Jun 30, 2010

On Dawkins and Yellow Walllpaper

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.




The Huffington Post is running a series on the conflict between science and religion. I largely think this perceived divide is the false construct of the most dogmatic extremes at both ends -- religious fundamentalism and scientism. That said, there is no arguing that many avowed atheists with incredible antipathy towards religion and spirituality point to science as an absolute "truth" which disproves religion. Worse, the new trend among atheists is to define such beliefs as a form of mental illness. That view is typified and galvanized by books like Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion. (See previous discussions here and here.)

Knowing a little something about mental illness, psychology professor Matt J. Rossano takes on the religion as delusion argument.

Calling religion delusional has become an increasingly popular strategy for its critics. To my ear, there's more to this than just a benign slight -- there's at least the hint of the pathological. Religion can be delusional, but to think it inherently so is to misunderstand both religion and delusion.

Having spent my entire professional career around psychologists, I'm all too aware of how clinicians cringe when diagnostic terms get tossed about willy-nilly. So let's begin with what the latest APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV-TR, p. 821) says about delusion:

A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not one ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture (e.g., it is not an article of religious faith).

Jun 29, 2010

The Secret: Still More Fraud

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Don't forget to check out the Primetime profile of James Arthur Ray tonight but in the meanwhile the verdict is in for David Schirmer. A tip of the hat to the Salty Droid for this bit of gouge from the land down under. Schirmer has been found guilty of financial malfeasance and been banned from doing... whatever it is he does... for life.

Former contributor to the popular self-help product The Secret, Mr David Gary Schirmer of Warrandyte, Victoria, has been permanently banned from providing financial services following an ASIC investigation.

ASIC found Mr Schirmer had failed to comply with financial services laws in relation to the promotion, operation and delivery of a trading and wealth creation program known as the ‘Platinum Super Traders’ (Platinum program). The Platinum program was operated by
Mr Schirmer and Platinum Super Traders Pty Ltd.

ASIC found that between August 2004 and December 2006 Mr Schirmer:
  • provided financial services on behalf of another person who carried on a financial services business while not being authorised to do so
  • engaged in conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service that was misleading or deceptive, or was likely to mislead or deceive
  • failed to act in accordance with representations made by him to participants in the 2005 and 2006 Platinum programs
  • made false statements to participants in the 2005 and 2006 Platinum programs, and
  • engaged in dishonest conduct.
ASIC found that rather than disclosing difficulties he was facing with aspects of the Platinum program, Mr Schirmer chose to deceive Platinum participants and deliberately prepared and provided them with a false document.

I guess the ASIC doesn't understand that giving clients a false document isn't so much fraud as it is creating the reality he desired, just like in the video clip from The Secret posted above.

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Around the Web, Around the World


"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Initiation Series: Gretchen Crilly McKay

Sangoma (shaman), Gretchen Crilly McKay is our guest this week in our Initiation Series: Curing our Cultural Sickness. She joins us to discuss her traditional kuthwasa (initiation) experiences in Swaziland, Africa, under the mentorship of Zulu shaman, P.H. Mntshali. It is our hope that in hearing the stories of a diverse range of contemporary initiation experiences-that have functioned to truly transform individuals into shamans-that we will come to remember what initiation truly means. Gretchen's admitted love affair with Africa, the "home" of her soul, began decades ago. A consultation there with sangoma, P.H. Mntshali-who would become her mentor-revealed that her life had been difficult because she had not followed the path her ancestors had chosen for her. Through the traditional initiatory path of the sangoma, Gretchen became the woman she was meant to be. Gretchen's private shamanic practice is in Southern California where she seamlessly combines traditional African practices, like throwing the bones, with cross-cultural shamanic practices, like soul retrieval, extraction, and healing with spiritual light to serve her clients and students. Her extensive calendar of classes, apprenticeship & mentoring, and two year advanced training can be found at www.ancestralwisdom.com

This week's guest:
Gretchen Crilly McKay

Gretchen Crilly McKayGretchen Crilly McKay has been a shamanic practitioner and teacher for more than 15 years, studying with master shamans in the U.S. and Africa. She has studied extensively with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Sandra Ingerman, and Tom Cowan. In 2001 she completed her kuthwasa initiation in Swaziland, Africa and graduated in a traditional ceremony as a sangoma under the mentorship of Zulu shaman P.H. Mtshali.

