The Fool

Wise men learn more from fools than fools learn from wise men! 

Taking as an example of the Fool from Tarot Apokalypsis by Erik  C Dunne and Kim Huggens we read... At the beginning it is the end; at the end it is the beginning. The highest point is the lowest! Ambiguity reigns! But from the lowest, the highest might be attained. This is the path of the Holy Fool! The madman filled with the ecstasy of union with the Beloved. What wisdom is concealed in the moment? What love is hidden in the yearning? What progress is achieved in the dance? Truly God comes to us like madness, but the connection is prepared, the steps are learnt over generations, the rhythm guarded, and supervision required for structure to achieve the union with the deity. For you are not you, and I am not I. Your head will grow dizzy from the spinning and weaving of love, drink deeply of the wine that is communion with the Godhead and inhale the opiate of joy. You will know ecstasy that will liberate you from chains of density. Only when you cannot think of yourself without thinking of God, will you realise that when you turn your head in any direction, God will be there, as God is within yourself and within the Beloved. You no longer exist, only God exists. The One, the All - and the Nothing! All your moments will be eternity! 

The Fool is an instigation and a conclusion! It exists at the beginning and end of the Major Arcana, as each of the Major cards provides a learning experience, and we are the greater Fool, the Sacred Fool, as we end each of the 21 destinations of our karma. There are no boundaries between ourselves and the Beloved, ourselves and the deity. 

The Gypsy's Curse - A Story

Christina and Leah were two sisters who had been brought up in a French convent.When they were children, a cart-horse had run over them, leaving a scar across both their bodies. A gypsy who saw the accident made a pronouncement "Their destiny is tied to blood!" 

The date is 1910. Christina, the eldest is a maid looking after a lady and her daughter. They thought highly of Christina as she worked hard but she was paid very little. The convent often wrote to the mistress asking for money, which she gave. Within 5 years, Leah was ready to leave the convent and applied to join the small household. She was accepted but only at no further cost to the mistress. Both sisters slept in the same bed, as they had as children. But they argued about sending what little money they had to their mother who constantly asked for financial assistance, especially as they were not in good health. Christina used the money they would have sent to their mother to make lace ribbons and knitted garments for Leah. The mistress saw the beautiful clothes and thought they were stealing from her. 

The White Ship

The White Ship was extraordinary for its time, as usually ships were waterproofed with black pitch and this one might have been limed to distinguish it as the most prestigious royal vessel that sailed the seas. It was certainly the largest, with a massive 50 of the very best oarsmen, so when it set sail on a calm November day in 1120, it sought to out rival the Ming’s ship that had set sail a few hours previously from Barflour in Normandy and heading to Southampton. 

The day began with Captain FitzStephen of the White Ship requesting King Henry I to honour him on the White Ship for the voyage across the Channel, but King Henry decided to leave earlier but offered his son, the Prince and his entourage to accompany the Captain. Prince William, upon boarding and his men immediately got drunk and very rowdy, commanding the oarsmen to out strip the King in making it Southampton first. 

When the White Ship hit the rocks of Quillebeuf, the Prince was placed in a boat for safety, but his half sister, Countess Matilda, cried for him to save her and his boat returned and was upturned by drowning men. There was only one survivor, Bertold from whom the story was told. 

Coincidence! What’s it all about?

A 'coincidence' is two unrelated events that take place at the same time. Coincidences are surprisingly common and occur many times each day, for example, I was thinking about a friend this morning when she telephoned me. Is this just a co-incidence or could it have been telepathy?

Richard Dadd

Richard began his life with a tremendously promising career as a distinguished painter.

 Of the seven children of Robert Dadd’s first marriage, three, Richard, George, and Maria were to become completely insane, while Stephen had a private attendant but little more is known of his circumstances. Robert the eldest brother, born 13, July 1813 practiced as a chemist for many years in Whitechapel. George was the youngest of Richard’s full brothers, born 13, December 1822. He was a skilled carpenter at Chatham Dockyard. He began to show signs of mental instability when he was 20 yrs old and in 1843, the same year that Richard became unstable. He was admitted to Bethlehem and stayed there until his death in 1868. Though both brothers were confined in the same hospital, it is unlikely they met. John, a half brother, born to his father’s second wife and the second of two boys, was born 24, May 1829. He was apprenticed to Robert and went to America to establish a popular drug store. 

Validations - A Story

A school teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could write about their classmates.

At the end of the class, each one handed in their paper.

At the next class, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

 

At the following class, she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. Each student said 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much".

Canine Catastrophe!

5 dogs go missing ever day in the UK. There are 8 million dogs in the UK. It is often not known by dog lovers that many thousands of dogs are suffering needlessly - and the huge expense in a 'merry go round' of sad lives.

Breeders, from council estates, greyhound tracks, multiple occupancy kennels and pet shops, run a business with a small amount of capital outlay, yet puppies can sell for £1,000 each, especially if a pedigree features in a popular children's film or is a winner at Crufts or is seen with a popular celebrity.

The City of Revelation! London by Chris Street

There have been several attempts to re-build London as ‘The New Jerusalem’. The first was by the Knights Templar. In 1185, they modelled their Temple Church in Holborn on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and sited the building exactly the same distance from the old St. Pauls Cathedral as the Holy Sepulchre is sited from the Dome of the Rock. Clearly they saw a connection, or wanted to create one! 

St Michael

The name Michael means 'who is like God' and he was originally a Chaldean deity. He is most often depicted winged with an unsheathed sword. He is God's greatest warrior and slayer of the evil dragon. He is said to be the Viceroy of Heaven and to hold its keys. He ranks as the greatest of all angels and weighs the souls of the dead and holds in his hands, the scales of justice. He is the Archangel of Repentance and of Righteousness, Mercy and Sanctification. He is chief of the ranks of Virtues and the conqueror of Satan. He is the angel of death that leads the souls of the faithful to eternal light. 

His mystery name is 'Sabbathiel' He is credited as the author of the Psalm 85 and he is also credited with preventing Abraham from slaying his son, Isaac. The fire that Moses saw in the burning bush is said to be like Michael. Sarah and her husband Abraham were entertained unaware that they were, in fact, in the company of angels, not men. 

Inner Voice Confidence

When you hear your internal voice, with its criticism and negativity, where do you hear it? What location? In front of your head? at the back or the side? 

Now I would like you to imagine how your voice would sound when confident and happy. Is it louder or softer? Is it clearer and easier to hear? Is it stronger or weaker? Does the voice speak faster or more slowly? 

Imagine your voice sounding clear, confident, positive and happy. Put that voice in the same location where your old into internal voice was located. 

Now imagine a happy and confident voice, say these words in this voice several times “all is well, all is well” notice how you feel. Next, think of some negative conversations you have given to yourself in the past things, such as “I’m not good at giving presentations”, “I will never find someone to fall in love with me”. For each statement come up with a positive opposite such as “I’m naturally confident and I give excellent presentations“ and I’m extremely lovable and everyone loves me”.  Finally, repeat the new positive suggestions to yourself in your new confident internal voice, say the new statements over and over again.