This is an integration of the Facebook blogs

July 5th

VISITING THE CAVE OF ST BAUME

History tells us that this is where St Mary Magdalene came, lived and taught after the crucifixion. A piece of her skull – the Third eye is here and is honoured as a relic.
So yesterday was real pilgrimage day! I climbed to the cave at St Baume where locally Magdalene is said to have lived and taught! Climbing the hill was in itself a miracle! It took a lot of Healing Buddha mantras seeded into the land, not to mention the encouragement and support of my friends ...in particular the wonderful Philip Trent!

The Escarpment is huge, France is Huge and the energy in the land is awesome. Its like the hill Assisi is built on, but natural and unsullied. Think of a Dartmoor Tor like Haytor and multiply it by 1000.....quite a battery pack !

The scenery is awesome and the views profound and that is just the journey to the car park.

The cave itself is overlaid by Dominicans and Benedictines and is full of the rather sad scenes of the crucifixion, which I really feel need updating. In my view we do not need constant reminders of the sadness of the death, but constant reminders of the resurrection and hope of the message.

This is another example of a powerful media overlay, slanting the messages to keep people enslaved in sadness, awe and fear.

There are relics here, and there is power, and Magdalene can come through it; so in a way whether it is her relics, or the natural spring , the awesome size of the cave and the climb and escarpment is sort of irrelevant.

I am sure a beautiful ceremony or concert here is amazing, and fires the powerful web of creation that is like a grid system in the earth.

Without the sound; in the silence there is a peace. It is beneath the church and the concrete, the energy dump of the basement cave where there is a beautiful and neglected ancient altar, and some energetic confusion.

Visit, offer your prayers, receive the blessings and receive the deep peace of the heart when you sit in silence. Maybe that peace was always there, and remains as you sit in your garden or by your favourite tree!

When three of us -buddhists prayed, she did come in with a profound blessing! Or was that my imagination conditioned by intent, by need, by specialness.........

We are what we create, so be in the heart, share the love, enjoy life! Forget the politics, its just a mental game that will only be changed or understood, by us talking face to face with people who want to understand, their financial affiliations, or the facts of privatisation and media manipulation.

We need to stay in the love, in the hope and in the visioning of a community of sharing!

Live the dream, be the change...............

Time for croissants with my friends now!

July 7th

Hi dear friends, I am here in the Gard region of France at Vic near Uzes, with the wonderful Laura Boomer-Trent and her wonderful husband Phil. My dear friend Gaynor O'Flynn is the fourth member of the developing fellowship. All around me a vibrant nature reveals itself: a constant sound of Cicadas, Cigalles, Crickets, a multitude of birds, beautiful trees, evergreen oaks and olives.

These dedicated buddhist practitioners have opened their home and their lives to us, to share their pool, their food and Laura -Astro-dakini's amazing wisdom teachings.

I am living a consciousness that is halfway to India! I am learning so much, touching so many memories and generally getting a life rinse!
Question: Why did people sit by and let asteroids be named (by men) with the terminology of paternalistic greek and roman myths? Why do we then start to project these old defunct ways of being into our world? Why do we publicise terrorism but not give equal weight to Islamomorphic attacks? I believe we need to really hold our systems up to the light and treat them with fairness. Here internet is a little intermittent and my photo downloading is a little problematic due to having a too full computer and I'm having too much fun to get into tech medicine.

In the meantime: its dawn (5ish) and the beauty of the early morning here unfolds with birdsong and stillness.

Do you remember just how huge the insect population is? They make themselves known here! Drinking from the pool, busying on the bushes, sounding in the trees; sucking on new flesh when they can!

The thought arises that in our daily lives there are just too many people and distractions. We have made life extra-ordinarily complicated.

Apparently the EU has offered all people living in Europe equal status to those in the UK from Europe. The Tories have declined??? WHY? If they can't agree about that...heaven help us. I think they just want the UK to be a financial tax haven for business and never mind the people. Are we going to let that happen?

What is our alternative?

Love to you all!

Off to the market today!

July 9th

Its been a few days of hot sun, insects, amazing food and company, fabulous astrology:- so many deep experiences to process and integrate.

St Baume (such a special escarpment, such a magic awesome cave ) and Mary Magdalene presence shining through all the catholic overlay.

Down in the valley at nearby St Maximin (http://www.cultofweird.com/death/skull-of-mary-magdalene/) The tiny skull encased. I wanted to cry as I entered this prison of Gold, of locked metal fencing, and glass panels, and saw this tiny skull. What an indictment of our world.

Was it her?

My heart says it was an honest devotee a tiny devout nun, but the energy is sweet and it matters not. She shines through anyway whether in these sacredly honoured places with their human religious projections and overlays, where sanctity is emphasised, or in your own alar or your own kitchen, she will meet you anywhere. Above her head as you sit on the pews was a tiny red crystal and a sweet spot where in silent meditation I flew with Kwan yin on her dragon.

That was the completion of our wonderful wonderful day visiting Nans-les-pins, St Baume, St Maximin, & Arles.
Two days ago feels like an age away now! Life flows on Freedom Fairness and Fellowship ....friendship calls!

July 9th Friday:

La visite a Sainte Maries de la Mere.

It’s a drive of an hour or so across dried rivers, fields of sunflowers and then the Camargue with its dykes and lakes, Herds of white Horses, tamed slightly into numerous riding stables......"on white horses let me ride away".....humming through our fellowship ....
Ste Maries is flat and low, a French newish bungalow town . I expect little. It is tourist time! Browned bodies sampling ice cream and burgers, frites and crepes, lots of attractive looking cheap clothes shops draw out the shopper in me. Parking the car is a little challenge and Beloved Philip drops us close to the alleyway of shops leading to the Sanctuary.
From the outside it is lovely stone building, with a flat palazzo all around.
I am accosted by an ancient gipsy woman confronting the bewildered Englishwoman, pressing a broken olive leave blessing into my palm. I disappear from her into the cool of the church to unearth my purse. She mutters until I reappear with my euro....
I can now become present to the supremely sacred energy enhanced by some beautiful sacred music softly singing.
The domed church is lit softly by candles, romanticised pictures of the three Mary's arriving by boat in groups, statues of Mary and child. Beautiful, beautiful........ I begin to melt, absorbing the silence like a sponge starved of water.
Entering the crypt I approach the beautiful photo of Yeshua, emanating coloured light from the heart, the overdressed statue of the black St Sara, reputedly a slave of the Marie's or in some tradition Magdalena's daughter. It reminds me of the dressed statue outside the reliquary of St Thomas in Chennai.

I light the statutory candle uttering my prayers for family, friends and humanity for freedom, fairness and fellowship, honouring in the slightly frenzied way of the chattering visitors, like beautiful birds offering........ then I sit, there are no chairs here, just a step by the window where the cool breeze touches my face.

As I drop deep into the heart. I am overcome by the buzzing of my third eye pulsing. Allowing the energy to flow I am the silence of the heart. The I is dissolved. The presence of the Mary's is palpable.
With the gentility of the humming bird, the intensity of its colour, the finest thread of the heart, determined, invincible but soft as melting butter, there is an opening, which allows a power to emanate through the heart, in bliss, one with all creation.
The chapel has cleared, I am alone with this momentary touch of presence. A blessing beyond words, beyond prayers, beyond sound. Gone Gone, Gone beyond....................

Later I move above to the place above with the relics…. So deep so profound.....
After a while I go to find my friends and we return to the crypt together. We meditate deeply and allow the chapel to once more clear of other people, as we come to the altar of candles together, in Gratitude and Grace. That magical moment occurring despite tourists, needs or wishes, a fact of heart consciousness.

On my way out I see that the second Mary was Mary (Helena) Salome......wife of Zebedee/ Lazarus mother of James and John......, a resonance deep in my soul. The third, Mary Jacobi, mother of another James.
I am struck by the supreme gentleness of these Mary's and the depth of power and resilience. There is complete integration of Divine Masculine /Feminine. I am in gratitude for the supreme blessings of all my teachers that got me here.

Finally we retire (somewhat reluctantly on my part) to the outside glitz and the call of the ocean and the beach . Amazing Phil Philip Trent looks after us, with so much care. I so love how beautiful Laura Boomer-Trent is held in his graceful service. He assembles the sun umbrella, and has brought cool drinks, from the perfect beach parking space.
The ocean is divine. Shared with so many beautiful sun lovers, I lie back and dissolve in the ocean of bliss.

_____________________________

The Path of a Shaman in the 21century

AMMAPREMA GRACE·FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.

Help someone’s soul heal.

Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

Rumi (with thanks for the signpost from my friend Michaela

Walking the path of enlightenment today is like walking a tightrope. With deepening spiritual knowledge and deepening awareness, one is confronted by power and the misuse of power, by a busy world servicing supply and demand, tourism, enterprise and spiritual tourism

As we grow, we are educated; in how to live in our culture and families, how to have successful social relationships, how to look after ourselves, and our families. In the modern world, that is frequently about developing skills in the three R’s; (Reading, (w) riting and (a) rithmetic), about understanding our world (Geography) our history, our fellow creatures, about how things works chemically or physically or biologically. There are options on learning to create through arts, crafts, or music. This is a kind of enlightenment process, and if we are good students, we are able to function in the modern world, survive and help others.

However there is a more ancient wisdom derived from simpler times, where people lived and worked in a more natural world and learnt the skills of growing things, and of understanding the energetic flows of the elements.

To access that wisdom now we usually head for the hills, for forests, rivers, or sea to experience the rawness of the elements and to experience retreat.

Living in nature we discover our breath, natural flows that make our physical and emotional bodies feel good, (apart from mosquitos). In cutting ourselves off from the complexities of our very mental world, something deep inside is satisfied. We discover ourselves as soul beings.

To get to that we realise we have to still our busy minds and put aside our various technical entertainments, that are variously essential to surviving in a modern world. In that place of nature, we discover our fellow beings, the worlds of birds, animals and insects. In the wildness we realise the fundamentals of survival.

This is not rocket science, not something to be packaged or exploited as a “priestess programme” or “silent retreat, “ it is what happens when we begin to be in silence.

However the natural world and the way of silence is an increasingly rare commodity and that brings issues for humans. Pollution of all sorts is invading the whole world. Pollution of, earth, air, water, & spirit is increasing.

Human beings have become master shamans of self-interest and greed. Competition is our playground, money manipulation and our intellect are our tools, the internet is our aid and our weapon.

Changing the paradigm of who and what we serve is a huge issue for our societies, for it feels very unsafe, to denounce the greed and self interest on which we depend for so much, because it leaves us vulnerable, for our survival and for our sustainability day to day. It leaves us dependent on unseen, unknowable energetics, which may or may not work. Untethering our camel may not be the wisest of moves.

So we compromise and run to the forest for holidays, camping with the mosquitos, who mirror our vulnerability in the wild, reducing us to killers who use environmentally lethal sprays.

What is the wise philosophy, the skillful means for these 21 century global conditions?

How do we find and engage in a relationship with subtle energies in a wise way, that sustains our equanimity and impacts our social world positively?

The New age offers us a plethora of possibilities: Become a Shaman or Devotee. Follow the way of Alchemy or follow a religion. Become an empowered person or priest/priestess/teacher; an Ancient wisdom practitioner or priest, manipulator. Do yoga, Tai chi, Chi gung to develop your resilience, stabiles the body, increase your health, your equanimity in the confusion of the modern global playground, which may actually just be a hologram (until you get sick and it hurts.) Pop a pill or smoke a joint, what gets you through the night of sleeplessness, dreams or terrors? Be grounded, be creative, be imaginative, express your creativity.

It’s a world of chaos and confusion, with a spiritual supermarket of possibilities from body building to extreme sports, sexual liberation to sexual slavery, daily practices to addictions.

All of us are compromised, by living in this environment of greed and self-interest, and none of us can avoid it. Our water is delivered by pipe, our excreta collectively sanitized and recycled. Our air is polluted, by the factories, manufacturing for our daily needs, or aspirations. To survive, we drive polluting machines, unless we have the health to cycle. We pay taxes that fund wars, pollution, corruption and competition alongside of all the societal benefits and necessities that sustain transport and management of human waste, children’s education and our improved health and wellbeing. We are bound in, with fewer and fewer opportunities to live off grid. And anyway who really wants to live without internet or transport, or utilities?

We may love the holidays there but the daily grind….could become a real grind.

However much we may yearn for the simple life of off-grid, village community, living; it is and was hard daily physical work, with little time for entertainment or relaxation.

So what does the Shaman, wisdom teacher look like in the modern world? Can it exist? Can we train for it? Is it just a feature of romanticized imagination? What would a modern world look like that was ecologically healthy for all of us?

Ammaprema 13.6.17

___________________

Mary blessings on you all dear friends , who got this far......

That was just the beginning ! I have now moved on, via mad train madness through Carcassonne to Quillan, and the full moon ministrations of dearest Michaela and her crystal bowls armoury ..... Water flows, spirit flows, and so must I....

Pink full moon over Bugarach!

I am here in Quillan, Languedoc, gateway to the Magdalene mysteries of the area and gateway to the Cathar Country.

Quillan is beautifully surrounded by mountains and is quiet and peaceful apart from the main Perpignan road, that comes around its outside.
After an intense retreat near Arles visiting the Magdalene sites, integration is happening here in this small French town, with its markets and river, its squares and a daily trip to the Boulangerie. My friend is still landing in her house, and we are preparing it for Air BnB. Last night she set up her meditation room and today the drains were cleared!
Mercifully it has been less hot. It is however hot enough to swim under the waterfall in the amazing Fontaine des Amours, and in the new community swimming lake. It’s also beautiful to eat wonderful vegetarian food outside on the terrace overlooking the colourful bijoux garden.

Today we head for a concert meditation in the Magdalene church at Rennes-le-Chateau. The full moon view from there was spectacular four days ago.
I have been processing a lot about Spiritual Tourism and how I can be so easily swept up in a romantic ideal, a veil of illusion, a set of enlightenment teachings, a projection of a powerful person and how to avoid that in my own work as a Shamanic sound weaver.
In today's world where one must sell one's wares, finding the fine line between financial survival, fair exchange, avoiding the trappings of religion, and finding the freedom inherent in the philosophies and practices of peace, love and the grace of the heart is tricky.

Its even trickier to communicate, but I am heartened to be writing most days and anchoring that practice into my daily rhythm.
This post follows what has been an intense full moon and in anticipation of the lead into eclipse season, taking some time to consolidate and reflect feels really good.

Sunset at Rennes-le chateau

The views of Bugarach descending from Rennes-Le-chateau, after a beautiful meditation with David Bailey pianist extraordinaire.

July 13th Today we went to the most beautiful piano meditation with David Bailey, in a magical ancient hall of an old chateaux in Rennes-le-chateau. He called in Madeleine as she is known in this part of France and just began to play the most sacred beautiful delicate heart centred piano in the moment. It was such a beautiful blessing.
Afterwards we went into the church, which was a bit disappointing by comparison. Lovely but a tourist spot. The view from the top of the hill is outstandingly magical, with the deepest peace you can ever imagine.
We just sat and marvelled under her tower. It feels like the centre of a star of venus drawn in the landscape, which I saw once in a book.

(n.b. Henry Cromwell actually postulated the 5 pointed star and has Rennes-le Chateau as one of its 5 points, but more about this later.)

Its totally breathtaking....
We then descended to our favourite restaurant (L'hostelrie ) at Rennes-les-Bains.

After the best shared pizza in the world, Michaela showed me the hot spring! Wow oh wow!
One descends to the beautiful river Selz and climbs down into the river, where there is a REALLY HOT pool coming out the earth.

Its in a sort of cave one can sound into. So you are sitting in the river, in like a hot pool, but cross over the stones and you can bathe in the cool of the river.

Its so magical to be under this cool waterfall gazing through the town, down this sacred river surrounded by mountains and huge trees, one cannot describe it!, or even imagine it in the UK!

Quite awesome!

Sweet dreams! xxxx

July 17th

Basking in the beautiful energies of this region with river and lake swimming, amazing flow and company. Great party last night with; Michaela O'Driscolland friends and today we three women + Kristina Kahnlund go off in footsteps of Magdalene again! ...very exciting!.....So many special places!

