Joy overflows
Pilgrims from all corners of the world – Australia, USA, Scotland, England, Asia, New Zealand – we are drawn irresistibly to Iona. We follow our hearts; in the footsteps of the pilgrims of old we come. Drawn by the peace of this magical Isle, we come. Through the Hollow Hills of Argyll; past the sweeping glens, lochs and mountains; to the white sandy shores of Iona; we come. The land of the Western Isles, the Hebrides founded upon beautiful Serpentine green stone and marble of this ancient land. This windswept isle, betwixt Ireland and Scotland is an Emerald Isle. As we approach this Isle between the worlds, celestial music fills my heart and inner ear. Joy overflows. The Light of the Christ, Lord Maitreya radiates from us through the waves to her shores. We return . . .
Return to Iona
Stepping onto the ferry, I feel myself as a monk, our cassocks dragging in the water. We wade out to the boat, and across the channel, and then wade back again through the water, through the tide to the beach. We walk in single file, we walk in single file, steeling ourselves against the elements we come with our brothers in Christendom. We come for the Conclave the ecclesiastical gathering in due season. We follow the path that leads to the Abbey, with its solace and its peace. We come at times of war, times of celebration. We come in times of bereavement and grief. We come in unison, we come in ones and two, we come. We come to heal the body, soul and spirit. We come for communion. We come to shake the burdens of the world of our weary shoulders. We come carrying the prayers of many, we come. We leave after the holy celebrations of Yuletide and Easter Resurrection. We leave more steady, sure of our purpose, enlightened of the loads of grief of the prayers of many. Our loads, uplifted in the Heart of Christsos. Carried on wings of prayer, over the water, over the islands, back to Scotland, back to Ireland. We take that peace, we radiate that peace, we work with the Spirit of Peace for the alleviation of suffering. We come as bearers of prayers, we come for earnest solitude. We come for study, we come for music, we come for succour. We sometimes comes empty, we leave with full hearts, glad brethren. We pilgrimage to Rome, to Glastonbury to Jerusalem, many years. We come in retreat, we leave with outpourings and blessings. Some die, some wither, some shrivel, some choose to stay in retreat. Some become the teachers, some ministers, some healers. "
Priests of Christendom gather
St Columbus, an incarnation of Lord Paul the Venetian; inaugurated the Iona Abbey in the 6th century AD. He gathered around him a community of Light; the torch had passed from ancient hands to Christendom; Holy Iona’s flame was again rekindled to send peace to the world. Iona was established in the realm of the King of the Western Isles as a centre for learning and stonemasonry. Once re-invigorated the monks, receive teachings and training and then ventured out to take the Word abroad. Long before St Columbus arrived this Isle was sacred to the Picts and Druids; their legacy of standing stones are dotted throughout the isle and along the shoreline of nearby Mull.
Temple of Peace
Iona is a Temple of Peace on the inner levels of earth, overseen by the Lord Hilarion. The Angelic host are directed and guided by Archangel Lady Mary and Archangel Raphael and their legions of healing angels who send healing and peace to Christendom and beyond. The High Cross of the Abbey symbolizes the horizontal and vertical serpent paths, from whence the peace is disseminated throughout the United Kingdom.
The Iona Abbey connects through the ionic into Greece, to the Temple of Truth in Crete, into Greece and therefore into the Heart of Lord Hilarion. Hence the lighted triangle of Temples of Truth in Crete, Iona, and Melbourne is just one of many triangles, Temples of Truth, Light and Healing on the planet. This living Light is invigorated by the green stone of the Emerald Isle.
An image of the altar of the Sanctuary of the Heart in the New Himalaya united in peace with the pale green serpentine altar of Iona and the Heart of Glastonbury and Chalice Well is revealed. The heavenly host, Angels of Peace sing Ava Maria; the beautiful voices of Dwija and Tarajyoti create a vehicle for Mother Mary’s Light to descend and ascend.
