OK, so, I've been a world traveler lately & the jury is still out on whether or not I love being a world traveler!

I had some numerology stuff done on my name (s) back in July, and while I don't pretend to understand most of it, one thing stuck out for me. I have this pattern that shows up in my numbers no matter which set of names I use ( I know..... what the heck does that mean). What Gordon did (Gordon Spowart; http://www.numerologycanada.com/Home_Page.html ) is use my full name in a maiden name arrangement, a married name arrangement, first initial plus last name and middle initial plus last name (since I go by my middle name) ). Anyway, this pattern that shows up no matter which configuration he used is a cross. There's a big cross pattern that indicates that I have a cross to bear of duality. Now, I know we are all dual beings, so I didn't know this was unique in any way and apparently it is. I repeat, I don't understand it all very well, but he said that it means I can always see both sides of any situation & that I'm always of two minds about things. Boy is that ever the truth. I hear; "stand for something or you'll fall for anything" & I cringe because it's hard to stand for something. I stand for everything. Ha! Wow, can I ramble or what?! I'm not sure what I started out saying all this for. Since I started, I "lost" my post (Clancy's subliminal suggestion I think), created a very complicated email to an Egyptian friend with lots of selecting photos to attach etc, fixed a photo in Paint and then came back to this and "FOUND" my post in the "Post Options" link (I think) and started typing again & now I'm really confused about how I started & why I'm telling anyone about all this stuff. Holy Cow!! No wonder I don't get anything done all day!!!! So, you see, there's a lesson in everything. I just got some HUGE insights into myself.

OK, on with the post now that I've re-read it ......... I am of two minds about traveling. I love it & I can't stand it. Now that I'm home there are parts of me that NEVER want to leave again. And then I remember......

I did go to Egypt and that's what started this whole, meandering "process". Brayton & I went with the World Wealth Society & James A. Ray. Brayton & I went a few days early, with Raven, Tim & Tricia, Haleh, Julie Z, Steve & Brandy. We stayed at Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea.... at the Ritz Carlton. What a beautiful place. We had an excursion to snorkel in the Red Sea (AMAZING!) and then later that night, at 10 pm, we met in the lobby & took a charter bus for a three hour drive and went to the base of Mt. Sinai. We hiked for several hours in the dark and got to the top just in time to view the sunrise. This part was indescribable! James Ray talks about altered states of consciousness & ways of getting into them without drugs........ well, I was in one. Not only was I tired from changing time zones, getting up early to snorkel & then driving & hiking all night, exerting myself to the max, but I was ON TOP OF MT SINAI, AT DAWN!! I'm so grateful to have some photos to remind myself of the day because I was really in an altered state and my conscious mind can't access that information very readily without those reminders. I wept for joy up there. I wept in amazement and relief and incredulity. I will never, actually, forget those moments for the rest of my life. I just have to tap into them, don't I?

We flew back to Cairo sometime or other (that part's a blur) and stayed in the Marriott on the Nile. It was a palace and is now a Marriott.... beautiful place. Then the real adventure began. We had a 2 a.m. wake up call to be out to the buses by 3. We ended up seeing 2 to 3 temples a day after that. I wish I had taken notes all the while & my notebook was in the packed suitcase that I had to leave at the Marriott. (We only took 1 case a piece because of all the airplanes & buses we would be moving around on constantly).

We had our trip arranged with James' input, by Joy Travel Agency, out of L.A. A remarkable man named Fadel Gad (rhymes with waddle he says) who is a retired, Egyptian, archeologist, owns the agency and was our tour guide. Not just an archeologist, but a mystic as well. His knowledge & love of the temples and the metaphors behind what's engraved & drawn was vast. It made the trip mean so much more to me than it otherwise would have.

The places that I CAN remember by name:
Abu Simbel at Aswan: the temple of RamsesII and temple of Nefertari.
The temple of Isis on Philae Island.
The temple of Khnum on Elaphantine Island
The temple of Kom Ombo.... built for the gods Sobek & Horus.
The temple at Edfu.... built for Horus & his consort Hathor.
The temple at Abydos, Temple of Osiris
The temple at Dandara, temple of Hathour, goddess of love, music & harmony.
The west bank; Valley of the Kings
The temples of Karnak; temple of Sekhmet & the temple of Luxor.
The Sphinx (up close & personal)
The Great Pyramid with visits to the three chambers inside. Plus a little extra!
Dinner & music & shopping in the Old City

(ok I found an itenerary that definitely jogged my memory)

There is no way to describe the feeling of being in a place like Egypt. Standing in the temples, feeling dwarfed by the colossal size of most of it & SEEING with my own eyes, all the engravings & drawings made things alive & real & present in a way that overwhelmed and humbled me. I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity I had to go and experience these things in my life. (TYG & TYC)