After the dirty mire of my post earlier this week, I wanted to do a bit of a brain cleanser and work towards something positive. So I wanted to write a bit about the Brigid Sessions. I’m having a lot of fun with people joining these sessions, and because they are a short, focused means of coaching, it helps a lot more people.
So you’re selling something?
Well, yes. That is the base of this deal. For a price of $227 or €197, you get three sessions with me.
Session 1: Know Yourself (45–60 mins) We begin with you. Your gifts, your resources, and the places in your life where Brigid’s energy is most needed. This is a deep, intuitive dive into your personal landscape.
Session 2: Co-Create Your Path (30 mins) Together, we’ll shape your next steps. Whether it’s joining a local group, starting a creative or spiritual project, or something entirely unique—we’ll craft a plan that feels aligned and doable.
Session 3: Refine & Rise (30 mins, one week-ish later) After you’ve had time to explore and reflect, we’ll meet again to adjust and refine. You’ll leave with clarity, confidence, and a sense of sacred momentum.
This is targeted coaching on a single issue. Although, I should warn you, no onewho has signed up so far has ended up delving deep into the issue they thought they were signing up for.
So, no one is getting what they want?
Not exactly.
I’ve had someone sign up to talk about a portable altar, and end up talking about how to gain Brigid’s help in engaging with her mother.
Someone else came in looking for support on connecting with Brigid, we ended up clarifying her meditation practices and how to work through difficult times.
The last example I’ll give is someone going through a very messy, difficult break up. And looking for some Brigid support. We ended up working through water magic and going with the flow.
(OK, if I’m honest, there’s been more than one example that would fit into the above three samples. I’m trying to keep things vague enough so people don’t feel identified, while concrete enough to let you see what’s going on).
But as always with Brigid, things are rarely clear cut. And sometimes that first session, the deep dive into your current situation, resources, gifts and the bits of your life that Brigid could help with – that’s truly valuable. Hence why it’s so long, compared to the other two.
Because once you get clear on what and where you want that help, the asking for help is reasonably straightforward.
Who is this for?
Well for anyone. But as ye all know, I predominantly work with women, coming out of a rigid spiritual set-up, usually from a Catholic/ Christian background, with an interest in Irish spirituality.
As well as people looking for an extremely practical approach to things.
This is highly unlikely to end up giving you energetic work to do. It’s far more likely to have you out digging a garden than praying. Prayer is always a useful part of life. Don’t get me wrong. But in my experience, prayer supports practical action, not the other way around.
So, is there a thorny issue in your side that you want to deal with? Are you prepared for some close questioning to get to the root of your issue?
Is there something you feel you can ask Brigid for help with, but it feels vague and airy-fairy?
Given the mess that is in the US right now, I’m doing the same here as I do for the Hope and Healing Hub. For every full paying session, I’m gifting one as well.
So, if money is an issue, reach out and I’ll put you on the list.
Most of all?
Remember Brigid looks after the cowless. She worked to help women in her community. She stands for those women in male-dominated professions.
Her help is there – but she won’t cross the line without being asked.
Yeah, I’m jumping on the Charlie Kirk bandwagon. For the record, before we get into the nuance of this situation I want to make a few things clear:
I lean hard left – basic universal income, everyone has a right to human dignity, being human and worthy of rights doesn’t depend on so-called “productivity” type left
I think fewer guns in circulation would solve a lot of US issues
I suppose trade unions, community action, <40 hour working week, working parents/guardians/ carers supports, and a lot more
I’m pro-LGBTQIA+ and think that people should be able to dress what as they want.
I’m also firmly of the opinion that what consenting adults do in private is their own business. As soon as either consent, adults or private is no longer the case, then the law has the right to intervene.
So, with all that said, ye already know this isn’t going to be a ringing endorsement of Charlie Kirk, right?
Who was Charlie Kirk?
I got to be honest here: before this man was murdered, I hadn’t heard of him in a way to take notice of him. And looking back at his career, that makes sense. With the whole global shitshow going on right now, I don’t pay attention to every right wing speaker on college campuses in the States.
Sorry, but that’s just the way life is.
But here we go:
Charlie Kirk was born in Chicago (I think) on 14th October 1993. He was born into what he has described as a “moderate” Republican family. His first taste of fame came when he appeared on Fox Business at age 17, for writing an essay for Breitbart News on the apparent liberal bias in education (according to him…)
This appears to have given him a taste for the limelight. (That sentence right there is pure opinion on my part, by the way.) But seeing as how he went on to fund Turning Point USA the following year, an organisation ostensibly to “advocate for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses”. No, I’m not linking to the websites for this, I find them troubling, disgusting and creepy.
As part of Turning Point USA, the Professor Watchlist was published. This is a list which outlines and lists academic staff that Turning Point USA deem to “discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” In the days since Charlie Kirk’s murder, I’ve seen many professors, academics and other people involved in teaching people from primary school to college saying this list has lead to abuse, intimidation and general health and safety concerns for those listed on it.
The debate…
One of the things I have heard about Charlie Kirk is that he was one of the few people still willing to debate issues concerning both the right and left wing in US politics. All I can say is, that having listening to some of the rhetoric he considered debating, I shudder for the state of politics in the US. He browbeat opponents, often people years his junior. He used all sorts of straw man argument. Ad hominem attacks. Devil’s advocate type approaches. A lot of cherry picking of statistics… Listen, go look up the wikipedia article above on straw man arguments. Then look at the “see also” list below it. There’s pretty much a lovely list there that covers a lot of what Charlie Kirk used in his debates.
For example, in the “debate”, during which he was murdered, he was engaging in the following exchange:
ATTENDEE: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?
KIRK: Too many. [Applause]
ATTENDEE: In America, it’s five. Now, five is a lot, right, I’m going to give you — I’m going to give you some credit. Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?
KIRK: Counting or not counting gang violence?
Now, the fact that Charlie Kirk was anti trans is well established – we’ll get into some of his more horrible quotes later, but Snopes has debunked this theory that in the US, mass shooters are disproportionately transgender. From what I can see, on that page linked above in SNopes and they’re basing their figures on the Violence Prevention Project, 96% of all mass shooters, according to their definition of mass shootings, are cis male.
0.5% (or 1) were transgender.
Charlie Kirk in his own words
Now, I’m taking a lot of the following quotes from the Guardian article on him. Using his own words. Fair warning, we’re looking at racism, sexism, anti-immigration, anti-islamic, very right wing, horrible words below. So, read on at your peril.
On race
If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 23 January 2024
If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine?
If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action?
If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.
We record all of it so that we put [it] on the internet so people can see these ideas collide. When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil, and they lose their humanity.
– Kirk discussing his work in an undated clip that circulated on X after his killing.
Prove me wrong.
– Kirk’s challenge to students to publicly debate him during the tour of colleges he was on when he was assassinated.
On gender, feminism and reproductive rights
Reject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.
– Discussing news of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement on The Charlie Kirk Show, 26 August 2025
The answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.
– Responding to a question about whether he would support his 10-year-old daughter aborting a pregnancy conceived because of rape on the debate show Surrounded, published on 8 September 2024
We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.
America was at its peak when we halted immigration for 40 years and we dropped our foreign-born percentage to its lowest level ever. We should be unafraid to do that.
The great replacement strategy, which is well under way every single day in our southern border, is a strategy to replace white rural America with something different.
We’ve been warning about the rise of Islam on the show, to great amount of backlash. We don’t care, that’s what we do here. And we said that Islam is not compatible with western civilization.
I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.
– Event organized by TPUSA Faith, the religious arm of Kirk’s conservative group Turning Point USA, on 5 April 2023
Why am I writing about this man?
There’s a few reasons. First, it’s a key debate that many of my US based audience are dealing with right now. Second, the truth is rarely black and white. Although in this case, it appears to be reasonably extremely dark grey and extremely light grey. Third, Brigid told me to.
I’ve seen a lot of hatred of this man on social media over the last few days, and a lot of hatred for the hatred if that makes sense. But one comment – made against a friend of mine – stood out.
“In this country [Ireland], we don’t speak ill of the dead.”
Now, traditionally, this has been held to be the “respectable” position. Check here for why I don’t consider respectable a reasonable status most of the time. But that phrase “don’t speak ill of the dead” struck a chord with me. Because, as a rule, in Ireland, it has been the case. People don’t tend to speak ill of someone once they’ve passed. They can no longer defend themselves, after all.
But that approach has been changing, and changing for the better. Not everyone who dies on this island is a saint, and families are ever more able and capable of addressing the dark deeds of the past and not bury them with the dead. “Don’t speak ill of the dead” has been used for generations to silence victims – of rape, of abuse, of torture… And it’s important in our decolonisation as a country, a nation and a people that we speak out now.
So, while it’s acting against everything that’s been taught us, I think it behoves us to act when we see people sanctifying and glorifying someone who espoused evil while they were alive.
His. Own. Words.
I have no problem hanging Charlie Kirk out to dry with his own words. There are plenty of people who support them. I’m not one of those people. This man stood for pretty much everything I see wrong with this world. He stood for fascism in a time when fascism is a very real threat in the world. He sought to silence those who spoke out against his world view.
I mean, he helped enact and supported policies to keep the poor, poor. The downtrodden under the boot. To keep minorities in their place – well, their place as he saw it. And in particular, the LGBQIA+ community. Various parties are actively engaging in conversations to promote him as a bastion of debate. Having tainted my brain with some of his so-called debates – they weren’t debates as I know them. They were attempts to force people to accept his point of view.
And, having now tainted my brain like that, I’m very happy to accept that there are people out there celebrating his death.
Charlie Kirk wasn’t Hitler. But he could have been a very high ranking Nazi, holding the views that he did. I can see him standing right beside the Führer at one of the mass rallies. Because he did organise mass rallies all over the US. And tolerated no dissent from his views.
Celebrate life, not death
Yeah, this one is tough. And it links to “don’t speak ill of the dead” or “if you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all”.
And that’s all fine and dandy, most of the time. But not when basic human rights are being eroded all over the world and a massive swing towards the right, towards the fascist ideologies are coming to the fore.
I can see people reaching back to the Brehon laws, highlighting the ones that lean into that right wing stretch. But I’ve never claimed to want to recreate the Brehon laws in totality. The world has moved on. My worth and my word are not half my husband’s. I’m not my husband’s property, or my father’s for that matter. There are times they are both hugely grateful they can’t be held responsible for my actions.
So, for all the people drawing on that “Brehon laws said…” yeah, they did. But they weren’t perfect. They were built for the communities they supported over 1500 years ago. Not modern society.
We have different understandings of people’s roles in society now. A better understanding of equality under the law.
Anyone who is reaching out and saying we should support Charlie Kirk as Irish people because he held true to ancient laws… They’re full of shit and using bits and bobs of our heritage for their own gain.
What I am and am not interested in
I’m not interested in recreating the Ireland of 1500 years ago, or of 3000 years ago. We developed far more and far better solutions to our issues and governance than our ancestors had. I’m interested in building a better society for all of us.
And I’m tying into Brig Ambue here. Looking for the less well off, the hopeless, the ones that don’t have a future. How do we, as a community, serve those people? I’m not interested in holding people down. I want all people to play an active role in society, as best suits them.
That doesn’t necessarily mean holding to traditional gender roles. I don’t rule it out, but honestly – I don’t do that, so why would I expect anyone else to do that? Look at my linkedin profile if you’re interested in how I can say that. Yeah, there are solid reasons I feel closer to the Smith than the Poet or the Healer.
I don’t think that people who have children out of wedlock are to be damned. Why would I? They’re still human. Neither they nor their offspring deserve to be treated differently. Other than considering what supports they might need in life.
I’m not joining in the celebrations of Charlie Kirk’s death. He just wasn’t important enough in my life for that.
So what am I saying?
I understand the many people who are celebrating this death.
Yeah, I think it’s ironic he died in a shooting incident, given his views on gun control.
I feel sorry for his children, having lost their father. I hope they can grow up in a place of love, not hate. And with a bit of luck, they will not have a path to escape their father’s rigid spirituality.
His wife? No, not overly sorry for her. She supported him. And as far as I can tell, shared his views.
I hope the politicians and commentators who have been besmirching the left over the last few days can come to their sense on key issues now. I don’t hold out much hope. But there’s some hope there.
The young man who killed Charlie Kirk? I hope he gets the treatment he deserves.
To those of you still clinging to the “be nice” side of the coin: I hope you never have to confront a situation where “being nice” serves to cause harm to you or those around you. I don’t live in that space.
Being honest hurts people sometimes. And there are times it’s not necessary. “Charlie Kirk held extreme views on abortion” is not the same as “I hated that casserole”. And yes, I think forcing victims of rape to carry their rapists child is an extreme view. Charlie Kirk said that about his own daughter – that he would force her to carry the child.
He was a horrible obnoxious human being and the world is better off without him. (And yes, that there is another opinion of mine, just to finish off the post).
The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of feeling small and how it affects us. So, today I want to talk about the different ways in which Brigid takes up space.
And, possibly more importantly, how we can learn from it!
The death of a son
I’ve spoken about Ruadhán’s death before on the blog. And there’s a whole course on the excerpt over in the school. So, I have a lot to say about this aspect of Brigid. But today, I’m going to talk about her taking up space.
Primarily, in the enemy camp of the Fomorians.
Seriously – Brig followed Ruadhán to his father’s presence in the Fomorian assembly.
But after the spear had been given to him, Rúadán turned and wounded Goibniu. He pulled out the spear and hurled it at Rúadán so that it went through him; and he died in his father’s presence in the Fomorian assembly. Bríg came and keened for her son. At first she shrieked, in the end she wept. Then for the first time weeping and shrieking were heard in Ireland. (Now she is the Bríg who invented a whistle for signalling at night.)
I mean, on the one hand, she was the wife of Bres (at one time anyway) and the mother of the dead child. So, we’re looking at someone who could be deemed to belong there.
But equally, she had fairly obvious strong ties to the Tuatha De Danann camp, potentially far stronger than a rotten marriage to a deposed king.
Was this a safe place for Brig?
Probably not. But she took up the space she needed. She keened. Mourned her son. And did what needed to be done.
Brigid taking up space – and food
OK, so the myriad of ways in which Brigid takes space and food throughout her hagiographies is vast.
Brigid, taking up space in Kildare!
She gives away butter – then makes sure the dairy provides what’s needed for the family anyway. She feeds an old hound from the meat meant for guests, and still manages to have enough for the guests. (Although in that case, the guests felt ashamed by her actions and decided to give their food to the poor in imitation of her actions)
Every store of food which she saw and served used to grow. She bettered the sheep: she tended the blind: she fed the poor.
Not to mention the time she gave away a valuable chain and her nuns came to her complaining they’d no money for food and clothes, when she came out with this zinger:
‘Ye are sinning,’ saith Brigit: ‘Go ye into the church : the place wherein I make prayer, there will ye find your chain.’ They went at Brigit’s word. But, though it had been given to the poor man, the virgins found their chain therein.
Brigit went to Bishop Ibair that he may mark out her city for her. So they came thereafter to the place where Kildare is to-day. That was the season and the time that Ailill son of Dunlaing, with a hundred horse-loads of peeled rods, chanced to be going through the ground of Kildare. Two girls came from Brigit to ask for some of the rods, and they got a refusal. Forthwith all the horses were struck down under their loads against the ground. Stakes and wattles were taken from them, and they arose not until Ailill son of Dunlaing had offered unto Brigit those hundred horse-loads; and thereout was built Saint Brigit’s house in Kildare.
I mean, blackmail might not be quite the word here, but it’s certainly implied blackmail.
Sure what would the man be doing with that many rods anyway???
Standing up for justice
Now you might think that Brigid didn’t have much to do with justice, but she freed captives.
Brigit went into the province of Fir Ross to loosen a captive who was in manu with the King of Ross. Said Brigit: ‘Wilt thou set that captive free for me?’ The King replied: ‘Though thou shouldst give me the realm of the men of Breg, I would not give him to thee. But go not with a refusal,’ saith the King. ‘For one night thou shalt have the right to guard his life for him.’ Then Brigit appeared at the close of day to the captive and said to him: ‘When the chain shall be opened for thee repeat this hymn, Nunc populus, and turn to thy right hand and flee.’ Thus it is done, and the captive flees at the word of Brigit.
rigit, and certain virgins with her, went to Bishop Mél, in Telcha Mide, to take the veil. Glad was he thereat. For humbleness Brigit staid, so that she might be the last to whom the veil should be given. A fiery pillar arose from her head to the ridgepole of the church. Bishop Mél asked: ‘What virgin is there?’ Answered MacCaille: ‘That is Brigit,’ saith he. ‘Come thou, O holy Brigit,’ saith Bishop Mél, ‘that the veil may be sained on thy head before other virgins.’
It came to pass then, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, that the form of ordaining a bishop was read over Brigit. MacCaille said that ‘The order of a bishop should not be (conferred) on a woman.’ Dixit Bishop Mél: ‘No power have I in this matter, inasmuch as by God hath been given unto her this honour beyond every woman.’ Hence, it is that the men of Ireland give the honour of bishop to Brigit’s successor.
Yup, she was ordained a bishop and hence the honour of a bishop and precedence was granted to Brigid’s successor – until 1169 when the then successor was raped by Dermot McMurrough’s troops and divested of her station. (And then threw in McMurrough’s niece as reverend mother who then in turn, gave up her precedence to take her “proper place” behind the men…)
Not to mention healing a leper and then re-infecting him because of his behaviour afterwards.
What can we learn from this?
Sometimes, we have to venture into discomfort to learn things. I’m not one that says every bad experience is a teaching moment – well ok, maybe I am, even if the teaching moment is that some people are assholes. But there are times when we, like Brigid, take up space in ways that just isn’t comfortable. Discomfort doesn’t mean it’s bad. It just means it’s not comfortable and not habitual.
Sometimes, taking up space makes us a target in ways we don’t like. That doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile or that we avoid doing it. Sometimes, you feel the fear and do it anyway. At other times, you look at the risks and decide something isn’t worth it.
But don’t take the smaller stance just by default. Because there isn’t a clear way to win then.
Brigid was born of a slave – according to the hagiographies. And her mother is completely unknown in the pre-Christian lore. Her husband was a bad king. Her child(ren) (depending on which lore you’re reading) was (were) killed. Justly or unjustly, depending on your point of view.
And yet she endures. She was ordained a bishop. She founded a monastic institution that resonates through the centuries to us. We hold her close as Poet, Smith and Healer.
Brigid took up, and still takes up, space. In Ireland and elsewhere.
Let’s name it: the feeling of being small in a patriarchy.
Women feeling small isn’t just a personal struggle against the patriarchy. It’s a systemic strategy. It’s how rigid, patriarchal religions have kept their power for centuries—by convincing women that silence is sacred, that obedience is holy, and that shrinking is spiritual.
But here’s the truth: your soul was never meant to be small.
