An Occurrence in the Life of Carl Jung That Reminds Me of An Event in My Own Life

An incident that influenced Jung in conceptualizing 'synchronicity' (and reminding me of a parallel occurrence during my Oklahoma trip) was described by Jung in a 1951 lecture that can be read in Volume 8 of the collected works: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche Including “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle”. Here is the excerpt wherein Jung explains the incident.

My example concerns a young woman patient who, in spite of efforts made on both sides, proved to be psychologically inaccessible. The difficulty lay in the fact that she always knew better about everything. Her excellent education had provided her with a weapon ideally suited to this purpose, namely a highly polished Cartesian rationalism with an impeccably “geometrical” idea of reality. After several fruitless attempts to sweeten her rationalism with a somewhat more human understanding, I had to confine myself to the hope that something unexpected and irrational would turn up, something that would burst the intellectual retort into which she had sealed herself. Well, I was sitting opposite her one day, with my back to the window, listening to her flow of rhetoric. She had had an impressive dream the night before, in which someone had given her a golden scarab — a costly piece of jewelry. While she was still telling me this dream, I heard something behind me gently tapping on the window. I turned round and saw that it was a fairly large flying insect that was knocking against the window-pane from outside in the obvious effort to get into the dark room. This seemed to me very strange. I opened the window immediately and caught the insect in the air as it flew in. It was a scarabaeid beetle, or common rose-chafer (Cetonia aurata), whose gold-green colour most nearly resembles that of a golden scarab. I handed the beetle to my patient with the words, “Here is your scarab.” This experience punctured the desired hole in her rationalism and broke the ice of her intellectual resistance. The treatment could now be continued with satisfactory results.

Based on my own consciousness-expanding experience that commenced in Oklahoma, it seems a matter of semantics that Jung hypothesized a Force or Superconsciousness as a 'collective unconscious.’

A Reflection after Six Months Blogging

Sometimes an experience will motivate one to strive to expand his or her spiritual understanding. As readers of Testament know, this happened to me during the summer of 1995. I was working as a movie publicity writer for Paramount Pictures while in my spare time researching and writing about documented cases involving unexplained or 'paranormal' phenomena. My focus had been so-called 'talking poltergeist' cases for a planned nonfiction book. An article in Fortean Times magazine made me aware of a contemporary Oklahoma family experiencing the phenomena and I arranged to interview them. The events that followed were chronicled by transcripts of my unexpurgated Q&A interviews and journals.

One of the results of these occurrences in my life was the realization of how much time was wasted on forms of 'entertainment' -- including movies, television shows and novels. Not long after my trip to Oklahoma, I relinquished the pursuit of entertainment and devoted myself to finding and reading books that would increase my understanding of life's possibilities. In particular, I studied circumstances involving unexplained phenomena in firsthand testimonials from previous epochs.

The weeks prior to Halloween present an apt time to consider the relevance of movies (among other entertainment media) to our contemporary lives as corporate entertainment companies exploit the scary side of phenomena associated with the 'supernatural' (a term expressing mysterious facets of human existence). This year Paramount's "Paranormal Activity" has attracted great media hype and large audiences. An important question to consider is if seeing the movie (or any movie for that matter) is a worthwhile experience.

This blog will continue to provide an alternative to commercial entertainment media with new posts offering tips and commentary regarding veritable consciousness-expanding metaphysical and spiritual topics.

CNNMoney.com: "Jobless flock to sign up for the military"

"Average Bob sees no jobs" (caption from source)

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/16/news/economy/military_jobs/index.htm

Some of the truths suggested by this Aaron Smith article remind the reader of the scope of the world financial crisis. Another article about these circumstances was published in The Washington Post where "A Historic Success In Military Recruiting" by Ann Scott Tyson mentioned a "$5 billion recruiting budget."

A person may hope to have a spiritually rewarding career; however, a person without resources or an income has limited choices. These articles lead one to ponder the transitory nature of society and of identity for human beings whose economic predicament leads them to relinquish their hopes and dreams.

2009 Bigfoot Conference Occurs Today in Texas

This photo of a bigfoot is one in a series of fourteen
taken by a forest patrol officer in Washington's
Snoqualamie National Forest. © Cliff Crook.

A blurb at The Anomalist website divulged today that the 2009 Texas Bigfoot Conference is taking place today. Here is a link to information about the event: http://www.texasbigfoot.org/index.php/news/news/48-news/157

There is also a KLTV (East Texas) article "Bigfoot conference stomping into Tyler": http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11201757

The above photo and caption are presented in my book Testament. The photo was included thanks to Cliff Crook of Bigfoot Central and his wife Carol. Some more information about Bigfoot Central and some comments about the photo are provided at the Bigfoot Central website and "Identifying BF" article at http://www.angelfire.com/biz/bigfootcentral/

I first learned about the photo when it was published in the Los Angeles Times on January 21, 1996. The following information was also included in Testament.

THE WILD CREEK LAGOON BIGFOOT PHOTOS

Meeting for report interview, recorded and received July 15, 1995

1 p.m. Bigfoot Central.

Investigator: Cliff Crook.

Encounter Report Witness: (Name of witness withheld by request of witness.)

Occupation: Forest Patrol Officer.

Date/Time of Encounter/Incident: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 (2 p.m.).

Elevation: 2,500'.

Weather: 75 cloudy/sunshine.

Nature of Business on encounter: Off-trail trek.

Report Claim Incident: heard loud splashing noises to far left while hiking off-trail in Snoqualamie National Forest near Wild Creek — upon investigating sounds, looked down, saw and photographed a Sasquatch.

Report Scene Location: Wild Creek Area — Mt. Rainier Foothills, north of Ashford, Wa. — Snoqualamie National Forest, Western Washington

Number of photos taken: 14 (6 in focus; 8 shaded)

Camera: 35mm Minolta (50mm lens) no sun reflector.

Film: Fuji Color 35mm

Distance: 25-30 yds. (estimated) from high bank above lagoon/Sasquatch.

Developer: Tacoma, Wa. (undisclosed)

Photo purchase: 7 photos purchased w/negatives on Oct. 8, 1995 By C. Crook. (3 in focus; 4 shaded)

You Tube: "Doris Stokes -- The Barbican 1986"

Doris Stokes (1920-1987)

This evening I found that now available on You Tube is a video presented in ten parts of a 1986 demonstration by Spiritualist clairaudient medium Doris Stokes at the Barbican in London. Here is a link to the first part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qbI2gm9UVg.

Stokes became a sought-after medium and boxoffice attraction throughout the U.K. and Australia. She wrote seven memoirs, six with Linda Dearsley: Voices In My Ear (1980), More Voices In My Ear (1981), Innocent Voices In My Ear (1983), Whispering Voices (1985), Voices of Love (1986) and Joyful Voices (1987); and A Host of Voices (1984) with Pam and Mike Kiddey. Dearsley also compiled A Tribute to Doris Stokes (1988).

In her books and on stage, Stokes is known to have usually showed an ebullient personality. In the Barbican video, Stokes is seen during a period of less-than-optimum health following two strokes the previous year. She briefly described her abilities to the audience and communicated many messages to family members about people who'd made the transition to 'the other side.'

During her afternoon at the Barbican, she sometimes had trouble distinguishing precise words of messages and surmised at one point: "He keeps going over to talk to you and I have to keep going over -- you'll have to stay with me, my old love." In comparison, James Van Praagh explained in his first book Talking To Heaven (1997): "Usually I don't hear in complete sentences as I can in normal conversation with human beings. When a spirit says, 'Hello, how are you today," I may hear 'lo, are yo day.'"

Three times during the Barbican video Stokes commented that seeing a small light indicated an individual hadn't long "been over" (on the other side) . At one point, she indicated that a steady light indicated an individual had been over for some years.

In her first book, Stokes recalled the early stages of her mediumship when she began repeating what 'the voices' said to her.

"The more practise I had, the more experienced I became at distinguishing the voices. At first it seemed to me like one voice speaking inside my head, but after a while I realized it was outside me, and then that it wasn't one voice but different voices. Soon I was able to tell if they were male or female, old or young."

She became aware of one voice as that belonging to her 'guide'--Ramonov (the nearest she could come to the pronunciation)--and realized she couldn't choose who would speak to her, "I had no control over it."

In her fourth book, she wrote further about these matters.

"I can't bring someone from the spirit world into contact with the earth plane unless there is some sort of bridge. There has to be a bond of affection which links them with someone here."

Stokes acknowledged, ". . . only rarely do I see spirits and they're almost always children . . . they are so real to me that I can mistake them for the flesh and blood youngsters who live here on the earth plane."

She also recalled that she had once been watching television when she learned more about her guide.

"There was a trailer for a programme called Tibet, the Roof of the World when a voice said to me, 'That's where I came from. That's where I lived on the earth plane.' It turned out that Ramonov had been a priest and a very wise one at that."

At the conclusion of her Barbican appearance, Stokes stated to the audience --

"Those of you that didn't get a message remember this. Think of them with love and they're always by your side. So God go with you and be happy."

The Observer (UK): "How Islamist gangs use internet to track, torture and kill Iraqi gays"

"The bodies of gays on the streets of Iraq."
From The Observer. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/13/iraq-gays-murdered-militias

Each person has an individual interpretation of religious scriptures but I really wasn't expecting to find a UK newspaper article mentioning a 22-year-old serial killer in Iraq who professes that hatred and violence toward gay people will preserve the reputation of Islam.

In the article by Afif Sarhan and Jason Burke, a deputy leader of an Islamist militia in Baghdad is quoted: "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practice such sexual depraved acts. We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."

This is an individual whose own repressed sexuality has induced psychosis as his declaration reveals him to be projecting his own thoughts onto others. I have no idea how representative is this article of contemporary society in Iraq as often Western media reports seem to focus on unflattering aspects of the Middle East and other world cultures.

In this Observer article, one victim of violence is warned that "he had one month to marry and have 'a traditional life' or die." Perhaps, all forms of intolerance are motivated by the belief that supporting what one perceives as the 'status quo' will make one's own life easier.

Spiritual wisdom is achieved when we understand our motivations upon considering issues involving perceptions of morality. Often in cases of homophobia, an individual is attempting to deny bewildering desires and strives to convince others of being confident about sexuality; even when violence is wreaked upon another person, the troubling desires aren't alleviated.

Thomas W. Lippman wrote in his 1990 edition of Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World --

"Islam prescribes for believers both attitudes of mind and specific duties in life. Most important are the acceptance of the uniqueness, power, and authority of God and the understanding that the objective of life is to fulfill the dictates of His will in the hope of admission to Paradise. Worldly gain and temporal power are illusory; the Koran says that 'life of this world is but a sport and a pastime.' (57:20) Those who pursue riches on earth may gain them, but those who forego worldly ambitions to seek the favor of Allah--those who give alms, take care of orphans and the elderly, live chastely, and tell the truth--may gain the greater treasure, entry into Paradise."

Link to a New Recording at The Leslie Flint Educational Trust Website

Dr. Cosmo Lang (1864-1945)

Two recordings of Dr. Cosmo Lang have been added in a new 'individual communicator' section of the 'Listen to Recordings' listing at http://www.leslieflint.com

At The Leslie Flint Educational Trust website, there are hundreds of recordings of voices of people communicating from another sphere of existence. A profile of the medium refers to an autobiography excerpt stating the voices "speak directly to their friends or relatives and are located in space a little above my head and slightly to one side of me." The biographical profile is attributed to Alexander Walker of London's Evening Standard newspaper. Walker himself had attended several sittings conducted by Flint. Walker wrote, "Depending on the strength of the energy, Spirit may be able to build an ectoplasmic voice box in mid air. Voices are then heard by all present. This is different from Spirit speaking through the larynx of an entranced medium."

