Carpe Diem #1140 Arriving at the Right Moment

My Response to Carpe Diem #1140 - Road to Santiago - Arriving at the Right Moment

Well ... here it is finally we have reached Santiago De Compostela. 

Here at the end of the Road we finally can see the connection with the divine Tarot, which was mentioned in one of my earlier posts this month.

Here is the lesson:-

[...] "Father Jordi sat at the table, leaving me standing. 

He took some herbs and lit them, filling the place with their perfume. 

More and more, the situation reminded me of my encounter with Mme Lourdes. 

‘First, I want to tell you something,’ said Father Jordi. 

‘The Jacobean route is only one of four roads. 

It is the Road of the Spades, and it may give you power, but that is not enough.’

‘What are the other three?’

‘You know at least two others: 

the Road to Jerusalem, which is the Road of the Hearts, or of the Grail, and which endows you with the ability to perform miracles; 

and the Road to Rome, which is the Road of the Clubs; it allows you to communicate with other worlds.’

‘So what’s missing is the Road of the Diamonds to complete the four suits of the deck,’ I joked. 

And the father laughed.  ‘Exactly. That’s the secret Road. 

If you take it someday, you won’t be helped by anybody. 

For now, let us leave that one aside.” [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

Christians in the first millennium considered three routes to be sacred. 

Each of them offered a series of blessings and indulgences to those who traveled its length. 

The first led to the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome; its travelers, who were called wanderers, took the cross as their symbol. 

The second led to the Holy Sepulcher of Christ in Jerusalem; those who took this road were called Palmists, since they had as their symbol the palm branches with which Jesus was greeted when he entered that city. 

There was a third road, which led to the mortal remains of the apostle, San Tiago – Saint James in English, Jacques in French, Giacomo in Italian, Jacob in Latin.

 He was buried at a place on the Iberian peninsula where, one night, a shepherd had seen a brilliant star above a field. 

The legend says that not only San Tiago but also the Virgin Mary went there shortly after the death of Christ, carrying the word of the Evangelist and exhorting the people to convert. 

The site came to be known as Compostela – the star field – and there a city had arisen that drew travelers from every part of the Christian world. 

These travelers were called pilgrims, and their symbol was the scallop shell.

Photo Credit

 Pedroso mountain, Laraño, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

We have succeeded the Road, an equivalent of the Road Jesus had to take on His final days, but here it is not going to stop. 

Here at Santiago De Compostela, it starts ... the final piece of life as we know it ... here at Santiago de Compostela, we have seen the Lamb and we have seen our future ... 

Here at the end of the Road we finally can see the connection with the divine Tarot, which I mentioned in one of my earlier posts this month ... 

We have conquered life and we may enter into the Love our Creator, Higher Spirit or what ever name that you choose for that Power.

Finally, Paulo recovers his sword what was taken from him at the start of his Road to Santiago ... he finally gets it back from his Master.

I need share a short piece of text from "The Pilgrimage" to celebrate that we have, together with Paulo done.

[...] "As the lamb looked at me, I could read all of this in his eyes; 

now he had become my guide along the Road to Santiago. 

For a moment everything went dark, and I began to see scenes that were reminiscent of those I had read about in the Apocalypse: 

the Great Lamb on his throne and people washing his vestments, cleansing them with his blood. 

This was the moment when the God was awakened in each of them. 

I also saw the wars and hard times and catastrophes that were going to shake the earth over the next few years. 

But everything ended with the victory of the Lamb and with every human being on earth awakening the sleeping God and all of God’s power.

I was worthy of my sword because I knew what to do with it." [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

[...] "The Master held out the sword to me, and I grasped it. 

I looked about for the lamb, but he had disappeared. 

But that did not matter: 

the Water of Life fell from the sky and caused the blade of my sword to glisten.' [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Tanka - Arriving at the Right Moment

the moment has come

the road to santiago

arriving on time

recovering the lost sword

a small medal to treasure

Photo Credit

Carpe Diem #1139 - Listening

My Response to Carpe Diem #1139 - Road to Santiago - Listening

Listen to the sound of the wind it will reveal you the sacred wisdom of the Road to Santiago.

Petrus, Paulo’s guide, asks him to sit down and then he told him about the 

                                     “Listening Exercise”

[...] 'Relax. Close your eyes. Try for several minutes to concentrate on all of the sounds you hear in your surroundings as if you were hearing an orchestra playing its instruments. 

Little by little, try to separate each sound from the others.

Concentrate on each one, as if it were the only instrument playing. 

Try to eliminate the other sounds from your awareness.

When you do this exercise every day, you will begin to hear voices. 

First, you will think that they are imaginary. 

Later, you will discover that they are voices of people from your past, present, and future, 

all of them participating with you in the remembrance of time.

This exercise should be performed only when you already know the voice of your messenger.

Do this exercise for ten minutes at a time. " [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit            Squirrel listening for sound in case he needs a quick get-away.

© Chèvrefeuille Say’s

You just have to try it to experience it, and I think it's not really necessary to know the voice of your messenger, your guardian angel. It's like listening to the wind, close your eyes, experience the spring breeze, you can feel it on your face, you can feel it playing with your hair ... the spring breeze (by the way all kind of wind) whispers his/her message in your ear. You can listen what the wind does tell you, it is the word of the Creator, Higher Self or what ever name you will give it. My Tanka for Listening

listen with your heart

silence is peace to enjoy

open up your soul

voices within are true sounds

only I know why - listen

Photo Credit

Pilgrimage souvenirs seen in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Carpe Diem #1138 - Hospitality

My Response to Carpe Diem #1138 - Road to Santiago - Hospitality

This episode is titled “Hospitality” and it refers to be friendly and loving to another human being in "The Pilgrimage”.

Along The Road to Santiago you can always find shelter at old barns, small villages, hotels, homes and more that is one of the "laws" of the Road to Santiago, 

while you are on your Road to Santiago as a pilgrim, wearing the St. James Scallop, you always will find a place to stay, to rest, to eat and drink, but also to sleep. 

Photo Credit

St James Scallop - A marker in the pavement in the town of Navarrete, La Rioja, Spain, indicates the route of the Way of St. James through the town's center.

This is also the deeper meaning of walking the Road ... be grateful for everything you got. 

The people living along the Road will give you shelter because they know that giving you a place to rest will give them a good feeling and it gives them the love, the unconditional love of our Creator.

This month we have been walking the Road to Santiago together with Paulo Coelho the world famous author from Brazil. 

"The Pilgrimage" is our guide along the Road, it has been a great inspiration to me, I have learned so much, it felt as though I was walking it myself.

Sometimes walking the road there are times when nature isn’t kind to the traveler, this could be one of the times when hospitality is welcomed.

Photo Credit

Dark stormy weather on the Road to Santiago

Tanka for hospitality

though times may be hard

walking the pilgrimage road

help available

just trust in the lord above

angels watching over you

Carpe Diem #1137 The Bridge

My Response to Carpe Diem #1137 - Road to Santiago - The Bridge

This episode is titled "The Bridge" and it refers to some of the paragraphs in "The Pilgrimage":

[...] One morning Paulo and his guide Petrus. arrived at an immense bridge, totally out of proportion to the modest stream that coursed below it. 

They had a talk over breakfast - going something like this:-

‘But it is known along the Road to Santiago as the “honorable passage.” 

These fields around us were the site of some bloody battles between the Suevians and the Visigoths, and later between Alphonse III’s soldiers and the Moors.

Maybe the bridge is oversize to allow all that blood to run past it without flooding the city.’

‘However, it wasn’t the Visigoth hordes or the triumphant cries of Alphonse III that gave this bridge its name. 

It was another story of love and death.'

During the first centuries of the Road to Santiago, pilgrims, priests, nobles, and even kings came from all over Europe to pay homage to the saint. 

Because of this, there was also an influx of assailants and robbers. 

History has recorded innumerable cases of robbery of entire caravans of pilgrims and of horrible crimes committed against lone travelers.’

‘Because of the crimes, some of the nobility decided to provide protection for the pilgrims, and each of the nobles involved took responsibility for protecting one segment of the Road. 

But just as rivers change their course, people’s ideas are subject to alteration. 

In addition to frightening the malefactors, the knights began to compete with each other to determine who was the strongest and most courageous on the Road. 