Many traditional religious structures have taught women to disappear. To be quiet. Serve. Submit. To stay in the background while men lead, speak, decide, and define. And by “traditional”, I mean patriarchal as well…
And it’s not just about roles—it’s about energy. These systems thrive when feminine energy is suppressed. When intuition is dismissed. And softness is mocked. When power is hoarded.
Listen, feeling small isn’t a flaw—it’s a consequence.
Reduce, re-use, recycle applies to online as well!!
The Spiritual Cost of Shrinking
When women shrink, the world loses balance. And by women feeling small, the patriarchy finds its job much, much easier.
We lose the healers, the visionaries, the truth-speakers. Lose the wisdom that comes from cycles, emotion, and deep knowing. We lose the sacred feminine—and with it, the wholeness of spiritual life.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about religion. It’s about any system that tells you your voice is too much, your body is a distraction, your leadership is unnatural.
Taking Up Space Is Sacred Work
Taking up space isn’t arrogance. It’s alignment.
It’s saying: My soul is here for a reason. Or saying: I will not apologise for existing. Maybe it’s saying: I trust my voice, my wisdom, my presence.
When you speak up, you disrupt centuries of conditioning. By leading, you rewrite spiritual history. When you take up space, you reclaim the divine feminine.
Resistance Looks Like Radiance
You don’t have to burn down the temple. You just have to stop shrinking inside it.
No need to fight every battle. You just have to stop abandoning yourself.
Being loud isn’t obligatory. You just have to be whole.
This is how we dismantle the old systems—not just with protest, but with presence. With truth. With women who refuse to be small anymore.
Your Space Is Sacred
So speak. Lead. Shine. Take up space in your workplace, your community, your spiritual circles. Take up space in your own life.
Because every time a woman expands, the world shifts. Every time a woman stands tall, the old structures tremble. Every time a woman says, “I am here,” the divine feminine rises.
Feeling small doesn’t always look dramatic. It’s not always tears or breakdowns. Sometimes, it’s quiet. Subtle. It’s the way you shrink in meetings. The way you hesitate to share your ideas. The way you convince yourself that your voice isn’t needed.
But here’s the truth: feeling small is a spiritual wound. It disconnects you from your power, your purpose, and your presence.
Let’s explore how it shows up—and how it holds you back.
Saying “Yes” When Your Soul Screams “No”
You keep saying yes. To tasks. Meetings. The next course. A new book. You do it to be helpful, to be liked, to avoid conflict. Or because you feel like you need this. But it’s not from your soul.
And every yes that isn’t aligned chips away at your energy.
Spiritual cost: You lose touch with your inner compass. You start living for others, not from your truth.
Best cartoon I’ve found for “feeling small” and it’s from Erin Lo’s website.
Hiding Your Light
You stay quiet. Don’t share your insights. You let others take the spotlight—even when you know you have something valuable to offer.
Tell yourself it’s humility, all you want. But really, it’s fear.
Spiritual cost: Your gifts go unused. Your soul feels unseen. You start believing you’re not meant to shine.
Dimming Your Achievements
You downplay your wins. Brush off praise. You tell yourself it’s no big deal. Sure anyone could do it, right? Except…
But your soul knows better. It knows how hard you worked. It knows how much you’ve grown.
Spiritual cost: You disconnect from your own worth. You stop celebrating your journey.
Over-Apologising
You say sorry for existing. For asking questions. For taking up space.
But you were never meant to be small. You were meant to be whole.
Spiritual cost: You reinforce the belief that you’re a burden, not a blessing.
Not Asking for What You Desire
You wait. You hope someone will notice. Hope the universe will deliver without you having to speak.
But manifestation requires clarity. It requires action. It requires you to name your desires.
Spiritual cost: You stay stuck. You live in longing instead of alignment.
Internalising Every Critique
You take feedback as proof of failure. Replay mistakes again and again and again. You let one comment define your worth.
But your soul is resilient. It learns. Evolves. It doesn’t need perfection—it needs compassion.
Spiritual cost: You lose confidence. You stop trusting your own wisdom.
Avoiding Sacred Conflict
Look, we all do this. You let things slide. Stay silent when boundaries are crossed. You avoid discomfort.
But conflict, when conscious, is a path to healing. It’s a way to honour your truth.
Spiritual cost: You betray yourself. You miss the chance to grow and to teach others how to treat you.
Reclaiming Your Soul Space
Feeling small is not your destiny. It’s a pattern. And patterns can be broken.
Start by noticing. Then by choosing differently. Speak your truth. Honour your desires. Celebrate your wins. Set your boundaries.
You don’t need to be loud. You just need to be present.
No one is demanding perfection. You just need to be real.
Forget about permission. You already have it—from your soul.
So step forward. Take up space. Let your energy expand.
As some of you may be aware, my group coaching program is starting again at the end of July (so there’s still time to join up if you want to!) And while Brigid’s Path is the name I gave the framework I developed and use, people have been asking why I chose the word “collective” to describe the group. Well, now the time has come to dive a bit deeper into my thinking.
Meaning of collective
Usually at this point, I’d hit dictionary.com and give ye a meaning from there. But right now – that doesn’t really work. There are elements of the word “collective” that I want to parse out a bit given the focus of this group.
a group of people acting as one
a cooperative enterprise which we commonly call a collective effort
a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest
shared by or involving every member of a group of people
It’s the group element that most stands out to me here. But also elements of cooperation. Working together. Striving together towards a common goal as part of a true collective.
A collaborative group working together = collective
It’s the idea that the enterprise is a group effort. That the people within the group support each other and help each other along the way. This doesn’t mean every decision is a collective decision – the times we can hold sessions are limited by time differences and availability.
Why though?
As humans, our greatest achievements are as a collective. Seriously – think of all the major achievements in human history – the vast majority weren’t single, stand alone efforts. Being blunt about it, most of us humans just aren’t cut out to be singles. We belong in groups.
And yes, I know – that’s rich coming from me! I stand by my need for alone time, but I also know the importance of the group in any difficult endeavour.
mammoth hunts
growing food
building anything bigger than a shack
developing supports for those less able
collective bargaining/ unions
United Nations
European Union
Ben and Jerry’s
Yeah, I know – possibly ice cream doesn’t belong on that list, but it does bring happiness to millions. And they’re good about ethics as well. So feck it.
From the dawn of time – or at least since humans climbed out of the primordial goo (yes, I know there was a bit of development in between!) – collaborative collectives work better. For most of us.
