Dayle in Limoux – Day #82

R O A D   T R I P ❗️

French Villages, castles, and an amazing memory in Montsegur at La Maison Sous le Château. Manual Citroën is the best. Always secure the smallest car you can and practice accelerations. :)

Puilaurens

‘Immerse yourself in the medieval atmosphere of Puilaurens Castle, an impregnable fortress in Cathar Country, at the top of the sheer rock face. The walls and towers have been marked by time and are filled with history and legends. Can you find the “secret” passages leading to the giddy panoramas?’ We did!

[https://www.visit-occitanie.com]

Beginning the hike up to the castle ruins…

Annie Glenn in awe and loving Languedoc.

Michael inspired on his first journey out of the United States and ready to return.

The Square Tower dates from the time of the Crusade against the Cathars. The so- called “White Lady” Tower, where Blanche de Bourbon, granddaughter of Philip IV, was reputed to have stayed on her way south to her ill-fated marriage with the cruel Peter of Castile, has a duct through the wall that acts as a speaking tube.

Aged just fourteen in 1353, after three days of marriage, Peter abandoned her in favour of Maria de Padilla, imprisoning poor Blanche in various places in France and Spain, until the age of twenty two, when he had her murdered. Legend has it that  when mists surround the castle,  Blanche is wandering the walls in her misty veils.

https://anglophone-direct.com/cathar-country-chateau-de-puilaurens/

Montségur

Montségur Castle is a fortress built on the ruins of a previous Roman settlement in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 1204, Raymond de Péreille, the Lord of Montségur, decided to rebuild the Castle which had been in ruins for 40 years. The refortified Castle immediately became the epicentre of an important Cathar community. Catharism was a Gnostic movement which deviated from the teachings of the Catholic Church and which spread like wildfire in the 12th and 13th centuries. Amongst other tenets, the Cathars believed that Jesus was not the son of God but merely an upright prophet and scholar. They believed that men and women were both essentially equal and that money and physical trappings were not important in life. Even though they lived lives of poverty, it is believed that the Cathars amassed great riches, since many members, who were people of ‘substance’, donated their property on joining and many well-wishers and patrons donated money to help the cause as well. On the other hand, at the time Pope Innocent III, as well as the Kings of England and France, were struggling with financial difficulties caused by investments in the Crusades in the Holy Land. A theory states that this was one of the main reasons why the Cathars, a peaceful Order, were branded as heretics and hounded to their deaths with such cruelty, even prompting the setting up of a special Inquisition for such a purpose. At the time, all their assets and lands were seized and divided between the Pope and the King of France during what became known as the Cathar Crusade or the Albigensian Crusade. Whole cities and villages were destroyed by the Inquisition, which targeted both nobles and peasants alike. Ironically, the supposed ‘treasure’ of the Cathars was never found, or at least, no one has reported its acquisition.

https://castles.today/en/france/montségur/legends/

The hike up…

…and reverence for the bon hommes and bonne femmes who were murdered in the pyre because of their beliefs, and the greed and evil of Pope Innocence III.

From the book, The Manuscript. ☉

The Cathars considered themselves to be the true Christians. Part of their learning rested on primitive Christian, Gnostic, Jewish and Islamic ideas, which at all decisive points different from the Roman Church. 

The daily bread was for the Cathars the spiritual bread, and both women and men could become priests, perfect, in their community. The Cathar movement had wide support amon the Languedoc population and when this support tended to spread to all of France the Pope, Innocence III, sent a monk, Bernard of Clairveaux, to preach against the heretics. He saw, however, that their services and morals were far more Christian than those of his own corrupt Church. He also admitted that he could find no fault with the parfaits of the Cathars. They only practiced what they preached. This was not to the liking of the Pope and thus he implemented the crusade resulting in the massacre of Montsegur.

[…]

‘A common legend which had been retold for generations by the descendants of the Cathars, was told by a shepherd from Montsegur as late as 1929:

“When the walls of Montsegur were still intact, the Cathars, the pure ones, guarded the Holy Grail there. Montsegur was in danger. The armies of Lucifer lay in a circle around the walls. They wanted the Grail, so that they could mount it in the emperor’s tiara, from where it had fallen to the ground when the angels were banned from Heaven. When peril was at its highest a white dove descendde from Heaven and split the mountain in two with its beak. Esclarmonde, the female guardian of the Grail, threw the precious, holy treasure into the mountain. It then closed again. In this way the Grail was saved. When the devils forced their way into the fortress, they were too late. Filled with anger they burned all the pure ones at the foot of the cliffs under the fortress on the camp des cremate, on the field where where the state was built.”

More than 200 hundred Cathars, men, women and children, chose by their own free will to be burned at the stake. According to an oral tradition, they had promised to return after seven hundred years [pp. 39-40].’

In memoriam at Montsegur.

Ani Williams is world-renowned harpist and singer, and has recorded more than two-dozen albums of original sacred music based on ancient spiritual traditions.

[aniwilliams.com]

The back side of the castle ruins where remnants of the Cathars living quarters and community gathering sites for work and living.

Folks honoring the Cathars at Montsegur with dance and song.

