As it is Above, So it is Below
Searles

Sun Feb  4 11:16:33 2001
Cosmology has been much on my mind the past several years as well as concepts of order and the ways that we as people relate to our surroundings and one another.  All of these ides and their influences come into our daily lives.  They exist in the ways that our homes are oriented and the ways in which our furniture is arranged.  They occur in how we segment the activities of our time and work. They exist in what we eat and even how we eat; how we sit at the dining table or not. In short, life is sacred in terms of space, time and action for us. *p*Much of what we discuss within The Summerlands is tied to these ideas about how we relate and act in the world. We study our roots, as well as the trunks, branches, leaves and fruit of each tree to which we are connected.  We seek to honor past, present and future as well as ancestors, relatives and progeny. We study tradition, experience and possibilities. I'd like to start a thread where we present, share and discuss the details of how we practically accomplish these things in our lives while also tying them to the harmonies of the universe and the natural world around us.  The best place to begin such a study is in the middle.:-)  Let's start with how our homes, our ritual sites and our work environments are set up.*p*I personally know of three ways that space (and time) can be ordered.  In the Vedas there is a cosmology that sets up relationships between the deities and their most manifest of powers. This ordering seems to involve a numerical relationship between qualities that is almost a numerology. In Feng Shui there is a nine part ordering as well. This is called 'Bagua' and see to equally derive from concepts within the Vedic cosmology as well as the I Ching of the Tao. Within Celtic tradition there is a five part division of the Land that I believe can be expanded to nine such parts.  This is the division of Ireland as provided by Fintan and Trefuilngid Tre-Eochair in the tale know as "The Settling of the Manor of Tara." These divisions of space are also found to reflect the divisions of the year in terms of seasons, festivals and heavenly events. The Wheel of the Year and the Wheel of Life are seen to be associated with one another.*p*I could go on with these ideas in this discussion right now, but I really do want to start in the middle and work outward in both directions from there. How are our own homes, lives and years ordered? Perhaps we can find a commonality and a harmony in sharing this information here? Do the parts of our lives balance one another? Do the elementrs of our surrounding environment harmonize within the home and protect as well as interface us with the outside world? How would we change our home, office or other property to create balance and to encourage our life goals? The answers to these question for ourselves and for one another may well reveal to each of us our own inner wisdom or need for change.*p*In my next mesage in this thread (later this evening, since Deborah and I are actively working here in our apartment to order parts of our lives and surrroundinmgs), I'll present what I know about Vedic, Feng Shui and Celtic cosmological and harmonious organizations of space.  If this knowledge turns out to be extensive, it might take me weeks to post. OTOH if it is "very small" then I might be able to input it in 5 minutes! :-)  *p*I'd like everyone who is interested in such an understanding of the order of their lives, homes and surroundings to take stock and to begin cataloging how these important parts of ourselves are organized.  After we've paused to determine how our spaces surrounds us, let's present the observations andd perhaps some details of your own analysis about how this orientation affects you. How does it help? How does it hinder? What does it do in terms of where you exist in the world around you with your personal relationships, mental interactions with others and your ongoing spiritual development? It's my great hope that with such shared information and wisdom from each of us, we will all become wiser and a more natural part of the many worlds. We can build a better life for ourselves as individuals and as a community.  We might be able to provide the world of our friends and neighbors a Magical and caring framework that will support the world community herself? Perhaps we can come up with a Celtic word that describes this ordering for us as well?*p*Searles




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Another Way that the Cosmos is Ordered
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