Midyear Review of the Kibtisk Method

The Kibtisk year began on 20th March, and so now 6 months in, it is time for a midyear review.

Before I begin, I'd like to point out that from 5th August to 22nd September it was the Method Tide of Ihreiviraneut. With each Method Tide so far this year I have done an introductory blog post at the beginning of the Tide and then a reflection and review blog post at the end of the Tide. I have not done that with Ihreiviraneut.

Those of you who read my blog may recall the struggles I had during the previous Method Tide of Viraneut, and these struggles have continued, which has made it difficult for me to practise the Tide of Ihreiviraneut. This is because Viraneut was the Tide of Practising Love and Ihreviraneut is a continuation of that.

Now, as we enter the autumn and the natural midpoint of the year, I have begun to reflect and review the year and the Method Tide thus far. This includes reflecting on the concept of vira, which has been central to the past two Tides.

This year, I went to stay for a week with a friend near Wales to have a spiritual retreat and contemplate my journey and what I want to take forward with me. It was a pitstop on my journey; a time to rest and go through my bag and decide what to take with me and what to leave behind.

I have ended up rearranging my bag, not leaving anything behind, but organising it better in order to journey further.

I am of course referring to the philosophy and spirituality I have been attempting to undertake in the past few months: that of the Kibtisk Way and Method.

The reason I didn't blog about Ihreiviraneut is because I was considering making changes to the Kibtisk philosophy and spirituality. Having done a spiritual retreat and considered it further I am ready to begin making those changes. 

I have been offline for a while on the Kibtisk social media accounts and am now coming back online to prepare to implement those changes. 

Let me run though the biggest of those changes.

The Change:

My struggle with the concept of vira has been central to my reflection and review this month. 

When I first started conceptualising the Kibtisk Way and Method in 2017 it was centred around the three concepts of ardt (the soul: based on the element of earth), vitre (facilitating spirituality: based on the element of water), and ihre (the tone of a person/place: based on the element of air). These three ideas were interrelated and form the basics of the Kibtisk spiritual worldview. 

The forest waterfall - a perfect example of the combination of earth, water, and air that the Kibtisk Way posits.
Photo by Nashwan Guherzi from Pexels

It made sense to me at the time to add a fourth concept based on the element of fire, so that I could build a framework out of the four elements since I already had three of them as bases for notions. Thus I came up with the notion of vira: the home, the family, the warmth and safety of love. Upon reflection however, I am wondering whether this was the right decision.

Don't get me wrong - I believe in the validity of the concept, but during Viraneut I began questioning its place in the Kibtisk Way. 

The Effects:

This affects the Kibtisk Method, because the Method is based all around the interrelationships between these four notions (ardt, vitre, ihre, vira) the four elements (earth, water, air, fire), and the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter). By using these groups of four in relationship to each other, a methodical approach to the Kibtisk Way can be formed using the four seasons as we go throughout the year. By removing vira, the whole Method as it currently is falls apart.

This also affects the Kibtisk Way, however in a more positive way. 

Vira has been moved from being a Core Notion (which is what ardt, vitre, and ihre are) to being one of the Kibtisk virtues. This works well, as currently there are only two Kibtisk virtues, and so by adding vira we end up with three virtues, and three Core Notions. On top of this there is already the Three Principles, so we end up with three groups of three which is tidier. (Check out the What is Kibtisk? page on the Kibtisk Hub website for more information on this.)

Current Roadmap to the Kibtisk Way (about to change)

In other words, vira, which was one of the core ideas behind the Kibtisk Way, has now been moved to a virtue that the practitioner of the Kibtisk Way seeks to embody. 

What this means for the Kibtisk Way is that there are now three Basic Principles, three Core Notions, and three virtues, which is a nice tidy was of doing it. 

What this means for the Kibtisk Method though, is that a core component of the framework has been taken out. This means the Kibtisk Method is going to have to be reformulated. The Kibtisk Method as it currently is will no longer be a part of Kibtisk practice.

The Flow of the Method:

This is an interesting place to come to in just 6 months, but that was the point of me practising the Kibtisk Method and blogging about it: to see if there was any validity in a practical application of the Kibtisk philosophy. To get 6 months in and find that it needs reformulating is a good thing in some ways.

