REGARDING MARGARET STARBIRD

Today I received a comment posted on the Guestbook of my website www.magdalenescrolls.com. The one who posted the comment asked if I had read the books of Starbird and saying that she lived in Washington State. The guest commenter went on to ask why don't I get together with Starbird - or something to that effect.

This brought up a memory reaching back to 2005. I had just published the first edition of Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls. I listed Starbird's book "Woman With the Alabaster Jar" in my bibliography. I met another author who suggested that she, Starbird and myself create a documentary regarding our views and research on Mary Magdalene. Each of us had different approaches. Starbird was approached and thought it was a good idea, however after asking her publisher, Inner Traditions, she declined following the dictates of her publisher.

Yes, I knew Starbird lived in Washington State and I admire her for what she has written. The commenter wrote that Starbird was a student of divinity. I am a retired ordained minister of Divine Science and for those of you not familiar with Divine Science, it was founded by three women in the early part of the last century. There were a number of great teachers and books that were spawned by Divine Science, i.e. Dr. Joseph Murphy who authored The Power of the Subconscious Mind to name one.

I have done extensive research on the background of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and also the Bible. I have also written articles on my research and my research uncovered a different history than what the traditional so-called authorities found. I submitted my 2nd edition of Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls to The Writers Digest competition and although I was not a winner, I was a winner - the reason being that the judge gave me a hi-5 in all five categories and had this to say in answer to questions posed:

What did you like best about this book?
"Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls is a tantalizing story depicting the discovery of ancient scrolls about Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Though it covers some of the same ground as the Da Vinci Code, the writing is infinitely better and far more believable. The heroines in the story are more realistic and the adventures described in a truer voice along with a possible time-line--something very much lacking in Dan Brown's tale. Whether the reader choose to believe what is revealed in story form or not, the book is entertaining from beginning to end."
How can the author improve this book?
"No suggestions--the author knows how to write and tell a compelling and convincing story. Hopefully the promotion for this book will be enough to make those who read the Da Vinci Code want to read the Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls."

Having received awards for Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls and Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy, I don't know if having been part of a documentary with Margaret Starbird would have benefited me. On the other hand, the book could have been made into a movie or a mini-tv series. However, I am not ruling it out as anything is possible.

A HYMN TO WOMEN

The following is from the book “Jesus in India” by Nicholas Notovitch. His book was published in1854 after his trip to India. While there, Notovitch gained access to manuscripts in a Lamasery at Himis. He had journeyed there because he had heard of Saint Issa, which was their name for Jesus. Jesus was revered in India and many of his teachings were written down.

The manuscripts at Himis were only a few that had been held in other lamaseries in India and possibly in Tibet. I find it sad that these have been hidden away in lamaseries for hundreds of years and only a few of the privileged knew of them. The Christian world has been kept in ignorance that Jesus actually traveled to India and lived there for 18 years before he returned to Jerusalem. These are teachings that the world needs to be aware of. Here are his teachings about women:

“It is not good for a son to push away his mother, that he may occupy the place which belongs to her. Whoso doth not respect his mother—the most sacred being after his God—is unworthy of the name of son.

“Hearken to what I say to you: Respect woman; for in her we see the mother of the universe, and all the truth of divine creation is to come through her.

“She is the fount of everything good and beautiful, as she is also the germ of life and death. Upon her man depends in all his existence, for she is his moral and natural support in his labors.

“In pain and suffering she brings you forth; in the sweat of her brow she watches over your growth, and until her death you cause her greatest anxieties. Bless her and adore her, for she is your only friend and support on earth.

“Respect her; defend her. In so doing you will gain for yourself her love; you will find favor before God, and for her sake many sins will be remitted to you.

“Love your wives and respect them, for they will be mothers of tomorrow and later the grandmothers of a whole nation.

“Be submissive to the wife; her love ennobles man, softens his hardened heart, tames the wild beast in him and changes it to a lamb.

“Wife and mother are the priceless treasures which God has given to you. They are the most beautiful ornaments of the universe, and from them will be born all who will inhabit the world.

“Even as the Lord of Hosts separated the light from darkness, and the dry land from the waters, so does woman possess the divine gift of calling forth out of man’s evi8l nature all the good that is in him.

“Therefore I say unto you, after God, to woman must belong your best thoughts, for she is the divine temple where you will most easily obtain perfect happiness.

“Draw from this temple your moral force. There you will forget your sorrows and your failures, and recover the love necessary to aid your fellow men.

“Suffer her not to be humiliated, for by humiliating her you humiliate yourselves, and lose the sentiment of love, without which nothing can exist here on earth.
“Protect your wife, that she may protect you—you and all your household. All that you do for your mothers, your wives, for a widow, or for any other woman in distress, you will do for your God.”

EASTER - HAVE YOU RISEN?

In the Christian world, we celebrate Good Friday – the day that Jesus supposedly was crucified and then the following Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead. I find it interesting that the two events never are celebrated on the same day of the month as we do Christmas, Thanksgiving and Presidents' Day. Easter Sunday is the day when many deck themselves out in new clothes and go to church even though they rarely go throughout the year.

When a lie is told enough times, and accepted, then it becomes a truth. Later when facts and truth are revealed, the believers cry blasphemy! This is not saying that Jesus did not die or that he ascended. It is possible. When I headed this article "Easter – Have You Risen?" – it is in the context that have you taken responsibility for your past mistakes, errors and sins?

From the Christian pulpits, it is reiterated over-and-over that Christ died for our sins. I do not accept that, because Jesus came in as a mortal man and when he died, it was some years later that the Apostle Paul labeled him Christ. No one at the time of his death accepted that he was a divine being. It was a mortal man that gave Jesus the label of Christ. Mortal men wrote and preached this unproven story. I cannot accept that one man could die for the sins of the world. One only has to look at the turmoil in the world today.

For centuries this story has been perpetuated from the pulpits and in the Catholic Church. It is a rule in the Catholic Church that people must go to confession and confess their sins to a priest who is also a mortal man. After confessing, the person(s) leave and go out and repeat their actions again. It does not make sense to place the burden of forgiveness and atonement to one man. Isn't it time that everyone took responsibility for his or her actions and their sins?

Isn't it time we took Jesus down from the cross and placed him in a position where we apply what he taught in our lives? It would appear that from the pulpits that Satan took over and we hear more about Satan or the Devil than we hear the teaching of "Do unto others as you would have them to unto you." Another great teaching is "Love your neighbor as yourself." Both of these great statements are in the Sermon of the Mount – the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of the Book of Matthew.
From the pulpits, rarely is it taught to not discriminate against people or their beliefs. Nor is it taught to allow others their beliefs and life styles. Instead, each sect of Christianity thinks their particular peephole of the whole is the only way and that if others do not believe as they do, then it is a sin and these disbelievers are of the devil. Where does love come in? Where does treating others the way one wants to be treated come in? Where does the freedom for women enter?
Shakespeare wrote in his play Julius Caesar, "The evil men do lives after them, and the good is oft interred in their bones." The evil men do leaves a trail – a wreckage of lives and we cannot blame it on the Devil or Satan. As Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here."

The celebration of Easter originally come from the pagans who revered life, the earth and celebrated it at the vernal equinox in honor of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre or Eostre. She was the goddess of fertility and life in all things. Yes, she represents the feminine aspect of life and fertility. The early Christian fathers hi-jacked this sacred event for their own purposes.

Now, more than ever is the time we each take responsibility for our own life and actions. We cannot respect or love another until we love our self and respect who we are. Life is an inward journey looking out. What do we see? What we see in another is something that is within self. Why not look for the god in everyone? Why not look for something beautiful in another? Why not do random acts of kindness? Whatever we do, will lift us and return to us a thousand fold. Then we can say, "I have risen."

THE MAGDALENE MATRIARCHIAL LINK- Part 2

As I begin this posting of Part 2 of The Magdalene Matriarchal Link, I am often amazed at the number of writers that have glossed over the ancient history of the Sumerians. This is the reason I have gone back to the beginning of the human in order to understand bloodlines and their connection to the mitochondria. To the left is the remains of the Temple of Ninhursag, Tell Harrii, Syria near Iraq border.

I am only giving a brief overview and for those who want to know more, I suggest reading Zechariah Sitchen's books or googling the information wanted. It is indeed a most interesting history of the human race.

