For years I have taught people how to sense, manage, and shift their energy a a Reiki Master Teacher, Shamanic Practitioner, and Ordained Minister. Even so, teachers got to get schooled once in a while, you know? Sometimes you have to get out of your own way to experience recovery and healing from burnout and exhaustion.
In my previous blog entry, I wrote about how current political climate and mounting injustices against the queer community, women, and people of color got to me as I am also facing my own burnout. I’ll just summarize it to say I had an awful day, ended up crying on the couch, but also experienced divine moments of sparkly grace in the middle of the fallout.
But this mini breakdown also prompted me towards some much needed self-care, realignment, and restoration.
Holy Wells: Healing from burnout
The next day I woke up determined to bring my energy into greater alignment. Perhaps “determined” is not quite the right energy to bring to a state of depletion since that could lead to radical disappointment. Perhaps I was less determined than directed.
Two sites just 45 minutes away had been on my radar for a while. I packed up the car and drove to Loughrea (“town of the speckled lake”) to see a holy well dedicated to Brigid and the Moanmore Stone Circle.
Brigid is a patron saint of Ireland. Before she was a saint, she was a goddess. I’m currently teaching a class on Brigid, my final one before my sabbatical begins. She is also a loa in the Hoodoo and Voodoo traditions. I’ve had a conscious and warm relationship with Brigid for about 15 years. MANY of the 3,000 holy wells in Ireland are Brigid’s wells. Saint Brigid in particular was a healer, so I was eager to visit this one in my current state of exhaustion.
Driving over to Loughrea was pleasant enough after a late start to the morning. You never know how accessible these old sites will be, or if there will be parking, or if a “short walk” is through brambles or bog. Fortunately, I pulled up to Brigid’s well and found a parking space for one that was empty. I parked, and walked up to the well. It is a modest, lovely little spot, backing up to a field on one side, the road on the other, and an active school within sight and earshot. Not quite in the middle of Loughrea, but not in the countryside, either. Recovery and healing from burnout and exhaustion had begun.
Treating Sites with Respect
As an energy worker and a shamanic practitioner, I enter all sites with great respect. I paused, bowed, and asked permission to enter the tiny enclave of the well. Daffodils dotted the space around the well; Brigid and daffodils go hand in hand since they begin to flower right on her feast day of Feb. 1. Other small devotions were placed with care near the walls and the small votive space. A statue of Mary, common in Irish sacred spaces, was also present.
The well itself was unfortunately dry and filled with leaves. Perhaps the well becomes full after it rains? But the presence of the dry leaves suggests that the well may be dry permanently. I was looking forward to the healing water of the well, and looking into the smooth surface, but what can you do? The site is sacred with or without water, with devotees leaving offerings and gifts.
We Sing a Song to Brigid…
One way to sense the energy is to make the “rounds” of the well, circling it sunrise a few times. As I did I sang the Song to Brigid, a lovely traditional children’s song in Ireland, sung on St. Brigid’s Day.
We sing a Song to Brigid
Brigid brings the spring.
Awakens all the fields and the flowers
And calls the birds to sing.
The first verse tells of Brigid’s healing.
All were welcome at her door,
no one was turned away.
She loved the poor, the sick and the sore,
She helped them on their way.
The second verse is about the “brat Bridhe,’ or mantle, that covered the ground that would be the site of her double monastery.
She laid her cloak out on the ground
And watched it grow and grow.
In wells and streams and fields of green
St. Brigid’s blessings flow.
Healing Energy with Brigid
Brigid’s blessings indeed flow.
The class I am teaching right now is writing our own verses to go with the song. We reference not only the saint but also the goddess Brigid. We sing on her power of fiery of transformation, and of her mourning the death of her son in battle. My anxiety lessens as I make the rounds. She also worried in times of conflict, experiencing loss. Perhaps it is time to allow Brigid to help me transform. Rest first for me, because I am deeply exhausted, but the right action will unveil itself.
Singing, I feel the energy of the place. This tiny well that has run dry in a tucked away corner of Loughrea has its own energy. It is a unique signature. It is beloved, visited, and Brigid undoubtedly blesses it.
Recovery 101: Good Humor and Brigid Being Cheeky
I stay only for a few minutes. During that time, I asked for Brigid’s blessing during this time of political unrest, and the constant lack of empathy – a buzz word right now for sure – and worry about the future. She gently reminded me of the stories from her hagiographies. Stories like the one in her song, when she needed land to found her monasteries, places of learning and healing. She asked the local chieftain for space, and he declined.
Smiling, she asked if she could have just the space that her brat, or mantle, would cover. He assented to this request, sure that it would cover just a few square meters. Four nuns took a corner each of the cloak, but the cloak magically grew, and grew, and grew until it covered all of the curragh outside of Kildare – nearly 5,000 acres.
Brigid reminded me that sometimes women have to get a little cheeky in order to get the ball rolling. As you can see from the story, Brigid is also a little mischievous and good natured. I felt in my spirit that Brigid lovingly-mockingly saying “Oh, you think your times are so hard? Women in the 6th century Ireland had it so easy!” Yep, I get it. Brigid worked through challenging circumstances in a spirit of cheerful giving but also working the system in subversive ways when necessary. This is how she did her Jesus work.
