Imbolc

I have just been celebrating Saint Brigid’s Day with a group of lovely souls. St Brigid was the Celtic Goddess of Imbolc and she was born in 451 in Dundalk in Ireland and died in 525.

Imbolc’s traditional date is 1st February, about halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and its traditions were widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

I had never heard of Imbolc before but discovered that it was a Celtic word meaning ‘in the belly or womb’. It marks the beginning of spring (as the seeds are beginning to stir in the belly of Mother Earth.) The energy that Saint Brigid brings is the one of the returning Sun. It is this energy that is honoured during Imbolc - bringing in new energy, inspiration and creative forces.

It seems that Brigid was very much a modern woman of her time, weaving her own path and exploring new ideas. She was identified as a midwife of newness and growth and a bringer of hope. Definitely the kind of woman a lot of us can relate to now and would like to emulate today. She stirs in us the ideas and stimulation for transformation as well as the strength to carry them through to manifestation.

Remembering that we are all made up of energy vibration should give us the realisation that creating good vibrations is really the only way forward for ourselves and our world.

The understanding and acceptance that change only starts from our WORLD WITHIN for every individual, is fundamental now to our emotional and spiritual growth. Once we have identified our power and released it into our lives, our personal and subsequent world circumstances will manifest into new ways of our being and becoming.

It seems our ancient ancestors knew a thing or two when they celebrated the feast days of saints - they were not just worshipping those icons but were also tuning into the energy that they held.

Recognising energy is something we have put aside in our modern day lives. We all recognise hostile and destructive impulses to which we often react but fail to consciously recognise more positive vibrations and the importance of them in our every day lives. We are constantly living in the ego self (intent only on fulfilling our own desires) and failing to recognise the needs of others. So often we repeat and pass on negative stories (whether they stem from our TV screens or our personal experiences). Chewing over the cud of these negative stories does not serve us or anyone else, but passing on good news and being hopeful and sharing that positivity adds to the good vibrations of the world.

We will be doing ourselves and all of creation a service by focussing on the good and refusing to mull over the bad stuff. This is not a case of burying our heads in the sand but more like recognising what type of energy we are dealing with and using our intelligence to cope with it appropriately. If that means ignoring it in some circumstances, rather than heaping more fuel on the fire - so be it.

As we slowly discover that we are all made up of energy vibration, we start to become aware of our great inner strength which is the realisation that creating good vibrations is the only way forward for ourselves and our world.

The energy that flows through us all is regulated by our own individual consciousness and the free will that we have all been given by Source is that choice we make in each moment of our lives.

There is a lot of sense in old sayings - one of which springs to mind “if you can’t say anything positive about someone or something, then don’t say anything at all.” This approach can often help in ensuring that a negative stance does not erupt into something bigger. We all need discrimination in what we are able to control, to prevent it growing out of hand. The very large skirmishes we see erupting in our world today between races and nations and political viewpoints had humble beginnings which failed to be nipped in the bud and resolved. Just as the negative started in a small way and had more negativity heaped upon it, then surely we can commit to do the same with positivity and allow this to grow mightily.

The only way you can change your own world and the collective world that you experience is by making a choice. Do you want to experience negativity or positivity? Whatever you choose will become a truth for you.

At the moment we are seeing many courageous souls being pushed reluctantly into the limelight, who are dealing with immense tragedy with tremendous equanimity and a strength that is heroic. So rather than wringing our hands in desperation and heaping more angst upon the wrongs in the world that come through our TV screens and our mobile phones, make a personal choice, to acknowledge atrocities with reverence and refrain from condemnation (which can be a sneaky road to walk down with lots of pot holes.) Then concentrate on a positive outcome for those who are currently treading the path of pain and loss.

I have mentioned Saint Brigid’s strength but there are many others of her ilk who are there for us to focus upon for help to not only plant the seeds within us that we wish to grow but to give us the strength and guidance to sustain them and our efforts to transform ourselves and our world. So let us work with Saint Brigid to foster and grow the seeds of light and love she is sheltering in her womb for all of us, so that we can emulate that expression in our own manifestations of all that is good and true.

Photo by Nick Castelli - Unsplash