Inanna at At the End of Desire wrote recently about a New York Times article which related mental health to the narrative style of the stories we tell about ourselves. Those with mood problems, for example, tell stories in which every major incident is tainted by some dark detail — “notes of disappointment.” Inanna suggests that a storytelling technique using this information could be used therapeutically to change, subtly and over time, characteristics about our selves.

This makes me wonder if a positive form of cognitive therapy could be to “rewrite” the stories we tell ourselves, making ourselves the heroes instead of the victims. I can imagine a therapist, peer counselor, or friend gently pointing out the “notes of disappointment” in a story being told and suggesting ways to change the narrative.
…
Of course, it’s not as simple as “thinking makes it so.” (I don’t really understand the Law of Attraction, but I know that that’s not so simple either, The Secret notwithstanding.) If anything, the retelling works more like an affirmation; repeat it often enough, and you can cognitively “rewire,” training the mind to move in a different groove.

The possible connection of such a technique to ritual was, of course, not lost on her and she concludes with the observation that “Ritual and magick could also be powerful tools to aid in retelling.” I would expound on that and suggest that ritual and magic are extremely powerful and useful psychological “self-help” techniques. The connection between the power of storytelling and magic was made clear to me by a passage later in the article, relating how people who found recovery, externalized their problems:

At some level, talk therapy has always been an exercise in replaying and reinterpreting each person’s unique life story. Yet Mr. Adler found that in fact those former patients who scored highest on measures of well-being — who had recovered, by standard measures — told very similar tales about their experiences.

They described their problem, whether depression or an eating disorder, as coming on suddenly, as if out of nowhere. They characterized their difficulty as if it were an outside enemy, often giving it a name (the black dog, the walk of shame). And eventually they conquered it.

“The story is one of victorious battle: ‘I ended therapy because I could overcome this on my own,’ ” Mr. Adler said. Those in the study who scored lower on measures of psychological well-being were more likely to see their moods and behavior problems as a part of their own character, rather than as a villain to be defeated. To them, therapy was part of a continuing adaptation, not a decisive battle.

The findings suggest that psychotherapy, when it is effective, gives people who are feeling helpless a sense of their own power, in effect altering their life story even as they work to disarm their own demons, Mr. Adler said.

A sense of power? Disarming demons? Sounds like ritual and magic to me. I’ve discussed the psychological affect and benefits of ritual here before, and this reinforces my theory: that ritual and magic can be seen as a way to effectively communicate with the subconscious and thus change our lives for the better. If externalizing our problems is an effective therapy, what can be more therapeutic than magic in which our problems are not only externalized but given physical form, say as a poppet or a note on paper, and then manipulated or destroyed?

I am leery of reducing magic to simply a mind-trick we play on ourselves, but I think it helps to recognize that, at least on some level, that’s exactly what it is. The surprising thing I have come to realize, though, is that recognizing the “mind-trick” doesn’t reduce the power of the magic, it only helps us develop better and more powerful rituals! The reason for this is that the subconscious doesn’t know the difference. The distinction is being made by the conscious, rational mind. So, what can we get out of this article that will help us design rituals? Here are my thoughts:

1. “Externalize” the problem you are dealing with. Make it real and separate. Represent it with some tangible object that you can work with.
2. Word spells in terms of overcoming obstacles. Word them with the problem first, then the resolution. Negative, then positive ending.
3. Use third person instead of first person as much as possible.

It would also seem to me that this storytelling angle reinforces the importance of journaling. Journaling lets you see what’s going on in your life from another perspective, lets you integrate thoughts and feelings using both sides of your brain, and, as this article suggests, gives you a narrative you can review and examine in a different light, letting you see how your own “notes of disappointment” are bringing you down.

Life’s modern hectic pace is not something out of our control. We should slow down. Savor the moment. That is the aims of The Slow Movement. It’s proponents believe the most important things in life should not be rushed.Slow Down Now, a website of the Slow Movement, has this motto: multitasking is a moral weakness. Zen masters say very much the same thing. Be in the moment. Do one thing and devote your attention to it. Relax and experience the Now.

