Spiritualism

Chapter 30—Spiritualism

I saw the rapping delusion. Satan has power to bring the appearance of forms before us purporting to be our relatives and friends that now sleep in Jesus. It will be made to appear as if they were present, the words they uttered while here, which we were familiar with, will be spoken, and the same tone of voice which they had while living will fall upon the ear. All this is to deceive the world, and ensnare them into the belief of this delusion.

I saw that the saints must have a thorough understanding of the present truth, which they will have to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives, who will declare to them unscriptural doctrines. They will do all in their power to excite sympathy, and work miracles before them, to confirm what they declare. The people of God must be prepared to withstand these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not any thing, and that they are the spirits of devils.

I saw that we must examine well the foundation of our hope, for we shall have to give a reason for it from the Scriptures; for we shall see this delusion spreading, and we shall have to contend with it face to face. And unless we are prepared for it, we shall be ensnared and overcome. But if we do what we can on our part to be ready for the conflict that is just before us, God will do his part, and his all-powerful arm will protect us. He would sooner send every angel out of glory to make a hedge about faithful souls, than that they should be deceived and led away by the lying wonders of Satan.

I saw the rapidity with which this delusion was spreading. A train of cars was shown me, going with the speed of lightning. The angel bade me look carefully. I fixed my eyes upon the train. It seemed that the whole world was on board. Then he showed me the conductor, who looked like a stately fair person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed, and asked my attending angel who it was. Said he, It is Satan. He is the conductor in the form of an angel of light. He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie that they may be damned. His agent, the next highest in order to him, is the engineer, and others of his agents are employed in different offices as he may need them, and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition. I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, and bound together by the truth.

The Luciferian Doctrine Explained - ROBERT SEPEHR

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A Trip Into The Supernatural - Roger Morneau

Roger Morneau A Trip Into The Supernatural (full testimony)

AM5743


Uploaded on Sep 24, 2011


There sits today in rulership of this fallen world order one who has grown ancient in evil, cunning in subtlety, and cruel in deceit. He waged the first war of the universe in the distant planet called heaven, and subsequently brought conflict to this little world we call earth as it spins on the outer edges of the milky-way galaxy. He filled all heaven with discord and the earth with death, and both with great sorrow. He deceptively challenged every transparent purpose of the Creator, and even coveted the throne of the Eternal, planning to either assume rule of the universe or if not, then to plunge it into chaos and ruin.

This menacing figure who has hijacked our planet well explains the presence of every conflict that disturbs our world today, every pestilence that afflicts humanity, every sorrow and pain and death that tortures the children of earth. Lucifer, the former covering cherub and one-time honorable prime minister of the angelic intelligences in Heaven, has become Satan, the great adversary of our smitten world. This powerful angel heads a vast army of unseen intelligences, the hosts of darkness who oppose in this world, every beneficent purpose of our Creator the Almighty God of the universe. He especially hates the Holy One who in great condescension assumed our human nature that He might by divine power destroy the works of Satan, conquer evil and lift the terrible sentence of eternal death from our fallen race.

To speak of a throne of evil controlling this world system is no mere figure of speech, it is a grim reality. And the occupant of that throne is no figment of anyone's imagination. Jesus Christ ascribes to him the title of "prince of this world." John 14: 30. The famed Christian apostle Paul describes him as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience." Eph. 2: 2. Paul also warns us that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood , but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness..." Eph 6:12 John the Revelator describes this foe as "the great dragon," "that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan who deceives the whole world." Rev. 12:9.

When the leader of revolt against the Eternal Creator was expelled from heaven, expelled along with him were many other angel intelligences who had yielded to his cunning sophistries and had joined in his unworthy rebellion. This world is today their singular abode. This is because that tremendous event, which rid heaven of the fallen hosts, was followed by the tragic fall of our first parents under Satan's lies. This historic fall let loose legions of fallen angels to bend all of their efforts and genius over many thousands of years in the work of spoiling, corrupting and ruining the once noble human family, originally created to be the crown of God's handiwork. A key element of the strategy to ruin humanity has been to lead man to blight and degrade the fair earth that was intended to be our perfect and eternal home.
The apostle Peter warns us "Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8 Finally, the inspired revelator says " Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time." Rev. 12:12.

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Rome - A History of the Eternal City

Rome - A History of the Eternal City - Ep1

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Published on Dec 15, 2012


Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at how every event in ancient Rome revolved around religion. From the foundation myth through to the deification of Emperors; nothing could happen without calling upon the Pantheon of Roman gods. Simon investigates how the Romans worshipped and sacrificed to the gods. He discovers that sacredness defined what was Roman and it was the responsibility of every Roman to play their part in the cult. Even the ancient Roman sewer was holy ground!

