Tarring With the Same Brush

Posted on by Marina

That’s an expression meaning to denigrate two separate, different things as though they were one and the same. It is an insidious logical fallacy, and unfortunately one that slips under many people’s radars.

Two things that are so tarred by many Christians are people who are striving to create a New World Order  and people who say they are part of the the New Age Movement. Some Christians are trying to say that those two movements are one and the same. There may be some similarities between the two, and there are those who belong to the first, but claim to belong to the second, thus muddying the waters further. But the two are not one and the same.

Also, the NAM covers a huge territory, and yes, there may be some overlap among individuals, but to damn the entire NAM because there are some who are misguided or have bad intentions is wrong. You might as well damn the whole of humanity, because none of us, no matter who we are or how Christian and God-fearing and Bible-thumping we may be, are in perfect enough communion with God to truly know what’s going on at a global level.

Of course, what is really going on with this tarring is that those Christians who are lumping in the two movements together think that they are right and everyone else is wrong. There are a few things in particular about what they are saying that strike me as not only wrong, but harmfully wrong; things that are bound to cause division between people who call themselves Christians and New Age people who are just as Christian (or more so than some) in their behavior, morals, ethics, and ideals. (Defining being Christian as a way of life that includes how you think about and treat other people based on what Jesus—not Paul, but Jesus—said.)

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What Modern Poetry Is–And Isn't

Posted on by Marina

I love poetry as much as anybody. More than some, I am sure, though of course certainly less than others. I’ve studied it, written it, even been praised by a respected poet as having “it.” So I think I have some credibility in saying that much of what passes for modern poetry is not poetry. It is prose—sometimes pretty good prose—with odd line breaks. It is written simply by stringing together some words, maybe making some odd juxtapositions here and there, and then breaking it up so the appearance is that of poetry. Apparently the writers and readers of this non-poetry have no clue that this is not, in fact, poetry. Even some very well known “poets” are guilty of this.

I really don’t want to point fingers at anyone in particular. In all likelihood, the majority of the people who write this non-poetry earnestly and sincerely believe that what they are producing is poetry, and their feelings would be hurt were I to give some specific examples. Just as it isn’t productive to squash the first efforts of a child, I choose not to squash anyone in particular. It is highly likely that those who write this stuff, should they stumble upon this post of mine, will think I am talking about someone else anyway.

Yet still, if some people recognize themselves in this and are able to get past their hurt feelings and/or egos long enough to absorb what I am saying, the world may be a better place, with less faux poetry and more real stuff.

And anyway, maybe I am just being old fashioned here. Maybe what I should do is just relax and let people call any old string of words poetry. Heck, a computer program could be poetry. But—there is a deeper issue here, and perhaps that issue is worth exploring.

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How To Help Animals

Posted on , updated on by Marina

Abbie, a commenter on a previous post, asked how to help animals. We all have so many choices! I am going to list as many as I can think of right now; if you have more to add, please post them as a comment.
 

  1. When you adopt animals, as much as possible, adopt them from shelters or rescue societies. That way, you are helping to provide homes for animals that might not otherwise find one.
  2. If you have the funds, donate to no-kill animal shelters, or to a local animal rescue society.
  3. If you have the time, volunteer to help with a local shelter or animal rescue society. You only have to contribute as much time as you wish. But even if that is only two hours a week, that is two hours more of help a week than they would otherwise get.
  4. Be aware of the conditions under which food animals live. For instance, most chickens being raised to produce eggs, even ones that are raised “free range,” are de-beaked. There is a growing movement toward small chicken ranches on which the animals are well taken care of and are not de-beaked. The eggs will be more expensive from such places, but isn’t it worth it? Likewise, if you eat meat, buy organically raised meat only, or do without. (I do eat meat, but tend to eat vegetarian when I dine out, because I don’t know what those animals might have gone through or whether they have hormones and antibiotics in them.)
  5. It may not seem directly related, but if you have a yard, go organic. Your own cats and dogs, as well as those of your neigbors, and all kinds of helpful wildlife will thank you. I’ve had my cats come home sick because they had obviously been exposed to some kind of pesticide or herbicidal spray at a neighbor’s house. Pesticides and herbicides are poison, plain and simple, and you do not need them. Pull weeds by hand. Once your garden is alive again, the beneficial insects, who will eat the pests, will move right in. Even fertlizers kill the helpful microorganisms and worms in the soil. If you use compost and mulch, and encourage clover to grow in your lawn, you will find you don’t need it. With one exception, my yard has been completely organic—no sprays, no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertlizers of any kind. Within a year of implementing that policy, the hummingbirds started showing up. Within two years, I had earthworms in my soil again. After I build a large, low, non-mortar stone planting area, the lizards moved in. (The exception? My gardener used a weed-‘n’-feed type product in one area of my lawn strictly against my “no chemicals” policy, And we believe that our beloved cat, Rose, died as a result. She started coughing right after he applied it, and our local vet just could not figure out what was ailing her. She died a few months later, and we are still grieving for her.)
  6. Reduce your purchases of leather items (shoes, purses, coats, and for example), and never buy items made with genuine fur. There should be no reason for them. You might consider not buying even fake (faux) fur, as even that can give the idea that wearing fur is okay.

Clones Do Not Equal the Original

Posted on by Marina

I read recently about a woman who sold her house to pay for clones of her beloved pet. I am not faulting her for doing so—love has no price tag—but I have to ask: Does she think that she is getting her dog back? I can’t imagine paying that much money otherwise. But if she paid that much money just to get puppies whose bodies are genetic copies of her beloved dog, but who will have their own personalities, was it worth losing her house over?

This is a mistake that I see people make all the time. They assume that a genetically identical copy of a body is all you need to have a new version of that being. Lose your beloved spouse? Clone her, and you will have her back! (Age difference aside.) Lose your beloved pet? Clone him and you have him back! In a set of five, if you want.

Those puppies may share a lot of traits of the father that are part of the breed and part of his genetic mix, but they are each their own unique spirit. To think otherwise is meat body thinking—the kind of thinking that says that we are merely bodies of meat walking around. So much easier to pretend that the spirit doesn’t exist. Makes things tidier. Makes it easier to delude ourselves in so many ways.

But the spirit does exist, and the body does not equal the spirit. The spirit continously creates and inhabits the body. You can duplicate the body, but the spirit that creates and inhabits it is not necessarily the same as the original.

I say “necessarily” because it is always possible that the same spirit will come back and inhabit that body. Especially with pets, I have noticed that the same spirit does sometimes come back again in a new body to love you some more. But there are no guarantees. So don’t go rushing off thinking that your cloned whatever is the same in every regard as the original. It most likely isn’t. Love it for who and what it is—its own unique expression on this beautiful earth.

A Decommissioning Prayer

Posted on by Marina

I recently watched The Caine Mutiny, a classic film released in 1954, for the first time. It was far better than I expected. If you have not already seen it, I highly recommend it.

At the end of the movie, the character through whose eyes we have seen the story unfold takes a destroyer out to sea from San Francisco. You briefly see the flags the ship is flying, which led me to search for (and eventually find) the meanings of the flags.

Long story short, it turns out the destroyer was “played by”  the USS Richard B. Anderson (DD 786). My thanks to the wonderfully helpful people at flagspot.net!

While following up one of the links I was given, I found a decommissioning prayer for the USS Richard B. Anderson, which I found interesting and which touched my heart. I thought others might be interested in the prayer as well.

Now Accepting New Clients for Psychic Readings

Posted on by Marina

For all of those of you who have written to me and asked if I am accepting new clients for psychic readings, I am happy to announce that yes, I am!

You can read more about my readings (and how to arrange one with me) here:

http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/channel/sessions.html

I hope I can be of service to you. I am discreet and compassionate; without judgment, I can help you find the information you need to make any changes you wish to make, or help you understand where you are now and what your choices are. I have an excellent understanding of work situations all the way up to and including the executive level. I also understand relationships (love, family, friendship, etc.) and can shed light on situations of any kind. For a more complete list of the different ways in which my readings can help, see my description of my readings.

In addition, I have started to post audio files from channelings I’ve done in the past. You can find links to the files here:

http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/channel/channel.html

I am in the process of transferring more channeled events, so check back often to see what new files I’ve posted. And thank you to the upwards of 50,000 people who visit my site each month!

The Ancient Origin of the Roma People

Posted on by Marina

The majority of this article is psychically received information about the origin of the Roma people. The Roma were historically referred to as “Gypsies” because it was thought (erroneously) that they came originally from Egypt. (Their origins as far as blood lines and language roots can be traced were from the Indian subcontinent, probably the Punjab area.)

In providing this information, I do not intend in any way to offend the Roma. The Roma are an ancient and honorable people who have been much persecuted through the centuries, usually for simply being different. In addition to the estimated 6 million Jews who died in the Nazi Holocaust in World War II, a large number of Roma were also slain in the same manner by the Nazis. (Along with many other people because of their religion, origin, or sexual orientation.) Throughout time, many other countries have practiced (and continue to practice) their own forms of harassment and genocide against the Roma, such as laws against Roma marrying Roma, forced sterilization, and so on. None of this is acceptable or right.

The information I received psychically presents a very different perspective on the antiquity of the Roma, placing their origins as a distinct people sometime between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago (and even then, their bloodline and heritage go much further back than that). If any Roma read this post and find anything offensive about it, please let me know so that I may correct what is offensive.

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