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Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Friday, 18 January 2013
Methodist Primary School Parit Buntar
I was in Parit Buntar from Standard 1 to Standard 3 (1966 to 1968). An old classmate recently posted this picture I had lost a long time ago on Facebook. Thanks Thiam Hin! I would think my teachers would be pushing 70 now...
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Talk Cock Then Cut Cock. What's The Beef?
Chinese Education in Malaysia. How has MCA justified its existence as representative of Chinese community interest in Malaysia?
'Assailant' dares Wee to sacrifice rooster
A senior citizen, who believes he is being accused of having tried to assault Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong, has denied any violent conduct on his part during last Sunday's Chinese education rally.
Lee Siak Taa, 65, today lodged a police report on the matter, to explain that he was merely giving Wee the thumbs-down gesture and did not assault the minister.
The senior citizen is also challenging Wee to take part in a cockerel sacrificing ritual in order to prove that he is not lying.
Contacted today, Dong Zong deputy president Chow Siew Hong said Lee had met his organisation’s officials this morning to explain himself.
(New Straits Times) - Chinese education in Malaysia has not received even the basic treatment guaranteed it under the national education system.
'Assailant' dares Wee to sacrifice rooster
A senior citizen, who believes he is being accused of having tried to assault Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong, has denied any violent conduct on his part during last Sunday's Chinese education rally.
Lee Siak Taa, 65, today lodged a police report on the matter, to explain that he was merely giving Wee the thumbs-down gesture and did not assault the minister.
The senior citizen is also challenging Wee to take part in a cockerel sacrificing ritual in order to prove that he is not lying.
Contacted today, Dong Zong deputy president Chow Siew Hong said Lee had met his organisation’s officials this morning to explain himself.
Dong Zong officials later accompanied Lee to a nearby police station to lodge a report. His statement was later recorded.
Met later, Lee admits to scolding and heckling Wee over his failures and sticking his arm out to give the minister a thumbs-down.
‘Did not raise fist’
However, Lee was adamant that he never raised a clenched fist, as claimed by Wee.
After lodging the police report, Lee challenged Wee to slay a cockerel at the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (near Central Market) together with him for Wee to swear and prove his innocence.
The sacrificing of a white cockerel by two parties in front of the deity’s altar is a tradition used to prove innocence. Devotees believe that harm will befall those who lie during this ritual.
Lee is a retiree who was brought to the rally by a friend, but ended up being photographed within close proximity to Wee when the deputy minister was wading through a hostile crowd.
Wee was photographed touching his left cheek after the close brush with Lee. The minister later claimed he was assaulted by someone who raised a clenched fist.
Despite police claiming that Wee was not assaulted, the deputy minister insists that he did feel a touch and could clearly identify the would-be assailant.
Lee not a party member
However, Wee said he would not lodge a police report because heforgives the attacker and would prefer to let the matter rest.
Lee said that he was very emotional when Wee crossed his path because he was frustrated that the latter kept making “upside down” remarks through the media.
“There are not enough Chinese schools (in the country), and he should go to apply (for more schools). (However) he didn't do so, but just kept talking through the media.
“I became more and more angry after reading this,” he said.
He also clarified that he didn't utter any vulgar remarks against Wee and didn't wear political colours to the rally.
“I do not join any political party and I'm not interested in politics,” he added.
Met later, Lee admits to scolding and heckling Wee over his failures and sticking his arm out to give the minister a thumbs-down.
‘Did not raise fist’
However, Lee was adamant that he never raised a clenched fist, as claimed by Wee.
After lodging the police report, Lee challenged Wee to slay a cockerel at the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (near Central Market) together with him for Wee to swear and prove his innocence.
The sacrificing of a white cockerel by two parties in front of the deity’s altar is a tradition used to prove innocence. Devotees believe that harm will befall those who lie during this ritual.
Lee is a retiree who was brought to the rally by a friend, but ended up being photographed within close proximity to Wee when the deputy minister was wading through a hostile crowd.
Wee was photographed touching his left cheek after the close brush with Lee. The minister later claimed he was assaulted by someone who raised a clenched fist.
Despite police claiming that Wee was not assaulted, the deputy minister insists that he did feel a touch and could clearly identify the would-be assailant.
Lee not a party member
However, Wee said he would not lodge a police report because heforgives the attacker and would prefer to let the matter rest.
Lee said that he was very emotional when Wee crossed his path because he was frustrated that the latter kept making “upside down” remarks through the media.
“There are not enough Chinese schools (in the country), and he should go to apply (for more schools). (However) he didn't do so, but just kept talking through the media.
“I became more and more angry after reading this,” he said.
He also clarified that he didn't utter any vulgar remarks against Wee and didn't wear political colours to the rally.
“I do not join any political party and I'm not interested in politics,” he added.
**********************************************************
The Real Beef
(New Straits Times) - Chinese education in Malaysia has not received even the basic treatment guaranteed it under the national education system.
CHINESE SCHOOLS: The Chinese community is asking for what is due to their schools as set out in the Razak Report in 1956
LAST Sunday, several thousand people converged on New Era College in Kajang for the "325 assembly" organised by Dong Zong and Jiao Zong to protest the shortage of teachers in Chinese schools.
Some quarters have questioned what the Chinese community has to be angry about and why they are "asking for so much" when Chinese education has already been given plenty of leeway in the country.
However, this is a view that fails to understand the historical context of Chinese education in Malaysia -- the Chinese community is not asking for more, but merely what is due to their schools as set out in the Razak Report in 1956.
The Razak Report saw the ultimate objective of educational policy as bringing together all races under a national education system in which the national language is the main medium of instruction, while preserving and sustaining the growth of the language and culture of other communities living in the country.
This was to be achieved through national primary and secondary schools which used Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction, as well as national-type primary schools which could use vernacular languages for teaching but had to teach Bahasa Malaysia as a compulsory subject. All these government schools would use a common syllabus.
As part of the national education system, therefore, the vernacular primary schools were also to receive similar government assistance given to national schools, including funds and land for development, as well as trained teachers.
However, Chinese education in Malaysia has not received even the basic treatment guaranteed it under the national education system.
A description of national-type Chinese primary schools in the 1970s sounds no different from what it is today: "(the schools) were plagued with a number of problems... insufficient funding, insufficient qualified staffing, insufficient places for students, and a high rate of failure among students who had gone on from primary to secondary schooling," Lee Ting Hui wrote in Chinese Schools in Peninsular Malaysia: The Struggle for Survival.
Rural Chinese schools are under-enrolled and lack proper infrastructure, while urban schools are over-crowded and unable to cater for the vast communities in cities and suburbs.
The Chinese community, consisting of parents and local businesses, often have to raise private funds for the development of their children's schools.
Then there is the lack of trained teachers for Chinese schools and the use of temporary teachers to fill the gap (more than 1,000 employed each year).
These problems persist despite the clear policies set out in the Razak Report, because of poor implementation.
Resources have not been properly allocated and teacher training programmes are not planned well to achieve the required numbers.
The government has tried to address Chinese school problems but we have now reached a critical point where stop-gap measures are not effective anymore.
The Education Ministry's eight-point plan shows that the measures to be taken need not be drastic, simply logical.
What is most crucial is that the long-term measures be implemented urgently and sustainably.
I am optimistic that the plan reflects the government's efforts to look at the teacher shortage problem holistically and systematically.
The ministry's special committee is already holding a dialogue with the stakeholders -- this needs to continue, with the educationist groups explaining the real problems on the ground and proposing solutions.
Politics and emotion have to be taken out of this conversation. Providing fair treatment for Chinese schools will not reduce the integrity of the national language or hinder integration among races.
Chinese (and Tamil) schools are simply asking not to be left behind in terms of resource allocation and development under the national education system.
If the government shows sincerity in going forward with the eight-point plan, there could potentially be a 10 per cent swing in Chinese votes back to the Barisan Nasional. Otherwise, we could be looking in the eye of a perfect storm.
LAST Sunday, several thousand people converged on New Era College in Kajang for the "325 assembly" organised by Dong Zong and Jiao Zong to protest the shortage of teachers in Chinese schools.
Some quarters have questioned what the Chinese community has to be angry about and why they are "asking for so much" when Chinese education has already been given plenty of leeway in the country.
However, this is a view that fails to understand the historical context of Chinese education in Malaysia -- the Chinese community is not asking for more, but merely what is due to their schools as set out in the Razak Report in 1956.
The Razak Report saw the ultimate objective of educational policy as bringing together all races under a national education system in which the national language is the main medium of instruction, while preserving and sustaining the growth of the language and culture of other communities living in the country.
This was to be achieved through national primary and secondary schools which used Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction, as well as national-type primary schools which could use vernacular languages for teaching but had to teach Bahasa Malaysia as a compulsory subject. All these government schools would use a common syllabus.
As part of the national education system, therefore, the vernacular primary schools were also to receive similar government assistance given to national schools, including funds and land for development, as well as trained teachers.
However, Chinese education in Malaysia has not received even the basic treatment guaranteed it under the national education system.
A description of national-type Chinese primary schools in the 1970s sounds no different from what it is today: "(the schools) were plagued with a number of problems... insufficient funding, insufficient qualified staffing, insufficient places for students, and a high rate of failure among students who had gone on from primary to secondary schooling," Lee Ting Hui wrote in Chinese Schools in Peninsular Malaysia: The Struggle for Survival.
