Anders Nyberg's blog

(continued from "Following the genes of Saint Olaf" ) - OK, so much for King Saint Olaf, but what about Koddo, the slave? - We're coming to her. This story is not complete without her, she gives the picture that all-important depth and those wonderful new stark colors.  But before we go there, we need to round off the Olaf-saga... I once was on Iona, the Scottish island on its rugged western shores, sharing songs and stories from the liberation of South Africa. I could not refrain from telling about my old relationship with the island through my ancestor Magnus Barefoot. He was the King of Iona for a short while in the beginning of the 12 th century. The good side of the story was that he did not raid the island and its monastery unlike many of his colleagues among the Viking kings. I think it had to do with his respect for all the old kings that are buried there; he had ambitions to be one of them and did not want to offend them. The deal that was struck wa...

"The Path" 2012, my walk from Trondheim to Copenhagen, started in Trondheim at the gravesite of Saint Olaf, "Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae", Norway's eternal King. It felt appropriate not to do what thousands upon thousands of pilgrims had done for almost thousand years before us, walk to his old relics, but rather from  them, on a spiritual search for the new. In Copenhagen Jennifer was waiting and our meeting there became a beautiful renewal of our commitment to each other and our intertwined paths. Little did I know that in Jennifer was also waiting, not Saint Olaf's old bones, but his own very much alive genes!!! I have spent the last week digging in the old stories and paths of our ancestors and I am overjoyed and thrilled with what I have come up with. Not that I am surprised really, it feels totally appropriate, but it is a nice twist to the tale for sure. Here it is:                             ...

I have a good friend in the Swedish Lutheran Church who has engaged herself deeply in the plight of the Tibetan people. Her engagement led her to move to Dharamsala in India to work in the big Tibetan community of refugees there. After some time she wanted to convert to Buddhism and was offered a personal conversation with Dalai Lama about this. When she had presented her thoughts Dalai Lama asked: "Do you feel that you have walked as far as you can on the Christian path, that you now are a fully realized Christian? - No, of course not, my friend answered. - Then I think you shall remain in the church, Dalai Lama responded, and carry on growing in your faith and from there work for reconciliation between our two ways. My friend is still a member of the Lutheran Church and still works with a burning commitment to give the Tibetans a possibility to fully practice their religion. I have the greatest respect for people who take their spiritual calling se...