Gretchen uses the African divination system of throwing the bones to diagnose physical, emotional, and spiritual issues and provides shamanic healing through spiritual extraction, soul retrieval and healing with spiritual light. She has a private practice in Southern California where she sees clients and offers workshops and shamanic training. Gretchen works closely with the spirits of nature to co-create balance and harmony within and without. Her website is www.ancestralwisdom.com

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

Log on to Listen
Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Jun 28, 2010

Primetime on Sweat Lodge Tragedy

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Set your DVRs. I have. Tomorrow night's Primetime: Mind Games will feature James Arthur Ray and the sweat lodge that ended three lives.

What happens when the power of positive thinking takes a deadly turn? In October of last year, about 60 people, many established professionals, traveled to a ranch in Arizona for a five-day retreat that promised the way to personal fulfillment… and they were counting on their host, self-help guru James Arthur Ray, to make it all happen. But did Ray go too far in a special ceremony? Held in a closed tent with temperatures at times over 140 degrees, the ceremony is supposed to help unleash your mind’s power for a better life. Instead, three people died in aftermath of the “sweat lodge.” ABC News Correspondent Dan Harris reports on the spiritual retreat’s games and exercises leading up to the deaths, speaks to survivors of the “sweat lodge” and the mother of one woman who died, as well as those who continue to believe in the teachings of James Ray as he awaits a criminal trial on manslaughter charges. Ray denied being responsible for the deaths.

“Primetime: Mind Games” airs TUESDAY, JUNE 29 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. David Sloan is executive producer.

Jun 27, 2010

John Major Jenkins on the Mayan Calendar

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



This interview with John Major Jenkins, author of Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, is lucid, sober, and free of hyperbole. Listen, in particular, to his explanation of the role of prophecy; something I'll probably be talking about more in the near future.

Jun 25, 2010

Astrological Trends for June 25-July 1, 2010

Here is your energy lookout for the week ahead. Like checking the weather to know how to dress, it makes good sense to check the planetary energy patterns to know how to plan your days. This forecast looks at the current transits of the planets in relation to society as a whole. Your own natal, or birth, chart is also impacted by the current transits, and your own experiences this week will also be affected by your own unique chart pattern. I am available for general readings by phone or text chat at LivePsyche or you can make arrangements for in-depth chart readings here.

The two irritating T-squares which make for stressful situations and feeling thwarted are still present on Friday, June 25th. The Sagittarius Moon may find you filled with a sense of impatience and urgency. You wish you could just hurry time and move past the full Moon and eclipse now as the current configurations are pushing and pulling thoughts and emotions in all different directions. You feel as though you don’t have enough time to get everything accomplished, yet time could not go fast enough now to suit you! Many of the things on your to-do list may have to be redone after the full Moon, if you rush through them now, so choose only the most essential tasks and be sure to include time for yourself, even if it feels like wasted time. It’s important to balance work with play today.

Jun 23, 2010

Abused Son of Pedophile Priest Speaks

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



José Raul Gonzalez, who grew up in one of the illicit, secret families kept by Rev Marcial Maciel Degollado, discussed here, is suing the Legionaries of Christ. He and the case were profiled on Nightline last night. A second video of just the Gonzalez interview can be found here. It's... um... gut-wrenching.

A prominent Catholic priest, praised by Pope John Paul II as "an efficacious guide to youth," Father Marcial Maciel, sexually abused not only young seminarians under his control but also abused his own children, according to a lawsuit filed today in Connecticut by a man who claims to be Maciel's son.

In an interview to be broadcast Monday evening on ABC News Nightline, the priest's son, Raul Gonzalez, 30, says he thought his father worked for the CIA or an international oil company, until he saw the priest's picture in a 1997 magazine article detailing allegations of sexual abuse.

"My mom said, 'Is that you?' and my dad said, 'No, it's not me' and my mom said, 'Yeah, it's you,'" recalled Gonzalez in the interview, conducted by Jason Berry, an investigative journalist who first reported on widespread sexual abuse by Maciel at the Legion of Christ and writes for the National Catholic Reporter.

