Monday, February 28

The Romantics Of Revolution And Freedom

Romanticism and the Romantics
We appear to be witnessing a revolution in Egypt and much of the Arab world. For some reason this got me thinking about the Romantics as it was these who fuelled the likes of the French Revolution.

In the 1700s the Church and Royalty dominated life with opulence and privilege for some but poverty and repression for the larger part of the population. This has echoes of many countries even today, and is the cause of so much unrest.

In the 18th century the French philosopher Denis Diderot suggested that men must reason for themselves and Jean-Jacques Rousseau stated that civilisation had corrupted mankind and that the population should listen to their emotions to free themselves. His writings led to the hope for a world of liberty, equality and fraternity.

In Britain we tend to associate the Romantics with poetry.

William Blake's poetry was based on revolutionary anger. His life's work was on the theme of liberation of the human spirit.

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote poetry in abundance, so much so that they were both followed by government spies. They unsettled the establishment.

The poets fought back against science and industry and suggested that intuition was a better guide for mankind. They taught new ways of thinking and acting. Lord Byron lived by his own set of rules. Shelley believed in free love and was consumed by the search for experience and understanding.

William Blake and Samuel Taylor Coleridge tried to fathom out man's real relationship with nature and told of the innocence of children. Blake wrote in Infant Joy:

'I have no name:
I am but two days old.'
What shall I call thee?
'I happy am,
Joy is my name.'
Sweet joy befall thee!

Stephanie Forward of the University of Warwick wrote this about the Romantic poets:

"Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats and Shelley were pre-eminent among the Romantic poets. Regarding themselves as intuitive prophets, they rejected the pure rationalism and order of the Enlightenment, maintaining that nature and the healing power of the imagination could enable people to transcend their everyday circumstances. Creative powers could be used to illuminate and transform the world into a coherent vision, to regenerate mankind spiritually."

The Romantics tried to teach us about freedom and gave us a message of hope and how, with free thinking and attitude, we can make the world a better place. We slipped back into our old ways but perhaps now is a time to waken to new possibilities.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.


From 'A Thing Of Beauty' by John Keats

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Sunday, February 27

The Hidden Alien World Of The Demodex Folliculorum

=Demodex folliculorum - eyelash mite
eyelash miteWe search the universe for mystery and mysterious alien life and yet some are with most of us always. One example is the demodex folliculorum.

In the small picture the tails of these alien like creatures can be seen in a green colour protruding from the red stems. They can also be seen in the larger photo above.

Every one in three of us are playing host to these demodex folliculorum - in our eyelashes. These mites (photo below) don't mean us any harm and help to keep our lashes clean.

eye lash mite Demodex Folliculorum
Further Reading:
Beware: The Aliens Have Arrived
A Universe Full Of Strange Looking Aliens
Ezekiel: The Alien Abduction Of The Bible

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Saturday, February 26

Mystery Of The Cannibals Of Cheddar Caves

Bowl made from a human skull - Cheddar Caves
Human skull bowl Cheddar Caves
Gosh it was cold 24,000 years ago, so cold that any remaining residents of Britain headed south for warmer climes. They probably made their way to northern Spain or France - at the time Britain wasn't an island so the journey could be made on foot.

Though we don't know why, about 14,700 years ago earth started getting warmer, and quite quickly. In three years it is believed that temperatures soared by 6-7 degrees Celsius (about 42.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Ice Age was over and Homo Sapiens headed back to England, and in particular to the Cheddar Gorge area in Somerset, England. They made their home in the caves bringing with them their rituals and religious beliefs.

Yes, there was a form of religion back then and this seems to be inbuilt within us humans. These early British settlers were hunters and farmers but their beliefs were different to religion nowadays.

Human sacrifices were made to win the favour of the gods and to ensure a period of abundance for the remaining people. It is believed that the victim of the sacrifice, often a young woman, would be first drugged with a blend of hemlock and and hallucinatory herbs.

The killing would still have been unpleasant, to say the least, probably with the use of a stone dagger being plunged into her chest. But this wasn't the end of the ritual.

The victim's body would then have been butchered. Every part was put to use and most of the flesh was eaten. It appears that our ancestors were cannibals and this gene could well remain with us today.

Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum said, "These people were processing the flesh of humans with exactly the same expertise that they used to process the flesh of animals. They stripped every bit of food they could get from those bones."

The skull was particularly prized and after being boiled for food was then made into a crude bowl.

The bowl would have been added to the store of ritual equipment, perhaps for drinking blood at particular ceremonies. Three such skulls have been found in Cheddar caves.

Sites of antiquity in Germany and France also have evidence of human bones being butchered.

As to whether cannibalism was carried out for ritual purposes is in debate. Dr Silvia Bello, again of the Natural History Museum, said, "These were very difficult times and it is still quite possible people ate each other because there simply wasn't anything else to eat."

It's interesting that there was another big freeze two thousand years after the Cheddar man lived in the Cheddar caves. These tribes would have had to have retreated once more to France and Spain. Or maybe they simply died of the severe cold that came upon earth very quickly. Britain was inhospitable to life for a further thousand years.

Does any of this have any significance today? Perhaps in a few ways:

NoteMan has an instinct to worship gods and perform rituals, going back many thousands of years. Our natural state therefore could be considered spiritual, we 'know' there is something more to life.

NoteCannibalism and eating human flesh could well be within us. Think, for example, of the Andes air crash in 1972 when survivors ate the flesh of those who had been killed in the accident. Or was this just a survival instinct?

NoteThroughout history there have been dramatic changes in climate, often happening within a short time frame.

Further Reading:
The Rites Of Dionysus The God Of Wine
The Journey Of Immortality
The World's Oldest Working Clock

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Friday, February 25

The Fatal Car Crash Coincidence Predicted In Advance

Animal MagicThe British author Andrew Barrow has recently had a new book published called Animal Magic: A Brother's Story. As the title suggests it is a memoir of his brother: Jonathan.

This story of Jonathan has a strange side to it, a coincidence if you like.

He was 18 months younger than Andrew when he died in a car crash, this was some 40 years ago, and he was then only 22 years age. Alongside Jonathan his fiancee, Anita Fielding, was also killed. This all happened just a short time before they were due to be married at the Brompton Oratory in London. All of the embossed copperplate invitations had been sent out.

Sadly the guests had to attend a double requiem on what would have been Jonathan and Anita's wedding day.

This in itself is pretty weird, but there is a further bizarre twist to the story.

At the time of the fatal car crash Jonathan had been writing a novel called The Queue. One of the scenes tells of wedding guests arriving at a London church only to find two coffins where the bride and groom should be. In The Queue the dead man had left behind a surreal novel, which goes on to be published to universal praise.

Following Jonathan's death the question was raised as to whether he had crashed his car deliberately to fulfil his own fictional prophecy. This is not, however, thought to be true. It was all a sad coincidence.

Thursday, February 24

Magical Cure For Madness At The Cornish Holy Well Of St Cleer

St Cleer Holy Well, Cornwall, England
St Cleer Holy Well Cornwall
When I made a visit to the Trevethy Quoit in Cornwall, near to where I live, I also went on to the village of St.Cleer and it's Holy Well, as per the photos. Though not as impressive, or as ancient as the Quoit, it still goes back to the 15th century when it was used as a magical 'bowsening' pool. So called mad people would be dunked into the waters to cure their insanity.

St Cleer Holy WellWell I say the 15th century but it was knocked down during the English Civil War, 1642–1651. This was at the time of Prince Charles I losing his head - by way of execution that is. The Cornish granite stones remained in place and it was said that if any of them were ever removed or stolen they would find their own way back at night - creepy! In the mid 1800s the jigsaw that was the Holy Well was put together again, as it remains today.


Cornish Holy Well Cornwall
Next to the well is an ancient 7 foot cross. There are variations as to whom the St Cleer Holy Well is dedicated. One version is that it is to St Clare, a 12th century disciple of St. Francis. Others argue that it is to St Clarus, a 9th century Benedictine monk. He landed himself in a bit of bother when a noblewoman made romantic advances to him, which he turned down - so he ended up being beheaded.

It's not known who the monk like figure is in the niche at the front of the well house, as photo below.

The Monk statue at St Cleer Holy Well
Further Reading:
The Cornish Mystery Of Trevethy Quoit
The Cornish Mystery Of The Men-an-Tol Stones
In Search Of The Birth Of Spirits At Eden

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Wednesday, February 23

The Monster Of The Lake Surfaces

Winnie the Bowness Monster, Lake Windermere
Look out Loch Ness and other such monsters there's a new boy in town. This one is called the Bowness Monster, or those a little more familiar call him - or perhaps her - Winnie.

The Bowness Monster - yes, that's Winnie in the photo above - was recently spotted in Lake Windermere in England's Lake District by Tom Pickles and his companion Sarah Harrington. They were kayaking on the lake and up popped the monster. Luckily they had their trusty camera phone to secure the occasion for the world.

Tom said, "I thought it was a dog. Then I realised it was much bigger and moving really quickly. Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and was swimming fast. I could tell it was bigger underneath from the huge shadow around it.

It's skin was like a seal's but it's shape was abnormal - it's not like any animal I've ever seen before, We saw it for about 20 seconds. It was petrifying."

But this isn't the first time the monster has been spotted, there he is again back in 2007 in the picture below.

Bowness Monster of Lake Windermere
Linden Adams said, "It just came out of the blue, The water was incredibly peaceful and then this huge thing appeared, diving and thrashing around. It appeared to be 50ft long. I snatched the binoculars from my wife and gasped when I got a better look. I could see this huge dark thing moving in the water. It had a head like a labrador, only much, much bigger."

But then I came across another sighting of the Lake Windermere monster from the 18th of September 2006 as per the YouTube video below. This time it was spotted by a University Professor.


I like to think that there are monsters in the depths of lakes hidden away for thousand of years. I just wish we could get a good clear photo. Of course, as I have written before, there is a monster near where I live in Cornwall - see The Cornish Mystery Of Morgawr Monster Of The Sea. Ours is a bit special though, as he roams the seas off the coast. Not for him the confines of a lake.

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Tuesday, February 22

The Peanut Allergy Psychic Prediction

PeanutsA reader's experience today via email from Jean - thanks!

If you have a coincidence, or similar story, you would like published on 67 Not Out please use the contact button at the top of the page - thanks, Mike.

"Lately I have been meditating a lot according to private religious practices. On the days of particular concentration and piety I find I have strange psychic/clairvoyant experiences.

One day on an airplane, while flying home over the holidays, I reflected on the fact that all flights served peanuts, and came to wonder about people with severe allergies to the nuts and what they did when they traveled. Did they call in advance? Is there a peanut-free zone created? Are the airlines annoyed or happy to oblige? On I daydreamed about what I would do if I had a peanut allergy and was flying.

There was a small layover. Then, on my connecting flight, the first thing the flight attendant said was, "Please note that we have someone with a severe peanut allergy on board and this will be a peanut free flight. Please refrain from opening any food products with peanuts."

This was absolutely wild, in a lifetime of flying (I am 28) I have never heard anything like that, nor ever wondered about it.

Love your blog, thought I'd share."
- Jean


More Readers Coincidence Stories
67 Not Out Readers Coincidence Stories - 9
The Football Journey Coincidence
67 Not Out Readers Coincidence Stories - 13

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Monday, February 21

How To Recognise A Cosmic Master And His Message

Cosmic baby
There is often talk of Cosmic Masters who are on earth to help us along our journey through life. But who or what are these entities?

The Cosmic Masters are simply men and women like us but with one difference: they attained the mastery of life while on earth. I have an old clipping from a Rosicrucian document that goes into slightly more detail:

"The Cosmic Masters were mortals who rose above the temptations susceptible to degrading and enslaving them to the weaknesses and vices of mankind.

They reached mastery by learning to awaken the powers of self and to use these powers to guide their life according to the cosmic plan. Thus they slowly developed their soul personality until it no longer became necessary for them to reincarnate in a physical body, having learned all of the cosmic lessons. Therefore, their inner consciousness, clothed in great wisdom lingers in the Cosmic as the perfume of wild flowers lingers behind after they have been removed."


It's sometimes written that these Cosmic Masters will assist us and help us on our journey through this life. As I see it this is no doubt true, but only if we are prepared to help ourselves. It's no short cut to wisdom or answers.

We all have to stand on our own two feet - to use an old cliche - and overcome what life throws at us. We are, after all, here to learn. If the teacher always gives a child the answer he or she won't learn the method. Just as we cannot and/or should not lean on a government we have to accept our personal responsibilities.

The Cosmic Masters will surely only help us as individuals when we are fully prepared and worthy of their assistance.

As I understand it the Cosmic Masters talk to us by a form of intuitive inspiration after we have tried our utmost to solve the matter ourselves.

This Cosmic Masters intuition is preceded by a sign, which becomes personal to each of us, and distinguishes it from our own intuition. Again I'll quote from my Rosicrucian clipping:

"Sometimes, during such contacts, there is a visual psychic impression of a colour upon the inner consciousness, which will manifest as a luminous band of purple, violet, or any other colour having a mystical significance.

Such contacts may also be accompanied by a combination of notes of a particular musical tune by which the Master will signify his presence.

Sometimes a sentence of two or three words will sign the message. These words may be alien or intelligible, but they will always remain the same. During the contact certain persons will smell a particular odour or perfume - as of a rose or of incense, for instance. In any case, this sign or symbol will be personal to each."


My conclusion: We can obtain assistance from the Cosmic Masters providing we deserve help - and when it arrives the signs will be there to show that it is genuine.

Further Reading:
Knowledge Learned From Fish Like Aliens
Exclusive Photos Of The Stonehenge Mystery
The Journey Of Immortality

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Sunday, February 20

11:11 And 111 The Numbers Of The Age

11 11Much has been written about 11:11 and all sorts of combination of numbers with 1s, 11s and 111s. Often these are associated with various possible meanings. My blogging friends Trish and Rob have published posts on the subject and Uri Geller has written at length about 11:11.

This year, for example, we will have some unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11 and 11/11/11. But here's something a bit different:

Take the last two digits of the year of your birth and add this to the age you will be this year and the answer will be 111.

Examples:

Born 1976 and will be 35 this year. 76+35=111
Born 1999 and will be 12 this year. 99+12=111
Born 1914 and will be 97 this year. 14+97=111


The only difference is if you were born 2000 or later. If so the answer will then be 11. (But there's a good chance you won't actually be reading this blog!)

Examples:

Born 2001 and will be 10 this year. 01+10=11
Born 2010 and will be 01 this year. 10+01=11
Born 2007 and will be 04 this year. 07+04=11


1111 pyramidDo all of these 1s, 11s and 111s have any significance? People the world over are reporting how the numbers are appearing in their lives. They look at a clock and it's 11:11, something happens on the 11th and so on. We are in mysterious times so everything could be relevant.

P.S. Multiply 1111 by 1111 and you get 1234321, which is a pyramid - as per the diagram

Other Number Posts
The Mystery And Enigma Of The Number 23
Special And Magical Numbers
The Coincidence If The Numbers Of Life

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Saturday, February 19

Finding Money And Coins Coincidence

A few of the coins my wife has found
coins and finding coins

As I have written before my wife is always finding coins.

On our recent visit to west London she found a coin, next to our car when we parked at the motorway services. We had stopped for coffee and a cake. "I'm bound to find three while we are away," she commented.

We reached our hotel and, after dumping our stuff in our room, went for a walk. We crossed the road by some traffic lights and on the barrier was another coin, her second. "One more to go," she said.

The next day we were walking through woods at Ruislip Lido and she spotted a one pound coin on the path ahead. A small girl walking with her parents in the opposite direction also spotted the coin and raced ahead to pick it up. My wife laughed that the girl had picked up 'her' coin. She didn't mind, of course, as it was a delight to see the small girl's expression when she claimed her 'gold' coin.

That night we went for yet another walk and, sure enough, on the pavement was my wife's third coin - with no little girl in sight!

When we got back to the hotel I looked at the dates of the coins to see if there was any significance: 1988, 1999 and 2010. I didn't notice it straight away, but there is a difference of eleven years between each coin, in other words 11:11. And, by coincidence, I have already scheduled a post about 11:11 for tomorrow, which was written prior to us going away.

My wife finds coins because she expects to do so. In this example, when she believed she would find three that's what happened. I must try to get her thinking about bigger things! Okay, joking aside, what this does illustrate is our potential to create. If we can conjure up three coins then why not a new car, happiness, better circumstances, love, knowledge - well, anything at all. All that holds us back is our belief, and that's often the difficult bit to overcome.

Further Reading:
The Art Of Finding Coins Or Anything Else
Visualisation Of The Mystic Masters
The Magic Of Our Ancestors Can Bring Us Success

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Friday, February 18

Ruislip Lido Memories And The Voices Of The Night

Ruislip Lido
Ruislip Lido
I have been away on a trip down Memory Lane in west London where I was born and spent my early years. I felt I had to go back and recapture something of those early days.

While there we were invited out to lunch and I must admit I had no idea where we were at the end of a car ride. It looked interesting as the family restaurant we stopped at was overlooking a lake. My photo above is just along from the restaurant.

We were chatting away and after ordering our meal I thought I'd better ask where we actually were. "Ruislip Lido," was the answer.

Ruislip Lido beachI was quite knocked out by this as when I was five, six and seven years old my parents used to take me to Ruislip Lido on the bus.

I explained to the others that I used to swim in the lake, sit on a sandy beach and go for a ride on a small train. They all looked at me at a bit blank, especially as I said I also remembered that we had to pay for entry back then.

Obviously my childhood memories must have been wrong and we moved on to another subject.

About ten minutes later a senior couple, on the table next to hours, got up to leave as they had finished their meal. The man tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You were right about the Lido."

He had overheard my conversation and went on to tell me that 'the beach' was on the other side of the lake (see small photo) where there was also a train station - though the train wasn't running at the moment as it is now winter. It used to be possible to swim in the lake but now it wasn't allowed because of the dreaded Health & Safety rules and regulations. He also confirmed that there used to be an entrance fee.

On the spot where we were sitting in the restaurant he described an imposing 1930s style building, which he was sure I would have remembered - and I did. It got knocked down a few years back and was replaced by the modern style eating house. He went on to explain how the lake was created in 1811 as a feeder for the Grand Junction canal and was full of all sorts of other interesting information.

Strangely he was only passing through the area as he had moved away to Oxford many years ago. He said he felt compelled to make a visit to Ruislip Lido. If he hadn't have been on the next table to ours I wouldn't have been able to re-kindle so many childhood memories.

My wife and I enjoyed our stay in west London and I visited the two homes where I lived until I was twenty-two. We even had a coffee in the pub where my dad would have his Sunday pint of beer. And then on to St. Mary's Church where my parents were married and I was Christened.

A bizarre thing happened on the last night in our hotel. I awoke during the night to a shrill noise, almost like a siren. It seemed to say over and over, "We're here ... we're here ... we're here ..." I sat up in bed and the noise stopped but as soon as my ear hit the pillow to try and sleep again the same 'noise' started up once more, "We're here ... we're here ... we're here ..." I sat up once more and it stopped.

Needless to say my wife was awake by now wondering what on earth I was doing. I asked if she'd heard anything - she hadn't. The spell was now broken and I was able to drift off to sleep. In the morning I asked the receptionist if there had been an alarm of some sort set off in the hotel, but there hadn't.

Maybe I was dreaming - but I don't believe I was - or maybe my memories were emphasising some sort of message. I'm still no sure exactly why I felt I had to return to Hayes and Hillingdon in west London.

Other recent posts:
The Creation Of Real Live Fairies And Goblins
A Nation Seduced By Symbols And Expectation
Gurdjieff Transmitting And Receiving Energy

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Thursday, February 17

Money Galore From A Six Year Coincidence

baby crying clip artI start off with a sad tale, so play those violins.

Lee and Sue from Grimsby in England were strapped for cash. After having a brand new baby there wasn't much left. They had to hunt for bargains, cheap supermarket deals and so on. The baby needed nappies. I think that's diapers in the US, so the couple had to forgo their usual flutter on the UK lottery. The £1 ($1.40) had a more practical use for that particular week.

Lee and Sue always kept to the usual numbers for the lottery, so surely one week missed wouldn't hurt. Sadly it did. Their six numbers came up and they would have won £8 million, that's about $11.5 million.

They carried on with life for the next six years, they had no choice, and went back to hunting bargains at car boot sales, discount houses and the like. They also increased the size of their family.

Ah, but now we can cut those violins and play some happier music.

money bags clip artA few weeks ago the couple started doing the lottery again, but this time the Euromillions draw, same numbers as before, of course. The good news is they have just won a share of the top prize, and have received a cheque for a cool £5 million! Okay, not the £8 million they missed out on, but they aren't grumbling. What's £3 million amongst friends.

Lee Mullen said, "We missed out on £8 million and were gutted. We finally started doing the lottery again only a few weeks ago. It's an amazing outcome." And who can argue with that.

So was there a reason they missed out on the big money six years ago? Was it the wrong time for them to become millionaires and perhaps now is the right time?

Or are you one of those who would say: 'Well the odds of winning the UK lottery are 14 million to one but someone still has to win it, and does win it most weeks. And some of those winners are bound to have some sort of coincidence story to tell about their success.'

I guess it all depends on your beliefs and outlook on life.

Further Lottery Stories:
The Bizarre Chinese Lottery Coincidence
The Bulgarian Lottery Coincidence
Psychic Predicts A Million Pound Lottery Win

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Wednesday, February 16

The White Feather Message From The Dead

White featherMy wife and I had the pleasure of looking after our 7 month old grandson, Samuel, while his mum and dad did some home renovations - they are fitting a complete new kitchen.

He's something special and has a smile to make you melt. I feel I've known him all my life. I see all sorts of things in his face and movements that remind me of ... well, I'm not exactly sure what, I just know they are familiar.

When he sees my wife or I he goes, "Ahh!" and strokes our face with his tiny hand. But I won't bore you with how wonderful he is!

That night when I got home I meditated but, for some reason, felt quite emotional and wondered if my mum and dad, now sadly both dead, knew all about Samuel. I know how much they would have loved him. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek but pulled myself together and continued with my intended meditation.

First thing the next morning I went into my home office to collect something I needed and there on my desk was a white feather. Goodness knows how it could have possibly have got there.

I have written several times about white feathers and their meaning, a couple of links are below. They seem to appear to my wife and I as messages from loved ones who have passed on. In this instance I interpreted it as a message from my parents confirming that they knew all about Samuel.

All of this reminded me of how once before I'd asked if my dad knew all about my son, after he had qualified as a chartered accountant. I have published a post about this here. It tells of how my father's old watch stopped at 3:20, the exact time my son had been born.

I take these sort of happenings as showing that our loved ones are still with us. I'm not sure exactly where, perhaps another dimension or plane, but they seem to know about us and how we are progressing with our lives.

Some will say such an opinion is very fanciful and is because the bereaved clutch at straws for comfort. That's fine, but I believe life is eternal. Those who have gone before are always with us.

Further Reading:
White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved
White Feathers And A Special Beach

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Tuesday, February 15

The Bizarre Case Of The Haunted Scrotum

haunted scrotum - face in scrotumNothing too serious today, though perhaps it might have been for the gentleman concerned. It's the case of the haunted scrotum! And it's a true story.

A 45 year old man was being investigated for an undescended right testis. A CT scan was carried out and no right testis was to be found. What was seen on the scan was the photo on the right - the haunted face of an ... well you decide.

There was an amusing remark made by the doctor concerned, J.R. Harding. To quote his words: "If you were a right testis would you want to share a scrotum with that?" Source.

face on MarsOf course pictures of faces have been seen in all sorts of places from Jesus on a slice of toast to the face on the planet Mars. Generally this is known by our 'expert' friends as pareidolia.

The meaning I have for the word pareidolia is: 'The erroneous or fanciful perception of a pattern or meaning in something that is actually ambiguous or random.' So this is a handy word that will answer many questions for paranormal skeptics: ghosts, faces, UFOs and so on are all brought about by random events - maybe the light in a certain direction causing shadows etc. etc. But is this really always the answer? Most likely not.

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Monday, February 14

The Bizarre Fantasy That Came True

The Book Shop WigtownToday's post has the lot: coincidences, instinct, following dreams plus romance and maybe a few lessons for us all.

Jessica Fox, in her mid twenties, lived in Los Angeles and was very much into the business of running her own film production company. However there was a restlessness inside her and also a dream or fantasy.

Jessica's fantasy was to work in a second hand bookshop near to the sea in Scotland. It all seemed crazy but she explained, "I just knew I had to be there, it felt right." So much so that she started sketching scenes from such a life: herself wearing scarves in a bookshop, cycling down to a windswept beach and so on.

Most of us would probably have soon erased such an adventure from our minds, thinking it too far fetched and even perhaps a little too silly. But Jessica stuck with her dreams.

As can happen in life she had the opportunity to take an extended vacation and set about bringing her fantasy to reality.

But where to start? The old favourite Google. She did a search for 'used bookshop Scotland' and Scotland's National Book Town of Wigtown came up. The largest bookshop in the area seemed to be something called, strangely enough, The Book Shop so she sent them an email, together with a photo of herself. She told them how she would like to work for them during her holiday.

A little later there was a reply stating simply, "Tell me about yourself." Jessica thought this would have come from, "a sweet 80 year old grandfather, typing with one finger."

Old booksShe did as requested and the shop's owner, Shaun Bythell, suggested she made her way to Wigtown in time for the local Book Festival. Jessica booked her flight and four weeks later set off for Scotland, though she was beginning to feel a little unsure about what she was doing, "It's one thing to have visions in your head but its another to carry them out. I had come across the world to live in a house of a man I'd never met and in a place I knew nothing about."

Shaun was at the airport to meet her and surprise, surprise he wasn't 80 years old and what's more he had been involved in television production prior to buying the bookshop with the help of a bank loan.

They had lots in common, "He picked me up from the airport and we talked non stop all the way back. I was exhausted from jet lag but we had an instant affinity." Only slight dampener was the fact that Shaun had a girlfriend.

But she hadn't come for romance and when she pulled into Wigtown, "... it was so quaint, surrounded by hills, sea, farms and forest. It was dark but absolutely magical. Going into the bookshop was like walking into a Harry Potter film. There were higgledy-piggledy bookshelves and the rooms kept opening into more rooms, with secret doors and creaking floors."

Jessica settled in quickly to her new temporary life and loved the book festival where she met many British authors and also Princess Anne.

All good things, some say, must come to an end. In what seemed no time at all Shaun was driving her to the airport for her return to LA.

Once the couple had separated Shaun and Jessica realised the depth of their feelings for each other. Jessica explained, "All these emotions bubbled to the surface - people say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it took leaving to understand how much it all meant to me."

Shaun separated from his girlfriend.

Three months later Jessica left her job, packed her belongings, gave up her apartment and headed back to Scotland. Shaun was waiting to meet the plane and Jessica "... ran into his arms for our first kiss and it couldn't have been more perfect."

The couple have now been together for two years and have launched their own film company Picto Productions.

So will there be wedding bells soon? Jessica answered, "Who knows what's around the corner? That's the thing with adventures - you never know. But I couldn't be happier that I followed my instincts."

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Sunday, February 13

Rabbit And His Kitten Friend Photo Coincidence

cat and rabbit coincidence
A quick Sunday post, with a coincidence tinge to it. Come on now, the rabbit and the cat do look alike don't they? Okay, the kitten hasn't got such big ears but the similarity of the colouring is pretty good. Or am I stretching the world of coincidences a little! Whatever, it's still an ahhhhh, feel good picture.

Further Photo Coincidences:
The Elephant's Trunk And The Crocodile Coincidence
There Is Only Our Realisation Of How Things Are
Squirrel Behaviour With Coconuts

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Saturday, February 12

The Creation Of Real Live Fairies And Goblins

FairiesSee what you think of this ...

I know of someone who has seen fairies and goblins - real ones, that is. They were at the bottom of his very large garden.

"Yea right," you might say with a snicker.

But isn't it true that man cannot imagine that which does not exist? No one can make a picture of the non existent. In which case fairies, goblins, brownies, undines and so on must be visible to the human eye. Or at least to those sensitive enough to see such things.

Yes, fairies and so on do exist in elemental forms and it's us humans who create them with our thoughts. As mankind develops we begin to think more forcefully. These thoughts become little centres of consciousness within the Divine Mind - or whatever you prefer to call this.

The centres eventually assume different forms, according to the quality and the subject of the thoughts which created them.

Elementals grows in a similar way to a mother's embryo and draw strength and vitality from the thinker. Since, whatever is created on the mental plane must embody itself in a physical form at some time, these elementals must take on some kind of physical bodies.

