The White Ship

The White Ship was extraordinary for its time, as usually ships were waterproofed with black pitch and this one might have been limed to distinguish it as the most prestigious royal vessel that sailed the seas. It was certainly the largest, with a massive 50 of the very best oarsmen, so when it set sail on a calm November day in 1120, it sought to out rival the Ming’s ship that had set sail a few hours previously from Barflour in Normandy and heading to Southampton. 

The day began with Captain FitzStephen of the White Ship requesting King Henry I to honour him on the White Ship for the voyage across the Channel, but King Henry decided to leave earlier but offered his son, the Prince and his entourage to accompany the Captain. Prince William, upon boarding and his men immediately got drunk and very rowdy, commanding the oarsmen to out strip the King in making it Southampton first. 

When the White Ship hit the rocks of Quillebeuf, the Prince was placed in a boat for safety, but his half sister, Countess Matilda, cried for him to save her and his boat returned and was upturned by drowning men. There was only one survivor, Bertold from whom the story was told. 

Coincidence! What’s it all about?

A 'coincidence' is two unrelated events that take place at the same time. Coincidences are surprisingly common and occur many times each day, for example, I was thinking about a friend this morning when she telephoned me. Is this just a co-incidence or could it have been telepathy?

Richard Dadd

Richard began his life with a tremendously promising career as a distinguished painter.

 Of the seven children of Robert Dadd’s first marriage, three, Richard, George, and Maria were to become completely insane, while Stephen had a private attendant but little more is known of his circumstances. Robert the eldest brother, born 13, July 1813 practiced as a chemist for many years in Whitechapel. George was the youngest of Richard’s full brothers, born 13, December 1822. He was a skilled carpenter at Chatham Dockyard. He began to show signs of mental instability when he was 20 yrs old and in 1843, the same year that Richard became unstable. He was admitted to Bethlehem and stayed there until his death in 1868. Though both brothers were confined in the same hospital, it is unlikely they met. John, a half brother, born to his father’s second wife and the second of two boys, was born 24, May 1829. He was apprenticed to Robert and went to America to establish a popular drug store. 

Validations - A Story

A school teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could write about their classmates.

At the end of the class, each one handed in their paper.

At the next class, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

 

At the following class, she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. Each student said 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much".

Canine Catastrophe!

5 dogs go missing ever day in the UK. There are 8 million dogs in the UK. It is often not known by dog lovers that many thousands of dogs are suffering needlessly - and the huge expense in a 'merry go round' of sad lives.

Breeders, from council estates, greyhound tracks, multiple occupancy kennels and pet shops, run a business with a small amount of capital outlay, yet puppies can sell for £1,000 each, especially if a pedigree features in a popular children's film or is a winner at Crufts or is seen with a popular celebrity.

The City of Revelation! London by Chris Street

There have been several attempts to re-build London as ‘The New Jerusalem’. The first was by the Knights Templar. In 1185, they modelled their Temple Church in Holborn on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and sited the building exactly the same distance from the old St. Pauls Cathedral as the Holy Sepulchre is sited from the Dome of the Rock. Clearly they saw a connection, or wanted to create one! 

St Michael

The name Michael means 'who is like God' and he was originally a Chaldean deity. He is most often depicted winged with an unsheathed sword. He is God's greatest warrior and slayer of the evil dragon. He is said to be the Viceroy of Heaven and to hold its keys. He ranks as the greatest of all angels and weighs the souls of the dead and holds in his hands, the scales of justice. He is the Archangel of Repentance and of Righteousness, Mercy and Sanctification. He is chief of the ranks of Virtues and the conqueror of Satan. He is the angel of death that leads the souls of the faithful to eternal light. 

His mystery name is 'Sabbathiel' He is credited as the author of the Psalm 85 and he is also credited with preventing Abraham from slaying his son, Isaac. The fire that Moses saw in the burning bush is said to be like Michael. Sarah and her husband Abraham were entertained unaware that they were, in fact, in the company of angels, not men. 

Inner Voice Confidence

When you hear your internal voice, with its criticism and negativity, where do you hear it? What location? In front of your head? at the back or the side? 

Now I would like you to imagine how your voice would sound when confident and happy. Is it louder or softer? Is it clearer and easier to hear? Is it stronger or weaker? Does the voice speak faster or more slowly? 

Imagine your voice sounding clear, confident, positive and happy. Put that voice in the same location where your old into internal voice was located. 

Now imagine a happy and confident voice, say these words in this voice several times “all is well, all is well” notice how you feel. Next, think of some negative conversations you have given to yourself in the past things, such as “I’m not good at giving presentations”, “I will never find someone to fall in love with me”. For each statement come up with a positive opposite such as “I’m naturally confident and I give excellent presentations“ and I’m extremely lovable and everyone loves me”.  Finally, repeat the new positive suggestions to yourself in your new confident internal voice, say the new statements over and over again. 

Byron Katie

The Work! I heard this expression from Gurdjieff and others,  but Byron Katie has her own take on it with questions! Katie was so depressed she couldn’t get up and felt she didn’t exist any more. She asks of your self judgment statements, is it true? Can you absolutely know it is true? How do you react when you think this thought? How would you be without this thought? 

1. Who angers, saddens, frightens, or disappoints you? What is it about them that you didn't or don't still like?

Eg., I am angry at them because they gamble all our money, saddened because they are worth more than a dradful life of gambling debts, frightened because of their anger and aggression, confused because I work hard and have nothing to show for it. (Name) doesn't listen to me. I am angry because he/she doesn't appreciate me. I'm angry because he/she doesn't care about my health. I don't like him/her because he/she argues all the time. I'm saddened due to his/hergambling debts

The Mother-in-Law - A Story

Scott Mann posted this story about his mother-in-law.

Sharon is my mother-in-law. She taught me it’s important work to see someone for who they are and not what you expect.

When I first met my mother-in-law, I had a hard time understanding her thick south Virginia accent.

And she seemed a little bossy in that southern passive aggressive yet polite way.

But I knew she was important to the love of my life, so I accepted her grudgingly as some of us do when family is forced on us. After 5 years I still didn’t really know her.

When my wife got leukemia at 30 years of age. Then our world was shattered and changed forever, Sharon very quietly moved, with her dependent Vietnam vet husband, into our house and became Michele’s caretaker too.

Over the last two years she bought most of the groceries, cooked almost every meal, did most of the laundry and cleaning, drove both dependents to almost every one of the 300+ doctor appointments, sorted tens of thousands of pills, and made sure they were all taken on time at every hour every day.

And she did this when she herself was diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago.

When she was getting a mastectomy and going through chemo.