It’s Friday, December 2, 2022. Do you know where your imagination is?

My imagination has been lost for quite a while, but perhaps I found it recently.

By imagination, I mean actual imagination. I have a bad habit of conflating imagination with creativity. There are probably many other people that do the same.

This quote from Ann Pendleton-Julian and John Seely Brown puts the difference between creativity and imagination in good context:

“Creative activity aims to do something purposeful. The imagination is something that emerges. While creativity works towards products that exist in the real world and have real-world purpose, the product of the imagination is the "imagined object"; it is the image itself. That image comes with meaning, but any purpose it contains is that which one to rise from it as it intersects with other cognitive processes.”

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So my imagination is missing, but my creativity is front and center. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the skills to implement or express my creativity properly.

The loss of my imagination happened over a long period. It worked full force when I was young (during elementary school). For example, I would go out to play with my friends, and we would make up our own stories for the games we were playing. We played cops and robbers, spies, detectives, army, astronauts, etc. Our stories would just emerge as we played; nothing was planned.

Even when I was alone, imagination would rule. I had a bunch of Star Wars action figures. I vividly remember playing with them for an entire day and having them act out stories on the fly as I was playing.

While in middle/high school, my imagination started to disappear. There was so much real stuff going on that my imagination became unimportant.

All was not lost in high school, though. I imagined some of my “favorite” teachers disappeared in sinister ways.

There was one time when my imagination became a reality. I was supposed to take the 1989 New State Regents chemistry exam. I was an excellent student, but I struggled tremendously with chemistry. I knew I would pass the exam but not do very well. With college applications only a few months away, I didn’t want to hurt my GPA. All sorts of imagined scenarios to avoid this exam swirled in my head.

I must have imagined intensely because the morning of the exam, I woke up to find the answers for the chemistry Regents published on the front page of the New York Post.

The Chemistry Regents was therefore canceled!!!

By the time of college and the pursuit of my career, my imagination pretty much disappeared. However, I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter that I may have recently found it.

Let me explain…

If you are a regular reader of my newsletter, you are probably aware that I started a six-month class called Ogham Journeys. It is offered by Lora O’Brien of the Ogham Academy and the Irish Pagan School.

This was the first week, and the topic was a general introduction to the Ogham writing system. Each week of the course includes a “Journey” to the Irish otherworld to develop a better understanding and a deeper relationship with the Ogham.

I completed the first journey yesterday. It was to visit the Spirt of Ogham.

In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about a Journey I did regarding Fionn’s Window. This was a free class from Lora O’Brien. In that newsletter, I expressed my well-founded skepticism.

The big question - Are journeying experiences real or imagination?

I will not write about my journeys in every newsletter, but I feel this was an interesting and thought-provoking journey.

Note that before you continue reading, this journey log is pretty long.

So here we go…

Journey to the Spirit of Ogham (or the Center of Mike’s Imagination):

Please note that Lora’s Journeying Method is proprietary, so I will not describe it here, only what I saw and did on my journey. If you are interested in trying a journey, Lora has some free beach journeys at the Irish Pagan School.

Given the above, I will start my story as I come out of the darkness to the divide between the two worlds.

I crossed through the doorway separating darkness and light. I was then on a dirt path in a wooded area.

Following the path down in elevation, I arrived at a beach. It reminded me of St. Finian’s Beach in Ireland. I visited this beach twice in real life.

Two things happened as I walked down the beach toward a boat. The vegetation turned tropical, and my body felt very heavy. Every step was like walking with weights attached to my legs.

I finally arrived at the boat. It was a sailboat, large enough for four or five people. The boat was made out of long medium-brown wooden planks. It had two beige sails.

Due to the weight of my limbs, it was challenging to raise my hand to touch the boat. When I finally did, I could feel the wood's roughness and the boat's solid structural integrity.

After touching the boat, my body no longer felt weighted down. I climbed aboard the boat and took my seat for the voyage to see the Spirit of Ogham.

Once the boat left the shore, I noticed that I could not move my limbs at all. Also, my body seemed to be rocking sideways. I was able to move my head and look around, though.