OK fine, but inner work is personal
Absolutely correct. Inner work is nearly always personal. But there are also a lot of trends and commonalities and it’s so much nicer to have someone walking the path alongside you. OK, it won’t be exactly the same path. I can pretty much guarantee that!
But it will be a similar one. Because we all go through the same shit when trying to grow. There’s pain. And there’s realisation. There’s growth. There’s all sorts of stuff, all made easier with the support of a collective.
If nothing else, having other people around you while you’re going through these exercises and the inner work, means there are people around you for support. For understanding. For even the vaguest comprehension of the types of insights you’re gaining. The laughter, the tears, the hugs, the shoulders… it’s all there.
Y’see, everyone walks their own path. Definitely. But walking Brigid’s Path is about more than your path. It’s about the collective path as well. If you look at the core tenets of pretty much any of the modern religions in the world, they look at the collective experience.
Yes, even Christianity. Despite what various fundamentalist sects are trying to claim. Please read the below post on Jesus.
A post stolen from Facebook or X/Twitter. But I got it from Facebook.
And no – not everyone walking Brigid’s Path is or ever was Christian. It’s not a requirement at all. It’s just that a lot of the people I work with come from Christian backgrounds.
And it’s easy after a few centuries, or millennia, of patriarchal behaviour to forget the basics.
High control religion, again??
Yes, high control religion again.
The vast majority of those who chose to walk Brigid’s Path are coming from high control religions. And that doesn’t always mean a minority cult. That can mean mainstream religions.
It takes time to recover from these. I’ve described before what I consider to be a high control religion. I won’t repeat that list here, but I will say this: many of us have grown up in high control environments. Too many of us carry scars from that childhood.
This isn’t attacking anyone’s parents or upbringing. Most parents did and do the best they can with the knowledge and resources they had/have. But that also doesn’t mean we can’t unpack what we learned and suffered. And it’s a lonely road to walk on your own.
Something high control religion gets right is the comfort of the group, of the collective. The comfort in other people experiencing similar things to those you are experiencing. It’s enticing, seductive in ways we don’t even realise.
Yes, even those of us who are inherently introverted. Introverted doesn’t mean never needing company. It just means needing a different sort of company.
So… collective
Yes, a collective. A collective for me is a group of people working together on similar projects or towards a similar goal. It’s not a team in the sense that it breaks up after said goal is reached. The understanding that the “goal” might be changeable, or as different awarenesses are reached, might be completed different to that when we started together is key.
This isn’t failure. The whole aim here is to help people understand key aspects about themselves. To develop a path for themselves that is supportive and helpful, not contained and controlled.
There might be elements of control, but it’s self control, not control imposed from outside. It’s an agreement with self, in particular with the inner self. The bit that maintains the core of who we are. And the collective is as safe a space as I can make it to explore these issues and let each person decide for herself what’s right for her.
And it’s about taking action and being held to account for taking that action. There’s power in that as well. A collective action is only as strong as each individual member…
As I type this, there is still one place open on the collective for this year. Click on the link to find out more.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post showing some of the effects of colonisation in Ireland. But this week I want to explore it in more detail. Because, I think some people just don’t get it.
Y’see, to understand colonisation, you have to consider profit and loss. Check out this quote from a Trinity College Dublin post:
One thing is clear, imperialism was – and is – about the acquisition of territory, about settler colonialism, about the exercise of political and economic power, and about violence and coercion. Strategies about how best to turn conquest into profit, to marshal, mobilise and control natural resources, especially land and labour, varied from empire to empire but the often grim reality of everyday life did not change and provoked a wide variety of responses ranging from acceptance, accommodation, assimilation and innovation, to resistance, rebellion and deadly colonial wars.
Imperialism and colonialism are two sides of the same coin in my opinion – although of course there are differences between them. For those of us not running in the academic area in question though, let’s just go with it.
Natural resources
Prior to the colonisation of this island, Ireland was covered in trees. In fact, on the Teagasc history of forests in Ireland, the claim is made:
It was said that a squirrel could travel from one end of Ireland to the other without ever touching the ground as more than 80% of the land was covered by forests.
A common misconception is that the Irish forests were lot due to the need for oak in England. It’s not entirely true. The forests were down to about 20% of the landscape by the time the 16th century came round, but it’s certain the colonisers were more concerned about extracting wealth from their new land than about husbanding resources for future generations. While the move from 80% coverage to 20% coverage took about 5,500 years. The last 20%? Less than 300 years. So it’s not all the Brit’s fault, but y’know – #nevernotatit.
The same with our animals, our land, our food… we covered in the post on the Great Famine about how Ireland was feeding Britain by the 19th century. Starving ourselves, but feeding them. Even today, Great Britain imports 46% of its food. (The numbers for Ireland are much more difficult to figure out, but in 2023, we exported approx €18billion and imported €13billion – but a good €4billion of that import was from Northern Ireland. And y’know… is that really importing?)
But the fact is that while under colonial rule, Ireland got poorer. Or at least the native Irish got poorer. Our landlords weren’t much better, but most admit that was due to mismanagement, lack of care and generally grinding the land to the finest dust to get the most money out of it – through that need to conquer and subjugate, inherent in the whole notion of colonisation (in Ireland and elsewhere).
Language and culture
Colonisation has had a massive effect on Irish culture and language. Anyone from pre-1600 Ireland would be appalled at some of the changes made in our land. Particularly in our language.
Now, it has to be said that the Brits didn’t technically murder anyone for speaking Irish as a law. Nowhere in the Penal Laws was it illegal to speak Irish. in 1737, a law was passed to say Irish couldn’t be spoken in court. But aside from that, the Penal Laws were far more focused on religion rather than language.
However.
And there’s always a however.
To get an education – you pretty much had to speak English.
Any professional job – needed English.
Irish was seen as the backward language of the peasantry, and shameful in “enlightened” quarters.
An extract from the Museum at Home Country Life handout from the National Museum of Ireland
Pádraig Pearse is the person credited with the phrase “tír gan teanga, tír gan anam”. (A country without a lanuguage is a country without a soul). And the Brits did their best to beat the soul out of Ireland in that case. You see, language influences the way we think, as well as the way we speak. Want an example?
Well, in Irish, you say “Tá brón orm” or “sadness is upon me”, rather than “I am sad”. It’s the same for all of the emotions. They are something that comes upon you, not something you inherently are.
Think about that for a minute. Think about how that would affect the way you think about feelings and emotions? I’m not saying the Irish before colonisation were sane, perfectly mentally healthy and all that. But what I am saying, is that colonisation in Ireland has left an indelible mark on the way we think about things.
