Questions about OBOD's course

[blodyn]

TeoBishop,

Thank you!

Right now I am anxiously awaiting the next installment of gwersi! Shouldn't be much longer. I have decided to go with the audio course and really look forward to learning.

Blessings to you!

[JustEd]

My first instalment of the audio course should be showing up soon...I hope lol. So very excited....but the ocean is so vast and the wait so terrible!!

[MissBotanicals]

I was wondering if you need to be a poetic person to do the bard course? Cause I am afraid I am not a very poetic person. Although I love art, and getting creative in other ways. Just wondering if the bard course places emphasis on writing your own poetry.

[Selene]

No, poetry isn't at all a prerequisite—the Bardic course is about creativity (among other things) but that creativity can take as many forms as there are people who do the course. However, don't be surprised if one day you discover that you're a more poetic person than you thought—it wouldn't be the first time a Bard found a poetic voice he didn't even know he had.

[MiriamSPia]

Hope that you like it. Have you committed to doing yet? Selene makes a nice point. What it is, is that just like in real life people differ in which aspect of the course comes most easily and naturally and what doesn't.

[Womble]

No, poetry isn't at all a prerequisite—the Bardic course is about creativity (among other things) but that creativity can take as many forms as there are people who do the course. However, don't be surprised if one day you discover that you're a more poetic person than you thought—it wouldn't be the first time a Bard found a poetic voice he didn't even know he had.

I'm glad about that - I had an aversion to poetry for many years, brought on by having the works of Ted Hughes forced upon me at secondary school. I think I was put off by the constant requests to dissect the poems in minute detail rather than being allowed to enjoy them.

It was only by chance, that I happened upon 'Poetry Please' on Radio 4 late one evening and discovered that poetry is a wonderful thing.

I'm more of a musician than a poet, but I've started to write a lot more prose since starting the course, because it's made me do a lot more thinking.

[MissBotanicals]

Ahh okie! Thanks for replying! I haven't ordered the course yet, but will do soon after I come back from a trip to England next week.

[Frog]

... I think I was put off by the constant requests to dissect the poems in minute detail rather than being allowed to enjoy them....

It's an interesting and useful comment. I wonder how many people are put off because their schooling has formed their mindsets into what they are and are not capable of?

It's a shame that for many we feel that we are not any good at something because we're using artificial comparators. I believe everyone has a creative spark in them - it's about having the confidence to use it to light the fires and enjoy the warmth that it brings; even if the fire's just big enough for one to warm themselves.

[Hilla]

Every picture we paint, is a beautiful picture

and every song we sing with our heart, is a beautiful song,

the same with poems .... as long as our heart dwells in it ... Hilla

[MissBotanicals]

Just like to say that my intro course arrived last week! I have read through most of it and going to start the actual lessons this weekend!
I was suprised by the amount of material I recieved, definitely worth the money.

[SilverLeaf]

Hi, I just signed up for the Bardic course! SO excited. When I receive my books and study material, is this when I will be assigned a tutor and access as a student on the website?

Thank you!
SL

[Lily]

The info how to get a tutor will be included in the first gwersi. You have to ASK for one when you are ready, you are not automatically assigned one.
How to get into the locked area for bards is at the top of that subforum... "deeper into the forest".

[SilverLeaf]

Much obliged, Lily. Thank you!

[LoonyLuna]

Hi all,

I originally sent of for the Intro package 7 or so years ago (I think? ), at the time I was very early on the road of exploring my Pagan path, and at the time decided that the course was not for me. It is not until very recently that my path as come full circle and brought me back to Druidry.

I did keep the intro pack for sometime, I keep everything else Pagan related, but it seems when I felt the need to return to it, it had been waylaid (Probably by the same gremlins who wander off with my keys occasionally! )

So I ordered another intro pack and was very pleased to find that there was now a CD version as well.

The intro Gwers really appealed to me this time, and perhaps it is time (and life, divorce, kids, extensive reading, et al) that has helped me make sense (if that's the right word) of it.

I've ordered both the paper and CD versions, and look forward to this journey.

[Kima]

I signed up for the bardic grade today and am very excited. I waited 7 months after discovering druidry but now it's finally done I can't wait for the first gwersi to arrive! I'm also a little anxious as I wonder what effect it will have on my life... I was brought up as an Evangelical so it can all be a bit scary

[Kima]

I received both the introductory gwersi and the first monthly package on Monday. I have started to listen to them and am very happy Yay!

[Selene]

Hope you enjoy the course, Kima!

[MyrddinArtorius]

Greetings Everyone,

I am new to the board here but not knew to Paganism or Druidry or reviewing the OBOD main page. A little over a year ago I found my way to this organization and have had multiple times contemplated on ordering the course. As like some of you I had the issue of finances being a major hindrance on ordering this course. Most of you have answered my original questions within the 15 pages associated with this discussion although I do have a few more.

I have been on a pagan path from my very early teens first starting with Wicca and then evolving onward always with a strong draw towards the Celtic pantheon. Do you think that with close to 13 years of experience that a person will progress through the courses quicker than a person with no experience at all? I have read multiple books through out the years always as a solitary and with ancestral guides in my dreams having major Druidic influence in my path have always considered myself a druid just lacking organizational training.

The main reasons I wish to take these courses is to have that organizational training and affiliation that my spirit requires. To my knowledge there are no pagan organizations in my immediate vicinity and I wish to start one but the lack of organizational training is a hindrance in such matters. My spirit is telling me to take this course as soon as finances allow to make up for that lacking. I also remember reading that at one point taking this course would offer credits towards Oxford. I do not know if this is still the case but if so could someone please inform me as I wish to do my graduate program there after I finish my Bachelors degree.

May Awen find its way into your hearts through the illumination of rhymes,
MyrddinArtorius

[Selene]

Do you think that with close to 13 years of experience that a person will progress through the courses quicker than a person with no experience at all?

Hi,MyrddinArtorius,

I haven't observed that to be the usual case, probably because there's much more to the Bardic course than just the basics, but each person experiences things differently so I wouldn't want to say you wouldn't. It takes a year, minimum, and I think most people, regardless of background, take from 18 months to two (and often more) years to work through the course to their satisfaction. But since it's the journey, not the destination , this isn't a bad thing!

As for college credit, I don't know whether any programs such as you describe are in place now or not. But if you write the OBOD office (office@druidry.org) with that question I'm sure you can get a definitive answer.

Blessings,
Selene

[Susanne]

I haven't observed that to be the usual case, probably because there's much more to the Bardic course than just the basics, but each person experiences things differently so I wouldn't want to say you wouldn't. It takes a year, minimum, and I think most people, regardless of background, take from 18 months to two (and often more) years to work through the course to their satisfaction. But since it's the journey, not the destination , this isn't a bad thing!

Hi MyrddinArtorius
I agree with Selene wholeheartedly. I started the Bardic course last July and can pretty much guarantee that I won't be done by next July. I have studied may different spiritual paths over my years & have been Pagan for many years. I am very familiar with some of the concepts of the Bardic coursework but they are presented in such unique ways that tie it all together with Druidry that in some ways for me it is like learning it all over again. It is something that I like to savor and not just cruise through. As Selene said....it's the journey, not the destination...
Sue