God must be crazy

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Trish and Rob

We were at the dog park when it happened. When you have something in common with people, in this case dogs, strangers are usually quite willing to strike up a conversation. We had walked over to a bench in a shady corner of the park when a couple in their mid-60s strolled up to watch their Portuguese water dog play with our retriever, Noah.

We started talking about dogs, but one thing led to another and the topic turned to the oil spill and the government. My first instinct was to stick to dog talk and avoid politics with that pair, but Trish decided to engage them. The man quickly announced that he was a ‘religious conservative’ and that the liberals were destroying the country, that Obama was pushing socialism, intent on taking money from the rich, etc, etc.

Trish took after him, asking if he and his wife collected social security and took advantage of medicare. Yes, they did, and apparently saw no conflict in their beliefs and their actions.

The husband and wife became increasingly outspoken about their religious belief that only the faithful followers of Jesus would be saved, that the rapture was coming. “But you’re condemning billions of people,” I said.

“I’m not condemning them,” he answered. “They have a chance to be saved. Read the book, read the book.”

I suggested that the God in the bible, especially the old testament, was wrathful at times, and that the bible was written and re-written over centuries by PEOPLE. The couple vehemently disagreed. It was the word of God and a benevolent God, at that. Not like the Muslim’s God, who provoked terrorism.

“Do you think Obama is the anti-Christ?” I asked to see how far they were willing to stretch their beliefs.

The wife responded. “Oh, no.” The husband quickly followed up: “But he knows him. You can be sure of that. He’s alive now, after all.” (Hm, maybe it’s Bo, the Obama’s Portuguese water dog.

Read the book, it’s all there,” the man repeated before we parted ways.

Something about these people disturbed me, beyond what they were saying. There was something familiar about them. Then, as we started to walk away, the woman turned to me and said: “You know, you are our yoga teacher.”

Oh, my god, these people were in my Wednesday evening class. That’s where I knew them from. They’d come to several classes, always parking themselves in the far right rear corner of the room.  There were usually 20 or more people in the room and it was dimly lit. So I hadn’t recognized them. They did their best in class. The man, in particular, was stiff and now I realized he was as inflexible in his mind as he was in his body. (Synchronicity or cause and effect? )  When I mentioned to Trish who they were, she responded, “So what!”

My next yoga class arrived and there they were. All I could think, when I looked in their direction, was the man saying: “Read the book.”

Now, here comes the synchronicity. In the aftermath of that encounter, we received an e-mail from a friend that was literally filled with bible quotes. We were being nudged to read the book. But wait a minute. Who wrote these verses, anyhow–God? If so, she just might be crazy. Take a look for yourselves.
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Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law.

I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to  defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination … End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.

1.    Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2.    I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.  In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3.    I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell?  I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4.    When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors.  They claim the odor is not pleasing to them.  Should I smite them?

5.    I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath.  Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6.    A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree.  Can you settle this?  Are there ‘degrees’  of abomination?

7.    Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.  I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8.    Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9.    I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm.  He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia

(It would be a damn shame if we couldn’t own a Canadian 🙂

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God winks. And, oh, how tempting it is to bring a copy of that e-mail to yoga class and tell the couple. Guess what? I’ve been reading the book. – R

Posted in bible, conservatives, dogs, yoga | 31 Comments

Day 40

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Trish and Rob
Day 40
 

It’s now official. Top Kill has failed to plug the gusher.  The next step is to use robot subs to cut off the damaged riser from which the oil is gushing and attempt to cap it with a containment valve.

One energy expert,  known for predicting the oil price spike of 2008, says sending a small nuclear bomb down the leaking well is ‘probably the only thing we can do’ to stop the leak.

According to Joe Wiesenthal, writing in Business Insider,  the nuclear option is about to get a lot of attention now that the top kill has failed. “It’s the real idea that the best way to kill this thing is to stick a small nuke in there and bury the well under rubble. Supposedly it’s been done in Russia, and by the middle of the coming week, it will be all over cable news, as pundits press The White House hard on whether it’s being considered and why not.”

WHY NOT? Are these people lunatics? The nuke would be exploded at a depth of 18,000 feet. Raw Story has an excellent piece of this whole nightmare possibility.

 Here’s a video from Bloomberg News about this insanity of nuking:

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 In addition, CNN reports that workers involved in the beach cleanups are getting sick. One of the workers, a Vietnam vet, compared the dispersants to Agent Orange.
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The first tropical storm, Agatha, has formed off the coast of Guatemala, on the Pacific side. Guatemala is already dealing with the eruption of its Pacaya volcano. Ash from the eruption has blanketed the capital of Guatemala and destroyed 800 homes. The storm is expected to bring 10-20 inches of rain.

Hurricane season officially begins on June 1. What happens if a hurricane forms in the gulf? Well, NOAA has issued a PDF file on what it could mean.
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Here’s a video on planetary healing for the gulf coast through meditation. Maybe this really is the last best hope.

Posted in nuclear option, oil spill | 23 Comments

Mirrored Lives, Parallel Selves?

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Trish and Rob

M.C. Escher seems fitting for this synchro!

Synchronicities often accompany major transitions in our lives – marriage or divorce, a birth or death, career change, and moves. We’ve posted a number of synchros that took place during transitional periods. This one is especially interesting, about two families with similar international backgrounds undergoing similar transitions that eventually involved  the same house.

The story comes from Jeanette. She originally posted it as a comment. I liked it and asked her if we could do it as a post.
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As so many, we downsized in 2009 from a house with a yard to a condo in a gated community in the Los Angeles area. Selling our house was a challenge. Three offers fell through. Finally, after 50 real estate agents and their clients had looked the house, we sold the house to a family who had an amazingly similar life story as our own.

First of all, they came originally from Indonesia, like I do. I was born there, and moved to Holland when I was 5 years old. Like my family, they moved to another country because riots in the streets in Indonesia were very unsafe for children and inflation was soaring. Like my family, they came to the U.S. and left again, only to come back. After 10 years here they were able to buy this house. That was also the same amount of time it  took my family to buy the same house!

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In her blog entry, cited above, Jeanette is the Jet family.

Posted in parallel selves | 4 Comments

Oil disaster redux

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Trish and Rob

We don’t mean bombard readers with stories on the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but this one is eerily synchronistic. It comes from the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. She begins by reporting about the shutdown of the Alaskan oil pipeline after a leak noting that the spill is simultaneous with the ongoing disaster in the Gulf.

Then, she shifts gears, and shows clips of the exact same scenario from June of 1979–a leak in the Alaskan pipeline coupled with a major leak of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. She goes on to point out that the exact same technology from 1979 is being used today to attempt to stop and contain the oil. Only in ’79, the leak was at 200 feet, instead of 5,000 feet. The leak continued for weeks and threatened the Florida keys. A very similar scenario, and evidence that nothing has been done to improve environmental safety. A real tragedy.

Take a look here. Thanks to Jim Banholzer for pointing us to this YouTube clip.

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

The Rainbow Connection

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Here’s another music-related synchronicity, this one comes from Luna.
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Back in 2001, I made a mixed cd with songs that make me happy, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Cupid, Que Sera Sera, What A Wonderful World, Fire And Rain, to name a few. I was downloading the songs from the net to make my cd, and couldn’t find The Rainbow Connection sung by The Muppets.

Try as I might, all the versions were either sung by other artistes, distorted or incomplete. Then a close friend sent me a link. Yay, it was exactly what I wanted, and my cd was complete.

Almost ten years later, I still play that cd whenever I need to reconnect with myself. I was playing it today and decided to post the You Tube link to the song on my Facebook page. I have many friends who still love that song. But as luck would have it, there was a glitch with my server today and I haven’t been able to share the video.

Then, what should I see, but the current Facebook status of the same friend who sent me the link all those years ago, which read: “What’s so amazing, that keeps us stargazing”, a line from The Rainbow Connection. 🙂

Coincidence or Connection?
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How about a synchro-connection!

If you prefer Willy Nelson over Kermit the Frog. Here’s Willy’s version.

When I was looking for a rainbow photo, what did I come across, but my own rainbow connection, a photo of the cover of a book I co-authored long ago.

Posted in music, rainbows | 13 Comments

Gulf Mess Update

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Michio Kaku is a physicist specializing in string theory, a bestselling author who has written some of our favorite books on quantum physics (Physics of the Impossible), host of SciFi Science on the Science channel, and a professor of physics at City College of New York. This guy is brilliant, yes, but also is able to express complex ideas in a way that non-scientists can understand.  So when we heard he would be on Countdown tonight to talk about the debacle in the gulf, we tuned in.

Kaku’s description is sobering.  “…we are in unchartered  territories…we are witnessing the biggest science experiment of modern times and we are the guinea pigs…” His explanation of what’s going on begins about 1:25 into the video.

Posted in michio kaku, oil spill | 12 Comments

Synchronicities pop up for readers

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Trish and Rob

When you’re aware of synchronicity, those meaningful coincidences seem to materialize more often. That in a nutshell is the first secret from The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity. So now we’re getting reports of people experiencing synchronicity while actually reading the book. Here are two such stories we received Wednesday, and oddly enough they are even synchronistically connected. I’ll explain that part at the end.

The first one comes from Adele Aldridge.
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Holy Moley! Another mini synchronicity to report to you about 7 Secrets. 

I’ve been in a funk.  I have a million things to do. I don’t feel like doing any of them and have had this feeling for a few days now – not rational. I didn’t even go to a new yoga group I scheduled on my calendar for this morning.

So in despair I decided to take a break and read some more of 7 Secrets and ignore my long ToDo list. At least I would be doing something. I even thought to myself, “Am I depressed? I feel numb – not attached to any feeling – just not feeling like doing.

So I took myself outside with your book – reading all the many varieties of synchronicities. I came to the part about unlocking one’s creativity when one has a block. You say, ” . . . move away from your workplace and listen to what other people are saying . . . catch a few phrases . . . look for hidden hints. . .”

I read on a little more and thought, “Well that isn’t going to work for me right now because I’m not going to be seeing anyone and blah blah blah.” I decided I would just have to accept this revolting state of ennui. For a Leo with Aries rising, ennui feels like sickness.

It was getting hot so after reading on a bit more, and thinking that while I experience a ton of synchronicities all the time, today can’t be one of them no matter what Rob and Trish advise.

I went straight to my computer and looked at my Facebook page which was on the screen. Staring at me was a message, written just about the time I was reading your book. It read:

“Emily Cordes okay, so this is for those who’ve seen Indiana Jones 4: Do you think I look like (older) Marion? Because I got cast as her stand-infor a movie being shot here in Pittsburgh! I’m thrilled to get thispart, but is it good that they’re using me to stand in for a middle-aged lady?”

Well I have no idea who Emily Cordes is. She’s recently in my “friend’s” list to do with the arts. I have never seen a message from her before, I don’t know her or have any personal connection with her.

But I thought it damn strange that the first thing my eyes floated to after putting your book down was someone talking about Indiana Jones.  And if I had not been reading your book and grumbling to myself about myself, I would have dismissed this message.  I think the message is from you saying – “O.K. if you don’t feel like doing anything, it is just fine to read my book and report on it. You are doing what you are supposed to be doing” 🙂
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So that rang a bell for Adele. As she said, if she wasn’t reading the book, the message from mysterious Emily would have been meaningless.

Later in the day, an e-mail arrived from Dale Dassel. Here’s what he had to say.
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I received Seven Secrets today from Amazon.com, and have been reading it non-stop since I got home from work. Excellent stuff! Just a minute ago, while reading the page about numerical Attunement, I happened to glance at the page number (which I never do), and laughed when I saw that it was page 111. Thanks for that!
 Strange universe we live in, eh? 🙂
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The story that Dale is referring to is one from Jenean Gilstrap (Gypsy Woman) that involves the following sets of numbers: 222, 444, 666, and 888. If you want to know the whole story, you’ll have to look it up. It’s on page – ah -111.

So how are these two stories linked besides being about the book? At the heart of Adele’s story is a reference to Indiana Jones, and Dale Dassel, without a doubt, is the most hard-core Indiana Jones fan
I’ve ever encountered, and believe me, I’ve met a bunch of them. That’s Dale in the photo above.

To top it off, while writing this post, someone named Dave put up a comment on a post dated May 30, 2009–almost a year ago. The name of that post: Indiana Jones and the Last Synchronicity. Yikes!
 – R




ADDENUDM
After writing that post last night, I went to bed and picked up a novel I’d started recently called Radix by Brett King. I opened it, and noticed I was coming up to part 2 in a few pages. The name of part 2: Synchronicity.

Posted in 7 Secrets, Indiana Jones, readers | 15 Comments

Lost, the Finale

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Trish and Rob

When the TV show, Lost, started six years ago, Megan was 14. The three of us were diehard fans, tuning in each week to find out what the survivors of Oceanic flight 813 were going to do next.

As the series progressed, synchronicities among the characters proliferated. We understood they were all connected in some way. But by season two, Rob and I were kind of annoyed by the show. It was obvious the writers had, well, LOST their way, that although the concept had been cool, its execution just didn’t cut it. There were too many reruns.

My editor at the time, Kate Duffy, was also a fan of Lost. We used to touch base after various episodes and speculate about what it all meant. The last time I saw her before she passed away, at a romance writers’ conference in Daytona, we watched one of the episodes together and talked about a lot of weird stuff. That was the thing about Lost. You couldn’t watch it without talking about the weirdness, without speculating about the nature of reality. She and I agreed that it was all an afterlife scenario, that the characters had died in the crash, and that their issues and concerns kept them where they were until they could figure it out.

Rob and I have bee faithful, but critical fans. This last season has been sort of like the last season of X-Files, disjointed, floundering,  as if the writers didn’t really grasp the larger picture. But we loved the idea of Lost, the characters, the strangeness. So we kept watching.Tonight, when Rob, Megan, and one of her friends and I watched the finale of Lost, I felt that Kate was there, too. I felt she was in the room, munching on strawberries dipped in honey, sipping wine, enthralled.

