by Kimberly V. Schneider,
M.Ed., J.D., LPC
When I first visited Ireland several years ago, I felt I’d come home. Some part of me that had been sleeping my whole adult life stirred into consciousness. I’d been studying Celtic Spirituality for nearly twenty years, but experiencing the spray of the wild Atlantic on my face, sensing the voices of the past in the stones of the Burren, rediscovering my own depths in wells and springs, brought the numinous to life. The part of my soul that had been longing to slow down, to be more present, to commune more deeply with the Divine throughout the day, took over.
I gave myself to the land of shape-shifters and dreamers. I began writing poetry again. I remembered how to breathe. I cried in wonder and beauty and joy. I danced. I sang. I laughed. I learned how to play the bodhran (the Irish drum).
Thank God, the immediacy of the Otherworld followed me home to St. Louis, where I found a new appreciation for the turning seasons, sunrises and sunsets, birdsong, breezes, and the earth beneath my feet. Ireland helped me fall in love again with life.
I’ve returned to Ireland every couple of years ever since, and when I go back I bring intimate groups of seekers to meet some of the special people I’ve come to know there, and experience some of the sacred places I love.
Do you want to come with us next summer?
It’s magical, truly: the way the sky and the landscape change from moment to moment, mirroring your own inner shifts. Looking out from the cliffs at Dun Aengus and sensing that the Irish Otherworld is floating out there, just beyond your sight. Listening to Irish voices raised in song. Sharing poems and stories of who we are, whether around a peat fire, at the local pub or standing next to a towering cairn in the highlands.
Several spiritual adventurers are already registered. We do still have spaces available, and you can read more about it at: www.KimberlySchneider.com/trips. Get a free updated cottage upgrade ($250 value) if you register by October 31.
Kimberly Schneider’s work arises out of a belief that every experience offers a gift to us, if we are open to receiving it. Her dynamic mix of storytelling, compassionate awareness and accessible poetry make her an engaging speaker and teacher. A former trial attorney and psychotherapist, Kimberly is the author of Everything You Need Is Right Here: Five Steps to Manifesting Magic and Miracles and the AudioBook Terrible Beauty: Poems and Reflections for Precarious Times. She teaches Communication at Washington University – St. Louis and is a regular contributor to Great Day St. Louis television show. Request Kimberly’s free Conscious Manifestation eCourse at www.KimberlySchneider.com.