July 18th

Earth Magic!
Some of the best things to do in the star of Venus
Climb, lie or swim under great Mt Bugarach,
Bathe in the hot springs of the river in Moonlight with sparkling stars lighting the silent river,
(Or do it by daylight!)
Watch the sun set at Rennes-le chateau (after meditation and great food).
Bathe in the sacred waters of Foret de l'amour.....
Visit the special sacred churches of the area and sing your soul and experience their gifts!
Go to the Saturday Market at Esperanza, then bathe in the river.
Tone in the extra special caves of the forests.
Medititate by the pool at the Gorges de Galamos after a spectacular drive and walk.
Eat drink and make merry with friends of the heart.
Know the blessing of being human in magical lands! …………

Here at the energetic centre of a projected five pointed star of Venus , I sit at a cafe sipping earl grey roobosh and listening to some rather bad bhajans! It makes me realise how incredibly fortunate I have been in my yoga training and how rich our bhajan culture is in the Uk. They aren’t really bad , its just there is a lot of talking nd translating and I really am not in the mood for it!

For the last two days I have been exploring places around Rennes Les bains ,which is the Glastonbury of this part of France.

In three spectacular energy places I have touched the deepest peace imaginable .

The ancient energies of the ancient peoples here is awesome. The scenery is awesome, just anywhere one is in unbelievable natural beauty. And then there is this magical energy between Bugarach and Rennes Le chateau up to high above Alet-le- bains.

You know it when you suddenly feel you have fallen into pure grace! Life potters on at a peaceful pace. Feeling so blessed!

July 19th 20178.29am

Can days get any better!

I feel so blessed. having completely surrendered and given up on going to a couple of places all three things are now manifesting. Synchronistic meeting with a guide taking us tomorrow to the sacred cave!

Today the magical wonders of the Hermitage and then the indescribably beautiful Gorges de Galamus! Pictures say it all.

So wonderful to see how much better the energy is at the hermitage at Galamus than the last time. The company that own it are even selling Crystals and sage!

Apparently a local young crystal bowl player has been performing there a lot....well done her for carrying her instruments down there. I think also Stella Fairbairn was singing in here recently with Camille and Craig Pruess in preparation for an Eclipse download.

The sound is really making the cave sparkly despite all the church overlay ...Hooray

July 20th

Wow and triple wow! Just back from the most amazing 3 mile walk!

Yes dear friends this aging frame actually walked that distance UP HILL! then CLIMBED down to the secret Cave and up into the three caves!

Blown away by the experience, by the magic and extraordinariness of the event, the recapitulation and amazing sounds that came, in our ceremony with some people we met there, and eternally grateful to our amazing guide Axel who showed us the hidden pathways! He is such an amazing soul...so much silence within!

My legs can't quite believe what happened even after the hot bath I treated them to! Unfortunately the camera won't download to the computer so guess the secret remains just that!

Thanks to the guidance of the amazing orange backed cicada and the butterfly that landed on me as we approached the portals.

Deepest peace ,

beyond belief,

delicate deliciousness,

magnificent magic...

Blessings to all! xxx

____________________________

The third leg!

So bidding farewell to magical Michaela, I boarded the train from Carcassone to Gueret via Limoges. I had offered to present at a conference at my friend Thomas’s new Peace Museum in Betet. We have not met for about 19 years so it was going to be interesting!

The train journey itself flew by as I busied myself with preparing powerpoints, interrupted only briefly by a brief conversation with a young English woman on a path to Satchidananda!

Thomas met me and it was great to meet again after so long and appreciate his fine mind and heart.

I met the wonderful women who were to share the next two days of exploring Magdalen from an intellectual standpoint and with a further pilgrimage visit to Vezelay where the third portion of her supposed relics lie. (This last visit a little surprise factored in by the universe! ) It was lovely to find that Thomas now has a lovely woman in his life who lives near me in England, and fascinating to explore some of the philosophy and writings around Mary Magdalene.
Its also both good for me to step up and present without a gong to distract me and great to learn so much so quickly about what people have said about her.

A Time to Reflect
It has been 21 days since I left the UK in a personal quest,-In the footsteps of Mary Magdalene and the Magdalens (the group of people who accompanied her and followed her to Europe (perhaps) after the crucifixion.
It has changed me , as all really good pilgrimages do.

My energy appreciation is more subtle, more refined, gentler, and I have more teaching about the nature of devotion and service.
I have stepped up to honour that aspect of self that is more intellectual, and actually can present information in different formats without the joys of sound, leading.

What I have discovered are huge questions about spiritual tourism, and how I, and many others, have over the years projected onto Mary Magdalene for financial and other benefit.

In the New age she is created as Master/ Mysterice Priestess of Isis, and people run courses and priestess trainings in her name spinning their projections of her story, for their own and other's benefit.

This cult of grandiosity has little to do with the profoundly humble woman of peace, delicacy, supreme sensitivity that has been birthed in this consciousness.

Equally outrageous is how her body and her story has been manipulated by the Catholic churches through the ages that condemned her to obscurity. She has been labeled by the Historical patriarchal lineage of Peter's church teaching's, as the scarlet woman, as the corruptor. But then interest in her story, by those who have been oppressed and denigrated, has been majorly exploited, as the money-spinner, the advertiser of church communities who have then claimed her as their own.

Her or someone else’s body was dug up (possibly), then possibly other peoples bones have been exploited to attract tourists to obscure places. Her body was probably destroyed, by protestant invaders to France, in earlier times. This begs the question as to whose bones are they at St Maximin and Vezelay?

This beautifully devout little nameless saint, incarcerated behind locked caskets and grills, photographed and poked to draw people to obscure parts of France. Who is she?

I am learning that historically; maybe Mary of Magdala (noted place of the psychics,) actually died in the wars of Magdala in 80 AD described by Josephus? Whatever....

Her greatness as a saint, is attested in her complete surrender in the service of people who need help, and in actualising the teachings of Love, that she served through her Beloved Yeshua.

Her writings are beginning to emerge: The Gospel of Mary, Phillip and Thomas, all attest to her as a psychic visionary - and through her grace and her model there is hope for all of us, mildly psychic women that we can be applauded rather than slated for expressing our subtle energy body gifts.

However there are also huge lessons here for me about channeling, its reliability and how projection interfaces with it.

This is a book I may explore further and I hope sometime the Odes may be rediscovered and published separately because they have a ring of truth ......

The extent of Mary Magdalene's reach in the current world attests to her sainthood and perhaps her status as a Priestess of Isis, however as she went about what I believe was a fairly simple life, of sharing her experiences and her teachings, as many of us do now, I doubt she had a full awareness of the potential impact of her words and deeds through the generations and across so many cultures. Maybe that is the hallmark of a great saint, that they know not what their impact will be.

I doubt she realised how many women through the ages would find hope and succour in identifying with her story of experiencing oppression, possibly shame and self-denigration: to be raised up by the power of love.

This love,-the love of the Beloved, made her feel accepted, cleared of shame and guilt and able to fully express her wisdom, compassion and psychic skills: and allowed her to be honoured and indeed canonised for that (-even though this process has taken 2000 years). Hopefully women today can now experience that transformation, symbolised by a dragonfly, from being oppressed to fully self-realising themselves though opening up to devotion and allowing themselves to receive love.

Mary Magdalene, stands out as Apostle above all apostles as a true inspiration to us all in how to stand up and live deeply, peacefully, in honour of our inner visioning, in a world dominated by ignorance, fascism and patriarchal values.

If you have made it this far with me, I am so deeply touched by how many people have enjoyed these little snippets on Facebook, thank you for your kind messages of encouragement and support.

I want to end this post with an acknowledgement and thanks to all those people who have inspired and helped me on this journey. All those spiritual teachers who brought me to this place in my journey, notably Jessica Macbeth who first introduced me to the Goddess, Lama Gangchen Rinpoche, who taught me so much, Sri GuruDev Satchidananda who daily supports me, Padma Devi Sumananda, who taught me originally how to pilgrimage, -Laura Boomer-Trent, and Philip Trent, who anchored the first phase of this journey from Vic, near Arles, with amazing hospitality, patience, wisdom teachings from the Buddha and fabulous astrology revelations. Gaynor O'Flynn, a daily source of support and encouragement, who joined the first five days of this journey with her down to earth critical awareness, buddhist insights, and great company. Thanks to her for inspiring me to Follow my Joy.

Huge unbelievable thanks go to my dear friend and fellow sound-weaver: Michaela O'Driscoll whose courage and honesty tower above me. She has shared her home and her hospitality so generously for the last two weeks. She has shared knowledge of amazing hidden places and taken me on a journey into nature and magic, that has echoed the sensitivity and magic of Magdalene's teachings.

Huge thanks also to the Guides down south Kristina Kahnlund for her eternal friendship and amazing knowledge of some extra special sites and also to Axel our amazing cave guide from Les Labadous.

There have been two long and impossible walks on this journey where Axel and Philip Trent, supported me so much in the physical, and enabled me to make seemingly impossible climbs in the landscape. I am inspired and touched that there are such kind men in the world who genuinely support and care for women.

Finally I want to thank my fellow journeyers and presenters at this amazing inaugaral conference of the Mary Magdalene Studies association, here at Thomas Clough Daffern 's unbelievably eccentic (meant in the nicest of ways) Museum of the Muses, & International library of Peace in the small village of Betet.

It has been a great joy and healing to reconnect with Thomas, and huge thanks go to him for his towering scholarship and kindness in hosting and inspiring this conference. The 67 questions he raised for further study of Mary Magdalen, attest to his scholarship and spiritual journey as a Jnana Yogi. Thanks Thomas for meeting me, hosting this event, hosting and feeding me and inspiring the immense 3 hour journey to Vezelay, where I have now learnt a great car game for long journeys -The Druid game!

The six hour car journey was made possible by wonderful Mark and the delightful company of wonderful Wendy with her astute and deeply personal and honest insights. Thanks to both these new friends. Thanks also to Nicola for filming this event and Susan & Amanda, Fred and Murielle for their scholarship and sharings.

Its not quite over. I have completed a Powerpoint presentation, on Mary Magdalene - The First Apostle, which i hope to write up as a paper, and which I can send to people,

There may yet be a pamphlet or a further presentation on this particular journey if the energy sustains.

Do contact me if you want me to come and speak or present further information or bring the Joy of Sacred Sound to your area. With love blessings and thanks to you all .

Enjoy your pilgrimages and the rest of the summer!

See you again at Sound and Silence festival in Corfu in September! Or back in Devon soon. Follow your Joy!

This was Thomas Clough Daffern's very informed scholarly Introduction to our day at the Peace institute in Betete. It is in two parts, quite long but really interesting !

An Overview of Mary Magdalene Studies Part 1

CONFERENCE ON MARY MAGDALENE 22 JULY 2017 INAUGURATION OF THE MARY MAGDALENE STUDIES ASSOCIATION Dr Thomas Daffern presents An Overview Of Mary Magdalene Stu...

YOUTUBE.COM

This is part 2 of Thomas's scholarly introduction to Mary Magdalene as seen through the lens of scholarship.

An Overview of Mary Magdalene Studies - Part 2

YOUTUBE.COM

· This was Thomas Clough Daffern's very informed scholarly Introduction to our day at the Peace institute in Betete. It is in two parts, quite long but really interesting !

July 17

A pilgrimage within a Pilgrimage – to Vezelay

Home of relics supposedly of Mary Magdalene

A Time to Reflect

It has been 21 days since I left the UK in a personal quest,-In the footsteps of Mary Magdalene and the Magdalens (the group of people who accompanied her and followed her to Europe (perhaps) after the crucifixion.

It has changed me, as all really good pilgrimages do. My energy appreciation is more subtle, more refined, gentler, and I have more teaching about the nature of devotion and service.

I have stepped up to honour that aspect of self that is more intellectual, and actually can present information in different formats without the joys of sound, leading.

What I have discovered are huge questions about spiritual tourism, and how I and many others have over the years projected onto Mary Magdalene for financial and other benefit.

This cult of grandiosity has little to do with the profoundly humble woman of peace, delicacy, supreme sensitivity that has been birthed in this consciousness.

Equally outrageous is how her body and her story has been manipulated by the Catholic churches through the ages that condemned her to obscurity. She has been labelled by the Historical patriarchal lineage of Peter's church teaching's, as the scarlet woman, as the corruptor. But then interest in her story, by those who have been oppressed and denigrated, has been majorly exploited, as the money-spinner, the advertiser of church communities who have then claimed her as their own .

Her body was dug up (possibly), then other peoples bones exploited to attract tourists to obscure places. Her body was actually probably destroyed by protestant invaders to France in earlier times, which begs the question as to whose bones are they at St Maximin and Vezelay?

This beautifully devout little nameless saint, incarcerated behind locket caskets and grills, photographed and poked to draw people to obscure parts of France. Who is she?

