An “Amazing” Synchronicity

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Trish and Rob

Amazing: overwhelming surprise or astonishment.

For a year or two and probably longer, I’ve heard people over-using and improperly using that word. It has become a handle for almost any situation imaginable. In fact, it’s so overused that if you hear someone around you say, “That’s amazing,” and then hear the very same phrase on the radio or television within seconds, it’s probably not amazing or a synchronicity. It’s just more over-use of the word.

While I was aware that “amazing” was trending in our vocabulary, blowing away “awesome,” it really came into focus for me one day when I was playing disc (Frisbee) golf. I happened to find someone’s lost disc, turned it over and saw a phone number and the name Alex. I texted Alex, telling him what I found and where I found it. A minute later, I got a text back. “You’re amazing.” Gee, I don’t even know this guy and he says I’m amazing. So you would think that he really liked that disc and was very excited about getting it back. Not at all. He went on to say, keep it. He didn’t care about the disc. So maybe he thought I was amazing for taking the effort d to text him. Whatever. (Oops! Another over-used term.)

So after that, I started noticing that the word, more and more frequently, referred to things that definitely were not amazing. “This salad is amazing;” “Your eyebrows look amazing;” “The lighting for this selfie is amazing.”

Those examples were  how an article about “amazing” began in the New York Daily News recently. It was headlined: Why celebrities and millennials should stop using the word ‘amazing.’ The writer not only noted that ‘amazing’ at some point replaced awesome, but that long ago in the Sixties before the Millennials were born all things were ‘groovy.’  The article reports that there are curmudgeons among us who write on a blog dedicated solely to complaining about the overuse of the word. The writer ends her piece by saying we should go back to the basics. “The truth is, we should reserve amazing for truly astounding moments. That would be groovy, awesome and amazing.”

Back in the day, as in 1779, when amazing was really amazing, John Newton wrote Amazing Grace, a hymn that was truly amazing.

Finally, no sooner had I stopped reading the Daily News article when I got a group e-mail from an on-line friend, Brandon, who was promoting an acquaintance’s website. He wrote: “Her Native American artistry grows more amazing to me each time I go to her website to see what her latest creations. Take a look for yourself. I did. It’s actually a blog. https://angelaswedberg.blogspot.com/

Her work does seem quite unique, and yes, maybe  amazing. Brandon, by the way, is about fifty years older than the millennials, and probably has a good idea when something is really amazing.

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Pudding Synchros – Again

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Trish and Rob

This synchro story posted on Facebook by Michael R. Donohue popped up on my phone the other day. I noticed that two or three people had shared it, so I figured Michael wouldn’t mind my repeating it here. What caught my attention about it is that the subject matter – pudding – reminded me of a well known mind-boggling and humorous synchronicity about pudding. I retell that one after Michael’s story. Here it is:

“Some time ago, I had an odd disturbing dream. I was in a dark creepy haunted house. My mother was there which I would find somewhat disturbing even when she was alive. She had made bread pudding. And I have never had bread pudding as far as I know, and had no clear sense of what it is. In the dream in that house it seemed pretty weird and gross. Being silly, a day or so ago I referred to a Facebook friend’s dessert photo as “blood pudding.”

“This brought that dream to mind. Tonight my son and I went out for dinner and dessert. He ordered bread pudding, of all things. This again put me in mind of the recently remembered dream. I was thinking that seemed like a synchronicity when my gaze fell on a cappuccino machine with “Synchro” emblazened upon it, as pictured. Weirdsville.”

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Okay, that’s a somewhat interesting synchronicity, especially since it came with related art! Haha. However, I probably wouldn’t have copied it for a blog post if the story hadn’t reminded of the baffling series of synchronicities experienced by a 19th century French poet named Emile Deschamps. Synchronicities usually take place instantly when two similar, but unrelated experiences come together.

For example, I (Rob) was getting ready for an interview on a podcast in which the interviewer wanted to talk to us about synchronicity. So I was paging through our book, The Synchronicity Highway,  and noticed that in a chapter called, “Critter Coincidences,” we’d written a section about flies. I had no recollection of what that was about, so I started reading it and immediately a fly buzzed past my head. So the two similar but unrelated experiences came together at once.

But in the case of Emile Deschamps, his synchronicities literally took place over decades. Here’s his story.

As a teenager, Deschamps meets a man with a strange name, Monsieur de Fortgibu. De Fortgibu was an immigrant from England, and he introduces Deschamps to a very English dessert: plum pudding.

Ten years went by. One day, Deschamps passes a Paris restaurant that had plum pudding on the menu. He goes inside, only to be told the last of the plum pudding was just sold to a gentleman sitting in the back. Amazingly, Deschamps recognized the man as Mr. de Fortgibu. In one version of this story, de Fortgibu shares that last pudding with Deschamps. In that version, the waiter calls out, “Mr. de Fortgibu, would you be willing to share your plum pudding with this gentleman?” (Hard to imagine that part of the story!)

Years pass, and Deschamps is at a dinner party with some friends.

The host announces that an unusual dessert will be served. You guessed it — plum pudding. Deschamps jokingly says that one of the guests at the party must be Monsieur de Fortgibu. He’s about to tell his plum pudding story when the doorbell rings and an old man enters. Amazingly, Deschamps recognizes him as none other than  Mr. de Fortgibu. The doddering old man looks around and realizes that he has knocked on the wrong door. He was invited to a dinner party — but not there.

We told this story before on the blog, maybe a couple of times. So after reading the bread pudding story, it seemed about time to re-tell the famous plum pudding synchro.

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Who is John Bolton?

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Trish and Rob

He’s a Scorpio.

 

Anyone who ever watched old Perry Mason TV shows or Law & Order or To Kill a Mockingbird knows that all trials have evidence. And witnesses. And a judge. The travesty today in the senate lacked evidence, witnesses, but not a judge. Roberts did what he was assigned, kept the decorum, asked the senator questions, introduced who would speak – PTA type stuff.

But what was he feeling throughout a sham trial in which no evidence was presented and witnesses were denied? Was he embarrassed? Apparently not. He took that last vote with a relatively expressionless face. Oh so sorry the senate voted, we don’t want witnesses.
With Bolton’s two revelations today – from his upcoming book – why hasn’t be gone on some news shows, and vomited what he knows? C’mon, dude, you have your pick. Get in front of a mike. But I suspect these revelations are his tease – to publicize his book and to drive trump nuts.

Bolton is a Scorpio. He’s playing a Scorpio game and that means he intends to get even with trump. But first, those book sales.

The pre-orders for his book on Amazon have multiplied. And the book won’t be out until March 17. I won’t be buying it. Bolton lacked courage in the way he handled this. When he was subpoenaed by the house, he went to the courts and asked them to rule on if he could testify in spite of trump’s orders not to. But he claimed he was willing to testify before the senate if he was called. And on the day of a crucial vote, two excerpts from his book were leaked/released that were damning for trump’ defense. Trump’s lawyers mentioned it only at the end of their defense and trump himself tweeted, of course, that Bolton was lying.

So Bolton, who should have done the honorable thing by going on any news channel, did the expedient thing, tossed out a few tantalizing nuggets to sell books.

Our government isn’t just broken. It’s a total mess, chaotic. Pat Cipollone, trump’s attorney in the senate trial, was supposedly in the room when trump made that call to the Ukraine. That’s from Bolton’s book. And if it’s true, how is it legal for Cipollone to be a witness AND the defense attorney?

On Tuesday, Feb 4,  trump will give the state of the union speech. This will the night before the senate will acquit him.  The next nine months until the election wall feature trump at his wildest and most unpredictable and, most of the time, as just batshit crazy.

Welcome to America, home of the coward, the easily intimidated, the soulless autocrats. C’mon, Bolton. Step up to the plate apart from pushing your book. Tell us. Speak publicly.  Defy that Scorpio penchant for secrecy. Become a hero.

 

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Episode 2 of the Mystical Underground Podcast

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Trish and Rob

Here’s our second podcast. We’re anticipating that the third will have our first guest and be 60 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

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Security Cameras and Spirit Contact

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Trish and Rob

Ever since Carol Libutti emailed me the image of what her Nest camera had captured, I’ve wanted one of these spy cameras.

This image appeared on her Nest about five or six hours after her beloved dog was put down. It hovered above the couch where it used to hang out.

So Megan gifted us one of these cams for Xmas and I set it up in the living room to spy on our two cats and dog when we’re gone. Like, who’s eating the cat food?? Are the cats getting along?At 1:20 AM this morning (Jan 21) this video appeared on our cam:

 

So what is this – insect? Spirit? Something else? And if the latter, then what kind of something else?

 

 

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Star Power Podcast

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Trish and Rob

Here’s the link to the February astrological forecast. Right now, these are monthly. But as we move along the forecasts will be posted weekly. So please drop by and give us a like!

 

 

 

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The Mystical Underground Podcast

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Trish and Rob

Here’s episode 0001 of our new podcast! I’m still getting over a cold, so I sound like a frog!

Many thanks to Jon Posey, the producer! This would not have happened without him.

We’re planning one more 30-minute episode, then are expanding to 60 minutes with a guest each week. In  between there will be an astrological podcast called Star Power. Right now, it’s monthly, but in March it will be weekly.

Enjoy!

 

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FEBRUARY FORECAST

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Trish and Rob

February’s astrological forecast is now posted in the masthead.

The big news this month is that on Feb 16, at 7:54 PM ET and 4:54 PM PT, Mercury turns retrograde in Pisces. It turns direct again on March 9 at 11:49 PM ET and 8:49 PM PT. Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, and the signs Gemini and Virgo. My advice for these retro periods is simple:

Don’t start anything new and don’t make submissions. Instead, revise, review, reconsider.

Don’t buy electronics, cars, or anything else with moving parts.

Don’t sign contracts.

Don’t make travel plans.

If you do travel during a Mercury retro, be flexible. Your plans may change unexpectedly. And you may return to the place you’re visiting.

Old friends could surface.

Since Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, those two signs will feel the impact of the retrograde just as much as Pisces.

Now take a look at the forecast sign by sign in the masthead.

I wish I could say  I see a conviction for trump in the senate, but I just don’t know. What I can say is that more surprising and unexpected revelations will come out. Thank Uranus for that. It’s the planet that rules sudden, unexpected events ,and it’s transiting trump’s 9th house of justice, the law, worldview, publishing.

Maybe.

 

 

 

 

 

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Phenomena: Harnessing Your Psychic Powers

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Trish and Rob

The book is now available in print at Amazon!

$12.99

An excerpt:

Evolution of the Paranormal

Sixty years ago, back in the days of Ozzie & Harriet, the paranormal didn’t play much of a role in popular culture. Typically, it was relegated to obscure magazines and journals or to TV shows like Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964) or to sci-fi movies like The Village of the Damned (1960). You didn’t talk about this paranormal stuff in public.

When we met in 1981, we were both avid readers of the Seth books by Jane Roberts, which began with Seth Speaks, published in 1972. Seth was a non-physical entity channeled by Roberts and recorded by her husband, Rob. Neither of us knew anyone who read these kinds of books or even had an interest in the subject matter. Our interest in and search for such phenomena became our common denominator.

Fast forward to the current century.

In October 2017, Chapman University conducted a survey of “American fears” that included a battery of items on paranormal beliefs. These ranged from a belief in Bigfoot to psychic powers and haunted houses, ancient civilizations like Atlantis, to visits by aliens. The results show just how dramatically beliefs about the paranormal have changed: 55 percent believe that advanced civilizations like Atlantis existed; 52 percent believe places can be haunted by spirits; more than a third believe aliens visited Earth in the ancient past; more than a quarter believe aliens have visited the planet in modern times; and a quarter believe objects can be moved with the mind. The study concluded that 75 percent of Americans believe in some facet of the paranormal.

What’s astonishing about this statistic is how it compares to a study conducted by Baylor University twelve years earlier, which concluded that just 15 percent of Americans believed in the paranormal. This begs the question: what accounts for the increase? How were the studies conducted? Did the phrasing of the questions account for some of the differences in the statistics? Even when taking such qualifiers into account, the Chapman study shows a dramatic increase in interest in the paranormal.

Ironically, this boost in curiosity about such mysterious matters might be related to  technology—specifically, social media. Numerous websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram interest groups that focus on psychic phenomena have had a tremendous impact. It also could be the result of a proliferation of movies and TV shows about different facets of the paranormal. Then there are books, workshops, and seminars, an entire cottage industry that has grown up in the last twenty years and revolves around the human curiosity about and need for expanded awareness.

Scientists on the cutting edge believe the old paradigm—that our perception is limited to the five senses—is changing. But ordinary people have experienced paranormal phenomena for centuries and their stories tell us that a paradigm shift has been underway for years. Only now is it reaching a tipping point.

 

 

 

 

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Saturn/Pluto Conjunction and the Rebranding of the Royals

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Trish and Rob

This evening, Hugh Gallagher, a branding expert, sent a link to an article 
he’d written on the rebranding of the royal family. He has lived in the UK and other parts of the world and has become a branding expert. Here’s how he led into his article:

I’m not traditionally a Royal watcher. But having been based in the UK and Europe for two years while traveling through Europe for Adidas Brand Design, I watched, followed, and understood (as much as an American can) the influence of the British Royal Family. As far as institutions are concerned, this one endures.

Intrigued, I read on.

No other Western institution has maintained value through such a parade of eras. In historical terms, the Catholic Church comes to mind, but systemic child abuse has dealt irreparable brand damage to that behemoth. In modern market terms, Coca Cola has popped through two separate century shifts. That impressive stat goes flat when considering the crisp, refreshing taste of British Monarchy. Coke didn’t struggle to successfully position their brand during the Norman invasion in 1066. The British Crown did, meeting that challenge and managing other market disruptors like the Copernican revolution, abolition of feudalism, the introduction of global maritime trade, electricity, that pair of pesky world wars and other knuckle balls a thousand years of history throws across the plate.

Through this turbulent test, The British royal families have done a breathtakingly efficient job of not only expanding their power base, but managing their Brand. When people around the globe think of Royal Family, England’s current dynastic line of Windsor embodies the concept. That didn’t happen by sitting back and sipping tea. The Crown’s aggressive action, ruthless ambition and brilliant brand management has seen them through pestilence, war, and social upheaval. Today those survival talents are battling with the internet and social media.

Now I was hooked. I hadn’t thought about the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan from the royals as a “brand” challenge. But Hugh makes his case. And by the end of his article – which I encourage you to read through to the end – I realized it perfectly described the current Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn.

In astrology, Saturn is often labeled as the bad guy. The planet governs restrictions, responsibility, karma, all the adult stuff. It also governs structure – without Saturn, we wouldn’t be here. There wouldn’t be any physical universe. Saturn represents the status quo, business as usual, the adage, This is how we do things.

Then there’s Pluto and that whole story about how he abducted Persephone and ferreted her off into the underworld. Pluto is no longer considered a planet by astronomers, hut astrologers ignore it at their own peril. It represents power and profound transformation – death destruction, reincarnation, rebuilding from the ashes. And Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, represents government, structures, doing things in an orderly manner.

Oops. Prince Harry and Meghan broke that tradition. They announced their intent in an Instagram post and all hell broke loose. As Hugh puts it:

In an era where feudal fealty is replaced by mocking memes, and the Royal Family is casually referred to as “The Firm”, their brand faces the same flack any other equity earning entity endures. And when it comes to equity, Brand Royal Family has holdings that dwarf the titans of our time. A 2017 Forbes estimate set their net worth at 88 billion US Dollars. To put that in perspective, Forbes set Nike’s brand value at 15.9 billion, while Adidas, another of the world’s most recognized icons, jogs along with a brand value of 6.8 billion.

Money that large doesn’t sleep. Intensely efficient brain trusts are in place to steer these brands through emerging trends, and project them into profitable futures. An asset base as vast as The Royals possesses similar advisors, trusted to pilot them through choppy cultural tides. Those tides can’t be ignored. Like any highly valued brand with established lineage, The Crown must navigate current events if it wishes to sail the market seas.

And now here they have the rogues, Prince Harry and Meghan, bucking the status quo. They’re the royal family’s Pluto, who with a simply Instagram post, destroyed the structure that had been in place for centuries.

That’s how this Saturn/Pluto conjunction works at an international level. Take notice, Americans. Whose brand has been impugned with the impeachment trial in the senate? How will it all shake out?

Stay tuned….

 

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