Today’s Prayer to Passage continues within the ancient scriptures of the “Nag Hamadi”. This month’s spiritual journey within these texts will be taking place between June 1 – June 30, 2017.

Today I pray, “Dear God, Today is day three in my transformational journey to the Netherlands. I will continue this prayer as the evening arrives. Thank You for this journey. Amen.”

Following my prayer, I held the closed book in my hands and opened it to reveal this passage:

“BEFORE THE BEGINNING

Since everyone—the gods of the world and people—says that nothing existed prior to chaos, I shall demonstrate that they all are mistaken, since they do not know the origin of chaos and its root. Here is the demonstration.

How agreeable it is to all people to say that chaos is darkness! But actually chaos comes from a shadow that has been called darkness. The shadow comes from something existing from the beginning. So it is obvious that something in the beginning existed before chaos came into being, and that chaos came after what was in the beginning.

Now let us consider the facts of the matter, and in particular what was in the beginning, from which chaos came. In this way the truth will be clearly demonstrated.”
—NAG HAMADI SCRIPTURES

This morning I awoke to my first full day in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. My hotel provides a breakfast downstairs every morning from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.. I had set my alarm for 7:30 a.m., and a second alarm for 8:00 a.m.. Jet lag is certainly here, yet I adjust fairly well to time zones by allowing my body to respond to natural light, so I opened the shades upon awakening and allowed the light to guide me. This is what I do. I allow the light to guide me. I follow my intuition; I follow Spirit.

I went downstairs in my pajamas and glasses with no make up. This, from my past experiences of European travel, having stayed in Bed and Breakfasts. Some travelers are fully showered, dressed and ready to begin their day. Others, such as myself, feel fully comfortable sitting among strangers in bed wear and bed head. This is what I do. I feel comfortable in my natural state of being. I be.

The breakfast room was modern and bright, as the hotel website suggested. There was an espresso machine that allowed — at the push of a button — black coffee, cappuccino, macchiato, or espresso. This is my kind of breakfast. I pushed the button for black coffee (I love European black coffee). It was served in the classic white, porcelain demitasse cups. I love that. I poured a bowl of muesli cereal with whole milk. I made an open faced sandwich on freshly sliced whole grain bread. Sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, Swiss cheese, provolone cheese, sliced turkey. A croissant, a slice of Brie cheese. A cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. Perfection. Full.

I went back up to my room and showered and dressed for the day. Make up. No glasses. My favorite jojoba oil lotion by Crabtree & Evelyn. My favorite rosemary mint lotion by Aveda. I felt fresh and new and beautiful. I went down to the hotel lobby and asked the kind concierge where the closest ATM would be found. He succinctly guided me to go out the door, turn left, cross at the intersection, walk over the bridge, take the first left, and it was halfway up the street at the local bank on the right-hand side. I also asked him where I would find the double-decker red bus (frequented by tourists). He said the closest bus stop for the double-decker tour bus was about four blocks up the street at the Heineken Experience (the Heineken beer brewery).

I thanked the concierge and exited the hotel for the day. I walked to the ATM and withdrew my first Euros of the trip. I walked over toward the Heineken Experience, and only had to ask one more person for navigational assistance before arriving at the bus stop. I waited for only about ten minutes before the next bus pulled in. I hopped on and purchased my day pass which included a 24-hour pass for a canal tour. I made my way to the top level of the bus and sat in the very back row. I rode the bus three full loops around the city for a guided tour. The automated commentary was out of order, so the tour guide broadcasted live over the microphone, which was intimate and sweet.

I was able to take quite a few photographs in that two-hour timeframe. And I realized that my favorite neighborhood was the one where I was staying. De Pijp. I love how these things work out. Yet I did receive the opportunity to see other areas of the city, to which I will return through the upcoming week. Following my three trips around the City Center via double decker bus, I realized that the battery on my phone was nearing it’s need for a charge. I hopped off at the Heineken Experience and walked back to my hotel. I greeted the concierge with a smile and and American “Hi!” I rode the elevator up to my third-floor room and entered it to charge my phone and refresh myself for a moment.

I turned on the TV and enjoyed the healing lull of Dutch mid-day news programming. Europe has a very healing energy. Soft. Conservative. Buttoned up, even in the midst of the liberation of legalized marijuana and prostitution. There is a sort of calming, contented, traditional aspect of the European energy that bellies the American’s need for escape from the manifesting of any and all dreams possible. United States energy is one of manifestation and quite a bit of drama. Even, at times, toxicity. European energy, however, is one of conservatism and healing. The conservatism holds its own toxicity, yes. And there is room for growth here. Balance, perhaps.

Once freshened up, I was ready to roll down the street — not on a bicycle, as my adventurous spirit has not opened up that far. Watch out for the bicyclists! They certainly, certainly have the right-of-way here. Roll down the street as a pedestrian. Roll over to the little area near the pizza place from last night. There is a grouping of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. over there. As it is Friday night, I am excited to check it out. I am on my way out the door now. I will write about this evening’s happenings in tomorrow’s post. Good night!