Metanoia and Light from Darkness

December 14, 2023 / Leave a Comment

(Above: sunset near the Ring of Brodgar)

This Sunday (17th December) sees the last of our Silent Eye Explorations zoom meetings for 2023.

It’s been a fascinating year, and we mean to end it with a special event which will combine a guided mediation on the subject of ‘metanoia’ with a visualised, mental and emotional odyssey to two sacred places on the mystical and ancient Orkney islands.

(Above: The archipelago that comprises Orkney)

We’re going to supplement the verbal guidance of the meditation by including photographic images of the locations, taken on previous in-person trips.

First, though, we have to get there…

The waters of the Pentland Firth – the whirlpool ridden stretch of water than connects the north-eastern tip of Scotland with the group of islands that make up Orkney – are treacherous, and the meeting place for competing currents from two stretches of ocean.

Dangerous whirlpools are common…

We may find the ferry from Thurso to Stromness on Orkney has some surprising passengers on board. They may have a message for us.

Our ferry to Orkney will take us past the dramatic Old Man of Hoy, famously the site (1967) as one of the first such televised climbs of what had previously been considered an unconquerable ‘sea stack’. Those of a certain age might remember this BBC programme in black and white – broadcast over several days – from their childhood.

(Above: the ‘Old Man of Hoy’ – Hoy is an island of the Orkney Archipelago, just south of the ‘Mainland’. The ‘Old Man’ sea-stack is separated from the cliff behind it)

(Above: the YouTube video of the 1976 BBC series of programmes on the successful climb of The Old Man of Hoy)

From Hoy, the remaining journey to The Mainland of Orkney is matter of a few miles. We will enter the vast inshore area of Scapa Flow – the home of the navy battle fleet during WW1 and WW2.

(Above: the entrance to the giant sea-loch of Scapa Flow, home of the British Fleet in WW1 and WW2)

(Above: Orkney’s main ferry port – Stromness)

Arriving at the main port of Stromness, we will be greeted by a familiar figure whose role is to escort us, safely, to the magnificent Ring of Brodgar stone circle.

(Above: the Ring of Brodgar, whose great age is the subject of intense speculation!)

There we hope to be greeted by one of its famous sunsets, and refresh our spirits in this beautiful place surrounded by Orkney’s ever-present sea inlets…

(Above: The sea is ever-present on Orkney)

Our day will end within a secret chamber… there to watch the setting sun from its temple interior… and await the night. No more can be said, here… about what follows.

But you’re invited to join us and take the experience – and the journey to the magical land of Orkney.

(The final mystery – a dark passage to a bright interior)

And Metanoia; what is it? The word has come down to us as a translation of the original biblical Greek. The scriptures continue to include the incorrect translation of ‘repentance’; but language scholars have agreed for over a century that the real meaning of metanoia (μετάνοια) is a change of mind, literally, to see things differently.

How will all this come together at this time of the Winter Solstice, a time of great importance to the ancients minds?

Come and join us to find out…

Contact: simply send us an email to Rivingtide@gmail.com

We’ll send you back a Zoom link for 8:00 pm on Sunday 17th December.

All photos taken and post-processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.

Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a mentored, journal-based journey from personality to the awakening of realised Self and its world of Being.

http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog