Maria Duval - Approaching Metaphysics Part 1

Approaching Metaphysics Part 1
Before one approaches seriously the study of metaphysics, magick, the occult, or mysticism, it is appropriate that one prepares oneself on all levels: mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It is of vital importance that the student be psychologically prepared for the reception of Cosmic truths; for without adequate preparation, without the required purity, the right attitude and the right motive, one simply deludes or sidetracks oneself from all that which is essential in occult study to those phenomena and teachings that are unessential, delusive, and misleading; to phenomena that simply strengthen one's hold in a world of illusion, glamour, pride and ego; aside from this, should one attempt occult work without due preparation one exposes oneself to certain dangers which are far-reaching. Without adequate preparation the student would abuse and misuse occult, spiritual teachings and powers.

The karmic consequences of this abuse may stall or cause stagnation in one's spiritual evolution for countless incarnations. Basically, religion without the theological dogmas, is an appropriate basis for the study of metaphysics. Students of metaphysics are advised to deepen their religious activities by engaging in personal study of their scriptures or holy book without relying on the usual channels or interpreters for clarification. This is to preserve one's bicameral mind from external influence and dependency on "authority figures" that may be damaging to the psyche in the long run.

Purity, sincerity, humility, and a selfless motive which seeks to serve one's fellow men are qualities to possess or develop when requesting from, or studying the teachings of a spiritual/ metaphysical teacher, or even when embarking on our own by studying books on the occult. These qualities or virtues are our safeguard. They protect us from negative forces which affect our mental and emotional stability.

One of the keys to preparation is to eliminate the false ego from our thinking and centeredness. Think from the Christ level. Think the thoughts of Jesus, Muhammad-the Prophet, Krishna, Lao Tze, or Buddha. What do you think these avatars and prophets of God think constantly of? They think of God, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Therefore we advise each student to do likewise. Thinking abstract thoughts, divine thoughts, spiritual thoughts, and holy thoughts raises the vibrations of the physical, etheric, astral and mental bodies. This facilitates metaphysical and spiritual development so needed by the human race. It improves the quality of humanity.

One of the problems which poses as an obstacle to occult and metaphysical study is that of the crystallized mind. As a preparation, the first step that has to be undertaken by the student of metaphysics and the occult is to temporary put away all previous concepts and beliefs regarding them. There are many false beliefs and superstition concerning the occult perpetuated by ignorant individuals, by psychics of a low caliber, by secular education, and even by religion, that we have to cast all of those beliefs aside and prepare our minds to really think and use our reason and intuition. Even if we had learnt metaphysics or branches of it previously from genuine teachers, it is still required of us to shelve them aside when we begin our apprenticeship under a new tutor.

Our minds should be open and receptive to the teachings of the higher worlds, but if our minds are closed and crystallized, we fail to register the truths concealed in occult and metaphysical teachings regarding the laws of the cosmos, the higher worlds, the principles of mind and one's psychic nature. If the teachings of any metaphysical system or teacher (including this writer) contradict your personal notions and feelings and you have trouble accepting them, simply shelve them aside for the time being and consider them again at a later date when you have acquired more experiences and knowledge. Realize, however, that most of the time opinions and beliefs do not reflect Truth. We teach what we personally know or what others personally know. We do not proselytize or impose our words upon others against their will. We are happy to give to others the teachings of the Spiritual Masters should they be receptive and just as happy not to give should they be non-receptive. We can lead a horse to a drinking trough but we are unable to make it drink.

Granted, that information concerning the occult the tyro or neophyte often has to regard as hypothesis, or working theories, but in time the student is given methods for investigating and proving to himself the verities of metaphysical truths and the realities of the higher worlds.

We seek knowledge, wisdom, and experience--not mere beliefs. For the student of Nature's mysteries, beliefs will not do. Beliefs are blatant expressions of one's ignorance, for if one knows, why is there a need for beliefs? If one should say that one believes in the existence of something, one implies in that statement that one does not really know if that something exists. Belief and knowledge are poles apart.

In spiritual and occult training one invokes intense energies, powers and forces emanating from the spiritual worlds. These energies flow into the whole microcosm even down to the physical level. Should the physical body and its force-field vibrate at a very low level because of the presence of impurities, toxins, and negative forces, the nervous and energy systems of the physical and etheric bodies would explode and rupture during the influx of those higher energies. This is one reason why one embarks upon the Path of Purification prior to engaging in advance occult work.


The Master's Advice

In days gone by, when a student approached a spiritual or occult master for instructions, the master would say "empty your cup." The master illustrates the purpose of this by pouring fresh tea into a cup already filled to the brim with the liquid. The tea would naturally overflow. "Likewise," the master would say, "will the teachings I fill your mind be rejected by all of your previous thoughts and false beliefs. Therefore, empty your cup." Which means, in other words, "empty your mind of previous ideas and conceptions." Most people are disinclined to accepting new ideas. They dislike change, and yet we must change towards a positive direction if we are to progress. There is a senseless fear and laziness in most people in operating their brain faculties such as using their mind to reason. Our minds must be open and flexible, yet putting all new ideas to the test where possible before accepting them. We must strive to see the logic and rationality in concepts, if any, that are new to us. In other words, we must think! It would not hurt to be critical in a positive and constructive sense of novel ideas or even religious ideas if we believe that our criticism is valid. Although the mind is limited, it has its purpose and we should not shirk from using it.

It is an important requirement for the occult student not to form any false ideas concerning himself and lower his self-esteem. He should not limit his mind and divine expression by saying "I can't do this," "I can't do that." One never knows what one can do until one tries. This applies to all branches of learning and study. Often we hear people say "nobody's perfect," and they use this as an excuse not to improve their morality, their character, their minds or even their social standing. If one approaches the study of metaphysics and the occult in this manner, one is bound to fail. Metaphysics is hard work, and those who are not interested in work should leave metaphysics alone. Metaphysical truths awaken a person from self-complacency and the slumber of mortal errors. The student of metaphysics should be prepared for this and not rebel when it occurs. When you come to the point where you can think of nothing but metaphysics in your everyday activities, you shall succeed in being a metaphysician. Metaphysics has to be incorporated into one's life 24 hours a day.

Studying the occult and metaphysics requires great perseverance, endurance, patience, and fortitude. It even requires a certain degree of intelligence. Note that we do not say education or intellect, for the educated mind and intellect at times can be more of a hindrance than an asset. Unless our mind is receptive and open to modify previous findings or concepts expounded by science or religion which from the point of view of metaphysics are erroneous, one would simply fail in metaphysical study and the probing of Nature's higher laws. The intellect, as the result of education is simply the building blocks that we accumulate, whereas intelligence is the conscious directive power that builds an edifice out of those blocks. Being educated implies gathering data and information that may or may not be true or even relevant to one's life. We should seek the sort of knowledge that is applicable to our everyday lives with its countless challenges and problems. Overcoming human problems is mastership. Intelligence is a necessary attribute to comprehending metaphysical principles. You need not be concerned of any lack of intelligence, however, for metaphysical practices itself raises one's I.Q., E.Q., and S.Q.

Some occultists, metaphysicians, and mystics have declared that it is much easier acquiring an academic degree than getting fruitful results from occult study. This is indeed true, for occult study requires unfolding the inner senses to register higher vibrations and the various phenomena of the higher dimensions, and this takes much time and energy for practice and training. The purpose of metaphysical study is to make each and every one torchbearers of Truth. Work for Truth, live in Truth, promote Truth and it is guaranteed that you will evolve into God's Light. However, seek no reward.

Metaphysical development requires time, patience, perseverance and great concentration--the type of concentration not normally possessed by the average person. This training of psychic and metaphysical faculties may take a whole life time for its perfect functioning and control. We should not be daunted by this, however. The Master Jesus said, "In patience possess ye your soul," and this each student of metaphysics must be conscientious of. The student must have patience and possess his or her soul and not allow the Dark forces to possess it. In metaphysics we learn to direct our lower self, if we do not do this, negative beings will.

It is expedient that the student remove religious and any form of prejudice from his mind and heart. At times teachers of metaphysics may refer to the text of one religion in preference to another to illustrate or substantiate certain metaphysical concepts. This they do, not because of their personal background and not because of any animosity toward the other religions, but because of convenience sake. We know that the essence of all religions is Truth itself. Metaphysicians, therefore, teach and refer to the Truth in all religions whenever possible. This brings up another subject to mind: fanaticism. Fanaticism is not to be tolerated, not in metaphysics, not in religion, not in any human endeavor whatsoever. Fanaticism simply indicates a blind belief in principles and opinions, most of which may be dubious as to their validity. Fanaticism is separatistic, narrow-minded and destructive, and should be avoided. It breaks up unity by creating divisions and schisms. It is the very antithesis of the spiritual precept: "unity in diversity." The motto of the Dark forces will always be "divide and conquer."

Man is a microcosm of the macrocosm. In religious terms, man is a reflection of God, for he/she was made in God's image. Since God is perfect, man likewise, in a spiritual sense, is perfect. Man carries the seeds of perfection within him. He only needs to unfold this divine seed of perfection lying dormant within him. When this is done all things become possible to man. In order to nurture these divine seeds, one must overcome inertia and work with the evolutionary forces of Nature.


The Motive of Study

One of the first few things that a student of metaphysic has to do is to introspect and analyze as to the motive for approaching metaphysical study. Why does one want to study metaphysics, its branches, and its various arts such as magick, mysticism, esotericism, psychometry, dowsing, or telepathy? For what reason? For what motive? Is it simply to gain advantage over another, for power over others? Or is it simply to acquire name and fame or the riches that it will produce? Approaching metaphysics with such motives would retard one's spiritual growth and is not condoned by any spiritual teacher of worth. A true and noble motive would be to serve God and humanity in spiritualizing this physical world, in manifesting Heaven on Earth, where Truth, Justice, Righteousness, Love, Peace and Goodwill between men prevails. Should your motive be negative, you are advised to transform it now. Do not deceive yourself as to your motive.

Another thing that we must not do, is to steal the secrets of heaven or gain entry into it by force, meaning that we should not force our occult growth by engaging in dubious exercises obtained through sources with no real integrity or authority to transmitting them and hoping for an instant development with their application. Should occult abilities be "instantly" procured, it would not be permanent and would result in adverse effects in most cases. We all know the low quality of plants cultivated in greenhouses as compared to the cultivation done underneath Nature's roof. It is the same with metaphysical growth. Heaven is not willing to release her secrets to the profane, and if by chance any of us acquire her secrets and apply them without the proper motive and purity, we unknowingly curse ourselves. The scriptures say that God is not mocked. This is a symbolic way of saying that the Law of Karma is operative and no one is able to avoid its influence.

The student should be aware that there are false Gurus in the metaphysical field. Every student should be wary and cautious in accepting what they have to teach, for though what they teach be sweet to the mouth, their effects may be bitter to the stomach. These Gurus have no sense of responsibility, and they control and manipulate the minds of their followers for their own nefarious reasons. They create a morbid dependency on the part of the student.

Without the adequate and correct preparation through the Path of Purification, although one may unfold in a psychic manner, if accepted and trained by a "Guru," one would limit one's psychic development and stagnate in one's spiritual evolution. The higher occult and mystical abilities requires that one be spiritually developed, and this cannot be attained without the necessary purification of the microcosm.

Spiritual Masters of the occult and metaphysics are wary and watchful of students with impure motives. It is not unusual for Spiritual Masters to reject applicants for study or to put them through certain tests, or to give them some advise and told to return at a later date, perhaps a week, or a year later. Just because a student is anxious to study the occult does not imply that he is ready for it or that he should be accepted by a Spiritual Master or Adept. Acceptance by a Spiritual Master and the initiations that he has to offer requires sincerity of motive and more besides. The false Guru may perhaps accept such a student for personal reasons--for fame, name, glory or wealth. The true Guru, however, never consider these things as criteria for accepting students, although he may work in strange ways that sometimes seem amoral or irrational in order to test candidates. An occult axiom states that, "When the student is ready, the master appears." The advise here is to make oneself ready through proper preparation and not sit and wait and twiddle one's thumbs. The master in this axiom may refer to a spiritual being, one's personal spiritual guide or guardian, or even to a metaphysical school.

It should be known that the metaphysical path is a strenuous one requiring every minute of the day. One does not engage in metaphysics at certain spare moments available. One must make time for the study and practice of metaphysics. Reduce unnecessary socializing and reduce watching TV and movies to a bare minimum; preferable not at all wasting time on them. This may result in some conflict between your friends and relatives as you settle-in to your new metaphysical routine, but consider this: what is more important, their egoistic and personal gratification and demands or your study of Truth with its eternal worth and its spiritual application in the affairs of men? It is up to you to decide; however, if results are not forthcoming from your practice because of your lack of application, you have no one to blame but yourself. One piece of advice: you may drop-out from metaphysical study but never drop-out from life, for it may be that your real metaphysical teacher and lesson is life itself. Accept whatever life brings and learn from it; otherwise, seek to change it using your God-given creative powers.


The Contemplation of Life and Death

Perhaps one of the things that a novice of metaphysics is told to do at the very outset by a true metaphysical or spiritual teacher is to contemplate the meaning of death and the opportunity that life offers. This dual theme is a healthy, sane, and balanced contemplation that when analyzed individually tends to produce an unhealthy pessimistic or overly hopeful attitude. How does one begin this contemplation? By reflecting on the following: first of all realize that we are all heading toward physical death, This might seem discouraging nevertheless is a true statement that cannot be contradicted. With every second, with every breath that we take we approach closer to our grave. Nature guarantees us nothing in life but our coming demise. This is her promise. We do not know when we will leave the physical body permanently. It may be the next hour, today or tomorrow, but leave it we shall. From these musings questions would arise: "What then is the meaning of life?" What is the purpose of life?" Shall we say as the materialists would say, "let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"? What sort of a philosophy is that when our query remains unanswered? It would be preferable to say "let us study the purpose and meaning of life for we know not when we will pass away and God's purpose for us here may not be carried-out if we spend our time on frivolous matters."

Contemplating further, we will realize one major thing, and that life here is an opportunity. Opportunity for what? An opportunity to grow, to become, and to be. Heraclitus, the philosopher of ancient Greece said that everything is becoming. This is the Law of Change. From our metaphysical point of view, we understand that he was referring to the Law of Evolution.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

Leonard Lee aka Luxamore
Metaphysical teacher, counseler, healer and merchant of occult/magickal items of Indonesia.
Magickal Items from Indonesia: talismans, mustika pearls, kerises, etc.
Magickal Bezoar Mustika Pearls from Indonesia.

The Opening To The Psychic World
Neutral believers of paranormal entities and phenomena are yet confused of their in dept purpose to humanity. Astrology sings or star signs are already universal terms but delivers no unique impact to what does it really means or its true objectives. Psychics would explain the topic more deliberately and more specific but some readers may not understand some distinct terminologies and issues that surrounds the subject. It is common that psychic personalities were labeled by the general public as eccentric, mysterious, "out-of-this-world, powerful and knowledgeable individuals, or in other words, difficult to understand. From my article "Psychic Reading: The Fun of Knowing", I quoted the idea "Many people has their own interpretations of their intuitions and natural perceptions. But the bases of its truthfulness or reliability are sometimes doubtful for some people." This bring us to the reality that some people has their own explanation and interpretation of psychic knowledge because of lack of adequate information. Fortunately for everyone, the psychic business or public psychic service break that gap between psychic erudition to civil understanding. Because of the need to be virtually open, the paranormal world involving psychic and mysticism cradled books, libraries and other references with psychic dictionaries. This way, people could easily define each nomenclatures that connect and describe some supernatural phenomena. Uncommonly, this introduction to their world resulted negative effects also to most psychic personage. Critics, non-believers, and religious communities criticize their faith and practices unevenly. They are sometimes exiled from the society because of their odd behaviors, lifestyle and beliefs. Even others would declare their doings as part of evil paganism. But because of modernization (means more choices for information dissemination) and thorough education, a positive quantity of literate individuals already accepts this uncanny knowledge as part of human learning. Even scientists are open to the idea since some of their discoveries and inventions came from the concept of mysteries, phantasms or supernatural impressions. Astrology, for example, is an ancient knowledge for extra-terrestrial depiction and prediction ; and which applied by science as astronomy and also with meteorology. Overall, learning the principles and beliefs of psychic exposes the public to the reality that there are things hard to explain but can be understood with the right cognition and with the right people to ask. Some psychics too understand this boundary of paranormal comprehension of the common people so they learn to expand their definition and explanation of everything about psychic and spiritual world. Thus, people who tend to be cognitive and open-minded with psychic knowledge accept their existence and their probable positive impingement to the society.

