Jesus from a different perspective

IN this predominantly Christian country, the story of Jesus, his birth and death, his family background, his teachings and miracles are taken as facts, not subject to question or debate.
Anyone who disagrees with the story or even simply doubts its authenticity or reality is denounced as a heretic, if not a lunatic.

Perhaps we cannot really find a definitive or universally acceptable answer to the many questions about Jesus, The Christ. But logic, objective facts and evidence, not religious dogmatism, blind faith or emotional outbursts, must prevail if we are sincerely interested in discovering the truth.

Take the following incident that happened about a year ago. I was a guest speaker in a meeting of a society of insurance companies. Over lunch, somebody asked me, “Jimmy, have you seen the movie ‘The Passion of Christ’ by Mel Gibson?”

I replied, “No, I would rather see Jesus making love to Mary Magdalene than see him being tortured to death.”

Upon hearing my reply, the man seated to my right blurted out angrily, “That’s blasphemy!” The angry man turned out to be a high-ranking member of the militant and wealthy Catholic sect Opus Dei, which Dan Brown portrayed in “The Da Vinci Code” as “a murderous, fanatical and sinister Catholic cult.”Of course, the book is fiction, as Dan Brown says.

Anyway, knee-jerk reactions like that of the Opus Dei member are what make objective discussions about Jesus and his life so difficult in this country. Before one can present his arguments or evidence, he is at once rebuked or silenced.

Unafraid to ask
Fortunately, there are brave souls like Dr. Elaine Pagels and researchers Tim Freke and Peter Gandy who are not afraid to report what they have found, even though they might go against commonly held religious beliefs and dogmas.

Pagels, who has a Ph.D in Theology from Harvard, wrote the best-selling book “The Gnostic Gospels” based on the sensational discoveries of lost or hidden Christian gospels in Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt, in 1945. They were written on Egyptian papyrus material in the Coptic language.

The gospels were considered heretical or inauthentic by the emerging Catholic Church. In several councils, beginning with the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, the church officially adopted only four of the many existing gospels of Christ at the time. They approved only the gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John.

Fortunately, the followers of the gnostic point of view hid their gospels very well.

What emerged from these different gospels (which have come to be known collectively as Gnostic Gospels) is a picture of Jesus Christ quite different from that handed down to us by the accepted gospel writers.Instead of an authoritarian dispenser of truth and a savior, he appears more like a sympathetic and wise teacher liberating man from his ignorance of spiritual truths, one who listens and answers questions of his disciples with patience.

Same source
In the Nag Hammadi text, “Gospel of Thomas,” for example, Jesus told Thomas, after the latter recognized him, that they both had received their being from the same source: “I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become drunk from the bubbling stream which I have measured out. He who will drink from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him.”

As one author pointed out, whereas the approved gospels “emphasized the eschatological expectation of the future coming of the Kingdom of God, the Gospel of Thomas in its oldest form stressed the finding of wisdom, or of the ‘Kingdom of the Father’ in the knowledge of oneself guided by the sayings of Jesus.”

Freke and Gandy, on the other hand, found evidence that the early Christian concepts really came from paganism, and early Christians merely adopted the pagan teachings as their own.
Here are some of their shocking discoveries, as mentioned in their book “The Jesus Mysteries.”
“Whereas today the gathered faithful revere their Lord Jesus Christ, the ancients worshipped another godman who, like Jesus, had been miraculously born on 25 December before three shepherds. In this ancient sanctuary, Pagan congregations once glorified a Pagan redeemer who, like Jesus, was said to have ascended to heaven and to have promised to come again at the end of time to judge the quick and the dead.”

Their conclusion? “We have become convinced that the story of Jesus is not the biography of a historical Messiah, but a myth based on perennial Pagan stories. Christianity was not a new and unique revelation, but actually a Jewish adaptation of the ancient Pagan Mystery religion. This is what we have called ‘The Jesus Mysteries Thesis.’”

For most Filipino Christians who have long accepted without question the teachings of the Church, this is indeed a hard pill to swallow. But they can always verify whether there is a shred of truth to the findings of these researchers before rejecting them.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=40178

Molested by a spirit

MABEL (not her real name), a woman in her 20s, has been sexually molested by an unseen spirit for a couple of years now. It started when she was in fourth-year high school.

She recalled the first time it happened. “It was Sunday, around 10 or 11 a.m. I was sleeping in my room when, all of a sudden, something heavy was on top of me. I could not talk, move my body or open my eyes. I could feel his whole body on top of me and I heard him whisper in my ear, ‘Mahal kita.’ I could feel his breath on my face!

“After a few seconds, I rushed to my mom and told her what happened. She called my aunt who did a ritual called tawas. Afterward, my aunt called and told my mom that someone was performing an orasyon on me.

“The second time it happened was Dec. 25 last year. We (had) just finished eating Noche Buena and everyone decided to take a rest. My sister’s cell phone started to ring at around 5:30 a.m. Then I felt someone was watching me.
“In fact, I sensed that one of them ran to stop my sister’s phone from ringing. I really felt their presence. One was beside my bed, the other was standing in front of me and the third was on top of me.

“I got really scared! I grabbed my blanket to cover my body and closed my eyes. Afterward, I went to my parents’ room crying but they were asleep. I went back to my bed and slept with the blanket covering my whole body. I was scared stiff!

“Later I told one of our maids what happened to me. She asked if I wanted her to talk to her father about this. We called her father and after telling him the story, he said, ‘Gusto ka nilang kunin.’ I was shocked! This time it was no longer a living person performing an orasyon on me but something else.

“Last week, at around 1:30 a.m., I couldn’t sleep. I could again feel someone watching me. When I was finally drifting off to sleep, I felt someone on top of me. I couldn’t move my body nor scream. This happened three or four times. And it only happened when I was sleeping or about to go to sleep.

“I’ve only related here the important things, but I’ve experienced a lot more. I really need help!”

Details needed
Yes, you need immediate help. Please call my office at 8926806 or 8107245; or 0906-3561799. There are several details I want to get from you so I can figure out the best strategy to handle your case.

There are earthbound spirits who took a liking for you and several are sexually molesting you, not just one! Such an entity is called an incubus (plural is incubi). They are malevolent and sexually starved spirits preying usually on innocent young maidens like you.

During the Medieval Era, there were many reported cases of incubi molestations of women. Even Catholic nuns living in convents were victimized by these creatures. Exorcisms had to be performed on them.

Ordinary blessings by priests will not get rid of incubi. You will need somebody trained for this purpose. There are exorcist priests. These are those with the power and authority to fight these evil spirits.

Lay people who are clairvoyant and who have undergone training in spiritual battles can also help victims of sexual molestations by spirits.

Demonic
It is not true that somebody alive was performing an orasyon on you. An incubus is not a living person. It is a demonic spirit.

Although it is no guarantee, you should avoid sleeping alone and always have the lights on when you sleep.

You should also wear a protective object in your body, like the St. Benedict’s medal that’s been empowered or blessed in the proper ritual by a Benedictine priest authorized to do so.

Otherwise, it has no power to protect you from demonic possession or molestation.
Another thing you can do pending exorcism of these demons is to learn more about the spirit world so you can protect yourself from negative spirits. For starters, read my books or attend my seminars so you will learn how to deal with your psychic gifts.

You are a sensitive and open channel. That’s why such earthbound spirits can affect you. They do this while you are asleep or about to sleep because that’s the time when your brain waves go down to the Theta and Delta levels where they can reach you.

At the Beta level or the waking state of your brain, spirits cannot touch you because you are on a different wave length. That’s why the first line of defense when you sense the presence of spirits is to jump up and down, or clap your hands loudly so that your lower brain waves will return to the faster frequency of the Beta rhythm. This usually works.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=39001

Art of living for good health

WHEN I joined the recent Art of Living (AOL) seminar, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew almost nothing about the course, except that it was started by an Indian guru named Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The only Ravi Shankar I knew was the internationally known sitar player. When an AOL volunteer named Nameeta Dargani sent me a flyer about the course a year ago, I paid no attention to it. You see, I’m not a guru-tripper and it seemed to be just another Indian meditation or yoga course. It turned out my initial impression was not entirely correct.

What got me into the program in the first place was mainly the insistence of businesswoman Julie Ang, whom I met in Cagayan de Oro during one of my seminars there. She took the AOL course and it changed her life.

She wanted me to take it, too, and even offered to sponsor me. “What have I got to lose?” I told myself. The next problem was finding the time to be free for five evenings and the whole day of the 6th.

Unexpectedly, my schedule cleared up when the AOL seminar was to be held. It was to be conducted by Hong Kong-based AOL teacher Ruth Kuok, whom I never heard of and whose background and qualification I knew nothing about.

Impressive
But I couldn’t resist the curiosity because I saw a lot of Ravi Shankar books all over India when I was there last September. I also found out that the AOL seminars were being held in 144 countries all over the world. That was quite impressive.

During the first evening, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati, I saw familiar faces, some former students of mine and old acquaintances. Others were readers of this column. The rest I was meeting for the first time.

Like me, most of them knew nothing about the course or what happened there. They attended because they were persuaded by friends, relatives and graduates of the course. I learned that most of the work of the AOL Foundation was done by volunteers, including the teachers, who were not paid.

Kuok gave very little hint of what would happen during the course. She started right away with the exercises after a very brief introduction. Like lambs being led to the slaughter, we all just followed the instructions on faith.

There were simple yoga stretching exercises and then we were introduced to the breathing techniques which were at the core of an AOL basic training program.

Breathing for health
As a whole, the breathing technique is called Kriya. It consists of some very simple breathing protocol or rhythm meant to improve health in all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

We were not told of these effects until later in the course. We were asked just to observe the results, experience them for ourselves before we were given the rationale or explanation for them.

This was frustrating at first, but I played along and quietly obeyed instructions without protest or questions.

One thing more, we were asked to refrain from eating meat, smoking or drinking alcohol for six days. One lady participant was relieved that the prohibition did not include sex.

The effect of the first day lessons was very good. I felt completely relaxed and at peace; my blood pressure, usually elevated, dropped even before I took my regular medication. My head cleared up.