Maybe Mary of Magdala (noted place of the psychics,) actually died in the wars of Magdala in 80 AD described by Josephus? Whatever....

Her greatness as a saint, is attested in her complete surrender in the service of people who need help, and in actualising the teachings of Love, that she served through her Beloved Yeshua.

A tremendous discovery here at the International Museum of Peace where her scholarship is honoured and explored, has been the beautiful Odes of Solomon that she possibly shared with one of the male disciples, who wrote of her experiences in the most delicate verses (see Pseudepigrapha (ed Charlesworth- £215) !! This is a book I may explore further and I hope sometime the Odes may be rediscovered and published separately because they have a ring of truth ......

The extent of Mary Magdalene's reach in the current world attests to her sainthood and perhaps her status as a Priestess of Isis, however as she went about what i believe was a fairly simple life, of sharing her experiences and her teachings, as many of us do now, I doubt she hd a full awareness of the potential impact of her words and deeds through the generations and across so many cultures.

I doubt she realised how many women through the ages would find hope and succour in identifying with her story of experiencing oppression and possibly shame and self-denigration: to be raised up by the power of love. This love,-the love of the Beloved, made her feel accepted, cleared of shame and guilt and able to fully express her wisdom, compassion and psychic skills: and allowed her to be honoured and indeed canonised for that (-even though this process has taken 2000 years). Hopefully women today can now experience that transformation, symbolised by a dragonfly, from being oppressed to fully self-realising themselves though opening up to devotion and allowing themselves to receive love.

Mary Magdalene, stands out as Apostle above all apostles, as a true inspiration to us all in how to stand up and live deeply peacefully, in honour of our inner visioning, in a world dominated by ignorance, fascism and patriarchal values.

If you have made it this far with me, I am so deeply touched by how many people have enjoyed these little snippets on Facebook, thank you for your kind messages of encouragement and support.

I want to end this post with an acknowledgement and thanks to all those people who have inspired and helped me on this journey. All those spiritual teachers who brought me to this place in my journey, notably Padma Devi Sumananda, who taught me originally how to pilgrimage, -Laura Boomer-Trent, and Philip Trent, who anchored the first phase of this journey from Vic, near Arles, with amazing hospitality, patience, wisdom teachings from the Buddha and amazing astrology revelations. Gaynor O'Flynn, a daily source of support and encouragement,who joined the first five days of this journey with her down to earth critical awareneness, and buddhist insights, and great company. Thanks to her for inspiring me to Follow my Joy.

Huge unbelievable thanks go to my dear friend and fellow soundweaver: Michaela O'Driscoll whose courage and honesty tower above me. She has shared her home and her hospitality so generously for the last two weeks. She has shared knowledge of amazing hidden places and taken me on a journey into nature and magic, that has echoed the sensitivity and magic of Magdalene's teachings. Huge thanks also to the Guides down south Kristina Kahnlund for her eternal friendship and amazing knowledge of some extra special sites and also to Axel our amazing cave guide from Les Labadous.

There have been two long and impossible walks on this journey where Axel and Philip Trent, supported me so much in the physical and enabled me to make seemingly impossible climbs in the landscape.

Finally I want to thank my fellow journeyers at this amazing inaugeral conference of the Mary Magdalene Studies association, here at Thomas Clough Daffern 's unbelievably eccentic Museum of the Muses, International library of Peace in Betet. It has been a great joy and healing to reconnect with Thomas, and huge thanks go to him for his scholarship and kindness in hosting and inspiring this conference

July28th

Here at home, with grey skies above, I am integrating and landing in my own beautiful temple, with Catherine's amazing flower arrangements for my Goddess altar presided over by the Kwan Yin lamp and my current crystal grid! She is now in the Forest of Dean grounding Peace there. She is synchonistically working with Mary Magdalene's influence in the landscape of the south-west of the Uk and clearing and connecting many Magdalene churches
It has been an amazing journey and I hope I may soon be able to post the talk I did at the Inaugeral Conference for Mary Magdalene Studies at the European Peace Institute.
If it uploads, Here is the film of the powerpoint, slightly amended for the internet and without the words and talking that went with it! I think there is a film coming soon for editing! Love to you all! x