Post on 08-Mar-2016
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www.wayoftheheart.net
Jerusalem
by Sandy StevenSon
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Easter was approaching and I’d been feeling a bit restless. I
met an Israeli neighbour at the local shops and she was telling
me how much she missed her home. Later that day, I saw an
elderly Jesuit priest whom I’d often spoken to but hadn’t seen
for a while. I asked him if he’d made it to Israel yet as he’d
often mentioned his desire to go there. He said, “Sadly no”. As
I was talking to him I felt some inner excitement. When I got
home I was thinking about the feeling of excitement and how
interesting it would be to spend Easter in Jerusalem. This was a
whole new idea for me as I’d never considered Israel as a place
to visit. I mentioned the idea to a friend and she said there
wouldn’t be any flight seats left, especially as this year Passover
and Easter coincided. My daughter thought it was a great idea
and said she’d love to come. I still hadn’t decided anything but
I rang the airline to check anyway. They said they were booked
out except for two seats on a flight on Good Friday to Eilat in
southern Israel. It got in at midnight! The vacant seats seemed
like a sign to me, so I booked the two seats. I rang my daughter
in London and said “We’re booked for tomorrow night – we need
to pack.” Nothing like trust, eh!
Now the thought became stronger and I knew I needed to be in Jerusalem for Easter Sunday.
Not a clue why, of course!
We flew to Eilat and landed at midnight and started walking
with our backpacks. We had had no idea where anything was.
We stopped a passer-by and asked about accommodation. He
said he thought everywhere was booked out as people fly from
all over the world for this weekend. He suggested we try the 24
hour youth hostel further down the road. I trust the universal
process, so we headed for the hostel. Upon arriving we were
told the dormitories were full but they had did have one room
left with two single beds. How perfect was that! By the way, this
youth hostel was no hardship, it was opposite the beach and had
a swimming pool on the roof. An amazing place.
The next morning I asked at the hostel about getting a bus the
following day to go to Jerusalem for Easter Sunday. I was told
there were none running on Easter Saturday. I checked on rental
cars but there were none left. So while my daughter went to
the beach, I headed for the bus station to find out for myself
about the buses. When I got there, I was told that actually the
bus company had suddenly decided to run an extra bus that
afternoon because a religious tour group had been delayed and
they needed to get to Jerusalem for Sunday. Me, too! I bought
our tickets.
Checking out of the hostel, I passed on the information that
there was a bus to Jerusalem if anyone else enquired. I asked
if they knew of any accommodation available in Jerusalem.
They did and they rang and booked us into an Orthodox Jewish
priest’s teaching college within walking distance of the Old City.
I felt a definite buzz at the idea of the Old City. He said it dated
back to the 4th Millennium BC and it was one of the oldest cities
in the world. I looked at the postcards for sale in the hostel as I
often find this is a great source of inspiration as to where I am
meant to be. I saw a picture of the Holy Sepulcher church in
the Old City and zing! That was it. That was where I was meant
to be.
I still didn’t know why.
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Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
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At the time I didn’t know anything about
the church and I didn’t need to. I try to
operate on a need to know basis and
not to clutter myself with unnecessary
information. But for those who are
interested in its history of it, I later found
out the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is
said to have been built in around 325.
It has been altered many times since
but apparently its appearance today is
the same as in 1885. It’s seen by most
Christians as being the Hill of Calvary
where the New Testament says Jesus was
crucified. The sepulcher is supposed to be
where he was buried.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been
an important pilgrimage destination since at
least the 4th century, being the supposed site of the death and
resurrection of Christ.
Today it’s also the headquarters of the
Greek Orthodox Church and is shared with
many religious groups and has done so
for centuries.
After I checked out, I went to the beach
to join my daughter and we swam with
the bottle nosed dolphins in a cordoned
area of the beach. I passed them their
ascension codes which I do whenever
I swim with dolphins. The weather was
very hot, close to 40 degrees but the dry
heat made it surprisingly OK. We enjoyed
the beach, had some delicious Falafels
– great country for vegetarians – and
ambled up to catch the bus. To date, we
found this country efficient, clean and
well run. For example, one person too
many arrived for the bus to Jerusalem.
Guess what, they had another bus there
within minutes, just for the one person.
How many places in the world would that
happen, I wondered. The buses are clean
and modern. The trip up was great, lovely
views and very interesting.
Our accommodation was lovely. The priests
told me the Holy Sepulcher Church’s main
service would be held at 8am the next
morning. That was perfect.
Up early, we headed to the Old City. I knew
we didn’t have much time to find this
church before 8am. I just surrendered. I
moved fast, ducked across one of the
old city bridges, thru gates, stone walls,
doorways, down alleys, moving with
certainty. My daughter said “Mum how
can you do that, you seem to know where
you’re going.” I said “It hasn’t changed a
bit. The only thing that’s different is the
type of goods being sold by the roadside
traders on the entry bridge.” That is true.
