Edinburgh

I arrived last week in Edinburgh and had to deal with one or two unexpected things within the first 24 hours - which were upsetting and shocking, but which provided emotional material to transform as quickly as possible through the blessing of Rinpoche's visit here.

Attending the Green Tara empowerment at the Botanical Gardens was very helpful; as was the following day's Medicine Buddha empowerment at the Royal College of Physicians. This was a real "first" and a great honour for Rinpoche to be invited to host a traditional Tibetan spiritual ceremony in the hallowed halls of a very conservative "temple to Western medicine". It was a beautiful space: very ornate and full of history, a gathering place for the most learned and accomplished of doctors and physicians of this part of the world. Very appropriate for this particular ceremony, and we were all moved by the meeting of Western and Eastern medicine on this occasion.

Being back in Edinburgh feels temporary. I didn't want to leave last summer, but I did leave - and the emotional ties here are largely gone. Some unfinished business with one or two people, and always the pleasure of spending time with dear friends, but no sense of belonging here anymore.

I'm going to Roslin this afternoon - the famous chapel thought to be connected to the Knight's Templars and the Magdalene line. I love it there. Very particular spiritual energy, which is hard to describe but is definitely "feminine" and quite earthy. Roslin is said to lie at the crown of a strong earth-line that runs down through France and ends/starts at the pilgrimage centre of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Since France has emerged as the destination for Tara protecting from Sickness, it is good to have the opportunity to go to Roslin at this point.