 Dear Friends,
Our shop in Lampeter will be opening at last on Monday 27th June 2005. This means that, for the first time, we'll have a 'space in a place' that we can share with you.
Spaces in places are very important, we feel. Why? Because every space in the universe, from the smallest crystal to the largest galaxy is – in its natural state – filled with divine energy: pure love, pure light and pure joy. The moment you bring humans into a space, however, there is the potential to obscure this omnipresent light. Why? Because we are capable of choice. We can choose to become translucent and filled with light, or we can choose to be cloudy, holding onto our illusions instead of being willing for them to evaporate in the sunshine. That's why, when we consciously invite divine energy into our space – into our bodies, minds and lives – it can work with us in a much more intimate way, helping us to polish our inner windows, sweep our inner floors and fill our inner rooms with the sweet scent of truth.
So having a space that we can share, and into which the Light has been invited, feels to us much more important than it may seem – much more important than just having a little shop, in a little street, in a town hardly anyone has heard of. Which is why we'd like to ask you to do something for us, if it feels right for you. At 2pm on Sunday 26th June, the day before the shop opens, we'll be holding a small dedication ceremony in the shop, and we'd like to ask you to be present there with us in spirit (though not in body, because the shop is not that big!), and add your prayers to ours. To begin with, the staff who are going to work in the shop will say a prayer, inviting the light to fill the space and asking it to accompany everyone who enters the shop, so that they can receive what they need in perfect freedom. Then Jan Morgan Wood and her spiritual partner Nick Wood (who, with Jan, edits the magazine Sacred Hoop), will perform a blessing ceremony.
Perhaps you would like to know exactly what this will entail. Well, Jan says we will gather in a circle and everyone present, as well as the shop itself, will be smudged with sage. Jan will call in the four directions to welcome the elements and sacred helpers. Then we will give Nick some small symbolic items that we feel represent our hopes and dreams for the shop and its role. These will be put in a small bag to form a sacred 'bundle'. This will act as a physical prayer and statement of intent to Spirit, and one of the items will of course be the prayer we are going to say at the very beginning of the ceremony. Then, while Nick and Jan sing a prayer song, the bundle will be passed around the circle for everyone to hold and put their prayers and good wishes into it. Next the bag will be returned to the centre of the circle and Jan will present it to the four directions for them to witness and bless it. She will then give the bundle to us to be its 'keepers' and ask us to keep it safe and honoured, and give us a blessing.
Finally, everyone present will help clean the windows of the shop, to signal our intention that now the light can enter in and radiate out freely.
Even if this letter reaches you after the 26th, please do still send your supportive thoughts and prayers if you feel inclined, because of course prayers, being of the Spirit, are perfectly capable of transcending time and space.
‘Why Lampeter?’ you may be wondering. Well, the obvious reason is that we live nearby, and we do most of our shopping there, mainly because of its well-stocked wholefood shop, The Mulberry Bush. Also, it felt right, and when we followed where our feeling was leading, everything seemed to fall into place – a good sign! As it happens, Lampeter has a University with a strong emphasis on spirituality and theology, and many of its students choose to go there so that they can be close to nature. So perhaps they, like you, will appreciate the sort of space we hope to provide.
Another special thing about Lampeter is that, like Glastonbury, it is on a landscape zodiac – not a surprise if you're familiar with this beautiful part of Wales, which has an unmistakable aura of sanctity and spiritual power. The zodiac is known as the Pumsaint Zodiac after the village which lies near its centre. Lampeter itself is situated towards the edge of the zodiac in the north-west, between the twelfth and first astrological signs – Pisces and Aries – which to our mind makes it a good place for new beginnings. We've been finding out everything we can about the Pumsaint Zodiac and during the next few weeks we'll be putting our discoveries in a leaflet* as well as on our website. If you know anything about it, we'd love to hear from you! And if you're interested in landscape zodiacs in general, you'll enjoy Nicholas Mann's article The Glastonbury Zodiac.
Besides books, the things we will be selling in the shop will all be designed to help you create sacred space, and bring the spirit of sacredness into everyday life. Most of them will also be made by mystics and craftspeople who live in West Wales. We're going to prepare a brochure on these special products, so you can all have a chance to buy them whether or not you can come to our shop (although we hope you will!*). We'll be sending this brochure out with Issue 9.
Well, we've said a lot about the light in this letter, and about how we want it to fill the space around us. When we meditate on this light, we sense its infinite compassion, wisdom and nourishment. It fills us with wonder, and we know that it is always there for us, wherever we may be. Even here, in the realm of dense matter, it has not left us alone, for it is embodied in the four elements which together sustain our lives. Of these – air, earth, fire and water – the one which connects most intimately with our physical bodies is water (see the article by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov on the opposite page). That's why our first window display in the shop will be devoted to water, and we've prepared two pages of books on water in this review, so that you can celebrate the gift of water with us.
With much love to all of you,
Ann, Geoff and everyone at Cygnus
*Please ask if you’d like a list of accommodation in the Lampeter area, or more information about the Pumsaint Zodiac.
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