Runes, meditation and devotional work

By Loki’s request, I’ve begun to study runes.

Some say that the runes themselves are spirits. I like this idea, because if your think of them this way, getting to know them is a completely different process than learning the runes just as letters in an alphabet, and what they symbolise.
Thinking about runes as spirits means that I approach them on a personal level.

I’ve seen some write that you can just focus on one rune each day – meditate on it and put the rune tile under your pillow to “sleep on it”. In my opinion that’s the equivalent of a 10 minute speed-dating…
If runes are spirits, it takes a lot longer to get to know them.

I’m currently focusing on Dagaz, for Loki, and Berkana, for my ancestors.
Loki told me via proxy that the reason I can’t hear Him nor my ancestors, is that I’m completely closed off. Meditating on these runes can help me open up (I hope).

I visualised Berkana and Dagaz while I was lying in bed last night.

Berkana (Bjarkan) means birch. It symbolises life, birth, growth, rebirth (among other things).
I imagine Berkana being the green of birch leaves in spring. It’s a very lively rune; when I was visualising it, it kept dancing and spinning around. Not a rune to focus on before going to sleep, I decided.

Dagaz (Dagr) means day. It symbolises transformation, breakthrough, clarity, growth and release, a balancing point.
Dagaz, to me, is golden, or the yellow colour of fire. This rune stayed in place, and seemed to pulsate slightly; expanding then shrinking back, like a heart.

I had a rather restless night, perhaps due to the change in weather.
Every time I woke up, I could easily imagine Dagaz over my “third eye”.
Funny thing was, I also realised that a few times when I was awake, I could hear this quiet voice in my head. I think this was Loki.

I have mentioned hypnagogia before; it’s when your mind is balancing on the edge between being awake and asleep. In this state the brain has the same kind of brainwaves as it has if you’re in deep meditation.
So, it makes sense that I can hear Loki then. Since it’s an altered state of consciousness, it seems I’m less closed off then.

I need to start meditating each day, it’s part of my devotional work.
So far I can only manage to get relaxed, it doesn’t feel like I’m entering even a light trance.
The closest I come to entering a light trance is when I create something; drawing, painting or sculpting. So, I’ll make that part of my devotional work, too.

Spending less than an hour each day on devotional work is stingy, in Loki’s opinion.