Cognitive Dissonance

 

What is cognitive dissonance?

These Are The Hands - A Poem

  By Michael Rosen

These are the hands That touch us first
Feel your head Find the pulse
And make your bed.

These are the hands That tap your back
Test the skin Hold your arm Wheel the bin
Change the bulb Fix the drip Pour the jug Replace your hip.

Invocation of the Graces

Gaelic Blessing for a Young Girl

I bathe the palms in showers of wine, in the lustral fire, in the seven elements, in the juice of the rasps, in the milk of honey, and I place the nine pure choice graces in thy fair fond face, the grace of form, the grace of voice, the grace of fortune, the grace of goodness, the grace of wisdom, the grace of charity, the grace of choice maidenliness, the grace of whole-souled loveliness, the grace of goodly speech.

Peter Pan

 Who was Peter Pan? 

Peter had grandiose tendencies, and lack of care for others, showing a lack of empathy and understanding for other people. These traits make him a danger to himself and others. 

Wendy met him for the first time when he was sobbing on the nursery floor. He couldn’t attach his shadow and denied that he had been crying, soon persuading himself that he had never cried.

 Peter deals with emotional conflict by pleasing himself at all times. Everything is either all good or all bad and he does not recognise the grey areas of life. This is a defence mechanism.  On meeting Wendy, he declared that mothers are ‘very overrated’ and that he had not the slightest desire to have one, although his vulnerability was apparent. While denying his need for mother, he appears on a deep level to realise he and the lost boys (a group of male children who have fallen from their prams and ended up in Neverland), need some kind of nurturing relationship, one that traditionally a mother would provide. 

He manipulates Wendy by suggesting that girls are much too clever to fall out of their prams and that one girl is worth more than 20 boys! It is interesting to note that in making such comments he was appealing to her vanity, a trait that is strong in him. He persuades her to go to Neverland, a place where there are no responsible adults and the children run wild. 

Postbag: Questions and Answers

Dear Wendy How can I walk the path of a spiritual person? I have read lots of books and taken courses but still feel confused. Kris, Kent.

 

Dear Kris, Across the world, from ancient religions to the New Age, all believe that the adoption of spiritual values in your everyday life is the best way to walk a spiritual path. Generosity, honesty, humility, kindness and tranquillity are the basis, and to avoid jealousy, greed, egotism and manipulation, make the world a better place. This is all we need to do to be a spiritual person.

 

Dear Wendy,This may seem a strange question to ask someone connected with a spiritual magazine but can you honestly say with hand on heart that you believe we don’t die? Kate Brown, Lingford, Norfolk

Meditation

What does meditation do? Meditation strengthens our concentration and allows clearer thinking. It reduces stress and tensions, relieves frustration and anger. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. It helps us to realise our addictions and obsessions and helps us to relieve them. We can gain greater creativity. It helps us with understanding ourselves and develops greater resilience to illness. You will have more joy and appreciation. You will develop greater intimacy with others, more being the real you and less falseness and lack on congruency. 

How to: Find a quiet place, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take some deep breaths, allow your breathing to return to normal, and relax your body. Choose a word or phrase that is especially personal and meaningful. Breathe through your nose and repeat the word or phrase. Continue for five minutes. 

Famous Superstitions - Part 1

The root of the word ‘superstition’ is Latin and means ‘to stand over in awe’. It relates to an irrational belief that defies a logical explanation. Many primitive beliefs date back a thousand years and more. They were originally created to try to overcome fear of the unknown and the loss of control over life and death events. Many people believed that the future was influenced by ordinary, everyday mistakes and that the future could be foretold by carefully watching simple actions of daily living. These odd ideas were deeply embedded in the minds of people across the globe. Many superstitions in North America were taken by early settlers from Britain and Ireland. Once a belief becomes part of the tradition of a country, it is almost impossible to remove it.

Steve Hutton - An Interview

"I grew up near Leeds, West Yorkshire, enjoying a childhood that spanned the 1970s. Drawing was always important to me and from an early age. I wanted to be an illustrator, even before I knew what the work entailed. Art and illustration were the subjects I studied after I left school, culminating with a MA in 1998. My early commissions were illustrating reading schemes for Oxford University Press and that started a twenty year-long working relationship with primary schools across the UK, running workshops for pupils. Later, I wanted to develop my figure drawing skills, so I dedicated my spare time to creating my own fictional characters and magical world, and the narrative these inspired, snowballed into my first fantasy novel, "Raven's Wand", and from there, I produced a book series. These days, I split my time between writing and drawing, and when possible, getting out to walk the hills nearby.

A Channelled Message

 Around the time of the release of the Seth books by Jane Roberts, I had read that Hillary Clinton had, with Jean Houston and others, been channeling and this impressed me. However, there was no channeling training course in London that I could attend. I decided to try to channel alone then I decided to start a home group which I found much easier. After some time, I wrote a booklet for those in the group which then became a distance learning course.  My channeling work has been an amazing journey and I have met some remarkable people. The spirits that I have channeled have told me about the need for each individual to lead a life of responsibility, maturity, truth, justice, caring, tranquility and generosity - we have no quality of life here on the earth plane unless these values are practiced. My spirit guides have told me that, as the most intelligent life form on this planet, human beings must create a healthy future by reducing pollution of the air, soils and seas and care for the creatures that are powerless to survive without our assistance....

A channeled message that I received is below:

Channelled Messages

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle communicates through the trance medium, Aurora de la Bachelard

"Good day to you, as I come from across the Great Divide with this message.

As a young child, I had quandaries and there were many things I did not understand. When at school, I was introduced to the great religious mysteries, and, as a man at University, I learnt of the mysteries treatment for those of ill-health. I was especially interested in the uses of herbs, and experimented at length upon myself.  

You have been given a world of inspiring wonder that stimulates you to develop your intellect and communicate your findings with others. But do not accept immediately, at face value, all you are presented with, or even accept what others tell you, but search first hand, for yourself.

Your judgments should be based on your own powers of observation, examination, scrutiny, investigation, research, analysis, detection, deduction, interpretation, and diagnosis, and then the conclusion which eliminates and discards what is not of the most profound logic and reason.

Seek for answers to the most important questions of life. What is your purpose? You are on this plane for a few short years. How can you make the best of your time here?

Innocent people need protection as they always have. Innocence is a delight to God. Treasure and protect it and do not allow it to be marred or tarnished.

Search through for what is of highest relevance. Be mindful. Concentrate on one thing at a time.

The Temple! Of course there will be wonderful mysteries there to uncover.

I leave you with this emblem (drawing of a bee)

in faith

Arthur Doyle

(Aurora de la Bachelard was a pseudonym for channelling mediumship of Wendy Stokes)

Lions Led by Donkeys

WWI

The last soldiers went over the top at 4:20 am on the 11th of November 1918. The armistice was signed at 5 am in a railway carriage in the forest of companion in France. Then, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns of Europe fell silent. The great war was over. On that morning alone there were 10,944 casualties and 2,738 deaths on the Western Front. The following year, King George V issued a proclamation which called for two minute silence. “All locomotion should cease so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on the referent remembrance of the glorious dead.” Each year since then at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month the two minute silence is observed by the Royal British Legion and in Commonwealth countries remembering the end of the First World War. A million from Britain, 6 million worldwide. 

Pals battalions were recruited in World War I so men could fight alongside their friends, work colleagues and neighbours. The impact of heavy losses from these battalions can still be seen on memorials in workplaces and schools today. Whole communities lost their sons and fathers.

Channelled Messages

If the great philosophers, spiritual teachers and wisdom keepers of the past could speak, what would they say?

Many wise spirits want to contact channelling mediums. They are waiting patiently for us to move our attention within to the place where the ‘still small voice’ can be heard, and where the wise words of Spirit can provide advice, counsel and support.