by Dr. Shanker Adawal
(submitted 2010-04-19)
1) One way of doing good, thinking good and be on righteous path is to remember Death-an event that has to come to all. It may come to some at young age, to others at middle age and still to others at old age. The concept of longevity differs from person to person and I would say that no Astrologer is Brahamato predict about longevity though we have systems of calculating longevity. However, some Rishis and sages may have god-gifted institution.
2) There is a difference of just a second or so between life and death. You are alive a moment before your death. Just in a moment, present becomes past and the event itself gets into memory with the passage of time. So long one lives, there is urging to live, love and lord over others and all these urges come to an end with the inevitable event-death. All the urges and aspirations are manifestation of truth and the ultimate event death is also truth.
3) Life before and after death is indicated by the horoscope-Janampatri i.e. Position of stars at birth. Karma of the native is very important-rather Astrology embraces the Karmas of previous birth(s) also. Birth with good and exalted planets ma not suffice as they indicate good deeds of the native in previous incarnation. The Karma of the native e in this incarnation also has a vital role to play.
4) The purpose of the Divine Science-Astrology is to dins out the come of actions, good and bad and also to take the people towards the path of virtue. Now with regards to death, without involving technical terms of astrology. I would say that 8th house in the horoscope speak of longevity and 12th house speak of exit from the world (Moksha).
5) The 12th house and its lord would tell about the fall of the native in heaven or hell. The mode of death is also indicted by the planets occupying the 8th house. Death can be predicted though the evil effects flowing from the 8th house and I am sure all of you known that there are 12 houses in a horoscope. Briefly, the mode of death is indicated as under with reference to the sign representing 8th house.
Aires - Death will come through fever, heat and liver or gastric illness.
Taurus - Fire or weapon shall cause the Death
Gemini - Death comes by asthma, colic etc.
Cancer - Death is due to madness (insanity), wind-diseases or loss of appetite.
Leo - Death is due to wild beasts, fever, boils or enemies.
Virgo - Death comes though women, venereal disease, or by falling from high places.
Libra - Death it the result of spleen, fever and typhoid
Scorpio - Death is the result of spleen, jaundice or cholera.
Saggitarius - Death comes by falling of a tree, drowning in water, wood or weapon.
Capricorn - Death is to due to stomach - ache, loss of appetite or mental imbalance.
Aquarius - Death is by cough, fever or consumption.
Pisces - Death comes by drawing or some water diseases.
6) Another principle is that if Rahu is in the 12th house alone with Mars, Saturn and the Sun, the native will go in hell. This is what sage Prasara has said though the same may not be subject to verification. The 12th house relates to one's fate after death. Whether, the native will re-incarnate or attain Moksha and be at the Lotus feet of the Lord, would beep a deep study from the 12th house.
7) Without dwelling further on the concept of death, it would be apt to say that the need of the day is mental peace which missing operatically for all from peon to Prime Minister and from poor to rich. Astrology is a guide for future, but on account of uncertain future, we are always afraid of our future. This unwanted but constant anxiety, tension and stress disturbs our peace of mind specially if the native is weak minded. The only way is to strengthen the mind taking support from the all-mighty-Your Lord and this is possible via mediation or concentration for which you need to practice. The other way is auto-suggestion-self control, repeatedly suggesting to your self, listening to your inner soul for the right path and 'Sankalp' etc. To do or not to do a particular thing. Abhayaswarpurah Aham Asmi- I am strong enough to handle all situations. I have confidence in myself and I am fearless.
About the Author
Dr. Shanker Adawal, Jyotishacharya in Astrology is a professional and Astrology is his passion and an urge. His predictive technique is based on Bhrigu Technique whose principles and doctrines have been deciphered from research of above two decades. www.connectingmind.com
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Bible On Reincarnation
Bizarre events have caused some people who don't believe in reincarnation to reconsider their stance. Does the Bible have any answers for them? Yes, it does.A belief in reincarnation indicates a belief that people experience a series of rebirths until ultimately attaining oneness with God.
The Bible's teachings on science, ancient history, and mathematics have been proven flawless. Also, it's a most unique book in that there's no doctrine, belief, or philosophy that has been, is, or ever will be on which the Bible is "silent". This fact alone attests to the amazing knowledge possessed by its numerous authors who wrote under divine inspiration, thing they should not have known by any natural means.
Many proponents of the theory of reincarnation "authenticate" it with the strange and bizarre stories of people who mysteriously have knowledge about a deceased person they never knew. Such knowledge usually can't be traced back to any natural or explicable means of transmission. There's also the phenomenon of "déjà vu" which many consider to be yet more evidence of reincarnation.
Most evangelical Christians claim belief in the Bible's scriptures as the last authority on what is truth and what is falsehood. The Bible should therefore be the first source of information consulted if it's truly regarded as the last word on everything.
The scripture of Hebrews 9:27 says, "...it is appointed unto men (people) once to die, but after this, the judgment."
It's not another life, but judgment that comes after death. How then does one explain the strange happenings so often associated with a belief in reincarnation? Can the average person explain why concave and convex mirrors don't reflect things the way they actually appear? Such mirrors can make one appear extremely fat, skinny, ugly, and distorted in many other ways. If the person had never seen his real reflection, he would not have the advantage of knowing truth which guards against deception. His eyes would see only the disfigured reflection given by the mirror. The mirror is real. His eyes are real. A million people looking at the reflection would witness the same real distortion. Nevertheless, it would not be reality.
All that contradicts God's word is a falsehood, regardless of how real it may appear, regardless of how many witnesses may attest to it.
Visit Heavenly Manna for in-depth biblical studies on various questions on the paranormal.
By Hannah Henderson
The Bible's teachings on science, ancient history, and mathematics have been proven flawless. Also, it's a most unique book in that there's no doctrine, belief, or philosophy that has been, is, or ever will be on which the Bible is "silent". This fact alone attests to the amazing knowledge possessed by its numerous authors who wrote under divine inspiration, thing they should not have known by any natural means.
Many proponents of the theory of reincarnation "authenticate" it with the strange and bizarre stories of people who mysteriously have knowledge about a deceased person they never knew. Such knowledge usually can't be traced back to any natural or explicable means of transmission. There's also the phenomenon of "déjà vu" which many consider to be yet more evidence of reincarnation.
Most evangelical Christians claim belief in the Bible's scriptures as the last authority on what is truth and what is falsehood. The Bible should therefore be the first source of information consulted if it's truly regarded as the last word on everything.
The scripture of Hebrews 9:27 says, "...it is appointed unto men (people) once to die, but after this, the judgment."
It's not another life, but judgment that comes after death. How then does one explain the strange happenings so often associated with a belief in reincarnation? Can the average person explain why concave and convex mirrors don't reflect things the way they actually appear? Such mirrors can make one appear extremely fat, skinny, ugly, and distorted in many other ways. If the person had never seen his real reflection, he would not have the advantage of knowing truth which guards against deception. His eyes would see only the disfigured reflection given by the mirror. The mirror is real. His eyes are real. A million people looking at the reflection would witness the same real distortion. Nevertheless, it would not be reality.
All that contradicts God's word is a falsehood, regardless of how real it may appear, regardless of how many witnesses may attest to it.
Visit Heavenly Manna for in-depth biblical studies on various questions on the paranormal.
By Hannah Henderson
Reincarnation in the Bible
What does the Bible say about reincarnation? Does the holy tome of Christianity believe in reincarnation? Here's an article about reincarnation in the Bible.A lot of religions and cultures believe in the concept of reincarnation and rebirth. What does reincarnation mean exactly? What does the Bible say about reincarnation? Read on to know more about reincarnation in the Bible.
What is Reincarnation?
Before we go on to discuss the concept of reincarnation, we need to differentiate between two things - the body and the soul. The soul is the living matter while the body is the physical being which houses our soul. The proponents of the concept of reincarnation say that the body is mortal while the soul is immortal. So when any living being dies, it is only the body which dies. The soul merely leaves the body and assumes a different life form. Each culture has its own, slightly different interpretation of reincarnation. Some people believe that a soul which was contained in a human body will always be contained in a human body in its next earthly life. Other cultures believe that one soul goes through a cycle where it lives in the bodies of all the life forms on earth. For example, in Hinduism it is said that the soul moves from one earthly life to another and stays on earth till it attains 'moksha', where its earthly travails end. So, the interpretations of reincarnation differ from one culture to another.
There are also seers who claim that they can look into your past life and tell you what you did then. Then again, there are also a lot of Facebook applications which joke about the same!
Reincarnation in The Bible
A lot of people are unsure about what the Bible says about reincarnation. It does seem that Jesus Christ came back from the dead (Resurrection) to address his followers about the path that they should take. But does that amount to reincarnation per se?
While there are certain verses in the Holy Bible which can be interpreted to be hinting vaguely at reincarnation, such as, John 3:3 - No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again - and there is also the part where John the Baptist is supposed to be the reincarnation of Elijah, the Bible doesn't make any clear reference to reincarnation of a soul. These are simply things which merely hint at the idea of reincarnation, but don't clearly state that reincarnation is advocated in the Bible. The Holy Bible merely says that after a person dies, it is the body which dies, while the soul goes to Heaven for the Last Judgment. The Last Judgment is done in all fairness and depending on the life that the soul has led, it is sent to Heaven, Hell or Purgatory.
What people are perhaps confused about is resurrection. Most people who follow Chrisianity think of resurrection and reincarnation as one and the same, hence a differentiation needs to be established. Reincarnation, as we have discussed at length, is the change in the body which houses the soul after the death of one body. Resurrection on the other hand is a case where the soul unites with the body it contained - the body which just died recently - temporarily for the sake of the Last Judgment. When the Last Judgment is made, both the body and the soul unite for one last time to receive the Judgment. Hence, people think that it is a reincarnation, but actually it is merely a temporary union.
So, this was all about reincarnation and the Bible. There is no clear proof of reincarnation in the Bible, though doubters and protagonists of the reincarnation theory are still finding verses in the Bible that vaguely hint at reincarnation as a real possibility. The verses they are talking about are merely open to interpretation and do not say anything which assertively endorses reincarnation.
By Arjun Kulkarni
What is Reincarnation?
Before we go on to discuss the concept of reincarnation, we need to differentiate between two things - the body and the soul. The soul is the living matter while the body is the physical being which houses our soul. The proponents of the concept of reincarnation say that the body is mortal while the soul is immortal. So when any living being dies, it is only the body which dies. The soul merely leaves the body and assumes a different life form. Each culture has its own, slightly different interpretation of reincarnation. Some people believe that a soul which was contained in a human body will always be contained in a human body in its next earthly life. Other cultures believe that one soul goes through a cycle where it lives in the bodies of all the life forms on earth. For example, in Hinduism it is said that the soul moves from one earthly life to another and stays on earth till it attains 'moksha', where its earthly travails end. So, the interpretations of reincarnation differ from one culture to another.
There are also seers who claim that they can look into your past life and tell you what you did then. Then again, there are also a lot of Facebook applications which joke about the same!
Reincarnation in The Bible
A lot of people are unsure about what the Bible says about reincarnation. It does seem that Jesus Christ came back from the dead (Resurrection) to address his followers about the path that they should take. But does that amount to reincarnation per se?
While there are certain verses in the Holy Bible which can be interpreted to be hinting vaguely at reincarnation, such as, John 3:3 - No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again - and there is also the part where John the Baptist is supposed to be the reincarnation of Elijah, the Bible doesn't make any clear reference to reincarnation of a soul. These are simply things which merely hint at the idea of reincarnation, but don't clearly state that reincarnation is advocated in the Bible. The Holy Bible merely says that after a person dies, it is the body which dies, while the soul goes to Heaven for the Last Judgment. The Last Judgment is done in all fairness and depending on the life that the soul has led, it is sent to Heaven, Hell or Purgatory.
What people are perhaps confused about is resurrection. Most people who follow Chrisianity think of resurrection and reincarnation as one and the same, hence a differentiation needs to be established. Reincarnation, as we have discussed at length, is the change in the body which houses the soul after the death of one body. Resurrection on the other hand is a case where the soul unites with the body it contained - the body which just died recently - temporarily for the sake of the Last Judgment. When the Last Judgment is made, both the body and the soul unite for one last time to receive the Judgment. Hence, people think that it is a reincarnation, but actually it is merely a temporary union.
So, this was all about reincarnation and the Bible. There is no clear proof of reincarnation in the Bible, though doubters and protagonists of the reincarnation theory are still finding verses in the Bible that vaguely hint at reincarnation as a real possibility. The verses they are talking about are merely open to interpretation and do not say anything which assertively endorses reincarnation.
By Arjun Kulkarni
The Haunting of Florida
Florida the "Sunshine State". The place to go for a big dose of Disney and to warm up when the cold winds begin to blow.Villa Paula is located on North Miami Avenue, in the heart of Little Haiti, in Miami, Florida. It is a neo-classical 1920 mansion with a Cuban flavor in design. The mansion has ten rooms, two baths, 18 foot high ceilings, hand-painted floor tiles and Tuscan columns.
Villa Paula was built for the first Cuban Consulate in Miami, Senior Don Domingo Milord and his wife Paula in 1925. Six years after moving into the mansion Paula died from complications caused by a leg amputation. The next resident was Muriel Reardon who lived here for over 30 years. After some years it became a home to senior citizens. By 1974 the Villa Paula had become a home to drifters. Along came a man called Cliff who bought the mansion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and restored it to its original greatness.
Cliff soon discovered that the house had come with company. A steady knocking was heard at the front door but no one was ever there. Unfortunately there was someone who also really hated cats and all three of Cliff’s pet cats were killed. Some unknown force would wait until a cat would go through the gate and then slam the gate in the cat like a trap. Former owner Muriel was known to have hated cats. Cliff’s bedroom door would keep shutting by itself. Finally an elderly neighbor explained that Paula would shut the bedroom door so that she wouldn’t have a draft on her shoulders as she played the piano.
There were times when Cliff would smell the strong aroma of Cuban coffee coming from the kitchen and a fragrant smell of roses in the dining room at a time when roses weren’t in bloom. There came a time when Cliff did see a shadowy form but it quickly disappeared until he finally did see a Cuban woman whose hair was pulled back in a bun and who was swishing down the hall wearing a full-length gown. He did notice she had only one leg before the entity vanished.
He has heard the clumping of high heels on the stone paths in the mansion’s back yard. Once there was a loud clatter in the kitchen and it appeared that a ghost with a very bad temper had thrown dishes and silverware all over the kitchen. A front porch chandelier happened to come loose and crash with a bang to the ground below.
A séance was held in 1976 by a spiritual minister and it was revealed that besides Paula there were four other spirits as well all keeping Cliff company. Being too shy to say who she was, Paula did say she loved to grind Columbian coffee, play music from Carmen on the piano and put roses around the mansion as she liked the smell. Another entity was a thin man in a top hat, there was a heavy-set lady in a red dress, a crying woman who had lost a medal in the back yard and a very unhappy young woman looking for the burial place of her illegitimate baby, who lies somewhere on or near the grounds of Villa Paula.
After the séance for a while all was quiet and Cliff finally sold the mansion. The in the 80’s the ghosts started up again giving a full repertoire right down to cats being bumped off again by the gates or perhaps they’re the jaws of Hell? By 1989 The Miami Herald named Villa Paula the most haunted house in Miami. By the early 90s it became a doctor’s medical office leaving the ghosts to fend for themselves at night in the dark and quiet.
The Polk County Courthouse is a lovely building located in the downtown section of Bartow, Florida directly across the street from the new Courthouse. Two courthouses were built on this piece of land. One in 1883 and the current building in 1909. The present building houses museums, courtrooms and a genealogical library. The courtrooms are used for ceremonial events, including formal installation of county office holders and are also available for court purposes.
The Polk County Historic Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1989. It has a central dome which is topped with an orb, spire, and cupola, contains ribbon windows and four clocks.
There are five to six entities making the courthouse their home. The ones that are known are as follows:
In 1886 the Mann brothers who were accused of killing Marshall Silas Campbell outside the courthouse in 1883 were lynched by a mob before they could be tried in a court of law. After dying from this hanging due to mob action their bodies were on display in the courtroom in the courthouse that once stood where the 1909 – 1987 Historical Courthouse now stands.
There was a Boiler room accident. A boiler in one of the four basements exploded burning and killing a worker.
No one knows why she is here but a lady in white also haunts the building.
After a Judge and his wife were killed in West Palm Beach the mobsters who killed them were tried in the main courtroom.
One of the haunted areas of the building is the basement area which is accessed only by elevator. Here employees and visitors have heard the hair raising screams of pain and agony coming from the soul who died a long time ago in a boiler explosion.
In the Old Courtroom (1909-1987) which is located on the first floor cold spots can be felt by the living and sometimes people have felt someone brush against them. Also on the first floor in the room where Indian Artifacts are now displayed manifestations have been felt and seen from cold spots to malfunctioning lights.
On the second floor women’s restroom and on the third floor an apparition of a lady dressed in white has been seen. In the Rotunda area where the bodies of the Mann brothers were on display there is a feeling of sadness and there have been apparitions of the brothers themselves. The spirits in the Polk County Courthouse are restless perhaps waiting for a fairer trail.
In the Orlando area there is a small, rural cemetery on Rouse Road – the Rouse Road Cemetery. It and the nearby woods are haunted by a spirit from the 1840s Benjamin Miles whose presence in the night is signaled by an owl screeching. He’s often in tan-colored work clothes and is a hostile ghost buried in an unmarked grave. During the day there is a strong unsettling presence in the cemetery. A huge tree in the center of the cemetery seems to hold some strange energy. This is a hostile area and should be avoided by those who scare easy.
Not even Orlando theme parks have escaped ghosts. At Universal Studios theme park there are reports of a small, hooded spirit with glowing red eyes and supposedly it’s for real. At Disney’s Magic Kingdom a for real spirit has been spotted in the Haunted Mansion and a ghost in slightly-dated clothing has been seen strolling in front of the castle at the end of Main Street. The fluttering movements of spirits have been seen at the Tower of Terror at Disney/MGM Studios. Why shouldn’t they enjoy themselves too?
