Staring out across the valley below
Scarred by miles of barbed wire and fence posts
Literally no end in sight up to the forested hills

Blue skies and clouds overhead
Framed against a waving golden sea
Of prairie grass nearly shoulder high

The wind is light against the skin
As I reach to pull a piece of prairie grass
Tight in my grip I feel the snap

The quiet blanket of summer air
Wraps all around my heightened senses
Noises, smells and sights are everywhere

This is the calm, peaceful center of my world

Within Druidry, as I have been taught it, there is always a wonderful place you develop in your mind. Some call it the Sacred Grove. Others refer to it as internal Sacred Space. For me, its just a place to enter when I need calm that would be more than what grounding and centering can do for me. But what I describe is not my Sacred Grove. That is a different place for me, which resembles some of the more distant locations within the Rocky Mountains. This particular place, I modeled on the fields of western Kansas that I drove through to get to the Rocky Mountains one late summer. From inside the car, on the interstate, it felt like I was surrounded by a giant golden sea, which felt so calm and serene. For me, this is a place of some hardcore grounding and centering…when I need it most. For those wondering how to do this, its just simple visualization. Build out what you find to be most pleasant. Once you have the basic concept, spend some time continue to visualize it from time to time – and allow yourself to build intricate detail. See the pitting of any large rocks. Look carefully at the bark on the trees, the shapes and colors of the leaves, the sounds of the nearby animals. You’ll not only have a joy at the world you are building for yourself, but you can always find a measure of safety there.🙂

–T /|\