Have I been here before...?

Hello, non-existent readers!

A topic I've been pondering about (again) recently is that of reincarnation. Rather than my usual "here are some facts, the proof of which being these random people's websites" post, I am just going to muse about the subject.

I have had a few "past life memories". A few come from dreams - one that sticks in my mind is a dream I had when I was about 10. I was watching the scene on a television, but some oriental girl (a princess? or someone less prestigious) had to walk up some stairs - inside a narrow building with big blocks, like the inside of a castle. Scary-looking men stood and watched her walk up, they had strange white make-up on their faces and what looked like Chinese or Japanese dress. It was old, I'm sure, about 1200... there were snakes near the top of the stairs, around the sides, and at the top she put her head on a guillotine. I remember horrible blood on her porcelain white face, and I tried to turn the TV off, unplug it, even leave the room, but I couldn't. For years I thought that perhaps I was that girl, but from the perspective perhaps I was one of the guards, forced to watch and stand aside while an innocent(?) girl was executed.

Another was one I had at a past life regression workshop - just a vague imagination, but one that I wasn't controlling. I was a small girl, about 5, carrying around a very ragged doll with me. I seemed to be in a rural village, like Wales, and the year 1872 flashed for me. I went into my house, where I saw a woman (my mum) and a man who wasn't my dad, but her friend (I just knew). The house was very basic and poor, with a kitchen/dining room and a big bedroom. When asked to look around the place, I saw a big, black, looming village hall which filled me with dread, and a big forest in which we weren't allowed to go. As I walked away from the village I felt quite sad, but relieved.

And the other night - when I realised that I was dreaming, I decided to make the most of it and "visit past lives". Briefly, I was a school boy (in Greece?), quite young, but my entire class of boys and I decided to gang rape the teacher (a young girl)!!! It was horrible, but kind of not that rare apparently, but I felt lots of guilt. Then I jumped into another life... I asked to see my first life but this seemed to be my latest. I was an overweight, unhealthy businessman, in danger of having a heart attack. I had a wife and two daughters, one a baby and one about 5, and the house looked as if it was from the 60's. I fast-forwarded 10 years, saw my daughters older and the house re-done, but somehow ended up having an affair with one of my daughter's friends (uwww)... quite vivid... 5 years later I wake up in a shitty little flat, top floor over a dirty city with some skanky woman... stumble out of bed to "work" in the same building - it looks amazing, until I realise I'm the toilet cleaner, and in charge of the tropical fish tanks... my manager also hates me, and I've thrown away my life for a brief fling.

Now, I realise that all of these could have been simply dreams, fantasies, imagination, symbology or distorted actual memories. In a way, I find the idea of past lives quite fluffy, and lacking in evidence. The skeptic part of me tells me that past lives are a fantasy created from our fear of death... in the same way that any afterlife myth exists. It's a way for us to cope with how short and meaningless our lives are. The reported experiences are often fantasy - somebody with a specific pain or scar will manufacture a story to fit with it, some "explanation" for why they are the way they are. People underestimate the power of the imagination... I mean, if you write, or create characters when acting, then you are capable of creating an imaginary life... or does it mean that every character I dream up is in fact a past version of myself? I don't think so. We are capable of great fabrication and imagery, and shouldn't attribute everything to something more mystical like a past life memory or a message from spirits. Your mind is an amazing, powerful tool. Then again, what if what we are doing is tapping to the universal consciousness - not viewing a life that WE have lived but just picking up on some memory, some ghost or echo - chosen randomly or perhaps the memory of a passing spirit? Some beliefs state that we are all One and the same, God's mind etc, so surely we have been and will be EVERYONE, regardless of a time continuum - I've even considered deja vú to be when we meet someone that we have already been, rather than someone we knew in a past life!

However, I too want to believe in past lives. Why? Am I afraid of becoming nothing once my physical body dies? You bet. I'll admit this. But... can matter be created or destroyed? If our soul does exist and has a physical presence, then something must happen to those atoms once we die... unless they simply disband and become one with the universe, in which case little parts of us will end up in some way reincarnating. Alternatively, they stay together and try to find a new home. Perhaps all the lost souls are just waiting until they can reincarnate again - maybe they have a time limit or wait to find a suitable host? ... reincarnation is a very popular theory across cultures, so you do have to wonder about why. As for "memories" later being proved to match up with facts, I think media sensationalism and confirmation bias are guilty parties in a lot of cases. Ie everything remembered which doesn't turn out to be true is ignored. I did go to a workshop on regression once, though, and we were told some amazing stories of "memories" which turned out to be based on subconsciously learned things. However, the therapist admitted that some cases do seem to be genuine, although when people start rattling on about how they were a princess or famous figure he rolls his eyes and thinks "you too, huh?"... "Scientifically there is no proof for past lives" - well. No. There is nothing in pre-existing scientific theory (as far as I know) which can be used to come up with a valid explanation, nor is there a fool proof way to test it. But if you take the scientific METHOD - proposing a hypothesis, testing it, analysing the data... well, case studies and qualitative data are valid forms of scientific data (in the social sciences, anyway, psychology IS a science!!!) - so the cases in which people have accurately described times, places and people that they never could have known are case studies into the theory of reincarnation. Sure, there is no way we can build a soul-detecting time machine to prove whether they were just very lucky or possibly read some historical records once and forgot about it, but the "facts" that they somehow knew are there... surely this is in some way scientific? People really need to stop seeing science as their new religion. The scientific method is so far the best way to prove or disprove things, but scientific THEORY is not gospel; as you know from history, things that are held as truth can later be proved wrong.

Whew. So, also, let's have a look at some of the things out there on past lives. I'm currently reading Same Soul, Many Bodies by Brian Weiss. This here blog discusses some of the evidence - http://eteponge.blogspot.com/2007/09/reincarnation-examination.html. Dr Ian Stevenson's life work was to scientifically prove reincarnation using the memories of young children - who supposedly remember their past lives before they're convinced by society that this isn't right... From a Hare Krishna site (odd source, I know) - here's a reincarnation FAQ. I'm sure there are other, better ones somewhere, but many of the ones I found were very biased and discussed reincarnation as hard fact rather than theory. If you're interested in being regressed by a past life regression therapist (a lot of Hypnotists do this anyway) then have a look here - you can even train to become one, if you wish!! And, just for fun, find out what animal you were in a past life here ...

Feel free to comment with your own experiences!!!


References:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Same-Soul-Bodies-Brian-Weiss/dp/0749925418
http://www.brianweiss.com/
http://eteponge.blogspot.com/2007/09/reincarnation-examination.html.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-proof.htm.
http://science.krishna.org/Articles/2003/12/001.html
http://www.reincarnationstation.com/
http://www.pastliferegression.co.uk/database.htm

"The Secret" - can you guess what it is yet?

So I watched that documentary...

The Secret begins by promising to uncover the secrets of success. Supposedly, all the really great people in history knew the secret... Newton, Einstein, Shakespear... it was hidden from the public, but now it has been released... and if you learn it, then you too can sculpt your own reality! So, are you on the edge of your seat already? Are you wondering what this amazing secret could be... the key to success, to making all your dreams come true?

Well... it's thinking. That's right, thinking... positively. Did you know, that whenever you think something, you're sending out a message to the universe? So, if you're always thinking "my life is shit" then it will be... however, if you employ the mechanism of denial, and say "my life is amazing!" then it will come back to you. It's called the law of attraction.

The idea itself isn't new, not at all. Praying, casting spells, affirmations - they're all the same principle. From a psychological point of view, you see, you're doing nothing but suggesting something to yourself so much that it sinks into your unconscious (ok, this is a theory, bear with me) - thus distorting your perception of reality so that you feel better, and increasing your confidence so that you actually go out there and change your life in the way that you want to.

I don't know if I'm generalising but... surely people know that if they want something good to happen in their lives, and I'm talking things like getting a new house, a new job or losing weight, they have to get up off their posteriors and actually do something about it. It's all very well and good sitting in your living room thinking "I wish I was thin", or, if you have watched The Secret, imagining really hard that you are thin - which reminds me of all the "Think Yourself Thin" ideas which are flying around. No offence, but I don't think that eating what I do, not exercising - but *imagining* that I am thin is going to do much more than possibly give me body dysmorphic disorder.

Methinks it works like this... focus on your goals, that way you are more likely to actually follow them, and notice things that you may not have done previously which will help you on your way. Yes, it MAY be due to some force in the universe, but good old self-motivation can't be ruled out either. Of course, being massively American, it concentrated mostly on material things... cars, bikes, houses... what if my dream is to be healthy, or for world peace? It is similar to that idea of cosmic ordering... ask the universe for something, and it shall find its way to you. However, The Secret goes against my usual example of "it's not as if you can just ask for a new bike and it will appear outside your door, though". But, I'm pretty sure that my lover came to me through cosmic ordering, especially considering that we only really noticed each other in "that" way due to him having a "random" urge to kiss me ;)...

The Secret also discusses the negative side, though. I find it kind of patronising to be told that everything bad in my life is due to me thinking/complaining about it, though. It's true (ish) that you can make yourself ill with worry, as hypochondriacs show, but some things are just out of our control. People claimed to have cured their cancer and stopped their bullying. Well... it's possible. There are some studies that show that people who are positive about their illness, and who use visualisations, have better prognosis than those who don't. But the message that The Secret basically gives here is "ignore your problems... dwelling on them will make them worse". Not the best thing to do when you're being hounded for money, or falling ill, really.

The Secret concludes with the platitude "you can be anything you want to be"... very nice, but surely this is going to encourage viewers to sit around daydreaming about things? I have visualised many a scenario, and they never actually happened... and I doubt that all these powerful, successful people got to where they are by thinking positively. Especially as many "geniuses" were known to suffer from things like manic depression.

It was a nice decoy, guys, but I'm not buying it.

References:

http://www.thesecret.tv
http://www.thinkyourselfthin.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Ordering
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=256#evidence
http://www.oflikeminds.com/GeniusMentalIllness.htm

On an azure ocean wave... there's a f***ing massive vortex of plastic waste

All I really need to say is: read these articles.

http://www.viceland.com/int/v15n2/htdocs/oh_this_is_great.php
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2007/10/26/notes102607.DTL
And watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9oSikW3eUM

Electricity, WiFi and the human design

Hi!!
Firstly to anyone who actually reads this, I'd like to apologise for the HUGE amount of time that has passed since I last wrote. I'd like to blame life for getting in the way, but as I spent three lazy months of summer doing little more than visiting friends and procrastinating, I don't feel that this is a valid excuse.
So, rather than explaining where I've been, let's get on to a topic, and I promise I will try harder to write things from now on...

Well!! We begin this tale a few weeks back, when I decided to type in my "symptoms" into a search engine to see what interesting illness I might have. These symptoms, you may be wondering, where fatigue, headaches and a lack of concentration - not the best things when you're trying to write essays and carry on with life. The find article that I actually found was this one, entitled "Experts Raise Health Concerns over WiFi"....

"WiFi networks could cause headaches, fatigue, irritability and lack of concentration in some people, experts believe. There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest certain people are hypersensitive to the emissions from wireless access points and other electromagnetic devices."

Well, I was already paranoid about mobile phones, and seeing as we'd just had WiFi internet connection installed in our home, this didn't bode well.

Further research informed me that there is in fact a group for people who consider themselves Electrosensetive, and that in Sweden it is a recognised condition. Do you ever sense when electrical things are on? Do you feel a sense of relief when they switch off? Can you hear them, faintly, buzzing away when nobody else can? Do you feel tired, does your face start to tingle and burn, do you get headaches from being in front of screens?

Here's a page for ElectroSensitivity-UK, have a read! This won't be a long entry, but the main thing I want you to think about is this. Is the human body designed to put up with the vast amount of radio and micro waves we subject it to? Is our technology evolving at a pace much faster than our organic designs can keep up with? Are we putting our health on the line so that our lives can be that little bit easier? People are enthusing over the benefits of WiFi (wireless internet, by the way) now, as people can access the net off their mobiles... of course, the advantages are obvious in means of communication and information access, but then as well as being yet another way for you to be tracked, and your internet history logged, we are putting our bodies in more and more danger. Wherever we go, our bodies are being bombarded with electromagnetic waves, from electrical equipment, radio waves on phones and the possibly even more powerful WiFi. Most people are completely unaware of the health risks, which makes it even more worrying. We are throwing ourselves into the rapidly expanding avalanche of technology, at the risk of subjecting our bodies to dangerous levels of radiation.

Look, even the BBC has articles...

Sources:

http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2154970/experts-raise-health-concerns
http://www.electrosensitivity.org.uk/What%20is%20ES.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/6674675.stm

Orders from above...

Talking Security Cameras To Go Nationwide

More of a drawing your attention to a matter today rather than a full-blown post.

This is from Yahoo news:

"More CCTV cameras are to be fitted with loudspeakers to allow security staff to berate people spotted dropping litter, vandalising property or fighting, the government said on Wednesday. Home Secretary John Reid hopes the shouting cameras will help cut crime, but critics say the idea is another lurch towards Britain becoming a "surveillance society". The government has given nearly 500,000 pounds to pay for the new cameras in 20 areas after trials around the country. Council staff monitoring pictures from cameras will be able to talk directly to anyone suspected of anti-social behaviour. "Talking CCTV is another tool in creating safer communities," Reid said in a statement. "It uses modern technology to allow camera operators to speak directly to people on the streets to stop or prevent them acting anti-socially...." Full story here

There is also a clip from BBC news about the scheme here.

Sooo... not only will cameras be able to monitor whenever you leave the house, but they will be able to "tell you off", too. The people on the receiving end of these faceless orders seem very willing to obey - but how do you feel? Would you feel comfortable with anonymous people behind cameras watching your every move and telling you off for things as small as dropping litter? Is the whole thing not a bit... creepy? It puts me in mind of your parents, when you're a child, shadowing you and telling you off every time you step out of line. I know some people take their orders from "above" but this is ridiculous...
They are treating us more and more like helpless idiots... from mollycoddling children (examples being skipping ropes are now banned in case children strangle themselves, and nursery rhymes being changed so as not to offend people) to constantly watching responsible adults in case they "step out of line"... do people still harbour under the illusion that we are free?? Please leave comments with your own views. As the poster of the youtube video says - Big Brother isn't coming... he's already here.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070404/tpl-uk-britain-crime-cameras-39349ed.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUVBkj9cLOk

ID Nation

The Database State: Comfort and Security or an Orwellian Nightmare?


The date 9/11 is forever etched into our minds - despite the fact that, in British terms, the date was 11/09 - we all know what happened on the 11th of September, 2001. At least we think we do, but that's topic for a different discussion. America was attacked, by an apparent "threat from without". What this meant for the citizens of the US was that they were under the threat of repeat attacks. Still reeling from the shock of what had happened (after all, why would ANYONE have a vendetta against the USA?), the government took the opportunity to introduce new security measures, which would "prevent terrorism". Anyone I have spoken to who has been through American airport security since 2001 will tell you that things are so much more strict now that it is frightening. The same happened in the UK soon afterwards, with 7/7 reminding us that we, too, were in danger - only this time the enemy was "within", meaning that the supposed terrorists were amongst us, plotting away to destroy us from inside like a cancer, rather than an external threat that we could block out. Of course, most of you know what happened, you don't need my patronising reminder. A lot of you will also have read a few conspiracy theories on what actually happened - if not, a couple of starting points for you (9/11 truth; 7/7 truth). Whether or not you believe that the government was behind - or at least had prior knowledge (which they didn't act on) about - these attacks, they certainly used them to their advantage.
Look back to a few years ago - the 90s, or before that (depending on your age). How often did you need to prove your identity? Perhaps when you were 17 and wanted to buy alcohol - when the bumfluff you grew on your chin wasn't enough to convince the bartender that you were 18. Perhaps when you needed to go abroad, you would need a passport. What information about you was available? Medical records were kept securely by your personal doctor. Forms you filled in were rare, and the option was often available for you to prevent your data from being passed on.

What is known about you now, in the year 2007? Well, if you use the internet regularly, here's a starter. See what Google knows about you - basically, everything you have ever searched for, every page you have visited through Google, every email you send and receive... from this alone, Google is able to build up a fairly accurate profile of who you are. Consider how much you might let slip, for example, on a chat over MSN. It is all logged. Yep, they even know what porn you like. Internet aside, most of you will have a credit/debit card, meaning that everywhere you have shopped, what you bought and how much you spent is all recorded, and that includes a pretty good idea of where you were at any given time. Oh, and of course, if you carry your mobile phone around, any call or text you send or receive. That's only the start of it - the UK apparently has 20% of the world's security cameras, and for such a small island, that is a big concentration of CCTV. If you can be recognised from a security still, then imagine how well your movements can be tracked every time you leave the house. Personally, I get quite disturbed by the thought that every time I go out and get very drunk, it is on a video recording somewhere.

What do they want to know about you? In the UK, the government plan on introducing ID cards next year. Anyone applying for a passport will be issued with one, and in 2010 they will become compulsory. Some countries already have ID cards in operation, and have no problem with it. However, this alone shows that ID cards will not "prevent terrorism". Spain use them, and yet Madrid was still attacked. In fact, there is no link between the use of identity cards and the prevention of terrorism. Add to that the fact that we are expected to pay for these compulsory cards, and the fact that the technology they plan to use (they want your fingerprints and your retina scan) has not really been tested. And, of course, the UK's wonderful record of handling beauracracy and not messing it up. The problem is not with the ID cards, anyway. The problem is the massive amount of data that the government will accumulate about each one of us. The plan is to add all the information to the National Identity Register.

Here is BBC news's Q+A session about the cards. One interesting one is this:

Q: Will it be compulsory to have an ID card?
A:From 2010, all passport applicants will be issued with ID cards but if Labour wins the next election it will bring forward legislation to make them compulsory for all UK citizens over the age of 16 whether they have a passport or not. It is not currently planned to make carrying ID cards compulsory.

*Cough*VoteLibDems*Cough*. Another quote from the Q+A is "the government says it wants to give people a sure-fire way of proving they are who they say they are". There we have it. They do not trust us. They don't trust me to say I am who I am; they are calling us all liars. Yes, there are people who commit identity fraud, it's true, but for every one of them there are thousands of people who work hard, obey (most of) they law and pay the ridiculous amount of taxes that they ask of us - and what do we get in return? Suspicion and doubt that we are being honest about our identities. So we have to have ID cards, so that they can keep tabs on everything we do... in case we step out of line or say something that we shouldn't. Just when you thought you'd escaped from your controlling parents! When a person is born into this world, they have to be registered. Everything they do has to be approved by people "higher" than them. If we are all born equal (hah), then what gives some people the right to the power over our lives? What divine force lets them hold our rights in their hands, to charge us for existing, to tax us for breathing? Who are they to ask us to prove that we are worthy to go about our lives without being hassled? Why should we have to gain a license to live? (...breathe...)

The thing is, it won't stop at the ID cards. As the government already admit now that they will do nothing to reduce terrorism, combined with the fact that people are ALREADY starting to create fakes, it will soon be reported that a more "foolproof" method if identification is needed. Heck, it's already used in animals, and is being marketed to families in America, too - especially to parents who are paranoid about their children's whereabouts. Yes, it's the bio-chip implant. No larger than a grain of rice, it would be inserted into your hand and scanned - no need to carry those cumbersome cards around with you any more! Of course, your every move would be traceable, and that's only the beginning. The Christians, of course, are going to love that idea - what with the book of Revalations claiming that the mark of the beast would be a chip in the head or hand (that no man may buy or sell without it)... eerie...

Fancy having your life ruled by one of these?

A few things you can do. If you live in the US, the Federal Privacy Act means that you can request to find out what information the government knows about you - click here. If you want to search through the same websites as Google, BUT without your data being logged, use Scroogle - it deletes the cookie every 48 hours, and your searches will not be linked to each other. Get involved with NO2ID, because the more people get involved, the better. Try using cash instead of your card where possible, and be careful of "firewalls" that are meant to block your PC from viruses but are in fact spyware programmes. Of course, you might not mind having information about yourself so readily available, thinking "I have nothing to hide". But of course, you do - unless you genuinely don't mind the world knowing everything from embarrassing incidents from your schooldays to your favourite sexual fantasy? Everything you have ever said, about anyone, to anyone else? Every time you got really drunk and did things you are not proud of? Yes. Everyone has something that they would like to hide; it doesn't have to be illegal, or dangerous, but it is nice to have privacy and things that you do not show the world. Unless you really don't mind? Fair enough. My advice is for anyone who doesn't want their lives to be an open book. Especially if you read up on anything like conspiracy theories... it is sometimes better to stay under the radar. Or, at least, create a "persona" so that nobody will suspect you of such "unsuitable" thoughts ;) - the world, after all, is a stage...



Staying under the radar... the real fight is to keep your mind

Resources:

http://www.no2id.net/
http://www.911truth.org/
http://www.julyseventh.co.uk/pdf/j7.htbg-faq.v2.0.pdf
http://hublog.hubmed.org/archives/000942.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3127696.stm
http://www.spy.org.uk/wtwu.htm
http://www.spy.org.uk/icb/archives/2004/12/1_the_national.html
http://www.av1611.org/666/biochip.html
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35766
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa121299a.htm
http://www.scroogle.org/

What is the soul?

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David Icke and the reptilian theory...

Icke: Then and now

David Icke started out as a footballer, before his knee swelled up for no reason and he became, instead, a sports commentator. With the public light on him and journalism skills building up, it was quite appropriate. In 1982 he moved to the Isle of Wight and started campaigning with Greenpeace and The Green Party. He started to write a book called It Doesn't Have to Be Like This, about environmental issues. He started to feel a strange presense, which he asked to make itself known. Apparently, things took off from there. In Icke's own words:

"...stood at the entrance to the shop and said we were going now to find another cafe', but as I turned to leave, my feet were stuck to the ground as if two magnets were pulling them to the floor. I don't hear voices or anything, I just follow my intuition, but in this early period of awakening I did hear three voices very clearly. This was the first. It said: "Go and look at the books on the far side." What the hell was this all about?, I thought."

Cut a long story short, soon afterwards he felt compelled to visit Peru.

"After I had walked around the ruins for an hour or so in the piercing Peruvian Sun, I went back to the tourist bus to go back to Puno. I thought the trip was over, but it had hardly begun. About three minutes drive down the road I was looking out of the window and I saw a mound to my right. As I looked at the mound, a voice in my head began to say: "Come to me, come to me, come to me." Very strange to say the least, but I asked the driver to stop because I wanted to go and look at the mound.... there was a circle of standing stones at the top of the mound and they had clearly been there a very long time. I stood in the centre ... Suddenly, I felt my feet pulled to the ground again like a magnet, the same as in the newspaper shop, but this time far more powerful ... It was then I heard the third voice in my head, something that has never happened since. It said very clearly: "It will be over when you feel the rain."

You can read the actual story here.

Sadly, the thing Icke may be most famous for is his 1991 appearance on the Terry Wogan Show. Watch the clip, Icke does come across as a bit strange, but Wogan acted like a bully, jostling the crowd into siding with him and laughing at the weirdo. Ever since, Icke has pretended that he doesn't care. The Wogan show famously made David Icke a laughing stock. He couldn't wak down the street without people jeering. So what did he actually say?
Well - he said that we live in a world full of hate. He said that many natural disasters would happen over the next few years. He said that the world was run by a behind-the-scenes elite. He said a lot of things that many believe to be true, but that many, many more don't. Some say that the amount of ridicule proves that he was right, and that the mass media were trying their best to discredit him.
Even now, when I say David Icke, my parents snort because all they remember is the 1991 show and the turquoise shellsuit. However, Icke made a smooth comeback last year, where he managed to get the crowd laughing WITH him, not AT him (as Wogan so nicely put it). This is the only link I can find.

Icke has published about 15 books, which you can buy here - his official website. You will notice the plea for money. It's up to you what you think on that one!

However, one of the topics that he mentions the most is his idea that the ruling elite are, in fact, lizard people! The idea is that reptilian, multidimensional beings are controlling earth's own elite, and that these reptilians can also shapeshift or disguise themselves as people. He has proposed the theory that the world is run by a certain family, who are all related as to keep the power in the bloodlines. As you can imagine, this particular idea is where most "normal" people draw the line, and stop listening.

However, in his favour, there is a lot of serpentine symbology hidden in modern texts as well as in ancient mythology. Here's a cute article I found about it. Or, for those of you who now use Wikipedia as gospel, there's one on there. You can probably find a lot of your own, but off the top of my head - the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden (in the Bible, of course)... the Mayans used reptilian symbology, and now there are films out such as Snakes on a Plane! The snake has often been used as a sign of evil; we even use phrases like "he's a snake in the grass" - who knows, these could be literal! Of course I'm not saying that the fact reptiles come up in old stories mean that the elite are, in fact, a bunch of shape-shifting lizards. But it might explain where he's coming from. There's also the fact that royal blood is sometimes referred to as "blue blood" - what's that all about?

It's hard to believe Icke's theory on that one. He says a lot of things that make sense, but Tony Blair morphing into a lizard behind closed doors? Seems a bit surreal. So. Imagine you rule a country, a country of "cattle" as the Queen calls us, and you don't want them to discover the truth. Say you decided to create for them a reality - a reality that was so far from the truth, that the very thought of that truth would seem to them unreal, stupid, impossible. What tells you what is and isn't possible? Where did you get those ideas from? School? TV? Who governs them?

Icke has quite a following, including the Forum - also, if you search for reptilians - or some of their aliases: Annunaki/Annukai, Alpha Draconians, Zetas - you will find many people who have similar ideas. Try The Reptilian Agenda, for example. Not all of these are the exact same, but the idea is that they are extra terrestrials who in fact live among us. Some aim to take over, others want to help us. Did I mention Icke's reptilians were from space? Anyway. You make up your own mind.

Hey, Charles, what are you doing out of costume??

Rescources:

http://www.davidicke.com/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8370853741045331929&q=icke+wogan
http://www.metatech.org/david_icke_and_reptilians.html
http://www.viewzone.com/israel.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_in_mythology
http://www.reptilianagenda.com/index.shtml

The New World Order... what's that then?

Ok, when I said I'd discuss the Illuminati's plans tomorrow... I clearly meant several days later. Ah well, I doubt I have avid fans clinging to their seats, awaiting the next installment - not yet anyway.

So, in my last post I discussed the theory that the country, or indeed the world, is controlled by a "shadow government", those who pull the strings of the government as well as the media, all businesses, banks, the education system, the military... yes, all of that!!
So, you may wonder - what's so bad about that? So somebody controls it all from behind the scenes... does it matter? Well... here's the part that DOES matter. They have a plan... that thing that all comic villains aspire to (well, most of them)... to take over the world!! *cue evil laugh*

Ok, joking aside. Hitler's plan was referred to as a New World Order, and that is what the Illuminati want as well. Think Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty-Four. If you haven't read it, you really should. The Big Brother state depicted in that book, written about sixty years ago, is becoming more and more of a reality.

The New World Order = one language, one religion, one nation. Your every move monitored. Your every action controlled. Goodbye freedom! If you have a look at the American dollar, you will see a very prominent Illuminati symbol - the pyramid with the eye at the top. The hierarchy - the few with the power at the top, the all-seeing eye of Horus that monitors us! Underneath it reads "Nuvus Ordo Seclorum" - which is allegedly the Latin for "New World Order" - although this page reckons that the translation is actually more like "New Order of the Ages". Ah well. Another freaky thing about the dollar bill, by the way, is the way that - if folded in a certain way - it depicts images of recent "disasters". See here! Okay, maybe it's one of those things where people read way too much into things.

Anyway - the Big Brother state is on it's way. If you doubt it, take a look at how much things have changed in the last few years. Did our parents have 24/7 CCTV in practically every shop, pub or street they went to? Did they EXPECT to be filmed when they left the house? (Just so you know, there are cameras practically everywhere if you live in a city, and it's ok not to tell you because "you should expect to be filmed when in public"... really?) Did you know that if, for example, the FBI wanted to find out about you - there would probably be videos on record of every time you left the house, everything you ever bought with your credit card, every website you ever went to (and any posts you made on any forum), everywhere you travelled (especially if you have a car with SatNav), every call or text you ever sent or received on your mobile; they could even get hold of your employment, education and medical records. [As a side note, if you don't like the idea of your medical records being accessible to practically anyone, have a read of this!] The amount of things that you do which are already monitored is ridiculous. What is the reason for it? Some common excuses may include "for your safety" or "to prevent terrorism".

To prevent terrorism?? So prying into everybody's lives is going to stop terrorism? If you have a look at the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, you will see that - basically - having anti-government thoughts is classed as terrorism. They intend to stop "terrorism" all right - by getting to the root of it. By stopping the thoughts before they become anything else. I don't want to sound all scary by saying THEY WANT TO CONTROL YOUR MIND but that is what they are on the way to achieving. I already shudder at the generation below me, the little chav children who worship the big flashing media box in their living rooms, the consumer generation. We are already brainwashed so much it isn't even funny. So, they want a "unified" world, a world of mindless zombies, each undistinguishable from the last, conformists with no opportunity to rebel as their every move is monitored. Go on, read 1984. It will depress you, but it's what we're becoming.

They want to introduce ID cards next year - because, y'know, they don't know enough about us already, and we all know that a little piece of card will prevent terrorism. The best link I can give you is www.no2id.net - have a read. This is really happening, and sadly most people will just accept it. Why are we letting this happen? They are siphoning away our rights, in front of our noses, step by step so that we barely notice. Freedom of speech is becoming a thing of the past - replaced with words that you "can't say!!" because they're offensive. They have changed the words to "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep" - in case it offends people!? Black is a COLOUR... and there's no such thing as a fucking RAINBOW SHEEP!!! It's so sad, it's funny. But this political correctness is just the destruction of freedom of speech in disguise. Before we realise, it will be too late.

For now, all I ask is that you have a read of the links I have given you, and think about it.

http://www.wealth4freedom.com/dollarbill.html

http://www.glennbeck.com/news/05172002.shtml

http://www.nhsconfidentiality.org/?page_id=3

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmbills/061/05061.i-iii.html

http://www.no2id.net

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4782856.stm

Who's really running the show?

Who is in charge of your life?

Did you just say "I am"? If you really are, then good for you.
There are a number of answers for this one. Until you leave home, your parents have a great deal of control over you - what you wear, eat, even what you think - until your teenage rebellious years, of course, in which case they still keep a roof over your head and work to earn money so you can live, meaning you have to abide by their rules to some degree. At the same time you abide by the rules that say you have to go to school, and do the work that they tell you to.

Then, when you leave home and stand on your own two feet (and if you sponge off your parents forever then shame!!) you will perhaps to on to higher education. You are in charge of your own learning for the most part, but who is in charge of your resources? Somewhere, someone chooses what is allowed to go into print, what is allowed to enter your libraries. Your essays can be about anything you wish to write about, but at the end of the day you can be marked down for disagreeing with the "accepted" opinion.

You can get a job, but you will always be working for somebody. If you are self-employed, you will still have to follow certain rules and regulations, set by the government.

You may think you are free, but if you really are then why don't you act on every impulse you have? Because it's weird? Because it's wrong? Because it's illegal? As stupid as this may sound, and many are likely to retort with "you're saying it's ok to go around murdering people??" - if something holds you back from doing the things you want to, then how can you call yourself free?

If you are not free, then someone is stopping you from being free. Someone is telling you what is alright and what is unacceptable to do and to think. Not only that, but you are completely dependent on them. Unless you grew and weaved the clothes on your back, grow all your own food and built your own house from your own raw materials, you are dependent on others to provide you with the materials you "need" to live - and I am only talking about food, heat and clothing here, not "must haves" such as a mobile phone, hair straigheners, make-up and a television. You rely on others for these things, and that is how they keep you hooked. They know that you need them. In exchange, they will do what they want to you, and few will notice or complain.

So who do we turn to? Who are the puppetmasters? Well, the first place to look is the Government, of course. Everything wrong with the country is blamed on the government, and probably rightly so, because we cannot deny that there is a lot wrong with our society at the moment. The way they take our money left, right and centre is bad enough without the appalling way in which they spend it. Have a look at the website Financial Outrage, which highlights some of the ways in which the money that belongs to us is stolen and kept from us.

I will post a larger section about this another time, but when you look into things, you will find that it is not "the government" who are to blame for everything. The government that we see are but puppets themselves, controlled by a higher power. This power is commonly known as the Illuminati, but it has been known by some other names. I usually refer to them as "Them" or the powers that be.

If you look on Wikipedia for the illuminati, you will likely find the cover-story - that they were a society of intellectuals who formed when the church was at it's most powerful, because any free thinking was deemed to be the devil's work. If you read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons you will be given the same story, and told that the Illuminati no longer exist, and anyone who believes that they do is a deranged conspiracy "nut".

Not true. The Illuminati is around today, or at least a group that pluck the strings of the world from the shadows. It is already quite commonly known that Tony Blair and George Bush are Freemasons (33rd degree). Did you know that or am I going too fast?
Okay. Here are some links that might help.

Freemasonry: http://www.gl-mi.org/freemasonry-explained.htm - A real Masons site!!
What others say about it!

Freemasonry is often associated with Satanism and the occult, (not the same thing!!) although we don't know quite how true this is! What I do know is that the initiation ritual involves lying in a coffin, which is a bit strange. Anyway, think "stonecutters" in the Simpsons, kind of. An underground network of men who help each other out. Most of the world's most successful men are masons and got where they were because they joined!! Sounds good? I know three Masons, but they won't tell me anything. They all do very well for themselves though. Rumour has it that betraying the secrets of this "Brotherhood" results in death!

The Masons have different ranks, with Blair and Bush being at the higher degrees - as you may tell from their societal positions. However, did you know that Bush is also a member of a secret society called Skull and Bones? If you type it into Google, it is no longer much of a secret. Bush practically admitted it anyway. Most of these politicians are members, and the society is commonly associated with the occult. Alex Jones claims to have caught them at an occult ritual in Bohemian Grove (you can buy the DVD and everything) - where they worship a giant stone owl, namely the idol Moloch. Sounds a bit extreme? http://www.infowars.com/bg1.html have a look! Of course I remain open to the possibility that the video is staged and fake. Jones is a bit of a nutter. But hey.

Anyway all these societies areapparently linked in with the Illuminati. Basically, they run everything. Whatever company you bank with, the theory is that it is actually owned by Them. Apart from taxes and excessive consumerism, they make their money from loans, interest and well - the fact that they have everyone's money in their grasp until you decide to withdraw it. The amount of world debt is so huge that they need this money to pay it off... and of course to invest in the arms trade, animal testing, the Iraq war and other such beautiful things. You may have noticed the Maestro posters around, trying to drill home the idea that cash is "smelly" and "gets lost". They're trying to get everyone to give up cash and rely totally on banks, so that they are in total control of our wealth. I'm sure everyone has had at least one problem with a bank, so please try to ignore this anti-cash propaganda. Sure, cash gets lost and smells a bit, but credit means you don't see what you're spending, end up with huge debts and if you have a problem with your card, you're screwed.
I'm going to wrap it up there. Basically, if you're not already aware of the Illuminati and the such, go and look it up my dears. You may not believe it... you may not want to believe it... it may not even be true! But tomorrow I will discuss the Illuminati's plans ;)

Links:
http://www.infowars.com/
http://www.financialoutrage.org.uk
http://www.gl-mi.org
http://freemasonrywatch.org
http://www.bilderberg.org

"Coincidences"

Have you ever thought about a friend, only to have them phone you a few minutes later? Or perhaps you've had a dream that later actually happened. If you've told people about this, the majority probably brush this off with "oh, it's a coincidence."

