Remembering who I am

I have to put this here. :op

<object width="560" height="349"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/LioKI4AaSCg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/LioKI4AaSCg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="349"></embed></object>

Funny as it is, there is still a lot of "stuff" in that matrix spoof (not sure how long it will be enabled).

___________

<br>
_________________________

Just surfin' for more markers/crumbs...

San Francisco - White Robed Monks of St. Benedict
"The White Robed Monks of St. Benedict serve the Contemporary Catholic and all people. Their outlook is that of a Catholic Spirituality (experience: love/compassion) rather than religion (belief: fear, guilt, shame, blame). Accordingly, they educate about the nondual mind of a child so the Kingdom of God may be experienced at-hand. (Matt. 18:1-4) Thus, they are neither Roman nor Orthodox, Liberal nor Old Catholic. The White Robed Monks of St. Benedict are just Catholic.

The Monks, in the traditional spirit of Benedictine hospitality, offer without question the Word and Sacraments to everyone who requests them. The Monks appreciate that Jesus never really said No to anyone and had only two commandments: Love God, Love Neighbor. (Matt 22:37-40, Jn 15:17) Maintaining simplicity, they are neither institutionalized nor bureaucratic. Given their monastic orientation, they appreciate God through the eyes of the early Church rather than an institutional church. They are an independent Catholic jurisdiction in the tradition of the Old Catholic Church (Brief History of the Old Catholic Church). Their clergy come from the Roman and other Catholic jurisdictions. Their general purpose is to let the world be a more compassionate place of child-like wonderment inviting peace and joy."

Experience in context:

So I went up into the mountain/pine forest today, and shivered with my sis and nephew as we waited for the tow truck.

Success!

I drove it back down the mountain and home.

It really took a beating by the road crew.

The Highway Patrol refused to take a report.

They said I would have to have a witness of the driver going by my car at the time the rocks ripped through the back window.

The soil around here is volcanic red, and it looks like there is blood all over the interior. The glass from the back window is on the dash board.

Then again, I did wonder what it might be like to drive with the back window open.

The CHP said the road was closed and that they could not get up there, but there was a warning ticket on my car as early as Saturday (nothing on it; they were being nice).

My insurance company is already balking, telling me that it was illegal for them to say that.

I will deal with car rental stuff, tomorrow.

________________________________


And here is a bit of what I refer to as "My own private volcano": Mt. Konocti -

<a href="https://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/?action=view&current=Konoctiaerial.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://2img.net/h/i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/Konoctiaerial.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<br>
The Pomo have known for millenia that when a ring of clouds form around the moutain, precipitation is certain. I took this pic on 9/19/10, just as the clouds were gently gathering. It rained for a few minutes after 3 a.m.

Today it is sprinkled with snow. Last night it was reflecting the moonlight, beautifully.

And this is the mountain that did not get hit the hardest (that would be Cobb Mountain).

I was told it would be about 5 more days before power is restored to the area where I was house sitting.

Hoberg's Resort -- that is another story. It was like growing up in "The Shining".

Some unnamed folks from Hollywood recently bought the property where I was conceived and spent the first years of my life.

I walked by it on Saturday when I walked to the highway. Weird.

They want to restore it to its original glory. Then again, that was a pre-economic collapse scenario. :op

<a href="https://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/?action=view&current=100_2858.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://2img.net/h/i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/100_2858.jpg" border="0" width="600"
<p>
The article below says "Clear Lake County", but it is just Lake County.


Mt. Konocti


"Mount Konocti, which is the largest scenic backdrop you will ever see in the County of Clear Lake, is a dominating figure of the landscape. The mountain is actually a dormant volcano made up of five independent peaks: Clark Peak, Buckingham Peak, Wright Peak, Howard Peak, and South Peak. Konocti is a member of the Clear Lake volcanic field and dates back to the Pliocene era almost 5 million years ago. The individual peaks are dagtic lava domes, meaning that if the main core of the volcano erupts this are where the lava and hot ash will spew forth.
A little background on Mount Konocti's name and how it was derived, which makes for an interesting story line. During the late 1800's settlers in the area called it Uncle Sam Mountain, there must have been someone who had a man who was named Uncle Sam and said look there is a mountain. Another method, in which the mountain was named, has been from a more literal sense. The name 'Konocti' has been derived from the Pomo Indian language, as a derivative of two words, kno and htai. Kno mean mountain and htai means woman. Get them together and you have ‘mountain woman’, and being that this is a dormant volcano, which would make perfect sense.

Several years ago, a survey by the Department of the Interior, revealed a hole in the east-peak that had been previously unseen. What it turned out to be was a vent. The year was 1818 and the great cave had been finally located under the east slope of Konocti. This revealed the water flows that went in and out the dormant volcano, and the discovery of a beautiful cave with stalactites and blind creatures in it. So not only is Mount Konocti a dormant volcano, a spectacular mountain range, a beautiful landscape scenic entity, it also has a few caves that are simply breath holding to see. Add all this together, and Mount Konocti will rank very high if not surpassing the visitors that come to the entire county of Lake County, even matching Clear Lake in numbers. Either way, you can still enjoy both, Mount Konocti and Clear Lake with a simple visit to 'Lake County'.