The Slow Movement is also about Slow Food. Enjoy locally grown produce and help preserve cultural cuisine and associated food plants. The food taste better, it promotes stainability, and makes us at least that much less dependant on big business farms.

Slow Movement is, ultimately, about making real connections — ones lost due to the pace and technology of modern life.

Stress is leading to unprecedented health problems. “Stop the world I want to get off” is a feeling we all have sometimes.Why is this happening? What is wrong? What are we searching for? The one thing that is common to all these trends is connection. We are searching for connection. We want connection to people - ourselves, our family, our community, our friends, - to food, to place (where we live), and to life. We want connection to all that it means to live – we want to live a connected life.

The Slow Movement seems to be the intersection of various points of interest for me: Zen, Druidry, sustainable living, and quality of life. So, it’s been a delight to discover and share with others. Now slow down, take a deep breath, and appreciate the moment.

Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of an exercise kick lately. I only hope I can keep the enthusiasm up, and as long as I can link it to philosophy, I think I can. So, today I want to talk about going barefoot. There is simply no better way to feel the presence, the spirit, and the power of the earth. From a philosophical desire to feel a connection to the earth and to nature, going barefoot seems only, well, natural.

But what about practical health benefits? Ah, I’m glad you asked. Running barefoot seems much healthier than the regular “pounding of feet wrapped in thick padding” we normally consider running or jogging. For years, African runners have dominated the highest levels of long distance running. The reason why eluded scientists for a long time. They tested genetic explanations, but the African runners had the same lung capacity, the same leg structure, etc., that other runners did. What the African runners had over the competition was this: they had run barefoot from childhood. The proper running technique while running barefoot, such as the one taught as the pose method, uses a light step with gravity providing the driving force. It is easier on the joints and is more energy efficient. Their are multiple health benefits to going barefoot. The following is quoted from Women’s Sports & Fitness, August 1994:

A recent study demonstrates that the skin on the soles of your feet resists abrasions and blistering and that going barefoot is beneficial to the musculoskeletal structure of your feet and ankles. … Kicking off your shoes can help prevent a host of foot injuries: bunions, heel spurs, and bone deformities, among others. “Shoes act like casts, holding the bones of the foot so rigid that they can’t move fluidly,” [Steven] Robbins [MD and adjunct associate professor of mechanical engineering at Concordia University, Montreal] explains. “The foot becomes passive from wearing shoes and loses the ability to support itself.”

The Celtic Reconstructionist in me would feel remiss if he didn’t add that at least some ancient Celts apparently saw it as a weakness to wear shoes. Not surprising, since at least a few thought it was a weakness to wear any clothes at all into battle.

Today, I have gone the entire day without wearing shoes or socks. Fortunately, because I am self-employed, I can get away with this at work. When I went to run an errand, I reflexively looked for my shoes before I remembered I didn’t really need them. It was rough-going at times. Walking on hot pavement and limestone rocks were a bit painful, but there was some joy even to that — a sense of freedom and of connectedness, of being aware and alive. Also, my movements have felt more fluid and gentle. My feet are sore and tired, but I’m loving it.

I lament the thought of having to imprison my feet in padded casts again, but I will have to eventually. There are public places that frown on the practice of going barefoot, though for no reason other than social stigma, really. But, that’s social pressure I have to bend to. Business owners can kick me out, and as a trial lawyer, I am also pretty sure judges would frown on my appearing in court barefoot. So, I’m going to take it day by day, going barefoot when and where I can for now, and taking it one step at a time.

Many other facts and useful links concerning “barefooting” can be found on Wikipedia.

Though you wouldn’t know it from looking at me, I am interested in physical fitness, especially where exercise intersects with philosophy. When I was in to Taoism and Buddhism, I practiced tai chi. I still do, along with pa kua and some other kung fu stuff I can’t really pronounce.

