The Caring Marine - A Story

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused.

Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious to her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

weight loss video

We are so often reminded about the need to watch our weight but it is surprising that just one portion too much each day can pile on more than a stone in weight each year – and every year! If we can’t get weight off during the summer, most people find the winter a more difficult time. Weight gain is exponential: the more weight we have, the less active our life, so the more weight we gain. This puts a strain on joints, increases our risk of fatty liver, heart disease and strokes, and is now said to increase our dementia risk also.

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.

Wendy: Hello Jocelyn. You have been involved with issues of equality since your twenties. What changes have you seen since you wrote the book 'Feminist Counselling in Action' in the 1980s?

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.

The Holy Grail - Part Three

I remember stories of the Grail from my early childhood. The earliest memory was the poem of La Belle Dame Sans Merci which tells the story of a young woman confined in a castle who longs to be rescued. In those days, a woman, like a child today, could not survive alone and even today for many women, life alone is undesirable. This mediaeval young lady admires knights on horseback as they ride past on their way to Arthur's majestic court in Camelot. She is aware of their fearless reputation for saving the fair sex because these men were chivilrous, courteous, strong and kind. She hopes they will see her, but she is invisible to them, and they pass by without acknowledging her. In her distress, she decides to take her own life, and in a small boat that floats to Camelot, she dies of desperation. 

As a child, I read many of poems of knighthood, and also the stories of the quest for the Holy Grail. The era in which the original poetry of a grail was written was a dangerous and complex time, and the poem itself is surrounded with mystery and strange occurrences, as though set in an extraordinary and tragic dream. Visions and dreams have a special wonder and magic, and what we witness within them are allegory, metaphor and symbols. But the map is not the territory! 

But what is the meaning of this strange story? A disabled fisher king awaits vital questioning! If we approach the grail story as though it was a dream, it becomes very meaningful. In dreams, we often describe events without the expression of emotion - and this story is extremely enigmatic. Could it be a wisdom story that holds importance for the time in which we live today? It could describe an urgency related to the healing of the Wasteland, and due to the lack of questioning, the opportunity to heal is lost. 

Convergent & Divergent Thinking

 

There are two types of thinking:

Convergent thinking focuses on arriving at a single well-established answer to a problem. Convergent thinking is used as a tool to problem-solve. When someone uses critical thinking to solve a problem, they consciously use standard probabilities to make judgements. This contrasts with Divergent thinking where several possible solutions are sought.

Lord Byron - A Poem

We'll Go No More A'Roving by Lord Byron

I am choosing poems that I remember from my childhood.

So, we'll go no more a roving

   So late into the night,

Though the heart be still as loving,

   And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,

   And the soul wears out the breast,

And the heart must pause to breathe,

   And love itself have rest.

Rules for Debate

10 Commandments of logic and debate

1 Thou shall not attack the person’s character but the argument (ad hominem)

2 Thou shalt not misrepresent or exaggerate a persons argument in order to make them easier to attack (straw man fallacy)

3 That shall not use small numbers to represent the whole (hasty generalisation)

4 Thou shalt not argue that position by assuming one of its premises is true (begging the question)

5 Thou shalt not claim that because something occurred before, it must be the cause (post hoc/false cause)

6 Thou shalt not reduce the argument down to 2 possibilities. (false dichotomy)

7 Thou shalt not argue that because of our ignorance, the claim must be true or false (ad ignorantum)

8 Thou shalt not lay the burden of proof onto him that is questioning the claim (burden of proof reversal)

9 That should not assume ‘this’ follows ‘that’ when it has no logical connection (non sequitur)

 10 Thou shalt not claim that because a premise is popular, therefore it must be true (bandwagon fallacy).

Stephen Wollaston - An Interview

Introducing Stephen WOLLASTON

"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.

Reuse, Renovate, Recycle!

Our unique and finite planet is labouring under the weight of pollution, in the air, the soil and the seas.  If we are to survive as a species, we need to care for the environment and practice ecological ways of living. All species are interdependent - ie all dependent on each other. Our logging, mining, farming, arable growing, are all eating into the land that was once available to other species. Our forests are on fire year after year due to long term droughts, high winds and little rain. What can you do I hear you ask! Reuse, Renovate and Recycle whatever you can, and stop purchasing vehicles, white goods, furnishings, and most of all stop using chemicals and stop eating meat and meat products. 

Freemasonry Origins

Possibly… 

Freemasons created lodges near their places of work while they worked on a temporary project. These communal living places fostered a close connection between the ‘brothers’. 

The Scottish version of the Old Charges was founded by the sons of Lamech who had written their craft secrets on old pillars. Then after The Flood of Noah’s time, Hermarius, a grandson of Noah, found the secrets of geometry and masonry and other sciences on the pillars and taught them to the builders of the Tower of Babel. Then Abraham when he lived in Egypt, taught the geometry to a student named Euclid, who took the knowledge to Greece. When the masons came to Jerusalem, they built the first temple for Solomon. When that was completed, the went different ways to find work. One ended up in France and hired Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne. Another, named Alban, brought the craft to Britain. Masons were sponsored by the son of King Athelstan whose name was Edwin and he became a mason himself, and wrote the charges down. 

John Birch - An Interview

Amazonian Rain-forest activist from the UK, John Birch, has developed an interesting method of raising money for charity! One morning whilst visiting Westminster Cathedral in Central London, John sensed the spirit of Jesus surrounding the entire building. Later that day, he attended an Eckhart Tolle seminar and was inspired to become a facilitator of an Eckhart Tolle Local Silent Group in his area of Blackburn, Lancashire. 

Goddess 2.0 - An Extract

Goddess 2.0 - Advancing a New Path Forward by Rev. Dr. Karen Tate, published by Megalithica Books, paperback 188 pages £10.99

You are not alone if you believe domination and authoritarian patriarchy are destroying countless lives and our planet. There is a more sustainable alternative and it's not new. In fact it's ancient. Exiled for a time, but making a return, the Sacred Feminine has become indelibly integrated into our lives, reminding humanity during this time of crisis that the ideals of the Great She offer a pathway to secure a more sustainable future. As people lose faith in organized religion, as the paradigm of power shifts across the globe, as climate change quickly approaches a point of no return, people are leading using their divine intelligence gleaned from Goddess teachings to find solutions and sanctuary. They're listening to their consciences, heart wisdom, and intuition to manifest a new normal. They're practicing partnership, generosity, and compassion to establish a new way of being. They're tapping into their empathy and morality as they hit the reset button. We are witnessing this awakening across the globe as people from all walks of life and cultures turn to Goddess, deity, archetype and ideal, to evolve from the malignant chaos we face today. Using the wisdom and activism suggested in Goddess 2.0; Advancing a New Path Forward, we see through the lens of spiritual, cultural and political leaders, old and new, male and female. They share the many ways Goddess Spirituality has grown and matured in the minds of Her advocates to inspire the birth of a new world and usher in a time of security, peace, joy, equality and prosperity for all.

The Greatest Knight - Book Extract

In the dark hour before dawn, all the shutters of the great hall were closed against the evil vapours of the night. Under the heavy iron of the curfew, the fire was a quenched dragon's eye. The forms of slumbering knights and retainers lined the walls, and the air sighed with the sound of their breathing and resonated with the occasional glottal snore. 

At the far end of the hall, occupying one of the less favoured places near the draughts, and away from the residual gleam of the fire, a young man twitched in his sleep. His brow pleated as the vivid images of his dream took him from the restless darkness of this vast Norman castle to the smaller, intimate chamber of his family's keep at Hamstead...... 

Lead from a burning church roof had destroyed his father's right eye and melted a raw trail from temple to jaw, leaving him with an angel's visage one side and a gargoyle’s mask of a devil on the other....

"Will I be gone a long time?" his dream self asked in a high treble. "That depends on how long King Stephen wants to keep you." "Why does he want to keep me?" "Because I made him a promise and he wants you beside him until I have kept that promise." His father's voice was as harsh as a sword blade across a whetstone. "You are a hostage for my word of honour". 

London Spiritist Group

I was invited to attend a Brazilian Spiritist group and I arrived at the venue at 7pm when coffee and refreshments were being served. It was explained to me that this 'course in spirituality' is very popular in Brazil and has been brought to the UK along with books that are used as their source material. These are five books, codified by Allan Kardec. At 7.30pm, we entered a very pleasant room and gathered to enjoy some calm background music. Each member in turn read from a book of spiritual wisdom and was able to make comments and ask questions on the text. These books, written in question and answer format, provide spiritual knowledge. After this, there was a lecture by a Brazilian speaker on a matter relating to spiritual life. The lecture was delivered in Portuguese and there was a translator standing by. This section of the meeting offers a different subject each week though all are based ethical living and how to live a moral life by contributing to our communities by paying attention to relationships, communal considerations, green issues, etc. Then we were invited to receive spiritual healing by way of a prayer and small glass of water.

Druidry

Druidry is the ancient spiritual and temporal doctrine of the Celtic people, but, as they wrote nothing down, e know little about them. Today, people from a variety of traditions and cultures gather to celebrate the druidic way of life, and modern day Druids meet at outdoor camps to honour nature.

I attended one of these events and was very impressed by the quality of spirituality. About eighty people come together in a large circle to honour the sun at the summer solstice. Firstly, we got together in smaller groups to design a role we would like to play in the ritual celebration. This communal activity gave us all an opportunity to get to know members of our smaller group, then we all came together in the larger group to re-enact the passage of the sun in relation to the earth. This clearly explained about the movement of the sun, earth  moon, our solar system and the stars beyond. It was creative, enjoyable fun, and we learnt about the seasons also. There were many workshops from eminent teachers on offer. Each day there were a number of activities to choose from, including walks, talks and arts projects. In the evenings, there was poetry, music and dance. There was an emphasis on caring for the environment and also being aware of the needs to other people. I met many interesting and likeable people and returned home rested and more connected with nature and other people.

Getting to Know the Goddess Course 2:2

In this lesson from Goddess-Pages online course, we hear about The Maiden, the young Goddess, one who, I think, is often trusting and adventurous - such dangerous combinations! 

The tragic story of Jesus strikes me as being true to that of a child of a very young girl, who appears to have little support at a desperate time in her life. When pregnant, she visits a cousin. One wonders where were her siblings, parents and close family at the time when she appears so alone and vulnerable and lacking confidence, support and protection! 

I have a fascination for Mary Magdelene and was an early reader of the Holy Blood and Holy Grail and have read around this topic for many years. Perhaps she was a priestess, from a pagan land, who blessed his feet with her perfumed oil prior to his trial and death. New excavations in the Holy Land and historical investigations, provide new thinking about the title 'magdala' which means 'tower'. The Magdalene provided the disciples with money, and was first to visit the tomb after the burial of Jesus, so therefore, she had a privileged position within the family that would have been granted to only those women who washed and prepared the body of the deceased. 

Kubla Khan - A Poem

 Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
     Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

Do Not Stand - A Poem

 Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep,

I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die. 

The Lemba People

The Mystery of the Lemba People: Tudor Parfitt was a 19 year old student when he first visited Jerusalem in 1963 and heard the story that in ancient days, more than 2,500 years ago, when the Assyrians invaded Jerusalem, they massacred the people, and took the people captive. Later Babylon invaded, massacred and took the people to Babylon. The Ark of the Covenant that housed the 10 Commandments was lost. When released from captivity, many tribes did not make it back to their place of origin. They are called the lost tribes and they were predicted to one day return to their homeland.

Pagan Ireland

Christianity and Paganism - A Comparison 

I often hear pagans criticising Christianity, but I don’t hear Christians criticising Paganism! Paganism has much to recommend it. It’s adherence to caring about pollution, climate change and species extinction is exemplary and our planet needs this emphasis! Paganism offers equality, so males should not take precedence over females, but Christianity is catching up, offering greater prominent roles for females. 

The Pagan pantheon does not promote the written commandments of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Their pantheon of gods and goddesses could be said to be a dysfunctional royal court in the sky. Where are the role models for good leadership and good relationships? Pagan or not, in a world of division and violence, it is important that we have balance and accuracy - and praise for the goodness that people bring into the world from whatever place.