Karyn

Indeed young man I think many do.

must be time for my mid morning nap

"Keep the body quiet; keep the body in the open when weather permits, though not too much in too strong a sun. Do have cheerful company about the body, and the conversation should be creative, constructive, and never just gossip."

ANNOUNCING A NEW BOOK BY DR KENNETH RING We're excited to let you know about a new book of essays from Dr. Kenneth Ring! Dr. Ring is one of the founders of the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS), founding editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies, a long-time researcher into near-death studies, and a popular and much beloved contributor to the Life After Life blog ("Do Our Pets Have an Afterlife?")! We hope you'll enjoy his wit and intellect as well as appreciate his honesty and willingness to tackle such difficult subjects as modern loneliness, aging, and the right to die. He also brings a lighter note in discussing his experiences of being a professor in the 1970s and his unorthodox research into psychedelics. Happy reading! - Lisa and Raymond Kenneth Ring, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Connecticut, the author of five books on near-death experiences (NDEs), including his bestselling Lessons from the Light, and cofounder and first president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In these lively and often witty essays, Dr. Ring, best known for his pioneering work on near-death experiences, reveals his talents as a Kenny-come-lately humorist and would-be man of letters. Now in his mid-80s, Ring also touches on and goes into depth on serious topics, such as dealing with the COVID pandemic, the right-to-die movement, and the epidemic of loneliness. He also describes how he became interested in near-death experiences, and his explorations with psychedelic drugs. Reflections in a Glass Eye is available on Amazon in paperback. For more information click HERE. Available Now Amazon Review by Nancy Clark: After reading Reflections In a Glass Eye by one of the most influential near-death experience researchers of all time, Kenneth Ring, PhD, I figured I should tell you how great it is. Unlike many of his near-death research books, Dr. Ring has now written a book that masterfully draws the curtain on the true nature of his character, his intellect, and his private and public personas. Humorous anecdotes, poignant encounters, and touching narratives breathe life into this no-holds barred collection of essays that is a joy to read. Kenneth Ring has an amazing gift of writing that touches the reader's heart and delights the soul. I love this book and so will you! ©2021 Life After Life Institute | Asheville, North Carolina 28803

Posted on 2021 October 13 by Mark Macy Sensitive souls can play an important role in difficult times like these. Whether their sensitivities come genetically (through birth) or spiritually (through incarnation), they often have a hyperawareness of what’s going on around them in the world and want to make things better. Not always an easy path, as we’ll see. A lifetime on Earth is a joy and a struggle for everyone, especially sensitive people who feel things deeply. Sensitive people can have a particularly sweet life or particularly bitter life, depending largely on how the Earth treats them—whether they’re treated nicely or roughly or (more likely) something in between.* Let’s see what makes them tick, these bright, sensitive lights in the world. *Here’s how humans and other living things treat each other, according to scientists. It’s what they call symbiosis. 1. Mutualistic—a win-win relationship in which everyone benefits. 2. Commensalistic—a relationship in which some benefit, but no one is harmed. 3. Competitive—living things contend for the same thing, and someone loses. 4. Parasitic—living things feed off the life-energy of others and weaken them. 5. Predatory—living things stalk and harm (often kill) other living things. #1 and #2 are more congenial symbiotic relationships, in which sensitive people flourish. #3, #4, and #5 are more contentious, win-lose symbiotic relationships, where sensitive people can have a particularly hard time. How sensitive am I? How sensitive are you? The table below and the associated pictures (above) are a simple way to get an idea of how sensitive we are, which involves getting in touch with our feelings. (There are more involved tests, like the one at psychcentral, and the one for “highly sensitive people.”) We can 1) Imagine ourself inside the two pictures above—we’re one of the people represented by icons in one of those environments; 2) Explore the feelings* that get stirred up when we’re in those situations; and 3) List those feelings in a table like the one below, if not on paper than just as a mental exercise. (Positive emotions to the left, negative emotions to the right.) Then, after each emotion, give it a number from 1 to 10 to describe the intensity of the feeling. *To make it easier, here are the 27 basic human emotions compiled by researchers at Berkeley (the boldface items might be more fitting for this exercise): Admiration, Adoration, Aesthetic appreciation, Amusement, Anger, Anxiety, Awe, Awkwardness, Boredom, Calmness, Confusion, Craving, Disgust, Empathetic pain, Entrancement, Excitement, Fear, Horror, Interest, Joy, Nostalgia, Relief, Romance, Sadness, Satisfaction, Sexual desire, Surprise. That quick, simple exercise can help us to notice our feelings and maybe get us in the mood for the information in this article. Two Kinds of Sensitivity I think we need to explore both: § Worldly causes of sensitivity, such as biology, and § Otherworldly causes, such as spirituality. To do that, we’ll zero in on “HSPs” (highly sensitive people), who are acknowledged by science… and “starseeds,” who are not. In a nutshell: The book pictured to the right is by Esther Bergsma, trainer, scientific researcher, and high-sensitivity expert from the Netherlands. She’s licensed by Dr Elaine Aron, who pioneered the study of HSPs in the 1990s. They and their colleagues have found that: Highly sensitive persons (HSPs) have a deeper sensitivity to physical, emotional, or social stimuli. Their sensitivity is closely associated with their brains and central nervous systems and is sometimes called sensory-processing sensitivity, or SPS. HSPs are sometimes told they’re “too sensitive,” but in fact their sensitivities give them both strengths and challenges. Overall, they are biologically gifted with sensitivity. Starseeds are said to be spiritually gifted with sensitivity. Less scientific, more esoteric sources say there’s been a major influx of children being born since the 1950s (after the second world war) who are extremely bright and sensitive and share some of the qualities of Dr Aron’s HSPs. They’re often referred to as starseeds, indigo children (because of their indigo-colored auras), crystal children, and other mystical-sounding names, and they’ve come to Earth at a time of crisis (nuclear weapons, high-tech wars, rioting, widespread addictions, environmental destruction) when our fate hangs in the balance. It’s a sort of last-ditch effort by finer spirit to raise our collective spirit and save the planet. Between 30 percent and 80 percent of the young people on Earth today are said to starseeds. That’s their story, and I suspect there’s some truth to it, even if it sounds like science fiction. Is there overlap between HSPs and starseeds? Probably, but that’s beyond the scope of our journey, which begins now with HSPs. Worldly Sensitivity and HSPs Psychologists have learned a lot in the past quarter-century about human sensitivity, thanks to trailblazing PhDs like these two: § Elaine Aron (clinical psychologist) coined the term “highly sensitive person” (HSP) in 1996 in her book of the same name. § Bianca Acevedo (social neuroscientist) has studied the differences between HSPs and other people with extreme sensitivities, especially those with autism, ADHD, PTSD, and schizophrenia. Dr Elaine Aron says that HSPs bring four innate qualities into a lifetime: 1. Depth of processing. They think deeply and feel strongly about the things going on around them, for better or worse. Typically they don’t just react, but pause and reflect before engaging. They’re highly intuitive, so they take their gut feelings into account while processing information. 2. Overstimulation. All of that mental and emotional processing can be exhausting when things get too noisy, too bright, too pungent, or too rough… which happens a lot on Earth. 3. Emotional responsiveness and empathy. They feel both pleasant and unpleasant emotions strongly, sense other people’s emotions, and feel empathy for those who are suffering. 4. Sense of subtleties. They not only get overwhelmed by strong stimuli but also detect nuances that most people miss. We know we’re an HSP if we’re bothered by loud noises, we’re highly sensitive to pain, we have vivid dreams, we’re deeply moved by arts or music, we’re easily affected by other people’s moods and, most telling, we have childhood memories of our parents, our teachers, and other adults saying we were shy and sensitive. (There are lots of testimonials on the Internet describing what it’s like being a highly sensitive person… like Jenn Granneman’s article in Psychology Today.) About 20 percent of the people in the world are estimated to be HSPs, according to scientific sources. Dr Bianca Acevedo compares HSPs to other people with extreme sensitivities, especially: § ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). Unlike HSPs, these people are distracted, hyperactive, and impulsive. When monitoring brain areas associated with self-control, self-awareness, and attention span, people with ADHD show low activity, while HSPs show high activity. Like HSPs, people with ADHD are usually hypersensitive to things they hear, see, touch, or smell, as well as to emotional situations going on around them, and they’re easily overwhelmed. § Autism. Unlike HSPs, autistic kids avoid eye contact, can’t recognize faces, can’t discern other people’s emotional cues such as smiling or frowning, and they show low response in brain areas associated with empathy, social cues, and self-reflection. Like HSPs, most youngsters with autism are oversensitive to noises, crowds, textures, or heat and cold (though some are actually undersensitive and seek out sensory experiences). § PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Unlike HSPs, these people have negative mood shifts, nightmares, and extreme distress and reactions to intrusive memories. They show little brain activity in areas related to calmness, self-control, or social awareness. People suffering PTSD usually suffer from “hyperarousal” when they recall traumatic events in their lives, often triggered by a sound.* § Schizophrenia. Like HSPs, schizophrenics may have sensitivities to colors, lights, and sounds. Unlike healthy HSPs, schizophrenics have little regard for how their behavior makes other people feel and, left untreated, they typically lead troubled, disorganized lives. Most schizophrenics are immune to physical pain, but some are hypersensitive, complaining of constant pain. They also have an unbearable sensitivity to noise, especially repetitive sounds.* Unlike most HSPs, schizophrenics are highly sensitive to strange voices and images in the head. These delusions and hallucinations make them seem as though they’re “under foreign management” (which is probably the case).** *Though HSPs typically don’t present the symptoms of PTSD, an HSP who suffers traumatic events can acquire PTSD, and some studies and personal accounts suggest that an HSP will often try to escape the PTSD symptoms through substance abuse. So an HSP with PTSD might become more susceptible to drugs and alcohol than the norm… which can then lead to schizophrenia. HSPs with drug- or alcohol-induced schizophrenia might channel their fears, anger, and frustration inward instead of outward, making their psychological problems worse. I don’t know of any studies that show a connection between HSPs, addiction, and severe mental illness, but HSP testimonials suggest it to be the case. (another HSP testimonial… ) **I’ve become convinced that many of the “delusions and hallucinations” of schizophrenia are really just glimpses into what I call Earth’s “shadow world”—a repository of all of the troubled and confused thoughts that get stirred up by our predatory, parasitic, and competitive symbiosis and spin off the Earth. Our thoughts don’t just vanish once we think them, as we often assume, but become creative forces in the omniverse, for better or worse. That’s something we’ll glimpse at the end of the article.**** In a nutshell, HSPs typically have fewer “social deficits” than these other people with extreme sensitivities. Instead of just reacting and releasing their thoughts and feelings in ways that can upset other people, HSPs absorb and process them (which can be exhausting). So HSPs have certain qualities—empathy, thoughtfulness, and extreme sensitivity to the raucous and destructive things going on around them in the world—that could be useful in a time of crisis like the one we’re facing today. Their strengths could range from: § Detecting world problems—like living weather vanes… canaries in the coal mine—to § Decision-making—placed in positions of authority to devise policies that would save the planet. The challenge, of course, is getting HSPs into decision-making positions, since decision-makers on Earth, with its rough symbiosis, often have to be competitive, deceptive, and self-seeking to get positions of power and hold onto them… qualities that HSPs typically lack (unless they also happen to have personality disorders like narcissism, as is sometimes the case). So, sensitivity can be a difficult path but an important path on the planet today. Worldly causes of sensitivity like HSP, ADHD, autism, PTSD, and schizophrenia are complicated, because life on Earth is complicated. Otherworldly causes of sensitivity are much simpler… once we recognize the big picture. (Note: If you’re absolutely convinced there’s no such thing as spirits and extraterrestrials (ETs), then no point reading any further. But if you know or believe otherwise, or are at least open to the possibility, then you might find the following information interesting….) Otherworldly Sensitivity and Starseeds Big Picture: This pulled-apart diagram tries to depict the superimposed nature of “all-that-is”. There’s a simplicity to the omniverse, which is created and nourished by life-energy from the source—a steady stream of vitality, truth, love, and other noble forces. But as life-energy moves out-beyond from the source, the vibrations become slower and denser, and existence becomes more illusory. It’s a free-will omniverse in which entities, worlds, and universes (fine, white circles) can all evolve independently while being nourished incessantly by life-energy. Our “soul” is like a piece of the source at the center of our being. Our “spirit” consists of our subtle bodies nested within our physical body (arbitrary levels 2-7). Soul and spirit are part of everyone and everything, and our body is just a living vehicle or earthsuit that the spirit wears during a lifetime. When the human body dies, the spirit resumes living in one of various spirit worlds until it decides either to reincarnate for another lifetime with a new earthsuit, or to ascend in-beyond toward the source. There are many subtle worlds in many spiritual universes inhabited by unimaginably brilliant and powerful spirit beings. Sometimes these refined beings choose to incarnate on Earth, not just to experience the challenges of carnal living but also to make the world a better place as they become spiritual masters, inspiring artists, intuitive nurses and doctors and scientists, and other gifted specialists during their lifetimes. § Spiritual incarnations: Years ago I belonged to an international team of researchers (INIT), whose members were receiving some of the most amazing communications imaginable—contacts via phones, radios, TVs, computers… even FAX machines—from the worlds of spirit. A group of higher beings identifying themselves as “The Seven” told us: There are people living among you who are not really human beings, but higher beings who can point the way for you…. Fragments of higher entities incarnate and are born into families without standing out much from other family members. They do, however, have a strong sense of what is right and a reverence for all life…. On Earth you can recognize them by certain signs and behavior, such as sensitivity. In time these humans may become what mankind once referred to as “gods.” (read more… ) So there are indications (nonscientific but rather compelling) that finer spirit beings are incarnating on Earth. There are also said to be many highly advanced civilizations of physical beings scattered throughout our physical universe, living on worlds like Earth and also aboard spacecraft that take frequent missions among the stars from their home star systems. These refined extraterrestrials are also incarnating here to help out. They can merge at the spiritual level with human spirits (deceased people), then incarnate as refined human hybrids here on Earth. They bring their personalities along with them into a lifetime. For example: § Extraterrestrial incarnations. Pleiadians are gentle people who love peace, unity, art and music; Sirians are focused, dynamic people who love projects and hobbies; Orions are happy, family-oriented people who are friendly and funny; Andromedans are cool, aloof, intelligent, and responsible; Arcturians are quiet and reclusive and make up only about 2 percent of the Earth population…. (From Alien Messages: News from Different Worlds, by Tony and Robbyn Abbott of Australia, who’ve published dozens of little, easy-to-read books about ETs, psychic development, and other esoteric subjects.) Many folks tell similar stories about extraterrestrial civilizations and their impact on our world. (Examples here… and here… ) So these are the starseeds: § Higher beings who choose to incarnate as a person on Earth, and § Refined extraterrestrials who can intervene in the incarnation process, merging with a human spirit (consensually) before it enters the mother’s uterus on Earth to be superimposed over the fertilized egg. These, of course, involve spirit-world techniques that are quite beyond our understanding. How to Identify Sensitive People Identifying HSPs (highly sensitive people) is pretty clearcut with scientific indicators like brain activity and psychological profiles (as explained earlier). Identifying starseeds isn’t as straightforward: 1. Extraterrestrials. According to popular culture, there are alien hybrids incarnating on Earth from the Pleiades, Sirius, Orion, Andromeda, Arcturus, and other star systems who are gentle, artistic, dynamic, happy, friendly, and sometimes aloof and reclusive. They’re here to help humanity through a time of crisis. Before we can identify them in society, we first have to accept the notion that brilliant living things like finer spirits and refined ETs flourish beyond the Earth. Then it takes intuition, or gut feeling, to start to recognize them in their incarnate forms. Even then it can be guesswork, depending on how finely tuned our intuition is. After these hybrids are born and forget about their previous lives and between-lifetime experiences during the first two years of infancy (as almost all Earth children tend to do), the refined character and personality that they brought to Earth accompany them throughout the lifetime as they adjust to life on Earth. Sometimes it’s a difficult adjustment. 2. Ethereal beings. According to esoteric literature and ITC contacts, there are brilliant spiritual beings who incarnate from finer realms. These children are bright, kind, sensitive, and wise beyond their years. Their Earth experience is monitored by other higher beings who share a concern about the fate of our world. Many of them opt out early (die young) after experiencing the brutal aspects of Earth’s symbiosis for a few years. But some of them commit to a lifetime to uplift humanity, such as Jesus, Mohammed, Gautama Buddha,* and many spiritual masters in India. They stay anchored in their conscious awareness of the source, forging an attitude of love, kindness, and generosity despite the hard knocks of earthly living. They urge others to foster their connection to the source, and they stand out as exceptional human beings, doing things that might seem miraculous. These spiritually enlightened individuals can be identified by their calm, wise, kind demeanor that rarely gets ruffled. (*The Buddha’s denial of the existence of God [the source] is mostly a semantic issue. The Buddhists’ “creative life force” is the same as the life-energy that is the essence of the source. If one prefers to believe the creative life force simply exists without a source… not a big deal.) Biggest Challenges of Sensitive People If we’re either a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) or a starseed or both (and there’s a good chance we are), then life may not be easy. We have to contend with Earth’s dramas, especially these: § Rough relationships. Rough symbiotic relationships involve predators/prey, parasites, and (to a lesser extent) competitors, and they stir up negative emotions like craving, fear, frustration, indignation, and grief. Today, as throughout history, (1) there are societies that discourage predatory, parasitic, and competitive behavior, usually through ethical, moral, and spiritual principles. And (2) there are other societies that allow, even encourage (in business, sports, and romance), and even glorify (in movies and literature) that sort of behavior. Sensitive souls on Earth probably have a more difficult time in the second type of society—the one that encourages rough symbiotic behavior. § Earth’s shadow. This is a repository for all of the negative emotions that spin off the planet. That churning, invisible sea of dark thoughts affects everyone on Earth, especially sensitive people. (see the “big picture” above and the note below.****) § Cosmic abandonment issues. The most powerful and pervasive cause of suffering for all people—especially sensitive people—has always been something we could call “cosmic abandonment issues.” Normal abandonment issues occur when children don’t get the consistent warmth and attention they need from parents or caregivers. The children develop chronic stress and fear that accompanies them into adulthood. So cosmic abandonment issues occur when we humans don’t get enough warmth and attention from the source (God, Allah, Brahman… ), because much of the life-energy from the source is blocked before it reaches Earth and we get caught up in earthly dramas that spin out of Earth’s shadow. Every abandonment issue—normal or cosmic—can be overcome in a fairly simple way: fostering conscious contact with the source. § Drugs and alcohol. When the challenges of Earth living become too difficult for sensitive people, they often turn to mind-altering drugs and alcohol to escape and detach from the harsh reality. Some hallucinogenic drugs can even give the user a glimpse of the source—the ultimate transpersonal experience. Unfortunately, the use of drugs or alcohol is always followed by some degree of withdrawal as reality becomes even more unpleasant when the effects wear off. For many sensitive people, especially those with a genetic predisposition, drugs and alcohol can quickly become an addiction, and then life can become unbearable. The most effective way to overcome the ravages of drugs and alcohol is, once again, to foster conscious contact with the source. That’s why the first three steps of the famous 12-Step Program help addicts to realize their lives are out of control, to believe in a power greater than themselves, and to decide to turn their lives over to that power… and the 11th step is to make conscious contact with that power. The rest of the 12 steps offer proven tips for polishing away the obstructions between a person and the higher power, or source. (Frankly, the only shortcoming I’ve been able to find with the 12-Step Program—and I’ve been watching it closely for years—is that it isn’t embraced and put to use by everyone.) ****Earth’s shadow. When life-energy from the source reaches Earth, much of it is deflected by the troubled emotions that spin out of predatory, parasitic, and competitive behavior in our world. The deflection casts a sort of spiritual shadow around the planet—a repository of dark thoughts. The shadow is inhabited by confused and troubled spirits from Earth. It’s also probably where lower species of ETs visit, just beyond our view—the lesser Zetas or “abductor Greys” (whose home planet is in the Zeta Reticuli constellation) and “Reptoids” (from the Draco constellation). Earth’s shadow is most likely where troubling spirit messages and alien abductions originate. It’s a big part of the drama that aggravates our world from behind the scenes… an ugly drama whose effects we can avoid simply by focusing on our conscious contact with the source. So as I’ve mentioned in other recent articles, the key to everything—peace, happiness, stability, a good life—can be easier than we think: We turn our back on Earth’s drama as we turn toward the source to make conscious contact. Putting that simple knowledge to practice, I believe, can restore sanity and save the life of a sensitive person in crisis… of whom there are many in today’s world. About Mark Macy Main interests are other-worldly matters (www.macyafterlife.com) and worldly matters (www.noblesavageworld.com) Please note this has been faithfully copied including grammatical and spelling errors. Karyn

