Friday, September 30

Coincidence Stories And An Update From 67 Not Out Readers

My thanks for the following coincidence stories. If you also have an interesting coincidence, you would like published on 67 Not Out, please use the Contact button towards the top of the page. I'll be happy to link to your blog, Twitter page, Facebook etc. if you wish - Mike.

Maths teacherMeeting up with a lost friend
This happened a while ago, and I hadn't thought of it as any more than a coincidence until now. My best friend and I used to be close friends with a girl who moved to a different school, as did we. We both lost contact with this girl completely.

Five years later, and both of us were invited to go to a Maths Day. There were students from a number of different schools there. We went over to the group we had been put in, and my best friend sat down at the end of the row, leaving one seat there which I sat down in. The girl next to me stared at me, and as I turned to face her I immediately recognised her as the girl I had lost contact with.
- Kelly


Cigarette endThe cigarette trick
I once saw a guy flick away a finished cigarette and have it land straight up on its end. Admittedly, the pavement was damp, but still ... I'm pretty sure I'll never see that happen again.
- Anon


Piano clip artSame man on the piano
About 25 years ago, I was a regular patron at a little piano bar (in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho). Weekly, I listened to a gentleman there named Tony Nardi. The bar went out of business at about the same time I joined the USAF. At my very first duty station at RAF Lakenheath, in the UK, I walked into the NCO Club and there was Tony Nardi playing the piano.
- Chas.


Nun clip artWaking up at the right time
This probably isn't a coincidence as such but I can wake up to within one or two minutes of whatever time I've programmed myself to wake up.

I was taught this technique by an old nun, so as not to miss choir practice: as you are going to sleep imaging a clock face of the current time, then imagine it winding forward to your wake up time, then back, until you fall asleep.

It works every time for me.
- George


Regular 67 Not Out readers may remember the post I wrote about Julie Wassmer called More Than A Coincidence Reunites Mother And Daughter. Here's what Julie has written to me:

"I am Julie Wassmer, the author of More Than Just a Coincidence, published recently by Harper Collins. Thank you so much for your post which I was very interested to read.

The extraordinary way in which I was reunited with my daughter, Sara, is a story which only now, after twenty years, did I feel able to share with a wider audience.

It seems ironic that although I was working as a scriptwriter in television for many years, and involved in numerous dramatic, fictional plotlines for shows like Eastenders, I carried around in my heart the most exceptional story - which was true.

Now, that story is finally out and I have been heartened, touched and moved by the reactions of those who have contacted me after reading the book. I do believe that at the very heart of this story lies the message that, sometimes, things can work out for the best - without our intervention. I sincerely hope that my book has a positive effect on the lives of all who come to read it.

Best wishes, Julie."


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Thursday, September 29

Memories Of Perry Winkles

Perry Winkles
Periwinkles or winkles - even sometimes Parry WinklesWe had a weekend away and visited Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. We walked along one of the piers and coming back saw Perry Winkles. I snapped the picture because (a) I'm a Perry and (b) it reminded me of my dad.

Dad loved winkles, their proper name is periwinkles, and they are a bit of a tradition on the south coast, especially for Londoners.

Being vegetarian they aren't for me, but it took me back to when I was a small child. Mum would buy a pint (I think it was a pint) of winkles for dad. He'd get out his winklepicker - though some use a pin or toothpick - and extract the contents from each shell. I remember there was always a black bit on the end of the innards and sometimes he'd pull this off and try to stick it on my face as a joke.

Dad would eat them straight from the shell - he also liked a plate of cockles as well.

Happy days! And the name Perry Winkles always makes me smile. That's Eastbourne pier in the photo below. Weather wise it was a bit blowy and overcast - but, so what!

Eastbourne Pier
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Wednesday, September 28

The Horror Of Spontaneous Human Combustion

Spontaneous Human Combustion photo example
I've just seen a report of a recent case of spontaneous human combustion (SHC). It's up to date and not something dredged from the past. It happened in Ireland and this is what Dr Ciaran McLoughlin, the official coroner investigating the death, said a few days ago:

"The fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."

Though there are cases of SHC going back hundreds of years, to reach such a decision nowadays is unusual, to say the least

The gentleman who died was 74 year old Michael Faherty and he lived in Ballybane, Galway, Ireland. He was found lying on his back close to a fireplace. A full inquest with forensic experts was carried out.

Mr. Flaherty's body was totally destroyed by fire but there was no trace of anything that would be considered as foul play. Neither was there any trace of accelerants, such as petrol, found.

This is believed to be the first case of spontaneous human combustion found in Ireland and is definitely the first Dr McLoughlin has seen in his 25 year career.

There have, however, been other cases of SHC over the years, such as the case in Gwent Wales in 1980. John Heymer was sent to investigate. This is what is on record of what he witnessed:

"I opened the door and stepped into a steamy sauna-like heat ... orange light emanated from a bare light bulb which was coated in a sticky, orange substance, as was the window ... heat had cracked one of the window panes.

... On the floor, about one metre from the hearth, was a pile of ashes, furthest from the hearth was a partially burnt armchair. Emerging from the ashes were a pair of human feet clothed in socks. The feet were attached to short lengths of lower leg, encased in trouser leg bottoms. The feet and socks were undamaged. Protruding from what was left of the trousers were calcined leg bones which merged into ashes. The ashes were the incinerated remains of a man ..."


Dr Sidney Alford wrote about this Welsh SHC in the New Scientist. He believes he has an answer to this, and other, instances of spontaneous human combustion:

"Anaerobic fermentation within the gut ... produces sometimes prodigious quantities of inflammable gas: consumption of eggs, for example, which are especially rich in phospholipids, might well add to the normal methane and hydrogen significant amounts of phosphine, and, worse, phosphorous dihydride, thereby imparting to the gas the property of spontaneous inflammability - the dreaded phosphinic fart."

In other words the 'right' combination of body chemistry might cause spontaneous burning.

As usual there are other explanations for SHC. Some say it could be down to the Manipura chakra, located in the solar plexus area. For some unknown reason this gets out of control and over-heats, thus causing the combustion. Some yoga adepts can stimulate this chakra to generate heat - I wrote about this practice of tummo or tumo in my post Tummo: The Yogi Power Of Warming The Body.

In 1975 Livingston Gearhart suggested SHCs happened when there were peaks in the Earth's magnetism. This high geomagnetism might cause a form of ball lightning, which in turn can generate radio waves similar to those used in microwave ovens. This could then be the reason why some spontaneous human combustion victims appear to have burnt from the inside outwards.

Yet another theory, from researchers Vincent H Gaddis and Ivan T Sanderson, includes an outline of events leading up to SHC. This begins with loneliness, illness, or some similar negative emotion. This can effect a person's metabolism in a way that phosphagens build up in the muscle tissue. Electricity then generated by things such as intense sunspots, magnetic storms or geological activity may trigger the combustion.

All well and good, but none of this can definitely explain why Michael Faherty died. Spontaneous Human Combustion remains an unsolved mystery.

Photo: An example of spontaneous human combustion: showing the remains of Dr John Bentley who died on December 5th 1966.

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Tuesday, September 27

River Piddle Makes The Trade Unions Smile

River Piddle sign in Dorset, England
The name of the River Piddle in Dorset, England often makes visitors smile. But it's important enough to have several villages and towns named after it including: Puddletown, Tolpuddle, Piddlehinton, Piddletrenthide, Affpuddle, Briantspuddle and Turnerspuddle.

It can be seen that in some instances the word Piddle has been changed to Puddle. This is said to have been altered to save embarrassment for any royal visitors - but this is probably just a myth.

The river in old English would have been shown as 'Pyddle' and local dialects would have varied to make sound like either Piddle or Puddle. Mind you, some more sensitive souls now call it the Trent for some reason.

The village of Tolpuddle is important as this was where the very first trade union was started by a group of farmers, who became to be known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. They formed in 1834 when their wages were to be cut by 30%.

This 'revolt' didn't go down too well with those authority and the men were arrested and convicted of swearing a secret oath.

The English legal system didn't mess about in those days and the Tolpuddle Martyrs were exiled to Australia. This caused a public outcry and after three years they were finally given a pardon and allowed to return to England. They are considered to be the founders of the Trade Union Movement.

