Building The Temple - exercise as a devotional activity

One thing I have noticed in the alternative faith community is a tendency to view the physical as inferior to the spiritual. The concerns of this world, such as economics, politics, security, and physical health and fitness are frequently seen as mundane, lower consciousness, or secular.

Yes, we are spiritual beings, temporarily incarnate in this world. I do not think there is a single faith on this planet that will disagree with that. My question, however, is whether this is a punishment or a reward. By viewing our flesh as inferior to our spirit, we fall into a form of dualism that says if one thing is good, then it's opposite must be bad.

What do devotional activities in the community look like from my perspective? I will approach this idea from the classical four element system most of you out there are at least familiar with, even if you do not have it as part of your world view.

AIR - Air devotionals are the most basic form we find, both within and without our community. Examples of this are prayers, bardic circles, songs, chants, etc. We use our voices and the air exiting our lungs as a form of praise and worship to the gods. Any devotional activity based on sound can be seen as an air devotion.

FIRE - Again, very common. Incense, bonfires, torches and candles are commonly used in our devotions. Also a significant number of activities are directed toward 'raising energy' which is also an aspect of fire.

WATER - A less seen, but present element of devotion and liturgy. Usually there will be some kind of liquid sacrificed, or at least present on the altar. Also the whole psychic/ intuitive focus of so much of our activity is a water thing, in my opinion.

EARTH - This is where a lot of us fall down. In general, the cakes portion of cakes and ale is as much as we do. Oh and 'grounding', using the earth as a dumping ground for our emotional toxins.

Why is this? Is it a carry over from the Abrahamic tradtions many of us arrived from? Or is it a rejected peer thing, because so many of us were 'nerds' rather than 'jocks'? Do we hate our bodies for being temporary, rather than eternal? I think there are as many reasons as there are people to have them. I do, however, see this as a great imbalance, potentially a dangerous one.

Our bodies are glorious, beautiful, unique reflections of, and gifts from, the Gods. Whether they are mighty and muscular like Thor and Skadi, lean and sinewy like Hoenir or Idun, aged and wrinkled like Bragi and Hela, or even maimed or crippled like Volund, Tyr, and Hoder. We can feel the smooth velvet of moss on a tree, we taste the sweetnes of apples and grapes, we feel the joy of hugging a freind, or the naked intimacy of our lovers.

So how would we do an 'earth' devotional? What can we do to thank the Gods for our bodies and the oh too transient experience of being incarnate? We can begin by seeing the Gods reflected in our bodies. Do we have the might and mass of Thor? The sensuality of Freyja? The challenges and difficulties of Hoder? All of these are a part of us. It is what makes us, us. Would I be who I am, here and now, without the poor vision that has plagued me throughout my life? No. I would be someone else. This has been one of my challenges to confront on the earth level. Another is economic status. By growing up poor, I learned lessons about community, resourcefulness, and determination that I would not have had otherwise.

We should look on our bodie as the 'Ehwaz", the horse that carries our consciousness through life. In a lot of ways, this is all any of us truly have and own. Once the body goes away, we are not incarnate beings any longer. That dynamic of flesh and spirit that makes us who and what we are has passed.

How do I use exercise as a devotional activity? These techniques may work for you or they may not, but hopefully they will act as a springboard to your own activity.

I begin my day with a 2 mile walk. On the first part of the walk I recite my own version of the 'Sigrdrifa's prayer'.

"Hail to thee day,
Hail day's sons,
Hail night and daughters of night.

With blithe eyes look upon me this day,
Send to me prosperity.

Hail ye Gods and Goddesses,
Hail Earth,
the mother of us all.

Goodly spells and speech I request from thee,
And understanding while I live."

As I am walking I recite this with intent, paying attention to what I am saying as well as the process of walking. Also as I walk, I make an effort to enjoy the sensual delights around me. The smells of plants and flowers, The feeling of moving muscles. The sounds of birds, crickets, frogs, even the white noise of passing traffic. I look for new wildflowers, or trees, butterflies, lizards, rocks, etc. I enjoy the sunrise or the patterns of stars overhead. All of these I do with a consciousness of my nature as an incarnate being, and a sense of gratitude for that incarnation. If I see something that reminds me of a parrticular deity, I acknowlege it with a 'Hail (deity), and a feeling of gratitude for their gifts.

On my way back, I recite my rune poem 3 times as a sort of marching cadence or chant.

Fehu's wealth streaming forth,
Uruz strength is my source,
Thurisaz challenge and defend,
Ansuz is my truest freind,
Raidho marks my journeys path,
Kennaz kindles burning wrath,
Gebo's gifts upon my soul,
Wunjo is my final goal.

Hagalaz gathers strength to smite,
Nauthiz shivers in cold night,
Issa transforms stream to glass,
Jera comes and all things pass,
Eihwaz the spine of nine worlds,
Perthro gathers mystery furled,
Algiz wards holy space,
Sowilo shows suns bright face.

Tiwaz brings law to all,
Berkano seeds and leaves both fall,
Ehwaz ancient friend to man,
Mannaz holds strength of clan,
Laguz knows secret heart,
Ingwaz rides in sacred cart,
Dagaz begins each day anew,
Othila eldest gifts run true."

