Easter Resurrection

The symbol of the Easter egg, bringing delight to every chocolate loving heart (and not only children!) reminds us of the re-birth in all nature after the seeming death of winter time. One of the many deeply comforting aspects of White Eagle’s teaching – and very especially during this time of long drawn out lockdown – is the absolute certainty of what happens after the physical body dies. He tells us not only that death is not the end, but also what heaven is actually like! But more than this, he shows us how through meditative visualisation we can experience the beauty of the heaven world whilst still in physical bodies. We learn too that the crucifixion of suffering and dark winter days in our lives is not without a purpose, even though it seems terrible at the time and we may be crying from the depths of our hearts, ‘why, why, why?’

Here now are a few extracts from White Eagle’s Little Book of Comfort for the Bereaved which I hope will bring you and loved ones some comfort this Easter time.

‘In the spirit world there is the most perfect plan for the reception of every soul who leaves a physical body. A messenger is sent to welcome the newly-released soul from the physical body, to welcome them into a world of peace and beauty, a spiritual beauty such as you cannot understand.

‘When you see, in the outer world, violence and what appears to be the most terrible suffering, brought about by the ignorance and the selfishness of human kind, do remember the mercy of God and the power of God! The soul that is apparently leaving a tortured body is mercifully cloaked by a divine power. Inside, it is filled with indescribable joy and surprise. ‘Oh this is wonderful, this is beautiful, where am I?’. And the friend by his or her side will answer: ‘You are with friends; we have so much of interest to show you.’ Then that soul is led away to objects that are familiar, but beautiful. So you see, from our side of life death is non-existent: all is living eternally in that divine Love.’

Thoughts for Mothers' Day

One of the many things I love about White Eagle's teaching is the clarity he has always given to the Mother aspect of the Creator. As a child I grew up praying to 'Our Father Mother God', and it has always seemed to me so natural and obvious that the Creator of all life has both aspects in equal balance. But there is something else which I find very important in his teaching about the Mother aspect, and this is that it does not matter whether we have incarnated this time around in a male or a female body, we all have mother qualities - like gentleness, caring and nurturing, which we can demonstrate in our lives and relationships. In our society, and in many cultures worldwide now, the Aquarian influence is starting to manifest clearly in the more equal part men are playing in the day to day care of their children.

So I believe that Mothering Sunday, which here in the UK is this Sunday 14th March, (and on different dates in other countries), can be a time for remembrance, prayer and celebration of the mothering qualities in us all, whether or not we are physical parents in this lifetime. In the special prayers we use in the White Eagle work for healing all world conditions, we pray that the influence of the Mother aspect of God, Divine Mother, will touch the intuitive hearts of men and women everywhere. This is my prayer this Mothering Sunday, (as well as remembrance of my own parents, who were wonderful role models of the caring qualities which I have tried to pass on to my own children).

And to complete these thoughts, I would like to share White Eagle's own words: a Meditation on page 75 of his book of meditation 'The Still Voice':

'Meditate on the angel of Peace, so quiet and still and very powerful, but all love. Her garment is the softest blue, like the sky, with a touch of rose pink and sunshine. It could almost be likened to mother-of-pearl. As you breathe in her influence, all care falls away, and your heart is stilled and stayed on God. As you breathe her influence out into the world, turbulent emotions are stilled, and a quietness comes into the hearts of human kind.'

'Thank You God, for my Feet'

During this Lockdown time, I have really missed by daily swim! I am lucky to have a nearby Sports Centre with a  large heated indoor pool, but of course, this has been closed again for some weeks now. This has meant I have concentrated on walking for my daily exercise, and I am so blessed to have beautiful countryside just outside my door.

For many of us during lockdown, walking (or running!) has become the most accessible form of exercise. This has led me to think more about feet! It is easy to take things for granted...unless there is a problem with them. So I have decided to say 'Thank you God for my feet!' every day before and after my walks. 

I have also been looking again at Jenny Beeken's inspiring book 'Standing, Sitting, Walking, Running'.* Its subtitle is 'How your posture affects your mind' and Jenny gives much helpful advice about this. In her chapter on walking she writes, 'Walking is one of the most wonderful actions of our human bodies, indeed of any body among the mammals of the planet, for as you walk you can feel just what is happening to the body and the effect it has on the mind and the whole self.'

