The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, and Seekers

This book always seems to show up in recommendations for Celtic pagan resources, but I don't really see why. It often tries to reconcile Christianity with paganism, and that just doesn't work no matter how much you want it to. And though it has a few good points and ideas, it falls very short in all other ways. It's basically just a guy babbling on and on about his spiritual experiences, which is all good and well if it's put forth as one person's experience rather than trying to call it a guide book for Celtic spirituality.

This book touched my soul. Clearly written, personal, a book with true spirtual guidance for those Americans who feel their distance Irish or Scottish roots, but don't quite understand them. From the first chapter, Frank MacEowen spells out the realities of our society and why we are so discontented. Throughout the book he includes the universal themes of the major religions with Celtic beliefs in a way that makes sense. He puts into words so many things in life I wondered about but didn't understand. He also includes practices, which are like meditations to help heal your soul. The book has changed my life. It has given me great comfort. I reread it often. My Irish heart has found the door it was yearning for.

The Mist-Filled Path is a timely and inspiring message to wake up from the often tedious and soul-numbing industrial world. It's focus is Celtic (particularly Irish and Scottish), but certainly it transcends culture, and may sing in the spirits of people of many cultures. I feel this is a particularly important "call" in a place such as the U.S. where we have often lost a connection to our roots, culturally and spiritually. If we do not know from whom and where we have come from, it is difficult to know who we are now, and where we are going. This book is not about going back, and romanticizing the past, but rather about engaging the living stream of the Celtic spirit, to orient ourselves in the direction of a soulful and life-affirming future. One of the negative reviewers called it "new agey", and though I respect the right of other's to their opinion, I have to say that I disagree. I think in a world full of Llewellyn print books and shady scholarship, Frank's work is one of authenticity. The role of the ancient druid was essentially to hold the memory of the tribe (amongst other things). That role is no different in the modern world, though perhaps its method has changed. Frank lyrically reminds us of who we are in a world that drives us to be what he calls sleepwalkers. You, my friend, are a druid. This pint is for you. Slainte

The Mist-Filled Path is a book that truly conveys the essence of the human spiritual search in action from a Celtic perspective. What I liked about it so much was how human the author is. We are really brought along on his journey and I felt changed because of it. At every turn MacEowen offers us an inside view of the inner landscape of someone who has authentically been called to the shaman's path in modern life, and who lives life according to the shaman's heart. Such a book is able to see the interconnections between cultures, peoples, religions, in way that re-sanctifies the human condition of all people--whatever ethnicity or culture. In The Mist-Filled Path the reader will learn about the various expressions of the Celtic spirit--the pagan, druid, shamanistic, and the Celtic-Christian. The reader will also be given various meditations and exercises that aid in developing an expanded sense of consciousness about a number of topics: the elements, the sacred flow of time, working with nature as a healing guide, etc. This is not a textbook. The Mist-Filled Path is a living spirit; a truly relevant and timely message, expressed as a collection of teachings and ideas in the true Celtic storytelling style. MacEowen's harrowing experiences of near-death, his experiences doing a traditional Sun Dance with the Lakota Sioux people, and rediscovering the living wisdom of his Irish and Scottish ancestors makes for a powerful reading experience. The Mist-Filled Path left me with a greater understanding of why the various expressions of the Celtic traditions were pushed down (or "eclipsed" as MacEowen says), and why they are re-emerging today. A remarkable and fascinating book.

I was immediately drawn to this book from its beautful cover. It is a book whose cover and title lives up to its contents. What a powerful, honest, gripping, adventurous, and stirring book. I felt blessed to read it. It brings together the best of the Celtic spirit, both in ancient and new ways that are relevant to us all, whoever we are. The Mist-Filled Path offers a helpful way of thinking and spiritual practice to anyone, whatever their culture might be, because the vision of the book is of an enlightened society where everyone can be truly and fully themselves. This book is a combination of Celtic sacred teachings and teaching stories, with a real call to action for each of us to investigate our lives in a new and fresh way. I was left with such a feeling of empowerment and hope in my life from Frank's words.