Kings Return Music Arr. Rob Dietz

Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families

Charles L. Whitfield, Cardwell C. Nuckols (Foreword)

4.104,737 ratings168 reviewsDr. Whitfield provides a clear and effective introduction to the basic principles of recovery. This book is a modern classic, as fresh and useful today as it was more than a decade ago when first published. Here, frontline physician and therapist Charles Whitfield describes the process of wounding that the Child Within (True Self) experiences and shows how to differentiate the True Self from the false self. He also describes the core issues of recovery and more. Other writings on this topic have come and gone, while Healing the Child Within has remained a strong introduction to recognizing and healing from the painful effects of childhood trauma. Highly recommended by therapists and survivors of trauma.

(Godoreads.com)

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Barbara Harris Whitfield is the author of many books, including The Natural Soul, Full Circle: The Near Death Experience and Beyond, Spiritual Awakenings: Insights of the NDE and Other Doorways to Our Soul, and Final Passage: Sharing the Journey as This Life Ends. She is a therapist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been on the board of Directors for the Kundalini Research Network and was on the faculty of Rutgers University’s Institute on Alcohol and Drug Studies for 12 years. She also spent six years researching the aftereffects of the near-death experience at the University of Connecticut Medical School. She is a consulting editor and contributor for the Journal of Near-Death Studies. In this video from 2016, she describes her own near death experience that took place more than forty years ago, including a feeling of being embraced by the divine and also including a detailed review of her life up until that moment. That was a transformative experience that set the pattern for the rest of her life. As a result she became associated with researchers Kenneth Ring and Bruce Greyson at the University of Connecticut. There she discovered the correlation between near-death experience and early life trauma. She likens her particular path to “the hero’s journey” as described by the mythologist, Joseph Campbell. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He teaches parapsychology for ministers in training with the Centers for Spiritual Living through the Holmes Institute. He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities. (Recorded on March 1, 2016) For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see https://newthinkingallowed.com/Listin…. If you would like to join our team of volunteers, helping to promote the New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel on social media, editing and translating videos, creating short video trailers based on our interviews, helping to upgrade our website, or contributing in other ways (we may not even have thought of), please send an email to friends@newthinkingallowed.com. Check out our new website for the New Thinking Allowed Foundation at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as opportunities to shop and to support our video productions. There, you can also subscribe to our free, weekly Newsletter! To join the NTA Psi Experience Community on Facebook, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/19530… To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, please visit our podcast at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/n…. You can help support our video productions while enjoying a good book. To order The PK Man by Jeffrey Mishlove, click here: https://amzn.to/3bJcVTG (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.) Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/newthinkinga… Our Twitter page: https://twitter.com/newthinkallowed Our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreymish… Our LinkedIn discussion group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13860…

Lesson 152 The power of decision is my own.

No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. No one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. No one can grieve nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. And no one dies without his own consent. Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose. Here is your world, complete in all details. Here is its whole reality for you. And it is only here salvation is.

You may believe that this position is extreme, and too inclusive to be true. Yet can truth have exceptions? If you have the gift of everything, can loss be real? Can pain be part of peace, or grief of joy? Can fear and sickness enter in a mind where love and perfect holiness abide? Truth must be all-inclusive, if it be the truth at all. Accept no opposites and no exceptions, for to do so is to contradict the truth entirely.

Salvation is the recognition that the truth is true, and nothing else is true. This you have heard before, but may not yet accept both parts of it. Without the first, the second has no meaning. But without the second, is the first no longer true. Truth cannot have an opposite. This can not be too often said and thought about. For if what is not true is true as well as what is true, then part of truth is false. And truth has lost its meaning. Nothing but the truth is true, and what is false is false.

This is the simplest of distinctions, yet the most obscure. But not because it is a difficult distinction to perceive. It is concealed behind a vast array of choices that do not appear to be entirely your own. And thus the truth appears to have some aspects that belie consistency, but do not seem to be but contradictions introduced by you.

As God created you, you must remain unchangeable, with transitory states by definition false. And that includes all shifts in feeling, alterations in conditions of the body and the mind; in all awareness and in all response. This is the all-inclusiveness which sets the truth apart from falsehood, and the false kept separate from the truth, as what it is.

Is it not strange that you believe to think you made the world you see is arrogance? God made it not. Of this you can be sure. What can He know of the ephemeral, the sinful and the guilty, the afraid, the suffering and lonely, and the mind that lives within a body that must die? You but accuse Him of insanity, to think He made a world where such things seem to have reality. He is not mad. Yet only madness makes a world like this.

To think that God made chaos, contradicts His Will, invented opposites to truth, and suffers death to triumph over life; all this is arrogance. Humility would see at once these things are not of Him. And can you see what God created not? To think you can is merely to believe you can perceive what God willed not to be. And what could be more arrogant than this?

Let us today be truly humble, and accept what we have made as what it is. The power of decision is our own. Decide but to accept your rightful place as co-creator of the universe, and all you think you made will disappear. What rises to awareness then will be all that there ever was, eternally as it is now. And it will take the place of self-deceptions made but to usurp the altar to the Father and the Son.

Today we practice true humility, abandoning the false pretense by which the ego seeks to prove it arrogant. Only the ego can be arrogant. But truth is humble in acknowledging its mightiness, its changelessness and its eternal wholeness, all-encompassing, God’s perfect gift to His beloved Son. We lay aside the arrogance which says that we are sinners, guilty and afraid, ashamed of what we are; and lift our hearts in true humility instead to Him Who has created us immaculate, like to Himself in power and in love.

The power of decision is our own. And we accept of Him that which we are, and humbly recognize the Son of God. To recognize God’s Son implies as well that all self-concepts have been laid aside, and recognized as false. Their arrogance has been perceived. And in humility the radiance of God’s Son, his gentleness, his perfect sinlessness, his Father’s Love, his right to Heaven and release from hell, are joyously accepted as our own.

Now do we join in glad acknowledgment that lies are false, and only truth is true. We think of truth alone as we arise, and spend five minutes practicing its ways, encouraging our frightened minds with this:

The power of decision is my own.
This day I will accept myself as what
my Father’s Will created me to be.

Then will we wait in silence, giving up all self-deceptions, as we humbly ask our Self that He reveal Himself to us. And He Who never left will come again to our awareness, grateful to restore His home to God, as it was meant to be.

In patience wait for Him throughout the day, and hourly invite Him with the words with which the day began, concluding it with this same invitation to your Self. God’s Voice will answer, for He speaks for you and for your Father. He will substitute the peace of God for all your frantic thoughts, the truth of God for self-deceptions, and God’s Son for your illusions of yourself.

The following is one of Musk’s emails to Tesla employees:

To: Everybody

From: Elon Musk

Date: Monday, October 4 [time redacted]

Subj. Please Note

If an email is sent from me with explicit directions, there are only three actions allowed by managers.

1. Email me back to explain why what I said was incorrect. Sometimes, I’m just plain wrong!

2. Request further clarification if what I said was ambiguous.

3. Execute the directions.

If none of the above are done, that manager will be asked to resign immediately.

Thank you,
Elon

December 20, 2021 (usatoday.com)

A new study reveals that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking far more rapidly than glaciers in other parts of the world – a rate of loss the researchers describe as “exceptional.”

Doyle RiceMon, December 20, 2021, 5:01 AM

Glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at an “exceptional” rate because of global warming, threatening the water supply of hundreds of millions of people in Asia, a study published Monday said.

The study revealed that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking far more rapidly than glaciers in other parts of the world.“Our findings clearly show that ice is now being lost from Himalayan glaciers at a rate that is at least 10 times higher than the average rate over past centuries,” the study’s lead author, Jonathan Carrivick of the University of Leeds, said in a statement. “This acceleration in the rate of loss has only emerged within the last few decades and coincides with human-induced climate change.”

Researchers calculated that Himalayan glaciers have lost roughly 40% of their area in the past several hundred years. The glaciers are a critical source of water for about 250 million people in the mountains and an additional 1.65 billion who live in the river valleys below, according to a report in 2019. These rivers include the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra. 

.The Himalayan mountain range is home to the world’s third-largest amount of glacier ice, after Antarctica and the Arctic. The region is often referred to as the world’s “Third Pole” for its huge store of ice, and it is home to Mount Everest, K2 and other iconic peaks.

Global warming threatens Antarctica AND coastal cities: Collapse of a “Florida-size” glacier may happen soon, raising sea levels and threatening coastal cities

Though the mountains are tens of millions of years old, their glaciers are extremely sensitive to the changing climate. Since the 1970s, when global warming first set in, these huge masses of ice have steadily thinned and retreated.Man-made climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil, which release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane into the atmosphere. This extra CO2 causes temperatures of the atmosphere and oceans to rise to levels that scientists say can’t be explained by natural causes.”

We must act urgently to reduce and mitigate the impact of human-made climate change on the glaciers,” Carrivick said. Study co-author Simon Cook of the University of Dundee said “people in the region are already seeing changes that are beyond anything witnessed for centuries.”This research is just the latest confirmation that those changes are ‘accelerating’ and that they will have a significant impact on entire nations and regions,” Cook said.Monday’s study appeared in the journal Scientific Reports, a peer-reviewed publication.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Himalayan glaciers melting at a fast pace because of global warming

(Contributed by William P. Chiles)

Winter Solstice

Here are Jan’s thoughts:

This ceremony is held in particular affection by the group with which I work, for it is also our “birthday”.  To this day, I do not quite know why we selected this end-of-year ceremony to make our very first working – my memory vaguely reminds me we had been waiting forever to be sure we could go ahead, and then just dived in as soon as we got word.   Whatever the reason, this factor introduces an additional level of celebration into proceedings.