Then in the chill of fall and winds, it was time to head back down, imagining…trying…the 200 + Cathars holding hands and singing their hymns as the fires from the pyre burned below them and their wicked fate to a tortuous death.

R E X   M U N D I

Evil forces always swirling about.

And then it was a short drive down narrow lanes to the Village de Montsegur to stay the night at La Maison Sous le Château. Sadness. The museum was closed. Next time. So wanted to visit.

J’adore the village of Montsegur, almost as much as Alet-les-Bains and Limoux.

Cathar crosses everywhere and history whispered in the winds.

Up the stairs to our private room and bath and a warm meal with local vegetables, soup, pain, and vin…

…at the foot of the Pyrenees.

You must stay with Fred and basque in his warmth and hospitality, his cooking (!), as well as his knowledge of the Occitanie region, the Cathars…and Mariam.

I wanted to linger longer in this ancient village in Southern France.

Can’t wait to return. Thanks be to Gaia.

la maison sous le château

You must read this book!

Car returned and ready for a very hot bath. Fall has landed in Languedoc.

Bonne nuit.

♥

Dayle in Limoux – Day #66

Elton John gave tribute to Queen Elizabeth at his concert in Toronto in last night.

“I’m 75, and she’s been with me all my life, and I feel very sad that she won’t be with me anymore, but I’m glad she’s at peace, and I’m glad she’s at rest, and she deserves it. She worked bloody hard. I send my love to her family and her loved ones, and she will be missed. But her spirit lives on. And we’ll celebrate her life tonight with music.”

And from the government of France today, a remarkably eloquent and gracefully written  statement historically honoring the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

❥

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in Limoux. And it was 74 degrees! J’adore 74.

Épices! Beautiful.

The Grand Cafe                              Oui, s’il vous plaît.

This book.

“Those who dance are often condemned by those who cannot hear the music.”

Love every single page, all 721 of them. It’s been an education and beautiful guide book for the history and contemporary journeys into the sacred mysteries of our beloved Languedoc.

p. 673

There is only one way, and I repeat one way only, in which to understand the word forgiveness. By practicing it. And while practicing it, it is important to be aware that another judgment is not hiding within this forgiveness of the person or thing that is forgiven. For example, are you able to forgive yourself?

Be not afraid. There is nothing to be feared. But be aware that every thought, every word and every action has an impact in the cosmos. Remember that a wrong word said on one side of the globe is all it takes to creat a tidal wave on the there. Step outside fear.

p. 675

May the eye rest only on that which is new.

May the hand no longer take, but give.

May thought in the future be free in the service of the Exalted.

The heart is the mirror of the universe.

The heart is the true Grail.

☉

All this week Father Richard Rohr, the Center for Action and Contemplation, has been writing about the Grail. Juxtaposed with ‘The Manuscript,’ powerful and confirming.

“After our own Grail experience, our lives are characterized by some measure of perpetual dissatisfaction. Nothing lives up to our standards: not the church, not ourselves, not our country. There is a radical, aching longing: Ordinary life will never again be good enough, yet it is not meaningless either.

After the Grail experience, the ordinary forever becomes extraordinary. God is both perfectly hidden and perfectly revealed in everything.

A peak experience can be disconcerting. Sometimes we might even be ungrateful for it. We don’t fit in anymore. We live the rest of our lives at a tilt, wandering like Parsifal. We might feel a bit off-center. We can’t get excited about things most people get excited about. We just don’t believe they’re important anymore.

We get wounded in the hip, like Jacob (Genesis 32:26), and we limp the rest of our lives, but we’re not worried about the wound. We’re utterly confused, but we’re not confused by our confusion. We can live with our confusion now because, behind it all, we know.

Does that sound like double-talk? When one gets into Grail language, it’s all paradox. Everyone wants to pull us back to the first language of logic, law, and ego-tower building. But we can’t go anywhere with that. We have jumped off the ego tower. Once Parsifal has seen the Grail—even though he returns to the world—he is radically different ever after.”

Indeed.

À bientôt.

✿´¯`*•.¸¸✿

Dayle in Limoux – Day #65

1926-2022

I think this is just about my favorite capture of Queen Elizabeth, before her reign. WWII, 1945.

France 24

Text translated: “Elizabeth II, a life for the crown.”

From the BBC with the announcement of Her Majesty’s passing.

15 prime ministers served Queen Elizabeth beginning with Winston Churchill. She also met 13 of the last 14 U.S. presidents. LBJ was the one president she did not meet in person.

I read this evening Elizabeth reigned as Queen for 30% of U.S. history. 30%. In the UK, an astounding 80% of the residents have only ever known one monarch – Elizabeth II.

Hers was truly a remarkable life, well lived in service and duty, serving until the very end.

These captures are from the day this week she welcomed Liz Truss as Prime Minister, about 48 hours before her death. It would be her final public appearance.

Dame Helen Mirren shared her memories of the Queen. Mirren was awarded the Oscar for her performance portraying Elizabeth II in the 2006 film,‘The Queen.’

As the news was being received the Queen had died, a rainbow appeared over Buckingham Palace and London.