Not just language
And no, it’s not just language. We would not be so inherently dependent on the spud for so long if it weren’t for colonisation. Ireland might have had a different effect on the global culture without colonisation.
The amount of emigration this country has suffered, we’ve still not recovered the population we had before the Famine. In either the 32 counties or the 26+6, whichever way you look at it, colonisation led to the loss of our people. Ireland has suffered. And ok, there are folks who maintain that emigration was a benefit to Ireland.
I don’t agree with them. Yes, there are benefits to fluency in English – although many from Great Britain would not agree the Irish are necessarily fluent in the language. And there are many influences still evident within the way the Irish speak English, that come directly from Irish. But you can look at Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland for places that don’t speak English as a primary language but manage quite well in the world.
You could say that access to the Commonwealth, not to mention the British Army, was a way for Irish emigrants to manage abroad. Except that pre-colonisation, Ireland had contacts all over the place. Particularly in Europe, but further afield as well. And had Ireland remained a sovereign nation, there’s no reason to believe that would have failed.
Ireland and colonisation
It’s only really now, 100 years after the 26 counties gained independence, that Ireland is acknowledging its post-colonial trauma. Really, it’s only in very recent years, we stopped looking to Britain for how we go on in the world.
As a nation, we are reaching deep into ourselves to see how we want things to change and things to be different. The ongoing, regular protests about the housing crisis is one such example. The pressure on the Irish government to do something about boycotts or sanctions on Israeli settlements in Gaza is another.
Our people lean far harder to James Connolly and the concepts in the Proclamation of Independence, than it does to the highly restrictive environment that took over the country in the mid-20th century.
The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and Irishwoman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.
– excerpt from the Proclamation of Independence
We actively look to be open and inclusive. We were the first country in the world to gain marriage equality rights by popular vote. (Thank you, referendum!) While the far right is trying to gain a foothold in our nation, the perpetrators are highlighted as being foreigners, trying to force the Irish into a fascist regime that very few people on the island want. We’ve done our share of colonisation. We’ve started to stand up and acknowledge that whatever the UK and US think – we have minds of our own and we’re willing to go against them when necessary.
Yes, we offer great tax breaks to foreign multinationals willing to base operations in this country. It gives employment to our people. Yes, there are advantages to doing exams in Irish. We want our language to be a living vehicle for our people.
Our housing and healthcare could do with a massive overhaul. Absolutely.
But we’re in charge of our own destiny and we’re no longer looking outside our country for what’s right and wrong. Because we realise that all those centuries of being told we’re dim, stupid, less than, barely human… we’re shaking them off.
I was planning a post on colonisation this week to follow on from last week’s one on the Great Famine. But then a conversation at the weekend got me thinking about society instead. And our place within it.
What are our duties to society, as members of that group?
Now, I’m using society here as others would use “culture”, “land”, “people”, “tuath”. I mean the people we live with, the laws we (mostly) abide by, that sort of thing. What do we owe our communities? Our families? Ourselves?
People make up society
Let’s define what we mean by society
As you were reading that list of things above you were probably thinking all these are alternatives to society, but don’t really tell me what the damn thing actually is, Orlagh. So cough up!
the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
I mean, of course there are other meanings. It can also mean a group of people coming together because of a specific shared interest, or High Society, where we have defined a subgroup of people within a broader context.
But really, we use society when we’re talking about the people in an area. Sometimes as large as a whole continent, sometimes as small as a single street. It doesn’t really matter.
It’s the people that make up the group. And how those people behave make up the social norms for that group. So, as we go through the rest of this – and I’ll give you the context in the next section – remember, we’re talking about people. Sure, we’re going to mention organisations, groups, individuals, officials, all sorts. But they’re all people at their hearts.
(OK most of them are people – I have my doubts about some!)
The context
I was talking to a friend at the weekend about the experiences of women during investigations into sexual assaults (SA) and rape. And to start with, he was very much of the opinion that it was a woman’s duty to society report the rape and go through the investigation. Now, I vehemently disagree with this, but being the lovely person I am (and he’s a good person really, just hadn’t thought about the consequences of his line of thought) I kept on speaking with him on the topic.
I know – I’m a saint! (<– sarcasm)
We spoke about some of my experiences with various forms of SA. And how I didn’t report the vast majority of them and why. I explained how women have used “gossip” for generations to warn others of violence or misbehaviour, and why they couldn’t come public about any of it. I spoke of the many, many ways various religions and state organisations have made it so women are not safe to come forward about these things publicly.
But, he replied – that’s not modern Ireland. We’re different. Our society is different. We treat women better.
Are we though?
The following is a series of links to the SA and rape cases I remember in the last decade or so. Please don’t click the links if you’re not able to:
Let’s be clear – I could list at least one case from pretty much every county in Ireland. And the treatment of people is improving slightly, but it’s not there yet.
Women are equal in society, but their behaviour is more on trial than an accused rapist in these cases.
He changed his mind
I turned it around then and said I hope his daughters would never face that decision. That got him thinking. He started thinking of the individual women in the case then as people not just victims. He started thinking of the effect on his family, his daughters.
Now to be clear – this man is fairly well educated in these matters. He’s a feminist and walks the walk most of the time. But he has a few blind spots and this was one of them. We talked through what it means to be part of an investigation for SA or rape. We talked about the “rape kit“, re-traumatisation of victims – even with the best of intentions!
OK, we talked through a lot.
Or at least agreed to think about a woman’s “duty” to society in these cases. Because while I agree it’s ideal if a woman can report a SA and/or rape, there is a huge physical and mental toll to doing so.
Which brings me back to the original thought that prompted this post.
What do we owe the society in which we live?
Do we owe it our mental health?
Our privacy?
Our sexual history?
Careers?
Families?
Children?
Relationships?
Where do we draw the line?
What aboutery in our society
The worst part about this is that, it’s such a personal decision for everyone. Gisèle Pelicot took a very brave decision to waive her right to privacy to aid in the prosecution’s case (as far as I understand it. I may be wrong with regard to her reasons mind!) And then she had to go back to court to prove that while she had waived her right to privacy in that one regard, she had not waived it in general.
Now, Mme Pelicot is a class act in general. Her award from the second case has been donated to two charities, helping women. She is some woman, to say the least!
But hers was a relatively “straightforward” place. She was drugged and sold and raped without her knowledge.
