Welcome!
Discover more from Mike Guarneri
Hi, my name is Mike Guarneri.
Thank you for stopping by!
Before you read a single post on this website, it's important that you first read this one.
Here's why:
On this site, you will find research and writings about Druid, Celtic and Pagan practices. However, these posts are NOT rambling meanderings of anything and everything that I find interesting. Rather, the purpose of sharing the content goes much, much deeper.
In order to understand what I mean, I'd like to first take you back to where it all began: back to the severe panic attack I had some time ago.
There I was, a burnt-out accountant in the finance industry. I was miserable and tired of working for the benefit of the elite super-rich class of people.
I was trying my hardest to get through each day in order to provide a good life for my family.
I found myself really suffering from general anxiety disorder and clinical depression, but I didn't know it at the time.
Then, one day I had a severe panic attack, as well as minor aftershocks, which were not good for my health. I needed to find something different to do with my life. Something that would make me happy and still provide for my family.
This meant I needed to take immediate action to function, which was in the form of medications (I don't like taking medications if I can avoid them).
While this was unfortunate, it went even deeper than that. You see, medications can only do so much. I also needed to implement other habits to improve my life and be happy.
At that very moment, some divine force from the universe intervened. When the correct combination of medications was found, much of the haze and fog I had been living in disappeared. Furthermore, what helped me out significantly was changing my scenery and environment.
You see, I was most at peace and happy when I was in Ireland. And in trying to determine why, I had a strong hunch that it may have something to do with the ancient ways, practices, and insights of the Ancient Irish people (the Druids, Celts, and Pagans).
At that moment, it became crystal clear to me that there's some incommunicable truth locked inside ancient Druid, Celtic and Pagan practices (both secret and overt). Such practices could help one overcome the many mental health challenges that plague many of us today. My goal would be to test these various ancient practices and see if they could, in fact, provide happiness and peace.
It seemed to make sense to discover what practices from the past might work and be beneficial today. This would mean more opportunities to improve my life (without just relying on medications, which again, can only get one so far).
However, it's not in my nature to explore ancient Druid, Celtic and Pagan practices and just accept everything I hear. You see, it's more in line with my nature to test things with a “skeptical eye” (while still being open-minded).
At this time, I grew excited and decided to devise a “master plan.” It started with doing preliminary research via the internet and books. I needed to figure out the best way to aggregate my research notes. A way in which the possible golden nuggets of truth would rise to the surface.
I decided to compile and develop my research by using a pretty sophisticated analog knowledge system. This way, I could go even deeper into the various books I read, and better slow down and analyze the sources I engaged with.
I then accumulated a large number of sources to study in the form of books, articles, and videos. I soon began reading and processing the sources.
After that, I decided to do something I was very resistant to doing at first: that is, sharing my findings and research online! (I'm an introvert by nature).
I even hired a consultant to guide me through the process of publishing my knowledge and sharing insights with others (which is why you're even reading this right now).
Building on this experience, I decided to quit my job so I could spend all my time researching, testing, and producing insightful writings about ancient Druid, Celtic and Pagan practices.
If I uncover valuable gems from my research that ends up serving as effective natural remedies for mental health challenges, then great. Of course, my dream would be for such research to help others, as well!
But there's no guarantee of that. I'm committed to being honest in my research and realistic with my experiments and my findings.
I'm not here to sell snake oil or promote any woo-woo stuff that doesn't work.
Again, I'm a skeptic when it comes to this stuff. An open-minded skeptic, but still a skeptic.
Therefore, I decided to call the theme of this journey, A Skeptic's Journey Through Druidry, Celtic Ways, and Paganism.
With this in mind, I would like to invite you on my journey. I will be researching and testing out ancient Druid, Celtic and Pagan practices and will be documenting my findings here.
Please subscribe to my Substack to receive my latest posts, which I plan to release once a week (usually on Fridays).
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
With a skeptical mind and an analytical eye,
Mike Guarneri
"May the Road Rise to Meet You!"
P.S. Below you’ll find the button where you can subscribe!