There is a legend about Mount Konocti that is very interesting and very colorful. It involves Chief Konocti, a Pomo Native Indian Chief leader who over saw thousands of subjects in the Lake County territory. The story goes that the Chief forbid his daughter, Lupiyoma, to marry the object of her desire, a rival young chief named Kah'bel. A bloody battle ensued and raged under Mount Konocti, and both Chiefs laid dead on the field. It is said that the blood of Kah'bel colored the hills to the north a deep red, while Chief Konocti's body formed the volcano which bears his namesake presently. The story ends with the grieving Lupiyoma throwing herself into the lake and her tears springing forth at so the Soda Bay Spring, for some years the lake was known as Lupiyoma Lake. Quite an interesting story, for quite an interesting mountain, or should we say dormant volcano.

From the floor of the valley looking up, Konocti may just look like another rocky peak in a train of mountains. Upon closer examination, the lava has feed a plethora of beautiful flora only seen in the sleep of a volcanic mountain. The brilliant colors of sage, chamise, toyon, and mazonita, adorn the bottom of the dormant volcano as a dress that would adorn a beautiful woman. Between late March and early June the spectacular wild flower assortments are a sight to be hold. Since any place you have a large amount of nectar producing flowers, you will find birds. Keep your eyes on the lookout for flocks of migrating birds and the hawks that hunt these migrating birds."

___________

Clear Lake is one of the oldest natural lakes in the world. Due to a "geological fluke", the bed of the lake rises/tilts at the same rate that it fills with sediment.

Just went to log on, and it seems I never logged out.

The sleep was good.

Due to the magnitude of the storm, I have yet to hear from my insurance adjuster, and there MAY be car rentals available, this afternoon.

The funny thing is, I am in a really good space with all of it.

I just confirmed that I still have my job.

Lithotripsy for the kidneys is coming up.

Again...okay with that. I have not had any pain in about two weeks.
____________________________________

I love having a pallette here at The Mists.

Thank you.

____________________________________

I am too mentally exhausted to be able to allow in the kind of information that just came through, for now.*

I understand the memories that I can let go.

I get that they do not belong to this lifetime.

It's just that these particular memories/experiences do not seem random, at all.

Then again, I am a newbie in this life. What do I know?

*addendum: like the poor woman in the Cheech and Chong movie, who mistakenly snorted Ajax, and Chong says to the police: "leave her alone man; can't you see she's been through a lot in a short amount of time"? LOL



Cheech And Chong Up In Smoke - The Ajax Lady

More context (or more of my illusion/projections)...


http://lakeconews.com/content/view/15326/919/


COBB MOUNTAIN, Calif. – One of the county's most famed resort properties has passed into new ownership, with the new owners looking at opportunities to restore it to its former glory.

The sale of Hoberg's Resort, located at 15205 Highway 175 on Cobb Mountain, closed late last month, with the transfer documents recorded by the Lake County Recorder's Office on July 23.

Cobb Mountain Partners LLC, a Delaware corporation with offices in Palo Alto and San Jose, purchased the property from the Maharishi Global Administration Through Natural Law, documents showed. In all, six parcels totaling just over 50 acres were part of the sale.

Real estate listings said the property included a 40,000-square-foot lodge with another 100 buildings and a large swimming pool.

Dan Nelson – who is managing the property for Cobb Mountain Partners LLC, which incorporated July 12 – told Lake County News that the sale was supposed to have closed about nine months ago.

Negotiations had been under way for a while, he said, but finally concluded this summer.

He said he could not disclose terms of the sale, but county documents stated that the seller carried $1.75 million, and the transfer fees for title totaled $2,200. Recorder staff said the fee is determined at a rate of $1.10 per $1,000 of sale cost, for an estimated total price of $2 million.

The property had variously been listed for just over $2.9 million and $3.5 million.

Attempts to contact representatives for Maharishi Global Administration Through Natural Law so far have been unsuccessful.

The past magic of the resort – which marks its 125th anniversary this year – “just really awed the investors and the partners,” Nelson said.

“They just had to have it,” he said.

The new Web site for the resort, http://Hoberg'sclub.com, has stirred a lot of community interest – Nelson said they've already received a couple hundred phone calls at their corporate offices – but he said that the resort hasn't yet undergone any renovations, and that the pictures and plans on the Web site don't represent its actual condition. It's merely a conceptualization launched nine months ago.

“We're not saying it's going to look exactly like that because we don't know for sure at this point in time but it was one of the conceptual ideas,” Nelson said.

The group of investors includes members of the entertainment business. Nelson, who is acting as manager for the group and isn't himself an investor, also works in the entertainment industry and is chief executive officer of Action 3D Entertainment.

He said the investors are considering a wide variety of uses for the property – from housing a movie set to hosting a film festival, as well as creating a resort similar to Hoberg's in its heyday. However, Nelson added there are no specific plans yet.

