Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
‘Numbers on the Spiritual Journey
The Great
P’s of Celtic Spirituality
I drafted most of these notes in Vienna Airport as I waited for my return flight to
Birmingham after attending an 8-day Silent Retreat at Die Quelle, the International
Satsang Association Sadhana Ashram ( see www.international-satsang.org ) . The
Retreat was led by Sister Ishpriya
It seemed important at the time to record these in order that I might not lose their
‘immediacy’ They contain some further reflections on my recent Silent Retreat and their
message was a re-affirming of my roots in Celtic Spirituality and a confirmation that they
complemented the thread of my experiences during the Retreat.
Numbers and numerology have held a fascination for people of all cultures and
throughout time. The study of numbers and mathematics is very often given ‘pride of
place’, both in the modern world and in many ancient cultures. In education, and
particularly in the West, there has been an emphasis on the 3 R’s of Reading, wRiting
and aRithmetic.
Perhaps this fascination with numbers and mathematics is because they are linked to
nature and the cosmos. We do know that the study of numbers is seen by many as
being complex, intricate and indeterminate and that mathematics acknowledges the
concept of infinity. Thus it speaks of, and perhaps mirrors, man’s sense that the Reality
or Source is Infinite, Intricate and Indeterminate.
What is readily acknowledged is the importance of numbers in Spirituality and in the
major religions or Faith Traditions of the world. Judaism has ‘the Ten Commandments’.
Jesus, called the Christ, gave his followers ‘Two Great Commandments’ – love of God
and love of self and neighbour. Islam has the ‘Five Pillars ‘of faith and wisdom. While
Buddhism is founded on the ‘Four Noble Truths of the Buddha’, one of which is the
‘Eightfold Path’. The use by many Faith Traditions of Mala or Rosary beads, each with a
precise number of beads, is well known. Finally, there is the number three. This is a
particularly significant number. In Hinduism we have the Trimurti of Brahma, Siva and
Vishnu.
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
In Christianity we have the Trinity of Father, Son (Word) and Spirit.
For the Irish Celts, the number three (3) was very significant. This
was prior to and after the arrival of Christianity, which by the way
arrived long before St Patrick, who arrived in ad . 432.
The Celtic pre-Christian Gods were often arranged in triads and it
was common for one of these to be female. In this way Celts noted
the relatedness within God and both the feminine and masculine
nature of Reality. So much of Celtic Artwork had twin motifs, the inter-twining of loops
and a collection of three. It is said that St Patrick used the Shamrock, a plant with three
leaves, to explain to the Irish Kings and Druids the Mystery that lies at the heart of the
Christian Faith, namely the Trinity. This may most probably be merely a nice story , but
it is one that countless generations of Irish children have heard However, it is further
evidence of the importance of ‘the three ‘ and the Trinity in Celtic Spirituality
Now there are FOUR great P’s that lie at the heart of Celtic Spirituality. These underpin
the whole Celtic approach to God, Ultimate Reality. They could be termed ‘the great P’s
because they introduce a word which is also a concept that begins with the letter P.
However, one of these four P’s is central and the other three are merely doors that lead
into this central P. Therefore the first P of Celtic Spirituality is PRESENCE, hereafter
written as Presence. During the Silent Retreat my reflections repeatedly came back to
this sense of Presence in the silence. I also began to make contact with the other 3
elements of my roots in Celtic Spirituality. So in one sense my reflections led me back
full circle to my youth. The difference was that I now returned as an adult, with some
experience of the journey. I will begin with Presence and then look at the other three in
turn
Presence :- In Creation
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
PRESENCE
The central and all encompassing and embracing P of Celtic Spirituality is ‘Presence’.
This envelops and enfolds all. This Presence is the Transcendent and Immanent Source
of all that is, or could possibly be. But what can help to touch this Presence? Well there
are ‘so many ways’, and different Traditions recommend or emphasise different paths or
doors that help us access this Presence. Like many other cultures, the Celts were
mainly people of the land; they did not live in great cities but in the countryside. They
also had a great sense of Community and of the equality of all, young and old, male or
female. Therefore they developed a very ‘green’ or environmentally aware spirituality.
This was a Spirituality that was very much in touch with nature, with rural life and with
the sense of both the transcendent and immanent presence of God. For Celts there
developed three special ways of expressing and living out the truths of this Presence
and each of these begin with the letter P. All three are equally important.
PILGRIMAGE
Celts were very aware of the importance of life as a ‘Pilgrimage’.
They recognised that all are on a journey from the Source or
Presence and back again. Now this Pilgrimage is a dual or
parallel journey. There is the external and the internal journey.
As these ‘journeys’ can and will lead us to the Presence, it is
important to remain aware and attentive to both the inner and
outer pilgrimage. Therefore, external pilgrimages, particularly to
important places, was (and is) encouraged in Celtic society as
they can help to focus our awareness on the importance of the
inner journey. It was this sense of the importance of pilgrimage
that led generations of Celts to travel across the length and
breath of Europe, taking their brand of Christian Spirituality to a wide variety of peoples.
Arguably, the Christian Faith might not have survived in Europe but for the efforts of
Celtic ‘pilgrims’. But that is an area that would require a whole new article to explore. So
I will continue on this part of the ‘pilgrimage’!
For me, the importance of Pilgrimage is that it remains a constant reminder of the truth
of my body-psyche existence. My pilgrimage is back to the Source and on that
pilgrimage I will face many experiences, some life giving and others not. My choices
play a big part in this. Do they lead me towards a greater sense of awareness of and
relationship with Presence or not? I look at my time on Silent Retreat at Die Quelle as a
place and time where I could rest and reflect and be more aware of the Presence within
and all around me. Like countless others pilgrims, I find that the combination of the
outward physical journey ( on Retreat) and external peace and solitude of nature and
place, play a vital part in helping me orientate myself and resume the pilgrimage with
more awareness and attention. In this, I realise the importance o place on the pilgrimage
and this leads me on to the next great P of Celtic Spirituality.
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
PLACE
Now any pilgrimage involves going from a start point to an end point or
destination. There may be many stops in between and these may or may not involve
detours or important ‘turning points’ on the journey. So pilgrims are encouraged to be
aware of the territory they are currently travelling through. Also, it is often very advisable
to stop and to examine the ‘Place’ you are currently in. For Celts, certain places had
particular spiritual significance. These were often referred to as ‘thin places’, that is
places where the veil between the Presence and the person seemed thin and less
impenetrable. This idea that there is a ‘veil’ between us and the Absolute is not unique
to the Celts. Many of the other traditions share it. I am reminded of the following lines of
the Isa Upanishad, when the author, almost in a desperate plea to the Source whom he
seeks, writes
The face of Truth remains hidden behind a circle of Gold
Unveil it, O God of Light
That I, who love the True , might see !
Now Celts, like many of the aboriginal peoples of the world,
were aware of the importance of their environment and
respected it. They also revered the natural world and took great
care of it. It could be said that they were the original ‘Green
Christians’. Therefore, these ‘thin places’ are most often to be
found , not in great buildings or cathedrals, which were not part
of Celtic culture, but in the natural environment. Holy and ‘thin
places’ to them were, wells, forests, streams and rivers and hill
tops. The majority of the original monasteries and churches in
Ireland are located in these areas.
But just as it was important to acknowledge the external
Place you were and are in, it is even more important to
regularly examine the inner journey. In other words,
examine the place on the inner pilgrimage, that
pilgrimage into the Silent Land or the Ground of the Soul
or to the Cave of the Heart. These are all ways of
symbolically expressing the inner journey and it’s
Source. Therefore, the Buddhist expression of ‘examine
the place on which you stand’ has echoes in Celtic
Spirituality. Remaining aware of the Pilgrimage and
Place and the part they play in our relationship with
Presence, is a life long Sadhana or Spiritual Practice
and in this respect the Celts had their final P, that of Prayer.
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
PRAYER Now the concept of Prayer has a ‘bad press’ in the Western World.