Here is a link to the 24-minute recording from July 6, 1987. The first voice heard is Leslie Flint himself who notes the date. Next, Mabel briefly speaks from the 'other side' to loved ones for the first time. Then, Dr. Cosmo Lang gives a discourse mentioning "the power of the Holy Spirit within you." There are also a few words heard from Flint's guide 'Mickey.' In his autobiography Voices in the Dark, Flint described 'Mickey' as "the spirit helper who acts as a sort of master of ceremonies at my seances."

http://www.leslieflint.com/drcosmolang2swf.htm

The other Dr. Cosmo Lang recording is from November 30, 1984. The audio resources available to be heard without charge at the Trust website have been remarkably expanded this year. I sent an Email to learn if more recordings featuring Lang will be added in the near future. Rev. L.K. Taylor responded: "As we come across recordings from our archives stored in various places, and they are deemed to be important to further the work we have undertaken, they will be posted on the web site."

Seven recordings featuring Lang are available at the website of the Woods-Greene collection of Leslie Flint recordings: http://www.freewebs.com/afterlife/flint/flintrecordings.htm

Here are two excerpts from "Dr. Cosmo Lang 7 - 6959K - 37 minutes."

"You see, you have to remember above all else probably that the Voice of the Spirit--although it is in a sense not limited--to some extent can only be utilized and given out according to the situation and the moment and the time when it takes place. The Voice of the Spirit, as I put it in this fashion, is innumerable souls. You may have a communication from one person and yet the majority of that which is being said by that person is due to the influence of innumerable other peoples who are also on the same, as it were, length -- a wavelength as you term it and transmitting down through different vehicles of expression."

"It is much more important that man should know that he in a sense is responsible for his own salvation. No one can save you. Only you yourself. No one who came into your world ever said or suggested that if you believed in him as a person that you'd be automatically saved. Follow me, follow my example, endeavor to do that which I do -- yes, which is very different. But that is your salvation is what you do, what you are, what you achieve, how you sacrifice if necessary yourself for those less fortunate. To give love. This is the salvation of the soul. No one will take upon themselves the responsibility to save you. They will point the path the way, they will help you, they will take off from you often the burden that you carry and they will sit with you by the wayside when you have to but the goal is there -- that it is a path you must tread. No one can tread it for you."

Previous post about Direct Voice medium Leslie Flint: http://metaphysicalarticles.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

Greenbrier Ghost

Last week I read an article from a newspaper website that described a nineteenth century account of a 'ghost' that influenced the outcome of a murder trial. The headline in The McDowell News was "Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Ghost brings murderer to justice."

http://www2.mcdowellnews.com/content/2009/aug/26/mike-conleys-tales-weird-ghost-brings-murderer-jus/

This report cites circumstances involved in a 1897 murder conviction of Erasmus 'Edward' Stribbling Trout Shue in West Virginia after his wife's mother was visited by the 'ghost' of her daughter.

Newspaper articles documented what is now known about this case. Another article about the case may be read at http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/greenbrier-ghost.html

I also learned a book has been written about the Greenbrier Ghost entitled The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives (1986) by Katie Letcher Lyle. The book's preface written by Lyle reveals the author herself didn't believe in ghosts. She used a fictionalizing approach in presenting this case with notes provided at the end of each chapter to distinguish facts from factually based fiction. A transcript is included of the testimony of Zona's mother when questioned by the defense attorney. The transcript was published in the Greenbrier Independent in 1897.

Q.---I have heard that you had some dream of vision which led to this postmortem examination.

A.---They saw enough themselves without me telling them. It was no dream---she came back and told me that he was mad that she didn't have no meat cooked for supper.

Mrs. Heaster said that Zona came to her on four nights: "It was no dream, for I was as wide awake as I ever was." When asked again if she thought that she actually saw her daughter in flesh and blood, Mrs. Heaster stated, "Yes, sir, I do. I told them the very dress that she was killed in, and when she went to leave me she turned her head completely around and looked at me like she wanted me to know all about it."

Mike Conley mentioned this occurrence, qualifying it as "according to her mother's dream." It is understandable how the word 'ghost' is confusing for some people as it has been and is commonly used in association with a diverse variety of so-called 'paranormal'/unexplained phenomena.

My Search for the Ghost of Flight 401 by Elizabeth Fuller

Working on my new book My Unexpected Path of Spiritual Discovery has induced me to reflect about some other contemporary autobiographical accounts of unusual spiritual journeys.

A variety of extraordinary events in the life of Elizabeth Fuller are chronicled in My Search for the Ghost of Flight 401 (1978).

She met her future husband John G. Fuller when she was a stewardess who agreed to work as his part-time research assistant "tracing how a jet-age ghost legend began." At the time, John had written several books about unexplained phenomena including Arigo: Surgeon of the Rusty Knife (1974) and Incident at Exeter (1966).

"We were researching an alleged story of an Eastern Airlines flight engineer, Don Repo, who had been killed in a 1972 crash in the Everglades. Several months later, crew members and even passengers reported seeing an apparition of the dead flight engineer. The deceased crewman would appear on an L-1011 Whisperliner, a sister ship of the crashed airplane. In several cases the alleged apparition was supposed to have warned that something dangerous was going to happen to the plane. Senior pilots, cabin attendants, and passengers claimed to have had firsthand encounters with the ghost."

Elizabeth's book followed her husband's The Ghost of Flight 401 (1976): "My rule during the writing of this book is to print everything that happened exactly as it happened." When she participated in a séance circle, she found herself calling out names of people who were later discovered to be related to the crash of Eastern's Flight 401.

Another remarkable incident was an encounter with Uri Geller in his New York City livingroom-office. After Elizabeth watched her cockpit key curl, Geller left the room. Moments later, she plucked her gold cross out from under her blouse and then saw it bend to a 45-degree angle.

After witnessing diverse psychic phenomena, Elizabeth and John discussed their predicament. She wondered if meeting him on a flight to Edmonton wasn't an accident: "Maybe, just maybe," I said, "a force greater than the two of us arranged this . . ."

Her second book Poor Elizabeth's Almanac (1980) continued to record uncanny incidents pertaining to her "psychic development," including automatic writing of proverbs reminiscent of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac.

Elizabeth Fuller's other books include The Touch of Grace (1986), Me and Jezebel: When Bette Davis Came for Dinner and Stayed . . . (1992) and When You See the Emu in the Sky: My Journey of Self-Discovery in the Outback (1997).

The nonfiction books of John G. Fuller also include The Airmen Who Would Not Die (1979) and The Ghost of 29 Megacycles (1985).

All About Me and My Blog (in 300 Words) for New Readers

The cover art of my first book is by Mark Kostabi.

It has been suggested that I give new Australian readers some understanding about myself. These news release excerpts offer some background information about my work and perspectives of life.

LOS ANGELES, July 14 -- Mark Russell Bell has started a new blog to help readers find noteworthy sources of information relating to metaphysical and spiritual topics.

He observed, "My new blog is for anyone interested in considering diverse aspects of spiritual and metaphysical thought. My first fourteen posts have covered a variety of illuminating subjects." (Note: this is the fourth additional post since this announcement.)

In his first blog post on April 26, Bell wrote: "There will be commentary along with links to articles, videos, etc. when some form of compelling documentation or perspective is offered. There will also be book recommendations."

Bell's 'New Consciousness Bible' has readers throughout the world. His first book was published and his website was established in 1997. The author has discussed his experiences and research on radio shows and at spirituality expositions. He is currently completing a new book to be called My Unexpected Path of Spiritual Discovery.

* * * * *

In his new book, Bell considers surprising evidence for a 'Spiritual Force' or 'Oneness'/'Superconsciousness.' Bell suggests scientists err when interpreting findings under the assumption that such a Being as 'God' doesn't exist when instead they should consider that familiar concepts of God are inadequate.

* * * * *

Bell comments, "My experiences and research have shown me that all living things are continuously interacting with an intermediary Superconsciousness or Spiritual Force that may be recognized through circumstances often described as coincidences and synchronicity, intuition and telepathy, prophetic dreams and visions, mediumship and trance channeling, healing, as well as events associated with such expressions as 'hauntings,' 'talking poltergeists' and 'electronic voice phenomena' . . . Such expressions as 'Oneness' and 'Christ Consciousness' are also useful."

A follow-up book has also been published in an original Internet edition.

Video Clips of Medium Gordon Higginson (1918-1993) are Available on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8yVzk-FVcg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJWH2FUlJxw

Gordon Higginson was Spiritualists' National Union president in the U.K. for more than twenty years. He was quoted in the biography compiled by Jean Bassett On The Side of Angels (1993):

"I have always said that I think potential mediums should spend time in learning about their own spirit before trying to make links with other spirits. We have a conscious, a subconscious and a superconscious mind. All three play their part in the giving of a message."

For more information about Gordon Higginson, visit http://www.gordonhigginson.co.uk/

Someone Else's Yesterday: The Confederate General & Connecticut Yankee, A Past Life Revealed by Jeffrey J. Keene

Like the recently published Soul Survivor, a nonfiction case study where hypnotic regression is not an essential factor for a person becoming aware of a previous life is Someone Else's Yesterday: The Confederate General & Connecticut Yankee, A Past Life Revealed (2003) by Jeffrey J. Keene.

Keene was born in 1947. He was a U.S. Air Force medic and served for 28 years in the Westport, Connecticut Fire Department before retiring as an Assistant Fire Chief in 2003. While on vacation in Maryland in 1991, Keene felt compelled to visit the site of the Civil War battle of Antietam when he suddenly experienced inexplicable sensations of grief, sadness and anger.

The following year, a conversation with a palm reader at a party encouraged him to consider the incident as an indication of having been at the battlefield in a past life. The next day, he glanced at a Civil War magazine and saw a photograph of Brigadier General John B. Gordon (1832-1904) who closely resembled Keene. The magazine divulged that Gordon was a thirty-year-old colonel when he survived being shot five times at the battle of Antietam.

Keene began discovering many coincidences between their lives. Most surprising was the discovery that Keene had facial and body marks that corresponded to the locations of Gordon's war wounds.

Ironically, Keene reported that a chapter of Gordon's Reminiscences of the Civil War (1903) was devoted to experiences of what were then known as 'presentiments' (prophetic foresight) and the chapter concluded with Gordon appraising about the source of this knowledge, "It seems to me that there can be but one answer, and that answer is another argument for immortality. It was the whispering of the Infinite beyond us to the Infinite within us -- a whispering inaudible to the natural ear, but louder than the roar of battle to the spirit that heard it."

The preface of Keene's book includes the following.

"Long after I had been convinced of a past life, unusual events kept reinforcing my conclusions, so much so that the only reason I could come up with for such revelations was that I am to share them with others."

For more information, visit http://www.confederateyankee.net.

Remembering Gene Egidio (1933-2009)

This week I learned of the passing of healer Gene Egidio on April 16 at the age of 75. I interviewed Gene in 1997 for an article that would help a friend working to publicize Gene's newly published autobiography Whose Hands Are These? A Gifted Healer's True Story. In Russia where he was recognized for treating victims of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, healers such as Gene were referred to as being a 'sensitive.' An expression that has been used to describe him in the United States is 'energy healer.'