🤍

[Getty Images]

I was finishing (!) the book, ‘The Manuscript,’ on the little French balcony when I received a push notification about the Queen’s passing.

It became eerily quiet very quickly. It almost felt as if we were suddenly in a vacuum. Nothing. Silence. Even the sassy ducks stopped their incessant quacking for a bit. Then I heard someone across the river start playing the British National Anthem. The sound carried across the water.

So much to share about the powerful final pages. This book has become almost a sacred text for me. I’ll post more tomorrow. This evening, with the quiet, a feeling of reverence in the streets of Limoux, contemplation for a woman who lived her life in dignified service for her country and people for 70 years, beginning at the age of 27.

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

This speech was given on her 21st birthday, 21 April 1947, while on a tour with her parents and sister in South Africa.

‘In a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town, the Princess dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth.’ [Royal.uk]

In six years, she would honor her promise.

As  the new British Prime Minister remarked speaking to the parliment:

“The whole house will agree never has a promise been so completely fulfilled.”

Tomorrow’s front page.

Bonne nuit.

🖤

Dayle in Limoux – Day #64

Captured today walking the old streets in Limoux. ℒℴve ♡ 

In France, particularly in the Languedoc region, buildings…structures…exteriors…are not allowed to be altered. Interior renovation work must be approved. They protect their history in these sweet villages. No tearing down. No added balconies or windows. Simple upgrades as needed. And you know what else they preserve? Trees.

They don’t cut them down…kill them…to make room for more concrete. They actually build around them. I recently witnessed a construction sight where two mature trees were left standing as a new structure was being built on vacant land around them. Where I lived in Sun Valley, Idaho, trees were an afterthought…worthless. In the way.  What did the candidate in Georgia say…”Don’t we have enough trees?” Lord.

Great story today I found about trees and one person making an effort, over his lifetime, to make a difference. 37 years. Remarkable. His beautiful passion and commitment to Gaia.

Posted on social media by ‘How Things are Manufactured.’

“In 1979, Jadav Payeng began planting a tree every day for 37 years — results are stunning.”

Green Matters

Jadav Payeng is the subject of a short documentary called Forest Man, and when you read his story, you’ll understand why. Payeng is basically the living embodiment of the philosophy that one person can make a difference, and the difference he’s made is incredibly inspiring: since 1979, Payeng has been planting a tree everyday on the barren sandbar island in the Brahmaputra river. In that time, he has built a forest reserve covering 1,360 acres, which is now the home to wild animals, birds, and plants that before withered and died on the sandbank.

Jadav Payeng has created 1,360 acres of dense forest and is known as the ‘Forest man of India’  (Photos by Jitu Kalita) Payeng’s forest is now home for five Royal Bengal tigers, over a hundred deer, wild boar, more than a hundred vultures, and several species of birds.

https://www.greenmatters.com/community/2017/08/21/e7htk/man-plants-tree-every-day-for-37-years

“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” ~Jonathan Gottschall

Thank you Sally Kane from Community Radio for posting this quote. We need more stories. When we line-up on our sides and in our tribes, stories grow through the noise and communicate when interpersonally we can not. It’s how Mariam and Yeshua lectured and spoke to their various communities. And people listened. Still.

And this wall. How beautiful is this. What is its story? Left to stand in its history and creation. How fast this would be destroyed in the U.S., for something new.

And this gorgeous arch, and this abandoned building…the round window. What is their story. The renovation! Would love to tour, see the ancient interior, learn the history, listen to the story.

Saint-Martin’s tonight in Limoux.

Illustrated in the book, ‘The Manuscript.’ Close to 700 pages and I’m almost finished. It’s been a journey; taken so many notes and given so many bridges to my writing and research. And so many ‘You are kidding me’ moments. Radical Compassion. 💙 Here, Mariam is seen lecturing the King and Queen of Marseilles. She spent time here after her her boat sailed into to Gaul (ancient France) from the Holy Land. From the painting by Rene d’Anjou, 1408-1480.

’I felt my soul ascend and saw the first great bough which bears the fruit of Love and Compassion, the foundation of all things.’ -Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνή (Mariam Magdal)

Dayle in Limoux – Day #62

Reading today about the influences of Saint-Catherine of Alexandria, beloved of the Beguines and Joan of Arc’s spiritual voice and influence. She was 22 when she was tortured and murdered because she refused to marry an Egyptian emperor. She was killed in the year 305.

Britannica: She protested the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Maxentius—whose wife and several soldiers she converted while imprisoned—and defeated the most eminent scholars summoned by Maxentius to oppose her. During her subsequent torture, she professed that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ, her spouse, and was sentenced to death. The spiked wheel by which she was to be killed broke when she touched it (whence the term Catherine wheel), and she was then beheaded.

The wheel was a horrific way to die a slow, excruciating death. This is why we often see Catherine depicted with a wheel.

From the book, The Wisdom of the Beguines/The Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women’s Movement, by Laura Swan,

The Beguines chose four women who they felt had proclaimed the gospel for their lives: the apostle Mary Magdalene, the martyrs Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Agnes, and the abbess of Andenne, Begga. You smile with delight (p. 50).

