The Invisible Druid Order

A call has been answered to reshape in modern terms the core of truth behind ancient practices. From that call has come the Invisible Druid Order (IDO). The Invisible Druid Order calls us to honor our relationships with ourselves, with each other, with the Natural world, and with the world of the Spirit(s). Its purpose is to foster women and men who will exercise spiritual discipline, develop a constructive relationship with the Other Worlds (both inside and outside), and who will make themselves useful to their communities and to the larger world in which they live.

The three guiding principles of the IDO are 1) training of the mind, 2) reverence for Nature and its Source, and 3) social responsibility. To these ends, the IDO presents workshops and a course of study to assist people to become present in all their worlds - personal, social, natural and spiritual. As in the old times, "Druid" is not a title to be added to a person, but something that one, through effort and application, became.

Disciplines of the IDO
Monthly Letters of Instruction provide daily activities to deepen awareness of and effectiveness within the circle of life in which we live.

Bardic Disciplines call for daily tasks which include writing, memorization, environmental awareness, a narration of one's spiritual history, and a project for the "Invisible Bardic Hall," to name a few.

Ovate Disciplines enhance awareness of the spirit world and strengthen one's relationship with it. Instruction is provided in altered states, divination, meditative exercises and engagement with the Otherworld and Ancestors.

Building on what has gone before, Druidic practices involve continued self-development, personal ritual, and research into the deeper sciences - all for the purpose of becoming a change agent in the world. Thus, the Druid's responsibility is the cultivation of wholeness not only in oneself but in one's community as well.

Graduates of any level of the disciplines may become members of the Circle of Active Bards, Ovates and Druids if they are using their skills in their communities.

The Call to Service
Materials for the IDO were developed by Karl Schlotterbeck, a psychologist and author, as well as student of shamanism, Rosicrucianism, hypnotherapy and biofeedback. This Otherworld call came during trips to Ireland to study Celtic Shamanism after a Native-American pipe-carrier told him "They [the spirits] have told me you have to go back to Ireland." Materials and practices were developed with the support of and collaboration with Tom Cowan (author of "Fire in the Head").

Karl is an initiate of the Reformed Druids of North America, a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (in the Druid grade), and an initiate in the Ring of the Oak as well as member of the Board of Trustees of the Henge of Keltria.

Contact
More information can be found at http://www.invisibledruidorder.net/ and at http://www.karlschlotterbeck.net/. Or, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or postal coupons) to:

The Invisible Druid Order
P.O. Box 1060
Anoka, MN 55303-1060
USA