The Camino guided me to deeper integration and knowledge regarding my adventures; I travelled for years to experience Guru, Shaman, Monk and spiritual Teachers, and the pains felt in my body from the pilgrimage displayed the new teacher. Subsequently, the way of Saint James manifested present reality in the essence of its architecture in massive cathedrals and small chapels. More often, people walked the Camino for various reasons: for the sick or deceased, to achieve spiritual enlightenment, to worship religious figures, and for a sense of community. Ultimately, I ventured on the Camino for fitness (grounding) with my girlfriend Andrea; we were a great team, massaging each other's feet and legs at the end of a long day. First, our relationship was tested; together, we observed the virtue of misery by walking 5 to 8 hours a day every day for over a month; eventually, we understood the concept of Peter Pan, integrating our shadows.
Regarding Peter pan, he was typecast to show excessive pride and self-satisfaction in his achievements. As a result, he could not grow up with things associated with adulthood; eventually, he bonded with his shadow during his attempts to mature. Before the Camino, I lived in Upscale Toronto and was very trendy, a spiritual healer to many people worldwide. I attained great heights in my career with respect, high social status, and a clean, fit body. Unfortunately, I signified the perfect package for many women and was receiving too much female attention. Lucky for me, I had Andrea by my side; she helped ground the recognition but was privileged in looks and lifestyle herself. Still, having a partner that included spiritual growth and transforming desires during our rise to the top was good. Besides, Andrea and I had enough of the limelight; we both demanded a lifestyle change. So, one morning I arrived at her home to tell her I was travelling for a while; she was shaken because that meant shutting down my transformation center and high social status. Eventually, Andrea warmed up to the idea and left Broadway, her music career, and took this spiritual voyage with me.
The French Way or Camino Frances is the most popular route on the Camino de Santiago, It's peaceful, but the walk can be challenging through the Pyrenees Mountains. On the 1st day of the trek, I met a French man who spoke of King Arthur, the Templars and their connection to the Pleiades. Besides, I researched these legends of the Templars in Spain while practicing the golden dawn magic system that expressed roots in the Solomon orders. Next, the French man explained that the Templars protected Royal Families, the poor and weaker classes of pilgrims during the Camino in medieval times. Further, he described the way of Saint James as a grid connected to higher realities, and on the route, I will discover a small church that initially was a Templar temple. Ultimately, the church is where secret orders arrived for various initiations. So now I was excited, attempting a healing and transformative journey with Andrea and researching cosmic temples and magical galactic orders. Was it possible that all of my research into Templar philosophy would materialize here in Spain? First, let's step out of the Camino to convey aspects of my study into "Templar Spirituality."
The Knights Templar was founded in the Temple of Solomon, Egyptian, in origin on the Mount in Jerusalem, where the magi "magic" and "magicians" lived. From this location, the knights were trained and initiated into Solomon's ancient wisdom for nine years, including the Order of Melchizedek (Religion by Knighthood) and the duality in God, masculine and feminine. In addition, the original Templar traditions welcomed a variety of religious orders that encompassed spiritual individuality. Moreover, Templars were knights and monks; they dressed in special garments that personified the monk traditions. For example, the Red Cross wore their robes as a symbol of sacrifice, red was the base frequency of the earth, and the cross itself was the body. To die in combat was the transcendence of physicality, an honour that assured a place in higher dimensions. Also, the knights consumed their meals in peace/silence and ate meat no more than once a week and only during famine. The Templars had minimal or no contact with women; instead, they used sexual energy to serve and protect. I also learned that the Templar Order existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages lacking financial resources. So, their emblem was two knights riding on one horse, highlighting the Order's scarcity.