Beguines were a powerful expression of the vita apostolic, being ‘apostolic life’ or ‘the life of an apostle.’ They pooled their resources in order to serve the sick and destitute by building and operating infirmaries and almshouses (p. 17, 19). Many beguines used their sources of income to purchase homes near the chapel or parish church where they gathered together for prayer (p. 15).

Many women became beguines as a result of their newfound literacy (p. 21). Beguinages endured the ravages of war and plague, hostile politics and shifting cultural attitudes […] some managed to survive all the way into the twentieth century (67). Beguines were not nuns (p. 13). Nuns were steady supporters of the beguines (p.15).

Some of the beguines were considered ‘heretics,’ of course. When men didn’t agree with women’s motives or rhetoric, they were ‘heretics.’ One beguines, Marguerite Porete, a larned beguines preacher and writer, was sentenced by the Inquisition to be burned at the stake. She was a learned beguine preacher and writer, and was murdered on June 1, 1310. Her crime? Her work of mystical theology called, ‘The Mirror of Simple Souls,’ which she had composed in Old French and shared with others.

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She loves me when I act wisely, and she loves me when I am foolish. Her love is based not on how I’ve acted but on who I am. He knows who I am, for She created me. The Beloved’s love is unconditional.

My errors do not call for God’s punishment, but for His correction. As I atone for my mistakes—willing to make amends with a repentant heart—then His merciful hand will reorder events and allow me new beginnings. Such is the miracle of a merciful, non-judgmental God, the source of all good and the reason for my unending praise.

How awesome is the Beloved, for even when I have fallen from grace – from the truth within me, from the love that is the meaning of my life – She loves me still, allowing  me new life, again and again.

My gratitude is deep.

The light, pours in through the cracks.

From the Dalai Lama, a reminder this morning:

All 7 billion human beings have a common experience—we all appreciate love. We all have a seed of love and affection within us and the potential to cultivate greater love and compassion. If we want to create peace in the world it has to start with the heart, with inner peace.

Julian of Norwich called this love ‘a love without beginning.’

✠

I came across an essay in my research today I haven’t seen in a while. It is so beautifully and intellectually written by a fellow explorer who was a part of our sacred mystery tour here in Languedoc in 2019. His name is Andrew Cowie.

My first fleeting glimpse of the near-mythical French village of Rennes-le-Chateau was suitably mysterious. Perched atop a majestic cliff in the foothills of the Pyrenees, she peeked out briefly and tantalisingly from behind a murky veil of mist before swiftly vanishing again, leaving behind only more questions and very little by way of answers. This murky first encounter seemed somehow to encapsulate everything about this magical village and the labyrinthine web of mysteries which entangles it – a place full of wonder and intrigue, its secrets forever elusive, the answers always remaining just slightly out of reach. Rennes-le-Chateau attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year, many of them treasure hunters drawn to the area’s rich history and mythology.

[Rennes-les-Chateau]

Legends of buried treasure abound here, with the village thought by many to be the location of the riches of the Knights Templar or the Cathars, the resting place of the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Some believe it to contain the tombs of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, while others claim it to be the site of a subterranean extra-terrestrial base. The area is a conspiracy theorist’s paradise and it’s easy to see why it has attracted this reputation.

[Le château de Montségur, one of the last refuges for the Cathars, who, in mass, were burnt in giant pyres in the field below in 1244.] 

Everything about this place, and the wider region of Languedoc, is jaw-droppingly bizarre, from geological anomalies and precise geometric alignments to extraordinary natural phenomena and a chain of endless peculiar synchronicities which cannot simply be dismissed as chance. Indeed, the further I ventured down the veritable rabbit warren of the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery, the more I realised that the truth is much, much stranger than any fiction my writer’s imagination could ever conjure.

It’s a thoughtful and passionate piece. Andrew is a former journalist; he wrote this about a year after our return, in 2020. He lives in Scotland. It will give you a great foundation for learning more about the mysteries of Languedoc, sacred geometry, and Rennes-les-Chateau. Here’s a link to the full essay.

https://www.phoenixcoaching.co.uk/post/holy-grail-the-mysterious-treasure-of-rennes-le-chateau

I’ve been listening to a lot of Ani William’s music since I’ve been back in France. Ani is a world-renowned harpist and singer, and has recorded more than two-dozen albums of original sacred music based on ancient spiritual traditions. She has done seminal work in the study of sound healing and the relationship between musical tones, the human voice and healing.

Here she is singing Aramaic Lord’s Prayer at Rennes-le-Chateau. Extraordinary.

The lyrics, the Aramaic Our Father:

Heavenly Source

You Who are everywhere

Thy Kingdom come

Your will be done

Here and ow and for evermore.

Fill us with the power of your mercy

And free us from the fetters with which we bind each other.

Lead us out of temptation: free us from ourselves.

And give us the strength to be one with You.

Teach us the true power of forgiveness.

May this holy moment be the ground

From which our future actions grow.

Amen.

