Greetings Everyone!

In part one of my “Romance With France” blog,  I took you on a light, whimsical and often comical,  winding adventure back in time,  throughout several chapters of my life, in an attempt to explain my bizarre connection or love affair, if you will,  with the country of France!  That in itself is sounds ridiculous yet,  there is some validity to it!   And I had every intention of picking up right where I left off,  for part two,  as there is still  SO much more to the story I have yet to share  but, in light of recent exciting events,  I think I shall take you on a little detour,  from my personal history and just take a huge leap of faith and jump in head first, smack dab right in the here and now!   We can always back track later when things have calmed down a bit but I have far too many new and exciting experiences to share!   And remember what I said at the end of the last part, my little warning?  The beginning sounded all fluffy and fun but…. when one delves deeply into these many histories and mysteries of our beloved France,  there is often not much to laugh about.   Its time to put my big girl serious pants on!  Yet don’t worry,  I always seem to find a way to bring it back around with some levity!  If you’re getting to know me at all,  you will discover that humour is a huge part of my coping mechanism, even through the strangest of times, I always manage to lighten things up and have a good laugh, even if  its merely poking fun at either myself or the seriousness of a situation in particular!

The Confession!

What I mysteriously didn’t reveal in my last blog was while I was feverishly typing away at it,  I was also covertly and frantically throwing clothes into a huge suit case, or 4 and secretly scheming and preparing for my latest exciting return to my favourite country in the world!  Finally, after nearly three long and arduous years pining away like a lonely lovebird,  I would at last be reunited with my beloved  FRANCE!   Somebody cue Jacques Brel’s song “Ne Me Quit Pas” again!

Yes, I know, I was being a tad “cloak and dagger” about it all but I did have my reasons! And I so wanted to surprise everyone with fresh new material for starters and that  I have in abundance!   To sit down and write one huge blog about my whole trip in one shot would be a long and complicated affair because  just too many things happened in my two week crazy adventure and I was overwhelmed to say the least!  My head was spinning,  I was reeling with excitement, confusion, fear, panic, wonderment, exhaustion, euphoria, jet-lag, horrible pain etc…  So,  I decided to just get back home, rest my aching body, mend,  compose myself and let it all sink in and digest, so to speak.  And then, break it down into very particular segments as they came to me.   I had no clue where to start but as Maria from The Sound of Music would say, “The beginning… is  a very good place to start.” But that seems far too logical, too expected perhaps,  so I decided to begin at the very top, the summit, so to speak.  In fact, the closest I have ever truly been to heaven,  in this lifetime,  in more ways than one!  And yes, the hills were without question alive…with the sound of music…. and a few other sounds and interesting things as well!  I have many surprises in store for you if you dare to read on!   And no scrolling down and cheating but….I pieced together a very touching and rather revealing little mini-documentary on one of my many adventures in this magical land!   So, sit back, get comfy, grab a nice beverage, take a deep breath and remember to keep an open mind!

“Once Upon A Time, There Was A Castle High Atop A Magical Mountain….”

The famous Cathar Castle atop the very mysterious mountain of Montsegur

Before I jump into the story,  I need to give a little background on this very important location.  In my last blog,  I touched upon a rather serious subject which is very near and dear to my heart, The Cathars.  I spoke briefly about how passionate I am on the subject and how deeply and mysteriously connected I feel to them.  I also briefly recounted the tragic story of how they were barbarically murdered during the Albigensian Crusade waged by the Catholic Church between 1209-1244.  One of my favourite movie quotes of all time came from Braveheart, when the dashing and “brave” William Wallace said so eloquently, “History was written by those who hung heroes.”   And how true that saying really is.  The official story, in what few history books, (those of a more Catholic persuasion),  will say that they were heretics and the  church was doing the world a service by systematically hunting, terrorizing,  interrogating,  torturing,  butchering and burning many of them at the stake.   No one seems to agree on the numbers,  some say half a million,  some say many more innocent souls were taken during that time, a virtual untold genocide.

A horrible yet true quote from this time shows how barbaric these monsters really were, when one of the crusaders asked how to tell the Cathars from the Catholics, his superior replied coldly,  “Kill them all, God will know his own.”   This phrase came from the first and bloodiest siege upon the Cathars – The sack of Béziers, on July 22, 1209, the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene.  It is rumoured that when the town refused to hand over the 222 Cathars hiding within the village, the crusaders descended upon the entire town with such savagery and slaughtered every man women and child, even those who sought refuge in St. Mary Magdalene Church.   It is estimated that the numbers are as high as 20,000 innocent souls, both Catholic and Cathar were butchered that day.

I won’t delve too deeply into the Cathars customs and beliefs nor do I really have the stomach to recount the endless horrific and barbaric atrocities carried out by the blood-thirsty Crusaders,  lead by the evil  villain Simon de Monfort but I will say this,  The Cathars or Les bons hommes et bonnes femmes (the good men and women) were anything but evil, nor witches, nor heretics but they did pose a threat to the Catholic Church all the same and if we take a walk down history’s turbulent and violent path, we will see time and time again that anyone who opposed the church or had even slightly differing views from their strict customs and practices, bloodshed and murder would soon follow.   And t’was ever thus time and time again throughout history with endless numbers of innocent people from many faiths paying the ultimate price for not following the preferred faith…

Now please, don’t get me wrong,  I am not here to bash the church, nor practicing Christians either, that is not my place nor my desire,  I am merely speaking a long silenced truth which I feel is imperative at this time to share, in order to shed some long over due light upon something which has been kept hidden within the shadows for far too many centuries.  Also, in all fairness, holy or religious wars waged by several faiths have had disastrous effects upon this Earth since the beginning of time and sadly continue on today but that is an entirely different subject all together and one I wish not to delve into at this time.  But I will say, if only humanity, as a whole would get with the program and stop inflicting such pain and suffering upon each other,  this world would be a far more beautiful place to be.  Though sadly, as long as the very skilled and devious war machine continues to line the coffers of the elite chosen few,  what chance does this world ever have at true peace and harmony?  War is big business.   A subject  which  torments me and  my heart weighs heavy with great sadness.

A very emotional moment beside the monument honouring all whom lost their lives at this location so long ago.

There are conflicting views on the true reasons why they were targeted with such  venomous malice.  Some say they were the guardians of the sacred truth, ancient texts, secret knowledge or powerful treasures which were a threat to the foundation of the church’s carefully guarded doctrine.  Some say they were the guardians of the Holy Grail itself, in whatever shape one might be inclined to believe it comes in.  Some also say The Cathars were in possession of the highly coveted “Book Of Love” which some speculate is the true teachings and the lost Gospel of Jesus which again may very well contradict what was chosen at the Council Of Nicaea during the time of Constantine l, when determining which of the gospels would be part of the Bible.  We do know many gospels were not included, Mary Magdalene’s is just one, though in truth, there were said to be many which did not make the cut,  so to speak which begs the question why?  Perhaps their contents were not in keeping with the message they decided to put forth hundreds of years after the crucifixion, in AD 325.  Though one thing I find rather curious, throughout the bible, within all the many gospels, by all the different apostles, one rather key person is mysteriously missing.  Everyone quotes him endlessly yet,  where is the Gospel of Jesus?  One would think, considering he is a rather key player in this story and all,  that he might have a page or two, a direct quote perhaps?  But where are His words?  Why is He only quoted by third parties?  This opens up a rather awkward kettle of Catholic fish, does it not?  Perhaps this rumour of our Cathars being in possession of His gospel may hold some Holy Water after all.  But here I go, stirring up the giant cauldron of endless and forbidden questions on the delicate subject of organized religion.  For sin for shame!  Have I not learned anything from history??  One must not ask such questions and merely blindly accept…not my forte apparently!

