BUILDING A MINDFUL CARIN

by Colleen Cannon

Cairns (or balanced rock piles) are made to mark a path or trail, and are on the summits of mountains. I like to use them to set intentions!

At Women’s Quest we like to PLAY, and the fun of making carins are a favorite way to focus on gratitude, our blessings, and to “mark our path” towards our goals and intentions.

Calling in the forces of the rocks to help us find our way

Build a carin of stones, balancing the pile with mindful intention and delight in the process. A carin can be as small as 3 stacked rocks, or a more elaborate layering of progressively smaller stones.

1) Use your Cairn to set your INTENTION for the day or year. You can do this on your desk, in a creek, or anywhere that you regularly visit. Each stone symbolizes as aspect of your intention. You can also use it to set your intention for a RELATI0NSHIP, noting the qualities you wish to cultivate in your connection with your partner, your family, or a work partnership.

2) BLESSING CARIN Stack up your blessings each day. many trails in Ireland, Scotland and Nepal you will see large cairns. Each person that walks by will put a blessing on the pile and add to the cairn. You can make a family-tree cairn and focus good energy towards your loved ones, and the Earth.

3) Use your cairn to explore what is going on in our life and to help you find BALANCE on the Path of Life. Building a carin can be tricky. If you start building your cairn and it falls over, find a more supportive rock for your base. Use your cairn-building as a creative meditation to help you find more peace and balance

4) Use your Cairn to symbolize PROTECTION. I made several Cairns in my yard to help ground and free up the energy in various places, using my intuition regarding their placement.