Rural Chinese schools are under-enrolled and lack proper infrastructure, while urban schools are over-crowded and unable to cater for the vast communities in cities and suburbs.
The Chinese community, consisting of parents and local businesses, often have to raise private funds for the development of their children's schools.
Then there is the lack of trained teachers for Chinese schools and the use of temporary teachers to fill the gap (more than 1,000 employed each year).
These problems persist despite the clear policies set out in the Razak Report, because of poor implementation.
Resources have not been properly allocated and teacher training programmes are not planned well to achieve the required numbers.
The government has tried to address Chinese school problems but we have now reached a critical point where stop-gap measures are not effective anymore.
The Education Ministry's eight-point plan shows that the measures to be taken need not be drastic, simply logical.
What is most crucial is that the long-term measures be implemented urgently and sustainably.
I am optimistic that the plan reflects the government's efforts to look at the teacher shortage problem holistically and systematically.
The ministry's special committee is already holding a dialogue with the stakeholders -- this needs to continue, with the educationist groups explaining the real problems on the ground and proposing solutions.
Politics and emotion have to be taken out of this conversation. Providing fair treatment for Chinese schools will not reduce the integrity of the national language or hinder integration among races.
Chinese (and Tamil) schools are simply asking not to be left behind in terms of resource allocation and development under the national education system.
If the government shows sincerity in going forward with the eight-point plan, there could potentially be a 10 per cent swing in Chinese votes back to the Barisan Nasional. Otherwise, we could be looking in the eye of a perfect storm.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Islamofascism - A New Buzzword? Listen To Tarek Fatah
Tarek Fatah on Islamofascism. Spend 15 minutes please. Then read RPK's latest posting below.
In other words, we have no say in the matter. Allah will decide when the time is right and whether it will happen or not. Allah will decide whether you are born a Muslim or born a kafir (infidel). Allah will decide whether you become a sinful Muslim or a good Muslim. Allah will decide whether the sinful Muslim finally repents and becomes a good Muslim. Without Allah’s will, nothing will happen.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Demos in Selangor and Penang to show support for Jais
(The Star) - Demonstrations were held in Selangor and Penang in support of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) operation during a multiracial dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC).
A group calling itself Gerakan Anti-Murtad (Anti-Apostate Movement) would lodge a police report in every district of Selangor so that investigations could be carried out against the DUMC, said spokesperson Datuk Zulkifli Noordin.
The Kulim Bandar Baru MP said this after Friday prayers at the Sultan Salehuddin Abdul Aziz Shah mosque in Shah Alam yesterday.
Also present were Senator Mohamed Ezam Mohd Noor, PAS members and the movement's supporters.
Ezam said the movement had nothing against non-Muslims, but would wage war against those “who were rude and who tarnished Islam”, including by burning down online news portals.
****************************************
You will notice one thing about the Malays-Muslims. They are very preoccupied with getting non-Muslims to become Muslims. And they are paranoid about Muslims renouncing Islam.
Maybe what happened at the DUMC did happen. Maybe the allegations are true. I was not there but I have been told that the allegations are not entirely false. Nevertheless, I go by what the Malays would normally tell me.
If you ask a ‘sinful’ Malay why he does not stop his gambling and drinking and womanising and go to Mekah to repent and to perform the pilgrimage, he would reply, “Allah belum gerak hati lagi.” This translates to ‘Allah has not moved my heart yet’.
When a non-Muslim becomes a Muslim, the Malays would say, “Allah buka hati dia.” And this means Allah has opened his or her heart (to become a Muslim).
If you ask an ustaz (religious teacher) why Allah made only 20% of the world Muslim while 80% are non-Muslims, and why did Allah not make 100% of the world Muslim, the ustaz would reply, “Only Allah knows.”
In short: this is all Allah’s will and Allah could make you Muslim or He could make you non-Muslim and it is up to Him to open your heart to receive Islam or to repent your ‘evil ways’ and go to Mekah to perform the pilgrimage.
In other words, we have no say in the matter. Allah will decide when the time is right and whether it will happen or not. Allah will decide whether you are born a Muslim or born a kafir (infidel). Allah will decide whether you become a sinful Muslim or a good Muslim. Allah will decide whether the sinful Muslim finally repents and becomes a good Muslim. Without Allah’s will, nothing will happen.
Now, that is a most interesting concept. This means I may be born a Muslim but be born a bad Muslim because Allah has not opened my heart to become a good Muslim. This also means, later on in life, Allah may open my heart and I will see the error of my ways and repent to become a good Muslim.
Then again, Allah may will it that I be born a non-Muslim and, later on in life, convert to Islam when Allah opens my heart to Islam. Or, Allah may never open my heart and I may die a non-Muslim like 80% of the population of the world.
The crux of this whole issue is Allah decides and wills it and what happens (or does not happen) can never happen without the will of Allah. And only when Allah wills it or opens our heart will we see something happen -- and not otherwise and not before that.
Okay, based on this ideology, what about when someone is born a Muslim and later leaves Islam? Could this ever happen if Allah does not will it? Would it not be Allah who opens your heart to make you leave Islam?
Everything that happens is the will of Allah and everything you do is because Allah has moved or opened your heart into doing it. So, when you leave Islam is this not also Allah’s doing?
This is the confusing part about the argument on the will of Allah. You will never be born a Muslim without Allah deciding this will happen. You will never convert to Islam without Allah deciding this will happen. When you decide to leave Islam does Allah not also have a say in the matter? Is this not His will?
As I said, Malays-Muslims are preoccupied with non-Muslims becoming Muslims and paranoid about Muslims leaving Islam. So we now have a Gerakan Anti-Murtad (Anti-Apostate Movement) organising demonstrations in the Pakatan states to protest those leaving Islam.
I am not so concerned about Muslims leaving Islam because if it is true that nothing happens without the will of Allah then no Muslim can ever leave Islam unless Allah wills it. What I am more concerned about is Munafiq(hypocritical) and Fasiq (sinful) Muslims.
Why don’t these people also launch a Gerakan Anti-Munafiq dan Anti-Fasiq (Anti-Hypocrites and Anti-Sinners Movement)? We should perang (declare war) on Muslims who kill, rape, rob, steal, cheat, swindle, abuse their power, lie, and do all sorts of evil things that give Islam a bad name.
We should not worry about the quantity. After all, 80% of the world is non-Muslim anyway. We should worry about the quality. We do not want Muslims who have no scruples, compassion, honesty, ethics, values, etc. We want Muslims who demonstrate the ideals and ethics of Islam. We want Muslims who demonstrate what a good Muslim should be like. We want Muslims who show what a good Muslim is so that we can be proud of Islam.
That should be the perjuangan (struggle) for Muslims.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
The Interlok Issue: Spare 13.5 Minutes To Find Out Why
Many Malaysians (especially Indians) are against this and yet, many more like me were not bothered to know more. But that was until I heard this short interview of Dr Farish Noor on BFM 89.9 yesterday.
So now I too know...and so must you. Please take the time (only 13.50 minutes) to listen and share it with friends.
Monday, 20 September 2010
What Are They Up To?
It was a quiet Sunday today. After sending JJ to Sentral this morning because he was supposed to witness an ad shoot or something, I was home the whole day. By the way, JJ is still out there somewhere but it's OK because he is getting relevant exposure in his chosen line of work.
Sometime in the late afternoon, someone rang the doorbell and looking out the window I saw four young-looking people. At first impression, I thought they were students doing some part-time survey or promo thingy. There was a guy and three girls. They told me they had something to share (regarding Christianity of course) and asked for a few minutes of my time. On closer scrutiny, none of them looked anything above 23 (Krystyn's age) and curiosity got the better of me so I invited them in.
The group said they had just graduated. My initial evaluation after a brief introduction was through visual impression. The guy (from Sarawak) who looked typically nerdy said he graduated overseas (did not say what discipline).
The three girls had distinctly different looks from each other. A prettier one with bright eyes who had graduated from Universiti Malaya in accounting (looked to, and did have a better command of English); a born Christian. Another who looked definitely ordinary had a degree in marketing from UPM or UKM; she looked the type who would feel at home in a Christian fellowship. The third (also from Sarawak) was a graduate in finance and economics I think. She was definitely in need of professional skin care. The second and the third girls appeared more enthusiastic and they revealed later that they were not born into Christian families but had recently converted to the faith.
The guy was the leader and I prompted him to begin his "sharing". They must have been taught by their church elders some form of canned presentation; everytime he mention a seemingly "salient" point the second and third girl would chorus his words in tandem as if cued. Anyway, they were trying to sell me Jesus...
Guy: "Uncle, all you have to do is to embrace the Spirit" (followed by girls' chorus on cue).
Me: "How do I do that?"
Guy: "Just say three simple words" (followed by girls' chorus on cue).
Me: "Wah! So easy wan ah. Say what ah?"
Guy: "The Lord Jesus"
Me: "You sure or not? So simple only ah. Just say the words and I can go to Heaven ah?"
Guy: "No lah, you have to accept Jesus in your mind (he did say "mind") by saying the three words then the Spirit will grow in you and you are on your way".
They were obviously all reasonably intelligent kids but I suppose still very naive and vulnerable to persuasive church elders. I was of course amused by the whole thing but felt I should stop wasting their time because they were certainly wasting mine. Moreover, I was already laughing in my mind because they reminded me of Boney M singing "The Rivers of Babylon":
What concerned me was that these 4 Chinese youth who admitted to not having had any life-shaking upheavals in life yet, are so besotted and obsessed with their religion which they obviously had not sufficiently studied in depth. There they were trying to teach me about my afterlife when they had not really begun to live their own real-life!
