Writer. Mystic. Pragmatist. Curious Soul.
Making Sense of the Middle Ages 500 – 1500 A.D. What comes to mind when you think of Middle Ages? Castles? Crusades? Knights & tournaments? Well, here is attempt at making sense of the complexities and constellations of dynamics at play from the fall of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Age of…
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The Middle Ages lasted roughly from 476-1453 A.D. This timeline offers a glimpse of some of the rough dates in this continuum. I created this timeline to accompany a presentation I recently gave on the Middle Ages. LATE ROMAN EMPIRE 165 – AD Antonine plague brought back to Rome from Near east, spread to Gaul – small…
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The Squire An Excerpt from The Häling and the Scottish Templars A rising gibbous moon peered through thin veils of clouds in the indigo twilight sky. Sir Theobaud de Cherney, waited impatiently. For the first time, he realized the blood smeared across the breastplate of his leather armor, his blood and doubtless the blood of many less fortunate than himself. Prior…
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PART 4 continued from PART 3 Flying over the Alps, destined for Klagenfurt Austria, those strange stirrings I had felt in Scotland returned. It was a resonance that I would grow very fond of in my many flights to meetings. I only knew that I was happy and grateful! The plane landed in the midst…
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Continued from PART 2 All was not lost because one day, I met Brother Jim, a Rosslyn Chapel docent with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Chapel. Jim and his wife became my dear friends. They supported my quest and offered their hospitality so that I could test the waters with a meeting of the Sauniere…
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‘My Templar Way’ By Linda Berthelsen, RTO, KTFA, GPTFA First published in Templar History Magazine, 2008 ~ Adapted 2018“ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 Long before Dan Brown opened Pandora’s box of Rosslyn Chapel mania, I was a devotee of its mysteries and symbols. My heart knew…
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Recently I was reading Daniel McCoy’s GREAT new book “The Viking Spirit” and his website which is filled with interesting explorations of Norse mythology. I was also in the process of writing a book review, when my husband invited me to go to the movies to see “Avengers: Infinity War.” So I set aside my work…
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ON THE FLYING SCOTSMAN TRAIN from London to Edinburgh in late June, there was never a dull moment with the church choir I was traveling with… especially on the train. I on the other hand was more introverted and easily drawn to the passing scenery. The further north the train chugged, the lighter my heart…
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Continued from PART 1 Soon after I returned from Eastern Europe in 1994, I traveled to Philadelphia, PA and toured the Masonic Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, which just “happened” to be located three blocks from my hotel. I did not know what a Grand Lodge was, nor did I have a clue as to its…
Read MoreWhat do you think of when someone says “There’s an elephant in the room”? What does it describe? Is it the feeling that there is something left unsaid or that there is blockage in the conversation flow due to unresolved issues? Does it stop the flow of communication? Or more importantly, does it block the…
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