Thursday, February 26, 2026
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
The Winter Winds Bring Me Home
Monday, February 23, 2026
Monday, February 16, 2026
Ching Tso - Chinese Meditation
The Chinese term for meditation is 'Ching Tso', which translated means 'sitting still with a peaceful mind'. Meditation is the training of the inner senses of the body and mind. It is as rigorous as the training undertaken by an athlete or an artist. By helping us to think clearly and concentrate fully, Ching Tso enables us to commune totally with our God, without distracting or artifical thoughts. The highest and most advanced goal of meditation is to gain 'enlightenment'. We want to go beyond the limitations of our knowledge and our three-dimensional view of the world.
Friday, February 13, 2026
The Knights Templar
Since the earliest days of Christianity, there was a desire to see the holy places where the prophets, the disciples and Jesus himself taught and died. St Helena, the mother of King Constantine, went in search of ancient holy sites and relics. When Jerusalem was taken by Islam, Pilgrims who set out for this long, dangerous and arduous journey were often robbed and sometimes killed on route. Seeing this difficult situation, nine French knights, all related, formed in 1118 AD a brotherhood for the protection of these dedicated pilgrims. They were led by Hughes of Payens and Godfrey of Bouillon. The Templar title comes from accommodation on Temple Mount given to them and for their defence of this holy site. They rose to prominence during the time of the first Crusades. These were a series of wars fought under the banner of Christ either for the recovery of the land or in defence of Christian holy sites. They wore a white cloak with a red eight pointed Maltese cross on the left shoulder. In 1130, with the support of Saint Bernard and money coming from the Christian world, their meteoric rise began. They were to become a major political and financial fighting force.