Gulliver's Travels Tells Of Two Mars Moons Before They Were Discovered

Gulliver discovers Laputa, the flying island (Surely this isn't a UFO!)

I do like old newspapers because they often show coincidences. The following is from The Montreal Gazette in 1924. It's a report on the Royal Astronomical Society, Montreal Branch, when a Professor A.S Eve gave a talk.

Mars has two suitably sized moons of its own, and Dear Swift, when he wrote Gulliver's Travels, had one of his imaginary characters mention the fact. Yet, at the time Swift lived, no one knew scientifically that Mars had moons.

"I said to a certain lady I thought this a strange coincidence," remarked Professor Eve, who lectured at McGill University last night before the Royal Astronomical Society. "She was, by the way, a lady with a strong spiritualistic tendencies. Her answer was, 'Not at all, Swift's astral body had been there.'"

The professor added he thought it a pity Swift's astral body had not traversed the entire solar system - it would have saved students of heavenly mysteries much trouble.

Just to clarify Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and these were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travel's in 1726 (amended 1735).

And what about Laputa, the flying Island, in Gulliver's Travels - not a UFO surely!

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Black Bart And The Stage Coach Robberies Which Started As A Joke

I've been looking at old books again. This time the John Wayne Adventure Annual from the mid 1950s. In this I read about, amongst other things, the story of Black Bart. It's a true story - and must be so, as John Wayne would never have lied, would he?

The story goes something like this:

Of all the fabulous characters of the roaring West none is more striking - and humorous too - than Black Bart, the natty desperado who left little poems in the stage-coach boxes he looted.
Here I lay me down to sleep
To wait the coming morrow,
Perhaps success, perhaps defeat,
And everlasting sorrow.
Let come what will, I'll try it on,
My condition can't be worse;
And if there's money in that box
'Tis munny in my purse.

~ Black Bart
His proper name was Charles E Boles and he was born in England but moved to the USA. He was a dapper little man with twinkling blue eyes and a grey moustache.

And the peculiar thing is that he became a hold-up man as the result of a practical joke.

He held up a Wells Fargo stage as a joke and didn't even have a gun with him. All he had was a stout stick off a manzanita bush and held it as a six shooter!

What happened next surprised Bart. There was no armed rider escorting the stage and the driver looked startled when Bart swung out on the trail with his imitation gun. Bart thought he'd just see how far he could take the joke.

"Throw out your treasure box!" he commanded.

In a panic the stage driver flung the box to the ground and made off with the coach.

The treasure-box burst open and there before Bart's astonished eyes was a couple of thousand dollars in gold bars, coins and gold dust.

"Well now," thought Bart, "If I can get as much in two minutes by a joke as I cam earn in two years maybe I'd better stick to practical joking."

Which, of course, was wrong of him ... and justice was to trap him in the end, as it always does!

But that's how Black Bart became a desperado, and went into the hold-up business.

To cut a longer story short after one hold-up he only got away by the skin of his teeth - and left behind his hat. Law officers eventually traced him to San Francisco where a Mr. C.E, Bolton was caught and unmasked as being Black Bart the stage-coach robber,

Justice was done.

After six years Bart was finally freed from San Quentin Jail.

His time in jail over, he started robbing again and Wells Fargo bullion suffered ... but the Wells Fargo sleuths recognised his hold-up methods of old.

They soon cornered Bart. he told them he would like to retire from the bandit business ... if only he had a regular income from somewhere.

Well, it seems hard to believe, but American historian G. Ezra Dane has it on record that the company gave Bart a pension of two hundred dollars a month - providing he wouldn't rob any more!

And, as the John Wayne Annual concludes; "H'm ... they sure must have had a soft spot in their hearts for Dapper Black Bart..."

To Clarify:
Charles Earl Bowles (sometimes Bolles or Boles) was known as Black Bart. He was an English-born outlaw noted for the the poetic messages he left behind after robberies. Known as Charley or Charlie to his friends, he also went under the names of Charles Bolton, C.E. Bolton and Black Bart the Poet. He was barn in 1829 and died some time after 1889.

It's interesting in life though, as to what makes us who or what we are today - unexpected things can happen which send us off in a completely different direction.

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Doubts Over Eben Alexander's Flying On A Butterfly In Heaven Story

Last week I published a post Flying On A Butterfly In Heaven which was based on a book by a Dr Eben Alexander. I included a quote from the Daily Mail in the post.

Since then I read the following letter on the Daily Mail's letter page:

"Eben Alexander's description of Heaven is puerile drivel. His first book of nonsense, Proof Of Heaven, led to an investigation of his medical background, showing he had lost his surgical privileges after an incident at one hospital and had been the subject of malpractice lawsuits including the alleged alteration of records to cover up a medical error.

Why give this 'happy clappy' moron space to expound his badly written bunkum? His Mills & Boon style descriptions of the afterlife made me laugh out loud - but what's not so funny is that the path he now treads smacks of streetwise marketing.

Heaven will always be an emotive and interesting topic, but I doubt there will ever be any proof for the living."

~ Joy Evans, Hythe, Kent.

This concerned me as I always publish in good faith. I therefore made a few enquiries on the Internet about Dr Alexander. Amazingly the Daily Mail wrote the following about this man on 24 Dec 2013 - but still went on to promote his book in October 2014 with articles over several days.

• 'Proof of Heaven' doctor faced a $3million malpractice lawsuit when he fell into a coma
• Dr Eben Alexander was tied for the highest number of medical malpractice suits at the time that he fell into a coma following an E. coli infection
• He wrote a book in 2012 about his experience 'seeing the other side'
• He touted the book as the work of a neurosurgeon, but he hadn't practised surgery- let alone neurosurgery- for four years prior to the publication

For the full December 2013 Daily Mail article see here.

Esquire magazine also did an investigation. They write:

"... a months-long investigation of Dr. Alexander's past and some of the book's claims reveals a series of factual omissions and inconsistencies that call significant parts of Dr. Alexander’s story into question. Before he was a celebrated 'man of science' who visited the afterlife, Dr. Alexander was something else: a neurosurgeon with a troubled history and a man in need of reinvention."

Unfortunately Esquire now require payment to view the full article see here.

If we look at Wikipedia they write:

"Esquire magazine reported (August 2013 issue) that prior to the publication of Proof of Heaven, Alexander had been terminated or suspended from multiple hospital positions, and had been the subject of several malpractice lawsuits, including at least two involving the alteration of medical records to cover up a medical error. The magazine also found what it claimed were discrepancies with regard to Alexander's version of events in the book. Among the discrepancies, according to an account of the Esquire article in Forbes, was that 'Alexander writes that he slipped into the coma as a result of severe bacterial meningitis and had no higher brain activity, while a doctor who cared for him says the coma was medically induced and the patient was conscious, though hallucinating.'

Alexander issued a statement after the Esquire article's publication: 'I wrote a truthful account of my experiences in Proof Of Heaven and have acknowledged in the book both my professional and personal accomplishments and my setbacks. I stand by every word in this book and have made its message the purpose of my life. Esquire's cynical article distorts the facts of my 25-year career as a neurosurgeon and is a textbook example of how unsupported assertions and cherry-picked information can be assembled at the expense of the truth."

One of the factors about Alexander's books is that it is, to quote, "A neurosurgeon's journey into the afterlife." This gave the book a certain status.

It's still possible that Alexander did have that 'journey' but it does now feel a little tainted.

I wanted to clarify this so readers have the facts as I now know them.

The Lessons From The Argonauts

I have written previously how I like to buy old books at Flea Markets and the like. Amongst my recent purchases was something called The Heroes -The Argonauts & Theseus.

Despite the title this is a book for children and it struck home to me how different popular literature for children is today. The book was first published about 1900 but the inside has a neatly written dedication "To Willie from Uncle Charlie Jan 1st 1922."