Some say that Mary Magdalene traveled or fled to the South of France, then Gaule and settled in the now Languedoc region to live out her life in some semblance of peace after the dreaded crucifixion.  Thus, continuing the true teachings of Jesus and Herself which The Cathars  were said to merely continue for generations to come.  Oooh dear, did I say true teachings? Oops!  Perhaps they were given certain artifacts and or sacred texts for safe keeping which she passed onto them?  That is one school of thought.  Of course, there is much debate of this and several other highly controversial and explosive theories such as, Jesus and Mary, were in fact married and had children <gasp> which some of the discarded gospels elude to.  And even a more explosive theory is that  Jesus  didn’t actually die on the cross and came with Mary to France,  Holy crumbling Catholicism Batman!!   Now, that would certainly be a rumour that would ruffle the plumage of the Catholic church, not to mention shake the very foundation of their belief system!  Again, I am not here to claim this to be true nor false, merely exploring the many possibilities and speculations for WHY our beloved Cathars posed such an immense threat to the church and if they possessed any sort of proof of anything remotely similar to these suggestions, the crusade makes much more sense.  The church had never before launched a crusade against fellow Christians and have not since, though it did spear-head the Spanish Inquisition which followed soon after.  Another ghastly witch hunt with devastating effects, perhaps still searching for information and artifacts which The Cathars were said to be extremely effective in concealing.

There is a legend that the Chateau Montsegur was named The Grail Castle because they chose the highest and safest mountain for such an important and powerful artifact, to keep it protected and hidden from the claws of evil.   Montsegur, interestingly enough translates to safe mountain.  Thus, it makes perfect sense that during the crusade, this mountain would become their strong hold, seeing as though it is literally perched atop a near impossible peak, with sheer cliffs on every side as if it literally fell from the heavens and nestled itself directly into the jagged stone summit.  Yet, the village atop this mountain looked very different back then, with many homes and buildings all around the summit and down the slopes,  so it’s difficult to know what exactly it looked like before it was levelled by their enemy.

Truly awe-inspiring to stand within its wall.

Yet, to see it up close now, one cannot even begin to imagine how on Earth they constructed this engineering marvel back in a time when there didn’t appear to be the type of machinery in existence to erect such a fortress.  No one can even seem to agree on when it was actually first built, as there are even much older and ancient ruins beneath it, some still visible today.  We do know the Visigoths inhabited this site earlier, for one.

Some say it’s origins predate known history which once again opens up another awkward kettle of fish for historians. If it predates history, then who actually built it and  what is really concealed beneath it?  Some say the mountain may even be hollow!

Dark Stain Upon History

And so the horrid story goes that for decades the crusaders ravaged across what is now Languedoc, France, then Occitania, hunting, rounding up, interrogating (through the black arts of unthinkable torture) and burning at the stake, any and all Cathars they could find.  With the exception of those who agreed to play ball, so to speak and give them valuable information and those of course who agreed to renounce their faith and convert to Catholism or those still who caved and ratted out their friends during extreme torture.  But for the rest, the agonizing demise of burning alive at the stake was their punishment for their silence, their honour and dedication to their cause and staying true to their undying beliefs.

It’s no wonder that the Cathars believed in Duality, good and evil and they felt that the material world and all it contained including monetary possessions and the very 3D reality we live in, was extremely evil and an invention of Rex Mundi, Satan, the Devil or the Dark Lord himself, just a dark magical prank of a matrix or illusion if you will.  And that we are only our true and pure selves in spirit form.

“Thus, the penalty of physical death by fire, albeit the most agonizing imaginable, was in a sense,  setting them free from the enslaving bondage and restraints of the physical evil world, salaciously created by the devil himself, merely for his own sadistic amusement.  While he so joyously inflicts unimaginable pain and sufferance upon the world and all the innocent souls who are incarnated in human form trapped here.”

