Month: April 2018

A Sunday Chat with Myself: we are eternal: we are God: we can accomplish anything

Albert SchindlerLeave a comment

Our world is not a world of causes, but a world of effects.  —from Studies in Kabbalah

I recently read a very interesting article showing some experiments that were done regarding vibrations that showed, in all reality, there are only two forces to creation: the primary one, consciousness and the secondary one, vibration.

This experiment in vibration showed tiny grains of sand being placed on a hard, flat surface.  Then, the hard surface was vibrated using a fixed Hz. Different frequencies brought about different patterns in the sand.

Although I have taken a mini course in the Kabbalah, I can’t really only call myself  a simple student of the Kabbalah, but what I did learn is that it’s a more comprehensive view of how “God” created our universe, compared to the Biblical book of Genesis which barely touches on the subject. Add the knowledge of these Holy Books to that our accumulated  scientific and metaphysical studies on creation, and it’s easy to see that, in the beginning there was only consciousness.  God was consciousness—the word: the logos!

Whatever the reason, God—Consciousness, wanted to realize itself—become self-aware— so it started vibrating:  expanding itself into various realms of density. In other words, Consciousness set itself into motion. Bingo! Universes of various densities and parallels appeared.

But, what about consciousness itself?

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

According to the Mystery Schools, there are seven levels of consciousness:

1. the state of waking consciousness;
2. deep sleep;
3. dreaming;
4. transcendental consciousness;
5. cosmic consciousness;
6. god consciousness, and
7, unity consciousness.

Right now, most of us who are reading this article live in the first three levels of consciousness: awakening, deep sleep and dreaming. Although in the heart-of-our-hearts we are all seeking higher levels of consciousness—it’s almost like homesickness. The reason being, we need to create. To expand!

After all, we are gods … and gods create!

Amazing Intelligence in Animals—Humans as Animals, that is!

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The healing power in one’s hands  has been used by mystics and healers for centuries.

Earlier today I bumped my left elbow, and immediately, in an unconscious act, covered the painful spot with my right hand, massaging it gently. It was such an automatic move that got me thinking.  This is a common action for most people: when we hurt ourselves we instinctively over the area with our hand, or hands, and begin a gentle massage. Is this just a habit, or is there some healing comfort in our hands most of us don’t immediately recognize? Other animals don’t seem to have this ability—oh, they have healing and comforting abilities, but not in their hands, paws, fins, or whatever, as we have.

Sacred Science says, “Our hands are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Whether you are a Siberian shaman, Reiki Healer, or QiGong master, awareness in your palms and fingertips is an unspoken job requirement.” From my observation, unconscious acts of using our hands for soothing and healing must work to a degree, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a universal common reaction that, whenever I hurt myself, I cover the area with my hand.

I have an eye exercise that I do that has demonstrated the power in my fingertips to me. When my eyes get tired from sitting too long in front of the computer, or if I’m reading for too long a time without taking a break, I bring the tips of my first three fingers together and gently rub them in a circular manner.

The placebo principle plays a role here. Remember, the body has the ability to heal itself, and denial or belief plays a big part in whether an attempted “self-cure” works or not.

I do this for about 30 seconds, then place the tips of my fingers on my closed eyelids and gently hold them there for a few seconds, imagining the energy from my fingertips flowing into, and soothing my tired eyes. How I feel, in general, at the time also has an effect on the outcome of this exercise. If I’m tired and really out-of-sorts,  I often end up with poor results. On the other hand, if I feel “energetic,” I only need repeat this fingertip exercise three or four times to get excellent results.

Our bodies are electrical, that behaves much like a large magnet. Energy flows in through our feet, and out through our fingertips and head. Therefore, from a scientific view, there is no reason why we can’t harness the energy flow out of the tips of our fingers to benefit tired eyes, mild hearing loss, or even give a little extra “spark” to our thinking capacity.

All created species, including plants and insects, have been granted unique intelligence, advantages or abilities according to their needs by our Creator. Humans, also, have been given a unique ability: to love and to heal.