The difference in styles can be seen from this excerpt from the first part of this book.

"The noblest deeds which have been done on earth have not been done for gold. It was not for the sake of gold that the Lord came down and died, and the Apostles went out to preach the good news in all lands. The Spartans looked for no reward in money when they fought in Thermopylae; and Socrates the wise asked no pat from his countrymen, only caring to make men good.

Hylas and the Nymphs

And there are heroes in our days also, who do noble deeds, but not for gold. Our discoverers did not go to make themselves rich when they sailed one after another into the dreary frozen seas; nor did the ladies who went to drudge in the hospitals of the East, making themselves poor, that they might be rich in noble works.

And young men, too, did they say to themselves, "How much money shall I earn?" when they went out to the war leaving wealth and comfort, and a pleasant home, and all that money can give, to face hunger and thirst, and wounds and death that they may fight for their country? No, there is a better thing than life itself; and that is, to have done something before you die, for which good men may honour you, and God your Father smile upon your work."

Compare this to today's love for wealth, celebrity, five minutes of fame, fashion and possessions. Young children have such different influences nowadays. I'm not saying it's all bad, everything changes but - well, it's ... different. Different attitudes and so on. I won't ramble on, but this is the final paragraph from the book.

"So it is still, children, and so it will be to the end. In those old Greeks, and in us also, all strength and virtue come from Gold. But if men grow proud and self-willed and misuse God's fair gifts, He lets them go their own ways, and fall pitifully, that the glory may be His alone. God help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to do noble deeds! but God keep pride from us when we have done them, lest we fall, and come to shame!"

Enough said.

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Are You Ready For A Ghostly Bump In The Night?

A short post to let you know that my blogging friend Rob MacGregor has just published his latest book Bump In The Night.

Bump In The Night covers subjects often covered on this blog and also on Trish & Rob MacGregor's blog Synchrosecrets.

There are three parts to the book: Part 1 Hauntings, Part 2 Spirit Guides and Part 3 Alien Abductions.

Now available on Amazon:

Bump in the Night on Amazon USA
and
Bump in the Night on Amazon UK

The Tea Towel Spoke To Her And Led Her To A Castle Of Nuns

Jane Shilling felt that she may have a calling to become a nun, something she first felt in her teens - but two marriages and three children soon squashed such thoughts. In her late 50s the idea arose again.

A Canadian order of Anglican nuns, the Sisterhood of St John the Divine were running a month long programme for women who were seeking direction in their lives. Jane applied and was accepted.

The regimental timetable and contemplative silence seems to have been hard going for her and her faith wilted. But then something strange happened.

One evening while in the convent kitchen she heard a mysterious inner voice which seemed to emanate from a tea towel. I said it was strange!

The tea towel had a picture on it of Sneaton Castle in Whitby. The voice told her, "You need to go there."

It turned out that Sneaton Castle was home to a community of Anglican nuns known as the Order of the Holy Paraclete. She made enquiries about them and they were happy for Jane to pay a visit.

Sneaton Castle, Whitby, England

Before going to Sneaton Castle she arranged to go to a Benedictine order of nuns on the Isle of Wight. She found this place to be troubling, to say the least. A couple of sinister apparitions appeared to her.

The first was a strange man with 'a lascivious smirk ... and an aura of evil' who followed her into an abbey. There was also a small devil like creature 'with grey, leathery skin ... muscled legs, cloven hooves and a thin tail covered with scale-like protruberances.' Jane says of this, 'I saw it clear as day ... I had not been drinking.'

Happily her experience at Sneaton Castle was much better and the nuns allowed Jane to discover how best to follow her compelling inner voice.

Jane has written a memoir of her 'nun' experiences: And Then There Were Nuns.

Resources:
And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures In A Cloistered Life on Amazon UK
And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures in A Cloistered Life on Amazon USA

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Be Careful What You Read It Could Change Your Brain

I'm sure most of us have read books that have had an influence on our lives and perhaps even altered our thinking or beliefs. But researchers now claim to have shown that even reading a novel changes the way our brain works - perhaps even permanently.

To quote from the study - which you can read in pdf format here.

"On the days after the reading [of a novel], significant increases in connectivity were centred on hubs to the left angular / supramarginal gyri and right posterior temporal gyri. These hubs correspond to the regions previously associated with perspective taking and story comprehension, and the changes exhibited a time course that decayed rapidly after the completion of the novel. Long term changes in connectivity, which persisted for several days after the reading, were observed in bilateral somatosensory cortex, suggesting a potential mechanism for 'embodied semantics'."

Must admit that bit was a little hard going for me but in simple language the scientists claim that favourite books create 'muscle memory', meaning we may actually start to mimic a character's actions or life choices.

Does this mean we have to be careful as to what we read? Has 50 Shades Of Grey unleashed ... well, goodness knows what? But everything influences us: movies, television, newspapers, propaganda, parents, teachers and so on. It makes you wonder how many of our thoughts and beliefs are actually our own. Maybe we are just made up of bits of flotsam we have encountered.

From what I've read of the study I'm not sure how long these changes in brain function last. It's indicated that they last for at least five days but the researches seem to be saying that they could last longer than this, though no time span is specified.

Ah well five days isn't so bad, unless the influences are reinforced over and over - which is what the manipulators try to do.

The Daily Mail wrote about this subject with the headline: Read on to change your life. They then began by saying "Great novels really can change your life ..."

But that surely means that 'bad' novels and reading matter can change our lives too. What we read and see helps make us what we are. Looking at some of the stuff on the Internet that's a scary thought.

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Riding The Synchronicity Highway

Some days seem to be meaningful or maybe some days we are just more tuned in to - to what? Spirituality? Synchronicity? The Universe? Ourselves? God? Not sure, but while we're pondering this I'll move on.

One morning last week Karin and I decided to go to a car boot sale. It's quite a decent sized gathering with bric-a-brac, books and the sort of stuff found at flea markets. As we left home I had this feeling that there would be a coincidence for me at the sale.

We wandered round all the cars and tables and found nothing of interest and didn't even meet anyone we knew. I was at the last but one car boot and there I saw a book called Coincidence! Needless to say I handed over my 50p and made a purchase.

I had a feeling (another one!) that Trish & Rob had mentioned this book on their blog synchrosecrets. When I got home I checked this and found the post mentioning the book - it was called Coincidence. I suppose it had to be really!

I also thought that part of the cover of the book looked familiar as there is a similar design in a book I'm reading, The Opening Of The Third Eye by Dr Douglas Baker - see image at top of post.

Later that day I had a small package delivered and it just happened to be Trish & Rob's new book The Synchronicity Highway. So the bits and pieces of the day seemed to be linking up. Especially when I opened up their book to page 67 - I often do this with books as the number has been important in my life, along with 76.

Anyway, on page 67 is my name, Mike Perry, and also Karin, my wife, is given a mention. Trish and Rob have included a doppelganger experience I had a while back.

And that's really how the day continued the bits of the 'jigsaw' all fitted together nicely leading on to something else - a continuation of links. It was definitely one of those days where I was tuned in to - well, whatever you decided it is.

The Synchronicity Highway on Amazon USA
The Synchronicity Highway on Amazon UK

Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories

Gyles Brandreth And The Oscar Wilde Book Coincidence

Gyles Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster, actor and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Nowadays he is also an after-dinner speaker - and recently did his bit at a literary lunch.

He told a story about how he presented a copy of his latest Oscar Wilde novel - he has done a series of them - to a friend in Paris, France.

Several days later he found the very same book in the second hand section of a local bookshop - quite a coincidence. Or maybe the book was simply not to his friend's taste - but, whatever, it's a mystery as to how it travelled all the way from Paris.

Gyles said about this, "So I bought it and popped it in the post back to him with  a new inscription which read: 'To Gill with even greater admiration and love'"

His wife, Michele, has confirmed that the story is 'totally true'.

The inspiration to write the Oscar Wilde books also came about by coincidence.

Oscar Wilde

Gyles explains: "About ten years ago, in the late 1990s, by chance, I picked up a copy of 'Memories and Adventures', the autobiography of Arthur Conan Doyle (the Sherlock Holmes author), and discovered, on page 94, that Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde were friends. I was amazed. It would be hard to imagine an odder couple."

From this came the idea for a series of books. The theme being how:

"Conan Doyle quickly discovers that when it comes to the art and craft of amateur sleuthing Oscar Wilde has very little to learn from Sherlock Holmes. Wilde is overweight and apparently indolent, but his mind is amazing; his intellect is as sharp as his wit. Oscar Wilde, in his own way, is as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes - and just as Holmes had his weakness for cocaine, Wilde has his weaknesses, too."

It seems that inspiration for what we want to do or achieve is all around us.

Other Posts featuring books:
Aliens In The Backyard: UFO Encounters, Abductions & Synchronicity
Follow The Self Help Signs Of Synchronicity And Coincidence
They Meet Up Again After 67 Years

Giles Brandreth's latest book:
Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol (Oscar Wilde Mysteries 6)

Coincidence Of The Golden Memories Hidden In The Jumble

Here's a coincidence story received with thanks from Geoffrey G. Amazing how such things happen, some will say that it must have been meant to be - perhaps to generate memories of days gone by.

I was fund raising for our local church group, something I often do, and was sorting out books taken from bags of jumble. As I'm interested in books I skimmed through some of them as I sorted. Sometimes I see books I'd like for which I make an appropriate donation.

I discovered an old book with a certificate stuck inside. Maybe nothing too peculiar about this as books are often given as prizes in schools.

But this one was different because it had been awarded as a prize to my wife by her Secondary School, under her maiden name, over 20 years ago!

When I got home later that day I showed her the book and it was definitely once hers.

She could remember having the book when she lived in Hertfordshire before we ever met. This was over fifteen years ago. She had no idea what had happened to the book since then. She presumed it had been thrown away.

We now live a long way from where she remembers last seeing the book and none of her relatives live nearby.

How this book turned up in a bag of jumble collected for charity and sorted by me is anyone's guess. But it kindled lots of school day memories for my wife.

~ Geoffrey G.

More Coincidence & Synchronicity Stories:
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Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories
St Denys St Dennis Cornwall 67 & 76 Coincidences

Aliens In The Backyard: UFO Encounters, Abductions & Synchronicity

My blogging friends Trish & Rob MacGregor have just published a new book Aliens in the Backyard. But before you say, "Oh, yet another rehash about UFOs and aliens," it's not! They have taken a different approach and as Trish told me, "We think we’ve written something unique." I'll let Trish and Rob explain:

"We’re excited about this book for a number of reasons. While the topic of alien abductions has been around for a few decades now, we take an approach that is distinct and unique.

In essence, Aliens in the Backyard is our third book on synchronicity, following The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity and Synchronicity and the Other Side. We haven’t seen any books that take a close look at the abundance of meaningful coincidences that often occur in the aftermath of UFO encounters or abductions. For Charles Fontaine, one of the four experiencers whom we focus on, such synchronicities were startling, mind-blowing. They also led him to us.

Beyond synchronicity, we uncovered a specific type of psychic ability that many abductees and experiencers developed in the aftermath of their encounters. We call them ‘planetary empaths.’ They are so attuned to the planet that hours or days before a planetary disaster – earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and even man-made disasters like 9-11- they experience a wide variety of physical symptoms and know that something big is coming.

We also explore the possible connections between an American naval base in the Bahamas known as AUTEC – Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center – and USOs – unidentified submerged objects – and the Bermuda Triangle. We have stories from people who worked at AUTEC about some of the incredible things they experienced. We’re also the only UFO investigators who actually talked to the commander of AUTEC about UFOs…and that was another synchronicity.

We started out the book in a way that might surprise some readers in that the first chapter deals with a trip to an island in southern Chile to investigate a ghost ship, the Caleuche. The legend of the Caleuche, which many islanders believe are based on real experiences, is closely linked to the abduction phenomenon in that the mysterious ship is manned by a crew of brujos, or witches, who abduct islanders.

Besides Charles Fontaine’s dramatic story that take place in Quebec, we follow the story of pilot Bruce Gernon, who was pursued by a ‘cloud’ while flying through the Bermuda Triangle. We also write about Connie Canon’s experience with aliens on a military base, and Diane Fine’s story of losing a baby during an apparent abduction.

While many serious books about ufology avoid the topic of abductions and rarely mention synchronicity, we pursue both topics with a sense of adventure. While the 'old hippies' of ufology might shrug and say, ‘Oh, another book about abductions…ho hum,’ we think we’ve written something unique. We think we have a winner!

~ Trish & Rob MacGregor

How To Get Aliens In The Backyard:
Aliens in the Backyard - Amazon Kindle Edition
Aliens In The Backyard - All e-reader formats
Aliens In The Backyard - Hardcover and trade paperback editions

Other Books From Trish & Rob MacGregor on Amazon:
The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity: Your Guide to Finding Meaning in Signs Big and Small
Synchronicity and the Other Side: Your Guide to Meaningful Connections with the Afterlife
The Everything Dreams Book: From Fantasies to Nightmares

Details of more Trish & Rob books:
Trish and Rob have published over 70 books, both fiction and non fiction. Further information can be found on their blog synchrosecrets.

P.S.Coast to Coast AM radio show featuring Rob & Trish on YouTube:

Free Book 240 Pages Featuring Reincarnation

The author, L.E.Waters, of Infinite Sacrifice has let me know that - for a short period - the Kindle edition of her book is available for free - all 240 pages.

The book is a reincarnation fantasy novel which describes the journey of a reincarnated soul through time.

I have to admit that I haven't succumbed to Kindle as yet so I haven't read the book. I have a pile of paper and hardbacks still waiting to be read, but here is a synopsis of the Infinite Sacrifice story:

"Maya’s shocked to discover it’s not the heaven she imagined; in fact, a life of adventure begins the moment you die.

Zachariah, her faithful spirit guide, explains the rules of the dead: in order to regain complete awareness and reunite with loved ones all souls must review their previous lives.

Maya plunges warily into her turbulent pasts as a sociopathic High Priest in ancient Egypt; an independent mother protecting a dangerous secret in glorious Sparta; an Irish boy kidnapped and enslaved by Vikings; and a doctor’s wife forced to make an ethical stand in plague-ridden England.

All the while, Maya yearns to be with those she cares about most and worries that she hasn’t learned all of heaven’s most vital lessons. Will she be forced to leave the tranquility of heaven to survive yet another painful and tumultuous life? Or worse, accept the bitter reality of having to go back alone?"

Lauren told me why she decided to write about reincarnation: "I originally wrote this series because of all I've read on past lives. I wished someone would depict a realistic account of how reincarnation could be possible and what would it feel like to relive those memories."

If you have a Kindle use the following link to get the book for free (for a short period only) on Amazon:

Infinite Sacrifice - Kindle version

The book is also available as a paperback for $12.95 at the following link:

Infinite Sacrifice - Paperback on Amazon

While on the subject of books I'd like to remind readers that my blogging friends Trish and Rob MacGregor also have an excellent book called Synchronicity and the Other Side. This one I have read!

It's about discovering how to reconnect to those who have passed on to the other side. As the book says in it's introduction: "You'll see that the walls operating this world and the other side are not insurmountable, that you can obtain messages from deceased loved ones, that guidance can be found, that a larger picture of life and life-hereafter is readily available. In fact, the more contact you make, the more so called realm of the dead appears to be buzzing with life, potential and promise."

Trish and Rob's book is available from Amazon at the following link:

Synchronicity and the Other Side:
Your Guide to Meaningful Connections with the Afterlife