Jun 22, 2010

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Around the Web, Around the World


"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Initiation Series: Michael Dunning

Shaman-healer, Michael Dunning is our guest this week in our Initiation Series: Curing our Cultural Sickness. He joins us to discuss his exceptional initiation experiences with a Yew tree in Scotland and how they transformed him. It is our hope that in hearing the stories of a diverse range of contemporary initiation experiences-that have functioned to truly transform individuals into shamans-that we will come to remember what initiation truly means. Michael gradually became aware of his calling as a shaman-healer following a near -death encounter with an elemental spirit in the far north of Scotland. A second near-death experience occurred several years later that entirely destroyed his health. Michael began to experience regular visions, prolonged out - of - body states and intense physical pain. Managing his daily life became a great challenge. He was finally rescued by a friend who lived in a small cottage close to a 2000 year -old, female yew tree. This marked the beginning of a ten-year period of healing and a shamanic initiation through nature, which took place under the vast enclosure of the tree. Michael now teaches Yewshamanism throughout New England where he is a biodynamic craniosacral therapist and teacher.

This week's guest:
Michael Dunning


Michael Dunning was born in Glasgow, Scotland. After graduating from the Edinburgh School of Art he taught himself to play the double-bass and by the early 1990's was performing in Europe and Japan with the award winning experimental musical - theater group, The New Theater (TNT). He has also worked for a non-profit arts organization in Edinburgh, where for 14 years, he developed arts programs for adults with a history of mental health problems. In 2003 Michael emigrated to US. Michael teaches yewshamanism throughout New England. He also practices and teaches as a biodynamic craniosacral therapist.


Yewshamanism and Craniosacral Therapy

Michael believes that the yew tree was once regarded by the indigenous shaman-healers as a great source of occult knowledge holding an ancient and embryonic language of healing and rejuvenation. An account of Michael's experiences under the yew tree can be read in the book, Soul Companions: Conversations with Contemporary Wisdom Keeper, A Collection of Encounters with Spirit, by Karen Sawyer. Many years later Michael discovered that craniosacral therapy, and particularly the biodynamic model, provided him with a contemporary healing modality that related to some key embryonic aspects of his shamanic work.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

Log on to Listen
Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Jun 21, 2010

A Song of the Sun for the Solstice

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Astronomers have captured the vibrational frequencies associated with the sun's coronal loops and produced a music video.

Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.

They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.

In other cases they behave more like soundwaves as they travel through a wind instrument.

Using satellite images of these loops, which can be over 60,000 miles long, the scientists were able to recreate the sound by turning the visible vibrations into noises and speeding up the frequency so it is audible to the human ear.


Jun 20, 2010

Touchdown Jesus: Styrofoam and Idolatry

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I have my plastic Jesus...

Well maybe you should! Storms and plastic Jesuses (Jesi... ???) don't seem to be getting on so well.




Jun 19, 2010

Zecharia Sitchin and the Search for Alien DNA

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Ninety year old linguist Zecharia Sitchin is going for broke; staking his reputation and entire body of work on a proposed DNA test.

Needless to say, Sitchin's ideas - like those of another ancient-astronaut author, Erich von Däniken - have been roundly scorned by the scientific community. But now Sitchin is asking that very community to help him with the mystery of Queen Puabi.

Puabi's remains were unearthed from a tomb in present-day Iraq during the 1920s and 1930s, roughly the same time frame as the discovery and study of Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt. Forensic experts at London's Natural History Museum determined that Puabi was about 40 years old when she died, and probably reigned as queen in her own right during the First Dynasty of Ur. Sitchin contends she was something more than a queen - specifically, that she was a "nin," a Sumerian term which he takes to mean "goddess."

He suggests that Puabi was an ancient demigod, genetically related to the visitors from Nibiru. What if these aliens tinkered with our DNA to enhance our intelligence - the biblical tree of knowledge of good and evil - but held back the genetic fruit from the tree of eternal life? Does the story of Adam and Eve actually refer to the aliens' tinkering? The way Sitchin sees it, the ancient myths suggest that "whoever created us deliberately held back from us a certain thing - fruit, genes, DNA, whatever - not to give us health, longevity, and the immortality that they had. So what was it?"