The boat’s sails went fully up, and it picked up speed. I saw islands pass by on the boat's sides, but they were blurred.

Eventually, we slowed down as we approached an island. It seemed tropical. The water was a very clear blue, the beach was beautiful, and they were tropical trees and vegetation past the sand. Strangely, the sky in the distance was orange, building to bright red.

At the beach, my limbs were released, and I could move freely. Walking along the beach, I saw a stone path and followed it.

After following the path through the tropical environment for a bit, it turned into a deciduous forest. I continued walking the stone path through the woods toward the island's center.

I entered a tropical garden when I thought I was almost there. It was beautiful, as would be expected, but it was a bit humid.

At the center of the garden was some sort of fountain. On the other side of the fountain, I could see a gate leading out of the garden. I went through the gate, and things changed. The environment was now predominantly stone, although there were some trees and bushes.

In the distance, I could see a large circular stone structure with a metal gate in front.

I continued on the stone path to the gate. I tried to pull it open, but no luck. Then I attempted to push it in, but still nothing. As I stood there wondering, the gate opened by itself.

Going through the gate, I entered the circular structure. It was huge. At the opposite end from me, there was what looked to be a tiny castle.

In the center was an obelisk that looked kind of like a much smaller version of the Washington Monument. Ogham inscriptions were on it, but I could not determine what ones they might be. I did not touch this standing stone.

Looking around, everything else was barren. The walls were just blank stone; there were no decorations. It gave a very cold and clinical feeling. Speaking of cold, it was very chilly since coming inside this circular structure.

While standing there waiting and hoping something would happen, I kept examining the Ogham inscriptions on the obelisk but still could not determine what they were.

At some point, everything lit up with a very soft golden-yellow color which warmed the room. Suddenly, the stone walls were covered with symbols carved into them. I saw Ogham letters, Ogham-like letters, and all sorts of symbols that I didn’t recognize. I thought I even saw Chinese characters, but I can’t be sure.

Then an entity appeared before me, standing next to the obelisk.

It seemed human in form, except it was ghost-like. It was grayscale and had some sort of aura around it. The entity was wearing a long robe and had long facial hair. For some reason, I could not see it above its eye level.

I began speaking with the entity but not using my voice. I was communicating in words but not making any sounds.

The entity did not introduce itself, but I assume it was the Spirit of Ogham. I tried to ask for its name but was unable to for some reason.

Instead of calling it “the entity,” I will call it “the Spirit of Ogham” or “SOO” going forward.

SOO said it wanted me to commit to learning the true meaning and energy of the Ogham. Then the obelisk came off the ground a few feet, and there was a dark hole in the ground where it had stood.

All of a sudden, my head was in the dark hole. SOO said I need to learn what is beneath the surface and what is in the darkness. Then I was out of the hole, back in my original position. The obelisk slowly came down back on top of the hole.

The Spirit of Ogham then asked me if I would make this commitment.

I agreed, and then a calm warmth inside and out came over me. It isn't easy to describe. The best I can come up with is that it was like a warm energy hug.

Then I said thank you and goodbye in Irish, which SOO seemed to appreciate.

The Spirit of Ogham then slowly faded into nothingness. I turned to look at the walls, and they reverted to plain stone, no more symbols. The warm glow disappeared, and the room was chilly again.

I walked out of the circular stone building through the gate which again opened for me, and I headed back to the tropical garden.

I went through the garden without looking at any of its contents. As I entered the deciduous forest, I realized that I felt energized and eager but also confused about everything that had just happened and what I was supposed to do.

Before I knew it, I was back on the beach, not even realizing I had moved from deciduous to tropical.

I returned to the boat, climbed aboard, and took my seat. Once again, I was unable to move my limbs. The boat left the beach shore.

It was pretty much the same trip except in reverse.

When I arrived back on my “home beach,” my limbs were released, and I disembarked from the boat. I thanked the boat, not knowing who else to thank.

As soon as I got off the boat, heaviness overtook me again. Before I began my heavy trudging slog back to the dirt path, I looked towards the horizon. It was broken! There were cracks across the horizon, and it was shifted out of place, so the horizon didn’t line up correctly.

