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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Book Review - The Samaritan Jesus


Full disclosure, the author, John Munter, is my cousin!

"The Samaritan Jesus" explores the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic Gospels, and the writings of Roman historian Flavius Josephus, and concludes that Jesus was Simon Magus, and Mary Magdalene was Queen Helen of Adiabene.

For me, the most interesting source was the Slavonic Josephus, who translated Flavius Josephus before the Roman gospels were written, and mentions a Roman massacre just prior to the crucifixion, which coincided with a Roman massacre of Samaritans at Mount Gerizzim.

I have not had time to verify the sources, but if proven accurate could shake things up a bit. There is still a spiritual side to Simon Magus, but it involves a psychomanteum technique to access the higher self. As always, I will keep an open mind and take it with a grain of salt!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Book Review: The Law of Attraction


"The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham" is not about romantic attraction or the biblical Abraham. Its premise is that we attract into our future reality whatever we think about, whether we want it or not. So we can think about what we don't want, but mostly we want to shift over to thinking about what we do want.

I'm definitely going to try to apply it, but I'm also definitely going to take it with a grain of salt. If they're wrong, some of their ideas could be quite dangerous, ideas like there are not victims, and that resources are not limited. Anyone who has had misfortune hit them from out of the blue could be quite offended by what they're reading.

And I'm concerned that they might have us quit watching the news altogether. Granted, so much of the news is negative. I feel like more and more of the coverage is "tragedy gazing" and unhealthy in large doses. But if people don't take any interest in the larger world, they won't be able to make informed choices with their votes, their time, and their money, and we'll miss the opportunity for solutions that could affect everybody. I think it's possible to watch the news and still keep a positive attitude. I also think it's important to gravitate toward news sources that can foster genuine optimism. MSNBC may have a lot of depressing stories, but I would say it's relatively more solution-oriented than the other big networks. So, rather than ignoring negativity, I would rather wrap it in positivity, in a sort of paisley pattern. (See accompanying artwork below.) The book does touch on this idea briefly toward the very end, when it says, "And then, even from the most negative presentations, they could see something that they do want."

I think I've been pretty open about the big picture things that I want: Earth homes, mass transit, renewable energy, suburban gardens, something like the Venus Project, and more time for sports and arts. I could be wrong, or missing some important details, but I think I at least have a general vision of where I'd like things to go. 

And finally, the premise of this book raises the question, "Are you real, or am I alone?" If I was alone, I'm not sure if I would want to know the answer. I do want people to be real, and I want them to think for themselves, but I don't want them to annihilate me! ;)


Here, positivity is represented by light (not white). It does not eradicate all negativity, so the page is not blank, but it does wrap around it and contain it in a kind of paisley pattern. One can always retreat to the calm spaces when one has had enough adventure.
Created at http://recursivedrawing.com/.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

IRS mitigating explanation


Obama has called it "inexcusable," but I do think the IRS has a mitigating explanation. It was not about political bias, but perceived likelihood of evasion. Because let's face it, teabaggers don't like to pay taxes. They've said so themselves!