According to my understanding of the Pantheon of Sumerian Gods aka the elite of the Annunaki from the planet Nibiru, they were highly educated beings from another planet who found planet Earth with its primitive beings. In Part I, I have already given the background to the creation of the human form including its brain by a great geneticist Ninhursag. I am fortunate to have as my teacher, Ramtha for over twenty years. I was taught the rudiments of quantum physics, ancient history, the brain, the emotional body, and many other profound subjects. We students were encouraged to research and find out for ourselves. It did not take much encouragement for me to do so because I became intrigued with ancient hidden history when I read Ruth Montgomery's book The World Before in 1979.

In Part I, I placed an ancient drawing of Ninhursag portraying the result of her genetic engineering. One only has to drop the old thinking of the world is flat, the Bible is truth, Jesus died on the cross for everyone's sins and my God is better than your God to have a better understanding of who we really are. Shakespeare said it very well, All the world is a stage and we are the players on it. I know some people will be offended, but we are similar to puppets and who or what is pulling our strings? Eventually we learned we have a soul and some belief that a spirit inhabits the human body. Both of these statements are true as well as we are all part of the great mosaic of the primary Creator. This also means we have god within us. God is not outside of us and there is not only one God. Each of us have a mission to fulfill and that is as Ramtha has said to make known the unknown.

The human brain was created by Ninhursag. She is also known by other names such as Mama, Mami or Mammy and Queen of the Mountain, goddess of the earth, goddess of fertility and the Mother Goddess. Archaeologists have excavated the Temple of Ninhursag close to Tell Harri in Syria near the Iraquian border. Could it be that the statues of the Black Madonnas had their origin in honoring the memory of Ninhursag? Could it be that this is where the legend of Isis came from? History is the fluid movement of others’ recollections.

As the ancient Sumerian tablets reveal, Enlil felt the new humans were propagating too fast and be wanted them destroyed. His brother Enki and Ninhursag disagreed and when a family meeting was held, Enlil won. He exacted a promise from Enki and Ninhursag that they would not tell the humans that they were to be destroyed by creating a major flood to drown them.

Enki loved these beings because he had given his sperm to be used in creating them. There are Sumerian pictographs depicting Enki speaking through a curtain to one of the humans by the name of Ziusudra and this is suppose to represent Enki giving instructions on saving himself and the seeds created in the laboratory. The Sumerian and Babylonian records of the great flood are very similar to the description given in the Old Testament.

Ziusudra is another name for Noah and in all probability Enki was giving instructions for making a submarine so that Ziusudra/Noah’s family could be saved. The biblical story gives the synopsis that Noah brought animals into the Ark/submarine two by two. Very few people have ever questioned how this could be done. If one were to reason it, the genetic laboratory created by Enki and Ninhursag would have the DNA and genes of all species and it would be reasonable that vials holding these precious DNAs would be given to Ziusudra/Noah along with the how-to create them in a laboratory.

Egyptian hieroglyphs depict helicopters, submarines and airships. These are also described in ancient Indian texts. Therefore this makes more sense than what we have been led to believe. Enki is also known as Mercury, Thoth, Hermes and Osiris. It can be mind-boggling to think that the human species were created over 300,000 years ago, but then the Nephilim year was equal to 3600 of Earth years. The question is what intelligence occupies the humans as they have evolved? Ninhursag with the help of Enki created the vehicle or body, but the spirit and soul of God or the Creator of All occupies it for the exploration of making known an unknown. We are more than our bodies. As humans, we carry the DNA of the advanced Annunaki and also that of the primitive being already living on this planet.

Part 3 will reveal more about the Bloodline.

Will the True Teachings of Jesus Come Forth?

The Old Testament (OT) could be called a historical treasure hunt while the New Testament (NT) is supposedly about a great man named Jesus or Yeshua ben Joseph. Even in the NT it takes discernment to understand it and very few scholars have the education or the research background to see the obvious unobvious. I personally believe that Jesus lived and that he came to give us a new way of thinking and living. However any documentation of his actual life is a hodgepodge or mishmash of books in the NT. None of the four gospels, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written during his lifetime. It is even doubtful that the authors of the four gospels were actually named Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Researchers are realizing this now more than ever.

The travesty that has been perpetuated upon humankind is beyond measure. For the sake of power and misinformation along with mistranslations, the teachings of Jesus have almost been lost. The Christian churches of today teach more about Jesus instead of his message of how to live our lives. The church I grew up in and what I have experienced and observed is that Christianity has become a religion of bigotry, prejudice, hatred, and hypocrisy. This is not what Jesus taught. I find very little tolerance and love coming from a host of those who profess to be Christians.

