Saturday, 31 August 2024
How to write a press release
Keep the headline brief and informative.
Write the information factually and with minimum embellishments. Avoid hyperbole and tautology. Keep sentences short and punchy.
Write the press release in a way where the editor can copy and paste into their publication without the need to edit.
Answer the 6 questions: Who? What? Where? How? When? Why?
Add your contact details for more information.
Friday, 30 August 2024
Kate Oman Interview
Chosen Colours 4 U
How everyone loves this dynamic colour which brightens the day. We can almost taste its tang and sweetness and it gives us energy to look upon it and to meditate. Reserve some time to sit comfortably and relax, clear your mind, this is your time to enjoy and savour this moment. Ask the angels who wear this colour to throw their robe upn you, encircling you in its vibrancy. It is life enhancing. It has a power that motivate and energise. Imagine you are floating in a lake of orange coloured water. The sun shining and adding brightness and light to the depth of its colour.
Stephen Wollaston - An Interview
"What have I been doing... I recovered from a straightforward illness that became serious one night when hospital doctors informed me they needed to contact a member of my family. I remember being quite accepting of the situation and thinking "I won't have any bills to worry about now". Yet, through the quick actions of the doctors, I pulled through and here I am! It was an interesting time. I realised I'm not afraid of dying!
Before this, in 2017 I co-edited a new title with Ian
Mowll, the coordinator of GreenSpirit, in the low-cost GreenSpirit Book Series,
‘Dark Nights of the Green Soul’, which was expanded this year with four additional
chapters. The book highlights wisdom about facing difficult times, alongside
reflections on our interactive relationship with Nature. The second and largest
section has particularly resonated with some readers, and includes personal
stories of people who found new meaning and growth by either connecting with an
animal friend or in Earth-centred spiritual awakenings and teachings.
Thursday, 29 August 2024
What is Alchemy?
Alchemy was burdensome and secretive, often working over stills and furnaces with poisons and unknown chemical reactions. Serious illness or death could ensue. These were the great adventurers of yesterday. It was considered to be extremely expensive and it bestowed great power, therefore its processes were kept secret and were considered magical. Wealthy patrons were promised marvellous things in return for their patronage, such as turning cheap metal into gold, and an elixir which would give eternal life.
When I was young, I was fascinated by mediaeval alchemy. It visited the British Library to read ancient texts and I saw illustrations of extraordinary monsters, crowned kings, wolves, lepers, strange marriages, peacocks, the slaughter of children, dragons, mermaids, and other wonderful and disturbing images. Could base metals ever be turned into pure gold? It is said in occult circles that Albertus Magnus in 1280, could change lead into gold but this, of course, is impossible (though the British Museum has a medallion that belonged to the alchemist, John Dee that was said to have been created from alchemical gold.) There was a lot of false claims because the alchemists were paid vast sums to research, and as their health deteriorated, they became more desperate to pretend they had found a great secret.
Sunday, 25 August 2024
Spiritism and Conference Review
Spiritism |
Spiritualism |
Movement began in France and spread to Brazil |
Movement began in US and UK |
Mediums communicate with named spirits in the spirit world
for moral guidance
and spiritual instruction often received by ‘automatic writing’
|
Mediums communicates with family and friends in spirit world for ‘proof of survival’ often delivered by platform mediums to a church congregation |
Uses non-contact healing |
Uses contact healing |
Believes in reincarnation |
Does not believe in reincarnation |
Mediumship training, healing and spirit release is offered to suitable applicants without cost |
Frequently raises money for charities through psychic suppers and other fundraising activities |
Beginnings of spirit contact: Contact with spirits, angels and demons are mentioned many times in the Old and New Testament. Most religious movements have started with a medium receiving a message from a deity, angel or spirit of some kind.
Friday, 23 August 2024
Q & A from postbag 2
Wednesday, 21 August 2024
Jocelyn Chaplin - An Interview
Bettany Hughes acclaimed series 'Divine Women' on prime time TV offers a full appreciation of ancient goddess worship and the role of women in the ancient times. Many women writers and speakers are introducing her various paths and how their worship was practised. As a psychotherapist and artist, I have been bringing her into my work, as goddess in various forms and also as the abstract force of rhythmic equalizing flow.
“My first book ‘Feminist Counselling in Action’ was reviewed for the Guardian (15.11.88) as showing how 'the goddess can be an allegory giving shape and form to the feminine principle' and it can be used to empower women today. My most recent book (published in 2008 by O Books) is entitled 'Deep Equality - Living in the Flow of Natural Rhythm'. This is a tapestry of examples, quotes, exercises, thoughts and pictures on the subject of reducing hierarchical structures and replacing them with rhythmic ones, linked to the goddess as flow.
Jocelyn Chaplin - Interview with Wendy Stokes
Jocelyn Chaplin is a London-based psychotherapist, writer, teacher and artist and is developing a new form of spirituality that has equality at its heart. Jocelyn describes it as 'a spiritual complement for the increasing desire for greater equality in our divided world'. For many years, Jocelyn has worked at the cutting edge of therapy, politics and conscious living.
Jocelyn: Feminism was at its peak and fortunately, there have been enormous changes for women since then, especially in the work place. But, even then, I noticed all kinds of inequalities, not only gender ones and they are still with us. There are many obvious ones, of wealth and poverty, race, sexuality, ageism etc., and also everyday judgements about what is inferior and what is superior. These prejudices are internalised in our unconscious. The deeper changes in attitudes towards women and other groups which suffer from prejudice have been slower to change, and there has been a massive backlash against feminism in the global collective unconscious. Fundamentalisms of all kinds are expressions of this reaction.
Monday, 19 August 2024
Perfume Toxicity
The New Scientist publishes the concerning levels of perfumes in the atmosphere and water.
Synthesised perfumes have reached detectable levels in the air we breathe. The compounds can accumulate in our bodies. About 8000 tons of Musk fragrances are synthesised every year for perfumes, cosmetics and soaps. Researchers have found synthetic musk compounds in fish and muscles, and in human fat, milk, and blood. The compounds build up through the food chain in much the same way as polychlorinated biphenyl and some pesticides such as DDT. Now these molecules have been found in air samples. Robert Gatormann and his colleagues at the Norwegian Institute for a research in Tromse found high mass concentrations in indoor samples and much lower concentrations similar to PCB levels in outdoor air. it originates from cosmetics and all kinds of cleaners and air freshener sprays. He said that humans can build up compounds in the bodies by breathing in these organic pollutants. As well as my eating contaminated, food. Exposure can also come from textiles that are washed in powder containing musk compounds..
Siege Perilous
I’m sitting in The Angel public house today in Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, with Dave, my husband, and the conversation moves to the Grail. I was speaking about this creative and inspired story, the item being a grail or platter. Beginning with Chretien de Troyes, whose name means Christian (though I was reading about Bernadette of Lourdes last week who was thought to be a cagot and some believe that Chretien was also one of this despised and Untouchable community.
Well, we can learn from fiction as much as fact, and this story is a strange fantasy. Where does it begin? It is circular and the end returns to the place where it begins many times, but we began by talking about Arthur’s Round Table, and how the knights of old, after many battles and tournaments, were despondent, exhausted and infirm. Their lands were devastated and the people struggled to survive. Around the great table, these knights solemnly erected a seat at their table. They placed a sign above the seat. This was the Siege Perilous, a seat named by Merlin for only the noblest and the holiest, upon which all their hopes depended.
Pep talk!
If you have been feeling in a low mood or in low physical health, write a recovery journal.
When you wake up in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy and to love. Give your day structure. Keep a positive mindset. Give your mental physical and emotional life priority. Give your mental physical and emotional life priority. Work on ways to improve your health. Pay attention to good quality nutrition: avoid salt, fats and sugars, cut out alcohol for one month. Avoid processed meats. Eat fruit and vegetables. Get good nourishing sleep. Read a book. Go swimming. Practice some yoga stretching. Write a list of everything you are grateful for. Breathe. Meditate. Be mindful. Work on reducing any long-term stresses. Take exercise, listen to music, walk in nature, declutter, speak to friends, build a more simplistic lifestyle. Be intentional with the things that matter. Decide what your current life purpose is and how you will achieve your current aims. To lead a functional life, you need a daily routine of health care and wellbeing. Focus on listening skills, conflict resolution if required.
Spiritualism
Spiritualism has an illustrious past! It was once the religion of the elite, promoted by prominent intellectuals, such as those who supported women’s rights and animal welfare. We want to be friendly, open and kind, especially to those who attend meetings for the first time and might be nervous. As people approach a religious centre, they expect to meet with those who walk a spiritual path and practice spiritual values. Religious institutions must be at the centre of eliminating discrimination and victimisation. Most of all people must be able to expect the law to protect them!
Each
centre should have an equality, a diversity, a complaints and a disciplinary
procedure that includes an anti-bullying policy that insists on the equality of
gender, race, religion, orientation, age, ability and colour. The Committee has
the responsibility to ensure that safe and fair behaviour takes place on their
church premises.
Prejudice
and bullying is unacceptable and must be reported and dealt with promptly by
the Committee. Prejudices are illegal as are threats, demands, intimidation,
exclusions, slander, circulating untrue or unverified rumours, blackmail and
harassment. Anyone witnessing victimisation should record it and report it
because often the victim is too traumatised to deal with it and avoids the
church and the church members in future.
weight loss video
Sunday, 18 August 2024
Women and Spirituality
Have you ever wondered why places of spirituality are filled with women, yet so few men? Often 80 per cent of the attenders are women, and women are involved with tasks requiring commitment, skills and time!
Are women more able to appreciate aspects of spirituality: communion with the divine in meditation; appreciate the concept of service and caring; understand the importance of community and learning about others; and take part in something bigger than the self?
Saturday, 17 August 2024
The Temple Church, London
A baptismal invocation survives in the Bible of the Temple Church in Holborn, London. It reads:
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!
The prayer of this church states:
“Most gracious God, we give you the most hearty thanks for all such liberties and rights as are held well and peacefully, freely and quietly. Most gracious God, we give you the most hearty thanks for all such liberties and rights as are held well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and completely by ourselves and all in our land. We pray for all who serve in the maintenance of our laws, that they shall serve faithfully to your glory and to the present and future welfare of our nation, shall truly and indifferently minister justice, and shall so order all things brought to their care that peace and happiness, truth and justice shall be established among us for ourselves and for generations yet to come. All this we ask through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who shall return to judge all humankind.” Amen.
Friday, 16 August 2024
Author Information
Thursday, 15 August 2024
Mary’s Story
Luke uniquely tells us the story of the mother, whereas Matthew’s account has the father as the central character - history was told always from the male perspective! We read of a girl named Miriam (or Mary in translations), who had come of age to marry, she would be around the age of 12 - 14 yrs old. We are told she was betrothed to a Joseph, meaning that they were engaged but she would be living with her parents, a home she would rarely leave until she married. They were of the House of David - a royal line when a corrupt puppet king sat on the throne of Judah.
Suddenly, a supernatural messenger from God, an angel named Gabriel appears. Mary was agitated and disturbed by his presence, because this Angel has a name that translates from the Hebrew as the ‘strong man of God’! This unobserved girl, concealed in her family home, finds herself no longer isolated but in the presence of one who is spoken of as an angel who is called upon to incite war and who destroys the enemy! Here Gabriel acts as God’s instrument, and a young girl is confronted and alone with a male stranger to whom she is not related, and she refutes accepted customs!
Monday, 12 August 2024
Semiotics
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Semiotics is the study of symbols. What are symbols? The word comes from the Greek, symbolon, which translates as 'to throw together’, and means an emblem, mark or token which connects to a larger body of information. Many people learn the meaning of symbols by rote rather than through true understanding.
A mark, sign or word is just that, nothing more. However, like 'beauty' symbols 'lie in the eye of the beholder'. For instance U can be an accidental mark, but if it is a symbol, such as the letter of the alphabet, U, it carries a meaning. Just as the image can be a sign for a cup of coffee and, if outside a shop that sells hot drinks, it could mean coffee is available. For some, personal associations could mean a comfortable place to relax, make friends, and have an enjoyable experience. The connections to the mark are dependent on the person’s personal experience, and what meaning they place on the mark. Some might have prejudices or judgments about that symbol or might not want a drink at that time. What might be a clear meaning for one person might confuse another, and what might attract one person, might not attract another. What might have one meaning in one country, might mean something entirely different in another, and what might have meaning in one era, might have a different meaning in another. Symbols are personal according to our knowledge, our past associations, and the meaning that it has acquired.
Sunday, 11 August 2024
The Story of Drugs
Hello, My name is DRUGS – I destroy homes, tear families apart, take your children, and that’s just the start.
London Spiritist Group
Friday, 9 August 2024
Druidry
Sunday, 4 August 2024
Lord Byron - A Poem
Saturday, 3 August 2024
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.
Oracle reading Harvest
Friday, 2 August 2024
Questions from my Two Worlds Postbag
In a conversation with Karyn, she thinks that if everything in the world was created by God, so was evil - so God is not entirely good. Does wholeness involve both good and bad?
No I don’t think so. I believe that God is entirely good. His wholeness demonstrates a positive direction towards holiness, purity, healing, and the relief of suffering. As everything has its equal and opposite, I also believe that there is a devil, a demonic like energy which opposes God’s direction and is therefore hateful and destructive.
In our society, we attempt to catch evil people, punish them and lock them away from doing any further harm. This is in order to protect those who wish to live in accordance with the laws of a caring and just society. These two energies cannot live comfortably together. Therefore they are permanently in conflict. On a personal level, we also need to fight against all kinds of selfishness, such as resentment, jealousy, hatred, and greed, or any other emotion or action that can harm another person. Yes, the devil does exist and those who enjoy time in his company will spend eternity with him.
Thursday, 1 August 2024
The Birch Tree
From “Tree Wisdom - The Definitive Guidebook to Myth, Folklore and Healing Power of Trees” by Jacqueline Memory Paterson.
The birch tree is known as the lady of the woods. It is a womanly, constant and friendly, a tree of enchantment. When seen in the Moonlight, it presents its most outstanding feature, a gleaming silver bark, which Legends throughout Europe described as the hallmark of the fairy. This white bark also gleams attractively in the Sun and shows the lightness of the tree’s spirit, the ethereal beauty of the innocent, dancing quality of the female in nature, with delicate branches, and leaves to match. It is the tree of love, protection and purification. Birch wind has special properties.
As Birch is one of the first trees to leaf in spring. It is known as the tree of inception.It is also seen as a treat of purification, cleansing the old to make way for the new. At the ancient Beltane festivities, Birch twigs were used to light the oak fires, and traditionally the May day love making was enjoyed in a Birchwood or forest. Being a white tree, a silver birch, what is seen to have the ability to ward off evil or negative spirits. Traditionally, Birch rods were used to drive out the spirit of the old year and for beating the bounds of the parish. They were also used in the none too kind practice of beating spirits and demons out of lunatics. The Romans carried Birch rods when they installed their Consuls, no doubt to beat back the crowds in an early use of caning.
The birch is believed to grow at the gates of paradise. It is primarily a tree of the Sun and sky. When use for the first ogham inscription in Ireland, the Birch became associated with sun. God Lugh, for this first inscription warned him that his wife was being taken away to the land of fairy. Birch is dedicated to the Norse goddess. Frigga, goddess of married love and the sky and clouds. She became Odin’s wife. Frigga had 11 handmaidens who aided her in caring for humanity, and she pun golden threads, and the rainbows of spring. It was believed that she had seven mortal sons who founded the seven Saxon kingdoms of England.
The name batch is thought to have derived from the Sanskrit word, which means a tree has Barkers used to write upon. The second king of Rome, successor to Romulus, is said to have written books on birchbark in 700 BC, which legend says are buried along with the author. In all probability, because of the indestructible quality of birchbark, these books would still be in good repair if found. So far, this has not occurred. Birch has great healing properties, including the fragrance it emits after the rain. Brooms were made from birch sticks and twigs.