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MSG: #244 SEC: 0 - GENERAL PARANORMAL
DATE: 10-MAR-86 10:15 PM
TO: ALL
FROM: SYSOP
SUBJ: RANDI SPEAKS!
THE FOLLOWING SERIES OF MESSAGES IS FROM STEPHEN RYLAND, A MEMBER OF THE COMPUSERVE PARANORMAL ISSUES SECTION (GO ISSUES)
I HAVE SPENT THE LAST TWO NIGHTS WITH JAMES "THE AMAZING" RANDI. THE FIRST NIGHT WAS A SPEECH AT CAL TECH HERE IN PASADENA ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE PARANOMRAL AND THE SECOND A BANQUET OF THE SO. CALIFORNIA SKEPTICS.
RANDI IS A VERY PERSONABLE GENTLEMAN AND AN EXCELLENT MAGICIAN. I WILL OUTLINE HIS TALK BELOW:
FAITH-HEALING: RANDI'S CURRENT RESEARCH TOPIC IS AN EXPOSE' OF FAITH HEALERS. HE SHOWED TAPES OF VARIOUS SERVICES. IN SOME OF THE SERVICES HIS MINIONS WENT FORWARD AND PRETENDED CURES OF MADE-UP DISEASES. HE GAVE SOME OF THE "TRICKS" OF THE TRADE SUCH AS PROVIDING WHEELCHAIRS TO SEMI-AMBULATORY PEOPLE AND USING DATA CARDS TO DO A MENTALIST TRICK OF CALLING THEIR NAMES, DISEASES, DOCTORS, ETC. NOW, BEING OF A FUNDAMENTALIST BACKGROUND AND OFTEN AMONG THE HILL FOLK OF MISSOURI, I HAVE RATHER STRONG FEELINGS IN FAVOR OF THESE SORTS OF HAPPENINGS. HOWEVER, HE CONVINCED ME THAT MANY OF THESE WOULD SCREEN THE PEOPLE WHO CAME FOR STAGE APPEAL AND NOT TRY TO HELP EVERYONE. IT DOES SEEM THAT MANY OF THESE TV HEALERS ARE MORE IN IT FOR THE MONEY THAN REALLY TRYING TO HELP. I'M SURE WE'LL HEAR MORE ON THIS TOPIC LATER.
DOWSING: RANDI HAD DONE A NUMBER OF DOUBLE BLIND EXPERIMENTS WITH DOWSERS IN AUSTRALIA. SUCCESS RATE WAS ONLY 10%. IT DEPENDS ON ONE'S DOWSING THEORY. FOR THE CASE OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT WATER OR THE SUBSTANCE EMITS SOME SORT OF RAY THESE EXPERIMENTS DISPROVE THAT. FOR THOSE THAT BELIEVE THAT DOWSING RELEASES THE SUBCONSCIOUS IT DISPROVES NOTHING.
URI GELLER: RANDI REPEATED THE SPOON BENDING TRICK WHICH GELLER HAD LEARNED FROM TEL AVIV SCHOOL CHILDREN. HE DID ADMIT THAT GELLER WAS A GOOD ILLUSIONIST AND WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN.
COLUMBUS POLTERGEIST: RANDI SHOWED THAT THIS HIGHLY PUBLICISED CASE WAS PURELY A HOAX - HE HAD AS A WITNESS A CAMERAMAN WHO STAGED PICTURES FOR THE MEDIA. IN FACT THE NEWSPAPER HAS BEEN CALLED DOWN FOR UNETHICAL PRACTICES.
TV SHOWS: HE SHOWED HOW SOME GIRL ON THE CARSON SHOW DID A COMPLEX CARD TRICK (I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS) ALSO SOMEONE WHO BLEW PENCILS OFF TABLES BUT PRETENDED TO DO IT BY PK.
OTHER: MANY OTHER TOPICS WERE DISCUSSED BRIEFLY INCLUDING UFOS, ESP, ETC. RANDI DID GIVE SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON THE DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS SUCH AS DOUBLE BLIND, AND THAT NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO PROVE A WAY THAT SOMETHING CAN BE DONE (SUCH AS ILLUSION) BUT ALSO HOW IT ACTUALLY WAS DONE.
THE AUDIENCE IN BOTH CASES WAS A WIDE RANGE OF PEOPLE FROM NOBEL LAUREATES TO HOBBYISTS. AT THE BANQUET THERE WERE SEVERAL LUMINARIES FROM THE LOCAL MEDIA.
BOTH OF THESE MEETINGS WERE INTERESTING. I DO THINK THAT AN INCREASING PERCENTAGE OF THE SKEPTICS MAY BE INTERESTED IN ATTACKING RELIGION EVEN THOUGH SUCH A THOUGHT IS PROTESTED BY THEM. IN SOME CASES SKEPTICS MAY BE REPLACING THE BELIEF OF "NON-BELIEF" OR "ANTI-BELIEF" INSTEAD OF POSITIVE BELIEF IN ANY OF THESE TOPICS. THAT IS, THERE MAY BE MORE DOGMATISM IN NON-BELIEF THAN IN PARANORMAL ISSUES.
END TRANSCRIPT> COMMENTS,
PEOPLE?
TO: SYSOP (X) (R)
FROM: TOM BETZ
I LIKE RANDI'S ATTITUDE... NOT DOGMATIC (AS ARE SO MANY OF HIS DEVOTEES) BUT RATHER SINCERELY INTERESTED IN EXPOSING FRAUD... AND (I REALLY BELIEVE) IF HE EVER DOES FIND A TRUE CASE OF PK OR PSYCHISM, HE WILL BE HAPPIER THAN THE TRUE BELIEVERS HE SO OFTEN ENRAGES! AND I DON'T THINK THERE IS "DOGMATISM IN NON-BELIEF... IT'S PROBABLY AN EQUAL MEASURE.
I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THE WORD "PARANORMAL" ITSELF... I THINK IT'S A MISNOMER AS SUCH, MUST FOLLOW SOME CONSISTENT PATTERN WHICH IS DETECTABLE. WHY HAVE WE BEEN UNABLE TO DETECT A PATTERN? ON THE OTHER HAND, THE BELIEVERS ARGUE THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN MEETS THE SCIENTIFIC EYE; THAT THE PATTERN IS THERE, BUT MUST BE VIEWED IN A MORE AESTHETIC AND UNQUANTIFIABLE MODE THAN THAT ALLOWED BY SCIENCE. WHAT IS THE UNSEEN LINE THAT DIVIDES- THE TWO CAMPS? COULD IT POSSIBLY BE DUE TO HEMISPHERIC FRAME OF REFERENCE? THAT IS, DO LEFT-BRAIN DOMINANT INDIVIDUALS WIND UP BEING SKEPTICS, WHILE RIGHT-BRAIN TYPES ARE MORE RECEPTIVE TO THE PARANORMAL? I AM GOING TO BE EXPLORING THIS POSSIBILITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WITH A GENTLEMAN NAMED ED PELSOU, WHO CONDUCTS SEMINARS ON HOW TO CREATE HEMISPHERIC BALANCE, OR HOW TO GET OUR LEFT AND RIGHT BRAINS TO WORK TOGETHER. WILL GET BACK TO YOU.
TO: SYSOP (X)
FROM: TOM BETZ
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HAD THIS HAPPEN TO YOU: A FRIEND FROM OUT OF TOWN COMES TO VISIT YOU... HE HAS NEVER BEEN TO YOUR HOME TOWN BEFORE, SO YOU SHOW HIM AROUND... AND WALKING DOWN STREETS YOU HAVE WALKED EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE, HE REMARKS ABOUT THE UNUSUAL QUALITY OF AN OBJECT ( A TREE, OR A BUILDING ) THAT YOU HAVE NEVER NOTICED, BUT HAS BEEN THERE SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN... ALL BECAUSE HE IS UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND IS THEREFORE TO WHAT HE SEES.
I REALLY BELIEVE THAT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA ARE LIKE THAT. THINGS GO ON ALL AROUND US ALL THE TIME, BUT BECAUSE WE AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION, WE'RE TOO BUSY GETTING DONE WHAT WE HAVE TO GET DONE TO SURVIVE, WE DON'T NOTICE... UNTIL ONE OF TWO THINGS HAPPENS:
1. THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCE ( WE MOVE INTO A HAUNTED HOUSE, A CLOSE FRIEND OR RELATIVE DIES, WE ARE CONTACTED BY AN ALIEN ) IT BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO OUR SURVIVAL TO PAY ATTENTION AND DEAL WITH SOME PSYCHIC PHENOMENON
2. THROUGH CURIOUSITY AND DESIRE TO LEARN WE TAKE TIME OUT FROM EVERYDAY LIFE AND CONCENTRATE OUR EFFORTS ON PAYING ATTENTION AND NOTICING THOSE THINGS WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY IGNORED... IT IS NOT DIFFICULT TO TRAIN ONESELF TO BECOME SENSITIZED TO "ETHERIC" (I HATE THAT WORD, BUT CAN COME UP WITH NONE BETTER AT PRESENT) ENERGIES, BY EXTENDING ONE'S "NATURAL SENSES" ( TASTE, TOUCH, SOUND, SMELL, SIGHT, ETC. ) TO REACH BEYOND THE NORMAL RANGE, OR BY DEVELOPING AN "ALTERNATIVE SENSE" TO DEAL WITH THE ENERGIES.
