Book Description
The Celtic way of seeing posits a direct link between the eye and the heart, a link that connects seekers to forces, energies, and knowledge that exist beyond the corporeal world. Here, Frank MacEowen explains this intuitive way of seeing by retelling a traditional Irish story, "The Settling of the Manor of Tara." The story is essential because it introduced to Irish culture the concept of the four directions — north, south, east, and west. For the Irish, just as for Native Americans, the directions act as guides and protectors. Once seekers learn to “see” the directions, spirituality becomes a living thing, making each seeker not just an observer but a participant. After retelling the ancient story in beautiful, prose evocative of ancient Ireland, MacEowen then places its wisdom in contemporary terms, and shares exercises and practices that help readers incorporate the teachings into daily life.
Customer Reviews:
Celtic Way of Seeing?.......2007-09-04
I really disliked this book. I really had trouble with the author's idea of the Tuatha De Danann as doe eyed, peace loving people that didn't understand violence. Interesting take on a warrior class of people that used force and violence to take the island from the Fir Bolg ... especially since they brought a sword and a spear as two of their treasures and the direction North is associated with battle. His take was too happy and shiny, hold hands and sing Kumbiaya for me. I prefer Celtic books to have some basis in Celtic history and Celtic values. To me it's really a slap in the face of Irish people everywhere to dumb down what it means to be a warrior to fit a new age peace loving sugar and spice agenda.
The Celtic Way of Seeing.......2007-08-17
Looking at the Celtic Spirit Wheel, we see a Mandela that defines our life. In the north is the battle: the aggressive part of ourself as well as the addictions that we come against. In the South is music. Music is the soul, the art, and the passions of our lives. To the west is knowledge, not just academic knowledge but also intuition, spiritual knowledge, and the sight. To the east is prosperity, prosperity in financial ways but more importantly in the ability to give to others and live a fulfilled live. In the center is sovereignty. Sovereignty encompasses destiny, peace, and contentment.
The Celtic Way of Seeing examines each of these Mandela directions and explains how they can be used to reflect one's life and how they can be used to work through particular issues. The key is balance and harmony, being pulled in one particular direction usually creates imbalance in the other aspects. By reflecting on these notions, the real heart of issues becomes very apparent.
I really enjoyed reading The Celtic Way of Seeing. The Celtic spirit wheel is quite easy to use and brought me a different perspective.
I Love this book.......2007-08-02
I really loved this little book. I bought it on the strength of Tom Cowan's many mentions of Frank MacEowen in *his* books, and he has not steered me wrong. Frank MacEowen has become a favorite, and this book is a gem. Being a Caucasian Westerner who practices neoshamanism from the core shamanism traditions of Michael Harner, I've never felt it proper to coopt apsects Native American spirituality nor have I been particularly drawn to them; I just felt my direction lay elsewhere, but didn't have any tools with which to even *find* the path. Mr. MacEowen lays them out in gentle, beautiful and grand detail, and they fit what I've always felt was the Way that is my own.
More Mysteries to Unfold.......2007-06-06
Once again Frank MacEowen takes us beyond the surface to find the mysteries within and around us. This slim volume seems so simple, and it is, yet time and again it has been proven to me that the simplest things yield the most profundity. That is certainly true here, and the imp in me suspects he gave us this pared down volume on purpose; he could have said a great deal more about all the meanings of each direction, etc. but the whole point he is making here is that we wade in and "get it" for ourselves. In fact I believe he even writes of the necessity of moving the material out of the cerebral realm we in the industrialized West live all too much, and know this stuff with our hearts and intuition, which is where the needed balance comes from, from being centered properly in all the various parts of life. No matter what your way, or faith or path, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from working with this material.
Beautiful Book.......2007-05-28
There is a lot that I could say about the book but that would take pages and pages, and this is supposed to be a review.
This book takes you on a journey to realign yourself and your goals. It mixes Myth and reality in a very beautiful way to give you a map to your soul.
The meditations are enlightening and very interesting to perform. Something you can easily encorperate into your life. But don't let the name fool you, as the author says this is not just the CELTIC way of seeing as each culture that has seers can lay a claim to this book.
Book Description
A memorable trip to Scotland leads psychotherapists Adele von Rust McCormick, Marlene Deborah McCormick, and Thomas McCormick — authors of Horse Sense and the Human Heart: What Horses Can Teach Us About Trust, Bonding, Creativity, and Spirituality and pioneers in the use of horses to treat mental illness — to the belief that Celtic mysticism holds important insights into equestrian-partnered spirituality. Through strange and serendipitous encounters, they learn that the Celtic people intentionally befriended horses to cultivate the human heart and soul, and that the horse accompanied the Celts as they spread their spiritual vision far and wide.