What about larger events in life? For those of you who have ever fallen in love, you might know what I mean. When you think about how you came to meet that person, you may think - at the time, anyway - that it was a wonderful act of fate. Different people have different names for it, of course, such as fate, destiny, the hand of God, or just "luck". Others will say it is merely a coincidence.

I am not going to jump in at the extreme spiritual side and proclaim "there is no such thing as a coincidence." If you decide one morning to wear a green top, and later that day are offered a Skittle - and low and behold, you end up choosing a green Skittle! - do we say that it's Fate? It sounds more like a coincidence. People have a habit of taking two independent events and linking them together through a bizarre train of thoughts to construct their own ideas of fate. However, if everything that happened that day lead you to the colour green, you might be right in thinking there was something to it... whether or not it was your subconscious attracting you to that colour for some reason (because you were feeling jealous for some reason, or as a sign that you should pay more attention to nature or your heart chakra! The interpretation is open-ended) or whether a spirit guide or something similar was leading you to it.

In the grand scheme of things, though, I don't think that much is down to coincidence. The people who are brought into our lives, for example. I don't think that each person I've ever met will play a significant role in my life, but there are some who I know for certain were brought to me for some reason, or I was brought to them.

For example, my friend, who I'll call Sky. I had always intended on moving on with my education a year before I actually did. The reason for my delay was unbeknown to me, but something told me that I should stick around for a reason that would later become clear to me. During this year, I met Sky. During a conversation with others, I mentioned something to do with conspiracy theories and he replied - we clicked instantly. Since then we have been talking and I found that he is on my wavelength and has a lot in common with how I think and feel. We have a lot to teach each other.

Now, people I have told about Sky think that this is a coincidence, however I do not. I felt a connection with him which I later decided to tell him about. He said he felt it too. He also told me that he had prayed for someone to enter his life so that he could share his thoughts and experiences with them, because he felt lost and alone. I believe that I was brought into his life as an answer to that.

So, if people are brought into our life somehow that isn't coincidence, then what is it? There are a few options. It could be a higher power, such as God, leading us into each other's lives. It could be guardian angels or spirit guides. It could be our own souls, our higher selves, who vibrate on frequencies beyond our reach, and communicate with each other on levels we are unaware of - in a way, our spirits arranging for our physical forms to meet.

It is, in a way, all of these things, and yet none. The universe exists on beautiful patterns that we cannot see, because we are bound to the physical world. It is like a beautiful melody - each note in harmony with the last. For this reason, everything is connected, everything is one... when you think about it like that, "coincidences" start to seem to make much more sense.

You know when you find yourself in a situation that you just "know" was meant to be? Well. I'll share my epiphany with you. It was so simple : I was playing with a piece of paper which I'd ripped up for some reason. I was fitting the pieces back, like a jigsaw. Then I realised - we are all parts of the whole, like pieces of a jigsaw. When put together, everything fits into one. It all made sense to me after that... synchronisities, so-called coincidences, destiny... of course everything fits into place if it is all part of the same thing! I then said to myself "we are all branches of the same tree", which a few weeks later I found out was quite a common analogy. I will elaborate on this more next time :)

It was not coincidence which made me start this blog. I was beginning to doubt it all, I admit, only two days ago. I asked for a sign that it really was true, and that I wasn't crazy. The next day someone stopped me on the street, trying to advertise www.newint.org - this magazine. We got talking, and when I left, I knew that was my sign. I didn't care what people thought as I laughed to myself on the way home. If you ask for a sign, you will get one.

First thoughts

Well, I'm starting a blog. Surprising! For once though, you won't find out about me - my problems, my adventures and my personal life. In fact, you need never know my name.

I, like you, was born into this world without a choice. I was brought up expected to believe what I was told, only to question within set limits, only to make decisions on the basis of an insivisble multiple-choice selection. We may not realise it all the time, but to think outside the box has become something of a sin. It results in scorn, exclusion, being called crazy... so the likelihood is most of you won't have done much of that.

The sad thing is the brain is an organic thing - your thoughts are largely the results of neurons and chemicals, and as such can be programmed and controlled by those who know how. I'm sure you are aware of the way in which the media programme you to want those new shoes/that new games console/that car - well, in happens in all areas of your life, not just with regards to consumerism. I'm talking about religion, education and all that but also subliminal messenging.

Anyway this first post is not meant to be in any way dogmatic, or to give off the "YOU'RE ALL BRAINWASHED" vibe... because the truth is, at the end of the day, I don't know. There are so many mixed messeges coming from all sides that it's hard to know which one is really right.

On the one hand we have the mainstream media, and on the other side is the underground community of people who believe the mainstream media is a load of crap. I try to take a happy medium between "logic" and conspiracy theory because it's easy to get caught up in either whirlwind - but not if you keep a strong mind.

Now, I know that "They" will know who I am, as they know everyone who writes anything within what I call the Conspiritual community. [Conspiriatual = conspiracy + Spiritual] Don't underestimate how much of your activities can be traced when you're connected to the internet. Some people, however, know this and hide their opinions, reserving them for quiet rooms and whispered conversations. Perhaps I should fear the consequences but at the moment there is no law that tells me I cannot express an opinion over the internet, and I believe in freedom of speech and justice I shall say what I want while I still can.
Just wait until I start posting for real!