-The Manuscript, p. 440

From Ani’s website: The prayer knows no gender, and celebrates the Light and Sound of Creation, inviting this into our Holy of Holies within. This video was filmed in the chapel of Mary Magdalene. [https://aniwilliams.com]

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U.S. states and activists started celebrating the labor force in the late 1800’s. New York was the first state to introduce a bill, yet Oregon was the first state to codify it into their state law. ‘Labor Day honors and recognizes the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States’ [wikipedia].

Mother Teresa:

“The miracle is not that we do the work, but that we are happy to do it.”

Some captures from earlier Labor Day honors.

Roller skates and sashes. Can’t think of a better way to celebrate. Beats buying a mattress.

And a song from Woody Guthrie, about 1,200 striking coal miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914. It refers to the violent deaths of 20 people, 11 of them children, during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony there in Ludlow. The clip features the late historian, author, and activist Howard Zinn.

Bonne nuit.

✌🏻

Dayle in Limoux – Day #60

From the church of Saint-Volusien in Foix, constructed in the 12th century, although the original structure was most likely constructed in the 9th. Volusien was a bishop in the regions in the late 5th century. He was persecuted by the Visigoths and placed under house arrest. He died without regaining his freedom.

‘She squatted in from of an old altar.

“Look,” she said pointing to a relief where the paint was partly peeled off. It was the scene from the Last Supper. However, in this painting there was no doubt that the person next to Yeshua was a woman. In contrast to most of the paintings, the one by Leonardo da Vinci being the most well known, in this one Mariam sat to the left of Yeshua instead of to the right which is usually the case. In this painting in the church of Foix she is looking devotedly at her partner. Everyone apart from Mariam, of course, is depicted with a beard.’

‘It may very well be that the Catholic Church in general has had its problems with Mary Magdalen. However, this does not seem to be the case here in the south of France.’

-The Manuscript, pp. 569-570

“We went under the porch supported by a few symbolically decorated pillars, which formed an impressive entrance.

“Take a look at this.”

She pointed to a star of Mariam hanging on a pillar next to us.

“And, here as well.”

“Who?”

“Yeshua and Magdalene!”

Sure enough and here they were one on each side of the same pillar…”

-The Manuscript, pp. 572-573

This book is beyond, truly. A trilogy bound as one book, the hardback, which I have, is only available from the author, Lars Muhl, in the book shop at Rennes-les-Chateau.

Gaining new levels of knowledge and taking so many notes; building bridges between my research from the last seven years for a new heart-based paradigm for journalists, intersecting a radical compassion for a homo spiritus species.

Marianne Williamson posted this earlier today from her essay titled, ‘Growing our Wings.’

When we were kids at school we had textbooks that showed human beings evolving from apes, then transforming over time into homo sapiens. On the left side of the page was a sort of hunched over looking ape, then on the right side of the page was a human being standing erect.

Okay, but I don’t think that’s the whole story; I think one day home sapiens standing erect will be seen as the middle of the page. We’re not done with evolution until we’ve evolved from ape to angel. One day, on the right side of the page there will be a human being having grown wings…

Now I don’t think those wings will be literal, of course. But I think we’re only at maybe the midway point in our evolutionary journey. We have physically evolved, but spiritually we are somewhere between an infant species and something just past barbarian. Evolution is spurring us on but we sure better hurry up.

We’re burning through all that insanity now. We have to or the species will not survive. […] The world is so clearly laboring now – a difficult labor indeed – as we struggle to give birth to the next version of who we are.

We’re not done yet. We’re transforming. No longer can we simply hug the ground. That is not our destiny. We are growing our wings.

Julian Lennon speaks to this in his own way, too, with a new album dropping on the 9th simply titled, ‘Jude’, in reference to the song Paul McCartney wrote for him when his dad, John, and his mum, Cynthia, were divorcing, ‘Hey Jude.’ This is a single from the album, ‘The Lucky Ones.’ #Jude @JulianLennon

Everyone is searching, trying to find a new religion
Some peace of mind, 
Don’t wanna let go of all of my intuition
I need a sign ’cause love is blind

I feel a change is coming, I know
A new revolution’s knocking on my door

Everyone is hurtin’ tryin’ a find a real solution
Well, you might find that love ain’t blind
The world is burning while we’re dancing in our own pollution
Well, is there time, or did we cross the line?

We gotta find a way to get better
The only way through this is together
It’s not too late, so never say never

I know that we’re the lucky ones
Look at us, we fucked up the weather
If we unite, we’ll get through whatever
We need this world to last us forever
I know that we’re the lucky ones

✧        *    .    *    ✧     .   *   .   *
 .  *   .    * .       .   ✧        .
 ✧  ✧   *    .   *        .       .     *.     .   
✧   *    .     .     ✧     .     * .  *   . 

Today was reading, writing, researching, hanging laundry (ℒℴve ! the scent of clothes after drying on the line…the best…using only the energy from the sun.),

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meditations, contemplation, and plotting the next Languedoc adventure. :)

Chapter 4

More from Marianne:

Take a good look at your life right now. If you don’t like something about it, close your eyes and imagine the life you want. Now allow yourself to focus your inner eye on the person you would have to be in order to create your preferred life.