The McCormicks soon find themselves on a wisdom pilgrimage. From India to Mexico to southern Spain and Morocco, they follow the age-old relationship between horses and humans. As they become initiated into the hidden world of animal energy and instinct, the McCormicks learn to incorporate spirituality and religion with their psychological training. Horses and the Mystical Path is an inspiring exploration of their journey.
Customer Reviews:
Really Unreadable.......2007-08-01
The first book, Horse Sense and the human Heart I think set the tone for the whole work of horse therapy. This is just a bunch of hoo ha about being Irish and horses.
Buy the first one in vast quantities. It's the gold standard.
Horses and the Mystical Path .......2007-04-21
Intimate. This book paralleled my own journey with spirituality through horses. Stunning to read in deep and historic context. Important work; well worth the effort. Emotional: Many "AHA!" moments. This work brings together the spiritual, the historical, the philosophical and psychological here on earth.
Trading allure for accuracy.......2007-03-19
As the synopsis describes, this book is about a relationship with horses built around an inward and outward journey that the authors undertook and share with the readers. My knowledge of horses and equestrian issues is fairly small and for that reason I abstain from commenting on this book on those grounds. On the other hand, I do hold some solid notions on some of the cultural and geographical references the authors use (I'm Portuguese and living currently in Spain).
The recurring ignorance showed by some American citizens concerning non-American realities has become a sort of established joke outside the US borders. Unfortunately, the authors of this book live up to such jest. The description of the Iberian Peninsula portrayed in this book is, at times, so absurd, it gets hilarious. However, such absurdity seems to take itself quite seriously which impels me to warn off unwary readers, lest they might fall in love with the idea of visiting the place where its habitants, «The Iberians staunchly maintain that the horse is a gift from God, a gift to help humanity see the light and the truth» (p. 18). After all, it sounds quite tempting to meet the natives, if we take into account that «The Spanish people live close to this myth» - none other than the lost city of Atlantis (p. 19). Indeed, that's part and parcel of the whole country «culture's mythology» (Ibidem). Not surprisingly, then, it shaped the character of the «Iberian horse community» (p. 17), whatever that means.
No doubt that bringing up the topic of Atlantis with the indigenous man in the street might raise some interesting situations, if somewhat unexpected ones. Not to mention the outcome of a visit to Galicia, hoping to meet the natives wearing the kilt and speaking Gaelic (p.32). I feel obliged to warn such travellers that unless they are endowed with a strong sense of humour, they are in for a major disappointment.
Suffice to say that from the moment I read such proclamations, I couldn't take this book seriously, much as I wanted to. In fact, I couldn't finish it. Still, I choose to believe that the authors are well intended in everything they say and their attitude seems, overall, a good one.
The exercise of gathering and melting down cultural references and traditions, so abundantly used in this book, is in itself an ambitious endeavour, one that few people are capable of mastering with accuracy, seriousness and grace. In this day and age, the thirst for existential meaning has made this kind of venture very popular despite the fact that, most often than not, such attempts fall very short indeed. This work is such a case. The journey for spiritual disclosure, through our cultural mazes, is a most enticing quest, but it should not, under any circumstance, depend on the easy observing of appearances. On such journey there are no valid «short-cuts».
Yes, the eyes of God are looking back at us........2007-03-06
I read this all too brief book in a leisurely fashion over two months. Every time I entered its pages I soon had the feeling that I was talking with an ancient yet brand new spiritual friend. The mystical visitations by the Scottish shepherd, the Spanish waiter, the Mexican cathedral guide, and the sensitivity and sensible knowing of the authors' prized horses pierce the veil in the most profound mystic traditions, yet ground us with their practicality, their inevitability. Yes, great forces are available to us if we only open ourselves. Good will, the wish to benefit other beings, shines from every page of this book. The authors' refreshing passages about communion are inspiring.
The moment I reluctantly finished this book, I handed it to my fifteen year-old son, Eoghan, who was born in Ireland. An hour later he was hooked, too, or I should say befriended. I would like very much to meet these spiritualist authors. I don't know how I can afford it, but I would love to attend one of their equine retreats. Yes, that would be a valuable component to add to my own spiritual practice. For now, I thank them for their visitation, so like an answered prayer!
--Robert McDowell, author of the forthcoming Poetry in Your Spiritual Practice.
Drawing important connections between horse psyche and mystic elements........2006-11-05
On a trip to Scotland the family psychotherapist team of Adele, Deborah and Thomas McCormick investigated early Celtic mysticism and discovered elements of this mysticism that aided in their work using horses as therapeutic aids. Spirituality blends with practical applications in HORSES AND THE MYSTICAL PATH: THE CELTIC WAY OF EXPANDING THE HUMAN SOUL, drawing important connections between horse psyche and mystic elements.