***

Visit http://www.psychicguild.com for more related stories.

Dream Interpretation || Numerology || Psychic Readings

Universal Law Series - The Law Of Expectation
This is the fifth of seven articles in our continuing series covering the core seven Universal Laws. The focus of this article is the fifth Law ? the Law of Expectations.

Law of Expectations

Simply stated, the Law of Expectations tells us that whatever one expects, with confidence, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When one expects with confidence that good things will happen, they usually will. If, on the other hand, one expects a negative outcome to a situation, then the outcome will usually be negative.

Our expectations play a key role in our own outcomes and they also have a remarkable effect on the people around us. What we expect from those around us determines our attitude toward them more than any other factor. In turn, the people around us tend to reflect our attitudes right back at us - whether the expectations and attitudes are positive or negative, good or bad.

Dr. Robert Rosenthal of the University of California ? Riverside, has spent more than 40 years studying the idea that one?s expectations for the behavior of another, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. His years of experimentation show this to be true. In his landmark book, ?Pygmalion in the Classroom?, Rosenthal tells of case after case where teachers were told that a student, or sometimes a whole class, was extremely bright and was predicted to make a quantum leap in academic performance in the coming year. Even though the students were randomly chosen from the school population at large, provided the teacher believed that the student or students were exceptional and expected them to excel, the students performed at much higher levels than other students in the same or similar classes, and vastly better than could have been predicted by previous grades or behavior.

The Arbinger Institute (http://www.arbinger.com) has published a terrific book called ?Leadership and Self Deception ? Getting out of the Box?. While the book focuses on developing superior leadership skills through being true to one?s self, they talk a lot about the way we view others and the way we expect others to act ? based on our own internal prejudices. They refer to this as ?being inside the box in how we view others.? It is not until we choose to view others as they really are (i.e. human beings with valuable experiences, viewpoints and inputs) that we will be able to connect at a deeper level and achieve higher degrees of understanding and communication. In other words, it is not until our expectations of others change that we can change our own experiences with them.

Take a moment to think about your own expectations ? of yourself and those around you. Your expectations exert a powerful influence on people and events, for good or for bad, so be extremely careful!

What You Can Do

There are a few things that you can start doing immediately that will help you to harness the awesome power of the Law of Expectations:

1. Always expect the best! Assume the very best of intentions on the part of those around you. There is no better place to start than home. Tell your spouse and children on a regular basis that you believe in them, that you think they are wonderful, that you love them and that you are proud of them.

2. Practice these same behaviors with your staff and coworkers. The very best managers, entrepreneurs, and salespeople are "high expectations" people.

3. Expect the best of yourself. Focus on your unlimited potential and imagine that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to. Imagine that your greatest moments lie ahead and that everything that has happened to you up to now has merely been a preparation for the great things that are yet to come.

There is no mystery to achieving success - it is available to all of us. One need only be aware of, understand and, most importantly, live in accordance with Universal Law! Through expecting the best of yourself and others, you can attain the levels of success that you truly want!