Now that I am “neo-druid,” I have asked myself, what would a “druidic” workout look like? I would think that it should embody a “oneness” with the environment, developing awareness and balance. It would be a whole-body workout with minimal equipment. It might also take into account this facet of the training of the legendary warriors of the Fianna:

No man was taken until he had woven his hair into many braids and he was set at a run through the woods, while the ones seeking to wound him were sent after him there having been just one forest bough between them at first. If he was overtaken and wounded he was not allowed entry, If his weapons had quivered in his hand he was not taken, If his hair was disturbed in any way out of its braiding he was not taken. If he cracked a dry stick under his foot as he ran he was not taken. He also had at full speed to jump a branch level with chest and stoop under one level with his knee without breaking stride or else he was not accepted. Also he had to extract a thorn from his foot without pausing in his stride or else he was not taken.

So, what workout does all that? I present to you Parkour. It is an art, often styled an “extreme sport,” in which the participants seek to move as quickly and efficiently through whatever obstacles are in their way. With leaping, vaulting, balancing, tumbling, climbing, and crawling, it develops every part of the body. It is, more than anything, a philosophy — one that interweaves well with a modern druidic approach to life:

Basically, Parkour is a natural method to train the human body to be able to move forward quickly, making use of the environment that’s around us at any given time. This ‘art of displacement’ requires neither specific structure nor accessory for its practice. The body is the only tool. It’s an athletic discipline accessible to all, because it combines all the natural skills of the human body: running, jumping, climbing… It’s a sport that permits exploration of the potential offered by your body. It’s about being able to face the obstacles with which you are presented, whether they be in the natural environment or in the urban environment, in a search for movement that combines effectiveness and control.

Practicing parkour has made working out fun for me. It’s like being a child again and seeing the whole world as a playground. I push myself hard, right to my limits, but out of a spirit of: “let’s see if I can do this,” rather than the grim and boring workouts I used to have. I will never be able to pull off the extreme parkour, “Jackie-Chan-Like” maneuvers the founder of parkour does in this video, but that’s okay. I am only competing with myself, having fun, and getting in shape.

For more information about parkour, I suggest americanparkour.com.

It is said that the druids were masters of memory, retaining the entire body of Celtic lore and wisdom in superbly trained minds. While the druids were, in fact, literate, it seems they felt that truly important things were too important to write down. Consider the phrase “to know by heart.” It is saying that one has devoted so much of themselves to the importance of a memorized item that it is no longer just in their mind, but in their heart as well. If something is truly important to you, you will know it by heart.

Commonly, it is the secretiveness of the druids that is given as the reason for their refusal to record their wisdom in writing. I think that is a valid point, but I think there was a practical reason, too: books are not very portable and have a considerable amount of upkeep.

The Celts were a people on the move. They couldn’t very well haul libraries around with them. The highly literate cultures are also very stationary ones. They build large buildings and stay in one place with their buildings full of books. Memorization is the ultimate in portability. Once something is properly memorized, it can never be lost or taken away. Additionally, what is memorized is always “at one’s fingertips.” One doesn’t have to spend hours in researching a question. When the king wants a piece of information, the bard is right there with the answer.

I consider memorization as part of my druid training — one, I must admit, I haven’t really developed yet. There are many things that are worth memorizing and are suitably “Druidic.” By memorizing them, you are making a statement that they are truly important to you.

Rituals are an obvious choice. It’s a lot smoother to hold a ritual with all the words and actions memorized instead of reading along. Legends and Lore such as knowing every detail of every god your entire pantheon; or being able to recite from memory the Great Stories of the gods that can then be told as part of offering or other part of a high day ceremony. Your own family tree as far back as we have records is also a good choice. It’s good to honor one’s ancestors by being able to recite who they are and how they are related. Memorization for omen taking is an obviously worthwhile endeavor. A good seer will know by heart the symbols they use, their meanings, and their interrelationships.

I would think the druids were masters of mnemonics, and I’ve seen many theories about the kinds of techniques they might have mastered. This section of the Mind Tools website has a great deal of advice and techniques to use for memorizing lists or large bodies of information, and I highly recommend it to those who want to delve in to this under-appreciated aspect of druidic training.