Through Again

I think there is a tendency to think that once we have learned something, a skill, or a set of facts or ideas, that we are set. There, done, got it. Mastery!

This is a dangerous idea, Mastery. I think it is especially dangerous when it comes to things spiritual. The idea of an end point in learning can lead to a rigidity of mind and spirit that distorts our view of our place in the world.

There can be a point where repetition of an action or set of learnings becomes rote. Feelings of wonder can slip away. What happens is a closing of the mind.

I look at my old books of notes about readings, runes in particular. By now I have a few years' worth, and I have memories of ideas about the runes which I'd held in my youth. I can see the ways things have shifted, how new ideas and views have come into play. These times remind me to keep what's known as a Beginner's Mind.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,

but in the expert’s there are few.”

Having knowledge and skill is a good thing, definitely worth pursuing. Keep pursuing it. When you think you've Got It, run faster after it. And what shall I do to take my own advice?

I am expanding my own readings, and learning a new (old) Futhark, the Northumbrian. As I learn this new old set, it is shaping and expanding my understanding of the Elder Futhark. The travels of the runes from areas and eras, and how they changed to fit their new localities is something to consider. As someone who lives nowhere near any of my places of ancestry, I do think a lot about how to apply knowledge of long ago and far away to the now and the here. What does still apply? What shifts as the context shifts?

My new series of posts is going to be a diary of this learning journey. Hopefully one rune/idea per week. Part of it will be book reviews (and re-views), part thoughts on knowledge as I absorb it, and part lingering questions.