The photos show the River Piddle sign and the river itself from the bridge. I took these on my last visit to Dorset.

River Piddle, Dorset, England
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Monday, September 26

The Coincidences Of Els

The coincidence of Els79 year old Els Toowater was born in Indonesia and so was her husband William. He sadly died recently. Trawling through her memories she realised that there were several coincidences in their relationship.

Though both brought up in Indonesia they met in Holland. The family Rocekamp, as Els was then called before marriage, rented the third floor of a house belonging to Mr Toowater's grandmother. This was just after the end of World War 2. This all came about because Els and William's grandparents knew each other - as they had met in Africa!

William, then 17, spotted Els on the stairs one day. She noticed that he was wearing a hat with the initials ELS. Once he had found out her name he told her, "I like your name because I always have it on my hat." In this instance though the ELS stood for European Lage School. This was a primary school he had attended in Java.

Els Toowater now lives in Australia and nearby is ELS Hall Park in North Ryde. This time the ELS refers to Edward Lester Septimus Hall who was a mayor of Ryde in the late 1940s, 50s and early 60s.

It could have all been so different for Els and William: if their grandparent's hadn't met in Africa; if Els family had never rented part of a house belonging to William's grandparents in Holland; if William hadn't been wearing a hat with the acronym ELS; if ...

... but when we look at any of our lives there are usually lots of 'ifs' that have brought us to where we are now and with the people we are now with.

Els and William raised a family of two daughters and one son, thanks to those ifs.

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Sunday, September 25

A Unique Contribution Walking Down The Beach

a long deserted beach
Gosh, I don't know how many years ago it must have been, but a girlfriend and I used to read the poems of Rod McKuenRod McKuen. We even went to see him when he visited Bournemouth in England. A lot has happened since those days but I still have nine of his books sleeping on my bookcase today. I rarely wake them now, it's a whole different era and mindset.

Here's one of his not so well known works that suggests we should all make a unique contribution to life. Yea, man ... cool

IDLE UNDER SUN

Once I thought
ideas were exceptions
not the rule.
That is not so
they are so plentiful
that they ride by
on air.
You've only to reach out
and snatch one
from the mist
or from nowhere

With little raw material but sand
the sea has made
two hundred thousand mountains
that we'll likely never know

This being so
is it too much to ask
that each man in his lifetime
makes a single contribution,
both unique and useful,
that no man walking down to the beach
has handed us before?

Why not pay back
our birth bill
by adding an idea
even two or six
to the many given us
without condition
or a price?


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Saturday, September 24

The Lungs Of The Planet Illustrated At Eden

Professor Iain Stewart in his Eden Project experiment
I have mentioned the Eden Project in Cornwall - which is near to where I live - several times, links below.

Eden is about to demonstrate how we humans need plants to survive. To do this they have locked a professor in an air tight chamber - with insufficient oxygen for a person to survive for 48 hours.

Professor Iain Stewart's chamber is 2m x 8m x 2.5m and, along with him, will be 150 plants. It is the plants that will allow him to stay locked up - otherwise the result could be fatal. That's the professor in the photo at Eden.

Professor Stewart explains: "Obviously when I’m in the chamber I’ll be using up oxygen so the oxygen levels will be dropping and I’ll be giving out carbon dioxide, so if it was sustained it would be a lethal combination.

But six to seven hours in, they’re going to switch the lights on.

The chamber is packed with plants, which as soon as the lights come on, start to photosynthesise and should take the carbon dioxide that I’m breathing out, take that in, photosynthesise, and give back oxygen for me to breathe."


The experiment will be included on UK television as part of a BBC series called How Plants Made The World. This should be screened in the New Year.

Plants are the lungs of the planet. Without them we'd be in a right old state ... and yet we continue to destroy the rain forests and trees and ... well, I'm sure you get the picture.

Other Eden Posts
In Search Of The Birth Of Spirits At Eden
Eve Shows Herself At Eden
The Giant Rubbish Alien Monster At Eden

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Friday, September 23

Where Do Wandering Cats Go?

Black cat cartoon crosses woman's path clip artDogs get quite attached to their human families and tend to rely on them for food, exercise and love. Cats are different. Most have an independent streak and can wander off without a second thought. Take Willow for example.

Willow lived happily with her human family in Boulder, Colorado but in 2006 she wandered off to ... well nobody knows. Perhaps she felt the urges from some previous life but, whatever, she turned up in Manhattan on the 14th of September - this year! She'd been wandering, or doing something or other, for the best part of five years.

A kind person saw Willow looking kind of lost and forlorn and handed her into a cat shelter. Luckily she was microchipped and her human family were easily traced. It was quite a shock and family member Jamie Squires said, "If I could, I would microchip my children." Which isn't quite what I'd have said if a long lost cat had suddenly returned to the fold. But fortunately Big Brother isn't fully with us - as yet. No doubt one day we will all have microchips.

A nice story but not unique. Some cats like to wander. Take Geoffrey in the Telegraph story a while back.

Cat taxi driver cartoon clip artGeoffrey lived on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. He disappeared from the island and was found three weeks later in Whitby, North Yorkshire several hundred miles away. He must have had a good map as this would have necessitated a ferry ride and then either a coach or train.

We've had lots of cats over the years in my family: There was Bonzo, Kayley, Herby who actually turned out to be a Herbina, Mixie, oh and Black Cat. She was with us for nearly 18 years but we never got round to giving her another name. Luckily, none of them wandered off too far.

More Cat Posts
Missing Cat Travels Through Sewer To Her Home
The Power Of Lilly The Life Saving Cat
The Cat Who Just Wouldn't Go Away

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Thursday, September 22

Aphrodite's Secret Sensual Army

Aphrodite's Rock near Paphos in Cyprus
I've been thinking about having another holiday soon and when talking about this with my wife we began reminiscing about places we had been recently. One of these being Cyprus, where Aphrodite was born.

As happens when we sometimes get on a theme the next day someone we talked to had just come back from Cyprus and mentioned Aphrodite. Then she was mentioned in a newspaper and now a book I picked up at a flea market recently about Secrets mentions Aphrodite's Secret Army.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty and sexuality and was born in a very strange way. According to legend she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea. From this Aphrodite arose from the sea foam and floated ashore on a scallop shell - thus the classic painting of her by Botticelli - seen below.

Aphrodite on a scallop shell in the Botticelli classic painting
Other people claim that Aphrodite was born of Zeus and Dione, which makes some believe that there could have been two separate goddesses of the same name. The photo at the top of the post is of Aphrodite's Rock, near Paphos in Cyprus, also said to be her birth place.

Anyway, according to the book I picked up in the flea market Aphrodite's Secret Army originates in Babylon - present day Iraq. Here she was worshipped and because of her sensuality prostitution was considered sacred. It is said that all women were expected have sex with a stranger for money at least once in their lives.

Herodotus wrote in 450 BC of how women waited to do their sacred duty to the goddess Aphrodite. A man would throw silver coins into her lap and she was then obliged to have sex with him in the temple grounds, before she could return home. And it was these women who were considered to be Aphrodite's Secret Army.

As to whether all of this has any relevance to where my wife and I may have a holiday I have no idea!

Further Reading:
The Curse Of The Pharaohs
The Mysterious Crete Goddess Of Myrtos
The Mysterious Skull With The Golden Wreath Of Protection

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Wednesday, September 21

The Birthdays From World War II Coincidence

baby boy cartoon clipartTom sent me this story, that he sourced following my post Oliver The 133225-1 Baby. It features a similar birthday coincidence.

This is about the Catherine family from Bournemouth, England. David Catherine writes:

"It's almost unique for three people in the same family to share a birth date, and from my experience of 60 years, this will be a never-to-be-forgotten date for them all.

I'm the youngest of three children, all boys, all born on July 8.

The first, Robert, arrived in 1939; the second Anthony, in 1943, and then me in 1947.

Our parents' feat encompassed the events of World War II: one before our father went off to war, one while on home leave from the African desert and the last on demob.

Our birthdays always had that little extra, almost like Christmas."


I suppose the odds of this happening are the same as with the Oliver story i.e. 133225-1.

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Tuesday, September 20

The Funeral Coincidence

three witches clip artSadly, before my mother died it was necessary for her to move into a Nursing Home. Being the strong minded woman she was she managed to settle in and to make friends with other residents. There were two in particular: Jean and Lillian - known as Lil.

They sat together in their wheelchairs and giggled about daft things, so much so that the staff joked that they cackled like three witches.

When mum died Lil asked me if she could sit with her before the funeral director arrived. She wanted to read my mum passages from the Bible as she wasn't strong enough to attend the funeral. I watched as, with tears running down her face, she read aloud as best she could, and I left them alone.

We still occasionally looked in the Nursing Home from time to time to see Lil and Jean.

Jean then died and, as happens in life, our visits became less frequent.

We were wondering how Lil was getting on this morning, prior to our walk.

We were delayed in setting off and decided we would take in a DIY store where we needed something for the kitchen we had just finished decorating. This meant we went a route from home that we rarely take. We would normally go to the store by car.

As we crossed a main road a black hearse slowly drove by. There was only one flower garland at the side of the coffin. It simply read 'Lil' in flowers.

Yes, Lil had sadly died. The three witches may now all be giggling together once more.

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Monday, September 19

Ley Nodes The Doorways To Other Worlds And Times

the earth in motion and ley linesA while back I published a post with the title The Ancient Secret Transmitters Of Energy. It was about how I had visited a few places situated on ley lines.

Ley lines interest me and, following something I researched recently, I am wondering if there are places along these lines where time and space slips away.

Where two ley lines cross they are known as nodes and supposedly strange things can happen at these points. Here is an experience by a seasoned ley line hunter Stephen Jenkins.

Stephen's first sighting came about when he was just sixteen years old and this happened near Mounts Bay in Cornwall:

"The clumps and bushes were very still in the windless evening light when I suddenly experienced what I took to be a startlingly vivid optical illusion. Scattered among them, motionless but frighteningly distinct, was a crowd, a host of armed men. For a moment I stood stock still, unable to believe my eyes, then I began to run towards them. At once something like a curtain of heated air wavered in front of them briefly - and there were only bushes and stones.

A lot later in life, while looking at an Ordnance Survey map, he became aware that where he had the vision was approaching, or near to, a ley node.

Now married he returned to the spot of his first such experience together with his wife - and history repeated itself. "And again, as in the deepening light of that August afternoon thirty-eight years before, the illusion of armed men! And again the vanishing as one took a few paces forward."

Strange things can happen at ley nodes: dizziness, disorientation, visions and even the appearance of UFOs.

An interesting theory about UFOs came from Air Marshall Sir Victor Goddard. At a meeting of the British Interplanetary Society he suggested that we shouldn't assume that UFOs were from other planets - they might simply come from an invisible world that coincides with the space of our own.

Though many will dispute the existence of ley lines it could be possible that, at powerful nodes, time and space as we know it is interrupted and sensitives get glimpses of other times or even other civilisations or spiritual realms.

Ley nodes may be the doorways to other worlds and times running parallel to our own.

Further Reading
Following In The Footsteps Of St Michael
The Ancients Secret Transmitters Of Energy
St Pauls Cathedral Protected By A Hidden Power In WW2

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Sunday, September 18

Did You Bring Joy?

Joy free clip art
The Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife.

The first question was:
'Did you bring joy?'

The second was:
'Did you find joy?'

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Saturday, September 17

Don't Look At The Clouds Of Tomorrow Through The Sunshine Of Today

Mick JaggerThis is something I came across yesterday: an attitude towards life. It's in the words of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger - quite a deep man in some respects.

Mick has been putting together an album, SuperHeavy, as part of a 'super group' which includes the likes of Dave Stewart, AR Rahman and Damian Marley (son of reggae legend Bob).

Invariably though, when he is interviewed, reporters want to look at the 'old days' of the Stones and this is what he replied:

"Don't look back. I live in the now. But I don't ever think, 'This is amazing, I can't believe I'm still doing this.' I am doing it. I'm just doing it. And I don't think, 'It's all gone so fast', because for me it's still happening. When I started it was a different century and it seems like that. You move on, it's all good."

Mick went on to say, "You watch what you eat, you exercise, you have a bit of fun. You keep going forward. Don't stop. Do what makes you happy. Don't look at the clouds of tomorrow through the sunshine of today. That's it."

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Friday, September 16

The Reincarnation Of A World War I 1914 Soldier

WW1 sailor 1914Here's a regression story from Terry Thomas, though he describes it as therapy. He feels that his experience proves reincarnation. See what you think.

Under regression / therapy Terry saw a picture.

"It was of a woman of about forty-five years old, dressed in early century style, sitting at, but not playing, a grand piano, which was in remarkably old wood. Standing in front of a heavily draped window was a man of a similar age. Neither of them was talking, but seemed to be in deep thought and very sad.

My gaze kept looking at a large painting, which I could not make out, only an eye of someone in the painting.

I then felt very emotional, very sorry about something, but knew not what. I could not help crying bitterly and saying continually, 'I am sorry, what more can I say, what more can I do, I am sorry.'"


Terry was then returned to the present time feeling very self conscious because he had been crying so much. He was left with the feeling that his previous name - as the distressed man - was John.

At a later date Terry went to see a medium.

He told me that a person called John was with him and he was a gunner aboard a ship during the 1914-18 war. He said he wanted me to know his death was an accident. The medium said he could actually see the accident happening. The gun blew back right into John's stomach, blowing a hole in it.

Terry talked this over with his mother and family and he finally came to the conclusions that:

(a) "The John told me by the medium was my own self of my last life. Which proves to me the medium concerned was in fact reading, unwittingly my subconscious, which nevertheless was a credit to him."

(b) "The investigations, with my mother and family led me to believe I was a relative of my grandfather's brother in my previous life."

The sadness Terry felt in his regression was because the two people in the 'picture' were his parents in that former life. He had gone to war without their permission and they were sad because he had been killed.

"You see there was no need for me to go to war as I was far too young, but did so against their (his parent's) wishes and on the understanding I would not be going into active service.

This was why Terry was saying 'sorry' in the regression.

Reincarnation is always a controversial subject and regressions usually fail to convince the skeptics. The pictures or experiences seen by those being regressed are often considered to simply be stories from the unconscious mind.

Personally reincarnation, linked with karma, is one of the answers to all of the unfairness in the world. Even the Christian Bible talks of an 'eye for an eye' and did, originally, seem to be on the side of reincarnation.

Further Reading
The Law Of Re-Embodiment Or Reincarnation
Henry Ford And Reincarnation
The Reincarnation Of The Cathars Priest Roger de Grisolles

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Thursday, September 15

Oliver The 133,225-1 Baby

Oliver the 133,225-1 babyAccording to maths expert, Dr John Bales of Plymouth University, the chances of the following happening are 'one in 133,225 or 0.0000075.'

I'm talking birth dates here. Stefanie Thomas, a support worker for the Devon and Cornwall Police had a baby on the 6th of September.

The birth was pretty much standard: twinges on Sunday, several false starts and then Baby Oliver arrived on the Tuesday - which just happened to also be Stefanie's birthday. Oh, and also her husband Paul's birthday too.

Paul said, "It's quite convenient because I now only have to remember one date for all of us. We never imagined it could happen but as the days approached it seemed more and more likely."

But with odds of 133,225 of this happening the couple wish they'd gone to the bookies and placed a bet. But no matter, Oliver is priceless!

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Wednesday, September 14

12 Paranormal Attributes Of A 2012 Evolutionary Shift

2012 paranormal attributesMany people appear to be of the opinion that we are heading towards some sort of evolutionary shift. Perhaps this is what 2012 heralds. Not doom and gloom and the end, as is often forecast, but a huge leap forward instead.

Man may be about to develop new abilities - some are already experiencing these. What is classed as paranormal will become normal.

These new abilities could change life as we know it - for the better.

Michael Murphy in his book The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution Of Human NatureThe furue of the body has set out twelve attributes that he feels we are moving towards. These are:

1) Extraordinary perceptions, including apprehensions of numinous beauty in familiar objects, voluntary clairvoyance, and contact with entities or events that are inaccessible to the ordinary senses.

2) Extraordinary somatic awarenesses and self regulation.

3) Extraordinary communication abilities.

4) Superabundant vitality.

5) Extraordinary movement abilities.

6) Extraordinary capacities to alter the environment.

7) Self-existent delight.

8) Intellectual ideas received toot ensemble.

9) Supra-ordinary will.

10) Personhood that simultaneously transcends and fulfills one's ordinary sense of self while revealing one's fundamental unity with others.

11) Love that reveals fundamental unity.

12) Alterations in bodily structures, states, and processes that support the experiences and capacities above.

I've always been of the opinion that man will continue to survive and evolve. As I see it the doom and gloom fear merchants have got the wrong end of the stick. There could well be changes in the near future but these will lead to interesting, exciting times. Enjoy the ride.

"Soul and mind instantly lost their physical bondage and streamed out. My sense of identity was no longer narrowly confined to a body but embraced the circumambient atoms ... a swelling glory within me began to envelop towns, continents, the earth, solar and stellar systems ..."
Paramahansa Yogananda in Autobiography of a Yogi


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Tuesday, September 13

Coincidence Stories From Old Newspapers

International newspapersI came across these three coincidence stories from back dates of newspapers.

The Day on May 12th 1993

In my words: Staff Sergeant Richard Rondriguez, 32, was shot in the back four times as he sat on a bench in a small neighbourhood park in New York. He was on a weekend visit from the Marines to his parents.

The coincidence? His brother, 27 year old Luis, was shot in exactly the same park 17 months previously.

The park is a paved triangle near their parents apartment and the Bronx Zoo. In the park is a tree on which a cross was placed in 1991 as a memorial to Luis.

Their mother Gloria Rodriguez sadly told The Day. "You just have to be in the wrong place in the wrong time."


Washington Times Jan 5th 2002

Quote: "The world's oldest man, 112-year-old Antonio Todde, who said the secret of his longevity was a daily glass of red wine, died overnight on the Italian island of Sardinia, relatives said yesterday. And in a bizarre coincidence, Italy's oldest woman, 110-year-old Maria Grazia Broccolo, died only hours later in a small town south of Rome."


Sydney Morning Herald March 27th 1986

Quote: "In a bizarre coincidence of foreign policy, the Reagan Administration is conducting simultaneous operations against two of it's most bitter enemies - Libya and Nicaragua.

While the United States has directly attacked the Libyans ... it is being careful to keep its pilots well back from combat areas near the Honduran-Nicaragua border."

President Reagan would do doubt, therefore, be well pleased with the present United Nations. It's a coincidence, of course, that Libya, like Iraq has oil. Oh and Afghanistan has minerals ... but the likes of Zimbabwe have nothing of value.


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Monday, September 12

The Tanah Lot Temple And Its Guardian Giant Snake

Tanah Lot Temple or Pura Tanah Lot
I received a postcard today from Indonesia which features the Tanah Lot Temple or Pura Tanah Lot, as it is sometimes called. The sender obviously knows of my liking for churches, temples and so on.

This temple in Bali is set on a rock formation which, over the years, has become an island, though accessible from the shoreline. It has a long history, with a story attached to the making of the temple.

Tanah Lot Temple is said to be the work of a 15th century priest called Nirartha. While on his travels along Bali's south coast he found this beautiful spot and rested there for the night. Local fishermen saw him and he instructed them to build a holy place where the Balinese Sea Gods could be worshipped.

The island has it's own guardians in the shape of tame black and white snakes, said to be deities.

At the base of the island, however, there are supposedly poisonous sea snakes to keep away evil spirits and unwanted intruders. Also on guard is a mythological giant snake which is said to have been created from Nirartha's scarf.

The temple is one of seven sea temples situated along the coast, all within sight of the shore.

Though the Tanah Lot Temple looks magnificent I understand it is a bit of a tourist trap, with souvenir shops and restaurants on the approach to the island.

Postcards are always nice to receive but it always makes me want to visit the places shown if, that is, I haven't already visited the area. So I now have itchy feet wanting to lead me to the temple.

The postcard arrived (of course!) on the morning my wife and I were talking about how it had been a while since we had heard from the postcard's sender. There's usually a coincidence in the mix somewhere.

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