I'm a little surprised at his all or nothing approach but he's right that whether he positions himself that way or not it's how it will be taken in the increasingly blinkered scientific community. I, for one, don't share a number of Sitchin's conclusions but that doesn't mean we throw out the baby with the bathwater. There's no denying that many of his once ridiculed theories have been validated by newer scientific discoveries; such as elliptical planetary orbits. Some of these are discussed in the article and quoted interview. Sitchin is provocative and whether he's one hundred percent accurate or not is besides the point. He's done what innovators are supposed to do. He's raised very compelling questions and lent insight into the mysteries of ancient civilizations.

Jun 18, 2010

Astrological Trends for June 18-24, 2010

Here is your energy lookout for the week ahead. Like checking the weather to know how to dress, it makes good sense to check the planetary energy patterns to know how to plan your days. This forecast looks at the current transits of the planets in relation to society as a whole. Your own natal, or birth, chart is also impacted by the current transits, and your own experiences this week will also be affected by your own unique chart pattern. I am available for general readings by phone or text chat at LivePsyche or you can make arrangements for in-depth chart readings here.

On Friday, June 18th, your optimism and belief in the impossible increases due to the Moon being parallel to Jupiter and Uranus. This emotional uplift fuels your passion and desire for something or someone as Venus in Leo is amplified by the intensity of Pluto. With idealistic Neptune being enhanced by Saturn in pragmatic Virgo and the Sun in idealistic Gemini, it seems highly probable that your dreams and desires can be brought into being. Some cautionary energy between the Sun in Gemini and Saturn in Virgo, and suppressive energy between Jupiter in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn, indicate that either you have to play by the old rules or reign in your expansive enthusiasm and channel it into hard work before you see your dream made manifest.

Jun 17, 2010

Dateline on the Sweat Lodge Tragedy

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



There aren't a lot of new revelations in this Dateline segment on the James Arthur Ray event that killed three people last fall  but the interviews add a little more insight into Ray's behavior and personality. Dateline talks to survivors of the incident and grieving family members. Not for the first time, I'm stunned at this man's self-absorption and obliviousness to the needs of people around him; people who paid a lot of money for his time and attention. This was particularly serious because it came at a time when he was playing with fire... literally.

I am also reminded once again that what James Arthur Ray does has nothing to do with spiritual development. Despite all the nonsensical "law of attraction" and pseudo-physics trappings, Ray's entire message comes down to this: push yourself harder. It doesn't take any great esoteric knowledge to get a bunch of type A personalities to "play full on." Ray just introduced a whole new level of recklessness. He drove them to not only push past their self-imposed limits but to ignore serious physical and emotional concerns... such as the inability to withstand very high temperatures, dehydration, and a lack of available oxygen, common to most living organisms.

One of the key issues that will probably be at issue during Ray's trial is whether or not he pressured people to stay in the sweat lodge when their survival instincts told them to get out. Accounts from survivors that he said things like "You're better than that" and "You can overcome this. It's mind over matter," when they headed for the exit, look bad.

Jun 15, 2010

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Initiation Series: Desiree DeMars

Healer, Desiree DeMars is our first guest in our Initiation Series: Curing our Cultural Sickness. She will join us to discuss her own initiation experiences and how they transformed her. It is our hope that in hearing the stories of a diverse range of contemporary initiation experiences-that have functioned to truly transform individuals into shamans-that we will come to remember what initiation truly means. Desiree is a co-founder of The Center for Shamanic Healing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Center is dedicated to bridging the ancient and ancestral wisdom of shamanic and spiritual healing with direct engagement with spirit in a contemporary life. Desiree's initiations have occurred over time and place. She travels extensively, often stopping to live for months or years in places that call to her. She began living a holistic life 30 years ago building a green, self-sufficient homestead in Northern Wisconsin. Her holistic lifestyle has evolved into 20 years studying herbal remedies, live food nutrition, several bodywork and energywork modalities, and shamanic healing arts. Her travels have brought her in contact with indigenous healers in Peru, Ecuador, Bali, Hawaii, Mexico and Nepal. If we are really lucky we will get to tell us her story of initiation by scorpion...

