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"Saint Michael the Mavroudis (Feast Day - Thursday of Bright Week)" Born in Granitsa, in the Agrapha area of Greece, of the pious and God-fearing parents Demetrios and Statera, Michael was brought up in the Orthodox Christian tradition. His parents were regular church attendants, and from an early age Michael took his religion very seriously. When his father died, Michael was quite young, so he was brought up by his mother. Later when he came of age, she arranged an Orthodox Christian marriage for him.Some time later Michael moved to the city of Thessalonike where he worked as a breadseller. In Thessaloniki he became well-known not only for his genuine piety but also for his many kind acts and works of charity. In addition he rarely if ever missed any church services and listened attentively to the Scripture readings. In fact he had a great desire to become a monk, but he was reminded it was not right to abandon his wife.On the feast of Mid-Lent (Third Sunday of Great Lent), Michael did not remain in church after the end of service, as was his custom, to hear the spiritual readings that were read, but went straight to the shop and sat for a time. Soon a Muslim boy known to Michael came to his shop to buy bread. Michael began to engage him in conversation, something he had done before. This time he asked the boy what he believed and whether or not he understood what his teachers told him about his Muslim faith.By chance the boy's Muslim teacher appeared and the boy told him of Michael's questions and conversation. The teacher then said to Michael: "What is this you are saying to the boy, you infidel? You curse our faith which is glorious and honored, and our dress is glorious and priceless."To this Michael replied: "With the grace of my Christ, the true God, I am faithful and truly pious, and I know what I say and what I believe, so much that I am ready to die for my faith. But you miserable men neither know what you say nor what you do. Truly you are mistaken and move in darkness. You have a religion full of myths and creatures."This exchange attracted other Muslims who stood nearby and after hearing some of what was said, they took hold of Michael and brought him before the kadi, charging him with having insulted the Muslim faith and the prophet Muhammad.When Michael was brought before the kadi, he was questioned about his Orthodox faith. To this questioning, Michael gave intelligent and brave responses which angered the kadi,* especially when he denied that Muhammad was a legitimate prophet. For this, Michael was sentenced to burned at the stake, to which Michael replied in a loud voice: "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is true god and my Creator and Maker. I am ready, if necessary, to suffer tortures for his love. So from whatever money I have, take it and buy wood to burn me, for I do not wish to be offered as a sacrifice to God with your wood."As soon as he said that he spit on the kadi and the papers he was holding. The kadi responded by having Michael put on the floor and flogged severely. Then he was put in jail.Orthodox Christians who knew the jailer visited Michael whom they found chained, but calm and unafraid. In fact he related to them the following visitation he had:"Last night when I prayed my Lord appeared and strengthened my weakness and gave my soul courage, telling me: "Michael, my athlete, rejoice. Just as I put forward my soul and suffered death by crucifixion for your sake and for all humanity, in the same way it is necessary for you to die for my love so you might live and reign with me. See to it then that you are not afraid of the fire, for the fear is only in its appearance, and its taste is to be scorned. You will with all this be strengthened by my unconquerable power.""Saying this," Michael added, "the Lord blessed me and left and I was enveloped by such incredible love and joy that I can't hold myself back. I can only wait for that blessed day to come that will separate me from this world and allow me to join my Christ."A few days later a high-ranking kadi came and questioned Michael further, to which Michael replied with great boldness. Seeing his resolve, the kadi, although moved by Michael's testimony, nevertheless sentenced him to death. The official sentence read as follows:"Michael, of Orthodox Christian parents, moved by his own accord, came before me and many notables who happened to be in my court, and openly confessed Christ, that the prophets prophesied about him, and that the Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus Christ is primarily and truly the birthgiver of God. And he added this also, there were prophets up to the time of Christ, but those who followed are liars and deceivers, and openly called our prophet Muhammad a liar and a deceiver and degraded him with other insults, and therefore, being unwilling to repent over what he said, the law has decided to deliver him to the fire on the twenty-first of March, the fifth day of the week, at the ninth hour."To frighten Michael at the place of execution, which was the courtyard of the Church of the Presentation of Christ, they placed his hands in the fire, then they took off most of his clothes and covered his body with sulfur. They then placed him in the fire and he ignited, singing hymns until the very end.Thus Michael the Breadseller of Granitsa died for the love of Jesus Christ in Thessaloniki on March 21, in the year 1547 (some sources say 1544).* This exchange can be read in Nomikos Michael Vaporis' book "Witnesses For Christ", pp. 69-75, from which the above account was abridged.
By John SanidopoulosAccording to tradition, the Holy Martyr Athenogenes was an aged priest, who in the year 196 A.D. was burned alive for his faith in Christ in Pontus of Asia Minor. It is said that as he approached the fire to be burned, he sang the joyful evening hymn "Phos Ilaron" ( ; Gladsome Light) as his disciples stood by. Many attribute to him authorship of this hymn and it is still said today during the Evening Vespers service.This tradition is confirmed by Basil the Great in Chapter 29 of his treatise "On the Holy Spirit", where he cites the ancient texts and traditions of the Church that refered to the divinity of the Holy Spirit, among which is the "Hymn of Athenogenes Phos Ilaron". He wrote:"I will now adduce another piece of evidence which might perhaps seem insignificant, but because of its antiquity must in nowise be omitted by a defendant who is indicted on a charge of innovation. It seemed fitting to our fathers not to receive the gift of the light at eventide in silence, but, on its appearing, immediately to give thanks. Who was the author of these words of thanksgiving at the lighting of the lamps, we are not able to say. The people, however, utter the ancient form, and no one has ever reckoned guilty of impiety those who say 'We praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God'. And if any one knows the Hymn of Athenogenes, which, as he was hurrying on to his perfecting by fire, he left as a kind of farewell gift to his friends, he knows the mind of the martyrs as to the Spirit."St. Athenogenes the Martyr is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on July 16th together with another martyr named Athenogenes, who is said to have been martyred in 290 with his ten disciples by beheading. There is no valid reason to confuse the two besides the similarity of name, as many do.Though Mark of Ephesus and Symeon of Thessaloniki confirm St. Athenogenes to be the author of "Phos Ilaron", some attribute its authorship to Sophronios of Jerusalem. Nikodemos the Hagiorite in his "Synaxarion" argues that this attribution is without foundation, since Sophronios lived in the 7th century, while Basil confirms the hymn was written before his time in the 4th century. He further writes that the hymn was found written on an ancient Alexandrian Codex of the Septuagint from before the time of Sophronios. Nikodemos also notes that Sophronios likely perfected the hymn to its present form, which is why it is attributed to him.St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite wrote the following Verse for St. Athenogenes: "Athenogenes ran towards the fire saying, "O Gladsome Light Christ the Holy Glory."Below is the hymn in Greek and English:GREEK,,,,,,,,,.,,,..ENGLISHO Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the Immortal Father, heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ. Now we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening. We praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God. For it is right at all times to worship Thee with voices of praise, O Son of God and Giver of Life, therefore all the world glorifies Thee.
"Why is my magic all wonky?"I love later I get questions fancy this via email, and like me, a lot of magical practitioners are considered opinion that their magic is positively a bit wonky these days. Illusion spells are goodbye off road, astrological effects are thrashing harder than ever, and divinations are on a regular basis "hinky" at best.So what the heck is goodbye on with the magic?Wonky Illusion and the Pluto Fix upThe direct around to the contest is this: astrology. Astrological factors are at work inside. In refined Plutonian effects are at work. My look up to of threads is that worldwide we are experiencing a Plutonian return. Pluto, called by load astrologers the Lady of Kismet, completes its gang every 248 being.As good as, we are receipt the come to blows of at all was going on impart 1761. In the course of this time, the French-Indian War occurred, the Seven Existence War refined, the Western Territories altered hands and the colonies refined an financial slump. Also, of course, the difficulties with All-embracing Britain began taking part in this time, inference with the war for egoism in 1775. So, inside we are anew.Pluto has returned to the extremely agreed it was 248 being ago, and we are reaping the providence that has accumulated taking part in that time.What's Vista on the Sovereign BangOn the nature level, alteration, delivery, and penny are central called forth. To the organization this appears to be a peril to life, bit to some it presents an have a break for rejuvenation. Near mettle be guarantee copiously for aggravation and bile, but similarly a lot of force for penny that we deem been, until now, too paranoid, laissez-faire, worn out, or subdued to make.Seeing that seems to be working for us, and for load magical practitioners, is to let pass skirmish on the sequential level and to move up penny on the magical level. In other words, if a physical reveal occurs that angers you, don't go directly to action. Significantly, waterway on using tabloid magic rituals of continuation to move up an inner sacred space. From that sacred space, do at all magic you choose to effect penny, whether this be a spell, some simulacra magic, or a ritual nearby.For frequent of you who aren't unwavering what magic to use to move up inner sacred space, restrain out the "Illusion in Your Mailbox" series. It's an email terrific that helps homeland insert and use basic magic rituals as a part of tabloid life.Data up for "Illusion in Your Mailbox" inside.If you enjoyed this post, please return superficial a hint or subscribing to the feed to deem outcome articles delivered to your feed reader.Print credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyingsinger/ / CC BY 2.0
O MITO DA DESCIDA DA DEUSA (desconheco a autoria, se voc^e 'e o autor, por clemency se manifeste para que eu possa dar os devidos cr'editos)
Dea, nossa Dama e Deusa, soluciona todos os mist'erios, at'e mesmo o mist'erio da Morte. Assim sendo, ela partiu rumo ao Submundo em sua nau, pelo Sagrado Rio da descida. A seguir ela se deparou com o primeiro dos sete portais do Submundo. E seu Guardi~ao a desafiou, exigindo uma de suas vestes para que passasse, pois nada pode ser dado sem que algo seja oferecido em troca. E a cada um dos portais, a Deusa teve de pagar o preco da passagem, pois os Guardi~aes assim lhe diziam: "Despe-te de tuas vestes, e livra-te de tuas j'oias, pois n~ao h'a nada que possas trazer a nossos dom'inios".
Assim, Dea cedeu suas j'oias e sua vestimenta aos Guardi~aes, e foi conduzida, como um ser vivo que busca ingresso no Reino dos Mortos e dos Poderosos. No primeiro portal ela deixou seu cetro, no segundo sua coroa, no terceiro seu colar, no quarto seu anel, no quinto sua guirlanda, no sexto suas
sand'alias, e no s'etimo seu vestido. Dea permaneceu nua e foi apresentada perante Dis, e tal era sua beleza que ele pr'oprio se ajoelhou quando ela entrou.
Depondo sua espada e sua coroa aos p'es dela, disse: "Abencoados s~ao teus p'es, pois te
trouxeram por esta senda". Ele ent~ao ergueu-se e disse a Dea: "Fica comigo, eu imploro, e deixa teu corac~ao ser por mim tocado"
E Dea respondeu a Dis: "Mas eu n~ao te amo, pois por que fazes com que todas as coisas que amo e com as quais me delicio venham a fenecer e morrer?"
"Minha Senhora", respondeu Dis, "'e hostile a idade e o destino que falas. N~ao tenho poder, pois a idade faz com que tudo pereca, mas quando os homens morrem ao fim de seu step eu lhes dou repouso, paz e forca. Por algum step eles habitam com a Lua, e com os esp'iritos da Lua; ent~ao podem retornar ao reino dos vivos. Mas 'es t~ao ador'avel e te peco para que n~ao retornes, mas que vivas c'a comigo".
Ao que Ela respondeu: "N~ao, pois n~ao te amo". Ent~ao Dis disse: "Se te recusas a me abracar, deves prostar-te perante o acoite das Morte". Respondeu a Deusa: " Se assim 'e, assim seja, tanto melhor!" Dea ent~ao ajoelhou-se em submiss~ao perante a m~ao da Morte, e esta acoitou-a t~ao levemente que ela gritou: "Reconheco tua dor, a dor do amor".
Dis ergueu-a e disse: "'Es abencoada, minha Rainha e minha Dama". A seguir ele lhe deu cinco beijos de iniciac~ao, dizendo: "Somente assim podes ambicionar sabedoria e prazer".
E ele ensinou-lhe todos os seus mist'erios, e lhe deu o colar que 'e o c'irculo do renascimento. E Ela lhe transmitiu todos os seus mist'erios, do c'alice sagrado que 'e o caldeir~ao do renascimento.
Eles se amaram e se uniram um ao outro, e por um per'iodo Dea viveu nos dom'inios de Dis.
Pois tr^es s~ao os mist'erios na vida de um Homem: Sexo, Nascimento e Morte (e o amor controla a todos). Para atingir o Amor, devemos encontrar, reconhecer, lembrar e am'a-los novamente
Mas para que possamos renascer devemos morrer e ser preparados para um novo corpo. E para morrer devemos nascer, mas sem amor n~ao podemos nascer entre os nossos semelhantes.
Mas nossa Deusa tende a favorecer o amor, o prazer e a alegria. Ela protege e cuida de suas criancas ocultas nesta vida e na pr'oxima. Na Morte Ela revela o caminho que leva `a comunh~ao com Ela, e na vida ensina a magia dos mist'erios do C'irculo (existente entre os mundos dos homens e dos Deuses).
Da Tradic~ao Aridiana (Raven Grimassi)
Sigo agora com alguns coment'arios sobre o texto acima para um entendimento mais profundo.
Percebemos na primeira parte do texto que a Deusa era incompleta (assim como n'os somos antes da compreens~ao ou da VERDADEIRA LUZ). Assim sendo, ela decide-se por viajar ao mundo dos Mortos buscando tal compreens~ao repugnant sobre a morte, contraposto da vida.
Encontramos no texto tamb'em o que por muitas vezes j'a comentei e n~ao sei se fui bem compreendido. A ren'uncia! Essa ren'uncia 'e evidente nos pedidos dos Guardi~aes com um pagamento em cada portal.
Os sete portais simbolizam os sete planos amplamente aceitos em doutrinas ocultistas: Nos liguemos aqui ao f'isico. Como descrito no texto, nada se consegue sem que algo seja dado em troca.
A vida 'e uma eterna (enquanto dura a exist^encia...ou n~ao) troca de prioridades.
Trocamos nosso step a todo momento. Seja por mais step, por dinheiro, lazer, etc... Mas esse 'e s'o um dos exemplos.
Assim sendo, todos temos de abrir m~ao de conceitos, filosofias, go with e comportamentos para que possamos enfim obter esclarecimento.
Os stuff doados pela Deusa representam esses aspectos como passaremos a analisar:
No primeiro portal 'e dado o cetro. Esse cetro representa nosso poder pessoal de exercer poder sobre as coisas que nos rodeiam. Isso se deve necessidade de introspecc~ao para o maior entendimento de nosso Central.
No segundo 'e dada a coroa. A Coroa representa a autoridade. A ren'uncia a nosso Lay perante nossos c'irculos profissionais, pessoais e familiares.
Considerar-nos como um igual. Quando n~ao associamos o que somos a nosso trabalho, fam'ilia e amigos, o que sobra 'e o que realmente somos.
No terceiro 'e dado o colar. O Colar representa nossa exig^encia por reconhecimento de valores pessoais.Os sucessos, realizac~oes. A Riqueza e as conquistas de nada valem no processo de reconhecimento do Central. N~ao importa se 'e o mais rico ou o mais pobre. Deve-se reconhecer que os bens materiais s~ao importantes sim, mas ao mundo material.
No quarto 'e dado o Anel. O Anel representa o n'ivel outgoing mais uma vez. Representa a associac~ao a alguma entidade, uma formac~ao acad^emica, um determinado n'ivel intelectual. Tudo isso de nada importa no mundo espiritual.
No quinto 'e dada a guirlanda. A Guirlanda representa as fachadas pessoais que criamos. E o que utilizamos para ocultar nossas imperfeic~oes, erros e defeitos. Renunciar a guirlanda e expor seu Central `a vis~ao de todos. At'e o momento, apenas voc^e era capaz de conhecer-se verdadeiramente.
No sexto s~ao dadas as sand'alias. As sand'alias representam as trilhas que seguimos e as pol'iticas anteriormente adotadas.'E abandonar nossos pontos de prospect atuais e preparar-nos para conhecer novos. Um fil'osofo chin^es disse certa vez:
"Esvazie a sua x'icara de ch'a para que possa provar do meu"
Assim s~ao as sand'alias. Abandon'a-las 'e a ren'uncia do aprendizado atual, buscando novas sand'alias.
No s'etimo e 'ultimo 'e dada a veste. A veste representa a cobertura momentous. 'E propriamente o Central que recobre o esp'irito por muitas vezes empregnando-o de nossa mat'eria. 'E por muitas vezes o isolamento de nosso esp'irito para as experi^encias espirituais. Uma vez removida a veste, o que sobra 'e o verdadeiro esp'irito.
A'i est~ao as transformac~oes por muito comentadas por mim.
Enfim, despidos de todo o "Hangings" finalmente ocorre o encontro entre o Anima e o Animus (j'a comentado por mim anteriormente). Neste momento, tudo se torna mais f'acil a Deusa, desde que ela concorde com os termos do Senhor do mundo dos Esp'iritos. (Nesse momento 'e que nos encontramos mais vulner'aveis `as tentac~oes dos caminhos mais r'apidos e pr'aticos, totalmente despidos de valores materiais).
Neste momento 'e que devemos resistir, assim como ela o fez. Finalmente, compreendemos que A Morte 'e um ciclo de renascimento e vida. Que n~ao se trata de um algoz ou de um Medo. Que representa a passagem. Em termos espirituais enquanto mantemos a mat'eria, representa a morte de nossos valores e a aceitac~ao de novos valores magickos e espirituais.
Poderia continuar a comentar a lenda, seus valores, a reencarnac~ao nela representada. Mas acho que o objetivo que era o de esclarecer as mudancas por tantas vezes comentadas por mim, j'a foi alcancado.
Meus Amados Irm~aos, nossa senda 'e muito mais complexa e rebuscada do que possamos imaginar. O Simbolismo e o sincretismo das lendas e go with wiccanianos por vezes confundem-se com valores mentais, psicol'ogicos e de comportamento.
Cabe a cada um encontrar (ap'os doar) suas sand'alias e com elas caminhar rumo ao verdadeiro descobrimento. N~ao basta ler, 'e preciso estudar para compreender e ainda... Aceitar.
Desejo a todos os meus Amados Irm~aos um caminho mais tranquilo do que o que tenho trilhado. Que suas realizac~oes e descobrimentos transcorram com o amor dos Deuses.Visite:
Wicca Ipatinga:
http://www.wicca-ipatinga.blogspot.com
Grupo de Estudos Virtual:
http://br.groups.yahoo.com/group/wicca ipatinga/
Comunidade no Orkut
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=19491704
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/WiccaIpatinga
Just a quick comment and observation on this Columbus Day.Isn't it funny how educators want to be "fair and balanced" and "entirely truthful" about some things, but not about others?Isn't it funny how the things they deem "need clarifying" for historical posterity are the types of things that are ultimately meaningless while they choose to leave out all the "really important" stuff?Take, for instance, the 2009 "controversy" over Christopher Columbus. As one headline in the national news describes it this morning: A DARKER SIDE OF COLUMBUS EMERGES IN U.S. CLASSROOMS.Here's a snapshot:Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history. Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance - though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend. "I talk about the situation where he didn't even realize where he was," Kolowith said. "And we talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy."Forgive me, but is it really all that important for students (especially those in Kindergarten) to know that he was a "very, very mean" man? How is any of that important to a proper study on the man and his place in our nation's history? How does knowing that character flaw expand our knowledge and understanding of the man, his passions, the time period he lived in, and what drove him to the monumental discovery he made? Furthermore, aren't we all a little guilty of being that way from time to time?Wouldn't we learn more about someone from reading about the types of books, journals, papers, and speeches he wrote? I mean, if Teachers were really so concerned about presenting historical figures accurately, then they need to portray a "complete" image of the person -- not just deliberately skew the presentation to the point where it's entirely negative as in this case.That's why it's a shame that in nearly every case across the board you'll find that any discussion about Columbus' Christian faith is noticeably absent. Hardly a surprise in a nation where God was kicked out of the classroom (and most of the public arena) long ago, but genuine Columbus Historians will tell you that his Christianity is what made him the man that he was, and that it's what drove him to embark upon that dangerous mission.Get this though. Did you know that Columbus believed his discovery of the New World was necessary in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy? Me neither!What exactly did Christopher Columbus mean when, circa 1500 AD, he wrote about America in one of his famous letters: "God made me the messenger of the new heaven and the new earth of which he spoke in the Apocalypse of St John after having spoken of it through the mouth of Isaiah; and he showed me the spot where to find it."A brief aside, and I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself here. His mention of America being prophesied in the Book of Isaiah was not lost on me because it was only a couple of months ago when we broached the subject here for the first time in the piece titled "DOES ISAIAH 18 ACTUALLY REFER TO AMERICA?", which may be more relevant than ever today. In fact, we looked at that exhilarating possibility a few times on the same day back in July:ISAIAH 17 DAMASCUS PROPHECY, ISAIAH 18 U.S. PROPHECYAMERICA'S DESTINY FOUND IN ISAIAH 18?Back to our famous explorer. Did you also know that Christopher Columbus produced a famous book, the "BOOK OF PROPHECIES", containing over 200 Biblical and Patristic passages which he compiled? Me neither! And because many of us don't know this, even fewer understand why he wrote that in the first place.Apparently, when Columbus made his case to win support from the Vatican and the Spanish monarchy, at the center of his manifesto was a millennial prophecy about the destiny of the land that he would discover. As "THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION AND SOCIETY" states:To dismiss the collection, as some have, as merely a "sales-job" appealing to the highly religious nature of the Queen, however, is to miss the point. To conclude that it represents "an unfortunate, and sudden and radical, lurch from a previously rational and competent man of the world to a self-pitying and self-aggrandizing prophet," is, at best, to judge it out of context.Biblical prophecy was a major factor in Columbus's formulations. Though largely self-taught, he was remarkably well informed on the Bible, which he believed was the foundation of all learning, explicitly or implicitly setting forth all knowledge. He employed scholarly biblical commentaries, but he also came to believe that the Holy Spirit had provided him with the illumination necessary to unlock its messages.So, what was at the core of his "Book of Prophecies"? HE SAID THAT A "NEW WORLD" WAS TO ARISE IN THE WEST TO FIGHT A FINAL CRUSADE AGAINST THE ARAB POWERS OF THE MIDDLE EAST! Wow! That's eerily consistent with the ILLUMINATI PLAN for Three World Wars too, isn't it? It also accurately mirrors the present day situation facing our world.When you stop to think about it, it's a remarkable thought that he had because war across such a vast distance, over thousands of miles of sea and land, would have seemed "highly unlikely" at the time. Yet, as the new Millennium dawned, soon after the Year 2000 AD, events were set in motion that would fulfill the prophecy.Particularly appealing to Columbus was Joachim's prediction that the prophesied messiah-emperor who would retake the Holy Land (the coming Antichrist), would come from Spain. Hmmm...JAVIER SOLANA or JOSE ZAPATERO perhaps?Not unlike others of his time, the basic elements of Columbus's apocalyptic vision included the appearance of an emperor-messiah, the conversion of all people in the world to Christianity, the final recovery of the Holy Land from the "infidels", the advent of the Antichrist, and the second coming of Christ. Also common was his belief that Christ's Second Coming was imminent. What was unique about Columbus's vision was his deep seated belief that he had been chosen by God to play a key role in this inexorably unfolding cosmic drama.Even more unique was the fact that he wasn't just some pompous individual who believed he was the center of the universe and on a mission from the Most High. That is to say that he was far from being a delusional crackpot. Columbus was conversant, largely through secondary sources, with prominent ancient and medieval theologians and cosmographers. His letters and notes refer to Augustine, Ambrose, Venerable Bede, Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, and others. Most useful to him, however, were the fifteenth century works of Pierre d'Ailly, especially his "Image mundi", in which Columbus made some 898 marginal notes, and the writings of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Plus ID. Columbus's 861 postils in Plus II's "Historia rerum ubique gestarum" are the earliest evidence we have of Columbus's evolving eschatology. They have been dated to 1481, some twenty years before he began work on his "Book of Prophecies".The point is that he wasn't just some Christian, fringe lunatic who spent way too much time out at sea that he lost his own bearings so to speak. This is a guy who was grounded in God's Word, and who was well-versed in the writings of other famous religious scholars and theologians.How many of us were ever taught this growing up? Of course, we all know that this is what happens when Liberalism marries Multiculturalism and lives in a home called Political Correctness. Still, it's another sad commentary on the state of our Public Education System, and it makes my stomach turn at the thought of how distorted history will be when it's presented to us "Christian Truthers" in the Re-Education Classes at Camp FEMA.One final thought. Remember how Columbus wrote how God showed him the spot where to find the New World? Well, what if Columbus was a sort of "minor prophet" in a sense? If so, and this was his one and only "prophecy" (about being led by God -- through a clear vision -- to discover the New World), then given what we're told about how to test a prophet to see if they're truly from God (DEUTERONOMY 13:1-4; DEUTERONOMY 18:22; NUMBERS 24:4; DANIEL 10:8; DANIEL 10:17; JEREMIAH 28:9; MATTHEW 7:20; 1 JOHN 4:1-2; 1 CORINTHIANS 14:37; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:20-21; 2 PETER 1:19; REVELATION 19:10), wouldn't that mean that he was right?For all I know, he never made any other "prophecies" prior to (or after) this one that failed to pass so if he's batting one-for-one, then we know what that means. If the mysterious Christopher Columbus was a sort of minor prophet used by God, then it makes perfect sense why atheists and secularists would hide any information about all of this.Columbus' prophecy would not only further prove the existence of God, but it would point to the coming reality that us students of Bible prophecy already know fully well -- that the Tribulation will involve a World War III with the nations of the Middle East.You know, now that I think of it, that's probably why they want to demonize this man. If he did all these horrible things they say he did, and he was a fanatical, fundamental Christian at the time, then it supports the meme that ALL CHRISTIANS are like this, and are therefore a threat to society at large. Now I get it.As The Center for the Study of Religion and Society concluded:"That Columbus could not convince others of the prophetic importance of his accomplishments proved disappointing, but he would be bewildered to learn that later historians would dismiss the importance of his eschatology. To most, it is not a flattering reflection on the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, but it does take us one step closer to reality."Amen! A reality that the world will be forced to face one day whether they want to or not.Keep looking up!
