Why go through all the training?

[wolf560]

Someone asked me this on a different website; specifically since I was 'already a Druid, why on Earth do it all over again from scratch?'

This was my answer

I am already an fully educated Druid (a "card carrying member") and yet I am going through it all over again with the NOD and the ADF as well. Why?

Because I get to explore what I know, what I thought I knew, and what I sometimes discover I do not know at all. Because I get to interact with people on an occasional basis and explore what they know. Because I can exercise my mind a little bit every day as I read what is on all of these boards.


To me that is what being a Druid is all about; learning, growing, and trying to carry on with a tradition that my Ancient Ancestors might have been proud of. To learn as much as I can and be there in case someone has a question. To be one of the people making sure this tradition does not slip quietly back into the mists of time.


I believe the Ancient Druids believed that as much knowledge as possible had to be well known and reinforced so people would never forget it. I believe that in order to do so they must have had places where Druids could recite it daily, test each others memory, and form a 'group mind' effort so that what was remembered was a true to the original thought as possible. the only way that could have happened is a gathering of a lot of educated people that could just talk and talk and talk.


That means that in at least one place in their area a large group of Druids just sat and talked all day long. I believe the discussion and not the coursework is where we will find our strongest contribution to the continuation of Druidry. The Rituals are fine and of course we get to carry magic tools all shiny and sharp which we can drape our wonderful cloaks over. But this is only the part of Druidry that the outside world sees and not the system of education behind it.


These essays are important so that we have a solid foundation of knowledge from which to expand from. I thoroughly enjoy both reading the coursework and writing the essays but by far what I love is the discussions it generates.

[Bartholomew]

I intend to do the OBOD course. I have it, and need to finish paying for it despite my recent surprising challenges from certain folk on this board. I hold no grudges but would only repeat something I feel to be true. The Druid networks and forums are a very public platform for Druid learning and living. I have found them invaluable and have been ashamed and amazed at how little I knew, even of things such as my own Ancestry.
I still have a lot to learn and do and I get so easily sidetracked into doing other things in other areas. There are no end of courses available in complementary therapies that interest me, examining real cadavers in London for more knowledge of bones and muscles is on offer this year. A bit grisly and controversial. And the The Open University is offering courses in Philosophy, so the list goes on.
So I think coming here and discussing helps to keep a focus and connection and I would say that you would have to search very hard to find people with similar interests in everyday life. So thanks to you all for sharing.

[Crimson Stormfire]

my two cents are from something i read somewhere, i live it. and have modified it

"a druid seeks not answers in a real sense but seeks more question, in an endless search for truth and knowledge. when one question is undoubtedly answered inevitably more questions arise. as we are never done learning we are never done questioning. every answer therefore has hidden questions that deserve to be sought out."


example for a time the sky just was and it just was blue no explanation as to why, then someone asked, and someone answered, that answer led to more questions like how and what, those answered more questions arose whats its composition? what does it do exactly? how does it function? why does exist? what if anything lives there? etc etc etc...even though we can find most answers through science and faith still more questions can be asked about something as simple as a blue sky. discussion and arguments, prose and poems, thoughts and rambling musings of sages, all lead to answers but also lead to more questions that in turn lead to a greater truth in us all.

so repeating training with better understanding than before raises more questions and receives more question leading to better knowledge and understanding and one step closer to the greater truth of all things.
at least thats my take on the whole thing

[reilz81]

my two cents are from something i read somewhere, i live it. and have modified it

"a druid seeks not answers in a real sense but seeks more question, in an endless search for truth and knowledge. when one question is undoubtedly answered inevitably more questions arise. as we are never done learning we are never done questioning. every answer therefore has hidden questions that deserve to be sought out."

your quote above is something i do every day not only in a druid sense but when im programming when i find 1 bug another 50 come forth its like we find that question then we master that question and find it was hiding a slew of other questions

[DaRC]

Hmmm this reminds me of some questions a while ago in another time and place
- the questions are in italics my answers, admittedly deliberately obtuse and somewhat flippant, aren't

1. What is a Druid?
A Natural Philosopher who follows the streams of Draiocht in search of Salmon stuffed with Hazel Nuts.
(Recipe available upon request)

2. What characterizes a Druid?
The three foundations of Druidry :
Knowledge in the study of the land, traditions and schools.
Experience in being aware at each moment of this time and place.
Understanding in the evaluation and analysis of Knowledge and Experience.

