by Paul Cudenec, who reads it here Something stirs within the seedWhich knows the time has comeTo start to grow into the plantWhose image sleeps ingrained Something stirs within the seedWhich dreams of possibilityWith definite shape and qualityBut which may yet be denied- by the absence of nourishing soil- by climates unconducive- by the appetites … Continue reading The seed
by Paul Cudenec, who reads the article here The spirituality of the ancient Celts, like that of most pre-modern peoples, was deeply rooted in human belonging to nature. Jean Markale, in his very interesting 1985 book on druidism, explains that this was reflected in the fact that "before being conquered by the Romans or assimilated … Continue reading Through nature we can touch the divine
by Paul Cudenec, who reads the article here When I had finally finished writing my recent series of articles about the grotesque politico-paramilitary circus of neofascists, communists, anti-communists and Zionists, I went for a walk. Since there was no sign of any other human presence in that secluded forest valley, I took the opportunity to … Continue reading Life-rooted thinking
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the piece here) As I crossed the bridge the other day, I saw what I first took to be a branch, swept along in waters swollen by never-known weeks of Occitan rain. But then I realised that I was looking at a pair of antlers borne by a stag. There … Continue reading The stag and the river
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the article here) I have always found that physical and spiritual heights go hand in hand. As a boy, in the grey London suburbs, I had to make do with the top floor of the multi-storey car park over the road from my grandmother's house in order to experience this … Continue reading Great Pan and the gap into Elf-land
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the article here) We all know how faiths and ideologies can be corrupted and deliberately turned into a negation of what they were meant to represent. But, it strikes me, the opposite can also happen. In this instance, the change would not be brought about by external hostile action against … Continue reading Renewal from within and beyond
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the article here) Last weekend I spent a night in the heights of the Cévennes mountains, near to the source of the Vidourle. As I gazed up at the great swathe of the Milky Way and marvelled at the sparkling infinity all around, my mind went back to other moments … Continue reading The night sky and the truth
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the article here) Max Weber, the subject of my last essay, was not alone in suspecting that certain religious beliefs - or the lack of them - had played a key role in shaping modern industrial society. Indeed, a century before Weber wrote about "die Entzauberung der Welt" - the … Continue reading The disgodding of nature and our hearts
by Paul Cudenec (who reads the article here) "The birthing of humans by the Earth is a universally widespread belief. In numerous languages, we are named 'born of the Earth'". [1] So writes Mircea Eliade in Le sacré et le profane, a book to which I referred in 'Our sacred belonging'. [2] On the surface … Continue reading Gnosticism and the universal mother
by Paul Cudenec with photos by Ibraar Hussein [Audio version] "In the time when gods, spirits and human beings lived together in nature with the plants and the animals, everyone communicated, each knew everything about the others". [1] Such is the ancient wisdom of the Kalash people of South Asia, their ancestral memory of a … Continue reading Rooted in our living world
winter oak 