Together we pray: “ Spirit of Peace, Spirit of Resurrection take charge. Work through our beloved I AM Presences to strengthen this Temples Light deep within the planetary grid.” The Spirit of Peace permeates this whole isle. Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Radiant Paths of Light
The Angelic host are stationed in the 16 directions; they gather and radiate the peace of Iona to the East, South, West and North. Around the Abbey the major Serpent Paths of living Light converge. Networks of interlacing triangles of Light appear before my inner eye; they connect Iona to St Michael’s Mount in Penzance, Glastonbury, Avebury and Chalice Well in England ; Rosslyn Chapel, Edinburgh Cathedral and the Orkney Islands in Scotland; Skellig Michael, Croag Patrick and Derry in Eire and beyond. These vibrant serpentine pathways carry the Light of Iona through Hurqalya, the global grid to where it is needed the most on earth.
Serpent Fire of Lord Michael
Through the Serpent Fire of Michael, His Fiery breath creates and invigorates these lands. He is the Dragon Path linking and gathering the gift of peace generating from loving hearts. His Fiery Blue Path swirls and invigorates the lands through which it travels. Through His Path the land is healed and redeemed. Through His Fiery breath Heaven and Earth become one. Through His Living Light we are uplifted unto soul. I stand before His serpentine Altar in the Abbey and feel the peace and the power which is Iona. It is here that the Fire of Spirit, meets and merges with the Spirit of Peace and the Spirit of Resurrection. From this altar, from this sacred island these beauteous energies stream forth to uplift, to heal, to resurrect, all who encounter them. Silently I sit in Michael’s Chapel, and feel the pulse of his Heart.
World beyond the veil
To touch the stones, carved lovingly by the monks and masons down through the ages, is to step back through the veil into the mists of time. Sacred Iona is a thin place where the veil between the worlds is lifted. Within its protective heart, your heart can heal, be uplifted, freed of burdens. To breathe the air from the Dun I, to sit in silent contemplation in the cloisters; to allow the peace to enfold you; to gather serpentine stones on the white sandy beaches, this is the gift of Iona. To pilgrimage to sacred Iona is to step back into the past; to be healed, to send healing, to give and to receive. And when, like the monks of old, you are replenished; gather unto you the light, the peace, the joy that you have received and take that peace that passeth all understanding with you out into the world in need
Dun I
We climb the hill, which is Dun I, to commune with soul and the angelic host. Meditation upon the Healing Well of the Mother, deep within its beauteous heart shaped form, peace overflows and flys abroad – time disappears – birds of the air circle. The waters of the Mother stream down the hill to the Abbey. The path winds further up to the summit where a cairn rests. Beehive shaped it reminds us of the Omphalos, Navel of the Earth at Delphi. Iona, Temple of Peace on the inner levels, from whence radiates the peace that passeth all understanding, flows through us to the world. We sit and send through heart and hands the Spirit of Resurrection from the Heart of Lord Jesus, through the heart of Lady Ananda Tara Shan, flows through us to the world. Angels of Peace and Resurrection receive and distribute this Peace throughout the land. Birds soar overhead and we descend to earth with hearts overflowing
Diamond light enfolds
Deep midnight blue of the evening sky enfolds us; diamond blue light protecting all. Heaven descends with her blue cloak of stars surrounds Iona. We spent a delightful evening in the company of young ecclesiastic students from across the Atlantic, visiting Iona on a Celtic Spirituality retreat. Songs of love, joy and praise are shared; voices rise within the Spirit of the Heart. We journey on different paths, yet meet within the One Heart in Iona.
Leaving Iona
As we leave Her shores the Peace of the Mother through the Heart of Tara the White; through the loving heart of the Lady Buddha of Earth; through the angelic voice of Bernhard, flows to where it is needed the most on earth.
Ancient Standing Stones raise their heads as we pass; we bow our heads – the work is done. We turn our faces to the outer world.
Photos: Sacred Iona – FB: Living in Light
Chandra Easton 2nd May, 2013