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Rome - A History of the Eternal City - Ep2. Divine Gamble



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Rome - A History of the Eternal City - Ep3. The Rebirth of Gods City
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A message from above? Lightning strikes Vatican after Pope Benedict resigns

By Megan Levy

Feb. 12, 2013, 10:05 a.m.




Pope Benedict XVI's resignation came like a bolt from the blue overnight.

And the weather around the Vatican was eerily appropriate, with lightning striking St Peter's Basilica, one of the holiest Catholic sites, on the same day that Pope Benedict announced he would be stepping down.

Global news agency Agence France-Presse published an image of lightning striking the basilica's dome, which it said was taken "on the day the Pope" announced his resignation.

AFP said the striking image was captured by photographer Filippo Monteforte, who works for Italian national news and photo agency ANSA.

Monteforte's website shows that he has photographed the Pope extensively for for more than a decade. He is also listed as a AFP photographer, with a portfolio of his work on the news agency's website.

The image was doing the rounds on social media overnight, with some people questioning its authenticity.

Fairfax Media photographer Nick Moir said the image looked genuine.

"It's probably not that rare for St Peter's to get hit," he said.

"The bolt is hitting a lightning rod to the side of the cross, it seems."

Although Moir said there was no way to verify when the photograph was taken.

Pope Benedict's resignation is the first by a pontiff for almost 600 years, and his decision stunned the Roman Catholic church.

In an address read out in Latin letter to his Catholic brethren,the 85-year-old said his advanced age and the pace of change in the modern world had left him unable to “adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me”.

He will step down as head of the Catholic church on February 28.

The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said he had made up his mind nearly a year ago after trips to Mexico and Cuba tired him out.

His 89-year-old brother, Georg Ratzinger, said: "Age is weighing on him. My brother would like more rest at this age."

Once he stands down, Benedict will be taken to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat near Rome, and will subsequently live in a cloistered monastery.

Previous Popes have stayed in the role until their death, despite physical and mental decay, in the belief that their prayer and suffering as they approach the end are a part of their role.

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415, to help resolve a dispute between the three people who claimed to be the Pope.

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A look at Ash Wednesday

The first day of Lent, the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

GLENN B. DETTMAN.
The Rev. Ed Gretchko of St. Mary's Catholic Church burns palm leaves that were blessed on Palm Sunday of 2012 to be used at the Ash Wednesday service. No Published Caption


By Staff reports


IndeOnline.com staff report

Posted Feb 12, 2013 @ 11:23 PM

MASSILLON — Here are some facts about Ash Wednesday, as observed today in Western Christianity. Ash Wednesday takes place 40 days prior to Easter Sunday — Sundays are not included in the count — and serves as the beginning of Christians’ spiritual preparation for the sacred holiday.

Palm-burning ceremony

Earlier this week, palm branches that were blessed and distributed to parishioners on Palm Sunday a year ago were burned by area churches in preparation for Ash Wednesday.

“They (palm branches) have been blessed and carried in procession,” said the Rev. Edward Gretchko of St. Mary Catholic Church in Massillon. “Usually, most people put (palm branches) in their homes over a crucifix or pictures of the saints as a constant reminder that Christ is King.”

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, which follows Shrove Tuesday and features Mardi Gras celebrations, signals the beginning of the 40-day period of spiritual reflection and preparation known as Lent — a word derived from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning “spring” — that culminates with Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Ashes from the burned palm branches will be used today during services at area churches. Pastors will spread ashes on the foreheads of their parishioners in the sign of a cross.

Symbolism

The ashes are representative of the mortality of the human race and repentance of sins.

“Ashes are put on the forehead as a sign that one day we will return to dust. Primarily, it’s a sign of our mortality. Secondly, it’s a sign of our penance. ... Basically, it’s about the conversion of the heart and controlling the passions,” Gretchko said. “By turning our heart away from the things of earth, we enter into his passion and suffering and death. ... It highlights something we must always be doing, but it gives us renewed vigor.”

Spiritual renewal

Lent is viewed as a time of purification and enlightenment for those preparing for baptism and a time of repentance and spiritual renewal for those who already have been baptized, according to the Rev. Thomas Cebula of St. Barbara Catholic Church in Massillon.

