THE CONDUIT COMPOSER

Friday 27 March 2015

Ancient Limestone Story Circle for PenPych Primary School



... And here they are, our beautiful ancient stones, waiting to loaded onto the truck and brought to school, placed as our sacred story circle.




'the old mountain has watched the children at her feet for Celtic-tinged centuries. Now she sends her disciples, stones from deep within her forest belly, reaching out to her people through ancient story...'




As a writer and a Sound Healer, I am totally inspired by the magnitude of this week's sacred happening and will put some time in my diary to write a skeleton story sketch for next term, so as to share the inspiration at a teacher's Story Map training afternoon and subsequently, with the children and community members, with whom I will share the craft of Story telling, so that they become the keepers of their own Penpych Dragon Tale Trail.



Wednesday 25 March 2015

Gayatri Stone Circle : A Peace Revolutionary


I just had to write to tell you what happened today. As if yesterday wasn't enough! (but that's another story for another time!)

My role at PenPych Community Primary School is Arts in Primary Education Adviser for Well Being and I work in collaboration with Miss Price, Head Teacher. She is quite literally, Superwoman! 

So, between my Artist Perspective and her ability to make just about anything happen, let me tell you the story of today's very exciting addition to our Dragon's Tale Trail Story Map, currently in design phase with the children. 


My route to school takes me over the Rhigos Mountain. It is very beautiful particularly when the sun is shining, which is was this morning. 

I pulled over the car to sing a mantra to thank the Universe for being awesome, and out of the corner of my eye, the dark eerie depths of the forest beckoned me. 



I walked slowly along the tree-lines, trunks seemingly dead, planted so closely together, tomb stoned rows. No growth on the darkened floor; the air in stale silence. 

Upright, I sang to the trees and sky. As the Gayatri mantra left my soul weaving around the deadened trunks, my voice became entwined by a single bird, who seemingly knew the tune better than I.



When I stopped singing, I had wandered quite deep into the forest, and all around my feet were the most amazing moss covered ancient stones. 

'Thank you,'  I whispered to Mother Universe, for she and I both knew that a Stone Story Circle would bring  much depth and joy to the children in our new Dragon's Tale Trail. But how? How could I get these stones from the forest into school?

Once in school, I told Miss Price about my experience.

'Let's go up there at lunch time.' she said.

I'm not sure quite what the world would make of two middle aged women wandering into the woods to sing for the Universe, needless to say, by the 9th offering of the Gayatri Mantra, we had been joined by a light shower of bird chorus and the sunlight kicked against the magic stones.

'I've got an idea.' said Miss Price.

The contractors currently working on the Rhigos Mountain were charmed and let us drive through their gatehouse, onto a platter of porta-cabins: humans in little tin boxes amongst all these trees.

Miss Price explained about children and school and story trails and stones and sacred and ancient.

'I'll have to pass it up the line.' said the contractor.

'But is it something that your heart feels it would like to do?' I asked. 

He smiled. 'Yes.'

By 5pm today, the contractor had spoken with the powers that be and they have offered to bring 13 HUGE stones down to school for us on a truck to place into our very own Stone Circle.




And as I drove  back over the Rhigos on my way home, Mother Universe and I had a warm glow in our heart.

'I am a Peace Revolutionary, changing the planet through peaceful means.' I said out loud, and just for a moment, I swear I could sense Mother Universe breathe a sigh of relief.