INASMUCH AS THESE CALLS ARE EXPENSIVE, I CAN'T GO INTO THIS FURTHER RIGHT NOW... HOWEVER, I WILL CONCLUDE BY SAYING, YES, THERE DOES SEEM TO BE A CASE FOR SOME PEOPLE HAVING A STRONGER INNATE SENSITIVITY... WHAT FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO IT CAN, FOR NOW, ONLY BE A SPECULATION... BUT I TRULY BELIEVE THAT ANYONE, (EVEN YOU, JIM) IS CAPABLE OF EXPERIENCING THESE "PARANORMAL" ENERGIES... GIVEN TIME, NEED, OR WILL.
ULY BELIEVE THA
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"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law "
On this website I start and end all the posts with the law of Thelema. At the beginning I post 'do what thou wilt...' and at the end 'love is the law...'.But for casual correspondence, as well as for the comments fields i use the number 93. I have been asked twice in the last few weeks so Perhaps i should explain why 93 is used amongst thelemites as an informal greeting (if you haven't already googled it). The number 93 is often used as a short form of the law of thelema which is a standard greeting amongst Thelemites. This is 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law'. 93 is the number value of the word thelema meaning will. The standard ending is 'Love is the law, love under will. Here there are two words with the enumeration of 93, thelema (will) and agape (love) therefore 93/93. 93 is also sometimes used as a verbal greeting. Thelema is often referred to as the 93 current as Aiwass, Crowleys higher guardian angel's name also enumerates to 93. It becomes a bit of a cultural thing though for lodge, ritual and formal stuff the longform is used. It also allows the sneaking of such a greeting into less esoteric correspondence and opens the question of 'what's the 93 for?' I can then explain if people are interested without cramming the law in word down their throats.So in case you've been one of those wondering, thats why!
"Love is the law, love under will"
by Morgain Blake
Sometimes I think that it's a real shame that witchcraft and Satanism don't live up to their media image. Ah, the romance of those cavernous crypts lit by massive black candles and filled with dizzying clouds of incense! Those robed, chanting figures, those beautiful though damned maidens, those magnificently choreographed circle dances and orgies! When will I taste the mystic potion which sends the hypnotised heroine into such erotic and transporting visions? Where are those ancient houses with secret passages leading to paneled chambers with horrifying sights? How can I join those beautiful people dancing to the strains of supernatural piping in a stone circle under the full moon?
Alas, scenes like these seem to exist mainly in movies and between the pages of books. I've never seen anything like them in ten years of occult experience, and friends with longer track records than mine seem to have missed them as well.
I once had the illuminating experience of giving a ride to a man who was about to attend his first ritual with our group. When I came to his door and introduced myself as the person his friend had persuaded to offer him transport, his eyes widened. I don't know what he was expecting, but what he got was an ordinary redhead in street clothes with a battered Chevy Nova rattling in the driveway. He gathered up a bundle of clothes which looked as though they had been through a number of revels at meetings of the Society for Creative Anachronism and new-looking copies of BOTH" Satanic "and" Spiral "by Starhawk, and followed me to my car, chattering nervously. On the way to the house where the ritual was to be held, he told me how important he was in the Society for Creative Anachronism; how his powers had been revealed to him in a childhood vision and how successfully he had been warding off a series of psychic attacks by his enemies.
I suppose that I should not have been surprised when he didn't know how to behave during the ritual and constantly had that "what do I do with my hands"
look which comes over people who are in totally new situations. However, I was completely shocked when the ritual, which I considered to be beautiful and highly moving (I had written it myself) bored him to tears. He cornered me in the kitchen later while I was loading my plate with the usual sumptuous after-ritual feast (six casseroles, two salads, five desserts and six kinds of chips, washed down with Diet Pepsi and various strange-looking wines). "Are your rituals always like this?" he asked plaintively.
I shrugged. "Sometimes shorter, sometimes, longer, sometimes totally unrestrained."
He brightened. "Totally unrestrained?"
"Yeah. You were lucky today. The High Priest kept his face straight all the way through and Leon the punster didn't make any rude remarks. Sometimes we end up laughing so hard we can't go on for five minutes."
"Oh. Is there ever any sexual involvement?"
"We save that for afterwards," I leered and carried my teetering plate over to the sofa where my two favorite fellow-worshippers had been beckoning lewdly to me. Poor Fred! The most excitement he got that night was watching the more lecherous members of the group figure out ways to hug and nibble the ears of all the women in the group while simultaneously demolishing the food and managing not to miss any of "Star Trek".
Needless to say, Fred never came back.
Recalling Fred's first and only visit to a Real-live Magical Ritual makes me realize that the so-called "occult experts" who appear on network and local TV and speak to parent's groups across the nation are concealing two important and horrible truths from the American Public.
First of all, the experts have bought the legends hook, line and sinker.
They believe that we worship in those smoky crypts and god-haunted groves instead of suburban living rooms and basements. They believe that we feast on murdered infants instead of tuna noodle hot dish and walnut brownies, and that we don't fill our chalices with Diet Pepsi, but with human blood. I have it on the excellent authority of Frank Medina, a Wisconsin-based probation officer who is one of the few REAL occult experts in the country, that it is not even POSSIBLE to drink a cup of blood. The acrid, caustic properties of blood make it much more likely that the drinker would dash off to the bathroom to be sick or even to an emergency room to have his stomach pumped than that he would rise up filled with fervor and praising Satan. However, the "experts" would far rather believe in legend than in fact, and they desperately want to conceal their lack of real evidence from their audiences.
The second horrible truth that these stars of the Oprah Winfrey Show are hiding from the American people is that most of the people who inhabit the occult world are ordinary, normal, and yes, BORING. The High Priests and Priestesses of satanic and wiccan covens across the nation are not pale, glamorously dressed tempters and temptresses who sleep by day in the luxurious homes maintained by their private fortunes, then rise as night to perform unspeakable acts of horror and perversion. We are nurses, secretaries, waiters, engineers, graphic designers, college teachers, soldiers, computer programmers, security guards, and lawyers.
Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Average American, we have infiltrated all walks of American life. We might even (perish the thought) be living right next door to you! How can you tell who we are so that you can protect your precious pets, children and selves from us? Well, here are a few dead giveaways.
1. Most of us are well-educated. I have seldom met a witch or a satanist who
does not at least have a bachelor's degree. Those who have not attended
or finished college have made up for it by voracious and eclectic reading
and seldom can be distinguished from their more-educated co-religionists.
2. We have LOTS of books. Not all of those books, or even the majority of
them, will be on occult topics. Our bookshelves overflow with gardening
books, cookbooks, science fiction, mysteries, anthropology texts and even
romance novels.
3. We have LOTS of pets. Many of us have at least one, and usually more than
one cat or dog or other cute little creature. Mysteriously, these pets
do not usually end their lives as blood sacrifices, but are cherished,
coddled and taken to the vet as often as pets raised in Christian
households.
4. Not too many of us were raised without the benefits of "true religion".
A startling number of both satanists and witches were raised Catholic, and
most groups include former Lutherans, Baptists and even Jews. A
conventional religious background can even add to the fervor of our new
religious feelings, and it certainly adds to the rituals. Unless he has
a theatrical background, it is a sad sight to see a lifelong atheist or
agnostic conducting a ritual as High Priest--he usually won't have the
experience to perform without self-consciousness or with truth conviction
as a lapsed Christian can.
5. Those occult people have funny names like Bob and Michael and Sue and
Delores. Certainly, you will find people named Morgain and Rhiannon and
Shadowdancer and Wolf, but you will also find that they generally revert
to their birth names outside of magical groups.
6. They listen to a lot of music. Oddly enough, this is seldom heavy metal
or punk music with those vicious Satanic lyrics we've all been warned
against. Their record libraries generally contain a lot of folk music,
Beatles albums, New Age compact disks, and even jazz. They tend to
subscribe to public radio and TV stations.
7. As mentioned before, they eat a lot. As many recipes are swapped after
occult rituals as after church services, and not just for guaranteed love
potions and remedies for charming off warts.
8. People who are involved with the occult tend to be devoted followers of
"Star Trek". It is well known that almost all of the occult groups which
hold their meetings on the same night that "Star Trek" is shown in their
viewing area always finish their rituals in time to watch the show. The
reason for this is unknown.
9. For some reason, a lot of the women have red hair. I once had to get up
at an occult conference and announce to the group that although Morgain,
Mairi, and Maura all had red hair and glasses, we were not the same person
and would appreciate it if people would bother to learn to distinguish us
rather than addressing us indiscriminately by each other's names. One
would perhaps think that there is a genetic predisposition for redheads to
go into magic were it not for the fact that most magical redheads dye
their hair! (Except for me, of course.)
10. Satanists and Witches are devoted to the Constitution of the United
States, expecially the First Amendment which preserves their right to
worship as much as it does that of fundamentalists, Lutherans, Catholics,
Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. I once heard a fundamentalist at an "occult
seminar" reply to this argument that, except for the fundamentalists and
the Lutherans, the rest of the people in that list were all damned and
didn't deserve religious rights anyway. I wonder why the Lutherans were
OK?
Now then, Mr. and Mrs. Average American, don't these dreadful and
threatening occult types sound an awful lot like you and your spouse? That is, in fact, the most horrible truth which the modern witch-hunters are trying to conceal from you. If everyone knew the truth, that being a satanist or witch can be as ordinary and normal and boring as being a Presbyterian, then the witch-hunters would be out of a job. Their mission would be unnecessary, they would no longer be able to raise (and probably skim) funds, and they themselves would become laughing stocks.
Do you want the world to go on being deceived by the suppression of these horrible truths? If not, then spread them, promulgate them, foment them! Let the whole world know, and then maybe we can all get on with our lives in peace and without fear.
(c) Copyright 1989, 1990 by Morgain Blake. All rights reserved.
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Nice article from the current issue of Greater Good on why mindfulness matters, how to cultivate it our lives, and just what exactly what mindfulness is.
WHY MINDFULNESS MATTERS
By Jason Marsh May 17, 2010
This month on "Greater Good", experts explain the benefits of mindfulness--and how you can cultivate it.
It's been 30 years since Jon Kabat-Zinn launched his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. What began as a bit of a lark-an attempt by a molecular biologist to bring Buddhist meditation (minus the Buddhism) into the mainstream of medicine-has grown into a genuine social movement, with variations of the MBSR program developing everywhere from elementary schools to hospitals to the halls of Congress. At the same time, a growing body of research has documented the physical and psychological health benefits of practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks.
Still, the term "mindfulness" is likely to raise more than a few questions. For starters: What, exactly, is it? Danielle Rothman
"Simply put, mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness," writes Kabat-Zinn in his groundbreaking book "Full Catastrophe Living". "It is cultivated by purposefully paying attention to things we ordinarily never give a moment's thought to. It is a systematic approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our lives."
Kabat-Zinn has made it his life's work to promote secular applications of mindfulness. And this month on "Greater Good", we're highlighting why that work is so important.
Throughout the month, we'll be featuring stories by pioneers who have applied Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program to different realms, from schools to prisons to childbirth and parenting education to the lives of Iraq war veterans. Each story is unique, but they all demonstrate the profound benefits that can come from cultivating mindfulness: reduced stress, heightened compassion and self-control, and a deeper engagement with the people in our lives. And they all make clear that these benefits can be made available to almost anyone with proper training.
This training can take different forms. Kabat-Zinn has stressed that although mindfulness can be cultivated through formal meditation, that's not the only way. Jon Kabat-Zinn delivering his talk at the Greater Good Science Center event, "Compassion, Mindfulness, and Well-Being."
"It's not really about sitting in the full lotus, like pretending you're a statue in a British museum," he said in his presentation at a recent Greater Good Science Center event. "It's about living your life as if it really mattered, moment by moment by moment by moment."
Video from that dynamic and inspiring presentation, part of the GGSC's new "Science of a Meaningful Life" series, is also a highlight on "Greater Good" this month-a terrific opportunity to watch Kabat-Zinn elucidate the practice and the purpose of mindfulness.
Resources
* WATCH THE VIDEO of Jon Kabat-Zinn explaining what mindfulness is and why it matters
* For more on mindfulness and its applications, GGSC members can read The Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness
You'll also find other mindfulness resources, including tips for teaching mindfulness to kids and links to leading organizations that study and teach mindfulness.