“Those who are not baptized are preparing and those who already have been baptized are going through a renewal of baptismal vows,” Cebula said. “It’s a 40-day period of spiritual reconditioning. It’s a time of prayer, fasting and works of mercy.”


Ash Wednesday services in Massillon

◦St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 206 Cherry Road NE, 8:15 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 7 p.m.

◦St. Joseph Catholic Church, 322 Third St. SE, 8:30 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 7 p.m.

◦St. Barbara Catholic Church, 2813 Lincoln Way W., 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

◦Central Presbyterian Church, 47 Second St. NE, 7 p.m.

◦St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 127 Cherry Road NE, 7 p.m.

◦First United Methodist Church, Epworth United Methodist and Wesley United Methodist (combined service at Epworth, 3061 Lincoln Way W), 7 p.m.

◦St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 226 Third St. SE, 12:10 p.m., 7:30 p.m.


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North Miami Beach Police Department Employees Fired Over Plan To Put Santeria Curse On City Manager

First Posted: 11/30/2011 3:10 pm Updated: 01/30/2012 4:12 am




Two North Miami Beach Police Department employees have been fired for plotting to put a Santeria curse on the city manager.

Officer Elizabeth Torres, a 24-year veteran of the police department, and Yvonne Rodriguez, an office manager for police chief Larry Gomer, were caught plotting to use birdseed to cast a spell to make Lyndon Bonner "go away" in August before a round of planned departmental layoffs.

Torres told Rodriguez she had previous success with the curse, having made her son and daughter move out by sprinkling it on the front porch of their home, according to the police report.

Investigators say the pair were upset with the "negative climate" in the department, and hatched a plan to similarly curse Bonner by gaining access to his office. Torres admitted to police that she brought the birdseed to Rodriguez, then approached janitor Esther Villanueva, asking her to sprinkle the birdseed in Bonner's office as she cleaned.

The two were busted when Villanueva reported the incident to a supervisor. Though Torres confessed to the plan, she told investigators it was just a superstitious idea and the pair meant no harm.

"It was kind of a joke, kind of a superstition," she said, according to interview transcripts. "It did have bases in religious knowledge I had from before...As misguided as it may seem, this idea popped into my head, and I thought, 'Well, it can't hurt anybody.'"

Fortunately for Bonner, University of Miami Religious Studies professor Michelle Maldonado agrees.


"Ultimately, the city manager really doesn't have anything to worry about. In Santeria, you can't just spread bird seed and make the supernatural do what you want it to do," she told WSVN.

The pair, who were fired last week, can appeal their terminations.

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It’s not the end of the world, but Mayan madness is heating up

Guru is scorched at ceremony and Michigan officials let kids off school because of worry about 12/21/12

BY GINGER ADAMS OTIS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012, 3:29 PM

UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012, 12:16 AM

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Tourists are flocking to the Mayan sacred site of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico on the eve of the supposed end of the world -- the end of the Mayan calendar.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mayan-madness-heating-article-1.1224557#ixzz2Fnq61Roq.


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Texas man carves pentagram on son's back for '12-12-12'

MAN CARVES PENTAGRAM

DECEMBER 12, 2012

BY: BRUCE BAKER
Image of an inverted pentacle or pentagram
Credits:
Wikimedia Commons




To signify 12-12-12, North Texas man allegedly carved a pentagram into his 6-year-old son's back on Wednesday. Stranger still, the Forth Worth resident called 911 operators and told the dispatcher he committed the heinous act to commemorate the day.

According to a Dec. 12 Fox News report, investigators from the Richland Hills Police Department say Brent Troy Bartel (pictured here) is under arrest and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Furthermore, a judge set his bond at $500,000 over the allegations.

Read: "Pa. woman shot over cigarette by teens dies"

Also read: "Boy killed at gun store accidentally by father"

Reportedly, Bartel phoned emergency operators and said he shed "innocent blood." When asked why the Texas man carved a pentagram into his son's back, he said, "it's a holy day."

Obviously, 12-12-12 is a significant day and has various meanings to people. Some see it as a day of celebration because the milestone will not come around for about another 89 years. Others see it as a day to get married, take a leap of faith and make a large investment or start a business. Still, others think the day has some religious significance, as did the Forth Worth man.

Police say the majority of the child's back was covered with the image that carries multiple meanings. A box cutter, thought to be used to scribe the image, was found on the scene.


"This is something you normally hear about in the movies, not something you expect to see," said Sgt. Nathan Stringer.

WFAA said the child was taken to Cooks Children's Hospital where his condition was listed as stable. Child Protective Services and a victim liaison group are investigating the developing story.