 

A Sunday Chat with Myself—Our Nourishment Habits in the Spirit World

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“When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something magical happens: ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to nourish your soul! ” Rabbi Harold Kushner

A few years back I experienced what is loosely termed—and greatly misunderstood, a Near-death Experience. During that experience I heard a voice very clearly say to me, “Man is not made to eat meat.” I’ve since become a vegetarian. My greatest triumph over having accepted that decision is, whenever a cattle liner loaded with animals headed to a slaughter house passes me—although I still can’t help but send a silent prayer of comfort to those poor animals in that liner—I have a lighter conscience that I am no longer a contributor to that form of indifference and brutality. There was much more to that NDE—in fact, I’ve had two additional NDEs since then, but they can be topics for later musings. This Sunday, I have a single thought. If vegetarianism is a primer leading to eventual higher standards of life, then, especially when I reach the spirit world, what will I  be eating? Or, do we even need nourishment in higher densities?

I’ve given some serious deliberation to this problem because, if life is continuous, and we keep evolving to higher planes—which, by the way, I also believe includes plants, insects, reptiles: in other words, all living things—in fact, including the very earth that we live on—how do we nourish ourselves? And, be you Christian, Buddhist, Atheist or Agnostic, eventually we must all … uh, “die” out of this third density plane! Therefore, eating flesh of any kind, or anything that has/had life in it, will not be a source for sustenance for us in higher dimensions.

“Big-heartedness is the most essential virtue on the spiritual journey.”  Matthew Fox

I know that the whole of the universe is made up of consciousness. In fact, the universe is consciousness. And it is consciousness (God?) that creates energy, which creates matter and form. But, since there will be no death, as we understand death in this third density, we won’t be in a position to “kill” some  other part of creation in order to eat it and sustain ourselves.

Thought (The Logos: The Word), which is the first creative force emanating from consciousness,  creates feelings … and the strongest and prime feeling created is Love!

I remember times when I felt “on top of the world”? I was full of energy; I felt like dancing; I could have kissed everyone that I met and wish them the same happy feeling that I was having. And oh,  how I wished that this”happy feeling” would live on forever!

That’s what I’ll be experiencing  in the planes—densities— beyond this one. Not only will I be sumptuously dining on this glorious feeling, I will also be radiating this feeling to all the created spirits in the universe!

It is this Happy Feeling, this Love that  will be mine to dine on when I graduate to higher realms.

Love—Eternal Bliss—is the Spirit-Food that we will quaff on, and freely share with our neighbors in our worlds to come.

Amazing Intelligence in Animals—Magpies and our Cat

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“The fox, when it sees a flock of heron or magpies or birds of any kind, suddenly flings itself on the ground with his mouth open to look as he were dead; and these birds want to peck at his tongue, and he bites off their heads.”  —Leonardo da Vinci

I don’t always have to Google the world to find good stories about animals. Sometimes the most astounding, cutest, funniest antics of animals can take place right in front of me, right in my own back yard!

This day I was lounging in one of our deck chairs on our patio when my attention was suddenly attracted to a corner of our yard near the shed, where two Magpies were making quite a ruckus. I glanced over and here was one Magpie limping, screeching its distress call (its version of help?), fluttering its wings like it was injured and couldn’t fly. It was doing this quite near to where one of our cats was sunning itself in the grass. Naturally the cat thought this a good opportunity for a fresh, feathery lunch and lunged for the bird. However, no sooner did the cat get within a few inches of the Magpie, when the Magpie flew up and perched itself on the fence, screeching (more like cackling) in delight in their high pitched shriek that they have, which, to me, sounded like it was laughing its silly head off at having just fooled the cat.

Meanwhile, the second Magpie flew down and landed just a few feet from where the cat now was, the cat looking a bit dazed and confused, because in its mind, the “wounded” Magpie should have been firmly gripped between its paws, not up there on the fence. The second Magpie repeated the first Magpie’s ‘injured’ prank. Sure enough, the cat fell for the trick and lunged for the second Magpie, and the Magpie also flew away just as the cat got within inches of what it anticipated to be an easy lunch.