Tony Davies is a Business Consultant as well as an Executive, Business & Personal Coach. He is an expert in the areas of Leadership and Personal Development and in integrating these two, seemingly different, disciplines. To find out how Tony can help you to move your business and your life forward, contact him through http://www.momentumbusiness.ca.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too �" Triumphing over Mediocrity
Are you tired of the same old existence? Do you want more out of life than what life seems to be handing you? You can rise above mediocrity but you must first change your mindset.

To begin, you must have a keen desire for change in your life. You must know what you want, even if you don’t yet know how to get it. Be definitive in your desire. If you only had a short time to live, what would you really want to see, experience and do? Manifest clearly in your mind what you want or need.

Concentrate your energy and thoughts about your desire on the here and now, and not on the past or future. Embrace the present and let tomorrow take care of itself.

Be patient and let go of any anxiety, disbelief and doubt. Expect and believe that you have your desire already.

Get charged up emotionally about your desire. Don’t just visualize it; feel it. The more you’re enthused, excited and charged up about your desire, the faster you’ll have it.

Daily, affirm to yourself what you want. An “affirmation” is “a solemn and formal declaration.” Believe that you will get what you affirm you want.

Clear your mind of any and all negative thoughts. Negativity leads to mediocrity. Stay focused in a positive way at all times on your desire.

Believe in yourself. A belief is a thought, which is a kind of energy. Your beliefs have a great influence on you (and others around you) and can work for or against you. Recognize and get rid of limiting beliefs that don’t serve you. Retain those beliefs that bring contentment and quality to your life.

Stay focused on your desire. The more you visualize, feel, believe and affirm your desire, the more real it will become. The more you focus on what you want, the more your thoughts will help produce that desire at some point in the future.

Clearly set your intentions. An “intention” is “an anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions.” A realized goal or desire is the result of your intentions.

As attributed to Lisa Diane, a well-know inspirational leader, to get that which you desire, you must have it (in your mind), think it (your thoughts form your perceptions which form your reality), speak it (speak only positive thoughts about it), and act on it.

If you intently follow the above, you will attract those people, things, and circumstances that will bring about your desire. You will be a better person for it, and you will have what you want.

Jim McCabe

Get a free 50+ page report “The Manifesting Mindset - Strategies for Deliberate Attraction and Conscious Living” to help you achieve your goals and desires. Visit http://www.manifestmindset.com

