Manchester~The Heart Breaks

Another terror bombing

 

May 22, 2017: Another bombing, this time as thousands of people left an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena. 22 dead, 59 injured, mostly young teen women. The heart breaks.

 

Today isn't a day to discuss root causes, assign blame or pursue agendas, nor should it ever be on the back of tragedy.

 

I remember after 9/11, when an American friend asked "How did we ever get to this place?" and my heart broke then too, for my friends.

 

I remember instead the outpouring of love after 9/11, as millions marched to prevent war. As the great city of Manchester mobilized once again, with #RoomForManchester, taxis, hotels, first responders, then what I saw was great feelings of love, decency, strength. Manchester is indeed, a great city. I know, since I have so many friends there..

 

Ten years ago, I flew into Glasgow airport just after the terror bombing there. When I finally left the U.K. it was through Manchester airport. If there is a place I love as much I do Canada it would be the U.K.

 

I will not respond to hate, no matter the source or reason. The only response in these times is love. Only then can there be peace, and, seeing the future, I believe the world will then be a better place.

Acts Of Kindness

 

It was a rough year

 

As we come to the last day of a very rough year, here's a very special message. I picked up a book at the library today, and there was a book..

 

Its title: Lucknow Ransom, Glen Peters, Parthian, Cardigan, 2013. 

 

An Anglo-Indian woman leaving her past behind enters a 2nd class railway carriage in Calcutta with her son. There she meets a Hijra prostitute called Lakshmi, from the Hindu goddess of good fortune. She treats her with kindness, and is helped in turn as they get involved in a scandal.

 

Hijras are a 4000 year old transgender community of men who transition to women in India and Pakistan, who despite prejudice, have been granted the right to be considered a third sex for identification purposes. It is considered good luck to have them dance at Indian weddings, bad to mistreat them.

 

Background to the Hijras:

 

India's Third Gender Communities

 

South Asia's Transgender Community Speaks Its Own Language

 

This was an interesting connection to when I last visited Pakistan in 1995,

Mother Mary Comes To Me.  I took a train from Karachi to Lahore and that was a 2nd class carriage too :) Even though I had a reserved berth people came on anyway and crammed the seats. A party of Hijras came aboard. People refused to let them sit beside, because, prejudice.

 

I asked them to sit with me, which they accepted gladly. "Aren't we all the Children of Adam?" they asked the shamefaced passengers. Then they shared their food with me (again, people don't like to eat from the same container as a Hijra, but what do I know?)

 

This reminder today, for a project I'd been working on: a fictional crime series set in Pakistan. To tell the story of a police investigator as he progresses through the turmoil of post independence Pakistan. Not a new idea, to set crime stories in other cultures, other historical periods (I've been reading Magdalen Nabb's Marshal Guarnaccia series and Qiu Xiaolong's Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department series, enjoyed tremendously but then, I read a lot).

 

It's in the telling of a story, and the building of a character. An investigator who works the seamy side of Lahore's criminal underworld and, copyright, its title is The Punjab Minister's Wife. To be followed by, By Sea to Karachi, The Malir Ghost and The Haunting of the American Embassy. Like me, he loves Sufi and Indo-Persian poetry.

 

But the message from the past, and, for the future as the world wonders what will 2017 be like?

 

Be known for your acts of kindness.

 

 

 

 

An Impending Storm

Not even a lull, any more

Just before the 1994 Northridge earthquake, there was a deep, unnatural hush in the Los Angeles canyon my family and I used to walk every night. Just before the 2004 Asian tsunami, many animals on the island of Sri Lanka were observed moving towards higher ground. I saw it happening, almost ten years prior, but sadly, most humans, lack the ability, to see.

Palestine, has finally won semi-nationhood status at the United Nations. A cause that I felt deeply about for the last 45 years has finally moved into its final stage. Now, it's up to the people of Palestine and the good people everywhere who support them.

A young man has to make a momentous decision.

A woman I know has to take charge of her life.

I was thinking we were in the midst of a lull after the momentous events of November, and then, almost instantly, it shifted, and now the storm is fast approaching. 

I warned someone this would be the most difficult two weeks and yet everything seemed OK but just an hour ago she found her sister has Stage 4 kidney disease and with only one kidney left needs a transplant. Yes, I will help, any one that asks. But, I demand faith, and trust, or I will step away from those who just cannot, will not, ever see.

Stop wasting time.

Five Rules To Live By

The Rules Of Naseer

1. Be detached. Don't react.
2. You chose your life. Let go of the stuff you hold on to.
3. Learn what your purpose is.
4. You need focus and discipline to get to where you want.
5. Forgive, heal, move on.

Buried Treasure

This is a real treasure map, mateys!

I meet the most interesting people, and it's always, always, for a reason. They always have a good story to tell. They may be a connection from the past, or, a message pertaining to the future. (Note: don't ask me if I have a message for them :) Even if I did, I'd still wait and see what unfolds) They may know people that are famous (though I always find their story more compelling than that of the politician/celebrity they're connected with) And yes, there is buried treasure waiting to be found.

There are many people, with buried memories of past lives. Helping them untangle and move forward is one thing I do. There are those who almost died and came back with a purpose, or still are searching. You look at a person, and you see the gifts they have. You look around, and there are unquiet spirits... yes, they are interesting.

So, Nelson Mandela is a hero to many people because of his heroic resistance to oppression. But in the end he had to make a deal not to nationalize South Africa's mines before he was allowed to become president. And then, even then, people still tried to assassinate him. I met the special forces man who was supposed to plant a bomb in his office. He'd been tortured in prison, and I helped heal his broken body so he was free of pain for a while. As I said, it was his story that was interesting.

The Dalai Lama is another celebrity we get to project our emotional and spiritual longing on to. I know too much of his story of compromise to care any more. It was the Rinpoche in Toronto with the gleaming eyes and shared sense of humour I liked.

Then there are people who quite literally search for buried treasure.

There was an Iranian businessman who wanted much but was afraid to give. He had all sorts of spiritual and financial karma. So I made him pay me up front :) and as it turned out, good thing I did :))) He won a big lawsuit, regained property stolen from him, sold a factory, made millions. Then, in the nature of rich people everywhere, he wanted his money's worth. Which, he got. There's a friend of his in London whose son had a stroke. In a coma for a while, could I help? Yes, and he got better. His brother was a coke addict. I healed from a distance, and he quit. Left his family too, but, I break eggs. Then he got me in touch with some exiles who needed to get a hold of 'buried treasure'. Sure I could help, but pay me first. Nope, and we parted ways.

But the real person in all of this was his wife. She had some tremendous abilities and would have become a very powerful spiritual teacher. But they both were victims of spiritual possession and in the end, I could only wish them the best, with no regrets.

There are the 'spiritual advisers' to politicians. Like Djuna Davishavili, the woman who some say had enormous influence both with Russian leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Boris Yeltsin. I met her in Spain, and was invited to Moscow. Funny how my sense of self preservation kept me from going there just before the second Russian revolution and attack on the Russian White House in 1993. Around 2000 people were killed.

Yet I would also go to Iran in 2007, and believe me, that was more dangerous. Many of the ayatollahs and businessmen do believe in sorcery. But I was there to teach spirituality and prevent a disaster, and again, whatever could have happened, didn't (See "Happy Nawrooz To The People Of Iran").

When the Japanese armies invaded China in the late 30's huge amounts of gold and jewels were looted and sent back to Japan, and later, hidden in caves in the Philippines. The late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos had a spiritual advisor he trusted implicitly. She had a disciple who came to Canada and became my student for a while. She told me about the caves which still had tons of looted gold and jewels. The CIA was after that, and she'd already been cheated of $30 million which had been entrusted to her by Marcos. Could I help her with that? Perhaps I could. But again, my spidey sense said it would come to nothing. Yet, funnily, coincidentally, my cousin was South Asian head of operations for a European bank based in Manila, and then when he might have been able to help the Iranians in 2007, he was heading operations in Amsterdam. But there was no way I'd endanger him.

Ever since I read RL Stevenson's Treasure Island I'd been fascinated by the idea of hidden treasure. Sure, there's Nazi looted gold in European lakes, and Mayan treasure vaults buried deep in the Andes, and Captain Kidd's pirate treasure somewhere off the Carolina coast.

But note this. The occult means 'the hidden', and alchemy is not the transmutation of lead to gold, but the transformation of humanity to a higher spiritual level.

There are people with a divine gift who wish to make a difference but don't know how.

If you want to know how to get there I say: give it up and follow me.

The greatest treasure of all is knowledge.

Psychism And The Occult Wars

The brain we do not use

I've written a lot about the Psychic without really explaining what it meant, or, how to develop it in one's self. And, how important it is for our understanding of what is, regardless of prejudices against what is called the Occult, or, the hidden, the unknown.

How did I come by this knowledge? Well, I believe we all are gifted with so many abilities, but don't know how to use even a portion of them. We use a small portion of our brains; we act only in small ways. We pursue the spiritual without understanding what that is, because we limit ourselves in another very important part of our being, the psychic. And, when we seek knowledge, we get answers, and spend the rest of our lives developing and proving our er, theories :)

We all have three different energies that are expressed through the chakras, which are energy centers and doorways into our experiences, but also, other dimensions. These energies flow through the chakras by way of the meridians. They might be analogous to Chi or Prana, but I see this as belonging to a more original method than that of India or China's.

There are Physical chakras, or material manifestations like health and wealth; the Psychic, which is the higher expression of our emotions; and lastly, the Spiritual, which balances them all together in the whole but can manifest in ways that are themselves balanced and peaceful, or, unbalanced. Where they are blocked or strong shows in many ways.

Psychism is also a gift connected with what I call the super-brain; the part we rarely use except in times of deepest stress or exercises designed to reach another space.

My research into the brain and how it works came into being by many ways. My growing awareness of my own abilities, written about in these pages at great length. My interest in mental health; and my observations of our extended families; we are a gifted but er, rather sensitive family, and I had the opportunity to observe them at great length.

Another word for Psychism might be emotional sensitivity, but on a deeper scale than the term implies. And yes, I do believe that the key to healing is to begin to understand how illness always has an emotional foundation.

Yes, Psychism may be manifested in the ability to see the future (though I avoid the fortune-telling aspect) I also think it gives the ability to understand people, because the empathetic quality necessary to be a Psychic, a Healer, a Physician, all lies within this area.

And, another thing that interests me: what's the difference between psychism and prophecy? None whatsoever, the source is the same. Though what the prophets did can of course be marvelous in many ways.

Then we get to Psychology: and yes, we have the giants like Freud, Jung and Adler, and I can see where their ideas could have, if developed further, really helped the human condition. But, without developing and seeing its connection to Psychism, I submit to you it is neither science nor art, but, in my opinion, good for labeling behaviors while not being able to effect any cure for the human condition beyond what the body can do to heal itself.

First, my definitions: human beings have 12 chakras, not 7 as defined by the different Indian system.

The 3 Physical Chakras start from the feet, black, red, and orange. The 5 Psychic chakras start with the solar plexus, yellow, then green, pink, sky blue, and indigo. The last 4 start with and go above the head, and they are the Spiritual chakras. Starting with the crown, violet, we proceed to green/gold, cobalt blue, and white.

Before we develop these centers, first we must understand them.

Yellow is the seat of the soul, the ego. A storehouse of all emotional memories which help us define who we are and what validates us.

Green is the energy of the heart, healing and creativity, which is where we give to others. This is the energy coming into this planet, and into, us.

Pink is the energy of our dharma, our purpose in life. By finding it, we alleviate the pain of karma.

Sky Blue is the intellect, speech, communication. If overstimulated it leads to fear and over analysis. The last three centuries have been the era of rational thinking, media, Internet. This also is the energy that most blocks us from the psychic understanding of further horizons.

Indigo, the last chakra, is the center of our intuitive power. We can tap into, or fog it, by the use of alcohol and drugs.

Understanding helps us to develop these powers, but first we must heal our hidden emotional vulnerabilities, forgive the past, and heal our karma. After that it merely is a matter of practice and observational exercises.

I had a difficult girl friend once :) who couldn't stand to sit beside me. She said she felt I was reading her mind. Let me tell you, I spent all my life learning to tune people out, not in. To not take other's energies into myself. Plus, there are certain ethical principles that apply: misuse these gifts and they go into some deep and dark spaces.

When I first came to Toronto 40 years ago sure, I did some psychic work, and met many Psychics, Healers, and Spiritual Groups. Toronto was quite a happening place then. But what I saw was they couldn't protect themselves from these forces they worked with, and lost many good friends to suicide, cancer, and even, murder. So, I learned to tap into those forces, without harm.

And, since my children also have these gifts, teach them from an early age. Every child is born with this, but, if not supported by parents, if directed only towards what they consider real, then that gift is lost. And psychosis can also set in, and then they go down the sad road of medication.

Psychism helps us with finding our direction in life. Call it an enhanced intuition, but if I had a choice between going to New York where I could set up a spiritual group and almost be guaranteed publishing of my book, then I would go to London instead for many years where I pursued my spiritual quest while putting aside the material. Because the voice told me I had to take a different road. And the more often you trust your voice, the more often you're right. And you take the road less travelled, and still, meet the person you are meant to meet.

Yes, we hear the voices of spirit friends, but we also hear our own voices. And one more voice we hear, is that which society broadcasts at us. As someone who's read Psychologist Edward Bernay's 1928 book Propaganda, (he was the nephew of Sigmund Freud) with prescriptions for how to manipulate public opinion in a free society, I understand how difficult it is to resist the daily manipulation of our mind through fear, terror, and regular doses of well, propaganda; all sky blue - throat chakra energy.

I also note the close cooperation between elements of intelligence service and the psychiatric field in experiments with mind control, and with various cults, new age movements and media :)

So yeah, crop circles and UFO's are interesting phenomena, but, they also are fake. With all due respect to those who er, believe in them :)

I also note the Occult Wars that are taking place in so many ways. One, where people use psychic means to control others. Uggh. Two, where they get into weird rituals and magickal endeavours (more on that later) Three, where the pursuit of power becomes an end in itself. Again, that is self-defeating and harmful. Whatever gains there are, are temporary. Whatever wars there are on the physical or emotional plane die off as we seek the spiritual.

Yet when people try to search for answers beyond the rational, they are set upon by well-funded 'rationalists' who lead jihads against anything they consider irrational, be it Astrology or Alternative Medicine. They even attack Universities like Duke that try to do research into parapsychology. Of course, if the CIA finds the Russians are conducting similar research, what do they do but fund similar programs? While denigrating everything that has to do with spirituality? There even are wars against religion, not to reform them, but to alter the good aspects of them. And I've already commented on various mind control mechanisms, without having to make protestations that no, I'm NOT paranoid or delusional. Time will tell:)

This really is a teaching for those who already are seekers. Without overcoming the barriers of the mind and replenishing the depleted energies of the soul, you're blocked from really becoming one with spirituality.

First, you need to let go of the negative aspects of the Psychic Chakras and the Occult Wars, which are, fear, anger, hatred, and delusion.

Then: you need to balance the analytical with the intuitive, and give flow to the energies of the heart,

you need to trust your deepest, inner being, and allow its free expression,

and you need to make the leap of faith that takes you know not where, but unquestioningly dive into the deep river that flows across the heavens.

America, The Spiritual

First, acknowledge the wrongs

Yesterday, March 19, was the 8th anniversary of the war in Iraq. It also was the day of the supermoon, when the moon is closest to earth and coincides with a full moon. This rare event signifies great human change, and yes, it was interesting to see all that energy flow by. And yesterday, America went to war with Libya, another great historical wrong.

I have written a lot already about "This Stupid, Stupid, War" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-stupid-stupid-war.html and earlier, about a prophecy I made in 1977, entitled "War" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/war-this-is-final-chapter-of-my-book.html I've written many times about my hope for peace but recognizing that peace can only come from inside us. But this article is about the change that must take place in America.

I have always been drawn to and studied the spiritual destiny of America. It was destined for greatness but so far has only been rich and powerful, and never, great. Without acknowledging and changing the wrongs of its past, it will never be great.

1. The Destruction of the Native Peoples.


2. The Institution of Slavery


3. Its dreams of Empire, and ruthless wars on anyone that resisted it.

So here we are; a place I had hoped would be like Atlan, a unifying force under the Way of Atlan but, becoming more like Atlantis, an empire that sank under the weight of its sins.

I have been drawn many times to America, in this life, and in past ones. But each time, I have had to leave, because it must first change.

When we left Japan in 1957 my father was scheduled to be posted to the Washington D.C. Embassy but, his friend the ambassador died. We could have gone to the U.S. in 1970 but came to Canada instead. I could have been a published author in New York in 1975; I chose to move to England, and that journey has been written about extensively in these pages. Others came to America to set up Ashrams and Sufi Centers and New Age groups; I, didn't.

Then I did travel to the U.S., 11 extensive spiritual journeys from 1990 on, to help people: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/spiritual-journey-to-u.html and then, when it became apparent that certain events would take place regardless, I left, but still, sent a disciple, Jennifer, to N.Y to help: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/christ-sent-his-disciple-to-new-york.html and here: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/christ-sent-his-disciple-to-new-york_11.html

But, that was it. My focus went world wide, and I travelled again and again to other places, and helped others, in person and spiritually. And I watched America from afar, with love for my friends, but also, seeing how difficult it would be.

Then I saw the nomination of Barack Obama and the excitement that swept the country "Barack's The One" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/03/baracks-one.html and again, "And Now What" http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/11/and-now-what.html where I looked at the marvelous coincidence of my cousin rooming with him in college, and here again I had to temper my personal regard for him with the knowledge of the political and economic system that might prevent him from enacting real change, and reminding people they couldn't just depend on him alone, they had to change.

I had already written about the impending breakdown of government and financial structures in January 2008 http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/01/revolution-begins-now.html and how religious structures had already broken down. And what I said came to pass. But even before that, in December 2007, I wrote the following: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/time-for-spiritual-revolution-today.html

"The answer is not going to come from politics. I warned in my previous newsletter that regardless of who won the U.S. election, the world would not be a better place. (Happened again)I personally knew that Bush would win because Kerry would lose, a significant distinction, and that people would be depressed afterwards.

Well, get over it.The solution will not come from Greenpeace or the Greens or anti-globalists or the left wing dinosaurs that put all their faith in band-aid 'left-wing' solutions or religious fanatics who are tools of the new global order. The solution will not come from the use of violence. That's their weapon.

Nor will it come from organised religion, which is decrepit and obsolete. I'm not talking about its ability to inspire people and raise their consciousness, but the structure, which is corrupt to its core.

The solution will not come from New Age self-absorption or the Internet or writing a book (I'm a writer myself) or praying to God, Mother Earth or Angels.The solution will come from you, but I'm not prescribing a truistic bromide.

There is one movement in the world now and that isn't the anti-war movement, noble as that is. (There just isn't the same energy left for a repeat of the anti-Vietnam War or anti-apartheid movement, and you have governments that are a lot more repressive now)

The movement in waiting is the passionate search for completion, and spirituality, of finding out who we are and our relationship to God, of becoming so strong that nothing they throw at us is going to defeat us.I am talking about a spiritual revolution, where no pain is felt that cannot be borne, and no happiness can be taken away from us because it already exists inside us. I am talking about magic, love, and the joy we take in every day without realising it.

Did you not pray, and ask for help?"

And if you ever need help, you can contact me from my profile page on the right. And if you want to help, ditto.

But again, I say this. It is time for a new American Spiritual Movement.

To A Friend As He Prepares To Make His Last Journey

Death is just another journey, my friend

I have met death, so many times, and each time it was just a step in this journey we call Life.

In this universe there are many dimensions, and beyond it, even more.

I have helped so many people in this life, and, when it was time to let them go, I again gave the gift of kindness to help them pass over to the other side.

A very good friend of mine is about to make that transition. I met Vijay many years ago during my spiritual journey to the UK and will always be grateful for his hospitality and friendship. He took my family in and we stayed at his home in Lyme Regis, Dorset, and did many healings and workshops for so many others there. We lost touch but reconnected recently. He is now in the final stages of his battle with ALS.

Vijay had a wonderful mind filled with curiosity about the esoteric but also, a deep love for the environment, for music, and, his many friends. And, he played the piano beautifully. He was a genius too, but I never had a problem understanding him :)

So this is an eulogy for my friend, because why not say nice things about our friends when they're around, and not, after they're gone?

But this also is a meditation on what has driven me since I was a child. What happens to us after death? And what is the journey like?

Can it be painful? Yes, for those who are afraid or die suddenly or had a life of regrets. Yet, even then, we can let go, we can forgive others and ourselves, we can move on. And there always will be friends, waiting to help us move to the other side.

A friend who was in the final stages of cancer saw me in this white cloud waving to her and told others it was a very peaceful moment for her; there was no more pain and she left her body later that day.

The thousands of people missing or dead in the great earthquake in Japan two days ago; I feel their pain very deeply, as I felt the pain of the hundreds of thousands killed in Tokyo in WWII when I lived there after the war. And as I wrote about in my blog after the earthquake in Haiti, the pain which was yet to come.

And yesterday my aunt through whom my healing journey began many years ago told me her sister had stage 4 cancer and my uncle passed away recently and his wife, my favourite aunt (because she's a Taurus) also has cancer, and her son is in hospital with diabetes and stress related complications.

Religion can, and does, give comfort to those who ask these questions about life after death. It also makes absurd distinctions about who can and cannot enter heaven. Heaven is a peaceful place and a step on that journey, and everybody gets there, sooner or later, and that depends on us, and not, the rules we create when we try to make sense of the world.

"In my father's house there are many mansions" might describe it one way. I do not believe that only those who follow a particular religion or belief can get there, and my role as a healer is to help all spirits make that transition.

There are several stages beyond when the spirit leaves the body. All of them are wonderful, though there is a place where we do face up to all we have done, and the price we have paid in our lack of understanding and peace.

But then, as I say to my friend Vijay, we go into that white light, and dissolve into the universal embrace of that peace.

PS: Vijay passed away recently. I was thinking of him this last while and sending him on with our prayers. We like to believe he has met, once again, his wife whom he loved very much. And that he knows how much he was loved by his many friends. RIP.

Prejudice? Not

We are indeed, prisoners of our prejudices

We were a polyglot group of foreigners living in our neighbourhood of Tokyo in the 50's. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Pakistanis, Iranians, Americans, British. Children of diplomatic staff who I thought all got along very well with each other, until one day I realized that actually, we didn't.

A group of my friends got together to beat up another of my friends. Why? Because they were Muslim, and he, Hindu. So there were four of them with sticks, waiting for him to show up. They wanted me to join them, but I said no.

Walking away, the wrongness of this struck me. I found him shopping for his mom. When the others attacked, he swung his shopping bag at them, and a glass bottle cut open one kid's head. I told them to leave him alone. When they complained about my warning him, I said "too bad, but it was wrong"

These children were 6-7 years old. We had all played together, and now, because one parent influenced his child, a whole gang were going to beat up on a kid because of what? His parents worshipped another form of God? I doubt that they understood the er, theological differences; they just were being conditioned to hate the other.

Going to school in Pakistan, there were Christians and Hindus who people just had to make comments about. So, contrarian that I was, I had to befriend them. There was one Hindu who had a particularly bad time of it; yet, in visiting his home I found out he actually was related to our family by marriage. Small world.

On the other hand, while growing up in India, my grandparents brought in Hindu tutors who actually snuck in history textbooks about how "cruel the Muslim rulers had been". Oy vey. And my brother told me how a Jewish kid at Karachi Grammar school had been treated very unkindly and how bad he felt about it. Me, I'd have made him my best friend for life :)

And here in the Western world, I see how prejudices against Islam are being manipulated to justify a war against a billion and a half Muslims, and so, even though I'm not one myself, I try to defend them against this. It doesn't matter if the subject had been Jews or Evangelical Christians, it is always the unfairness of the attacks, the views of the stronger against those with no voice against prejudice, that gets me riled.

But this isn't a riff about How Liberal I Am. Many of my views might be termed non-PC, and I am more revolutionary than 'liberal'. What interests me is the psychology of how certain images and prejudices are conditioned into us, not just by religion or society or parents, but by our own experiences and learning.

Of course we have stereotypes and archetypes that might even be reinforced by personal experience and knowledge. Even as an Astrologer I have no problem generalizing about the 12 Astrological signs, because there are no good signs or bad ones. Similarly, while I know that each race and nation has its own karma and er, characteristics, no one is bound by them, because we all have free choice, and the gift of being able to step outside of our own conditioning.

So, I think it is so sad that Muslim kids, or Hindus, or Jews, or Christians, or heterosexuals, or, er, white folk (trust me, 'brown' folk have their own prejudices) learn to fear the other. I think it is so sad that prejudice is so pervasive it can be manipulated for external purposes.

Yet, the heart knows what it loves. How sad it would be if we excluded so many from the list of those whom we can love?

The Paths That Cross Ours

We live in interesting times

Indeed, we do. And it is the paths that cross ours that make it the more interesting.

The paths that cross ours can be a planet, or a comet. It can be an event, or, a person. The question still is, and always will be, what do we learn from this?

Someone I loved met someone. The attraction was sudden. It coincided with planetary change. They married, sorta :) It lasted 2 months, and now they're done. The "I told you so's" are unremarkable. The coincidences, are remarkable. A child who was abused, married someone who was abusive, and who herself was the child of abuse. The parents involved all had holes in their heart chakras and in need of healing, but were unaware.

We lay in a field north of Toronto and the sky was filled with the flash of meteor shower; hundreds of streaks of light passing by, and then it was time to go on A Spiritual Journey to the U.S. http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/spiritual-journey-to-u.html

We saw the earth's shadow cross across the moon in L.A. and two months later there was the earthquake, and many more changes after I saw the shadow of the moon turn day into night on the Dartmoor hills. These paths crossed ours, and we changed because we accepted that we must.

And there were the countless people who were dying, or in coma, or a deep spiritual crisis, and they prayed and asked for help. They, the ones who needed me the most, met me, saw me, felt my healing touch. And they changed.

And so, when someone's path crosses yours, you change, because you must.

The Food That Nourishes Us

Food for the soul

I got some sad news recently, and things have been especially tumultuous for everyone in the last few months, and I find myself writing more and more trying to help people make sense of things. We are all in need of nourishment, and perhaps, right now, the best nourishment would be a good soup or something equivalent. Bet you thought I was going to say something spiritual, right? :)

Well, we do need a good soup, and know, how to nourish ourselves. And food is the best nourishment, because until we give to our physical body, without that strong foundation, how can we build our emotional or spiritual selves?

So I did write Mastering The Art Of French Cooking to give an idea where I was coming from http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2010/05/mastering-art-of-french-cooking.html and I do recommend Food Is Your Best Medicine by Henry G. Bieler, M.D. but, the real nourishment is not in the recipe, but, the source of the food, and the environment you cook it in, and, whether you prepare it with love or not.

You can read Like Water For Chocolate (movie's great too) and if there's one book you MUST read it's The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, sort of The Slumdog Millionaire becomes a three star chef in France, to see the sheer joy and love of cooking I am talking about.

I used to cook for my family and friends, simple food prepared with love, and everyone felt the energy and nourishment within that food. Now I am so preoccupied with things I rarely have the chance to cook, but Chloe does the cooking in the same spirit, and I suspect people love her desserts even more :) Yes, it's the joy of cooking for others, and what we put in it is love.

Yes, there are many different kinds of nourishment, and be it manna for Moses' people, the body of the Christ, and the slaughtered goats of Eid that Muslims are enjoined to give to the poor, yes there many ways we can give without all those er, other rules.

But I, will be dragging out the old barbeque for my family this week.

Are We There Yet?

No

Here we are, again, and it isn't the beginning of the end, or even, a new beginning. We're always on this journey, because we're immortal. We're all at some point of our own journeys, but, right now, we're all at this stage of incompletion, of karma, of seeking.

So, it's a life of hard work for us right now, and, in spite of all the obstacles, we have to hang in there. And the only thing I can promise you is peace. Oh, and whatever you fear, will be fine.

So is it heaven you seek? That's only a stage, and heaven can also exist here on earth, and you can find it if you find your connection to God. And the fastest way for that is to feel love and compassion, and then, you will find peace.

Oh, I could be angry a hundred times over, and when I am, it really is something. But what you see right now, the imbalance and nature's way of trying to correct it, is your doing. And only you can correct it.

But in the end, you will have to find your way back to me.

When God Created Humanity

We were given free will

And if we were truly given free will, is it possible that all of what we are going through is, unplanned? Yes, it's possible to see a possible outcome. But what if we must also accept that there's no Plan behind all this, and we truly are responsible for whatever happens?

Exactly one year ago I wrote several blog posts here. For those who found my last post too, er, bleak, I suggest you go back to the July 2009 archives and see if I didn't explain my thoughts well enough, and didn't I say there would always be hope, for those who could change?

For now, it's enough to say that if things are unfolding, then it's not as they should, or could have done, but as to what we've created over several millennia of Earth's history.

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  First, we lost sight of God. And for that we can't blame God, or the man made religions. We had the ability to see they were temporary structures passed through all too human beings, and they were meant to evolve as we were meant to evolve. That we were meant to one day look for a direct connection without having a whole lot of tribal rules imposed on us.


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  And if God out of should try to teach us certain lessons about karma and we missed that, then whose fault is that?


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  And when teachers came, who rejected the teachers because they weren't perfect, or wouldn't fit our preconceptions? At least they, however flawed, tried to help us. All you had to do was learn the lesson, and move on.


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  Ultimately, who made the choice to shut off the spiritual so we could pursue the material? Humanity did. And the fear and scepticism, hoo hah! So don't complain when you're told it's too late.

So Humanity had a choice, and even if free will had been eroded over thousands of years, yet, it still had a choice. And if you now must accept that whatever must be, that's not punishment, it's an opportunity.

Is That All There Is?

What keeps us going is hope

So what if that's all there is? Things have been pretty fucked up, so what if I said, what you've got is what you've got? Mass riots and depression I guess.

Apologies first for using this dark picture of Scotland, which we loved very much. It was on the ferry, which is about journeys, and the rains had stopped as soon as we left Kendal, and by the time we left Nairn and then reached Iona, a brilliant sun came out.

Which illustrates my point:

What if? What if your marriage is what you've got, and your home is what you've got, and your children, loved ones, parents, jobs, whatever were the way they were? I know I'd keep going on, that I wouldn't give up trying, that I would keep plugging away at people and helping them to change. I would still be a healer, I would still be their kind friend.

And that's it really. Things might change, but they'll be difficult changes. People might remain the same, and give up. Today a woman told Chloe her husband wanted to leave her and their three children, and one of them is a thirteen yr. old autistic child.

What is it with people, with men that evade their responsibilities and run away? What is it with people that give up?

Oh, people might say they'll hang in there and things will change.

But, what if things won't change and you know that? You can always change the way you look at things, but you'll still, live with something or someone for the rest of your life. And, matters may get worse. So, one may ask, is that all there is/Is that how it's going to be?

So yes, things might only possibly go downhill from here. Suffering may increase exponentially and natural disasters and illnesses increase. And chances are, the person you're with might not change.

But.

You accept that this is what you've got, and you'll make a nourishing soup, heck, an omelette out of what you've got.

And I'll create a safe harbour where all can shelter and wait till the storm passes away, and I'll keep building these refuges around the world, but I'll tell those who know who I am: The safest refuge is the one inside yourself.

The Karma of Natural Disasters

Haiti-Jan. 12, 2010

300,000 dead

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. 300,000 thousand people were killed, 1.5 million made homeless.

Many countries rushed to help, then rushed away, and it should be noted, the countries that helped the most were Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. The richest, more powerful countries that were actually responsible for making Haiti in the state it was, did the least, even when they could have done much more.

But just as these rich countries have their own karma, and so, too, does Haiti, but my purpose is to discuss the Karma of Natural Disasters. And again, it is not to say that when karma happens, people deserve it, or that God wills it.

Though it was interesting to see Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson blame Haiti's problems, as due to a "pact with the devil". He was referring to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutty_Boukman

Boukman Dutty was a self educated slave born on the island of Jamaica, his first name on the island means "book man", his last name means "dirty". His French name came from his English nickname, "Book Man," which some scholars have interpreted as meaning that he was Muslim since even in Africa a Muslim was referred to as a "man of the book": "It is likely that Boukman was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Koran, and that he got his nickname from this."[3]In August 1791, Boukman presided in the role of houngan (priest) together with an African-born priestess and conducted a (voudou) freedom ceremony at the Bois Caïman and prophesied that the slaves Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a resistance movement and revolt that would free the slaves of Saint-Domingue.

An animal, which symbolized the wild, free, and untameable spiritual power of the forest and the ancestors, was sacrificed, an oath was taken, and Boukman and the priestess exhorted the listeners to take revenge against their French oppressors and "cast aside the image of the God of the oppressors." [4] According to the Encyclopedia of African Religion, "Blood from the animal, and some say from humans as well, was given in a drink to the attendees to seal their fates in loyalty to the cause of liberation of Sainte-Domingue."[5] A week later, 1800 plantations had been destroyed and 1000 slaveholders killed.[6][7

The great Haiti slave rebellion led to the defeat of the French, British, and Spanish armies that invaded Haiti, and to its independence. And all due to the actions of Boukman Dutty, who is regarded as even now, being one of Haiti's guiding lua, or spirits.

This was his prayer: "The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light. The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that sings in all our hearts."

Did the ceremony create an energy there, shall we say? Unfortunately, yes. Just as I have written about such a ceremony leading to a vortex of negative energy in Palestine, so too, did it happen in Haiti. The passionate quest for freedom, that created such a force. That it later led to such events, is not something that I judge, just to understand, to explain, and, to try to heal.

The karma of natural disasters is something that hangs above us all. That the U.S., that Canada and the U.K. has been protected for so long, I know and understand why. But will that last forever? Each country, each nation, has its own karma. It happens because the earth is not in balance, and heaven is not in balance, and we are not in balance. And each of us is affected in our own way.

There is a great shift taking place. Bring out your own inner healer, and, do not be afraid.

Aeflan, the Queen of Heaven

Miriam, Isis, Aeflan~The Queen of Heaven

The story of the Trojan War, that it was caused by a woman, Helen, and the rivalries of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, has long fascinated me. The war between Atlan and Aergon was the result of a mad passionate act by Aeflan, priestess of Atlan. Durga/Kali as forces of destruction/change I can deeply understand.

But while wars take place on earth, they also take place in the heavens. Think of it as a struggle between energies. Think of women as a force for change.

History records a circle, an ebb and flow, of time and energy. Empires and religions come and go, people are born and then, die. Actions and events may arise from the male energy, but the ebb and flow comes from the female, and therefore, magic, alchemy, and the future, is and always will be, the coming together and balancing of the male and female. That the world is out of balance requires that we work together to do so. The coming new age makes it imperative.

But there was a remarkable woman who was at the center of events, who changed us in many ways. She was my mother and teacher in many lives, and I her teacher in others. We helped each other in many ways, and if the path was difficult, yet the love was always there.

She is the woman of myth and legend, whom you may have known as Hera, as Mother Mary, as Isis. She is Aeflan, the Queen of Heaven.

Because of the imbalances between the male and the female, we know more about the changes that men have made in history. Perhaps it is in the nature of women to just be that which is deep and hidden, but it is important that we know what vehicles of change they have been through the ages.

From The Dragon and The Phoenix: http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2008/10/dragon-and-phoenix.html

There is a chapter in The Way of Atlan in which he warns “War will come to sweep you away” and this is when he taught his students to become spiritual warriors, wielders of magic. One of his earliest students, Eflan, soon came to be his favourite. For her, he made an extraordinary prophecy: She would be the one to instigate the war, but it was necessary for the spiritual evolution of the planet.

It was a terrible burden to place upon her, but she took it willingly, and after the war I was reborn as her child to help her again. I told Aeflan there was another change coming, a Dimensional Shift when the people of Atlan and Aergon would go to Earth, and she was the catalyst; it was a choice she had made even before she was born.

It was she who was the catalyst for this bleeding piece of earth in the Middle East as shown in Battle For the Soul of the Jewish People

http://manfromatlan.blogspot.com/2007/12/battle-for-soul-of-jewish-people-i.html which lead to the events of today, as the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all evolve into something..different.

She was a catalyst as Moses's sister, Miriam, and Muhammad's wife Aisha, and Jesus's mother Mary, who spoke with the spirit of her son even before he was born.

I wrote that Cheiro, or Septros as he was known on Atlan, was the first who came and spoke to me in spirit when I was learning about my gifts in my teens. But Aeflan came to me next, and was also my teacher and friend; as was Andron, as were many of the Children of Atlan, who while still in the spirit world, were preparing to return as spirits of change.

I taught my students how to connect with their own spirit friends and guides. But Aeflan? She helps those who ask and are genuinely in need, but be aware, she can really tell you off if you're wasting your time and hers :) She loves those men and women who can go and act on faith, but is impatient with those who are without purpose or use rationalisations to prevent themselves from changing or making a difference. She has been working in the spirit dimension (though the divine female sightings of the past centuries have all been hers, and Michelangelo's Pieta has also been her) for a long time now and will once again, be central to the unfolding that will take place in the next three years.

The other Children of Atlan are being born right now, yet Aeflan, whose purpose was always to be a child of spirit, chooses to remain in spirit until the time is right for her.

She is Aeflan, High Priestess of Atlan, the Queen of Heaven.

The End of the World

As spiritual beings we know that the world's in a mess, but all have different ideas about what to do, which is fair enough, or, are without hope, which is sad. Some say that the coming changes are because the earth will cleanse itself, and some, that angelic beings will save us. Most say, what will be, will be. What you should all know is that it has happened before, and will happen again.

This is an article I posted in 2002, which you can read in conjunction with the others posted here. The message that you must have started some sort of quest or commitment by 2003 still applies. The fact still remains that people are stuck in their egos, philosophies and spiritual structures, and will have to undergo whatever will happen now. Then why am I posting this at all?

Because, this coming full moon, on December 23rd-24th, is an especially powerful one. with planetary aspects shifting from the Sun and Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Pluto, the Galactic Center, and the solstice. Expect some dramatic shift, on the planet or within yourself between now and the end of the year. Be careful to avoid disaster. Embrace the lessons you must learn.

But I will leave you with a story. After Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. in August 2005, Hurricane Rita was heading for the Texas coast the next month. Millions were evacuated. I had many friends in Texas who had been kind, and I prayed for them. The hurricane petered down, and a friend in Galveston was relieved when his rental properties were undamaged.

Pray and ask for help, and what you are afraid of will not happpen.

The End of the World

I have no wish to create a climate of fear. I believe that our good will always defeat evil in the end. But if you accept karma, and the consequences of your actions, you must accept that there is a price we must all pay.

Forget, for a moment, all the prophecies you have read. When I first came to Toronto in 1970 a great many spiritual beings at the time thought that it would soon perish in a quake and tidal wave. I said, not while I’m here. Nice, huh?

Later, in the 80’s, a lot of people fled to British Columbia, expecting another disaster. Didn’t happen. I’m reminded of all the New-Agers who moved to Sedona, Arizona, expecting, per Gordon Michael Scallion of Earth Changes fame, that California would slide into the ocean.

They’ve now started to move back. I’ve visited California nine times since 1990 to help heal the Earth, let’s see what happens.

I’ve promised, we will not be allowed to destroy the future. But don’t expect that to just happen, for it depends on you.

In short: every 2000 years or so the world goes through what I call a dimensional shift. This change may be material, as in cataclysmic earth changes like the ice ages, or shifting of the earth’s crust, or it may be spiritual, as in the mass of people evolving into a higher consciousness.

The choice will be yours.

Bend time and space, and in a particular time, hundreds of thousands of people on the planet Atlan shifted backwards through time and reincarnated here on Earth. They brought a change in our consciousness, and with their inherent abilities, a great leap forward in civilization and history. They also carry a great sense of dislocation, but that is another story. Again, whatever happens will depend on you.

Will evil be allowed to live forever? Do everything you can to make yourself and the world a better place. You have till 2012, and must begin no later than 2003. What must you do?
Heal yourself. Heal others. Heal the planet.

I wish you peace, love and joy.

©- Naseer Ahmad-2002