Does what you see in the mirror change who you are?

Welcome back, dark passengers. Today, we’re going to take a break from ghosts and the evil death plots of the Mayan calendar. In fact, we’re going to take a break from nearly everything we talk about on here.

As you can imagine, I’ve had a lot of time to mull things over during my absence from blogging over the last few months. For those who don’t know, my refrigerator flooded my house at the end of April and then my contractor “friend” decided to tear up the house even more and run off with the repair money. Some friend. While the first contractor was a total jackass, he did get my thinking started on mirrors.

Actually, he said that my husband was delusional for thinking I look better without makeup…

After I was done rolling my eyes at his shallowness, I realized that, to a degree, I agreed with him. How many times do I waste time putting on makeup just because I know I’m going somewhere that people will have cameras? How many times have I told my husband he’s a sweet liar for saying I look good when I know I don’t?

On both counts, too many.

Are Mirrors Responsible for Moods?

Rationally, I know that mirrors are not what’s wrong with society. People are, and have always been, the the problem.

What I’m wondering is how much the knowledge of our appearance colors the way we face the world. Think about it. When you’re having a bad hair day or Mount Vesuvius forms on your forehead, do you find yourself annoyed all day? Do you shrink away from social interactions you normally wouldn’t?

Now, consider this: If you didn’t have a mirror, would you realize your look isn’t flawless? Probably not.

Do Mirrors Rule our Behavior?

Do you find yourself acting different when you know you look your best than other times? I do. For whatever reason, I have more confidence that others won’t judge me by appearance over what’s inside. Come to think of it, that’s probably stupid. I’m concerned the world will judge me because I’m not gorgeous when I could instead be concerned with being judged as just a pretty face.

But there’s a dark side to beauty. Confidence can become arrogance if we let it. Some people allow their looks to lead to a sense of entitlement. Why should I work hard at anything when I’m a knockout? Worse still is the attitude of “Those unattractive people couldn’t possibly be worth the effort of friendship or a job because they clearly have nothing to offer me.”

In a word: Shallow.

Each of us have personality traits and talents that become overshadowed in the eyes of others by how we look on the outside. By judging others based on appearance – be it that they’re too pretty or not pretty enough – I think we all miss out on friendships and relationships of value.

What if Mirrors Didn’t Exist?

We’ll always know how other people look and what physical attributes we appreciate in them. If mirrors didn’t exist, we wouldn’t be able to place ourselves into the attractiveness pecking order. Sure, others could tell you what they think of your appearance, but taste is subjective, so you’d probably get a variety of answers.

How might the inability to judge your own appearance change the way you behave and think about yourself? Without a mirror around to make you feel fat or unattractive, you’d have to base your attitude more on who you are than how you look. Even though other people could still see you, they would treat you differently as well because of your new personality.

I know that checking ourselves out in the mirror is too much of a habit to ever live in a world without mirrors, but that doesn’t mean we can’t act as though there are no mirrors. We can exude total confidence in ourselves no matter how bad we think we look. We can form our opinions of others based on what they have to say, not how they look.

But, you’ll still have to take time out of all this positive new behavior to clean the mirrors…

Talk to me. Do you notice a difference in your attitude towards yourself or others based on appearance? How does the thought of a world without mirrors make you feel?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia (Creative Commons 3.0 License)

Do Buddhist beliefs support the world ending on December 21, 2012?

Happy weekend, dark passengers. Apologies for being late on our first post in our year + series on why the Mayan calendar is bent on killing us in 2012. For some reason, taking a nap seemed like a good idea when I got home Friday and it morphed into just going to bed for the night extremely early. Sometimes, sleep wins, I guess.

Anyway. As we begin our look at possible events and cataclysms for December 21, 2012, I think it’s important to mix in a bit of information on why various groups believe something big – perhaps even the end of the world – is heading our way. This means it’s time to delve into the wonderful world of eschatology.

Um, yeah…what’s eschatology? So glad you asked.

Eschatology is the study of the end. For some, it’s the end of an age. For the others, the end of mankind or the world itself. Doomsday and apocalypse scenarios enter the picture once you bring spiritual beliefs into the mix.

Crash Course in Buddhist Eschatology

Before I begin, I need to be really honest…My research has turned up a bunch of information without any sort of cited references. Could be true beliefs; could be made up and misinterpreted junk. Hard to say. So let’s dig in anyway with a grain or two of salt.

There’s a Buddhist belief that as their teachings fade away, society will slip from morality to a state of amoral existence. When this happens, mankind will begin to show 10 primary traits:

1. Abusive and/or idle talk
2. Adultry
3. Covetous/ill will
4. Evil speaking
5. Lying
6. Murder
7. Perverted lust
8. Theft
9. Violence
10. Wanton greed.

These actions lead to excessive poverty and a general decline in the quality of life, or skillful behavior. Anyone in the crowd care to argue that we aren’t nearing this point, if we aren’t already there? Didn’t think so.

That we’d be unable to survive at this level of moral decay for much longer can make a strong case towards 2012 being the end of life as we know it…

Part of the Buddhist Eschatology believes that our lifespan as a whole will decline as our actions move towards the amoral side of the scale. While the first Buddha was said to live for 80,000 years and be crazy tall, we live about a century and stand in the 5-6 foot range. Of course, I thought technology was increasing our current life expectancy, but I guess it could be about to do a rapid U-turn.

The age at which we reach sexual maturity is said to be another indicator of our decline. Maturing at a younger age is a sign in the downward slide of society’s morality and behavior. This will continue hitting kids at increasingly younger ages until they sexually mature at 5 and live about a decade. Then it gets weird. Because it wasn’t already strange, right?

When human lifespans can decrease no further, swords appear in our hands and we go on a massive killing spree to wipe out humanity. Unless you take your sword and hide. When all the fighters are gone, the survivors will return to the purest way of life, kiss their wrongs goodbye and they’ll live longer and longer until people are back to 80,000 year lives.

Personally, I don’t want to live that long. After the first 40,000 years, you’ve seen it all…

How Buddhist Eschatology May Play into 2012 Paranoia

Clearly, we probably won’t see the magic appearance of swords in our lifetime, but on a scale of not exuding any of the no-no traits and only showing them…I’d say we’re doing pretty bad at the moment.

Now, even if my findings don’t give an accurate picture of Buddhist end of the world beliefs, the information (or misinformation) is still out there and easy to find online. If I’m Buddhist, but not really that knowledgeable about all the ins and outs of things, I might ask my pal Google what Buddhists think the end of days will be like. And Google might just tell me I’m going to have a sword appear in my hand and have to fight to the death with all of humanity. (Uh…crap. I forgot to take swordsmanship classes in school…)

Maybe I’m just trying to find out as much about the end of the world as quickly as I can because I’ve heard one too many people freaking out over the Mayan calendar ending. Is it rational to think swords will appear in our hands on December 21, 2012? Probably not, but if you skip all the lifespan stuff and you’re already stocking your doomsday shelter…Maybe.

Did you want the good news now?

If we choose to believe Buddhist Eschatology (and this is even correct), the world doesn’t end. Humanity doesn’t fade from existence like a failed project held on the planet. Life, in all forms, goes on. We screwed up as a species, yet we get a second chance to do it right…just not all of us. If you’re a damn good hider, you can help form a shiny new society.

As far as 2012 speculation goes, that’s something at least. Next week, we’ll talk about a fringe theory where not even cockroaches and Styrofoam get to survive. If you’ve been missing my lunatic ramblings, this is one not to miss…because it came to me while watching something on the History Channel last night that wasn’t 2012-related. It’s even better than a pole shift (which we’ll cover later).

For now, if there are any Buddhists in the house who know your end of days stuff, pop on down to the comments and fill us in on what you believe, won’t you? And everyone else…Are swords on December 21, 2012 possible in your view?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Photo credit: .Ash via Flickr

Does this Mayan calendar signal the end of the world on December 21, 2012?

On December 21, 2012, the world is going to end. I know, it sucks. Apparently, the ancient Mayas hated us and chose to stop time on that date. I was hoping to collect on the Social Security they’ve been sucking out of my checks since I was 16 before dying, but that’s clearly out of the question now...

I suppose we should all work really hard to save money for the next year and half so we can stop working and have an extended doomsday party for all of 2012.

What’s actually happening? The Mayan Long Count calendar ends on the 2012 Winter Solstice. Because the Mayans created such accurate astronomical calendars and projected it so far into the future, this leads the doomsayers to believe they stopped the calendar because there’s no time left to count.

A less dramatic theory is that the Mayans planned to end their Long Count calendar on December 21, 2012 to coincide with the galactic alignment that will occur on that day. While it may sound far-fetched that they actually knew about that solar event, you must remember how accurate they were about tracking the cycles of stars, planets and the moon. How they were able to gather such in-depth knowledge of the cosmos remains a constant source of mystery and debate, but it’s still feasible that they could have calculated the alignment’s date.

So, should we fear the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012? Will the end of the calendar be little more than the symbolic turning of a page to the next calendar cycle as we do every December 31? Will there be massive, life-altering changes?

Who knows. There are enough end of the world predictions and scenarios from a variety of cultures and religions to fill an encyclopedia. Rather than writing a giant dusty book people would only look at during research paper time, I thought we’d break it down, one scenario or belief at a time until the big day in 2012 is upon us.

So, since December 21, 2012 falls on a Friday, I thought we’d take a look at a different doomsday theory/ascension scenario/end of the world prophesy every Friday until time stops…or we’re passed it and have to scramble for a new end of the world date to worry about. Sound good?

If you’ve got a particular end of the world/doomsday scenario for 2012 you’d like to make sure I cover (and really, with 123 weeks, I imagine I can hit them all), feel free to leave a comment about it so I can add it to the list. Have a particularly out there theory you think only you can properly detail for us? That’s cool too. I’m betting I’ll have an available guest slot or two in the next year and a half.

Make sure to join me next Friday. I can’t make any promises, but we might look at the Buddhist eschatology on the subject to kick us off. You totally thought I was starting with aliens, didn’t you?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Photo credit: Wikipedia (public domain)

No, dark passengers, I’m not talking about myself in 3rd person and pretending to be from KC. Instead, we’re delving into the life of renowned psychic Sylvia Browne through her book Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds.

Full Disclosure: I got a shiny new copy of the book from the publisher for free. In exchange, I agreed to give my fair and honest review, not hype up the book if I hate it. I might have a bizarre addiction to books, but I still haven’t reached the point where I sell my soul for them…

I’m going to talk at length about three aspects of the book, but you can skip to the final section if you just want to get to the opinion about whether it’s worth the read…

Growing Up Psychic

Sylvia starts out by telling us about what it’s like to be a psychic child in a Missouri town. She spends a good bit of time talking about how normal she thought it all was once Grandmother Ada explained about the psychic roots of their family. That is, until she got into school and learned that, not only did all the other children not have spirits party in the bedroom, but the nuns at her Catholic school didn’t appreciate hearing about her view of ghosts.

Honestly, I think the picture she paints of growing up as a psychic child is of a life many of us can relate to. There are times of acceptance of the psychic gifts and there are times of spiritual doubt. Mix that in with a healthy dose of wondering if you’re certifiably nuts and I believe that’s a common aspect you’ll find in the background of many psychics.

At the end of the first chapter, she tells her psychiatrist that “I just want to be normal. That’s all I want.”

Yes, I’d say that sums up the whole of a psychic childhood and places a neat little bow around it.

The Other Side and Stranded Ghosts

Throughout the book, Sylvia tells us about what she calls “The Other Side.” The Other Side is where you go when you die and are able to continue living a full life in between your incarnations in this world. This is where you go to reunite with loved ones who’ve gone before you. (And pets!) This is where you review the decisions in your life and how they contributed to your spiritual growth. This is the place that offers all the love and wonder of creation sans guilt, fear and judgment.

Basically, it’s like the Christian concept of Heaven minus all the harps and singing…

She paints exquisite word pictures of what it’s like there, based on the information she’s received from Francine, her spirit guide, and what other inhabitants of the Other Side tell her. I’ll admit, I could go along with people from the Other Side coming back to observe and visit loved ones still living here. I could go with their voices seeming higher pitched and faster because of the higher vibrational energy level with which they’re accustomed. I could even nod along as she shared stories of so many souls trapped here who can’t cross over because they don’t realize they’re dead.

Sylvia Browne totally lost me when she said the Other Side occupies the same space we do, just three feet off the ground. Really? I’m down with another dimension we have no knowledge of hanging out with us, but why three feet higher?

If there was a good explanation to clear that up, I totally skimmed over it. To be fair, she probably covers it in more detail in the books she’s written on that subject.

100% Un-Psychic

Among the Other Side tales and glimpses into the formation and collapse of her various psychic foundations and businesses, Sylvia Browne takes us through her turbulent relationships with family, friends, associates and spouses. From the outside, I think it’s all too easy for any of us to say that she was clearly making one mistake after another and she should have seen it coming. I mean, when you marry men out of gratitude or a sense of duty – as opposed to actually wanting to get married or loving them – how can you expect good things to come to your marriage?

But from the inside, Sylvia explains that even the most gifted, genuine psychic isn’t psychic about their own life. We write our charts on the Other Side, but we’re born with no knowledge of it in this life. When doing readings for others, we might get access to their charts to help guide them along their path, but we don’t get so much as a tiny peek at our own charts. Not even our trusty spirit guides or angels will offer up any clues about the life challenges we created for ourselves.

Sounds like a cop-out, right? I thought that too.

At first.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just psychics. I hold anyone who gives advice to others to a higher standard. How can you give advice worthy of heed if you can’t follow it yourself? It’s a good policy.

It’s just not a fair policy. Think about it. Even in your most normal, un-psychic moments, how many times have you found yourself in a situation everyone warned you against, only to realize in hindsight that listening to everyone you thought wrong might not have been such a bad idea? We all do it. Perhaps it isn’t fair to hold those with psychic gifts to a higher standard than we’d hold any human being…

Is Psychic Worth the Money?

At first, I was disappointed in the book. After seeing Sylvia Browne on the Montel Williams Show once or twice, I’ll admit I was fascinated with her seemingly accurate readings and comfort with her psychic gifts. When I was offered the chance to review her new book by TLC Book Tours, I thought it would be more about her beliefs and – possibly – about developing psychic gifts. What I got was her life story.

What I also got were hours that flew by because I couldn’t put the book down. During a bout of insomnia, I picked up the book to read the first chapter. Instead, a few hours and half the book later, I reluctantly turned off the light because dawn was approaching.

Seriously, y’all…I probably wouldn’t have thought to buy the book if I’d known it was an autobiography, but I would’ve been missing something worth reading.

Don’t get me wrong…neither the book nor its author are perfect. I had moments when I read her words about her mother, ex-husbands and the like with a look of disgust on my face. As is the case with so many people, she seems incapable of admitting how her choice to be silent or uninvolved or oblivious contributed to her negative relationships with the people around her. Granted, it’s not as though I find many redeeming qualities in most abusive husbands, but…still. She isn’t totally ignorant to the fact her actions had a role to play in her circumstances; I just think there were moments when she was unnecessarily harsh to people she claims to hold no ill will towards.

But even with those harsh moments (in my opinion), Psychic wove together the practicality of living life as a psychic, heart-wrenching stories that got a tear or two out of me and enough laughter that I had to make sure I didn’t wake hubby while reading in the middle of the night. It’s a fast read through each of its 240 pages and I would’ve read it all in a single sitting if I’d let myself.

As dumb as it sounds, I got a little sad when I realized I was on the final chapter. Must be something about her writing style because I actually read the Afterword and Acknowledgments…I never do that. I just move onto the next book.

In a nutshell, dark passengers, Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds isn’t for you if you need an instructional book in psychic development. On the other hand, if you want to read about what it was like for Sylvia Browne to go from being a little girl with spirits gathering in her room at night to a famous psychic while still balancing time for family and love, I would highly recommend you read this book.

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Visit her official website to learn more about Sylvia Browne. The book is available for purchase through Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Trailer for the book below:

Sometimes you must admit you're not in control and go with the flow. Image via Wikipedia

Happy weekend, dark passengers. It would seem that life continues to get in the way of my best intentions when it comes to writing. Isn’t that always the way though? We make plans. The Universe pulls the rug from beneath our feet to remind us we aren’t as in control as we believe.

A worthwhile reminder, really.

In fact, these last almost two months have taught me a powerful lesson: Life goes on just fine, even if it’s not as I’d planned. I know, I know…Thank you, Captain Obvious, for whipping that from your Pez dispenser of wisdom. And you’d be right. This isn’t rocket science, yet I think we all need the reminder every now and again.

Why is it that we place such high importance on our carefully-designed plans, then go into panic meltdown mode the moment they turn asunder? I mean, really…it’s a bit foolish and prideful to think we’ve ever truly got it all figured out.

Allow me to give you a brief example of how the Universe has bitch-slapped me upside the head these last several weeks, some of the lessons I’ve learned from it, and finally, a glimpse at what’s coming for Your Dark Passenger…

Well, Hello There, Unexpected Twists

If you’re one I count among my friends, or a blog lurker who’s read one of the recent posts on this or my fiction blog, you already know that I came home to a nearly 100% flooded house on April 30. That was seriously unpleasant. What followed…ouch. Here’s a taste:

• Health. For most people, mold is unpleasant and unavoidable when you have tens of thousands of gallons of water seeping into the nooks and crannies of your home for 36 hours. Since I’m highly allergic to life mold, mildew and dust, well, it’s nightmare territory. Then it all got into the AC system, transforming my place of business and place of refuge into a toxic environment for me. The AC is clean now, but for a while…it was bad. Saw a doctor, urgent care facility and nearly made a midnight trip to the ER. But as I said, I’m okay now.
• Redecorating. I’m sure there are some who’d love the chore of picking out new furniture and decor and wall color schemes and flooring. For me, a chore is precisely what it is. None of the furniture we had was particularly new, but it was fairly comfortable, in decent condition, and it served the purpose. Having to redecorate a single room is usually a torture test for me. Doing the entire house is a special brand of Hell. For those who don’t know, I’m the only person in my home capable of seeing color; meaning that if everything looks like utter crap when it’s all said and done, it falls on me.
• Relationships. Living and working in the midst of a nightmare isn’t ideal. Doing so with another person is even less fun.
• Psychic Abilities. It’s all haywire. To an extent, my ability to read people seems to flee when I need it…as does my hard-fought gift of blocking everyone’s psychic garbage out.

Lessons in the Chaos

It bears mention that I’ve only scratched the surface on everything, so there’s tons more going on. My workload has always been intense, but I finally had a handle on it, allowing me to meet my obligations and still find time for blogging and fiction. I had a solid grasp of my empathic abilities so that other peoples emotions didn’t control me and I was making steady progress towards the development of my psychic gifts. In truth, I was fairly pleased with myself…

Now my life is flood, construction and renovations. Seriously, y’all…I’m a little sick of hearing myself talk because I’m like a broken record. Here are some of the lessons the ordeal has taught me:

• I’m not that important. I think one of the things I was upset about was my inability to continue my blogging or fiction posting. Okay…come on. I know there are those who enjoy reading me, but I’m certain no one’s world crashed down around them due to my lack of updates.
• I’m all I need. Let’s be realistic: there’s nothing fun about the house stuff. During a moment of particular crumminess, I wasn’t speaking to my best friend (hubby) and two of my closest friends were unreachable. The other people I might call for support, well, we’ve drifted apart. There was a moment of panic, several moments of panic…then I looked within and I worked it out. Don’t misunderstand; friendships are awesome and worthwhile, but I can survive on my own counsel.
• My foundation is weak. I’ve always been impatient, so I skipped the boring “learning how to meditate” step. Learning about shielding and developing my emerging psychic gifts was more fun. With everything I thought I had down cold stripped away, I’m learning that the fun path isn’t usually the correct path. Since it seems I must start back where I was two years ago, I’m going to do it right and start from the beginning…even if my impatience is throwing a monster temper tantrum right now.

Coming Soon to YDP

With one exception, I’m going to refrain from giving dates or promising a timeframe. I believe we’ve already seen that the Universe doesn’t like when I make firm plans. Here’s what I’d like to bring to you soon:

• Book review of Psychic by Sylvia Browne. YDP is fortunate enough to be the June 30 stop on her online book tour, so that’s the one date I know…and you can bet I plan to write and schedule that post as far in advance as I can, just to make sure life doesn’t usurp it.
• Meaning of “dark passenger.” We’ve talked about it on another site, but not here. The question’s already come in comments as to why I call my readers dark passengers and if that should insult Christians who walk in the Light. I don’t see it as a conflict, but I can’t blame those who do…especially since I’ve been silent here about why I call y’all that.
• Colors. Broad topic, right? Specifically, I’ve had a few emerge as “my” colors. I want to explore what that could mean.
• Reading review. Right before the flood, I had the opportunity to play guinea pig for a gifted psychic empath on another site. I posed some very general questions to her and got some specific and spooky-accurate answers in return. Since she did a free reading for me when I believe she usually charges, I believe the least I can do is share my experience and offer a little link love.

That’s just a taste. A girl’s gotta keep something up her sleeve if she wants to maintain a touch of mystery.

So, what lessons are you gleaning from your own dilemmas and misfortunes? How do you cope when the Universe turns your world inside-out?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

I was probably meaning to tear up all my carpet, rip out baseboards and sheetrock, and replace the majority of our furniture anyway. At least now insurance can cover much of it…

Of course, the timing was slightly annoying since I still had two days left in our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal.  Because I’m incapable of leaving things undone, we’ll be wrapping those up later in the week or early next week.

What about the May series on conspiracy theories, you ask? We’ll start that right afterwards and carry it through the month of June, along with the regular paranormal goodness you expect from Your Dark Passenger. (or the insane ramblings you expect…either way…)

And as a special treat, Your Dark Passenger is the official last stop on Sylvia Browne’s online book tour for her new book entitled, Psychic. I’m supposed to provide my book review on Wednesday, June 30 – and I will – but you can probably expect extra little tidbits as I read in addition. I have to admit, I really hope I enjoy the book since we all know I won’t lie about it.

Might be a touch on the awkward side if she pops by to discuss reactions to the honest story of her life as a psychic if I’ve posted a scathing review…

Since everything else is up in the air, why not tell me what YOU want to read about this summer on YDP? Psychic abilities, serial killers, conspiracy theories, paranormal goodness…You know that with me it’s ALL fair game.

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Image via Wikipedia

The countdown to the end of the series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal is on. Tonight, we look at prayer and channeling.

Are they similar or are they nothing alike?

Let’s get to it, shall we?

To give us a base of understanding, my Merriam-Webster Dictionary has this to say:

Prayer

1. a supplication or expression addressed to God or a god; a set order of words used in praying
2. an earnest request or wish
3. the act or practice of praying to God or a god
4. a religious service consisting chiefly of prayers
5. something prayed for
6. a slight chance

Apparently Merriam and Webster are comfy using the word you’re supposed to be defining as part of the definition and hanging a preposition at the end of the sentence…

Channeling

The dictionary is silent on this, except as it applies to television frequencies and digging channels in the ground and stuff. Basically, channeling is the method of communicating with non-human energy. Either you’re talking to it, or it’s talking through you.

Are Prayer and Channeling the Same?

I know, I know…It would be cool if I could drop some sort of bombshell here to explain how prayer and channeling are the same thing because it would tie a neat little bow on our series. I suppose I could make something up, but lying isn’t my thing. Instead, it’s truth time.

Prayer and channeling aren’t merely not the same thing, they aren’t even close.

Just because you’re talking to a spirit doesn’t mean you’re praying to them. You probably talk to dozens of people each day. Are you praying to all those people as well? If you are, I’m concerned, but chances are that you aren’t even trying to do that.

The definition is clear that we’re talking about conversations and/or requests to God or a god…not the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.

But you knew I’d add a caveat, didn’t you?

Have you ever met someone who says they can actually hear God or Jesus (depending on who they’re talking to) answer them when they pray? Are you one of these people? What about when you’re talking with someone about their spiritual life or trying to convey some religious truth and the words flow from your mouth from somewhere other than your own brain?

And so we’re clear, I’m not talking about schizophrenics.

Some would say that the Holy Spirit is talking through you or that some people can hear God’s answer to prayers as clearly as conversation with a corporeal person. They’d be 100% correct. They’d also be neglecting the fact that when anything speaks THROUGH you, including the Holy Spirit, you’re channeling. (and technically, if you can hear a being that isn’t humanly with you, you’re clairaudient…)

It’s also worth mentioning that any spirit, deity or power you channel has a distinct energy to them. The same energy you feel during prayer to Jesus when you feel like He’s really answering you should be the SAME energy you feel if you’re channeling Jesus…except, it might be a touch more intense. If you think you’re channeling Jesus and the energy is nothing like what it’s been for you during prayer, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with an entity who’s lying to you and pretending to be something it isn’t.

And that would go for anyone you might pray to, not just Jesus, so that should apply regardless of your faith.

What’s on tap for tomorrow in our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal? Reincarnation. Until then, what are your thoughts on prayer or channeling?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Image via Wikipedia

Happy Tuesday, dark passengers. It’s time for the final guest post of our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal.

Guest poster M. Lane is a mother of two living in Texas. She had a strong Christian upbringing and has also dealt with numerous unwanted entities in her home. Her interest in the paranormal stems, in part, from these unwanted invisible visitors, some of which came with less than sweet intentions.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

It’s hard to justify multiple beliefs, especially now that each ‘organization’ demands 100% commitment.  I go to church weekly and teach my children that Jesus took our punishment.  I also know that there are many different energy sources surrounding us that can control our moods, thoughts, and sometimes actions.

I’ve personally had too many experiences with spirits or ghosts to look the other way and blame it on anything else I can make some semblance of “truth” out of.  I ask which is better, not learning about something you find interesting and want to research further and possibly add to your library of beliefs or that you do all those unmentionables and lie awake at night contemplating your guaranteed ticket to Hell because you don’t always put God front and center?

My justification is that God sacrificed the life of his only son because he knew we were sinners.  He also empowered us to use our minds and hearts to reach out beyond limitations set by delusional Bible thumpers.

As long as the Lord is your holiest power, at the end of your researching and potential new beliefs you say your grace and give your blessings to Him you won’t have to worry about booking your one way,  do not pass go ticket to the eternal inferno.

I give all of my thanks to God but it doesn’t mean I don’t daydream about a parallel universe where I didn’t choose the accident route to work. Or, I imagine I didn’t take my current job on one of those less than perfect days.  I think about the power source that is the center of our universe and what it would feel like to have energy at my fingertips, like some kind of beck and call boy.

At the end of the day when I set food on my table, lie down with a roof over my head, read some subtle sign so I steer clear of otherwise unforeseen trouble, I thank God for the wonderful life I have.

I feel comfortable doing that, even though it may be to the lingering scent of my smudge stick or with a slight lump in my pillow from my amethyst.  Hopefully, the marriage of our quest for knowledge to our battle of beliefs will be infinite.  My comfort comes from the power to justify the two.

M. Lane

Your Dark Passenger does not necessarily believe that all “Bible thumpers” are delusional. However, if you are actually thumping your Bible while you talk to people or, worse still, thumping people with your Bible, YDP reserves the right to reconsider that opinion.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Make sure to join us tomorrow for the final Wednesday in our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal as we discuss  both channeling and prayer.

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Image by Zombie Inc. Wholesale zombies for over 20 years via Flickr

Happy Monday, dark passengers. Tonight, we kick off the final week in our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal. And seriously, is it even possible to do a month-long look at these topics without discussing Jesus?

Okay, it’s probably possible, but it seems like it would be lacking somehow…

Anyway. I’ve heard people of a multitude of faiths agree that Jesus was certainly an enlightened figure capable of performing a variety of acts that are nothing short of miraculous, even if they don’t necessarily believe him to be God, messiah or Savior. So, if there can be some measure of agreement about the healings performed by Jesus, the question as to how he could do it is worth a look.

Healing Powers of Jesus

Before we start, I have to bring up the objection I’ve heard from some about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after four days. Okay, knowing that back in those days people were often buried alive because their signs of life were too faint for human perception to notice, I can see the justification for the argument. However, the fact remains that Jesus still healed the guy who was so sick that everyone thought he was dead for four days and made it possible for him to start walking around.

Honestly, I think even by today’s medical standards, we’d consider that fairly miraculous, don’t you?

So, where did Jesus’ healing powers come from? We have a few basic options:

• The awesome abilities were hiding somewhere in his body, maybe his spleen
• The Holy Spirit gave them to him
• The power was from Satan
• The power was from God.

Right now, I’m giving Jen’s opinion on this. There are probably some passages in the Bible that would give a definitive answer, but I’m all researched out today. I think Jesus got his healing powers from God. Why?

• I’m not inclined to believe that human beings of their own accord have awesome power, even lurking in the spleen
• I’m under the impression that the Holy Spirit showed up on the planet, after Jesus died and was resurrected
• If there’s no reference anywhere of Satan healing anyone, why in the world would anyone think he would give healing power to anyone, even Jesus?
• Frankly, if the power was from God, it wouldn’t really matter whether you want to believe that Jesus was God, the son of God, or both. Power coming from God covers all three of those.

And if you don’t believe in God, which is the name I use for the higher power/creator I believe in, you couldn’t by definition believe in lightworking either, so I question why you’re wasting your time reading an article about a bunch of stuff you think is crap. Just sayin’…

Jesus and Lightworkers

Truth time. I’ve been thinking about this question for a lot longer than we’ve been discussing the relationship between religion and the paranormal.

A little more than a year ago, I read an article that suggested Jesus spent the years of his life not mentioned in the Bible studying under the Eastern healing practitioners and yogis of his day. I couldn’t find the article, as usual, but I remember it being a fascinating read. Granted, it didn’t seem to have the minor detail of evidential support for the claims.

Even still, that got me wondering if there could be a connection between the healings performed by Jesus and the “new age nutcase” healers.

We’ve already talked about the spiritual gift of healing as it relates to lightworking and reiki, so I won’t bother rehashing that. Instead, I’d like to share a conversation I had with someone I know who has a solid understanding of the Bible. He told me that his understanding was that followers of Christ should be able to perform the same miracles Jesus did back in the day if their faith was strong enough.

At first, I thought that seemed a little far-fetched, but I’ve come to learn that he’s not alone in that view. In fact, the Reiki for Christians organization cites John 14:12 for the basis of this belief:

• “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (words of Jesus, New Living Translation)

As with all scripture, the exact meaning of His words remains open to interpretation, but please keep in mind that not all translations specifically mention “works”, which seems to imply his miraculous works to many.

So…Answer the Question, Jen

Okay, I will. I don’t know if Jesus was a lightworker. Certainly, by definition, it would seem related, as both draw/drew their power to heal others from God. (Many Christian lightworkers actually claim to draw their healing ability from Jesus…)

That being said, the healing work of Jesus seems to far surpass any of the healings performed by modern lightworkers and reiki healers. Whether that’s because Jesus was, in fact, God or simply more in touch with God than anyone else since, I’ll leave for you to decide for yourself.

If I wanted to tell you what to believe, I’d be running an evangelistic website, not a paranormal/conspiracy theory/serial killer website…

Okay, so y’all have been EXTREMELY quiet during this series, so someone tell me on Facebook if comments stopped working again. But if they do work, it’s time to share your thoughts on this subject. What do you think? Was Jesus a lightworker? Are the two even related?

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”

Image via Wikipedia

Happy weekend, dark passengers. Of course, this isn’t just another normal weekend, it’s the last in our series on the relationship between religion and the paranormal. We’ve still got one more week to go, but things will wrap up by Friday. Today, however, we discuss the existence of angels, demons and ghosts.

I’m going to be really honest with y’all. This is the post I’ve been dreading since we started the series a few weeks back. In fact, I nearly removed it from the calendar altogether.

But no discussion of the paranormal or religion would be complete without taking a look at spirits and entities, so here we are.

Angels, Demons and Ghosts are a Touchy Subject

In general, yes, talking about entities is always a conversation filled with landmines and foot in mouth moments. Of the religions that belief in angels and demons, I’ve found they usually disallow room for ghosts. Other religious and/or spiritual groups don’t believe in demons. Some only view angels as people doing positive works, not in a ethereal form.

Then there are those, like myself, who deny the existence of Satan. (It’s more that I take issue with the current view of Satan as an evil pitchfork holding schemer and all-around Boogey Man.) Others deny the existence of God. Logic follows that someone who doesn’t believe in God wouldn’t believe in angels; someone who doesn’t believe in Satan wouldn’t believe in demons.

To take it to the hyperbole, do you believe in flying reindeer if you don’t believe in Santa Claus?

But I think we all know I don’t mind barreling through a minefield when I have something to say on the subject. For me, the existence of angels demons and ghosts is a touchy subject because it’s an area of the paranormal and supernatural I know all too well.

Personal Background

In case you haven’t noticed this yet: I’m awesome when I’m talking facts or concepts. If someone needs help understanding something or working through an aspect of their life, I’m all over it.

Yet I falter when it comes to sharing difficult personal experiences.

Oh sure, I can talk about being an Empath all the livelong day, but have you heard me talk about how horrific it was for me before I knew there even were empathic abilities, much less that I possessed them? Unless you’re a personal friend, probably not. In some cases, I haven’t even shared that tale with my personal friends.

Talking about angels, demons and ghosts is basically the same thing for me. Well, it’s probably worse. Even at their worst, none of my psychic abilities scare the hell out of me. Seriously, if a magic genie wisped out of my water bottle and gave me a single wish, it would be that no one has to have a demonic encounter.

I’m dead serious.

Anyway. Before I go further, I think a disclaimer of sorts bears mention. Depending on how long you’ve been reading me, or which of my sites you visit, you may have read this before from me. Here goes: I’m not crazy.

I wish I were. You can treat a mental illness with a pill and be fine. There’s no paranormal pill. But a fun variety of psychiatrists, psychologists, spiritual counselors, neurologists and therapists all seem to agree on that one point of fact. I’m not crazy. I’m not schizophrenic. I don’t have dementia. No super-early onset Alzheimer’s disease. No brain tumors either. And I’ve never been struck by lightning.

Sadly, I’m deemed totally normal by psychiatric standards…except for all the paranormal stuff.

Can Angels, Demons and Ghosts all Exists?

If you’re someone who doesn’t believe in angels, demons and ghosts, good for you. It’s a choice you’re lucky to have. Belief isn’t a luxury for me. Never has been.

They’re all real. Every kind. The world, it seems, isn’t as black and white as some would have you think.

I don’t often discuss the exact nature of my empathic abilities or psychic gifts, and I won’t go into that in detail today either. What I will say is that I don’t just experience other people’s emotions, I read their intentions, their motivations. (You can imagine how much fun high school was, being surrounded by hundreds of guys, all wanting to sleep with basically anything.) My ability also extends beyond people to spirits.

Yes, I pick up the emotions and intentions of angels, demons and ghosts, too.

And before you ask, yes, that sucks beyond words…

I’ve heard it said many, many times that ghosts can’t exists, only angels and demons. I’ve heard the question posed about how someone would know the difference between a deceased relative and a demon playing tricks on you. It’s a valid question. I don’t think everyone can discern the difference.

I can.

To be plain, it’s all about the vibe the spirit gives out. You can’t change your energy, not at the most basic level. To be plainer, I can act like a cat, I can tell you I’m a cat, I can even sound like a cat if I really try, but at the end of the day, I will never be a cat because I’m a human being.

And on a very basic level, there are three distinct energies I’ve encountered from spirits:

• Angels – The energy is pleasant to be around and the underlying intentions are always from a pure or positive place. No deception.
• Demons – The energy sucks the life out of me, plain and simple. It’s dark, it’s painful, it’s angry, it’s heavy. I’ll even go so far as to say it’s evil, pure unadulterated evil.
• Ghosts – It’s usually a weaker energy to me, reminiscent of what living humans put off. The energy itself doesn’t evoke any positive or negative emotions in me, it simply is. The intentions and emotions of every spirit are different.

There are two other sub-groups I’ve encountered, neither is particularly enjoyable:

• Masked Demons – Basically, these are the demons who come at you masquerading as a ghost or an angel. They talk a good game. They keep their emotions neutral. But their underlying intentions always give them away, to me at least.  Literally within seconds, I know they aren’t right.
• Evil Human Ghosts – Let’s face it, some people are just evil. They totally embrace evil through their actions in life. In death, their souls are black beyond measure. While they aren’t technically demons because of the human energy, they may as well be. Sometimes, it takes me a while to discern between true demons and these evil people spirits. For all intents and purposes, the distinction may not matter – evil is evil – but I thought it was worth mentioning.

As you may well imagine, this is an area of the paranormal that’s been difficult for me to reconcile with my religious beliefs…but that’s really a topic for another day.

What are your thoughts of angels, demons and ghosts? (or Elementals, if you prefer) Have you had an experience with any or all? Surely I’m not alone…

Jen

“Let your dark passenger come out to play…Be your own nemesis!”