Journey of the Soul Extract

In all my transactions today, I intend them to come from a place of love within me, to a place of love within others. From a place of honesty in myself to a place of honesty within others. From my integrity to the integrity of others. From a place of openness, as I respect the rights of all living things. I intend to be gentle, kind and forgiving. I intend to be aware of the wonders of the universe and to greet them all with gratitude and awe. And I welcome whatever flows into my life to teach me today, and to listen to the conversation that the universe is trying to have with me. I intend to be inspired, to have joy, to be grateful for all that I have in my life, and for every opportunity I’m given. I intend to use my intuition and all my other spiritual gifts in all transactions today and to help wherever I can, even if that help is in standing still and doing nothing, or letting go of someone I love. I intend for peace and harmony, and that, wherever I can make restitution, I shall have the courage and willingness to do so. I intend to live my humanity and divinity simultaneously today and move further along my path to enlightenment. I dedicate my life to love, to peace, to harmony, to healing, to teaching, to my spiritual growth, and the spiritual growth of others.

How to make mulled wine

To make mulled wine, firstly choose a good red wine.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add lemon/orange peel and a little fruit juice. Crush cloves and crush fresh root ginger, add them with bay leaves, some powdered all spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and some star anise. Heat the mixture - not boil - but lightly bubble for 5 minutes. Put the liquid mixture through a fine gauze filter.
Add brandy and honey to taste.
Serve in a heated cup.

Confession: I pour my finished mulled wine into my favourite tea pot (used exclusively for mulled wine). It is ideal when entertaining to have a special pot and special cup for mulled wine.

Shortbread, oatcakes and Fingers of homemade bread with a wedge of cheese are ideal serving suggestions.

From the Wendy Stokes Recipe Book

If - A Poem

 

Alone - A Poem

O let me be alone awhile! 

No human form is nigh; 

And I may sing and muse aloud,

No mortal ear is by.

Away, you dreams of earthly bliss,

Ye Earthly cares be gone! 

Depart, ye restless, wondering thoughts, 

And let me be alone!

One hour, my spirit, stretch their wings

And quit this joyless sod;

Bask in the sunshine of the sky, 

And be alone with God.

End Times

 Words by Jesus about the End Times:

“Though I was hungry, you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.”

“That day of wrath, that dreadful day, shall the whole world in ashes lay, as David and the Sibyls say. What horror will invade the mind, at the last trumpet’s wondrous sound, and through the rending tombs, rebound, and wake the nations underground. The judge ascends his awful throne, He makes each secret sin be known, and all with shame, confess their own. Forget not what the ransom cost, nor let my dear-bought soul be lost. Prostrate my contrite heart I rend. Do not forsake me in my end.” Funeral song in the Requiem Mass. 

The Pregnant Dolphin - A Story

”The famous Italian diver Enzo Mallorca dived into the sea at ​​Syracuse. He was talking to his daughter Rossana who was aboard a boat and felt something slightly hit his back. He turned and saw a dolphin. Then he realized that the dolphin was trying to express something and as the dolphin dived, Enzo followed.

At a depth of about 12 meters, Enzo saw, trapped in an abandoned net, another dolphin. Enzo quickly called to his daughter to grab diving knives and join him. Soon, the two managed to free the dolphin, which issued an "almost human cry".

Abou Ben Adhem - A Poem

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold:—

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,

Horse Whispering

The art of horse whispering was kept a family secret, and horse dealing was conducted using handshakes and passwords to avoid charges of witchcraft. In Essex, 'Cunning Murrel' was used by farmers to heal livestock. Dan Wickett from Polperro, Cornwall, was a wort healer and had also horse whispering abilities. East Anglia was a major area for horse whispering. They often used in horse racing, talismans for 'drawing' - attracting horses, or 'jading', - repelling the horse. A wedge found in a foal's mouth'milt' or 'pad' was dried and soaked in oils to draw. To jade, a frog or natterjack toad was killed and impaled on a whitethorn to dry and buried for a month. It was then thrown into a running stream. One bone would float, and this. was kept as a talisman. This bone was the ileum or pelvic girdle and looks like a wishbone. It was carried in a pouch with flesh and other repellents and when placed in the horse's hoof would stop it from running fast. Herbs were used to attract, such as sorrell, bryony, cinnamon, rosemary, and tansy. Raw ginger under the horses tail would make it 'prance', called 'gingering up'. A twitch in the mouth would create pain and focus the horse's attention on the front of its head for operations at the back. Spiders web, chesse rind and harness leather were used to heal fleshwounds. Horse hair was used to make necklaces to cure goitre. 

The London Stone

William Blake thought that Druids sacrificed human victims on the London Stone! 

The London Stone was first mentioned in a gospel book of the West Saxons before 940 A.D. Stow, in 1598 describes the stone on the south side of Cannon Street as fixed in the ground, very deep, fastened with bars of iron and otherwise so strong that if carts run against it, their wheels be broken but the stone remains unshaken. The original function and significance of this limestone remains a mystery. In the Middle Ages, proclamations would be issued from it and binding agreements sworn over it. When Jack Cade, leader of the Kentish rising in 1450 occupied London for three days, he went straight to the London stone which he ceremoniously struck with his sword. A clue to the stone’s significance is other similar stones, such as the Coronation Stone at Westminster Abbey and the Kingston upon Thames stone upon which seven Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned. It is now thought that the London stone was also originally a symbolic source of power and authority.

The Wraggle-Taggle Gypsies - A Poem

 The Wraggle-Taggle Gipsies - Anon

Three gypsies stood at the castle gate
They sang so high, they sang so low
The lady sate in her chamber late
Her heart it melted away as snow

They sang so sweet, they sang so shrill
That fast her tears began to flow
And she lay down her silken gown
Her golden rings and all her show

She took it off her high-heeled shoes
A-made of Spanish leather-O
She would in the street in her bare, bare feet
All out in the wind and weather-O

 

Getting to Know the Goddess Course 1:1

Goddess-Pages online course, visit: goddess- Pages.co.uk
This  purse is practical as well as educational, and it has made me think about so many aspects of my life and society in general, as well as put me in touch with antiquity, with womanhood throughout the ages, and about many of the women in my life that have influenced me. I had never thought of ‘Goddess’ as a diminutive word, such as waitress, but She is the original, the first, She was the one and only, and therefore maybe I will attach a prefix such as this when describing Her. 
I have a connection with the Goddess and relate to many of Her archetypes. She is healing, and when focussing, and meditating on ‘the Lady’ especially in Springtime, as Flora, my meditations are wonderful, and full of images of beauty of all kinds. I love the early archaeological discoveries of the sculptures of the ‘Venus’ types. I am reflected in these images. I am very concerned about the incredible temples in the Middle Eastern war zones, unexplored, with the ground full of wonders, many, I am sure, would reveal much more about Her if protected for the future. I feel very aggrieved about the archaeological atrocities, despite many being in protected World Heritage sites. (Not to say anything about the animals, and rare species especially those that are badly affected by war, the ecological damage – as well as human suffering beyond our ability to imagine). I am against war, war on people, animals, and the delicate ecology of the planet.