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Karyn

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  1. (Note: In computer programming, the #! code (sh’bang, or hash-bang) alerts the computer that something important is about to happen, followed by an explanation of what needs to happen. A similar process of inspired creation drives the entire cosmos as life-energy from the source shapes the morals and motivations of all living things. In simplistic terms, the source is to the omniverse what “source code” is to a computer. Its life-energy is a sort of cosmic source code that gets compiled or interpreted in different ways as it spreads and devolves into different worlds in different universes throughout the cosmos to forge reality… to manifest the “all-that-is”).a Big picture: This is a pulled-apart look at the “all-that-is.” The source emits life-energy that nourishes and sustains everything in all of the countless universes (fine, white circles) with vitality and purpose. From the perspective of the source, everything is sort of superimposed in a way that’s hard for the carnal mind to imagine. Everything’s unique by its vibration (not by its location, timeframe, or appearance, which are all illusory). To make it simpler to understand, we can divide this unimaginably complex reality—the whole shebang—into 7 arbitrary levels that lead from the Earth to the source. It’s nothing new! We humans have always had this knowledge, em posting two short articles that seem to be the ven if today it’s sometimes forgotten, neglected, misinterpreted, or over-embellished. Here’s the crux: This article: The source is at the center of everything and is also the totality of all-that-is. It goes by a lot of names—God, Allah, Brahman, Jahweh, Jehoveh, Nirvana, the principle…. Next article: Life-energy is the essence of the source that spreads throughout the omniverse to create and nourish everything with vitality, truth, knowledge, and a sense of place and purpose in the all-that-is. This life-energy has a lot of names too—holy spirit, nūr/rūḥ, prana, shakti, kundalini, chi, creative life force, consciousness…. So this article is about the source, and the next article is about life-energy—the essence of the source that spreads, devolves, and adapts interminably to forge the big picture of reality. If this simple wisdom of the ages is correct—that the source with its life-energy creates and comprises everything—(and I’m pretty sure it’s correct), then understanding it could be a stepping stone to a most favorable lifetime (within the constraints of this illusory and often brutal planet). Both articles are based on messages from “The Seven” finer spirit beings who were communicating with our INIT group in the late 1990s via phone, radio, computer, and other devices. Most of us came to trust The Seven implicitly—like curious students who come to trust wise, old teachers who are sincere and kind over time—even when their knowledge stretched our minds almost to the boggle point. (The messages are shared at the end as reference material to support the principles of this short article.) Picture of one of The Seven, delivered in 1997 to our INIT group through the computer of our Luxembourg members, Maggy Fischbach and Jules This is a picture of a finer being who identified themself to our INIT group as “Nsitden.” I think it shows two aspects or soul fragments of the being—1) the human-like appearance they present when visiting our departed ancestors at the third level, and 2) a more refined form (to the right) when they’re “at home,” which is probably around the fifth level. Over the past quarter-century I’ve come to believe that all spirit beings each have a sort of “home frequency” where they feel most peaceful and comfortable, and that The Seven probably are most comfortable around level 5 (see the “big picture” diagram above, in which level 1 contains material universes like ours, level 3 is a paradise existence where most people awaken after they die, and level 5 is at the border between structure and pure, formless consciousness). The Seven say they can move among many universes and dimensions as they try to support and protect our world, but I suspect they feel most at home around level 5. One of The Seven told us: “I am not an energy being, not a light being. I was never human, never an animal, and was never incarnate. Neither am I God! You know the picture of two children walking across a bridge. Behind them is a being that protects them. This is what I am to you but without wings. If you insist on giving me a name, call me Technician.” The Seven concede that although they themselves may seem like angels or gods to us, many beings are more advanced and brilliant than they are, but few of them have an interest in small material worlds like Earth. The Seven themselves have been “assigned to Planet Earth” in order to protect and support us as we struggle to advance spiritually and to find our way back to the source. So The Seven have accompanied our world across the ages, and they provide some important insights into the nature of the source… God. They tell us: Humanity’s fear of death is one of the most distressing aspects of life on Earth, from their (spirit beings’) perspective. Once we humans realize that the eternal source is everything and is at the center of us all, the fear of death starts to disappear from our lives as we become aware of eternal life. It’s a free-will omniverse, in which we’re all connected to the source, but at the same time we can explore the many possibilities in this dense world that’s so far removed from the source… like a child running away from Mom to explore the playground. Whenever we get sidetracked or sense danger in our world, we can always hurry back to the source for safety, wisdom and peace. We do that by fostering conscious contact, especially through meditation. Finer beings can intercede between the source and the Earth, though most of them have no interest in worlds like ours. The exception? If we humans have a sincere inner drive to foster conscious contact with the source, then those finer beings are sometimes attracted to us to offer guidance and support. The source only spreads love, good-will, and other resonant feelings and motivations out-beyond into the omniverse. Human fear, retribution, anger, and other dissonant attitudes are created on Earth—stirred up by predatory and competitive behavior—and it’s a mistake to associate them with the source. In other words, only light is spread by the source, and darkness is stirred up by Earth’s bristling symbiotic relationships. As we foster conscious contact with the source, we can rise above Earth’s darkness and drama. The source is the entire omniverse, which it actualizes with its life-energy. While it acknowledges its connection to all of the trillions of entities in its creation, it gives no preferential treatment to any of them, not even those whom we consider to be spiritual masters. The Earth gets a little rough with its dog-eat-dog symbiosis, and occasionally purges itself with an “End Time.” When one of those mega-events happens, the light and darkness on Earth get sort of shuffled together, causing more conflict and confusion during the healing process. As we approach one of those End Times today, again, we can protect ourselves from the drama by fostering conscious contact with the source as conflict and suffering intensify. The path to the source is decency through honesty, which helps to stabilize the world during its upheaval. (Ironically, science today doesn’t acknowledge the source, but it’s modern scientific knowledge of such things as computer algorithms, frequencies, energy transduction, and multiple dimensions that have made this uncluttered view of the source possible for us humans, and I suspect it’s just a matter of time before we see science transformed accordingly.) In conclusion, the source is at the heart of everything, creating and nourishing the all-that-is. I think it’s the crux of all existence. For an extraordinary lifetime on Earth, we can experience the drama while falling deeply, madly, irrevocably in love with the source. Reference Material The spirit-world messages below support that simple scenario of the source as “all-that-is,” and add some flesh to that bare-bones axiom. The messages were all received in the 1980s and 90s by Maggy Fischbach and Jules Harsch of Luxembourg, the principle founders and members of INIT, with whom I worked closely at the time, publishing their research. The main communicators were Maggy in Luxembourg exchanging information with The Seven higher beings in the spirit worlds, especially those identifying themselves as Technician, Ishkumar, and Nsitden. They communicated by phone, computer, and other devices. Maggy was a schoolteacher of children who did groundbreaking spirit communication experiments in her spare time. The Seven described themselves as gatekeepers between our world and a spirit world called Eden or Marduk where most people from Earth awaken after they die. They said they’d been “assigned to Planet Earth.” So the ITC (instrumental transcommunication) contacts below were delivered from the spirit worlds to Maggy in Luxembourg from The Seven via telephone and computer: 1… Technician via computer text (1992): Fear of death is one of the most distressing concepts of human culture. It is based on the conscious belief that your bodily existence offers life and security, which it never wants to lose. Fear of death therefore is evidence of the mind having lost its roots. It shows a spiritual being who has far removed itself from its higher self. You owe this mentality largely to an intellectual and scientific way of thinking. It wants all thoughts reduced to a comprehensible level of material existence. The church also has many difficulties. These days, the churchgoer knows very little about heaven, hell and life after death. Indeed, a large number of them deny these things. Such skepticism, which is most prevalent among those who are wise and worldly, could easily influence and corrupt people of simple faith and pure heart. Heaven is in man and those who have heaven within themselves go to heaven. Heaven is in all those who recognize what is of God and let themselves be guided by the Divine. The priority and basic concern of every religion is the acknowledgement of God! Interpretation: By disconnecting intellectually from the source—whether by atheism, agnosticism or simply being preoccupied by material living—we develop a fear of death that our spirit friends see as the most distressing aspect of being human on Earth. Overcoming the fear of death simply involves acknowledging the source, making conscious contact, and following the inner guidance. 2… Technician via phone (1987): Man forms God according to human images and conceptions. God or the principle is a being which cannot be compared to anything…. The grief and suffering people have to bear is closely connected to free will and personal choice which God’s power has granted to each of us as a great gift. Without free will there is no recognition of truth, which comes from within. Therefore, blind obedience is not what higher powers want. You are living in a time when truth is easily distorted and false speculations about eternal life are quickly passed out as the only truth. God prefers the seeker and those who question. No efforts are spared to advance human thinking and individual initiative from its low animal instincts to a position of spiritual thinking. Interpretation: Truth and peace come from within us once we realize how to connect with the source. Things on Earth, including our concepts of the source, get convoluted with its troubled symbiosis that’s often competitive, parasitic, and predatory. Simply acknowledge and connect consciously with the source within to transcend the drama. 3… Technician via computer text (1992): The contacts of spirit beings with Earth are only a partial aspect of ITC (instrumental transcommunication). They should serve as proof that you will live forever and have a higher calling. Higher beings are not particularly interested in contacts between dimensions, but they support it because they can bring man closer to the realization of eternal life and the principle or being that you call God, Yahweh or Nirvana. Interpretation: The source (God) is everything. Once we realize it’s the fundamental part of us, living becomes more important and purposeful, and dying becomes less important because we’ll resume living in much finer spiritual realities after a lifetime. That spiritual advancement is about the only interest finer beings have in worlds like ours that are far removed from the source. 4… Ishkumar via computer text (1997) Children of Earth – People of Terra Today we want to talk about misunderstood esoterics and about messages which want to make some of you feel that God not only has a special love for you, but that you are able to encounter him face to face. These people do not consider themselves as children of Adam and Eve, and do not think they are the results of an evolution. They think of themselves as special children of God. They equate creation with the fall of man. In their eyes, sometimes unconsciously, the innocent unborn fetus becomes more precious than the children that have been born into a world of “sin”. The problems of this world seem meaningless to them and poverty and grief are hardly worth their attention. They close their eyes from what is happening on planet Earth, what is happening now with your brothers in Africa, the racism, the dangers of a simmering, intolerant Islamic world and the unholy and unnecessary religious wars which still persist. They turn away from the real abominations threatening this Earth: the manipulation of genetics*, cloning, and the objectionable experiments with living organisms… They ignore torture and spiritual oppression which still occur daily on your globe. They are only concerned with their own problems which are often rather small and have little bearing on their fellow human beings. They lose what should be most important in their lives – the loyalty to their brothers and sisters. Everyone should believe what he/she considers the truth. We give you no doctrines and no commandments, we only recommend that you try to live in harmony with the universe. That can only happen when you become aware that pleasing words of love and peace are not enough if the true spirit is missing. Only if you live what you proclaim about love and harmony, shall you find true inner peace. We, whom you call the rainbow people, shall help you on your way. Ishkumar – One of the Seven Interpretation: The source at the center of everything fills the omniverse with love, harmony, and knowledge. Bristling motivations like fear, anger, and retribution are created on Earth and shouldn’t be attributed to the source. * The Seven’s aversion to genetic experiments and cloning (which today seem to hold some promise for our future) might come from their memories of terrible hybrid experiments that took place in Atlantis. 5… Ishkumar via computer text (1996): Many Earth people mistakenly perceive God as a person or an individual entity. God is not a person but the highest principle of life, as well as the absolute reality. He, or it, is the absolute unity and the absolute, unlimited and all-encompassing omniverse. As a limitless entity, the omniverse can never be one of the creative individuals who are numerous in the cosmos. Nor is it tenable that there is a single Son of God for the entire cosmos. Jesus Christ, today a part of Pescator, has never described himself as such. Since God, ultimately, is everything, and everything is God, it makes no difference which religion you belong to. There is only one universal truth which can be found through the path of decency. For those who follow eternal principles, the doors to freedom are open. Signed, Ishkumar Interpretation: The source is not an individual entity, but the culmination of everything as it creates and nourishes everything throughout the omniverse. Finer beings like The Seven, while residing at a home frequency (probably around level 5) can also present themselves at various other levels as soul fragments, or aspects of themselves. One of these finer beings (and I’m not sure if it’s one of The Seven) currently presents an aspect as Pescator in the level 3 paradise called Eden (and at the same time presents as “Sananda,” a refined extraterrestrial who supports humanity from behind the scenes, probably around level 2). That same being presented as Jesus of Nazareth during his short lifetime on Earth (at level 1) 6… Technician via computer text (1996): We have often given you the real purpose of ITC contacts: Mankind at the end time should be led back to the principle. Light and darkness shall unite and form a whole again. What people experience now is not the actual beginning of the apocalypse, but only the first symptoms of it. Before opposites can be united, the strength of unity among ITC people must increase and come from a pure heart. Interpretation: Humanity is apparently approaching another in a succession of “End Times” characterized by pandemics, Earth changes, and widespread violence and drug abuse. Refining our understanding of the source and aligning to its decency, while giving up our preoccupation with the material dramas of Earth, will attract a lot of help from finer realms of spirit in the troubled times ahead. If a network of people can refine themselves to become immune to Earth’s material dramas while collaborating in love, trust, and good-will, then they will establish a stable portal through which unlimited knowledge and love can stream into our world through our technical equipment That is, ITC will be a possibility on Earth, as we INIT members experienced it for a few years in the 1990s. The Source by Any Other Name Humans have always been aware of a creative force at the center of everything. Here are a few of the names that we humans have given to the source: Major world religions today: God (Christians) Allah (Muslims) Brahman (Hindus) Nirvana (Buddhists… there’s some debate among Buddhists about whether Nirvana is a creative entity that some people call God or whether it’s just God-consciousness and there is no God-entity, but there’s really a very fine line between the two concepts, as the big picture diagram suggests.) Jahweh or Jehovah (Jews) Localized religions: Gitche Manitou (Algonquins, North America) Wakan Tanka or Great Mystery (Lakotas, North America) Modimo (Tswanas, southern Africa) Jah (Rastafarians) Major religions of the past: Ahura Mazda (Zoroastrians) Shangdi/Tian (Taoists) Ra (Egyptians) Marduk (Babylonians) Ansur (Assyrians) Nammu (Sumerians) As cultures and religions evolved, they assigned lots of imaginative qualities to the source, often giving it a familiar human or animal appearance with superhuman powers that got tangled up in Earth’s symbiotic relationships—from motherly love to a warrior’s ferocity. Some descriptions of the source became so elaborate that mainstream science today tends to dismiss it all as myth and legend. Still, I believe that the clear, simple essence of the source, and the omniverse it sustains, shines through it all… eternally.
  2. "Seek Divine guidance rather than trusting yourself or doing things that block knowledge and consciousness of the Divine in each soul that wants to manifest the will of the Creator.” ECRL 378-28
  3. Welcome to Varanormal Odalloc.  We trust that as you meander around the site you find things of interest to you.  When you are ready do post and tell us a little about you and your interests in this field.   Karyn

  4. Welcome to Varanormal Spooky68.  Have a meander around and when you feel ready tell us a bit about yourself and your interests.  We wish to make a site that our members enjoy and interact which it can be when we find out peoples interests.  So welcome.  Karyn

  5. Welcome Ireneu to Varanormal, I am sure you will gain/give a lot so when you feel comfortable to dip please feel welcome.  Karyn

  6. Welcome to Varanormal, Paranormal Reason we trust you will find your way around and feel free to contribute to you site.  Karyn

    1. Paranormal Reason

      Paranormal Reason

      Thank you for the welcome Karyn.

      I wasn't around much yesterday, but I hope to spend some time here this afternoon browsing the forums.

      I was recommended to your site by a contact on Twitter - We've some experience with the I.T.C. world and certain devices, but limited experience with video feedback loop (or similar), so the Spiricam program is of interest and, we look forward to working with it.

      Kind Regards
      Mark D.

    2. Michael Lee

      Michael Lee

      Mark,

      Thanks for finding this. I did a little research (what do they say, a little knowledge is a bad thing) and "HEUR" means heuristic, or the malware detector is suspicious, but it doesn't know for sure. That is, it's not an exact match to any known malware.

      My program is written in Python, which means it uses a lot of support libraries from other authors. All of the packages, were installed from either Ananconda's main channel or their "experimental" channel conda-forge. Anaconda's developer (Continuum.io) is a commercial entity, so they must have some incentive not to allow malware to pass through their archives. 

      I've used Anaconda/Python at work without incident for several years, but you never know. So, I'll leave it up to the user to decide. I can only assure you that my code has no ill intent.

      -michael

    3. Paranormal Reason

      Paranormal Reason

      Hi Michael, thanks for replying.

      That's how I read the situation too, hence the false flag reference.

      Happy to continue installing (and my journey), just thought it safe to check.

      Thank you again.

      Kind Regards
      Mark D.

  7. Karyn

    Welcome to Varanormal Thea, please look around and when you feel comfortable you may like to introduce yourself on the  forums, join in and make Varanormal a part of your world, we would love to hear about you.  Karyn

  8. until
    What are the neural correlates of spiritual experiences? Mystical experience was defined by Harvard professor William James, over a hundred years ago. He identified four key aspects: a brief interlude beyond time and space that feels realer than real: ineffable -or impossible to put into words; imparting precious wisdom unavailable by other means; and a gift of grace rather than a result of will. More recently, neuroscientists have studied meditation, mindfulness, flow, awe, enlightenment and diverse aspects of what author and researcher Stephen Kotler has dubbed the ecstatic spectrum. In this presentation, we’ll explore neural correlates of these spiritual experiences. Meditative states, flow, the enchantment of the natural world, love, and meaningful ritual can free us from “selfing,” the preoccupation with I, me, and mine. Activity in the DMN (default mode network) of the brain declines and a larger world of loving presence and possibility opens up. • About the speaker: Joan Borysenko, PhD is a world-renowned expert in the mind-body connection. A licensed psychologist and a Harvard-trained cell biologist, Joan synthesizes cutting edge science with deep humanity. A New York Times bestselling author of 17 books and numerous audio programs for meditation and stress management, Joan’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, on Public Television, and on many websites. Dr. Borysenko’s warmth and credibility plus her lively sense of humour make her one the most popular and sought-after speakers in the fields of health, healing, and spirituality. Joan’s work integrates science, positive psychology, spirituality and epigenetics in a deeply inspiring and uplifting way. President of Mind-Body Health Sciences, LLC, Joan lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband, Gordon Dveirin, EdD and their two standard poodles, Mitzi and Lola. Find out more at www.joanborysenko.com or join the lively conversation at www.facebook.com/joanborysenkocommunity. TICKETS: https://scientificandmedical.net/events/dr-joan-borysenko-the-mystic-heart-the-neuroscience-and-experience-of-the-ecstatic-spectrum/
  9. until
    Mystical experience was defined by Harvard professor William James, over a hundred years ago. He identified four key aspects: a brief interlude beyond time and space that feels realer than real: ineffable -or impossible to put into words; imparting precious wisdom unavailable by other means; and a gift of grace rather than a result of will. More recently, neuroscientists have studied meditation, mindfulness, flow, awe, enlightenment and diverse aspects of what author and researcher Stephen Kotler has dubbed the ecstatic spectrum. In this presentation, we’ll explore neural correlates of these spiritual experiences. Meditative states, flow, the enchantment of the natural world, love, and meaningful ritual can free us from “selfing,” the preoccupation with I, me, and mine. Activity in the DMN (default mode network) of the brain declines and a larger world of loving presence and possibility opens up. Joan Borysenko, PhD is a world-renowned expert in the mind-body connection. A licensed psychologist and a Harvard-trained cell biologist, Joan synthesizes cutting edge science with deep humanity. A New York Times bestselling author of 17 books and numerous audio programs for meditation and stress management, Joan’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, on Public Television, and on many websites. Dr. Borysenko’s warmth and credibility plus her lively sense of humour make her one the most popular and sought-after speakers in the fields of health, healing, and spirituality. Joan’s work integrates science, positive psychology, spirituality and epigenetics in a deeply inspiring and uplifting way. President of Mind-Body Health Sciences, LLC, Joan lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband, Gordon Dveirin, EdD and their two standard poodles, Mitzi and Lola. Find out more at www.joanborysenko.com or join the lively conversation at www.facebook.com/joanborysenkocommunity. Timezone: America/Chicago Date: Nov 03 2021 Time: 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm TICKETS Note: all bookings will receive a link to view the RECORDING Email * Name * First Last Phone Please tick one box only: STANDARD ticket £11.99. ‘Dr Joan Borysenko - The Mystic Heart: The Neuroscience and Experience of the "Ecstatic Spectrum"' SMN MEMBERS ticket £9.99. 'Dr Joan Borysenko - The Mystic Heart: The Neuroscience and Experience of the "Ecstatic Spectrum"' CONCESSION ticket £4.99. ‘Dr Joan Borysenko - The Mystic Heart: The Neuroscience and Experience of the "Ecstatic Spectrum"' You will be sent the Zoom link to access the session on completion of your purchase. Payment method * PayPal Credit Card Total Amount £ 0.00 •
  10. "Happiness is a state of mind achieved by giving it to others.” ECRL 2772-2
  11. Welcome to Varanormal thom888.  Please look around and when you feel ready do join in.   Karyn

  12. Yes, first I have heard of it to Andres, hence my invitation to spidermeema.
  13. Spidermeema, as one of the directors I would ask you please to communicate with me regarding your previous situation. Keith is pretty flat out at the moment. I am totally unaware of the issue, please communicate with me karyn@varanormal.com Andres remarks are shared by myself. I am in no way discounting that you said this happened on our forum however as an admin and board member would you kindly begin dialogue with me. I would be needing you unfortunately going over old ground but I wish to ensure adequate response from your board. I also would like clarification of "Tom". Thank you for working with me to create a safe space. Again I monitor the boards but this may well have slipped through or so it seems. I would like to get to the bottom of this and resolve outstanding issues if any.
  14. Dealing with Pascal’s Wager on Life After Death Posted on 25 October 2021, 9:03 “We all die,” is the subject line of a recent email sent by the Secular Student Alliance. The message following the subject line urges members to leave a donation – a legacy – that will make the world a better place for others. It goes on to say that the “legacy gift is a charitable vision that serves as a permanent force for good for generations of nonreligious youth to come.” The home page of the organization says it is the largest atheist, humanist, and non-theist organization in the United States. Its goals are to empower secular students to proudly express their identity, build welcoming communities, promote secular values and set a course for lifelong activism. A photo of a dozen or so joyous, liberated young faces is shown – liberated, of course, from the fetters of religions imposed upon them by parents and their culture. They appear totally elated in their nihilistic mindset. My first thought upon seeing the photo was to wonder if they will have the same joyous smiles in 40 or 50 years, when their loved ones and friends start dying off and when they, too, are so in decline that they struggle to visualize the abyss of nothingness they have imagined not far ahead. But they aren’t supposed to think that far ahead. Eat, drink, shop, play with electronic toys, have sex, escape into fantasyland with fiction, be merry, and thoroughly enjoy the moment is the philosophy instilled in them by Hollywood, the advertising industry, and the secularist worldview. Most of those I have met or whose comments I have read on the internet seem locked into an angry god and a monotonous heaven. If they’ve heard anything about the strong evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death in a greater reality, absent an angry God and angels singing praise, they’ve checked with Wikipedia and discovered that it is all just so much bunk. “I believe in science,” they haughtily shout, echoing “all-knowing” college professors who have helped them overcome the “false” teachings of their parents. “If you can’t replicate it, it’s fake.” They ask for proof, not really understanding the difference between proof and evidence or realizing that such evidence is not going to reach absolute certainty. (See prior blog on the question of absolute certainty.) When told by the prime movers of secularism that life is all about making life better for future generations, they don’t stop to think about what “better” means. Is there a point at which life will be as it was for Nero, who fiddled as Rome burned? To which generation full fruition? How much more comfortable and rewarding can we make things for future generations? To what end the progeny? Why is it that I see so many older people on the internet yearning for a return to the lifestyles of the 1950s? You’d think the young nihilists would at least buy into Pascal’s Wager, which, in effect, says that if you can’t prove that God exists, you are better off betting that “He” does exist. That wager, offered by seventeenth-century philosopher Blaise Pascal, holds that God and an afterlife are concomitants; that is, if there is a God, there must be an afterlife and that such an afterlife must be superior to the material life and to extinction. So many people, both religious and non-religious, approach it deductively, figuring they require proof of God before accepting an afterlife, rather than taking an inductive approach by first examining the evidence for an afterlife and then looking for the God behind it all. The Fear of Death The young secularists, atheists, humanists, materialists, rationalists, nihilists, whatever label they prefer, should ponder on the story of John von Neumann (1903-1957), a Hungarian-born American mathematician, physicist, engineer, computer whiz, and overall a polymath and genius. An internet search reveals that he was a professor of mathematics at Princeton, wrote extensively on quantum mechanics, was involved with the Manhattan Project in producing the atomic bomb, and was a pioneer in computer technology. He was born into a Jewish family, one with “ambivalent” religious attitudes. He made a nominal conversion to Catholicism to satisfy his first wife, but continued with an agnostic belief system. He was divorced in 1937. Hans Bethe, a Nobel Laureate, is quoted as saying, “I have sometimes wondered whether a brain like von Neumann’s does not indicate a species superior to that of man.” After being diagnosed with bone or pancreatic cancer in 1956, Neumann (below) is said to have expressed great fear of death. He despaired to some visitors that “he could not visualize a world which did not include himself thinking within it.” He began having frequent visits from Father Anselm Strittmatter, a Catholic priest, telling the priest that he sided with Pascal and opted for a belief in God over extinction or, as the Church might have preached, eternal damnation. In spite of the visits, his great fear of death continued to his earthly end. Neumann As William James, (below) one of the founders of modern psychology, put it: “The moralist must hold his breath and keep his muscles tense; and so long as this athletic attitude is possible all goes well – morality suffices. But the athletic attitude tends ever to break down and it inevitably does break down even in the most stalwart when the organism begins to decay, or when morbid fears invade the mind.” WJames It has been my observation that the pillars of humanism erode and crumble as one ages. “Living in the moment,” which is what humanists advocate, is much more difficult as they see themselves nearing “extinction” or “obliteration.” The escape mechanisms they have used to repress the idea of death simply don’t work like they did when they were in their young adult years and so occupied with establishing themselves in careers and raising a family – when there was little or no time to do any real deep thinking about what life is all about and what might or might not come after. When the grandchild gets her tongue pierced, her hair dyed purple, and a full sleeve of tattoos, doubts about progressive progeny enter the mind and the legacy comes into question. It’s when loved ones and friends start dying that the crumbling really accelerates. Finally, when the terminal prognosis is given, the complete collapse takes place. Humanism to Hedonism There is much to be said for “living in the moment,” “living in the now,” “living in the present,” “living for today,” “carpe diem,” however it is worded. But so many young people seem to interpret that to mean “have fun at any cost.” Moreover, they do not appear to make a distinction between fun and happiness. Without a moral compass, they don’t know where to draw the line between humanism and hedonism, between self-discipline and self-gratification. They opt for short-term pleasure seeking over long-term peace of mind. The problem with Pascal’s Wager, as I see it, is that the focus is on a belief in God rather than a belief in an afterlife. It is much easier to come up with evidence for consciousness surviving death than for the existence of God. Pascal lived before the evidence for survival was being thoroughly examined by esteemed scholars and scientists. Unfortunately, the nihilists still assume that one must fully identify and prove God before giving any credibility to the evidence supporting survival, and since God is apparently beyond human comprehension they never get to the real evidence. One would think that a man of Neumann’s intellect might have examined some of the evidence and would have made a distinction between believing in a Higher Power and consciousness surviving death in a greater reality, but indications are that he bought into the possibility that a non-belief in God meant eternal damnation, as taught by some denominations, and that was his primary reason for going with Pascal’s Wager. I doubt that his belief or non-belief had much of an effect on him after leaving the physical body, other than possibly a slower merging of the lower consciousness with the higher consciousness and thus a slower awakening to the greater reality. As Professor James put it: “If religion be a function by which either God’s cause or man’s cause is to be really advanced, then he who lives the life of it, however narrowly, is a better servant than he who merely knows about it, however much. Knowledge about life is one thing; effective occupation of a place in life with its dynamic currents passing through your being is another.” I don’t blame the secular students for rejecting religions that teach a wrathful God and a humdrum heaven. Why take Pascal’s Wager if it means curbing an Epicurean lifestyle only to spend eternity floating around on clouds, strumming harps, and praising God twenty-four-seven? And why spend this life doing nothing but preparing for the next life? But that is not what I interpret from the psychical research and related studies being ignored by both orthodox religion and mainstream science. The research and studies suggest a much more dynamic afterlife, one that gives meaning to this life while providing that moral compass. I lament the fact that the secular students have been kept from this knowledge by both religion and science and feel their future anguish – when those smiling faces on the website turn to distress and torture, further condemning God because “He” permits such suffering. To end by again quoting Professor James: “The luster of the present hour is always borrowed from the background of possibilities it goes with. Let our common experiences be enveloped in an eternal moral order; let our suffering have an immortal significance; let Heaven smile upon the earth, and deities pay their visits; let faith and hope be the atmosphere which man breathes in; and his days pass by with zest; they stir with prospects, they thrill with remoter values. Place around them on the contrary the curdling cold and gloom and absence of all permanent meaning which for pure naturalism and the popular-science evolutionism of our time are all that is visible ultimately, and the thrill stops short, or turns rather to an anxious trembling.” It might take secular students a few decades to grasp all that and thereby avoid the trembling, but I fear that it will be too late for some of them to change course. Michael Tymn is the author of The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die, Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the Afterlife, and Dead Men Talking: Afterlife Communication from World War I. His latest book, No One Really Dies: 25 Reasons to Believe in an Afterlife is published by White Crow books.
  15. Karyn

    Welcome to Varanormal MJCR.  Please explore and when you are ready please jump in there is much for all persons.  Karyn

  16. "When we give the kind word, even when the coals of fire are heaped upon us, we will be rewarded in helping not only ourselves and the growth of our own soul, but many others."  ECRL 290-1
  17. Welcome to Varanormal.  Have a look around, and when you are ready do join in, introduce yourself so we can all get to know you,  Karyn

  18. no problems good call, I mean we may not be able to meet every demand but it does give our fellow travellers a space where they can express needs or ideas for the forum
  19. Karyn

    Welcome to Varanormal Teri.

  20. Yes, I copied into here so that it was in the right place. I do think the forum structure and any suggestions can come before a team meeting as I agree there may be room for changes. We have had a reasonable length of time now to test out the format. It would be helpful if anyone has ideas to raise them here so that we can discuss at the team meeting.
  21. It would also be great, if we have a specific section on Varanormal web site, where to collect various information (articles and case studies) and even free electronic books related to the research area in question (EVP/ICT). PDF files consume much less memory space than for example high resolution images, and this is a benefit considering the costs of this type of activity.
  22. Karyn

    Welcome to Varanormal TLC.  We trust you will find much of interest to you and look forward to you joining in should you desire.  Karyn

  23. The Mary Ivan Séance “I did not think at first that I was dead . . .” Spirit communicator Mary Ivan speaks about her first impressions of the Afterlife and thought she was in a very special kind of hospital at first - until her long-dead sister arrives to greet her. Mary visits a garden where souls can reunite with their loved ones and describes the clean air and beautiful surroundings of this new world. Mary describes the home she always dreamed of, where she now lives with her husband and even helps at the 'hospital' where she first arrived. Read along with the audio at https://www.leslieflint.com/mary-ivan-1966
  24. The Universal Spiritual Brother&Sisterhood (the USB) is looking for a volunteer medium to help us determine whether or not we have made contact with our team on the Spirit side. we seek concrete evidence. you don't have to have an established practice just a good connection. You can be either a trance medium or an evidential medium. the sessions will need to be virtual since Professor Finnemore and I are located in different time zones in the U.S. There would be a minimum of 1 or 2 sessions, more if you resonate with the USB and want to work with us. our website is: "theusb.org" if you're interested please reply to me with your contact info at: "lorice804@gmail.com"
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