in Shambalha with Richard Dancey

14 February 2018 –Richard Dancey Crossed the Threshold into the Spiritual World on this day a year ago today – Valentine’s Day – And on this 1 year anniversary of his death, it is also Ash Wednesday –  & the Eve of the New Moon Solar Eclipse, before the Sun enters Aquarius & brings in The Chinese New Year of the Dog!

This morning when I woke, this picture of “The Path of Shambhala” by Nicholas Roerich was in my mind’s eye.

Shambhala =”the golden place of peace/tranquility/happiness/just-so”.

In Tibetan Buddhist & Hindu traditions, Shambhala is a mythical kingdom hidden in the Hollow Earth.

Hindu texts such as the Vishnu Purana mention Shambhala as the birthplace of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu who will usher in a new Golden Age (Satya Yuga)

The Kalachakra, a Buddhist text, prophesies that when the world declines into war & greed, & all is seems lost, the 25th Kalki king, Lord Maitreya, will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish “Dark Forces” & usher in a worldwide Golden Age. Using calculations from the Kalachakra Tantra, scholars put this date at 2424 AD.

The legends, teachings & restorative practices associated with Shambhala are older than any of these organized religions. Shambhala may very well have been an indigenous belief system, of ‘sun worshipers’ yet to come, with amazing healing abilities, wisdom & long life.

The idea of Shambhala is said to have “outer”, “inner”, &”alternative” meanings. As the 14th Dalai Lama noted during his 1985 Kalachakra initiation, Shambhala is not an ordinary country:

“Although those with special affiliation may actually be able to go there through their karmic connection, nevertheless it is not a physical place that we can actually find. We can only say that it is a pure land, a pure land in the human realm. And unless one has the merit & the actual karmic association, one cannot actually arrive there”.

During the late-19th century, Theosophical Society co-founder HP Blavatsky alluded to the Shambhala myth, giving it currency for Western occult enthusiasts. Madame Blavatsky, who claimed to be in contact with a Great White Lodge of Himalayan Adepts, mentions Shambhala in several places.

Later esoteric writers further emphasized & elaborated on the concept of a secret land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity.

Alice A. Bailey claims Shamballa is an extra-dimensional or spiritual reality on the etheric plane, a spiritual centre where the governing deity of Earth, Sanat Kumara, dwells as the highest Avatar of the Planetary Logos of Earth, & is said to be an expression of the Will of God.

Nicholas and Helena Roerich led a 1924-1928 expedition aimed at Shambhala.

French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh in present day Afghanistan, also offering the Persian Sham-i-Bala, “elevated candle” as an etymology of its name.

In a similar vein, the Gurdjieffian J. G. Bennett published speculation that Shambalha was Shams-i-Balkh, a Bactrian sun temple.

And of course our beloved Dr. Steiner spoke about Shamballa many times, especially in regards “The Reappearance of the Christ in the Etheric”

But none of all that really mattered when Richard Dancey stood in the Upper room at the Rudolf Steiner Branch & told us the legend of Shambhala on Easter 3 years ago .

And now Today on this Ash Wednesday, today on this Valentine’s Day, Today in the dark of the New Moon, exactly a year after Richard became once more a spiritual being – try as I might, I can’t really remember the details of the tale he told us that bright Easter afternoon, yet the feeling it invoked in me resonates still – fuel for the journey into this mythic place that lives within each of us – A spiritual reality illuminated by his enthusiasm & magical ability to carry us all along in the telling. I will continue to follow this journey with you Richard, knowing you are living into this future reality in the spiritual world today, paving the way for us all.

Blessings dear friend

~hag

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