The two Magpies repeated this caper, much to their own ‘kinky?’ delight at having so completely frustrated the cat. One Magpie would play injured, then fly away just as the cat got near it, then the second Magpie repeated the first one’s ‘injured’ play, then fly away just as the cat again got near. I finally ended up intervening, for had I not interrupted this little fun-play, I’m sure the two Magpies would have driven that poor cat crazy.

I know Magpies are very intelligent birds and are capable of the most intelligent, creative behavior patterns that I’ve ever seen in birds. But I also know that cats are very intelligent and usually not easily fooled, so why did it fall for the play of these two Magpies? I can only conclude that it would be for the same reason an otherwise seemingly intelligent human falls for the nefarious pranks of a scammer!

Sometimes we are the object of the joke, and sometimes we are the joker.

A Sunday Chat with Myself—Dealing with Scammers

Albert SchindlerLeave a comment

“I have heard that we are spirits having a human experience. Perhaps those of us who have no conscience are dark spirits having a human experience.”  —P.A. Speers

I just received another phone call today from a scammer (those guys are really getting persistent)! I’ve tried several ways to stop them from calling. I’ve got “Caller Block” on my phone, but that only limits me to less than a dozen  calls, and there are a lot more then a dozen scammers out there!

I’ve got “Caller Display” on my phone and so have tried just not answering the phone when I suspect it’s a scammer. That doesn’t seem to work either, because they’ll just keep calling back at different times, hoping to catch me when I’m home—and hopefully answer the phone.

I’ve tried answering these calls and  being extremely rude to them, and that doesn’t work. In fact, I think it’s because, next to the love  these scammers have for scamming you out of your money, the second best thing they seemingly enjoy is listening to your angry tirades. For some time I wondered, why? Why would any person in their right mind listen repeatedly to your angry remarks about him? When was enough, enough, and just hang up? Finally it dawned on me. These guys are sociopaths, so unlike a normal person who gets a “feel good” feeling when they’ve done something nice for you, these sociopaths are the opposite. They get their jollies when know they’ve upset you! When you “give them a piece of your mind,” so to speak, they could happily listen to you all day! I tried something different on today’s caller. I  truncate my conversation.

Me, picking up phone: “Hello!”

Scammer Claiming to be from Microsoft: “Hello. May I speak to Albert Schindler, please?”

Me: “Speaking!”

SCM:”I am calling from Microsoft. Norton tells us that you have some bad files on your computer.”

Me: “Oh, I’m so glad that you called. I’m so lonely today, and I need someone to talk to.”

SCM: ” … hello … are you by your computer?”

Me: “You have such a nice, pleasant voice! It’s such a pleasure talking to you!”

SCM: “Do you know that you have some bad files on your computer?”

Me: “I don’t have a computer—but please don’t let that stop you from talking to me. I have this really big problem with my wife—I think she keeps ignoring me— and I need to talk to someone, and you seem like such a nice person!”

SCM: “I think I will hang up now.”

SCM” “Oh, please don’t hang up! Won’t you help me? I really need someone to talk to! Please, please continue to talk to me!

SCM: <click>

Me: (to myself) I think I just ruined a sociopath’s day!

“Compassionate people need to know there are everyday people who take pleasure in hurting others.”  —P.A. Speers

Amazing Intelligence in Animals—Horses

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“When we think of those companions [horses] who traveled by our side down life’s road, let us not say with sadness that they left us behind, but rather say with gentle gratitude that they once were with us.”  —author unknown

I grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan near the small town of Hubbard. During the summer, most of the time my sister, my brother and myself would walk the 2 1/2 mile distance to our school in Hubbard. We were young, full of energy, and most of the time enjoyed the walk. However, once winter came, it was a little too difficult to walk, so our Dad constructed a small “cutter” that was drawn by a single horse that would take us to school and back. The cutter was a sled that would smoothly run on the snow, and completely closed in, with windows on front, sides and back. It even had a small built-in stove to keep us warm comfortable during our roughly one-hour drive to and one hour drive home from school.