I was thinking they should be channeling their energy and devotion towards joining hands with other youths of Malaysia in demanding a better future for themselves in THIS promised land called Malaysia.
The session ended with me advising them to study Christianity in greater width and depth, and more importantly, also study the religions of others. But most important of all; find out in wider perspective what the increasing numbers of "Non-believers" believe. Gain more knowledge before deciding to put on the blinkers!
The guy was of course not very pleased that he was made to look rather unconvincing in front of his "flock". Hope they learnt something.
Hmmm... JJ is still out in KL somewhere. I know he has the same degree of dedication as the 4 youths but his is to learn as much, in the shortest possible time by creating opportunities and at the same time, not wasting opportunities that come his way.
Watch the following video too and see what many other Malaysian youth are doing:
...and this was a prequel:
Sometime in the late afternoon, someone rang the doorbell and looking out the window I saw four young-looking people. At first impression, I thought they were students doing some part-time survey or promo thingy. There was a guy and three girls. They told me they had something to share (regarding Christianity of course) and asked for a few minutes of my time. On closer scrutiny, none of them looked anything above 23 (Krystyn's age) and curiosity got the better of me so I invited them in.
The group said they had just graduated. My initial evaluation after a brief introduction was through visual impression. The guy (from Sarawak) who looked typically nerdy said he graduated overseas (did not say what discipline).
The three girls had distinctly different looks from each other. A prettier one with bright eyes who had graduated from Universiti Malaya in accounting (looked to, and did have a better command of English); a born Christian. Another who looked definitely ordinary had a degree in marketing from UPM or UKM; she looked the type who would feel at home in a Christian fellowship. The third (also from Sarawak) was a graduate in finance and economics I think. She was definitely in need of professional skin care. The second and the third girls appeared more enthusiastic and they revealed later that they were not born into Christian families but had recently converted to the faith.
The guy was the leader and I prompted him to begin his "sharing". They must have been taught by their church elders some form of canned presentation; everytime he mention a seemingly "salient" point the second and third girl would chorus his words in tandem as if cued. Anyway, they were trying to sell me Jesus...
Guy: "Uncle, all you have to do is to embrace the Spirit" (followed by girls' chorus on cue).
Me: "How do I do that?"
Guy: "Just say three simple words" (followed by girls' chorus on cue).
Me: "Wah! So easy wan ah. Say what ah?"
Guy: "The Lord Jesus"
Me: "You sure or not? So simple only ah. Just say the words and I can go to Heaven ah?"
Guy: "No lah, you have to accept Jesus in your mind (he did say "mind") by saying the three words then the Spirit will grow in you and you are on your way".
They were obviously all reasonably intelligent kids but I suppose still very naive and vulnerable to persuasive church elders. I was of course amused by the whole thing but felt I should stop wasting their time because they were certainly wasting mine. Moreover, I was already laughing in my mind because they reminded me of Boney M singing "The Rivers of Babylon":
What concerned me was that these 4 Chinese youth who admitted to not having had any life-shaking upheavals in life yet, are so besotted and obsessed with their religion which they obviously had not sufficiently studied in depth. There they were trying to teach me about my afterlife when they had not really begun to live their own real-life!
I was thinking they should be channeling their energy and devotion towards joining hands with other youths of Malaysia in demanding a better future for themselves in THIS promised land called Malaysia.
The session ended with me advising them to study Christianity in greater width and depth, and more importantly, also study the religions of others. But most important of all; find out in wider perspective what the increasing numbers of "Non-believers" believe. Gain more knowledge before deciding to put on the blinkers!
The guy was of course not very pleased that he was made to look rather unconvincing in front of his "flock". Hope they learnt something.
Hmmm... JJ is still out in KL somewhere. I know he has the same degree of dedication as the 4 youths but his is to learn as much, in the shortest possible time by creating opportunities and at the same time, not wasting opportunities that come his way.
Watch the following video too and see what many other Malaysian youth are doing:
...and this was a prequel:
Monday, 7 June 2010
What Truly Happened With MV Mavi Marmara? Is The Truth With Our Own Witnesses? Is It Out There?
I have seen some horrendous Middle East war footages where civilians are the main victims and do not condone atrocities by both sides. Perhaps the hate is so deep the fine line between right and wrong is forever blurred in the region. There is no longer a who is right and who is wrong. In fact, I am as confused as Anwar and Najib which side of the Israeli/Jew/Zionist line I want to stand with.
With the attack of the Gaza Aid Flotilla, my initial reaction was that whoever the Israeli military hawk who ordered the attack, he should be brought to trial. I thought it was some trigger-happy Israeli commander who caused it but at the back of my mind I knew this was unlikely for the well drilled Israeli armed forces.
Then I read this report in the Malaysian Mirror which quoted a Malaysian witness as saying they had initially captured three Israeli soldiers. Hellloooo...who attacked first ar? Now, somebody better tell the truth before we have to send our "best Oxford brains" to take on Israel and save the world!
My curiosity coupled with some e-mails that began to show up made me do a web search. These are some of the things that are glaring:
This first video tries to show the situation in Gaza. Can someone verify what exactly is going down in Gaza? Are the Palestinians really suffering of hunger, medically, etc., etc?
This next video tries to explain what happened on MV Mavi Marmara that fateful day:
Then there is this little musical clip that is a refreshing new propaganda tool. If only conflicts can be settled not through war but through musicals!
With the attack of the Gaza Aid Flotilla, my initial reaction was that whoever the Israeli military hawk who ordered the attack, he should be brought to trial. I thought it was some trigger-happy Israeli commander who caused it but at the back of my mind I knew this was unlikely for the well drilled Israeli armed forces.
Then I read this report in the Malaysian Mirror which quoted a Malaysian witness as saying they had initially captured three Israeli soldiers. Hellloooo...who attacked first ar? Now, somebody better tell the truth before we have to send our "best Oxford brains" to take on Israel and save the world!
My curiosity coupled with some e-mails that began to show up made me do a web search. These are some of the things that are glaring:
This first video tries to show the situation in Gaza. Can someone verify what exactly is going down in Gaza? Are the Palestinians really suffering of hunger, medically, etc., etc?
This next video tries to explain what happened on MV Mavi Marmara that fateful day:
Then there is this little musical clip that is a refreshing new propaganda tool. If only conflicts can be settled not through war but through musicals!
Monday, 10 May 2010
Dr Michael Newton: Spirit Realm Trailblazer Or Fraud?
People who know me well or who read this blog know I am a great advocate of the work and findings of Dr Michael Newton (MN).
Recently, there have been an increasing number of signs around me that seems to validate what MN postulates in his books yet, the skeptic within compels me to scour the www to seek any articles that refutes MN convincingly.
Well, not only has Google not found any "convincing" counters to MN, I do not remember seeing a single article that refutes him. To me, this is pretty amazing considering the power of Google. I am now more convinced that more people must read his two books, "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls". The books are available free online too but I would suggest getting and keeping personal copies from the bookshop.
The interesting article below is extracted (without permission) from the website of someone named Larry Carter...another skeptic. I found it when Googling for "Michael Newton and fraud". Please read:
The Spirit World
OK, this is something I've never done before. I don't put bumper stickers on my car - I don't even wear t-shirts with messages on them - so this is as close as I've ever come to proselytizing. However, after 50 years of exploring the great and not-so-great religions of the world, I finally found something regarding the afterlife that makes sense to me. (If an afterlife where some souls play harp all day while others are poked by demons with pitchforks sounds to you like a "Saturday Night Live" skit, you know what I mean.) So, I'm taking a chance and sharing what I've learned in hopes that it might be important to someone else as well.
The basics
Michael Newton is a hypnotherapist, meaning his expertise as a therapist is hypnotizing people to help them recall and resolve hidden memories (childhood abuse, for instance) that are resurfacing as adult problems. As he developed a technique for leading people into deeper and deeper trance states, he discovered that with some particularly sensitive people he was able to get beyond their ego bodies and converse with their immortal souls through past life regression. (If you don't think you have an immortal soul that has reincarnated in numerous bodies, you might as well stop reading right now. If, however, you think you do have an immortal soul, why shouldn't it be able to speak for itself when your physical body is placed in a deep enough trance?) As he developed his technique further, instead of focusing on just past lives he began asking them to describe the time between lives - after death but before incarnating in a new body. Through thousands of such sessions over 30 years of work, he pieced together a view of the spirit world that is very specific and revealing.
New Age mumbo-jumbo
I don't generally pay much attention to people who relate near-death or past-life experiences because, frankly, it all sounds like New Age mumbo-jumbo to me. Near-death experiences (lights at the end of tunnels and such) are by definition NEAR death rather than the real thing, so any observations from someone who "came back" might be based on their physical body reacting to trauma. Past-life memories make a certain amount of sense to me since I believe in reincarnation, but they are also susceptible to current-life egos - like all those people who insist they were someone famous like Cleopatra.
This, however, is something different. If Newton is telling the truth, thousands of people from very different spiritual backgrounds - from atheists to religious zealots - all give about the SAME DETAILS under deep hypnosis of what it is like in the spirit world. These details are far, far too specific to be explained as mere ego fantasies or coincidences, and since he claims to ask non-directive open-ended questions during hypnosis, the consistency of what he claims they report is startling. It is the CONSISTENCY OF DETAILS reported by thousands of very different clients that is most persuasive for me.