The prospect of learning more about Gene firsthand was intriguing. I began the interview by mentioning to him that I liked what he said about himself being a 'catalyst' and observed that sometimes the mainstream media is too wary about reporting these things.

I asked Gene about spirit guides and he told me, "I do a meditation called an 'Open Eye Meditation' and this is where people actually see different lights, different people sitting in a chair I'm sitting in. And people see angels. They see people standing alongside of me and it's remarkable. And each person gets out of that what they need in their life. I've done this with thousands of people in the audience and each person sees something different. Naturally, there is a group that would see the same thing too."

After I commented about Christ parallels and mentioned that I'd read a book that mentioned 'Christed ones,' Gene said, "I've had people at the Open Eye Meditation stand up and say they see Christ sitting in my chair."

I remarked that he was very good at discussing 'energy sources' and he said, "Yeah, they've been here and they'll always be here." I asked about angels and he answered, "Well I have numerous ones." I responded by asking if he knew their names. He stated, "I know them not really by name but by -- see, what I do is a knowing . . . it's an automatic thing like your car transmission that shifts without you telling it. And this is how my energy works throughout my body, whether it's with spirit guides or angels, whoever."

During healing sessions conducted via telephone, Gene would instruct patients to say "I am that I am" and "I am one with God." He also asked them to focus on a healing image. He made it clear that God's healing energy is around each of us. The healing process reminds that we are loved by God.

During my interview, Gene told me he'd never turned away any human or animal if there wasn't money to pay the suggested donation. One disturbing aspect of society demonstrated by the circumstances of people like Gene is that their divine gifts don't alleviate their needs to support themselves and their families.

More information about Gene Egidio and transcripts of healing meditations may be read at http://www.egidio.org.

Spirituality & Health: Healing Spirits of Brazil

There's an article by Emma Bragdon about John of God (João de Deus/João Teixeira da Faria) in the July/August 2009 issue of Spirituality & Health magazine. Bragdon is the author of the book about John of God entitled Spiritual Alliances: Discovering the Roots of Health at the Casa de Dom Inácio (2002).

In the article as well as her book, Bragdon described experiencing a session of 'psychic surgery' after traveling to Brazil in 2001. Bragdon's website is http://emmabragdon.com. The article reports that John of God will be at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York from September 28 through October 1 (http://www.eomega.com).

In the book, Bragdon wrote that John of God is "living proof of a unique form of mediumship in which benevolent spirits, aka disembodied entities, or angels, use his body to perform seemingly miraculous healing, including both physical and psychic surgery." There've been other Brazilians who've healed in what appeared to be a similar manner with their work chronicled in books offering firsthand testimonials.

The most recent book I've read on this subject is John of God: The Brazilian Healer Who's Touched the Lives of Millions (2007) by Heather Cumming and Karen Leffler, two 'daughters of the casa.' A fascinating detail provided in one testimonial is that medium João's eyes have been observed to change color.

The 2007 book mentioned that "Divine consciousness is the overarching force that guides all work" and provided descriptions of some of the "more well known Entities who work at the Casa." These include St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), King Solomon, Saint Rita of Cascia (1381-1457), Dr. Bezerra de Menezes (1831-1900), Dr. Augusto de Almeida (d. 1908), and Dr. Oswaldo Cruz (1872-1917).

This photo of John of God is from Cumming's website http://www.healingquests.com.

UFO Reports, Photos and Videos Available at Roger Marsh Website

The homepage is http://www.incahoots.tv. Today there was a welcome message that mentioned a "particular interest in UFOs and the paranormal" and an extensive list of "UFO News" and some "Paranormal News."

The above photo is shown at the "Four bell-shaped UFOs appear in MD photo" article by Roger Marsh linked from the www.examiner.com website.

There is biographical information about Roger Marsh in the "About Us" section of the website. He serves as Director of Communications for both the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and Ufologist Stan Gordon.