The horse that our Dad bought for us was a gentle horse—our school horse—and there were times that, as kids we’d take that beautiful animal for granted. Saskatchewan can  get pretty cold during the winter and, although we were always comfortable in our closed-in cutter, that faithful animal had to trot along in sometimes bitter cold, without complaint.

Many times, coming home from school, we’d leave the lines to the horse’s bridle go slack, allowing the horse to trot along at its own pace, while we’d occupy the hour drive by singing songs that we had learned in school, or just chatting and reliving many of our day’s experiences. No one would pay attention to where the horse was going. We knew “Old Faithful” would safely take all the twists and turns in the road, finally stopping in front of the barn in our yard. When I nostalgically think back to those wonderful days, I am often reminded of our modern attempt to create self-driving cars. Will these cars ever be as consciously faithful and loyal as our “Old Faithful” horse was?

A horse’s intelligence has also been demonstrated in war, in the circus tent, in sports, and their ability to strut their stuff as show horses, all in an effort to please us. Along with the dog, horses have been our faithful companions for over 5,000 years!

If horses go to a different heaven than man does, I want to go to the heaven horses go to!

A Sunday Chat with Myself—Environmental degredation?

Albert SchindlerLeave a comment

“As many know, the Chinese expression for ‘crisis’ consists of two characters side by side. The first is the symbol for danger, the second the symbol for opportunity.”  —Al Gore

There is so much talk today about global warming, environmental degradation and pollution that it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. What’s the difference between global warming, environmental degradation and global pollution, and are we, humans, responsible for all three events happening to our planet?

For example, according to The Naked Scientist, the average active volcano produces around 100 million tons of pollutants every year. Within the ash that a volcano produces is  water vapor, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. Sulfur dioxide reflects sunlight back into the atmosphere, so it actually helps in keeping our planet cool.

On the other hand, we humans produce over 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide—the ‘greenhouse gas’— into the air. That’s 300 times more than what the average volcano produces. Obviously, we contribute significantly to global warming through the burning of fossil fuels making it a serious problem that needs our attention! But, is that the root cause of global warming?

According to one source—and other research that I’ve done in this area, tends to agree, “Astronomical causes are by far the most significant among all the various factors. Brightening of the sun, sunspot activity, precision of the equinoxes, tilt of the Earth’s orbit, and eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit are the most predominant astronomical causes, and they each have a different period length. This adds to the complexity of the climate change trends and often causes confusion and debate among scientists.” (http://www.odec.ca/projects/2009/qiao9d2/causes.htm). So much for who and what causes global warming. Now, on to the next question: pollution!

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.”  —Jacques-Yves Cousteau

And in that above quote lies our problem, it’s not global warming that we need to fear, but global pollution that will, inevitably, wipe us off the planet! According to Wikipedia, pollution includes: “air pollution, light pollution, littering, noise pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination [and depletion], radioactive contamination, thermal pollution, visual pollution [and] water pollution.”

But, we have two other problems to deal with, one of which is our environmental degradation. According to Wikipedia, “Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution.” And we’re doing an excellent job of destroying our planet in every one of these areas.

The introduction of plastic into our society has been both a boon and a bust for us. I’m not sure if there are any actual statistics available on the subject, but plastics are everywhere. They’ve made our life easier in many respects, but also, because of our indifference to our environment, we’re killing life forms, and destroying our environment at an alarming rate, and, unless we change, our indifference to what we’re doing to Nature is going to be our own demise.

If we don’t start taking responsibility for our actions, and stop polluting our world, Gaia is going to lash back, and it won’t be in our favor!

Amazing Intelligence in Animals—Stray dogs show up at funeral

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“I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained. I stand and look at them long and long.” —Walt Whitman

I understand Walt Whitman in his praise for animals. I grew up on a farm, so have been around animals and birds—and nature, generally,  all my life. This is an amazing world filled with wonder and beauty. 