It took me awhile to wrap my head around this rather bleak concept. Yet, if you look around the world today and see the endless suffering, the needless poverty, starvation, hatred, war.  Where society’s true and seemingly warped priorities lie and how incredibly corrupt many wealthy organizations are, even at the expense and possible destruction of the planet and its entire population….. one might take pause and wonder if our dear Cathars didn’t perhaps raise a valid point.  And if they were correct, then destroying them and all of there texts and nearly all proof of their existence would have been imperative to keep this dark truth silent. Yet, this does raise some frightful questions if one were inclined to over-analyze whom exactly felt so threatened by such a truth, thus I shall leave that one for those to ponder on their own.  I think I’ve already opened up a few too many festering cans of worms!

The Siege Of Montsegur

This remote and mystical location deep in the Pyrenees mountains would become the scene of the Albigensian’s final stand-off back in March of 1244.  Those few remaining,  had been held virtually captive for many months, cold, starving, over-crowded and exhausted as the crusaders  attacked with a steady barrage of catapults, 10,000 men strong.  Their options were quickly diminishing.  But legend goes that their number one priority was to the sacred treasure which needed to be safeguarded before the fortress fell to the hands of their evil enemy.  Thus, it is said that 3 or perhaps 4 very brave Cathars reportly leapt from the sheer cliff, treasure in hand and some how managed to survive the unsurvivable fall hundreds of feet below and managed to elude the crusaders.  There is much speculation and many legends told on how that feat was possible and where they managed to disappear to but to this day,  no one has ever truly answered that question with certainty, not publicly anyway.  Perhaps they found their way into the myriad of caves and into the vast underground tunnel system in the area and made their way to safety.  Some say the famous heroine of that time, the beautiful Esclarmonde, (her name meaning  “Light Of the World” in Occitan.)  The courageous and righteous Cathar Parfaites then miraculously transformed into a white dove and made off with the treasure.  Another legend says they made their way up a huge mountain nearby,  to a strange and mystical lake at the summit, aptly named “Devil’s Lake.”  And were said to have thrown the treasure into the rumoured “bottomless” heart shaped lake, never to be seen nor found again.  Yet the legends and rumours go on and on.   Also, during WWll,  Grail explorer,(turned Nazi), Otto Rahn,  combed the entire area, convinced he knew where it was.  Some say he may have even found it.  Though, like so many in this story, he seemed to disappear mysteriously and ended up rather… dead,  as so many who get drawn in to this mystery, like moths to the proverbial forbidden flame.   Even today, many a treasure hunter find themselves smitten, obsessed or even possessed by the notion that they may be the one to discover this priceless relic and thus be blessed with endless fame, fortune and glory.  Clearly, even today, they just don’t get it!  If they have done their homework at all, they will know that this is no carnival prize to be won.  And only the worthy few, will the treasure reveal itself to,  only those pure of heart with proper intent and not those looking to make a quick buck or surf the self-agrandizing EGO wave!

And, tragically,  the brave Cathars made the unthinkable decision to surrender having no other alternative, they were out numbered, starving and their fortress was crumbling. Thus, on March 16th, 1244, upon the conditions of the surrender,  some were allowed to leave, as long as they converted of course, the rest, mainly the Parfaites, whom had already received the Consolamentum or in the Cathar faith, their last rites,  marched down the mountain, some say hand in hand singing peacefully,  preparing for their inevitable demise.  And there, at the foot of their sacred safe mountain, once their safe haven,  the mass burnings took place in what is now called “Les prats del cremats” which means “Field of the Burned” in their native language of Occitan.   And thus, they were alas freed from the fleshly bondage of the devil’s evil material mirage of a world and alas set free, as angels, in their pure and true spirit form once more, in keeping with their beliefs.   Just writing about it now brings tears to my eyes, it pains me to think they endured so much pain and hardship when in life they were peaceful, kind-hearted souls, healers and teachers or The Good Men And Women.  I have to ask, where is the justice in this world?   Time and time again we hear such tragic stories happening to those of goodness, too many examples to count, yet those of darkness and evil seem to always carry on, they flourish and triumph and always seem to be victorious in the end and sadly t’was ever thus.  Perhaps the Dark Lord does reign king behind reality’s mirage and we just don’t realize it?   Who else would allow such suffering to perpetuate throughout history? Who else could be that evil??