The main concept that has affected me during the past 6 months is that of vywe - such that I added it as a Basic Principle earlier this year (before that there were simply two). And as I sat by the river Wye, reflecting on all of this, I was reminded that practising spirituality is often an oarless, rudderless, sailless journey downriver simply going with the flow. The flow in these 6 months has taken me on an interesting course - not one I would have chartered for myself. But it has benefited me and the Kibtisk spirituality that I am trying to define and refine. 

Photo by Alex Azabache from Pexels

Since March I have added a Principle and shifted a Notion to a Virtue. This is the natural flow. The Kibtisk Way is about observing the change of seasons, and it seems change has been the main driving force for the Method this past few months.

Summary:

So more change is coming. I am going to have to reorganise the Kibtisk website and Kibtisk Way to reflect this new grouping. I am going to have redesign my logo to show three colours for the three notions instead of the current four. And most importantly, I am going to have to rewrite the Kibtisk Method and begin practising it all over again.

Join me on the oarless boat as I follow the flow of these changes.

Twitter: @kibtiskhub and @petrekibtisk
Instagram: @kibtiskhub
Reddit: r/Kibtisk

Peace until next time,

Petre

Kibtisk Practitioner

Review and Reflection: Method Tide 3 - Viraneut

This blog post comes slightly late. The Tide of Viraneut finished on 5th August and so I'm a couple of weeks late with my review. Nevertheless, better late than never, so here we go.

The Beginning:

Viraneut started well - I was focusing on trying to do acts of love to others, usually small things such as making them a drink or attentively listening to what they were saying, and I generally was attempting to adopt an attitude of vira to those in my life: colleagues, clients, commuters, friends and family.

I began to reflect on the concept of vira and tweet my thoughts and experiences, and I began to translate Bible passages about vira into the Kibtisk conlang as a way of reflecting on the concept.

1 John 4:7-8
"Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God,
and whoever loves has
been born of God
and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know
God, because God is love."
1 John 4:7-8 (ESV)

The Questioning:

Then I suppose something akin to the 'novelty wearing off' happened. I began to adjust to the Tide and so the focus on vira began to fade as I continued with my day-to-day life. I still thought about and contemplated the concept of vira, but I wasn't doing much to enact or embody it.

During this time, a few challenges also arose which inhibited me from practising vira.

The first was the question of how. What is the best way to practise vira?

For example, when a homeless person asks for money, is it vira to give them some spare change, or is it vira to donate to the charities, hoping that they will receive it?

Is it true vira to only be warm-hearted to your family and friends, or is the deeper, truer vira to be warm-hearted to everyone, as Jesus teaches (Matthew 5:46). If so, what is the way to do vira to others, especially when they themselves are cold-hearted, mean, even toxic?

"For if you [only] love those who love you,
what reward do you have?"
Matthew 5:46a (ESV, italics mine)

What's more, how are you to do vira when you're tired, stressed, ill, or hurt?

This Tide has been a real challenge for me, and what I have learnt is that what many of us, myself included, want out of each day is for us to feel well, treat well, and be treated well. The ideal day is one where you are not tired, stressed, or ill, you have been healed, and you are surrounded by and filled with love. 

However, this is not the reality for each day, if for any day; and what I have discovered is that the ideal of vira and even the reality of selfless, warm-hearted love is an extremely difficult thing to cultivate. 

The Source:

I believe that vira has a source and by drawing on that source we can retain and maintain vira within ourselves and thereby give it out to others. But doing that in itself is just as challenging as practising vira on a daily basis. 

In other words, there is a source of heat/love to which we can go to warm our hearts and from that warm-hearted place be a source of heat/love to others. Choosing to draw upon this source is a daily choice, and one we are unlikely to make when tired, stressed, ill, or hurt.

Summary:

So, I have left this Tide with a lot of questions rather than answers. 

It has been difficult for me, not only because of the questions above, but because it is a Tide focused on external action. 

I am introverted and contemplative by nature and so I thrive in tides which call for introspection and spiritual practice, but less so in those that call for action. As we've seen, it didn't take long for me to begin thinking and questioning during this Tide.

Still, I have learnt from this Tide. I have learnt that the fire of vira within, for me at least, is a single flame rather than a blazing bonfire, and as such it needs to be guarded and maintained to be of any use. This calls for daily devotion to cultivating it and during upon the Source of Love to maintain the heat within.

As summer is drawing to a close and the heat begins to fade in the world, I am going to try to maintain the heat of love within, knowing that there is a Source from which I can draw to receive love for myself and others.