And all of these valuable resources are collected in "The Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness"-the first in a series of "Greater Good Guides" we're publishing on our website as a way to dig deeper into some of "Greater Good"'s key themes. The guides are available only to members of the Greater Good Science Center-good reason to start your membership today!
Taken together, from Kabat-Zinn's video presentation to our many articles on the topic, we hope these materials provide a better sense of what mindfulness is, what its benefits are, how it's practiced, and how you might cultivate more of it in your own life.
Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness (download the PDF to read the whole guide).
It's been 30 years since Jon Kabat-Zinn launched his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. What began as a bit of a lark-an attempt by a molecular biologist to bring Buddhist meditation (minus the Buddhism) into the mainstream of medicine-has grown into a genuine social movement, with variations of the MBSR program developing everywhere from elementary schools to hospitals to the halls of Congress. At the same time, a growing body of research has documented the physical and psychological health benefits of practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks.
Still, the term "mindfulness" is likely to raise more than a few questions. For starters: What, exactly, is it?
"Simply put, mindfulness is moment-to-moment -awareness," writes Kabat-Zinn in his groundbreaking book Full Catastrophe Living. "It is cultivated by purposefully paying attention to things we ordinarily never give a moment's thought to. It is a systematic approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our lives."
Kabat-Zinn has made it his life's work to promote secular applications of mindfulness. In his presentation at the recent Greater Good Science Center event, "Compassion, Mindfulness, and Well-Being," he explained that mindfulness can be cultivated through formal meditation, but that's not the only way.
"It's not really about sitting in the full lotus, like pretending you're a statue in a British museum," he said. "It's about living your life as if it really mattered, moment by moment by moment by moment."
Kabat-Zinn used his GGSC talk, part of the Center's "Science of a Meaningful Life" event series, to elucidate the practice and the purpose of mindfulness, and to reflect on the extraordinary growth and influence of his MBSR program.
So far, more than 18,000 people have completed the eight-week program, where they practice basic mindfulness techniques, from sitting meditation to an exercise in eating mindfully, and consider how to draw on these practices as they navigate the challenges of everyday life. Many enroll because they are suffering from ailments ranging from high blood pressure to depression to cancer. Research shows that most of them enjoy significant improvements in their physical and mental health: less pain, higher self-esteem, more excitement about life, and a greater ability to relax and cope with stress. They even show fewer symptoms of physical illness.
But as Kabat-Zinn told the audience at his GGSC talk, the applications of mindfulness go far beyond its medical value. "People who come and understand what we're doing, the first thing they say is 'Oh my God, this isn't about stress reduction,'" he said. "'This is about my life.'"
Indeed, the broad, everyday relevance of mindfulness is demonstrated by how widely it is being embraced in new programs across different sectors of society. School-based programs teaching mindfulness to kids have taken off over the past few years; mindfulness-based programs are also gaining traction in prisons and among substance abuse counselors. These programs and many others have used MBSR as a model, and they're fueled by the increasing number of studies that link mindfulness to emotional balance and stronger immune systems, among other benefits. Whereas just a handful of studies with the word "mindfulness" in the title were published 25 years ago, now that number is approaching or exceeding 100 each year.
We offer this guide as a companion to Kabat-Zinn's GGSC talk (video of which can be found at www.greatergoodscience.org), highlighting resources, research, and some of the many innovative applications of Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program.
While by no means comprehensive, we hope it provides a better sense of what mindfulness is, what its benefits are, how it's practiced, and how you might cultivate more of it in your own life.Additional resources:
* Mindful Education May 13, 2010
* Tips for Teaching Mindfulness to Kids May 13, 2010
* Mindful Kids, Peaceful Schools Summer 2007
* Losing my Mindfulness September 2, 2009
Tags: meditation, awareness, Psychology, mind, Buddhism, Jason Marsh, Why Mindfulness Matters, mindfulness, Greater Good, Jon Kabat-Zinn, book, Full Catastrophe Living, mindfulness-based stress reduction, The Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness
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Rating : 4.0/5
Number in Series : #1 in Balefire series
Reason for Reading : I loved her Wicca/Sweep series
This is book one of four in the new Balefire series by Cate Tiernan who wrote the Wicca/Sweep series about teenage witches aimed at teenagers. This series again focuses on teenagers and witchcraft, but is a very different tale from her previous series.
It alternates between identical twins Clio and Thais who are seperated at birth. Only Clio's nan knew the secret. When Thais' father dies in a car accident, stranger Axelle is appointed to be her guardian and moves her to New Orleans. Thais is pretty much left to her own devices and enrolls herself into the local school where she accidentally bumps into Clio for the first time. Obviously this then changes both of their lives forever...