And then there’s the I-4 "Dead Zone" an overpass in Orlando that’s supposed to be very haunted and where more than an average number of accidents have occurred. It’s just north of Orlando, at the St. John’s River in Seminole County. Legend has it that the highway was built over the graves of Yellow Fever victims who lived and died at St. Joseph’s Colony which was established on this site in 1887. During the day there is some strange energy here and it is not recommended to investigate this area on your own at night. In other words don’t contribute yourself to the "Dead Zone". By Rasma Raisters
Villa Paula was built for the first Cuban Consulate in Miami, Senior Don Domingo Milord and his wife Paula in 1925. Six years after moving into the mansion Paula died from complications caused by a leg amputation. The next resident was Muriel Reardon who lived here for over 30 years. After some years it became a home to senior citizens. By 1974 the Villa Paula had become a home to drifters. Along came a man called Cliff who bought the mansion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and restored it to its original greatness.
Cliff soon discovered that the house had come with company. A steady knocking was heard at the front door but no one was ever there. Unfortunately there was someone who also really hated cats and all three of Cliff’s pet cats were killed. Some unknown force would wait until a cat would go through the gate and then slam the gate in the cat like a trap. Former owner Muriel was known to have hated cats. Cliff’s bedroom door would keep shutting by itself. Finally an elderly neighbor explained that Paula would shut the bedroom door so that she wouldn’t have a draft on her shoulders as she played the piano.
There were times when Cliff would smell the strong aroma of Cuban coffee coming from the kitchen and a fragrant smell of roses in the dining room at a time when roses weren’t in bloom. There came a time when Cliff did see a shadowy form but it quickly disappeared until he finally did see a Cuban woman whose hair was pulled back in a bun and who was swishing down the hall wearing a full-length gown. He did notice she had only one leg before the entity vanished.
He has heard the clumping of high heels on the stone paths in the mansion’s back yard. Once there was a loud clatter in the kitchen and it appeared that a ghost with a very bad temper had thrown dishes and silverware all over the kitchen. A front porch chandelier happened to come loose and crash with a bang to the ground below.
A séance was held in 1976 by a spiritual minister and it was revealed that besides Paula there were four other spirits as well all keeping Cliff company. Being too shy to say who she was, Paula did say she loved to grind Columbian coffee, play music from Carmen on the piano and put roses around the mansion as she liked the smell. Another entity was a thin man in a top hat, there was a heavy-set lady in a red dress, a crying woman who had lost a medal in the back yard and a very unhappy young woman looking for the burial place of her illegitimate baby, who lies somewhere on or near the grounds of Villa Paula.
After the séance for a while all was quiet and Cliff finally sold the mansion. The in the 80’s the ghosts started up again giving a full repertoire right down to cats being bumped off again by the gates or perhaps they’re the jaws of Hell? By 1989 The Miami Herald named Villa Paula the most haunted house in Miami. By the early 90s it became a doctor’s medical office leaving the ghosts to fend for themselves at night in the dark and quiet.
The Polk County Courthouse is a lovely building located in the downtown section of Bartow, Florida directly across the street from the new Courthouse. Two courthouses were built on this piece of land. One in 1883 and the current building in 1909. The present building houses museums, courtrooms and a genealogical library. The courtrooms are used for ceremonial events, including formal installation of county office holders and are also available for court purposes.
The Polk County Historic Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1989. It has a central dome which is topped with an orb, spire, and cupola, contains ribbon windows and four clocks.
There are five to six entities making the courthouse their home. The ones that are known are as follows:
In 1886 the Mann brothers who were accused of killing Marshall Silas Campbell outside the courthouse in 1883 were lynched by a mob before they could be tried in a court of law. After dying from this hanging due to mob action their bodies were on display in the courtroom in the courthouse that once stood where the 1909 – 1987 Historical Courthouse now stands.
There was a Boiler room accident. A boiler in one of the four basements exploded burning and killing a worker.
No one knows why she is here but a lady in white also haunts the building.
After a Judge and his wife were killed in West Palm Beach the mobsters who killed them were tried in the main courtroom.
One of the haunted areas of the building is the basement area which is accessed only by elevator. Here employees and visitors have heard the hair raising screams of pain and agony coming from the soul who died a long time ago in a boiler explosion.
In the Old Courtroom (1909-1987) which is located on the first floor cold spots can be felt by the living and sometimes people have felt someone brush against them. Also on the first floor in the room where Indian Artifacts are now displayed manifestations have been felt and seen from cold spots to malfunctioning lights.
On the second floor women’s restroom and on the third floor an apparition of a lady dressed in white has been seen. In the Rotunda area where the bodies of the Mann brothers were on display there is a feeling of sadness and there have been apparitions of the brothers themselves. The spirits in the Polk County Courthouse are restless perhaps waiting for a fairer trail.
In the Orlando area there is a small, rural cemetery on Rouse Road – the Rouse Road Cemetery. It and the nearby woods are haunted by a spirit from the 1840s Benjamin Miles whose presence in the night is signaled by an owl screeching. He’s often in tan-colored work clothes and is a hostile ghost buried in an unmarked grave. During the day there is a strong unsettling presence in the cemetery. A huge tree in the center of the cemetery seems to hold some strange energy. This is a hostile area and should be avoided by those who scare easy.
Not even Orlando theme parks have escaped ghosts. At Universal Studios theme park there are reports of a small, hooded spirit with glowing red eyes and supposedly it’s for real. At Disney’s Magic Kingdom a for real spirit has been spotted in the Haunted Mansion and a ghost in slightly-dated clothing has been seen strolling in front of the castle at the end of Main Street. The fluttering movements of spirits have been seen at the Tower of Terror at Disney/MGM Studios. Why shouldn’t they enjoy themselves too?
And then there’s the I-4 "Dead Zone" an overpass in Orlando that’s supposed to be very haunted and where more than an average number of accidents have occurred. It’s just north of Orlando, at the St. John’s River in Seminole County. Legend has it that the highway was built over the graves of Yellow Fever victims who lived and died at St. Joseph’s Colony which was established on this site in 1887. During the day there is some strange energy here and it is not recommended to investigate this area on your own at night. In other words don’t contribute yourself to the "Dead Zone". By Rasma Raisters
Mysterious Tennessee
Tennessee the "Volunteer State". The two things that come to mind about this state is that it is the home of Elvis Presley and the home of country music. The Carnton Mansion is considered the most haunted house in Tennessee. Now it is a museum located in the town of Franklin, TN. which is about 15 miles south of Nashville. The mansion sits on land that was once the site of a bloody Civil War battle, where many soldiers were killed in a shower of bullets.
The Carnton Mansion has two stories with 22 rooms. It is an early 1800s brick structure with 7 beautiful white columns and a front porch both upstairs and downstairs. A verandah and closed porch are found along the backside of the mansion. The color scheme used in decorating was to use the colors which were popular during the discovery of Pompeii popular in American decorum at this time. The colors are mustard yellow, dark blue and Pompeii red.
Located close to Carnton Mansion is a graveyard where 1700 Confederate soldiers were hastily buried after the bloody conflict in the fields close by. At that time the mansion became a hospital where 4 generals died of their wounds and their bodies lay in state so that men who survived could show their respect.
A young house servant girl was murdered in the kitchen by a jealous field hand in the 1840s, because she rejected him as a suitor and of their five offspring only two Carter children made it to adulthood.
There are two spirits that haunt the kitchen and at times move to other parts of the house. Hearing noises in the small, enclosed porch off the back of the house, the curator went to investigate. She found that two panes of glass had been taken from a box of panes located on a shelf and had been put on either side of the back door. It is thought that this was the work of the murdered servant girl. The head of a cook who was working for the family during the Civil War was seen floating in the hallway, near the kitchen. The cook is often heard bustling about the kitchen doing her duties. In the second floor hallway a beautiful young girl with long brown hair appeared to a workman making him retreat quickly. One of the bedrooms has been occupied by a soldier’s spirit. In this bedroom a picture of the mansion strangely crashed to the floor and was found on top of the floor heater. The back porch is haunted by a lady dressed in white who sometimes floats into the backyard.
Spirits of fallen soldiers appear to be the most active in the autumn at dusk. The spirit of General Pat Cleburne a man with a mustache, a short beard and piercing eyes paces the back porch, walks around the outside parameter of the mansion and occasionally speaks to the living. A man called Mr. P whose ancestor fought in the Franklin Battle came after 5 PM to see the Carnton Mansion but found that it was closed. He walked about the place along a path which led to the back of the mansion. Near the porch Mr. P saw the silhouette of a man about to get on a horse but then the horse vanished. He then saw another man on the porch and asked him what had happened to the horse. The man explained that the horse had been shot from under the soldier. This mysterious man standing on the porch was dressed like a Confederate Officer and he went on to explain that whether on horse or not they would be at the mercy of the enemy tonight. The Civil War officer then suggested that Mr. P had better have a pistol with him if he was going to join in battle further predicting in an angry voice that not many men were going to survive the night and it was the fault of that fool, Hood, who had ordered his men into this soon to be slaughter. Then he began humming a rallying song. All this time Mr. P figured that this was part of a Civil War enactment and that the officer must assume that Mr. P is also part of it. So then Mr. P asked this officer what kind of carbine he was carrying and he replied, "It’s an Enfield 577. What do you have?" At this point Mr. P confessed that he had nothing and didn’t know how to use a weapon. Hearing this, the officer became alarmed and told him to quickly leave or to go to the Carter house, which is also located on the plantation or town. The officer then started speaking to another spirit at his side. "Well, Govan, if we are to die, let us die like men." He then threw his hat up in the air, in an angry way and vanished. Now Mr. P began hearing the sounds of battle. The officer’s voice, yelling "Charge men! Charge." The air was filled with sounds of shots, shells, muskets and cannons. A regiment band was playing "Annie Laurie". There came a whole army of rebel yells, which were fierce and jolting cries. Mr. P tried to run to his car as he was surrounded by the unearthly din of battle. He felt the cold, creepy feeling of death around him and then found himself stumbling around in the graveyard near the mansion. The next day when Mr. P returned to Carnton Mansion he found out that the officer he had spoken to was the much loved Irishman, General Pat Cleburne.
The Hermitage which is just 20 min. northeast of Nashville is the home of the 7th President of the U.S. Andrew Jackson. It sits on an estate of 1,120 acres, which includes the entire 1,050 acre tract that Andrew Jackson owned when he died in 1845. The mansion has been completely restored to the way it was from 1837 – 1845. The Ladies Hermitage Association also bought from the family most of the original furnishings. Tours are given of the site and house.
The Hermitage Plantation was a gentleman’s farm, run by slave labor and providing a home for two generations of the Jackson family. Andrew Jackson enjoyed country living and making a comfortable home for his wife Rachel. He was often taken away from home because of politics, business and military careers. Because Andrew and Rachel were unable to have children they adopted an orphaned nephew of Rachel’s and called him Andrew Jackson, Jr. He became heir to the property. Throughout the years many children lived with the Jacksons for a period of time including an orphaned Indian boy, the victim of war.
In 1825 Rachel began to suffer from medical problems, which became worse in 1828 when Jackson ran for President again. She died on December 22, 1828 on the eve before they were to leave for the White House. Andrew Jackson died in 1845 and was buried beside his wife in the family cemetery in the Hermitage Mansion garden. Andrew Jackson, Jr. inherited the Hermitage Plantation and Mansion and his wife Sarah and two sons and a daughter took official ownership of the mansion.
Not being much of a farmer Andrew Jackson, Jr. put his money in an ironworks operation and a lead mine, which turned out to be bad investments. He began selling outlying parcels of Hermitage land. In 1856 he sold off a 500-acre section of the farm, including the mansion and outbuildings for $48,000 to the State of Tennessee. The Jackson family was allowed to stay in the mansion as tenants. In 1858 Andrew Jackson, Jr. sold what was left of the acreage to private owners and moved his family to Mississippi. When the cotton plantation failed in 1860 they moved back to the Hermitage. The Civil War came and both his sons went to war, serving as officers for the Confederacy. Only Andrew Jackson III came home alive. Andrew Jackson, Jr. died in 1865.
In 1883 the State of Tennessee repaired the Jacksons’ Tomb and Monument and put an iron fence around it. While the mansion was being restored some ladies from the Ladies Hermitage Association took turns staying in the mansion to guard it from intruders sleeping on mattresses in the living room. They were rudely awakened in the middle of the night by the entity of President Jackson making his presence and feeling known. They heard sounds as if someone were riding a horse up and down the main staircase and a message was clearly expressed, "Why are you sleeping? Get up! Fix my house!"
Loud, clanging sounds of chains have been heard being dragged across the front porch and sounds of havoc reigning in the kitchen. However, the next day nothing is out of place and all the doors and windows still locked.
Andrew Jackson did meet the needs of his slaves but felt offenses were severe and did permit slaves to be whipped and posted runaway notices. Throughout the years and even today apparitions of slaves congregate on the balcony in front of the master bedroom and sounds of chains dragging across the front porch are still heard late at night.
The Orpheum Theater in downtown Memphis, Tennessee is a remarkable success story it has survived bankruptcies, a devastating fire, the decay of downtown and the threat of demolition and is now the premier performing arts center for the Mid-South.
This 1928 brick 5 storey theater complete with a balcony and a 5th floor gallery seats 2000 people who enjoy concerts and touring Broadway plays. The inside has a very large, high ceiling, with 2000 lb. chandeliers and gold leafing everywhere. At least 7 spirits have made their home here one of them being Mary.
On the spot where there is now the Orpheum Theater there was once another theater, The Grand Opera House in 1921. In front of this theater a 12 year old girl named Mary was tragically killed in an accident. So it is thought that her spirit decided to stay on this spot and has moved into the Orpheum Theater.
During a run of the musical "The King and I" a quite psychic Yule Brenner saw Mary sitting quietly in the balcony in her favorite seat, CF, dressed in a 20s style white dress. Several cast members of "Fiddler on the Roof" have also seen Mary sitting there and she was enjoying the show. A woman patron and a group of friends saw a 12 year old girl dancing in the lobby. Suddenly she vanished before their eyes. Mary had made her presence known to staff. A theater workman felt her presence constantly around him. He described it as "A cold eerie feeling, like getting into a bathtub of cold liver." Mary has played childish pranks on the housekeeper, by taking the housekeeper’s tools and putting them into the toilet.
Workmen have seen a theater door fly open in an outwardly direction and then shut by itself. There was no wind nor any living person nearby. Trying to repair the theaters organ late one night the repairman became frustrated and decided to take a break. He locked up and went for some coffee. He returned to continue doing battle with the organ and was surprised to find that someone unseen had already repaired it.
A homeless vagrant was mistakenly locked in on the 5th floor gallery by the night watchman. The watchman was surprised by a terrifying scream and the sound of feet flying down the five flights of stairs which were in total darkness. The entrance doors to the gallery crashed open and the terrified person never stopped running. The doors were knocked off their hinges. One wonders what he saw. No joking matter now, for I truly believe but my thoughts turn to the Phantom of the Opera. Remember what was on this site before….
The police with canine units came to investigate one night when the theater’s alarm system went off. The highly-trained dogs refused to enter the theater and lay down on the ground refusing to budge. They sensed what their human handlers didn’t see.
After the opening night of "Fiddler on the Roof" some of the cast held a séance in the balcony and made contact with Mary. Other psychic research groups, such as a Memphis State Parapsychology class, also examined the balcony and sensed Mary’s presence. Other ghosts were sensed throughout the theater.
Have you already purchased your tickets for the next show? By Rasma Raisters
The Carnton Mansion has two stories with 22 rooms. It is an early 1800s brick structure with 7 beautiful white columns and a front porch both upstairs and downstairs. A verandah and closed porch are found along the backside of the mansion. The color scheme used in decorating was to use the colors which were popular during the discovery of Pompeii popular in American decorum at this time. The colors are mustard yellow, dark blue and Pompeii red.
Located close to Carnton Mansion is a graveyard where 1700 Confederate soldiers were hastily buried after the bloody conflict in the fields close by. At that time the mansion became a hospital where 4 generals died of their wounds and their bodies lay in state so that men who survived could show their respect.
A young house servant girl was murdered in the kitchen by a jealous field hand in the 1840s, because she rejected him as a suitor and of their five offspring only two Carter children made it to adulthood.
There are two spirits that haunt the kitchen and at times move to other parts of the house. Hearing noises in the small, enclosed porch off the back of the house, the curator went to investigate. She found that two panes of glass had been taken from a box of panes located on a shelf and had been put on either side of the back door. It is thought that this was the work of the murdered servant girl. The head of a cook who was working for the family during the Civil War was seen floating in the hallway, near the kitchen. The cook is often heard bustling about the kitchen doing her duties. In the second floor hallway a beautiful young girl with long brown hair appeared to a workman making him retreat quickly. One of the bedrooms has been occupied by a soldier’s spirit. In this bedroom a picture of the mansion strangely crashed to the floor and was found on top of the floor heater. The back porch is haunted by a lady dressed in white who sometimes floats into the backyard.
Spirits of fallen soldiers appear to be the most active in the autumn at dusk. The spirit of General Pat Cleburne a man with a mustache, a short beard and piercing eyes paces the back porch, walks around the outside parameter of the mansion and occasionally speaks to the living. A man called Mr. P whose ancestor fought in the Franklin Battle came after 5 PM to see the Carnton Mansion but found that it was closed. He walked about the place along a path which led to the back of the mansion. Near the porch Mr. P saw the silhouette of a man about to get on a horse but then the horse vanished. He then saw another man on the porch and asked him what had happened to the horse. The man explained that the horse had been shot from under the soldier. This mysterious man standing on the porch was dressed like a Confederate Officer and he went on to explain that whether on horse or not they would be at the mercy of the enemy tonight. The Civil War officer then suggested that Mr. P had better have a pistol with him if he was going to join in battle further predicting in an angry voice that not many men were going to survive the night and it was the fault of that fool, Hood, who had ordered his men into this soon to be slaughter. Then he began humming a rallying song. All this time Mr. P figured that this was part of a Civil War enactment and that the officer must assume that Mr. P is also part of it. So then Mr. P asked this officer what kind of carbine he was carrying and he replied, "It’s an Enfield 577. What do you have?" At this point Mr. P confessed that he had nothing and didn’t know how to use a weapon. Hearing this, the officer became alarmed and told him to quickly leave or to go to the Carter house, which is also located on the plantation or town. The officer then started speaking to another spirit at his side. "Well, Govan, if we are to die, let us die like men." He then threw his hat up in the air, in an angry way and vanished. Now Mr. P began hearing the sounds of battle. The officer’s voice, yelling "Charge men! Charge." The air was filled with sounds of shots, shells, muskets and cannons. A regiment band was playing "Annie Laurie". There came a whole army of rebel yells, which were fierce and jolting cries. Mr. P tried to run to his car as he was surrounded by the unearthly din of battle. He felt the cold, creepy feeling of death around him and then found himself stumbling around in the graveyard near the mansion. The next day when Mr. P returned to Carnton Mansion he found out that the officer he had spoken to was the much loved Irishman, General Pat Cleburne.
