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