Notice the differences in how you behave and present yourself; allow yourself to spend several seconds breathing in the new image, expanding your energy into this new mold. Hold the image for several seconds and ask the Beloved to imprint it on your subconscious mind. Do that every day for 5 minutes or so. If you share this technique with certain people, the chances are good they’ll tell you that it’s way too simple. It’s up to you what you choose to believe.

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And for September’s Power Path, a message from Lena.

The main theme for September is: “CRISIS”

The definition of crisis comes from the word “to decide”. It is an intense time or turning point where a decision is made, there is a decisive point, and a change takes place. There is always an action component to crisis and often a need to make a choice that influences a course of action. In a healing crisis, you either get better or worse sometimes depending on that choice. In a financial crisis you may need to make hard decisions that change your usual habits and patterns. In relationship crisis you may be forced to look at some truth and face choices that produce needed change. A health crisis is often a wake-up call to change something significant in your life that puts you on a different path.

When we hear the word crisis it often brings up a negative response. In truth, crisis is often the catalyst for much needed change supporting movement towards necessary and positive evolution. Our physical nature is designed to respond to crisis with reaction and action, the instinctive response of fight or flight. Crisis often brings up fear. If we can work through the fear, there is power on the other side. This month is a good one to work proactively with the theme of crisis and use it as a catalyst for making whatever change is needed instead of being crippled by the fear it may temporarily produce.

Think of this as a month of potential breakthroughs as we are forced to go within for deep reflection and introspection regarding our values, habits, patterns, beliefs and actions. Much of the work this month will be around relationships and our perceptions of who we are, who we are with and what our work here is on this planet. Crisis that affects a community will either bring people closer together or fragment what is ready to reorganize itself differently. Crisis brings truth to the surface that can clear the decks of calcified attitudes and support new insights. Aspects of this month are conducive to clearing the mind of old beliefs and ways of thinking, opening us up to new and more inspired ideas.

As much as the crises occurring this month could be manifested outwardly, the work triggered by them is internal. Even the action component points to internal movement and change as a deep purification of the mind and our beliefs takes place. Crisis is an intense experience brought about by sudden news, a dramatic unexpected event, or some situation that has gathered enough energy to itself that you can no longer ignore it. The only way to deal effectively with crisis is to face it proactively with curiosity, confidence, trust and humor. The worst thing you can do is to withdraw into a fearful state of blame, shame or anger. 

This is not an easy month but the end result of your inner process can be extremely rewarding. The key is to work with the influences instead of against them. If crisis comes into your life, watch your reactions. Get to neutral as quickly as possible, don’t take it personally, but do use it as a catalyst to do something differently. Crisis requires flexibility as your decisions may not be ones you usually make. Use curiosity as a proactive way to lean into the crisis with the intention of bringing a creative solution or decision to the process.

We do not expect every moment of this month to be full of crisis, however this is an energy that is permeating much of the common experience, and we as a collective need to move through it proactively beginning with our own inner transformation and positive change. Being in conflict can cause a crisis and the more we can resolve our own inner conflicts the more we can be a positive influence on others. This is a month of taking responsibility for our relationships, for our actions and for our personal experience of crisis.

There will also be periods of heightened awareness, increased intuition, a celebratory sense of gratitude, and rich experiences in relationship, intimacy and connection to spirit. Cherish those times of expansion and beauty, and use them as a point of reference when you find yourself in the trenches of crisis.

Balance is another necessary support this month. Practicing balance between being and doing, between the mind and the heart, and between obsessive overthinking, overcontrolling and over organizing, and the potential chaos of too loose of a container are all important. Use the natural elements as support and try and spend time between inner and outer expressions. It is good to express spiritual needs but maintain order at the same time. A good routine that handles both will be helpful during any crisis. [thepowerpath.com]

Found this on my phone, a random shot wandering the medieval streets of Arles earlier this week.

Thank goodness. :)

Bonne nuit.

♥️

Dayle in Limoux – Day #42

Just finished my first France journal my daughter made for me at Christmas.

🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸

#Deux!

‘If you think one noble thought in a mountain cave, then it will form vibrations throughout the Universe and will do what can and must be done’ [p.95, The Manuscript].

Again.

‘We all take part in the cruelty of the world. Even when we think we know nothing about it. We all carry a Hitler and a Yeshua in us. At one time or another each person must stop and face their own failures and cruelties. Otherwise they are just projected on’ [The Manuscript].

Indeed. When we forgive and offer grace, and it is not received, it is gravity. [Dualism] ‘Earth is a half-way house.’ And then, it is no longer ours. Forgive: to let go. If the other does not, it is their path now, not ours.

From Marianne Williamson today:

‘With every breath, I breathe in the holy substance that infuses all things.

On this day, I remember and will not forget that love is all around me. I acknowledge love’s presence in myself and others, and breathe in with every breath all the power it bestows.’

Cue The Troggs. :)

—

From the book, ‘The Beauty and Mystery of the Languedoc:’

‘The Languedoc region has a very extraordinary history, full of tragedy, conquer, drama and mystery. When you drive through the sleep villages today, it is hard to imagine that this region was once a metropolis of the highest importance and was at other times the seat of power from which large parts of the world were ruled. That is why it is worth while to have a closer look at its amazing history, because if you know what to look for, you can still find relics of these high times hidden in the most remote places.’ -Julia B. Kingsley

C’est vrai.

