Smorgasbord
5
Friday,
December 12, 1997
© Copyright 1997 by NewHeavenNewEarth
smorgasbord
(smor-gos-bord) n.
A buffet meal featuring a varied number of dishes.
Another NHNE publication --
albeit more loosely knit than most
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Total Subscribers:
This week: 969
Last week: 965
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"If there is no God,
who pops up the next Kleenex?"
---Art Hoppe
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
CONTENTS:
LETTERS:
There Is, Indeed, A Need
NEWS WATCH:
A&E Special on Edgar Cayce
Barbara Marx Hubbard's New Book
Tomb of King Tut's Nurse Found
Scientists Create Jurassic "Bark"
Aboriginals May Have Caused Australian's Arid Interior
Climate Scientists Doubt Global Warming Caused by Humans
Gasses Could Stimulate "Global Cooling"
Asian Industrial Smog Blowing Into U.S.
Smog Clouds May Have Silver Linings
Below-Average Hurricane Season for 1998
A Big Year for NASA
No Life Forms on Mars Meteorite?
Largest UFO Conference Ever
Santa Claus Hopes to Fly to Baghdad
FEMA: Give the Gift of Disaster Safety
LIGHT BULBS:
Houses of Invention
Edison's Catnap Technique
IN SEARCH OF THE PROMISED LAND:
My Favorite Christmas Story
The Innkeeper's Daughter
THE LIGHTER SIDE:
Divert Your Course!
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
LETTERS:
THERE IS, INDEED, A NEED
"I applaud your idea of consumer protection for spiritual seekers. There
is, indeed, a need for a balanced view of spiritual organizations and thought
systems. It seems to me, there are two major consumer groups that are of concern:
the debunkers who have an agenda to disprove anything beyond the material world,
and those who uncritically embrace almost any New Age thought system. It is a
challenge to provide a balanced view of any religion or thought system. I hope
it can be done with an open, yet skeptical mind. Your excellent analysis of earth
change prophesies shows that you may be able to pull it off. "
---Kim Berggen
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
NEWS WATCH:
A&E SPECIAL ON EDGAR CAYCE
This coming Monday, December 15, 1997, A&E will be airing a biographical
special on famed Virginia Beach psychic, Edgar Cayce. Check your local cable
listings for times.
------------
BARBARA MARX HUBBARD'S NEW BOOK
A new book by Barbara Marx Hubbard, founder of THE FOUNDATION FOR CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION
and one of the most important futurists of our time, is due to be released February,
1998. Called, "Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential," Barbara's
new book is being offered at a 20% discount on pre-published orders through January
31, 1998. To receive an order form, you can email your request to THE FOUNDATION
FOR CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION at "fce@peaceroom.org".
http://www.cocreation.org
------------
TOMB OF KING TUT'S NURSE FOUND
(Source: CNN ONLINE, AP, 12/7/97)
French archaeologists announced Sunday they have found the tomb of "Maya," the
wet nurse of Tutankhamen, the boy pharaoh whose golden coffins and burial treasures
have fascinated generations. The 1330 B.C. memorial to the servant who suckled
the boy king is an "extremely rare" instance of ancient Egyptians devoting
an entire tomb to a woman, said archaeological team leader Alain Zivie. Zivie
found the tomb in Saqqara, an ancient necropolis 13 miles south of Cairo. The
city was the burial site for the courtiers and high-ranking officials of ancient
Egypt's New Kingdom, which prevailed from about 1400 B.C. to 1100 B.C. Most of
the pharaohs, Tutankhamen included, were buried in the Valley of the Kings near
Luxor, about 300 miles south of Cairo. Searchers have yet to find any gold or
funerary objects, nor have they found Maya's coffin. The archaeologists also
are looking for more clues about Maya, whose existence was previously unknown.
Among key questions that Zivie hopes the tomb will answer: Who were the parents
of Tutankhamen, who ruled and died while he was still a boy?
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9712/07/egypt.tuts.nurse.ap/index.html
------------
SCIENTISTS CREATE JURASSIC "BARK"
(Source: BBC NEWS, 12/5/97)
Using a sophisticated computer construction of the skull of a dinosaur, American
scientists have produced a digital simulation of what the call of a three-ton
Parasaurolophus may have sounded like. Researchers form the SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
and the NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND SCIENCE say the sound is the
first to be simulated using measurements taken from the actual fossilized skull
of a dinosaur. Dr Tom Williamson of the NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
AND SCIENCE speculates that the unique sound, like a large dog growling into
a tuba, could have helped the creatures to recognize each other. The work illustrates
new applications of computing into real-world engineering.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_37000/37315.stm
------------
ABORIGINALS MAY HAVE CAUSED AUSTRALIAN'S ARID INTERIOR
(Source: EUREKALERT, 12/10/97)
A UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO researcher has proposed that the systematic burning
of vegetation by Aboriginals beginning roughly 50,000 years ago may have changed
the climate down under and triggered the desertification of Australia's interior.
Gifford Miller, a fellow at the INSTITUTE OF ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH who is
also chair of CU-BOULDER's geological sciences department, said the only mechanism
that appears to wield enough force to alter the Australian monsoon is vegetation,
which has strong links with the atmosphere -- and archaeological evidence shows
the first humans arrived in Australia from the southeast Asian region about 50,000
years ago. "Consistent burning by these people during dry periods may have
altered the basic ecosystem, preventing the normal recovery of vegetation during
the subsequent wet phase," he said.
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/burnveg-aridaust.html
------------
CLIMATE SCIENTISTS DOUBT GLOBAL WARMING CAUSED BY HUMANS
(Source: Timothy Lamer, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER, Thanks to Patrick Bailey)
The theory that the Earth is catastrophically heating up because of industrial
pollution has become one of the leading environmental topics on network television
news. Most "climate scientists" are, however, not convinced that human
actions are warming the planet, or that such warming would even be harmful. And
their views are not making it into the news. A case in point: Nearly 100 climate
scientists signed the 1996 Leipzig Declaration, expressing doubts about the validity
of computer-driven global warming forecasts, and their declaration went unreported.
Who are the scientists that are making it into the news? S. Fred Singer,
professor of environmental sciences at the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA,
wrote in the July 25
WALL STREET JOURNAL: "If one were to add up all of the contributors and
reviewers listed in the three [INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE] reports
published in 1996, one would count about 2,100. The great majority of these are
not conversant with the intricacies of atmospheric physics, although some may
know a lot about forestry, fisheries or agriculture. Most are social scientists
-- or just policy experts and government functionaries. Every country seems to
be represented -- from Albania to Zimbabwe -- though many are not exactly at
the forefront of research. The list even includes known skeptics of global warming
-- much to their personal and professional chagrin."
http://mrc.org/mrc/freemarket/frozen.html
------------
GASSES COULD STIMULATE "GLOBAL COOLING"
(Source: EUREKALERT, 12/12/97)
Contrary to the conventional wisdom, new computer modeling from the UNIVERSITY
OF MICHIGAN suggests that global warming might not be a product of human activity.
Ironically, argues Joyce Penner, professor of atmospheric, oceanic and space
sciences, carbon and sulfur emissions can have the reverse effect, serving to
cool down the planet. Penner, an expert in computer simulations of climate change,
recently found that, whereas greenhouse gases have led to a warming of 2.5 Watts
per meter squared, aerosols like soot particles and sulfuric acid reflect nearly
twice as much energy under certain conditions. "If further research serves
to uphold these initial findings, the warming we've seen over the last 100 years
may simply be due to natural variability," Penner said. Penner is presenting
her work today (December 12) at the fall meeting of the AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL
UNION in San Francisco.
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/um-mscgsgc.html
------------
ASIAN INDUSTRIAL SMOG BLOWING INTO U.S.
(Source: EUREKALERT, 12/10/97)
It seems that Americans are not entirely to blame for the chemical smog that
hangs over cities along the U.S. West Coast. A new study indicates that about
10 percent of the ozone and other pollutants are arriving from the industrialized
nations of East Asia. After measuring pollutants from a remote Olympic Peninsula
research station, a researcher concludes that Asian pollution is affecting much
of the U.S.West Coast, with Washington and Oregon affected slightly more because
of wind patterns. Dan Jaffe, associate professor of science, technology and the
environment at the UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, had proved that wind-borne Asian
pollutants can reach as far as Hawaii. His first data from a West Coast site,
acquired last May, measured atmospheric levels of pollutants such as nitrogen
oxide, carbon monoxide, ozone and hydrocarbons. His collaborator, Terje Berntsen
of the UNIVERSITY OF OSLO, Norway, used these data in a computer model that employs
meteorological observations to predict and calculate where and how pollutants
move through the atmosphere on any particular day. All the data analyzed in the
computer model indicates an increasing flow of pollutants from industrialized
Asia. According to Jaffe, "Despite the recent economic problems, Asia is
booming, and the spread of its pollutants is rapidly increasing."
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/asian-smoguw.html
------------
SMOG CLOUDS MAY HAVE SILVER LININGS
(Source: David F. Salisbury, STANFORD NEWS SERVICE, 12/12/97)
In Los Angeles, the city with the worst air pollution problem in the country,
even the brown smog clouds may have silver linings. Not only does the city's
smog cover appear to reduce dramatically the intensity of ultraviolet radiation
that reaches the palm trees and pavement in the City of Angels, but the UV attenuation
also appears to cut down the concentration of ozone below what would otherwise
exist. These results are beneficial because ultraviolet light is known to cause
skin cancer, and ozone exposure contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular
illnesses. Mark Z. Jacobson, an assistant professor of civil and environmental
engineering at Stanford who specializes in creating computer models of the atmosphere,
has identified the key chemical compounds in L.A. smog that appear to act as
specialized UV filters. He has determined that the resulting reduction in UV
levels has a significant side effect, that of lowering ozone levels on the ground
by 5 to 8 percent. He is presenting these findings in a poster paper on December
11 at the annual meeting of THE AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION in San Francisco.
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/dept/news/relaged/971211uvaerosol.html
------------
BELOW-AVERAGE HURRICANE SEASON FOR 1998
(Source: EUREKALERT, 12/5/97)
This year's record El Nino is expected to dissipate before the most active part
of the 1998 hurricane season but other global climate factors could produce slightly
below-average hurricane activity, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY'S noted hurricane
researcher William Gray announced December 5th. In the first forecast issued
for the 1998 hurricane season, Gray and his colleagues predict nine tropical
storms will form in the Atlantic Basin between June 1 and Nov. 30. From those
storms, five hurricanes will evolve and two will go on to become intense hurricanes
with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater. On average, 9.3 tropical storms,
5.8 hurricanes and 2.1 intense hurricanes form annually. The team's 1998 forecast
comes on the heels of a hurricane season in which activity was flattened by the
strongest El Nino event on record -- but the Atlantic Basin still managed to
produce seven tropical storms, three hurricanes and one intense hurricane.
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/98beloavg-hrcnseasn.html
------------
A BIG YEAR FOR NASA
(Source: NASA PRESS RELEASE, 12/9/97, Thanks to Chris Czech)
From the surface of Mars to a possible newly discovered ocean beneath the ices
of Europa, NASA activities were in the news in 1997. Background information and
still images are available to illustrate the top 10 NASA stories of the year:
1. Mars Pathfinder:
http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html
2. & 3. Hubble Servicing Mission:
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR.html
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/sm97/
4. Shuttle-Mir Goes Forward:
http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/mir24/status/week7/goldin.html
5. NASA Satellites Provide Best View Yet of El Nino:
http://nsipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/enso/
6. Cassini Launches to Saturn:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/
7. X-33 and X-34 Flight Technology:
http://stp.msfc.nasa.gov/
8. Galileo Discovers Icebergs on Europa:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/
9. Uplifting Year for Aeronautics:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/aero/
10. SOHO Sheds New Light on Active Sun:
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
------------
NO LIFE FORMS ON MARS METEORITE?
(Source: EUREKALERT, 12/4/97)
The famous Martian meteorite, ALH84001, contains no biological life forms, according
to a CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY researcher and colleagues. The team issues
this report in the December 4 issue of NATURE, duplicating the methods of a team
of scientists from the JOHNSON SPACE CENTER and STANFORD UNIVERSITY. The latest
study took place over the past six months as the researchers re-examined the
meteorite using the new techniques. This time they found yet another population
of worm-like forms that are actually mineral lamellae formed by non-biological,
geological processes. The lamellae look like worms or nanofossils, but when the
specimen is tilted and viewed from another angle, it clearly shows that the lamellae
are attached and part of the mineral surfaces. Does this put an end to the life
on Mars debate? According to Ralph Harvey, Senior Research Associate in the Department
of Geological Sciences, "We haven't driven the final nail in the coffin
yet about organisms in this Martian rock, but our latest article offers a lot
of insight that shows these fractures zones in the rock are incredibly complex
-- and that it is very dangerous to try to draw any hypothesis from a few pictures
from here or there."
http://www.cwru.edu/pubaff/univcomm/mars.htm
------------
LARGEST UFO CONFERENCE EVER
(Source: BBS NEWS, 12/6/97)
International scientists have gathered in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, for
a week-long conference which aims to take a serious look at unidentified flying
objects. The conference has been billed as the largest gathering of its kind,
with more than 50 top UFO researchers from across the world expected to take
part. The theory that intelligent beings have visited or are visiting Planet
Earth has attracted its share of eccentrics. But ufologists, as they call themselves,
want the United Nations to recognize their science as a legitimate subject for
study.
The list of international speakers invited: Antonio Las Heras (Argentina),
Barry Chamish (Israel), Bob Brown (USA), Bud Hopkins (USA), Colin Andrews
( England),
Cynthia Hind (Zimbabwe), Darush Bagheri (Iran), Derrel Sims (USA), Donald Ware
(USA), Edgar Mitchel (USA), G. C. Schellhorn (USA), Gbor Tarcali (Hungary), Glennys
Mackay (Australia), Graham Birdsall (England), Jaime Maussan ( Mexico), Jaime
Rodriguez (Ecuador), James Hurtak (USA), Javier Cabrera Darquea (Peru), Javier
Sierra (Spain), Jerome Clark (USA), Jesse Marcel Junior (USA), Joaquim Fernandes
(Portugal), John Carpenter (USA), John Mack (USA), Johsen Takano (Japan), Jorge
Alfonso Ramirez (Paraguay), Jorge Martin (Port Rico), Leo Sprinkle (USA), Leonard
Nimoy (USA), Linda Howe (USA), Mario Dussuel (Chile), Mark Carlotto (USA), Mauricio
Baiata (Italy) , Michael Hesemann (Germany), Per Andersen (Denmark), Richard
Hoagland (USA), Robert Bauval (England), Robert Dean (USA), Roberto Banchs (Argentina),
Roberto Pinotti (Italy), Rodrigo Fuenzalida (Chile), Ryszard Fiejtek (Poland),
S. O. Svensson (Sweden), Stanton Friedman (Canada), Sun-Shi Li (China), Timo
Koskeniemmi (Finland), Tony Dodd (England), Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos (Spain),
Walter Andrus (USA), Wendelle Stevens (USA), Yuri Guerassimov (Russia), Yves
Bosson (France), Yvonne Smith (USA)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_37000/37622.stm
------------
SANTA CLAUS HOPES TO FLY TO BAGHDAD
(Source: REUTERS, 12/4/97)
An Icelandic charity hopes to fly Santa Claus to Baghdad on Christmas Day bearing
gifts and medical aid for thousands of Iraqi children suffering from punishing
U.N. trade sanctions. The Reykjavik-based PEACE 2000 INTERNATIONAL must await
a go-ahead from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan before dispatching what it
calls its "Santa Peaceflight." "We have written to him about Baghdad
and we're waiting for a reply," Thor Magnusson, founder of PEACE 2000, told
REUTERS on Thursday. Response from the Iraqi embassy in London had been very
positive, Magnusson said. The charity says Santa Claus in his traditionally red-and-white
coat and white beard has no allegiance to any region and can spread a message
of peace and goodwill as agreeable to Muslims as Christians. Santa Peaceflights
visited children suffering from the Chernobyl fallout in Belarus in 1994 and
war-ravaged Sarajevo in 1995. Last year 100,000 gifts were distributed in Bosnia.
Magnusson hopes to raise $300,000 for the Baghdad trip.
http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/971204/odd/stories/santa_1.html
------------
FEMA: GIVE THE GIFT OF DISASTER SAFETY
(Source: FEMA PRESS RELEASE, 12/1/97)
The holidays are coming and it's time to draw up gift lists for loved ones. What
do you give the person who has everything? How about safety? Even the person
with everything probably doesn't have a family preparedness kit and important
supplies necessary in case a disaster strikes in 1998. While not your traditional
gifts, these items can make a huge difference in the year ahead -- while also
showing how much you care.
Officials at the FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) remind
holiday shoppers that every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans
are forced to deal with natural
disasters that wreck havoc with lives, families and communities. Thinking ahead
and being prepared can do much to reduce or prevent the tremendous heartache
and financial hardship of these disasters. "The holidays are a great time
to give an important, inexpensive gift that helps people prepare for disasters
and to reduce their risk," said FEMA Director James Lee Witt. "These
suggested gifts are a wonderful way of making 1998 a safer year for everyone."
Suggested disaster-ready gifts include:
-- A smoke detector with extra batteries
-- Household fire extinguishers for kitchen and all bedrooms (5 pound, A-B-C
type)
-- A foldable ladder for evacuation of a second story in a fire
-- A heavy duty flashlight with extra batteries and a battery-powered lamp
-- A first aid kit
-- A battery powered radio with extra batteries
-- A NOAA Weather Radio with a battery backup and tone-alert feature to receive
weather alerts
-- A sturdy plastic tub filled with bottled water and non-perishable, high energy
food and canned goods
-- A camp stove or canned heat stove, with extra fuel
-- A year-long policy for National Flood Insurance, available from your insurance
agent
-- Hurricane shutters or cut-to-order marine plywood and heavy nails
-- A winter car kit that includes emergency flares, shovel, windshield scraper,
battery-powered radio, flashlight, water, snacks, tow chain or rope, tire chains
and fluorescent distress flag
-- If you live in a wildfire area, give the gift of a gardener to cut back combustible
plants and vegetation from around the house.
Main Website: http://www.fema.gov
Storm97: http://www.storm97.com
Fax-On-Demand (in the U.S.A.): (202) 646-FEMA (646-3362)
Digital audio for broadcasters & print, contact: eipa@fema.gov
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
LIGHT BULBS:
HOUSES OF INVENTION
(Source: NEWSWEEK'S: 2000, A NEW MILLENNIUM: "The Power of Invention",
Winter, 97-98, "The Houses of Invention" by Sharon Begley with B.j.
Sigesmund)
If great inventions of the past were usually the work of an individual, then
those of the 20th century are increasingly the brainchildren of entire labs.
At 3M, three cents of every dollar in sales ($900 million recently)
is plowed into research and development, supporting 6,500 researchers.
At PFIZER, research
and development swallows 14 percent of sales -- $1.7 billion in 1996. At 3M,
its scientists and engineers can spend up to 5 percent of company time on their
own projects, without even telling managers what they're up to. 3M calls it bootlegging.
Both policies send a clear signal that risktaking is a core value. 3M's risktaking
spawned Thinsulate insulation, Scotchfite reflective sheeting for traffic signals
and hundreds more inventions. DU PONT researchers may pursue their blue-sky ideas
one day a week. The idea is to be open to serendipity: every scientist makes
mistakes, but only in a culture that encourages the exploration of the unknown
do you get Teflon (when a Du Pont scientist working on Freon accidentally polymerized
several gases into a white powder). XEROX'S PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER instituted
mandatory weekly meetings. Everyone would grab a beanbag chair and take turns
describing their ideas. "A universal characteristic of innovative companies
is an open culture," says Rosabeth Moss Kanter of HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL.
In a corporate lab, the walls between chemists and physicists, metallurgists
and mechanics are often lower than in academe. It was by throwing together physicists
with metallurgists and chemists that BELL LABS wove together the diverse talents
that invented the transistor. And unlike universities, the culture of a corporate
lab encourages collaboration. Says William Brinkman, vice president for physical
sciences research at BELL LABS, "We call it 'spontaneous teaming' -- you
see an interesting problem that another group is working on and you want to be
part of it." It works: BELL LABS also invented the laser, the UNIX operating
system for computers, high-definition digital television, digital cellular phones,
the international communications satellite, photovoltaic cells and information
theory.
A great corporate lab needs a leader who will keep the Suits (or "toner
heads," as some XEROX PARC scientists called management) from stiffing creativity.
PARC's former chief did it so well that his techies invented the first user-friendly
computer, the mouse, graphical interface, the laser printer and the local computer
network. Unfortunately, XEROX is more famous for fumbling these inventions --
Steve Jobs turned XEROX PARC's ideas into the Macintosh. Which just goes to show
that having a bright idea is only the first step in inventing.
------------
EDISON'S CATNAP TECHNIQUE
(Source: "Reunions," Raymond Moody, Thanks to James Gregory)
The hypnagogic state -- that twilight realm that exists between normal waking
consciousness and sleep -- has often been used by some creative geniuses to solve
problems. One who used this technique was Thomas Edison, who would frequently
catnap in his office when searching for solutions. One problem that he faced
is that it is very easy to drift into full sleep from the hypnagogic state and
forget the images experienced. To overcome this, Edison placed metal pans on
either side of his chair, and when he dozed he would hold a steel ball in each
hand. At the moment he started to slip into unconsciousness, the balls would
fall from his hands, clatter against the pans and he would then awaken with the
memory of his hypnagogic experience still intact.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
IN SEARCH OF THE PROMISED LAND:
MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS STORY
In the last issue of Smorgasbord, I said I would be including a list "of
the most important things I have learned in my two and a half decades of seeking" in
this issue of Smorgasbord. I actually completed the list, but after reading it
over a few times, I felt that a list of insights couldn't really express the
full-flavor of what I wanted to share. So, for the moment, I am abandoning the
list idea and, instead, will be seeking to share these discoveries with you in
stories that give them flesh, blood and, hopefully, deeper meaning. And what
better time than Christmas to stick in one of my all-time favorite stories, "The
Innkeeper's Daughter," which is from a psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce.
The reading was given to a woman that the Cayce source said was the daughter
of the Innkeeper. While I don't know how accurate Cayce's rendering of the Christmas
story is, this particular reading is one of the most remarkable readings Cayce
ever did. Not only is it unusually clear, but it is profoundly poignant as well.
Unlike most Christmas stories that focus exclusively on the miraculous nature
of Christ's birth, the Innkeeper's daughter version weds the miraculous with
the mundane: it gives us a provocative look at what an average, run-of-the-mill
human being might have thought, felt and experienced if they had been present
at the world's most celebrated birth.
But this particular reading does more than simply make us think more deeply about
how we might have responded to Christ's birth (and life) two thousand years ago.
I think it accurately reflects what happens to many of us when the divine touches
our lives now.
With Love & Best Wishes,
David Sunfellow
------------
THE INNKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
From Edgar Cayce Reading #1152
Sara was in the Earth when great changes and opportunities were coming to man
by the fulfilling of time and the prayers of many. At the time, there was much
turmoil and strife and the people were pulled between that which was being presented
by the Romans, and the truths or lessons given by the people of the land...
Sara was the daughter of the Innkeeper, and she stood by and was the second of
those who took the Babe into her arms. What should this mean in thy experience?
Is it any wonder that you have looked long into the faces of those who were newly
born, and wondered what their purpose, hardships, joys, and sorrows would be
in the Earth?
In that time, she not only beheld the experiences of the shepherds, but also
heard the words of the sages of the East who came bringing gifts to Him whom
it had been proclaimed of old should come again. And He will come again and again
in the hearts, minds, and experiences of those who love His coming. But those
who, when they think of Him, and know what His presence would mean, and become
fearful, He passes by...
In that sojourn, Sara was just a year younger than the little mother who came
to the Inn where the entity helped her parents. And she knew of the event through
the meetings which were half forbidden by those in Jewish law, and questioned
by the authorities for the penal law. She was filled with wonder and desire to
know about the occurrence, and she felt that some great thing in the experience
of the world was about to come to pass.
The entity... requested that she might aid in the preparation of the quarters
for the mother-to-be and father, who were revered by all. For the leaders had
arranged with the Innkeeper for the care which must be provided for them when
they came to register for their contribution to the Romans. Yet, as the entity
waited, expectant, there was the general rabble, and there were the discussions
of those who journeyed to Jerusalem for the meetings, as well as to the centers
for their tax registration...
Then, Sara helped so that all was in readiness. And the late afternoon sun shone
in all its glory on the Palestine hills, as if the voice of nature were proclaiming
the heralding of a new hope, a new birth to the Earth, and the glorifying of
man's hope in God. The spectre of His star in the evening sky brought awe and
wonder to all who saw it. And Sara, being anxious, gazed with wondering awe at
that unusual experience. And she wept with joy in expectancy of a glory surpassing
what had been told of all the glories of her people in the days of old. There,
she felt similar to the experience at present, that a new light, a new vision,
and a new experience were being born in every atom of her being.
When she knew that the den, the cave, the stable had been occupied,
she felt consumed with desire to rush off to see what was happening.
And as soon as her
work was finished about the home, she started for the stable. But as she walked
into the open, the brightness of His star came nearer and nearer. And she heard,
even as the shepherds, "Peace on Earth, good will to men." Again, she
felt awe, and the feeling of a new creation and a new experience as she, with
the closer attendant of the mother, hastened. And all the rabble and all the
jeers of a world were stopped.
She hastened to the quarters where the mother lay, in all awe of a
new experience, and as the light as from His star filled the place,
she first beheld the Babe.
That was the crowning experience until the plea that she, too, might hold the
glorious Child in her arms. And as this became a reality, she had the feeling, "Oh
that the world might know the beauty, joy, and glory of His life in their own
hearts, minds, and beings."
There she saw the shepherds gather. And on the next day, she saw the Wise Men,
with their ladened camels; and she heard their praise for those who had kept
the faith in preserving, keeping, and helping those who were in need and alone,
yet having God with them. She heard the strange tongues spoken by the Wise Men,
and knew and felt the reverence and awe which were experienced by all.
Sara sought to keep in touch with the mother and Child; and when the edict was
declared, her heart was filled with fear. For her experience was something to
be cherished; yet she feared the law, and the hatred which would naturally arise
in the hearts of those who were persecuted. For often was her father questioned
as to which way the Wise Men went, and as to the activities of these men who
defied the authorities of Rome, as well as of Herod the king. For days, weeks,
and months, she wondered. And the necessity for menial labor at the Inn brought
her mental and material distress. Yet often in the stillness of the evening,
she reviewed the events, and wondered what had become of His star, His light.
After the receding of the star, she learned of the flight into Egypt through
the devious ways in which news came by word of mouth, and yet was kept secret.
All of these experiences have become an innate part of her, so that when she
sits alone in the twilight, she can almost again feel the music of the spheres,
and the singing of the morning stars, as the Earth is quieted. And there enters
again that peace, which is only troubled by the cares of a workaday world.
In the years that followed, she became closer to those in Bethany and upon Mount
Olive; for she took up her abode upon the edge of Olivet, on the road that led
to the great city. And there, word was sought again of what had become of the
participants in that marvelous event which had become a burning memory in her
heart. Yet when persecutions came from the Romans, and from the Sadducees who
persecuted especially the groups to which she had belonged and from which she
had received so much help, doubts and fears arose within her.
From what she heard, the child had apparently become only another child among
the people. And not until the days when He went again with His parents and a
great company to again register did she learn the truth of what had happened.
This was when it was commanded that the Passover feast should be kept by all
the children of Israel, and she sought again that glorious Child who questioned
the doctors. And she kept close that she might hear...
From time to time, she sought word of His progress, following His life almost
like a story. And she held to the memories of that evening when she saw the light,
and the Child in the mother's arms. Also, she relived many times the glorious
moment when the Child had been placed in her own arms, and she had pressed her
lip to the brow of the Babe.
When the ministry of Jesus began, she learned every word which could be gathered
from those who heard Him often. And when His visits brought Him near, and yet
her duties kept her close to home near the highways over which throngs often
passed, she became fearful because of the things that were said. The rejection
of His own people when He first began His ministry, brought tears of scalding
shame to her for the ones who seemed to doubt when they should know.
At last came the triumphal entry from Bethany to the Temple in Jerusalem,
and
Sara was among the great throng which cried, "Hosanna to the Highest; the
King cometh." Again, she was disappointed when that glorious man among men
was not proclaimed king. And He seemed to exert so little of His power to help
those who were sick, or in doubt, or fear. For the entity knew many who had been
healed. And she was especially close to Bartaemus who had often rested on the
road close to her home.
After the crucifixion, she was with the holy women and others who sustained
the household which was beginning to feel that possibly the mother,
Mary, had misjudged.
Yet Sara knew from her own experience; for she had not forgotten that choir before
the celestial throne which sang: "Glory, glory in the highest. Peace, peace
on Earth to all men of good will."
She held to those experiences, and they are innate in the present. She was among
the first to suffer martyrdom because of the roughness of the Romans as they
attempted to disperse the crowds. As a result of her injuries, broken in body,
she suffered in the flesh. But then, as now, she looked ever to Him who is life,
light, and immortality to those who put their trust wholly in Him. For those
who have tasted, felt and known within themselves that He is the way, the truth,
and the light--no other name is given under heaven whereby man may be made whole,
or whereby may know his true relationship to God.
Hold fast to that, O Daughter of the Innkeeper, O the Beholder of His Glory.
O the joyous, gracious feelings that fill thy soul and being with the richness
of the Earth poured out at His feet. You were with the lowly shepherds who came
to see that glorious sight; and they, too, were not hindered from beholding the
face of their Savior.
And ye, too, O Daughter, may know His face; but turn within. For there
ye may meet Him, as so often ye did in those days, weeks, months, and
years, as ye recounted
in your self the glorious events of that day when the Babe, the Child Jesus,
lay in your arms. For He is very near unto all who call on His Holy Name. He
has promised, and His promises are sure to you, and in you, may you know..."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
THE LIGHTER SIDE:
DIVERT YOUR COURSE!
This is the transcript of an ACTUAL radio conversation of a US naval ship with
Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in 1995. Radio conversation
released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10/10/95:
------------
AMERICANS: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.
CANADIANS: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the south to avoid
a collision.
AMERICANS: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
CANADIANS: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.
AMERICANS: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS MISSOURI, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP
OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!
CANADIANS: This is a lighthouse. Your call.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
NHNE
MISSION STATEMENT, CREDITS & CONTACT INFORMATION
The
mission of NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE) is to answer humankind's oldest,
most perplexing questions: Who are we? Where are we from? What is
the origin and purpose of life? Instead of relying on ancient or
contemporary wisdom, or the knowledge of isolated experts, we are
building a global network of seekers from all walks of life, from
all parts of the world, lay people and professionals alike, that
can pool talents, experience, and resources to unravel life's great
mysteries.
We
also believe that our planet is passing through a time of profound
change and are seeking to create a global community of like-minded
people that can safely pass through whatever changes may come our
way and help give birth to a new way of life on our planet.
------------
NewHeavenNewEarth
(NHNE)
a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ USA 86339
eMail:
nhne@nhne.com
NHNE Website: http://www.nhne.com/
Phone: (928) 282-6120
Fax: (815) 346-1492
Smorgasbord
Archive
|
