In my last post I wrote about the construction of my retreat cabin and the journey back into the ancestry of the land on which it is built. Whilst it is a special place for me I have not always had such a perfect place for my time alone. However I have always sought out a quite place. I remember as a child of eight having a special spot in a copse on some common land near to my house and then much later when I started to actively practice meditation and yoga creating a clear space in my small two bedroom house and a seculded area in the garden for use when the weather was dry.

I found as I used these spaces a certain atmosphere developed and whether it was yoga or meditation the experience was enhanced.

When I lived on Eilean Shona, it was a tiny house we rented with just a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom without the space to set aside anywhere for practice but I would clear the area in front of the fire and practise there. If it was fine weather then I would sit outside amongst the trees with the most fantastic view of the islands.

The environment around Fasgadh is very different, its part of the Sunart Acid Oak Woods and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so it was easy to find an external space in which to be alone. But sometimes with harsh winters and dark nights, to have a place that was warm and comfortable was something that I felt would be a useful addition to my life. The cabin that I built is almost two hundred paces from my house and without electricity. It was completed in autumn 2020 and with daily use soon started to develop a feeling of tranquility. It’s far enough removed that the only sounds are those of the river and the birds, sounds that the first people to have roamed this land would have heard.

With any spiritual practice ritual can play a part in entering into a suitable frame of mind and this is where my naked walking and bathing come into the equation. As I have stated before I have found that making myself vulnerable to the reality of nature has enhanced my perceptions of my own naturalness. So I have applied this same idea to my daily visits to my cabin. In order to step out of the mind set of conventional reality I step out of my clothes and no matter what the weather walk up to the hut naked. I find this has the effect of facilitating my step into a state of non conventional reality. The conventional mind starts to drop away as my feet find their way up the muddy path. I have no doubt this will seem extreme to most but it works for me. In the winter, my first act is to light the stove.

Then I wrap myself in a heavy fleece throw, cross my legs and slip into a meditative state. On the coldest days it takes about forty five minutes for the hut to warm and then I will either carry out a journey or work on my druid studies.

Whilst in the summer months we have the long daylight hours if I am honest I prefer the dark winter months. There is something about stepping out into the cold and wet and then gradually feeling the space warm that is so condusive to my practise.

So do you have a daily practice that you might like to share? What about a special place to sit and just be. What works for you? Please feel free to share in the comments.