#SensingSpirituality near midsummer at Caerlaverock 24th of June 2023
On Saturday the 24th of June Quartz will be presenting the opportunity for people to walk a Labyrinth. We will also interpret information about the first recorded farmers of the land. These were monks from Holme Cultrum Abbey across the Solway, which was at that time part of Scotland.
We will be doing this from 13.00 to 16.00 as part of the Creative Caerlaverock project which is exploring ways in which the community can engage with the castle and its grounds. The Castle itself is closed for safety reasons, but the grounds are open and access is free. If you are in the area, drop in. If you are reading this online and can’t travel hopefully you can try things out where you are.
The Labyrinth
We will be laying out a rope labyrinth which will hopefully be around 10m in diameter. Walking outdoors where the wind, birdsong and feel of the ground immerse you in the landscape is a special experience. We will encourage people to become aware of two of their abilities to sense which we think this activity is particularly suited to.
#SensingOtherness
Some experiences are special. Life is more than just it’s physical components. There can be moments where we sense something that can be described as sublime. Mystics experience transcendence, and then spend the rest of their lives trying to explain it in a way which avoids disrespecting the experience. Whatever metaphysics you use to understand these experiences, taking time out to become mindful of the otherness of where you are, the specialness of this particular moment, can help enrich your ordinary experience of everyday life.
On this day it might be helpful to think about the length of time this site has been used (This land was once below the waves, could a roman soldier have walked here?)
The Monks at Holme Cultrum lived a lifestyle which cultured an awareness of otherness. This contemplative life was balanced with an active life though, where the presence of God is experienced in daily life. The Practice of the Presence of God is an account by the C17th monk known as Brother Lawrence. You can find a copy here.
#SensingAwareness
More fully this is described as “Sensing a changed quality in Awareness”. If you can walk the labyrinth laid out on the grass then you might sense a change in the quality of your awareness of yourself and surroundings. The labyrinth restricts the path you walk, but perhaps this can free your mind to wander. By walking the labyrinth your experience of the lawn at the castle is changed. Perhaps you will experience inner change from walking.
Perhaps it will be as simple as having the opportunity to experience a moment of peace in what would otherwise be a busy day.
If attending a church service or singing beautiful chants helped the monks experience the transcendence of God, perhaps working in the fields, healing a sick person, or walking simply along a leafy lane, gave them moments where they sensed “Uncommonly good days” or the kingdom of God like salt in food or yeast in bread.
Walking
The days have been getting longer, now they become shorter. The sun stands still. It can be recognised as a time to pause, rest, and mark the change in the year. A labyrinth can help you do this.
- Place your finger at the entrance to the Labyrinth.
- As you follow the path to the centre, let your mind wander. If something worries you, acknowledge it and lay it to the side for just now. Unwind.
- In the Centre, take time out to rest in the light of creation. Light shines in the darkness. You are loved. You have the potential to do what is needed and are free to choose not to reject that which is laid on you.
- Follow the path out again. If you meet something you let go of on the way in, aknowledge it with peace. Choose to pick it up – or not!
Return whenever it might be helpful!
At one time Labyrinths were used by people as mini pilgrimages. Some were drawn on the floors of cathedrals, and may have represented a journey to Rome, or Jerusalem. They are much older though and have been a game played by children leaving winter and greeting the spring. This one is drawn by Simon Lidwell and is inspired by Iron age mirrors and wild geese swimming on the water.
Monastic life
As well as the labyrinth, we will also be presenting a collection of chants, prayers and readings from the history of monastic life in the area, from the 4th century to recent compositions. Monasteries used to regulate their pattern of life with special activities at certain hours. We will draw on this tradition by following a pattern throughout the time we are there. There will be a bell, the readings, some chanting and the opportunity to walk the labyrinth.
A very brief introduction…
Around the time that legal protection was extended to cover Christians in the roman empire, Christians also started to leave ‘normal’ society and seek the wilderness. Desert dwelling hermits and communities like those established by St Martin at Tours inspired Christian monasticism. The first example of this in Scotland is represented by St Ninian at Whithorn. This was probably followed by Portmahomac and Iona and then Lindisfarne. The way of life in a monastery was regulated by a rule, usually attributed to the founder, and these helped the community find a single-hearted focus on seeking God. Monks from the skelligs in the west helped rebuild culture after the destructive migration period, taking their customs and rules with them. Traces can be found in medieval manuscripts in the Italian alps.
The Benedictine rule then washed back into these island, and it is still the basis many communities of monks live by. Cistercians were the ones recorded as owning the lands around Caerlaverock and you can read more about how this continues to this day.
If you are interested, then community of Pluscarden abbey in the north of Scotland is a living example of monastic life in a building originally founded only a century or so after Holm Cultram.
https://www.pluscardenabbey.org/
Or find out more about what is going on where St Ninian lived:
This is the page of the Iona community. The combination of spiritual seeking and hard labour rebuilt the monastery there with trainee ministers and unemployed workers working alongside each other.
And here is where you can find out more about another contemporary approach which draws inspiration from early communities on the Farne islands of Northumbria.
https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/who-we-are/introducing-the-community/a-new-monasticism/
We will be holding a Midsummer Forest Church service on Sunday the 25th of June. We will meet at the castle road end car park near Caerlaverock castle at 3pm. (54.97845046765338, -3.5229645328674453)
We will walk up the hill to Wardlaw iron age fort. This is a farm track with steps. There are no facilities at the top, so please dress appropriately and bring a snack!