It was a hot day in early June for the second stage of our Sacred Waters Way 2021 pilgrimage, which this time was guided by the ‘new’ Totnes Team Rector, Fr Jim Barlow. It’s actually almost a year since Jim joined the Totnes ministry team and it has been a real pleasure to discover that he shares my environmental concerns, love of Eastern Orthodox Christian spirituality and openness to different faith perspectives, which is a fairly unusual combination! So this walk wove together being in nature, inspiration drawn from Christian and Jewish mysticism, and embodied elemental spiritual practices inspired by Qi Gong, as we wandered and wondered between Dartington and St. Mary’s church in Totnes.
We began at our previous destination, by the ancient yew at St. Mary’s Tower. Here we took time among the stones of the graveyard, to contemplate the element of earth and to settle into a deeper awareness of our own bony bodies, before setting off into Dartington Gardens to seek out the element of water. We then paused beside the recently restored well-spring pool, becoming aware of the flow of water within and without, and then followed the stream (which is sometimes above and sometimes below ground) through the gardens and meadows until we came to the River Dart. Thinking back to last month, when we met the river close to Staverton, she is now wider, deeper and seems to move more slowly on her own journey towards Totnes.
We took a longer pause where the cows come down to drink in the water meadows. Here we practised ‘body prayer’ with silent, simple movements that help with being more grounded, with becoming more aware of the natural flow of the breath and that encourage a sense of centredness and wellbeing. We were watched with interest by families of cows and assorted people drifting by on paddleboards. As one young boy said to his mum, ‘Why aren’t those people talking?’ A good question and one that highlights how rare silence is becoming, especially in company, and what a blessing it is to be quiet with each other within the family of all beings.
Our walk continued onto busier paths as we approached Totnes and paused again, close to the weir with its archimedes screw water turbine. This marks a shift from the downstream flow of the freshwater Dart into the beginning of a tidal Dart as she journeys on towards the sea. As we continued over the open space of a football field, we tuned into the element of air, which was blowing briskly over the summer grass. Town pavements then took us over the railway line, through the picturesque North Gate by Totnes Castle, past the medieval Guildhall and into the spacious church yard at St. Mary’s. It was easy to contemplate our final element of fire there, as we sat in the strong summer sun or took shelter from it in the shade of the medlar trees and shared reflections on the walk.
For most, our pilgrimage ended with a service of Vespers in the church, during which Fr Jim blessed the River Dart Charter and we presented a copy and a ‘How to Make a Charter’ document to the Church Warden, Julian Hall. All the wild elements from our walk were equally present; in the beautifully carved wood and shaped stone of the church’s body, in holy water, in the drifting incense and how our voices rose into the air, in light and fire as the early evening sun shone through the rich hues of stained glass and in the warm flicker of candlelight.
Words and images by Sam
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