Look what I found. This ancienne église (ancient church) in Limoux, set back, and fenced off from the public due to safety concerns. I believe there is a renovation plan in place. Gorgeous. Even the tile. In many apartments and homes in the Occitanie region, the buildings are original, like the building I’m staying in, and often the original tile and flooring is in place, as well as stone walls and cobbled streets. In France they preserve and honor their history. How I wish the stones could speak. If we vibrated just a little more slowly, perhaps we could listen!

I want to hear their stories. It was once a convent in 1358.

I remember what Sir Henry Lincoln once said to me, ‘Stop looking, and see.’

Oui.

“The Holy Grail ‘neath ancient Roslin waits / The blade and chalice guarding o’er Her gates / Adorned by masters’ loving art, She lies / She rests at last beneath the starry skies.”

Bonne nuit.

🌹

Dayle in Limoux – Day # 39

The Satanic Verses [1988]

Posted by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. https://khodorkovsky.com

From Dan Froomkin at Press Watch:

‘Mainstream media reporters are having a hard time fully explaining the link between the increasingly violent rhetoric acts like Thursday’s attempted attack on an FBI office in Cincinnati.

The phrase they’re looking for is “stochastic terrorism.”

It may not trip off the tongue, but it needs to become part of the media lexicon.

Stochastic terrorism means

terrorism that’s statistically predictable but individually unpredictable. In simpler language,  it is not just possible that someone at some point will do something about it, it’s damn near inevitable.

Calling certain forms of violent rhetoric stochastic terrorism is essential to holding the perpetrators accountable for the tragic consequences.’

Symbol from the book, The Manuscript, depicting the marriage at Cana where both Mariam Magdalene and Yeshua were present, and as presented in the book, where the ‘first’ miracle occurred between the two of them. Their wedding day. Yeshua turns the vats of water into wine. And it was Mariam’s idea, the ‘gate of grace and compassion.’

‘I will show you that which the eye cannot see,

the ear cannot hear,

no hand can touch,

and no man understand through his own understanding.’

-The Gospel of Thomas

‘The time will come when time is meaningless, and place is nowhere. All our concepts wait, but their appointed ending. They uphold a dream with no dimension. At the gate of Heaven are they merely laid aside, before the blazing of the light within.’

-Helen Schucman

Mary’s prayer:

Heavenly source, you who are everywhere,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, here and now and in eternity.

Fill us with the power of Thy grace.

And set us free from the chains which which we bind ourselves and each other.

Lead us out of temptation: Free us from ourselves.

And lend us the power to be one with You.

Aum.

Om.

Amen.

⦿

“This is my daughter, Mariam, in whom I am well please. Today she has received the name Magdalene, the Exalted Spirit of Peace. I have some back to the world in her shape. Bu her power shall humanity understand its destiny. Through her shall humanity again find peace.”

[…]

“Now, in this 21st century, a creative face which is still effective and which manifests itself in the ethereal plane, a new feminine form of energy through Rucha d’koodsha…Holy Spirit.”

The old patriarchal energy has had its day.

• Separatist
• Divisive
• Egotistical

An Earthly flame now dying.

The new power, the Feminine Power:

• Inclusive
• Healing
• Altruistic

“Everything you want to become you already are.”

“Mariam Magdalene was the true founder of esoteric Christianity.” 

What we need, truly need, to heal and re-set is for all social media to go dark for awhile. I think at least six months. Or, bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Or, re-write the dreadful Communications Act of 1996. All probably not going to happen. Maybe what we need, then, is a moment…a day…of reflection and re-prioritizing, knowing and agreeing to the perilous moment the United States of America is facing. Jon Meacham on Friday focused his ‘Reflections of History’ on Lincoln’s Proclamation of Prayer and Fasting. On August 12, 1861, President Lincoln calls for a national day of prayer and fasting.

Lincoln:

Nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

From Jon:

‘Speedy restoration of peace was the key element. So the Union turned to prayer. Not a conventional religious believer, Abraham Lincoln was, however, a man of conscious. A student of the Bible, and an inherent to the school of thought that held that human events were in fact under the care of a providential force. […] Whether prayer made any difference, is a matter of interpretation. But this much is clear, the nation that emerged from what Lincoln once called ‘the fiery trial of the war,’ lived in closer accord with the dictates of the all mighty. And the America that had begun that war.’

The country shuts down for O N E day for reflection and contemplation. No bar-b-q’s and no mattress sales, only prayer and contemplation. 

Here’s the link to listen to this episode of Jon Meacham’s ‘Reflections of History.’

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reflections-of-history/id1563421928?i=1000575851761

Thunderstorms tonight; continuously rolling thunder and lightening. Only sprinkles, though, no rain, and with the drought, so desperately needed.

From The Independent:

“In places, the Loire can now be crossed on foot; France’s longest river has never flowed so slowly. The Rhine is fast becoming impassable to barge traffic. In Italy, the Po is 2 metres lower than normal, crippling crops. Serbia is dredging the Danube.”

