Yesterday’s weather was warm and sunny until about two pm. But, by that time Rene and I had enjoyed the lunch we prepared in the sunny garden manning the BBQ. He has a nice garden there, but that may not be all his doing, though he does contribute.

We chatted about daily affairs and the new politics that has started up in our province. Rene showed me pictures of the funeral service for his mother, which took place in Uganda, where she lived.

This brings back memories for me too, as three friends have now passed on and three have moved away, while some new ones have entered my life.

I met her here just once and that was at the occasion of my seventieth birth day, celebrated at the old style ‘James on Forth’. This brings back memories for me too, as three friends have now passed on and three have moved away, while some new ones have entered my life. I inferred that Rene might make the trip to visit his mother’s grave, as he missed being at her funeral.

I was home at about three pm, had a long snooze and cleaned up the remainder of the mornings laundry. In the evening I spent several hours on my essay, which is now revised up to the ‘teachings’ section. The rest may get done today, but I also have my visit with Juliet, so we’ll see.

I am still going over my Mani study and last Sunday’s presentation. I remain puzzled by the degree to which I felt personally involved with “Mani’s Message”! This has lead to the conclusion that it is a part of my long standing fascination with Gnosis, Ancient Egypt, the Cathars, the Christianity of my youth and religion in general. I just keep this sense of awareness at the ‘back of the stove for now’ and see what else may come up.

In the mean time I have rounded out the mentioned essay for now the way it is, just with a reference to a possible addition. This would be in the nature of some critical observations on Manichaeism and its overall significance in the religious traditions of humanity.

Yesterday I started with my study for my next topic, which I’ll call ‘African Religions’ for short.

Yesterday I started with my study for my next topic, which I’ll call ‘African Religions’ for short. Herman gave me two names he’d come across and an internet search gave me quite a few leads for Kwasi Wiredu (Ghana) and Odera Oruka (Kenya).

These names are marked red in by my spellchecker, unknown no doubt and so they are to our local library! However, the Calgary Public Library did give me sources in response to ‘Religions of Africa’ and I have half a dozen of them on hold.

Finally, I can now start on “Into Africa” by ‘Marq de Villiers’ with Hirtle , which I bought in 1997, but never read! Its subtitle: ‘A Journey through the Ancient Empires’, promising a rich and varied mixture of useful information.
<9:16am~