Traditionally it is seen as an exercise done at certain times and in certain places and
with certain ritual elements. It is also mainly seen as a one-sided conversation. I (the
prayer) decide the time and place, sit or kneel down and begin ‘ to talk to God’ and I
expect God to listen ! When I was younger I learned a series of ‘formal words’, called
prayers, which I said to God. I usually did this in the morning and evening and in
Church. All this could tend to regulate ‘prayer’ to the sidelines of my life. Thankfully, I
had an interest in Celtic History and a supportive mother and grandmother. Thus I
became aware of the ancient Celtic idea of prayer and how they saw everything in
relationship to (God) Presence. Whether this was the environment, animals, plants,
peoples etc.
So at a very early age I began to learn that we were all in an inter-dependent
relationship with God. I must admit, that at that time I could not have expressed it as
such. However, I was deeply aware of my ‘relationship’ with God. Thus I began to learn
that everything is sacred and that all we think do or say is prayer. Whether we are
working, travelling, eating, sitting quietly etc, all is prayer. In the Celtic Tradition there
are numerous examples of prayers for all occasions.
Particular examples are prayers for the rising and
setting of the sun, these were special times as they
marked the cycle of darkness and light. In some
senses, the Celtic prayers at these times are a form of
the Hindu Aarti, which is a ceremony of light at dawn
and dusk. Other important prayers concern the
passage of the seasons, those involving normal
household tasks, like raking the fire or making the
butter, and the important stages in life. So Prayer for
Celts was not just connected with Place but also with life’s Pilgrimage.
This attitude towards prayer was and is a constant
reminder of the ever –present sense of Presence. It
is a great exercise and discipline in awareness.
Therefore the Hindu concept of SEVA and Karma
Yoga , where all is done as selfless service and as
a prayer to and for the Reality, would not be totally
alien to the Celts. Prayer is merely another way or
door that leads the self into Presence. It is also a
constant opportunity for expressing gratitude to and
service for the Lord.
In the words of a pop song of the late 1980s, for Celts ‘Everything I do, I do it for YOU
‘
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
So this triad of P’s – Pilgrimage – Place and Prayer all overlap
and inter-twine and lead us towards Presence. One of the
many famous Celtic motifs, symbolising the ‘Unity of the
Three’ is called the ‘trilobe’, which appears in the title of this
piece. Its three interlinked and interwoven elements can be
used to represent the 3 P’s of Pilgrimage, Place and Prayer.
The centre of the trilobe, where all three overlap and meet is
the shared Presence. I offer this as a useful symbol for the
central ideas of Celtic Spirituality.
When I began the Silent Retreat at Die Quelle I was not aware of how the themes which
I would draw out from Sr Ishpriya’s conferences would begin to lead me inextricably
back to my roots. But that is what did happen. Our original roots often turn out to be the
deepest and surest. They are formed when we are young and full of hope, imagination
and innocence and thus more open to authenticity. Perhaps I should not be so surprised
by this.
Entrance to Die Quelle
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
Reflections on a Spiritual Journey :
Excerpts from a Personal Journal
Both before during and after the Retreat I have found myself ‘drawn’ to the teachings of
Jesus on ‘The Kingdom’. Two of these great sayings of Jesus the Christ concerning the
‘Kingdom’ have been resonating within me. The first is ‘The Kingdom of God is within
you’ and the second is as follows ‘ Unless you become like a child, you will not
enter ( or inherit) the Kingdom’ .
Or as the Hindu Kena Upanishad puts it ‘he is unknown to the learned and known to
the simple.’ So often Christians have focused on building the outer Kingdom and this
is so often seen as building up ‘the Church’ It seems to me that Jesus is indicating that it
is the inner Kingdom that requires attention and that we need to approach it with the
faith and trust of a child..
So, as I reflect on my Retreat and on these words of Jesus, I can see that it is the
journey within that is the most important. This is a journey into the Silent Land. This
understanding is challenging. It requires humility and courage to trust like a child.
However, perhaps it is only if we make this in faith, hope and trust like a child, only then
will we really find the ‘kingdom’ within. So the Journey continues! In conclusion, I offer
the following Celtic Prayer about our constant need for awareness of Presence.
Make me Aware , O Lord’
Of the eye
That Beholds me
The Hand
That Holds me
The Heart
That Loves me
The Presence
That enfolds me
Amen
Peter Creagh
© Peter Creagh ( 2010)
Heartsease Training & Counselling , Shifnal, Shropshire, UK