What about the woman who has had a glass of wine?
Or who dressed in a way some might find sexy?
Or who – God forbid! – wore a lacy thong?
The whataboutery in our society when it comes to this sort of thing is horrendous. And when reporting crimes of this nature, we have to take into account the effect it will have on ourselves, our families and our society.
So what do we owe our society?
I don’t think we owe our society our privacy, our mental health, our history. What other crime demands so much exposure from the victim?
I said on Saturday I would never suggest to a woman to go to the Guards post-SA. And I defended my position. Because it can be immensely re-traumatising. It’s not something anyone should be forced into, or even have to be talked into. It should be something a victim arrives at by themselves.
I feel very strongly about this.
Now, I write and teach about Brig Ambue – the one who looks after the weak and helpless and less fortunate – literally the cowless. And looking through as many of the texts as I can stomach, the Brehon laws were big on reparative justice. Not confinement – that was for hostages, and even then… not always.
So, what do you think Brigid – in any of her guises – would say about the way we treat victims in this way? To be clear – the Brehon Laws were not brilliant in cases of SA with get-out-of-jail cards for if a woman was in a pub without her husband, or was in a populated place and didn’t call out…
Not perfect. But was it any better than what we force victims to do?
I know the Path Forward is one of the more complicated parts of Brigid’s Path to explain. Really, it comes at the point where you’re ready to move forward on your own.
This is a not untypical Irish country road…
And how do I explain what that looks like, when it’s so bloody individual?
But here’s where the value of the Collective comes into its own…
Basically, you have a really strong foundation built for yourself. But on Brigid’s Path, the path forward is yours alone. You take the decisions and decide what way you’re walking. (Or y’know, rolling, crawling, hobbling, etc…) And it can be overwhelming. Or… enough to have you stopping walking the path altogether and scuttle back to – well not safety exactly, but the familiar.
I know – I’ve been round this particular block a few times. Several… hundred… or so. Brigid has been extremely patient with me.
And at times, she’s smacked me up the head with some information she feels I’ve not been paying attention to. She’s usually right.
So determining what your path forward looks like is really up to you. There is a lot of meditation and visualisation work in this session(s). We workshop what your path forward looks like – for now anyway. Things change – and we’ll deal with that in the final step.
But for now – we’re looking at the things you’ve identified on your path with Brigid so far, and looking at the path forward for you.
Unique?
Yes. I firmly believe that while many of our paths might overlap, we each walk our own path. There’s no point in walking someone else’s path. Their path will be fully appropriate for them. It might almost fit you, but you want something tailored exactly for you.
Not something that almost fits.
I’ve said this over and over and over again, even in this short post. I know.
But it’s worth repeating, again and again and again.
This isn’t about finding someone else’s path. This is about your path. What works for you, your life, your desires, your responsibilities.
If my path worked for you – sure, you could copy it. But I’ll admit, very readily, my path won’t work for everyone. In fact, my path won’t work for most. I’m odd and strange in many ways and the way I walk Brigid’s Path is no different. Your path forward might overlap with mine. You might for example have a keen interest in diversity and inclusion, as I do. But you might have a focus on race or ability rather than my focus of gender diversity in engineering.
And that’s great. We need more people working in all these areas, as this enriches Brigid’s Path for everyone and our collective road forward.
Why the focus on the individual?
Because that’s where our “traditional” or “organised” religions are failing us. They come up with a list of rules and conditions and structures that work for those people creating them. And they forget that these might not work for everyone. In fact, there an extremely strong possibility they won’t work for everyone. The whole point of stepping outside these strictures is to construct your own path.
So, the individual is what’s important here. That doesn’t mean you can’t use some of the traditional structures you grew up with, if they are supportive and helpful. A few “Hail Marys” is a great way for me to calm my body and focus my mind, to be honest. But that’s not for everyone. And I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.
Brigid’s Path is based on the individual. It means more work. More effort on your part. There are very few, if any, shortcuts. Sometimes, you find yourself going back to first principles, over and over and over again. It gets discouraging., at times. So, yes, there is 100% focus on the individual, but by taking part in the Collective you can gain the support and cheerleading of your group.
And oh man, does that come in useful!!
I know this is fairly vague – no more than Brigid’s Path itself!
And that’s partly because of the individual experience here. There are a number of meditations and visualisations to get through. There a lot of discussions around what will and won’t work for you. Whereas with the first four steps, there is a fair bit of overlap in the activities being done, with the last two – it’s extremely individual.
And that’s ok.
The important thing is to remember this is your path to walk!
I posted on Facebook recently about having a couple of slots for coaching and that I offer Brigid VIP days. And ok, I know this is the first time I’ve been public about this, so it’s not overly surprising that this was confusing for some people.
In this post, I’ll explore what the Brigid VIP day is, what structure it can take and how it can help your Brigid journey. (And don’t worry if you’re not travelling to Ireland any time soon – there’s a section at the end for you!)
What is a VIP day?
Essentially? A day where you get treated as a VIP. It’s often described something along the lines of a “high-impact session where a coach dedicates their focused attention for an entire day to one client“. Now, when I say “day” here, it usually includes, breakfast, lunch, and approx 6 hours of dedicated coaching.
Why yes, food is provided. The purpose of the day is to focus on what you specifically want and need. What are the urgent issues and obstacles facing you in your spiritual journey? (I know I’ve written about my coaching before, but this is far more intensive and focused. More on the fire than the water path!)
Now, as part of the VIP day in general, as I mentioned above, you get fed. But this isn’t just any auld sandwich and coffee. This is about making this day special and supportive for you.
This is one of my posh coaching pictures! Beautiful surroundings are an essential part of the process. And yes, I tend to dress up for at least part of the Brigid VIP days!
So, as part of our preparation for this day, we will be talking about the food and drink that best nourishes and supports you. What makes you feel like a VIP. And indeed, in many cases, why you feel you don’t deserve to be a VIP as well.
What makes a Brigid VIP day different?
Well, for a start, it’s Brigid based. As in, ye all know Brigid is my deity of choice. Kinda of choice, kinda by default. But we’ll leave that between me and herself. So, usually, when I take someone out for a VIP day, it’s heavily Brigid based.
We’ll visit Brigid’s Gardens in Kildare, or even pop down to Liscannor. Sometimes, we’ll spend a lot of time in the car… but equally, sometimes that means the in depth conversations come easier than if we’re sitting face to face.
