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Science and Precognition

English newspaper the Daily Mail published a fascinating article on May 5th 2007. In “Is this REALLY proof that man can see into the future?” Dr Danny Penman outlines current scientific research that suggests this realy is the case.

Professor Dick Bierman of Amsterdam University is quoted as saying: “We’re satisfied that people can sense the future before it happens”. Cambridge Nobel Laureate Brian Josephson is quoted as saying: “So far, the evidence seems compelling. What seems to be happening is that information is coming fom the future.”

Penman cites evidence from the 9/11 disasters that all four of the crashed planes were unusually empty. Scientists Ed Cox and Jessica Utts have found that trains that crash carry “far fewer” people than they normally would. It’s suggested that rather than seeing vivid imagery o teh impending disaster those saved experienced a more general feeling of unease.

Dean Radin has carried out research that showed people exhibiting physical reactions to extreme images a few seconds before the images were shown, as though they somehow knew the nature of the image about to be displayed.

Not only does this show science is finally catching up with what mediums and sensitives have known for ages, but it also raises fascinating and paradoxical questions over whether the future already exists. If so thatwoudl mean that we do not reallyÂ have free will. But of coure we all know (as far as we can know) that we do have free will.

The explanation may lie in what I was once told by a clairvoyant. Although mediums can predict the future, such predictions are not cast in stone but relate to a snapshot of things as they stand now. The intervention of human free will can change what otherwise would have been.
What is Healing?

Healing plays an important role in Spiritualism and the whole “New Age” movement in general. But what exactly is healing and why is it so important?

The classic image of healing is that of the healer placing his hands on the subject/patient and somehow channelling forces from beyond in order to alleviate their physical ailments. And indeed in many cases such healing has been shown to have remarkable results, whether through some form of positive energy being transmitted to the patient or the promotion of a positive attitude. Most likely a bit of both.

But relieving the bodily aches and pains of sufferers is only part of the story, though admittedly a significant one. As we look around the world we see hatred, violence andÂ injustice a-plenty. It is in these areas too that healing is desparately needed to make the earthly experience of so many that little more pleasant and productive.

Healing isn’t only the hands-on stuff, though long may that continue to bring comfort. It can take many forms, sending out thoughts (prayers), doing our little bit for others, serving as a model to others, or even simply offering a smile. All of these things are healing, and healing is something we should all be doing to whatever extent we are able.
If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling
Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann
Freakonomics

You might wonder what a book based on economics and statistics is doing in a Spiritual blog. The answer is that although Freakonomics uses these tools, it’s really a book about people and what makes them tick.

Resulting from a collaboration between brilliant but off the wall economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics addresses questions such as what real estate agents and the Ku Klux Klan have in common, why most drug dealers live with their mothers, and how your name affects your likelihood of success. Often revealing surprising answers.

Full of fascinating and insightful analysis, for me the most thought-provoking and controversial piece was the explanation given for America’s faling crime rate. The reason given was the legalization of abortion some years earlier and the fact that mny o those most likely to be the criminals of today never got the chance to be born.

Surely there has to be a better way of crime prevention than the pre-birth execution of potential criminals? Surely this knowledge means we can identify those most likely to turn to crime and offer them the chance of a more purposeful existence?

For all students of humanity, and that ought to be all of us, Freakonomics is a must-read.
Enjoy the Moment

How often when we’re having fun do we spoil it for ourselves by becoming aware that the moment cannot last? Or set ourselves up for disappointment by deluding ourselves the moment will last forever only to find it doesn’t.

Everything is transient. Experience. Life. Even the planet we live on and the cosmos it exists in.

Is this reason to be permanently depressed? Of course not. The nature of existence is change. That is why the moment cannot last.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the moment. Savor it, milk it to the full. But in the realization that by nature it is fleeting and like all things shall in its time pass away.

Even our very essence shall one day cease to exist as a distinct entity. Not when our fragile body ceases to function, for what’s within continues beyond that. But when we are eventually absorbed back into the great oneness or wholeness from which we originated. The moment that Buddhists call enlightenment.

Appreciate what you have, do not resent what you have not.

Learn to enjoy each moment. Not through the distorted notion of being able to possess it, but simply for what it is. Live it, enjoy it, and let it go. And be enriched for having the privilege of the experience.
Is Money Important?

Money. Is it the root of all evil? Or does it make the world go round? Or a bit of both?

We spend a large portion of our lives chasing it through work, investment, playing the lottery and so on… But can it really bring happiness? Yes and no.

There are plenty of happy poor folk, and just as many unhappy rich ones. But money can certainly ease our journey on earth.

If we don’t have the basics of food and shelter, life is hard in the extreme. But if we have a roof over our head and food in our belly is it still significant?

I suggest not as much as some people might think. Sure, money can buy lots of “things”, but “things” aren’t really important and are ultimately unsatisfying in that they only make you ant yet more “things”. And you can’t take any of these “things” (or money itself) with you when it’s time to go home (pass away). All you take is your meaningful experience.

There is an argument from a Spiritual perspective that if you’re poor you spend so much time putting food on the table that you don’t have time to pursue your true Spiritual purpose. And with money in your pocket you’d have more time to spend doing more meaningful stuff. But meaning can be found in all things, even in struggling to put food on the table, even in trying to find an alternative to a job you hate…

Of course, sort the basics. But beyond that spend your time and effort seeking what really matters – meaningful experience.
Doing What You Can’t Do

Throughout life we are called upon to do things we can’t, or thnk we can’t do. It starts when as babies we’re asked to crawl, then walk. As babies it’s all a fun adventure, but as we grow older we learn to feel stress when asked to move outside our comfort zone.

Fact is, the comfort zone whilst superficially comfortable is boring and ultimately defeats our purpose in being, which is to learn and grow.

So, how can we do things we think we can’t? Start by recognizing that our inability is mostly in our mind. We are all capable of far more than than we believe.

So don’t worry if you’re called upon to do something that you (think you) can’t. Just pretend to do it, and keep pretending for as long as you can. And after a while you’ll stop pretending, because you’ll really be doing it.
Patriotism

Samuel Johnson called patriotism the last refuge of a scoundrel. I’ve always thought it not only dangerous (how many million have been killed or maimed by its excesses) but also stupid. We can be proud of our achievements and good deeds, but how can we feel pride in something that’s pure chance – ie the nationality we’re born into?

Nations, the grouping together of people on a large scale, has served some useful purpose in the past. But nations by definition are so big that their peoples are highly heterogeneous. We’re all different, so any attempt to lump us together as one is meaningless.

Unscrupulous leaders have long mesmerized their subjects into committing acts of great destruction in the name of patriotism. But if we abandoned patriotism, and ultimately nationhood how much better might the world be?

Far fetched? Maybe not. The relentless march of globalization is breaking down artificial national boundaries fuelled by technologies such as the Internet for which they are invisible.

We are first and foremost all one, all part of that great unity that is Spirit. Secondly we are all individuals, incarnate for a specific purpose. We will be drawn to other individuals (regardless of nationhood) for the purpose of fulfilling our, and their, purpose.

Over the centuries nations have produced a rich variety of culture. But rather than wasting energy arguing that the one we happen to have been born into is best, let’s instead enjoy the best of what all nations have to offer.
Psychic Vampires

To most of us vampires mean count Dracula, the anti-hero of Bram Stoker’s classic novel and star of countless old horror movies. We may be relieved to know that there are no beings in reality that maintain eternal life by drinking the blood of innocent victims.

However, there are such things as psychic or psychological vampires. These are individuals who either purposefully or unconsciously suck the psychic energy of others.

Just as some charismatic people are a pleasure to be around and make you feel alive, so there are those negatives who mentally and physically drain those unfortunate enough to be in their company.

The degree to which an individual is affected depends on their sensitivity, and also on their incompatibility with the “vampire” concerned.

The simplest solution is just to avoid psychic vampires. But sometimes circumstances make this impossible. In such cases the priority is to preserve your energy in dealings with them by expending only a minimum of energy.

A simple, regular visualization can also help. Take a few minutes to relax, perhaps put on some gentle music. Then picture yourself wearing a shiny suit of armor. This armor allows positive energy to pass through and enter your body, but it reflects negative forces back from where they came. Feel the positive energy passing through the armor, bringing you strength and peace. See the destructive energies bouncing off the armor, back to their origin.