I really enjoyed this book. It took a little while to get going and I am really looking forward to reading the next one as it left on such a cliffhanger. It was good fun and appeals to me because of the witchcraft content, the teenager characters (even though I am nearer thirty then twenty sadly) and the easy-to-read style. The supporting characters twist and turn in your mind as to whether they have good or bad intentions towards the twins and the story keeps you guessing. I also liked that Clio and her nan have a deaf cat who can sense vibrations through the floor.
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Michael Salla is paying a price for this.
But why, and more important, to WHOM?
The questions we must answer is this: Who or what is behind P4C shift?
And perhaps more important, the ETs of Salla, Webre, Boylan or Greer are not the SAME entities. Not at all.
The differences between the EXOS show that they are NOT talking about the SAME beings.
Each one has his own mythology, his/her own lies, their own absurd statements, but...they have ONE THING IN COMMON, and that "thing " is the common hate for the word EVIDENCES.
The concept of Evidence is truly the forbidden idea.
I dont know if I am right but there is one possibility: (tell me if you think I'm right or wrong)
My idea is that Boylan' s Cult is working...know what I meant?
Boylan works with a submissive group of "believers".
Probably, the EXOS need to reconsider the whole myth and follow the only possible path that only requires FAITH in the Guru: a Cult, a Religion.
If they want to "make a living " of all this, they need FAITH, no more pseudoscience and, of course, they need the "good aliens only".
Below another message from P4C about Salla's shift.
Dear Mr. Salla,
I find the nature of your latest e-mail disturbing. I thought that
the fundamental purpose of this discussion forum was to discover and
discuss the truth about ET existence, behavior and intentions (good or
bad) so that one could develop a proper course of action for
humanity's conduct with respect to ET.
If witnesses come forward with testimonies that indicate harmful
behavior and intent on the part of ET (of which there could be several
races or groups with diverging interests), I do not see how one could
simply conclude: forgive and reconcile! This reaction would be akin
to a turkey saying to his fellow turkeys: I have been taken by the
farmer to a strange place where I saw turkeys being beheaded and
unplucked. The farmer apparently did not have time to do anything with
me so he brought me back to the field but I want to report to you that
what I saw deeply troubles me about the farmer's intentions and about
our collective future. Your comment is akin to one of the turkeys
controlling the media then responding: I will post your message only
if it concludes on a forgive and reconcile tone...
Considering the amount of troubling negative evidence that has
already been gathered about ET actions and intentions with respect to
humanity, I find it to say the least troubling that you would state
your intent to exercise censorship on any testimony pointing to
harmful ET intent and behavior with respect to humans, if it does not
conclude by a forgive and reconcile message...
Sincerely,
JB
Suggested ebooks:
Aleister Crowley - Liber 008 The Ritual Proper For The Invocation Of Augoeides
Aleister Crowley - Liber 078 A Description Of The Cards Of The Tarot
Anonymous - Wicca Beliefs And Practices
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Aleister Crowley's book 777 has to be one of the best works of it's kind and is actually a compilation of three of his other books on the Qabalah. Crowley starts off with with an essay on Gematria that is the art of rendering words into numbers for the desired result. However in Crowley's true style 777 is full of wit and intentional errors, Crowley being an avid reader of mystery novels appears to write his own works in the same style, all the information is there to piece the jigsaw together it's just up to you the reader to figure the plot out so it seems!
The second chapter in the book was originally published by itself as Liber 777 and contains pages of Qabalistic associations and attributions and this is the only known resource to have survived the the collapse of the The Golden Dawn and is an invaluable resource in this respect.
The final chapter is Sepher Sephiroth and is a Qabalistic encyclopaedia that was originally started by Allan Benett and expanded upon by Crowley himself and others throughout the course, All the entries are in numerological order and not alphabetical, making this a very quick reference guide for anyone interested in Gematria, It is quite an easy task to render the Gematria value of any Greek or Hebrew word and then consult the Sepher Sepiroth for matching phrases and words containing the same value, however it does contain different dialects of Hebrew mixed throughout the book and the entries at times do appear to be contradictory at times.
Overall 777 is an excellent reference guide on Qabalistic attributions and is really essential on any occultist's bookshelf.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy Ridley
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I am so excited about the doors of the Inner Sanctum finally being open, and that you now have an opportunity to learn many ancient secrets. In the coming months we will get to know one another very well. In fact, I already consider you a member of my extended family.