We have longer to delve deep into the depths of what’s bothering you, holding you back, stopping you from grasping your spirituality with both hands and living your best life. Now, I know I have followers who have other deities as well – that’s grand. We can work through that as well.
The whole point is that you work on the things that are bothering you.
And fair warning – it’s not all spiritual in this. Seriously. We can start off by working on your spiritual journey and end up talking about how you’re gonna start up your own business to support yourself better in life. (True story).
How does this work
Well here’s the thing. The “day” involves a lot of preparation. And if you are to get the most out of it, you need to be involved in this preparation. And I really do want you to get the best out of your Brigid VIP day.
Step 1 is contacting me, saying you are interested in a VIP day. Seriously -the amount of people that overlook this step… and then appear more in the step 2 or 5 or something… So, if you’re interested in a VIP day, contact me first.
Step 2 is a call with me, to see if a VIP day is actually what you want or need. Y’see, I want this to be valuable, transformative, engaging and exactly what you want and need right now. If you insist, I will accommodate you, of course, unless I feel like it’s completely inappropriate for you. But there may be a better means to accomplish what you want and need. And I will point that out to you!
Step 3 is when we decide on the day. It’s a mutually agreeable day with no other commitments or responsibilities on either side. I mean, I barely even talk to my darlin husband on these days!!
Step 4 is when I confirm the basics with you: times, food preferences, what makes you feel like a VIP, what sort of experience do you want this to be. (Some people prefer more conversation, talking, others prefer more ritual and experiential. Still others go for a mix).
Step 5 is the Brigid VIP Day itself (see the next heading)
Step 6 is the follow up. You’ll get two weeks of WhatsApp contact with me to help cement in the learnings of the day. And of course, there’s always email with random questions that can be made more general.
The Brigid VIP day itself
So, the Brigid VIP day will start off with coffee or breakfast. I find 9am or 10am is the best starting time. It’s late enough that you can have a bit of a lie on and early enough to fit in a good 6 hours of engagement before we drop from exhaustion.
Oh, sorry, is that a spoiler? These days tend to be intense and that’s also why they’re not for everyone. When we look at a Brigid Vip Day, it takes the inensity of Brigid in the forge or the Healer with an emergency and focuses it tenfold.
This is a day for you. And part of that means you get fed, watered, rested when you need to. And this forms part of my discussions for the day involved.
So, we’ll start off with a quick chat, to outline the plan for the day and make sure we need no last minute changes. (A twisted ankle might put paid to the extensive period we planned on the beach for example. That’s ok, there’s always alternatives!)
Then we’ll get breakfast. Or we may even have the chat over breakfast. Now, this is important. You don’t put your hand in your pocket for the entire day and you choose exactly what it is you want whenever we stop for a meal, a cuppa or a snack. The amount of arguments I get over this. The pure hesitancy people feel about just receiving things. It’s a skill and I will help you learn it. 😏
Then we’ll head into the morning session. This usually lasts about 2-2.5 hours. If we are doing experiential stuff, this is when I prefer to do it. So, if we’re visiting someplace. Or working with our bodies. Maybe doing a ritual. It helps to do this physical stuff in the morning and work up a good appetite for lunch, in my opinion.
This is subject to weather occasionally. Or your preferences. I mean, if you want to spend the morning preparing for ritual and the afternoon in ritual, that’s absolutely fine. Like I keep saying, this is your day.
Then we have a nice long lunch. With or without alcohol, according to your preference. If you are doing a specific sort of ritual after lunch, we may have a light lunch and a more luxurious dinner later on. It depends on what’s happening.
The afternoon is another 2-2.5 hours session as well, then. And again – it depends on your preferences.
How many times will I type out the sentence “This is your Brigid VIP Day” in this post?
But I’ll keep saying it.
By the end of the day, you’ll have had a transformative experience. You’ll be clear on what’s next for you. You’ll feel excited, happy, engaged.
And we will plan an official follow up call as well. Just to make sure things bed in.
But what about if I’m not in Ireland?
Well there’s a few ways to do this. First off, if you wish, you can pay for my airfare to where ever you are and pay for overnight accommodation (if it’s needed). I will say though, that if it’s a flight of over 6 hours, I will be insisting on business class for the trip back. Purely for my own sanity. In that case, I will check out the local restaurants in advance, do the driving etc. and the day follows on as above.
But I do see that the above is not an option for a lot of people. Many of you have pointed out if you had the money to pay for my air fares, you’d have the money for your own blessed airfares anyway… Which is very true. But if a Brigid VIP day is something you are really interested in and travel isn’t an option for you, it might be possible for me. Keep that in mind.
Virtual Brigid VIP Day
I have run virtual days before. Now, I’m going to say, the experience isn’t quite the same – virutal hugs are not the same as real hugs. I don’t care what anyone says.
But the value from the day is the same. There are ways to work around almost anything. Want a live video visit to Brigid’s Gardens in Kildare? Totally doable.
A particular type of food? I’ll need your address, but it will be delivered.
Want a day out of your normal environs? Tell me the criteria and I’ll arrange somewhere with internet connections for us to meet.
The preparation, the transformation, the conversations… all of these will be as good as the real-life Brigid VIP Day. Trust me. But I do want to make this accessible to everyone. Possible one key difference is we will have more movement breaks on a virtual day. Even if it’s just a head roll, we will move more consciously, because we will probably be moving less in general.
But we will still spend the time in preparation. If there are specific materials we need, I will arrange to have them delivered to you. (I say that like it will be a personal carrier, but honestly, internet shopping is my forte.) If the day devolves into an online shopping trip, because that’s what you need – this will happen. (And yes, it has happened. I am an expert in finding clothes that fit larger bodies, are comfy and look good. And sometimes, you want to find something particular for your spiritual work and finding the right clothes, in the right sizes, and of the right quality is a task in itself.)
Finishing up now
Cost of a Brigid VIP day depends on a lot of different factors, as these tend to be bespoke days. But if this sounds like something you are interested in, give me a shout and we will set up a call.
I honestly didn’t believe the value of these days until I went on one myself. And it was amazing. I mean, ok, mine involved a morning dip in the Pacific which was pure heavenly and for most of the year in Ireland, foreigners tend to need wetsuits for the Atlantic. So, y’know. It can’t be a direct replication.
But no two days are. Because these are bespoke to you, your relationship to yourself, to Brigid, to your spirituality… they are all unique days.
Hope that answers all the questions people have been asking, but sure shout up if not and I’ll reply! orlagh@mybrigidsforge.com