Andrea and I made it over the French Pyrenees and arrived at the border in Spain; our trek through the mountains was challenging, but the views and fresh air made it all worthwhile. Although we heard many pilgrims share their accounts of nasty blisters and body stiffness, their stories prompted me to produce unique oil named thieves, and it worked like a charm; I was firm with no foot complications throughout the trip. In France during the 15th century, thieves snuck into graveyards to rob the dead. Legend says the robbers protected themselves by creating a unique aromatic combination of clove, rosemary, and other botanicals. Today Thieves oil blend is inspired by those tales, blending Clove, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon oil, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils. Next, the Occasional frustrations of carrying a heavy load took me; I ignored the staff's advice back at the border in Spain; the team provided scales to weigh everyone's bag; mine was 20 kg and too bulky. So, a week into the hike, I threw everything out of my backpack to lighten the load. During the night at our hotel, I spoke with fellow Pilgrims about a famous location, San Nicolas church, which was challenging to get a room because of its popularity. So we stayed in Hontanas overnight, ensuring we arrived early at San Nicolas to secure beds. The 13th-century church was converted into a pilgrim Albergue that has cared for pilgrims for 1000 years, San Nicolas Hospitalero. The ministry had no electricity and was run by Italian men who hosted 12 lucky people a night with a communal dinner. First, the Italian men offered a unique ancient ceremony of washing feet; it was a tradition to send pilgrims safely into Santiago. They took my feet in the water; an immense rush of love and peace flowed through my body. Then, suddenly, Andrea began to sing Ave Maria; her voice danced along with the acoustic architecture in the church. We awoke the following day, and as I walked the trails, it felt like all aspects of me were in a straight line behind me, no longer scattered in chaos, and shadow integrations.
Eventually, we located the Templar temple I learned about in France named Santa Maria de Eunate. Andrea and I met Emil; he took us into his establishment, made some herbal tea, and described the church's legends. Our Lady Church was built in 1170, a mysterious but straightforward building; its supernatural origin made it a place of Christian worship and those seeking powers that the lands and temple rendered. Untimely, the church was known for its name, "one hundred doors." Its architecture was designed by the Knights Templars and managed by the initiates regarding the order of Solomon. In addition, the Church/temple has an octagonal layout, a similar design to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Popular culture speaks of its construction in memory of a noblewoman or queen whose tomb lies beneath the temple entrance.
Next, Emil conveyed that another structure on the Camino is nearly identical to the one I am now, with 33 arches and decorative ornaments built by the Templars in Olcoz. Further, the building has two doors; the north is highly fashioned, facing Santiago's road, and a more uncomplicated door facing the west. Also, the octagonal layouts inside intersected with a pentagonal altar. The vault (octagonal room) is held up by eight columns with different angles, making all eight sides of the church very different. But, close to this church, in Olcoz, is the church of San Miguel (St. Michael); it was constructed with an identical door to the church we were staying at (Eunate) but in reverse. Legend states that a special stonemason built the door at Eunate; in the end, he was very agitated because, in his absence, a giant with occult powers beat him to it and completed the stonemason's work. Subsequently, the special stonemason was a wizard and built another. So, in 3 days, with the witch's and magician's assistance, he accomplished this incredible feat with an identical doorway inverted. Therefore, the giant grew angry when he saw the inverted door and hit it with a magical spell that sent the door flying to Olcoz. (St. Michael). Finally, I noticed the sun began to set as I listened to Emil speak about these legends. Following, we entered the temple for chanting and toning. Ancient Gregorian-style hymns echoed and penetrated the whole room; I was humbled even though I could not understand Spanish, but I felt the effects in my body. We awoke early morning and hiked into Santiago de Compostela, the capital of northwest Spain's Galicia.
Santiago is the grand finale of the pilgrimage; it's also the burial site of the Biblical apostle St. James. Andrea and I treated ourselves to a luxurious hotel in the center, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos. Also, we spent a couple of days visiting the city, and while doing so, we decided to go further on the Camino Finisterre; it takes three to four days. As recorded in the Middle Ages, the "end of the world" Finisterre is where pilgrims walked for special spiritual and physical significance. When we arrived, I decided to talk with the local folk; they informed me that Finisterre is the ancient trail connecting the pre-Christian origins of the Camino de Santiago. But, in our present day, the goal of the Camino Finisterre is to reach the lighthouse, where it is traditional to burn clothes, discard worn boots, and watch the sunset over the Atlantic coastline. As a result, thousands of boots and shoes were hanging off the radio tower close to the water. So, of course, Andrea and I were excited to leave our shoes, enjoy delicious food and spectacular scenery, and conclude our trip to Spain.