Coming home, for whatever else it is, is certainly coming home to the body. This morning I noticed two things in particular in this regard. I awakened being especially aware of my flesh as flesh– with its unique resilient pliability. The first sound I heard through the open window was the sound of a raven flying and cawing; the ravens come into town each winter morning from far-flung places. I heard that  caw in my heart as well as my ears.

The meditative efforts I have been making are in part “open-eyed” meditation with sensory awareness. In this way the senses become gateways to the heart; they become “sanctified.”  The body becomes a holy place. As many traditions have stated, the body is one’s temple.

This coming home to the body goes along with coming home to the land, the earth. When I strive for awareness in this body, I do connect with the earth, for we are one.

Certain places I have been are potent “spiritual” places and I find that I can “be” in those places and avail myself of their power and holiness no matter far away they might be. One such place for me is Notre Dame de Paris. In 2009, our family ended up staying in a very old apartment building within sight of Notre Dame and we visited it many times within the space of a week. I am hoping to continue invoking the essence of places that, for me, are charged with the evocative energy of heaven and earth coming together. For me, coming home to my body and coming home to “place” go together.

Peace mounts to the heavens, the heavens descend to earth, earth lies under the heavens, everyone is strong.

–Victory Song of the Morrigan, Book of Fermoy