The Hermitage which is just 20 min. northeast of Nashville is the home of the 7th President of the U.S. Andrew Jackson. It sits on an estate of 1,120 acres, which includes the entire 1,050 acre tract that Andrew Jackson owned when he died in 1845. The mansion has been completely restored to the way it was from 1837 – 1845. The Ladies Hermitage Association also bought from the family most of the original furnishings. Tours are given of the site and house.
The Hermitage Plantation was a gentleman’s farm, run by slave labor and providing a home for two generations of the Jackson family. Andrew Jackson enjoyed country living and making a comfortable home for his wife Rachel. He was often taken away from home because of politics, business and military careers. Because Andrew and Rachel were unable to have children they adopted an orphaned nephew of Rachel’s and called him Andrew Jackson, Jr. He became heir to the property. Throughout the years many children lived with the Jacksons for a period of time including an orphaned Indian boy, the victim of war.
In 1825 Rachel began to suffer from medical problems, which became worse in 1828 when Jackson ran for President again. She died on December 22, 1828 on the eve before they were to leave for the White House. Andrew Jackson died in 1845 and was buried beside his wife in the family cemetery in the Hermitage Mansion garden. Andrew Jackson, Jr. inherited the Hermitage Plantation and Mansion and his wife Sarah and two sons and a daughter took official ownership of the mansion.
Not being much of a farmer Andrew Jackson, Jr. put his money in an ironworks operation and a lead mine, which turned out to be bad investments. He began selling outlying parcels of Hermitage land. In 1856 he sold off a 500-acre section of the farm, including the mansion and outbuildings for $48,000 to the State of Tennessee. The Jackson family was allowed to stay in the mansion as tenants. In 1858 Andrew Jackson, Jr. sold what was left of the acreage to private owners and moved his family to Mississippi. When the cotton plantation failed in 1860 they moved back to the Hermitage. The Civil War came and both his sons went to war, serving as officers for the Confederacy. Only Andrew Jackson III came home alive. Andrew Jackson, Jr. died in 1865.
In 1883 the State of Tennessee repaired the Jacksons’ Tomb and Monument and put an iron fence around it. While the mansion was being restored some ladies from the Ladies Hermitage Association took turns staying in the mansion to guard it from intruders sleeping on mattresses in the living room. They were rudely awakened in the middle of the night by the entity of President Jackson making his presence and feeling known. They heard sounds as if someone were riding a horse up and down the main staircase and a message was clearly expressed, "Why are you sleeping? Get up! Fix my house!"
Loud, clanging sounds of chains have been heard being dragged across the front porch and sounds of havoc reigning in the kitchen. However, the next day nothing is out of place and all the doors and windows still locked.
Andrew Jackson did meet the needs of his slaves but felt offenses were severe and did permit slaves to be whipped and posted runaway notices. Throughout the years and even today apparitions of slaves congregate on the balcony in front of the master bedroom and sounds of chains dragging across the front porch are still heard late at night.
The Orpheum Theater in downtown Memphis, Tennessee is a remarkable success story it has survived bankruptcies, a devastating fire, the decay of downtown and the threat of demolition and is now the premier performing arts center for the Mid-South.
This 1928 brick 5 storey theater complete with a balcony and a 5th floor gallery seats 2000 people who enjoy concerts and touring Broadway plays. The inside has a very large, high ceiling, with 2000 lb. chandeliers and gold leafing everywhere. At least 7 spirits have made their home here one of them being Mary.
On the spot where there is now the Orpheum Theater there was once another theater, The Grand Opera House in 1921. In front of this theater a 12 year old girl named Mary was tragically killed in an accident. So it is thought that her spirit decided to stay on this spot and has moved into the Orpheum Theater.
During a run of the musical "The King and I" a quite psychic Yule Brenner saw Mary sitting quietly in the balcony in her favorite seat, CF, dressed in a 20s style white dress. Several cast members of "Fiddler on the Roof" have also seen Mary sitting there and she was enjoying the show. A woman patron and a group of friends saw a 12 year old girl dancing in the lobby. Suddenly she vanished before their eyes. Mary had made her presence known to staff. A theater workman felt her presence constantly around him. He described it as "A cold eerie feeling, like getting into a bathtub of cold liver." Mary has played childish pranks on the housekeeper, by taking the housekeeper’s tools and putting them into the toilet.
Workmen have seen a theater door fly open in an outwardly direction and then shut by itself. There was no wind nor any living person nearby. Trying to repair the theaters organ late one night the repairman became frustrated and decided to take a break. He locked up and went for some coffee. He returned to continue doing battle with the organ and was surprised to find that someone unseen had already repaired it.
A homeless vagrant was mistakenly locked in on the 5th floor gallery by the night watchman. The watchman was surprised by a terrifying scream and the sound of feet flying down the five flights of stairs which were in total darkness. The entrance doors to the gallery crashed open and the terrified person never stopped running. The doors were knocked off their hinges. One wonders what he saw. No joking matter now, for I truly believe but my thoughts turn to the Phantom of the Opera. Remember what was on this site before….
The police with canine units came to investigate one night when the theater’s alarm system went off. The highly-trained dogs refused to enter the theater and lay down on the ground refusing to budge. They sensed what their human handlers didn’t see.
After the opening night of "Fiddler on the Roof" some of the cast held a séance in the balcony and made contact with Mary. Other psychic research groups, such as a Memphis State Parapsychology class, also examined the balcony and sensed Mary’s presence. Other ghosts were sensed throughout the theater.
Have you already purchased your tickets for the next show? By Rasma Raisters
Unforgettable Happenings in Alabama
Alabama is the "Heart of Dixie". It is the state that introduced the Mardi Gras to the western world. The celebration is held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.Lucas Tavern is part of a group of historical buildings, called Old Alabama Town located in Old North Hull Square, in the Old North Hull Historic District in Montgomery, Alabama.
Lucas Tavern is a building with a main tavern room, a kitchen, an eating area and bedrooms. It was fully restored by 1979. It has become the Visitor’s Reception Center and the home of the offices of the Historic District, an organization that runs this living museum of historical buildings. The back door of the tavern opens onto a square of historical buildings. All the buildings are equipped with furnishings of the past. The third building from the tavern is an 1890 one room school house, complete with a pot bellied stove, an old pine school teacher’s desk, a kerosene lamp, pupils’ desks, an abacus, children’s writing slates and various books. Guides are dressed in period costumes.
The former owner and hostess of Lucas Tavern was Eliza Lucas. Lucas Tavern was a place for travelers to spend the night in clean beds and enjoy a hot meal during the 1820 – 1840 era. Travelers like General Lafayette, who stayed there in 1825 enjoyed such Tavern fare as was offered then including chicken, ham, five vegetables, pudding and sauce, sweet pies, preserved fruit and desserts of strawberries and plums, along with wine and brandy. Eliza was hard working and raised her family here as well. Her determination made the Tavern a great success. In the 1840s it became a private home for over 100 years. The building was abandoned in the 1960s but the Landmarks Foundation rescued it in 1978 and moved it to its present spot. The restoration of Lucas Tavern was completed in 1980.
The spirit of Eliza Lucas became active in 1980 when restoration was completed and offices were set up in the old bedrooms. She began visiting the other buildings as well. Eliza Lucas spirit is that of a 5 ft. 3 in. woman, dressed in a Victorian dress, waving cordially and smiling at people as they pass by. Her favorite place to stand is in the doorway of the Tavern. One Saturday morning in 1985 a man came into the Tavern wanting to meet Eliza whom he had encountered just inside the doorway not realizing she was an entity.
At a meeting late one afternoon, which took place in front of the fireplace in the main Tavern room a controversial matter was being discussed. One committee member became quite upset and angry trying to get their point across. Suddenly a great puff of smoke and ashes blasted from the fireplace, covering the angry person with a coat of soot. The assumption was that Eliza didn’t approve of the hostile tone in which this person spoke and didn’t agree with their opinion.
Staff members are also reprimanded. During a lunchtime break two staff members were discussing the Historical District just a might too critically. Suddenly the door to their room began to slide off its hinges and hit the floor with a thud. Eliza also take objects and put them in different places. She likes to rearrange, straighten up or put things into disarray.
Eliza also visits the other historical building materializing in front of both staff and visitors. Her special place is the school room. Late in the afternoon in August of 1986 an amateur photographer talked the staff into letting him take pictures of the museum after closing. He chose the school room first as it would soon be too dark to take pictures in natural light. Walking toward the school room he thought it would have been great to have one of the staff pose as a model, as if she were the teacher. He entered the building and closed the door. Much to his surprise there was what he took to be a guide standing in the room dressed in 19th century Victorian costume. She was standing by a window, studying a McGuffy Reader used by school children. The photographer took several pictures of this guide when suddenly his tripod hit the leg of a desk making a loud noise. This startled the woman making her want to leave. He begged her to go and sit at the teacher’s desk so he could photograph some more. She didn’t reply but went to a picture of George Washington which was hanging on the wall and stood under it. Then she looked at the photographer, smiled at him and waved slowly and deliberately. He noticed something strange in her eyes. She didn’t react to him as a person, but looked directly at his face, making eye contact. Despite it being a warm August day the photographer felt chilled. Then the woman floated through the wall under Washington’s picture and disappeared. The next day he returned and talked to a guide on duty in the Visitor’s Center about what had happened and he learned about Eliza Lucas. As he was about to leave he found the McGuffy Reader from the school room laying at his feet which wasn’t there a moment ago. After developing the film taken of Eliza in the school room he saw that the pictures were blank, except for a bright golden light which was seen in every place where Eliza had been standing in each picture.
To this day Eliza enjoys meeting the tourists who come to visit.
The St. James Hotel is located in the heart of Selma’s revitalized historic district on the banks of the Alabama River with a great view of the city of Selma itself. This is the only surviving ante-bellum riverfront hotel in Selma. It was built in 1837 making it one of the oldest hotels in Alabama. The hotel was completely renovated in 1997 restoring its old Southern and historic charm. There are 42 guestrooms and suites, many with great views of the Alabama River or the majestic courtyard. Four Riverview suites have private wrought iron balconies, whirlpool tubs and gas-burning fireplaces.
The St. James Hotel has two restaurants The Troop House for traditional Southern cooking and the St. James Drinking Room which offers contemporary music and a wide-screen TV. There are two room for special events and the elegant Brantly Ballroom opens up onto the Alabama River Terrace and can accommodate up to 200 people.
This hotel was originally called The Brantly and operated under this name for the first 50 years. During the Civil War it became the headquarters of the Union forces during the Battle of Selma and became the home of Union occupation force in what was left of the city afterwards. Unfortunately most of the city was burned because it had a lot of Confederate arsenals and factories. This hotel was spared. After the war it was run and operated by Benjamin Sterling Tower an African American who was the first black man ever elected to Congress. In 1881 taking a break from robbing people the famous outlaws Frank and Jesse James and their gang came for a holiday to Selma. They stayed at the Brantly and took a liking to the place. During this time the hotel was more of a tavern but one could rent a room on a longtime basis, like an apartment.
Around 1892 the hotel went downhill and hit hard financial times and its doors closed for 100 years. In the 1900s a group of investors and the community of Selma began its restoration which was completed in 1997 and the St. James Hotel became the highlight of the old historic section.
According to the Library of Congress there are at least three known entities which enjoy this hotel: Jesse James a male apparition dressed in 1800 cowboy gear complete with spurs has been seen coming out of the upstairs guest rooms 214, 314 and 315. He has been spotted in the bar and employees have seen him sitting at his favorite corner table to the left of the bar. His girlfriend Lucinda. A picture of her hangs downstairs. She has been described as a tall, beautiful woman with black hair. A scent of lavender is around her. She floats about the hotel stopping to look at the living. A phantom dog has been heard running around the upstairs, barking. Thought to be the companion of Jesse James.
In the Inner Courtyard area odd, unexplainable sounds have been heard and the sound of barking dogs when none are around. Apparitions have been seen by psychics standing around the courtyard, dressed in 1800s clothing. They socialize, unaware of the living.
A new cook was staying in room 304 until he could find an apartment. He observed flashes of light repeatedly coming through the window. The curtains would move by themselves. A psychic had a conversation with an angry apparition. He was angry because he had died before he got to finish what he was doing. In the bar area an entity started to clang together glasses behind the bar. This stopped when an employee yelled for the spirit to stop doing that.
In the St. James Drinking Room an apparition of an older man wearing a hat has been seen sitting on a bench. In the Brantly Ballroom a disembodied male voice has been heard by the manager and some employees while walking through the room. A psychic research team did some EVP recording in this room. They asked, "Is anyone there?" When playing back the tape, a scratchy voice of an older man replied, "Well, that’s a stupid question."
The Alabama Foundation For Paranormal Research has conducted some investigations, including recording some EVP’s and found evidence of entities in the hotel. Time for a relaxing vacation in Selma, Alabama.
Strange events have been reported by individuals and passers by since 1865 at the McConnio Cemetery in Monroe County, Evergreen Alabama. Phantoms of Union soldiers have been seen riding their horses across the graveyard and ghostly parades of troops march in lines with bandages wrapped around their heads. Men in Civil War uniforms wander throughout the area. Even people visiting the McConnio Cemetery who have no knowledge of its ghostly past witness strange vanishing apparitions of soldiers killed in battle. By Rasma Raisters
Lucas Tavern is a building with a main tavern room, a kitchen, an eating area and bedrooms. It was fully restored by 1979. It has become the Visitor’s Reception Center and the home of the offices of the Historic District, an organization that runs this living museum of historical buildings. The back door of the tavern opens onto a square of historical buildings. All the buildings are equipped with furnishings of the past. The third building from the tavern is an 1890 one room school house, complete with a pot bellied stove, an old pine school teacher’s desk, a kerosene lamp, pupils’ desks, an abacus, children’s writing slates and various books. Guides are dressed in period costumes.
The former owner and hostess of Lucas Tavern was Eliza Lucas. Lucas Tavern was a place for travelers to spend the night in clean beds and enjoy a hot meal during the 1820 – 1840 era. Travelers like General Lafayette, who stayed there in 1825 enjoyed such Tavern fare as was offered then including chicken, ham, five vegetables, pudding and sauce, sweet pies, preserved fruit and desserts of strawberries and plums, along with wine and brandy. Eliza was hard working and raised her family here as well. Her determination made the Tavern a great success. In the 1840s it became a private home for over 100 years. The building was abandoned in the 1960s but the Landmarks Foundation rescued it in 1978 and moved it to its present spot. The restoration of Lucas Tavern was completed in 1980.
The spirit of Eliza Lucas became active in 1980 when restoration was completed and offices were set up in the old bedrooms. She began visiting the other buildings as well. Eliza Lucas spirit is that of a 5 ft. 3 in. woman, dressed in a Victorian dress, waving cordially and smiling at people as they pass by. Her favorite place to stand is in the doorway of the Tavern. One Saturday morning in 1985 a man came into the Tavern wanting to meet Eliza whom he had encountered just inside the doorway not realizing she was an entity.
At a meeting late one afternoon, which took place in front of the fireplace in the main Tavern room a controversial matter was being discussed. One committee member became quite upset and angry trying to get their point across. Suddenly a great puff of smoke and ashes blasted from the fireplace, covering the angry person with a coat of soot. The assumption was that Eliza didn’t approve of the hostile tone in which this person spoke and didn’t agree with their opinion.
Staff members are also reprimanded. During a lunchtime break two staff members were discussing the Historical District just a might too critically. Suddenly the door to their room began to slide off its hinges and hit the floor with a thud. Eliza also take objects and put them in different places. She likes to rearrange, straighten up or put things into disarray.
Eliza also visits the other historical building materializing in front of both staff and visitors. Her special place is the school room. Late in the afternoon in August of 1986 an amateur photographer talked the staff into letting him take pictures of the museum after closing. He chose the school room first as it would soon be too dark to take pictures in natural light. Walking toward the school room he thought it would have been great to have one of the staff pose as a model, as if she were the teacher. He entered the building and closed the door. Much to his surprise there was what he took to be a guide standing in the room dressed in 19th century Victorian costume. She was standing by a window, studying a McGuffy Reader used by school children. The photographer took several pictures of this guide when suddenly his tripod hit the leg of a desk making a loud noise. This startled the woman making her want to leave. He begged her to go and sit at the teacher’s desk so he could photograph some more. She didn’t reply but went to a picture of George Washington which was hanging on the wall and stood under it. Then she looked at the photographer, smiled at him and waved slowly and deliberately. He noticed something strange in her eyes. She didn’t react to him as a person, but looked directly at his face, making eye contact. Despite it being a warm August day the photographer felt chilled. Then the woman floated through the wall under Washington’s picture and disappeared. The next day he returned and talked to a guide on duty in the Visitor’s Center about what had happened and he learned about Eliza Lucas. As he was about to leave he found the McGuffy Reader from the school room laying at his feet which wasn’t there a moment ago. After developing the film taken of Eliza in the school room he saw that the pictures were blank, except for a bright golden light which was seen in every place where Eliza had been standing in each picture.
To this day Eliza enjoys meeting the tourists who come to visit.
The St. James Hotel is located in the heart of Selma’s revitalized historic district on the banks of the Alabama River with a great view of the city of Selma itself. This is the only surviving ante-bellum riverfront hotel in Selma. It was built in 1837 making it one of the oldest hotels in Alabama. The hotel was completely renovated in 1997 restoring its old Southern and historic charm. There are 42 guestrooms and suites, many with great views of the Alabama River or the majestic courtyard. Four Riverview suites have private wrought iron balconies, whirlpool tubs and gas-burning fireplaces.
The St. James Hotel has two restaurants The Troop House for traditional Southern cooking and the St. James Drinking Room which offers contemporary music and a wide-screen TV. There are two room for special events and the elegant Brantly Ballroom opens up onto the Alabama River Terrace and can accommodate up to 200 people.
This hotel was originally called The Brantly and operated under this name for the first 50 years. During the Civil War it became the headquarters of the Union forces during the Battle of Selma and became the home of Union occupation force in what was left of the city afterwards. Unfortunately most of the city was burned because it had a lot of Confederate arsenals and factories. This hotel was spared. After the war it was run and operated by Benjamin Sterling Tower an African American who was the first black man ever elected to Congress. In 1881 taking a break from robbing people the famous outlaws Frank and Jesse James and their gang came for a holiday to Selma. They stayed at the Brantly and took a liking to the place. During this time the hotel was more of a tavern but one could rent a room on a longtime basis, like an apartment.
Around 1892 the hotel went downhill and hit hard financial times and its doors closed for 100 years. In the 1900s a group of investors and the community of Selma began its restoration which was completed in 1997 and the St. James Hotel became the highlight of the old historic section.
According to the Library of Congress there are at least three known entities which enjoy this hotel: Jesse James a male apparition dressed in 1800 cowboy gear complete with spurs has been seen coming out of the upstairs guest rooms 214, 314 and 315. He has been spotted in the bar and employees have seen him sitting at his favorite corner table to the left of the bar. His girlfriend Lucinda. A picture of her hangs downstairs. She has been described as a tall, beautiful woman with black hair. A scent of lavender is around her. She floats about the hotel stopping to look at the living. A phantom dog has been heard running around the upstairs, barking. Thought to be the companion of Jesse James.
In the Inner Courtyard area odd, unexplainable sounds have been heard and the sound of barking dogs when none are around. Apparitions have been seen by psychics standing around the courtyard, dressed in 1800s clothing. They socialize, unaware of the living.
A new cook was staying in room 304 until he could find an apartment. He observed flashes of light repeatedly coming through the window. The curtains would move by themselves. A psychic had a conversation with an angry apparition. He was angry because he had died before he got to finish what he was doing. In the bar area an entity started to clang together glasses behind the bar. This stopped when an employee yelled for the spirit to stop doing that.
In the St. James Drinking Room an apparition of an older man wearing a hat has been seen sitting on a bench. In the Brantly Ballroom a disembodied male voice has been heard by the manager and some employees while walking through the room. A psychic research team did some EVP recording in this room. They asked, "Is anyone there?" When playing back the tape, a scratchy voice of an older man replied, "Well, that’s a stupid question."
The Alabama Foundation For Paranormal Research has conducted some investigations, including recording some EVP’s and found evidence of entities in the hotel. Time for a relaxing vacation in Selma, Alabama.
Strange events have been reported by individuals and passers by since 1865 at the McConnio Cemetery in Monroe County, Evergreen Alabama. Phantoms of Union soldiers have been seen riding their horses across the graveyard and ghostly parades of troops march in lines with bandages wrapped around their heads. Men in Civil War uniforms wander throughout the area. Even people visiting the McConnio Cemetery who have no knowledge of its ghostly past witness strange vanishing apparitions of soldiers killed in battle. By Rasma Raisters
How to Turn Grief into Joy
How you can cope with grief through self-induced contact in the afterlife. Prove to yourself that there’s an afterlife. Then examine more proof through scripture, human evolution, and quantum physics.I was with my daddy when he died. Excuse me, I was with my daddy when his spirit left his body. I drove him to the emergency room because he was having chest pains. He said that they weren’t too bad, and his color was good. He was still walking.
In fact, Daddy walked into the cubicle in the ER and hopped up on the gurney. Almost as quickly, he hopped off saying, "Whew, doggie! Feels like somebody’s got a knife in my back, right between my shoulder blades." Daddy said it with a great big grin on his face. That’s just the way my Daddy was.
A few minutes later his aorta ruptured spilling his lifeblood into his chest cavity. His lips quivered briefly as he said, "I’ll see you in a little while."
The moment his spirit was free from his body, an ethereal serenity bathed the room and flowed out into the bustling hallway. The emergency department took on a surreal silence, as all motion and sound seemed to slow…then to stop. I was embraced by a joyous warmth so real that it was overwhelmingly palpable. We were no longer separate. Daddy’s spirit enfolded and permeated my being.
Is there any way to retain your loved one’s presence while navigating the valley of grief? Yes, there are some things you can do right away.
First, suspend your doubting mind. Whether you look at life after death spiritually, or logically as the natural culmination of evolution, or through the evidence of quantum physics, you come up with the same answers. Probabilities indicate that life continues after the death of the physical body.
Second, understand that your loved one is still here with you. Don’t say, "Yeah, right!" Suspend your doubts. Go somewhere quiet; somewhere you can be alone, even if it’s a closet. Close your eyes. Get still inside, and just stand there, or sit there and breathe. Give yourself a few minutes to calm yourself. And then imagine how you would feel with your loved one standing right beside you—so close that you can hear him breathe and feel his body heat. Pretend, if you will.
Your loved one has not "passed away" anywhere. In reality he’s closer to you than your heartbeat. There’s a thin veil between heaven and earth. Your loved one has simply passed through that veil. S/he can still hear you, see you, and touch you, but your physical body is a barrier to your being able to perceive your loved one.
Third, when you’re quiet inside, ask him something simple like "Are you here with me?"
Ahh HAH! Where did that "Yes" come from? Inside your head? Well sort of, but there’s more to it than that. Psychologists say that we all have an inner child and an internalized parent within us. In a similar way you have internalized your loved one. So what you hear are partly the characteristics of your loved one that you have internalized and partly the still living, growing, eternal character of your loved one surrounding you in the spirit world.
The body is a mechanical device powered by chemistry. The living, thinking, loving, remembering, planning, and dreaming part of you is LIFE, and it is eternal. Life cannot be destroyed. At the death of the mechanical, chemical body the eternal living consciousness of you is immediately aware of a sublime freedom. You are capable of seeing your spirit body for the first time. And it is exquisite.
Jesus called the afterlife "heaven." He said that it’s at hand (Matthew 4:17). He also said that it’s "within" (Luke 17:21). He called it "paradise." Jesus told the dying thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise today (Luke 23:43). That clearly indicates that there is no waiting period between life and the afterlife. Your loved one is in heaven, or paradise, right now. And that paradise is "at hand" and "within you."
The New Testament says that we have a natural body and a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). It says that the things we can see are temporary, but the things we cannot see are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus referred to the spiritual body when He said that people who live in Him and believe in Him would never die but have everlasting life.
As for the logical culmination of evolution, logic requires that there be an afterlife. Nature naturally selects the characteristics of living creatures. Qualities that insure survival are chosen over other qualities. If life ends at the grave, why have humans evolved so many qualities that they have little or no use for on earth? Altruism, charity, honor, patience, fidelity, etc. have little value in a society where materialism, war, and self-interest prevail.
Humility and service do not generate financial gain or the acquisition of power. They are a handicap, if anything. Yet, they persist as character traits in the majority of people. Man is driven more by abstractions like love, loyalty, accomplishment, curiosity and discovery than by simple biological directives. Why?
An unborn child develops arms, legs, eyes, and lungs because it will need them to function in the world into which it will be born. Man develops compassion, devotion, generosity, hope, understanding, and trustworthiness (to name but a few) because he will need them to function in the world into which he will be born when he leaves the physical body.
And in the same way that an unborn child is not separate from the world of his family, we are not separate from the loved ones that have passed through the veil.
And what if the quantum physicists are right? What if we really do live in a world with multiple dimensions…a holographic world? The mystics and the prophets have insisted that this world is an illusion for millennia. A holographic universe would mean that our bodies, our houses, our cities, and even the stars above us are a mirage. Those dimensions are all around us as the physicists are discovering, and those dimensions really do influence our world. What if other dimensions are the "mansions" that Jesus referred to?
Your loved one is still here with you. He’s part of a dimension that you cannot perceive—yet. You are a spiritual creature having a human experience. You have spiritual senses that you can use to communicate with and become aware of your loved ones in heaven. It’s done through focused prayer and meditation. In Matthew 5:4 Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." That’s His promise. Believe it. Experience it.
About the Author:
RobinRenee Bridges has been a chaplain and officer in the Sanctuary for more than thirty years. She is the author of "A Bridge of Love between Heaven and Earth: Self-Induced Contact in the Afterlife." For more articles about death, dying and the afterlife visit the web site: http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org Coping with Grief through Afterlife Proofs
Find comfort for grief by proof that life continues after death of the body.
By RobinRenee Bridges
In fact, Daddy walked into the cubicle in the ER and hopped up on the gurney. Almost as quickly, he hopped off saying, "Whew, doggie! Feels like somebody’s got a knife in my back, right between my shoulder blades." Daddy said it with a great big grin on his face. That’s just the way my Daddy was.
A few minutes later his aorta ruptured spilling his lifeblood into his chest cavity. His lips quivered briefly as he said, "I’ll see you in a little while."
The moment his spirit was free from his body, an ethereal serenity bathed the room and flowed out into the bustling hallway. The emergency department took on a surreal silence, as all motion and sound seemed to slow…then to stop. I was embraced by a joyous warmth so real that it was overwhelmingly palpable. We were no longer separate. Daddy’s spirit enfolded and permeated my being.
Is there any way to retain your loved one’s presence while navigating the valley of grief? Yes, there are some things you can do right away.
First, suspend your doubting mind. Whether you look at life after death spiritually, or logically as the natural culmination of evolution, or through the evidence of quantum physics, you come up with the same answers. Probabilities indicate that life continues after the death of the physical body.
Second, understand that your loved one is still here with you. Don’t say, "Yeah, right!" Suspend your doubts. Go somewhere quiet; somewhere you can be alone, even if it’s a closet. Close your eyes. Get still inside, and just stand there, or sit there and breathe. Give yourself a few minutes to calm yourself. And then imagine how you would feel with your loved one standing right beside you—so close that you can hear him breathe and feel his body heat. Pretend, if you will.
Your loved one has not "passed away" anywhere. In reality he’s closer to you than your heartbeat. There’s a thin veil between heaven and earth. Your loved one has simply passed through that veil. S/he can still hear you, see you, and touch you, but your physical body is a barrier to your being able to perceive your loved one.
Third, when you’re quiet inside, ask him something simple like "Are you here with me?"
Ahh HAH! Where did that "Yes" come from? Inside your head? Well sort of, but there’s more to it than that. Psychologists say that we all have an inner child and an internalized parent within us. In a similar way you have internalized your loved one. So what you hear are partly the characteristics of your loved one that you have internalized and partly the still living, growing, eternal character of your loved one surrounding you in the spirit world.
The body is a mechanical device powered by chemistry. The living, thinking, loving, remembering, planning, and dreaming part of you is LIFE, and it is eternal. Life cannot be destroyed. At the death of the mechanical, chemical body the eternal living consciousness of you is immediately aware of a sublime freedom. You are capable of seeing your spirit body for the first time. And it is exquisite.
Jesus called the afterlife "heaven." He said that it’s at hand (Matthew 4:17). He also said that it’s "within" (Luke 17:21). He called it "paradise." Jesus told the dying thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise today (Luke 23:43). That clearly indicates that there is no waiting period between life and the afterlife. Your loved one is in heaven, or paradise, right now. And that paradise is "at hand" and "within you."
The New Testament says that we have a natural body and a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). It says that the things we can see are temporary, but the things we cannot see are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus referred to the spiritual body when He said that people who live in Him and believe in Him would never die but have everlasting life.
As for the logical culmination of evolution, logic requires that there be an afterlife. Nature naturally selects the characteristics of living creatures. Qualities that insure survival are chosen over other qualities. If life ends at the grave, why have humans evolved so many qualities that they have little or no use for on earth? Altruism, charity, honor, patience, fidelity, etc. have little value in a society where materialism, war, and self-interest prevail.
Humility and service do not generate financial gain or the acquisition of power. They are a handicap, if anything. Yet, they persist as character traits in the majority of people. Man is driven more by abstractions like love, loyalty, accomplishment, curiosity and discovery than by simple biological directives. Why?
An unborn child develops arms, legs, eyes, and lungs because it will need them to function in the world into which it will be born. Man develops compassion, devotion, generosity, hope, understanding, and trustworthiness (to name but a few) because he will need them to function in the world into which he will be born when he leaves the physical body.
And in the same way that an unborn child is not separate from the world of his family, we are not separate from the loved ones that have passed through the veil.
And what if the quantum physicists are right? What if we really do live in a world with multiple dimensions…a holographic world? The mystics and the prophets have insisted that this world is an illusion for millennia. A holographic universe would mean that our bodies, our houses, our cities, and even the stars above us are a mirage. Those dimensions are all around us as the physicists are discovering, and those dimensions really do influence our world. What if other dimensions are the "mansions" that Jesus referred to?
Your loved one is still here with you. He’s part of a dimension that you cannot perceive—yet. You are a spiritual creature having a human experience. You have spiritual senses that you can use to communicate with and become aware of your loved ones in heaven. It’s done through focused prayer and meditation. In Matthew 5:4 Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." That’s His promise. Believe it. Experience it.
About the Author:
RobinRenee Bridges has been a chaplain and officer in the Sanctuary for more than thirty years. She is the author of "A Bridge of Love between Heaven and Earth: Self-Induced Contact in the Afterlife." For more articles about death, dying and the afterlife visit the web site: http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org Coping with Grief through Afterlife Proofs
Find comfort for grief by proof that life continues after death of the body.
By RobinRenee Bridges
The Healing Power of Past Lives
As seen on Oprah, experiencing your past lives may resolve the issues you face in this one. If nothing else, it will help you to stop taking your current life so personally. And if you are spinning in a world of emotional overdrive, past lives work may be perfect for you.As seen on Oprah on May 14 and June 17, 2008, experiencing your past lives may resolve the issues you face in this one. And this holds true whether past lives are real or not. No one can absolutely prove the de facto reality of past lives, yet even when they are metaphors created by your imagination, they routinely point the way to the resolution of your problems. And that makes them worth doing.
Let us use Oprah's May 14th example of the funeral director whose issues with his sister leaped forward in a wondrously positive way after his regression work with Dr. Brian Weiss. The tears shed by the director over the events of a past life during which he recognized his sister as a rape victim that he could not save, resulted in a change of heart for him. The contention between them lessened, and his current life eased. He got results. His life improved. This means that even if he imagined the whole thing, he still got the exact help he needed. The experience resolved his issue, and he was extremely grateful to Oprah, the hypnotist, and everyone involved.
My years of helping people using past lives, among other equally effective techniques, allows me to assure you that if nothing else, experiencing past lives has one grand, categorial positive benefit for every single person who does it: it makes you stop taking your current life so personally. And if you do indeed take your life too personally, like overreacting to everything that happens, then past life regression can help you. Right now. Today.
Are you a drama queen? Are you forever fighting with family, friends, neighbors, ex-lovers, or coworkers? Do other people roll their eyes when you walk into the room? Then maybe it is time that you engaged in a little healthy detachment from your real life soap opera. Maybe it is time you stopped spinning and started forgiving. Maybe past life regression is perfect for you. Think of past life work as a trip to your personal spiritual library, a serious personal search for deeply emotional data, a means of getting information that will expressly help you understand your situation with greater compassion for everyone involved. The simple truth is that you may simply be so overwhelmed with emotion every day that you can not answer the basic question of why your life is the way it is. And whether past lives are real history, metaphorical projections, or imagined fantasies, they are point blank insightful. You will learn from them, because you and you alone are responsible for what they reveal.
As seen on Oprah, the hypnotist never tells you where you are or when, you tell us. We hypnotists never fill in your blanks, we listen and prompt for greater detail. You are in charge of your session. We just help you get to the answers you seek. And, for the record, over the years of my professional practice, I have seen a remarkable occurrence over and over: some of my clients with no belief at all in past lives have spontaneously found themselves experiencing exactly that, a past life, upon being instructed to go to the origin of their issue. And this without the subject of past lives having ever come up beforehand between us at any time. Startling, yes, but quite true.
Past life regression work can easily be done by telephone. Surprised? If so, you might believe the myth that the hypnotic state is created using the eyes. It is not. Kindly dismiss all those ill-informed Hollywood films, as not one of those ridiculous movies has ever accurately portrayed what clinical hypnosis is, how it works, or why. The plain truth is that hypnosis is primarily induced through the hypnotist's voice, so it makes no difference whether their office happens to be right up your street. Your friendly neighborhood past lives specialist is only a phone call away.
You can get the answers you seek in just a few sessions, maybe in just one. Consider visiting a few of your past lives. As Dr. Oz noticed, it just might improve your current one.
Board certified clinical hypnotist Michelle Beaudry takes clients in person and by telephone from her office near Orlando, Florida. 407 862-9144, hypnofemme@aol.com
Beaudry Hypnosis Beaudry Hypnosis
Extensive hypnosis website By Michelle Beaudry
Let us use Oprah's May 14th example of the funeral director whose issues with his sister leaped forward in a wondrously positive way after his regression work with Dr. Brian Weiss. The tears shed by the director over the events of a past life during which he recognized his sister as a rape victim that he could not save, resulted in a change of heart for him. The contention between them lessened, and his current life eased. He got results. His life improved. This means that even if he imagined the whole thing, he still got the exact help he needed. The experience resolved his issue, and he was extremely grateful to Oprah, the hypnotist, and everyone involved.
My years of helping people using past lives, among other equally effective techniques, allows me to assure you that if nothing else, experiencing past lives has one grand, categorial positive benefit for every single person who does it: it makes you stop taking your current life so personally. And if you do indeed take your life too personally, like overreacting to everything that happens, then past life regression can help you. Right now. Today.
Are you a drama queen? Are you forever fighting with family, friends, neighbors, ex-lovers, or coworkers? Do other people roll their eyes when you walk into the room? Then maybe it is time that you engaged in a little healthy detachment from your real life soap opera. Maybe it is time you stopped spinning and started forgiving. Maybe past life regression is perfect for you. Think of past life work as a trip to your personal spiritual library, a serious personal search for deeply emotional data, a means of getting information that will expressly help you understand your situation with greater compassion for everyone involved. The simple truth is that you may simply be so overwhelmed with emotion every day that you can not answer the basic question of why your life is the way it is. And whether past lives are real history, metaphorical projections, or imagined fantasies, they are point blank insightful. You will learn from them, because you and you alone are responsible for what they reveal.
As seen on Oprah, the hypnotist never tells you where you are or when, you tell us. We hypnotists never fill in your blanks, we listen and prompt for greater detail. You are in charge of your session. We just help you get to the answers you seek. And, for the record, over the years of my professional practice, I have seen a remarkable occurrence over and over: some of my clients with no belief at all in past lives have spontaneously found themselves experiencing exactly that, a past life, upon being instructed to go to the origin of their issue. And this without the subject of past lives having ever come up beforehand between us at any time. Startling, yes, but quite true.
Past life regression work can easily be done by telephone. Surprised? If so, you might believe the myth that the hypnotic state is created using the eyes. It is not. Kindly dismiss all those ill-informed Hollywood films, as not one of those ridiculous movies has ever accurately portrayed what clinical hypnosis is, how it works, or why. The plain truth is that hypnosis is primarily induced through the hypnotist's voice, so it makes no difference whether their office happens to be right up your street. Your friendly neighborhood past lives specialist is only a phone call away.
You can get the answers you seek in just a few sessions, maybe in just one. Consider visiting a few of your past lives. As Dr. Oz noticed, it just might improve your current one.
Board certified clinical hypnotist Michelle Beaudry takes clients in person and by telephone from her office near Orlando, Florida. 407 862-9144, hypnofemme@aol.com
Beaudry Hypnosis Beaudry Hypnosis
Extensive hypnosis website By Michelle Beaudry
The Afterlife and Louise: February 8-19, 2008
A Mystic's Journal by Laurie Conrad. For more articles written by Laurie Conrad, please type her name in Buzzle's search feature.Friday, February 8
Realms of Light: Clairvoyant Experiences of Life After Death was released today. Spent a good part of the day announcing its presence on various websites.
Received an e-mail from Louise’s sister, Beth:
Ah Laurie! I am moved to tell you of a visitation I had with Louise. It was....I am sure, the most intense confirmation of life after death for me. I was in Woodstock sitting with Jude at the breakfast table. We were happily chatting, drinking our coffee. Suddenly Jude's face began to morph... it was..... gelatinous.... and then I could see as clear as I can SEE Louise's face laughing. I pulled back, reluctant, unwilling to engage the vision of my sister but she was THERE!! And she spoke....laughing at me...almost mischiveously, "You can see me, can't you?!" I burst into tears, weeping close to hysterical as Jude returned asking me what the matter was.
Peace. Beth
I wrote back and said that I had a very similar experience, at Windgarth a few years ago. In my experience Louise also superimposed herself on her sister Jude - and I was left speechless. Louise was so utterly radiant, so beautiful, made of almost blinding Light ... Now it is hard to look at photographs of Louise: she seems so thick, so material - so dull in a way, after than experience. In any case: now when I think of Louise I always see her on the road winding by the lake at Windgarth that beautiful warm afternoon, superimposed on her sister as inexpressibly beautiful, radiant Light ...
Thursday, February 14
Today Realms of Light went on Amazon.com. Interestingly enough, my student Jeremy died in his fatal car accident on February 14, six years ago. Jeremy’s story is in Realms of Light , as is an interview with his mother, about her experiences with Jeremy after he "died". I mention in the book that Jeremy appeared to me and told me that I was to write this book ... It might be that Jeremy sent me a small message today ... that he still takes an interest in the books I am writing, and in my life ...
Now to write reviewers.
My work on the Angels volume is almost done ...
Friday, February 15
Wrote Diana: how are we to put the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section to Realms of Light online, for people to read... If I put the FAQ section online from my computer manuscript - her formatting and graphics will be lost. It might be that we will have to post that section of the book on her website.
Found someone to transcribe the tapes of my interview with Diana on Realms of Light When that computer file is sent to me I will post the interview on several websites. I also want to begin work with an editor on the Journals volumes. Everything seems to be happening at once ...
Tuesday, February 19
Several magazines want to review Realms of Light and two media have asked for radio interviews. When the Interviews are transcribed and corrected, I will submit them to various websites & magazines. All I can tell people is that I hope this little book helps those facing death, and those grieving the loss of someone they love. And that I did my best. I have started a notebook, to keep track of all that I need to do, and all that I need to follow up on.
A message from Diana: because of technical reasons I do not completely understand, we will put the Frequently Asked Questions section of Realms of Light only on figarobooks.com, under Community, in A Mystic’s Journal .
The New Age Journal has said they want to review Realms of Light. Figaro Books
More about Conrad and her books is available on this site. By Laurie Conrad
Realms of Light: Clairvoyant Experiences of Life After Death was released today. Spent a good part of the day announcing its presence on various websites.
Received an e-mail from Louise’s sister, Beth:
Ah Laurie! I am moved to tell you of a visitation I had with Louise. It was....I am sure, the most intense confirmation of life after death for me. I was in Woodstock sitting with Jude at the breakfast table. We were happily chatting, drinking our coffee. Suddenly Jude's face began to morph... it was..... gelatinous.... and then I could see as clear as I can SEE Louise's face laughing. I pulled back, reluctant, unwilling to engage the vision of my sister but she was THERE!! And she spoke....laughing at me...almost mischiveously, "You can see me, can't you?!" I burst into tears, weeping close to hysterical as Jude returned asking me what the matter was.
Peace. Beth
I wrote back and said that I had a very similar experience, at Windgarth a few years ago. In my experience Louise also superimposed herself on her sister Jude - and I was left speechless. Louise was so utterly radiant, so beautiful, made of almost blinding Light ... Now it is hard to look at photographs of Louise: she seems so thick, so material - so dull in a way, after than experience. In any case: now when I think of Louise I always see her on the road winding by the lake at Windgarth that beautiful warm afternoon, superimposed on her sister as inexpressibly beautiful, radiant Light ...
Thursday, February 14
Today Realms of Light went on Amazon.com. Interestingly enough, my student Jeremy died in his fatal car accident on February 14, six years ago. Jeremy’s story is in Realms of Light , as is an interview with his mother, about her experiences with Jeremy after he "died". I mention in the book that Jeremy appeared to me and told me that I was to write this book ... It might be that Jeremy sent me a small message today ... that he still takes an interest in the books I am writing, and in my life ...
Now to write reviewers.
My work on the Angels volume is almost done ...
Friday, February 15
Wrote Diana: how are we to put the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section to Realms of Light online, for people to read... If I put the FAQ section online from my computer manuscript - her formatting and graphics will be lost. It might be that we will have to post that section of the book on her website.
Found someone to transcribe the tapes of my interview with Diana on Realms of Light When that computer file is sent to me I will post the interview on several websites. I also want to begin work with an editor on the Journals volumes. Everything seems to be happening at once ...
Tuesday, February 19
Several magazines want to review Realms of Light and two media have asked for radio interviews. When the Interviews are transcribed and corrected, I will submit them to various websites & magazines. All I can tell people is that I hope this little book helps those facing death, and those grieving the loss of someone they love. And that I did my best. I have started a notebook, to keep track of all that I need to do, and all that I need to follow up on.
A message from Diana: because of technical reasons I do not completely understand, we will put the Frequently Asked Questions section of Realms of Light only on figarobooks.com, under Community, in A Mystic’s Journal .
The New Age Journal has said they want to review Realms of Light. Figaro Books
More about Conrad and her books is available on this site. By Laurie Conrad
Of Death and the Afterlife
A poem I wrote about leaving the world behind and the journey that came after death.Blood crushing in my body
Turning blue and fading away
When the day went on, I felt woozy
From that one act of desperation
As I laid
Dying, dying, dying
For the first time, I felt released
Pleased that body was dead with my spirit alive
As I took a dive into the cool breeze
I flew into the sunset
A new bridge opened
I walked to complete life
And begin a pure rebirth
By Alexander Rose
Turning blue and fading away
When the day went on, I felt woozy
From that one act of desperation
As I laid
Dying, dying, dying
For the first time, I felt released
Pleased that body was dead with my spirit alive
As I took a dive into the cool breeze
I flew into the sunset
A new bridge opened
I walked to complete life
And begin a pure rebirth
By Alexander Rose
Life After Death: A Postscript from "Realms of Light"
Clairvoyant Experiences of Life After Death: a postscript from the new book 'Realms of Light'.POSTSCRIPT
I could not possibly relate all the experiences and meetings I have had with those I love in other realms. In some ways it is a very constant connection, more as though I continually straddle realms, live in two or more realms simultaneously.
When I decided to become a concert pianist, a Bright being often stood to the right of the piano as I practiced - and occasionally still does. Who this being is, I have no idea. Yet in all the uncountable hours alone at the piano, he or she was my only companion. Often as I write in my notebooks, I am aware of someone standing over my shoulder, either reading what I am writing or whispering thoughts of encouragement and inspiration I cannot consciously hear.
Since the completion of the original manuscript, several friends have gone on to other realms; two of them gave interviews in the following section of this volume. My wonderful Swedish friend, Inger, died of a serious illness some months after our interview. On hearing the sad news, I inwardly asked her where she was, and she replied: "I don’t know," and then she laughed her wonderful laugh. This inner or outer clairaudience generally does not continue indefinitely after someone leaves, usually for only a week or two. I do not understand why this clairaudience is temporary, whereas the visual clairvoyance and more telepathic clairaudience continue ... All I have are the experiences, not their explanations.
Another person interviewed for this book also left for other realms within a year, my dear friend Cynthia. In her case, I heard nothing, no outer or inner words - but I did meet her in the back gardens of Windgarth.
Cynthia lived next to us at Windgarth, our cottage on Cayuga Lake. The first time I went to Windgarth following her death, I had gone down to the lake to think about my friend and fellow gardener. Suddenly I was surrounded by a great Brightness. This Brightness began to move towards Cynthia’s dock, next to ours, through her gardens - and I followed. Slowly I began to discern more than one Bright being creating the initial Brightness I had seen, and I assumed it was Cynthia and several angels with her. As we walked together towards the dock, my sorrow became pure joy and Lightness, and I stayed with them in the back gardens until I saw them walking towards the dock. Instead of following them, I decided to find Cynthia’s husband, to tell him what I had just seen and felt. He was out front of their house, near the small front road that quietly wends itself along the lake. As I approached, he said that he had looked into the back gardens and seen me there, but he could swear that he was seeing his wife - and he began to cry. At that moment I heard myself joyfully say, with a big smile: " But, I am Cynthia." And I must admit that I was surprised at my words, and also a bit embarrassed.
It was only many weeks later, and after much reflection, that I realized his beautiful wife was in some way speaking through me, to announce herself to him - to tell him that she was still very much alive and very happy in her realm. This was not mediumship: I was not in a trance, I was fully conscious - and I knew who I was and where I was in this reality. But perhaps she whispered that sentence, "I am Cynthia," in my ear - or her presence surrounding me was so very strong I wanted her husband to know that she was standing before him, even though he could only perceive my form.
Sometimes I know exactly who is standing before me, but for the most part I do not. This might seem strange, but it really does not matter. The Bright beings are made of the same Brightness, and the negative beings of the same Darkness. I send help and protection to those who need help and protection, healing to those who need healing, speak sternly to the darker beings who are harming others - and welcome and listen carefully to all the Bright beings who are truly holy.
In my understanding, this not knowing is not a lack of clairvoyance. In my readings, a saint was once told by a friend in another realm that all beings must receive permission from God, to either appear to or speak with those still incarnate on earth.
And if God wanted me to consciously know the identity of all those who stood before me, in other realms - then I would recognize them. However, since I am continually clairvoyant in the sense that I see into other realms while I also perceive this realm - I would be living in a world littered with forms, and would need to learn to see through all these additional forms in my consciousness - what a task that would be! Perhaps this is also one reason why it is said that not to clairvoyantly see the physical form of a being from another realm is a Higher form of Clairvoyance. But to sense their Presence or intuit their forms, to see with the eyes of the soul, is a Higher state of Perception.
I would also like to add that some of the clairvoyant accounts in this volume were experienced in dream state, others in waking state. That some were experienced in dream state does not make them any less clairvoyant or real. In fact, most non-clairvoyants visit other realms while in dream state, and then erroneously dismiss their validity with: "It was only a dream."
No one on earth will ever be able to explain all the Mysteries of this universe and the realms beyond it. That is not the Goal of our lives on earth. Yet, as the years pass, I have grown to feel that my clairvoyance might be of some small use to the world - perhaps an aid to untangle some of the smaller mysteries that intertwine themselves through this physical universe and realms less material. Figaro Books
More about the author and her books can be found on this site. By Laurie Conrad
Published: 3/10/2010
I could not possibly relate all the experiences and meetings I have had with those I love in other realms. In some ways it is a very constant connection, more as though I continually straddle realms, live in two or more realms simultaneously.
When I decided to become a concert pianist, a Bright being often stood to the right of the piano as I practiced - and occasionally still does. Who this being is, I have no idea. Yet in all the uncountable hours alone at the piano, he or she was my only companion. Often as I write in my notebooks, I am aware of someone standing over my shoulder, either reading what I am writing or whispering thoughts of encouragement and inspiration I cannot consciously hear.
Since the completion of the original manuscript, several friends have gone on to other realms; two of them gave interviews in the following section of this volume. My wonderful Swedish friend, Inger, died of a serious illness some months after our interview. On hearing the sad news, I inwardly asked her where she was, and she replied: "I don’t know," and then she laughed her wonderful laugh. This inner or outer clairaudience generally does not continue indefinitely after someone leaves, usually for only a week or two. I do not understand why this clairaudience is temporary, whereas the visual clairvoyance and more telepathic clairaudience continue ... All I have are the experiences, not their explanations.
Another person interviewed for this book also left for other realms within a year, my dear friend Cynthia. In her case, I heard nothing, no outer or inner words - but I did meet her in the back gardens of Windgarth.
Cynthia lived next to us at Windgarth, our cottage on Cayuga Lake. The first time I went to Windgarth following her death, I had gone down to the lake to think about my friend and fellow gardener. Suddenly I was surrounded by a great Brightness. This Brightness began to move towards Cynthia’s dock, next to ours, through her gardens - and I followed. Slowly I began to discern more than one Bright being creating the initial Brightness I had seen, and I assumed it was Cynthia and several angels with her. As we walked together towards the dock, my sorrow became pure joy and Lightness, and I stayed with them in the back gardens until I saw them walking towards the dock. Instead of following them, I decided to find Cynthia’s husband, to tell him what I had just seen and felt. He was out front of their house, near the small front road that quietly wends itself along the lake. As I approached, he said that he had looked into the back gardens and seen me there, but he could swear that he was seeing his wife - and he began to cry. At that moment I heard myself joyfully say, with a big smile: " But, I am Cynthia." And I must admit that I was surprised at my words, and also a bit embarrassed.
It was only many weeks later, and after much reflection, that I realized his beautiful wife was in some way speaking through me, to announce herself to him - to tell him that she was still very much alive and very happy in her realm. This was not mediumship: I was not in a trance, I was fully conscious - and I knew who I was and where I was in this reality. But perhaps she whispered that sentence, "I am Cynthia," in my ear - or her presence surrounding me was so very strong I wanted her husband to know that she was standing before him, even though he could only perceive my form.
Sometimes I know exactly who is standing before me, but for the most part I do not. This might seem strange, but it really does not matter. The Bright beings are made of the same Brightness, and the negative beings of the same Darkness. I send help and protection to those who need help and protection, healing to those who need healing, speak sternly to the darker beings who are harming others - and welcome and listen carefully to all the Bright beings who are truly holy.
In my understanding, this not knowing is not a lack of clairvoyance. In my readings, a saint was once told by a friend in another realm that all beings must receive permission from God, to either appear to or speak with those still incarnate on earth.
And if God wanted me to consciously know the identity of all those who stood before me, in other realms - then I would recognize them. However, since I am continually clairvoyant in the sense that I see into other realms while I also perceive this realm - I would be living in a world littered with forms, and would need to learn to see through all these additional forms in my consciousness - what a task that would be! Perhaps this is also one reason why it is said that not to clairvoyantly see the physical form of a being from another realm is a Higher form of Clairvoyance. But to sense their Presence or intuit their forms, to see with the eyes of the soul, is a Higher state of Perception.
I would also like to add that some of the clairvoyant accounts in this volume were experienced in dream state, others in waking state. That some were experienced in dream state does not make them any less clairvoyant or real. In fact, most non-clairvoyants visit other realms while in dream state, and then erroneously dismiss their validity with: "It was only a dream."
No one on earth will ever be able to explain all the Mysteries of this universe and the realms beyond it. That is not the Goal of our lives on earth. Yet, as the years pass, I have grown to feel that my clairvoyance might be of some small use to the world - perhaps an aid to untangle some of the smaller mysteries that intertwine themselves through this physical universe and realms less material. Figaro Books
More about the author and her books can be found on this site. By Laurie Conrad
Published: 3/10/2010
Death, Life and the Question of IdentityWhat exactly is death?
A classical point of departure in defining death, seems to be life itself. Death is perceived either as a cessation of life - or as a "transit area", on the way to a continuation of life by other means. While the former approach presents a disjunction, the latter is a continuum, death being nothing but a corridor into another plane of existence (the hereafter).
But who does the dying when death occurs?
In other words, capturing the identity of the dying entity (that which "commits" death) is essential in defining death. But how can we establish the dying entity's unambiguous and unequivocal identity? Can this identity be determined by using quantitative parameters? Is it dependent, for instance, upon the number of discrete units which comprise the functioning whole? If so, at which level are useful distinctions and observations replaced by useless scholastic mind-warps?
Example: can human identity be defined by the number and organization of one's limbs, cells, or atoms? Cells in the human body are replaced (with the exception of the nervous system) every 5 years. Would this phenomenon imply that we gain a new identity each time this cycle is completed and most our cells are replaced?
Adopting this course of thinking leads to absurd results:
When humans die, the replacement rate of their cells is null. Does this zero replacement rate mean that their identity is better and longer preserved once dead? No one would say this. Death is tantamount to a loss of identity - not to its preservation. So, it would seem that, to ascertain one's identity, we should prefer a qualitative yardstick to a quantitative one.
The brain is a natural point of departure.
We can start by asking if one's identity will change if we were to substitute one's brain with another person's brain? "He is not the same" - we say of someone with a brain injury. If partial damage to the brain causes such a sea change in the determinants of individuality - it seems safe to assume that replacing one's entire brain will result in a total change of one's identity, akin to the emergence of another, distinct, self.
If the brain is the locus of identity, we should be able to assert that when (the cells of) all the other organs of the body are replaced (with the exception of the brain) - one's identity is still preserved.
The human hardware (body) and software (the wiring of the brain) have often been compared to a computer (see: "Metaphors of Mind"). But this analogy is misleading.
If we were to change all the software running on a computer - it would still remain the same (though more or less capable) computer. This is the equivalent of growing up in humans. However, if we were to change the computer's processor - it would no longer be the same computer.
This, partly, is the result of the separation of hardware (the microprocessor) from software (the programmes that it processes). There is no such separation in the human brain. The 1300 grams of grey matter in our heads are both hardware and software.
Still, the computer analogy seems to indicate that our identity resides not in our learning, knowledge, or memories. It is an epiphenomenon. It emerges when a certain level of hardware complexity is attained.
Even so, things are not that simple. If we were to eliminate someone's entire store of learning and memories (without affecting his physical brain) - would he still be the same person, would he still retain the same identity? Probably not.
In reality, erasing one's learning and memories without affecting his brain - is impossible. In humans, learning and memories are the brain. They affect the hardware that processes them in an irreversible manner. Still, in certain abnormal conditions, such radical erasure does occur (see "Shattered Identity").
This, naturally, cannot be said of a computer. There, the distinction between hardware and software is clear. Change a computer's hardware and you change its identity. Computers are software - invariant.
We are, therefore, able to confidently conclude that the brain is the sole determinant of identity, its seat and signifier. This is because our brain is both our processing hardware and our processed software. It is also a repository of processed data. A human brain detached from a body is still assumed to possess identity. And a monkey implanted with a human brain will host the identity of the former owner of the brain.
Many of the debates in the first decade of the new discipline of Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolved around these thought experiments. The Turing Test pits invisible intelligences against one another. The answers which they provide (by teleprinter, hidden behind partitions) determine their presumed identity (human or not). Identity is determined merely on the basis of the outputs (the responses). No direct observation of the hardware is deemed necessary by the test.
The brain's status as the privileged identity system is such that even when it remain incommunicado, we assume that it harbors a person. If for some medical, logistical, or technological problem, one's brain is unable to provide output, answers, and interactions - we are still likely to assume that it has the potential to do so. Thus, in the case of an inactive brain, the presumed identity is a derivative of its potential to interact, rather than of any actual interaction.
Paleo-anthropologists attempt to determine the identity of our forefathers by studying their skulls and, by inference, their brains and their mental potentials. True, they investigate other types of bones. Ultimately, they hope to be able to draw an accurate visual description of our ancestors. But perusing other bones leads merely to an image of their former owners - while the scrutiny of skulls presumably reveals our ancestors' very identities.
When we die, what dies, therefore, is the brain and only the brain.
Death is discernible as the cessation of the exercise of force over physical systems. It is the sudden absence of physical effects previously associated with the dead object, a singularity, a discontinuity. But it should not be confused with inertia.
Inertia is a balance of forces - while death is the absence of forces. Death is, therefore, also not an entropic climax. Entropy is an isotropic, homogeneous distribution of energy. Death is the absence of any and all energies. While, outwardly, the two might appear to be identical - they are actually the two poles of a dichotomy.
So, death, as opposed to inertia or entropy, is not something that modern physics is fully equipped to deal with. Physics, by definition, deals with forces and measurable effects. It has nothing to say about force-less, energy-devoid physical states (oxymora).
Still, if death is merely the terminal cessation of all impact on all physical systems (the absence of physical effects), how can we account for memories of the deceased?
Memory is a physical effect (electrochemical activity of the brain) upon a physical system (the Brain). It can be preserved and shipped across time and space in capsules called books or or artwork. These are containers of triggers of physical effects (in recipient brains). They seem to defy death. Though the physical system which produced the memory capsule surely ceases to exist - it continues to physically impact other physical systems long after its demise, long after it was supposed to stop doing so.
Memory makes death a transcendental affair. As long as we (or what we create) are remembered - we continue to have a physical effect on physical systems (i.e., on other people's brains). And as long as this is happening - we are not technically (or, at least, fully) dead. Our death, our destruction are fully accomplished only after our memory is wiped out completely, not even having the potential of being resurrected in future. Only then do we cease to exist (i.e., to have an effect on other physical systems).
Philosophically, there is no difference between being influenced by a real-life conversation with Kant - and being effected by his words preserved in a time-space capsule, such as a book. As far as the reader is concerned, Kant is very much alive, more so than contemporaneous people whom the reader never met.
It is conceivable that, in the future, we will be able to preserve a three-dimensional facsimile (a hologram) of a person, replete with his smells, temperature, and tactile effects. Why would the flesh and blood version be judged superior to such a likeness?
There is no self-evident hierarchy of representations based on their media. Organic 3-d representations ("bodies") are not inherently superior to inorganic 3-d representations. In other words, our futuristic hologram should not be deemed inferior to the classic, organic version as long as they both possess the same information content and are able to assimilate information, regenerate and create.
The only defensible hierarchy is of potentials and, thus, pertains to the future. Non-organic representations ("representations") of intelligent and conscious entities - of "organic originals" - are finite. The organic originals are infinite in their potential to create and to procreate, to change themselves and their environment, to act and be acted upon within ever more complex feedback loops.
The non-organic versions, the representations, are self contained and final. The organic originals and their representations may contain identical information. But the amount of information will increase in the organic version and decrease in the non-organic one (due to the second Law of Thermodynamics). This inevitable divergence is what renders the organic original privileged.
This property - of an increasing amount of information (=order) - characterizes not only organic originals but also anything that emanates from them. It characterizes works of art and science, or human off-spring, for instance. All these tend to increase information (indeed, they are, in themselves, information packets).
So, could we say that the propagation and the continuation of physical effects (through memory) is life after death? Life and memory share an important trait. They both have a negentropic (=order and information increasing) impact on their surroundings. Does that make them synonymous? Is death only a transitory phase from one form of Life (organic) to another (informational, spiritual)?
However tempting this equation is - in most likelihood, it is false.
The reason is that there are two sources of increase in information and what sets them apart is not trivial. As long as the organic original lives, all creation depends upon it. After it dies, the works that it has created and the memories that are associated with it, continue to affect physical systems.
However, their ability to foster new creative work, to generate new memories, in short: their capacity to increase order by spawning information is totally dependent upon other, living, organic originals. In the absence of other organic originals, they stagnate and go through an entropic decrease of information (i.e., increase of disorder).
This is the crux of the distinction between Life and Death:
LIFE is the potential, possessed by organic originals, to create (=to fight entropy by increasing information and order), using their own software. Such software can be coded in hardware - e.g., one's DNA - but then the creative act is limited to the replication of the organic original or parts thereof.
Upon the original's DEATH, the potential to create is passed through one's memory. Creative acts, works of art and science, or other forms of creativity are propagated only within the software (=the brains) of other, living, organic originals.
Both forms of creation (i.e., using one's software and using others' software) can co-exist during the original's life. Death, however, incapacitates the first type of creation (i.e., creation by an organic original, independent of others, and using its software). Upon death, the surrogate form of creation (i.e., creation, by other organic originals who use their software to process the works and memories of the dead) becomes the only one.
Memories created by one organic original resonate through the brains of others. This generates information and provokes the creative potential in recipient brains. Some of them do react by creating and, thus, play host to the parasitic, invading memory, infecting other members of the memory-space (=the meme space).
Death is, therefore, the assimilation of the products of an organic original in a Collective. It is, indeed, the continuation of Life but in a collective, rather than individually.
Alternatively, Death could be defined as a terminal change in the state of the hardware. Segments of the software colonize brains in the Collective. The software now acquires a different hardware - others' brains. This, of course, is reminiscent of certain viral mechanisms. The comparison may be superficial and misleading - or may lead to the imagery of the individual as a cell in the large organism of humanity. Memory has a role in this new form of social-political evolution which superseded Biological Evolution, as an instrument of adaptation.
Should we adopt this view, certain human r
But who does the dying when death occurs?
In other words, capturing the identity of the dying entity (that which "commits" death) is essential in defining death. But how can we establish the dying entity's unambiguous and unequivocal identity? Can this identity be determined by using quantitative parameters? Is it dependent, for instance, upon the number of discrete units which comprise the functioning whole? If so, at which level are useful distinctions and observations replaced by useless scholastic mind-warps?
Example: can human identity be defined by the number and organization of one's limbs, cells, or atoms? Cells in the human body are replaced (with the exception of the nervous system) every 5 years. Would this phenomenon imply that we gain a new identity each time this cycle is completed and most our cells are replaced?
Adopting this course of thinking leads to absurd results:
When humans die, the replacement rate of their cells is null. Does this zero replacement rate mean that their identity is better and longer preserved once dead? No one would say this. Death is tantamount to a loss of identity - not to its preservation. So, it would seem that, to ascertain one's identity, we should prefer a qualitative yardstick to a quantitative one.
The brain is a natural point of departure.
We can start by asking if one's identity will change if we were to substitute one's brain with another person's brain? "He is not the same" - we say of someone with a brain injury. If partial damage to the brain causes such a sea change in the determinants of individuality - it seems safe to assume that replacing one's entire brain will result in a total change of one's identity, akin to the emergence of another, distinct, self.
If the brain is the locus of identity, we should be able to assert that when (the cells of) all the other organs of the body are replaced (with the exception of the brain) - one's identity is still preserved.
The human hardware (body) and software (the wiring of the brain) have often been compared to a computer (see: "Metaphors of Mind"). But this analogy is misleading.
If we were to change all the software running on a computer - it would still remain the same (though more or less capable) computer. This is the equivalent of growing up in humans. However, if we were to change the computer's processor - it would no longer be the same computer.
This, partly, is the result of the separation of hardware (the microprocessor) from software (the programmes that it processes). There is no such separation in the human brain. The 1300 grams of grey matter in our heads are both hardware and software.
Still, the computer analogy seems to indicate that our identity resides not in our learning, knowledge, or memories. It is an epiphenomenon. It emerges when a certain level of hardware complexity is attained.
Even so, things are not that simple. If we were to eliminate someone's entire store of learning and memories (without affecting his physical brain) - would he still be the same person, would he still retain the same identity? Probably not.
In reality, erasing one's learning and memories without affecting his brain - is impossible. In humans, learning and memories are the brain. They affect the hardware that processes them in an irreversible manner. Still, in certain abnormal conditions, such radical erasure does occur (see "Shattered Identity").
This, naturally, cannot be said of a computer. There, the distinction between hardware and software is clear. Change a computer's hardware and you change its identity. Computers are software - invariant.
We are, therefore, able to confidently conclude that the brain is the sole determinant of identity, its seat and signifier. This is because our brain is both our processing hardware and our processed software. It is also a repository of processed data. A human brain detached from a body is still assumed to possess identity. And a monkey implanted with a human brain will host the identity of the former owner of the brain.
Many of the debates in the first decade of the new discipline of Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolved around these thought experiments. The Turing Test pits invisible intelligences against one another. The answers which they provide (by teleprinter, hidden behind partitions) determine their presumed identity (human or not). Identity is determined merely on the basis of the outputs (the responses). No direct observation of the hardware is deemed necessary by the test.
The brain's status as the privileged identity system is such that even when it remain incommunicado, we assume that it harbors a person. If for some medical, logistical, or technological problem, one's brain is unable to provide output, answers, and interactions - we are still likely to assume that it has the potential to do so. Thus, in the case of an inactive brain, the presumed identity is a derivative of its potential to interact, rather than of any actual interaction.
Paleo-anthropologists attempt to determine the identity of our forefathers by studying their skulls and, by inference, their brains and their mental potentials. True, they investigate other types of bones. Ultimately, they hope to be able to draw an accurate visual description of our ancestors. But perusing other bones leads merely to an image of their former owners - while the scrutiny of skulls presumably reveals our ancestors' very identities.
When we die, what dies, therefore, is the brain and only the brain.
Death is discernible as the cessation of the exercise of force over physical systems. It is the sudden absence of physical effects previously associated with the dead object, a singularity, a discontinuity. But it should not be confused with inertia.
Inertia is a balance of forces - while death is the absence of forces. Death is, therefore, also not an entropic climax. Entropy is an isotropic, homogeneous distribution of energy. Death is the absence of any and all energies. While, outwardly, the two might appear to be identical - they are actually the two poles of a dichotomy.
So, death, as opposed to inertia or entropy, is not something that modern physics is fully equipped to deal with. Physics, by definition, deals with forces and measurable effects. It has nothing to say about force-less, energy-devoid physical states (oxymora).
Still, if death is merely the terminal cessation of all impact on all physical systems (the absence of physical effects), how can we account for memories of the deceased?
Memory is a physical effect (electrochemical activity of the brain) upon a physical system (the Brain). It can be preserved and shipped across time and space in capsules called books or or artwork. These are containers of triggers of physical effects (in recipient brains). They seem to defy death. Though the physical system which produced the memory capsule surely ceases to exist - it continues to physically impact other physical systems long after its demise, long after it was supposed to stop doing so.
Memory makes death a transcendental affair. As long as we (or what we create) are remembered - we continue to have a physical effect on physical systems (i.e., on other people's brains). And as long as this is happening - we are not technically (or, at least, fully) dead. Our death, our destruction are fully accomplished only after our memory is wiped out completely, not even having the potential of being resurrected in future. Only then do we cease to exist (i.e., to have an effect on other physical systems).
Philosophically, there is no difference between being influenced by a real-life conversation with Kant - and being effected by his words preserved in a time-space capsule, such as a book. As far as the reader is concerned, Kant is very much alive, more so than contemporaneous people whom the reader never met.
It is conceivable that, in the future, we will be able to preserve a three-dimensional facsimile (a hologram) of a person, replete with his smells, temperature, and tactile effects. Why would the flesh and blood version be judged superior to such a likeness?
There is no self-evident hierarchy of representations based on their media. Organic 3-d representations ("bodies") are not inherently superior to inorganic 3-d representations. In other words, our futuristic hologram should not be deemed inferior to the classic, organic version as long as they both possess the same information content and are able to assimilate information, regenerate and create.
The only defensible hierarchy is of potentials and, thus, pertains to the future. Non-organic representations ("representations") of intelligent and conscious entities - of "organic originals" - are finite. The organic originals are infinite in their potential to create and to procreate, to change themselves and their environment, to act and be acted upon within ever more complex feedback loops.
The non-organic versions, the representations, are self contained and final. The organic originals and their representations may contain identical information. But the amount of information will increase in the organic version and decrease in the non-organic one (due to the second Law of Thermodynamics). This inevitable divergence is what renders the organic original privileged.
This property - of an increasing amount of information (=order) - characterizes not only organic originals but also anything that emanates from them. It characterizes works of art and science, or human off-spring, for instance. All these tend to increase information (indeed, they are, in themselves, information packets).
So, could we say that the propagation and the continuation of physical effects (through memory) is life after death? Life and memory share an important trait. They both have a negentropic (=order and information increasing) impact on their surroundings. Does that make them synonymous? Is death only a transitory phase from one form of Life (organic) to another (informational, spiritual)?
However tempting this equation is - in most likelihood, it is false.
The reason is that there are two sources of increase in information and what sets them apart is not trivial. As long as the organic original lives, all creation depends upon it. After it dies, the works that it has created and the memories that are associated with it, continue to affect physical systems.
However, their ability to foster new creative work, to generate new memories, in short: their capacity to increase order by spawning information is totally dependent upon other, living, organic originals. In the absence of other organic originals, they stagnate and go through an entropic decrease of information (i.e., increase of disorder).
This is the crux of the distinction between Life and Death:
LIFE is the potential, possessed by organic originals, to create (=to fight entropy by increasing information and order), using their own software. Such software can be coded in hardware - e.g., one's DNA - but then the creative act is limited to the replication of the organic original or parts thereof.
Upon the original's DEATH, the potential to create is passed through one's memory. Creative acts, works of art and science, or other forms of creativity are propagated only within the software (=the brains) of other, living, organic originals.
Both forms of creation (i.e., using one's software and using others' software) can co-exist during the original's life. Death, however, incapacitates the first type of creation (i.e., creation by an organic original, independent of others, and using its software). Upon death, the surrogate form of creation (i.e., creation, by other organic originals who use their software to process the works and memories of the dead) becomes the only one.
Memories created by one organic original resonate through the brains of others. This generates information and provokes the creative potential in recipient brains. Some of them do react by creating and, thus, play host to the parasitic, invading memory, infecting other members of the memory-space (=the meme space).
Death is, therefore, the assimilation of the products of an organic original in a Collective. It is, indeed, the continuation of Life but in a collective, rather than individually.
Alternatively, Death could be defined as a terminal change in the state of the hardware. Segments of the software colonize brains in the Collective. The software now acquires a different hardware - others' brains. This, of course, is reminiscent of certain viral mechanisms. The comparison may be superficial and misleading - or may lead to the imagery of the individual as a cell in the large organism of humanity. Memory has a role in this new form of social-political evolution which superseded Biological Evolution, as an instrument of adaptation.
Should we adopt this view, certain human r
No More Death: You Can Now Live Forever
Mankind has been seeking freedom from death since the beginning. He looked everywhere but failed to reach true essence of the words of God which hold the secret way to overcome death and live forever in same physical form.A new insight into the Bhagavad Gita has thrown light on the secret science of immortality lying unexplored in this scripture for many millennia. The understanding of this secret science has made it possible for human beings to attain freedom from old age and death and become supreme imperishable beings. The simple transition from mortal man to immortal God is explained very concisely in You Are God – The Bhagavad Gita as never before, by Shashi Verma.
This science, called Yog in the Bhagavad Gita, does not ask us to make any changes in our lifestyle or actions. All we need to do is to change our thoughts, as advised by Lord Krishna in the Gita. This wonderful science of thoughts has been unfolded in this path-breaking book that promises to change lives and help us attain immortality.
We are all living with the delusion that death is imperative; that every person will die. But, contrary to this belief, Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that we can attain immortality:
Having crossed over these three attributes arising from the body, the dweller in the body is completely freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow and attains immortality. Chapter 14:20
A fact that is revealed in the Bible as well:
That whatsoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:15
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hearth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. John 6:49-50
Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death.
John 8:51
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. I-Corinthians 15:26
These scriptures have been read over and over again by mankind for thousands of years, yet no one could understand the real sense of the words contained in them. We could never imagine that terms such as "have eternal life" or "never die" or "completely free from sorrow, old age and death" literally mean living forever.
Though all the holy books reveal the path for attaining immortality, the Bhagavad Gita conveys this message in simple words. Besides the knowledge of the Self, the Gita contains the science of Yog which not only brings self-realization to all of us, it can also free us from sorrow, diseases, old age and death and hence make us immortal. Unfortunately, we could not understand this message given in the Gita and thus could not attain freedom from old age and death.
At the very beginning of His teachings to Arjun, Lord Krishna revealed that all bodies are embodied by the all-pervading indestructible, that is, God, which means that all bodies are of God or all beings are God. However, we are deluded by the ego and look at ourselves as ‘I’- a man or a woman, and fail to realise we are God.
Lord Krishna also revealed that all humans are eternal living beings who neither die nor ever cease to exist but keep changing their bodies birth after birth. The cycle of constant death and birth or changing of the bodies can come to an end provided we attain the self-realization that we are God, eternal living beings, not ‘I’ or mortal men and women. In Verse 7:4, Lord Krishna said that the embodied being or God has an eight-fold nature comprising earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and the ego. In Verses 2:62-63, He revealed the cause of death and explained that when we contemplate the object while performing actions, it gives rise to an attachment to the object. From attachment arises desire and from desire arises anger. From anger arises delusion, from delusion comes confusion of memory, from confusion of memory results the loss of intellect and with the loss of intellect we perish.
The being who performs actions without attachment to the objects, called Buddhi Yog (Discipline of Intellect), is freed from desire, anger and delusion. He will not lose his intellect and he will become a sthitpragya or person of steady intellect and a non perishable being. He will not change bodies but dwell in the same body in eternal peace and happiness.
Lord Krishna then imparted the Wisdom of Karma Yog in the Gita. He revealed in Verse 3:27 that actions from our bodies are performed by our nature, not by us:
All actions are performed by the attributes of Nature; he who is deluded by the ego thinks, ‘I am the doer.’ Chapter 3:27
Though all beings are fragments of the same Self or God they are not the doer of actions taking place from their bodies. Their thinking that they perform the actions binds them to the actions and attaches them to the attributes of nature, due to which they take constant births in different bodies. Karma Yog (Discipline of Actions), which frees the being from the bonds of actions and attributes of nature, consists of mentally renouncing the actions or the sense of doership to God by thinking that God/Nature is performing the actions.
This mental renunciation or offering of all action to God is the highest wisdom or science by which we can cross over the attributes of nature, become free from sorrow, old age and death and live forever:
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever charity you do, whatever austerity you observe, O son of Kunti, offer all that to Me. Chapter 9:27
When the seer perceives no doer other than the attributes and knows beyond the attributes, he attains My Bhava. Chapter 14:19
Having crossed over these three attributes arising from the body, the dweller in the body is completely freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow and attains immortality. Chapter 14:20
The Wisdom of renouncing the sense of doer ship and thereby attaining immortality was also given by Jesus Christ in the following words:
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans 8:13
The all-pervading God is a Word or Wisdom of sameness towards all, that all beings are God. Though all beings are fragments of Wisdom or God, they do not have self-realization. They do not know that they are God. Verses 4:38 and 5:6 of the Gita reveal that a person who is established in Yog quickly attains Brahm and finds Wisdom in the Self. It means that a person who is freed from the ego by constantly thinking that nature (not I) is performing the actions, he will attain Wisdom (God) that he and all other beings are same or all are God.
A person does not have to bring any change in his lifestyle and actions to practice Yog. He has to remain engaged in all the usual actions but mentally renounce the actions (sense of doer ship) to God. When beings will perform their actions by Yog and attain Wisdom, the world will enter a new age. In the new age all beings will be free from sorrow, old age and death and will live in complete harmony and oneness, having realized that all are God.
Verses 5:8-9 of the Bhagavad Gita say that he who is united to Wisdom (God) and knows the truth thinks, ‘I do nothing at all’ and in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, walking, speaking, breathing and performing other actions believes that only the senses are moving among the objects. This thinking is the science of Yog, which is the highest wisdom that has come from God. A person who performs his actions by mentally renouncing the actions to God becomes united to God by Yog. A person who attains perfection in Yog will attain the Wisdom or God-like sameness towards all beings. He will then be freed from sorrow, old age and death and attain immortality, as revealed in Verses 14:19- 20
The writer is the author of the book, You Are God – the Bhagavad Gita as never before. For more information, visit www.highestwisdom.com By Shashi Verma
This science, called Yog in the Bhagavad Gita, does not ask us to make any changes in our lifestyle or actions. All we need to do is to change our thoughts, as advised by Lord Krishna in the Gita. This wonderful science of thoughts has been unfolded in this path-breaking book that promises to change lives and help us attain immortality.
We are all living with the delusion that death is imperative; that every person will die. But, contrary to this belief, Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that we can attain immortality:
Having crossed over these three attributes arising from the body, the dweller in the body is completely freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow and attains immortality. Chapter 14:20
A fact that is revealed in the Bible as well:
That whatsoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:15
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hearth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. John 6:49-50
Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death.
John 8:51
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. I-Corinthians 15:26
These scriptures have been read over and over again by mankind for thousands of years, yet no one could understand the real sense of the words contained in them. We could never imagine that terms such as "have eternal life" or "never die" or "completely free from sorrow, old age and death" literally mean living forever.
Though all the holy books reveal the path for attaining immortality, the Bhagavad Gita conveys this message in simple words. Besides the knowledge of the Self, the Gita contains the science of Yog which not only brings self-realization to all of us, it can also free us from sorrow, diseases, old age and death and hence make us immortal. Unfortunately, we could not understand this message given in the Gita and thus could not attain freedom from old age and death.
At the very beginning of His teachings to Arjun, Lord Krishna revealed that all bodies are embodied by the all-pervading indestructible, that is, God, which means that all bodies are of God or all beings are God. However, we are deluded by the ego and look at ourselves as ‘I’- a man or a woman, and fail to realise we are God.
Lord Krishna also revealed that all humans are eternal living beings who neither die nor ever cease to exist but keep changing their bodies birth after birth. The cycle of constant death and birth or changing of the bodies can come to an end provided we attain the self-realization that we are God, eternal living beings, not ‘I’ or mortal men and women. In Verse 7:4, Lord Krishna said that the embodied being or God has an eight-fold nature comprising earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and the ego. In Verses 2:62-63, He revealed the cause of death and explained that when we contemplate the object while performing actions, it gives rise to an attachment to the object. From attachment arises desire and from desire arises anger. From anger arises delusion, from delusion comes confusion of memory, from confusion of memory results the loss of intellect and with the loss of intellect we perish.
The being who performs actions without attachment to the objects, called Buddhi Yog (Discipline of Intellect), is freed from desire, anger and delusion. He will not lose his intellect and he will become a sthitpragya or person of steady intellect and a non perishable being. He will not change bodies but dwell in the same body in eternal peace and happiness.
Lord Krishna then imparted the Wisdom of Karma Yog in the Gita. He revealed in Verse 3:27 that actions from our bodies are performed by our nature, not by us:
All actions are performed by the attributes of Nature; he who is deluded by the ego thinks, ‘I am the doer.’ Chapter 3:27
Though all beings are fragments of the same Self or God they are not the doer of actions taking place from their bodies. Their thinking that they perform the actions binds them to the actions and attaches them to the attributes of nature, due to which they take constant births in different bodies. Karma Yog (Discipline of Actions), which frees the being from the bonds of actions and attributes of nature, consists of mentally renouncing the actions or the sense of doership to God by thinking that God/Nature is performing the actions.
This mental renunciation or offering of all action to God is the highest wisdom or science by which we can cross over the attributes of nature, become free from sorrow, old age and death and live forever:
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever charity you do, whatever austerity you observe, O son of Kunti, offer all that to Me. Chapter 9:27
When the seer perceives no doer other than the attributes and knows beyond the attributes, he attains My Bhava. Chapter 14:19
Having crossed over these three attributes arising from the body, the dweller in the body is completely freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow and attains immortality. Chapter 14:20
The Wisdom of renouncing the sense of doer ship and thereby attaining immortality was also given by Jesus Christ in the following words:
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans 8:13
The all-pervading God is a Word or Wisdom of sameness towards all, that all beings are God. Though all beings are fragments of Wisdom or God, they do not have self-realization. They do not know that they are God. Verses 4:38 and 5:6 of the Gita reveal that a person who is established in Yog quickly attains Brahm and finds Wisdom in the Self. It means that a person who is freed from the ego by constantly thinking that nature (not I) is performing the actions, he will attain Wisdom (God) that he and all other beings are same or all are God.
A person does not have to bring any change in his lifestyle and actions to practice Yog. He has to remain engaged in all the usual actions but mentally renounce the actions (sense of doer ship) to God. When beings will perform their actions by Yog and attain Wisdom, the world will enter a new age. In the new age all beings will be free from sorrow, old age and death and will live in complete harmony and oneness, having realized that all are God.
Verses 5:8-9 of the Bhagavad Gita say that he who is united to Wisdom (God) and knows the truth thinks, ‘I do nothing at all’ and in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, walking, speaking, breathing and performing other actions believes that only the senses are moving among the objects. This thinking is the science of Yog, which is the highest wisdom that has come from God. A person who performs his actions by mentally renouncing the actions to God becomes united to God by Yog. A person who attains perfection in Yog will attain the Wisdom or God-like sameness towards all beings. He will then be freed from sorrow, old age and death and attain immortality, as revealed in Verses 14:19- 20
The writer is the author of the book, You Are God – the Bhagavad Gita as never before. For more information, visit www.highestwisdom.com By Shashi Verma
Finality of Death - Is Death the End or the Beginning?
What is the meaning of life? How are we able to life a full, meaningful life with loved ones only to loss them to death? No one alive has the answers, but I do have some insight for the why and how we experience death.Being held after one's birth. Learning our first word and associating familiar faces around us as family. Growing up, falling in love, raising a family of our own and growing old with the one we have deemed to be our true love. These are merely a few of the steps of life that we climb as we embark on our journey into the unknowns called fate and the future.
All of us, young and old, has lost someone or something dear to their heart. Whether it be a parent, a sibling, friend or even a pet, we all have been thrusted into a reality where stability and common familiarities do not exist. We had to learn in a very painful, and undeniably cruel fashion, that life was not permanent. That our loved ones did not come back as Hollywood feverishly led us believe. No, we live in a dark, icy cold world where happiness will be replaced by sadness and our family and friends would one day be no more. This is our reality. This is the finality of death.
Death, another word to some, a new beginning for others, or the aftermath of where we will spend eternity, is the most feared aspect of life. Everyday, we go about our business taking what we hold to be the true form of reality for granted and act as if someday death will not come knocking on our doors. Why? Do we do this out of vain hope that we will be immortal and live forever? Or do we do this knowing the final outcome yet figure that by placing the finality of death in the furthest reaches of our minds, securely tucked away out of our reaches, we will enjoy the fleeting time that life offers us?
To me, as well as it will be for many others, I view death as not final but merely a new beginning from the old. Our true selves that will live after the metamorphis of death, will be our inner thoughts, consciousness, memories, and emotions. I view death much like a dream. You are fully aware of your existence in the dream, yet you are not conscious of any physical aspect to you. Meaning, a body made of corruptible flesh and bone. That consciousness we possess in the dream, will be our consciousness, or our true selves, after we separate from the physical and journey into the afterlife. The memories and love that we have shared, made, and attached ourselves to, will be brought with us.
Now, I know not everyone will agree with me, but I do know that alot of you will feel better reading these words and hearing them spoken outloud. Death is not final. Therefore, there cannot be finality of death. We are who we are and we will remain that way forever.
ChatXPlanet.Com
By Dan Hungerford
All of us, young and old, has lost someone or something dear to their heart. Whether it be a parent, a sibling, friend or even a pet, we all have been thrusted into a reality where stability and common familiarities do not exist. We had to learn in a very painful, and undeniably cruel fashion, that life was not permanent. That our loved ones did not come back as Hollywood feverishly led us believe. No, we live in a dark, icy cold world where happiness will be replaced by sadness and our family and friends would one day be no more. This is our reality. This is the finality of death.
Death, another word to some, a new beginning for others, or the aftermath of where we will spend eternity, is the most feared aspect of life. Everyday, we go about our business taking what we hold to be the true form of reality for granted and act as if someday death will not come knocking on our doors. Why? Do we do this out of vain hope that we will be immortal and live forever? Or do we do this knowing the final outcome yet figure that by placing the finality of death in the furthest reaches of our minds, securely tucked away out of our reaches, we will enjoy the fleeting time that life offers us?
To me, as well as it will be for many others, I view death as not final but merely a new beginning from the old. Our true selves that will live after the metamorphis of death, will be our inner thoughts, consciousness, memories, and emotions. I view death much like a dream. You are fully aware of your existence in the dream, yet you are not conscious of any physical aspect to you. Meaning, a body made of corruptible flesh and bone. That consciousness we possess in the dream, will be our consciousness, or our true selves, after we separate from the physical and journey into the afterlife. The memories and love that we have shared, made, and attached ourselves to, will be brought with us.
Now, I know not everyone will agree with me, but I do know that alot of you will feel better reading these words and hearing them spoken outloud. Death is not final. Therefore, there cannot be finality of death. We are who we are and we will remain that way forever.
ChatXPlanet.Com
By Dan Hungerford
If Life is a Question, Answer is Death.
Our life is made by the death of others.
- Leonardo da Vinci
Birth and death are just doors to enter in and exit from the world. Once we move upward from the point of birth, we get afraid of death. "Men fear death as children fear to go into the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other," says Francis Bacon.
Do you know death?
Either of us can’t say how death is? Even we are unable to experience birth. Your parents might be aware of your birth but can anyone of us describe own birth? None
So for what are we afraid? Sometime we are afraid of our nearest one’s death. Sometime we are afraid for anything worst may happen with our nearest if we die. Sometime we hate death since we have just started to live happy life with our nearest. There are numerous reasons to be afraid of death. But there is only one reason to be happy to die is – Death is an another beginning of life.
Earth doesn’t stop to take round on one person’s death. We are creatures and we ourselves know that every beginning has an end. Tomorrow even earth has an end.
We are in transition…
Just imagine. You are told to live exact 50 years of life. Your status will be your study, marriage, children, and marriages of children. As simple as it is always. You are aware of both edges. Then what does make you happy and sad? What is so troublesome when you reach at final edge? Isaac Asimov said, "Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."
Those who believe in body seem to die. Why do we recall great people? Our aim in life should be to spread love and joy taking over someone’s grief. Love and joy live nearest to god. God doesn’t want anything physical. Nature has made earth beautiful. Human kind is full of emotions. God has given a chance to fill it up. He wants us to spread more love and joy. Once we find real path to walk, we will never afraid of death.
Enjoy life bringing more joy….
"Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, "Did you bring joy?" The second was, "Did you find joy?" --Leo Buscaglia
A man would die, though he was neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over. It is no fewer worthies to observe how little alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men till the last instant. – Bacon.
It is true that all of us episodes will not be the same. Some live for short time and other may live for longer duration. Death is not mystery. Every death is directly related to our physical body. Every death has cause. Our karma & accidents invites our end. Living happiness also include to look after our health. We just can’t avoid accidents to certain extend which we call our bad luck. That’s why it is myth to worry about death. We are abided by some responsibilities to perform. World has so much expectations from every birth. Take a lead to make other lives happy. Once your body gets wear & tear and touches limit, death will take you away from this world.
Everlasting life…
My belief regarding life is – we are born with some tasks to complete. Life is a span to complete all the tasks existing in physical world. Death is way to an everlasting life. Thus we are transferring our soul from one life to another life…something like from physical to spiritual. Soul never dies. We leave body on the same earth on which we were born with.
That is what written in one Hindu prayer.
Om Asatoma Sadgamaya,
Tamasoma Jyoti Gamaya,
Myrityoma Amritam Gamaya.
That means – "My Lord, Lead me from delusion to truth, darkness to light and death to eternal life."
According to Benjamin Franklin " A man is not completely born until he is dead." It is mystery. We yet unclear regarding whether there are any lives after death. If we believe in science, human body is mortal. Growth always ends with decline and thus every beginning has an end.
Final Quote
Socrates said on death " Death is one of two things. Either it is annihilation, or the dead has no consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it is really a change: a migration of the soul from one place to another."
By Jay C
- Leonardo da Vinci
Birth and death are just doors to enter in and exit from the world. Once we move upward from the point of birth, we get afraid of death. "Men fear death as children fear to go into the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other," says Francis Bacon.
Do you know death?
Either of us can’t say how death is? Even we are unable to experience birth. Your parents might be aware of your birth but can anyone of us describe own birth? None
So for what are we afraid? Sometime we are afraid of our nearest one’s death. Sometime we are afraid for anything worst may happen with our nearest if we die. Sometime we hate death since we have just started to live happy life with our nearest. There are numerous reasons to be afraid of death. But there is only one reason to be happy to die is – Death is an another beginning of life.