Ironically, the Texas man who carved the pentagram into his son's back has no history of assaulting others.

What could have really motivated this man to take part in this act? At this time, there is no mention of drug or alcohol influence.


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American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural

Published: 10/26/2012 

“Houdini and the ghost of Abraham Lincoln,” ca. 1920, Library of Congress

This episode of BackStory with the American History Guys was originally broadcast in October 2011. This episode has been slightly edited and updated from that original version, which you can listen to here.

Halloween – despite its solemn Celtic roots – has become a safe way for Americans to transgress social norms and toy with the idea of ghosts in a family-friendly fashion. But for some, spirits from another plane have always been a very real part of life on thisplane.

On this Halloween special, the History Guys explore Americans’ relationship with ghosts, spirits, and witches throughout our nation’s history. Why were colonists so fearful of New England “witches”? How is it that progressive social reformers found a home in the Spiritualist movement of the 19th century? Why do new media technologies always conjure talk of the undead? Can social upheaval help explain our history with the ineffable?


Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Guests Include:
Ann Braude, Director of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School and author of Radical Spirits: Spritualism and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-century America
Cara Seekings, Spirit medium and resident at the Lily Dale Assembly
Nate DiMeo, listen to more of his stories about the forgotten corners of American history at thememorypalace.us.

Web Exclusives
Listen to an extended version of Ed’s interview with spirit medium Cara Seekings.
Listen to individual show segments.

Further Reading
A list of recommended readings from BackStory staff
Want to dig deeper into the history of the Supernatural? Check out this list of resources put together by the History Guys to learn more.
See the listener discussion that helped shape this show.

Even Further…
Listing of the music heard in “American Spirit”
Full transcript of the show


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Witchcraft is growing threat to children in Britain, warn police

A boy accused of being 'child witch' is exorcised in a church in Kinshasa Photo: Gwenn Dubourthoumieu/AFP/Getty Images

By Nick Britten and Victoria Ward10:04PM GMT 01 Mar 2012

The warning was issued as a couple from the Democratic Republic of Congo were found guilty of murdering the woman’s 15-year-old brother during an “exorcism ceremony”.

The Metropolitan Police yesterday said it had investigated 83 “faith-based” child abuse cases involving witchcraft in the past 10 years but believed it was still an “under-reported, hidden crime”.

Children’s charities and campaigners urged communities to report abuse and said social workers must be firmer in confronting abuse in immigrant groups.

Kristy Bamu, 15, was relentlessly tortured and eventually drowned in a bath on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister, Magalie, and her partner, Eric Bikubi. The killers are facing life sentences.

They believed he had cast spells on another child and punished him with increasing viciousness. The teenager “begged to die” because he was in such pain after three days of being attacked with knives, sticks, metal bars and a hammer and chisel, suffering 130 separate injuries.

Among the cases that have come to light are four murders, including that of Victoria Climbié in 2000, the case that first raised awareness of the problem in Britain.

Detectives warned that while they were investigating around eight cases a year, they believed many more incidents went unreported.

Det Supt Terry Sharpe, the Metropolitan Police’s lead on Project Violet, a team set up to tackle religious-based child abuse, said: “The intelligence from the community is that it’s far more prevalent than the reports we are getting.”

The NSPCC said: “We must not be afraid to challenge these communities to out the wrongdoers within them. Sadly, this deeply disturbing case is not a one-off incident. “

The Victoria Climbié Trust, which was set up after the death of the eight year-old, said that, while the number of children affected was relatively low, the impact was significant. “The reality is that no one really knows the full extent across the many communities for whom traditional belief systems are the norm,” said director Mor Dioum.
The charity Trust for London said some officials may be unsure how to deal with abuse cases linked to witchcraft and spirit possession.

“Those working with children need to remember that no faith or culture promotes cruelty to children and not be afraid to intervene if someone is wrongly using belief as an excuse to harm children.”

Many cases involve immigrants from African countries such as the DRC, where witchcraft is widely practised, and are nurtured by an increasing number of African churches.

Kristy had come to London with his two brothers and two sisters from Paris to stay with their sister and her boyfriend for Christmas, but within hours Bikubi, 28, had accused them of bringing kindoki – a form of witchcraft – into his home.

Two sisters, aged 20 and 11, were beaten but escaped further attacks after “confessing” to being witches.

Kristy was singled out because, in sheer terror, he wet himself. He was struck in the mouth with a hammer, had bottles and tiles smashed over his head and his ear twisted with pliers.