I remember our (somewhat frantic) last minute hunt for a Yule log. Since we had given up all hope of getting word before Lights we had made no preparations at all.  We must have hunted through all the local woods before finally finding a dry, insect free and beautifully shaped chunk of wood gifted by an oak tree.   Considering how rarely oak trees occur in woods in this locality – and most particularly those oak trees which will conveniently drop a branch into a rocky overhang that keeps it dry – clearly all our hunting was worthwhile.   To this day that self-same log adorns the centre of our altar, surrounded with all things sparkly and pretty, and lit by many candles.   These days one end of it is covered with dried rivulets of wax accumulated over the years of working, and the seasoned wood holds onto just a little bit more green scatter glitter every year.

Around the log itself are big sprigs of holly. I’m disappointed that I have not yet managed to grow a lady holly starred by scarlet red berries, but my male bushes supply us with glossy deep green leaves every year – then we have to try to beat the birds to a few berry-scattered boughs out in those selfsame woods.  My own spruce supplies the boughs of fir which build the back of the altar.   We also have some glass globes which nestle amid the greenery, and all is scattered with crimson twists of ribbon. So far we have always had to buy our mistletoe….but it HAS to be there.  Naturally, there is also food…we do enjoy a good munch during reports!

Flowers here are usually substituted for a living poinsettia plant – which sadly STILL ends up as an offering to the Gods in its demise due to my inability to keep this vibrant plant going for more than a couple of months.

Incense is very particularly important too – a balanced mix of frankincense and myrrh is usually prepared just before the Solstice celebration, and stored for next year, whilst we burn the one we made earlier during the current ceremony.   This incense has a couple of other ingredients, including wine and honey, and smells…..ah…like angel’s breath.

Another tradition for us is that we take one of the candles from the altar and leave it to burn out, set in a window, to guide the weary wanderer home to safety.  This is something you could do too – but use proper safety procedures if you choose to.  

One of the safest ways to let a candle burn out is to sit it in a heatproof bowl of water, still in its stick or holder, where the water level in the bowl itself will act as a dowse when the candle burns low enough.   Do not do this in a regularly frequented room unless you are going to stay with the candle at all times (and I really mean “at all times” – candles always fall over when you nip to the bathroom, you know).  Do not leave it anywhere it can be knocked or blown over.   And do not leave it within reach of flammable materials.

The lack of logic in birthing our group during this ceremony becomes much more obvious when you contemplate the nature of this Celebration.  It marks the Dark of the Year.  The hours of daylight are at their most sparse, and darkness rules for many hours a day.  The Winter Solstice also marks the beginning of a period of rest for those of our tradition.  For over a Moon no workings take place at all, and we recharge our batteries as …ever so slowly….the light reclaims its ground.  We do not officially re-awaken until Lights when we greet the New Year, and bless our safe passage through winter’s chill and threat.  And through all of this we are sustained by the brightness and joy of the Celebration of the Winter Solstice.

You know one thing I always tend to consider at this time of year – mostly because I probably have far too much time on my hands – are the modern Wiccan rituals regarding the solar year.   Many of these grew up based upon the research and writings of Gerald Gardener, the big daddy of Gardnerian Wicca.  There are many many branches of Wicca these days, several of which eschew Gardner’s teachings.   You see this reaction in science as well don’t you?   People say “No, no, that person was completely wrong, and therefor I am not influenced at all by him/her.”   But if you are convinced they were wrong, then surely you are influenced by them?   Otherwise how would you know to believe they are wrong?   It’s a puzzling conundrum, that one.

Anyhow…I consider the modern Wiccan tradition (that’s the tradition which has grown up over the last century or so) at this time of year primarily because Gardner saw the Solstices and Equinoxes as Lesser.  For him, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain were the “Greater” wheel festivals.

I find that approach confusing in truth.   Just as I consider the concept of Samhain as New Year odd.  In my heart, New Year is a time of hope and promise.  It encapsulates the possibilities of the future.  For me, Samhain is part of the “dying” year, hence the brief return of those gone beyond. 

Yet ever I respect and revere those choices of belief made by my fellow man, and held in trust and faith – whether I understand them or not.   Maybe those who hold Samhain as the start of things see my belief as weird.  And if they do, I hope they view me in the same light as I view them.

When those of differing traditions, faiths, beliefs and sources of inspiration can each hold the other equally and respectfully holy, we have a world that wins for all of us.  And that’s the world I want to live in.

Here are Graham’s thoughts:

Winter Solstice is  a well known Sabbat which has inspired the major religious and secular festival in our culture – Christmas. The Solstice usually occurs around the 21st of December and as with the Summer Solstice, the sun rises and sets in the same place on the horizon for five days. And, just as St John’s Day is placed after the summer, so Christmas falls just after the Sun starts moving again.

When analysed, Christmas proves to be as strange as Easter when it comes to the amalgam of Christian belief and pre-Christian customs. As I mentioned in the Summer Solstice article, there is a myth of the Holly and Oak Kings contending, and each ruling over half the year. The whole cycle of the two brothers could be a distillation of some earlier myth of a primeval spirit of the wild woods. Winter Solstice is the peak of the Holly King’s power and this is reflected in much of the traditional decorations and even hymns for this time of year. Holly is an incredibly magical tree with many myths woven around it. There are tales of giants wielding clubs made out of whole Holly trees. 

Many prehistoric monuments across Britain and Ireland have very clear alignments of sunrise or sunset at certain dates of the year. Of all the eight sabbats, the Winter Solstice is the one with the most surviving prehistoric monuments, and these sites tend to be the most impressive. Despite the common association of Stonehenge and the Summer Solstice sunrise, Stonehenge is more likely to be built around the Winter Solstice sunset. 

Newgrange in Ireland, which aligns to the sunrise on Winter Solstice, is an artificial hill made of layers of pebbles and earth. It covers over an acre and is around 40 feet high. It has one 60 foot long corridor leading into a chamber which is only illuminated at dawn on the five days of the solstice. It is an incredible feat of engineering carried out 5,000 years ago – 500 years before either Stonehenge or the Pyramids were built. There are other similar monuments across Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It used to be said that the Winter Solstice was so important because early man was afraid that the sun wouldn’t return. But I’ve always thought they must have been certain of the patterns of the sun in order to commit so many resources to building huge monuments marking the Solstice. I think it was important to them because it is the darkest time of the year, and the peak of the Holly King’s powers. There are more  months of winter ahead. But, this day symbolises that from now on the days get longer. At first it’s not even visible, but with every passing day, the Oak King gets stronger and gradually takes over from his brother.

Every culture or religion that has come to the British Isles has some form of winter festival. For example, Chanukkah was a minor Jewish festival but in the UK it has become more important. It has many attributes of Winter Solstice – a focus on lights, feasting and gift giving. I think this is because the northern latitude means that we get short days and bad weather and we need a party to raise spirits and help us through the darkness.

There is so much lore around bringing greenery into the house and how to decorate and to feast. One fact I particularly like is that when they excavated Durrington Walls, a neolithic village near Stonehenge, they found thousands of pig bones. From the size of the bones, all the pigs were around 9 months old so they would have been killed towards the end of December. So, our tradition of having a Christmas ham could well be at least 5,000 years old.

As I’ve said before, this would have been an important time for gathering the family together, exchanging news, making sure that everyone was OK. Although they are maligned, the round robin letters that go with the Christmas cards are just a modern version of a very ancient idea. Likewise having a big meal where everyone eats together, many generations overlapping, feels very ancient to me too.

I should point out though, that the idea of Christmas has waxed and waned throughout history, and the current “goodwill to all men” version only really surfaced about 170 years ago. In our house we tend to celebrate as if it were Christmas without the nativity and a few days early! We have a ham as that is a very ancient tradition, and I have been down to visit Stonehenge for the sunrise and sunset. The argument for this being the main alignment is that there is an avenue that leads from the river Avon up to Stonehenge. If you stand on this avenue at sunset on the solstice, the sun sets in the middle of the stones. (This feels more natural than being inside the stones at summer solstice and looking back along the avenue to the sunrise.)

In terms of colours and decorations, we go for dark greens, reds, golds – in short anything bright that is likely to lift the spirits. I try to get out and collect greenery – particularly holly and ivy. I’ve already discussed the significance of Holly, and Ivy can be taken to represent the Goddess. Also, fir, whether in boughs or as a Christmas tree, is important because it stays green across the winter. All these plants are seen as holding life in trust while all around is sleeping.

The hardest thing I find in celebrating the Winter Solstice in the modern world is that I see it as one of eight equally important seasonal festivals. In my mind it should rank  the same as Lammas and Imbolc. But in the modern world it has become a huge, commercial monster, dominating media and consumer culture from October onwards. So, in our house, despite the fact we have children, we try to rein things in a bit, while still celebrating and feeling the joy that the festival brings.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=959265338002648