The Angel of Iona
Written by Andrew Powell
As the dawn stretched its first blush over our retreat house Traigh Bhan, the world seemed to hold its breath. Each daybreak began, not with sound, but with a profound, ancient silence that rippled through air and sea, binding all who ventured here to a timeless, resonant peace. The sunrise itself was an invocation, an elemental hymn casting colours that blended sky, mountain, and water into a boundless, swirling symphony – a symphony only nature could compose and we, silent witnesses, could absorb. Its antediluvian crown of colour upon the majestic mountains opens the mind in awe and humility. A pristine longing sits in the space between worlds, a longing to rise above life’s limitations and shine into this expansive sky. Introducing our guests to this elemental connection is a priceless gift of communion with life.
A sacred pilgrimage
Dun I, Isle of Iona
Standing upon this sacred soil, one felt drawn to Dun-I, that towering sentinel of memory, wisdom, and mystery. The mountain whispered secrets older than language, older than thought itself, each stone and crevice a chapter in the tale of Earth’s first dreams. Climbing its path was a pilgrimage, a slow ritual of ascent, where each footfall seemed to echo through an eternity. Upon reaching its crest, we were met by a sweeping, untamed panorama – a grand meeting place where Earth reached sky and heaven touched soil. Here, the energies of the world seemed to funnel upward, flowing like an underground river to the mountain's peak, a place where spirit and flesh dissolved into an endless dance of wind and light.
Andrew meditating at well of youth
Up there, the bounds of self softened; we felt drawn beyond the limits of body and mind, pulled into the cosmic embrace of life’s pure rhythm. Laughing into gusts of wild wind, spinning upon the stones, we were transformed, each movement a brush stroke in nature’s great canvas of jubilant existence. Our souls, so often shielded by the iron vestiges of daily struggle, now softened and opened, illuminated by something radiant and ancient. In those rare, crystalline moments, we could feel the spirits of the land, not as separate entities but as cohabitants of our own awareness – the trees, the rocks, the pools, even the sky itself, held within us, vast and still.
Being held by the Angel of Iona
Traigh Bhan
Time moves differently here. In the quiet hum of the mountain, with no need to speak or even think, we became part of the immense silence of creation. And in that silence, we found the Angel of Iona, or rather, she found us – an ephemeral presence woven from the golden light and calm that suffuses every breath and leaf. She held us in the vast kindness of her gaze, a love so deep and enduring it defied understanding. Here, we were asked to let go, to dissolve, to open the tightly held chambers of our hearts and let in her gift of pure, transcendent love.
Her song was one of oneness, a melody that wrapped through every neural fibre of our minds. The golden energy she offered was like sunlight itself, filling the unseen spaces within, radiating outward to connect each of us in a tapestry of infinite compassion and the awakening consciousness of loving kindness. She did not speak but sang, a soundless tune that conveyed meaning beyond words, a path beyond steps, an invitation to tread the quiet road of love and kindness, to place foot upon the stones of peace and acceptance. For those willing to listen, she offered a way home – a way to be part of this luminous, eternal landscape, to be transformed by it, to become one with it.
The essence of Traigh Bhan
At night the great glowing form of the moon rises over our little home, a luminous empress gliding along her royal pathway surrounded by her immense entourage of shining stars and celestial bodies. We gather around grandfather fire with the subtle folk of the land, feeling the story of her life and loves. We witness from the in between and allow the light and the warmth to dance around us and inspire us to song, and sharing.
Within this unfolding experience, we carried the Spirit of Iona with us, a light that lingered in our eyes, a quiet rhythm that beat in our hearts, forever altered by the touch of the angel, the mountain, and the sea. To stand there once, even for a breath, was to carry a piece of that sacred place forever, a reminder that somewhere within us, as vast as the sea, as unyielding as the mountain, as tender as the dawn, lay a truth beyond any word – a truth woven into the fabric of our being, asking only to be lived.
The wellspring of Peace and Stillness
We find our way through earth and element, nature and beauty, appreciation and kindness, forgiveness and acceptance. To that wellspring of peace and stillness, the quiet place within and without to meet the Angel of Iona.
A blessing from Iona – returning to a place of Oneness
Calmness and compassion surrounds you, the power of absolute love holds you and asks you to open your heart further to accept the gift of transcendent love and be forever changed. This golden energy fills the spaces in between all and connecting all, filling each atom with infinite love and radiating through all consciousness. Returning you to a place of oneness. The Angel of Iona sings of joy and grace and shows the way to walk the path of loving kindness, that very first stepping stone clear and steadfast for those who wish to hear her words and open to the light of realisation.