Aliens: Where SETI Astronomers Can Find Them
SETI, or Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has been an ongoing endeavor for many decades. In the early days, it was expected to be a quick success, so much so that national governments even helped fund these projects. Like the Moon race, there was something of a "find E.T." race. All that is gone now. Government funding has virtually evaporated around the globe. The explanation is simple: no one likes a perpetual failure. The few remaining SETI efforts have to count on private funding to scrape along. Well, the objective of this article is to come to the rescue of the last of the SETI astronomers, to tell them where they can find E.T. so that they can regain the world's respect. That last sentence was not meant to be cynical. As noted in my article "Decoding Book Resurrects the Ancient Astronaut Theme," author Morten St. George claims that some of the prophecies of Nostradamus are of alien origin, and that those prophecies tell us how to calculate the galactic coordinates of where E.T. came from. In a follow-up interview, I posed the following question to St. George: Do you agree that contact with intelligent aliens could be of immense importance to humankind? He agreed. Then I asked: Do you agree that this is more important than your selling a few copies of your cryptic thinking book? He agreed. This article will be a little longer and a little more technical than the others. According to St. George, three prophetic stanzas combine to provide information about E.T.'s location. The first of these is stanza number I-81. Here, the first four words of the fourth verse are the most relevant: "Kappa, Thita, Lambda, mors." St. George says he has an etymological dictionary that defines "mors" as the "bite of a scorpion." Consequently, Kappa, Theta, and Lambda are the names of three stars in the tail section of the constellation Scorpius. (Note that the use of Greek letters for star names postdates Nostradamus). It's a star arrow, and Lambda is the arrow head. Elsewh:ere, the prophecies name three cities to form an arrow circling around the globe; thus, St. George believes the three stars should be viewed as points on a sphere. Where does the star arrow point? St. George says he followed the star arrow upwards on a star map and it hit or passed close to a dark cloud called Barnard 72, for which he already had other indications. So that's the answer. E.T. came from or near Barnard 72. But we're not done yet. We're looking for precise coordinates. The second stanza is numbered IV-32. According to St. George's decoding, this stanza tells a story: Once upon a time, Triton, Pluto, and Charon formed a triple planet system with a distinct orbit around the Sun. Then one day, the aliens came along, grabbed hold of Triton, and pushed it into a retrograde orbit around the planet Neptune. In route to Neptune, Pluto and Charon hung on for a while, then broke loose and drifted off into a new orbit. When did this happen? St. George says the aliens were here in 580 A.D., so that would be his guess for the date of these planet manipulations. I mentioned that I had read on the Internet that Pluto has been downgraded, that it is no longer considered a planet. St. George responded: "I believe that was because they found that Pluto didn't clear away debris in its orbit. But since 580 A.D., a contemporary date in terms of solar system history, Pluto in its new orbit would have made only a handful of complete orbits around the Sun, hardly enough time to clear away much debris. In any case, the astronomers got it all wrong. What they should really be looking for is Triton's original orbit, a cleared-out orbit with no planet in it. And I doubt that we're talking about an orbit at the outer edges of the solar system. Triton's original orbit may have been closer to the Sun than Neptune. They need to figure out where Triton could have been in 580 A.D., then they will know where to look for that orbit." Why did the aliens move Triton? A display of power? St. George remarked that the star arrow only provides longitudinal coordinates. We also need to know the latitude . The planets have to be in the right position at the right time. And the three stars too, for that matter. The last stanza of the three stanzas is numbered IV-33. It begins: Jupiter closer to Venus than to the Moon, appearing in full whiteness. According to St. George, Earth and Jupiter would have to be pretty much on opposite sides of the Sun for this to be true, and the full Moon (more likely seen from the Alien Planet than from Earth) serves as a timer. The alignment is Alien Planet, Sun, Moon. The next line of IV-33 goes: Venus hidden under the whiteness Neptune (discovered more than two hundred years after the death of Nostradamus). Note that there's no "of" between whiteness and Neptune. Meanwhile, the French words following "hidden" (used elsewhere in the prophecies to cryptic ends), "soUS la bANcheUR," allows the extraction of "Uranus." Thus, the whiteness (partial rather than full) is Uranus, not Neptune, and we have a second alignment: Alien Planet, Uranus, Venus. IV-33 has one more line: From Mars struck through the white granary. Since Neptune was left hanging at the end of the preceding line, it should come into play here, meaning Neptune from Mars struck through the white granary. According to St. George, the "white granary" refers to a star cluster called the Pleiades, which happens to lie at the opposite side of the sky from Barnard 72. Until recently, St. George thought the planetary arrow to Barnard 72 commenced with Mars, so he not yet had a chance to check out if a Mars, Neptune, Pleiades alignment, or a Pleiades, Mars, Neptune alignment, is even feasible. Overall, there are only a limited number of possibilities. IV-33 gives us two inner planets, Venus and Mars, and two outer planets, Uranus and Neptune. Mars lines up with Neptune to hit the Pleiades, and Venus lines up with Uranus to hit the Alien Planet. Depending upon the Pleiades direction, Uranus and Neptune need to be together on the same side of the solar system or on directly opposing ends of the solar system. Also remember to check that you're viewing a full Moon from the Alien Planet, and that Jupiter is closer to Venus than the Moon at the same time. When? The skies and planets are in constant motion. In what year does all this happen? St. George is convinced that the date of the given configuration should somehow or somewhere be provided in the prophecies. Other than the stanza number, 433, we have 580, 700, 703, 882, 883, 1204, 1559, 1571, 1607, 1609, 1649, 1666, 1689, 1690, 1700, 1727, 1781, 1813, 1832, 1858, 1859, 1861, 1928, 1952, 1955, 1979, 1982, 1999, 2001, and 2006. The years 1571, 1607, 1781, 1859, and 1982 were astronomy related. St. George suspects one of the later years is more likely mainly because astronomers may not have accurate data the position of the outer planets in earlier times. "We have to assume that they want us to get it right, and precision is clearly required here." 2006? What happened in 2006? St. George replied: "Absolutely nothing. 2006 was a second, inferable date in a London catastrophe stanza. The date does not necessarily have to come from an astronomy stanza. It can be provided elsewhere." Please excuse the digression. My final question was: Do you realistically expect SETI astronomers to take you up on this coordinate stuff? St. George responded: "Yes. It would be foolish of them not to. The way they're going now, their odds of finding E.T. are not even one in a billion. If my theories merely reduce the odds to one in a thousand, their chances improve immensely. Moreover, I think they've forgotten; SETI was originally based on the premise that there are lots of intelligent civilizations out there, which in turn implies that at least one of them should have succeeded in exploring the entire galaxy by now." So there you have it, SETI astronomers, go forth and become famous; work out the coordinates, point your radio telescope there, and tell the world you heard from E.T.!