Why not join me on the Way?

Method Tide 3: Viraneut - The Tide of Loving

 Viraneut. The Tide of Doing Vira. The Tide of Loving.

On 21st June: the summer solstice and first day of summer, the Method Tide changed from Vywineut (the Tide of Flowing) to Viraneut (the Tide of Loving).

As summer starts our attention shifts from going with the flow of the water of spring, to enjoying the heat of summer. We move from the spiritual aspect of flowing to the communal aspect of loving. Our attention shifts to the outside, to enjoying the heat with our loved ones; both the heat of summer and the warmth of love, of vira.

Earth & Fire

Every Method Tide has two natural elements associated with it and for Viraneut these two elements are earth and fire. Earth is the element of the season of spring, and has been present in the previous two Method Tides which took place in spring. Because we are now just emerging out of spring and into summer, the element of earth is still present, albeit not as the focus. The focus of the Tide is the element of fire, which is the element of summer. 

The purpose of this Method Tide is to focus on the element of fire as informed by our previous focus and appreciation of the element of earth. This can be understood by looking at the Kibtisk Notions which draw from those two elements.

Ardt & Vira

As you probably know from previous posts, the Kibtisk Method is based on the philosophy of the Kibtisk Way. The Kibtisk Way has four Core Notions, which are drawn from the four elements.

The Notion of the ardt has been present for the entirety of the Kibtisk Method so far this year. This is because it comes from the word for 'earth' (yarda) and is therefore strongly linked to the season of spring.

As mentioned above though, the focus of this Tide is the element of fire. The Core Notion that is associated with fire is that of vira (hence Viraneut). 

Vira is love, warmth, the home, family and friendship. It is the hearth and home; it is the fire of friendship; it is the warmth of family. 

When combined with the ardt, vira is understood as an action flowing from within. Viraneut means "the Tide of Doing Vira", and with the ardt present in this Tide, and with it having been present in the previous two Tides, Viraneut is all about doing vira from within.

We spent the first Tide (Badineut) focusing on the ardt, then we spent the second Tide (Vywineut) focusing on the flow of spirituality (vywe) and appreciating this flow in light of what we uncovered about the ardt. Now we come to the third Tide of Viraneut, focusing on vira in light of these two things: the state of our ardt, and the way it causes us to flow. From this place of introspection and spirituality we shift our focus outwards to the people in our life, drawing upon the lessons of the previous two Tides in order to do vira to those people.

Doing Vira

Doing vira is exactly that - doing. The Kibtisk understanding of love is not solely sentimental. Vira is something that is both within us and without us. If found within us it is to be expressed (literally ex-pressed: pressed out) in action. If it is found outside of us, it is to be received graciously, allowing it to warm our ardt and stored until we can express it. 

Understanding this in line with the two elements of ardt and vira, Viraneut can be understood as not only the Tide of Loving, but also the Tide of Warm-Heartedness.

Thus, doing vira is about actions of warm-heartedness. It is loving thy neighbour as thyself; it is doing unto others what you'd have them do to you.

Kibtisk Bible Translation: 
"Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God,
and whoever loves has been born of God
and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God,
because God is love."
1 John 4:7-8 ESV

Ways to Do Vira

One of the nicest ways to practise vira during this Tide is simply to have a meal together with your virzones (loved ones) - these can be your biological family, or your close friends, or a mixture of both. To represent the Tide maybe have the meal around a campfire or some candles. Maybe try and have a weekly vira-meal.

Other small ways you can practise vira are through simple acts of kindness: being the warmth and light for somebody, even if only for a few seconds can have an effect. Smiling at someone, making a colleague a drink, letting someone through a door first, phoning someone who might be lonely, and generally treating people with actions which come from a place of warm-heartedness is what Viraneut is all about.

There are of course larger ways to practise vira: giving money to charities, donating food and clothes to shelters etc. and if you are able to do these things then you should, not only in Viraneut.

Summary

However you observe this Tide, the point is to observe it together. This Tide is not a time for introspection - it is a time to go out into the sun with loved ones and warm our hearts, and carry that warmth out for others. Summer is when the earth is warmed, so let's warm our inner-earths this Tide.

Don't forget to follow me on social media for updates (@kibtiskhub & @petrekibtzone) and join the Kibtisk community on Reddit (r/Kibtisk). Maybe we can even practise vira together online.

Until next time!

Ihra

Petre

Kibtisk Practitioner