“Then we had better go to the top of Helgafell. Plans made there have never been known to fail.”
.. LEGEND OF HELGAFELL ..
Cross onself over the grave of Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir.
Walk without looking aside or turning back.
Walk only with the purest of intentions.
Do not talk while walking.
Think only pure thoughts.
Do all these, and one may
make three wishes
at the top of the mount, facing East.
Never tell anyone of the wishes.
ABOUT FOCUSED INTENTIONS
The legend of Helgafell has passed through the fingers of time like whispers behind hands, words always changing and shifting around a grain of truth. Distant Sagas tell us that the mountain was holy to Thor and should not be looked upon by the unwashed, later stories that it was holy to God and prayers should be said at the monastery, and later still, folkloric tales emerged hinting that the three wishes could be obtained by walking the mountain without looking aside from the trail. The grain of truth remains, however.
The mountain, rising out of the flat plains, was a singular entity.
. . .
Without talking, without looking aside, my mind was focused on the trail beneath my feet. Watching the passing of red tinged grasses and bilberry patches amongst the stones.
It was one of the most silent walks I have ever made.
Ascended now, I knelt in the tiny church, resting my head on the stones of the Eastern wall, I revealed my wishes to the wind.
This focused way of walking seemed to me to be linked with the making of the wishes, and like others that came before me, I felt bound by the legend to follow its rules, lest my wishes would not come true. Such was the superstition that guided me, -at the bottom of the mount, to cross myself over the grave of a figure long dead. But, halfway up, the superstitious nature of the thing began to fall from my mind, the rules only being there to guide the walker in their act of walking with intent, and thus I began to feel that my focus was aiding in the eventual creation of my wishes, that my physical actions were in some way channeling my thoughts.
. . .
My experience on Helgafell was a beautiful reminder that my attentions are important. To be present, to walk with blessings on the land, to manifest my creative visions, all this requires a quiet focus on the present moment.
I birth my own future, through each step I take; through each calculated or uncalculated decision, word or action, I am constantly creating my world. My thoughts and daydreams may also be given form in this way - and thus, I am reminded to dream with care.
“Follow, follow the sun
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done
Breathe, breathe in the air
Set your intentions
Dream with care”
