“The work of Temenos could not be more important. Its commitment to fostering a wider awareness of the great spiritual traditions we have inherited from the past … which form the basis of mankind’s most civilised values…”

“In the great spiritual traditions of the world it is understood that wisdom and compassion go hand in hand. But it is also understood that following this path requires both courage and conviction.”

“I admire the courage and conviction of all those who are prepared to challenge the deadening effects of the ‘industrialisation’ of life itself, a process which carries no sensitivity to the qualities which go to sustain a truly civilised and harmonious society.”

~ H.R.H. Charles, Prince of Wales, about The Temenos Academy.

St Dyfnog’s Well, in Lianrhaiadr yn Cinmerch, Denbighshire, Wales. Image courtesy of Megalithic Portal.

Temenos is a Greek word for a sacred space, a sanctuary, where healing and opening to inspired vision and deep wisdom is sometimes more possible.

Sanctuary is a type of refuge, a safe (and thus sacred) space. These words and themes spiral back to one another.

I came across Kathleen Raine’s Temenos Academy some years ago, when H.R.H. Charles, the Prince of Wales wrote a eulogy in honor of Raines for Resurgence magazine. Her vision inspired me; Prince Charles’ words moved me deeply.

Those are always powerful clues, if we notice and pay attention to them. After awhile, if we track both clues and their pattern, we might glimpse the Golden Thread — or one of them — that reveals the ‘hidden heart of us’ and weaves throughout our lives and guides us onward.

Those things that move us deeply. That have heart and meaning for us. That give clues to the stream of crazy, holy Grace, and “where our deep joy meets the world’s deep need.“

Sometimes there are over-arching themes at work in the collective sphere, though our own ‘Golden Threads‘ often, if not always, intersect. We’re a part of the Great Weaving, after all.

Gardens of Ireland. Courtesy of PD Pics.
Sanctuary Rising …

Just now, themes like sanctuary are arising, sometimes in literal response to the opposite of sanctuary acting out in the larger community — scapegoating, exile, projection born out of fear.

Sometimes sanctuary arises as often in the less-visible, perhaps less noticed inner call for — or to be — sanctuary.

We can orient to sanctuary, whether in sacred spaces and places, or by gathering ourselves into the sanctuary of our own heart-and-core — our inner garden, home-sanctuary, and the deep well of our own vision, kindness, humaneness, and generosity of spirit.

We can offer sanctuary, literally, if the opportunity and calling arises before us and we’re moved by an awakened and generous heart.

We can also be sanctuary, through the quality of our cultivated presence, and this is a beautiful possibility.

Hope in a Prison of Despair, 1887, by Evelyn Pickering de Morgan. PD-US.
Being Sanctuary … a Subtle, Powerful via of Activism.

These are all themes linked to Mystic Activism, subtle activism, being a spiritual warrior (and thus acting like one as well as talking like one).

And these are ways in which we can be a healing presence — being sanctuary — wherever we may be (and whenever we may be!).

No added expense. No trendy spiritual clothing or fancy month-long retreats in exotic eco-resorts required.

Just heartful intention, purposely orienting to how we want to be and thus what effect we want to have on others … truly; and then cultivating that presence, letting the greater Presence flow and express through us.

These days, it’d be both timely ‘remedy’ for collective ills (as well as any inspired action we’re moved to take), and something of a (r)evolutionary act in and of itself.

See what moves you, what stirs your deepest and most generous heart, and let it flow.

A worthy (and likely sometimes challenging) experiment.

Big Love,

Jamie