‌ "Efficiency is wonderful if it is moderated with truth, integrity, and, most of all, humility. Some people dislike being criticized, and dislike criticizing almost as much. But constructive criticism is helpful."  ECRL 1859-1

Spiritualism is well documented in Europe and North America, but very little information is available on Jewish participation. Cora Wilburn (1824-1906) was a writer whose fiction included Spiritualism. Her novel, Cosel­la Wayne, pro­vides descrip­tions of Jew­ish life and rit­u­als as well as the ear­ly days of Spir­i­tu­al­ism, including abo­li­tion­ism and women’s rights. Matilda L. Levy and Regina M. Block were leaders at Jewish Spiritualism centers in New York and London. One informative document is R. Aaron Mendel Hakohen’s Haneshamah vehakadish written in 1921. His treatise on the soul and the afterlife was written to convince the scientific community that the soul survives death. It includes the story of two Jewish women whom he referred to as “sisters.” The two remained unnamed and were part of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Cairo. Ashkenazi Jews are an ancient order which began to settle in Egypt from Russia and Romania in the late nineteenth century. They spoke Yiddish and worked as artisans and peddlers. The “sisters” were married to prominent and wealthy members of the Cairo community. According to Samuel Glauber-Zimra, this unusual account was told to Hakohen directly by the women. He was more concerned with the facts of the events, not the women’s reasons for having the seances or their thoughts about them. The sisters used automatic writing as their means of communication. Instead of holding a pencil in hand, they used a planchette with a pencil attached. “They would sit in silence as they focused their minds and gazed at the table until it (planchette) began to move automatically across the paper, leading the women’s hands in whichever direction it desired.” They set aside a room and time every day to hold their seances. At first, the contacts were sporadic, but eventually they were helped by a non-Jewish spirit guide. The guide helped bring forward the spirits of the deceased and other famous individuals. “If they questioned the spirits about future events, they would reply that they did not know the answer….” The spirits were open for questions about business affairs and the afterlife, but Jewish spirits would only communicate within a year of their passing. After that it was believed that they “ascended on high.” The spirits also participated in healing. One day when a husband came home not feeling well, a spirit doctor informed them that the husband was gravely ill and prescribed a medication. The women did not believe the spirit at first and called a living doctor to the house. He confirmed the diagnosis and prescribed the same medication. The women first saved their collection of writings which occurred in various scripts and languages, but they eventually burned them all. Even though Hakohen used the women’s seances as an argument to support the existence of the soul after death, he disapproved of Jews practicing Spiritualism. When one of the women’s daughters died, the spirts were blamed and Hakohen chastised the women for their “sinful behavior.” Additional Reading: Glauber-Zimra, Samuel (2021) “Summoning Spirits in Eqypt: Jewish Women and Spiritualism in Early Twentieth-Century Cairo.” In Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, Spring 2021, no 38, pp 25-45. Indiana University Press. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/on-the-trail-of-cora-wilburn

View this email in your browser Can't see the images? Check your email client permissions. You are receiving this message because you signed up online to receive emails from the Windbridge Research Center about mediumship and after-death communication. Thank you for your interest in our work. If you are experiencing mental or physical distress or having suicidal thoughts, contact your healthcare provider or local support line immediately. Always check with your healthcare provider when considering treatment options. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email and we'll remove you from our system. 2021 Afterlife Symposium Thank you for signing up to our email list! Welcome to all our new subscribers! Right now, we're sharing videos each week from the free Windbridge Research Center 2021 Afterlife Symposium. In November, we'll return to a once-per-month email schedule. View this email in your browser Can't see the images? Check your email client permissions. You are receiving this message because you signed up online to receive emails from the Windbridge Research Center about mediumship and after-death communication. Thank you for your interest in our work. If you are experiencing mental or physical distress or having suicidal thoughts, contact your healthcare provider or local support line immediately. Always check with your healthcare provider when considering treatment options. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email and we'll remove you from our system. 2021 Afterlife Symposium https://mcusercontent.com/44396d41f0bb4bc6d9a4ee6f1/images/61297941-b165-01cc-bbba-22dd60d4a410.png Thank you for signing up to our email list! Welcome to all our new subscribers! Right now, we're sharing videos each week from the free Windbridge Research Center 2021 Afterlife Symposium. In November, we'll return to a once-per-month email schedule. THIS WEEK: Sessions 7 and 8 7: Assessing Afterlife Beliefs in Psychotherapy 8: Optimizing Communication Before, During, and After Mediumship Readings If you missed any, previous sessions are also listed with links below. Session 7 Assessing Afterlife Beliefs in Psychotherapy – Beth Christopherson, LCSW 22 min. By increasing their comfort and competence in assessing and addressing afterlife beliefs, mental health professionals (MHPs) can better serve many of their clients. In this presentation, social worker and psychotherapist Beth Christopherson, LCSW, first reviews the research demonstrating the importance of assessing and addressing religion and spirituality (RS) in general and afterlife beliefs specifically in a psychotherapy setting. Although afterlife beliefs are often neglected in the psychospiritual literature and in many published spiritual assessment tools, a belief in the afterlife is prevalent, human relationships are of central importance in psychotherapeutic settings, relationships do not end when someone dies, and afterlife beliefs may be related to psychological health. Christopherson then provides an overview of the SRRT Afterlife Assessment Guide which follows the recommended two-phase approach for assessing RS. The development of the SRRT was informed by social work ethical standards and research in the fields of bereavement, spiritually oriented psychotherapy, and trauma. The SRRT consists of sets of modifiable sample questions organized around four concepts: Significance, Relationships, Resources, and Treatment. In the initial assessment phase, the SRRT is used to determine if afterlife beliefs are significant to the client’s well-being or the presenting issue. In the second comprehensive phase, a framework is provided for assessing the effects of afterlife beliefs on clients' relationships, identifying potential spiritual resources for clients, and collaborating with clients in order to implement client-centered forms of treatment. This presentation is based on the peer-reviewed journal article "Assessing Afterlife Beliefs in Psychotherapy" (Christopherson & Beischel, 2018; http://www.tjics.org/index.php/TJICS/article/view/29/24). View the video below or at https://youtu.be/Z70aLo75LXU Session 8 Optimizing Communication Before, During, and After Mediumship Readings – Julie Beischel, WCRMs Daria Justyn, Laura Lynne Jackson, Traci Bray 16 min. In this panel discussion, Julie Beischel, PhD, interviews three Windbridge Certified Research Mediums (WCRMs) who have previously been screened, trained, and tested under controlled laboratory conditions. The WCRMs discuss what sitters (people receiving mediumship readings in order to connect with their deceased loves ones) can do to optimize the experience. WCRM Daria Justyn talks about what sitters can think about and do prior to a reading taking place. WCRM Laura Lynne Jackson discusses the mindset sitters can adopt while a reading is happening. And WCRM Traci Bray suggests tasks a sitter might want to consider in the days and weeks following a reading. View below or at https://youtu.be/MKuGqVhSuWE Previous 2021 Afterlife Symposium Videos Session 1 Welcome and Opening Remarks 3 min. https://youtu.be/UwY7Gf6Kj7E Session 2 Cultural Views of Dying, Death, and What Comes Next 25 min. https://youtu.be/luzodFePlUw Session 3 Windbridge Afterlife Acceptance and Validity Study 17 min. https://youtu.be/eOZLUDn570o Session 4 End of Life Experiences 25 min. https://youtu.be/7hx1yWd0Tns Session 5 The Purpose and Spirituality of Mediums 14 min. https://youtu.be/1gm_QtV_CAA Session 6 Perspectives on Death, Loss, and Mediumship 20 min. https://youtu.be/yhZTRGDQ0eU Stay tuned to your email each week through October for all 11 sessions! Again, we'll return to our once-per-month email schedule in November. Thank you so much for your interest in and support of our work. Julie and Mark About the Windbridge Research Center Our mission at the Windbridge Research Center is to ease suffering by sharing the results of our rigorous scientific research and other free educational materials focused on dying, death, and what comes next with practitioners (like mediums), clinicians (like medical and mental health professionals), scientists (like researchers and philosophers), and the general public. We need your help to do what we do. If the free Afterlife Symposium provided meaningful content for you, please consider making a donation. Thank you. The Windbridge Research Center is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit charity founded by husband-and-wife research team Mark Boccuzzi and Julie Beischel, PhD. Donate Now Tell Your Friends About Us! Please help us provide comforting information to others and to get the word out about the Windbridge Research Center! Click the links below to share this email on your social media pages and with your email contacts. 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We give you Swedenborg's first-hand experience of what it was like to be brought through the dying process while still alive. Music composed by Reade McCardell. Performed and arranged by Reade McCardell and Joel Metzler. Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Joel Metzler. See Heaven and Hell 445-450 and Secrets of Heaven 168-186. ↓↓↓ More FREE e-books and other resources ↓↓↓ ★☆★FREE E-BOOKS★☆★ Heaven and Hell - https://swedenborg.com/product/heaven... Secrets of Heaven - https://swedenborg.com/product/secret... ★☆★SUPPORT OUR SHOWS★☆★ *MAKE A ONE-TIME OR RECURRING DONATION* See how your generosity directly benefits our channel! https://offthelefteye.com/donate/ *BECOME A MEMBER* Support all the work of the Swedenborg Foundation. http://www.swedenborg.com/membership *SHOP OUR MERCH* 15% of proceeds from our Redbubble store help us continue to offer free spiritual resources just like the videos seen here. http://www.redbubble.com/people/swede... ★☆★STAY CONNECTED ★☆★ Hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified every time we upload new videos to our channel! E-MAIL SIGN-UP - https://offthelefteye.com/subscribe/ FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/HeavenAndHel... TWITTER - https://twitter.com/offthelefteye?lan...

From Emanuel Swedenborg's descriptions of the next world. The text for this video was taken from his series Secrets of Heaven #1621:

The closer we look at something physical, the more complex we realize it is. Swedenborg asserted that the same is true of even our actions, feelings and thoughts.e closer we look at something physical, the more complex we realize it is. Swedenborg asserted that the same is true of even our actions, feelings and thoughts.

On Absolute Certainty of Life After Death Posted on 11 October 2021, 11:11 Upon noting in the introduction of my book, No One Really Dies, that I professed my belief in life after death at 98.8% certainty, Bob Ginsberg of the Forever Family Foundation asked me, during an interview for his radio show, what it would take to get me to 100%. I responded that I don’t believe a person – one fully aware of the alternatives – can ever be at 100% on that issue and, further, that such certainty might not be in our best interest. Getting to 98.8% from around 25% some 35 years ago took about 20 years of studying psychical research, most of it having taken place before 1920 and having been accepted by some leading scientists of the day. However, resistance on both sides – from the fundamentalists of religion on one side and the fundamentalists of science on the other – prevented it from being widely known or accepted. The churches feared that it conflicted with established dogma and doctrine, while the scientists feared that it meant a return to religious superstitions and folly. No single case did it for me; it was the cumulative evidence that came from the cases summarized in my latest book and many others, but the case of George Pellew (below) was worth a 15-point jump in itself. Pellew Until Pellew died and began communicating through the mediumship of Leonora Piper in 1892, leading researchers preferred to think of all the purported “spirit communication” as coming from telepathy, or mind-reading, by the medium, usually by her “secondary personality” while she was in a trance state. When information came through that nobody present knew about, the researchers theorized that she could tap into minds anywhere in the world or into a “cosmic reservoir.” Although, telepathy, super telepathy, and the cosmic reservoir all defied materialistic science, they were more acceptable to science than spirits of the dead. However, there was simply too much personality, too much volition, too much give-and-take in the conversations with Pellew to not believe that it was actually the discarnate George Pellew, a lawyer and journalist who had died in an accident at the age of 32, communicating. Since such communication upset the mechanistic and materialistic laws advanced by science, many researchers clung to telepathy and the cosmic reservoir as explanations. Science simply couldn’t accept the idea of life after death. It still can’t. (See my blog of March 11, 2013 in archives for more about Pellew.) The paraffin hands (below) case, carried out by Professor Charles Richet, a Nobel Prize winner, and Dr. Gustave Geley, a noted French physician, was worth at least 10 points in my climb from 25% to 98.8%. The two scientists asked materialized spirits to dip their hands into a bucket of paraffin, producing paraffin casts of their hands, which are still on display in Paris to this day. Their experiments were carried out behind locked doors with the medium’s hands held by the researchers to completely rule out fraud. mould The mediumship of Etta Wriedt, a Detroit, Michigan woman who spoke only “Yankee” English in her normal state but through whom the spirits spoke nine different languages, including Croatian, Serbian, French, Dutch, Norwegian, and Arabic, was another 10-pointer. The mediumship of Laura Edmonds also involved many languages unknown to her, including Hungarian, Portuguese, Italian, and Greek, but she gets only two points because it is not as well recorded as that of Wriedt. Only Laura’s father, Judge John Edmonds, Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, reported on Laura’s gift, noting at one point that the deceased son of a Greek immigrant communicated with his father through Laura, the father unaware at the time that his son, who remained in Greece, had died a few days earlier. The mediumship of Cora Scott Richmond is still another 10 pointer. As young as age 14, she (or the group of 12 advanced spirits said to be speaking through her) gave extemporaneous hour-long lectures on profound subjects far beyond her education and experience. In one case, she (or the spirit speaking through her) replied in sign language. The Confucius case should get 50 points, but it is so bizarre I give it only five points. It is like asking someone to believe in a 90-yard field goal in football or a mile run in under three minutes. It is so mindboggling that one can only laugh at it. There are a number of other five pointers, but I give only one or two points to most of them, including more modern cases, in getting up to 98.8% Actually, I’m not sure that I am at 100%, or at absolute certainty, on anything. Newton’s law of gravity seems like something we should all accept with the absolute certainty, but there are enough reports on levitations of both humans and objects by credible scientists for me to believe that there are exceptions to that law. I dealt with some of those exceptions in Chapter Four of the book, while suggesting that the humans are not levitating themselves; they are being lifted by spirit entities. Based on testimony of scientists such as Sir William Crookes, a pioneer in x-ray technology, and Alfred Russel Wallace, co-originator with Charles Darwin of the natural selection theory of evolution, who witnessed levitations, I’m at 99.8% on levitations. Where that leaves me on the law of gravity, I’m not sure. Perhaps I am 100% on the law of gravity, but with exceptions. I must confess that I am only at 5% certainty (95% doubt) on the existence of an anthropomorphic (humanlike) God, but I am at the same 98.8% on the existence of some Higher or Creative Force that might be called God or Cosmic Consciousness. The 1.2% doubt gives consideration to that cosmic reservoir and its cousins, the Akashic Records, Superpsi, Super ESP and Living-Agent Psi. In effect, it is a “God without an afterlife” view of the matter, perhaps a “computer in the skies” running the whole thing. “The prima facie most impressive evidence there could be of the survival of a deceased friend or relative would be to see and touch his materialized, recognizable bodily form, which then speaks in his or her characteristic manner,” wrote C. J. Ducasse, a professor of philosophy at Brown University in his 1961 book, A Critical Examination of the Belief in Life After Death. “This is what appeared to occur in my presence on an occasion three or four years ago, when during some two hours and in very good red light throughout, some eighteen fully material forms – some male, some female, some tall, some short, and sometimes two together – came out of and returned to the curtained cabinet I had inspected beforehand, in which a medium sat, and to which I had found no avenue of surreptitious access.” Whether it was actually his mother or not, Ducasse was fairly certain it was a materialized spirit. “I can say only that if the form I saw which said it was my mother and which patted me on the head, was a hallucination – a hallucination ‘complete’ in the sense just stated – then no difference remains between a complete hallucination on the one hand and, on the other, ordinary veridical perception of a physical object; for every further test of the physicality of the form seen and touched could then be alleged to itself hallucinatory and the allegation of complete hallucination then automatically becomes completely vacuous.” Ducasse also had an opportunity to examine the ectoplasm giving rise to the materialization in good red light, to touch it, and take ten flash photos of the substance as it emanated from the mouth of the medium. He reported that it did not look, feel, or behave like any other substance known to him. It was definitely not cheesecloth, an explanation often suggested by debunkers. If my mother were to materialize and appear to me under similar circumstances, I don’t think it would move me to 100% certainty, maybe from 98.8 to 99.0. I might still reason that the reverberation theory offered by parapsychologists to explain apparitions in haunted houses and at battlefields could apply. That is, it is some kind of lingering emotional energy from years ago still existing and transcending time. To my knowledge these reverberated ghosts do not really offer any communication; however, materialized spirits who have carried on conversations with humans have been reported. Therefore, if my mother were to speak to me in the voice that I remember, about things only she could have known and that I know to be true, I might very well move to 99.5%. But I must then consider the argument that the medium was reading my mind and was a good ventriloquist. I was so enthralled by it all and with the will-to-believe that I just imagined the voice sounded like hers. I was delusional. No way can I go to 100% with those remote possibilities in mind. If my mother were to mention something my youngest brother did that I knew nothing about, and upon checking with my brother I found it to be true, I should be able to rule out telepathy and consider going to 100%. Still, it might then be argued that I had heard about it, forgot about it, and the medium was able to tap into my subconscious mind or into the cosmic reservoir for the information. The cosmic reservoir must be programmed like Alexa, the telephone robot connected to my land line who answers questions when I put one to her or plays a musical tune that I ask for. She is quite amazing. Thus, I must consider that the cosmic reservoir was programmed by an Intelligence. That suggests some kind of God, but it doesn’t necessarily mean an afterlife goes along with that God. There is no way I can get to 100%. If I were able to get to absolute certainty, or 100%, would it make any difference in how I live this life? I don’t think so, at least not very much difference. But it might very well make a difference for those who are at a small degree of certainty, or are now complete nihilists, striving to be “one with their toys.” They might live less hedonistic and more hopeful and loving lives. On the other hand, it might also hold them back in their spiritual progress. It would be a deterrence to free will, prompting them to make decisions based on fear of punishment or a lower state of being in the afterlife rather than for caring and compassionate reasons. It may be that not believing helps them advance in this life. “It is probable we shall never be able to see behind the veil with the clearness and assurance that Swedenborg claimed to possess, although he warned others off the ground he trod,” physicist Sir William Barrett provided his thoughts on the matter. “There may be, and are, I believe, good reasons for this obscure vision. If everyone were as certain as they are of day following night, that after the momentary darkness of death they would pass into an endless life of brightness and freedom, such as many spiritualists depict, it is possible few would wish to remain on earth. May be multitudes of earth-worn and weary souls would resort to some painless and lethal drug that would enable them to enter a realm where they hoped their troubles would be forever ended. A vain and foolish hope, for the discipline of life on earth is necessary for us all, and none can hope to attain a higher life without the educative experience of trial and conflict.” 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.

We invite you to hear Dr. Moody deliver an exclusive presentation on Life, Death, and the Loving, Eternal Nature of God. This wonderful event is almost here... Raymond will be sharing what he has discovered about a Higher Power from decades of NDE research and his own personal quest. This former atheist was deeply moved by lessons of the "Light" shared with him by thousands he interviewed over his long career investigating life after death. What do near-death experiencers describe of a Divine Source? Raymond will share what he has learned from them and how it has inspired his life and his new book God Is Bigger Than the Bible. This event is FREE! We hope you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to hear Raymond speak and experience his knowledge, humor and humanity firsthand. We look forward to seeing you there! The topic of Raymond's presentation will be based on his new book God is Bigger Than the Bible. He looks past our expectations and misunderstandings about God to a truth that is larger, more expansive, and far more personal than many people realize. Free Online Event Beyond the Veil Summit October 11-15, 2021 REGISTER HERE for this GRATIS EVEN During the Beyond the Veil Summit, you’ll hear illuminating insights from Raymond and 30 medical professionals, researchers, those who’ve tasted death and come back from it, and experts who can communicate with those who have crossed over. Let their remarkable stories and guidance touch your heart, enlighten you, and draw you toward living fully in each moment for the rest of your life — knowing that beyond your current human experience is a realm where peace, love, and beauty reign. Here’s some of what these brilliant teachers will be sharing with you… Leading near-death experience authority Dr. Raymond Moody shares a composite picture of God based on the countless NDE stories he’s heard over the years. Suzanne Giesemann shows you how to overcome your fear of death and accept that your soul is eternal — so you can live as both fully human and fully divine, and feel greater joy, freedom, and peace. Rob Schwartz shares stories of pre-birth planning and explains the 5 main reasons why we plan our greatest challenges before we’re born. RSVP HERE for FREE RSVP HERE for FREE We hope you will enjoy this wonderful offering! Raymond Moody & Lisa Smartt ©2021 Life After Life Institute | Asheville, North Carolina 28803

"Love is the key to earth and Heaven; even though there are many countries, many joys, many blessings, without love these are nothing."  ECRL 349-1

E.H. Everard Feilding: Researcher Francis Henry Everard Feilding was born in 1867, one of nine children born to Mary and Rudolph F Feilding, 8th Earl of Denbigh. Feilding began his career as a midshipman for the Royal Navy and participated in the Egyptian Campaign in 1882. Afterward, he attended Oscott College and Trinity College in Cambridge, graduating with a law degree in 1890. Feilding was a Catholic, and while living at Oxford, he was participated in a movement to encourage young Catholics to enter the University. He also visited Lourdes in 1892 which may have sparked his interest in spirit communication. By 1903, he was secretary of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). He held the position until 1920. Feilding became an avid researcher in the field. E. N. Beknett wrote that he and Feilding felt “it was worthwhile to explore any really well attested phenomena on the off chance of finding some grains of gold among the dross.” Feilding is known for his investigation of the Italian medium Eurapia Palladino with an SPR committee in 1908. He took the lead in all their experiments and became convinced that unexplained powers existed that could create matter. Although they caught Palladino cheating during some of the seances, they were convinced she had produced genuine phenomena, including table levitations, movement of curtains and objects, and touches from hands. In 1909, the team wrote a report on the medium in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. It became known as the “Feilding report” and was the source of debate between psychical researchers and sceptics for years. Afterward, Feilding attended other Palladino séances with magician William S. Marriott at his side. He concluded that Palladino was a fraud. Feilding’s investigations were interrupted by World War I. He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and worked for British Intelligence in Egypt. During that time Feilding met Polish medium Stanislawa Tomczyk. His research on her abilities led to a marriage in 1919. Feilding investigated many cases over the years. In 1914, he examined an alleged miracle, a bleeding lithographic print belonging to priest Abbé Vachère. He took a blood sample and a lab concluded it was not human blood. Feilding and his wife visited Vachère many years later. The priest showed them a small bleeding statue of Jesus. Feilding took a sample and this time the results showed it was human blood. Feilding held a “ghost hunt” at an alleged haunted house known as “Pickpocket Hall.” He spent a few nights in the abandoned house with a friend, but they witnessed nothing. He exposed materialization medium, Christopher Chambers, as a fraud. In 1911, he also attended two séance sittings with Etta Wriedt. He wrote about a dozen reports on various cases that were published in the SPR’s journal. After Feilding passed in 1936, Beknett wrote, “When I last saw my old friend, exactly a fortnight before his death, his mind seemed as cheerful and as vigorous as ever. He died amid the love and esteem of all who knew him, without an enemy in the world — I know no better record for any man or woman.” Additional Reading Beknett, E.N. (1936) In Memory of Everard Feilding. Proceedings of the Society for Physical Research, Vol XLIV, 1936-1937. Please note I reproduce exactly the original authors work so no editing is done.

Interesting pics Michael. I would love to see the two bottom ones upside down. The wants plan took a hit this week. I would buy myself a couple of misting machines and convert the camera to a tripod or some other stable stand. The plan remains a plan now, seriously taking a hi. It stays put back another couple of weeks/month. Inka ~ pussy cat, which I have now held more than I had the opportunity to keep my Em, had a super expensive operation day before yesterday. So once again, my playthings slide down the wants pile. The Needs pile has grown.

How very true. I struggle so much with being compassionate to people whose fanaticism is exhibited in the taking of life. But then, in some areas, people have only known chaos and wars, and I guess that is the only way I can have compassion. In the last few weeks in Australia, we have seen what we have not seen much of in the past, and that is fanaticism against current and necessary rules regarding movement/non-movement as a means to end covid. Will they be so fanatic if they get covid because of rallying against vaccinations or stay at home orders? Will they not seek medical help when they become ill? We have had several rallies in Sydney & Melbourne and have yet to see the covid outbreaks that will occur. Goodness me, what type of person aims to destroy the sight of a poor innocent horse because it had a policy rider. Hero NOT at all. No wonder children are confused.

"Ah balance, little grasshopper" too much of one will tip the delicate balance.

"Keep your mind occupied with as many pleasant things as possible; never overwork the strength of your body in any way, but it's best to stay busy."  ECRL 294-3

"Always look within yourself first, and at your motives. Don't do things for yourself alone, but rather so that the love of the Creator will be reflected in your actions in your relationships everywhere."  ECRL 438-1