Water, Spirituality, People, Place and Community

My final reflection of body, mind, spirit exploration in Andalucia, at Molino Del Rey brings me back to where I [we] began, water and spirituality. In morning yoga session we move with dynamic flow, water in the from of sweat covered the surface of my skin as the studio warmed, as the bodies in the studio warmed, as the fluid inside our bodies flowed creating energy and heat.. We were a room filled waterfall, a waterfall of solidity. In a moment of stillness the water, both inside and out was so clearly felt, so clearly sensed. In tadasana (mountain posture) we come to stillness for a moment, Danielle encouraging us not to fidget, not to pull the t-shirt down or move that piece of hair in our face, "come to stillness, let the muggy waters clam, settle, clear." It was in this moment that I felt my inner waters settle, cleanse, clear, wash away... I sensed, I felt the flowing, fluid energy gently and slowly still just like muddy water settling in a glass. In the same moment I was instantly drawn to the water outside, its sound, the dynamic flow of water circling the inner flow of waters, I united with the flow of water around me and inside of me.. this felt like an extremely spiritual moment, I can't describe this sensed spirituality (maybe I just did above?) it was calm and still, aware and present, joyous and light... I also sensed a connection, oneness, a unity with every body in the space, a sense of community and again it was through the stillness, the silence that this unity was felt..  

Later in the day, on one of our adventurous walks through the valley, up a mountain Hilary told me a small something of the history of the area, "it was originally an Arabic community the Spanish Christians pushed the Arabs out" (Hilary you told it much better). This congers more thoughts of spirituality through connection with people, and place; the generations, the different communities that have stood in this same place, their footsteps on the earth, their lives lived in the land, their hands washed in the waters.. a sense of spirit is felt through an awareness of generations past, lived in the experience of the land, the waterfall that runs through the whole valley, the rocks and trees..

The young lady in Edwardian dress steals this 1907 view of the rustic bridge in Roath Park
(Williams: 1986)

On a visit to my Grandmother yesterday I'm again reminded of the spirituality of the land around us, the stone walls of buildings, the streets we walk, the streams we sit by.. I was snooping around in my Grandfather's (he pasted 7 years ago, the kindest most gentle man anyone could meet) cupboard, finding two books of Cardiff Yesterday. On opening them I find little notes addressed to me, 'Lucinda's relatives' pointing out my ancestors, I was moved to say the least. Several pictures of my Grandfather's bother, my Uncle Stan playing saxophone in a Jazz band (I always wonder where my artistic side comes from). Then a picture of a young lady (no relative) in Edwardian dress sat by a bridge in Roath Park, a place I visit often, moving as part of my somatic/spiritual investigations near a stream close to were the girl is sitting (see video documentation 6). Our land is filled with the stories, the lives, the bodies, emotions, feelings, movements of generations, of communities past, which I believe must hold some spiritual significance, offering us a spiritual connection to place, to land, to earth...

Stan Parker front right
(Williams: 1987)

Williams, S (1987) Cardiff Yesterday no.15: Stewart Williams Publishers, South Glamorgan