So I attended the next day, and the next, completing the sixth day to my great surprise and astonishment. I rarely could finish a course that long. But I made it!

What made me and the rest of the 40 participants (who were divided into morning and evening classes) stay the course? The testimonials on the sixth day said it all: Everybody found the program beneficial one way or another.

Two women said their insomnia was cured and they could now sleep without need for a pill. Others said they became less irritable and more at peace with themselves. A businesswoman said she became more tolerant of her employees’ mistakes, and so on.

The effects the participants reported are borne out by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The regular practice of the breathing exercises called Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayama, according to scientists, lowered the bad and increased the good cholesterol level; decreased blood cortisol and blood lactate levels (both associated with anxiety and stress); increased beta brain wave activity on the left frontal, occipital and midline regimen of the brain indicative of heightened awareness.

They also found that people suffering from depression and other negative emotional and mental states were greatly relieved through regular practice of these techniques.
I find that the AOL Seminar complements, and does not contradict, the Inner Mind development seminars that I teach.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=37685

She wants to regain gift to see deceased loved ones

HERE’S an interesting letter from a Filipino healer and medium now living in the US relating her psychic experiences and healing work.

“I’m Sheila, living in Los Angeles, California. I learned about you from my cousin in the Philippines who took one of your workshops.

“I want you to know I really appreciate you for opening up the minds of others to their psychic abilities.

“I only wish I met you when I was five years old. I discovered my mediumship and psychic ability at a young age in the Philippines.

“My grandfather died before I was born. I only knew him through pictures. Called Ingkong, my grandfather decided to communicate with me, first by moving his eyes in his pictures, smiling at me and whispering in my ears.

“Finally, I actually saw his soul with my eyes! When that happened, I got so scared I decided to shut off my third eye. As a result, I no longer hear, see nor feel spirits around me. Now, I would love to have this ability to see deceased loved ones because I now understand I am here to help them commune with living relatives on earth.

“When are you going to have a workshop here in the US? I am visiting the Philippines in December and will be staying for one month. I will visit my home where I first discovered my psychic gifts, my father’s home. I feel scared but, at the same time, I am willing and ready to open my heart and also my third eye to see deceased loved ones.

“If you have a workshop in December, I would like to attend it and have a session with you.
“Currently, I continue to do my own work, release what no longer serves me or what limits me, and I continue to learn and call on various teachers like Derek O’Neil, Doreen Virtue, our beloved Satya Sai Baba, Amm and many more.”

Natural
Thank you for your kind words about my work.
You are a natural psychic and medium. You can regain your ability to see and communicate with spirits if you want to, but you should conquer your fears first.

I do not have any invitation yet to conduct a seminar in the US. But since you are coming back to the Philippines, you may want to attend my Inner Mind Development seminar Dec. 16-17. Call my office, 8107245 or 8926806 when you arrive in the Philippines for details.

I am not familiar with the names of the spiritual teachers you mentioned except that of Satya Sai Baba of India. I am glad to know you are a practitioner of various alternative healing modalities. I look forward to meeting you in December.

Help sought
Another overseas reader is asking for help about his current health problem. “I found your web page on the Internet,” said Dejan Dejan. “I wonder if you can help me. I have asthma. It started with allergies and moved on to the next level. I am currently living in Vermont, USA.”

If you were in the Philippines, I could refer you to several alternative and complementary health practitioners who might be able to help, but since you are living abroad, it is quite difficult.

Perhaps what I can only suggest is for you to read my book, “Exploring the Powers of Your Inner Mind,” which contains a section on how to heal yourself using mental imagery or visualization.

In that book I describe step-by-step the correct procedure to heal yourself by using only the power of your inner mind. I mentioned several successful cases in that book, but there are a lot more in real life. Hope this helps.

Changing shape
Cherie Jung is asking for an explanation about an unusual incident that happened to a psychic friend of hers.

“I have a friend who can see ghosts but she has no formal training in this. She does not really want to see these things, but (they happen) unintentionally.

“For example, on Oct. 31 (All Saints’ Day), while driving alone at around 6 p.m., she saw a building on the right side of the road bending like an inverted ‘U,’ blocking her path. She stopped the car, but the road and the building became normal again as if nothing happened.

“She told me she wasn’t imagining it and she was in a normal, healthy condition at the time. I searched the Net for some explanation but couldn’t find any. So I thought of you.

“Can you please enlighten me? Did something really happen? Why did it happen? What does it mean? Have you encountered a similar story before? (Could) her mind be simply playing tricks? What do you think?”

I cannot explain for sure why that happened, but since you said your friend could see spirits she is therefore a medium and a clairvoyant.

When spirits manifest to a psychic, s/he can see strange things that the spirits want him/her to see. So faces in pictures can suddenly smile or wink at him/her, buildings may begin to change shape and move forward or backward and the sun can appear to dance. These are all the work of spirits.

Why they chose to play that trick on her, I cannot tell. But Halloween has traditionally been laden with lots of stories of spirit intervention into human affairs because people’s attention is focused on the spirit world.

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=36364