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(Photo Credit:
The pictures shown here were taken by Joshua Shapiro and Katrina Head
and special permission from the Gnostic Templars, Sedona, Arizona)
Sedona, Arizona
(Joining a Spiritual Order and becoming Gnostic Templars;
these picture courtesy of the Gnostic Templars )
These photos are from
the conference we attended in Sedona for the Gnostic Templars.
on Saturday, December 5th. In the top photo, we see a meeting of individuals who
have qualified for the position of Knight, which is the 2nd level within the
order. When a person is a knight or higher, the cloak they wear has a
large red cross. In the second photo, the U.S. Grand Prioress, Andrea
Mikana-Pinkham, is placed on one of the new Lady initiate her cloak which in the
order they call a mantle during the initiation ceremony to enter the order of
Gnostic Templars. This organization is officially known as the
International Order of Gnostic Templars and is a division of the Scottish
Knights Templar in Scotland.
The next two pictures show Katrina and Joshua, as they come in on the first
level,
known as Lady Katrina and Squire Joshua, along with the other ladies and
squires.
On this day, there was one person who was initiated as a Knight and then
receives
the cloak with the cross, a sword is used in the order as a symbol of the link
with
the Templars. When we were initiated at the first level, the sword was not
used
but we did receive a transference of a special energy given on our heads by the
U.S. Grand Prior, Mark Amaru Pinkham and we also each received a small red cross
that we wore in a chain around our neck. The next to last picture is of
the Grand
Prior and Prioress in their full traditional custom. The last photo is not
from our
conference but was taken at another public event but shows the crystal skull
which
the U.S. order has and is used in all of their ceremonies. We were allowed
to but on
the ceremonial table our "crystal kids", so they could also experience the
energy
of the Knights Templar and a few other members had their own skulls too.
Joshua also was given an hour to do a presentation which included the hands-on
joint meditation work. It was a very interesting experience to participate
in.
Lastly, lets say a few words about the order as many stories are told about the
Knights Templar. The order accepts both men and women and also does not
interfer with the individuals' own personal spiritual or religious beliefs.
This order
is linked to the order of Knights Templars from Scotland. When the order
was
almost destroyed by the French King in the 1500's as many of the members
were executed, a few of the members were able to escape and re-establish the
order in Scotland. Many other secret orders such as the Masons or
Rosicrucians
which are thought to be part of the Knight Templars, are off-shoots that are
not following the original precepts of the Templars. The key principles to
the
Templar Order is to work through the Gnostic Path (which is seeking to discover
your true essence or divinity) and also to embrace the path of the Goddess or
to reintegrate with the feminine energy. The order also respect the
teachings
and essence of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene and honors the Teacher
of the World, Sunat Kumara. The U.S. order also is working on projects to help
create peace, cooperation and unity amongst all religious and spiritual orders.
If you are curious about the Gnostic Templars, may we recommend you visit their
website to read more about this organization. Just go to:
http://www.gnostictemplars.org/
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Ceremony and Meditation near Cathedral Rock
(Sunday, December 6th)
The area in Sedona (or Red Rock
Canyon) where we went to hold our ceremony
and meditations with our new family at the Gnostic Templars.
The healing stone circle which Sir
Mark selected for us to have our
gathering in nature - Sir Mark is lighting a kind of essence and
Dame Andrea has a strange pinkish-purple light around her?
In the center of the circle we
placed the "crystal kids" with a few other friends
to receive the energies of this part of Sedona and from our circle. Joshua
was
asked to lead a meditation with the crystal skulls, there were 13 people present
for the gathering and we were able to have each person hold a skull. The
orientation
of the meditation was to work with the energy of the crystal skulls and send out
to our world and all its living population a pink energy of love and harmony.
A few other photos taken around
the stone circle - Joshua doing his usual
thing within the circle, in the first photo. The second photo shows the
total circle with some of our belongings inside and Joshua taking a photo
with another new Squire who was initiated, Alan who lives in Sedona.
Sir Mark led the first part of the circle and shared with the group a
specific breathing and meditating technique working with the heart.
Then Sir Mark discussed about the Yezidis, who live in Iraq and are
being persecuted by the Kurdish Moslems. According to Sir Mark,
the Yezidis faith is older then Judaism and they believe in seven
angels, the one God and reincarnation (so they are a culture
following a Gnostic tradition). Very few people know about the Yezidis
or the cruel treatment they receive from the Moslems. He told
our group he was trying to help them and if anyone feels an affinity to
do so, please contact Sir Mark via the Gnostic Templar website.
A few more photos from the surrounding area of the type of environment
you will meet in Sedona including desert, all kinds and color of cactus and
the type of stones and mountains found in the area.
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To View the next set of Photos from our trip to the
U.S. Southwest (more stories from Sedona)
please
click on
the link below:
Southwest Tour, Photo Page
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The Next Spiritual Tour to Peru is
planned for May of 2010. If you would
like more information or to get on our
new update list, just send an email to:
crystalskullexplorers@gmail.com |