It wasn’t long before they began to do battle with each other, and the bandits returned to the Road with impunity.' [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

You can see the original bridge that pilgrims used to cross over the Miño River in Portomarin,

It is located on the pilgrimage route known as the French Way.

The town of Portomarín was constructed and built next to a Roman bridge over the Minho River and rebuilt in the Middle Ages.

New Tanka for “the Bridge”.

beautiful bridges

rivers change courses in floods

some taking the bridge with them

like bridges built between friends

they can change directions too

Photo Credit

Carpe Diem #1135 - That Moment

My Response to Carpe Diem #1135 - Road to Santiago - That Moment

A scene which Paulo encounters while on his road to Santiago.

[...] "We arrived one afternoon at the ruins of an old castle of the Order of the Knights Templar. 

We sat down to rest, and while Petrus smoked his usual cigarette, I drank a bit of the wine leftover from lunch. 

I studied the view that surrounded us: a few peasant houses, the tower of the castle, the undulating fields ready for sowing. 

To my right appeared a shepherd, guiding his flock past the walls of the castle, bound for home. 

The sky was red, and the dust raised by the animals blurred the view, making it look like a dream or a magic vision. 

The shepherd waved to us, and we waved back. 

The sheep passed in front of us and continued down the road. .... It was an impressive scene … " [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

My thought’s - a tanka poem, 31 syllables.

wandering the path

following one behind the other

nibble here and there

enjoy the warmth from above

lord please bless the shepherds flock

Photo Credit

This photo looks just like Paulo said “The sheep passed in front of us and continued down the road”.

Carpe Diem #1134 - Beyond Control

My Response to Carpe Diem #1134 - Road to Santiago - Beyond Control

We are on our way to Santiago De Compostela, walking that famous route, St. James Way or The Camino, the Road to Santiago. 

This month we were on route to Santiago together with Paulo Coelho and his guide Petrus. 

This month we are walking the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read “The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho”.

The Reason Why Paulo Coelho has been walking the “Road to Santiago” is.  to recover and regain the power and the light of his sword, which he lost at the start of his novel.

Photo Credit

In this similarity we can see also that we aren't in control ... the Cosmos, Higher Spirit or whatever name you choose is in control. 

Again I sense that to go beyond control is letting go ...

Let us take a look at a quote from "The Pilgrimage":

[...] ‘In the life on the Road to Santiago, certain things happen that are beyond our control. 

When we first met, I told you that I had read in the gypsy’s eyes the name of the demon you would have to confront. 

I was surprised to learn that the demon was a dog, but I did not say anything to you about it at the time. 

Only after we arrived at that woman’s house – when for the first time, you showed the love that consumes – did I see your enemy.

‘When you chased away that woman’s dog, you did not place him anywhere. 

You didn’t hurl the spirits into a drove of pigs that was thrown over a precipice, as Jesus did. 

You simply chased the dog away. 

Now his force wanders along behind you, without a destination. 

Before finding your sword, you are going to have to decide whether you want to be enslaved by that force or whether you will dominate it.’ [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

will you find the sword

show courage you may succeed

you have accomplished much

higher spirit are winning

are you beyond control now

Carpe Diem #1131 meditation

My Response to Carpe Diem #1131 - Road to Santiago - Meditation.

This month we are walking with Chèvrefeuille the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho.

Today the word is Meditation - Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. Meditation is not a part of any religion; it is a science, which means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles, and produces results that can be verified.

In meditation, the mind is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused. When you meditate, you are fully awake and alert, but your mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around you. Meditation requires an inner state that is still and one-pointed so that the mind becomes silent. When the mind is silent and no longer distracts you, meditation deepens.

These couple of paragraphs were copied from - https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-real-meaning-of-meditation  check it out.

Chèvrefeuille Tells how Paulo and Petrus (his guide) are on their way to Santiago use several exercises to find their deeper grounds. 

The Blue Sphere Exercise

Seat yourself comfortably, and relax. Try not to think about anything.

1. Feel how good it is to be alive. 

Let your heart feel free and affectionate; let it rise above and beyond the details of the problems that may be bothering you. 

Begin to sing softly a song from your childhood. 

Imagine that your heart is growing, filling the room – and later your home – with an intense, shining blue light.

2. When you reach this point, begin to sense the presence of the saints (or other beings) in which you placed your faith when you were a child. 

Notice that they are present, arriving from everywhere, smiling and giving you faith and confidence.

3. Picture the saints approaching you, placing their hands on your head and wishing you love, peace, and communion with the world – the communion of the saints.

4. When this sensation becomes strong, feel that the blue light is a current that enters you and leaves you like a shining, flowing river. 

This blue light begins to spread through your house, then through your neighborhood, your city, and your country; it eventually envelops the world in an immense blue sphere. 

This is the manifestation of the great love that goes beyond the day-to-day struggle; it reinforces and invigorates, as it provides energy and peace.

5. Keep the light spread around the world for as long as possible. Your heart is open, spreading the love. This phase of the exercise should last for a minimum of five minutes.

6. Come out of your trance, bit by bit, and return to reality. 

The saints will remain near. The blue light will continue to spread around the world.

This ritual can and should be done with more than one person. 

When this is the case, the participants should hold hands while they do the exercise.

It's a wonderful way of meditating. 

I will bring you the comfort, peace, love and silence you need to break loose from your daily life. 

You just have to try it to experience it. It's really awesome.

My Tanka - Meditation

surroundings are quiet

mindfall of past happenings 

light bright but not blue

grandmother is standing near
offering her hand to peace

Carpe Diem #1130 - Road to Santiago - Intuition.

My Response to Carpe Diem #1130 - Road to Santiago - Intuition.

This month we are walking with Chèvrefeuille the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho.

Today the word is Intuition the Noun meaning of Intuition is - the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.

In "The Pilgrimage" Paulo learns a beautiful exercise named "the water exercise'. 

The Arousal of Intuition (The Water Exercise):

Make a puddle of water on a smooth, nonabsorbent surface.

 Look into the puddle for a while. 

Then, begin to play with it, without any particular commitment or objective. 

Make designs that mean absolutely nothing. 

Do this exercise for a week, allowing at least ten minutes each time. 

Don’t look for practical results from this exercise; it is simply calling up your intuition, little by little. 

When this intuition begins to manifest itself at other times of the day, always trust in it.

The results of Paulo’s feeling when he does a "water exercise": 

[...] I emptied the remaining water onto the cement and a small puddle formed. 

I did not have any image or shape in mind, and I wasn’t seeking one. 

I swirled my fingers through the cold water, and I experienced the same kind of hypnosis that one feels when staring into the flames of a fire. 

I thought about nothing; 

I was just playing – playing with a puddle of water. 

I made some streaks at the edge of the puddle, and it seemed to become a wet sun, but the streaks quickly rejoined the puddle and disappeared. 

With the palm of my hand, I batted at the center of the puddle; 

the water splashed away, covering the cement with droplets, black stars on a gray background. 

I was completely lost in that absurd exercise, an exercise that had not the slightest purpose but was delightful to do. 

I felt that my mind had stopped working almost completely, a feeling I had previously achieved only after long periods of meditation and relaxation. 

At the same time, something told me that down deep, in places that my mind could not reach, a force was being born and becoming ready to manifest itself. 

That puddle of water established a contact – however fragile – with the Milky Way above me. 

It reflected the stars, created designs I could not understand and it gave me the feeling not that I was wasting time but that I was creating a new code for communicating with the world. 

It was the soul’s secret code – the language that we know but so seldom hear. [...] 

(Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

            My Tanka about Intuition

child in a puddle

watching the ripples spread out

little mind enjoying fun

reading the thoughts of a child

enjoying a puddle splash

Carpe Diem #1129 - Road to Santiago - Friendship

My Response to Carpe Diem #1129 - Road to Santiago - Friendship

“Friendship ... cherish your friends, cherish them because they will always be there for you not only in life but also after life …”.

The above quote was copied from “Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. The warmhearted and loving virtual family that have become my friend”.

Now in my late seventies, I still have my husband and family.

As for my friends they have all passed away, one day I will meet up with them again if I go to heaven.

My Tanka - Friendship

friends may come and go

as many years disappear

all the pitfalls have vanished

my real friend are virtual now

making everyday special