https://soundcloud.com/themysticalunderground/trish-macgregor-sci-fi-writers
Join Trish for a writer’s corner.
Science fiction writers have a long tradition of envisioning the future and its technology that later became scientific facts. Through their creativity, they tune in on the future.
A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “Rob MacGregor: Jewel In The Lotus: Mindfulness”:
Join Rob for a reading from his book “Jewel In the Lotus”…
Many people are recovering from the holidays and are back to work and maybe finding things a bit hectic in their life. So today, Rob will read a chapter on mindfulness from his book JEWEL IN THE LOTUS: Meditation for Busy Minds. The chapter has been slightly altered and updated from the book version.
One of the ‘secrets’ of synchronicity that we wrote about in The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity was called The Global. It was secret # 7: When synchronicities manifest themselves through global events, the universe seems to be addressing us as a collective.
The chaos over electing a new House speaker came to a head on Jan. 6, two years to the day of an attempted coupe inspired by Trump to stop the vote certifying Joe Biden as president. The turmoil in the House in recent days was led by 20 of the most radical Republican in Congress. These were people who – after the insurrection – went back and voted not to certify Biden. Some of them have been accused of involvement in the planning of the insurrection and could be indicted in coming weeks.
Kevin McCarthy was finally elected as speaker on the 15th vote. It was a good thing that the Republicans finally picked the speaker so Congress could move ahead with the business of government. However, the radical, pro-insurrectionists actually won the day by gaining numerous concessions from McCarthy – stripping him of most of his powers – so as to gain their votes. Those concessions could make it difficult for McCarthy to have any power as speaker.And it may make it really challenging for anything significant to happen for the next two years.
It’s a sign of problems to come in Washington. And it’s a global synchronicity and an ominous warning that it came on Jan. 6.
The year’s first Mercury retrograde, in Capricorn, hasn’t been personally bad. But it has been evident in the inability of the house of representatives to choose a leader.
This actually makes sense. Capricorn is about the government, the powers that be, an earth sign that demands practicality and solutions. And right now with this Merc retro, McCarthy is groveling. The ultra-extreme wing of the party – Marjorie, Lauren, Gaetz and their ilk – are the ones holding up the proceedings, refusing to vote for McCarthy. Until the house can decide on a leader, there isn’t any house. The elected congress people are Congressman and Congresswoman elect.
So chaos reigns supreme in the republican caucus. They don’t have an agenda to get hem from Poingt A to Point B. They don’t have the vehicle.
On a personal level, one of the things I advocate NOT doing during this period is buying anything with moveable parts – computer, car. But when your engine catches fire while you’re on the road because a belt snapped or a compressor failed and you need a car to get around in your daily life, you break that rule.
So today, our daughter, Megan, bought a 2018 VW Touareg, a decade newer than the car that basically blew up. It’s her first car that isn’t a hand-me-down. Mazda paid her $500 for her 2008 Mazda. You know, the one that blew up. I can’t imagine what they’ll do to this car to make it sales worthy for anything except loose parts. But this is one of the reasons we’ve driven Mazdas for the last 20 years. It’s also why Mercury retros are also so weird.
The other day our podcast producer, Jon, texted us and asked:
Are you aware of the “AI” project Chat GPT? *”OpenAI” I would be curious to see what kind of interactions you come up with. https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ You can login and use it with your Google credentials. Microsoft has invested heavily in development. It launched for public alpha on Nov 30th.
Jon then asked Chat GPT to write an essay on synchronicity. Here is what came up.
Chat GPT:
Synchronicity is a concept that was developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung to describe the experience of meaningful coincidences in one’s life. These coincidences often seem to be connected in a way that defies the laws of cause and effect and are often accompanied by a feeling of awe or a sense of something greater at work.
Jung believed that synchronicity was a form of communication from the unconscious mind, a way for the unconscious to send messages or guidance to the conscious mind. He saw it as evidence of a deeper, underlying unity in the universe, a connection between all things that could not be explained by traditional cause and effect relationships.
One of the key ideas behind synchronicity is the concept of non-causal relationships. In other words, two events may be connected in some meaningful way, but there is no direct causal relationship between them. For example, a person may dream about a certain symbol and then see that symbol in real life later that day, but there is no logical explanation for why the symbol appeared in both the dream and real life.
Some people see synchronicity as a sign of something greater at work, such as a higher power or a connection to a collective unconscious. Others see it as simply a coincidence and attribute it to the law of probability, which states that the more something is expected to happen, the more likely it is to happen.
Regardless of how one interprets synchronicity, it is undeniable that these meaningful coincidences can have a powerful impact on a person’s life. They can provide comfort, guidance, and a sense of connection to something larger than oneself. Many people also find that paying attention to and reflecting on synchronicities can help them gain insight into their own unconscious mind and inner workings.
In conclusion, synchronicity is a concept that describes the experience of meaningful coincidences in one’s life. It can be seen as a form of communication from the unconscious mind or as a sign of a deeper unity in the universe. Regardless of how it is interpreted, synchronicity can have a powerful impact on a person’s life and can provide insight and guidance.
###
Wow, that’s damn good. And not cynical or dismissive as everything even faintly related to the paranormal is on Wikipedia.
But, what’s in store for the long run? As the machines get smarter, are humans getting dumber? Think about how calculators have made basic math skills unnecessary. How many of us can quickly at least estimate how many dollars there are in 500 Icelandic Kronas if one Kronar equals .0071 U.S. dollar. Yikes, where’s the calculator?
With AI capabilities, it seems that student essays are now in many cases just a press of the button. Hopefully, the students will at least read their essays so they learn something.
When I made this point about student essays to Jon, he responded that the instructors can also use AI to grade the ‘papers.’ To make his point, he asked the AI Chat to review it’s own essay on synchronicity. This is what it said:
ChatGPT:
Overall, this essay does a good job of explaining the concept of synchronicity and discussing some of the different interpretations of it. The essay is clear and well-written, with good organization and transitions between paragraphs.
One potential improvement would be to provide more examples of synchronicity to help illustrate the concept and make it more concrete for the reader. Additionally, the essay could benefit from further explanation and elaboration on some of the key ideas, such as the concept of non-causal relationships and the law of probability.
I would give this essay a B+. It effectively communicates the main ideas and provides a balanced overview of the topic, but could be further developed and strengthened with more concrete examples and further explanation of key concepts.
###
So it’s slightly critical of its own essay and makes some good points. That leads us to wonder about the ability of such an AI program to write fiction. It turns out some writers are already using AI to write parts of their novel. Not sure how they do that, but they say it allows them to move ahead quickly with their story.
I never thought machines could replace fiction writing, but I suppose it won’t be long until there’s a bestselling novel written entirely by a machine programmed with characters and a brief plot outline. And probably the publishing industry is salivating at the idea. All they have to do is employ the AI software. They will no doubt call it being pro-active, getting ahead of the game.
A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “TMU – 0143 – Trish And Rob MacGregor – Katherine And Scotty – A Past Life”:
Join Trish and Rob on a past life regression…
The past life regression session took place in April 1982, not long after Rob and I started living together but before we got married. We’re including it in our next book on mind-blowing synchronicities because the session certainly touched on writing themes that have unfolded in our lives since 1982.
Also, when we compared notes about our respective trips to Europe in 1975, we realized we’d been in Edinburgh, Scotland, the same week that year. At some point years later, a psychic informed us that we had three chances to meet. One of those times, she said, was in Scotland, and she didn’t know about our individual trips to Europe.
Well, here it is again – the last Mercury retro of 2022 and the first of 2023. It’s in Capricorn. It begins sat 4:32 a.m. ET and1:32 a.m. PT. It ends on January 18 2023.
During this period, it’s best to revise, review, and reconsider rather than start something new. There are other guidelines, too:
Don’t buy anything with moveable parts – car, computer
Double check all appointments
Avoid conflict
When you communicate do so clearly, succinctly.
Take nothing for granted
To find out how this retro will impact your sign, check the December forecast.
Even though it takes us into the new year, check your January forecast to see what else is in store for you!
A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “Trish MacGregor: Star Power For January 2023”:
Join Trish for the January 2023 astrological forecast!
The written version is in the masthead.
On Christmas Eve day morning, the temperature hovered between 39 and 40. According to as site called Current Events, here are the coldest dates since 2010. Farenheit on the left, centigrade on the right. But our animal buddies are cuddled up!
| 39 | February 04, 2021 | 4 |
| 41 | December 26, 2020 + | 5 |
| 42 | January 21, 2019 | 6 |
| 38 | January 04, 2018 | 3 |
| 42 | December 14, 2017 | 6 |
| 40 | January 24, 2016 | 4 |
| 38 | February 20, 2015 | 3 |
| 38 | January 23, 2014 | 3 |
| 38 | March 04, 2013 | 3 |
| 39 | January 04, 2012 + | 4 |
| 41 | January 23, 2011 | 5 |
| 32 | December 14, 2010 + |