This week's guest:
Desiree DeMars


Desiree is a co-founder of The Center for Shamanic Healing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Center is dedicated to bridging the ancient and ancestral wisdom of shamanic and spiritual healing with direct engagement with spirit in a contemporary life. Desiree has over 30 years of experience in holistic health and sustainable lifestyle training beginning with building a self sufficient, homestead and creating a green lifestyle on 10 acres in Northern Wisconsin in the early 70's. Her holistic lifestyle has evolved into 20 years studying herbal remedies, live food nutrition, several bodywork and energywork modalities, and shamanic healing arts. Her shamanic training began in 1994 with teachers from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and travel around the world with anthropologists. In her travels she has worked with indigenous healers in Peru, Ecuador, Bali, Hawaii, Mexico and Nepal.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

Log on to Listen
Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

When Self Help Isn't Helpful

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



The backlash against "positive thinking" continues. Psychologist Jeffrey Hull weighs in on the lack of utility in the shiny, happy help.

A client walks into my office, flings down her hefty shoulder bag with a scowl, and flops on to the sofa. Reaching into the overstuffed bag, she pulls out a small stack of brightly colored self-help books, all of which have the trendy word "Happy" in the title, and tosses them on my coffee table. "Ok, Dr. J, I've read all these new books on happiness. I've tried out their five steps, completed their six practices and read about their endless studies of happy people--all to no avail. Why am I still miserable? What's wrong with me?!"

Tough question. But a good one, and by no means the first time I've heard it. With the emergence of the field known as "positive psychology" (a.k.a. the study of happiness), the self-help industry has decidedly tilted away from personal and spiritual growth and begun churning out a surfeit of "don't worry, be happy" kinds of books. Most of these surely intend to make us feel better; however, they are simply book-length motivational speeches. They do well in today's quick-fix, pop-a-pill approach to dealing with life's upheavals but there is one problem: I don't think they work. In truth, it's worse than that. We read them at our peril. In the guise of "self-help," I find that, in many cases, they actually hurt--reinforcing the exact opposite of what they intend: unhappiness. Why?

Jun 12, 2010

Astrological Trends for June 11-17, 2010

Here is your energy lookout for the week ahead. Like checking the weather to know how to dress, it makes good sense to check the planetary energy patterns to know how to plan your days. This forecast looks at the current transits of the planets in relation to society as a whole. Your own natal, or birth, chart is also impacted by the current transits, and your own experiences this week will also be affected by your own unique chart pattern. I am available for general readings by phone or text chat at LivePsyche or you can make arrangements for in-depth chart readings here.

Sun, Moon, and Mercury are all in the mutable sign of Gemini on Friday, June 11th, making this a day full of chat, text, and errands for you. Mercury is in a stressful configuration with both Chiron and Mars while also being intensified by Pluto. You may simply feel like your mind is in overdrive today, or you may experience a communication or transportation fail of some kind that feels like it couldn’t happen at a worse time. A shield of protection created by Venus, Saturn, and Neptune is in force, though, and tells me that a positive attitude, belief in a timely solution, and the help of others, if you ask for it, will turn any challenge into an accomplishment.

Jun 10, 2010

DMT - The Spirit Molecule

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Several interviews from DMT - The Spirit Molecule have been released on YouTube. This new film from Rick Strassman et al. explores the research and potential of DMT, an entheogen that has long been used by indigenous shamans. As I recently posted here, the naturally occurring DMT in our brains may be a key to ascension.

Particularly insightful, Daniel Pinchbeck describes the sixties experimentation with hallucinogens as a "failed attempt at a mass, cultural voyage of initiation" because there were no "wisdom traditions" to form a context for the experience. Now that there is more information available from shamanic systems, he speculates that it may be possible to complete that initiation.

My husband and I just watched the documentary Hofmann's Potion on the discovery of and early experimentation with LSD. One of the things that becomes clear from those interviews is how little many of the early researchers knew about just what they were dealing with. Foisted on the public, largely by the egocentric Timothy Leary, with no safety parameters and no cultural enforcement of respect for this gateway into another dimension, it was misused and abused. The consequences were fairly disastrous. Many years ago I had a conversation with shamanic healer Christina Pratt about such  use of hallucinogens. She described it as "free-wheeling through non-ordinary reality." The danger, she told me, was that because that world is so closely linked to this one, the damage an unguided person, with no clear intention, can do there can also adversely affect this reality.