This alarmed me, so I headed back to the path as quickly as my heaviness would allow. As I arrived at the path, which was to the right of me, I noticed everything straight ahead, and to the left were different shades of blue.

I made my way back up the dirt path speedily, as I was released from my beach weight when I stepped onto the path.

The gate out was ahead, and the door to darkness was slightly further behind it. I went through the gate and back into the darkness.

The procedures to return to my real-life consciousness were completed, and I was back sitting at my desk.

After the journey, I felt happy and a bit wound up, but otherwise, fine. Also, I noticed that my bad back didn’t hurt after sitting in my desk chair for over two hours. It continued to feel a bit better for a few hours after that.

Now I feel very enthusiastic about learning the Ogham and can’t wait to learn what will happen next on my Ogham Journey, real or imaginary.

I quickly wrote down everything about the experience that I could remember, which was quite a bit. Then again, how do I know that there wasn’t much more that I didn’t remember?

These are my thoughts after documenting the journey:

• How could this journey not have been my imagination? Such a story…

• How could it have been my imagination? Could my long-lost imagination have returned with a huge bang?

• Assuming journeying is real, how could a newbie like me have such an elaborate experience on my second journey?

• Is it possible that some of it was actual journeying and some my imagination?

Many people are all over the internet sharing their successful journey experiences.

Do they have a shared delusion?

Are they part of a meditation conspiracy?

Do people have that much free time to make up and write fake journey experiences?

Or is it possible that journeying, or some aspects of it, are real?

So, at the end of the day, I don’t know if my journey experience resulted from my long-lost imagination, actual journeying, or a combination of both.

I will keep practicing and experimenting to see what I find.

It is too soon to tell if there is anything within the Ogham or the practice of journeying that can help provide some relief to mental health challenges.

However, I do believe there may be something here. I felt a bit better after I concluded this journey. It was only my second journey, so perhaps there is a better and/or longer-lasting effect from journeying regularly.

Who knows? Maybe there is even a way to release anxiety, stress, etc.. while journeying so that it is reduced in real life.

It is very important to note that I am still highly skeptical regarding the legitimacy of journeying. So far, my experiences have raised more questions than answers provided.

However, if the journeying practice helps, it doesn’t matter whether it is a legitimate ancient spiritual practice or just imagination.

If it works, do it!

Don’t Forget About My Upcoming Interviews…

Philip Carr-Gomm - December 6th

Philip was the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) for 30+ years. In addition to his work with OBOD, Philip is also a psychotherapist, author, and teacher, among other things.

Paraic Donoghue - December 19th/20th

Paraic is a native Irish language speaker. He was raised on the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, Ireland. Paraic is committed to the preservation and growth of the Irish language, along with the culture that is inextricably linked to it. He currently provides private Irish language lessons to students all over the world.

We will be discussing what it was like growing up and living on the Gaeltacht, his views on the Irish language and its importance, and the customs and traditions of his Gaeltacht that may have derived from the time of the Celts or earlier.

Both will be published on my YouTube channel and Podcast approximately one-week post-interview.

Have a great weekend!

My name is Mike, and I am a skeptic and recovering accountant just starting to make my way through the world of the Druids, Celts, and Pagans.

Join me on my journey as I use an analytic eye to extract what I believe to be golden nuggets of truth from these fascinating topics. My goal is to find valuable ways, practices, and insights to make your life better today.

If my content speaks to you, please subscribe to my newsletter! Also, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think. I am here to serve what I hope will be a great community of curious and like-minded individuals.

“May the Road Rise to Meet You!”

With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,

Mike Guarneri

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P.S. - I publish a new newsletter every Friday. Please be sure to subscribe. My past newsletters can also be found at mikeguarneri.com.

P.P.S. - I am in no way affiliated with Lora O’Brien, the Ogham Academy, or the Irish Pagan School

P.P.P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this piece, I'd like to ask a favor of you. For a limited time, I will be conducting 1-on-1 Zoom calls with select members of my SubStack subscribers.

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