In what prosecutors called “a staggering act of depravity and cruelty”, the siblings, who included a 13-year-old boy and an autistic brother aged 22, were made to join in the torture.

At one point, Bikubi, 28, a football coach from Newham, east London, told the youngsters to jump out of the window to see if they could fly.

One of the victims, Kelly Bamu, said: “They started talking about kindoki, witchcraft and this and that. It was as if they were obsessed by witchcraft.”

The Old Bailey heard that emergency services were greeted with a horrific scene when they were called to the eight-floor flat following Kristy’s death. In the blood-spattered flat, police found his brothers and sisters “hysterical, terrified and soaking wet,” the court heard.

Bikubi and Bamu, 29, who had denied murder, will be sentenced on Monday.

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What is the Lord's Resistance Army?

Members of the Lord's Resistance Army stand guard in November 2008.

October 14th, 2011
03:17 PM ET


The Lord's Resistance Army, formed in the late 1980s, is a sectarian military and religious group that operates in northern Uganda and South Sudan. It has committed numerous abuses and atrocities such as abducting, raping, maiming and killing civilians, including women and children, according to globalsecurity.org. Its members are known for hacking off the lips and ears of their victims, looting villages and burning huts, and stealing clothes and medicine from the communities they terrorize, CNN has reported.

On Friday, President Barack Obama announced that he is sending about 100 U.S. troops to Africa to help hunt down the group's leaders.

The Lord's Resistance Army has sought to overthrow the Ugandan government and has contributed to instability across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

It is led by Joseph Kony, who professes to have spiritual powers. He is often "underrated" as a leader, according to a 2011 Jane's report on the group. Kony has claimed to be possessed by spirits who dictate the group's strategy. Jane's notes that the tactic has served him well, enabling him to speak to followers who have mixed beliefs. By portraying himself as a medium with supernatural abilities, his authority becomes harder to question within the ranks.

U.S. military personnel will advise regional forces working to target Kony and other senior leaders. The president said the troops will not engage Kony's forces "unless necessary for self-defense."

The Lord's Resistance Army is sophisticated and less like the ragtag group of fighters it is sometimes portrayed as, Jane's says. It has benefited from the military experience of former Ugandan military officers and years of combat in Sudan.

International aid convoys and non-government organizations operating in the region have been threatened by the Lord's Resistance Army, according to numerous reports. Human Rights Watch, in a letter released in May, urged the U.S. government to step up its effort to protect people from the group.

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Obama Ate With Harvey in the West Village... But His Fate Was Sealed on the Bowery

Posted: 8/12/11 05:43 PM ET

Just as Barack Obama was being feted Thursday night by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein at Weinstein's West Village pad -- a celeb-filled fundraiser of $35,800 a ticket -- a little further east, at the Bowery Poetry Club, a recognized psychic healer was telling a hipster-hip hop-media crowd exactly this: "It's not up to President Obama to change the world. He can't do anything. I feel sorry for him. He won't be elected to another term."

The BPC, a New York institution based on the beatnik tradition, usually features folks like poet and Warhol acolyte Taylor Mead or tranny bingo each week. So, it may have surprised a few of the regulars to see "Metaphysical Night" on the roster. Kate Sekules, a seasoned editor and author, had originally come up with the idea to start the discussion about tapping into energies and consciousness, as she stated. "So I would not have to cover my Eckhart Tolle on the subway with my New York Times." Sekules brought in professional intuitive Peri Lyons, who is also a singer and a co-founder of the Moth storytelling series, to oversee the discussion. And, Dr. Carmen Harra, who predicted Obama's demise, took the stage as the headliner.

Dr. Harra recently released her latest book, Wholiness, through Hay House, a metaphysical publishing house under the guise of Louise L. Hay, a woman who publicly debuted many of the soothsayers, mediums, and medical energy intuitives who later became regulars on the Oprah Winfrey show. Dr. Harra, a licensed psychologist with abilities to channel the dead became a press darling a decade ago when she was seeing clients like actresses Candice Bergen, Courtney Cox, and Jennifer Lopez. She had done a reading for Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser and ended up counseling half of the fashion staff at the New York Times Magazine, which is how I discovered her when writing for the paper. She had emigrated here decades ago from her native Romania and after a near death experience as a child, she began to connect with other dimensions beyond present time.