I remember well in Jenny's classes how much attention she helped us give to our feet and indeed each individual toe, and how great it feels to walk barefoot, aware of every toe and every part of the foot, giving thanks meanwhile. On my travels in warm climates I have loved seeing how many local people go barefoot everywhere possible, and marvelled at the mountain guides and porters in the Himalayan mountains using only flip flops on their flexible feet!

I also recall often the reclining Buddha statues I have had the opportunity to see
and meditate beside. (The inscriptions on each individual toe can be a focal point for meditation in themselves!).

So a thought for these last weeks of lockdown, and any future time when our movement may be restricted, is to give thanks for the gift of your feet (even if you do not think they are very beautiful!) and the ability to move around (which sadly many people do not have due to political imprisonment, war wounds, disability or sickness).

And finally, advice from White Eagle (in the chapter called 'The Master's Way' in 'The Quiet Mind': 'The wise man does not argue, he remains silent and goes quietly on his path, concerned only with learning to follow in the footsteps of his Master.`

 *Polair publishing ISBN 978-1-905398-33-1

Averting Farmageddon*

 I have just been watching another episode in the BBC TV series with Simon Reeve reflecting on his travels around the world in the last ten years. He is an extraordinary man, demonstrating so many Aquarian age qualities of deep interest in every culture, loving tolerance and compassion. The most recent compilation of his travels featured his visits to nature reserves and time spent with people who are dedicating their lives to caring for and protecting endangered species. Some of the facts he gives of the rate at which many are fast disappearing from our beautiful planet is horrifying. But there is hope! The sad things which are going on are brought out into the light of public awareness by people like Simon Reeve, but more than this, he also educates his viewers with new understanding of the importance of sharks as top of the food chain and the way they keep the whole eco-system of the oceans in balance.

The problem, as we all know, is the extent to which humankind have for years abused the animal kingdom without any thought of the long term consequences. But that is starting to change, and I think our current pandemic is helping this happen, even if only through the realisation that the virus probably originated through the consumption of animal parts. More people are starting to think again about their consumption of meat, and our TV now has many advertisements promoting the value of vegetarian and vegan products. Plant based diets are becoming the in thing, as the message becomes clearer too, that it is the desire to produce meat that is one thing which is fuelling global warming and the destruction of our rainforests and environment.

I have been a supporter for some time of the charity Compassion in World Farming and am very proud of the fact that it was started many years ago by brothers of the Lodge who were inspired by White Eagle`s teaching. Ylana Hayward, (now working in heavenly spheres) was one of the founding trustees, her work being continued by my cousin Jeremy. in their most recent magazine, writing about their work in this past year of the pandemic, they report that their `activists, donors and volunteers from around the world have come together in powerful new ways to:

End farming practices which cause animals pain and suffering; Change consumer attitudes about the food they choose; Transform the food system for a humane and sustainable future.` Wonderful Aquarian goals which I totally support and hold in my prayers. Our world is gradually changing and true brotherhood with our animal kingdom will come. 

I can still remember White Eagle saying, (speaking through the mediumship of my grandmother, Grace Cooke), that one day a vegetarian diet would be the norm because `there would not be the animals there to eat! And in the book `White Eagle on the Great Spirit`, he is quoted as saying,`The time is coming when conditions will be such on the earth that men and women will be fed entirely by the purest food supplied by the great Mother Earth.`  

*Averting Farmageddon is a headline in Compassion in World Farming`s magazine which `spoke` to me!

A Ray of Hope and Sunshine

I am sure that many people have been filled with renewed hope for the future seeing the shining faces of the new president of the United States, Joe Biden, at his inauguration ceremony, and his beautiful vice president, Kamala Harris, making history as the first coloured woman to serve in this way. Obviously a deeply religious man, Biden said,`Many centuries ago, St Augustine, a saint in my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objectives of their love....opportuity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honour and yes, the truth.....and as my mom would say, `Just for a moment stand in their shoes`.....Some days you need a  hand....there are other days when we are called to lend a hand. That`s how it has to be.....And I promise you this, as the Bible says, `Weep, ye may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning`. We will get through this together.'

I feel really in harmony with these sentiments, and I am sure that we will indeed get through this time of pandemic, having taken important steps forward in our understanding of true brotherhood.  