Recently, I have been writing a rather different sort of play on this very subject entitled aptly, “The Heresy Of Love”….from the perspective of a Cathar woman, a Parfaite as they were called.   She is not based on any known historical figure that I am aware of yet perhaps her message may ring true.  In the story, the heroine is on trial for the crimes of heresy and her poignant and emotional monologue is her final message before she is forever silenced by the iron fist of the church the following day – sentenced to burn alive upon the stake.  I wish to share a short excerpt from her message here, if you will indulge me, I feel that it is important at this time, to spread this message.   May I now introduce, “Countess Bianca” in mid sentence, as she speaks to the 3 ominous looking INQUISITORS.

COUNTESS BIANCA

Can you not see,
Before each of thee,
The polarity and duality?
Within your hearts and souls?
If you alas listen,
Can you not see and hear it?

One of the INQUISITORS is feverishly writing down what she’s saying.  She seems to almost be transforming or morphing into the ethereal Goddess character seen in the opening sequence, who gives Humankind a severe message or warning to awaken and change their ways or else.

COUNTESS BIANCA (CONT.)

The constant voice of the Divine,
And sublime,
Eternal spirit?
Trapped within the devil’s damning fleshly prison,
This physical world created and masqueraded,
By the Dark Lord’s mischievous and devious hand.
Thus, when we return reborn,
To our pure spirit form,
Alas ascend and soar to the Heavens above,
We eagerly return to the loving arms,
Alas within freedom from him,

Cleansed from all material sins….

And protected from harm,
Eternally and forevermore…
To our sacred God and Goddess,
Balance between Divine Masculine and Feminine restored,
Father and mother of ever-lasting love.

Yet so close to my own mortal and anticipated death,
I waste upon each of you,
All my ancient gnostic wisdom,
And precious breath,
My truth falls upon your deaf eyes,
Wagging accusatory,
Condemnatory tongues,
And selectively muted,
Undisputed,
Blind ears.
Within your hateful fraternity.

You all concur…
And prefer,
To cling to your archaic pitiful superstitions,
And unjust predispositions,
And gorge upon your misguided,
And supreme sanctimonious ruling,
Of sheer hatred and fear.

And now,
The moment you all have impatiently awaited,
The condemned heretic and Countess shall alas confess….

INQUISITORS

Confess…  confess…. CONFESSSSSS….

COUNTESS BIANCA

I could never express,
Repress,
Nor even posses,
The capacity,
Nor the opacity,
Within my purest of hearts,
A heart,
By YOUR murderous actions,
Of which you chose to attempt to rip and tear apart,
Not even the sadistic fallacious callous,
Likes of each of YOU,
Could I express,
Nor project harm nor malice,
Revenge nor hate,
Even though t’is each of you,
Whom condemned me,
To this tragic and malevolent fate.
Yet, replaced,
Within hate’s place,
I feel entombed and consumed,
With such overwhelming emotions –
Compassion,
Love, empathy,
And pure PITY,
For the likes of each of you,
Thus, if I wish to heaven-bound ascend,
I mustn’t, in anger reflect nor pretend.

If I wish, as a divine spirit to live,
Within the true Kingdom,
And Queendom of heaven,
As my faith, dictates,
The Cathars, as you call us,
Especially the Perfecti,
Unlike each of you,
Nor the dark Lord Rex Mundi,
We, les bonhomme et bonne femmes,
Are unable to cause harm nor ever hate,
It is my reverent duty.
Divine Love’s most glorious and victorious,
Attribute and inner beauty,
With this, My Heaven sent kiss,
My generous gift I lovingly give,
To my damning judge and jury,
Like pure poison to each of you,
I send my sincere LOVE and LIGHT,
And alas….. FORGIVE.

On the screen the INQUISITORS are repelled by her words.

As it is said that within your bible,
To his damning rivals,
That our brother Jesus once did!
Forgiveness,
Within my spiritual heightened state,
Just as Les Credentes,
The true Christians,
Of the highest convictions,
I refuse to plunge nor slither,
To your darkened hateful depths,
To gorge and dine,
Upon your tempestuous hate-mongering bait.

