historical fiction books about Rome, Greece, the Holy Land and Celtic tribes before I turned 10. I majored in Classical Studies in college, taking 30 hours of Latin and continuing my fascination with cultures that had thrived thousands of years before I was born. More recently my focus has been on Celtic spirituality, which I’ve studied and taught for over a decade.
I suppose I succumbed a romantic notion that the spiritual life of ancient people had more immediacy and relevance than in the modern world, where we are constantly distracted by technology, information, celebrity and “news.” Some part of my soul was longing to slow down, to be more present, in deeper communication to the Divine on a moment to moment basis.
Last summer I discovered a place where the old magic I imagined still lives: western Ireland. It awakened something in me that has continued to grow.
Before Ireland I had visited the Catacombs and the Duomo, cried before the Peita, marveled at Michaelangelo’s David, floated through the Blue Grotto on the isle of Capri, prayed with other seekers in the Current Room where John of God works, watched rainbows stretch across the sky in Hawaii and seen many other wondrous places.
While each of these experiences shaped and moved me, never before have I felt the same connection with the numinous that I felt on the west coast of Ireland. Perhaps it’s cellular memory (I’m part Irish), yet I think it’s more. It’s the way the sky and the landscape change from moment to moment, mirroring your own inner shifts. It’s looking out from the cliffs at Dun Aengus and imagining that Tir Na Nog is floating out there, just beyond your sight. It’s listening to Irish voices raised in song, whether around a peat fire, at the local pub or standing next to a towering cairn on the Burren.
This summer I’m returning to County Clare to revisit the magic and facilitate a weeklong workshop on exploring the edges of your soul through Celtic spirituality and landscape. Want to come with me? You can read more about it here: www.KimberlySchneider.com/trips
Slainte,
Kimberly Schneider
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