Feeling buoyed and the traps of burnout dissipating a little, I go on my way, thanking the space for its blessing.
Moanmore Stone Circle, a Place of Healing
In the car, I make my way to a nearby gas station, fill up the tank and grab a few things to munch on in lieu of lunch. Somehow, facing a restaurant and interacting with people today feels like too much work. I’d rather eat something processed and chilly to be alone rather than warm and tasty but having to socially interact. Normally, I’m an extrobert, but today my inner introvert is reigning supreme. As I eat a protein bar and sour gummies, I think Brigid might appreciate that sometimes we need space more than sustenance.
A short drive down a narrow (really narrow) road, and I’ve arrived at the stone circle. These ancient megalithic sites are one of my favorite parts about living in Ireland. I love them. Each one is unique, yet they are all similar, too.
Doing a tiny bit of research into this stone circle is illuminating. It dates to the Bronze Age, between 2,000-2,500 BCE, making this circle approximately 4,000+ years old. It had 8 stones, but only 7 remain now, 4 of which are still upright. One site suggested that the stones had been re-erected but did not give a source. The circle itself is in a slightly raised barrow with another little raised bed in the middle. The site in the center could be a burial site, but the same source suggested that it was added in the 19th century by the Ordnance surveyors.
Purpose of Stone Circles?
The purpose of stone circles is debated (endlessly). Perhaps they were calendars, or sites for great gatherings, or marked a particular way to bury significant people. Maybe they were all of these or none of these. I have been drawn to them since I was old enough to know about them, and every visit to a stone circle is a special occasion for me. In my shamanic training, I learned how to measure the energy of the stone circles, which I believe are placed on significant energetic locations on the Earth. The ones that are still active are beautiful places for healing, renewal, and communion with the nearby spirits.
Parking on a busy road directly opposite the stone circle, it was easy to access it with small steps leading up to the raised bed. Next to it was a concrete structure belonging to the house next door, coming up within a meter or so of the circle. Houses dotted the busy street all around the circle, and the site is neat and tidy. It practically beckoned to me to come inside. I set down my bag with my drum, pendulum, snacks, and my apple.
Entering a Stone Circle with Respect
Similarly to the well, I circled the stone circle too, but only once, to ask the energy to activate and allow me inside. This was actually tricky because of the overgrown shrubs and branches on one side of the circle, but it was doable. Completing the circled, I bowed, asked permission, and entered the stone circle.
Usually, I would do a significant amount of work with a new site: measuring the ley energy lines, meditation and journey work, drawing maps of the energy, dowsing with my pendulum to see where the energy is the strongest. But in my current state of exhaustion, I just did not feel like it.
Instead, the site seemed to immediately warm to me, inviting me to come in and rest. It was time to sit and be, not to draw and figure out – that can come later, because I’m quite sure I’ll be back to this stone circle semi-regularly. Asking permission of the spirits of the place, I stepped across the threshold of the circle and went to the middle cairn, the raised bed in the center of the circle. I didn’t care surveyors created this cairn, or if people 4,000 years ago did – it was the perfect spot for me right now as part of my recovery and healing from burnout and exhaustion.
4,000 Years of Land Energy
The stone circle has a lovely energy to it. While 4,000 years ago, forests and fields surrounded the site, today it is a suburban setting. Across the street, I watched an old, well-loved yellow lab wander around the yard, strolling underneath the laundry pinned up. Cars passed by on the busy street and sounds of people and doors slamming floating through the air. Usually, urban sounds annoy me when I’m in an ancient setting, but today was different. The energy of the place put me at peace, and I just enjoyed seeing people living their lives while I sat.
I am grateful that this ancient place survived modernity, that development hasn’t razed it to the ground. It stands as a testament to the power of our ancestors, of energy, of land, of the power of rest. I am grateful to the builders of this place, who lugged heavy rock many thousands of years ago.
Today all I did was sit and absorb the healing energy of the Earth, of the stones, of the ancestors. They offered it to me freely. A few tears fell as I saw my own need for restoration. But mostly I sat in peace, and the stone circle offered a bit of tranquility for my short time I was there. In a way, the stone circle itself has survived its own journey with potential exhaustion as the landscape around it has changed so dramatically. Perhaps it has something even more to teach me.
It was enough.
I know that these are part of my recovery and healing from burnout and exhaustion. It’s not the whole story, but a part of it.
I gratefully closed out my time by circling in the opposite direction to close out the energy, leaving the apple (biodegradable – y’all, don’t leave plastic) for the spirits of the place in gratitude for their guardianship.
Finding YOUR Healing Space
You may happen to live out of easy access to a stone circle 😉 While I love them, they are not necessary for renewal. It’s your connection with spirit and nature that can fuel your restoration, insights, and relationship to Spirit. Nature is a powerful remedy for our fatigue, and it is also a natural preventative so that you don’t have to figure out recovery and healing from burnout and exhaustion.
Sometime the breakthrough comes after the breakdown, you know?
While I AM on sabbatical, I am also working with individuals in private sessions (no group classes right now). So if you’d like to strategize about your next spiritual steps, including energy, spirits, stone circles, and more, just book a free strategy session with me.
Most of all, I wish you deep blessings. The struggle is very real. Take care of yourself so that you can receive and give blessings to others — and may Brigid and stone circles bless you on your way.