Earth doesn’t stop to take round on one person’s death. We are creatures and we ourselves know that every beginning has an end. Tomorrow even earth has an end.
We are in transition…
Just imagine. You are told to live exact 50 years of life. Your status will be your study, marriage, children, and marriages of children. As simple as it is always. You are aware of both edges. Then what does make you happy and sad? What is so troublesome when you reach at final edge? Isaac Asimov said, "Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."
Those who believe in body seem to die. Why do we recall great people? Our aim in life should be to spread love and joy taking over someone’s grief. Love and joy live nearest to god. God doesn’t want anything physical. Nature has made earth beautiful. Human kind is full of emotions. God has given a chance to fill it up. He wants us to spread more love and joy. Once we find real path to walk, we will never afraid of death.
Enjoy life bringing more joy….
"Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, "Did you bring joy?" The second was, "Did you find joy?" --Leo Buscaglia
A man would die, though he was neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over. It is no fewer worthies to observe how little alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men till the last instant. – Bacon.
It is true that all of us episodes will not be the same. Some live for short time and other may live for longer duration. Death is not mystery. Every death is directly related to our physical body. Every death has cause. Our karma & accidents invites our end. Living happiness also include to look after our health. We just can’t avoid accidents to certain extend which we call our bad luck. That’s why it is myth to worry about death. We are abided by some responsibilities to perform. World has so much expectations from every birth. Take a lead to make other lives happy. Once your body gets wear & tear and touches limit, death will take you away from this world.
Everlasting life…
My belief regarding life is – we are born with some tasks to complete. Life is a span to complete all the tasks existing in physical world. Death is way to an everlasting life. Thus we are transferring our soul from one life to another life…something like from physical to spiritual. Soul never dies. We leave body on the same earth on which we were born with.
That is what written in one Hindu prayer.
Om Asatoma Sadgamaya,
Tamasoma Jyoti Gamaya,
Myrityoma Amritam Gamaya.
That means – "My Lord, Lead me from delusion to truth, darkness to light and death to eternal life."
According to Benjamin Franklin " A man is not completely born until he is dead." It is mystery. We yet unclear regarding whether there are any lives after death. If we believe in science, human body is mortal. Growth always ends with decline and thus every beginning has an end.
Final Quote
Socrates said on death " Death is one of two things. Either it is annihilation, or the dead has no consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it is really a change: a migration of the soul from one place to another."
By Jay C
Deathly Confrontations
An inevitable truth of life is death. It may be the end of a circle that indicated life. It is the completion of one human rotation for another.
Enlarge ImageMost writers and philosophers consider death to be a fascinating subject, something that deeply requires knowledge. Perhaps because there is so little that has been known about so far. So what is death to you and me.- the end of life, the loss of a dear one, or even the end of an era?
Despite what you may be, a rational human being or an atheist, there is mystery wrapped in each one's mind about death. While you approach in age you'll find this mystery to be even more intriguing, almost as if the culmination of your time on earth. What seems to real today and what seems so real, you, your wife, your child, your property, your work, your ideas, and your ego - everything comes crashing down to an end.
Death in it's varied forms
In many scriptures death is considered the end of a phase in time much like the various ages in life. But what is most fascinating to note is the fact that today you are here, appearing so real. Tomorrow morning, if you are dead, what will happen to you? Where are you? Where did you go? Was your body made for no purpose at all? Many people try to find meaning and purpose in life by living it to the fullest.
This may include your deeds, your life style, your manner of approach to people in general. But this should not deter you from believing that the needs to be temporary and that all of this will end with you passing away from this world. If you've ever analyzed a series of job shifts you might be able to fathom the truth called death in a minuscule way. When you switch jobs, you'll find the greatest stress to be on the guy who hired you, in this case, this may be your manager and your HR manager. But then what happens when you leave. Your respective managers find your replacement.
The point I am driving home is that everything in this world has it's own value. That you chose to have an attachment in the company that you worked was your decision. Once you found a better place you are promptly replaced. The truth that life moves on cannot be perhaps explained in even simpler words. Moral of the story? Work as much as your are allotted (read as much as you are paid for!) diligently, honestly and within that time frame. You are anyways going to be replaced once your time is up. Much life gets wasted in the process, don't you think? You are given certain responsibilities to complete certain tasks in your lifetime. No one questions God why he took you with him. No one knows when he'd say "Times Up!"
The importance of Death
The amount of importance we attach to our bodies is also noteworthy. Most of us prefer to look into the outer appearance. No one manages the insides of the game. No one really makes an effort to understand that the bones and the muscles that help your body to stand on the ground that you do are the last to remain with you. What you really focus on is the skin, the hair, the set of dresses and the matching of these with other outfits. Come to think of it the calcium in the bones, the teeth and the muscles are the last to give away once you die. Hope I am not sounding too depressing! Let's give it another thought.
Ever noticed a tombstone. I know that's a strange one but try looking at it once again! You'll notice that the person who has died and is laid to rest has his or her details mentioned written by her near and dear ones. You'll also notice the dates, born so and so and dead so and so...The point I am trying to drive home is that the little dash, hyphen, call it what you may, is what our life is actually made up of! We live, feel jealous, throw temper tantrums, fall in love, deceive someone, etc., all in glorifying that small hyphen. Worth taking a note of.. I'll say!
Coming back to the question of valuing yourself. You must remember that the body given to you is only a body, so don’t get too attached to it! Once you pass your time, you'll be a part of the same earth as the one whom you despised all your life! In many cultures, the bodies are burnt, well bury or burn, you'll still remain the same element, that of an ash! It's just that amidst burying and burning, the pace at which your body turns into dust is different.
To value yourself, start looking at death. Try and analyze it from backwards. Look down on the count down that has already started and with each passing birthday, you'll be reminded of how much more you can do within this span of time. Value each soul; they all have their own roles to play to manage the ecosystem of life. If you don't like what's happening around you, voice it, but don't expect miracles. Don't believe in miracles; depend on them for guiding you to do the right things in life! After all what remains after you are gone are memories, and if they are pleasant, then it's best if you spend more time in making them that way.
In conclusion
We discussed the topic of death being an interesting topic when we began this discussion. The truth is that like many things kept away from us, death is one of those truths that the Almighty considered necessary to be told but not necessary to be discussed with clues. What we are left with is glimmering rays of hope in the form of the supernatural in our quest to find out about life after death! Finish the unfinished before it’s too late, you might not get another chance!
By Prerna Salla
An inevitable truth of life is death. It may be the end of a circle that indicated life. It is the completion of one human rotation for another.
Enlarge ImageMost writers and philosophers consider death to be a fascinating subject, something that deeply requires knowledge. Perhaps because there is so little that has been known about so far. So what is death to you and me.- the end of life, the loss of a dear one, or even the end of an era?
Despite what you may be, a rational human being or an atheist, there is mystery wrapped in each one's mind about death. While you approach in age you'll find this mystery to be even more intriguing, almost as if the culmination of your time on earth. What seems to real today and what seems so real, you, your wife, your child, your property, your work, your ideas, and your ego - everything comes crashing down to an end.
Death in it's varied forms
In many scriptures death is considered the end of a phase in time much like the various ages in life. But what is most fascinating to note is the fact that today you are here, appearing so real. Tomorrow morning, if you are dead, what will happen to you? Where are you? Where did you go? Was your body made for no purpose at all? Many people try to find meaning and purpose in life by living it to the fullest.
This may include your deeds, your life style, your manner of approach to people in general. But this should not deter you from believing that the needs to be temporary and that all of this will end with you passing away from this world. If you've ever analyzed a series of job shifts you might be able to fathom the truth called death in a minuscule way. When you switch jobs, you'll find the greatest stress to be on the guy who hired you, in this case, this may be your manager and your HR manager. But then what happens when you leave. Your respective managers find your replacement.
The point I am driving home is that everything in this world has it's own value. That you chose to have an attachment in the company that you worked was your decision. Once you found a better place you are promptly replaced. The truth that life moves on cannot be perhaps explained in even simpler words. Moral of the story? Work as much as your are allotted (read as much as you are paid for!) diligently, honestly and within that time frame. You are anyways going to be replaced once your time is up. Much life gets wasted in the process, don't you think? You are given certain responsibilities to complete certain tasks in your lifetime. No one questions God why he took you with him. No one knows when he'd say "Times Up!"
The importance of Death
The amount of importance we attach to our bodies is also noteworthy. Most of us prefer to look into the outer appearance. No one manages the insides of the game. No one really makes an effort to understand that the bones and the muscles that help your body to stand on the ground that you do are the last to remain with you. What you really focus on is the skin, the hair, the set of dresses and the matching of these with other outfits. Come to think of it the calcium in the bones, the teeth and the muscles are the last to give away once you die. Hope I am not sounding too depressing! Let's give it another thought.
Ever noticed a tombstone. I know that's a strange one but try looking at it once again! You'll notice that the person who has died and is laid to rest has his or her details mentioned written by her near and dear ones. You'll also notice the dates, born so and so and dead so and so...The point I am trying to drive home is that the little dash, hyphen, call it what you may, is what our life is actually made up of! We live, feel jealous, throw temper tantrums, fall in love, deceive someone, etc., all in glorifying that small hyphen. Worth taking a note of.. I'll say!
Coming back to the question of valuing yourself. You must remember that the body given to you is only a body, so don’t get too attached to it! Once you pass your time, you'll be a part of the same earth as the one whom you despised all your life! In many cultures, the bodies are burnt, well bury or burn, you'll still remain the same element, that of an ash! It's just that amidst burying and burning, the pace at which your body turns into dust is different.
To value yourself, start looking at death. Try and analyze it from backwards. Look down on the count down that has already started and with each passing birthday, you'll be reminded of how much more you can do within this span of time. Value each soul; they all have their own roles to play to manage the ecosystem of life. If you don't like what's happening around you, voice it, but don't expect miracles. Don't believe in miracles; depend on them for guiding you to do the right things in life! After all what remains after you are gone are memories, and if they are pleasant, then it's best if you spend more time in making them that way.
In conclusion
We discussed the topic of death being an interesting topic when we began this discussion. The truth is that like many things kept away from us, death is one of those truths that the Almighty considered necessary to be told but not necessary to be discussed with clues. What we are left with is glimmering rays of hope in the form of the supernatural in our quest to find out about life after death! Finish the unfinished before it’s too late, you might not get another chance!
By Prerna Salla
Enlarge ImageMost writers and philosophers consider death to be a fascinating subject, something that deeply requires knowledge. Perhaps because there is so little that has been known about so far. So what is death to you and me.- the end of life, the loss of a dear one, or even the end of an era?
Despite what you may be, a rational human being or an atheist, there is mystery wrapped in each one's mind about death. While you approach in age you'll find this mystery to be even more intriguing, almost as if the culmination of your time on earth. What seems to real today and what seems so real, you, your wife, your child, your property, your work, your ideas, and your ego - everything comes crashing down to an end.
Death in it's varied forms
In many scriptures death is considered the end of a phase in time much like the various ages in life. But what is most fascinating to note is the fact that today you are here, appearing so real. Tomorrow morning, if you are dead, what will happen to you? Where are you? Where did you go? Was your body made for no purpose at all? Many people try to find meaning and purpose in life by living it to the fullest.
This may include your deeds, your life style, your manner of approach to people in general. But this should not deter you from believing that the needs to be temporary and that all of this will end with you passing away from this world. If you've ever analyzed a series of job shifts you might be able to fathom the truth called death in a minuscule way. When you switch jobs, you'll find the greatest stress to be on the guy who hired you, in this case, this may be your manager and your HR manager. But then what happens when you leave. Your respective managers find your replacement.
The point I am driving home is that everything in this world has it's own value. That you chose to have an attachment in the company that you worked was your decision. Once you found a better place you are promptly replaced. The truth that life moves on cannot be perhaps explained in even simpler words. Moral of the story? Work as much as your are allotted (read as much as you are paid for!) diligently, honestly and within that time frame. You are anyways going to be replaced once your time is up. Much life gets wasted in the process, don't you think? You are given certain responsibilities to complete certain tasks in your lifetime. No one questions God why he took you with him. No one knows when he'd say "Times Up!"
The importance of Death
The amount of importance we attach to our bodies is also noteworthy. Most of us prefer to look into the outer appearance. No one manages the insides of the game. No one really makes an effort to understand that the bones and the muscles that help your body to stand on the ground that you do are the last to remain with you. What you really focus on is the skin, the hair, the set of dresses and the matching of these with other outfits. Come to think of it the calcium in the bones, the teeth and the muscles are the last to give away once you die. Hope I am not sounding too depressing! Let's give it another thought.
Ever noticed a tombstone. I know that's a strange one but try looking at it once again! You'll notice that the person who has died and is laid to rest has his or her details mentioned written by her near and dear ones. You'll also notice the dates, born so and so and dead so and so...The point I am trying to drive home is that the little dash, hyphen, call it what you may, is what our life is actually made up of! We live, feel jealous, throw temper tantrums, fall in love, deceive someone, etc., all in glorifying that small hyphen. Worth taking a note of.. I'll say!
Coming back to the question of valuing yourself. You must remember that the body given to you is only a body, so don’t get too attached to it! Once you pass your time, you'll be a part of the same earth as the one whom you despised all your life! In many cultures, the bodies are burnt, well bury or burn, you'll still remain the same element, that of an ash! It's just that amidst burying and burning, the pace at which your body turns into dust is different.
To value yourself, start looking at death. Try and analyze it from backwards. Look down on the count down that has already started and with each passing birthday, you'll be reminded of how much more you can do within this span of time. Value each soul; they all have their own roles to play to manage the ecosystem of life. If you don't like what's happening around you, voice it, but don't expect miracles. Don't believe in miracles; depend on them for guiding you to do the right things in life! After all what remains after you are gone are memories, and if they are pleasant, then it's best if you spend more time in making them that way.
In conclusion
We discussed the topic of death being an interesting topic when we began this discussion. The truth is that like many things kept away from us, death is one of those truths that the Almighty considered necessary to be told but not necessary to be discussed with clues. What we are left with is glimmering rays of hope in the form of the supernatural in our quest to find out about life after death! Finish the unfinished before it’s too late, you might not get another chance!
By Prerna Salla
An inevitable truth of life is death. It may be the end of a circle that indicated life. It is the completion of one human rotation for another.
Enlarge ImageMost writers and philosophers consider death to be a fascinating subject, something that deeply requires knowledge. Perhaps because there is so little that has been known about so far. So what is death to you and me.- the end of life, the loss of a dear one, or even the end of an era?
Despite what you may be, a rational human being or an atheist, there is mystery wrapped in each one's mind about death. While you approach in age you'll find this mystery to be even more intriguing, almost as if the culmination of your time on earth. What seems to real today and what seems so real, you, your wife, your child, your property, your work, your ideas, and your ego - everything comes crashing down to an end.
Death in it's varied forms
In many scriptures death is considered the end of a phase in time much like the various ages in life. But what is most fascinating to note is the fact that today you are here, appearing so real. Tomorrow morning, if you are dead, what will happen to you? Where are you? Where did you go? Was your body made for no purpose at all? Many people try to find meaning and purpose in life by living it to the fullest.
This may include your deeds, your life style, your manner of approach to people in general. But this should not deter you from believing that the needs to be temporary and that all of this will end with you passing away from this world. If you've ever analyzed a series of job shifts you might be able to fathom the truth called death in a minuscule way. When you switch jobs, you'll find the greatest stress to be on the guy who hired you, in this case, this may be your manager and your HR manager. But then what happens when you leave. Your respective managers find your replacement.
The point I am driving home is that everything in this world has it's own value. That you chose to have an attachment in the company that you worked was your decision. Once you found a better place you are promptly replaced. The truth that life moves on cannot be perhaps explained in even simpler words. Moral of the story? Work as much as your are allotted (read as much as you are paid for!) diligently, honestly and within that time frame. You are anyways going to be replaced once your time is up. Much life gets wasted in the process, don't you think? You are given certain responsibilities to complete certain tasks in your lifetime. No one questions God why he took you with him. No one knows when he'd say "Times Up!"
The importance of Death
The amount of importance we attach to our bodies is also noteworthy. Most of us prefer to look into the outer appearance. No one manages the insides of the game. No one really makes an effort to understand that the bones and the muscles that help your body to stand on the ground that you do are the last to remain with you. What you really focus on is the skin, the hair, the set of dresses and the matching of these with other outfits. Come to think of it the calcium in the bones, the teeth and the muscles are the last to give away once you die. Hope I am not sounding too depressing! Let's give it another thought.
Ever noticed a tombstone. I know that's a strange one but try looking at it once again! You'll notice that the person who has died and is laid to rest has his or her details mentioned written by her near and dear ones. You'll also notice the dates, born so and so and dead so and so...The point I am trying to drive home is that the little dash, hyphen, call it what you may, is what our life is actually made up of! We live, feel jealous, throw temper tantrums, fall in love, deceive someone, etc., all in glorifying that small hyphen. Worth taking a note of.. I'll say!
Coming back to the question of valuing yourself. You must remember that the body given to you is only a body, so don’t get too attached to it! Once you pass your time, you'll be a part of the same earth as the one whom you despised all your life! In many cultures, the bodies are burnt, well bury or burn, you'll still remain the same element, that of an ash! It's just that amidst burying and burning, the pace at which your body turns into dust is different.
To value yourself, start looking at death. Try and analyze it from backwards. Look down on the count down that has already started and with each passing birthday, you'll be reminded of how much more you can do within this span of time. Value each soul; they all have their own roles to play to manage the ecosystem of life. If you don't like what's happening around you, voice it, but don't expect miracles. Don't believe in miracles; depend on them for guiding you to do the right things in life! After all what remains after you are gone are memories, and if they are pleasant, then it's best if you spend more time in making them that way.
In conclusion
We discussed the topic of death being an interesting topic when we began this discussion. The truth is that like many things kept away from us, death is one of those truths that the Almighty considered necessary to be told but not necessary to be discussed with clues. What we are left with is glimmering rays of hope in the form of the supernatural in our quest to find out about life after death! Finish the unfinished before it’s too late, you might not get another chance!
By Prerna Salla
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