Day: April 1, 2014

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for April 1st

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

A new galaxy of shining promises made to oneself are resolutions made with the utmost faith that self is listening and will carry out the plans.

But self is as unpredictable as a child playing in the street; it may dart in any direction, according to the mood and to whatever catches its attention. At the first signs of a challenge, self may race back and lean hard upon the old ways of doing things, no matter how wrong it might be. Resolutions do very little to change a way of living. They are easily made and easily forgotten. There may be a sincere desire to keep a resolution, but if self has not changed inwardly, little can depend on the outward change.

It is said that we promise according to our hopes and perform according to our selfishness. Failure to keep our promises to others is a disappointment, but failure within oneself is disaster.

A little performance is worth a host of promises on any day that starts a new year.

______________________________

Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – April 1

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – April 1

“People think other things are more important than prayer, but they are mistaken.”

–Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

An Elder once said the most important thing you can do in the course of a day is to pray. If we get up late or oversleep, which is more important? Rush to work without praying or pray first and then go to work? The Elders say it’s more important to pray. If we get angry, should we act on our anger or should we pray first? The Elders say it’s more important to pray first. If, during the day, we face indecision, what should we do? PRAY. If, during the day, we become irritated or we experience fear, what should we do first? PRAY. The Warrior who prays first will lead a different life from those who pray last.

Great Spirit, teach me to pray first!

April 1 – Daily Feast

April 1 – Daily Feast

In ages past, our old ones were the storytellers. This was the way things were passed along to the generations that followed. For this reason the aged people made it a point to remember every detail so they could relate it at a later time. They were the word and picture carriers making history and spiritual values alive and important. In recent times we have made our old ones think they are not so important. We spoof their stories and make them feel foolish. The truth is that we are ignorant of what is precious and how to, a da li he li tse di, appreciate age. Rigidity can creep in and set even the young mind if there are no soft memories, no laughter, no times too deep for tears. Age is grace – a time too valuable to waste.

~ We can get over being poor, but it takes longer to get over being ignorant. ~

JANE SEQUICHIE HIFLER

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

The Daily Motivator for April 1st – See it as an opportunity

See it as an opportunity

It’s only a limitation if you see it as a limitation. Choose to see it differently, and you’ll find a way around it.

Many things influence your life and your work, often in negative and limiting ways. Nothing, however, can stop you from moving forward in each moment with positive purpose when you are committed to doing so.

Instead of assuming that some factor in your life is a limitation, make a different assumption. Decide to see it as an opportunity to grow stronger.

Instead of wallowing in disappointment when things don’t work out the way you planned, choose a different response. Choose to be more inspired, more motivated and more determined than ever before.

Whatever has happened, has happened, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. What you can change, though, is what you do with it.

Tell yourself it’s a good thing, and moving forward, you’ll find a way for it to be precisely that. Rather than seeing something as a limitation, see it as an opportunity and get busy living the value that is most certainly there.

— Ralph Marston
Source:
The Daily Motivator

The Daily OM For April 1st – Physical Intuitiveness

Physical Intuitiveness
The Body Is Natural

by Madisyn Taylor

So much of the human experience is removed from nature that we forget we are products of the natural world.

So much of the human experience is removed from nature that we tend to forget that we are products of the natural world. At the moment of birth, we are perfectly attuned to nature. Our feelings are an authentic response to the stimulus we encounter. We interact with our environment viscerally, desiring only what is necessary for our survival. And, if we are lucky, we take in nourishment in the form of pure mother’s milk. As months and years pass, however, we discover the sights, sounds, and scents of the synthetic world. Though these often momentarily dazzle us, the dim memory of our naturalness remains. When we embrace the notion that human beings are inherently natural, bringing it to the forefront of our day-to-day experiences, we achieve a new level of wellness that boasts nature at its very core.

We innately understand that our bodies are not composed of plastics or man-made chemicals and that there is no legitimate reason to consume or expose ourselves bodily to such substances. This knowledge is reinforced each time we find ourselves energized by sweet, fresh air and warm sunlight or awed by the majesty of Mother Nature’s beauty. We feel the strength of our connection to nature when fresh food that is close to the earth sustains us more effectively than artificial supplements and when the pleasures of exercise outweigh the pains of exertion. The human body has been blessed with the same physical intuitiveness that all nonhuman living beings employ instinctively. But because our lives are no longer bound up in nature’s rhythms, we must actively seek to reconnect with this formerly innate skill. The process of rediscovering our place in the natural world can be exciting and inspiring, since nothing more is required of us than to delight in nature’s wonders, to derive nourishment from natural foods, and to drink deeply of all the wisdom that plants and animals have to share.

Your own naturalness will reveal itself to you when you look beyond your beliefs, your lifestyle choices, and the attitudes you hold. When these constructs are stripped away, you will see a body and mind that never gave up its relationship to the essence of the natural world from which consciousness sprang.

Source:
Daily OM

SPELL TO REMEMBER YOUR PAST LIFE

SPELL TO REMEMBER YOUR PAST LIFE:

Materials Required:

One white candle
One mirror

Method:

This spell should be performed in isolation at exactly twenty minutes past one early morning. Wear white or clothes of light pastel shades. Sit in front of the mirror. Light the candle. Set it up in such a way that the light from the candle falls on your face alone and yet the reflection of the flame can be viewed in the mirror.

Focus on the flame in the mirror and slowly begin to build up your energy. Once you feel that you have reached the threshold of your energy level, look at the reflection of your eyes and say the following spell loud and clear:

Blessed be the oracle’s lunar light
May I be granted the gift of a second sight

Once you have chanted the spell twice, look closely into the mirror into your eyes. Remember not to blink. In a few minutes, your image will disappear and the image of what you were in the past life will appear. Observe the facial features, clothing etc of the image in the mirror. Don’t break eye contact because the minute you do, the image will disappear. Don’t attempt to speak either. The minute your soul feels that it has observed enough the image will go away.

This spell is tricky and may take quite a few attempts before one can master it.

Article Source: http://www.spells4free.net

Spell To See A Past Life

Spell To See a Past Life & Future Life

This spell will enable you to see your past life/future life.

You will need the following items for this spell:

Lavender (optional)
Bed
Quiet
Night
Ability to sleep
Alarm clock
Pen
Paper
Voice

The Spell:

Set your alarm clock to 12:10 AM (close to midnight). Put the lavendar beside you and and chant the following 3x:
“Shall at midnight I see my past life/future life. A white room, 2 doors. My past life/future life.”

Now go to sleep.
At midnight you will begin dreaming of your past life. You will be in a white room with two doors. Choose the first door for past, the second door for future. Open your door. Observe the person in the door, than ask these questions:
What is your name?
What year are you from?
Where do you live?
How old are you?

Now, if you are in the past say I am your future life. If you are in the future say I am your past life.

All of this should take 10 minutes, and now your alarm clock has rung. Wake up, take your pen and paper and write down every thing you expierenced.
And there you are! You can go back to sleep now.

The Mystery of Past Life Recall

The Mystery of Past Life Recall

By

Under hypnosis, numerous people recall the details of previous lives, even to the point of taking on the personalities of their former selves – and speaking in foreign languages!

In 1824, a nine-year-old boy named Katsugoro, the son of a Japanese farmer, told his sister that he believed he had a past life. According to his story, which is one of the earliest cases of past life recall on record, the boy vividly recalled that he had been the son of another farmer in another village and had died from the effects of smallpox in 1810. Katsugoro could remember dozens of specific events about his past life, including details about his family and the village where they lived, even though Katsugoro had never been there. He even remembered the time of his death, his burial and the time he spent before being reborn. The facts he related were subsequently verified by an investigation.

Past life recall is one of the most fascinating areas of unexplained human phenomena. As yet, science has been unable to prove or disprove its genuineness. Even many who have investigated claims of past life recall are unsure whether it is an historical recollection due to reincarnation or is a construction of information somehow received by the subconscious. Either possibility is remarkable. And like many areas of the paranormal, there is a propensity for fraud that the serious investigator must watch out for. It’s important to be skeptical about such extraordinary claims, but the stories are nonetheless intriguing.

Past life recall generally comes about spontaneously, more often with children than adults. Those who support the idea of reincarnation believe this is because children are closer to their past lives and that their minds have not been clouded or “written over” by their present lives. Adults who experience past life recall often do so as the result of some extraordinary experience, such as hypnosis, lucid dreaming or even a blow to the head.

Here are some outstanding cases:

VIRGINIA TIGHE / BRIDEY MURPHY

Perhaps the most famous case of past life recall is that of Virginia Tighe who recalled her past life as Bridey Murphy. Virginia was the wife of a Virginia businessman in Pueblo, Colorado. While under hypnosis in 1952, she told Morey Bernstein, her therapist, that over 100 years ago she was an Irish woman named Bridget Murphy who went by the nickname of Bridey. During their sessions together, Bernstein marveled at detailed conversations with Bridey, who spoke with a pronounced Irish brogue and spoke extensively of her life in 19th century Ireland. When Bernstein published his book about the case, The Search for Bridey Murphy in 1956, it became famous around the world and sparked an excited interest in the possibility of reincarnation.

Over six sessions, Virginia revealed many details about Bridey’s life, including her birth date in 1798, her childhood amid a Protestant family in the city of Cork, her marriage to Sean Brian Joseph McCarthy and even her own death at the age of 60 in 1858. As Bridey, she provided numerous specifics, such as names, dates, places, events, shops and songs – things Virginia was always surprised about when she awoke from the hypnosis. But could these details be verified? The results of many investigations were mixed. Much of what Bridey said was consistent with the time and place, and it seemed inconceivable that someone who had never been to Ireland could provide so many details with such confidence.

However, journalists could find no historical record of Bridey Murphy – not her birth, her family, her marriage, nor her death. Believers supposed that this was merely due to the poor recordkeeping of the time. But critics discovered inconsistencies in Bridey’s speech and also learned that Virginia had grown up near – and had known well – an Irish woman named Bridle Corkell, and that she was quite likely the inspiration for “Bridey Murphy.” There are flaws with this theory, too, however, keeping the case of Bridey Murphy an intriguing mystery.

MONICA / JOHN WAINWRIGHT

In 1986, a woman known by the pseudonym “Monica” underwent hypnosis by psychotherapist Dr. Garrett Oppenheim. Monica believed she discovered a previous existence as a man named John Ralph Wainwright who lived in the southwestern U.S. She knew that John grew up in Wisconsin, Arizona and had vague memories of brothers and sisters. As a young man he became a deputy sheriff and married the daughter of a bank president. According the Monica’s “memory,” John was killed in the line of duty – shot by three men he had once sent to jail – and died on July 7, 1907.

SUJITH / SAMMY

Born in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Sujith was barely old enough to speak when he began to tell his family of a previous life as a man named Sammy. Sammy, he said, had lived eight miles to the south in the village of Gorakana. Sujith told of Sammy’s life as a railroad worker and as a dealer of a bootleg whiskey called arrack. After an argument with his wife, Maggie, Sammy stormed out of his house and got drunk, and while walking along a busy highway was struck by a truck and killed. Young Sujith often demanded to be taken to Gorakana and had an abnormal taste for cigarettes and arrack.

Sjuth’s family had never been to Gorakana and hadn’t known anyone that fit Sammy’s description, yet, being Buddhists, were believers in reincarnation and therefore not completely surprised by the boy’s story. Investigations, including one conducted by a professor of psychiatry from the University of Virginia, confirmed as many as 60 of the details of the life of Sammy Fernando who indeed had lived and died (six months before Sujith’s birth) just as Sujith had said. When Sujith was introduced to Sammy’s family, he surprised them with his familiarity with them and his knowledge of their pet names. This is one of the strongest cases of reincarnation on record.

DREAM RECALL

Hypnosis isn’t the only method by which past lives are recalled. A Britsh woman was distressed by a recurring dream in which she, as a child, and another child with whom she was playing, fell from a high gallery in their home to their deaths. She vividly remembered the black and white checked marble floor on which they died. She repeated the dream to several of her friends. Sometime later, the woman was visiting an old house that had a reputation for being haunted. With its black and white marble floor, the house immediately was recognized by the woman as the scene of the deaths in her dreams. She subsequently learned that a small brother and sister really had fallen to their deaths in the house. Was she recalling a past life, or had she somehow psychically tuned in to this dramatic history?

GRAHAM HUXTABLE / ARNALL BLOXHAM

Another fascinating case of past life regression took place in Wales where Graham Huxtable, a mild-mannered swimming instructor, was placed under hypnosis by hypnotist Arnall Bloxham. In a trance, Huxtable not just recalled a past life, he seemed to actually become a man named Ben, a boisterous gunner on an 18th century British frigate called Aggie. While inhabited by the personality of Ben, Huxtable would call out orders to the men on the ship in a heavy accent and use obscure nautical terminology. He even relived every moment of a battle in which he eventually suffered an injury to his leg.

Bloxham had difficulty bringing Huxtable out of trance, but when he did, the man complained of a pain in his leg. And when Bloxham replayed a recording of the session, Huxtable was astonished at what he heard, recalling nothing of his experience under the trance. Although experts could verify the terms and language that “Ben” used, they could not find records of a ship named Aggie nor of the ship’s captain he had named. Past life recall… or a case of multiple personality?

T.E. / JENSEN JACOBY

In 1958, a woman who in this case was identified only as T.E., underwent hypnosis by her husband, a medical doctor and experimenter with past life regression. Once in a trance state, T.E.’s voice deepened to one that was distinctly male and she declared in broken English that she was a farmer named Jensen Jacoby who lived in the 17th century. T.E.’s speech was peppered with Swedish words, a language that she and her husband swore she did not know. After six hypnotic sessions, T.E. was talking exclusively in Swedish, even conversing fluently with several Swedish persons that her husband had brought in to witness the phenomenon. These native Swedes confirmed that she was speaking a somewhat archaic form of Swedish that would have been spoken at the time Jensen said he had lived.

These are just a few of the more well-known examples of past life recall. Those who practice past life regression therapy today claim that it has certain benefits. They say it can shed light on present life personal issues and relationships and can even help to heal the wounds suffered in a past life.

Reincarnation has also been one of the central tenets of many Eastern religions, and one can return to this existence in a new physical form, whether it is human, animal or even vegetable. The form one takes, it is believed, is determined by the law of karma – that the higher or lower form one takes is due to one’s behavior in the previous life. The concept of past lives is also one of the beliefs of L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology, which states that “past lives are suppressed by the painfulness of the memory of those former existences. To restore the memory of one’s whole existence, it is necessary to bring one up to being able to confront such experiences.”

FAMOUS BELIEVERS IN PAST LIVES

  • General George S. Patton believed that he had been a soldier in many previous lives, including in the service of Alexander the Great.
  • Benjamin Franklin may have been professing his belief in reincarnation when he wrote that he would return “in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the author.”
  • Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were contemporaries and both professed believers in past lives.
  • Edgar Cayce, the American psychic, believed that he was a resident of Atlantis in one previous life.

 

Source:
About.com

Resonance: Your Past Life Radar

Resonance: Your Past Life Radar

by June Kaminski, MSN PhD(c)

Resonance, a term borrowed from sound theory and quantum physics has a special meaning in the context of reincarnation and past life recall. It means a feeling of attraction, a “tugging of the heartstrings” – one that you can not explain. It defies simple logic.

Resonance is an activity that we all engage in, usually without even noticing. We often assess a place, a person, a situation by “cessing” them out – getting a feel for the energy that exudes from them. In the context of past life recall, the resonance is consciously attended to in order to “pick up” past life memories. When we feel it, we notice a subtle sense of belonging, of knowing and familiarity.

Often past life resonance comes in bits and pieces. It is unusual to remember an entire past life. And rightly so. We can tune into the major events that has meaning and direction for the life we are enjoying now. But, just as your recall of this life is probably pretty much focused on significant events – heavens, half of us can’t recall what we ate for dinner last Tuesday – so are our past life memories limited to significant events, people, architecture, locations and so on. We can remember what we need to remember. Perhaps we have a talent for writing that we have never tapped in this lifetime – one that could be easily cultivated which would bring us joy and increase our income significantly. Remembering the confidence one had as a wonderful writer in the past could help seed this growth and creativity.

Start to Resonate With Your World

As you go through your day, stay open for signals of resonance from your environment, people you meet, books and movies you view – anything that you experience! Do this in a relaxed and curious frame of mind – often the signals come to you with a feeling of warmth and discovery if you just relax and look for them. It helps to carry a little notepad with you so you can jot down things that really catch your attention. Or at least file them away in your memory so you can write about them later in your

There are dozens if not hundreds of things that can spark resonance within you and bring you a glimpse of one of your past lives. Below are some common suggestions – remember, look for them in a relaxed and open way. Don’t judge them – or jump to conclusions. Your love for ankhs may mean you lived in Ancient Egypt. Or it could also mean you studied metaphysicans in the late 19th century when many fashionable teachings used ankhs for meditation and visual effect. Just jot them down in an unbiased and objective way.

 

Resonant With Yourself

It helps to sit alone on a regular basis, relax and tune into yourself. Sit quietly where you can look at yourself in a mirror. Gaze in a relaxed way at your image – no judging what you see! Just gaze and notice the thoughts and feelings that come to you. We often retain certain facial features life after life. Look at each part of your image and check your sense of resonance. Does anything look familiar from another life? Your eyes? The curve of your jaw? The eyes are the most common part of the “look” that recurs over and over.

As well, think about your personality. Your own beliefs, assumptions, values, hopes, dreams are your own – now. BUT they are also often colored with the ones we held in certain past lives. Even if we never become conscious of these, they are there. Knowing about them can help us control and shape how we use the talents, the insights or how we get over the fears and pain of relevant past lives. Your own being is your best barometer for finding what is pertinent from those other lives – what is valuable for you now to know and deal with.

Resonance expotentiates with practice. At first, you might get mere glimpses of past life activities and memories. Perhaps a scent will take you back for just a second. Or something you see or touch. Be open to it all – and listen/feel for the message nestled within the memory. In time you can develop the reception to receive strong visual and kinesthetic resonant feelings – ones that can make the memory clear – and bring the significance into focus for you. It just takes practice! Why not give it a go?

 

Source:

Reincarnation Central

 

 

9 Signs of Your Past Life

9 Signs of Your Past Life

By

Have you live before? Here are 9 clues you might find in your present life

THE IDEA THAT our souls or spirits reincarnate reaches back at least 3,000 years. Discussions of the subject can be found in the ancient traditions of India, Greece, and the Celtic Druids. It’s a tantalizing belief – that our spirits are not confined to the seven, eight, or nine decades of life on Earth (if we’re lucky), but that we have lived before and that we might live again.

What do you believe? Do you believe that you have had a past life or lives, growing up, working, loving, and suffering in roles very different from the one you are now playing out? Perhaps you were a different race, socio-economic class, or gender. Some even believe you could have been another living species entirely – a dog, gazelle, or fish perhaps.

Those who believe in past lives suggest that there might be clues to what our past lives were in the various complex aspects that make up our current physical, emotional, intellectual, and psychological personalities. Here are some of them.

DÉJÀ VU

Most of us have experienced the eerie feeling of déjà vu – the sudden, surprising feeling that an event we are going through at the moment has happened exactly this way before. Psychologist Arthur Funkhouser has broken down this phenomenon into sub-categories: déjà vécu – an event already experienced or lived through; déjà senti – already felt, perhaps triggered by a voice or music; and déjà visité – a place so familiar we feel we’ve been there before.

While scientists and psychiatrists insist there are neurological explanations for these phenomena, others wonder if these strange feelings could be vague, fleeting memories of past lives. You enter a house or building, for example, in a town you’ve never visited before. Yet every detail of that place is familiar. You know what’s in the next room and up the stairs. You have the overwhelming feeling that you’ve been there before. Have you – in a past life?

WEIRD MEMORIES

My daughter has “memories” of childhood events that we know never really happened. Is she just remembering a child’s fantasy, misunderstanding, or even a dream that she now interprets as reality? Or is she remembering something that happened to her before she was born into this lifetime?

Human memory is a fraught with error and incongruities, and I’m sure many of us have memories of things that family and friends can attest never occurred. So the question is: Is it faulty memory or a remembrance of lives past?

DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Recurring dreams and nightmares also have been suggested as being memories or at least clues of past lives. I have experienced this type of recurring dream. There are two locations with specific details that crop up in my dreams several times a year, yet they are places I have never been to.

The first is a large city and I am walking down the street… there is a candy/magazine store on the corner, and I go in any buy something… then I go farther down the street to another building, and in the lower level is a small restaurant where I meet some friends and make the acquaintance of some girls… and later I think that I must go back to that place to see if the girls are there again.

The second is a smaller city – I get the distinct feeling of a “college town” – and I can see the specific view of a specific corner, how it looks, what’s there, how the street slopes down, etc.

These are not memories of places or events that have happened in this life, yet they recur in my dreams often. Are they memories of something important that happened in a past life?

Likewise, can nightmares be reflections of past life traumas that have clung to our spirits and haunt our sleep?

FEARS AND PHOBIAS

Where do your fears and phobias come from? Fear of such things as spiders, snakes, and heights seem to be built into the human psyche as part of our evolved survival instinct.

Many people suffer from phobias that are completely irrational, however. Fear of water, of birds, of numbers, of mirrors, of plants, of specific colors… the list goes on and on. People suffer from all kinds of bizarre phobias.

While several years on a psychologist’s couch might get to the root of those odd fears, those who believe in past lives wonder if they are carried over from a previous lifetime. Does a fear of water indicate a previous death by drowning? Could a fear of the color red suggest, for example, that a person was struck or killed by a red streetcar?

AFFINITY FOR FOREIGN CULTURE

You probably know a person who was born and raised in the United States but is an ardent anglophile – a person who is interested to the point of obsession with British culture. You might also know someone who can think of little else but getting dressed up and acting the part for the next Renaissance Fair or Civil War reenactment.

There are “philes” for virtually every culture on the planet, both modern and ancient, affecting people who seem to have no rationale for their obsessions. Why? Are they merely trying to find familiarity in a culture in which they lived 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago?

PASSIONS

Here is a related subject. It’s good to have things that we are passionate about, as long as they do not become obsessive and debilitating. But from where do passions arise for books, art, antiques, fashion, gardening, theatre, cars, trains, aircraft, the paranormal – or any number of other subjects?

Intense interest in a specific subject might be totally natural, of course, but might there be a past life connection in some cases?

UNCONTROLLED HABITS

The dark side of passions are those uncontrolled habits and obsessions that take over people’s lives and can even marginalize them in society. Obsessive-compulsives and hoarders fit into this category. A man who has to turn the light switch off and on ten times before he leaves a room; a woman who collects newspapers into six-foot-high stacks throughout her house because she cannot bear to get rid of them.

Each of us has at least one bad habit, from fingernail biting to gossiping to procrastination. The extreme forms include addictions to everything from television to Facebook to drugs. Again, psychological explanations can be found for these uncontrolled habits, yet those who believe in reincarnation say they might have roots in past lives.

INEXPLICABLE PAINS

Do you have aches and pains that the doctors cannot quite pinpoint or find a medical explanation for? You might be labeled a hypochondriac – a person who imagines his or her ailments. Or, as past life proponents suggest, those mysterious pains, sores, cramps, and more could be reflections of suffering you endured in a previous existence.

BIRTHMARKS

Birthmarks have been touted as evidence for reincarnation. In one fascinating case, an Indian boy claimed to remember the life of a man named Maha Ram, who was killed with a shotgun fired at close range. This boy had an array of birthmarks in the center of his chest that looked like they could possibly correspond to a shotgun blast. So the story was checked out. Indeed, there was a man named Maha Ram who was killed by a shotgun blast to the chest. An autopsy report recorded the man’s chest wounds — which corresponded directly with the boy’s birthmarks.

In a similar way, various other physical traits – even deformities – have been suggested as having their precedent in a person’s former life.

CONCLUSION

As I’ve noted, there certainly are or could be medical, psychological, or societal explanations for each of the phenomena above, and your experience with any of them does not necessarily mean that they can be attributed to a past life. After all, although there is some compelling case evidence for reincarnation and past lives, it is not a proved fact. Yet, this site is about alternate possibilities, and the notion that we have lived before and will live again is one that holds a great deal of fascination.

 

Article Source:

About.com

Reincarnation: Best Evidence

Reincarnation: Best Evidence

By

Is there good evidence for reincarnation? Researchers say yes.

HAVE YOU LIVED BEFORE? The concept of reincarnation — that our souls may experience many lifetimes over centuries, maybe even thousands of years — has been present in virtually every culture since ancient times. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Aztecs all believed in the “transmigration of souls” from one body to another after death. It’s a fundamental precept of Hinduism.

Although reincarnation is not a part of official Christian doctrine, many Christians believe in it or at least accept its possibility. (Jesus, it is believed, was reincarnated three days after his crucifixion.) That’s not at all surprising; the idea that after death we can live again as another person — maybe as the opposite sex or in a completely different station in life — is intriguing and, for many people, highly appealing.

Is there any truth to it, however? Is reincarnation just an idea, a fantasy? Or is there real evidence to support it? Here’s some of the best evidence available, gathered by researchers who, in some cases, have devoted their lives to the subject. Examine it, then decide for yourself.

PAST LIFE REGRESSION HYPNOSIS

The practice of reaching past lives through hypnosis is controversial, primarily because hypnosis is not a reliable tool. Hypnosis can certainly help reach the unconscious mind, but the information found there is not reliable as truth. It has been shown that the practice can create false memories. That doesn’t mean, however, that regression hypnosis should be dismissed out of hand. If the past life information can be verified through research, the case for reincarnation can be considered more seriously.

  • The most famous case of past life regression through hypnosis is that of Ruth Simmons. In 1952, her therapist, Morey Bernstein, took her back past the point of her birth. Suddenly, Ruth began to speak with an Irish accent and claimed that her name was Bridey Murphy, who lived in 19th century Belfast, Ireland. Ruth recalled many details of her life as Bridey, but, unfortunately, attempts to find out if Ms. Murphy really existed were unsuccessful. There was, however, some indirect evidence for the truth of her story: under hypnosis, Bridey mentioned the names of two grocers in Belfast from whom she bought food, Mr. Farr and John Carrigan. A Belfast librarian found a city directory for 1865-1866 that listed both men as grocers. Her story was told both in a book by Bernstein and in a 1956 movie, The Search for Bridey Murphy.

ILLNESSES AND PHYSICAL AILMENTS

Do you have a life-long illness or physical pain that you cannot account for? Their roots could be in some past life trauma, some researchers suspect.

  • In “Have We Really Lived Before?”, Michael C. Pollack, Ph.D., CCHT describes his lower back pain, which grew steadily worse over the years and limited his activities. He believes he found out a possible reason during a series of past life therapy sessions: “I discovered that I had lived at least three prior lifetimes in which I had been killed by being knifed or speared in the low back. After processing and healing the past life experiences my back began to heal.”
  • Research conducted by Nicola Dexter, a past life therapist, has discovered correlations between illnesses and past lives in some of her patients, including: a bulimia sufferer who swallowed salt water in a previous life; a fear of indoor heights caused by carving the ceiling of a church and being killed by falling to the floor; a persistent problem in the shoulder and the arm area having been caused by participating in a tug of war which injured the same arm; a fear of razors and shaving was found to have its root cause in another lifetime where the client had chopped off someone’s fingers with a sword and then as retribution had his entire hand cut off

PHOBIAS AND NIGHTMARES

Where does seemingly irrational fear come from? Fear of heights, fear of water, of flying? Many of us have normal reservations about such things, but some people have fears so great that they become debilitating. And some fears are completely baffling — a fear of carpets, for example. Where do such fears come from? The answer, of course, can be psychologically complex, but researchers think that in some cases there might be a connection to a previous life.

  • At “Healing Past Lives through Dreams”, author J.D. tells of his claustrophobia and a tendency to panic when his arms and legs were confined or restricted in any way. He believes that a dream of a past life uncovered a trauma from a past life that explained this fear. “One night in the dream state I found myself hovering over a disturbing scene,” he writes. “It was a town in fifteenth-century Spain, and a frightened man was being hog-tied by a small jeering crowd. He had expressed beliefs contrary to the church. Some local ruffians, with the blessing of the church officials, were eager to administer justice. The men bound the heretic hand and foot, then wrapped him very tightly in a blanket. The crowd carried him to an abandoned stone building, shoved him into a dark corner under the floor, and left him to die. I realized with horror the man was me.”

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

In his book Someone Else’s Yesterday, Jeffrey J. Keene theorizes that a person in this life can strongly resemble the person he or she was in a previous life. Keene, an Assistant Fire Chief who lives in Westport, Connecticut, believes he is the reincarnation of John B. Gordon, a Confederate General of the Army of Northern Virginia, who died on January 9 1904. As evidence, he offers photos of himself and the general — and, indeed, there is a striking resemblance. Beyond physical similarities, Keene says that “they think alike, look alike and even share facial scars. Their lives are so intertwined that they appear to be one.”

Another case is that of artist Peter Teekamp, who believes he could be the reincarnation of artist Paul Gauguin. Here, too, there is a physical resemblence and similarities in their work as well.

CHILDREN’S SPONTANEOUS RECALL AND SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE

Many small children who claim to recall past lives express thoughts, describe specific actions and environments, and even know foreign languages — none of which they could know or have learned from their present experiences. Many cases like this are documented in Carol Bowman’s Children’s Past Lives:

  • Eighteen-month-old Elsbeth had never spoken a complete sentence. But one evening, as her mother was bathing her, Elsbeth spoke up and gave her mother a shock. “I’m going to take my vows,” she told her mother. Taken aback, she questioned the baby girl about her queer statement. “I’m not Elsbeth now,” the child replied. “I’m Rose, but I’m going to be Sister Teresa Gregory.” She later described her nun’s habit in detail as well as her daily chores at the convent.
  • When little Tommy was about five years old, a button from his pants had popped off. When his mother didn’t sew it back on right away, Tommy found her needle and thread and did the job himself. “[He] sewed that button on so expertly that I couldn’t believe it,” his mother said. “I had never taught him to sew and he had never even seen me do it.” When she asked how he knew how to do that, Tommy relied, “Well, we used to do it on my ship all of the time.” He then related details of his previous life as a sailor.

HANDWRITING

Can past lives be proved by comparing the handwriting of a living person and the deceased person he or she claims to have been? Indian researcher Vikram Raj Singh Chauhan believes so. Chauhan has undertaken a study of this possibility, and his findings have been received favorably at the National Conference of Forensic Scientists at Bundelkhand University, Jhansi.

  • A six-year-old boy named Taranjit Singh from the village of Alluna Miana, India, claimed since he was two that he had been a person named Satnam Singh. This other boy had lived in the village of Chakkchela, Taranjit insisted, and even knew Satnam’s father’s name. He had been killed while riding his bike home from school. An investigation verified the many details Taranjit knew of his previous life as Satnam. But the clincher was that their handwriting — a trait experts know is as distinct as fingerprints — was virtually identical.

BIRTHMARKS AND BIRTH DEFECTS

Dr. Ian Stevenson, head of the Department of Psychiatric Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, is one of the foremost researchers and authors on the subject of reincarnation and past lives. In 1993, he wrote a paper entitled “Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons” as possible physical evidence for past lives. “Among 895 cases of children who claimed to remember a previous life (or were thought by adults to have had a previous life),” Stevenson writes, “birthmarks and/or birth defects attributed to the previous life were reported in 309 (35%) of the subjects. The birthmark or birth defect of the child was said to correspond to a wound (usually fatal) or other mark on the deceased person whose life the child said it remembered.”

But could any of these cases be verified?

  • In one fascinating case, an Indian boy claimed to remember the life of a man named Maha Ram, who was killed with a shotgun fired at close range. This boy had an array of birthmarks in the center of his chest that looked like they could possibly correspond to a shotgun blast. So the story was checked out. Indeed, there was a man named Maha Ram who was killed by a shotgun blast to the chest. An autopsy report recorded the man’s chest wounds — which corresponded directly with the boy’s birthmarks.
  • A man from Thailand claimed that when he was a child he had distinct memories of a past life — as his own paternal uncle. This man had a large scar-like birthmark on the back of his head. His uncle, it turns out, died from a severe knife wound to that very part of his head.

Dr. Stevenson has documented many other such cases, many of which he could verify through medical records.

 

Article Source:
About.com

Past Life Memory

Past Life Memory

by June Kaminski, MSN PhD(c)

Past life recall is an elusive subject in Western society, yet a common and accepted one in many other countries and cultures. In recent years, Eastern philosophies as well as ancient European ones have precipated a surge of interest in the possibilities of multiple lives.

More and more people are giving at least some thought to the potential credibility of the notion that they may have lived before: as another person of either gender, in another era and often in another country and socioeconomic situation. People ar beginning to pay attention to “deja vu” experiences, or sudden and brief “pictures” of themselves as another person – and at least wonder if these could be clues to who they were before.

Often, when first studying the theory of reincarnation, people wonder why they don’t remember clearly who they were. How could this theory be true, if it is all so vague and often impossible to validate? There are many reasons for this block in memory, one being the fact that it is not part of our mainstream culture. In countries where past lives are a “given”, young children often share long dialogues of memories about their lives in other times and other bodies. In fact, some children have remembered being people who had died within the past decade or two, which did lead to investigation and uncanny evidence. There does seem to be evidence in countries like India for this theory of reincarnation.

Another reason that we often do not readily remember all of our past lives is that our memories are best focused on NOW, this life. Remembering our past lives does have merit but should not lead to feelings of longing or obsession. Certain memories of relevant past lives can give us alot of “hidden” information about our life’s work this time round, and what recurrent patterns, life partners, and unresolved karma, fears, and challenges we have chosen to work with in this lifetime. These same selective memories and life parallels can point us to the gifts and talents that we chose to work on in this present life, and even who we have chosen to spend our lives with, whether a spouse, children, parents, friends, coworkers, and so on.

The resources on this site will guide you through some activities to help you to get in touch with the past lives that are pertinent to this current life you are experiencing right now. As you practice these activities, you will find glimpses and memories sprouting up more and more as you go about your daily life. The lessons, the talents, the messages from your former selves can help you discover the true meaning of your life and to ascertain what your Life Path is now in the 21st century.

To begin to explore the topic of reincarnation and past lives, sit back and mull over these questions. Write down your answers as well.

1. What places have you always dreamt of visiting?

2. Are there places that totally repel you?

3. Are there historical eras that fascinate you?

4. Are there any people that you have felt instantly drawn to? Ones that you ponder over – wondering where you’ve met them before?

5. What talents were you “born with”? Or which talents were easy for you to cultivate?

6. Have you ever experienced “deja vu”?

Source:

Reincarnation Central

The Alder Tree – Celtic Tree Astrology for March 18 – April 14

The Alder Tree

March 18 – April 14

If you are an Alder sign within the Celtic tree astrology system, you are a natural-born pathfinder. You’re a mover and a shaker, and will blaze a trail with fiery passion often gaining loyal followers to your cause. You are charming, gregarious and mingle easily with a broad mix of personalities. In other words, Alder signs get along with everybody and everybody loves to hang around with you. This might be because Alder’s are easily confident and have a strong self-faith. This self-assurances is infectious and other people recognize this quality in you instantly. Alder Celtic tree astrology signs are very focused and dislike waste. Consequently, they can see through superficialities and will not tolerate fluff. Alder people place high value on their time, and feel that wasting time is insufferable. They are motivated by action and results. Alder’s pair well with Hawthorns, Oaks or even Birch signs.

 

Source:
Whats-Your-Sign.com

All About the Month of April

All About the Month of April

The Roman Goddess of Love ‘Aprilis’ was honoured when naming the month of ‘April’. As part of the seasonal calendar April is the time of the ‘Growing Moon’ according to Pagan beliefs and the period described as the ‘Moon of the Red Grass Appearing’ by Black Elk (Black Elk Speaks, Neihardt). It is also the last month of ‘Imbolc’, before ‘Beltaine’. Mark, of the gospels, features as a strong influence within the early Celtic church at this time of year. The need to toil the land, to work to achieve the ends is further symbolised by his work, that of spreading the news of the gospels and in the significance of the pilgrimage, the journey to achieve enlightenment. Early pilgrims were influenced by the laws of nature, in a similar way to the pre-Christians belief and practice of ritual and folklore related to nature, reading the actions of animals to lead them to a place of rest. Most important in this month are the cattle or oxen, the deer or stag, and of course the ram (Aries). The spirit was believed to be renewed in this month and therefore there was a need to let go of unnecessary worries and focus on the purpose, the commitment of faith and practice, to resurrect the slumbering energies if the months ahead were to be of service to the deities and God.

‘Brigid’ (1 February) and ‘Columcille’ (7 June) were joint protectors of cattle and it was practice at this time to hope that the protection asked for during the period of Samhain had been granted and that the cattle would be healthy, so ensuring that when winter returned meat would be plentiful providing strength in the months of darkness (Samhain and Imbolc):

‘Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,
From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve.’

 

‘When April blows her horn (thunder)
it’s good for hay and corn.’

As part of the astrological calendar, April has many associations. This is the month of the house of Aries (March 21 – April 20) and the house of Taurus (21 April – May 22).

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and represents the beginning of the journey that the sun will follow through the zodiac. symbolised by the ‘Ram’ and the Greek ‘God Ares’, the ‘War God’ of the Iliad, son of ‘Zeus’and ‘Hera’, who is the equivalent of the Roman ‘God Mars’. The vernal equinox, the start of spring begins on March 21 the same day as we enter the house of Aries. The horns, and the centre between the eyebrows and the nose of the ram are also used as signs for Aries, as the power force has long been associated with the head, the source of the Aries drive. Naturally then the Aries should possess a strong sense of intuition. In ancient Assyrian mythology Aries meant Prince, and the ancient Egyptians connected Aries with the ‘God Amun’, also ‘Amon-Ra’, the ‘Sun God’ revered as the leader of the universe and the creator.

The influence of ‘Mars’ is clear as Aries possesses the qualities of the pioneer, the leader, primal passion, initiative, creativity, courage and self-will. The Aries is a force to be reckoned with as ‘Mars’ the ruling planet of Aries brings with it an extremely powerful force that can at times be unstable. As the first sign Aries is full of energy like the child who is curious, and is likened to the first stage of life. Aries is a cardinal and positive fire sign associated with the statements ‘I am’ or ‘I am first’ or‘I will be first’(needless to say that this assertiveness can be mistaken for arrogance).Aries is associated with the Poppy, Honeysuckle, Bryony, Thistles and Ferns, Peppermint and the Anemone. Aries is further associated with the Alder, Blackthorn, Dogwood, Hawthorn, Pomegranate, Spruce and Weeping Willow. Colours associated with Aries are scarlet, all shades of red, carmine The main stone associated with Aries is the Diamond, whilst the main stone associated withMarch is the Bloodstone. Lucky number is nine, lucky day Tuesday. Metal associated is iron.

‘But it’s no use going back to yesterday,
I was a different person then.’

Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, symbolised by the ‘Sacred Bull’ or ‘heavenly bull’ and has close associations with all cattle. In ancient Persian astrology Taurus translated as the ‘Bull of Light’, and in ancient Egypt Taurus represented fertility and development or growth and was linked closely with the success of the land to produce. The sacred bull was also seen by the ancient Egyptians as the vessel in which the ‘God Osiris’ was celestial. Taurus reflects the second phase of the journey of the sun, and of the child relating to the early teen years.

‘Venus’ is the ruling planet of Taurus and the Roman ‘Goddess of Love’. To the ancients the planet Venus was seen as highly important being second to the Sun and the Moon. The ancient Greeks believed that ‘Phaeton’ nearly destroyed the earth, known as the ‘Blazing Star’, the earth became consumed by fire and Phaeton was transformed into Venus. The ancient Assyrians knew the planet as the ‘fearful dragon…who is clothed in fire’. The Aztecs, called it ‘The star that smoked’, the Quetzalcoatl called it ‘The feathered Serpent’, and the Midrash knew it as ‘The brilliant light… blazing from one end of the cosmos to the other’. Venus, is often used to symbolise the inner qualities of romance, loyalty, practicality, caution and charm whilst also having a love of the land, art, of the finest luxuries that can be obtained with a powerful desire of beautiful possessions, (so there is a danger of excess in all things). ‘Aphrodite’, the ancient Greek ‘Goddess of Love’ was seen to influence those around her by the use of her magic girdle. One fitting and you were smitten. Taurus has a way of encouraging this response. Venus also brings the need for affection and a search for love, as those born during this time are also generous in love, sharing their enjoyment and their warmth. Taurus is a fixed, negative earth sign, the first earth sign associated with the statements ‘I am steadfast and provide stability’, ‘Mine’ and ‘I value possessions and enjoy indulgence’. It rules the throat and the neck. Taurus is associated with the Daisy, Dandelion, Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Narcissus, Poppy and Rose. Taurus is further associated with the Apple, Blackthorn, Fig, Hawthorn, Pear, Vine and Willow. Colours associated with Taurus are pale blue, all shades of green, pink and yellow. The main stone associated with Taurus is the Emerald, whilst the main stone associated with the month of April is the Diamond. Lucky number is seven, lucky day Thursday. Metal associated is copper.

‘Without, the frost – the blinding snow,
The storm-wind’s moody madness –
Within, the firelight’s ruddy glow,
And childhood’s nest of gladness.’

 

Movable Celebrations

 

Second Tuesday after Easter
Hungerford, Berkshire, England : ‘Hocktide’ ceremonies in the memory of John of Gaunt.

Vaisakhi
Sikh festival and holiday (April 13, 1997, movable to June).

 

Unlucky April Dates

7. 8. 10. 16. 20. 21.

According to the English historian Richard Grafton these certain dates of the month were unlucky as published in the ‘Manual’ in 1565. Days throughout the year were identified and of course could have related to any day of the week. The date was the most important point to consider. The work was reputed to have some credence with support given by astronomers of the day. Exactly why these dates are unlucky is unclear today but by looking at the calendar of days an idea of the major occurrences can be seen.

Source:

Mystical World Wide Web

A Little Humor for Your Day – The Doctor’s Drink

The Doctor’s Drink

(A Joke Pun)

 

A doctor made it his regular habit to stop off at a bar for a hazelnut daiquiri on his way home. The bartender knew of his habit, and would always have the drink waiting at precisely 5:03 p.m.

One afternoon, as the end of the work day approached, the bartender was dismayed to find that he was out of hazelnut extract. Thinking quickly, he threw together a daiquiri made with hickory nuts and set it on the bar.

The doctor came in at his regular time, took one sip of the drink and exclaimed, “This isn’t a hazelnut daiquiri.”

“No, I’m sorry,” replied the bartender, “it’s a hickory daiquiri doc.”

 

Source:
Pun of the Day

Need to Simplify? Take the Mind Clutter Quiz!

Need to Simplify? Take the Mind Clutter Quiz!

Many of us love the feeling of clearing out the clutter from our homes. But given the frantic pace of many of our lives, perhaps some mental simplifying is in order, too!

Do you think you might benefit from clearing away some mind clutter? Take this simple quiz to find out:

1. Are you a “worrier”?

2. Is your mind constantly troubled by all the things on your mental “To Do” list?

3. Do you ever chastise yourself for “wasting time,” or talk about time as if there is not enough of it to go around, as in: “Sorry, I don’t have time,” “I wish there were more time,” “Time got away from me,” etc. and so on.

4. Do you take your little child or dog for a walk and then find yourself tugging at your child’s hand or the dog’s leash and saying “Come on!” (The author has made a study of the people who walk their dogs up and down the lane outside her cottage and how many times they say “Come on!” to their dogs. Usually it is overtime the dogs stop to sniff something. Yet the walk is supposed to be for the benefit of the dog. Go figure!)

5. Do you use the word “busy” a lot, e.g. do you find yourself telling others about how busy you are, or using the excuse “I was/am too busy”?

6. Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by your own life?

7. Do you spend most of your time either re-hashing the past or rehearsing for the future and find it difficult to keep you mind full yon the “now”?

8. Do you find it almost impossible to sit still and do nothing?

9. Does your mind sometimes feel so overloaded with thoughts that it is hard to focus on just one thing?

10. Do you lie awake thinking at night?

If you find yourself saying “yes” to all or most of these questions, it is likely that you need to do some mental simplifying. (Most of us do.) To live in a world of mental simplicity, we can try to make an effort to stay aware of the present moment and to spend as little time as possible re-hashing the past and/or rehearsing the future. It takes practice, but little by little you will see what a difference this can make!

 

 

Daily Feng Shui News for April 1st – ‘Healing Vibes’

Today I’d like to share a powerful forgiveness technique that will send healing vibes to anyone you might have to apologize to — or to anyone who should be apologizing to you. You will need a lidded receptacle like a mason or jelly jar. You will also need a green ink pen, a piece of white paper, some honey and a small white candle. Use the pen to write the name of the person with whom you’d like to exchange forgiveness on the paper and fold it into quarters. Place the paper in the jar, cover it with honey and put the lid on tightly. Every night for nine consecutive nights at approximately the same time, light the candle and send healing light and love to the recipient of this exercise. After a few minutes blow the candle out and do this same thing the next night. On the ninth and last night let the candle burn completely down. Once the remnants of the candle have cooled, put that and the jar in a brown paper bag and dispose of it anywhere outside of your living space. Chances are now high that you will hear from this person and that the two of you will settle your differences. That’s today’s promise — no foolin’!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com