Gersiane De Brito is an aspiring writer from Fortaleza, Brazil. Other articles by her can be found on the Cryptic Thinking Official Site: http://www.crypticthinking.com .

Look for the Positives
Our lives are overflowing with negative information from the newspapers, magazines, television and radio. Nations are at war, thousands are dying of starvation and hundreds are killed by natural disasters. There is no avoiding or ignoring the facts. We even receive negativity from our own families and friends every single day. How we deal with this information is up to us. One, we can absorb it all and allow it to negatively dominate our thoughts, emotions, attitudes and our day-to-day lives. Or two, we can view these events as an unfortunately "normal" part of our existence and concentrate on those things we can do something about - such as our own personal lives and how we can positively affect and influence ourselves and those around us. In fact, if we dwell on the negatives around us and constantly reinforce them with our thoughts and words, our lives will tend to be mostly negative. "Bad" things are more likely to keep happening to us. Instead, if we change our focus to the good things of life - the positives - there is an above average chance that things will get much better. Negatives fill our emotional bucket quickly and before we know it, they are spilling all over ourselves and those around us. Isn't it far more logical to fill our bucket with positives? The people around us are sure to be much more receptive to any spillage the might occur. Try this. Make a "Gratitude Check". Take some time for yourself and write down the good things in your life or the things you enjoy and appreciate. Start with the fact that you woke up this morning, then go from there. No matter how bad your situation is, if you try just a little you'll have several hundred items on our list. A helpful hint - keep the list handy and add to it as you think of other things. There will always be days when your list will come in handy to give you a pick-me-up. Be selective about what you read, watch on TV and the music you listen to. Think about the information your mind is absorbing and determine whether it's really good for you. Be selective with your friends and pay attention to the conversations you are having. Is the relationship - or the conversation - based on negative words and feelings? Would you be better off changing the subject - or finding someone different to spend your time with? Watch your "self talk". This is the imaginary conversations we have with ourselves and others, especially when there are potential conflicts on the horizon. Stop "badmouthin'" the people in your life and stop badmouthin' yourself! Every time we do that, we are reinforcing to ourselves just how miserable the world is and how unfortunate we are. Look for the positives in everything that happens in your life, no matter how bad they seem at the time. Life is filled with lessons and the potential for each of us to learn, especially from the uncomfortable situations. Pay attention. Learn as quickly as possible so these lessons need not be repeated.

Gene Simmons, through NuPathz.com, provides an easy reading self-help blog, articles, quotations, thoughts and links along with affordable self-help and self improvement books & materials - all designed to help folks find the road to a more enjoyable lifestyle, to pass on some of life�s �secrets for survival� in a chaotic world & offer a few smiles along the way. It's a down-to-earth, simple approach to discovering a better life. You can visit Gene at http://www.nupathz.com/