Now, in a form-fitting black dress, black and white cardigan, and glittery black pumps, Dr. Harra -- who is based in Queens and South Florida -- discussed the topics in her book. She addressed the crowd about the coming of the year 2012, which marks the end of the Mayan calender. She said there would be chaos before enlightenment, but that enlightenment was coming. "We are at a turning point as a species." She said. "Where we either have to change or die out." She talked about the satellites failing in the next year or so, which will crash the banking system, making our money worthless. She alluded to the German philosopher Schopenhauer who stated that for evolution to come there needs to be chaos first. Dr. Harra told the audience. "The manmade system, killing, and suffering will be wiped out. We will have a new way to pay for goods, get back to nature, to the beginning."

The fun really started when Ms. Lyons -- who also talked about meditation and seeing ghosts as a teenager -- grabbed the microphone and started fielding questions from the crowd for Dr. Harra. One gentleman -- a striking young black man who sauntered in by chance before the BPC's later program of upcoming hip hop artists -- wanted to know why spirits come back in certain forms. Dr. Harra gazed at him intently and told him. "I see a man around you, Steve, he has a saxophone." He gasped and said, "Yeah, that's my uncle." Another woman inquired about how long her nonagenarian grandmother would live. " A couple more years." Said Dr. Harra, who also said that after the passing, the woman would have a baby, basically the reincarnation of her grandmother.

The audience, glued to their seats, included some media talent like casting agent Jen Vendetti and E. Jean Carroll the monthly advice columnist for Elle Magazine. To break up the predictions, Dr. Harra sang "Summertime" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Ms. Lyons performed a little ditty that she wrote to end the program. And Bob Holman, the owner of BPC said, "I've never seen so many women here at one time!" Call it magic or what you will, but he was grinning widely.

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Beware The Ides Of March

March 15, 2010
Beware the Ides of March -- what does it mean

"Beware the Ides of March" is a great quote. It's short, has an ominous tone and a sense of the supernatural. Unfortunately, it's also greatly misunderstood. Most people know it's related somehow to Shakespeare. But what the heck is an Ide anyway, and where can I buy one?

So here's a primer: -- The quote comes from Act I, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," as the Roman leader stands amid a crowd and hears a warning from a seer. (When I read this I can't help picturing a beleaguered U.S. president slouching towards his helicopter, as brash TV reporter Sam Donaldson shouts out questions about some embarrassing scandal.) Here's the exchange:

Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me?

I hear a tongue shriller than all the music

Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.

-- What does it portend? This is the day in 44 B.C. that Caesar will be assassinated by conspirators including Brutus and Cassius. Caesar shrugs off the warning and heads off on his political business. If only recliners, TVs and DVDs had been invented then.

-- So what's an Ide? It's a term of the ancient Roman calendar, signifying a division based on the moon's phases. It falls on the 15th of March, May, July and October, but on the 13th of the other months.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:45 AM

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Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2010/03/beware_the_ides_of_march_what.html
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P.S. Et tu, Brutus?
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People Said to Believe in Aliens and Ghosts More Than God

Strange News
People Said to Believe in Aliens and Ghosts More Than God

By Robert Roy Britt, Editorial Director
posted: 24 November 2008 09:06 am ET

What people are talking about in the world of science and beyond. [Water Cooler Archive]

More people believe in aliens and ghosts than in God, a new survey finds, according to a British newspaper.

The survey, however, was done by a marketing firm in conjunction with the release of an X-Files DVD, and details of how the poll was conducted were not reported in the Daily Mail. Survey questions, depending on how they are written, can greatly skew results, along with how subjects are sampled.

That said, the poll of 3,000 people found that 58 percent believe in the supernatural, including paranormal encounters, while 54 percent believe God exists. Women were more likely than men to believe in the supernatural and were also more likely to visit a medium.

Indeed, humans are prone to believing in things they can neither see nor find logical evidence for.

A survey of U.S. college students done in 2006 found 23 percent of freshmen had a general belief in paranormal concepts — from astrology to communicating with the dead. Interestingly, the number jumped to 31 percent among seniors and 34 percent among graduate students.
Researchers who have compared various human belief systems say our tendency to believe is deeply rooted.

"While it is difficult to know for certain, the tendency to believe in the paranormal appears to be there from the beginning," said Christopher Bader, a Baylor University sociologist. "What changes is the content of the paranormal. For example, very few people believe in faeries and elves these days. But as belief in faeries faded, other beliefs, such as belief in UFOs, emerged to take their place."

Religion and belief in the paranormal are not linked as one might imagine. A handful of surveys show just the opposite, in fact.