Fact or fraud?
Since his books include actual transcripts of hypnotherapy sessions where clients are reporting details regarding the spirit world, what it comes down to is that either these transcripts are real or he's just making the whole thing up. If this is all a hoax, it is an extremely elaborate one that he has somehow managed to carry on for decades. His books have sold around half a million copies over the last 13 years, so critics have had plenty of time and reason to expose any fraud. Given the thousands of people he claims to have personally had sessions with since the 1970s, and given that he has trained other hypnotherapists who have used his technique on countless more people, it seems unlikely to me that he would be able to maintain such an elaborate hoax over such a long period of time without someone, somewhere exposing any fraud. Although he certainly has his critics, I haven't been able to find anything that actually debunks his research claims. IF YOU CAN, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Until that point, I'm inclined to put my SKEPTICISM (see below) aside and assume that the session transcripts he includes in his books really happened.
It - like - resonates with me, man!
There is an important qualifier: I suspect the spirit world is actually beyond human comprehension (why should the way it REALLY is be limited to what we can comprehend with human brains?), so I suspect any discussion of life after death relates to what REALLY happens in the same way that a kindergarten class in learning to count relates to advanced algebra. Given this limitation, however, this explanation is the first one I've heard that (as they say in California) resonates with me. Further, it seems quite compatible with what I consider to be the underlying assumptions of all peaceful world religions - being kind to others, practicing forgiveness, living a life of service, accepting consequences for decisions that hurt others, requesting spiritual guidance, believing the soul outlives the body, seeing spirit in all matter, striving toward the One, etc.
Leap of faith
Therefore, I'm willing to take the leap of faith and say that, despite some unanswered questions, this is what I believe. If you are interested in knowing what he has to say, a good place to start might be a 30-minute interview with him that someone posted on YouTube.Com. Click HERE or, if that doesn't work, go to www.YouTube.Com and search for "Michael Newton between lives." If the interview appeals to you, you might want to read one of his books - particularly Journey of Souls or Destiny of Souls. They basically amount to transcripts from his hypno-therapy sessions, plus commentary by him. His third book is an instruction handbook for other hypnotherapists interested in learning his technique. Used copies of his books are readily available from places like www.Amazon.Com for under $10.
And there you have it.
Larry, November 2007
***********************************
Postcript #1: My SKEPTICISM is based on the following:
1) As a PhD, Newton is very familiar with the rigors of academic research, so what's with the total lack of substantiation for his claims? If this isn't a hoax, his findings are monumental and deserve academic validation - independent reviews of session tapes, for example. If he can include transcripts in his books, he should be able to make the original tapes available for peer review. Anecdotal evidence is interesting for the casual reader, but doesn't really validate his claims. On the other hand - perhaps he just isn't interested in convincing skeptical academics.
2) As a playwright myself who has struggled with writing dialogue, his transcripts don't sound very real. Perhaps that's because the subjects are in deep hypnosis, or because at the soul-level we all sound alike, or because he has edited the transcripts to make them more readable without altering the actual content - or perhaps it's because he's making the transcripts up as he goes.
3) Hypnotism is hardly new - some say it has been commonly practiced by Shamans and healers for thousands of years - so why is he the first person to tell us this specific information? Granted, he claims to have developed hypnosis techniques that allow him to go deeper into the trance state than normal, but even this doesn't sound all that unique. Given how exacting his information is, why haven't these very specific details found their way into numerous tribal mythologies? On the other hand, New Age enthusiasts insist that THIS is the most critical time in human history, and that we should expect spiritual messengers to be among us to lead us into the "new age" of our development.
4) Despite the above reservations, the way he describes the spirit world sounds very convincing to me. Ironically, it is SO convincing that it makes me suspicious. If I were to create a hoax regarding the spirit world, his multi-tiered system of non-judgmental educational development is about how I would have designed it myself. In other words, I am suspicious of being seduced by a vision that is so similar to what I would have created if I had been writing fiction. I realize this is a double-bind, but so be it.
***********************************
Postscript #2 - Here are a couple of interesting REVIEWS I found on Amazon.Com from people who claim to have undergone hypnotherapy from either Newton or someone trained by him. Although plenty of reviewers disagreed with him, I didn't find any that disputed the integrity of his claims.
Review #1 - It is the truth and he is legitimate, January 2, 2002
By Reviewer "draiguisge" (Seattle, WA)
I first read Journey of Souls a few years ago, and had the same feeling of resonance that many reviewers did. But I wasn't convinced and still wanted to know more. I wrote to a reviewer on this site who had visited him, and following her suggestion, wrote to Dr. Newton for an appointment. At the time, he had a three-year waiting list, and was seeing about 2-3 clients a week. I saw him just before Destiny of Souls was completed, and while I did not experience my memories with the same clarity the subjects in his book did, I can say with utter certainty that Dr. Newton is not making it up, and is not manipulating his readers.
From my conversations with him, I have found him to be very intelligent, caring, funny, and honest. My experience in hypnosis was a bit unsettling for me, as much as the skeptic in me wanted to dismiss the truths I had learned about myself, I could not attribute my memories to anything that I had seen in his books or elsewhere. Nor did he plant the ideas in my head. He is absolutely the stubborn investigator he describes in his books and challenged the things I said, questioned me during the session, compared to things I had said earlier to make sure I was still saying the same things. Then, at the end of the session told me where I had said something similar to his other clients that had not been in Journey of Souls (but is now in Destiny), such as my detailed explanation of the medallion worn by one of the "Council" members.
In retrospect, I think the most amazing thing about my session was my casual attitude - as I talked about "unbelievable" things like hybrid souls I might as well have been telling him "the sky is blue" with the nonchalant way I felt. In fact, a few times I did get frustrated with his questioning, the same way someone would if challenged with "No, the sky is GREEN". What I was saying felt then, as it does now, to be nothing but pure and simple truth.
For the further skeptical, my small claim to fame is that one of his "One of my clients said.." comments to illustrate a point about soul names was something I told him after my session. So I know that whenever he says a client said something, they did.
________________________________________
Review #2 - My Experience of Life Between Life, May 26, 2007
By Reviewer "miteyoak" (Sacramento, CA)
I read this book almost 10 years ago, and it totally made sense with the way that I had always believed. I signed up to be on the waiting list for a regression, and I received a letter stating there was an 18 month or so waiting list. I only lived about an hour away from Grass Valley. I never heard anything. Then, about 5 years ago, I had a life between life regression from somebody who was trained by Newton. I had always wondered if I would lose my will and hypnosis would make me cluck like a chicken or if they would plant suggestions, but it isn't like that at all. First, they relax you and then they will ask you a question about what you see. I really saw things -- not always as clear as if I was watching TV -- but, I was able to get images and information and feel real feelings -- it was a very real experience. And, there isn't any way that my conscious mind could have fabricated what I saw. The whole process was mind blowing, and yet it eased my mind. I really went before a council of elders, and the some of the issues I had then are still issues in this life. I wouldn't have been able to make the link at the time -- and even during the process. It is only now -- several years later -- that I can see the pattern and see its relevance. It is hard to process everything all at once.
***********************************
Postscript #3 - Having recently read Newton's 3rd book (basically an instruction manual for how experts already trained in hypnosis and therapy can use his technique) I am even more convinced that he is telling the truth as he sees it. After all, if he had made up all of these session dialogues up as a hoax, it seems highly unlikely that he would start a school to train other hypnotherapists on how to use his technique.
________________________________________
Postscript #4 - I find Newton's research to be compatible with the wide variety of spiritual practices I enjoy exploring. Below are links to some of my personal favorites.
Recently, there have been an increasing number of signs around me that seems to validate what MN postulates in his books yet, the skeptic within compels me to scour the www to seek any articles that refutes MN convincingly.
Well, not only has Google not found any "convincing" counters to MN, I do not remember seeing a single article that refutes him. To me, this is pretty amazing considering the power of Google. I am now more convinced that more people must read his two books, "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls". The books are available free online too but I would suggest getting and keeping personal copies from the bookshop.
The interesting article below is extracted (without permission) from the website of someone named Larry Carter...another skeptic. I found it when Googling for "Michael Newton and fraud". Please read:
The Spirit World
OK, this is something I've never done before. I don't put bumper stickers on my car - I don't even wear t-shirts with messages on them - so this is as close as I've ever come to proselytizing. However, after 50 years of exploring the great and not-so-great religions of the world, I finally found something regarding the afterlife that makes sense to me. (If an afterlife where some souls play harp all day while others are poked by demons with pitchforks sounds to you like a "Saturday Night Live" skit, you know what I mean.) So, I'm taking a chance and sharing what I've learned in hopes that it might be important to someone else as well.
The basics
Michael Newton is a hypnotherapist, meaning his expertise as a therapist is hypnotizing people to help them recall and resolve hidden memories (childhood abuse, for instance) that are resurfacing as adult problems. As he developed a technique for leading people into deeper and deeper trance states, he discovered that with some particularly sensitive people he was able to get beyond their ego bodies and converse with their immortal souls through past life regression. (If you don't think you have an immortal soul that has reincarnated in numerous bodies, you might as well stop reading right now. If, however, you think you do have an immortal soul, why shouldn't it be able to speak for itself when your physical body is placed in a deep enough trance?) As he developed his technique further, instead of focusing on just past lives he began asking them to describe the time between lives - after death but before incarnating in a new body. Through thousands of such sessions over 30 years of work, he pieced together a view of the spirit world that is very specific and revealing.
New Age mumbo-jumbo
I don't generally pay much attention to people who relate near-death or past-life experiences because, frankly, it all sounds like New Age mumbo-jumbo to me. Near-death experiences (lights at the end of tunnels and such) are by definition NEAR death rather than the real thing, so any observations from someone who "came back" might be based on their physical body reacting to trauma. Past-life memories make a certain amount of sense to me since I believe in reincarnation, but they are also susceptible to current-life egos - like all those people who insist they were someone famous like Cleopatra.
This, however, is something different. If Newton is telling the truth, thousands of people from very different spiritual backgrounds - from atheists to religious zealots - all give about the SAME DETAILS under deep hypnosis of what it is like in the spirit world. These details are far, far too specific to be explained as mere ego fantasies or coincidences, and since he claims to ask non-directive open-ended questions during hypnosis, the consistency of what he claims they report is startling. It is the CONSISTENCY OF DETAILS reported by thousands of very different clients that is most persuasive for me.
Fact or fraud?
Since his books include actual transcripts of hypnotherapy sessions where clients are reporting details regarding the spirit world, what it comes down to is that either these transcripts are real or he's just making the whole thing up. If this is all a hoax, it is an extremely elaborate one that he has somehow managed to carry on for decades. His books have sold around half a million copies over the last 13 years, so critics have had plenty of time and reason to expose any fraud. Given the thousands of people he claims to have personally had sessions with since the 1970s, and given that he has trained other hypnotherapists who have used his technique on countless more people, it seems unlikely to me that he would be able to maintain such an elaborate hoax over such a long period of time without someone, somewhere exposing any fraud. Although he certainly has his critics, I haven't been able to find anything that actually debunks his research claims. IF YOU CAN, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Until that point, I'm inclined to put my SKEPTICISM (see below) aside and assume that the session transcripts he includes in his books really happened.
It - like - resonates with me, man!
There is an important qualifier: I suspect the spirit world is actually beyond human comprehension (why should the way it REALLY is be limited to what we can comprehend with human brains?), so I suspect any discussion of life after death relates to what REALLY happens in the same way that a kindergarten class in learning to count relates to advanced algebra. Given this limitation, however, this explanation is the first one I've heard that (as they say in California) resonates with me. Further, it seems quite compatible with what I consider to be the underlying assumptions of all peaceful world religions - being kind to others, practicing forgiveness, living a life of service, accepting consequences for decisions that hurt others, requesting spiritual guidance, believing the soul outlives the body, seeing spirit in all matter, striving toward the One, etc.
Leap of faith
Therefore, I'm willing to take the leap of faith and say that, despite some unanswered questions, this is what I believe. If you are interested in knowing what he has to say, a good place to start might be a 30-minute interview with him that someone posted on YouTube.Com. Click HERE or, if that doesn't work, go to www.YouTube.Com and search for "Michael Newton between lives." If the interview appeals to you, you might want to read one of his books - particularly Journey of Souls or Destiny of Souls. They basically amount to transcripts from his hypno-therapy sessions, plus commentary by him. His third book is an instruction handbook for other hypnotherapists interested in learning his technique. Used copies of his books are readily available from places like www.Amazon.Com for under $10.
And there you have it.
Larry, November 2007
***********************************
Postcript #1: My SKEPTICISM is based on the following:
1) As a PhD, Newton is very familiar with the rigors of academic research, so what's with the total lack of substantiation for his claims? If this isn't a hoax, his findings are monumental and deserve academic validation - independent reviews of session tapes, for example. If he can include transcripts in his books, he should be able to make the original tapes available for peer review. Anecdotal evidence is interesting for the casual reader, but doesn't really validate his claims. On the other hand - perhaps he just isn't interested in convincing skeptical academics.
2) As a playwright myself who has struggled with writing dialogue, his transcripts don't sound very real. Perhaps that's because the subjects are in deep hypnosis, or because at the soul-level we all sound alike, or because he has edited the transcripts to make them more readable without altering the actual content - or perhaps it's because he's making the transcripts up as he goes.
3) Hypnotism is hardly new - some say it has been commonly practiced by Shamans and healers for thousands of years - so why is he the first person to tell us this specific information? Granted, he claims to have developed hypnosis techniques that allow him to go deeper into the trance state than normal, but even this doesn't sound all that unique. Given how exacting his information is, why haven't these very specific details found their way into numerous tribal mythologies? On the other hand, New Age enthusiasts insist that THIS is the most critical time in human history, and that we should expect spiritual messengers to be among us to lead us into the "new age" of our development.
4) Despite the above reservations, the way he describes the spirit world sounds very convincing to me. Ironically, it is SO convincing that it makes me suspicious. If I were to create a hoax regarding the spirit world, his multi-tiered system of non-judgmental educational development is about how I would have designed it myself. In other words, I am suspicious of being seduced by a vision that is so similar to what I would have created if I had been writing fiction. I realize this is a double-bind, but so be it.
***********************************
Postscript #2 - Here are a couple of interesting REVIEWS I found on Amazon.Com from people who claim to have undergone hypnotherapy from either Newton or someone trained by him. Although plenty of reviewers disagreed with him, I didn't find any that disputed the integrity of his claims.
Review #1 - It is the truth and he is legitimate, January 2, 2002
By Reviewer "draiguisge" (Seattle, WA)
I first read Journey of Souls a few years ago, and had the same feeling of resonance that many reviewers did. But I wasn't convinced and still wanted to know more. I wrote to a reviewer on this site who had visited him, and following her suggestion, wrote to Dr. Newton for an appointment. At the time, he had a three-year waiting list, and was seeing about 2-3 clients a week. I saw him just before Destiny of Souls was completed, and while I did not experience my memories with the same clarity the subjects in his book did, I can say with utter certainty that Dr. Newton is not making it up, and is not manipulating his readers.
From my conversations with him, I have found him to be very intelligent, caring, funny, and honest. My experience in hypnosis was a bit unsettling for me, as much as the skeptic in me wanted to dismiss the truths I had learned about myself, I could not attribute my memories to anything that I had seen in his books or elsewhere. Nor did he plant the ideas in my head. He is absolutely the stubborn investigator he describes in his books and challenged the things I said, questioned me during the session, compared to things I had said earlier to make sure I was still saying the same things. Then, at the end of the session told me where I had said something similar to his other clients that had not been in Journey of Souls (but is now in Destiny), such as my detailed explanation of the medallion worn by one of the "Council" members.
In retrospect, I think the most amazing thing about my session was my casual attitude - as I talked about "unbelievable" things like hybrid souls I might as well have been telling him "the sky is blue" with the nonchalant way I felt. In fact, a few times I did get frustrated with his questioning, the same way someone would if challenged with "No, the sky is GREEN". What I was saying felt then, as it does now, to be nothing but pure and simple truth.
For the further skeptical, my small claim to fame is that one of his "One of my clients said.." comments to illustrate a point about soul names was something I told him after my session. So I know that whenever he says a client said something, they did.
________________________________________
Review #2 - My Experience of Life Between Life, May 26, 2007
By Reviewer "miteyoak" (Sacramento, CA)
I read this book almost 10 years ago, and it totally made sense with the way that I had always believed. I signed up to be on the waiting list for a regression, and I received a letter stating there was an 18 month or so waiting list. I only lived about an hour away from Grass Valley. I never heard anything. Then, about 5 years ago, I had a life between life regression from somebody who was trained by Newton. I had always wondered if I would lose my will and hypnosis would make me cluck like a chicken or if they would plant suggestions, but it isn't like that at all. First, they relax you and then they will ask you a question about what you see. I really saw things -- not always as clear as if I was watching TV -- but, I was able to get images and information and feel real feelings -- it was a very real experience. And, there isn't any way that my conscious mind could have fabricated what I saw. The whole process was mind blowing, and yet it eased my mind. I really went before a council of elders, and the some of the issues I had then are still issues in this life. I wouldn't have been able to make the link at the time -- and even during the process. It is only now -- several years later -- that I can see the pattern and see its relevance. It is hard to process everything all at once.
***********************************
Postscript #3 - Having recently read Newton's 3rd book (basically an instruction manual for how experts already trained in hypnosis and therapy can use his technique) I am even more convinced that he is telling the truth as he sees it. After all, if he had made up all of these session dialogues up as a hoax, it seems highly unlikely that he would start a school to train other hypnotherapists on how to use his technique.
________________________________________
Postscript #4 - I find Newton's research to be compatible with the wide variety of spiritual practices I enjoy exploring. Below are links to some of my personal favorites.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Why?
Why are we here? Why indeed.
"We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience." Anonymous
Our Spiritual Path
excerpt from "Destiny of Souls" by Dr Michael Newton
The concept of our resurrection into beings who belong in a kingdom of eternity goes far back into human antiquity. From our early origins, we have believed that life and afterlife are sustained by divine intelligence as a single, unified whole. These sentiments come from the memories of many people I have regressed to the Stone Age. For ages since then, we thought of the soul world as another state of consciousness rather than an abstract place. The afterlife was considered to be only an extension of our physical life. I believe the world is returning to those concepts, which were beautifully expressed by Spinoza, who said, "All the cosmos is a single substance of which we are a part. God is not an external manifestation, but everything that is."
I consider such legends as Atlantis and Shangri-La as having their origins in the eternal longing we feel for recapturing a Utopia that once existed but is now lost. In the superconscious mind of every person I have ever placed in deep hypnosis lies the memory of a Utopian home. Originally, the concept of Utopia was intended to illustrate ideas, not a society. My subjects see the spirit world as a community of ideas. In this sense, the afterlife involves self-purification of thought. Beings who are still incarnating are far from perfect, as demonstrated by my cases. Nevertheless, we can justifiably think of our existence in the spirit world as Utopian because there is a universal harmony of spirit. Righteousness, honesty, humor and love are the primary foundations of our life after life.
After reading the information contained in this book, I know it must seem cruel that the Utopia of our dreams does exist within all of us but is blocked from conscious memory by amnesia. When some of these blocks are overcome through hypnosis, meditation, prayer, channeling, yoga, imagination and dreams, or a mental state reached through physical exertion, there is a sense of personal empowerment. Some 2,400 years ago, Plato wrote about reincarnation and said that souls must travel over Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness, whose waters produce a loss of memory from our true nature.
The sacred truths of our etheric history can be recovered today because we are able to circumvent the conscious mind and reach the unconscious, which was not immersed in the River of Forgetfulness. Our higher Self remembers our past triumphs and transgressions in a selective way, whispering to us across time and space. Our personal spirit guides endeavor to give us the best from both worlds, the ethereal and material. Each new baby is given a fresh start with an open future. Our spiritual masters wish to produce karmic opportunity without the constraints of our knowing those pitfalls we experienced in former lives. They become more lenient in a selective way with amnesia as we engage in self-discovery. This is our best route to wisdom.
The question has been fairly asked as to why amnesia blocks about our spiritual life have been loosened to permit research into the spirit world. I think about this issue a great deal because now in the twenty-first century I expect younger hypnotherapists to go far beyond what my generation has been able to accomplish in unlocking the spiritual mind. I feel the reasons for our ability to discover more of the mysteries about life on the other side is a direct outgrowth of living in the twentieth century. The advancement of innovative techniques in hypnosis would have to be listed as a consideration. However, I believe there are more compelling reasons why our amnesia has become less constrictive over the last thirty years. Never before has such a variety of drugs been so pervasive in the human population. These mind-altering chemicals imprison the soul within a body encumbered by a mental fog. The soul's essence is unable to express itself through a chemically addicted mind. I feel the planners on the other side have lost patience with this aspect of human society. There are other reasons as well. As the twentieth century draws to a close we live in a frantic, rage-filled, overpopulated, environmentally degraded world. The mass destruction of our planet in the last hundred years from all sources is unequaled in human experience.
I do not have a dark vision of the future, despite my comments. It may be true that to the people who are living in an era, their time seems more decadent than the last. Yet we have made great advancements culturally, politically and economically in the last hundred years. In many ways the world is a far safer place than it was in 1950. Internationally, nations have more social conscience and commitments to work for peace than ever before in our long history of monarchies and dictatorships, which were still very much in evidence at the start of the twentieth century. What we face in the twenty-first century is the eroding of individualism and human dignity in an overcrowded society dominated by materialism. Globalization, urban sprawl and bigness is a formula for loneliness and disassociation. Many people believe in nothing but survival.
I believe the spiritual door has been opened to our immortality because to deny us this knowledge has proven to be counterproductive. In the spirit world of my experience, if something on Earth isn't working it can be changed. Amnesiac blocks were set in place with human beings to prevent preconditioned responses to certain karmic events. However, the benefits of amnesia may no longer outweigh the drawbacks of lives existing within a vacuum of chemically-induced apathy. There are too many people trying to escape from reality because they do not see their identity as having purpose or meaning. Drugs and alcohol aside, in overcrowded, high-tech societies around the world, people have an emptiness of spirit because they are ruled by their body-ego senses. They have little or no connection to their real Self.
Because each of us is a unique being, different from all others, it is incumbent upon those who desire internal peace to find their own spirituality. When we totally align ourselves to belief systems based upon the experience of other people, I feel we lose something of our individuality in the process. The road to self-discovery and shaping a personal philosophy not designed by the doctrines of organizations takes effort but the rewards are great. There are many routes to this goal which begins by trusting in yourself. Camus tells us, "Both the rational and irrational lead to the same understanding. Truly, the path traveled matters little; the will to arrive is enough."
Visions of the afterlife lie within each of us as a sanctuary while we travel the maze of Earth's pathways. The difficulty in uncovering fragments of our eternal home is due in no small part to life's distractions. It is not a bad thing to accept life as it is, asking no questions and assuming that in the end what is supposed to happen will happen. However, for those with a longing to know more, simple acceptance of life is totally unsatisfying. For some travelers, life's mysteries cry out for attention, if being alive is to have any meaning.
In the search for our own path of spirituality it is wise to ask, "What sort of behavioral code do I believe in?" Some theologians suggest that nonreligious people are attempting to cut loose from moral and ethical responsibility dictated to us in scripture from a higher authority. However, we are not evaluated after death by our religious associations but rather by our conduct and values. In the spirit world I am familiar with, we are measured more by what we do for others rather than ourselves. If traditional religious activity serves your purpose and provides you with spiritual sustenance, you are probably motivated by a belief in scripture and perhaps the desire for comradeship in worship. The same attractions are true with people who join metaphysical groups and derive satisfaction from following the ideas of prescribed spiritual texts with like-minded people. While such practices may be comforting and edifying for your spiritual growth, it must be recognized that these pathways do not suit everyone.
If there is no inner peace, it does not matter what sort of spiritual affiliation you have. Disengagement in life arises when we separate ourselves from our inner power by taking the position that we are all alone, without spiritual guidance, because no one upstairs is listening. I have great respect for people with abiding faith in something since for a large part of my life I had no solid foundation of spirituality, despite my searching. There are atheists and agnostics who take the position that since religious and spiritual knowledge cannot be based upon natural or proven evidence, it is unacceptable. Simply having faith is not truly revealed knowledge to the skeptic. I identify with these people because I was one of them. My faith in the hereafter slowly began as an outgrowth of my participation with subjects in hypnosis. This is a discipline I believed in professionally before my research discoveries. Nevertheless, my own spiritual awareness was also the result of years of personal meditation and introspection about this research.
Spiritual perception must be an individual quest or it has no meaning. We are greatly influenced by our own immediate reality, and we can act on that reality one step at a time without the necessity of seeing too far into the distance. Even steps in the wrong direction give us insight into the many paths designed to teach us. To bring the soul Self into harmony with our physical environment, we are given freedom of choice to exercise free will in the search for the reasons why we are here. On the road of life we must take responsibility for all our decisions without blaming other people for life's setbacks that bring unhappiness.
As I mentioned, to be effective in our mission we are expected to help others on their paths whenever possible. By helping others we help ourselves. Reaching out to others is inhibited when we nurture our own uniqueness to such an extent that we become totally self-absorbed. However, being an absentee landlord in your own house makes you ineffective as a person as well. You were not given your body by a chance of nature. It was selected for you by spiritual advisors and after previewing their offerings of other host bodies, you agreed to accept the body you now have. Thus, you are not a victim of circumstance. You are entrusted with your body to be an active participant in life, not a bystander. We must not lose sight of the idea that we accepted this sacred contract of life and this means the roles we play on Earth are actually greater than ourselves.
Our soul energy was created by a higher authority than we can know in our present state of development. Consequently, we must focus on who we are as a person to find that fragment of divinity within us. The only limitations to personal insight are self-imposed. If the spiritual paths of others have no relevance to you, this does not mean the way designed for your needs is nonexistent. The reason for our being who we are is a major truth in life. Where one person may find an aspect of that truth manifested to them, it will not be in the same place for another.
Essentially, we are alone with our soul, yet people who feel lonely haven't quite found themselves. Self-discovery of the soul has to do with self-possession. The capturing of our individual essence is like falling in love. Something within you lying dormant is awakened at a point in your life by a stimulus. The soul flirts with you at first, tempting you to go further with delights that are only seen from a distance. The initial attraction of self-discovery begins with an almost playful touching of the conscious by the unconscious mind. As the intensity of wanting to fully possess our inner Self grows, we are drawn irresistibly into a more intimate connection. Knowing our soul becomes a marriage of fidelity to one's Self. The fascinating aspect about self-discovery is that when you hear that inner voice you instantly recognize it. Based on my practice, I am convinced that everyone on this planet has a personal spiritual guide. Spirit guides speak to our inner mind if we are receptive. While some guides are more easily reached than others, each of us has the ability to call upon and be heard by these guides.
There are no accidents in life, yet people get confused by what they perceive to be randomness. It is this philosophy that works against thoughts of spiritual order. It becomes an easy next step to feel we have no control in our lives and trying to find ourselves is pointless since nothing we do matters anyway. Believing in the randomness of events negatively influences our reaction to situations and allows us to avoid thinking about explanations for them. Having a fatalistic outlook on life by saying "It's God's will" or even "It's my karma" contributes to inaction and lack of purpose.
That which is meaningful in life comes in small pieces or large chunks all at one time. Self-awareness can take us beyond what we thought was our original destination. Karma is the setting in motion of those conditions on our path that foster learning. The concept of a Source orchestrating all of this need not be pretentious. The spiritual externalist waits for reunification with a Creator after death, while the internalist feels part of a Oneness each day. Spiritual insight comes to us in quiet, introspective, subtle moments which are manifested by the power of a single thought.
Life is a matter of constant change toward fulfillment. Our place in the world today may be different tomorrow. We must learn to adapt to these different perspectives in life because that, too, is part of the plan for our development. In so doing, there is a transcendence of Self from the masking process of a temporary outer shell to that which lies deep within our permanent soul mind. To uplift the human mind from feelings of disenchantment, we must expand our consciousness while forgiving ourselves for mistakes. I believe it is vital to our mental health that we laugh at ourselves and the foolish predicaments we get into along the road. Life is full of conflicts and the struggle, pain and happiness we experience are all reasons for our being here. Each day is a new beginning.
I have a final quote that came from a subject who was preparing for another departure from the spirit world into a new incarnation on Earth. I think his statement offers a fitting conclusion to this book:
Coming to Earth is about traveling away from our home to a foreign land. Some things seem familiar but most are strange until we get used to them, especially conditions which are unforgiving. Our real home is a place of absolute peace, total acceptance and complete love. As souls separated from our home we can no longer assume these beautiful features will be present around us. On Earth we must learn to cope with intolerance, anger and sadness while searching for joy and love. We must not lose our integrity along the way, sacrificing goodness for survival and acquiring attitudes either superior or inferior to those around us. We know that living in an imperfect world will help us to appreciate the true meaning of perfection. We ask for courage and humility before our journey into another life. As we grow in awareness so will the quality of our existence. This is how we are tested. Passing this test is our destiny.
"We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience." Anonymous
Our Spiritual Path
excerpt from "Destiny of Souls" by Dr Michael Newton
The concept of our resurrection into beings who belong in a kingdom of eternity goes far back into human antiquity. From our early origins, we have believed that life and afterlife are sustained by divine intelligence as a single, unified whole. These sentiments come from the memories of many people I have regressed to the Stone Age. For ages since then, we thought of the soul world as another state of consciousness rather than an abstract place. The afterlife was considered to be only an extension of our physical life. I believe the world is returning to those concepts, which were beautifully expressed by Spinoza, who said, "All the cosmos is a single substance of which we are a part. God is not an external manifestation, but everything that is."
I consider such legends as Atlantis and Shangri-La as having their origins in the eternal longing we feel for recapturing a Utopia that once existed but is now lost. In the superconscious mind of every person I have ever placed in deep hypnosis lies the memory of a Utopian home. Originally, the concept of Utopia was intended to illustrate ideas, not a society. My subjects see the spirit world as a community of ideas. In this sense, the afterlife involves self-purification of thought. Beings who are still incarnating are far from perfect, as demonstrated by my cases. Nevertheless, we can justifiably think of our existence in the spirit world as Utopian because there is a universal harmony of spirit. Righteousness, honesty, humor and love are the primary foundations of our life after life.
After reading the information contained in this book, I know it must seem cruel that the Utopia of our dreams does exist within all of us but is blocked from conscious memory by amnesia. When some of these blocks are overcome through hypnosis, meditation, prayer, channeling, yoga, imagination and dreams, or a mental state reached through physical exertion, there is a sense of personal empowerment. Some 2,400 years ago, Plato wrote about reincarnation and said that souls must travel over Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness, whose waters produce a loss of memory from our true nature.
The sacred truths of our etheric history can be recovered today because we are able to circumvent the conscious mind and reach the unconscious, which was not immersed in the River of Forgetfulness. Our higher Self remembers our past triumphs and transgressions in a selective way, whispering to us across time and space. Our personal spirit guides endeavor to give us the best from both worlds, the ethereal and material. Each new baby is given a fresh start with an open future. Our spiritual masters wish to produce karmic opportunity without the constraints of our knowing those pitfalls we experienced in former lives. They become more lenient in a selective way with amnesia as we engage in self-discovery. This is our best route to wisdom.
The question has been fairly asked as to why amnesia blocks about our spiritual life have been loosened to permit research into the spirit world. I think about this issue a great deal because now in the twenty-first century I expect younger hypnotherapists to go far beyond what my generation has been able to accomplish in unlocking the spiritual mind. I feel the reasons for our ability to discover more of the mysteries about life on the other side is a direct outgrowth of living in the twentieth century. The advancement of innovative techniques in hypnosis would have to be listed as a consideration. However, I believe there are more compelling reasons why our amnesia has become less constrictive over the last thirty years. Never before has such a variety of drugs been so pervasive in the human population. These mind-altering chemicals imprison the soul within a body encumbered by a mental fog. The soul's essence is unable to express itself through a chemically addicted mind. I feel the planners on the other side have lost patience with this aspect of human society. There are other reasons as well. As the twentieth century draws to a close we live in a frantic, rage-filled, overpopulated, environmentally degraded world. The mass destruction of our planet in the last hundred years from all sources is unequaled in human experience.
I do not have a dark vision of the future, despite my comments. It may be true that to the people who are living in an era, their time seems more decadent than the last. Yet we have made great advancements culturally, politically and economically in the last hundred years. In many ways the world is a far safer place than it was in 1950. Internationally, nations have more social conscience and commitments to work for peace than ever before in our long history of monarchies and dictatorships, which were still very much in evidence at the start of the twentieth century. What we face in the twenty-first century is the eroding of individualism and human dignity in an overcrowded society dominated by materialism. Globalization, urban sprawl and bigness is a formula for loneliness and disassociation. Many people believe in nothing but survival.
I believe the spiritual door has been opened to our immortality because to deny us this knowledge has proven to be counterproductive. In the spirit world of my experience, if something on Earth isn't working it can be changed. Amnesiac blocks were set in place with human beings to prevent preconditioned responses to certain karmic events. However, the benefits of amnesia may no longer outweigh the drawbacks of lives existing within a vacuum of chemically-induced apathy. There are too many people trying to escape from reality because they do not see their identity as having purpose or meaning. Drugs and alcohol aside, in overcrowded, high-tech societies around the world, people have an emptiness of spirit because they are ruled by their body-ego senses. They have little or no connection to their real Self.
Because each of us is a unique being, different from all others, it is incumbent upon those who desire internal peace to find their own spirituality. When we totally align ourselves to belief systems based upon the experience of other people, I feel we lose something of our individuality in the process. The road to self-discovery and shaping a personal philosophy not designed by the doctrines of organizations takes effort but the rewards are great. There are many routes to this goal which begins by trusting in yourself. Camus tells us, "Both the rational and irrational lead to the same understanding. Truly, the path traveled matters little; the will to arrive is enough."
Visions of the afterlife lie within each of us as a sanctuary while we travel the maze of Earth's pathways. The difficulty in uncovering fragments of our eternal home is due in no small part to life's distractions. It is not a bad thing to accept life as it is, asking no questions and assuming that in the end what is supposed to happen will happen. However, for those with a longing to know more, simple acceptance of life is totally unsatisfying. For some travelers, life's mysteries cry out for attention, if being alive is to have any meaning.
In the search for our own path of spirituality it is wise to ask, "What sort of behavioral code do I believe in?" Some theologians suggest that nonreligious people are attempting to cut loose from moral and ethical responsibility dictated to us in scripture from a higher authority. However, we are not evaluated after death by our religious associations but rather by our conduct and values. In the spirit world I am familiar with, we are measured more by what we do for others rather than ourselves. If traditional religious activity serves your purpose and provides you with spiritual sustenance, you are probably motivated by a belief in scripture and perhaps the desire for comradeship in worship. The same attractions are true with people who join metaphysical groups and derive satisfaction from following the ideas of prescribed spiritual texts with like-minded people. While such practices may be comforting and edifying for your spiritual growth, it must be recognized that these pathways do not suit everyone.
If there is no inner peace, it does not matter what sort of spiritual affiliation you have. Disengagement in life arises when we separate ourselves from our inner power by taking the position that we are all alone, without spiritual guidance, because no one upstairs is listening. I have great respect for people with abiding faith in something since for a large part of my life I had no solid foundation of spirituality, despite my searching. There are atheists and agnostics who take the position that since religious and spiritual knowledge cannot be based upon natural or proven evidence, it is unacceptable. Simply having faith is not truly revealed knowledge to the skeptic. I identify with these people because I was one of them. My faith in the hereafter slowly began as an outgrowth of my participation with subjects in hypnosis. This is a discipline I believed in professionally before my research discoveries. Nevertheless, my own spiritual awareness was also the result of years of personal meditation and introspection about this research.
Spiritual perception must be an individual quest or it has no meaning. We are greatly influenced by our own immediate reality, and we can act on that reality one step at a time without the necessity of seeing too far into the distance. Even steps in the wrong direction give us insight into the many paths designed to teach us. To bring the soul Self into harmony with our physical environment, we are given freedom of choice to exercise free will in the search for the reasons why we are here. On the road of life we must take responsibility for all our decisions without blaming other people for life's setbacks that bring unhappiness.
As I mentioned, to be effective in our mission we are expected to help others on their paths whenever possible. By helping others we help ourselves. Reaching out to others is inhibited when we nurture our own uniqueness to such an extent that we become totally self-absorbed. However, being an absentee landlord in your own house makes you ineffective as a person as well. You were not given your body by a chance of nature. It was selected for you by spiritual advisors and after previewing their offerings of other host bodies, you agreed to accept the body you now have. Thus, you are not a victim of circumstance. You are entrusted with your body to be an active participant in life, not a bystander. We must not lose sight of the idea that we accepted this sacred contract of life and this means the roles we play on Earth are actually greater than ourselves.