Blogging is something of a new experience for me, so I hope all of you will be patient as I find my way. What I hope to be able to do is give you some insight into the life of a Witch and provide a little advice from time to time. Something else I hope to do is answer some of the questions you send me in your letters. It isn't possible for me to respond to everyone personally, but perhaps I can use this blog to answer some of the more common questions I receive.
You are going to see my fellow Coven members pop in to the forums from time to time. If you are one of out Third Degree Initiates, you will be able to interact with them directly. Please be kind and courteous to them at all times, as their participation here is strictly voluntary.
And so, we move forward on our journey in perfect love and perfect trust. My wish is that you will find the journey to be a truly Magickal experience.
My Blessings,
J. Roslyn Antle, High Priestess
Suggested ebooks:
Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Moon Bog
Andrew Lang - The Grey Fairy Book
Sandra Ingerman - Shamanic Journeying A Beginner Guide
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This essay is not an effort to smear Aleister Crowley or his works. Rather, it is written in that spirit of respect and enthusiasm for truth and human reason that he inspires by both text and example. Nor is this essay an effort to provoke the reader. Nor is it meant as a political statement. The essay is presented to you as an effort to find solutions to the problems it describes. This in the hope, that some readers will find the contents to be worth a serious and open-minded discussion with whoever they wish to discuss it with.
The essay does not argue that anyone should commit to robbery or coining, nor does it argue that the monetary system should be abolished. The concept of crime is kept simple in this essay, in order to separate the universality of Liber Oz from the confusion of cultural diversity. When pondering a perfect Thelemic State, philosophical free-space is a necessity. The reader is hereby asked to receive questions like these with an open mind.
To the reader who finds the concept of Organic Coherence too sentimental, is pointed out, that the term merely refers to an important tendency in the writings of Aleister Crowley.
It can be argued, that this topic calls for a general review of what other relevant thinkers in history has to say on Justice, compared to Crowley. But that is out of scope in this essay. The first purpose of it is merely to point out the contradictions in "Duty:C&P".
In regards to the perfect Thelemic State, it could be, that Thelema is unsuitable as doctrine for the forming of a State in a juridical sense. But since Crowley thought that it was, the Thelemic community will have to have some kind of relation to the idea.
If Duty is to be kept in high esteem as a document of wisdom, we ought to get to terms with the contradictions in it - if we can see them. If the reader do not see them, he should keep following that orbit of his, and happy travels to him.
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Hey guys, I am hoping to formulate an anointing oil dealing with manifestation upon the physical plain, as represented by the Sephiroth, Malkuth, on the Qabalah. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here-- perhaps more knowledgible on all things Crowley than myself-- could aid me in locating Uncle Al's herbal-, E.O.-, and perfume-attributations to this respective sphere in the Qabalah [Malkuth]. Some that I have found so far are:
* GALANGAL: According to the Wikipedia entry for Abramelin Oil, "This oil is compounded of four substances. The basis of all is the oil of the olive. The olive is, traditionally, the gift of Minerva, the Wisdom of God, the Logos. In this are dissolved three other oils; oil of myrrh, oil of cinnamon, oil of galangal. The Myrrh is attributed to Binah, the Great Mother, who is both the understanding of the Magician and that sorrow and compassion which results from the contemplation of the Universe. The Cinnamon represents Tiphereth, the Sun -- the Son, in whom Glory and Suffering are identical. The Galangal represents both Kether and Malkuth, the First and the Last, the One and the Many, since in this Oil they are One. [...] These oils taken together represent therefore the whole Tree of Life. The ten Sephiroth are blended into the perfect gold." However, upon checking my copy of Crowley's "Magick, Book Four, Liber ABA, I could not locate this citation.
* POMEGRANATE: from his 777. Recently I have found a supplier for Pomegranate Absolute (or was it an oleo resin?)!
* DITTANY OF CRETE: Malkuth's attributed "perfume" in 777.
* LILY: 777's attributed "plant" to Malkuth; probably because Lilith is associated with this Sphere, according to Crowley. Hmmm...I wonder if I could find a Lily Tincture somewhere, as I do not have access to enough fresh flowers to presently yield my own.
* STORAX: Now, I don't know if Crowley specificaly attributes Malkuth with STORAX, but, he attributes it to "Earth of Earth" in his 777; after all, Malkuth is associated with the Earth.
Take Care
