The Shining Ones Speak

I have recently read comments by people on how they feel separated or distant from the Gods, or, as we call them in ADF, the Shining Ones. Of all the Kindreds, they are the entities that differ from us the most. The Ancestors are those that we knew, or at least knew of. The Nature Spirits are those that inhabit this middle realm with us. The Shining Ones, well, they are very different from ourselves.

We really do not know what they look like and are equally unaware of what they are made of. We are puzzled by how they communicate with us, yet we believe in them.

The real question is how they will react to our entreaties.

In ADF ritual, we believe that a part of the return flow is the blessings of the Kindreds which descend into the Waters of Life. What happens when, after building a relationship with the Shining Ones, do they speak to us?

The Shining Ones Speak with Silence.

I do daily devotionals every day. This is part of the way that I build relationships with the Kindreds. As part of those devotionals, I do ask the Shining Ones for their help, with healing, and with other things. I have great faith in the fact that the Shining Ones will hear my requests and, if it is in the realm of possibility and if it is pleasing to the Shining Ones, they will grant my request. I do not, however, expect a sign or an indication of their involvement.

What is it that I experience with these requests? A profound silence.

As speech-enabled humans, we expect interchange when we speak or request of others. This is a typically human perspective and does not necessarily reflect the way in which the Shining Ones interact with us. While it may the case that the Shining Ones speak loudly with some individuals, it does not necessarily mean that this is the way that they interact with most people.

In my limited experience, silence does not indicate indifference, but perhaps “no news is good news”. If you send out a prayer or a request for healing or some other boon, remember that silence is often the currency of the Shining Ones. The Gods are Gods of Silence.

The Shining Ones Speak through Action.

Many of the things that we ask of the Shining Ones may border on the intangible. I need a job, I need a lover, I need to be free from the worries that I am laboring under. Regardless of our relationship with the Shining Ones, they may decide that our request will not be acted upon, either at all, or right now. We will return to this topic in the next section.

In RDNA ritual, thunder during the Offering/Sacrifice portion of the ritual meant that the ritual was over. This is an example of action on the part of the Shining Ones. While I think this is extremely rare, I think such elemental signs, such as thunder or lightening, are not to be ignored. This is especially true if the ritual is outdoors. Thunder and lightning can be unkind to carbon-based life forms.

Very recently, when one of my dear pets was gravely ill, I called out to Manannan mac Lir, that well-known Irish psychopomp, to help carry her on her way to the next life. While it pained me to do so, it was the right thing to do. No sooner that I called out to Manannan mac Lir, in my time of greatest need, I felt my good friend slip away peacefully. While the event left me with great sadness, it also left me with a sense of relief that Manannan mac Lir had come to me when I needed him most. The Gods are Gods of action.

The Shining Ones Speak in Time.

I believe that the Shining Ones have a distinctly different appreciation of time than we do. Time constrains us, we are defined by time, and we are at the mercy of time. We live within three dimensions, length, width, and height. We are three-dimension creatures moving through a multi-dimensional time/space, and we cannot control the time component.

Time moves at a definite pace for the entities in the middle realm. Day follows night follows day, and twenty-four hours defines the day. The Shining Ones experience time in a different way. I believe that for creatures that are timeless, “now” has a totally different meaning than it does for us.

When we ask the Shining Ones for help, it is best, unless it is an extreme emergency, to not ask for a specific timeline. Entities that exist outside of time may not necessarily experience time in the same way that we do.

What is now?

A request to the Shining Ones, if it is acted upon by them, may come immediately or at any random period. I remember asking the Shining Ones for help during my divorce of many years ago. My divorce lasted almost five years.  It is very possible that they heard my request and granted it at the time that my divorce ended. The resolution to other issues may come about when others involved in the request – or even myself – no longer exist. The answer to a prayer may come at any time in the time stream of our lives.

For this reason, I say that the Shining Ones Speak in Time. This doesn’t mean that they speak in the language of time, but that they speak in their own time. A day of Brahma, or a kalpa, lasts 4.32 billion years. Human life is much briefer than that. While I presume that the Kindreds are much more present in our world, things happen in their own time. I keep on praying and keep on believing that the Shining Ones listen and that the Shining Ones understand. The Gods are Gods of Time.

When we think about our interactions with the Shining Ones, I always try t0 remember that they can read our thoughts, our minds, and our prayers. I trust they will respond with radiance, wisdom, and understanding.