LOVELIGHT

 

Magazine

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Happy new year!

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January 2007*** Vol. 4, no.1

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Managing editors: Richard Shining Thunder Francis and Adamaria Francis

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Contributors to this issue:  Ramona Abella, Nick Ardizzone, Bill Bonner, Jim Dwyer, Pat Fields, Christine Finer, Mark Franzen, Mick Gallagher, Tom Gustin, David Hem Sagar, Gene Janning, Karen Klein, Brenda Lee, Steven McDaniel, Miriam Miller, Ty Scharrer, Karleen Sell,

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LOVELIGHT MAGAZINE:  WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT

 

     Lovelight magazine is free, coming directly to your inboxscreen once a month, to bring a little sunshine, and at least a few laughs.  So, if you discover any jokes that make you roar with laughter, please send them along. 

     But life is not all laughs.  So, we hope also to share with you some pleasant and sweet thoughts, and life-lessons.

     Lovelight wants to promote peace and harmony, and to aid you personally to overcome any problems.  If you are working on any religious, psychological, or spiritual problems, we encourage you to write to us at rmfrancis@juno.com

     We also want to present "miniparables" to help you grow.  So, if you come across any wise or touching pieces, not copyrighted, fairly short, please share them with the efamily.  Please send them to the magazine, at the same address.  Also welcome are practical tips that can make life easier or safer.  We also welcome short pieces on personal philosophies, interesting facts, wordplays, and spirituality, especially those that emphasize the value of compassion and other forms of Love.  We reserve the right to make whatever changes that we deem necessary or desirable before inclusion in Lovelight magazine.

      As a subscriber, your email name/address will not be shared.  Please share, send, or copy, this magazine, or any parts of it.  Share it with all your friends, and all others.  Please use it on  your websites.  Also, if your friends are inclined, please have them send us their emailaddress and request a personal subscription. All subscriptions are always free.

     This is published as a "light" introduction to spirituality.  It is designed especially for those who have little or no interest in the "heavier" aspects.  And it is also great, fun reading.  A collection of magazines is produced once a year, and would make a sweet gift for a loved one.  Happy reading!:)

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THE LOVELIGHT COLLECTION

 

     We have collected together in one paperback book all the issues of Lovelight for the year 2004.  We have collected in another book all the issues (all twelve) for the year 2005.  And now, all twelve issues of the 2006 collection are also being bound at the publishers.  It costs us $5 per copy to print these books, and they make wonderful gifts for the thoughtful and insightful, or for the "fun at heart."  Please order from: rmfrancis@loveministries.com

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LOVELETTERS FROM OUR BUDS, PALS, AND FRIENDS

 

From Brenda Lee:

 

Shi and Ada Maria,

 

Thank you for the lovely Christmas card and for the two books you sent.  I am about half-way through the book [Jehovah Lives in Brooklyn] and hope to finish it by the end of the month.  I just got back from a business trip, so I've been very busy this week; but [I] was able to read more on the plane.  I just love your book, Richard!!!  I so agree with you that God is love!  I feel it in my heart every day; and I know you do too.

 

Have a wonderful holiday.  Blessings to both of you; and be well, my dear friends...I've learned so much from you.

 

--
Truth, love & light,
 
"Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult"
www.outofthecocoon.net  

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From Miriam Miller:

 

Hello Richard,

 

I am so happy to hear from you.

 

Tell me? How is Adamaria? I miss her smile!

 

ÉNow, tell me about everyone in the

Pneumarium.  Please tell them that I said hi.

 I won't tell you that I will go to the Pneumarium soon because I have a

coldÉ. I do pray to God to give me the strength to be able

to do it.

 

Love,

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From Steven McDaniel:

 

Hi brother,

Thanks for sending me the book.. read it and enjoyed it.  Although we have some different slants on the topic, your book should help people fuse the distance between physics and consciousness.  I have a very extensive bi[bli]ography on the subject if you are interested.  I went a bit mad on the topic about ten years ago, and had some incredible experiences with the connectionsÉ.

 

Also, I have written extensively on the Beauty of Black Holes and light; and why black (Invisible) holes are so important as metaphors of understanding.  After all, the galaxies are rotating around what I call  these "resurrected graves of mass stars."  They are extremely important because they represent a gravitational 'presence' and Singularity (as it is called by physicists) where all reason breaks down to beyond the origin of all beginnings.  In effect, the black hole is the God-metaphor to physics; and its formula of 'infinite mass/zero volume'  is a formula that all the weight of the universe is Invisible and beyond the illusion of space and time. Very profound.  And enlighteningÉ. 

Love, light and peace
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From Ramona Abella:

 

Dear Richard and Maria:

 

Just a note to let you know that I am thinking of you and in receipt of the beautiful Christmas card and treasured message you sent.  As always, yours is the first of the Season.  Thank you so very much for your inspiring and very kind words.  You, my dear friends, are a constant source of strength.  Do not really want to imagine this earthly life without your presence.

 

 ÉOverall, the Spirit remains light, although a few emotional bumps (or holes?) have been encountered along the way.  It must be admitted that, starting over so many times, and yet again in my 60s, is a challenge that was not being sought out-- much less expected. A lot of thought and effort are going into the re-creation of The Chrysalis Center, which has had to be surrendered at least twice before. Time will tell what is meant to be.  Perhaps the Universe will support the vision this time around. 

 

May you be blessed today and always with an abundance of Love in all its endless manifestations.

 

With deep gratitude, I remain your friend always,

***

 

From Mark Franzen:

 

Hey Richard,

 

My mind is beginning  to lean in the direction of spending some personal time with you.  Recently I forwarded a ULD to someone whom I share an incredible resonance with.  Her response to the ULD ["Universal Love Digest"] follows:

 

"I printed this article and am going to chew on it for awhile.  I read it quickly ( getting ready to go to Toledo) and it spoke to my heart and soul.  I did a quick check of the author - Richard S. T. (Shining Thunder) Francis and have subscribed to his Heartmind emails.  Do you know a lot about him?  I know he was brought up as a died-in-the-wool Jehovah['s] Witness and eventually moved away from that into what he calls, not a religion, but a way of life, namely, love.  I want to get to know more about this man.  One cannot get the full flavor of a pot of soup just from a sip, but my sip has caused me to want to try more for sure.  Thanks."

 

So, I foresee a beautiful connection in the making here; and since receiving the above, I find my mind scanning my future schedule(the next 2 weeks) in search of potential openings in which to bring this meeting about.  How does your end [of the month] look?  Are you planning on being in town for the next couple of weeks?

 

I hope to see you soon.  In the meantime may your holidays be full of Love and joy.

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From Karen Klein

 

Shi,

 

Thank you for making the chart for me!  Everything in the chart explains who I am.

Also, helps me understand more about myself.  Furthermore, thank you for explaining that the planets do not control people.  I have always believed that God controls when you are born and that creates who you can decide to become.

 

I am definitely a Leo who does not like to be in the spotlight.  I am going to college to become a counselor, and that matches very well with my chart.

 

Have a great day!

Love,

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From David Hem Sagar:

 

Dear Francisji and Mariaji [the suffix "ji" in India means "beloved" or "friend"],

 

 Namaste! [This Indian word means, "the divine in me salutes the divine in you."]

 

Thank you very much for your kind Email which encouraged me a lot. Your message was really cherished.  I am well encouraged and comfortedÉ. You have really cherished me. What can damage us when there is a brother and friend like you Shi?

 

We love you both. We are also sending millions of blessings. Your love always lifts me up in high spirits.

 

Shanti, [Peace,]

**

 

Here is another letter from the same David Hem Sagar:

 

This is my third mail (third reply in fact)É. Yes, I know, English is a tough language, but I am learning.  I love to learn.

 

É You did not offend me, but rather, corrected me.  I am so happy to receive your Email reply this time.  I am comforted, and I am in full peace now.

 
ÉThank you for sharing your joy and pleasure in working with me, and for the poor in India.  I know that you are a man of peace and love.  For I have seen immeasurable love in you.

 

Thank you for your millions of blessings and words of appreciation, which I feel. I am not deserving or worthy.  It is my honor to know you, Maria, and Pat and  to serve the Lord of Love together.

 

 Thank you, my brother and friend

 

 Shanti

**

 

Here is a third one from David Hem Sagar:

 

Dearest Shi and Adamariaji,

 

 Namaste and Sneham! [Divine greeting and Love.]

 

I received the LOVELIGHT Magazine of December, and I am richly blessed.  I enjoy every LOVELIGHT. You are my true friend. All articles were wonderful.

 

I want to thank you personally for adding my letter in this Issue.  That was awesome! Please say Hello to all who are in the Pneumarium.

 

I know that you have warm and loving thoughts for our Indian "Christmas Project, 2006," as before.  And therefore I want to request that you come forward [with donations] with all our friends there.

 

This time also, Shi, I want to distribute clothes, shoes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dishes, toys, pencils, pencil boxes, pens, warm clothes, etc.  I wish for Love Ministries to play a great role also this time.  You have been a backbone for this PROJECT Francisji.

 

As I stated, please request that our friends there come forward to help financially for the baby Vardhan, who is recently adopted.  I personally want to make a request that anyone from there would make a donation of $15 every month.  This would make the giver a sponsor for the boy.  This would help to buy his MILK and Liquid foods.  We shall send photos to the sponsor, and he/she can directly contact the orphan baby through his adopted father and mother-- Ashok and Monika.  The sponsor can also send a yearly donation instead of a monthly one, if the sponsor wishes.

 

The rest is all fine. Mamta, Esther, and Angel [wife and two daughters] send their greetings to you. Very soon, I will send the photos of Vardhan (adopted boy). 

 

We always pray for you.  Get well soon. 

 

 Shanti,

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GOD'S COFFEE: A MINIPARABLE, sent in by Gene Janning

 

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.  Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work

and life.

     Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and  returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain,  plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite.  The prof told them to help themselves.

     When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, "If  you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want  only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stresses.  But the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more expensive and, in some cases, even hides what we drink.  What
all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup; but you consciously went  for the best cups.  And then, you began eyeing each other's cups.

     "Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in
society are the cups.  They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and
the type of cup we have does not define, or change, the quality of Life that we
live.  But sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the
coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups........ Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make
the best of everything." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest  to God!

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CHUCKLES AND CHORTLES: HUMORTHERAPY

 

 

GO GITCHA MAMA! sent in by Mick Gallagher

 

A redneck family was in a mall for the first time.  The father and son were amazed by almost everything, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.

     Not recognizing an elevator, the boy asked, "Paw, what's that?" 

     The father responded, "Son, I dunno.  I ain't never seen anything like that.  I ain't got no idea'r what it is."

     While they watched with amazement, a fat old  lady  in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button.  The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and they watched the small circular 
number above the walls light up sequentially.

     It reached the last number; and then, the 
 numbers began to light in the reverse order.  Then, the walls opened up
again, and a gorgeous, voluptuous 24 year-old blonde woman stepped out.  The 
 father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son, 
 "Go gitcha mama."

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BLOND YEAR IN REVIEW, sent in by Karleen Sell

 

January--  Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.***February-- Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels. Helllloooo!  bottles won't fit in typewriter!***March-- - Got really excited!  Finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months, and

box said "2-4 years!"***April-- - Trapped on escalator for hours.  Power went out!!.***May-- Tried to make Kool-Aid.  Wrong instructions. Eight cups of water won't fit into those little packets.***June-- Tried to go water skiing.  Couldn't find a lake with a slope.***July-- Lost breast stroke swimming competition.  Learned later, the other swimmers cheated:  They used their arms.***August-- Got locked out of my car in rain storm.  Car swamped because convertible top was open.***September-- The capital of California is "C," isn't it?***October-- Hate m &m's.  They are so hard to peel*** November-- Baked turkey for 4 1/2 days. Instructions said 1 hour per pound and I weigh 108.***December-- Couldn't call '9-11.'  Duh!  There's no "eleven" button on the stupid phone!!!

**

 What a year!

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SIGNS OF THE TIMES,  sent in by Ty Scharrer

 

Actual Business signs:

 

At a Music Store: Out to lunch.  Bach at 12:30. Offenbach sooner.***At a number of US military bases: Restricted to unauthorized personnel.***At a pizza shop: 7 days without pizza makes one weak.***At Santa Fe gas station: We will sell gasoline to anyone in a glass container.***At a Used Car Lot: Second Hand cars in first crash condition.***At an Auto Body Shop: May we have the next dents?***At an optometrist's office: If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.***At the electric company: We would be delighted if you send in your bill.  However, if you don't, you will be.

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WORDS TO LIVE BY

 

DESIRE, sent in by Pat fields

 

"If we get everything that we want, we will soon want nothing that we get."-- Vernon Luchies

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SILLINESS, sent in by Pat Fields

"Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: It's lovely to be silly at the right moment."-- Horace (65-8 BCE) Poet and satirist

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MORE MEMORABLE WORDS, sent in by Nick Ardizzone

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat."-- Teddy Roosevelt

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"Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work."-- Booker T. Washington

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IN THE GOOD OL' DAYS: CHANGING TIMES, sent in by Jim Dwyer

 
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
 
 1973-- Crowd gathers.  Mark wins.  Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up
best friends.  Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.
 2006-- Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark.  Charge
them with assault, both expelled. 
***
Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
 
 1973-- Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal.  Sits
still in class.
 
 2006-- Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin.  Becomes a zombie. School gets
extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
***
 
Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.
 
 1973-- Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.
 2006-- Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations.  Car
searched for drugs and weapons.
***
 
Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee.  He
is found crying by his teacher, Mary.  Mary, hugs him to comfort him.
 
 1973-- In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
 2006-- Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job.  She
faces 3 years in State Prison.  Big brother is watching.
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ATTENTION: TAX NOTICE, sent in by Chris Finer

 

A SPECIAL ONE TIME TAX CREDIT ON YOUR 2006 TAX RETURN
http://money.CNN.Com/2006/05/25/news/telephonetax_refund/index.htm
When it comes time to prepare and file your 2006 tax return, make sure you don't overlook the "federal excise tax refund credit."  You claim the credit on line 71 of your form 1040.  A similar line will be available if you file the short form 1040A.  If you have family or friends who no longer file a tax return, AND they have their own land-phones in their homes, and have been paying a phone bill for years, make sure they know about this form 1040EZ-T.

   What is this all about?  Well, the federal excise tax has been charge to you on your phone bill for years.  It is an old tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on how far the call was being made, and how much time you talked on that call.  When phone-companies began to offer "flat fee" phone-service, challenges to the excise tax ended up in federal courts in several districts of the country.  The challenges pointed out that "flat fee/rate" phone-service had nothing to do with the distance and the length of the phone call.  Therefore, the excise tax should/could not be assessed.

   The IRS has now conceded this argument.  Phone companies have been given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug 30, 2006.  You will most likely see the tax on your September cutoff statement, but it should NOT be on your October bill.
   But the challengers of the old law also demanded restitution.  So, the IRS has announced that a one time credit will be available when you and I file our 2006 tax return as I explained above.  However, the IRS also established limits on how BIG a credit you can get.  Here's how it works.
   If you file your return as a single person with just you as a dependent, you get to claim a $30 credit on line 71 of your 1040.
   If you file with a child or a parent as your dependent, you claim $40.
   If you file your return as a married couple with no children, you claim $40.
   If you file as married with children, you claim $50 if you have one child, $60 if two children.

   In all cases, the most you get to claim is $60-- unless you have all your phone bills starting AFTER Feb 28, 2003 through July 31, 2006.  (Do not use any bills starting August 1, 2006.)  Then you can add up the actual tax as it appears on your bills, and claim that for a credit.  If you have your actual phone-bills, and come up with an ACTUAL TAX AMOUNT, you cannot use line 71 on your tax-return.  You have to complete a special form-- number 8913-- and attach it to your tax return.
   Individuals using the special form 1040EZ-T will have to attach this form 8913 also.
One final point:  This credit is a refundable credit.  That means that you get this money, no matter how your tax return works out.  If you would end up owing the IRS a balance, the refund will reduce that balance that you owe.  If you end up getting a refund, the credit will be added, and you get a bigger refund by that $30 to $60, depending on how many dependents are on your return.
   Feel free to pass this on or make copies for family and friends who don't have computers.

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LOVELY NOTES ON BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, by David Hem Sagar

I LOVE FLOWERS

 

 

I love flowers.  We have a small garden with many kinds of flowers.  I love watching their unfolding beauty.  They have big and important roles in the lives of human beings.

     Flowers have their own "kingdom" of classification, for their variety is so great and wide.  For beauty and diversity, no kingdom in the biological world is superior.  Without flowers, many lovely ceremonies of Love and beauty would not be possible.

     The use of flowers starts when a Child is born  ("Christening"), and ends at the funeral (for expressing sympathy).  Flowers make the world beautiful.  Flowers are much more plentiful in the jungles than in the Nurseries and houses.  

     Many types of flowers have not yet even been identified.  The seas and oceans are also quite rich in an abundance of flowers.  I live in India, and Indian culture and art are very wealthy in their ubiquitous presentation of floral varieties.

 

Every nation has its national flower.  The national flower of  the United States of America is the rose.  The rose was designated the official flower and floral emblem of the U.S. in 1986.

     The national flower of India is the lotus-- a symbol, in philosophy and religion, of peace, Love, and enlightenment.  In India, flowers are sold on every street.  Women love to place them, in garlands, in their hair.  This emits a very sweet fragrance.

     Flowers have their own symbolic language, called "floriography."  An uneducated person might not have access to the resources to understand this "language." 

     But here is a very small intro to the traditional meaning of flowers: Apple blossom-- good fortune; *** Aalmond blossom-- lovers' charm, hope;***cactus-- endurance;*** blue Bell-- humility;*** dahlia-- fickleness;***daisy-- purity;***orchid-- beauty, Love;*** sunflower-- adoration.

     Every color also expresses a mystery.  In roses, they are:  white-- humility, reverence;***red--  Love;***yellow-- friendship or devotion;*** pink-- grace;***orange-- passion; blue-- mystery;*** light pink-- sympathy and admiration;***dark pink-- gratitude.

     We present Roses to our dear ones; but did you know that there is deep meaning in the number of roses?  Here is that meaning:  A single rose-- I still love you;***two roses-- mutual feelings;***three-- I Love you;***seven-- I am infatuated with you;***nine-- We will be together forever;***ten-- You are perfect;***eleven-- You are my treasured one;***twelve-- be mine;***thirteen-- Friends forever;***fifteen-- I am truly sorry;***twenty-- I am truly sincere toward you;***twenty-one-- I am dedicated to you;*** 24-- Congratulations;*** 36-- Remembering our romantic times;*** 40-- My genuine Love for you;*** 50-- Unconditional Love;***99-- IÕll love you all the days of my life;***101-- I am completely devoted to you;*** 108-- Will you marry me?***999-- I love you till the end of time.

     Very few species of flowers are mentioned in the Bible although they abounded in Palestine.  It has been calculated that in Western Syria and Palestine, from two thousand to two thousand five hundred plants are found, of which about five hundred probably are British wild-flowers.  Their beauty is often alluded to (Mt 6:28).  They are referred to as affording an emblem of the transitory nature of human life (James 1:10).  Gardens containing flowers and fragrant herbs are spoken of.

     It is impossible to give all the uses of flowers in this small article.  Flowers are gifts from the Lord of Love.  They are sweet Gifts to humankind full of mysteries. I love flowers.  Let us all love the Goddess by loving flowers.

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ALL PERSONS ARE CREATED EQUAL, based upon an article by Bill Bonner, sent in by Tom Gustin

 

How is it that a reasonably intelligent person can perfectly well drive through traffic without killing herself.  But ask the same person her thoughts on global warming, the war on poverty, or public education, and what you get is such preposterous nonsense that you can barely believe your own ears!

     ÉWhat can the poor mind do, but resort to lies, or such simplifications as take your breath away?

     ÉWhat can a person do?  She replaces local knowledge and experience with empty slogans.  She replaces the detailed evidence before her own eyes with broad categorical generalizations.

     The world on TV becomes a world where the local details are washed out and replaced by caricatures and national averagesÉ.  Standards are set, not according to local custom or individual experience, but according to the great wash of national broadcasting and advertisingÉ.  Everything comes to be seen through the grayish, white light of national broadcasting.

Instead of speaking her local dialect, she is soon speaking the lingua franca of the nightly news.  Instead of wearing the clothes that she likes, she is dressed to suit The Brooks Brothers.

     ÉIt no longer matters whether her house is comfortable and attractive on her own terms.  Now it has to be "acceptableÓ in national termsÉ.It is a standard based on averages, generalities, and public information.  How many square feet per person?  How much heating?  How much air-conditioning?  Then, to make sure that all houses meet their standards, rules are imposed-- building codes, zoning rules, and materials standards.

 The owner can no longer ask herself, "Is this house safe enough for me?"  Now, the question is, "Does this house meet modern safety standards?"  By the new standards, even the "Sun King," Louis XIV, probably lived in 'substandard' housing.

 Education, too, takes on a new look.  It is not enough to learn things; in any case, the busybodies are incapable of organizing real, individual learning.  But what they can organize is education, with the learning removed or standardized to fit into some new larger "national standard."  Educators' can't be bothered with individual students, or even with local curricula.  Everyone has to learn the same thing.  And she has to learn it the same way.

     ÉWho cares whether anyone is actually learning?  The critical thing is that all students get the same claptrap pounded into their poor heads, so that they leave the "machinery" with the same prejudices and illusions.

     ÉPoverty is always a relative measure, but relative to what?  A person might be perfectly happy with her lot in life.  She might have no running water, no central heat,

and no money.  Imagine her tending her garden, feeding her chickens, and fixing her tattered roofÉ.    In fact, by all measures that matter to her, she could have a rich, comfortable, and enjoyable lifeÉ.She finds that she is below the "poverty line."...Poverty seems like something that she has to escape, something she has to get out of , something that someone had better do something about!

Her new scaled-up consciousness has turned her into a malcontentÉ.But the worst thing about it:  TV and popular opinion twist her towards thinking that it is the public view of herself-- not her own private view -- that really mattersÉ.

     All over the world, local customs, styles, manners, accents are disappearingÉ.People are being homogenizedÉ Their food, their music, their clothes - all are becoming standardized, mongrelized. While it is true that regional variations hang on in vestigial, folkloric form, whether you go to New Orleans, Nashville or Vienna, you will hear about the same music, find the same fashions in the same shops, and be able to eat the same McDonalds' hamburger.

An investor in Bombay speaks the same language as one in New YorkÉ.Instead, what you get is the standardized imprecise broadcast news.     ÉGive her a little TV news, and she is ready to go to war with people she has never met, in places she has never been, for reasons she will never understandÉ.

Even in matters as personal as health,É What matters is statistics.  She is overwhelmed by the slogans and prejudices of the national media.  Does she weigh too much?  Does she get enough exercise?  Does she eat enough seafood?  Should she have a check-up every year?  What do the statistics say? What do the papers tell her?

The large-scale chatter doesn't even stop at the bedroom door.  She might have enjoyed a perfectly satisfactory sex life.  But now she is confronted with comparisons, with averages, with the statistical expectations of the national press.  Is she doing it often enough?  Is she doing it well enough?...There is scarcely anything that is so private, so personal, so detailed, so local, and so important that it does not yield to large scale standardization.

     ÉWe are now all equal-- all the same, all the time.  We live in the same houses, we eat the same food, and suffer the very same illusions, as every one else.  If we are unhappy, it is because the TV says we should be.

 

Bill Bonner

The Daily Reckoning

Editor's Note: Bill Bonner is the founder and editor of The Daily

Reckoning. He is also the author, with Addison Wiggin, of The Wall Street

Journal best seller Financial Reckoning Day: Surviving the Soft Depression

of the 21st Century (John Wiley & Sons).

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PART I:  THE ÒABRAHAMÓ MATERIAL: AN ANALYSIS

 

     If you are looking for something new, original, or even creative in your spiritual quest, you will have to look elsewhere than the ÒAbraham channeled materialÓ (here, abbreviated ÒacmÓ).  For the ideas presented as originating with a group of superbeings, Ònonphysical entitiesÓ calling themselves ÒAbraham,Ó is mostly recycled Òpositive thinkingÓ and related materials originating in the 1950Õs.

     Like almost all other ÒchanneledÓ material, the acm promises nothing less spectacular than Òthe perfect life.Ó  Actually, however, it is largely a tapestry of wish-fulfillment.

     What, or who, is ÒAbraham HicksÓ?  Actually, the name is not fully accurate, for it blends the name of a ÒchanneledÓ group of spirits with the egoname of the channeler, Esther Hicks, and her husband and cheerleader, Jerry.  So, the name actually represents the input of the ego, as it is an egoname.

     The whole story started with the use of a Ouija Board in 1959.  When Jerry Hicks asked how to become a wiser person, the ÒboardÓ responded, ÒRead.Ó  When he asked, ÒWhat?Ó it replied, ÒBooks.Ó

     Jerry found that the board, he said, Òworked.Ó  Then, he started communicating with various Òdiscarnate entities.Ó  He admits that he was powerfully influenced by a kind of cult-book of the late fifties, called Think and Grow Rich by a business and positive thinking guru named Napoleon Hill.  There are still echoes of his book, and its simplistic Òyou rule the worldÓ philosophy in the acm.

    This book made exactly the same catastrophic error that marked all the fantastically popular Òpositive thinkingÓ books of the era.  It assumed that the conscious mind was the same as the Creatormind.  So, it followed logically, the conscious mind could rule the world.  This concept underlay all the Òfantasy metaphysicsÓ of the time.  You could have anything, and do anything, if you could just get into the right mindset-- one of charged emotion, frenzied expectation, and belief.

    These old writers failed to make at least two important discoveries:  1)  You cannot consciously generate ÒbeliefÓ or Òfaith,Ó  and 2) The world around you is not created by your conscious mind.  It is dreamed up by a very deep level of the Unconscious.  Often, your conscious mind or egomind has little or no connection with the Unconscious.  And it is never in charge of the Unconscious.

   But, of course, this unrealistic fantasy was exactly what almost everyone, in desperation, wanted to hear.  Several dozen fantasy-books on this theme became very popular.  What could be more exciting, more mindblowingly stimulating, more electrifying, than the idea that you could have perfect health, tons of money, gigantic success, and loads of friends just by changing your way of thinking?  So, for a very brief time, this Òconscious mind is God,Ó or Òyou are GodÓ movement swept through the metaphysical community like a wildfire.

     If it had worked, everyone would have joined it with full enthusiasm and vigor.  The reason that this did not happen, the reason that it remained a Òfringe movement,Ó is that it, as attractive as it was, simply did not work.  The idea was beautiful, very desirable, impellingly attractive.  It appealed to both greed and fear:  Greed, because it promised everything, and fear, because those who fear the cosmos and the unknown want to  feel that they are in control of everything.

   Taoism, and mysticism generally, take the opposite track:  It says that the conscious mind is not the dreamer, Creator, or controller of the cosmos.  The whole function of the conscious mind is to experience and to learn, not to create.  Instead of artificially pretending to control everything, the conscious mind exists to teach us that there is a very deep Mind in the Unconscious that already does control everything.  This is the Superconscious, the deepest part, the nucleus or core, of the Unconscious.  This is Creatormind, Lovemind, Coremind, or ÒGod.Ó  And Its own Core is Love.

    If we can learn to trust It, as emphasized in Taoism and general mysticism, we no longer have to fret about having to control others, events, and our own bodies.  The conscious mind is not even capable of controlling the body.  To prove this, the next time that someone tells you that the conscious mind can control the whole universe, suggest a simple test:  Ask her to change the color of a single hair on her own head.  She will not be able to do so.

     Also, if you were to describe all the bioprocesses occurring in your body within a single second, it would require forty thousand large volumes of fine print.  The conscious mind cannot possibly handle the data!  It cannot regulate the three million million cells that make up a body.  To get an idea of the limitations of the conscious mind, close your eyes, and try to picture three candles.  ThatÕs easy.  But now make it ten.  A bit tougher, but certainly possible.  Now, make it a hundred.  Most of the time, the conscious mind cannot visualize a number this high with clarity.  And when you try to visualize a thousand, the candles become just an amorphous huge group.

    So, how could the conscious mind, which cannot handle even the tiniest number, such as a thousand, actually control three million million cells, each with thousands of millions of molecules?

   What does all this mean?  It means, and proves, this:  A much greater Mind, of enormous capacity, creates and regulates your body, and the cosmos.  Your conscious (aware) mind is just Òalong for the ride.Ó  All that you can create, by using this conscious mind, are responses to the world.  But you cannot create the world.  HereÕs another practical experiment:  Visualize, over a period of months, or even years, that you have a ten-carat diamond in your hands.  How long would you have to ÒvisualizeÓ before the diamond actually appeared?  Most of us have enough common sense to realize that the diamond would never materialize.  And this is a true admission that the conscious mind does not control the cosmos.

    Yet it is far more alluring to believe, or try to believe, that the consc