KNIGHTS TEMPLARS

I guess I would always be fond of conspiracy theories...and probably the greatest historical conspiracy ever contrived involved the Roman Catholic Church and this colorful "fraternity of monk-warriors" called the KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.

If you've seen the Orlando Bloom starrer "Kingdom of Heaven" (released months ago), you'd appreciate that chivalric legends had some basis on historical figures and events.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were among the most famous of the Christian military orders.

The organization existed for approximately two centuries in the Middle Ages. It was created in the aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096, to ensure the safety of the large numbers of European pilgrims who flowed toward Jerusalem after its conquest.

Officially endorsed by the church in 1129, the Order became a favored charity across Europe. It grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, easily recognisable in their white mantle with a distinct red cross, made some of the best equipped, trained, and disciplined fighting units of the Crusades.

Non-warrior members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating many financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building numerous fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Templars' success was tied closely to the success of the Crusades. When the Holy Land was lost and the Templars suffered crushing defeats, support for the Order's existence faded. Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, began pressuring Pope Clement V to take action. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip had many of the Order's members in France arrested, tortured into "confessions", and burned at the stake.

In 1312, Pope Clement, under continuing pressure from King Philip, forcibly disbanded the entire Order. The sudden disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the name "Templar" alive in modern fiction.

NEXT...The RISE & FALL of the TEMPLARs

An Interview with God

I received this from a friend and liked the message very much and am posting and sharing this with everyone.

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"Come in," God said to me, "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said: "My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered:

"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.

That they lose theirhealth to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.

That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future.

That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..."

God's hands took mine and we were silent.

After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question?"

"As a Parent, what would you ask your children to do?"

God replied with a smile:

"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them.

What they can do is to let themselves be loved.

To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in theirlives, but who they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.

There will be others better or worse than they are.

To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply

do not know how to show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them.

To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.

To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven byothers, but that they forgive themselves.

To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say.

To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.

To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved.

To learn that happiness is a decision.

They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.

To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life.

To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.

To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be sideby side forever.

To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses its value when it is overstated.

CJ's email yesterday "Me Twenty Years From Now Dad".

My kid CJ sends me occasional emails (we created an account in Gmail before I left for Dubai)...and below is one of them. Don't ask me about what "MUFTI" means...it probably is an abbreviation for a Grade Schools Activity Day like a "Show and Tell" where the kids talk in front of the class about what they want to be when they grow up.

CJ managed to "discover" my old Intel Corporation hard hat and safety goggles...that probably saved her mom some money for buying any other "costume" for their Show and Tell.

Lastly, pardon if there are some grammatical errors...jeez...the Kid's just 8 years old...

DAD,

YESTERDAY , WE HAVE OUR MUFTI DAY .

THE STUDENTS MAY WEAR THE ATTIRE OF THEIR CHOSEN PROFESSION,
AND YOU KNOW WHAT DAD, I TOLD MOM THAT TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW
I'M ALREADY AN ENGINEER JUST LIKE YOU AND A BUSINESSMAN, I WILL BUILT
ROADS, BRIDGES, HOUSES AND BUILDINGS NOT ONLY HERE IN THE PHILS.
BUT ALL OVER THE WORLD.

AS A BUSINESSMAN, I WILL BUILT MY OWN COMPANY
AND A SCHOOL FOR THE POOR CHILDREN, THAT DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY TUITIONS.

AM I GOOD DAD? THAT'S MY ATTIRE YESTERDAY. DO I LOOK GOOD?