Our soul energy was created by a higher authority than we can know in our present state of development. Consequently, we must focus on who we are as a person to find that fragment of divinity within us. The only limitations to personal insight are self-imposed. If the spiritual paths of others have no relevance to you, this does not mean the way designed for your needs is nonexistent. The reason for our being who we are is a major truth in life. Where one person may find an aspect of that truth manifested to them, it will not be in the same place for another.
Essentially, we are alone with our soul, yet people who feel lonely haven't quite found themselves. Self-discovery of the soul has to do with self-possession. The capturing of our individual essence is like falling in love. Something within you lying dormant is awakened at a point in your life by a stimulus. The soul flirts with you at first, tempting you to go further with delights that are only seen from a distance. The initial attraction of self-discovery begins with an almost playful touching of the conscious by the unconscious mind. As the intensity of wanting to fully possess our inner Self grows, we are drawn irresistibly into a more intimate connection. Knowing our soul becomes a marriage of fidelity to one's Self. The fascinating aspect about self-discovery is that when you hear that inner voice you instantly recognize it. Based on my practice, I am convinced that everyone on this planet has a personal spiritual guide. Spirit guides speak to our inner mind if we are receptive. While some guides are more easily reached than others, each of us has the ability to call upon and be heard by these guides.
There are no accidents in life, yet people get confused by what they perceive to be randomness. It is this philosophy that works against thoughts of spiritual order. It becomes an easy next step to feel we have no control in our lives and trying to find ourselves is pointless since nothing we do matters anyway. Believing in the randomness of events negatively influences our reaction to situations and allows us to avoid thinking about explanations for them. Having a fatalistic outlook on life by saying "It's God's will" or even "It's my karma" contributes to inaction and lack of purpose.
That which is meaningful in life comes in small pieces or large chunks all at one time. Self-awareness can take us beyond what we thought was our original destination. Karma is the setting in motion of those conditions on our path that foster learning. The concept of a Source orchestrating all of this need not be pretentious. The spiritual externalist waits for reunification with a Creator after death, while the internalist feels part of a Oneness each day. Spiritual insight comes to us in quiet, introspective, subtle moments which are manifested by the power of a single thought.
Life is a matter of constant change toward fulfillment. Our place in the world today may be different tomorrow. We must learn to adapt to these different perspectives in life because that, too, is part of the plan for our development. In so doing, there is a transcendence of Self from the masking process of a temporary outer shell to that which lies deep within our permanent soul mind. To uplift the human mind from feelings of disenchantment, we must expand our consciousness while forgiving ourselves for mistakes. I believe it is vital to our mental health that we laugh at ourselves and the foolish predicaments we get into along the road. Life is full of conflicts and the struggle, pain and happiness we experience are all reasons for our being here. Each day is a new beginning.
I have a final quote that came from a subject who was preparing for another departure from the spirit world into a new incarnation on Earth. I think his statement offers a fitting conclusion to this book:
Coming to Earth is about traveling away from our home to a foreign land. Some things seem familiar but most are strange until we get used to them, especially conditions which are unforgiving. Our real home is a place of absolute peace, total acceptance and complete love. As souls separated from our home we can no longer assume these beautiful features will be present around us. On Earth we must learn to cope with intolerance, anger and sadness while searching for joy and love. We must not lose our integrity along the way, sacrificing goodness for survival and acquiring attitudes either superior or inferior to those around us. We know that living in an imperfect world will help us to appreciate the true meaning of perfection. We ask for courage and humility before our journey into another life. As we grow in awareness so will the quality of our existence. This is how we are tested. Passing this test is our destiny.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Post Generation Y?
I am watching with interest and amusement how some of our youngsters are trying to cope with the new or social media paradigm.
It is heartening to see most are trying to embrace the empowerment presented by fast improving technology and vast opportunities for social intercourse and networking. By and large, most are content to use these new tools just to fraternize but the more adventurous attempt to "ride the tiger" so to speak and get involved in e-enabled commerce, either as sellers or buyers of services or goods off the Internet.
Faced with the frightening prospect of being unable to keep pace with an expected increasingly competitive environment, many youngsters impatiently plunge into the realm of e-business for fear of being left behind by their peers. As a result many throw themselves into the deep end and try to ride this new wave on a wing and a prayer; most of the time, armed only with the diligence to scour the Net for bargain merchandise for reselling to equally diligent bargain hunters.
Youth-run online business websites and blogs are sprouting up like mushrooms after a storm. The majority are e-trading sites retailing everything from boutique clothes, cosmetics, accessories, etc. to confectionery, appliances, gadgets and what have you.
The great information superhighway was supposed to create the perfect free and open marketplace where laissez-faire is the order of the day. Yet the reality is that we are just not there yet. While information is virtually free-flowing, it forms just one part of the business and transactional cycle. A major component of e-trading is the management of logistics coupled with the "rules of engagement".
Usually, the buyer and seller need to trust each other and this runs counter to basic human nature; the average person is pragmatic in believing the end justifies the means in being perceived as individually successful. This rugged individualism in human attitudes runs counter to universalism and resolution between the two is made all the more difficult because the need for personal status and upmanship is equated with happiness!
However, the rulebook on engagement is a work-in-progress awaiting further development in both enabling technology as well as more effective legislation. Alas, the learning is steep on a curve that is itself only now being defined.
Therefore, things are still very much grey in the world of e-trading and this is reflected in the acceptance that there is an inherent level of risk when one chooses to trade or purchase online. Without the wisdom of experience and knowledge, most immature minds cannot cope with the demands for real business responsibilities and ethical behaviour whether they be the seller or the buyer. Conflict occurs when minds do not meet and anarchy erupts.
To compound matters, aggression and avoidance behavior has been a means of survival for humans since the Stone Age and in our evolutionary process, we have a brain which does not as yet have complete control over our physiological responses. Under high emotional stress, we tend to lose rationality. As Carl Gustav Jung aptly puts it; "The rational and irrational exist side by side and healthy people recognize the workings of both forces within themselves. We should look to our mental neuroses and physical ailments as unconscious value patterns".
I am bemused while witnessing a classic dispute happening to JJ relating to an online transaction gone awry and obviously blown out of proportion by over-reaction. Self-explanatory exchanges can be found here and here. For JJ it is a learning curve.
While fault is debatable and hardly a case for the Police Commercial Crime Division, some rudeness and hassle have spilled over to my blog. Invasion of privacy aside, harassment and intimidation are definitely criminal and I will decide soon whether to press charges.
Obviously, the phone number and exact address of the perpetrator and screenshots are with me.
It is heartening to see most are trying to embrace the empowerment presented by fast improving technology and vast opportunities for social intercourse and networking. By and large, most are content to use these new tools just to fraternize but the more adventurous attempt to "ride the tiger" so to speak and get involved in e-enabled commerce, either as sellers or buyers of services or goods off the Internet.
Faced with the frightening prospect of being unable to keep pace with an expected increasingly competitive environment, many youngsters impatiently plunge into the realm of e-business for fear of being left behind by their peers. As a result many throw themselves into the deep end and try to ride this new wave on a wing and a prayer; most of the time, armed only with the diligence to scour the Net for bargain merchandise for reselling to equally diligent bargain hunters.
Youth-run online business websites and blogs are sprouting up like mushrooms after a storm. The majority are e-trading sites retailing everything from boutique clothes, cosmetics, accessories, etc. to confectionery, appliances, gadgets and what have you.
The great information superhighway was supposed to create the perfect free and open marketplace where laissez-faire is the order of the day. Yet the reality is that we are just not there yet. While information is virtually free-flowing, it forms just one part of the business and transactional cycle. A major component of e-trading is the management of logistics coupled with the "rules of engagement".
Usually, the buyer and seller need to trust each other and this runs counter to basic human nature; the average person is pragmatic in believing the end justifies the means in being perceived as individually successful. This rugged individualism in human attitudes runs counter to universalism and resolution between the two is made all the more difficult because the need for personal status and upmanship is equated with happiness!
However, the rulebook on engagement is a work-in-progress awaiting further development in both enabling technology as well as more effective legislation. Alas, the learning is steep on a curve that is itself only now being defined.
Therefore, things are still very much grey in the world of e-trading and this is reflected in the acceptance that there is an inherent level of risk when one chooses to trade or purchase online. Without the wisdom of experience and knowledge, most immature minds cannot cope with the demands for real business responsibilities and ethical behaviour whether they be the seller or the buyer. Conflict occurs when minds do not meet and anarchy erupts.
To compound matters, aggression and avoidance behavior has been a means of survival for humans since the Stone Age and in our evolutionary process, we have a brain which does not as yet have complete control over our physiological responses. Under high emotional stress, we tend to lose rationality. As Carl Gustav Jung aptly puts it; "The rational and irrational exist side by side and healthy people recognize the workings of both forces within themselves. We should look to our mental neuroses and physical ailments as unconscious value patterns".
I am bemused while witnessing a classic dispute happening to JJ relating to an online transaction gone awry and obviously blown out of proportion by over-reaction. Self-explanatory exchanges can be found here and here. For JJ it is a learning curve.
While fault is debatable and hardly a case for the Police Commercial Crime Division, some rudeness and hassle have spilled over to my blog. Invasion of privacy aside, harassment and intimidation are definitely criminal and I will decide soon whether to press charges.
Obviously, the phone number and exact address of the perpetrator and screenshots are with me.
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