"Paranormal beliefs are very strongly negatively related to religious belief," said Rod Stark, another Baylor researcher. Some scientists think this is so because religions tend to discourage paranormal beliefs, and indeed most devout practitioners of a religion have been shown to be the least likely to believe in Bigfoot, ghosts or aliens.

Top 10 Alien Encounters Debunked
All About Cults, Religion and the Paranormal
Top 10 Crazy Cults

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Source: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/081124-britain-supernatural.html

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Excitement, Fear Precede Solar Eclipse

Superstitions Surround Rare Event in Asia
By MICHAEL CASEY,
AP
posted: 6 MINUTES AGO

BANGKOK (July 20) -- Millions of people across Asia will witness the longest total solar eclipse that will happen this century, as vast swaths of India and China, the entire city of Shanghai and southern Japanese islands are plunged into darkness Wednesday for about five minutes.
Streams of amateur stargazers and scientists are traveling long distances to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.

Astronomers hope the eclipse will unlock clues about the sun, while an astrologer in Myanmar predicts it could usher in chaos. Some in India are advising pregnant relatives to stay indoors to follow a centuries-old tradition of avoiding the sun's invisible rays.
The eclipse will appear first at dawn in India's Gulf of Khambhat just north of the metropolis of Mumbai.
It will move east across India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before hitting the Pacific. The eclipse will cross some southern Japanese islands and be last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. Elsewhere, a partial eclipse will be visible in much of Asia.
For astronomers, it will be a chance for a prolonged view of the sun's corona, a white ring 600,000 miles from the sun's surface. The previous total eclipse, in August 2008, was two minutes and 27 seconds. This one will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point.
Solar scientist Lucie Green is aboard an American cruise ship heading for that point near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where the axis of the moon's shadow will pass closest to earth.
Passengers paid $2,599 to $3,643 for the cruise run by Mayhugh Travel Inc., a California company that specializes in astronomy vacations, according to the company's Web site.

"The corona has a temperature of 2 million degrees but we don't know why it is so hot," said Green of University College London. "What we are going to look for are waves in the corona. ... The waves might be producing the energy that heats the corona. That would mean we understand another piece of the science of the sun."
Scientists are hoping data from the eclipse will help explain solar flares and other structures of the sun and why they erupt, said Alphonse C. Sterling, a NASA astrophysicist who will be following the eclipse in China.
"We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity," said Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.
Man has been recording solar eclipses for 4,000 years, and even today they inspire a combination of fear, fascination and wonder.
One astrologer in Myanmar, also known as Burma, predicted in a magazine that the eclipse would trigger wars, instability and natural disasters for the next several months.
Liang Wei is among more than 40 members of a Chinese solar eclipse fan club traveling to Shanghai to see the event.
"Even though I'm not a scientist, it's an experience I've waited all my life for," said the 29-year-old Guangzhou native, who works at a lighting company and operates an online fan site for eclipse enthusiasts.
In India, hundreds of scientists are gathering in the village of Taregna in Bihar state. One team, led by Dr R.K. Sinha of Patna University, will study bird behavior.
"The researchers will observe whether they suddenly move back to their nests, sound differently and behave in an unusual manner due to sudden darkness," he said.
A travel agency in India is running a charter flight to watch the eclipse by air.
Some families have advised pregnant relatives to confine themselves to curtained rooms, following long-held fears that the invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect.
"I've been told to lie straight on the bed with my eyes open and to chant prayers and verses from the Hindu holy texts during the eclipse," said Sonya Chadha, a New Delhi accountant who is seven months pregnant and plans to take the day off. "If even a tiny sliver of light falls on me, it could harm my child."
In Japan, where the last total eclipse happened in 1963, people are flocking to the small southern island of Yakushima, which is holding a a two-day festival with fireworks, dancing, grilled squid and cotton candy. The island's 180 hotels are fully booked. A partial eclipse will be visible in Tokyo.
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Associated Press writers Nirmala George in New Delhi; Indrajit Singh in Patna, India; Shino Yuasa in Tokyo; Aye Aye Win in Yangon, Myanmar and Chi-Chi Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.aol.com/article/excitement-fear-precede-solar-eclipse/579011?icid=mainhtmlws-maindl1link3http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fexcitement-fear-precede-solar-eclipse%2F579011

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Revered by the Castros and Their Opponents

El Cobre Journal

By MARC LACEY

Published: July 28, 2008

EL COBRE, Cuba — The most bizarre offering that the Rev. Jorge Alejandro has witnessed at Cuba’s most cherished shrine came from the man who bent down and began clipping his toenails. One by one, the man deposited them at the altar, among the many other mementos left by the faithful for the Virgin of El Cobre, widely considered the mother and protector of Cubans.

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Jose Goitia for The New York Times

The Rev. Jorge Alejandro blessed the family of Overlandis Cobas Utria, center, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity del Cobre.

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Jose Goitia for The New York Times

Grateful for the assistance of the Virgin of El Cobre, Cuban athletes have left Olympic medals and other offerings at the church.

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Jose Goitia for The New York Times

The church is less than 15 miles from Santiago de Cuba.

At this shrine in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra, Cubans leave the Virgin locks of hair, baby clothes, baseballs, diplomas, letters, candles and bouquets. They offer snapshots, trinkets, lockets and pendants as well.

Some have even left banners criticizing Cuba’s Socialist government, which might be unthinkable anywhere else on the island.

Lina Ruz, the late mother of Fidel and Raúl Castro, visited the Virgin in the late 1950s when her sons were fighting to topple the American-backed government of Fulgencio Batista. She left a metal figurine that is now kept under lock and key.

Ernest Hemingway donated the medallion from his 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature to the shrine. It was pilfered in 1986, but the police recovered it days later. The Virgin makes an appearance in Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”; the fisherman at the center of the story pledged to visit the shrine if only he managed to catch his elusive fish.

In the case of the man trimming his nails, Father Alejandro, a priest at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity del Cobre, felt compelled to intervene, explaining that the man’s idea was noble but unnecessary.

“We humans relate to the body and to objects,” Father Alejandro said. “We like things to be concrete. But I try to explain that this is not a store where you give and then you get. It’s not important how beautiful the flowers are or how valuable the diamonds are that one leaves. What God wants is faith, and that’s the best offering you can give.”

It is not a message that sinks in easily. On a morning last week, a crowd of believers filed past him carrying offerings, known as ex votos, many of them sold by hawkers on the winding road leading up to the church.

Overlandis Cobas Utria brought flowers for the Virgin, whom he asked to help heal his infant daughter. The baby had a fever so high her forehead was hot to the touch. “The Virgin is everything for us,” he said, as his wife and mother-in-law nodded in agreement and his daughter let out a wail.

The shrine is packed with sports memorabilia left by Cuban athletes. There are signed baseballs thanking the Virgin for some clutch home run or essential out, as well as Olympic medals offered by athletes who believe their victory came about because of her intervention.

On this morning, offerings included pastry that a nun said was left by a follower of Santería, the Afro-Cuban religion that honors the Virgin — though not as a representation of the Virgin Mary, which is what Roman Catholics believe, but as Ochún, the goddess of love and femininity.

When Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, he did not make it to El Cobre. But from Santiago de Cuba, less than 15 miles away, he honored the Virgin, much to the delight of the local people.

In the years after the 1959 revolution, public processions venerating the Virgin of El Cobre were restricted by the government, which feared that any unsanctioned gathering could spin out of control. Only in the late 1990s were such displays allowed more regularly.

The Virgin, who was supposedly first spotted bobbing in the ocean off Cuba in 1611, has an undeniable political dimension. She has been adopted both by backers of the Castro brothers and by those who believe their rule has run the country into the ground.

Last week, several banners at the shrine called upon the government to release people jailed for speaking out against the leadership.

“Amnesty for Cuban Political Prisoners!” one said.

When Fidel Castro fell ill two years ago, his supporters from El Cobre, the area he has long represented in the National Assembly, visited the Virgin to ask for his recuperation. No doubt there were critics as well, quietly praying for change. Before Cubans flee the island on risky rafts, many come here to pray for a safe journey.

“People who are against the government bring their dreams and their suffering and their pain,” said Father Alejandro, an outspoken critic of the lack of freedom of expression in Cuba. “And those who support the government come here, too. The Virgin brings them together. She’s the mother of reconciliation.”

But she does not make them agree. Among the pilgrims who gathered at the shrine, opinions on the policies rolled out by Raúl Castro since February, when he officially took over the presidency from his older brother, ran the gamut.

Some credited Raúl Castro with keeping the country stable and being open to tweaking the system put in place by his brother. They pointed to his agricultural reforms, which will put unused arable land in the hands of private farms, as being a significant break with the policies of the past.

Others, including Father Alejandro, were unconvinced that the Virgin was guiding Mr. Castro to remake Cuba.

“What changes?” he asked. “Fundamentally, what has changed?” What Cuba needs, he argued, is room for political dissent outside the confines of the shrine.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/world/americas/28cuba.html