Memory

We humans think we’re unique in being able to remember what happens in our lives, but that’s not accurate. Not only can animals remember the happenings around them, but they are quite capable of showing appreciation for kindness offered them.

In our everyday world with our pets we hardly notice the ways they show appreciation, but watch them closely, and you’ll discover a different world. Did you ever notice how tolerant a lapdog is when its human “mother” dresses him up in some “cute” costume, or how protective a dog is of its adopted family’s children? It’s not at all, like they only want to dine on your love for them; they’re quite prepared to return the favor. Take, for example,  the appreciation some stray dogs displayed at the funeral of Margarita Suarez in Yucatan, Mexico.

Margarita had been an animal lover all her life and would take a bag of food along with her whenever she went somewhere and would feed any strays she encountered along the way.

When several of these stray dogs suddenly came to attend Margarita’s funeral, staff at the funeral home soon realized that these dogs weren’t there by accident but had come to pay their final respects to the person who had showed them love when others had abandoned them.

Margarita’s daughter, Patricia, said that the dogs “formed a procession behind the hearse and then returned to the funeral home,” and never left until Margarita was being prepared for cremation.

“All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind.”  —Whippet Angel

A Sunday Chat with Myself—Craftsmanship

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“Craftsmanship names an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake.”   — Richard Sennet

There is an ancient story about a craftsman who was assigned a job to finishing some detail carpentry work located behind and out of sight place of a very ornate alter in a medieval Christian chapel.  At best, it would be seen only in dim light. A “quickie job” by normal standards. But the craftsman  laboured painstakingly for several days, concentrating on even the closest measurement and finest detail until it met his high standard of perfection.

A passerby, watching the craftsman and the attention he was paying to his work was puzzled, and finally commented, “Kind sir, why do you take such pains with something that will be hidden and won’t even be seen by the public?”

The craftsman paused from his work and looked up at the passerby. “You are correct, sir. No public person may see my work that I do here—but God will see it—and I will know that I have done the very best job that I am capable of doing.”

I’m sure that this craftsman’s standards, and hundreds like him, is the reason why so many ancient medieval architectural marvels still stand today, even after hundreds of years of natural weathering, plus the abuse they must have suffered during the first and second World Wars.

Part of my time in the military was spent overseas in Germany just after the second World War. We were stationed near a small, very medieval town called Soest. During my free time I loved walking along its cobblestoned, narrow, winding streets and marvel at its antiquity. No one knew exactly how old the town was. Some of its chapels even predated Christianity, and I was told that Julius Caesar once stood with his mighty army at its stone-fortressed wall, parts of which are still standing to this day.

Here, in Canada, we consider a residential home over 50 years of age to be old with many owners considering tearing it down and building a new one. Yet in Europe where many of these magnificent shops and homes have stood as comfortable, useful dwellings and businesses, they still stand as solid as the day they were built.

What is the difference between these majestic old structures that seem eternal, and our modern buildings that hardly last a person’s lifetime?

“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.”  — John Ruskin

I recently did a small screen printing job for a firm in town. I’m a screen printer and sign painter—retired—by trade. Because of its complexity, it took more than the usual allotted time to complete, and only charged a few dollars for my efforts. I was asked, “Shouldn’t I be charging according to time spent, rather than the value of the piece?” The concern was, how did I expect to make a decent wage if I didn’t charge according to time spent on a job?

The job wasn’t for a new client who might not have reordered again. This was a long-time customer who had been using my services for over 30 years, and I gambled that he’d be back another day with an order that would be profitable for me; or maybe just present him with a small thank you invoice for the many years of service I had received from this client. Loyalty and an assurance of reliable, quality of service was at play here. It was something like me going to Home Hardware to buy a screw. The shop owner has to take the time to find the screw, place it in a bag, then print out a receipt of purchase. His time and material value for this transaction would hardly compensate for the fifty cents that I ended up paying for the screw.

“Real craftsmanship, regardless of the skill involved, reflects real caring, and real caring reflects our attitude about ourselves, about our fellowmen, and about life.”                            — Spencer W. Kimball