Do not rejoice in your mirage of victory,
For upon my death,
Until my very last agonizing breath,
Know that I carry with me,
All the ancient secrets and mysteries.
For within the loveless action of taking my life,
In sincere gratitude,
I humbly thank you,
As I welcome the physical end,
To you, a sin,
Yet to me, my true destiny shall alas begin!
For I have received the consolamentum,
Alas my swift departure to ascend,
You are, in truth, delivering me to my true God,
Not your demonic evil fraud,
In eternal love and gratitude,
Amen!

Alas freed from the fleshly chains of bondage,
And the end of all physical and emotional pain,
Sufferance and strife,

Above I shall transcend!

Although now,
Our mortal flesh, within your flames shall burn,
Our eternal souls shall alas return!
Glorious and alas victorious,
Thy long-awaited kingdom shall alas come,
And to the likes of each of you,
You shall sadly plunge to the depths,
Within eternal darkness,
Enslaved and depraved,
Of our illuminated power,
Of this vast Uni-verse,
Of the white dove and sacred flower,
Bathed and saved within  Eternal Light,
Love and the White Goddess,
Thou shall alas be DONE,
Upon this Earth,
The cosmic universe,
All the etheric dimensions,
Within purest of hearts and intentions,
As it is within the highest chambers of the Heavens,
Forever and ever…

A-men

She bows her head in prayer.

And this was her final message to them and the world before her death.  Though she did have an interesting run-in with the dark Lord himself in the following scene and gave him an earful and a half.  And the play’s unexpected yet touching ending….now that I just cannot give away,  you shall have to wait for the play!! 🙂

A Life Long Dream Realized At Last!!

 After sharing the backstory, perhaps it’s not hard to understand why this trip meant so much to me.   On my last trip I didn’t make it to Montsegur and I was so sad but physically I don’t think I would have been able to do it  And perhaps having successfully done two climbs this trip,  I surely was not prepared emotionally last time either.  I now realize more than ever that this mountain commands respect and will show you what you need to see,  teach you what you need to learn,  whether that be good or bad,  heavenly or… the opposite.  It is not something to be taken lightly.  And I can honestly say that I have come down with many new insights not just of this mystical mountain,  its history and endless mysteries but many things I needed to learn and understand about myself,  life and the world around me.   Also my own personal quest for enlightenment, knowledge, self-improvement,  understanding etc… And I will caution you, if you happen to have a few personal demons or unresolved issues lurking about from your past which you have not reconciled with,  you may want to take care of them  before making the venture up,  just a piece of friendly advice.   I will write a bit of an overview of my journey up but perhaps its best to just see me in action in my mini-documentary which I have lovingly pieced together for you here.  I won’t apologize for the display of raw emotions, yes, one might say I lost my sh*t up there for lack of a better term  but that was the whole point of the exercise.  I needed to feel it to the core of my being and connect on the deepest level possible in order to truly understand and benefit from this “initiation” of sorts.    You know what they say?   “No pain, no gain!” And I did get a wee bit more than I bargained for, especially on the night climb!

Montsegur At Last

I will never forget that excitement as we slowly wound our way through the stunning Pyrenees mountains on that very narrow road weaving our way up to our final destination.  It was a jovial setting,  five happy women crammed into a car, one more excited than the next!  One of the lovely girls (Maren) whom you will meet in the video,  I had met through Rene Barnett and Gloria Amendola a few days earlier, was the only other one who wanted to make the climb with me and we were bouncing with joy and excitement like too giddy school girls going to a  “One Direction”  concert!   And then, that first moment,  off in the distance, she stood ever so majestic and proud,  calmly awaiting our long over due arrival.  I could now finally see with my naked eye this sacred mountain after years of looking at endless pictures and videos!   And here I was, so close I could almost taste the lifelong dream!   Yet, as we drew closer,  I couldn’t help but wonder how in God’s name  I could possibly climb such an immense beast,  the task looked daunting but I was bound and determined to make it happen!   And then we parked at the base and it was, at long last…  time to climb.