Book Description
The Celts believed that the visible and invisible worlds, the material and the spiritual, were one. For them, certain places were sacred - places where the divide between visible and invisible was very thin, where the presence of the spiritual was almost palpable.
In this book, Margaret Silf introduces seven traditional sacred spaces, such as "hilltops," "groves and springs," and "boundaries," and invites us to reflect on the meaning of these sacred spaces in our own lives.
Beautifully written and illustrated with color photographs, Sacred Spaces is a book for all those who are engaged on the inner journey. Drawing on the riches of the Celtic tradition, it helps us to see that as we go deeper into our own sacred space we move closer to the center and heart of all creation.
Customer Reviews:
Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way.......2007-01-11
Beautifully illustrated containing a wealth of deep spirituality.
Take a Vicarious Spiritual Journey to Ireland.......2004-03-07
Noted spiritual writer Margaret Silf takes her readers on a Celtic journey in her book SACRED SPACES. Combining Ignatian spirituality with traditional Celtic spirituality and the beauty that is Ireland and Scotland, Silf looks at the natural beauty and some ancient human made artifacts to help readers take a good look at their own lives. Silf looks at moments in our own lives: times we may be facing challenges, times we need to grow, and times we need to simply appreciate God's creation, and the like, and pairs them with ancient landmarks and the natural beauty of Celtic places. She does this to enable the reader to see how these places revealed God's role in human life to the Celts and can do the same for us today.
The different artifacts and natural places focus on one area of a person's life and a chapter is devoted to the individual places or things. The chapters include:
The Infinite Knot which Silf sees as God's weaving in our lives.
The High Cross which were used to mark Churches and libraries can be seen as signs that point toward eternity
Hilltops which help us see the whole picture
Wells which challenge us to live our possibilities
Groves and springs which are signs of hospitality and generosity
Crossing places which challenge us to grow
Boundaries
One chapter flows into the other and the book can almost be used as a mini retreat, but more than likely readers will find themselves returning to this book to reread Silf's insighst as we face the different situations talked about in the book in our own lives. The book also contains lush photographs which will delight people who have visited either Scotland or Ireland and entice others to make a trip to either of these beautiful places.
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Following St. Patrick around..........2003-07-13
Seven is a magic number in many ways. In this book, 'Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way', the author Margaret Silf walks the reader through seven traditional sacred spaces:
- the infinite knot
- the Celtic cross
- hilltops
- wells
- groves and springs
- thresholds and crossing places
- boundaries
Each of these spaces has a unique spiritual dimension in various Celtic ways of thinking and being. Silf devotes a chapter to each, reflecting on ways that this Celtic understanding can shed deeper meaning on our own lives. Drawing from scripture, Celtic legend and lore, and simple storytelling, Silf helps us chart our own journey through these sacred spaces.
This book is visually stunning as well as interesting to read, which helps the reader draw upon other senses as well as the imagination in pursuing this kind of sacredness. 'With our minds we know our lives are a mass of complication. If you think back to yesterday, or forward to tomorrow, you will surely become aware of a whole catalogue of problems, dilemmas, choices and compromises, beaten into some kind of shape on the anvil of your circumstances. A far cry from the perfect balance of the infinite knot. Yet in your deeper reaches there are whispers of simplicity, harmony, a joining of opposites, a reconciliation of irreconcilables.'
Silf uses personal reflections from her own life (a person who works at home, a person who has been trained by Jesuits in prayer and spiritual direction, a married person, etc.) to illustrate how these connections can be made for those of us in 'real life' situations. So often spirituality seems so disconnected from ordinary daily practice, and so difficult to incorporate into day-to-day activity, as if it is only possible to have 'spirituality' when the rest of life is done, or put on hold. Celtic practices strive to recognise the spiritual dimension in all that we do, and Silf's incorporation of sacred spaces can turn everyday activities as simple as walking through a doorway into a connection with the sacred.
Silf explains that Celtic spirituality holds thresholds and crossings in high regard. Thresholds are doorways -- this can be symbolic of any transition, major or minor, in our lives. A new job, a new child, a new relationship, a departing by moving or death -- all of these are thresholds we cross. We can remember each time we open the door to home of the sacredness of where we are, where we've come from, and who we've journeyed with. A lot in a small symbol, if we would but pay attention.
Other images -- hilltops (how often did prophets in scripture of various religions go to mountaintops or hilltops for a stronger connection with the divine?), the cross (strong symbolism for Christians, surely, but who else uses the cross, and in what ways?), wells and springs (pools of possibility, Silf calls them) -- all these images and more yield treasure to they who seek it. 'In every moment that we live and breathe, we are growing into it, dreaming and real-ising our own part in the Dream of all creation, reaching out to each new horizon along the Way that leads us Home.'