Some of these centres become fairies, goblins and the like while others become embodied in animal or insect form. There are good and bad elementals dependent on the nature of their consciousness - which, remember, was created by the thoughts of man.

If the centres are made of destructive thoughts they would become an animal or insect that will annoy man and perhaps be destructive to his property. This is all in line with the law that whatsoever man send forth mentally must and will return to him.

The Bible says in Genesis 1:31 - 'And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' So it's us who have created the not so good on earth by our thoughts.

Some say that man's licentious and obscene thoughts have created the creepy, crawling, stinging and biting bugs and insects that inhabit dirty and unclean places. As these are created by man's lower mind they are unable to use atoms of a high vibration for their bodies, so they choose 'diseased' or low vibration atoms, which can no longer be used by man or animals.

Yes, fairies and goblins and those nasty insects are with us and we created them all. This is a power within us because, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" Genesis 1:27. In which case, like God, we can create.

Wonder what we'll create today? Cockroaches or something wonderful?

Further Reading:
The Magic Of Our Ancestors Can Bring Us Success
Visualisation Of The Mystic Masters
Professor proves Psychic Powers Exist

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Friday, February 11

The Dangers Of Harry Potter And Wicca To Mankind

OstaraWe are in the midst of a great danger, the power of which has been thrust upon this world by the likes of Harry Potter. Mock not, this is serious. Well it is according to the Roman Catholic Church of Great Britain.

The Catholic Church is so worried about the growing number of young people being lured into occult practices, under the influences of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Apprentice and various witchcraft films, they have come up with a booklet called Wicca and Witchcraft: Understanding the Dangers - it's even available on Amazon UK. The author of the publication is Elizabeth Dodd who was a former Oxford Wiccan, but is now okay as she has converted to the Catholic faith.

Yes, but, aren't a lot of the Catholic ways built on Paganism? Many Christian special days just happen to 'coincide' with dates that go back further than Christianity itself. The Romans also liked to claim and adapt Greek Gods as their own.

Dodd says that experimenting with spellcraft is an insult to the Almighty. "The use of magic, the practice of witchcraft, offends God because it is rooted in our sinful and fallen nature. It attempts to usurp God."

Yes, but, hasn't a lot of things done in the name of religion also insulted the Almighty? Surely religion has 'offended God' often. Let's think, what was it that Jesus actually taught: love, turning the other cheek, judge not that you be judged .... now let's think about wars, persecution ...

The author goes on to say that, "... nearly 70% of Wicca practitioners are young women seeking some kind of spirituality. Behind the glamour are grave dangers because of it's link to the occult and the sinister movement championed by satanist Aleister Crowley."

I also came across a website that writes: "The tragedy here is that because Wiccans don’t believe in the devil, they are oblivious to the destructive power that they are actually tapping into. They are unaware that the 'power of nature' that they believe they are summoning for good is actually a clever deception – and that what they are really tapping into is the power of deceiving demons, who appear as light, but ultimately show their true evil dark natures and try to destroy those who have unbeknowingly called upon them." source.

I'm not going to disagree that there can be dangers with dabbling in some forms of what is generally known as the occult, especially if someone has mental problems. You cannot, however, lump all of these forms together.

I think that the Catholic Church is missing a point. We are arriving at a time when the world is looking for spirituality (Dodd admits this herself). They have to ask themselves why people aren't therefore flocking to their churches.

It's interesting that in the last UK census 7000 out of only 31000 neo-pagans identified themselves as Wiccans when asked about religion.

The occult basically means that which is hidden. Within religions there is the diluted version for the masses and another for the 'students'. Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables but unfolded to his disciples the esoteric (hidden) side of his teachings. It's the same for all religions whether this be Egyptian, Buddhism or Judaism the truths are revealed only to the student.

We all follow our chosen spiritual path, some of us may well stray into difficulties, but 'understanding the dangers' of Wicca and Witchcraft won't solve or satisfy our need.

People are become aware of deeper layers to spirituality and life itself. It is this thirst that needs to be quenched.

Further Reading:
Get Keyed Up Said The Witch And Gurdjieff Agrees
The Puritans Diary And The Devil's Women
Bible Coincidences Where God Is At The Centre

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