The Jordan River today.
by Digger Barr
https://gaiasgardens.guru/
It’s 3:00 am in Seattle Washington USA where I now sit in a Marriott hotel room eating leftover caesar salad.
This may sound very odd but it all makes sense.
I have just returned from Cairo, Egypt. The time there is 1:00 pm and it is time for my body to have lunch. Apparently my jet lagged mind is eager to comply.
Jet lag. It’s a real conundrum when jumping time zones. I had horrible jet lag going into Egypt, It took a full week to adjust. After three weeks of living in a different time zone and a very crazy schedule my system is totally whacked and adjusting once again to local time and routine will take more than a minute.
Many of you know I was going to Egypt and probably expected to hear from me before now. My apologies.
Let me tell you that jet lag is no small matter and took me out at the knees. It may have been other energies of everything going on that took me out, but I will say it started with jet lag.
I did not have a great start to my trip and actually collapsed on day three in the airport during our transfer from Cairo to Aswan. Many thanks to our Egyptian guide, Hatem who supported me to a chair and gave me a much needed protein bar. Without his airport escort I do not know how I would have continued.
The next day I missed the first temple sojourn as I stayed aboard the yacht to recover. Aswan, Egypt was the jump position to begin our Dahabiyah (1) float down the Nile.
Dahabiyah on the Nile
Things went from bad to worse for almost everyone on the trip as we dealt with all of our systems going through adjustments. More on that as our three-week journey unfolds and as I share about our adventure.
Rest assured it was all part of the journey as the finish on our trip was beyond magical and left us in absolute reverence for the Divine Plan. We cannot make up the beauty and synchronicity of the unseen plan. We cannot foresee things that are our destiny. We can only go where we’re guided and have faith that all is as it should be. And it is. And it was.
The last leg of the trip is where I’d like to start.
We were in Jordan. The land of the Holies. The Holy of holies.
Our Jordanian tour guide was none other than Fadi Shawkat Haddad. He’s a published biblical expert and has years of experience taking groups on their spiritual pilgrimage.
That’s exactly what this trip turned into. A pilgrimage. A spiritual awakening This trip was expected to be a spiritual, cultural journey but it intensified and turned into pilgrimage and mission of peace.
Let me take you to the last leg and last day of our trip.
We were in Jordan on a bus going to different holy sites. We departed Mt Nebo, the final leg of Moses’ journey, to go down to the River Jordan.
View of Israel From Mt. Nebo
We left the air conditioned sanctuary of the bus and walked to the site where John the Bapstist baptised Jesus. Our whole trip suddenly got very surreal.
We came from a timeless experience in Egypt to this point that almost defies comprehension.
To walk in the footsteps of historical wisdom for only just a fraction of time sweeps away any distance between past present or future. This place carries the energetic signature that connects with any soul willing to listen.
We were all very quiet.
The River Jordan is small now. barely a muddy irrigation ditch that flows into the Dead Sea. I can only imagine its glory during the days of Moses and Jesus as the water flourished giving life along its banks.
We were on the east side of the Jordanian river. Less than 10 feet away was the West Bank of Israel. The Jordan river is the dividing line between the East Bank of Jordan and the West Bank of Israel.
So it is here where our small group had been brought at the end of our arduous journey together.
Almost broken, but not quite, by supporting each other, we came to the banks of a river, a place of unimaginable holy and spiritual significance. The nine of us joined hands and prayed. We stood not but feet from a war conflicted area, waging a religious conflict with modern political overtures of control and financial manipulation. And we joined hands and prayed for peace.
We stood in unison with love flowing from our hearts like the river Jordan once did. We stood for peace in the wake of inhuman atrocities just miles from our location. We prayed from the brokenness of our souls for the brokenness of all souls and for rejuvenation. We sent healing with compassion, love and understanding and a knowing that all will be healed.
We felt the love that Jesus brought to our world surge up from the ground into our feet and into our hearts, springs of water ran from our eyes. We walked where he walked. You don’t need religion to understand this.
West Bank Outpost
We walked further down where we personally could put our feet into the river. This place on the river was under the shadow of an Israeli Military watch post. Armed with machine guns they watched our every move very carefully.
On the Jordanian side equal vigilance was apparent as Jordanian soldiers monitored our visit with machine guns nestled across their chests. Our small group was given quarter and imposed no threat. We were quiet and reverential, holding the space for peace.
A much larger, European group came in behind us and it wasn’t long before we were all asked to leave as there was too much chatter and chaos.
YOU do not want to get these guys edgy. This is serious business.
From here we reconvened at a resort on the Dead Sea. We spent the rest of the day bathing in mud and swimming in the Dead sea. We integrated the day each in our own way. We could almost see Jerusalem, Jericho, the Golan heights and Bethlehem from where we rested in lounge chairs.
The Dead Sea
At night their locations were obvious, but soaking in the daytime sun, the hills concealed all but the ideas of a war.
This was the last day of our pilgrimage and we were tired, worn and some still sick. This was a much-needed respite. Still it is not lost on anyone that we are the fortunate ones. There’s still much work ahead for us, for, after all we went through, we have a message to share.
We all came to this journey from different situations. We’ll return to our spouses, our children, our pets and our homes with a renewed sense of gratitude and appreciation for what we have. And we won’t hesitate to make changes to those areas of our lives that no longer serve.
It’s a strength that grows within you when you’ve been stripped down to the core and know what you need to do. It is no longer an option to avoid yourself.
We faced ourselves. We’ve been brought down and we’ve been rejuvenated.
We’re not the same people who left on this adventure. We became the disciples of life and we found love. We found love on the banks of the Jordan. We found it along the banks of the Nile. We found it in the faces of all the people along the way. They are beautiful hearts.
And most important of all, we found it in ourselves. This is now what we can give to the world. We can share ourselves and the knowing that there is no difference between any of us. The people around the world all want the same thing. All people deserve the same thing.
Good food, clean water, sustainable living, good health and no war!
People everywhere want and need to be loved.
Love to everyone, for this is the way.
Digger2023
Footnotes
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