The old city has the same old stone walls
as they were in the olden days. I think
those who lived there way back would
find their way around OK now. We got
to the church with minutes to spare.
Many different religious groups hold
their services there and because of the
openness of the space inside you can hear
quite a few at the same time. We stopped
at the first holy service that felt right and
stayed to the end.
Then something lovely happened and I
felt this was the key to my being there.
At the end of the service, candles were
handed around. Holding our lighted
candles, the priest and all the people
from that congregation who wished
to join in, began walking to the next
religious group’s service. We joined with
that church group and their priest and
all holding our candles, we moved on to
the next group. This went on all around
the church as people from each religious
group and their priests joined us.
I can’t explain the grace, power and
love and incredibly special feeling there was in that group as we grew in number, accepting people of different beliefs with unconditional love.
I didn’t know exactly what was happening.
I assume codes were passed and it was
something to do with bringing in ‘as
above so below’. I am happy to just be
in the moment and do what feels right
without complying with ego and the
needs of the mind. I have found that if
we, as spirit, need to know the whys, then
we will know.
After that lovely service we were drawn
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Church of the Holy Sepulcher Dome of the Rock Wailing Wall
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www.wayoftheheart.net
Sandy StevensonSandy Stevenson is a well known international presenter and author of the best seller The Awakener and I Am Here.
She organised the worldwide OM from Wembley in London in 1994 involving a million people in 58 countries.
Sandy, has worked with the Highest Ascended Masters of Light for over 16 years. She offers easily understood truth,
encouraging others toward greater self mastery, integrity, understanding highest truth, discernment, faith, trust and
love. Sandy is personally committed to the completion of the Divine Plan for Earth and the homeward journey
of the Lightworkers, those who came here to help.
Email: lightascension@virginbroadband.com.au • Website: www.lightascension.com/welcome.html
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to see other things. The Wailing Wall was interesting. We went to
the Dome of the Rock – one of the holiest places to Islam where
it’s said Muhammad went up to the heavens and to the El-Aqsa
Mosque, the earliest dated mosque in Israel.
We got a taxi up to the Mount of Olives to see the footprint in
stone where it is said Jesus ascended. We were surprised it wasn’t
being promoted to tourists as you would expect in a western
country. In fact, as I recall, there wasn’t even a plaque to say what
it was.
We walked around the very lively city at night. At an open air disco,
we were fascinated to see all the women (and men) with rifles
across their backs while they danced. Both sexes are conscripted
into the army for 2 years at the age of 18 and must have their
guns with them at all times. An incredibly disciplined group, we
never once saw anyone use any firearms or threaten anyone. It
didn’t take long before you just forgot about it. They were friendly
and helpful and this applied to the people as a whole.
We did other things like go to the Sea of Galilee where the biblical
baptisms took place. We floated in the Dead sea, which was
brilliant. It would be great for non swimmers as the water is so
saturated with salt that you easily float in it, even with your arms
and legs up in the air. It was very hot. We observed a large group
of ladies who could only paddle as their religion didn’t allow them
to wear a swimming costume. We bought packets of Dead Sea
mud, said to be rejuvenating. Well, why not?
Isn’t it wonderful going to places you have heard about all your life?
I remember feeling like that in New York, finally seeing places I’d
seen in movies like 42nd street, 5th Ave., Tiffany’s and Macy’s.
As a last venture before we flew out of Eilat, we got a bus to the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. For those into history, The
Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating
churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that
is said to have been the birthplace of Christ and is considered
sacred by followers of Islam and Christianity. The first church over
the cave was begun by Saint Helena and completed in 333. That
structure burnt down in 529 and was rebuilt in its present form
in 565 by Emperor Justinian. I loved the lack of tourism. There
was one small stand outside selling wooden angels made from
Olive trees.
My daughter and I entered and walked down the old stone steps
below the ground floor level to the birthplace of Jesus. As we
walked down, we were chatting. Suddenly both of us went silent.
It was the energy of the place that silenced us. It was incredible.
Whether or not this is the true birthplace of Christ doesn’t really
matter. It’s been agreed that it is so for a long period of time and
it holds that blessed energy. We stayed there, in silence for some
time. Then we spent time around the ancient Olive tree in the
grounds.
So, another adventure drew to a close. We headed back to the
United Kingdom knowing we’d achieved what we set out to do...
Whatever exactly that was! b
Suddenly both of us went silent. It was the energy of the place that silenced
us. It was incredible. Whether or not this is the true birthplace of Christ doesn’t really matter. It’s been agreed that it is so for a long period of time and it holds that
blessed energy. We stayed there, in silence for some time.
Said to be the birth place of Jesus