Even though her interest in the show waned when the writers were trying to figure out where they were taking these characters, I knew she would want to know how it ended. Kate was always keen on endings, how the loose ends were tied up, how stuff came together.  And I think she would be pleased with how the writers pulled all the threads together – maybe not surprised, not shocked, but pleased. And for Kate, that’s saying something.

And for us in our living room tonight, the Lost finale delivered.  The story came full circle, myth and reality melted together in a way that the X-Files never did. I’m sorry to see this series end. And I can hear Kate, wherever she is, thinking, “Next?”

Posted in afterlife, Kate Duffy, lost, story, TV | Leave a comment

The Tarot Speaks

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Technically, this post is synchronicity because Jung considered divination to fall under it. I don’t know if he was thinking specifically about the tarot when he made that decision, but since he wrote the intro to Wilhelm’s edition to the I Ching, an ancient Chinese divination system, I don’t think he’s turning in his grave about this post!

Curious about the top kill procedure that BP is planning to use today to stop the gushing geyser in the gulf, I found two interest sites – here, where Jacques Cousteu’s grandson take a dive into the muck – and this explanation from CNN.  

Please click both links before you read on. Once I watched the CNN video, I decided to do a tarot reading on it. I don’t ordinarily like to do this kind of thing because my emotional investment in the outcome may influence the cards I select. This is why it’s so difficult to read for yourself or for people you love. But oh well, I did it. My question was: Will the top kill procedure work?

This spread is called the ladle spread and is from the book I co-authored with Phyllis Vega, Power Tarot. The position meanings are, from the left: 1) the issue 2) hidden potential 3) what’s emerging 4) what’s visible 5) what you pull out; 6) resolution

1) So let’s start with the issue. The 10 of wands.  A burden. Well, that’s a no-brainer. This burden is so huge that  it’s costing BP zillions. So the issue card fits.

2) Hidden potential, The Hermit: Okay, if it doesn’t work, then BP becomes Diogenes, searching the world for a truth- i.e.,  WHAT MAY WORK.

3) What’s emerging: The Star. This card is right up there with the wish card, the 9 of cups. The solution looks good, positive, amazing. Careers are saved. The environment is salvaged. It looks as if it stops the leak. (Then again, this could be my desire my speaking, that’s what’s tricky here) It may stop the leak long enough so that planetary healing begins.

4) Ace of Wands. What’s visible. What’s visible is that most of the damage isn’t visible. It looks like a walk in the park, a new beginning, hopeful. But is it?

5) 2 cups. I love this card. In this position, what you scoop out, the most important card in the spread. 2 cups, to me, is about unions, marriage, coming together. This is positive, folks. It looks like it’s the solution.

6) 8 pentacles. Resolution. They (BP, the engineers working on this) are novices at this solution stuff, grappling in the dark, it unsettles me. I would prefer to see something a lot more uplifting here. Since this card left me so uneasy, I drew another card to open up the 8 of pentacles. It was The Fool. I’d post it, but my BlackBerry took an awful, washed out photo.

The Fool is the beginning of the tarot, card zero, the new journey. Usually, to me, it’s a positive card, indicative of a new journey, new horizons (no pun intended) though somewhat naive, innocent. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

But the fact  that the photo was washed out bothers me. I think the BP solutions works – for awhile. Maybe it buys us some time to do cleanup, to tend to the wildlife, the marshes, the beaches, the damage. But then it’s a washout. I hope I’m wrong about that last part. I hope other people have greater, more positive insights that reassure us the gulf won’t end up as a dead sea, that we’ll get a second chance.

Posted in divination, oil spill, tarot | 28 Comments

Magic Child

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Trish and Rob

from soul cards
 

This synchro-tale was a comment under our recent post God’s Eye. It comes from Debra Page at mythic musing and refers to her daughter Laryssa, the magical child in the title, who died when she was barely two years old.
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 Though I am now Vjrayana Buddhist, I have always viewed life as a spiritual quest. Trish and Rob told a story on this site of synchronicities that happened after my baby daughter Laryssa had died.

Her (almost) 2 years on this Earth were filled with synchros. My husband and I kept her at home with us as much as possible. Caring for her was difficult. There was no medical protocol for her rare condition. One of those very long, grueling days, there was a knock at the front door.This was unusual because we had a security gate and a doorbell. I opened the door and a short, older man stood there. He said “I know it’s hard to tell right now, but God really loves you.” I cried. He left. I never saw him again.
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We asked Debra if she ever found out who he was. Her response:

“I never found out. We lived in that neighborhood for 11 years. Never saw him. I secretly imagined he worked at the hospice, or some other agency, because the OTHER idea was so fantastic. But Laryssa’s life was full of these mysteries, for everyone involved.”

Posted in children, laryssa, parents | 12 Comments