Speaking of Christina, and of cultural initiations, her most recent broadcast, mentioned here, is probably her most fascinating and poignant show ever... and that is saying something. I listened to the podcast last night. Everyone should listen to it. She describes our core problem, individually and collectively, as having no formal initiation into adulthood. Most of us are children in adult bodies reacting to adult situations like children. Hear. Hear. Speaking as an "Adult Child" (of an Alcoholic) I can absolutely attest to this being the central drama of my entire life.

Jun 8, 2010

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Around the Web, Around the World


"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Initiation Series: Curing our Cultural Sickness

This week begins a series exploring initiation and spiritual maturity. "It is my hypothesis," says host and shaman Christina Pratt, "that the lack of meaningful or functional initiation is at the root of our cultural sicknesses from greed and irresponsible leadership to ecological waste to psychoemotional illness and pharmaceutical abuse to teen suicide and violence." To begin we will explore what a functional initiation involves and how shamans see it at the core of the healthy psychoemotional and psychospiritual development of the individual. Given that we will look at two things: first, how the lack of initiation and the resulting spiritual immaturity leads to our cultural sicknesses and second we will look at what you can do to begin to open yourself up to the initiation into adulthood that is wanting to happen. Over the next several weeks a diverse array of guests will share their initiatory experiences along the path they walked to become practicing contemporary shamans. This series will end by looking at the parallels and lessons we can learn from those who have walked the path of initiation and now live in a way that models for us spiritual maturity and the possibility of curing our chronic cultural sicknesses.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

New Time & New Location
Why Shamanism Now? A Practical Path to Authenticity will have a new home and a new air time. Beginning April 13, 2010 the show will air live on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM Pacific time and be available for download the next day from the Co-Creator Network website. Recorded shows will continue to be available on iTunes. The new url will be http://www.co-creatornetwork.com/hosts/shamanism/host_bio.htm

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Jun 7, 2010

Geoff Stray on 2012

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Fascinating, fascinating, interview with Geoff Stray, author of Beyond 2012. Stray has spent years collating myths relating to 2012 and some of the more empirical evidence of planetary alignments and shifts. He also finds remarkable correlation in the individual experiences of those have used sacred plants or had near death experiences who have received information about 2012.

His discoveries seem to support Drunvalo Melchizedek's belief in a leap in consciousness associated with the pole reversal around that 2012 reference point. Stray explains research pointing to shifts in the magnetosphere triggering an increase in DMT production. In other words the magnetic shift would allow us to collectively "pierce the veil." Along those lines he points to a Maori myth which was, he believes improperly translated as saying "the curtain will fall." He points to a more accurate translation of "the veil will dissolve." This, in particular, jumps out at me because that is also the original meaning of the world apocalypse. From the Greek Apokálypsis meaning "revealing what is hidden," "lifting the veil," or simply, "revelation."

A good, brief summary of Sray's work can also be found here.

Jun 5, 2010

The Oil Spill and Apocalyptic Prophecy

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



A public official in Louisiana compared the oil spill now reaching the shores to Biblical prophecy.

With its arrival on the Panhandle, oil from the BP disaster has now reached the shores of four Gulf states - Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in addition to Florida - turning their marshlands into death zones for wildlife and staining beaches rust and crimson.

One official said the affliction brings to mind the plagues and punishments of the Bible.

"In Revelations it says the water will turn to blood," said P.J. Hahn, director of coastal zone management for Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish. "That's what it looks like out here - like the Gulf is bleeding. This is going to choke the life out of everything."

Jun 3, 2010

Astrological Trends for June 4-10, 2010

Here is your energy lookout for the week ahead. Like checking the weather to know how to dress, it makes good sense to check the planetary energy patterns to know how to plan your days. This forecast looks at the current transits of the planets in relation to society as a whole. Your own natal, or birth, chart is also impacted by the current transits, and your own experiences this week will also be affected by your own unique chart pattern. I am available for general readings by phone or text chat at LivePsyche or you can make arrangements for in-depth chart readings here.