Across Europe, drought is reducing once-mighty rivers to trickles, with potentially dramatic consequences for industry, freight, energy and food production – just as supply shortages and price rises due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bite.

Driven by climate breakdown, an unusually dry winter and spring followed by record-breaking summer temperatures and repeated heatwaves have left Europe’s essential waterways under-replenished and, increasingly, overheated.

With no significant rainfall recorded for almost two months across western, central and southern Europe and none forecast in the near future, meteorologists say the drought could become the continent’s worst in more than 500 years.”

• Climate breakdown.
• Viruses.
• Violence.
• Migration.
• We need that day of collective prayer and contemplation. Jon, talk to Joe.

In the meantime, I’m on baby lizard watch. Apparently there’s been a ‘hatch’ (?) and baby lizards are everywhere. And they’re spastic. And very fast. 😳

Lizards in Limoux.

Please just don’t fall or crawl on me. You’ll freak me out.

Time for yoga. On the floor.

À bientôt.

🦎

Dayle in Limoux – Day #37

Ruka d’koosha/Holy Spirit

Neshama (Hebrew: נשמה) is a Hebrew word which can mean “soul” or “spirit”. It may refer to: The Jewish notion of the soul.

‘Above the heart I saw a pyramid turned upside down. The triangle was made from the fire that is near quenched and the water from which all higher life springs through the imitations of the mystics. A symbol which I knew to be the symbol the Heavenly Source, the Creator, the Father/Mother, radiated from the top left edge o the triangle.

The symbol of the Heavenly Child, the Created, the Son/Daughter radiated from top, right edge of the triangle.

The symbol of Ruche d’koodsha, the Holy Spirt, radiated from the lower point of the triangle. At the same time, the whole triangle symbolized the three uppermost energy centers of the human being: the crown centre, brow centre and throat center.

Below the heart was an upright pyramid. This triangle was filled with earthy fire and the water from which transit life arises.

The masculine symbol radiated from the bottom, left edge and the feminine from the right one.

The symbol of Naphsha, the Higher Self, humanity’s connection upwards, the bridge to the higher worlds, radiated from the topmost point.

Within this triangle the human being’s lower centre of energy were presented, the root, sacral and solar plexus centre.

Both triangles slowly glided towards the heart.

The ★ with the ♡ was the sign of Marian Magdalene, the sign of the cosmic, feminine power. 

It was not until 1989 that I really began to recognize Mariam Magdalene’s rightful place in Christian mythology. My studies in early Christian and Gnostic writings told a story about a woman and a being that spoke directly to something deep inside me.’

[pp. 266-268]

[Love this book. It’s a trilogy in one hardback tome. This particular version is only available at the Rennes-les-Chateau book shop.]

A quintessential French evening with dinner and amazing wine and music with my new amis en France! So hot and so fun. ღ

The heatness continues, but! Look. Sunday. Happy Dancing. 80’s! 80’s is C O O L. :)

I so want to know the story on these tiles…so old, as is this building I’m living in. Did German soldiers march their boots across these floors when they occupied France and Limoux? The man who lived here before the current owner, was born in this home and lived here his whole life…90 years. He shared at the time of purchase that he remembers hearing their boots on the stairwell.

Read this story earlier today. How great the tourists left it in place, took a picture, and then reported it to the park staff.

The Sacramento Bee

Tourist at Little Bighorn battlefield finds piece of history buried in dirt, park says

[A Civil War General Service cuff button was found in the dirt by a visitor at Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument in Montana, the National Park Service says. National Park Service photo.]

‘A haunting bit of history was found by accident at the Little Bighorn battlefield where 263 U.S. soldiers — including Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer — died fighting Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors in 1876. One of Custer’s soldiers must have lost a button 146 years ago, and it turned up Monday, Aug. 8, lying in the Montana dirt, according to the National Park Service. The battlefield is about 60 miles southeast of Billings.

Officials did not reveal where the button was found in the park, but note it counts as a battlefield artifact and “will go into the museum collection.” “These objects are still telling the story of the battle. If artifacts found on the field are removed or taken, that part of the story is lost,” park officials said. “The park is truly grateful for the visitors yesterday who reported the find.” “They did right thing. They left the button where it was found. They took a photo and reported it to park staff.”’

[full piece]

https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article264407946.html#storylink=cpy

F

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BBC

France firefighters battle ‘monster’ wildfire near Bordeaux

Dayle in Limoux – Day #36

On my brutal heat hike to Rennes-les-Chateau on Mary Magdalene’s feast day I lost my prayer/meditation amethyst. It was in my pocket. When I found shade I would stop and rest and I think it dropped out. On the 5th, when I was back and in the book shop, I found a new stone…a crystal…called LEPIDOLITE.

So beautiful. I call it my ‘Alma’ stone, for my great-grandmother, whom I adored.

The Lepidolite name comes from the Greek “lepidos” meaning “scale”. It almost looks fossilized.

It can be found in Brazil, Peru, Russia, Afghanistan and Madagascar. The book shop clerk, Adrian, believes this particular stone is from Brazil.

Some heat waves have names now. That could save lives.

Treating heat waves more like hurricanes could help us take them more seriously.