Once I am home, I then begin my other portion of the work out. Pushups, crunches, etc. All of this is still with the idea of building my body into a worthy temple for the Gods. I finish the workout wth a large glass of water and go to sip my coffee on my porch, feeling joy and satisfaction that another day of incarnation has begun. Thanking the Gods once more for the gift of a body to carry and contain my consciousnees, I approach my day happily, ready for whatever challenges may come my way.

Runa

The Kylver stone


The Negau helmet

Runes. A controversial topic within reconstructionist circles, but also one of the more obvious aspects of the Norse/Germanic cultural heritage. We have a few known facts that are verified by archaeology and the historical record.

There are three basic known systems that exist; the Norse (or Viking) Futhark consisting of 16 runes, the common Germanic Futhark of 24 runes, and the Anglo/Northumbrian Futhorc of 28-33 runes.

The earliest runic inscription we have is (potentially) the Meldorf brooch (dated 50 C.E.), although some scholars argue that it is a north italic rather than germanic inscription. An earlier artifact, the Negau helmet, uses definite North Italic characters which are strong candidates for ancestors of the runes.

The earliest ordered Futhark (runes in f-o order) is the Kylver stone (dated to 400 C.E.) This stone was placed in a grave in such a fashion that the inscription faced inward.

The Runes were used as a system of writing and magic by the early Germans and Scandinavians.

Each rune had a vocal sound and a concept associated with it.

Runes continued in use as a form of magic in Iceland up to at least up to the late 1500s (the Galdrabok, composed around 1580)

Runes continued to be used for communication until at least the 1630s (Gustav Adolf used them for coded communications during the Thirty years war in Germany).

Symbols similar to runes have been found as petroglyphs from Neolithic Spain to Neolithic Scandinavia.

Cornelius Tacitus, in Germania, refers to a Germanic practice of divination by marking symbols on slips of wood and casting them on a cloth.

The Old English Rune Poem (Cottonian Ms Otho Bx) is dated to around 1000 C.E.

The Old Norse Rune Poem is from Olaus Wormius' Danica Literatura Antiquissima and is dated to around 1200 C.E.

The Old Icelandic Rune Poem is from four manuscripts in the Arnamagnean library in Copenhagen, dated to around 1400 C.E.

Runes were carved in wood, bone, stone, scratched on leather, and written on bark strips.

These are undisputed facts, verifiable by anyone with a scholarly bent and a willingness to perform minimal research. Now we move into the territory of speculation and the arguable.

I believe the Runes to be a complete system of spiritual technology usable for meditation, prayer, magic and personal enlightenment. I see them as the direct gift of the god Odin to mankind, usable by any who have the will and tenacity to learn them.

The word rune (Old Norse Runar, Old High German Rune, Finnish Runo) has meanings in most Northern European languages of secret, mystery, or whisper. Other meanings are song, incantation, spell, and riddle. So what then is a mystery in an esoteric sense?

Examples of spiritual or religous mysteries abound in world cultures. The Roman Catholics have the Mysteries of the Rosary. The Greeks had the mystery cults of Orpheus and Demeter. The Romans and Persians had their Mithraic mysteries. All of these mysteries share a common thread, that of Gnosis, or direct experience of divinity as a result of meditation, prayer, or ritual. One of the functions I attribute to the Runes is as foci for meditation on particular topics, not unlike a Buddhist mantra, a Zen koan, a Hindu mandala, or a Byzantine icon.

Here is my meditation technique for this. My sources are varied, and some I honestly do not remember, but, as Newton said, if I seem to see farther than others, it is only because I stand on the shoulders of giants.

I begin with a rune. Any rune will suffice, but for this example I will use Fehu, the first. The OERP says 'Feoh is a comfort to all men, yet must every man bestow it freely, if he wish to gain honor, in the sight of the lord'. The OIRP says 'Fe (money) is strife among kinsmen, the fire of the sea, and the path of the serpent'. The ONRP says 'Fe (money) causes strife among kinsmen, the wolf is raised in the woods'.

A few notes. The OE word for lord, 'Dryhten' refers to high nobility (kings or earls) and the christian ggod. In the pre-conversion period it was most likely a heiti (byname) for the deity Freyr, in my opinion. In Anglo-Saxon feoh refers to cattle, where in Old Norse fe is money. So, on the surface , we are referring to mobile, or transferrable, wealth. (Wealth, btw, is an unchanged A-S word in our language with the original meaning of 'that which brings good' (weal).) Also we have implications of the strife that can be triggered by unshared wealth.

Then I visualise the rune. It's shape, color, etc. then I say 'Feoh, fe, fehu, wealth is strife among kinsmen, the fire of the sea, and the path of the serpent. Feoh, fe fehu, wealth causes strife among kinsmen, the wolf is raised in the woods. Feoh, fe, fehu, wealth is a comfort to all men, but every man should bestow it freely if he wishes to gain honor in the sight of freyr'.

I repeat this as long as seems appropriate, remembering any insights gained as I do so. By internalizing these mysteries, I begin to see them around me, so that my spiritual practice becomes not only immanent (internal), but also emanent (radiating outward to me from the universe, and outward from me to the universe).