The Zen Pagan: Contemplative Druidry by James Nichol (Book Review)

Last updated on: December 12, 2014 at 8:00 am by Tom Swiss

The Zen Pagan: Contemplative Druidry by James Nichol (Book Review) 2014-12-05T17:14:44+00:00 Tom Swiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Despite my pride in my matrilineal Celtic heritage, and although I’ve been honored to participate in rituals held by various ADF Groves, I am not a Druid. But when James Nichol’s Contemplative Druidry came in, our editor decided that as “The Zen Pagan” I was the go-to guy for the contemplative side of Paganism in general. So my reaction to it may be a little backwards from what the author intended — instead of justifying a contemplative approach to a Druid reader, in this case it’s justified a form of Druidry to someone with a more contemplative practice.

The Druidry here is mostly that of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), a primarily British group. Like me, my fellow American Pagans are probably more familiar with the somewhat different Druidry of Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF). The inimitable John Michael Greer, a member of both groups, has written a comparison which can be found at the ADF website; in short, where ADF is a church with a more recently added initiatory current, OBOD is an initiatory mystery school with a Universalist approach. I could have used a bit more background about OBOD’s Druidry, but a few minutes with DuckDuckGo (my internet search engine of choice) was sufficient to fill me in enough to follow the discussion.

Nichol came to be interested in a more contemplative approach to his Druidry after a mystical experience in June 2007, “triggered simply by noticing and contemplating a wild rose, growing on the banks of the river, an experience “which only “lasted a few moments” but caused “a subtle shift of awareness” for several weeks, where he “woke up every day with a sense of joy and connection.”

This experience eventually led him to renew his study of the Shambhala school of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as other forms of Buddhism, and then to propose to the OBOD leadership a program of “contemplative exploration”. This book is the result of that exploration.

Nichol’s role here is more editor than author, summarizing the discussions of fifteen English Druids (including Nichol himself). Thus, rather than a detailed discussion of one perspective the book presents a diversity of voices — the depth perception of multiple perspectives. I found this to be a strength, but a reader looking for a deeper justification of contemplative practice, or detailed instructions for practice, may find it a disappointment.

The first section of the book relates bits of the participant’s back-stories, from their childhood spiritual experiences to how they came to identify as Druids. It gives a composite portrait of the sort of person who is attracted to a contemplative path within Druidry/Paganism. The second section looks at the practice methods they’s adopted: formal meditations, both solitary and group; walking in nature; and integration into daily life. As Nichols notes, “…[F]ormal meditation is not our only kind of contemplative practice. Just being in nature and walking the land are major settings for contemplation. So are chanting, movement and methods that involve creative arts and crafts. So are the activities of daily life. In many ways the essence of our contemplation lies not in what we do, but the presence and awareness we bring to it.”

The third section looks at the benefits of contemplative practice for the individual, as a sort of “recharging”, a antidote of the busyness of modern society, and as a foundation for more outwardly directed work; and at what it can bring to Druidry as a whole, as a resource for a more mindful community living. A concluding section (prior to an appendix with more details about how the collaborative process worked) presents Nichol’s conclusions and suggestions about how to foster a contemplative current within Druidry.

While all the participants in this exploration are Druids, there is enough diversity in their experience that I can recommend this book to readers interested in a broad survey of contemplative trends in Paganism. It also perked up my interest in the OBOD form of Druidry, so I’ll be doing some further reading on that.

Contemplative Druidry: People Practice and Potential
by James Nichol
with Foreword by Philip Carr-Gomm:
“Deep Peace of the Quiet Earth: the Nature Mysticism of Druidry”

Keep up with “The Zen Pagan”: subscribe via RSS or e-mail!

Contemplative Druidry

druid

druidry

OBOD

Previous Post

December 11, 2014

Wyrd Words: Being A Pagan Father

Next Post

December 15, 2014 Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft: Parenting Around Bill Cosby and Sexual Violence News

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which king asked Elijah for help against the armies of Moab and Edom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joash Joram Jehoram Jehoshaphat