I had no idea how I would react, I have heard stories of people completely falling apart from all the emotions, perhaps cellular memories from past lives or those who are just extremely tuned into the powerful energy but I was not phased by what might happen, all I cared about was making it happen,  free from old destructive fears and useless apprehensions which had prevented me from doing so many things in the past!

Sadly,  I have missed out on making many incredible memories over the years due to some rather serious health issues I had been struggling with.   I had the opportunity to make the trip in 2008 though was far too sick to function physically.  Then once again in ’09 and several other missed chances which frustrated me to no end.  But in the back of my mind this merely helped to fuel my desire to heal and I knew with great certainty that one day I would find a way to get better and do this climb even though the doctors strongly advised against it.   And at the time I had to agree,  given my grave and delicate condition and prognosis,  though that’s not to say I was happy about it!  It actually could have been a life-threatening endeavour for me to attempt but….what’s life without a little risk factor?   So, this is just one of the many obstacles I had encountered for several years while attempting my pilgrimage back “home” which makes the accomplishment that much more meaningful on a personal level.

Now, without further adieu, I wish to proudly present the never before seen, hot off the editing press, mini-documentary/video blog capturing this very personal experience, so you all can see, hear and feel the experience from a first hand point of view, through my eyes, my soul and my heart.  Put on your hiking boots and grab a walking stick, you are in for quite the adventure!  I will warn you in advance, things happened up there I was not quite prepared for though was kind of expecting all the same.  And although I didn’t capture everything, I did however manage to capture  a very personal and emotional moment  which I am only sharing  publicly in hopes that perhaps it will,  in some small way,  assist others who are on a similar path and possibly will  inspire them to do the same one day.  The most important lessons I learned that day and the night climb which followed was letting go of FEAR  is key and imperative and there is ALWAYS hope no matter what!   After all, what are we without our dreams?   Empty shells, merely existing, aimlessly with an aching soul which clings to life,  starving from a lack of passion, hope purpose and joy.   Oh and FYI, this little video was done all on my own so its cinematography will not be winning any awards,  this is just a raw and personal account without the benefit of a film crew!  Maybe next time!

Disclaimer

I wish to say a few words of caution first, I did share this video with a few dear friends in advance and it seemed to have a rather profound and emotional impact on some, it conjured up some very deep and difficult emotions.  It is certainly not my wish to upset anyone, nor make them sad.   More to bring about awareness and above all, healing… the world and all of humanity needs that so much, now more than ever.

For the sake of mere time and duration, I have decided to break up both my climbs into two separate blogs.  I have still so much to share regarding my interesting night climb with dear friend Melissa Sims and excellent guide Richard Stanley, on none other than the spooky and ominous night of the Blood Moon and all the crazy bizarre events which transpired,  which even ended up with a trip the ER, of course!!  What were we thinking??     You won’t want to miss that!  It is certainly true that once the sun sets on this magical land, a very different energy begins to flow,  almost as if it’s not even the same dimension!  Lord knows,  I’m still trying to get my head around a few oddities and I was actually there!!

For now I shall leave you….hopefully wanting a little bit more!  Sending out much love to you all and hoping that this blog may have shed a bit of light on the important history of this location, its past inhabitants and perhaps inspired you to make the amazing journey to this beautiful and magical place one day yourselves, if that is, you have not been there already.   And who knows, you may even see me up there,  I plan on returning many MANY times!! 🙂

And stay tuned for the upcoming blogs on my adventures in  other locations such as  Rennes-le-Chateau, my interesting days spent exploring with Gloria Amendola.   My often hilarious, mysterious and at times terrifying moments with travel partner Melissa Sims and many new and wonderful friends.  And my days spent with highly respected R.L.C. mystery expert Henry Lincoln,  which was truly a dream come true,  as we walked the sacred geometry together and explored his ground breaking research…. and sooooo much more!!

The End And Just The Beginning!

Leslie Cottle – October 11-14, 2015

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