Book Description
A channeled overview of the Celtic path of Arthurian fulfillment, a vision of personal and planetary transformation
• Gives a detailed explanation and overview of the kingdoms of nature and the devic forces that comprise the Divine Mother's kingdom on Earth
• Explains the Celtic calendar and the primary natural forms--animal, stone, tree, flower, plant, and bird--that are activated during the 16-month lunar cycle of emotional growth
According to the Celtic Way, all spirit forces and forms of nature are here to teach and support every individual in attaining his or her full wisdom status. In this way Earth can become a land of beloveds who have fully embodied the laws of love in sacred partnerships, each individual cocreating with the divine. This is the Arthurian fulfillment. It is only through meeting our innermost fears--our shadows and dragons--and transforming them into love that we may emerge as divine humans empowered to lift the entire planet closer to this sacred vision of the peaceable kingdom restored.
Instructed by the guardians of the Other World, trees, animals, and other Earth spirits, Celtic scholar Jill Kelly outlines the cosmology of Celtic mysticism that orders the Divine Mother's kingdom on Earth and that calls humanity to awaken to its sacred potential. Guardians of the Celtic Way describes the 142 planes of the soul's descent into the separation from the One, explains the Celtic calendar and how the forces of nature interact with earthly cycles to assist us in bringing about spiritual fulfillment, and gently calls us to follow the Celtic path of ascension and establish Heaven on Earth.Â
Average customer rating:
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Celtic Way of Life
Dublin Curriculum Development Unit
Manufacturer: O'Brien Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Ancient
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0905140192 |
Average customer rating:
- Simple glance to inspire further study
- Excellent overview of ancient Irish Celtic life.
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Celtic Way of Life
Manufacturer: Intl Book Distributors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0686122100 |
Customer Reviews:
Simple glance to inspire further study.......2000-04-29
At as few pages as this book is written, you could expect a lot less, but "Celtic Way of Life" delivers the facts plainly, in a very middle-school text-book manner. Not to say it would bore any other reader with its simplicity -it keeps a steady pace and stays in focus. It only scratches the surface, and that very lightly, but I still see it as a valuable book for someone who wishes to look at the archaeological evidence in the ways of living and every day Celtic life -rather than derrive it from folklore and mythology.
Excellent overview of ancient Irish Celtic life........1999-05-09
This small (72 pp.)book contains an incredible amount of information about life in Ireland 2500 years ago. The daily life of the Celts -- housing, work, play, social rules, and more -- are clearly explained. Black and white illustrations (drawings and photographs)supplement the text, as does the occasional quotation from a contemporary source or translated poem.A good resource for teachers and independently usable by middle schoolers and strong elementary readers. An important addition to a generally expensive list of books about the Celts. (This edition is reprinted from a 1976 publication of the Curriculum Development Unit in Dublin.)
Average customer rating:
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Celtic Way of Life (Exploring)
Curriculum Development Unit
Manufacturer: O'Brien
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Customs & Traditions
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Ancient
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0862785634 |
Book Description
Feeling separated from God is a lonely place to be. Many circumstances can cause it: busyness, trials, lack of direction. We feel frustrated; our faith stagnates. But there is a way back, an ancient way that leads us to new union with God.
"Long ago," Calvin Miller writes, "when the Celts built their own rustic kingdom of God in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, their fervour in prayer washed their world in the vitality of revival." In uncertain and dangerous days of high infant-mortality rates, leprosy and plagues, the Celts breathed candid prayers out of the reality of their lives. Desperate prayers for protection. Praise for the God who was king over all creation. Honest prayers of confession. In these pages, Miller introduces us to six types of Celtic prayer that can connect us to God more deeply by helping us pray out of the circumstances and uncertainties of our own life.
"This book is aimed at ending our amputated feelings of separateness from God," says Miller. What was true for the Celts is still true for us: "union with Christ . . . is a hunger that keeps us talking to God till our separation is swallowed up in our unending togetherness with him." As rich as the faith they describe, these pages lead us on an ancient path that gives guidance for present and future prayers, until the day the Celts longed for, when all separation is gone and we live forever in the presence of God.
Market/Audience
- Disciplers, spiritual directors, life coaches
- Emergent church
- Fans of the author
- Pastors
- People interested in spiritual formation
Features and Benefits
The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, and Seekers
The Spiral of Memory and Belonging: A Celtic Path of Soul and Kinship
Yearning for the Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul
Celtic Devotional: Daily Prayers and Blessings
The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld
