Labels reflect a person’s life, the way they’ve chosen to live it and the beliefs they have. They are born of a person’s history and experiences. They tell us something about who they were and who they’ve become today. They also give us clues as to why they are the way they are. Yet, they may still not be the true I of a person. So, you might be asking: Is there a true I of a person?
In 1936, Sicilian author and 1934 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Luigi Pirandello published Uno, Nessuno e Centomila; (One, Nobody and One Hundred Thousand). Vitangelo, the central character in the book becomes aware that everyone he knows has a different definition of who he is. He doesn’t identify himself with any of these definitions. He sees them as separate personas people have created in their minds about him.
In an attempt to destroy these personas, Vitangelo starts to act foolishly; in a way that almost borders on madness in the eyes of others. Yet, no matter how foolishly or madly he acts outwardly, he comes to realise that his spirit is definitely incapable of being mad or a fool.
The moral of Pirandello’s novel, as the title suggests, is that everyone is made up of one, none and one hundred thousand Is. Often, we each show the I we think is most appropriate at any given time. That I is then subject to others’ interpretation of us. It mulls around in their internal processes and resurfaces in the shape of a persona I they have just created for us.
The I we manifest and the way we choose to conduct ourselves are relative to the environment, the culture, the circumstances and the people we find ourselves in the presence of. They are relative to points in time throughout our lives, and they are built on the foundations of the ideals we have.
Although we manifest a few similar characteristics of our I all the time, we can potentially have as many I’s as we do circumstances in life. We can also potentially have as many persona I’s created for us as the number of people we know in the world. Everyone is unique in their way of thinking. They may share some common traits but, generally, their definitions of us will be different.
Whether we do it consciously or not, when we are in the presence of others, we assess who they are, how they might respond to us and we adjust ourselves accordingly. Of course this is not a general rule because there are those who cannot, have not or will not master this adjustment quality.
Those who can and do show a particular sensitivity towards others. They are demonstrating an ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and see a different perspective to their own. As we will see in the chapter on Neuro Linguistic Programming, one of the tricks to effective communication is being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see perspectives other than your own.
No matter what labels we choose to use in life, we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. We walk between the spiritual and the physical realms. We are an interconnectivity between energy and mass. We exchange this energy all day long with others and with our environment.
If using labels sometimes hold us back in life, then so do self-descriptors. When we say, I can’t because I am not that way inclined or It’s not in my nature, I’m not strong enough, I can’t help it, I’m too overweight to do that, I’ve never been able to, we’re:
Keeping ourselves from discovering new possibilities, taking risks and putting ourselves out there.
Stopping ourselves from acknowledging and implementing the positive qualities we do have.
Using descriptors as excuses for maintaining the status quo.
Attempting to manipulate other people’s behaviours.
Really saying “I have no intention of trying or changing.”
In his 1976 book, Your Erroneous Zones, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explains descriptors at length. I am going to briefly give you an outline here. Dr. Dyer calls them our I’ms and places them under appropriate headings. I have placed them into the following categories:
Academic avoidance – I’m not good at science, maths etc. By using this descriptor, we never have to master a particular subject we’ve never found interesting enough. They’re excuses for expanding our knowledge.
Lack of skill – I’m no good at swimming, cooking, drawing etc. Not only do these descriptors justify our failure in the past, they also justify why we should never have to do them in the future.
I would add that in some cases, like cooking, cleaning or sewing, they’re excuses we make in order to get someone else to do something for us. Therefore, they can be manipulative.
Genetic/Personality excuses – I’m too shy, I’m quiet, I’m nervous etc. These descriptors are used as resigned self-acceptances. Using them does not challenge who we are nor force us to re-evaluate ourselves. They support the negative self-beliefs we hold onto about ourselves. Sometimes, they are just opinions others have expressed about us in the past, which we’ve woven into our idea of our I.
Ridicule avoidance – I’m clumsy, I’m uncoordinated etc. We use these when we avoid doing something, we might like to, for fear of being ridiculed. Particularly when it involves activities we don’t consider ourselves as skilled as someone else for.
Physiological – I’m too tall, I’m too short, I’m not pretty, I’m overweight etc. Dyer explains that we use these to avoid putting ourselves on the line with the opposite sex. He also says it’s our excuse for not having to work at being attractive to ourselves.
I will add that sometimes we use these descriptors as excuses for not mixing with other people in general. They’re a perfect excuse to barricade one’s self at home and not go out very much. Furthermore, I’ve heard these types of descriptors used to justify not getting a job, a role, a gig etc.
Of all the descriptors, I think the physiological ones are probably the worst. They are the ones that have the biggest impact on us. Not only can they socially disable us but they have serious long-term psychological effects on us as well.
In most case, these descriptors are the ones we worry about the most. The media has conditioned us into thinking there is a perfect physical type we should aspire to. Yet, if we look at nature, it comes with all kinds of faces, shapes and sizes.
The most important thing is being healthy. Yet, health isn’t always equated with a perfect physical type.
Behavioural – I’m untidy, I’m a perfectionist, I’m meticulous etc. These descriptors are somewhat manipulative. They justify certain behaviours of ours and kind of demand that others behave the same way around us. They act as rule makers.
Excuses for ineffective behaviour – I’m forgetful, I’m careless etc. When we do something that is less than effective, it is very convenient to use these as an excuse to validate our actions.
Ethnic – I’m Italian, I’m French, I’m Chinese etc. I explained these in terms of being labels; earlier in the chapter. Yet, Dyer is making a point here that we use our environmental and cultural background as excuses for many of our behaviours. If a behavior is too difficult to explain, if we plain don’t want to explain it, or if we don’t want like it but don’t want to confront it, we use our ethnicity as an excuse to pardon ourselves.
Excuses for hostile behaviour – I’m bossy, I’m the leader, I’m pushy etc. Instead of learning to control our tempers a little more, we react first and justify later with phrases such as these.
I think these types of descriptors are very dictatorial and manipulative. I find that their usage can be very emotionally stressful for the receiver. Sentences like, I’m the boss, you do it my way or you’re fired is a perfect example. The act of firing may be a heat of the moment idle threat, but the seed of insecurity has been planted in the receiver’s mind. As well as the obvious, there is also an element of emotional blackmail in that phrase. Trust and respect have been breached. They will be lost and unrecoverable.
Behaving in a rash way and then, in calm retrospect, justifying it with I’m sorry, that’s just me, I’m bossy by nature represents the detrimental mind games people play with each other, which can have more serious long term psychological implications.
Age – I’m too old, I’m tired, I’m Middle-aged etc. These are classic descriptors a person uses to justify not taking a chance on something new and moving any further forward in life; especially when there may be an element of risk involved.
We are not the labels or self-descriptors we use to place ourselves into categories. Nor are we the ones others would pigeon hole us with. They are the product of our lifetime’s journey. Labels and self-descriptors are ways of identifying ourselves with others. They are ways of justifying our shortcomings and validating our behaviours and actions.
While we cling to our labels and descriptive qualities, we do not have to aspire to anything more. We don’t have to take any risks and we don’t have to put ourselves out there on the line. We don’t have to face our fears. We don’t have to leave our comfort zones. We can just stay exactly where we are; unchallenged, without judgment and set in the same old ways we’ve been accustomed to for years.
Life, however, is in the present. We can’t keep living in the past. What’s gone is gone. It should be blessed for having taken place, and we should be grateful for all of it. No matter how bad something may seem at the time, it always has something to teach us. Once the lessons have been learnt though, we need to let the events go.
Today is all that matters. We start building our tomorrows based on our thoughts and beliefs of today. If we choose, today, to stop using auto-defining labels and self-descriptions, we open ourselves up to tomorrow’s endless possibilities.
Venerina Conti
www.venerinaconti.com
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Showing posts with label venerina conti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label venerina conti. Show all posts
Monday 31 May 2010
Sunday 30 May 2010
Transpersonal Psychology and Crisis Intervention (Part 1)
“I’m going to die”
She cried compulsively as she buried her head into my shoulder; trying to remember the details of what happened the day she left all her belongings behind in her house. I put my arms around her and kissed her head in silence.
“There was mud coming in everywhere. I saw the wall coming down.” I didn’t know what to do. I heard someone shouting out to me; telling me to run. I ran as fast as I could but I’m an old lady. I thought I was going to die. I managed to escape just in time. When I turned around. I saw my house begin to collapse. I’d been there 40 years. All my photos are gone. All my clothes are gone. I’ve got nothing left. Where am I going to live? I’ve worked all my life. What am I going to do? I get 250 euros a month. I can’t afford to rebuild a new house or buy a new place. What’s going to happen to me?” she said almost in one breath, in a flood of tears. I continued to hold her in silence.
“Maybe it was better if I’d died. Why did I live to see this?”
This is just one of the many heart-breaking accounts I’ve heard since the 21st February 2010 and just a couple of the many questions people asked.
Everyone and their family had a story: Dnª Joana, Dnª Rosa, Dnª Ana, Helena, Dnª Ana (Nº 2), Dnª Graça, Sr. José, Sr. João, Dnª Maria, Dnª Edoarda, Dnª Leonora, Dnª Rosa, Dnª Helena (Nº 2), Fam. Silva, Fam. Fernandes, Fam. Teixeira, Fam. Camacho, Dnª Maria (Nº 2), Dnª Albertina, Dnª Idalina and all the people who are not mentioned here because the list is too long. They all have an account to share in some way, and this is just a partial list of people who were made homeless and came to stay in the army barracks with us for a while.
In the field, out in the countryside, there are hundreds of thousands more accounts. In my estimation, it’s fair to say that there are probably as many accounts as people living on the island. Everyone was affected in some way.
Although it was internationally publicised, on the 20th February 2010, Madeira island was hit by a “freak storm” that flooded the capital city of Funchal, isolated the towns of Tabua and Curral das Freiras; caused immeasurable damage in Ribeira Brava and Serra D’Água and provoked severe landslides in other areas of the island like: Jardim da Serra, Trapicho, Monte, Santo Antonio, Santa Cruz and many more. The disaster was of proportions nobody could have foretold.
Many, within a matter of hours, lost everything they possessed. They were barely saved from their homes with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. Many lost more than that. They lost their loved ones; a husband, a child, a son, a daughter, a father, a brother, a wife.
One young man lost his entire family; eight people gone within minutes. One man, seeing the mud coming and trying to protect his family, told his wife and child to run out of the car to what he thought would be safety, as they were trapped in a shopping mall car park, but they died and he survived. One family took refuge in another family’s house, thinking it would be safer from the mud; only to have a crane fall on the house and kill all nine people.
Shopping malls and underground car-parks were filled meters high with mud. Thousands of cars were destroyed in the streets. Hundreds of video clips and photos circulated on the Internet. These living memories, and images, are just some of the traumas facing the collective conscience of the people who live in Madeira and those who are watching abroad. They need to be overcome effectively for the Madeiran community to have half a chance of any kind of re-establishment of “normality of life” in the future.
It has already been noted that people are afraid to park in underground car-parks. I have also already spoken to people who refuse to shop in certain shopping malls because they feel they are graveyards. During one rainfall, a friend of mine called her partner 28 times. He didn’t reply. When he eventually did, they ended up having an argument. When she phoned me, she was fully aware that although she thought she hadn’t been affected, she was suffering with a form of post-storm trauma. Her compulsive telephoning behaviour was due to her preoccupation with his welfare during the downpour.
These are just a few examples. The worst repercussions, in my opinion, are yet to come. At present, we are entering summertime. The rain is subsiding. People are quickly trying to forget and avoid the memories. Nightclubs have registered an all time high alcoholic consumption. At Easter, an incredibly high number of Madeirans opted to leave the island for their Easter break.
At present, people are planning their holidays; talking about their suntan; thinking about their next vacation but nobody is really thinking about next winter and what will happen when the next storm strikes. I’m not saying the next storm will cause the same physical damage as this one did, but psychologically people will be affected.
Presently, people are using avoidance techniques to sidestep dealing with the real issues that underlie the fear that was instilled this last February. Yet, when next winter comes and we have torrential downpours, the memories and the fear will come back. Panic will set in.
The truth is, when we don’t know how to deal with something, we run away because it’s the easier option. Not having to face a trauma means not having to deal with the pain associated with it. Yet, in not facing pain of any kind, at a later date we find ourselves less in a position of being able to disassociate from that pain.
A natural part of any healing process is to recognise, feel and acknowledge pain, along with any memories, in order to disassociate the emotional attachment we have to them.
Personally, I’ve been working as a volunteer since the 21st February. I was brought on board as part of the psychological support team. Here in Madeira, I am the only person, to the best of my knowledge, who is a Transpersonal Psychologist with experience in Emergency and Crisis intervention and a solid background in the Transpersonal field.
During my time in the army barracks, I was also assigned to Caritas as co-ordinator for one of the main distribution depots in the army base; where the homeless were being received and temporarily housed.
When I got there, the depot was a mess. Clothes, shoes, and bedding were thrown in piles all over the floor. People were climbing all over them to get items. They were tossed and juggled. It was chaos and a mess. The people who had lost everything came in to get something and, understandably, started crying.
One by one, I escorted them out for a walk around the courtyard and gave them a defusing and debriefing session; all rolled into one. Yet, clearly I knew that wasn’t the only solution. When I went back into the depot, I kindly asked the other volunteers to transform the depot into a shop front.
My argument was: “The people who come to us for item have lost everything. They have, more than likely, never had to ask for anything in their lives. They are people with pride, honour and self-worth. We’re not going to take those qualities away from them as well. They probably see this as a bad thing. They probably feel like beggars. We need to restore their self-worth, their dignity and their pride. We need to make them feel like nothing bad has happened. By transforming this depot into something that looks like a shop, we can modify their concept of needing something from us. We can give them back something of their self-worth. If they have their self-worth, their pride and their dignity restored, they can start to rebuild their lives again. They can build a new beginning on that. If we take away that too, they have nothing left to build on.”
The volunteers understood and within a day, we had a shop front we renamed Zara RG3. RG3 is the name of the army barracks. From that time on, instead of crying when they came into the depot, people started asking if we had matching items. Some volunteers complained people were becoming a little too demanding and arrogant. Yet, it was better to see that little touch of arrogance than unrecoverable depression from which recovery could take years. If improperly treated, some people never even recover over an entire lifetime; which is sadly what happened with some of the soldiers who took part in the Falklands war whom I met, and who never received adequate post war counselling.
In fact, one such soldier, when I met him, had suicidal tendencies due to sever depression he couldn’t explain. He admitted he had had difficulties reintegrating back into society after the war. Yet, he couldn’t explain his depression. After talking to him for a while, we came to the conclusion, and agreed that his depression and suicidal tendencies were due to the fact that his conscience weighed heavy at having killed other human beings.
Killing was against his very nature. His philosophy of living was to preserve life and not take it. He had carried out orders as a member of the Forces but it contradicted everything he was “spiritually” programmed to believe in. This contradiction caused him severe inner subconscious distress. Once he learned forgiveness and to make peace between the material world; what was demanded of him under “exceptional circumstances” and the spiritual world; restoring his “spiritual state of being”, he was able to let go and start again.
In the RG3 army barracks, many tears were shed by the people who all lost something, many hugs were given and a lot of time was spent slowly, day after day, helping to rebuild confidence, trust and a vision that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the future will be brighter.
Each case was different and had to be treated in a different way.
For one woman, physical separation from her aunt meant emotional and affectionate separation. For her, that loss was traumatic; possibly worse than the loss of her house. It was the loss of her point of reference; her security, her comfort zone, her family nucleus and such a drastic change in life that she didn’t know how to face the future.
I met her when she came into the depot for a pair of shoes. She was looking through the boxes and found one of a pair that she liked, but she couldn’t find the other one. She was there compulsively looking for the other. Instantly, I recognised, the issue wasn’t the shoe. I casually approached and asked her to escort me for a walk. That’s when I discovered her aunt had been taken into an old people’s home when she’d been removed from their home.
I tried to explain that physical separation didn’t mean emotional separation but I could sense that my words were half falling on deaf ears; not through any fault of the lady’s nor as any criticism or judgement. When a person is suffering a trauma or a profound sense of distress, although all the senses are somewhat heightened, all cognitive processing capabilities are weakened. On a cognitive level, a person appears almost in a surreal or semi dreamlike state.
After the walk, I told her to go and relax somewhere and that we’d find the shoe. We did. When I gave her the pair, she clutched them as if they were gold dust. In an absurd kind of way, they became her new point of reference.
Meanwhile, a few days later, we found out in which old people’s home the lady’s aunt was. I, personally, drove the lady and her husband to the home so they could restore the bond with their aunt. After the visit, the lady, her husband were completely different people. The husband, who had barely spoken since he’d arrived at the barracks, didn’t stop talking. The lady was happy and talkative. That night, the shoes were stolen from her room in the army barracks but she didn’t care. She had restored her original point of reference. She had her family nucleus back and intact on a physical, mental and spiritual level.
Although this was the first time I had held an “official” emergency and crisis intervention post, this was not the first time I had been involved in situations where I was able to apply Transpersonal techniques and further study transpersonal approaches and their efficacy in Crisis and Emergency Intervention.
In 1996, I unofficially devised and studied the efficacy of transpersonal defusing and debriefing techniques with hotel clients and English speaking Cypriot citizens who endured the 6.8 earthquake that was followed by a hail stone storm, of great magnitude, the following day.
In 1997, in Cyprus, once again we lived in a state of Emergency as we became under direct threat of war with Turkey. Since Cyprus has no real army to speak of, my colleagues (the barmen) kept machine guns, hand grenades and gas masks on standby behind the bar; in case of attack. Early in the mornings, we would awake to the sound of Turkish jet fighters being chased by Greek ones.
Once again, it became an opportunity for me to unofficially test my own Transpersonal debriefing techniques. For a while, we all lived with the impending uncertainty of life or death. It was also a time when I re-evaluated my own personal beliefs and my own perspective on life.
In 1998, I unofficially experimented these Transpersonal techniques on US seals in Oman who had been employed in the Gulf war and were suffering post war trauma. The classical symptoms were nightmares, feelings of persecution, paranoias about their personal safety, avoidance and denial.
Furthermore, in 1998,1999 and the year 2000, I unofficially tested my theories further about transpersonal techniques and their intervention efficacy with US, Arabic and British Forces in Bahrain and Dubai, pre and post gulf assignments.
Prior to these dates, in 1995, I had worked on Forces bases in Germany in Minden, Osnabrück, Monchengladbach and Gütersloh. It was there, with the constant bomb checks and other safety procedures that I started to wonder what psychological repercussions arise in a person.
Using myself as a study subject, I slowly noticed how my awareness grew and my habitual carefree patterns of life and living began to change. I started taking my safety less for granted and from a psychological point of view; fear had crept in. My behaviour was changing by mere suggestion of what could be and not by what “actually” was.
Yet, my love for psychology really emerged from being a professional entertainer. As I performed night after night, my curiosity arose from how music had the ability to manipulate people’s moods and emotions and completely change the atmosphere in a venue; sometimes effortlessly and sometimes with a great deal of effort. So, in 1993 I embarked on my Psychology degree.
Yet, I was consciously aware that not all entertainers have the same ability to make this change in people nor touch the inner being of people in the same way. When I completed my degree, I still couldn’t find an explanation for this occurrence in conventional psychology and that’s when I realised its limitations and turned to the transpersonal approach.
In 2001, I tested my theories a little further about psychological transpersonal techniques and interconnectivity in Shanghai, China: 1) In cases of child/adult abuse and with young girls forced into prostitution as a means of survival, and 2) with police officers when I was arrested in the airport and spent a considerable amount of time in the chief of police’s office. The outcome was I made new friends in unimaginable places under unthinkable circumstances.
All my tests and experiments were unofficial, unwitting and for my own satisfaction. They were never officially recorded anywhere nor were they officially declared to any presiding psychological society. Yet, with a little push from a couple of very nice colleagues here in Madeira, I feel that the time is now right to start bringing my research out into the open little by little, making it official and perhaps make a little bit of a difference to someone somewhere; even if that be by helping another psychologist to help a client/patient.
The transpersonal models I have created are guidelines for swift simultaneous “attachment and detachment” methods in order to create instant bonds and safe environments between people in moments of Emergency and Crisis Intervention.
Until 2008, I didn’t even know the techniques I was using were determined “Transpersonal”. It was only when I came to study with Atlantic University that I was finally able to assign the label “Transpersonal” to the methods I’d been using. Until then, I’d just entitled them “Humanistic” psychological approaches.
Since 2007, I have been healing people online and offline using an integrative methods of Transpersonal Psychology and Natural Medicine. There are testimonials on my website. www.venerinaconti.com
In 2009, while debating whether I should continue with my Doctorate in Natural Medicine, pursue a Doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology, or start from the beginning and pursue a degree in Medicine, I visited Nepal. While I was there, I volunteered in a Tibetan Nunnery Clinic. I also visited a Tibetan refugee camp. It was there that I finally found self confidence in the craft I had turned into an art form - I finally realised my methods of Transpersonal approaches are completely cross-cultural.
Reflecting back on this, I can only award this very important factor to having worked with, interacted with, learnt from and assimilated something from all the people I have met in life. For that I am truly grateful. They were people literally from all over the world. I have lived among, worked with or met and learnt something from someone from just about every country on this planet.
They are people of all ages, from all walks of life, all socio-economical backgrounds, all traditions, cultures, beliefs and religions; and they have all left me with a new piece of knowledge.
I’ve always been of the opinion that conventional psychology is limiting. I wrote an article about the Psychology of Past lives and Reincarnation where I explicitly state the need for a more integrative approach to psychological intervention that falls outside the outdated models currently being used.
Now, as I sit and reflect upon the flood events in Madeira and my previous experience, I am resolute in my opinion that Clinical Psychology needs a shake up. If Psychologists of the future are to offer better services to their clients/patients then they need to have a more holistic training, more complete tools and a better approach; one that integrates mind, body and soul.
I believe that in situations like emergency and crisis, the least “clinically” said, the better. People just need to be heard, comforted and reassured. Emotional distresses need to defused and/or debriefed but not in a clinical way.
Formal clinical training is an essential part of training for psychologists, but there are no clinical models that can help in an emergency situation, and every human being will react and respond in a different way. It’s all a question of trial and error. What works with one person may not necessarily work with another. Assumptions should never be made and parrot fashion text book style approaches are useless.
One mistake many psychologists make, in an emergency and crisis situation, is saying: “I understand,” at the end of a “trauma” person’s sentence.
Unless we truly go through what people in this situation have been through, we cannot begin to understand. So, there is nothing we can inwardly draw upon to even begin to understand. A simple statement like this can make matters worse. It’s better to be honest and say: “I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through but ....” and offer reassurance or comfort.
Honesty is a must. If you are dishonest, trust will be broken and the person who has just lost everything will fall further into depression and harbour feelings of resentment; not just against you but also against fellow colleagues in support positions.
As psychologists working with Transpersonal methods, we need to learn to respect all beliefs, traditions and religious faiths. This is easier for me, since, as a Buddhist, part of our philosophy is just that.
One day, as I was walking through the dining hall, two women stopped me and asked me why God punished the “more humble” by destroying their houses; making them homeless and apparently never took anything away from the rich. My first question was: “Do you both believe in God?” They replied: “Yes.” So, I said: “Do you have faith in him?” “We don’t want to lose our faith” They replied.
So, I sat with them and began to explain the reasons Funchal flooded. I began to explain the physics of river length versus depth and width. I began to show them the potential architectural structural differences between the houses that were destroyed and those that weren’t. I made them think about geographic choice of locations for more humble abodes versus more upper market properties. I offered them scientific data for climatic changes and so on, until one of them said: “So, really it has nothing to do with God punishing anyone.” I simply smiled at her.
Then, the other lady hit with a question I wasn’t expecting. She said: “What about the people who died?” My reply was honest, I said: “I don’t know. I know it’s not a punishment because God is a God of love. Maybe, with all the disasters everywhere in the world at the moment, God can’t help us and protect us all at the same time. So, maybe he needed some extra Angels to help him watch over us from up there.”
In situations of Emergency and Crisis Intervention, a psychologist (or any individual in a support position) needs to be able to:
Attach and Detach simultaneously.
Show compassion and kindness.
Respect spiritual, traditional and cultural differences.
Be calm within themselves to project and instill calmness in others.
Be empathetic and sympathetic but not patronising.
Recognise their own limitations.
Be honest and open hearted.
Practice, teach and offer integrative alternatives to conventional methods of psychological treatment.
Recognise each case as an individual case.
Anyone, regardless of whether you’re a psychologist or not, can apply these few principles when helping someone to overcome a difficult situation in their life.
She cried compulsively as she buried her head into my shoulder; trying to remember the details of what happened the day she left all her belongings behind in her house. I put my arms around her and kissed her head in silence.
“There was mud coming in everywhere. I saw the wall coming down.” I didn’t know what to do. I heard someone shouting out to me; telling me to run. I ran as fast as I could but I’m an old lady. I thought I was going to die. I managed to escape just in time. When I turned around. I saw my house begin to collapse. I’d been there 40 years. All my photos are gone. All my clothes are gone. I’ve got nothing left. Where am I going to live? I’ve worked all my life. What am I going to do? I get 250 euros a month. I can’t afford to rebuild a new house or buy a new place. What’s going to happen to me?” she said almost in one breath, in a flood of tears. I continued to hold her in silence.
“Maybe it was better if I’d died. Why did I live to see this?”
This is just one of the many heart-breaking accounts I’ve heard since the 21st February 2010 and just a couple of the many questions people asked.
Everyone and their family had a story: Dnª Joana, Dnª Rosa, Dnª Ana, Helena, Dnª Ana (Nº 2), Dnª Graça, Sr. José, Sr. João, Dnª Maria, Dnª Edoarda, Dnª Leonora, Dnª Rosa, Dnª Helena (Nº 2), Fam. Silva, Fam. Fernandes, Fam. Teixeira, Fam. Camacho, Dnª Maria (Nº 2), Dnª Albertina, Dnª Idalina and all the people who are not mentioned here because the list is too long. They all have an account to share in some way, and this is just a partial list of people who were made homeless and came to stay in the army barracks with us for a while.
In the field, out in the countryside, there are hundreds of thousands more accounts. In my estimation, it’s fair to say that there are probably as many accounts as people living on the island. Everyone was affected in some way.
Although it was internationally publicised, on the 20th February 2010, Madeira island was hit by a “freak storm” that flooded the capital city of Funchal, isolated the towns of Tabua and Curral das Freiras; caused immeasurable damage in Ribeira Brava and Serra D’Água and provoked severe landslides in other areas of the island like: Jardim da Serra, Trapicho, Monte, Santo Antonio, Santa Cruz and many more. The disaster was of proportions nobody could have foretold.
Many, within a matter of hours, lost everything they possessed. They were barely saved from their homes with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. Many lost more than that. They lost their loved ones; a husband, a child, a son, a daughter, a father, a brother, a wife.
One young man lost his entire family; eight people gone within minutes. One man, seeing the mud coming and trying to protect his family, told his wife and child to run out of the car to what he thought would be safety, as they were trapped in a shopping mall car park, but they died and he survived. One family took refuge in another family’s house, thinking it would be safer from the mud; only to have a crane fall on the house and kill all nine people.
Shopping malls and underground car-parks were filled meters high with mud. Thousands of cars were destroyed in the streets. Hundreds of video clips and photos circulated on the Internet. These living memories, and images, are just some of the traumas facing the collective conscience of the people who live in Madeira and those who are watching abroad. They need to be overcome effectively for the Madeiran community to have half a chance of any kind of re-establishment of “normality of life” in the future.
It has already been noted that people are afraid to park in underground car-parks. I have also already spoken to people who refuse to shop in certain shopping malls because they feel they are graveyards. During one rainfall, a friend of mine called her partner 28 times. He didn’t reply. When he eventually did, they ended up having an argument. When she phoned me, she was fully aware that although she thought she hadn’t been affected, she was suffering with a form of post-storm trauma. Her compulsive telephoning behaviour was due to her preoccupation with his welfare during the downpour.
These are just a few examples. The worst repercussions, in my opinion, are yet to come. At present, we are entering summertime. The rain is subsiding. People are quickly trying to forget and avoid the memories. Nightclubs have registered an all time high alcoholic consumption. At Easter, an incredibly high number of Madeirans opted to leave the island for their Easter break.
At present, people are planning their holidays; talking about their suntan; thinking about their next vacation but nobody is really thinking about next winter and what will happen when the next storm strikes. I’m not saying the next storm will cause the same physical damage as this one did, but psychologically people will be affected.
Presently, people are using avoidance techniques to sidestep dealing with the real issues that underlie the fear that was instilled this last February. Yet, when next winter comes and we have torrential downpours, the memories and the fear will come back. Panic will set in.
The truth is, when we don’t know how to deal with something, we run away because it’s the easier option. Not having to face a trauma means not having to deal with the pain associated with it. Yet, in not facing pain of any kind, at a later date we find ourselves less in a position of being able to disassociate from that pain.
A natural part of any healing process is to recognise, feel and acknowledge pain, along with any memories, in order to disassociate the emotional attachment we have to them.
Personally, I’ve been working as a volunteer since the 21st February. I was brought on board as part of the psychological support team. Here in Madeira, I am the only person, to the best of my knowledge, who is a Transpersonal Psychologist with experience in Emergency and Crisis intervention and a solid background in the Transpersonal field.
During my time in the army barracks, I was also assigned to Caritas as co-ordinator for one of the main distribution depots in the army base; where the homeless were being received and temporarily housed.
When I got there, the depot was a mess. Clothes, shoes, and bedding were thrown in piles all over the floor. People were climbing all over them to get items. They were tossed and juggled. It was chaos and a mess. The people who had lost everything came in to get something and, understandably, started crying.
One by one, I escorted them out for a walk around the courtyard and gave them a defusing and debriefing session; all rolled into one. Yet, clearly I knew that wasn’t the only solution. When I went back into the depot, I kindly asked the other volunteers to transform the depot into a shop front.
My argument was: “The people who come to us for item have lost everything. They have, more than likely, never had to ask for anything in their lives. They are people with pride, honour and self-worth. We’re not going to take those qualities away from them as well. They probably see this as a bad thing. They probably feel like beggars. We need to restore their self-worth, their dignity and their pride. We need to make them feel like nothing bad has happened. By transforming this depot into something that looks like a shop, we can modify their concept of needing something from us. We can give them back something of their self-worth. If they have their self-worth, their pride and their dignity restored, they can start to rebuild their lives again. They can build a new beginning on that. If we take away that too, they have nothing left to build on.”
The volunteers understood and within a day, we had a shop front we renamed Zara RG3. RG3 is the name of the army barracks. From that time on, instead of crying when they came into the depot, people started asking if we had matching items. Some volunteers complained people were becoming a little too demanding and arrogant. Yet, it was better to see that little touch of arrogance than unrecoverable depression from which recovery could take years. If improperly treated, some people never even recover over an entire lifetime; which is sadly what happened with some of the soldiers who took part in the Falklands war whom I met, and who never received adequate post war counselling.
In fact, one such soldier, when I met him, had suicidal tendencies due to sever depression he couldn’t explain. He admitted he had had difficulties reintegrating back into society after the war. Yet, he couldn’t explain his depression. After talking to him for a while, we came to the conclusion, and agreed that his depression and suicidal tendencies were due to the fact that his conscience weighed heavy at having killed other human beings.
Killing was against his very nature. His philosophy of living was to preserve life and not take it. He had carried out orders as a member of the Forces but it contradicted everything he was “spiritually” programmed to believe in. This contradiction caused him severe inner subconscious distress. Once he learned forgiveness and to make peace between the material world; what was demanded of him under “exceptional circumstances” and the spiritual world; restoring his “spiritual state of being”, he was able to let go and start again.
In the RG3 army barracks, many tears were shed by the people who all lost something, many hugs were given and a lot of time was spent slowly, day after day, helping to rebuild confidence, trust and a vision that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the future will be brighter.
Each case was different and had to be treated in a different way.
For one woman, physical separation from her aunt meant emotional and affectionate separation. For her, that loss was traumatic; possibly worse than the loss of her house. It was the loss of her point of reference; her security, her comfort zone, her family nucleus and such a drastic change in life that she didn’t know how to face the future.
I met her when she came into the depot for a pair of shoes. She was looking through the boxes and found one of a pair that she liked, but she couldn’t find the other one. She was there compulsively looking for the other. Instantly, I recognised, the issue wasn’t the shoe. I casually approached and asked her to escort me for a walk. That’s when I discovered her aunt had been taken into an old people’s home when she’d been removed from their home.
I tried to explain that physical separation didn’t mean emotional separation but I could sense that my words were half falling on deaf ears; not through any fault of the lady’s nor as any criticism or judgement. When a person is suffering a trauma or a profound sense of distress, although all the senses are somewhat heightened, all cognitive processing capabilities are weakened. On a cognitive level, a person appears almost in a surreal or semi dreamlike state.
After the walk, I told her to go and relax somewhere and that we’d find the shoe. We did. When I gave her the pair, she clutched them as if they were gold dust. In an absurd kind of way, they became her new point of reference.
Meanwhile, a few days later, we found out in which old people’s home the lady’s aunt was. I, personally, drove the lady and her husband to the home so they could restore the bond with their aunt. After the visit, the lady, her husband were completely different people. The husband, who had barely spoken since he’d arrived at the barracks, didn’t stop talking. The lady was happy and talkative. That night, the shoes were stolen from her room in the army barracks but she didn’t care. She had restored her original point of reference. She had her family nucleus back and intact on a physical, mental and spiritual level.
Although this was the first time I had held an “official” emergency and crisis intervention post, this was not the first time I had been involved in situations where I was able to apply Transpersonal techniques and further study transpersonal approaches and their efficacy in Crisis and Emergency Intervention.
In 1996, I unofficially devised and studied the efficacy of transpersonal defusing and debriefing techniques with hotel clients and English speaking Cypriot citizens who endured the 6.8 earthquake that was followed by a hail stone storm, of great magnitude, the following day.
In 1997, in Cyprus, once again we lived in a state of Emergency as we became under direct threat of war with Turkey. Since Cyprus has no real army to speak of, my colleagues (the barmen) kept machine guns, hand grenades and gas masks on standby behind the bar; in case of attack. Early in the mornings, we would awake to the sound of Turkish jet fighters being chased by Greek ones.
Once again, it became an opportunity for me to unofficially test my own Transpersonal debriefing techniques. For a while, we all lived with the impending uncertainty of life or death. It was also a time when I re-evaluated my own personal beliefs and my own perspective on life.
In 1998, I unofficially experimented these Transpersonal techniques on US seals in Oman who had been employed in the Gulf war and were suffering post war trauma. The classical symptoms were nightmares, feelings of persecution, paranoias about their personal safety, avoidance and denial.
Furthermore, in 1998,1999 and the year 2000, I unofficially tested my theories further about transpersonal techniques and their intervention efficacy with US, Arabic and British Forces in Bahrain and Dubai, pre and post gulf assignments.
Prior to these dates, in 1995, I had worked on Forces bases in Germany in Minden, Osnabrück, Monchengladbach and Gütersloh. It was there, with the constant bomb checks and other safety procedures that I started to wonder what psychological repercussions arise in a person.
Using myself as a study subject, I slowly noticed how my awareness grew and my habitual carefree patterns of life and living began to change. I started taking my safety less for granted and from a psychological point of view; fear had crept in. My behaviour was changing by mere suggestion of what could be and not by what “actually” was.
Yet, my love for psychology really emerged from being a professional entertainer. As I performed night after night, my curiosity arose from how music had the ability to manipulate people’s moods and emotions and completely change the atmosphere in a venue; sometimes effortlessly and sometimes with a great deal of effort. So, in 1993 I embarked on my Psychology degree.
Yet, I was consciously aware that not all entertainers have the same ability to make this change in people nor touch the inner being of people in the same way. When I completed my degree, I still couldn’t find an explanation for this occurrence in conventional psychology and that’s when I realised its limitations and turned to the transpersonal approach.
In 2001, I tested my theories a little further about psychological transpersonal techniques and interconnectivity in Shanghai, China: 1) In cases of child/adult abuse and with young girls forced into prostitution as a means of survival, and 2) with police officers when I was arrested in the airport and spent a considerable amount of time in the chief of police’s office. The outcome was I made new friends in unimaginable places under unthinkable circumstances.
All my tests and experiments were unofficial, unwitting and for my own satisfaction. They were never officially recorded anywhere nor were they officially declared to any presiding psychological society. Yet, with a little push from a couple of very nice colleagues here in Madeira, I feel that the time is now right to start bringing my research out into the open little by little, making it official and perhaps make a little bit of a difference to someone somewhere; even if that be by helping another psychologist to help a client/patient.
The transpersonal models I have created are guidelines for swift simultaneous “attachment and detachment” methods in order to create instant bonds and safe environments between people in moments of Emergency and Crisis Intervention.
Until 2008, I didn’t even know the techniques I was using were determined “Transpersonal”. It was only when I came to study with Atlantic University that I was finally able to assign the label “Transpersonal” to the methods I’d been using. Until then, I’d just entitled them “Humanistic” psychological approaches.
Since 2007, I have been healing people online and offline using an integrative methods of Transpersonal Psychology and Natural Medicine. There are testimonials on my website. www.venerinaconti.com
In 2009, while debating whether I should continue with my Doctorate in Natural Medicine, pursue a Doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology, or start from the beginning and pursue a degree in Medicine, I visited Nepal. While I was there, I volunteered in a Tibetan Nunnery Clinic. I also visited a Tibetan refugee camp. It was there that I finally found self confidence in the craft I had turned into an art form - I finally realised my methods of Transpersonal approaches are completely cross-cultural.
Reflecting back on this, I can only award this very important factor to having worked with, interacted with, learnt from and assimilated something from all the people I have met in life. For that I am truly grateful. They were people literally from all over the world. I have lived among, worked with or met and learnt something from someone from just about every country on this planet.
They are people of all ages, from all walks of life, all socio-economical backgrounds, all traditions, cultures, beliefs and religions; and they have all left me with a new piece of knowledge.
I’ve always been of the opinion that conventional psychology is limiting. I wrote an article about the Psychology of Past lives and Reincarnation where I explicitly state the need for a more integrative approach to psychological intervention that falls outside the outdated models currently being used.
Now, as I sit and reflect upon the flood events in Madeira and my previous experience, I am resolute in my opinion that Clinical Psychology needs a shake up. If Psychologists of the future are to offer better services to their clients/patients then they need to have a more holistic training, more complete tools and a better approach; one that integrates mind, body and soul.
I believe that in situations like emergency and crisis, the least “clinically” said, the better. People just need to be heard, comforted and reassured. Emotional distresses need to defused and/or debriefed but not in a clinical way.
Formal clinical training is an essential part of training for psychologists, but there are no clinical models that can help in an emergency situation, and every human being will react and respond in a different way. It’s all a question of trial and error. What works with one person may not necessarily work with another. Assumptions should never be made and parrot fashion text book style approaches are useless.
One mistake many psychologists make, in an emergency and crisis situation, is saying: “I understand,” at the end of a “trauma” person’s sentence.
Unless we truly go through what people in this situation have been through, we cannot begin to understand. So, there is nothing we can inwardly draw upon to even begin to understand. A simple statement like this can make matters worse. It’s better to be honest and say: “I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through but ....” and offer reassurance or comfort.
Honesty is a must. If you are dishonest, trust will be broken and the person who has just lost everything will fall further into depression and harbour feelings of resentment; not just against you but also against fellow colleagues in support positions.
As psychologists working with Transpersonal methods, we need to learn to respect all beliefs, traditions and religious faiths. This is easier for me, since, as a Buddhist, part of our philosophy is just that.
One day, as I was walking through the dining hall, two women stopped me and asked me why God punished the “more humble” by destroying their houses; making them homeless and apparently never took anything away from the rich. My first question was: “Do you both believe in God?” They replied: “Yes.” So, I said: “Do you have faith in him?” “We don’t want to lose our faith” They replied.
So, I sat with them and began to explain the reasons Funchal flooded. I began to explain the physics of river length versus depth and width. I began to show them the potential architectural structural differences between the houses that were destroyed and those that weren’t. I made them think about geographic choice of locations for more humble abodes versus more upper market properties. I offered them scientific data for climatic changes and so on, until one of them said: “So, really it has nothing to do with God punishing anyone.” I simply smiled at her.
Then, the other lady hit with a question I wasn’t expecting. She said: “What about the people who died?” My reply was honest, I said: “I don’t know. I know it’s not a punishment because God is a God of love. Maybe, with all the disasters everywhere in the world at the moment, God can’t help us and protect us all at the same time. So, maybe he needed some extra Angels to help him watch over us from up there.”
In situations of Emergency and Crisis Intervention, a psychologist (or any individual in a support position) needs to be able to:
Attach and Detach simultaneously.
Show compassion and kindness.
Respect spiritual, traditional and cultural differences.
Be calm within themselves to project and instill calmness in others.
Be empathetic and sympathetic but not patronising.
Recognise their own limitations.
Be honest and open hearted.
Practice, teach and offer integrative alternatives to conventional methods of psychological treatment.
Recognise each case as an individual case.
Anyone, regardless of whether you’re a psychologist or not, can apply these few principles when helping someone to overcome a difficult situation in their life.
Monday 1 February 2010
Naturopathic and Homeopathic alternatives for the H1N1 Virus and Vaccine
Since I investigated and posted my research report with reference to the H1N1 vaccine and its effects, I felt it my responsibility to also research and post a report about Homeopathic and Natural remedies and their effects.
Firstly, to understand how any medication can be effective in the treatment of any condition, we have to understand the condition itself, how it operates within the body and where it strikes the most. The tendency of any Influenza virus is to affect the respiratory areas, which is why most of us, when we have the flu, suffer with coughing, bronchitis, sneezing etc.
The H1N1 virus (Influenza A, Gripe A or Swine flu) is no different. It behaves pretty much like a normal flu. It enters through the nose and mouth. It affects the upper respiratory areas; causing bronchial syndromes and is spread by coughing and sneezing. However, it does not go deep enough into the lungs to cause anything that could potentially kill us like pneumonia - unlike the H5N1 (Avian flu virus) that does and could. You can find a comparative report on the following site. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8028371.stm
As I stated in my last report, the only time any human is in imminent danger of death, with any Influenza, would appear to be if the body has what is known as a Cytokine response. Please refer to my H1N1 vaccine report if you need clarification of what the Cytokine response is.
There seems to be a general lack of scientific data regarding the swine flu behaviour in humans, which leads me to two conclusions: a) there is an insufficiency of medical studies being carried out at this time and/or b) it was never considered dangerous enough to conduct such detailed studies in the first place. Of course, there is also the hypothesis that research is being conducted as I type this, and has not yet become public property.
Working with what we know:
Firstly: we need to (obviously) avoid further contaminations. You all know what to do. Publicity is everywhere. Respect it. Be informed in order to protect yourselves, your loved ones and other people around you.
Secondly: we need to protect our lungs. We can do this in a number of relatively inexpensive and easy ways.
Prevention:
Just a simple few things will help: avoid direct contact with cold air, wear a scarf and all the usual things you would do in winter time to avoid catching a cold. Plus you can add a couple of drops of lavender oil to your pillow at night. Not only will it help you breathe more easily, it will also help you sleep more restfully. The better the body rests, the better the immune system repairs any damage from outside influences.
Remedy - Mild symptoms:
(Naturopathy, Aromatherapy, Optimum Nutrition, Ayurveda, Homeopathy)
If you feel a little bit of cold, or a chill, coming on you can add 5 drops of eucalyptus oil, 5 drops of lavender oil and 5 drops of peppermint oil to a full bath of hot water (as hot as you can stand it without burning yourself.) Stay in the bath 20 minutes; a) because that’s sufficient enough time for the oils to be absorbed through the skin and b) inhalation of the vapours, produced by the oils in the water, will help to clear the lungs.
Eucalytus oil - is cleansing and balancing. It kills off germs and bacteria and soothes aching muscular pains. It helps with coughs and has long been used in throat lozenges, oils and balms such as Vicks and Olbas because of its soothing properties. You can even burn a few drops in some water in an oil burner to cleanse a room.
Lavender oil - is marketed primarily as a soothing and calming oil. However, what many people don’t know is that this oil is also a very potent anti-viral and anti-bacterial agent. It’s also the oil that is least responsible for causing allergies in people. However, you should still do an allergy test before using it.
Peppermint oil - Peppermint is commonly known to be a great aid in digestion. Yet, what many people don’t know is that peppermint oil is an excellent natural expectorant. It clears the respiratory tract and therefore helps with bronchial infections, coughs, colds and breathing problems in general.
Please note: - Before you use any type of Aromatherapy oils, you should check your tolerance and whether (or not) you have any allergies to them. You can check with your local health shop (or supplier) if you are unsure how to do this. Or, you can consult a Holistic Health therapist in your area.
Take a Vitamin C supplement or, if you are already taking one, increase the dosage to between 1000 - 1500 mgs per day. Take an anti-oxidant supplement. Drink plenty of fluids.
If you have the beginning of a slight fever as well, remember the saying: “feed a cold, starve a fever”
Remedy - Full Influenza symptoms:
(Naturopathy, Aromatherapy, Optimum Nutrition, Ayurveda)
Aside from being able to still use the above, you can also do the following:
During the virally contaminated period, avoid eating dairy products, soya, eggs and any other products that cause an excess production of mucus. This will help the lungs to dry out quicker. Drink plenty of water to help flush all the toxins out of the body.
You can also take Echinea drops - about 10 drops 3 to 4 times a day. Take a zinc supplement. In elevated quantities it can be toxic. So, you don’t want to exceed about 20mg per day. This mineral has also been studied as an anti-carcinogenesis.
In Ayurvedic remedies, it is believed that drinking hot ginger with honey is very effective for bronchial disorders. It’s even more effective when it’s combined with pepper and cloves. Another very effective herb is turmeric. You can add it to your cooking or you can add one teaspoon to half a glass of milk and drink that 2 or 3 times a day. Eat plenty of onions and drink plenty of orange juice. Increase the amount of dark green leaf vegetables you consume. The lighter you eat, the more energy you free up for the body to focus on fighting the disease.
Homeopathy
I did some research to investigate the H1N1 virus (Swine flu, Influenza A, Gripe A) from a Homeopathic point of view and found that a group of Doctors in Mexico have had very successful results with both preventative measures and remedies. I quote: - http://www.naturalnews.com/026839_homeopathy_homeopathic_doctors.html
PROPHYLAXIS (meaning preventive)1. Homeopathic remediesa. BAPTISIA TINCTOREAb. INFLUENZINUMc. ARSENICUM ALBUMFrom the Mexico City Doctors Report"In homeopathy there are no specific medicines for a particular nosological picture (for which the most common symptoms are taken into account). But in epidemics, due to the common causative agent, susceptibility of the population in this particular moment, and the repetition of symptoms, a group of the most useful remedies can be deduced. The remedies determined in this way are called the Genius Epidemicus. They consist of a group of medicines with symptoms most similar to those presented by most patients suffering this flu.""For homeopathic treatment is it necessary to take into account the degree of reaction of the patient and the symptoms with which the disease manifests itself. We considered this and the symptoms observed during the last epidemic (1918) to find the similar remedy."Homepathic Remedies Listed by the Mexican Doctors and Directly Copied Here Which They Successfully Employed Against the 2009 Mexican FluAconitum napellus, Actea racemosa, Allium cepa, Ammonium phosphoricum, Antimonium tartaricum, Arnica montana, Arsenicum album, Baptisia tinctoria, Belladonna atropa, Bryonia alba, Camphora, Carbo vegetabilis, Carbolic acid, Causticum, Chamomilla, China officinalis, Drosera rotundifolia, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Euphrasia, Ferrum phosphoricum, Gelsemium sempervirens, Glonoinum, Hepatica triloba, Hyosciamus niger, Influenzinum (corresponding to the epidemic), Ipecauanha, Lachesis trigonocephalus, Lycopodium clavatum, Mercurius vivus, Natrum sulphuricum, Nux vomica, Opium, Phosphorus, Phytolacca decandra, Pulsatilla, Pyrogenium, Rhus toxicodendron, Sticta pulmonaria, Sepia officinalis, Sulphur.
End quote -
My suggestion is, if anyone is interested in Homeopathic remedies, go and speak to your local Homeopath. As a certified Homeopath, I can tell you that Homeopathic remedies are not toxic to the body within the prescribed guidelines. Even if you have had the H1N1 virus and you have concerns, you can discuss them with a Homeopath.
Tibetan Medicine
I quote: - http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/6658462.html
The Beijing Tibetan Medicine Hospital has developed an upgraded medicament of "nine-flavored murrain-prevention powder," and donated to staff at the A/H1N1 influenza prevention frontline in Beijing and the quake-hit areas in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. The smell of the medicament made of aconite and musk can arouse human's immunity and adjustment systems, thus preventing respiratory infectious diseases. Developed in 2003, the medicine played an important role in fighting against SARS.
End quote -
I have not been able to determine the effectiveness of this particular medicament, since I could not find any medical reports pertaining to it. However, I have seen the effectiveness of Tibetan Medicine in other fields.
I hope this information proves useful to someone out there somewhere.
God Bless and be safe.
Firstly, to understand how any medication can be effective in the treatment of any condition, we have to understand the condition itself, how it operates within the body and where it strikes the most. The tendency of any Influenza virus is to affect the respiratory areas, which is why most of us, when we have the flu, suffer with coughing, bronchitis, sneezing etc.
The H1N1 virus (Influenza A, Gripe A or Swine flu) is no different. It behaves pretty much like a normal flu. It enters through the nose and mouth. It affects the upper respiratory areas; causing bronchial syndromes and is spread by coughing and sneezing. However, it does not go deep enough into the lungs to cause anything that could potentially kill us like pneumonia - unlike the H5N1 (Avian flu virus) that does and could. You can find a comparative report on the following site. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8028371.stm
As I stated in my last report, the only time any human is in imminent danger of death, with any Influenza, would appear to be if the body has what is known as a Cytokine response. Please refer to my H1N1 vaccine report if you need clarification of what the Cytokine response is.
There seems to be a general lack of scientific data regarding the swine flu behaviour in humans, which leads me to two conclusions: a) there is an insufficiency of medical studies being carried out at this time and/or b) it was never considered dangerous enough to conduct such detailed studies in the first place. Of course, there is also the hypothesis that research is being conducted as I type this, and has not yet become public property.
Working with what we know:
Firstly: we need to (obviously) avoid further contaminations. You all know what to do. Publicity is everywhere. Respect it. Be informed in order to protect yourselves, your loved ones and other people around you.
Secondly: we need to protect our lungs. We can do this in a number of relatively inexpensive and easy ways.
Prevention:
Just a simple few things will help: avoid direct contact with cold air, wear a scarf and all the usual things you would do in winter time to avoid catching a cold. Plus you can add a couple of drops of lavender oil to your pillow at night. Not only will it help you breathe more easily, it will also help you sleep more restfully. The better the body rests, the better the immune system repairs any damage from outside influences.
Remedy - Mild symptoms:
(Naturopathy, Aromatherapy, Optimum Nutrition, Ayurveda, Homeopathy)
If you feel a little bit of cold, or a chill, coming on you can add 5 drops of eucalyptus oil, 5 drops of lavender oil and 5 drops of peppermint oil to a full bath of hot water (as hot as you can stand it without burning yourself.) Stay in the bath 20 minutes; a) because that’s sufficient enough time for the oils to be absorbed through the skin and b) inhalation of the vapours, produced by the oils in the water, will help to clear the lungs.
Eucalytus oil - is cleansing and balancing. It kills off germs and bacteria and soothes aching muscular pains. It helps with coughs and has long been used in throat lozenges, oils and balms such as Vicks and Olbas because of its soothing properties. You can even burn a few drops in some water in an oil burner to cleanse a room.
Lavender oil - is marketed primarily as a soothing and calming oil. However, what many people don’t know is that this oil is also a very potent anti-viral and anti-bacterial agent. It’s also the oil that is least responsible for causing allergies in people. However, you should still do an allergy test before using it.
Peppermint oil - Peppermint is commonly known to be a great aid in digestion. Yet, what many people don’t know is that peppermint oil is an excellent natural expectorant. It clears the respiratory tract and therefore helps with bronchial infections, coughs, colds and breathing problems in general.
Please note: - Before you use any type of Aromatherapy oils, you should check your tolerance and whether (or not) you have any allergies to them. You can check with your local health shop (or supplier) if you are unsure how to do this. Or, you can consult a Holistic Health therapist in your area.
Take a Vitamin C supplement or, if you are already taking one, increase the dosage to between 1000 - 1500 mgs per day. Take an anti-oxidant supplement. Drink plenty of fluids.
If you have the beginning of a slight fever as well, remember the saying: “feed a cold, starve a fever”
Remedy - Full Influenza symptoms:
(Naturopathy, Aromatherapy, Optimum Nutrition, Ayurveda)
Aside from being able to still use the above, you can also do the following:
During the virally contaminated period, avoid eating dairy products, soya, eggs and any other products that cause an excess production of mucus. This will help the lungs to dry out quicker. Drink plenty of water to help flush all the toxins out of the body.
You can also take Echinea drops - about 10 drops 3 to 4 times a day. Take a zinc supplement. In elevated quantities it can be toxic. So, you don’t want to exceed about 20mg per day. This mineral has also been studied as an anti-carcinogenesis.
In Ayurvedic remedies, it is believed that drinking hot ginger with honey is very effective for bronchial disorders. It’s even more effective when it’s combined with pepper and cloves. Another very effective herb is turmeric. You can add it to your cooking or you can add one teaspoon to half a glass of milk and drink that 2 or 3 times a day. Eat plenty of onions and drink plenty of orange juice. Increase the amount of dark green leaf vegetables you consume. The lighter you eat, the more energy you free up for the body to focus on fighting the disease.
Homeopathy
I did some research to investigate the H1N1 virus (Swine flu, Influenza A, Gripe A) from a Homeopathic point of view and found that a group of Doctors in Mexico have had very successful results with both preventative measures and remedies. I quote: - http://www.naturalnews.com/026839_homeopathy_homeopathic_doctors.html
PROPHYLAXIS (meaning preventive)1. Homeopathic remediesa. BAPTISIA TINCTOREAb. INFLUENZINUMc. ARSENICUM ALBUMFrom the Mexico City Doctors Report"In homeopathy there are no specific medicines for a particular nosological picture (for which the most common symptoms are taken into account). But in epidemics, due to the common causative agent, susceptibility of the population in this particular moment, and the repetition of symptoms, a group of the most useful remedies can be deduced. The remedies determined in this way are called the Genius Epidemicus. They consist of a group of medicines with symptoms most similar to those presented by most patients suffering this flu.""For homeopathic treatment is it necessary to take into account the degree of reaction of the patient and the symptoms with which the disease manifests itself. We considered this and the symptoms observed during the last epidemic (1918) to find the similar remedy."Homepathic Remedies Listed by the Mexican Doctors and Directly Copied Here Which They Successfully Employed Against the 2009 Mexican FluAconitum napellus, Actea racemosa, Allium cepa, Ammonium phosphoricum, Antimonium tartaricum, Arnica montana, Arsenicum album, Baptisia tinctoria, Belladonna atropa, Bryonia alba, Camphora, Carbo vegetabilis, Carbolic acid, Causticum, Chamomilla, China officinalis, Drosera rotundifolia, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Euphrasia, Ferrum phosphoricum, Gelsemium sempervirens, Glonoinum, Hepatica triloba, Hyosciamus niger, Influenzinum (corresponding to the epidemic), Ipecauanha, Lachesis trigonocephalus, Lycopodium clavatum, Mercurius vivus, Natrum sulphuricum, Nux vomica, Opium, Phosphorus, Phytolacca decandra, Pulsatilla, Pyrogenium, Rhus toxicodendron, Sticta pulmonaria, Sepia officinalis, Sulphur.
End quote -
My suggestion is, if anyone is interested in Homeopathic remedies, go and speak to your local Homeopath. As a certified Homeopath, I can tell you that Homeopathic remedies are not toxic to the body within the prescribed guidelines. Even if you have had the H1N1 virus and you have concerns, you can discuss them with a Homeopath.
Tibetan Medicine
I quote: - http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/6658462.html
The Beijing Tibetan Medicine Hospital has developed an upgraded medicament of "nine-flavored murrain-prevention powder," and donated to staff at the A/H1N1 influenza prevention frontline in Beijing and the quake-hit areas in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. The smell of the medicament made of aconite and musk can arouse human's immunity and adjustment systems, thus preventing respiratory infectious diseases. Developed in 2003, the medicine played an important role in fighting against SARS.
End quote -
I have not been able to determine the effectiveness of this particular medicament, since I could not find any medical reports pertaining to it. However, I have seen the effectiveness of Tibetan Medicine in other fields.
I hope this information proves useful to someone out there somewhere.
God Bless and be safe.
Friday 29 January 2010
Can we make miracles happen?
As you all know, I have a lifelong friend who has cancer, the big C; the word everyone is afraid to mention and the “condition” hardly anybody ever wants to openly talk about because half the world population doesn’t know how to deal with it; especially when a loved one has it.
Most of the time, we’d rather pussy foot around the subject; whispering behind corners, feeling sorry for our loved ones and ourselves, feeling a little helpless and maybe even feeling somewhat like useless bystanders rather than approach the matter in an openly and natural manner.
We put the lives of our loved ones, and our lives, in the hands of doctors and specialists or Gods of our chosen faith hoping that someone or something somewhere will make a miracle happen. In some contrived way, I guess we hope that if a miracle happens then we’ll never have to deal with what actually is and what potentially might yet come.
We forget though that doctors and specialists can make wrong predictions. They are only human. They are not infallible. They do not have all the answers. The human body is the most complex machine there is. Even in this day and age, we still do not know how it works in a concise manner. Moreover, we still don’t know how much the power of the mind can influence the body.
Linsey gave you her story in an earlier post, last year in November, on my wall. To give you a very brief lowdown. She had both kidneys removed along with part of her spleen, pancreas, one adrenal gland and some lymph nodes. By law of average, her chances of survival were very slim from thereon in, (according to her doctors), but she’s still here. Thank goodness! She’s living proof that doctors’ predictions can be wrong. She’s also living proof that the mind and the will are stronger than any disease. That is a miracle!
In November, she told us the cancer has now spread to the liver and that time is running out. I have to question if this diagnosis is just another obstacle to be overcome. Linsey tells me to be a realist and says you can’t avoid the facts staring you in the face. She quite openly speaks about the songs to be sung at the party we’re suppose to have at her funeral. However, after her recent visit to Madeira, something in me can’t help but question whether she can continue to make miracles happen.
Linsey had always wanted to come to Madeira to visit me but with one thing and another, it hadn’t ever been possible. Yet, in a very moment when the impossible seems truly impossible, it not only became possible but very much a reality. Linsey came to Madeira with her husband Paul.
Linsey told you she’d arrived at the airport in Madeira with her pride hurt because she got here in a wheelchair; meaning with airport assistance. Yet, what I saw was a beautiful, brave young woman who’d gotten on a plane despite being warned her blood pressure was too low to travel. She’d had dialysis that morning; prior to the trip. She was warned against travelling. Yet, against all odds, she was determined to make it - and she did. That was a miracle.
Even the rain that had been falling for two months stopped in time for her arrival. That was another small miracle from up above. Or, was it the collective prayers said by a beautiful group of friends of mine who'd been rooting for Linsey to have a perfect time on the island?
I’d arranged a room for Linsey and Paul in the hotel where I work. Yet, my beautiful colleagues, without being asked, took it one step further and made her experience even more perfect by upgrading her to a suite; giving her what she describes as her “Pretty Woman” moment. The text I got said she felt like a movie star. Is it another little miracle or is it the collective wish of beautiful people who’s only wish was to help fulfill someone’s dream and make it perfect.
There were times she felt tired and needed to rest back at the hotel, but they were nothing compared to the effort she put into walking more than she’d apparently walked in the last two months. That was another miracle of mind over matter.
There were times I noticed the tiredness and frustration in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide with a smile, but they paled in comparison to the radiant glow and the emotions she showed when she saw the dolphins around the boat we went out on. When we were given the all clear to go in the sea and swim with them, wild horses couldn’t have held her back. She was the second person off the boat and in the sea. All the apprehensions, fears, anxiety and nerves she’d felt the day before, about the trip, had gone. It was another miracle of mind over matter.
The sea may have been cold but it had calmed down considerably in comparison to what it had been over the previous two months, and we had plenty of sunshine; another miracle from above? Or, more answered prayers? Of course, we mustn’t forget the miracle itself of actually swimming with dolphins in the wild.
Within that same miracle, there was another one. Whilst Linsey and I floated there hand in hand, just the two of us, watching the dolphins swim under us, next to us and in front of our faces, the dolphins apparently were circling around us. As Linsey questions in her note, were they protecting us? Or, could it be that they knew this was her lifetime dream and that they alone could make it come true?
We heard them communicating to one another or were they actually speaking to us, as well, in their own way. They put on a show that marvelled even our gracious biologist and captain who hadn’t seen the dolphins in such a joyful mood for quite some time. Were we witnessing another miracle in the making? I believe so.
The biggest joy for me was watching Linsey eat. Seeing her eat a little more than she apparently normally manages to eat was, for me, a miracle in itself. I was willing each mouthful to go down and stay on her. I never thought I’d hear myself say that!
The bravest moment of all was when she had to face having dialysis in Madeira; with unknown doctors and nurses. It was the first time she’d had dialysis abroad. Like she said “Needs must”. She could have walked away and waited till she got home but she didn’t. No matter how scary it got at one point, she stuck it out and faced it head on.
Yet, no matter how scary it was to face for the first time, it’s also a symbol and testimony to the fact that Linsey and people with needs like Linsey don’t have to hide and be house bound or country bound simply because they need treatments.
It’s not easy. It’s painful. It’s scary. Yet, for the love of her husband and her little girls, she gets out of bed every morning and chooses to fight to live. I know she would like to climb mountains (metaphorically speaking) but just being awake and there to give them her love every day is a miracle; just like it is for any one of us.
Surviving the way she has for this long may be a miracle; then again it may not. It could just be the sheer determination, will-power and love driven resolve of a young woman who has so much to live for. My point is, when we find a window of joy that is bigger than the fears and the illnesses themselves, no matter what they may be, our mind can drive us with an incredible strength that even we’re unaware of. It can push us beyond what the physical body is experiencing and maybe, just maybe, it’s enough to hold on to to make miracles happen.
Most of the time, we’d rather pussy foot around the subject; whispering behind corners, feeling sorry for our loved ones and ourselves, feeling a little helpless and maybe even feeling somewhat like useless bystanders rather than approach the matter in an openly and natural manner.
We put the lives of our loved ones, and our lives, in the hands of doctors and specialists or Gods of our chosen faith hoping that someone or something somewhere will make a miracle happen. In some contrived way, I guess we hope that if a miracle happens then we’ll never have to deal with what actually is and what potentially might yet come.
We forget though that doctors and specialists can make wrong predictions. They are only human. They are not infallible. They do not have all the answers. The human body is the most complex machine there is. Even in this day and age, we still do not know how it works in a concise manner. Moreover, we still don’t know how much the power of the mind can influence the body.
Linsey gave you her story in an earlier post, last year in November, on my wall. To give you a very brief lowdown. She had both kidneys removed along with part of her spleen, pancreas, one adrenal gland and some lymph nodes. By law of average, her chances of survival were very slim from thereon in, (according to her doctors), but she’s still here. Thank goodness! She’s living proof that doctors’ predictions can be wrong. She’s also living proof that the mind and the will are stronger than any disease. That is a miracle!
In November, she told us the cancer has now spread to the liver and that time is running out. I have to question if this diagnosis is just another obstacle to be overcome. Linsey tells me to be a realist and says you can’t avoid the facts staring you in the face. She quite openly speaks about the songs to be sung at the party we’re suppose to have at her funeral. However, after her recent visit to Madeira, something in me can’t help but question whether she can continue to make miracles happen.
Linsey had always wanted to come to Madeira to visit me but with one thing and another, it hadn’t ever been possible. Yet, in a very moment when the impossible seems truly impossible, it not only became possible but very much a reality. Linsey came to Madeira with her husband Paul.
Linsey told you she’d arrived at the airport in Madeira with her pride hurt because she got here in a wheelchair; meaning with airport assistance. Yet, what I saw was a beautiful, brave young woman who’d gotten on a plane despite being warned her blood pressure was too low to travel. She’d had dialysis that morning; prior to the trip. She was warned against travelling. Yet, against all odds, she was determined to make it - and she did. That was a miracle.
Even the rain that had been falling for two months stopped in time for her arrival. That was another small miracle from up above. Or, was it the collective prayers said by a beautiful group of friends of mine who'd been rooting for Linsey to have a perfect time on the island?
I’d arranged a room for Linsey and Paul in the hotel where I work. Yet, my beautiful colleagues, without being asked, took it one step further and made her experience even more perfect by upgrading her to a suite; giving her what she describes as her “Pretty Woman” moment. The text I got said she felt like a movie star. Is it another little miracle or is it the collective wish of beautiful people who’s only wish was to help fulfill someone’s dream and make it perfect.
There were times she felt tired and needed to rest back at the hotel, but they were nothing compared to the effort she put into walking more than she’d apparently walked in the last two months. That was another miracle of mind over matter.
There were times I noticed the tiredness and frustration in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide with a smile, but they paled in comparison to the radiant glow and the emotions she showed when she saw the dolphins around the boat we went out on. When we were given the all clear to go in the sea and swim with them, wild horses couldn’t have held her back. She was the second person off the boat and in the sea. All the apprehensions, fears, anxiety and nerves she’d felt the day before, about the trip, had gone. It was another miracle of mind over matter.
The sea may have been cold but it had calmed down considerably in comparison to what it had been over the previous two months, and we had plenty of sunshine; another miracle from above? Or, more answered prayers? Of course, we mustn’t forget the miracle itself of actually swimming with dolphins in the wild.
Within that same miracle, there was another one. Whilst Linsey and I floated there hand in hand, just the two of us, watching the dolphins swim under us, next to us and in front of our faces, the dolphins apparently were circling around us. As Linsey questions in her note, were they protecting us? Or, could it be that they knew this was her lifetime dream and that they alone could make it come true?
We heard them communicating to one another or were they actually speaking to us, as well, in their own way. They put on a show that marvelled even our gracious biologist and captain who hadn’t seen the dolphins in such a joyful mood for quite some time. Were we witnessing another miracle in the making? I believe so.
The biggest joy for me was watching Linsey eat. Seeing her eat a little more than she apparently normally manages to eat was, for me, a miracle in itself. I was willing each mouthful to go down and stay on her. I never thought I’d hear myself say that!
The bravest moment of all was when she had to face having dialysis in Madeira; with unknown doctors and nurses. It was the first time she’d had dialysis abroad. Like she said “Needs must”. She could have walked away and waited till she got home but she didn’t. No matter how scary it got at one point, she stuck it out and faced it head on.
Yet, no matter how scary it was to face for the first time, it’s also a symbol and testimony to the fact that Linsey and people with needs like Linsey don’t have to hide and be house bound or country bound simply because they need treatments.
It’s not easy. It’s painful. It’s scary. Yet, for the love of her husband and her little girls, she gets out of bed every morning and chooses to fight to live. I know she would like to climb mountains (metaphorically speaking) but just being awake and there to give them her love every day is a miracle; just like it is for any one of us.
Surviving the way she has for this long may be a miracle; then again it may not. It could just be the sheer determination, will-power and love driven resolve of a young woman who has so much to live for. My point is, when we find a window of joy that is bigger than the fears and the illnesses themselves, no matter what they may be, our mind can drive us with an incredible strength that even we’re unaware of. It can push us beyond what the physical body is experiencing and maybe, just maybe, it’s enough to hold on to to make miracles happen.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Psychology of Reincarnation and Past Life Memories
Thanks to Vaz, Catherine & Claudine, one of my articles, along with some of my artwork, has been published in the the "Voyager Spirit", which is the London College of Spirituality's ezine. I can only express my deepest gratitude to you all. Thank you so much xx - Here's the link.
Psychology of Reincarnation and Past Life Memories
Psychology of Reincarnation and Past Life Memories
Atlantis - Part 5
It is widely believed that, between approximately 15 to 20 million years ago, a large number of sub-oceanic volcanic eruptions took place which led to the emergence of some islands (among which speculatively Madeira) and the destruction of others; such as the much debated continent of Atlantis.
Scientists continue to debate to this day whether Madeira was born from the lava flow or whether Madeira was already here. I am a firm believer that Madeira was already here. If the continent of Atlantis truly existed, I believe this small island is a living remnant of that ancient legend. However, I am not here to make anyone believe anything. My articles are merely to offer you some insights. Ultimately, it will be up to you, the reader, to decide what you believe and what you do not.
As a testimony to the island’s volcanic origin, there are numerous peaks with breath taking valleys. The most notorious valley is that of “Curral das Freiras”, which is a sleepy little town where, originally, in the 17th century Madeiran nuns founded a convent. Their intention was to have their own religious retreat and find refuge from the French pirates who invaded the island at the time.
Curral das Freiras is situated in the heart of a dormant volcanic crater of nearly 5 kilometres in diameter. It is surrounded by six mountain peaks, which are all composed of calcareous rock found to contain marine fossils. Coincidently, the highest peak, on the island, is Pico Ruivo, which is about 1800 meters above sea level.
In São Vicente it’s possible to visit the “caves” that stand as a witness to the original lava channels, which are still visible to this day. They are naturally preserved as part of an ongoing ecological awareness project run by the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Another testimony of Madeira’s volcanic origins can be found in Santo da Serra where there is yet another extinct volcanic crater, called “Lagoa de Santo da Serra”, which nowadays serves as a natural water reservoir.
If you have read any account of the history of Madeira, you will have learnt that
the island was discovered in 1419 or 1420 by João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz,
(who were both members of the D. Henrique infantry) and Bartolomeu Perestrelo,
who, together, discovered Porto Santo about a year earlier. However, it is fairer to say
these seafarers only colonialised Madeira and Porto Santo; turning them into Portuguese territories. They did not discover the islands. In fact, historical evidence proves Madeira was on the map long before the Portuguese captains arrived.
There is a Portolan navigational chart, dated 1351, preserved in Florence, Italy, also known as the “Portolano Laurenziano Gaddiano of the Laurentian Library”, which clearly shows Madeira on the map and proves that Madeira had been discovered by Portuguese vessels under Genoese captains; a long time before Zarco disembarked on its shores.
Unfortunately there is a lack of sufficient concrete evidence but there is potential speculation that the Phoenicians discovered Madeira at a very early period and were regular visitors to the unchartered and hostile territory that Madeira once was.
Pliny the Elder, also known as Gaius Plinius Secundus, (AD 11 – 68 AD Approx), a famous navigator and army commander for the Roman empire talks about the“Purple islands”, which he named as such after the purple coloured dye that was obtained from the sap of the island’s dragon trees. The geographical position he gives, with reference to distances (in latitude and longitude) from Mauretania and the Fortunate Islands, (which were the Canaries), may seem to indicate Madeira.
The interesting thing to note here is that, during Pliny’s time, purple dye was quite rare. It was the most prestigious and most expensive dye that could be purchased. It was only used for dying the robes of the dignitaries. It was an old tradition said to be
found in Homer’s ancient Greece.
The general consensus is that the discovery of purple dye is accredited to the Phoenicians, which would tie in with what was mentioned above.
Another historical piece of evidence to suggest Madeira’s discovery, prior to Zarco et al, is given by Plutarch who, when referring to the military commander Quintus Sertorius, relates that after his return to Cadiz, following a military reverse in
Mauretania,
“he met with seamen recently arrived from the Atlantic islands,
two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow
channel, and distant from the coast of Africa ten thousand
furlongs. These are called the Islands of the Blest; rains fall there
seldom, and in moderate showers, but for the most part they have
gentle breezes, bringing along with them soft dews, which render
the soil not only rich for plowing and planting, but so abundantly
fruitful that it produces spontaneously an abundance of delicate
fruits, sufficient to feed the inhabitants, who may here enjoy all
things without trouble or labor. The seasons of the year are
temperate, and the transitions from one to another so moderate,
that the air is almost always serene and pleasant.
Part 6 will follow when I have time to sit and write it :-)))
Scientists continue to debate to this day whether Madeira was born from the lava flow or whether Madeira was already here. I am a firm believer that Madeira was already here. If the continent of Atlantis truly existed, I believe this small island is a living remnant of that ancient legend. However, I am not here to make anyone believe anything. My articles are merely to offer you some insights. Ultimately, it will be up to you, the reader, to decide what you believe and what you do not.
As a testimony to the island’s volcanic origin, there are numerous peaks with breath taking valleys. The most notorious valley is that of “Curral das Freiras”, which is a sleepy little town where, originally, in the 17th century Madeiran nuns founded a convent. Their intention was to have their own religious retreat and find refuge from the French pirates who invaded the island at the time.
Curral das Freiras is situated in the heart of a dormant volcanic crater of nearly 5 kilometres in diameter. It is surrounded by six mountain peaks, which are all composed of calcareous rock found to contain marine fossils. Coincidently, the highest peak, on the island, is Pico Ruivo, which is about 1800 meters above sea level.
In São Vicente it’s possible to visit the “caves” that stand as a witness to the original lava channels, which are still visible to this day. They are naturally preserved as part of an ongoing ecological awareness project run by the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Another testimony of Madeira’s volcanic origins can be found in Santo da Serra where there is yet another extinct volcanic crater, called “Lagoa de Santo da Serra”, which nowadays serves as a natural water reservoir.
If you have read any account of the history of Madeira, you will have learnt that
the island was discovered in 1419 or 1420 by João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz,
(who were both members of the D. Henrique infantry) and Bartolomeu Perestrelo,
who, together, discovered Porto Santo about a year earlier. However, it is fairer to say
these seafarers only colonialised Madeira and Porto Santo; turning them into Portuguese territories. They did not discover the islands. In fact, historical evidence proves Madeira was on the map long before the Portuguese captains arrived.
There is a Portolan navigational chart, dated 1351, preserved in Florence, Italy, also known as the “Portolano Laurenziano Gaddiano of the Laurentian Library”, which clearly shows Madeira on the map and proves that Madeira had been discovered by Portuguese vessels under Genoese captains; a long time before Zarco disembarked on its shores.
Unfortunately there is a lack of sufficient concrete evidence but there is potential speculation that the Phoenicians discovered Madeira at a very early period and were regular visitors to the unchartered and hostile territory that Madeira once was.
Pliny the Elder, also known as Gaius Plinius Secundus, (AD 11 – 68 AD Approx), a famous navigator and army commander for the Roman empire talks about the“Purple islands”, which he named as such after the purple coloured dye that was obtained from the sap of the island’s dragon trees. The geographical position he gives, with reference to distances (in latitude and longitude) from Mauretania and the Fortunate Islands, (which were the Canaries), may seem to indicate Madeira.
The interesting thing to note here is that, during Pliny’s time, purple dye was quite rare. It was the most prestigious and most expensive dye that could be purchased. It was only used for dying the robes of the dignitaries. It was an old tradition said to be
found in Homer’s ancient Greece.
The general consensus is that the discovery of purple dye is accredited to the Phoenicians, which would tie in with what was mentioned above.
Another historical piece of evidence to suggest Madeira’s discovery, prior to Zarco et al, is given by Plutarch who, when referring to the military commander Quintus Sertorius, relates that after his return to Cadiz, following a military reverse in
Mauretania,
“he met with seamen recently arrived from the Atlantic islands,
two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow
channel, and distant from the coast of Africa ten thousand
furlongs. These are called the Islands of the Blest; rains fall there
seldom, and in moderate showers, but for the most part they have
gentle breezes, bringing along with them soft dews, which render
the soil not only rich for plowing and planting, but so abundantly
fruitful that it produces spontaneously an abundance of delicate
fruits, sufficient to feed the inhabitants, who may here enjoy all
things without trouble or labor. The seasons of the year are
temperate, and the transitions from one to another so moderate,
that the air is almost always serene and pleasant.
Part 6 will follow when I have time to sit and write it :-)))
Atlantis - Part 4
Here, I am going to give you a different perspective of Atlantis; the Atlantis that is very much alive in all who believe in it so strongly; like myself. Some may choose to believe and others may choose to be sceptical but we all need to believe that there is more than one reality.
I'd like to briefly introduce you to Edgar Cayce.
Edgar Cayce, whom someone mentioned in one of the forum postings’, is considered one of the greatest “sleeping prophets” to have existed in modern times. I say “sleeping” because he use to place himself into some kind of self-induced sleep state by lying down on a couch, closing his eyes, and folding his hands over his stomach. This state of relaxation and meditation enabled him to place his mind in contact with all time and space. From this state he could respond to questions as diverse as, “What are the secrets of the universe?” to “How can I remove a wart?” His responses to these questions came to be called “readings” and contain insights so valuable that, even to this day, individuals have found practical help for everything from maintaining a well-balanced diet and improving human relationships to overcoming life-threatening illnesses and experiencing a closer walk with God.
... and I would like to share this reading with you:
Reading Topic - OCCULT: ATLANTIS
TEXT OF READING 364-10
This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at his home in Pinewood on Lake Drive, Virginia Beach, Va., this 28th day of April, 1932, in accordance with request made by those present.
P R E S E N T
Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Mildred Davis, H. L. & L. B. Cayce.
R E A D I N G Time of Reading 3:00 P. M.
1. GC: You will have before you the information given through this channel on the lost continent of Atlantis. You will please continue with this information, and answer the questions which I will ask regarding same.
2. EC: Yes. In understanding, then, in the present terminology, occult science, or psychic science - as seen, this was the natural or nature’s activity in that experience, and not termed a science - any more than would be the desire for food by a new born babe. Rather the natural consequence. This explanation may of necessity take on some forms that may possibly be confusing at times, but illustrations may be made through the various types of occult science, or psychic manifestations, that may clarify for the student something of the various types of psychic manifestations in the present, as well as that that was natural in this period.
3. There is, as has been oft given, quite a difference - and much differentiation should be made - in mysticism and psychic, or occult science as termed today.
4. From that which has been given, it is seen that individuals in the beginning were more of thought forms than individual entities with personalities as seen in the present, and their projections into the realms of fields of thought that pertain to a developing or evolving world of matter, with the varied presentations about same, of the expressions or attributes in the various things about the entity or individual, or body, through which such science - as termed now, or such phenomena as would be termed - became manifest. Hence we find occult or psychic science, as would be called at the present, was rather the natural state of man in the beginning. Very much as (in illustration) when a baby, or babe, is born into the world and its appetite is first satisfied, and it lies sleeping. Of what is its dreams? That it expects to be, or that it has been? Of what are thoughts? That which is to be, or that which has been, or that which is? Now remember we are speaking - these were thought forms, and we are finding again the illustrations of same!
5. When the mental body (Now revert back to what you are calling science) - when the mental body, or mind, has had training, or has gone through a course of operations in certain directions, such individuals are called so-and-so minded; as one of an inventive turn, and trained; one of a statistician turn, and trained; one of a theologian turn, and trained; one of philosophical turn, and trained. Of what does the mind build? We have turned, then, to that that has become very material, for the mind constantly trained makes for itself MENTAL pictures, or makes for that as is reasoned with from its own present dimensional viewpoints - but the babe, from whence its reasoning? from whence its dream?
From that has been taken in, or that that has been its experience from whence it came? Oft has it been said, and rightly, with a babe’s smile ‘Dreaming of angels’, and close in touch with them - but what has PRODUCED that dream? The contact with that upon which IT has fed! Don’t forget our premise now from which we are reasoning! and we will find that we will have the premise from which those individuals, or the entities, reasoned within the beginning in this land. (We are speaking of Atlanteans, when they became as thought forces.) From whence did THEY reason?
From the Creative Forces from which they had received their impetus, but acted upon by the thought FORMS as were in MATERIAL forms about them, and given that power (will) to be one WITH that from what it sprang or was given its impetus, or force, yet with the ability to USE that in the way that seemed, or seemeth, good or well, or pleasing, unto itself. Hence we find in this particular moulding or mouldive stage, that in which there was the greater development of, and use of, that as is termed or called psychic and occult forces, or science - in the present terminology, or age.
6. Illustrating, then, that as to how this was used by those entities, those beings, in the formative stage of their experience or sojourn among that as had been created in all of its splendor to supply every want or desire that might be called forth by that being, with all of its attributes physical, mental AND SPIRITUAL at hand; for, as has been given, even unto the four hundred thousandth generation from the first creation was it prepared for man’s indwelling. As we today (turn to today), we find there the developments of those resources. How long have they remained? Since the beginning! How long has man been able to use them for his undoing, or his pleasure, or for his regeneration? Since the knowledge of some source has awakened within its psychic force, or source, of the apparatus, or the form that it takes, either in a physical or mental (for remember, Mind is the Builder - and it moves along those channels through which, and by which, it may bring into existence in whatever dimension or sphere from which it is reasoning, or reasoning toward - see) - and as these may be illustrated in the present:
7. When there is a manifestation of a psychic force, or an occult action, or phenomena, or activity in, upon, of or for, an individual, there is then the rolling back, as it were, or a portion of the physical consciousness - or that mental trained individual consciousness - has been rolled aside, or rolled back, and there is then a visioning - To what? That as from the beginning, a projection OF that form that assumed its position or condition in the earth as from the beginning, and with those so endowed with that as may be called an insight into psychic sources there may be visioned about a body its astral (if chosen to be termed), rather its THOUGHT body, as is projected FROM same in such a state; especially so when there is the induction, or the inducing of, an unconsciousness of the normal brain, or normal mental body.
Submerged - into what? Into the unconscious, or subconscious. Sub, in THIS instance, meaning BELOW - not above normal; below - SUBJECTED to the higher consciousness, or to the higher thought, that has been builded - just as sure as has a physical body been builded, from what? That as has been given from its first nucleus as passed through in its experience. Then there may be visioned by such a body, as may be called with the second sight, or with a vision, that accompanying thought body of such a one, manifesting in much the way and manner as individuals in the Atlantean period of psychic and occult development brought about in their experience. Through such projections there came about that first necessity of the division of the body, to conform to those necessities of that as seen in its own mental vision as builded (MENTAL now - Don’t confuse these terms, or else you will become VERY confused in what is being given!).
8. The mental vision by its action upon what body is being builded? On the mental body of the individual in a material world, out of Spirit, out of the ability to have all the attributes of the spiritual or unseen forces - but MATERIALIZED forces, as is necessary from the mental body in a material world MENTALLY trained to, or in, certain directions, or given directions, or following the natural bent of its threefold or three-ply body, as is seen in every individual or every entity. As these projected themselves, then we find these DEVELOPMENTS were in this portion of the development in the Atlantean period.
How were these used? In much as were from the beginning. Remember there was ever the instruction to those peoples that were to hold to that that would bring for the spiritual forces, rather than the abuses of the abilities - as those with familiar spirits, as those that spoke to or partook of the divinations of those that had passed from the earth’s plane, or those that partook of the animal magnetism - that came from the universal consciousness of animal matter as passed into its experience, in its interchange through those periods of integration and disintegration - and the spirit forces possessing those that would lay themselves open to such conditions, for these are as real as physical bodies if the attunements of the entity are such that it may vision them! and they are about you always, sure!
These, then, are entities - sure; whether animal or those endowed with the soul - until they pass through those changes - as there ever has been, see? Also there are those that ever make for those channels in the psychic and occult (we are speaking of, through which man - as it reached that stage, or that position that it became farther and farther from its natural sources, through the same CHARACTER of channel may it communicate with that from which it is a portion of, or the Creative Forces), and hence the terminology arose as ‘Good Spirits’ and ‘Bad Spirits’; for there are those that partake of the earth, or of the carnal forces, rather than of those forces that are of the spiritual or CREATIVE.
Those that are destruction are of the Earth. Those that are constructive, then, are the good - or the divine and the devilish, bringing for those developments in their various phases. Hence the greater development of that called occult, or psychic forces, during the Atlantean period - and the use of same, and the abuse of same - was during its first thousand years, as we would call light years; not the light of the star, but the sun goes down and the sun goes down - years. That brought about those cycles, or those changes. Hence we have that which has been given through many of the sources of information, or the channels for individuals - and in those, these, the entity - as a voice upon waters, or as the wind that moved among the reeds and harkened, or again as when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God beheld the coming of man into his own, through the various realms as were brought by the magnifying of, or the deteriorating of, the use of those forces and powers as manifested themselves in a MATERIAL area, or those that partook of carnal to the gratification of that that brought about its continual HARDENING and less ability to harken back through that from WHICH it came, and partaking more and more OF that upon which it became an eater of; or, as is seen even in the material forces in the present: We find those that partake of certain elements, unless these become very well balanced WITH all SOURCES - Of what?
That of which there were the first causes, or nature, or natural, or God’s sources or forces are. Hence ELEMENTS - not rudiments; elements - as are termed in the terminology of the student of the anatomical, physiological, psychological forces within a body - GERMS! Sure they are germs! for each are as atoms of power - From what? That source from which it has drawn its essence upon what it feeds. Is one feeding, then, its soul? or is one feeding its body? or is one feeding that inter between (its mental body) to its own undoing, or to those foolishnesses of the simple things of life? Being able, then, to partake OF the physical but not a part of same - but more and more feeding upon those sources from which it emanates itself, or of the SPIRITUAL life, so that the physical body, the mental body, are attuned TO its soul forces, or its soul source, its Creator, its Maker, in such a way and manner, as it develops.
9. What, then, IS psychic force? What IS occult science? A developing of the abilities within each individual that has not lost its sonship, or its relation to its Creator, to live upon - or demonstrate more and more through phenomena of whatever nature from which it takes its source, for that individual activity of that entity itself through the stages of development through which it has passed, and giving of its life source that there may be brought INTO being that which gives more knowledge of the source FROM which the entity ESSENCE (Isn’t a good word, but signifies that intended to be expressed; not elements, not rudiments, but ESSENCE of the entity itself, ITS spirit and soul - its spirit being its portion of the Creator, its soul that of its entity itself, making itself individual, separate entity, that may be one WITH the Creative Force from which it comes - or which it is! of which it is made up, in its atomic forces, or in its very essence itself!) emanates; and the more this may be manifest, the greater becomes the occult force.
10. To what uses, then, did these people in this particular period give their efforts, and in what directions were they active? As many almost as there were individuals! for, as we find from the records as are made, to some there was given the power to become the sons of God; others were workers in brass, in iron, in silver, in gold; others were made in music, and the instruments of music. These, then, we find in the world today (Today, now - we are reasoning from today). Those that are especially gifted in art - in its various forms; and a real artist (as the world looks at it) isn’t very much fit for anything else! yet it is - What? An expression of its concept OF that from WHICH it, that entity, sprang - through the various stages of its evolution (if you choose to call it such) in a material world, or that which it fed its soul or its mental being for its development through its varied experiences IN a material world. These, then, are but manifestations (occult forces) in individuals who are called geniuses, or gifted in certain directions.
Read it two or three times if you need to but I will try to clarify some points and elaborate on this subject and more in the next part.
I'd like to briefly introduce you to Edgar Cayce.
Edgar Cayce, whom someone mentioned in one of the forum postings’, is considered one of the greatest “sleeping prophets” to have existed in modern times. I say “sleeping” because he use to place himself into some kind of self-induced sleep state by lying down on a couch, closing his eyes, and folding his hands over his stomach. This state of relaxation and meditation enabled him to place his mind in contact with all time and space. From this state he could respond to questions as diverse as, “What are the secrets of the universe?” to “How can I remove a wart?” His responses to these questions came to be called “readings” and contain insights so valuable that, even to this day, individuals have found practical help for everything from maintaining a well-balanced diet and improving human relationships to overcoming life-threatening illnesses and experiencing a closer walk with God.
... and I would like to share this reading with you:
Reading Topic - OCCULT: ATLANTIS
TEXT OF READING 364-10
This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at his home in Pinewood on Lake Drive, Virginia Beach, Va., this 28th day of April, 1932, in accordance with request made by those present.
P R E S E N T
Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Mildred Davis, H. L. & L. B. Cayce.
R E A D I N G Time of Reading 3:00 P. M.
1. GC: You will have before you the information given through this channel on the lost continent of Atlantis. You will please continue with this information, and answer the questions which I will ask regarding same.
2. EC: Yes. In understanding, then, in the present terminology, occult science, or psychic science - as seen, this was the natural or nature’s activity in that experience, and not termed a science - any more than would be the desire for food by a new born babe. Rather the natural consequence. This explanation may of necessity take on some forms that may possibly be confusing at times, but illustrations may be made through the various types of occult science, or psychic manifestations, that may clarify for the student something of the various types of psychic manifestations in the present, as well as that that was natural in this period.
3. There is, as has been oft given, quite a difference - and much differentiation should be made - in mysticism and psychic, or occult science as termed today.
4. From that which has been given, it is seen that individuals in the beginning were more of thought forms than individual entities with personalities as seen in the present, and their projections into the realms of fields of thought that pertain to a developing or evolving world of matter, with the varied presentations about same, of the expressions or attributes in the various things about the entity or individual, or body, through which such science - as termed now, or such phenomena as would be termed - became manifest. Hence we find occult or psychic science, as would be called at the present, was rather the natural state of man in the beginning. Very much as (in illustration) when a baby, or babe, is born into the world and its appetite is first satisfied, and it lies sleeping. Of what is its dreams? That it expects to be, or that it has been? Of what are thoughts? That which is to be, or that which has been, or that which is? Now remember we are speaking - these were thought forms, and we are finding again the illustrations of same!
5. When the mental body (Now revert back to what you are calling science) - when the mental body, or mind, has had training, or has gone through a course of operations in certain directions, such individuals are called so-and-so minded; as one of an inventive turn, and trained; one of a statistician turn, and trained; one of a theologian turn, and trained; one of philosophical turn, and trained. Of what does the mind build? We have turned, then, to that that has become very material, for the mind constantly trained makes for itself MENTAL pictures, or makes for that as is reasoned with from its own present dimensional viewpoints - but the babe, from whence its reasoning? from whence its dream?
From that has been taken in, or that that has been its experience from whence it came? Oft has it been said, and rightly, with a babe’s smile ‘Dreaming of angels’, and close in touch with them - but what has PRODUCED that dream? The contact with that upon which IT has fed! Don’t forget our premise now from which we are reasoning! and we will find that we will have the premise from which those individuals, or the entities, reasoned within the beginning in this land. (We are speaking of Atlanteans, when they became as thought forces.) From whence did THEY reason?
From the Creative Forces from which they had received their impetus, but acted upon by the thought FORMS as were in MATERIAL forms about them, and given that power (will) to be one WITH that from what it sprang or was given its impetus, or force, yet with the ability to USE that in the way that seemed, or seemeth, good or well, or pleasing, unto itself. Hence we find in this particular moulding or mouldive stage, that in which there was the greater development of, and use of, that as is termed or called psychic and occult forces, or science - in the present terminology, or age.
6. Illustrating, then, that as to how this was used by those entities, those beings, in the formative stage of their experience or sojourn among that as had been created in all of its splendor to supply every want or desire that might be called forth by that being, with all of its attributes physical, mental AND SPIRITUAL at hand; for, as has been given, even unto the four hundred thousandth generation from the first creation was it prepared for man’s indwelling. As we today (turn to today), we find there the developments of those resources. How long have they remained? Since the beginning! How long has man been able to use them for his undoing, or his pleasure, or for his regeneration? Since the knowledge of some source has awakened within its psychic force, or source, of the apparatus, or the form that it takes, either in a physical or mental (for remember, Mind is the Builder - and it moves along those channels through which, and by which, it may bring into existence in whatever dimension or sphere from which it is reasoning, or reasoning toward - see) - and as these may be illustrated in the present:
7. When there is a manifestation of a psychic force, or an occult action, or phenomena, or activity in, upon, of or for, an individual, there is then the rolling back, as it were, or a portion of the physical consciousness - or that mental trained individual consciousness - has been rolled aside, or rolled back, and there is then a visioning - To what? That as from the beginning, a projection OF that form that assumed its position or condition in the earth as from the beginning, and with those so endowed with that as may be called an insight into psychic sources there may be visioned about a body its astral (if chosen to be termed), rather its THOUGHT body, as is projected FROM same in such a state; especially so when there is the induction, or the inducing of, an unconsciousness of the normal brain, or normal mental body.
Submerged - into what? Into the unconscious, or subconscious. Sub, in THIS instance, meaning BELOW - not above normal; below - SUBJECTED to the higher consciousness, or to the higher thought, that has been builded - just as sure as has a physical body been builded, from what? That as has been given from its first nucleus as passed through in its experience. Then there may be visioned by such a body, as may be called with the second sight, or with a vision, that accompanying thought body of such a one, manifesting in much the way and manner as individuals in the Atlantean period of psychic and occult development brought about in their experience. Through such projections there came about that first necessity of the division of the body, to conform to those necessities of that as seen in its own mental vision as builded (MENTAL now - Don’t confuse these terms, or else you will become VERY confused in what is being given!).
8. The mental vision by its action upon what body is being builded? On the mental body of the individual in a material world, out of Spirit, out of the ability to have all the attributes of the spiritual or unseen forces - but MATERIALIZED forces, as is necessary from the mental body in a material world MENTALLY trained to, or in, certain directions, or given directions, or following the natural bent of its threefold or three-ply body, as is seen in every individual or every entity. As these projected themselves, then we find these DEVELOPMENTS were in this portion of the development in the Atlantean period.
How were these used? In much as were from the beginning. Remember there was ever the instruction to those peoples that were to hold to that that would bring for the spiritual forces, rather than the abuses of the abilities - as those with familiar spirits, as those that spoke to or partook of the divinations of those that had passed from the earth’s plane, or those that partook of the animal magnetism - that came from the universal consciousness of animal matter as passed into its experience, in its interchange through those periods of integration and disintegration - and the spirit forces possessing those that would lay themselves open to such conditions, for these are as real as physical bodies if the attunements of the entity are such that it may vision them! and they are about you always, sure!
These, then, are entities - sure; whether animal or those endowed with the soul - until they pass through those changes - as there ever has been, see? Also there are those that ever make for those channels in the psychic and occult (we are speaking of, through which man - as it reached that stage, or that position that it became farther and farther from its natural sources, through the same CHARACTER of channel may it communicate with that from which it is a portion of, or the Creative Forces), and hence the terminology arose as ‘Good Spirits’ and ‘Bad Spirits’; for there are those that partake of the earth, or of the carnal forces, rather than of those forces that are of the spiritual or CREATIVE.
Those that are destruction are of the Earth. Those that are constructive, then, are the good - or the divine and the devilish, bringing for those developments in their various phases. Hence the greater development of that called occult, or psychic forces, during the Atlantean period - and the use of same, and the abuse of same - was during its first thousand years, as we would call light years; not the light of the star, but the sun goes down and the sun goes down - years. That brought about those cycles, or those changes. Hence we have that which has been given through many of the sources of information, or the channels for individuals - and in those, these, the entity - as a voice upon waters, or as the wind that moved among the reeds and harkened, or again as when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God beheld the coming of man into his own, through the various realms as were brought by the magnifying of, or the deteriorating of, the use of those forces and powers as manifested themselves in a MATERIAL area, or those that partook of carnal to the gratification of that that brought about its continual HARDENING and less ability to harken back through that from WHICH it came, and partaking more and more OF that upon which it became an eater of; or, as is seen even in the material forces in the present: We find those that partake of certain elements, unless these become very well balanced WITH all SOURCES - Of what?
That of which there were the first causes, or nature, or natural, or God’s sources or forces are. Hence ELEMENTS - not rudiments; elements - as are termed in the terminology of the student of the anatomical, physiological, psychological forces within a body - GERMS! Sure they are germs! for each are as atoms of power - From what? That source from which it has drawn its essence upon what it feeds. Is one feeding, then, its soul? or is one feeding its body? or is one feeding that inter between (its mental body) to its own undoing, or to those foolishnesses of the simple things of life? Being able, then, to partake OF the physical but not a part of same - but more and more feeding upon those sources from which it emanates itself, or of the SPIRITUAL life, so that the physical body, the mental body, are attuned TO its soul forces, or its soul source, its Creator, its Maker, in such a way and manner, as it develops.
9. What, then, IS psychic force? What IS occult science? A developing of the abilities within each individual that has not lost its sonship, or its relation to its Creator, to live upon - or demonstrate more and more through phenomena of whatever nature from which it takes its source, for that individual activity of that entity itself through the stages of development through which it has passed, and giving of its life source that there may be brought INTO being that which gives more knowledge of the source FROM which the entity ESSENCE (Isn’t a good word, but signifies that intended to be expressed; not elements, not rudiments, but ESSENCE of the entity itself, ITS spirit and soul - its spirit being its portion of the Creator, its soul that of its entity itself, making itself individual, separate entity, that may be one WITH the Creative Force from which it comes - or which it is! of which it is made up, in its atomic forces, or in its very essence itself!) emanates; and the more this may be manifest, the greater becomes the occult force.
10. To what uses, then, did these people in this particular period give their efforts, and in what directions were they active? As many almost as there were individuals! for, as we find from the records as are made, to some there was given the power to become the sons of God; others were workers in brass, in iron, in silver, in gold; others were made in music, and the instruments of music. These, then, we find in the world today (Today, now - we are reasoning from today). Those that are especially gifted in art - in its various forms; and a real artist (as the world looks at it) isn’t very much fit for anything else! yet it is - What? An expression of its concept OF that from WHICH it, that entity, sprang - through the various stages of its evolution (if you choose to call it such) in a material world, or that which it fed its soul or its mental being for its development through its varied experiences IN a material world. These, then, are but manifestations (occult forces) in individuals who are called geniuses, or gifted in certain directions.
Read it two or three times if you need to but I will try to clarify some points and elaborate on this subject and more in the next part.
Atlantis - Part 3
I am going to sidetrack a little from the main topic of where Atlantis is, in order to bring you the people of Atlantis. I noted that a lot of you have the feeling that you are from there; some may have even had past life regression experiences, similar to myself.
Who are Atlanteans? …
Atlanteans are considered the first people to have ever inhabited the earth. It is not sure that they called themselves Atlanteans and there are several theories surrounding their appearance…in fact speculation is such, that their very existence is a mystery in itself.
One of these theories, is a spiritualist one, which claims that the first Atlanteans were, in fact, Lemureans who inhabited the continent of Atlantis from 250,000 BC until 10,000 BC, as a challenge and divine experiment to see whether celestial beings could live in a mortal body and still keep their connection with God. This theory speculates that the experiment was started and terminated 5 times before the final destruction, and disappearance, of the island, simply because the incarnated celestial beings fell into the age old trap of greed, wars, corruption, black magic and other such atrocities.
Essentially, Atlanteans were, originally, a peace loving people, a united community who drew together as a singular unit in order to help each other. Each member of the community was adept in one, or more, of the Holistic Therapies area. Some would be adept in the art of Reiki healing, some in the art of Crystal healing, some could use the infinite powers of their mind to heal others; other Atlanteans would be adept in kinesiology, some the art of visualisation, most Atlanteans lived by the principles laid out in Ayurveda, and so forth and so on, but they all shared the common communication language of telepathy and they drew their communal power and strength from pyramids and crystals.
Telepathy is considered a means of non-verbal communication that occurs when souls vibrate at the same frequency and on the same level. It could be said that souls have a hierarchy of transmission frequencies, along which path they can communicate with some people, in this manner, yet not with others.
It is said that there are 5 types of telepathy
1) Mental Telepathy – Between mind and mind.
2) Emotional Telepathy – The connection is between the solar plexus centers of the individuals involved. It has largely to do with ‘feeling’, i.e. between people emotionally attached as in mother/child – husband/wife – groups – good friends, and in events when one ‘feels’ what has happened to the other. This form of telepathy is transmitted on the astral level. Friendliness, love, menace, fear, etc. is usually expressed this way. You can physically feel this type of telepathy in ‘the pit of your stomach’.
3) Between Soul and Soul – This is an advanced form of telepathy, where contact is made through the super conscious level of mind between souls, beyond the workings of the conscious mind.
4) Between two or three of these aspects of telepathy simultaneously.
5) Verbal Telepathic Communication – Which is words converted to symbols for use by the mind, which must be decoded back into ideas or thoughts as received.
However, it is believed that, even nowadays, we all have this telepathic ability. It’s just that some people become too caught up in their own thoughts that their “enlightened” energy channels become blocked thereby disengaging the ability to transmit. Also, fear of receiving unrecognisable, or unidentifiable thoughts from another person disengages the ability to receive.
One of the most detailed descriptions of the Atlanteans’ use of a mysterious instrument, called the Great Crystal, was given by Edgar Cayce, who mentioned it many times.
The crystal was housed in a special building oval in shape, with a dome that could be rolled back, exposing the Crystal to the light of the sun, moon and stars at the most favourable time. The interior of the building was lined with non-conducting metal or stone, similar to asbestos or Bakelite, a thermosetting plastic.
The Crystal itself, the Tuaoi Stone, or Firestone, was huge in size, cylindrical in length, and prismatic in shape, cut with six sides. Atop the crystal was a moveable capstone, used to both concentrate-incoming rays of energy, and to direct currents to various parts of the Atlantean countryside. It appears that the Crystal gathered solar, lunar, stellar, atmospheric and Earth energies as well as unknown elemental forces and concentrated these at a specific point, located between the top of the Crystal and the bottom of the capstone.
The energy was used for various purposes. In the beginning it was used as purely a spiritual tool by initiates who could handle the great energy. The early Atlanteans were peaceful people. As they developed more physical material bodies, they used the crystal to rejuvenate their bodies and were able to live hundreds of years while maintaining a youthful appearance.
Later the Great Crystal was put to other uses. Currents of energy were transmitted throughout the land, like radio waves, and powered by these, crafts and vehicles traversed the land, through the sky and under the sea at the speed of sound.
By utilization of other currents originating from the Great Crystal, the Atlanteans were also able to transmit over great distances the human voice, and pictures, like modern television. In the same manner, even heat and light could be directed to specific buildings or open arenas, giving illumination and warmth by seemingly invisible means.
There is some speculation that the first pyramids were built over 10,643 years ago.
Even though it is very hard to accept, during their time on earth, Atlanteans became the forefathers of technology, medicine, warfare and science etc., more so than our society today. At the height of their societal corruption and during their darkest hours, they created nuclear weapons, they cloned animals and people, they waged wars in the name of blood thirst glory and so forth and so on.
Laura Knight-Jadczyk tells us …
The Cassiopaeans have emphasized the importance of Frequency Resonance Vibration. They have also indicated that the Self Serving Negative Hierarchy meddles with it by way of rituals, by way of “beliefs,” by way of tampering with DNA via “abduction” processes, and so forth. They have indicated that the Service to Others alignment acts in accordance with the natural order of things.
Fulcanelli tells us over and over again that Plato was an initiate, and he drops clues everywhere that the “Egyptian” version - as it is promulgated - is not the true source of higher positive knowledge. The clues are given to us in Plato’s writings that the Atlanteans were an “evil empire” that attempted to conquer the world, and were defeated by the “Athenians,” giving rise to the archetypal legend of Perseus and Andromeda.
In fact, it is speculated that around 50,000 BC – 52,000 BC, one of the periods when one of Atlantis’ experimental eras came to a close, it did so because of its gross misuse of power; it is said that a series of nuclear bombs were set off underground, which caused the earth to shift on its axis and divide the continent up into 5 islands, one of which is, possibly, the island that Plato mentioned in his account that we read about in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
According to Diana Cooper, during the last era of Atlantis a temple was raised in the mountains of Atlas, which was surrounded by seven mountainous peaks that represented the seven spiritual laws of:
The law of one – no separation from God
The law of Karma – there is always a spiritual way to work things out
The law of manifestation – thoughts, words and deeds attract experiences into the physical life
The law of Grace – Unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness
The law of Responsibility – Taking responsibility for own actions, thoughts, words etc.
The law of unconditional love – Love and acceptance without boundaries and;
The law of intention – gaining clarity and understanding in order to find resolutions.
Which were meant to be a reminder of the purpose of Atlantis and its people. Sadly, once again greed took over and this time the island was flooded for good, as we all know, but it is believed that a great proportion of Atlanteans survived and scattered to the four corners of the world.
Constitutionally and chemically, Atlanteans were said to have certain DNA make-up comparable to lizards and certain amphibians, in fact it is believed that they possessed fin like scales, on their skin, similar to those of fish, in order to breath. In conformity with this theory it has been proposed that those with Blood type RH 0 negative are the original descendants of Atlantis.
I found this article I thought you may find interesting with regards to this:
http://think-aboutit.com/health/DISCUSSIONOFBLOODGROUPSANDTHHUMANSPECIES.htm
The genii is about to be released, as it becomes general knowledge that human cloning has been practiced for generations.
In fact, prior to the current historical epoch - beginning about 200,000-years-ago - there was direct intervention against the peoples of Earth for that very reason, which is demonstrated by the Rh+ factor in humans. Genetic experimentation (largely directed by EBEs) was so successful, that most of Earth’s remaining original inhabitants were eventually wiped out.
Nearly 85% of all human beings have RH positive blood. Which merely indicates that their red blood cells contain a substance called the RHesus (rhesus) blood factor. Simply put, their positive blood contains a protein that can be linked to the Rhesus monkey. It is acknowledged that blood factors are transmitted with more exactitude than any other human or animal characteristic. It is not generally known from where the negative RH factor derived, although tantalizing evidence exists that it arrises from genetic experimentation a little over 5,000 years ago.
The highest concentration of RH negative blood occurs in the Basque people of Northern Spain and Southern France, and in the Eastern/Oriental Jews. Only 15% of the entire world´s population is known to have the RH negative blood factor. While it is known that RH negative blood - (type ‘O’) is the purest blood known to mankind, it is not known from where the negative factor originates, as it is generally theorized by evolutionists that there is an unbroken bloodline from early human prototypes (pre-humans) to present day human beings.
When we separate the ‘O’ types into ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ we find that ‘O’ negative (the universal donor blood) constitutes less than 7% of the world´s population. Science at this very time is attempting to create a synthetic RH negative ‘O’ blood, but without success. For while the protein in positive blood can be cloned, that of negative blood cannot - which is quite interesting, and may be indicative of an alien origin, or more probable, from early genetic experimentation during previous advanced human civilization(s).
Some similarities among those who have RH negative blood -
· Predominance of green or hazel eyes that change colour like a chameleon, but also blue eyes, piercing.
* True red or reddish hair
* Low pulse rate & low blood pressure
* Keen sight or hearing
* ESP, UFO connections, Abduction, Para-normal occurrences
* Extra rib or vertebrae
* Love of space and science
* A sense of not belonging to the human race
* Empathetic illnesses
* Compassion for fate of mankind
* A sense of a ‘mission’ in life
* Unexplained body scars
* Capability to disrupt electrical appliances
None the less, despite all this information, my personal experience is, that as an Atlantean, I have always been able to recognise other Atlanteans and I am always drawn towards them, more so than other people.
Long live the “original” philosophy of Atlantis ….
I will get aroud to writing Part 4 now that I have more research material and the motivation to do so.
Who are Atlanteans? …
Atlanteans are considered the first people to have ever inhabited the earth. It is not sure that they called themselves Atlanteans and there are several theories surrounding their appearance…in fact speculation is such, that their very existence is a mystery in itself.
One of these theories, is a spiritualist one, which claims that the first Atlanteans were, in fact, Lemureans who inhabited the continent of Atlantis from 250,000 BC until 10,000 BC, as a challenge and divine experiment to see whether celestial beings could live in a mortal body and still keep their connection with God. This theory speculates that the experiment was started and terminated 5 times before the final destruction, and disappearance, of the island, simply because the incarnated celestial beings fell into the age old trap of greed, wars, corruption, black magic and other such atrocities.
Essentially, Atlanteans were, originally, a peace loving people, a united community who drew together as a singular unit in order to help each other. Each member of the community was adept in one, or more, of the Holistic Therapies area. Some would be adept in the art of Reiki healing, some in the art of Crystal healing, some could use the infinite powers of their mind to heal others; other Atlanteans would be adept in kinesiology, some the art of visualisation, most Atlanteans lived by the principles laid out in Ayurveda, and so forth and so on, but they all shared the common communication language of telepathy and they drew their communal power and strength from pyramids and crystals.
Telepathy is considered a means of non-verbal communication that occurs when souls vibrate at the same frequency and on the same level. It could be said that souls have a hierarchy of transmission frequencies, along which path they can communicate with some people, in this manner, yet not with others.
It is said that there are 5 types of telepathy
1) Mental Telepathy – Between mind and mind.
2) Emotional Telepathy – The connection is between the solar plexus centers of the individuals involved. It has largely to do with ‘feeling’, i.e. between people emotionally attached as in mother/child – husband/wife – groups – good friends, and in events when one ‘feels’ what has happened to the other. This form of telepathy is transmitted on the astral level. Friendliness, love, menace, fear, etc. is usually expressed this way. You can physically feel this type of telepathy in ‘the pit of your stomach’.
3) Between Soul and Soul – This is an advanced form of telepathy, where contact is made through the super conscious level of mind between souls, beyond the workings of the conscious mind.
4) Between two or three of these aspects of telepathy simultaneously.
5) Verbal Telepathic Communication – Which is words converted to symbols for use by the mind, which must be decoded back into ideas or thoughts as received.
However, it is believed that, even nowadays, we all have this telepathic ability. It’s just that some people become too caught up in their own thoughts that their “enlightened” energy channels become blocked thereby disengaging the ability to transmit. Also, fear of receiving unrecognisable, or unidentifiable thoughts from another person disengages the ability to receive.
One of the most detailed descriptions of the Atlanteans’ use of a mysterious instrument, called the Great Crystal, was given by Edgar Cayce, who mentioned it many times.
The crystal was housed in a special building oval in shape, with a dome that could be rolled back, exposing the Crystal to the light of the sun, moon and stars at the most favourable time. The interior of the building was lined with non-conducting metal or stone, similar to asbestos or Bakelite, a thermosetting plastic.
The Crystal itself, the Tuaoi Stone, or Firestone, was huge in size, cylindrical in length, and prismatic in shape, cut with six sides. Atop the crystal was a moveable capstone, used to both concentrate-incoming rays of energy, and to direct currents to various parts of the Atlantean countryside. It appears that the Crystal gathered solar, lunar, stellar, atmospheric and Earth energies as well as unknown elemental forces and concentrated these at a specific point, located between the top of the Crystal and the bottom of the capstone.
The energy was used for various purposes. In the beginning it was used as purely a spiritual tool by initiates who could handle the great energy. The early Atlanteans were peaceful people. As they developed more physical material bodies, they used the crystal to rejuvenate their bodies and were able to live hundreds of years while maintaining a youthful appearance.
Later the Great Crystal was put to other uses. Currents of energy were transmitted throughout the land, like radio waves, and powered by these, crafts and vehicles traversed the land, through the sky and under the sea at the speed of sound.
By utilization of other currents originating from the Great Crystal, the Atlanteans were also able to transmit over great distances the human voice, and pictures, like modern television. In the same manner, even heat and light could be directed to specific buildings or open arenas, giving illumination and warmth by seemingly invisible means.
There is some speculation that the first pyramids were built over 10,643 years ago.
Even though it is very hard to accept, during their time on earth, Atlanteans became the forefathers of technology, medicine, warfare and science etc., more so than our society today. At the height of their societal corruption and during their darkest hours, they created nuclear weapons, they cloned animals and people, they waged wars in the name of blood thirst glory and so forth and so on.
Laura Knight-Jadczyk tells us …
The Cassiopaeans have emphasized the importance of Frequency Resonance Vibration. They have also indicated that the Self Serving Negative Hierarchy meddles with it by way of rituals, by way of “beliefs,” by way of tampering with DNA via “abduction” processes, and so forth. They have indicated that the Service to Others alignment acts in accordance with the natural order of things.
Fulcanelli tells us over and over again that Plato was an initiate, and he drops clues everywhere that the “Egyptian” version - as it is promulgated - is not the true source of higher positive knowledge. The clues are given to us in Plato’s writings that the Atlanteans were an “evil empire” that attempted to conquer the world, and were defeated by the “Athenians,” giving rise to the archetypal legend of Perseus and Andromeda.
In fact, it is speculated that around 50,000 BC – 52,000 BC, one of the periods when one of Atlantis’ experimental eras came to a close, it did so because of its gross misuse of power; it is said that a series of nuclear bombs were set off underground, which caused the earth to shift on its axis and divide the continent up into 5 islands, one of which is, possibly, the island that Plato mentioned in his account that we read about in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
According to Diana Cooper, during the last era of Atlantis a temple was raised in the mountains of Atlas, which was surrounded by seven mountainous peaks that represented the seven spiritual laws of:
The law of one – no separation from God
The law of Karma – there is always a spiritual way to work things out
The law of manifestation – thoughts, words and deeds attract experiences into the physical life
The law of Grace – Unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness
The law of Responsibility – Taking responsibility for own actions, thoughts, words etc.
The law of unconditional love – Love and acceptance without boundaries and;
The law of intention – gaining clarity and understanding in order to find resolutions.
Which were meant to be a reminder of the purpose of Atlantis and its people. Sadly, once again greed took over and this time the island was flooded for good, as we all know, but it is believed that a great proportion of Atlanteans survived and scattered to the four corners of the world.
Constitutionally and chemically, Atlanteans were said to have certain DNA make-up comparable to lizards and certain amphibians, in fact it is believed that they possessed fin like scales, on their skin, similar to those of fish, in order to breath. In conformity with this theory it has been proposed that those with Blood type RH 0 negative are the original descendants of Atlantis.
I found this article I thought you may find interesting with regards to this:
http://think-aboutit.com/health/DISCUSSIONOFBLOODGROUPSANDTHHUMANSPECIES.htm
The genii is about to be released, as it becomes general knowledge that human cloning has been practiced for generations.
In fact, prior to the current historical epoch - beginning about 200,000-years-ago - there was direct intervention against the peoples of Earth for that very reason, which is demonstrated by the Rh+ factor in humans. Genetic experimentation (largely directed by EBEs) was so successful, that most of Earth’s remaining original inhabitants were eventually wiped out.
Nearly 85% of all human beings have RH positive blood. Which merely indicates that their red blood cells contain a substance called the RHesus (rhesus) blood factor. Simply put, their positive blood contains a protein that can be linked to the Rhesus monkey. It is acknowledged that blood factors are transmitted with more exactitude than any other human or animal characteristic. It is not generally known from where the negative RH factor derived, although tantalizing evidence exists that it arrises from genetic experimentation a little over 5,000 years ago.
The highest concentration of RH negative blood occurs in the Basque people of Northern Spain and Southern France, and in the Eastern/Oriental Jews. Only 15% of the entire world´s population is known to have the RH negative blood factor. While it is known that RH negative blood - (type ‘O’) is the purest blood known to mankind, it is not known from where the negative factor originates, as it is generally theorized by evolutionists that there is an unbroken bloodline from early human prototypes (pre-humans) to present day human beings.
When we separate the ‘O’ types into ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ we find that ‘O’ negative (the universal donor blood) constitutes less than 7% of the world´s population. Science at this very time is attempting to create a synthetic RH negative ‘O’ blood, but without success. For while the protein in positive blood can be cloned, that of negative blood cannot - which is quite interesting, and may be indicative of an alien origin, or more probable, from early genetic experimentation during previous advanced human civilization(s).
Some similarities among those who have RH negative blood -
· Predominance of green or hazel eyes that change colour like a chameleon, but also blue eyes, piercing.
* True red or reddish hair
* Low pulse rate & low blood pressure
* Keen sight or hearing
* ESP, UFO connections, Abduction, Para-normal occurrences
* Extra rib or vertebrae
* Love of space and science
* A sense of not belonging to the human race
* Empathetic illnesses
* Compassion for fate of mankind
* A sense of a ‘mission’ in life
* Unexplained body scars
* Capability to disrupt electrical appliances
None the less, despite all this information, my personal experience is, that as an Atlantean, I have always been able to recognise other Atlanteans and I am always drawn towards them, more so than other people.
Long live the “original” philosophy of Atlantis ….
I will get aroud to writing Part 4 now that I have more research material and the motivation to do so.
Atlantis - Part 2
Ok, just to recap on what was mentioned in the last part.
It was noted that the earliest documentation we have of Atlantis is by Plato written in 355BC but that it supposedly existed 9000 years prior to that date.
We noted that Plato’s legend had Egyptian origin, because Solon visited Sais, where he “was very honourably received” by the priests of the goddess Neith and the story was related to him. We, also, noted that in mythology Poseidon divided the continent up into 10 regions, each to be ruled by a son, so, theoretically Atlantis was much bigger than described by Plato … BUT …..
…..the narrative continues:
“That sea (the Atlantic) was then navigable, and had an island fronting that mouth which you in your tongue call the Pillars of Hercules; and this island was larger than Libya and Asia put together; and there was a passage hence for travellers of that day to the rest of the islands, as well as from those islands to the whole opposite continent that surrounds that the real sea. . . . In this Atlantic island, then, was formed a powerful league of Kings, who subdued the entire island, together with many others, and parts also of the Continent; besides which they subjected to their rule the inland parts of Libya, as far as Egypt, and Europe also, as far as Tyrrhenia. The whole of this force, then, being collected in a powerful league, undertook at one blow to enslave both your country and ours, and all the land besides that lies within the mouth. This was the period, Solon, when the power of your state (Athens) was universally celebrated for its virtue and strength; for surpassing all others in magnanimity and military skill, sometimes taking the lead of the Greek nation, at others left to itself by the defection of the rest, and brought into the most extreme danger, it still prevailed, raised the trophy over its assailants, kept from slavery those not as yet enslaved, insured likewise the most ample liberty for all of us without exception who dwell within the Pillars of Hercules. (Bibliography: Timaeus & Critias – Plato)
In 1909, in response to an ever emerging interest in the lost Continent, an anonymous contributor to the Times, pointed out that there was resemblance between Plato’s Atlantis and the island of Crete. This anonymous contributor based his whole theory on the argument that the Egyptian priest’s legend reflected the geographical make-up of the island of Crete, Cretan sea-power and the pirate attacks that had occurred along the Egyptian coast during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. His theory spread rapidly. It was very liked and adopted by many archaeologists, for many centuries.
In fact, in 1912 Paul Schliemann, grandson of Heinrich Schliemann, the famous archeologist, who excavated Mycenae and the legendary city of Troy, revealed that his grandfather, on his deathbed, produced a mysterious bequest for any of his heirs willing to devote their life to proving the existence of Atlantis. He claimed that he had spent years following up on this and he left secret letters behind, locked away in a bank safety deposit box.
Schliemann Jr claimed he had found Phoenician hieroglyphics to support his grandfather’s theories but the truth is the Phoenicians used a phoenetic writing system. He claimed he had found artefacts in the ruins of ancient Egypt but the truth is nothing was ever produced, as evidence and given modern science an technology, the whole theory was called a hoax and people continued to prefer the theory of the Crete being Atlantis.
Lets see why …
Crete is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, Sardegna and Cyprus. It is about 160 miles long, and varies in breadth from about 35 miles in the middle to 10 between Retimo and Sphakia, and only 6 miles in one place between the Gulf of Mirabello and the coast of Hierapetra. The northern coast is characterised by deep gulfs whilst the southern coast is very mountainous and rocky. Mount Psiloriti, (8159 feet), reknowned for it’s dense forestry and, also known as the ancient Mount Ida, can be found almost in the middle of a ridge of hills that go from east to west of the island.
“sea above two thousand. And this district of the whole island was turned towards the south, and in an opposite direction from the north. The mountains around it, too, were at that time celebrated, as exceeding in number, size, and beauty all those of the present time, having in them many hamlets enriched with villages.” (quote)
The ancient capital of Crete was situated at Knossos, near Candia, on the north. In ancient days the island was four days’ sail from Egypt and two from Cyrenaica. It may well be said of Crete, as of Atlantis, that “there was a passage hence for travellers of that day to the rest of the islands, as well as from those islands to the whole opposite continent", which we saw in the narrative quoted above and the prosperity of the island kingdom, of Crete, depended on its sea trade, until after bad relations with the Egyptians, Crete was overrun with raids and the Cretan sea traders eventually vanished to give way to the Phœnicians.
However, during its prime time, Crete held supremacy in sea fairing and commerce. It was the prime-trading link between the Middle East, Asia and Europe. This, of course, is all in a nutshell, as there is far too much more history which time and space does allow me to go into here.
Crete was, also, famous for its sacrificial bullfights; as was Atlantis; and the method by which both civilisations caught the bull, (i.e. without weapons), was another similarity used to support the Cretan / Atlantis theory.
“As there were bulls grazing at liberty in the temple of Poseidon, ten men only of the whole number, after invoking the god to receive their sacrifice propitiously, went out to hunt swordless, with staves and chains, and whichever of the bulls they took, they brought it to the column and slaughtered it.” (quote)
Archaeological evidence does suggest that the island has been inhabited since the 6th or 7th millennium BC, there’s still a little dispute among scientists, about the accuracy of these dates. Evans, a renowned archaeologist who excavated Knossos discovered hand made ceramics dating back to the 5th millennium BC, which, (for him), marked the beginning of Cretan civilisation. He named this period, in history, the “Minoan Era” after King Minos, who in Greek mythology was a semi-legendary king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa.
There is, also, a theory which claims that when the Greek island of Minoan Santorini erupted it sent out a huge tidal wave which hit the north coast of Crete, mainly Elounda, where artefacts are still hidden under the sea but can’t be retrieved due to a ban on diving in Eloundan waters. Rumour has it that the volcanic ash buried remnants of the old continent.
Ok, it’s time for me to just point out a few things here:
1) Even if artefacts, described and documented, as having been from Atlantis, were, supposedly, found in this region, given our knowledge of Cretans as leaders in sea fairing and commerce … could it not be possible that the artefacts found were, in fact, something like a stock inventory for ancient day import-export or even goods purchased from the continent of Atlantis, for European, or global, distribution. Could it be, at that time, that Crete was used as the first, and original, free trade zone? … Remember they were the trade supremacy between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
2) Solon visited Egypt over a thousand years after Crete had been stripped of its ancient supremacy as a maritime power, and the aged priest of Sais evidently repeated to him traditions regarding it. Umm…. I’m thinking time frames and calendars do not coincide here, just as Kenneth, quite rightfully pointed out in the last forum, please read his comment if you have not done so already, it will help to clarify a few points.
3) Plato told us that Poseidon founded the continent of Atlantis and divided it up amongst his sons for ruling. King Minos was not one of Poseidon’s sons; he was the son of Zeus.
4) Crete is too small in dimensional size, even if we only refer back to Plato’s account. In actual fact he told us the island was 300 miles by 200 miles.
5) Crete is in the Mediterranean Sea and not the Atlantic Ocean, which is where we discovered the continent, derived its name from.
There is no doubt about Crete’s supremacy, ancient history, glory and pitfalls but that Crete is Atlantis … I do not believe so …
It was noted that the earliest documentation we have of Atlantis is by Plato written in 355BC but that it supposedly existed 9000 years prior to that date.
We noted that Plato’s legend had Egyptian origin, because Solon visited Sais, where he “was very honourably received” by the priests of the goddess Neith and the story was related to him. We, also, noted that in mythology Poseidon divided the continent up into 10 regions, each to be ruled by a son, so, theoretically Atlantis was much bigger than described by Plato … BUT …..
…..the narrative continues:
“That sea (the Atlantic) was then navigable, and had an island fronting that mouth which you in your tongue call the Pillars of Hercules; and this island was larger than Libya and Asia put together; and there was a passage hence for travellers of that day to the rest of the islands, as well as from those islands to the whole opposite continent that surrounds that the real sea. . . . In this Atlantic island, then, was formed a powerful league of Kings, who subdued the entire island, together with many others, and parts also of the Continent; besides which they subjected to their rule the inland parts of Libya, as far as Egypt, and Europe also, as far as Tyrrhenia. The whole of this force, then, being collected in a powerful league, undertook at one blow to enslave both your country and ours, and all the land besides that lies within the mouth. This was the period, Solon, when the power of your state (Athens) was universally celebrated for its virtue and strength; for surpassing all others in magnanimity and military skill, sometimes taking the lead of the Greek nation, at others left to itself by the defection of the rest, and brought into the most extreme danger, it still prevailed, raised the trophy over its assailants, kept from slavery those not as yet enslaved, insured likewise the most ample liberty for all of us without exception who dwell within the Pillars of Hercules. (Bibliography: Timaeus & Critias – Plato)
In 1909, in response to an ever emerging interest in the lost Continent, an anonymous contributor to the Times, pointed out that there was resemblance between Plato’s Atlantis and the island of Crete. This anonymous contributor based his whole theory on the argument that the Egyptian priest’s legend reflected the geographical make-up of the island of Crete, Cretan sea-power and the pirate attacks that had occurred along the Egyptian coast during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. His theory spread rapidly. It was very liked and adopted by many archaeologists, for many centuries.
In fact, in 1912 Paul Schliemann, grandson of Heinrich Schliemann, the famous archeologist, who excavated Mycenae and the legendary city of Troy, revealed that his grandfather, on his deathbed, produced a mysterious bequest for any of his heirs willing to devote their life to proving the existence of Atlantis. He claimed that he had spent years following up on this and he left secret letters behind, locked away in a bank safety deposit box.
Schliemann Jr claimed he had found Phoenician hieroglyphics to support his grandfather’s theories but the truth is the Phoenicians used a phoenetic writing system. He claimed he had found artefacts in the ruins of ancient Egypt but the truth is nothing was ever produced, as evidence and given modern science an technology, the whole theory was called a hoax and people continued to prefer the theory of the Crete being Atlantis.
Lets see why …
Crete is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, Sardegna and Cyprus. It is about 160 miles long, and varies in breadth from about 35 miles in the middle to 10 between Retimo and Sphakia, and only 6 miles in one place between the Gulf of Mirabello and the coast of Hierapetra. The northern coast is characterised by deep gulfs whilst the southern coast is very mountainous and rocky. Mount Psiloriti, (8159 feet), reknowned for it’s dense forestry and, also known as the ancient Mount Ida, can be found almost in the middle of a ridge of hills that go from east to west of the island.
“sea above two thousand. And this district of the whole island was turned towards the south, and in an opposite direction from the north. The mountains around it, too, were at that time celebrated, as exceeding in number, size, and beauty all those of the present time, having in them many hamlets enriched with villages.” (quote)
The ancient capital of Crete was situated at Knossos, near Candia, on the north. In ancient days the island was four days’ sail from Egypt and two from Cyrenaica. It may well be said of Crete, as of Atlantis, that “there was a passage hence for travellers of that day to the rest of the islands, as well as from those islands to the whole opposite continent", which we saw in the narrative quoted above and the prosperity of the island kingdom, of Crete, depended on its sea trade, until after bad relations with the Egyptians, Crete was overrun with raids and the Cretan sea traders eventually vanished to give way to the Phœnicians.
However, during its prime time, Crete held supremacy in sea fairing and commerce. It was the prime-trading link between the Middle East, Asia and Europe. This, of course, is all in a nutshell, as there is far too much more history which time and space does allow me to go into here.
Crete was, also, famous for its sacrificial bullfights; as was Atlantis; and the method by which both civilisations caught the bull, (i.e. without weapons), was another similarity used to support the Cretan / Atlantis theory.
“As there were bulls grazing at liberty in the temple of Poseidon, ten men only of the whole number, after invoking the god to receive their sacrifice propitiously, went out to hunt swordless, with staves and chains, and whichever of the bulls they took, they brought it to the column and slaughtered it.” (quote)
Archaeological evidence does suggest that the island has been inhabited since the 6th or 7th millennium BC, there’s still a little dispute among scientists, about the accuracy of these dates. Evans, a renowned archaeologist who excavated Knossos discovered hand made ceramics dating back to the 5th millennium BC, which, (for him), marked the beginning of Cretan civilisation. He named this period, in history, the “Minoan Era” after King Minos, who in Greek mythology was a semi-legendary king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa.
There is, also, a theory which claims that when the Greek island of Minoan Santorini erupted it sent out a huge tidal wave which hit the north coast of Crete, mainly Elounda, where artefacts are still hidden under the sea but can’t be retrieved due to a ban on diving in Eloundan waters. Rumour has it that the volcanic ash buried remnants of the old continent.
Ok, it’s time for me to just point out a few things here:
1) Even if artefacts, described and documented, as having been from Atlantis, were, supposedly, found in this region, given our knowledge of Cretans as leaders in sea fairing and commerce … could it not be possible that the artefacts found were, in fact, something like a stock inventory for ancient day import-export or even goods purchased from the continent of Atlantis, for European, or global, distribution. Could it be, at that time, that Crete was used as the first, and original, free trade zone? … Remember they were the trade supremacy between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
2) Solon visited Egypt over a thousand years after Crete had been stripped of its ancient supremacy as a maritime power, and the aged priest of Sais evidently repeated to him traditions regarding it. Umm…. I’m thinking time frames and calendars do not coincide here, just as Kenneth, quite rightfully pointed out in the last forum, please read his comment if you have not done so already, it will help to clarify a few points.
3) Plato told us that Poseidon founded the continent of Atlantis and divided it up amongst his sons for ruling. King Minos was not one of Poseidon’s sons; he was the son of Zeus.
4) Crete is too small in dimensional size, even if we only refer back to Plato’s account. In actual fact he told us the island was 300 miles by 200 miles.
5) Crete is in the Mediterranean Sea and not the Atlantic Ocean, which is where we discovered the continent, derived its name from.
There is no doubt about Crete’s supremacy, ancient history, glory and pitfalls but that Crete is Atlantis … I do not believe so …
Atlantis - Part 1
Last night, after our usual Buddhist meeting, a few of my friends and I went out for a drink and we got caught up in a debate about many topics; among which Atlantis.
I have spent years researching the topic and have previously written a number of articles about the subject. My AdlandPro friends will have read these articles already ... but my new friends haven't so, I am reposting them here in Facebook.
The lost continent of Atlantis has been the topic of speculation for decades. Theories are abundant all over the world but not one has ever provided concrete, substantial, evidence of its whereabouts or even of its existence at all.
There are theories that Atlantis is to be found near Crete, another that claims it is in South China Sea somewhere, another saying that it lays under Antarctica and yet another near the Açores. There is, also, a theory that Atlantis never even existed at all.
All the information available on this topic is too vast but I will put together a 2 or 3 part condensed series to help you come to your own conclusions. The ultimate decision to believe what you will is up to you.
The first ever documented reporting of Atlantis dates back to 355 BC with the philosopher Plato, who was a student of Socrates until the latter died in 399 BC, after which time Plato travelled extensively, especially throughout Egypt. In 387 BC, Plato founded an academy for science and philosophy that became the model of modern day universities. His most famous student was probably Aristotle whose philosophies prevail in modern day societies.
Two of his Platos’ dialogues, Timeaus and Critias, hold the only known original references to the island of Atlantis, which is said to have existed 9000 years before Plato’s time and, which apparently had been forgotten by his current Athenian society. These dialogues are, basically, conversations between Socrates, Hermocrates, Timeaus, and Critias about ideal societies and Plato’s way of airing his discord about Athenean ruling of his time.
In the dialogues, Egyptian priests conveyed the story of Atlantis to Solon. Solon passed the tale to Dropides, the great-grandfather of Critias and Critias learned of it from his grandfather also named Critias, son of Dropides.
Here is one of the extracts from the dialogue that refers to Atlantis:
Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in greatness and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Hercules; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Hercules is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent.
Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire that had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and, furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Hercules as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand alone, after having undergone the very extremity of danger, she defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars.
But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island. (Bibliography: Timaeus & Critias – Plato)
The fact that the Atlantic ocean is mentioned, by name, and the fact that the “Pillars of Hercules", referred to here, is what we now call the Straight of Gibralta, coupled with the fact that Plato spent most of his travelling time in Egypt and the evidence suggesting that the tale was handed down by an Egyptian priest, rules out any possibility of Atlantis lying anywhere other than the Atlantic Ocean and close to that side of Europe, undermining the theory of Atlantis being in the Indies and the South China Sea.
The story continues:
Poseidon had established that nation and fathered five sets of twins on the island. The firstborn, Atlas, had the continent and the surrounding ocean named for him. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son, or his heirs.
This suggests that Atlantis was a very large continent and not a mere drop in the ocean but it also contradicts slightly with Plato’s account of the island being 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, (480 km by 320 kms).
However, another theory, according to Rainer Kühne, a German physicist, satellite photos of southern Spain suggest that the “island” of Atlantis was in fact a region of the southern Spanish coast that was destroyed by a flood between 800 B.C. and 500 B.C. The only problem is that Plato wrote about it in 355 BC and it is said to have existed 9000 years prior to that, so for this theory the dates do not coincide.
Ulf Erlingsson, a Swedish geographer, believes Plato combined elements from different times and places in the background description for his utopia. The distribution of the Atlantean empire seems to match that of the megaliths (large rough stone monuments) in Western Europe and North Africa. The geographic description of the island Atlantis, he suggests, is based on an island that is still standing today—Ireland, that shares the same dimensions and features a central plain that is open to the sea.
“I have looked at geographical data of the whole world. Of the 50 largest islands, Ireland is the only one that matches Plato’s description of the landscape,” he added.
The only problem with this theory is that Ireland has never suffered any serious enough volcanic activity said to have destroyed the lost continent.
So where is Atlantis? We know it is somewhere in the Atlantic sea, but where?
I have spent years researching the topic and have previously written a number of articles about the subject. My AdlandPro friends will have read these articles already ... but my new friends haven't so, I am reposting them here in Facebook.
The lost continent of Atlantis has been the topic of speculation for decades. Theories are abundant all over the world but not one has ever provided concrete, substantial, evidence of its whereabouts or even of its existence at all.
There are theories that Atlantis is to be found near Crete, another that claims it is in South China Sea somewhere, another saying that it lays under Antarctica and yet another near the Açores. There is, also, a theory that Atlantis never even existed at all.
All the information available on this topic is too vast but I will put together a 2 or 3 part condensed series to help you come to your own conclusions. The ultimate decision to believe what you will is up to you.
The first ever documented reporting of Atlantis dates back to 355 BC with the philosopher Plato, who was a student of Socrates until the latter died in 399 BC, after which time Plato travelled extensively, especially throughout Egypt. In 387 BC, Plato founded an academy for science and philosophy that became the model of modern day universities. His most famous student was probably Aristotle whose philosophies prevail in modern day societies.
Two of his Platos’ dialogues, Timeaus and Critias, hold the only known original references to the island of Atlantis, which is said to have existed 9000 years before Plato’s time and, which apparently had been forgotten by his current Athenian society. These dialogues are, basically, conversations between Socrates, Hermocrates, Timeaus, and Critias about ideal societies and Plato’s way of airing his discord about Athenean ruling of his time.
In the dialogues, Egyptian priests conveyed the story of Atlantis to Solon. Solon passed the tale to Dropides, the great-grandfather of Critias and Critias learned of it from his grandfather also named Critias, son of Dropides.
Here is one of the extracts from the dialogue that refers to Atlantis:
Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in greatness and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Hercules; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Hercules is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent.
Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire that had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and, furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Hercules as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand alone, after having undergone the very extremity of danger, she defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars.
But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island. (Bibliography: Timaeus & Critias – Plato)
The fact that the Atlantic ocean is mentioned, by name, and the fact that the “Pillars of Hercules", referred to here, is what we now call the Straight of Gibralta, coupled with the fact that Plato spent most of his travelling time in Egypt and the evidence suggesting that the tale was handed down by an Egyptian priest, rules out any possibility of Atlantis lying anywhere other than the Atlantic Ocean and close to that side of Europe, undermining the theory of Atlantis being in the Indies and the South China Sea.
The story continues:
Poseidon had established that nation and fathered five sets of twins on the island. The firstborn, Atlas, had the continent and the surrounding ocean named for him. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son, or his heirs.
This suggests that Atlantis was a very large continent and not a mere drop in the ocean but it also contradicts slightly with Plato’s account of the island being 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, (480 km by 320 kms).
However, another theory, according to Rainer Kühne, a German physicist, satellite photos of southern Spain suggest that the “island” of Atlantis was in fact a region of the southern Spanish coast that was destroyed by a flood between 800 B.C. and 500 B.C. The only problem is that Plato wrote about it in 355 BC and it is said to have existed 9000 years prior to that, so for this theory the dates do not coincide.
Ulf Erlingsson, a Swedish geographer, believes Plato combined elements from different times and places in the background description for his utopia. The distribution of the Atlantean empire seems to match that of the megaliths (large rough stone monuments) in Western Europe and North Africa. The geographic description of the island Atlantis, he suggests, is based on an island that is still standing today—Ireland, that shares the same dimensions and features a central plain that is open to the sea.
“I have looked at geographical data of the whole world. Of the 50 largest islands, Ireland is the only one that matches Plato’s description of the landscape,” he added.
The only problem with this theory is that Ireland has never suffered any serious enough volcanic activity said to have destroyed the lost continent.
So where is Atlantis? We know it is somewhere in the Atlantic sea, but where?
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