It is a little time since I last wrote to you; Time is such a very difficult thing to quantify. I have a feeling that I may well have sent you the Mayan system of Time already? I hope not? The Mayans have an interesting belief that there is no such time as the present. It just does not exist. They recognise the past which is in front of them because they know about it and can thus 'see' it. The future is behind them because they cannot 'see' it. It is still to come and they don't know anything about what it will bring. Once the future arrives they know about it and then they can 'see' it, it is before them and it immediately becomes the past.
It may seem quite hard to comprehend initially but on consideration I can see that it is the philosophy of living in the present, something so many of us are encouraged to do and learning from the past as you can ‘see it’. Is planning the ‘unseen’ future part of the present? We have many such conundrums in our lives but few as serious and enormous as the world is facing today. It seems that in whichever direction we turn, the problems are there to a greater or lesser degree. There was a time when astrology was given the same scientific status as astronomy. Then the movements and positioning of the planets were as important and relevant to the lives and well-being or otherwise of a nation, just as they are today.
I was struck by the remarkable gesture made by an elderly woman, Yocheved Lifshitz (85) by her shaking the hand of the gun carrying Hamas fighter, one of many holding the kidnapped Israelis captive. It was in itself a simple gesture but it brought to mind the Moon landing in December 2012 when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and when walking on the surface of the lunar landscape, made his famous announcement and was quoted as saying ‘That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’
That quotation is now engrained in stone, ever to be remembered. A small step it may have been but the consequences were enormous. The outstretched hand of friendship to her captor by Yocheved Lifshitz is of no less importance, in courage, her love for peace and humanity. A simple gesture maybe, but the meaning behind it was also enormous, hopefully far reaching. We are all human beings, why don’t we wake up to that fact and realise that far more can be achieved through love, compassion and understanding of humanity as a whole, than war, wreaking destruction, bloodshed and suffering. She saw her captor as a man, a fellow human being. She showed us how to FORGIVE. Is it too much to hope that her instinctive action may have a ‘ripple’ effect.
As we finally bid farewell to Summer, we welcome autumn and its abundance. We are enjoying a wonderful kaleidoscope of colours as the leaves of the trees change colours; the brilliant reds of the acers brightening up the landscape; the subtle yellow/oranges of the beeches and the purples of the copper beeches and many others. As we walk through the woods we are walking on a carpet of many hues. We hear the rustling of the squirrels busy collecting their store of nuts to hide away in preparation for the long winter months ahead; other small animals are also busy as are the birds. This a time of gathering; with an innate knowledge deep within them of scarce times to come.
Halloween is also here; googlies, ghosties, witches and creepy sounds and things that make one jump.
©Sarah Pruitt
So what is the history behind this strange event? Wikipedia tells us that ‘The Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.’ ‘To ward off evil spirits from their households, the Celts were known to set carved pumpkins (or turnips) in front of their doors. If they went out at night they wore costumes so that if they encountered an evil spirit they would be mistaken for an evil spirit themselves and thus be protected from evil and trouble.’ There was a more modern Christian history to this event called 'Souling`. Religious souls would visit houses to pray for the souls of the people. Small gifts would be given in return.
Sonya Julia, one of the lovely people who joined me on my Crop Circle and Stonehenge tour this summer, sent me and allowed me to share with you, some glorious photographs taken when she and her sister Sue and family were walking along the Ridgeway past the Uffington White Horse and on to Great Coxwell Medieval Tithe Barn in Oxfordshire. Some of the pictures show the Giants Footsteps rolling away in the distance. The famous Ridgeway runs from Avebury,Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Hertfordshire, and a distance of 87 miles (139km)
In my next letter, I will tell you about my annual Crop Circle Scientific Research day and its unexpected results.
And a message from Pam Gregory - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLwQcYzBd8