ONE OF THE BEST STORIES I'VE EVER HEARD!
As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around..'
His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'
His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and do esn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'
After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck w ith it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back.. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'
(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today? tomorrow? just 'do it'.
Random acts of kindness, I think they call it!
'Believe in Angels, then return the favor
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
SHARK
This is an article I entered into a contest for Writer’s Digest. It is based on a true story. The goal is to take the sentence provided and use it to write a 500 word article.
Your boat rocks back and forth, and you peer over the edge, catching a glimpse of something you thought was gone forever.
The boat rocked back and forth, and I peered over the edge, catching a glimpse of something I thought was gone forever in Pleasant Bay. The 20 foot Great White Shark glided past my 10 foot Boston Whaler. I sank onto the floor, and squinted into the setting sun, searching for the TV crews that had been perched high on the sand dunes. The lifeguard station was empty. Everyone was gone. The news crews would not have their story as it headed for the shoreline.
The fisherman had not cried “wolf.”
Cape Cod flocked to the spot of the “Jaws” sighting and for two days kept vigilance until dusk. News crews in white vans scanned the opening to the ocean with binoculars while helicopters patrolled the bay. Where were they now? Had they grown impatient for a glimpse of the legend?
My beating heart caused ripples in the puddle of sea water, a result of a faulty bilge pump. Could that shark sense my heat through the resonating water? I’d heard about Great White attacks. They stick their heads out of the water and ogle fishermen before capsizing the boat with a flick of their tail or a bite through the hull. Maybe it wanted to be sure the meal was worth the work. Would I be worth the work?
Someone on the beach must have seen that fin. My ears strained to hear the alarm. Instead, I heard laughter, talk from a Boat’s loud speaker, and splashing. The tourists and locals must have taken the absence of the news crews and lifeguards as a sign that the scare was over.
A Seal Watcher boat trolled past me in search of the elusive whiskered face. I lifted my head, mustered all the intestinal fortitude I could, and croaked, “Shark!” just as the passengers in the overloaded boat yelled, “There’s one!” Cameras clicked as people leaned over the side for their picture of a lifetime.
“Yes, there’s a really big one a few feet off the stern,” The intercom boomed. “I guess everyone here heard about the Jaws scare we’ve had these past days,” he continued with a hint of glee in his voice. “Well, since the sand bar was broken by the nor’easter last month, the seaward homes are not the only things in danger of being swallowed up.” The children laughed at the guide’s wit. “That cute little fellow right there is Jaws favorite food and…”
If water were glass, you could have head a shattering crash as a seal flew into the air and was snapped in half by the shark that disappeared into the bloody water. The sound of the huge after -splash filled with seal entrails diminished the screams of terror.
It wasn’t the news crew that got the coveted shot. The picture of the severed seal in the jaws of the breaching Great White was sent to Boston News via cell phone, by 12 year old Johnny who might be thankful he lives in Idaho.
Author Bio: Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos www.survivingcancerland.com Twitter@ PshchicHealing is an agented author (Scovil, Galen & Ghosh) of SURVIVING CANCERLAND: the Psychic Aspects of Healing. Kathy writes for a number of ezines and blog sites that can be viewed on her web page.
Your boat rocks back and forth, and you peer over the edge, catching a glimpse of something you thought was gone forever.
The boat rocked back and forth, and I peered over the edge, catching a glimpse of something I thought was gone forever in Pleasant Bay. The 20 foot Great White Shark glided past my 10 foot Boston Whaler. I sank onto the floor, and squinted into the setting sun, searching for the TV crews that had been perched high on the sand dunes. The lifeguard station was empty. Everyone was gone. The news crews would not have their story as it headed for the shoreline.
The fisherman had not cried “wolf.”
Cape Cod flocked to the spot of the “Jaws” sighting and for two days kept vigilance until dusk. News crews in white vans scanned the opening to the ocean with binoculars while helicopters patrolled the bay. Where were they now? Had they grown impatient for a glimpse of the legend?
My beating heart caused ripples in the puddle of sea water, a result of a faulty bilge pump. Could that shark sense my heat through the resonating water? I’d heard about Great White attacks. They stick their heads out of the water and ogle fishermen before capsizing the boat with a flick of their tail or a bite through the hull. Maybe it wanted to be sure the meal was worth the work. Would I be worth the work?
Someone on the beach must have seen that fin. My ears strained to hear the alarm. Instead, I heard laughter, talk from a Boat’s loud speaker, and splashing. The tourists and locals must have taken the absence of the news crews and lifeguards as a sign that the scare was over.
A Seal Watcher boat trolled past me in search of the elusive whiskered face. I lifted my head, mustered all the intestinal fortitude I could, and croaked, “Shark!” just as the passengers in the overloaded boat yelled, “There’s one!” Cameras clicked as people leaned over the side for their picture of a lifetime.
“Yes, there’s a really big one a few feet off the stern,” The intercom boomed. “I guess everyone here heard about the Jaws scare we’ve had these past days,” he continued with a hint of glee in his voice. “Well, since the sand bar was broken by the nor’easter last month, the seaward homes are not the only things in danger of being swallowed up.” The children laughed at the guide’s wit. “That cute little fellow right there is Jaws favorite food and…”
If water were glass, you could have head a shattering crash as a seal flew into the air and was snapped in half by the shark that disappeared into the bloody water. The sound of the huge after -splash filled with seal entrails diminished the screams of terror.
It wasn’t the news crew that got the coveted shot. The picture of the severed seal in the jaws of the breaching Great White was sent to Boston News via cell phone, by 12 year old Johnny who might be thankful he lives in Idaho.
Author Bio: Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos www.survivingcancerland.com Twitter@ PshchicHealing is an agented author (Scovil, Galen & Ghosh) of SURVIVING CANCERLAND: the Psychic Aspects of Healing. Kathy writes for a number of ezines and blog sites that can be viewed on her web page.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
MAGDALENE
WHAT MARY MAGDALENE MEANS
FOR HUMANITY
________________________________________
________________________________________
MARY RESURFACES
A number of books have come out in the past decade about Mary Magdalene or in which Mary plays a prominent role. In fact, compared to the underground obscurity to which she was relegated for two thousand years, you could say that the atmosphere has suddenly become charged with “Magdalene particles.” There are reasons Mary has resurfaced. The discovery of new gospels has shed light on Mary and her relationship to Jesus’ other disciples. But beyond this, the universe seems to have cast Magdalene on the crest of a wave destined to sweep the globe in our lifetime—the rise of the feminine force.
THE RISE OF THE FEMININE
Let’s be clear on this. The rise of the feminine principle does not mean the feminist movement, women’s liberation, or the fact that we’ve seen the first American female presidential candidate. We’re not speaking of the prominence of women in the workplace or the fight for equal compensation. These things are indications of an energy wave sweeping the world, what we might call the superficial manifestations of something deeper. We’re speaking about the feminine half of a force that resides in all of us, men and women. We could just as well say that the yin is rising to balance the yang, the negative is rising to balance the positive, or the cat is rising to balance the dog. It’s about polar forces coming to balance.
The necessity for internal balancing of these forces was predicted by Jesus and a group of early Christians, called Gnostics, two thousand years ago. They spoke of the male and female aspects of God and explained how and why the feminine came to be dominated by the masculine in the material world. Part of the knowledge or gnosis Jesus revealed elucidated the fact that the entire world of appearances operates off of a yin-yang energy polarity that is best described as masculine and feminine in nature. This is also echoed in esoteric Judaism, which claimed that spirits are androgynous in heaven (the Pleroma) but when they incarnated into materiality, they were “split” into masculine and feminine.
THE TWO MUST BECOME ONE
The masculine force was characterized by expansive, logical, rational, linear thinking that was more aggressive in relation to its environment. It was left brain oriented, verbal, unimaginative, and mind centered. The feminine aspect was characterized by receptive, intuitive, feeling-based, elliptical thinking that was more nurturing in relation to its environment. It was right brain oriented, non-verbal, creative, and heart centered.
But hold on boys, don’t get depressed. This isn’t saying that women have a corner on inspiration, imagination, and the artistic pursuits. It doesn’t work that way. Each sex, each person has degrees of both sets of characteristics present within himself or herself. Nevertheless, the fact remains that as men and women, we remain substantially divided in our outlook and approach to life along these fault lines. The different outlooks between the sexes are readily observable in animals. Here is a simple human test: for any of you that have ever attended holistic events—and we’re talking about the big ones with thousands of people— you will notice that the attendees are 90-95% female. The subject matter of these meetings has to do with healing, psychic abilities, creative visualization, development of intuition, and other right brain domiciled activities. And we’re talking about weekend events, so the non-working, bored housewife excuse doesn’t cut it.
Jesus, in the Gnostic gospels, always proclaimed the “two must become one.” What he meant was that we must rebalance ourselves as human beings. An indicator of high intelligence is when a person integrates his or her right and left brains into an operating symmetry. Logic and science by themselves are not roads to true spiritual enlightenment because enlightenment is not an intellectual exercise. It is an experience that must be felt by the feminine faculties of intuitive imagination, and once internalized as a subjective experience, it can then be integrated into the logical, intellectual mind as a fact.
TOWARD A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING
It’s not within the scope of this discussion to explain how the world came to be so male dominated. That could be the topic of a whole other website. Suffice it to say that it has been a male-dominated world for a long time and in the field of religion, no less so. Even in the synoptic gospels, we can see Jesus’ radical orientation toward women, shocking for his time and culture. Jesus railed against the priesthood and the legalistic, dogmatic nature of Judaism, all left-brained, male fostered phenomena. He said the kingdom of heaven was within, and how do you find what is within you? By meditation, contemplation, and prayer, and it’s been proven that these are right brain states when truly achieved because they involve the intuitive and imaginative faculties. True prayers, at least the ones that get answered, come from the heart, not the mind. The mind can’t pray or meditate, it can only think about praying and meditating.
We may be in the early stages of the feminine resurrection, a phase in the evolution of people becoming superior, wholly integrated human beings using all the sleeping faculties available to them. A human being with feminine intuitive abilities using the male-directed thought to harness power of the interior spiritual/psychic world will become prevalent some day. The majority of people will discover the underlying unity of life and the interconnectedness of our minds and souls. War, poverty, and suffering will take a blow when that day comes. When we finally see our underlying connectedness, it will be harder to hurt others for we will truly experience the words of Matthew: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
SO WHO WAS MARY MAGDALENE?
The Da Vinci Code portrays Mary Magdalene as the Holy Grail, the receptacle of Jesus’ children or bloodline. By contrast, in my books, Mary is also revealed as the Holy Grail, though she is the receptacle of something far more universal and important: the gnosis or hidden teachings of the Christ. With due respect to Dan Brown, a possible Jesus/Magdalene bloodline has no practical importance to humanity. If Jesus had children, that does not alter his being the fleshly vehicle of the Christ spirit, nor does it really affect any material aspect of the Christian story. All it does is allow Church critics to say, hah! Gotcha! You got a fact wrong. Okay, big deal. It also may serve to humanize Jesus more, but nobody ever said he wasn’t human. And if he were not a real person but an allegorical story, then it’s a moot point anyway.
Magdalene and the risen Christ
Let’s be honest about one fact. There are so many gaps in the historical Jesus and Magdalene that we can never say for certain what the actual facts of their lives were. All we can do is piece together what documents we have and use our own intuition and critical judgment to extract what is universal and spiritually significant. We do not claim that our version of the Magdalene story is the “truth” in a historic or factual sense. We do feel that there is an archetypical significance attached to the figures of Magdalene and the Christ and that is the truth we try to extract in our books. The historical accuracy game is circular when it comes to the Bible. Biblical stories may never be proved or disproved, but they have tremendous value for those who seek to decipher their wisdom and secrets, for they are signposts to universal spiritual truths. To paraphrase a very astute statement from the novel, The Secret Magdalene — that the story is true is not what is important; what is important is the truth in the story.
That is the spirit in which I, and ancient writers of the once lost Gnostic gospels, revive the story of Mary Magdalene. Good evidence exists that women were prominent leaders of the early Church and Magdalene was probably foremost among them. The Gnostic gospels certainly portray her in that way, and many Gnostics believed her to be the full spiritual counterpart of the Christ, Jesus’ foremost disciple, and a living archetype for the intuitive human. Some even held her to be an incarnation of the Holy Spirit herself. Several of the male disciples, notably Peter, were shown as being antagonistic toward her. She continually demonstrated the ability to grasp the esoteric message Jesus taught orally and privately while Peter and many of the men struggled to understand.
THE EXILE OF MAGDALENE AND THE FEMALE CHURCH
Emperor Constantine receives the first (mandated) Christian creed from the all-male cast of bishops
The outer or public version of Christianity became one of the religions competing to be the state favorite of the Roman Empire. It was a highly patriarchal world back then. Having so many female leaders and a femininely oriented message was an embarrassment. It’s highly probable that women were gradually pushed aside to the point where the Emperor Constantine selected Christianity as the favored state religion with a creed defined by exclusively male bishops.
It’s quite suspicious that one of the women always by Jesus’ side and the first to see the risen Christ was relegated to such a shadowy role in the Bible. Some very cogent theses exist that state the beloved disciple was really Magdalene and the Gospel of John was originally the Gospel of Magdalene. This would represent a pattern of editing women out of the Church and the scriptures as outer Christianity evolved and eventually married the Roman Empire, adopting its hierarchical and patriarchal character.
But the other main branch of early Christianity, the mystical Gnostics, retained traditions and gospels that exalted the place of women and the role of Magdalene until they were exterminated and their works burned by the orthodox state Church. This completed the suppression of Jesus’ attempt in the ancient world to revive feminine wisdom in Western spirituality. But a true spiritual force can only be suppressed, not eliminated, because it is a truth that springs from the innermost recesses of the soul. The Gnostic/feminine wisdom kept resurfacing in differing forms (see the Gnosticism section of the popeannalisa.com website).
The real story here is the evolution of humanity toward a new consciousness of being, and the next step in that evolution is, in the words of Jesus, that “the two must become one.” Anyone can notice how women are increasingly entering into the mainstream of everyday life. What you may not have noticed is the strong movement in literature, psychology, the arts, and religion to resurrect and recover the lost feminine spiritual legacy, the Goddess, some call it, not to supplant the male force, but to merge with it and transform us in ways we can only now imagine.
When the qualities of love, mercy, intuition, and acting from the heart seep in to become a more common part of our lives, we move closer to the divine. The activation of these right brain faculties will allow us to follow the path of the sages, to perceive as God perceives, to act in a manner that will flow from the recognition of our unity with all things. One day, these perceptions will be open to all, not just a few sages, and they will be real experiences, not just intellectual propositions of the mind.
Mary Magdalene will become a major focal point in this grand movement of our evolution. It’s in the air. It may well be written in the heavens.
AUTHOR BIO-- Peter Canova
At the age of twenty-three, I first realized my abilities to do
intuitive medical readings, remote viewing, psycho kinesis, and
other “psychic” phenomena. This led me to a conviction that all of
humanity, and all life, is interconnected at an unseen level. As I
traveled four different continents for my work, a variety of
spiritual figures entered my life unsolicited thereby reaffirming
this belief.
I combined my love of writing with my spiritual background and my travels to produce a fictional work entitled The First Souls Trilogy, written while I was caring for my wife, who was battling breast cancer. It concerns the first fall of spirit into material existence as told through the lives of characters whose incarnations appear over different epochs of history. Pope Annalisa, the first book, tells of an African nun who becomes the first female pope in a near future world headed for self-destruction. The trilogy deals with the origin, destiny, and purpose of humanity, the suppressed role of the feminine in spiritual history, and spirit transcending religion.
Website: popeannalisa.com
Twitter: popeannalisa
Pope Annalisa Videos on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxB8r3sYBM
FOR HUMANITY
________________________________________
________________________________________
MARY RESURFACES
A number of books have come out in the past decade about Mary Magdalene or in which Mary plays a prominent role. In fact, compared to the underground obscurity to which she was relegated for two thousand years, you could say that the atmosphere has suddenly become charged with “Magdalene particles.” There are reasons Mary has resurfaced. The discovery of new gospels has shed light on Mary and her relationship to Jesus’ other disciples. But beyond this, the universe seems to have cast Magdalene on the crest of a wave destined to sweep the globe in our lifetime—the rise of the feminine force.
THE RISE OF THE FEMININE
Let’s be clear on this. The rise of the feminine principle does not mean the feminist movement, women’s liberation, or the fact that we’ve seen the first American female presidential candidate. We’re not speaking of the prominence of women in the workplace or the fight for equal compensation. These things are indications of an energy wave sweeping the world, what we might call the superficial manifestations of something deeper. We’re speaking about the feminine half of a force that resides in all of us, men and women. We could just as well say that the yin is rising to balance the yang, the negative is rising to balance the positive, or the cat is rising to balance the dog. It’s about polar forces coming to balance.
The necessity for internal balancing of these forces was predicted by Jesus and a group of early Christians, called Gnostics, two thousand years ago. They spoke of the male and female aspects of God and explained how and why the feminine came to be dominated by the masculine in the material world. Part of the knowledge or gnosis Jesus revealed elucidated the fact that the entire world of appearances operates off of a yin-yang energy polarity that is best described as masculine and feminine in nature. This is also echoed in esoteric Judaism, which claimed that spirits are androgynous in heaven (the Pleroma) but when they incarnated into materiality, they were “split” into masculine and feminine.
THE TWO MUST BECOME ONE
The masculine force was characterized by expansive, logical, rational, linear thinking that was more aggressive in relation to its environment. It was left brain oriented, verbal, unimaginative, and mind centered. The feminine aspect was characterized by receptive, intuitive, feeling-based, elliptical thinking that was more nurturing in relation to its environment. It was right brain oriented, non-verbal, creative, and heart centered.
But hold on boys, don’t get depressed. This isn’t saying that women have a corner on inspiration, imagination, and the artistic pursuits. It doesn’t work that way. Each sex, each person has degrees of both sets of characteristics present within himself or herself. Nevertheless, the fact remains that as men and women, we remain substantially divided in our outlook and approach to life along these fault lines. The different outlooks between the sexes are readily observable in animals. Here is a simple human test: for any of you that have ever attended holistic events—and we’re talking about the big ones with thousands of people— you will notice that the attendees are 90-95% female. The subject matter of these meetings has to do with healing, psychic abilities, creative visualization, development of intuition, and other right brain domiciled activities. And we’re talking about weekend events, so the non-working, bored housewife excuse doesn’t cut it.
Jesus, in the Gnostic gospels, always proclaimed the “two must become one.” What he meant was that we must rebalance ourselves as human beings. An indicator of high intelligence is when a person integrates his or her right and left brains into an operating symmetry. Logic and science by themselves are not roads to true spiritual enlightenment because enlightenment is not an intellectual exercise. It is an experience that must be felt by the feminine faculties of intuitive imagination, and once internalized as a subjective experience, it can then be integrated into the logical, intellectual mind as a fact.
TOWARD A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING
It’s not within the scope of this discussion to explain how the world came to be so male dominated. That could be the topic of a whole other website. Suffice it to say that it has been a male-dominated world for a long time and in the field of religion, no less so. Even in the synoptic gospels, we can see Jesus’ radical orientation toward women, shocking for his time and culture. Jesus railed against the priesthood and the legalistic, dogmatic nature of Judaism, all left-brained, male fostered phenomena. He said the kingdom of heaven was within, and how do you find what is within you? By meditation, contemplation, and prayer, and it’s been proven that these are right brain states when truly achieved because they involve the intuitive and imaginative faculties. True prayers, at least the ones that get answered, come from the heart, not the mind. The mind can’t pray or meditate, it can only think about praying and meditating.
We may be in the early stages of the feminine resurrection, a phase in the evolution of people becoming superior, wholly integrated human beings using all the sleeping faculties available to them. A human being with feminine intuitive abilities using the male-directed thought to harness power of the interior spiritual/psychic world will become prevalent some day. The majority of people will discover the underlying unity of life and the interconnectedness of our minds and souls. War, poverty, and suffering will take a blow when that day comes. When we finally see our underlying connectedness, it will be harder to hurt others for we will truly experience the words of Matthew: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
SO WHO WAS MARY MAGDALENE?
The Da Vinci Code portrays Mary Magdalene as the Holy Grail, the receptacle of Jesus’ children or bloodline. By contrast, in my books, Mary is also revealed as the Holy Grail, though she is the receptacle of something far more universal and important: the gnosis or hidden teachings of the Christ. With due respect to Dan Brown, a possible Jesus/Magdalene bloodline has no practical importance to humanity. If Jesus had children, that does not alter his being the fleshly vehicle of the Christ spirit, nor does it really affect any material aspect of the Christian story. All it does is allow Church critics to say, hah! Gotcha! You got a fact wrong. Okay, big deal. It also may serve to humanize Jesus more, but nobody ever said he wasn’t human. And if he were not a real person but an allegorical story, then it’s a moot point anyway.
Magdalene and the risen Christ
Let’s be honest about one fact. There are so many gaps in the historical Jesus and Magdalene that we can never say for certain what the actual facts of their lives were. All we can do is piece together what documents we have and use our own intuition and critical judgment to extract what is universal and spiritually significant. We do not claim that our version of the Magdalene story is the “truth” in a historic or factual sense. We do feel that there is an archetypical significance attached to the figures of Magdalene and the Christ and that is the truth we try to extract in our books. The historical accuracy game is circular when it comes to the Bible. Biblical stories may never be proved or disproved, but they have tremendous value for those who seek to decipher their wisdom and secrets, for they are signposts to universal spiritual truths. To paraphrase a very astute statement from the novel, The Secret Magdalene — that the story is true is not what is important; what is important is the truth in the story.
That is the spirit in which I, and ancient writers of the once lost Gnostic gospels, revive the story of Mary Magdalene. Good evidence exists that women were prominent leaders of the early Church and Magdalene was probably foremost among them. The Gnostic gospels certainly portray her in that way, and many Gnostics believed her to be the full spiritual counterpart of the Christ, Jesus’ foremost disciple, and a living archetype for the intuitive human. Some even held her to be an incarnation of the Holy Spirit herself. Several of the male disciples, notably Peter, were shown as being antagonistic toward her. She continually demonstrated the ability to grasp the esoteric message Jesus taught orally and privately while Peter and many of the men struggled to understand.
THE EXILE OF MAGDALENE AND THE FEMALE CHURCH
Emperor Constantine receives the first (mandated) Christian creed from the all-male cast of bishops
The outer or public version of Christianity became one of the religions competing to be the state favorite of the Roman Empire. It was a highly patriarchal world back then. Having so many female leaders and a femininely oriented message was an embarrassment. It’s highly probable that women were gradually pushed aside to the point where the Emperor Constantine selected Christianity as the favored state religion with a creed defined by exclusively male bishops.
It’s quite suspicious that one of the women always by Jesus’ side and the first to see the risen Christ was relegated to such a shadowy role in the Bible. Some very cogent theses exist that state the beloved disciple was really Magdalene and the Gospel of John was originally the Gospel of Magdalene. This would represent a pattern of editing women out of the Church and the scriptures as outer Christianity evolved and eventually married the Roman Empire, adopting its hierarchical and patriarchal character.
But the other main branch of early Christianity, the mystical Gnostics, retained traditions and gospels that exalted the place of women and the role of Magdalene until they were exterminated and their works burned by the orthodox state Church. This completed the suppression of Jesus’ attempt in the ancient world to revive feminine wisdom in Western spirituality. But a true spiritual force can only be suppressed, not eliminated, because it is a truth that springs from the innermost recesses of the soul. The Gnostic/feminine wisdom kept resurfacing in differing forms (see the Gnosticism section of the popeannalisa.com website).
The real story here is the evolution of humanity toward a new consciousness of being, and the next step in that evolution is, in the words of Jesus, that “the two must become one.” Anyone can notice how women are increasingly entering into the mainstream of everyday life. What you may not have noticed is the strong movement in literature, psychology, the arts, and religion to resurrect and recover the lost feminine spiritual legacy, the Goddess, some call it, not to supplant the male force, but to merge with it and transform us in ways we can only now imagine.
When the qualities of love, mercy, intuition, and acting from the heart seep in to become a more common part of our lives, we move closer to the divine. The activation of these right brain faculties will allow us to follow the path of the sages, to perceive as God perceives, to act in a manner that will flow from the recognition of our unity with all things. One day, these perceptions will be open to all, not just a few sages, and they will be real experiences, not just intellectual propositions of the mind.
Mary Magdalene will become a major focal point in this grand movement of our evolution. It’s in the air. It may well be written in the heavens.
AUTHOR BIO-- Peter Canova
At the age of twenty-three, I first realized my abilities to do
intuitive medical readings, remote viewing, psycho kinesis, and
other “psychic” phenomena. This led me to a conviction that all of
humanity, and all life, is interconnected at an unseen level. As I
traveled four different continents for my work, a variety of
spiritual figures entered my life unsolicited thereby reaffirming
this belief.
I combined my love of writing with my spiritual background and my travels to produce a fictional work entitled The First Souls Trilogy, written while I was caring for my wife, who was battling breast cancer. It concerns the first fall of spirit into material existence as told through the lives of characters whose incarnations appear over different epochs of history. Pope Annalisa, the first book, tells of an African nun who becomes the first female pope in a near future world headed for self-destruction. The trilogy deals with the origin, destiny, and purpose of humanity, the suppressed role of the feminine in spiritual history, and spirit transcending religion.
Website: popeannalisa.com
Twitter: popeannalisa
Pope Annalisa Videos on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxB8r3sYBM
MEMORIES
Memories can last a life time, especially when they include food. My Holiday and week-end mornings always started with a family breakfast. I remember how quickly Mom prepared this one, often using leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. It was always a favorite! Now, as the Mommy in my family, I’m passing on the tradition.
Veggi Frittata
This meal is great for three reasons: 1. It can be eaten anytime of the day and is delicious in the evening. 2. ANY LEFT OVERS can be used in the egg base. 3. It is quick and healthy.)
Prep time 5-10 minutes Clean up 2 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz Egg Beaters Cheese and Chives 15 oz potato diced, fresh or canned, drained
10 oz Sargento reduced fat 4 cheese mix 6 oz mushrooms, canned, drained
8 oz spinach, fresh or canned, drained 15 oz asparagus, fresh or canned, drained
DIRECTIONS:
1. Spray metal handled frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat broiler.
2. Place all ingredients in pan and cook 1 minute
3. Place pan under broiler (if non-metal handle keep handle out of oven) and allow egg to cook, rise and brown for 4 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Veggi Frittata
This meal is great for three reasons: 1. It can be eaten anytime of the day and is delicious in the evening. 2. ANY LEFT OVERS can be used in the egg base. 3. It is quick and healthy.)
Prep time 5-10 minutes Clean up 2 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz Egg Beaters Cheese and Chives 15 oz potato diced, fresh or canned, drained
10 oz Sargento reduced fat 4 cheese mix 6 oz mushrooms, canned, drained
8 oz spinach, fresh or canned, drained 15 oz asparagus, fresh or canned, drained
DIRECTIONS:
1. Spray metal handled frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat broiler.
2. Place all ingredients in pan and cook 1 minute
3. Place pan under broiler (if non-metal handle keep handle out of oven) and allow egg to cook, rise and brown for 4 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Soldiers
It is the Holiday season and some of our countries most precious assets, our injured soldiers, are lying in hospital beds. Think of the difference we can make in someone's life who has given us so much, with one card.
When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much will get. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve, please pass it on.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
Dear Soldier,
You don’t know me, but I know you. You are one of my Heroes. You put your life on the line for me and almost paid the ultimate price. During this nation’s time of Thanksgiving, I am sending you this letter of gratitude.
When I hang my head for grace, you will be in my prayers. When I raise my glass in cheer, you will be in my heart, and when I give thanks for all I have, including the freedom to write this, you will be in my thoughts.
A Grateful American,
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos
katkan@comcast.net
Twitter PsychicHealing
www.survivingcancerland.com
When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much will get. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve, please pass it on.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
Dear Soldier,
You don’t know me, but I know you. You are one of my Heroes. You put your life on the line for me and almost paid the ultimate price. During this nation’s time of Thanksgiving, I am sending you this letter of gratitude.
When I hang my head for grace, you will be in my prayers. When I raise my glass in cheer, you will be in my heart, and when I give thanks for all I have, including the freedom to write this, you will be in my thoughts.
A Grateful American,
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos
katkan@comcast.net
Twitter PsychicHealing
www.survivingcancerland.com
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
MAMMOGRAMS
(632 wds)
New Ruling on Mammograms a Blessing in Disguise?
Women throughout the country are justified in their angst concerning the New Mammogram Guideline Recommendations from the “Government Task Force.” This recommendation breaks with the American Cancer Societies’ long-standing position regarding early detection, and sound like a step backward in health care. It is a fact that detecting cancer early can mean the difference between life and death. If mammograms are discontinued before the age of 50, how will early screening for breast cancer continue? What about arguments concerning false negatives and the panel’s advice that women shouldn’t be taught to do or use breast self examinations? Don’t despair. There are solutions to these challenges.
Now, more than ever before in breast cancer history, it’s important for women to listen to their bodies concerning health. It’s time to discover our inner-voices and self-advocate for the tests we need in order to survive. Medical tests we relied on for early detection may be a thing of the past. Our doctor’s hands may be tied by Hospital Policies that are cutting back on medical costs. We must depend on ourselves because we cannot depend on others to put our interests first and policies second. Education through word-of-mouth and the internet can be an invaluable tool. Four years ago a friend told me about the use of sonograms for breast cancer detection.
According to researchers at the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School, during a 10 year period, 1 out of 3 women had mammograms and breast exams which yielded images of breast cancer when none was actually present—false positives. Conversely, false negatives are common (up to 15%) with mammograms, especially in younger women who have dense breast tissue. However, the fear of a false negative is nothing compared to the panic attack associated with a missed positive. I can attest to this from personal experience. At ages 44 and 49, both of my breast cancers were missed on mammograms—missed positives—but found by self examination, and confirmed by MRIs. Our first line of detection should always be ourselves with self examinations, especially as our healthcare system continues to undergo changes. And, rather than systematically relying on mammograms for early detection, we should be looking at more reliable options such as Breast Sonograms.
The Power Color Doppler Ultrasound technology has been used as an alternative to Prostate Biopsy for years. One of the benefits of the Power Doppler Ultrasound is that it can be used as a mammogram alternative to monitor breast health and obtain clear, accurate breast cancer images. It can provide early and accurate images of most highly malignant breast cancers, resulting in life-saving early detection, diagnosis, and intervention.
According to the American Journal of Radiology, sonography detects four times as many cancers as physical examinations and twice as many cancers as mammography. Other advantages are that they can be repeated to closely monitor areas of concern during treatment. Additional benefits of Breast Sonograms are:
• completely painless, safe, and non-invasive
• no harmful radiation used during the procedure
• inexpensive when compared with the costs of a mammogram or biopsy
• requires no post-procedure medical care or recovery time.
If I’ve learned one thing these past years it is that you seldom get anywhere waiting for someone else to take action for you. Hoping someone else makes the right decision for you is a half plan missing a vital component and your biggest resource—You! Be a squeaky wheel until you are acknowledged, don’t take no for an answer, don’t settle for less, and don’t be dismissed. I am not beholden to medical or insurance associations. I don’t have a Ph.D. after my name, but I do have 10 years of cancer experience behind it. Help others by passing the word.
About the Author- Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos www.survivingcancerland.com is an agented author and has penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND: The Psychic Aspects of Healing. She is a phone counselor for the R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation, a mentor for WE CAN, a contributor to Cape Women Online Magazine, Twitter’s C4Women, Colette Baron-Reid’s Intuition Now, Examiner.com National, blogs http://kathleenokeefekanavos.blogspot.com ,tweets http://twitter.com/PsychCancerland and is a volunteer for many cancer organizations and online cancer groups. She is currently working on her second book, SURVIVING RECURRENCE in CANCERLAND
New Ruling on Mammograms a Blessing in Disguise?
Women throughout the country are justified in their angst concerning the New Mammogram Guideline Recommendations from the “Government Task Force.” This recommendation breaks with the American Cancer Societies’ long-standing position regarding early detection, and sound like a step backward in health care. It is a fact that detecting cancer early can mean the difference between life and death. If mammograms are discontinued before the age of 50, how will early screening for breast cancer continue? What about arguments concerning false negatives and the panel’s advice that women shouldn’t be taught to do or use breast self examinations? Don’t despair. There are solutions to these challenges.
Now, more than ever before in breast cancer history, it’s important for women to listen to their bodies concerning health. It’s time to discover our inner-voices and self-advocate for the tests we need in order to survive. Medical tests we relied on for early detection may be a thing of the past. Our doctor’s hands may be tied by Hospital Policies that are cutting back on medical costs. We must depend on ourselves because we cannot depend on others to put our interests first and policies second. Education through word-of-mouth and the internet can be an invaluable tool. Four years ago a friend told me about the use of sonograms for breast cancer detection.
According to researchers at the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School, during a 10 year period, 1 out of 3 women had mammograms and breast exams which yielded images of breast cancer when none was actually present—false positives. Conversely, false negatives are common (up to 15%) with mammograms, especially in younger women who have dense breast tissue. However, the fear of a false negative is nothing compared to the panic attack associated with a missed positive. I can attest to this from personal experience. At ages 44 and 49, both of my breast cancers were missed on mammograms—missed positives—but found by self examination, and confirmed by MRIs. Our first line of detection should always be ourselves with self examinations, especially as our healthcare system continues to undergo changes. And, rather than systematically relying on mammograms for early detection, we should be looking at more reliable options such as Breast Sonograms.
The Power Color Doppler Ultrasound technology has been used as an alternative to Prostate Biopsy for years. One of the benefits of the Power Doppler Ultrasound is that it can be used as a mammogram alternative to monitor breast health and obtain clear, accurate breast cancer images. It can provide early and accurate images of most highly malignant breast cancers, resulting in life-saving early detection, diagnosis, and intervention.
According to the American Journal of Radiology, sonography detects four times as many cancers as physical examinations and twice as many cancers as mammography. Other advantages are that they can be repeated to closely monitor areas of concern during treatment. Additional benefits of Breast Sonograms are:
• completely painless, safe, and non-invasive
• no harmful radiation used during the procedure
• inexpensive when compared with the costs of a mammogram or biopsy
• requires no post-procedure medical care or recovery time.
If I’ve learned one thing these past years it is that you seldom get anywhere waiting for someone else to take action for you. Hoping someone else makes the right decision for you is a half plan missing a vital component and your biggest resource—You! Be a squeaky wheel until you are acknowledged, don’t take no for an answer, don’t settle for less, and don’t be dismissed. I am not beholden to medical or insurance associations. I don’t have a Ph.D. after my name, but I do have 10 years of cancer experience behind it. Help others by passing the word.
About the Author- Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos www.survivingcancerland.com is an agented author and has penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND: The Psychic Aspects of Healing. She is a phone counselor for the R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation, a mentor for WE CAN, a contributor to Cape Women Online Magazine, Twitter’s C4Women, Colette Baron-Reid’s Intuition Now, Examiner.com National, blogs http://kathleenokeefekanavos.blogspot.com ,tweets http://twitter.com/PsychCancerland and is a volunteer for many cancer organizations and online cancer groups. She is currently working on her second book, SURVIVING RECURRENCE in CANCERLAND
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