3. How does a Druid handle disagreement and/or controversy?
By walking softly with a big carrot and a small stick.

4. What is the worldview of Druidry?
A Welshman, a New Worlder and a Dolphin walk into a bar.
The Welshman says "If you're not Welsh boyo you can't be a Druid."
The American says "I've read Llewellyn's 21 Lesson of Merlin and know all things Druidic."
The Dolphin clicks "My name's Dylan and I'm only here for the fish."
Who's brother is the druid?

5. Can one even ask such questions? (That is, is there any such thing as a "typical" Druid?)
Confucius said,
"Exploring the old and deducing the new makes a druid."

[DJ Droood]

2. What characterizes a Druid?

I'm sorry DaRC, but I'm afraid this post shows that you lack two essential elements for being a Druid...you don't take yourself too seriously, and you appear to have a sense of humour....thank you...we will keep your resume on file if a position becomes available.

[FoxPhantom]

So by looking in what the order has to offer, that it's like asking a question finishing a answer, and another question pops up in place of the previous?

[DaRC]

Ahh DJ Droood does that mean I go to the back of the queue
Ok I'll have to remain a little Heathen then
- I blame me mum she thought I should choose to be baptised rather than do it at birth....
I chose rugby
I don't think that was quite the decision she hoped for.

[DJ Droood]

- I blame me mum she thought I should choose to be baptised rather than do it at birth....
I chose rugby

You are your own blood sub.

[Crimson Stormfire]

my two cents are from something i read somewhere, i live it. and have modified it

"a druid seeks not answers in a real sense but seeks more question, in an endless search for truth and knowledge. when one question is undoubtedly answered inevitably more questions arise. as we are never done learning we are never done questioning. every answer therefore has hidden questions that deserve to be sought out."

your quote above is something i do every day not only in a druid sense but when im programming when i find 1 bug another 50 come forth its like we find that question then we master that question and find it was hiding a slew of other questions

exactly.....

[griffingirl]

I agree with the dolphin I am here for the fish

I haven't started the training but I am happy to realize that it involves story.

See you along the path.

[Huathe]

I started following a path of druidry and taking the NOD courses initially as a way to get closer to Mother Nature, God and to learn a little more of my Celtic ancestors. But it has turned out to be so much more. Formal druidic education teaches one so much about himself/herself that it changes you. I am not saying it could not happen with a lay or hedge druid ( One self-taught ) but I feel a druid is like a pastor. Generally the best pastors have a formal education. But I am not saying they are not exceptions.

I agree with Wolf. The learning experience itself makes it all worthwhile. After all, druids are learners.

[illion]

When I started the training I felt an urgent need for direction. I think that the bardic grade has given me that. Direction, confidence and someone to connect to.

[dvawlqos]

For the same reason that a martial artist takes karate lessons. You need a base to explore from. The methods of Druidry are just one set of tools in a rather large set, and until you understand your tools and the possibilities of them, you won't use them well. I don't think one organisation is enough though -- then you stagnate into a devotee of one sect or one set of ideas.

[Frog]

I think it's important to question what you believe in - and the different courses do allow you to look at what you believe from a different angle. However though, I think that the courses are only one part of that - allowing others to prompt your thinking, perhaps in an area that you haven't thought about for some time.

What I've taken from my druidic training is to consider what I believe about gods, goddesses and ancestor spirits - as well as my role in this life. What I have found through the interaction on this forum is that where I might have thought "well, what I think is different from what a Druid thinks" is now more "well, we all seem to think differently from each other, and yet with a common thread."

[envelope]

Do you actually carry a card? If the answer is yes, do you ever use it to impress people at parties and/or bars?

[Kima]

I sometimes wonder why I pay for all the training. I know the reasons that motivated my decision: OBOD is a large and diverse order and I really fell for the audio course. Listening to the gwers makes a big difference for me: I can hear the voice of other druids and that time is completely set apart from other activities. I become part of an oral tradition and cannot rely, as I usually do, on the written word. This makes for an interesting experience.

Still, I feel lucky to be able to afford the course. After all, there are many valid courses available for free on the internet, and the only reason I am able to pay for the bardic grade is that the British pound is low in comparison to the Swiss franc at the moment. If the exchange rate was as high as it was only a couple of years ago, I don't think I could take the course.