The basis of the message of Jesus is in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew (chapter 5.) Jesus also is quoted as saying greater things than I, you can do also. (John 5:20. This was altered in some Bibles.) Also in John, Jesus said, Don’t you know your laws say you are gods? (John 10:34 and Psalms 82:6). It is interesting how these important words have been changed, ignored and glossed over. It was Paul (if there was ever a Paul) who made Jesus into the only Christ, and Paul never heard Jesus teach or personally knew him.

In Tony Bushby’s book The Crucifixion of Truth, he lays out with almost impeccable documentation how these books of the NT have been constructed and also how the church has fraudulently changed them. This documentation comes from suppressed church manuscripts. To quote the back cover of his book, Using the scroll discovery, papal statements and the evidence of history, Tony Bushby takes his readers into the shady world of ecclesiastical dishonesty where, for centuries, an unprincipled church plotted and schemed its stratagem to perpetrate and maintain a false faith and exploit a gullible public.

Another interesting book that was published in 2005, is Bart D. Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. Ehrman takes a softer stance and in some instances attributes it to church scribes who either didn’t read well or chose to change it. Ehrman has a background of being a Born Again Christian, a Fundamentalist, an Evangelical Christian and now is a scholar of textual criticism. He attributes much of the mistranslations and misinformation to their humanity. Textual Criticism is described as a field of biblical criticism to establish the original wording or form of the biblical text insofar as this is possible. Dishonesty is still dishonesty when present day clergy and scholars allow the lies to continue to be perpetuated upon the unsuspecting public. My father had a saying, If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck. I say fraud is fraud and if one allows the fraud to continue, then he is as guilty as the ones who created the fraud.

What is refreshing are the books being acknowledged today that are bringing forth the fraud of the Bible. Dan Brown’s book The DaVinci Code written, as a novel is so powerful that the Church became alarmed after it took the world by storm. Books have even been written about breaking the DaVinci code. Another book that is now before the public is Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Recently she appeared on the television Prime Time program about Pope Joan with Diane Sawyer. This is going to be made into a movie along with The DaVinci Code. I say hooray for them. My own books, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls and Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy are the result of extensive research and much of it is not covered in either of the two books mentioned above. I also brought out information about Pope Joan with documentation. In the Prime Time program the naysayers could not accept that there had been a female pope and called it a myth. What they do not realize is that there is always truth in myths. There is a possibility that Leonardo DaVinci was a woman and when further evidence is uncovered, you can bet that there will be a huge hullabaloo. But why not? (The movie Pope Joan has been released according to the New York Times, July 14, 2008) As Sawyer said on the Pope Joan program, women have masqueraded as men for centuries and she showed examples. Leonardo came in at a time when a woman was considered to be little more than a breeding bitch or something for pleasure and also to serve. Two different computer tests have been made on the paintings of DaVinci and the findings indicate that the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of Leonardo. I have this documented in my book.

Is the NT all bad? Not at all. It is reading it with discernment and separating the wheat from the chaff. Jesus said, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If everyone lived this, we wouldn’t have so many wars, murders, wife beatings, child abuse and so on. Jesus also said, Love the lord, your god with all your heart and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. If each of us practiced this, we wouldn’t have theft or jealousy or greed. Where did Jesus learn these teachings? That will be another blog posting.

The Bible, meaning the Old Testament and the New Testament has been used to suppress women and to perpetuate the ills that are rampant in this world. It would behoove us to look beyond and only live what Jesus taught. It is as simple as that. Peter wasn’t the first Pope and there is an outside chance that Jesus didn’t say that Peter was to build a church based upon him. Peter was another word for rock – meaning dense. There is so much that has been kept from the public such as Thomas Didymus being Jesus’ twin brother. Or that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus and a great teacher in her own right. She bore him two children. So why should one be surprised that there was actually a Pope Joan? All through the ages the Catholic Church has been rife with lies, fraud, pedophiles, transvestites and homosexuals as priests and popes. The Christian churches have also echoed what the Church perpetuated. It’s time to wake up and see the other side. Read the writings of Thomas. The Book of Thomas. Who should know better than the twin brother?

