Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Other Side of the Hedge

Home
Pagan
Six Hundred Days

Six Hundred Days

Last updated on: April 28, 2018 at 9:03 am by Christopher Drysdale

Six Hundred Days 2018-04-28T09:03:03-07:00 Christopher Drysdale

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.

Yesterday was the day. I have completed six hundred days of “daily practice.” I write fairly often about this topic. And so, occasionally, I feel the need to make a post to show that I am putting my money where my mouth is.(*)

The Tally thus Far

For the past 600 days I have performed the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) on a daily basis. On top of that, it has been 449 days since I added spirit-cleansing exercises and 446 since I added some qigong-lite. It has been 112 days since my wife and I started a new meditation regimen with a teacher.

The journey thus far has not always been easy, but it was worth the effort. We think of this kind of work as drudgery, but that is because we imagine all stability has to be imposed from outside of us. This is not true.

There have been some funny moments along the way. There was the time I was in Keflavik airport in Iceland when I suddenly realized that I hadn’t done my practice. And so I set off on a little quest. As it turns out, the handicapped bathroom was just big enough for me to do my business.

There have also been a couple of moments of awesome. At Pantheacon, Jason “Bro-Witch” Mankey was running an event where the audience was raising a cone of power in a random auditorium. With all the things he needed to juggle, I volunteered to clean the room first and the play doorkeeper, so as to avoid unneeded surprises. So I wandered in before the event to do some cleaning and pre-set some wards.

By Juppi66 [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

This gave me a chance to do an LBRP in an empty public space that was probably 40′ x 50′ x 80′ or more. Full voice. Expanding my spirit to the walls. Becoming fully what we all are: a bridge between earth and sky. It was probably the closest I will get to public performance, and I kind of felt like a dumbass, but fortunately there was only one other person in the room at the time. Overall, it was a great experience.

And then there was last night. I’ve been pretty sick all week and I can’t say that my daily performance has been awesome. I doubt it rose to the level of lackluster. But last night, everything came together. Where there had been weakness in my arms and legs, suddenly there was strength. Where there was sickness, for a moment my spirit triumphed and brought it to heel.

Such moments are empowering, but also humbling. There was clear knowledge that this was not the “me” that fights in traffic, worries (too little) about taxes, and watches too much Netflix. This was something more. In other words, daily practice works. It works for me and it will work for anyone.

Talk Is Cheap

Here in the West, we do not have a lot of real-life examples of everyday people with a serious commitment to discipline. We think discipline is merely a tool for achieving some aim, not an aspect of character worth cultivating for its own sake.

Or, we believe discipline is for monks, and not the everyday citizen. I want to give the lie to that — the idea that we are incapable of basic self-discipline is a myth. It is part of the Western belief that keeps us all too busy trying to fill ourselves as if emptiness were not survivable.

Six hundred days in, I have come to believe that the LBRP will teach anyone how to stabilize the mind, body, and spirit. What you do after that is up to you. And stable is way better than full — more resilient and adaptive to context. While “full” leaves us bloated and gasping, “stable” promotes power.

As In the Beginning

As you might remember if you are a long-time reader, six hundred days ago, I was coming out of some serious brutal treatments for cancer. I had nothing left. My spirit was deflated, scarred, torn open, and generally in bad shape. My body was no better. Where the disease hadn’t wrecked me, the treatments had.

Yes, I wanted to live. But living takes more than just want — it means seeking out new depths and making hard commitments. Not oaths to something out there, not promises to the everyday world. Instead, a binding to bring every part of myself together.

I looked to the words of a man who understood how to do battle, Miyamoto Musashi. He wrote, “This is the truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.”

So Through to the End

But I am not soldier, and the battle would have to be won within me. And so, driven by pure intuition, I began with the simplest, most basic ritual I knew. As soon as I had the strength to stand, I hobbled to the center of the room and began.

Raise your knife (or your wand, or even your finger) into the air directly over your head. Draw that hand down until it is at your forehead. Let the first words vibrate in your chest, your head, your bones, and every part of yourself, “AH-tah!”

ProTip: A Little Effort, Every Day

Generally, I do not recommend massive amounts of daily work. Unless there is some specific, elusive or challenging goal, we quickly face problems where effort gives diminishing returns. A quarter hour of intense work is usually better than three hours. If you want to put that much time in on self-development, I would recommend taking a class.

(*) I am really not at the point where bragging is permissible. I heard a story about a Kannushi, a Shinto priest, who had performed misogi every day for twenty years. Twenty years! Seven thousand, three hundred and five days. Now, he has something to brag about.

Columns

Ritual and Practice

The Other Side of the Hedge

Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram

Previous Post

April 20, 2018

Daily Practice: Train for Success

Next Post

May 4, 2018 Lost Wisdom: The Journeyman

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Columns History Holidays Politics Ritual and Practice The Other Side of the Hedge Theology, Ethics, Philosophy

Select a Month 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 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz