Lucifer's Redemption

Every now and then I think about Brett Dean McGibbon.  Brett is a self-published author who binds his books in leather and sells them on a street corner in Seattle, Washington. 


I was walking the streets of Seattle camera in hand. Click, click, click. I noticed a small restaurant that I liked, click, and then crossed the street. As I walked by, a guy at a table handed me a piece of paper. I usually try real hard to ignore these things as it seems everyone wants something; a dime, a quarter, a dollar; some thing. You can only give so much, you know? I took the piece of paper and looked at it. Words. I started reading them out loud. "..men and women who were raging with life, who looked within and wrestled with their beasts, who were engaged in mortal combat with what mattered and were not gonna let what mattered escape." I liked the words. I was attracted to the words. The guy drew my attention off the paper and pointed out that he was selling books and signing them (he was an author). I looked at him for the first time. I became conscious of this - I was so fascinated by the words that I never looked at him. I picked up a copy of the book, Lucifer's Redemption,  and started reading the Preface. He encouraged me on. After the Preface, the Introduction. I was hooked. I was also attracted to the physical form of the book. Apparently he prints the pages himself on a laser printer (that is explained by a character in the book). The pages are then hand bound in leather with (Irish-linen twine). It had a nice feel. I liked the font. Like an old fashioned typewriter. I liked the book. The sign said twenty bucks so I gave him twenty bucks. I wanted it. I asked him if I could photograph him. That night I read half the book in my hotel room. It hit, drew me in. Made me think. Made me ponder. Made me reflect. At times I identified with the main character, James. We share similar attitudes about some important things. I finished the book off in Seattle Tacoma International the following day. Toward the end I almost felt that it was written about me - the inner thoughts. Then I decided anyone who reads it probably feels that way. It stuck with me. It stuck in my mind for two days. It also occurred to me that I have not read a book in years. This was the first in years. And it somehow seemed that I was fated to read this book.

If you are ever in Seattle you might run into Brett.  I have talked to people who say he is still there.  I see a used copy of Lucifer's Redemption going for $70 on Amazon.  Not only a good read but a collector's item as well as each copy is unique.

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Exotic Energy - A Pure and Perfect Body

A near-death experience (NDE) refers to a broad range of personal experiences experienced by people who have been pronounced clinically dead and brought back to life or by people very close to death. Often a sense of detachment from the body and the presence of a bright white light are reported as well as a variety of additional experiences. These experiences seem to be quite common and are often described as either hallucinations or evidence that there is an afterlife.

 "In their quest to find answers about the cause of the NDE, the mainstream scientific community has so far come up with two explanations. The first one considers the NDE a neurological phenomenon. The second explanation considers the NDE a supernatural phenomenon. After more than ten years of study, I am convinced of a third possible explanation..." Maureen Venselaar, PhD.

In an article published in Noetic Now, Maureen Venselaar presents a new theory on what happens during a near death experience (NDE) which is rooted in the dynamics of both physics and astrophysics. Venselaar's theory takes the severity of the trauma the patient is experiencing into consideration and addresses the idea "that an NDE becomes more profound and more complete as a trauma or a sickness grows more life threatening."

Venselaar is a spiritual/mental coach who works with elderly and sick people in The Netherlands. She has been studying near death experiences for over ten years and is convinced that there is a third way of looking at near death experiences other than as either a neurological phenomenon or a supernatural phenomenon.

According to Venselaar, "As we approach the end of life, our sensorial observation decreases, our normal consciousness disappears, and deep down in our physical body, at the (sub)atomic level, a fundamental process starts which releases an 'exotic energy' (i.e. light-energy/photons). This special 'exotic energy' is the foundation of another new, pure and perfect body, and another kind of consciousness/awareness. With this new body, of exotic energy/photons, we can travel through the barrier of space and time. The near-death experience is without a doubt a real voyage."
A near death experience is a five stage process in which there is a separation from the physical body, a journey through a tunnel, an experience of being in the presence of the light near a border, a return through the tunnel and a unification once again with the physical body. Those who pass on do not return but cross over the border. Venselaar refers to this as The Five Phase Theory.   For detailed information about each of these phases visit Noetic Now or visit Venselaar's website   De (binja) dood ontrafeld 


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The Agony and the Ecstasy

"Art has a magic quality: the more minds that digest it, the longer it lives." - Irving Stone

While writing a review of Irving Stone's The Origin, Rob Alan Marsh reminds us, "Great books remain relevant for a reason – because they teach us something. They better us; broaden our understanding of the world and its many fascinating inhabitants. And for that reason they deserve to be re-introduced, from time to time, so they may find in this vast ocean of distractions, some few new fertile islets upon which to propagate."

Irving Stone wrote The Agony and Ecstasy after living in Italy for several years and visiting many of the historic places he would be writing about in the book. The Agony and the Ecstasy is a "biographical novel" based on the life of Michelangelo. In addition, it is a historical novel which brings the Italian Renaissance to life. Anyone with an interest in Renaissance Italy can gain quite alot of insight into it simply by reading this book. Although it is about the life and struggles of Michelangelo, the reader will learn about the art, wars, and religious and political atmosphere prelavant during this time period.

In order to make a living, Michelangelo was at the mercy of his patrons who were Popes, Cardinals and Political Leaders each with their own agenda. He was forced to create whatever works they desired and lived under the threat of being imprisoned if he chose to deny his services to the Vatican. His contemporaries included Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Martin Luther, Machiavelli, and Lorenzo de Medici among others.

"There are the Florentines – lusty, artistic, and wealthy; the Romans – dangerous, dark, self-involved; the Carrara – interdependent, suspicious, isolated; the Bolognese – joyous, hearty, uncultured. As Michelangelo travels and interacts with these different people, their cultures come to life and these too have lasting impact on Michelangelo’s works and methods." - Roofbeamreader Review.

Irving Stone had 495 of Michelangelo’s personal letters translated from Italian to English in order to help him write this book. It took Stone six years to complete the book. Stone spent much of this time living in Italy in order to research the book and visit the many historical sites that were part of Michelangelo’s life. The book is very factual and extremely interesting as it allows readers to experience this period of time from Michelangelo’s point of view.

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My Reincarnation

 My Reincarnation is a documentary film about the relationship between a father and his son.  Tibetan-trained Buddhist master Choegyal Namkhai Norbu and his Italian born son have differing goals and desires in regard to how Yeshi (the son) should live his life.  Yeshi is believed to be the reincarnation of his father's uncle who was a famous Dzogchen master who died after the Chinese invaded Tibet. Yeshi refuses to accept the destiny he inherited from birth which is to return to Tibet and be a spiritual teacher. Yeshi just wants to live a "normal" life.

 My Reincarnation was Directed and Produced by Jennifer Fox who spent twenty years filming this documentary. My Reincarnation utilizes archival film, still photographs, and over 1,000 hours of intimate scenes shot between 1988 to 2009. In addition, interviews with Namkhai Norbu and Yeshi help tell the story of one man's struggle to keep a spiritual tradition alive and another man's struggle to maintain his personal identity.   Over time both begin to change as documented in the film.

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Play and Imagination

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” -Albert Einstein

Drinking coffee, looking at what comes up on my Facebook news feed or whatever they call it.  This one catches my eye and makes me think:

"OK, so you are ten years old, you have a laptop, iPod, Facebook, and a Blackberry.... Dude. when I was ten I only had one thing to play with. It was called outside!"

Oh yes.  Playing outside.  That was it!  That was all we wanted to do.  We played every kind of thing:  house, army, cowboys and indians, tag, hide and seek, baseball, football, all kinds of things.  Most which required making things up and imagination. Our bikes were motorcycles after all.

"I remember when we used to play a game
Take you by the hand and spin you very fast
Midspin, let you go, stop yourself
Switching into statues, rock hard
Necessary spinning in the front yard, necessary spinning in the front yard,
Everybody's spinning in the front yard
Necessary spinning in the front yard
Sometimes I wish that I were nine years old again ... "

~ Necessary Spinning -  Translator

Letting your imagination run free is an important part of growing up which is at some point socialized out of us. On her blog Social and Emotional Living, Kimberly Hackett writes,  "My children played well when children. They built forts out of blankets and pillows, upturning sofas and chairs, making a mess of the house. It didn’t matter. Their creativity and freedom made me happy and it was easy to make them happy this way. They worked together, linking imaginations through interior tunnels that had few words. This is how they loved each other. I wonder where freedom goes. As my children grow older, I find myself missing their childhood freedom. No longer can we whimsically float down the wide river of play and imagination. There was school yanking us to shore, to a reality I could not control. School gave my children what I couldn’t, the chance to become socialized. They needed to maneuver on their own. Their ability to be with other children gave them another kind of freedom, the freedom in friendship. But school is a demanding taskmaster and the freedom of play and imagination is not usually welcome. "

Wouldn't it be great to be nine years old again?  Nine years old before laptops, iPads, Blackberries, Facebook so on and so forth.

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