There is also a trend of modern day authors to use the Old Testament as proof of genealogy regarding Jesus and his bloodline. Now really! The Bible cannot be taken as factual or literally. In my research I have found almost nothing regarding the era from 1 AD until approximately the 5th century that would indicate a thread linking to a genealogy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I have already written about the lineage in other postings. History is a hallucination of events according to the viewpoint of who is writing the history.

Unveiling Another Mystery of Rennes le Chateau

Currently there is even more interest in Rennes le Chateau, France triggered by the documentary Bloodline. Before I get into another mystery of Rennes le Chateau, I want to add to my last blog posting something about the skull and crossbones used by 'pirates.' Most interpretations are that it depicts death to the enemies. There is another interpretation of this symbol and this is it represents the power of the mind over matter, or mastery of the mind over the body. It is something to think about. Most common symbols have meanings within meanings similar to cracking a nut and getting to the kernel.

The idea to write a book about Mary Magdalene came after a trip to Europe and the Languedoc region. I had already spent a number of years researching the Knights Templar and the Black Madonnas. My traveling companion and I first stopped at Collioures, France, which is a small seaside resort town on the Mediterranean. I noted the small hotel and restaurant with the sign and name of the Knights Templar. We also toured the Royal Castle, which was once another home for the kings of Majorca. One part of this castle had been given to the Knights Templar. After this short visit, I became even more interested in the Knights Templar and their connection to Mary Magdalene and the Black Madonnas.

My traveling companion and I when visiting northern Spain, rented a car later and traveled through parts of the Languedoc Pyrenees. One of the places we visited was Rennes le Chateau. I became intrigued also with the symbols Sauniere had created in the church and especially with two statues flanking the altar. One was the statue of the Mother Mary holding a child. On the opposite side was Joseph also holding a small child. I knew immediately the symbol these two statues represented. It was the obvious unobvious. Jesus had a twin brother named Thomas. The New Testament also calls the twin Dydimus Thomas, or the Twin Thomas.

In addressing the faithful at St. Peter's Square on 9/27/2006, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Thomas and said his name "is derived from the root name ta'am, which means paired, twin." The Pope went on to say that he did not understand why Thomas had been given the nickname. Thomas was actually the twin brother of Jesus and one only has to read the Gospel of Thomas to gain a deeper meaning of what Jesus taught. Perhaps the Pope was laying a foundation for it to be fully known that Jesus had a twin. Whatever his intent was, it was a revealing statement.

After my visit to Rennes le Chateau, I wondered why no one picked up the full meaning of these statues, but then I realize I had been taught well to recognize what the two statues represented. Saunier apparently knew much more than has been revealed. It will be interesting to observe the further revelations of the documentary Bloodline. There is much, much more to be revealed not only about the mystery surrounding Rennes le Chateau, Mary Magdalene, Jesus and also the Bible. I thoroughly enjoy researching hidden history or suppressed history. I will be writing more about what I uncovered in my research.

Bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus

After my book Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls was published, I began receiving numerous emails from people who allege that they are of the bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. I have endeavored to research and for my own satisfaction determine if anyone can really claim to be of that lineage. My own personal view is that there could be millions who are of that bloodline so who am I to throw those claims out with the bathwater.

There are those who claims that there are royalty who are of the bloodline. Some could be, however I have concluded from my research that there is no absolute record of the bloodline being only those of royal blood. The genealogy charts mean nothing, because few include the names of the mothers. It is a scientific fact that the genetic bloodline is handed down through the mother through her mitochondria. If a woman has no daughters to carry on the bloodline and only gives birth to sons, then the mitochondria lineage dies. I gave birth to three sons, therefore my mitochondria genetics will not be carried on. My sister had three girls and her mitochondria genetics is carried on through them.

In the book Hebrew Pharaohs of Egypt by Ahmed Osman, he writes that it was a common agreement that the descent of the pharaohic line was carried by the eldest daughter and the eldest son married her in order to keep the title of Pharaoh. One can surmise and understand why there was so much intermarriage by Egyptian pharaohs. It is also known that in order to be Jewish that one must have a Jewish mother. Therefore it seems unlikely that the royalty of Europe are the only carriers of the bloodline.

The major claims are that Mary Magdalene came from the Tribe of Benjamin. There is absolutely no proof. The Benjamin's were virtually killed off and I am sure that in those days no written records survived. With the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria, Egypt by a Roman attack, the destruction by Islamic conquerors and later a Christian leader in Alexandria, most of the history of the ancient world was lost. It was known that the Romans kept meticulous records, however when the Catholic church became powerful most of their records were destroyed. Of course, we cannot totally blame the Church because Rome was sacked by the Visigoths, Vandals, Arab Saracens and many others. Then we have to take into consideration that there was destruction by Attila the Hun and many lost documents by the wars among the many tribes of Europe.

There is a mystique that the bloodline was carried through the Merovingian kings, also known as the shepherd kings. My research indicates that this is unlikely. The Merovingian line came from one of the Frankish tribes of Gaul and it was not unto the 5th century that the title of king was given to Clodion by Bishop Gregory of Tours According to The Birth of France by Katherine Scherman: It is impossible to pinpoint pre-fifth-century individuals of this family that was to become supreme. Scherman goes to to say, The first member of this ruling clan to be historically identified was Clodion, in the pages of the sixth-century History of the Franks, by Gregory of Tours.

Schermon also writes: The Church even respected, perforce, traditional Frankish usage in royal concubinage; illegitimacy reflected no taint on the children. Merovingian blood was above stigma. It mattered not whether a child was the offspring of a princess or a serving maid, nor whether his mother was or was not orthodoxly married to his father. If the Merovingian father acknowledge his son, the child was a Merovingian too.

Apparently, they were not too concerned with their bloodline. It is tragic that there are countries of this world who kill female babies such as in India and China. Especially knowing that the true genetic bloodline passes through the mother's mitochondria only to female offspring.

Where do the Knights Templar fit into the scenario of the bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus? Well, that will be my next blog posting.

Bettye Johnson, http://www.magdalenescrolls.com/

The Bloodline Connection

Bloodline - the documentary. I highly recommend seeing this film. It reads almost like a mystery/spy thriller filmed in the area of Rennes le Chateau, France. I had the opportunity to interview the director Bruce Burgess and producer Rene Barnett on May 15 on my BlogTalkRadio.com/bettye show. This interview is now archived. What is the film about? Ah, this is a film for those who want to know more about the Knights Templar, Priory of Sion, the mystery of Rennes le Chateau, the priest Sauniere and if there is a connection to the bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus.

An Englishman became enamored with the mystery of Rennes le Chateau. He spent a number of years consuming hours of his time researching the clues Sauniere left in the small church at Rennes le Chateau. He found clues and meticulously followed them, which led him to discover a hidden tomb containing a mummified body with a shroud over it. The shroud had a Knights Templar cross on it. The tomb has not been fully excavated at this point in time and there is much, much more to be revealed.

I recently had the opportunity to meet in person, Rene and Bruce at a showing of the documentary in Yelm, Washington. The theater was packed and of course, the audience wanted to hear more. One of the interesting items is that after the film was released in May, a report came back from the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit in the UK and I hope I got the name of this correct. One of the paper clues found was sent for carbon dating and the results came back that it probably was written during the period of Sauniere's life when he was leaving clues of his major discovery.

If there is not a theater near you where you may see this outstanding documentary, you can view the trailer Bloodline on YouTube or the official website, http://www.bloodlinethemovie.com/.

There are interesting questions. Is this mummified body Mary Magdalene? Why was a body buried with a Knights Templar shroud? Will the eventual excavation of the tomb reveal even more startling information? In my books Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls and Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy I give a portrayal of Mary Magdalene and the beginning of her bloodline that is as plausible as any research I have uncovered. Mary Magdalene represents the divine feminine in each of us, which has been suppressed for years. It is time for the revelation of her greatness come forth. Stay tuned for more is to be revealed.

Two Wins. How Sweet It Is!

Here I am, a two-time book award winner! Yes, it is sweet. In 2006 my first book, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls was an Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner (IPPY Award) and in 2008 I was a winner of another Independent Publisher Books Awards for Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy. A blurb about the IPPY Award is as follows: The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.

These awards are validations for my skill as a writer. I published my first book in 2004 and revised it in 2005. Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls is in the genre of the Da Vinci Code and it has been said much better. Last November I received a Commentary Sheet from the Writer's Digest, which grades books on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 meaning excellent. The judge's commentary is as follows:

Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls is a tantalizing story depicting the discovery of ancient scrolls about Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Though it covers ome of the same ground as the Da Vinci Code, the writing is infinitely better and far more believable. The heroines in the story are more realistic and the adventures described in a truer voice along with a possible time-line--something very much lacking in Dan Brown's tale. Whether the reader chooses to believe what is revealed in story form or not, the book is entertaining from beginning to end.

The author knows how to write and tell a compelling and convincing story. Hopefully the promotion for this book will be enough to make those who read the Da Vinci Code want to read the Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

It's sequel was released in January 2008. Again, how sweet it is. Both books can be purchased from http://www.magdalenescrolls.com/, http://www.barnes&noble.com/, http://www.bookhitch.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.silverlife32.com/

It is in every woman to be creative. Not all of us have the same creativity, but it is up to each one to explore and pursue what interests them the most. My passion is writing and I did not allow it to come forth until I was in my early seventies. It is never too late to pursue one's passion.

THE HOLY GRAIL MYSTERY

Bettye Johnson ©

Mystery. It appears that all the world loves a mystery and one of the most intriguing is the mystery of the Holy Grail. According to some records, the earliest writing came from a French poet named Robert de Boron who lived in the 12^th – 13^th centuries and his poem Joseph d”Armathie tells of Joseph bringing the Holy Grail from Palestine after the crucifixion of Jesus. The Holy Grail has been depicted as a magic cauldron; a silver chalice, a dish, bowl, plate or the cup used by Mary Magdalene or Joseph of Arimathea to catch the blood of Jesus after a Roman soldier supposedly named Longinus pierced his side with a spear. It has also said that it was the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Many have portrayed Mary Magdalene carrying the Holy Grail to Europe in the form of her children after the crucifixion.

In the 12^th century, the wonderful tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table emerged and the search for the Holy Grail became their mission. From these stories came the age of the romance stories passed around by bards and troubadours.

There are some writers who say that the myth of the Holy Grail originated from a Celtic myth of Bran the Blessed, which tells the tale of Bran an archetypal British Celtic hero. It is possible that Bran became the basis of the character known as the Arthurian romance Fisher King. Within all myths and legends there is a seed of truth with many of the facts becoming distorted. If you have ever played the ‘Telephone’ or ‘Whisper’ game, then you will understand my meaning.

When one looks at the etymology of the word Grail, it is an adaptation of the Old French word graal meaning cup or flat dish; or it could be from the M.Latin gradalis meaning a dish brought to the table in different courses of a meal. Meandering from this definition, we can go to the Greek word krater whose meaning is mixing wine with water.

The word graal or grail evolved into saint graal or sang real meaning Holy Grail. This, in turn evolved into sang rial meaning royal blood. From this we have a proliferation of books and stories regarding the Merovingian lineage as being the royal blood of Mary Magdalene and Jesus.

I am going to digress for a moment and bring in King David from the Old Testament. It is written that he had 300 wives. If each wife had only one child, then David would have 300 plus children and if each of them had two children, then picture a huge pyramid of a dynasty. There would be deaths, wars, and inter-marriage and considering some did not live to be an adult, it brings the lineage to an extravagant number of descendents. Mary Magdalene and Jesus had two children and if each of these children had children and they inter-married, think of how many descendents they would have and not all would be only the royalty of Europe. The myth of the Holy Grail is found only in the Western world and spawned by Christianity.

What are the attributes of the Holy Grail? It has been written that it is a goal that is distant and an almost impossible or unobtainable goal to achieve. We have only to read the stories of the Knights of the Round Table to get the picture. When I was a little girl, there was a comic strip titled Prince Valiant. It was created in 1937 and this Nordic Arthurian prince traveled the world over and is still in print telling of his heroic deeds and the perils he surmounted. In the beginning he was searching for the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail stories have always portrayed the male as the seeker and usually there is a fair maiden that he rescues from time to time. As with most his-stories, the female is relegated to a lesser role. However, lets examine other attributes. The hero must prove himself worthy and must grow spiritually and mentally. It is said that it is a symbol of God’s grace and available to all and only fully realized by those who seek and prepare themselves spiritually. This includes the females. Now, we are getting to the crux of the issue.

It is time to take the wrappers off of the symbol of the Holy Grail and reveal its true meaning. The wise ones, both female and male, who have gone before us, prepared the way by leaving a trail of symbols whose meanings have become meaningless or distorted on one level. However, there is a code within our brain that resonates with certain symbols and we know they have a deeper meaning. The Holy Grail is one such symbol.

