An Illumined Space

A line had been marked in the air defining a complete circle around the two of them. Three times the old man moved his needle so, pacing around Francis to do this. Francis could feel some warmth moving up from the ground. It was like one of those summer days where the rain draws the heat from the rocks expiring steam.

Then, there followed a light - an illumined space in the circle which now surrounded them. The two were standing in the dark, yet within a lit circular space, as though a spot light from above was shining upon them.

All manner of convention departed with this happening.

The warmth continued, and this was a welcome change from the chilling night's freeze. The light itself had that pale gold aspect of the morning, and Francis felt blest to feel it soak through him.

"What is to happen now?" he asked quietly.

"Now, we will sit and wait for the others to arrive."

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

Cutting the Air in a Circle

The two men now stood in front of one another. His Holiness then turned to his porters and waved at them to leave. They did not waste time exiting the camp, for the air had cooled and was now with its treacherous bite, whilst the darkness imparted its sickly innuendoes.

The very next thing the elderly Pope was to do, was odder still.

Out from his cloak he pulled an immensely fine dagger.

In this age one might have thought it to be a knitting needle, for it was so slim. He casually extracted it from a bejewelled wand-like sheath that was studded in moonstones. They flashed blue in the movement, even though there was little light. He began to wave the dagger slowly above his head, cutting the air in a circle around them.

It crossed Francis's mind momentarily that the old man may have been given an unworthy draught - or perhaps, in a lapse of dementedness, he had strayed up into this forest's hide. It was becoming apparent that the elderly Pontiff should not be there at all.

Another possibility (and he did like to contemplate possibilities) was that a phantom (and there were many) of the woods, had persuaded him with some delusion. And, that the real Pope was still with the party in the foothills below.

Quite abruptly his wondering ceased, for it became evident that the elder knew exactly what it was that he was contemplating.

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

The Flying Pope

The old Pope straightened the ruffle on his sleeve and pulled back his hand from that of Francis; it was as though an electric charge had moved from one to the other.

"My Father ... you have come all this way unprotected. I am concerned for your safety and for what I might do if we were set upon."

"I am not unprotected" he replied softly, yet sternly; and then added, “care not, it is of no significance to one who can fly".

Francis relaxed - whatever was said, he trusted to be true.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

True Name

“Come il verde serve i campi ci sono solo fratelli in Cristo."*

The old Pope offered these words as a gift, whilst Francis kneeled before him.

"What is your true name son?"

"It is Christ”, my beloved.

"As is mine also" came the reply.

The Pope continued: "For the holy-man of Christ wears His name, that he may keep this: his sacred, inner bearing".

"And your given name?”

"It is Francesco - but I am also called Francis or Franco.”

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

*The green serves the fields, just as we are only brothers in Christ.

Energetic Halos

When Francis prayed his mind would object, reminding him of the duties of the world still yet to be performed; and when he turned his work to the practical, the Heavens called, saying "why do you deny us?".

Of course his days and nights were not all such distraction; they were content and enlivened, particularly by the auras that he could see, illuminating every living thing before him.

These energetic halos explained much of the mood and the nature of the plant or the animal, the rock or the man about him - to Francis the whole world glowed in code, and each explained themselves with this obvious and apparent auric display.

Francesco closed his eyes. He could feel the damp pat of the night's dew.

He could hear the hum from the town five miles down, as the sounds flew up with the wind to where he lay resting, and if he focused intently, he could even make out the garbled conversations flying close by, about in the ethers.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second 

Chances

Is the Pope a Roman?

“I've brought you a seed-cake my friend", said Tobias.

Murmur made a gesture of thanks by bowing his head and putting his hands together as though in prayer. He quickly stuffed it into his tunic pocket - his only pocket - forgetting the lizard was there.

"There's to be a meeting in the blessed town at eventide. Every community and order from here to Rome will be represented. There is word that the Holy Pontiff himself is sending an emissary from the Big House."

Tobias revelled in the unity of the Mother Church whilst Murmur had the soul of a loner, preferring to keep his life private from any such gathering of loud men.

''Do you think there'll be food?" he asked hopefully.

“Is the Pope a Roman?" Tobias laughed.

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

Land of Shamballa

We are approaching an age in which man will not only feel himself surrounded by a physical sense world, but also, according to the degree of his development, a spiritual world. The leader in this new world of the spirit will be the etheric Christ. No matter what religious community or faith people belong to, once they have recognized these facts in themselves, they will acknowledge and accept the Christ event. The Christians who have the experience of the etheric Christ are perhaps in a more difficult situation than those who belong to other religions, yet they should endeavor to accept this Christ event in just as neutral a way as the others. It will, in fact, be man's task to develop, especially through Christianity, an understanding for the possibility of entering the spiritual world independently of any special religious confession, but simply through the power of good will.

Anthroposophy should help us above all in this. It will lead us into that spiritual land, described in ancient Tibetan writings as a remote fairyland but meant to be the spiritual world, the Land of Shamballa. Not in a dreamy way but in full consciousness should man enter this land under the guidance of Christ. Even now the initiate can and must go often to the Land of Shamballa in order to acquire new forces. In future, other men, too, will enter the Land of Shamballa. They will see its radiant light, as Paul saw above him the light that streamed from Christ. This light will stream toward them, also. The portals of this realm of light will open to them and through them they will enter the holy Land of Shamballa.


-Rudolf Steiner