Friday, June 4th, is influenced by some discordant energy between the Moon in Pisces and the Sun in Gemini. Today, you may feel as though your thoughts are at odds with your feelings. There is no harm in taking some time to examine your thoughts and feelings before making any decisions. A contra-parallel between the Moon and Saturn increases your tendency to be critical of both yourself and others. Knowing this short-lived energy in advance should enable you to put it to constructive, rather than obstructive or destructive, use. Some sexual tension that Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus have been creating can be super charged right now and today the Sun/Moon energy may have you asking yourself, “Should I, or shouldn’t I?” when it comes to the question of a fling. Love is like Russian Roulette right now – it could be the real thing, or not, you won’t know unless you play.

The Dark Side of Positive Thinking

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Neo meets the Oracle ~ The Matrix


This article on the perils of positive thinking really jumped out at me. I've noted before the growing backlash against the self-help movement and its relentless feel good message. There is much to relate to in the author's failed attempts at self-improvement. Like so many of us, he learned that there are no panaceas.

Most interesting are comments from the author of a soon to be released book on the pitfalls and limitations of the self-help industry.

Worse still, as British author and academic Dr. Neel Burton argues in The Art of Failure: An Anti Self-Help Guide, these well-meaning efforts at self-improvement might actually amount to the psychological equivalent of self-inflicted wounds. “These books prevent us from knowing ourselves, and what we get in the end is basically a nervous breakdown,” Burton says. “We know that in the Untied States, for example, ten per cent of the population is on anti-depressants and a significantly higher proportion of the population is on other psychotropic medication. Why is that?”

The answer, Burton believes, lies in the fact that the average self-improvement treatise encourages the belief that personal happiness is the product of sculpted abs, nicer clothes, or more personal wealth. Those are dangerous distractions, he argues, from the true source of human happiness, our relationships with others. “We don’t pay enough attention to our human relationships, and we don’t treat our human relationships with the respect and consideration that they deserve. We’d be much happier if we focused more on them, on our relationships with our friends, our family, and our partners.”

Ultimately, Burton says, the true path to happiness doesn’t lie in thinking positively or mimicking the seven habits of highly effective people but instead in cultivating a greater self-awareness. He believes that our estrangement from that awareness, and our increasingly manic obsession with all things us, represent a departure from our natural instincts as human beings. “In traditional cultures, people lived in very close knit communities. They knew each other, and they didn’t really focus on themselves so much. The focus on life was on the survival community and not on their own individuality. Modern society is very different from that. There’s a huge emphasis on me; my goals, my life, my death. That puts a lot of pressure on people, and it’s not the kind of pressure that we’re evolved to cope with. That’s the source of many of our problems."

Jun 1, 2010

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Around the Web, Around the World


"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Soul's Purpose: The Core of Well-Being

One of the highest values held in shamanic cultures is the fact that each individual brings to this world a unique soul's purpose. The gift of that soul's purpose has never been seen before and will never be seen again if you do not live it. This isn't karma and there are no second chances. This is the one moment to live that unique genius. This value was held in various ways by pre-contact shamanic peoples around the world. To live one's purpose was believed to be at the core of one's well-being. "I see this, or more precisely the lack of it, to be true today," says host and shaman, Christina Pratt. "When we are living far from our right work, spending 8-10 hours a day in a job that is not meaningful to us, ignoring the body's cries for balance, and making sure that our sleep is so short or shallow that we never touch into the call of the soul then it's no wonder we are unwell." Join us this week as we explore how to catch the scent of your soul's purpose and bring your life back on track with your passion. By changing this one thing- your relationship with your unique purpose-you can restore well-being in all aspects of your life.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

New Time & New Location
Why Shamanism Now? A Practical Path to Authenticity will have a new home and a new air time. Beginning April 13, 2010 the show will air live on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM Pacific time and be available for download the next day from the Co-Creator Network website. Recorded shows will continue to be available on iTunes. The new url will be http://www.co-creatornetwork.com/hosts/shamanism/host_bio.htm

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

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