The greatest deterrent to one’s Journey is religion. Religion and spirituality are not the same. Religion has become a form of control and it doesn’t matter which sect one is affiliated with, the message is the same that one must conform to their set of beliefs and rules. One must believe that a god outside of self is the only way to salvation and redemption and usually this includes a belief in the devil or Satan. Anything else is labeled the anti-christ.

The true seeker may dabble in a religion for a time, but becomes dissatisfied and seeks something that will bring inner peace and knowing. There is a longing to know more and this is part of the Journey. Over the ages, women and men have been kept in a proletarian state of mind – or a captive mind. The seeker is seeking to break out of her or his captivity.

Each society has its own set of morals and values and it is up to the individual to examine hers or his and discard those that do not serve Self. Self is the higher aspect of self and it is the seat of our spirituality. We have been taught conformity and there comes a moment when we know we must break away from our past programming. This is all part of the Journey – the Quest.

Buddha has been quoted as saying that it is better to conquer yourself than to fight a battle and Ramtha the Enlightened one has said, go and conquer yourself. There have been many messages left to us such as the inscription of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, Greece from 6 B.C.: Know thyself. Even Plato said know thyself. Shakespeare wrote in his play Hamlet: This above all: to thine own self be true. Sir Francis Bacon left a profound message: Knowledge is power.

The Holy Grail represents the Quest or the Journey that each of us has undertaken when we left the house of our Creator. We hold within us the tools to carry us through life or lifetimes, but the perils we have to battle are those of our fears, emotions and beliefs. We become ensnared in our own fears, judgments, biases, prejudices, and the emotions of jealousy, resentment, anger, and in the hopes of redemption we think there is something or someone outside of our self while not realizing that we must conquer our self in order to know Self.

I can only share knowledge and wisdom I have gained during my own Journey, which has been one of many twists and turns. Sometimes it appeared I was butting up against a stone wall, but by perseverance I went through the wall. Each twist and turn has a gift in the form of wisdom and it is up to each of us to discover the wisdom in our own experiences. The Great Labyrinth in the Cathedral at Chartres, France is a lasting symbol left there by the Knights Templar and it represents the Journey of each individual. This is why so many visitors to the Cathedral resonate to it whether they are Christian, Atheist, Agnostic, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim. It is a universal symbol.

My quest began at the age of forty when a thought came into my head, by the time you are fifty, your life will be different. At that time I was becoming a disillusioned a WASP Republican housewife. For those of you who do not know what WASP is, it stands for “white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant. “ At age fifty I had a ‘coming-out’ party celebrating my new status of being a divorcee and on my Journey of discovery. I was like a sponge soaking up all the knowledge and experience I could get. I studied Religious Science, Divine Science, Unity, metaphysics, meditation, a multitude modalities of healing, the tarot, astrology, crystals and perhaps other modalities that I do not remember. A well-known and often repeated statement is, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

It was the last week in December of 1982 when my new husband and I attended a weeklong spiritual workshop at Asilomar, California with Dr. Brugh Joy and David Spangler. On the 30^th of December, the evening program was three people who would channel their entities and talk about peace. I was not into channeling and I lay back on the floor thinking how boring. The first two people did their thing and then the third was a petite blond from Tacoma, Washington who left her body and the moment her entity took over and said “Indeed!” I shot up into a sitting position and was mesmerized. I knew that I knew him and that I had heard him before. I also knew he was a Master Teacher. I had never heard of Ramtha the Enlightened One, but I knew this teacher. Later I knew I recognized him from a soul memory.

I did not fully understand this encounter and still caught up in my new relationship and becoming a minister of Divine Science, I now realize I was completing unfinished business and did not reconnect with Ramtha until 1985 when I was invited to see a video of him. I have been a student of Ramtha ever since and my husband and I moved to Washington state in 1986.

Each of us is to connect with a teacher at some point in either in this life or a lifetime to come. Ramtha is not necessarily the teacher for everyone. He so happens to mine. The Ramtha School of Enlightenment in Yelm, Washington is an academy of the mind and also of Gnostic teachings. We are each one a facet of the Creator and it is an individual journey so that the Creator may know itself.

Ramtha has taught that we are here to make known the unknown and that is the quest for the Holy Grail. There is no one path for all because we are each a facet of the Creator and we are each individuals with our own destiny. The Holy Grail is the unique facet of the Creator in you. You are the Mystery.