One of the more provocative and interesting statements to come out of the inner incarnational school of spirituality as described by David Spangler is, "The problem with humanity is not that you are too incarnated but that you are not incarnated enough.”
When I first heard this statement, part of me thought, Oh god, as if I didn't already have enough problems. Now I'm being asked to take on even more of the physical world and its burdens. It’s an odd statement in light of the many religious world views that warn about being too identified with the world; there’s a part of ourselves that wants to be free of the restrictions of physicality. In the words of the Christian hymn,
This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
So, on the one hand, we have many voices advising us to follow a spiritual practice that leads us away from identification with the earth through transcendental meditations, aesthetic practice, self-sacrifice, elimination of ego and the like. On the other hand, we have this the contrary advice to incarnate more deeply into the world.
With this prologue, I would like to tell a story.
A couple of years ago, my wife Freya and I traveled to the Findhorn community in Scotland to present a program and took the opportunity to travel around Scotland and parts of the UK, visiting Stonehenge and other ancient and historical sites like those found in Glastonbury.
If you’re familiar with the Sidhe deck for which I’m the artist, I have an interest in faerie traditions and in connecting with this realm. One of the more fascinating characters in this tradition is Reverend Robert Kirk who lived in Aberfoyle, England from 1644 to 1692. He was a minister, Gaelic scholar and folklorist, best known for The Secret Commonwealth, a treatise on fairy folklore which was first published in 1815. He was said to have inappropriately revealed secrets of the "Good People" and as a consequence was required to leave humanity and live in the "Hollow Hills" with the Sidhe. He reportedly attended his own funeral, told of his fate, and, according to legend, is not the true resident of his tomb. He’s considered a mediator by some between the worlds of faerie and humanity.
John Matthews has published this story in a delightful illustrated book called The Secret Life of Elves and Faeries: The Private Journal of Robert Kirk and RJ Stewart has also written of him in his book Robert Kirk: Walker Between the Worlds.
Being familiar with the lore surrounding Robert Kirk, Freya and I visited Aberfoyle. There’s an old cemetery which surrounds the ruins of his small stone church, and we took some time finding the good reverend's marker and investigating the grounds. We then set off hiking to nearby Doon Hill, on which Robert Kirk was said to walk frequently and have his encounters with the Sidhe. Following the well-worn path, we eventually arrived at the top of the hill, on which many sojourners had left their tokens of respect–colored ribbons, handwritten notes, and talismans of all sorts adorned a large oak and many of the smaller trees and bushes in the area.
After spending a half hour or so attuning to the area, we once again set off on the path which led to Fairy Knob, another hill nearby, and eventually back to the village of Aberfoyle. Upon arrival at the Knob, we found this area quite wild and obviously much less frequented. We went off trail for a bit, crashing through the bushes to get to the very top. After a time of enjoying the land, we found our way back to the trail.
Now, obviously, one of the reasons pilgrims visit an area like this is to pay homage to the tradition. In addition, if we're honest with ourselves, we probably also want to have an "otherworld" experience of some type which verifies our interest in the phenomena–something which triggers the numinous in us. Many of the sites we had visited had offered just such rewards, but as for Aberfoyle–nothing!
I found this baffling and a little irritating since this was supposed to be the epicenter of Faerie magic and I, after all, was a practitioner. But one cannot force subtle perception, so after reluctantly accepting the situation, we headed down the hill and back to the road which lead to the village.
As we were walking I began wondering about the connection between the work with the Sidhe and Incarnational Spirituality.
For some reason, I decided to do an exercise David had taught in one of his classes–or at least my simplified variation of what I remembered of the exercise. Walking along the trail I began to imaginally expand my sense of the space I occupied. I pictured a transparent bubble around myself and felt into that space as if I had sight or hearing or touch receptors within the bubble.
Almost instantly, I found myself in connection with a nature being of some kind walking along beside me. If pressed, I suppose it could be called a faun, but there was not a detailed sense of shape. Certainly the presence was unmistakable–like someone entering a room in which you are working.
"Where have you been all this time!" I blurted out. This perhaps was not the most polite way to greet this companion, but as I mentioned, I was a bit irritated. Now that we were leaving the area and the party was presumably over, he chose now to show up?
"I have been here all along," he said, "but you have been so focused on your constricted goals and constrained perceptions you have not been aware of me.”
I had a sense that I had been walking with blinders on and looking down at my feet the whole time.
He then surprised me further by launching into a commentary on Incarnational Spirituality. He seemed quite familiar with the ideas. He said that to incarnate fully meant to him to be increasingly aware of the larger subtle ecology in which one operates and the myriad of connections which are natural to being woven into the world. In other words, to be more fully incarnated did not mean to be more narrowly focused on the physical earth and the immediate senses but to be widely open to the energetic environment and the inhabitants within those realms. At the heart of what he was saying was a vision of a way of being in the world that was in touch with the physical world but also the life and subtle forces that animate the world.
About this time, we were approaching the narrow paved path that lead along a stream and back toward a bridge into the village. He made it clear that the paved path was the edge of his territory and he could not (or would not) go past this point. I thanked him for his arrival and insights and offered him my blessing in return.
I suppose a lot more could be said about what it means to be fully incarnated. Certainly, love is at its heart, and blessing is a fundamental practice. But for me, it includes honing my subtle perceptions in whatever way I can–working with the Sidhe, with the life of nature, with techno-elementals, with under-buddies, with the great Devas, with Souls of countries and continents, and with whatever else presents itself. This is all part of the great discovery of a deeper incarnation. I try to imagine and engage the unseen life that dances just at the edge of my everyday perception, ready to engage with me, and to delight with me in the joys of earthly life.