Drawing by B-nix // Sara Bøgh

RETREATING TO CONNECT

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We chanted. We danced. We meditated. We laughed. We most likely looked like a cult.

We were ten people at a retreat, one of them was artist and fellow facilitator, Lea Porsager. We spoke about the smallest particle in the universe, the neutrino, and how this ‘ghost particle’ bombards our bodies all the time. Some as old as Big Bang, connecting time, universe, and bodies in movements that are so fast, so queer, and so extremely difficult to track. Lea has worked with them in her practice. They’re out of this world. Otherworldly, yet exactly of this world, and of these bodies. They are cosmic connectors.

We let various energies heal, and seep in and out of our bodies. Joy crept under our skin. We spoke of joy as an energy that is almost provocative for some. ‘Lalleglad’ is a Danish expression. Too happy to be taken seriously, a happy fool. In the art world, joy and humor are deemed too light, too banal. There is no room for joy in academia, in classrooms, in some families. In these unruly times, joy can even be something we barely allow ourselves because it feels inappropriate. However, joy is needed more than ever.  

We retreated to connect. For me, the paths to connectedness (to myself, to other humans, to other species) either go through the body and sensuous awareness of the natural world, and/or through spiritual practices. To me, the latter only reaches its full potential and meaning by implementing them in the everyday. Being in Practice investigates this in many forms.

To me, both paths are equally important, and magic happens if the two can merge into one. We are living, wise bodies with amazingly tuned senses, tools to fully savor and enjoy natural world’s richness of smells, sounds, sights, tastes. Opening the senses is a self-forgetting portal to the gratitude of being alive and belonging to the larger ecology. A deeply joyful experience. This is Spiritual Ecology – and this is what Being in Practice draws from.

Part of a ritual, performed in my garden by artist and friend Athena Vida, 2019

EMBODIED TIME

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Time can indeed be an issue. Time seems to lack in this accelerated world, filling many with frustration, stress, anxiety. We spoke about synchronicity and Jung, but also looked at our practices and being in larger time perspectives.

I wanted to anchor our bodies in time and place and facilitated two walks. A deep time walk at Møns Klint where 1mm represented 1000 years. With this in mind, we walked back in time to the creation of Earth (4.5 km). The story of our species, homo sapiens, was over by the first step out of the car (30 cm), and in less than 1mm, humans have destroyed so much of what the past 4.5 years have built up. With the Klint as a silent partner from the Cretaceous Period [Kridttiden], we reflected on the gifts of our ancestors, and what we wish to pass on as future ancestors. We also looked at and drew our practices as ecological systems.

The other walk was at Busene Have which has traces of human settlement, worship, and burial sites from the past 5000 years. It is an enchanted place. A sacrificial well, made of hollow elder wood has been discovered, and even a hidden treasure has been found, full of viking jewelry. I sent off the participants with questions that related to place, practice, and seasons, like: What would you like to harvest? Which fruits are ready to be picked? and: What hidden treasures do you possess? How can you let them sprout? We made rituals for ourselves, to embody our reflections and manifest them in time and space.

We were curious. We played. Very rare in our age. It was joyful, but never stupid.

Good news is: you don't have to go to a retreat. You can retreat to yourself, to a quiet place, where you can be with whatever is joyful to you. I'm quite sure you'll discover that all truly joyful ways of being are for free and flourish in the quiet moments. Joy cannot be bought.

I recommend play, joy, sensuous awareness and opening to the wonders of the natural world as medicine for troubling times. Let worried minds rest.

Smiles from Birgitte

Henrik Arnold Hamilkar Sørensen,

Illustration til H.C. Andersen: "Hyldemor", SMK collection

ADVICE FROM OUR ELDERS

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Some of you may have seen the section ‘advice from our elders’ in previous newsletters.

This time, it is Advice from our Elder Mother [Hyldemor].

Plants have been here longer than us and some say they are wiser. Maybe you should go ask an elder tree [hyldetræ] for advice? If you behave nicely, you can befriend her. She has a lot to offer.

In old myths, the Elder Mother is a woman who lives in the elder tree. She is the guardian of the tree and can be a great ally - or a fierce avenger if the tree has been cut down, or even if you’ve turned your back on it. Therefore, you should ask for permission if you intend take her branches, flowers, or berries, like: "Old girl, give me some of thy wood and I will give thee some of mine when I grow into a tree."

Elder is considered sacred and is associated with love and fertility. Maybe that’s why the sacrificial well at Busene Have was made of hollow elder. A tree close to your home will protect it. A twig put in the mouth is thought to drive out evil spirits and cures toothache. If you stand under an elder on Midsummer’s Eve you can see the Elf-king. In England, an elder can’t be hit by lightning, and crosses made from elder, placed on barns can protect animals. In Sicily, elder makes snakes go away.

The berries can right now (politely) be collected for soups, juices, tinctures, and syrups. Just remember to cook them first! They contain lots of A and C vitamin and are said to cure fever and flu.