Another reason to feel hope for the future is that we have wonderful examples of young people - our new generation - willing to stand up and be counted on many important issues. (For example Greta Thunberg whom I wrote about in my last blog).

Another is America's gifted young Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman. I watched her on TV during the inauguration celebrations. I was so inspired to see this beautiful black girl speaking with such passion, having overcome an earlier speech impediment. Her poem ends with these words:

'We step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.'

So I think we have much to be thankful for, stepping confidently into `the new dawn`, and remembering, as White Eagle says in The Quiet Mind : `You are spirit, you are immortal, you are a radiant being, a child of God! Live in your spirit and allow nothing to bind or limit you.`

A Young Courageous Capricorn

Following on from my previous blog about the Courage of Capricorn, I have just been reading about a very courageous young Capricorn lady!

Greta Thunberg was eighteen on the third of January and has already demonstrated the courageous Capricornian spirit in so many ways. Sir David Attenborough has told her that he has achieved many things others have failed to do, and 'you have aroused the world. I'm very grateful to you.'

Greta has demonstrated the tenacious 'I will keep on keeping on till I get there' quality of Capricorn, and in doing so inspired millions of people all around the world. She has demonsrated that no matter what our physical age or circumstances are, if we are determined enough, any of us can get things done, and bring positive change to our world. Despite having Asperger's syndrome, (which she has actually described as being a gift, because being different is a super power!), she was so concerned about climate change that at the age of only 15, after winning a competition in a local newspaper with her essay on this, she started protesting outside the Swedish parliament building. She said she would stay there until the government met the carbon emissions target agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015. Her protests went viral on social media and by 2018 20,000 students around the world had joined her in 'school strikes for climate'. The following year she addressed the United Nations climate conference, travelling there on a racing yacht (taking two weeks), as she refuses to travel anywhere by aeroplane because of its environmental impact. Wow! What a story! What an inspirational young lady, bringing us all hope for the future.

White Eagle encourages us all that the Christ light shines in our hearts, giving us all the power to do wonderful things - far more than we could possibly imagine. (And it doesn`t matter what age we are, as recently knighted one hundred year old Sir Tom Moore has shown). So let's not doubt what we can do, even in this difficult time of the pandemic. We can all call on the courage of the Capricornian energy and 'be a tower of strenth and light'. And in this section of The Quiet Mind, White Eagle reminds us: 'When you are in the shadows, or you feel the shadows are near, remember to look up, to visualise the blazing Star above you in the spirit spheres, and to feel its strength, its steadfastness, its radiance pouring into your heart. Go forward in confidence and in full consciousness of the light of this Star shining upon you.'

The Courage of Capricorn

At the moment the Sun is going through the Zodiac sign of Capricorn. The planetary ruler of Capricorn is the powerful planet Saturn and his influence at this time is particularly strong because of the close conjunction, which I think we have all heard about, with the planet Jupiter at the time of the Winter Solstice on 21st December. The soul lesson of this sign is 'service in action' and those born at this time of year have reincarnated with an inner urge towards service, even if they are not consciusly aware of it! But whether or not our birthday is in Capricorn, certainly we are all being given many opportunities for service, and to support one another, at this challenging time of the pandemic.

I  have been looking at what my mother Joan Hodgson wrote about Saturn in her book 'Astrology the Sacred Science'. She says:

`The task of Saturn is to teach the soul to bring the self-will into absolute harmony with the divine will, or, as White Eagle puts it, to develop the will to will the will of God...Restriction or limitation of self-will is imposed at first by the karma, but once the soul realises the necessity of making the constant effort of attunement to the divine will and then dealing in a responsible way with life's practical issues, the difficult karma begins to ease. As the divine will begins to shine through the life, in an almost miraculous way harmony and order begin to manifest, and the whole life is made strong and radiant by the light of God in every action.' Really inspiring words to encourage us all!

I believe the pandemic is truly a turning point in the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, and the conjunction of Saturn with Jupiter (the planet of expansion and heavenly wisdom) is highlighting this. But it is certainly not an easy time. However, something which gives me great hope is that Saturn gives us courage and staying power. It is not a 'here today and gone tomorrow' influence. We can call on the courage of Capricorn, so as not to give up and sink into the slough of despond, but so we keep on keeping on with our daily aspiration to be bearers of light and hope and joy!