A Deeper Way of Seeing: Part II – Sacred East

The Power of Nesting

When home is everything that we have dreamed of, it has strong characteristics of abundance, embrace, generosity and hospitality, all those things that make us certain we are cradled in the nurturing presence of love. According to Frank MacEowen, in his book The Celtic Way of Seeing: Meditations on the Irish Spirit Wheel, these characteristics are embodied by the Archetype of the Hearth Maker, and are the manifestation of the Sacred Life Direction of the East.

One of the most apparent needs for a deeper way of seeing is in the realm of hearth-making. In many ways and for many reasons hearth-making or homemaking has been trivialized. The declaration of one’s primary intention to be a homemaker is often met with confusion, pity or even denigration. We have forgotten the deeper meaning of home and its power to provide the nurturing foundation for a transformative way of life. Just as the nest provides the incubation needed for developing the power of flight resident within, so the creative weaving of the place of hearth provides the nourishing elements needed for unleashing human potential both in others and within ourselves.

Mac Eowan says that the deeper way of seeing allows the Hearth-Maker to tend the energies of the home as an extension of the energies of heaven, that our very soul is intertwined with the soul of our home. A larger story is at play here, one that reaches much farther and has greater significance than we imagine. Hearth-Makers are integral to the well-being of humanity.

How then can we welcome others and even ourselves to the Hearth? As MacEowen says, “Hospitality is a conscious approach of extending good-will, of harnessing our own prosperity (whether in the form of monetary wealth or in the form of service, love, kindness, attention, tending or food) and showering this abundance of positive life force on someone else.” When someone extends this kind of hospitality to us, it “…leaves a sacred marking on our soul.’

MacEown reminds us that the world is full of “sacred others” that we may extend hospitality to, someone from another race or religion or even a creature that may need protecting. These encounters are opportunities to move beyond ourselves into a oneness that speaks of homecoming on a universal scale. This is one of the ways we move more fully into being awake.

It is difficult to extend hospitality to others if we don’t give the same honor and respect to ourselves. Hearth-making is for the self as well as for others. Tending to our own body, soul, mind, and spirit is essential for maintaining abundance at the hearth of our being.

How we can extend this kind of grace, dignity and kindness to ourselves and others?

Writing Prompt for the Week: Sacred Other