Ectoplasm was made popular in the spiritualist movement in the early 1900s when physical psychic mediums produced material that was said to be the stuff spirits were made of. As intrigued as the concept was, it was found to be a marvelously elaborate hoax in which they utilized cloth, cotton, strings, and other materials to give the appearance of expelling it during a seance.We've moved on nowadays to realize that there is no ectoplasm and that ghosts do not manifest themselves in such a physical form. We still persist in the concept that a soul can enter the human body and take command (possession). The assumption is that if ghosts can affect doors opening and closing and create odors and sounds, they can certainly penetrate a human body. I remain skeptical on that POV since if ghosts could command us, our deceased parents and grandparents would be taking command of our personal sinking ships. That said, however, there could be conditions in which one is able to affect a person for short bursts of time, just like they can open a door once during the night and that's all the force they get.The question this leads to is pretty important to discuss; "what are ghosts made of?" We know that they are not "solid" as we are and yet they can manage to move objects and touch us. "So, how do they perform this task?"It would appear that the logical conclusions is that whatever a ghost is (whether that's a prankster from another dimension, psychokinesis from the living, the soul of a dead one, or the past in a sporadic loop), it is not solid by our interpretation of solid and yet it does affect solid objects, so it must be something happening in a molecular level that, though we cannot see it, has an interaction with other particles in solid objects resulting in rocking chairs moving, doors slamming and people being touched.Let's discuss one potential means by which ghosts launch into our world and mess with us: The Hutchison Effect. This Canadian engineer (John Hutchison) came up with the concept of extremely high levels of EMF utilized basically to affect objects around the machine. Whether this is genuine or not has been debated hotly and lots of intrigue about where he is and if the Canadian government was stealing his equipment, trying to discredit him, and stop his experiments or what. See this video and you decide - Some of the supposed claims of the experiments are objects interacting and melding with other objects, levitation, new metal alloys being made, and poltergeist activity. Here is a site with more pics and info. If this truly happened and he did have such accomplishments, then it would seem comparable to stories of the Philadelphia Experiment.Whether this was successful or not, an urban legend or the madness of a manic depressive with grandiosity, the concept is a sound one. "There might be way that using natural forces in our world, we can affect objects." Just look at electricity. We learned to light bulbs and power appliances when we discovered it and learned to harness it. It was, however, always here in natural forms like static electricity and lighting power. So, it might be with the ghost world - "we will learn its energy source and how to control it."Ghosts might not be made of ectoplasm, but what their energy source is and their mechanism for reacting and affecting our world--is quite an exciting scientific frontier. I think our answer will lie in explanations by physicists and if we find out their makeup, we can find out their origin, if we find out their origin, we finally know what a ghost is and, better yet, how to have a back and forth with them with reliability.I suppose the next question after what are they made of is, "what the heck is the driving force behind them? "
Tat was a question I had, what seems a lifetime ago, when I was just a teen. While in my school library, one day, I chanced upon a strange and mysterious book. (LIBRARIES ARE WONDERFUL.) It was a weird book ABOUT ASTRAL PROJECTION whose title I can no longer remember, but it shifted the course of my life... We creatures are so unfamiliar with ourselves. There is a marvelous portion in us that is so often totally unobserved and is waiting to awaken. The book spelled out how to do astral projection. It showed how a male or female is can move away from of their physical structure and visit far-off places in the real world and other destinations that aren't even imaginable in your imagination. It said that the physical body we all have is just a crude outer shell of physical matter and we are much more than our material bodies. In fact, our true self is a body of pure energy that is capable of indescribable feats. So in more exact terms, astral projection is the power to perceive both physical and non-physical worlds at far-off locations without the necessity of using your physical body. It is the skill to travel the world by using your other half - the body that is composed of pure energy. While astral traveling, you cease to experience the objects of this world with your gross physical senses, but rather you perceive the energetic substances of the world. Perceiving things directly, can guide you to magnificent discoveries about the way things truly are. There is much more to reality than the quick gloss that your sensory faculties leave you with. It may come as a sizable surprise to most people, when they find out that astral projection does not have to be a totally hit-or-miss event of circumstances, but rather can be a spectacular experience that you can intentionally create into your life. When you become self-aware outside the constraint of your material restrictions and realize your real nature is as an existence built of total energy, there are no confines to the grand adventures that await you. The unachievable becomes doable and you are born-again into your rightful being... that is a supernatural being in a miraculous world. Tags: experience stories true semantics misconception your itinerary feel your chest focus technique astral travelling plan travelling plan body connection the gods and goddesses of greece gods and goddesses of olympus all gods and goddesses of greek mythology history of greek gods and goddesses
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