Whatever the plans turn out to be, Nelson said it will bring a lot of people to Cobb Mountain and Lake County.

“It's an amazing place,” he said of the resort, noting that you can feel the vibe of what it was like 50 years ago.

Nelson said there has been a lot of speculation about who the investors are. While he didn't offer any information, he did provide a picture of the handing over of the resort's keys to Daniel Kottke, one of the group.

Kottke, 56, an inventor and computer engineer, was Apple's first official employee, and he – along with Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak –assembled and tested the first Apple 1 computer, according to his biography.


A storied history

Members of the Hoberg family couldn't be reached for comment, but a 2007 book by Donna Hoberg, “Resorts of Lake County,” showed Hoberg's in its early and mid-20th century glory.

The resort had a swimming pool, hotel, airport and an outdoor dance pavilion known as the “Pine Bowl” that drew big band notables such as Tommy Dorsey, Xavier Cugat, Walt Tolleson, Harry James and Freddy Martin, the band of the latter including a young performer named Merv Griffin.

Founded in 1885 by Gustav and Mathilda Hoberg, Hoberg's Resort would attract notables from around the country. Renowned botanist Luther Burbank stayed there, as did Earl Warren in 1946 when he was governor of California, the book recounted.

Hoberg's also reportedly had a sister resort, Hoberg's Desert Resort in Borrego Springs, Calif., which burned in 1958 but later was rebuilt, according to a history of the Southern California resort.

However, financial difficulties eventually ended the Cobb resort's operation, according to Donna Hoberg's book.

For two years after George Hoberg's death in 1970, the family operated it as a boarding school, the book explained.

In January 1974 the family sold it to Maharishi International University, according to county documents.

In the years since the land was recorded under the ownership of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's World Plan Executive Council and, eventually, the Maharishi Global Administration, county records showed. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement.

During the time it was owned by the maharishi's organizations, County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said it wasn't operated as a public resort, but was used only for the organizations' members.

Nelson said it appears that the resort property wasn't used actively over the past 10 years, with not much work being done on the facilities.

“It's a monumental task to take on the repair and renovation of the place,” he said.

The resort's new owners already are starting to do cleanup and small repairs, Nelson said.

“It will require a tremendous amount of cost and a tremendous amount of work and commitment from everybody to get everything back to where it needs to be, where we can have guests back at the facility,” Nelson said. “It will require an army of people to really bring this place back.”

Resort reopening a promising possibility for the county

Cox, who himself has never been inside Hoberg's facility, is hopeful for what may be ahead for the resort.

“I think it could have a tremendous positive impact on the local economy and the county's revenues,” he said.

Resorts have had an important part in Lake County's history. Beginning in the 19th century they began drawing visitors to the county to enjoy hot springs and mountain air.

The establishments bring in transient occupancy tax – or TOT – for the county, with those funds in turn used for marketing and economic development efforts.

The visitors who come to the resorts also impact other businesses – restaurants, grocery stores and a variety of other merchants, economic studies have shown.

When Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa closed last November, it meant substantial impacts for county businesses and TOT, as well as many lost jobs, as Lake County News has reported.

The country's economic recession also impacted tourism, and a number of county resorts currently are on the market.

Those on the multiple listing service include Cobb facilities Edie's Resort, $875,000, and Pine Grove Resort, $1,295,000; the 10-acre lakeside Ferndale Resort in Kelseyville, listed for $1,495,000; Saratoga Springs in Upper Lake, a 260-acre retreat offered for $2.2 million; and Willow Point in Lakeport, located on the water, with 61 park spaces, priced at $4.95 million.

The notable resort that's missing from the listings is Konocti Harbor, which was to be sold as the result of a federal court case that was settled in 2007.

The US Department of Labor sued the resort's owner, Lakeside Haven, the convalescent trust fund for Local 38 of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Journeymen, for having diverted millions of dollars in pension funds to operate the resort, as Lake County News has reported.

The federal court ordered WhiteStar Advisors of Boca Raton, Fla., to act as the independent fiduciary and oversee the resort's sale. WhiteStar Advisors Managing Director James Bishop has not returned phone calls from Lake County News seeking an update on the resort, which also is not listed for sale on the WhiteStar Web site.

Despite the impact of losing Konocti Harbor's TOT, a review of the first quarter TOT for Lake County shows, according to Cox, “We're not doing that bad.”

Cox couldn't go into specifics about what the resorts pay in TOT – that's confidential – but he added that TOT revenues so far this year were “better than what I thought.”

He said Hoberg's is a unique facility that could have a big impact on the county's economy.

“I welcome the opportunity to work with the new owners and help them make it a great success,” he said.

Nelson said more plans for the resort will be forthcoming soon, with updates to be posted on the Web site.

He said community members are invited to send resumes and information about their skills to the group at info@hobergsclub.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The owners will be hiring “quite a large number” of Lake County residents to help with the resort's transformation over the coming year, he said.

Nelson called the local enthusiasm “wonderful.”

“We're very excited and looking forward to working with the local Lake County citizens,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf ."

_____________

My father was the chief maintenance man for the resort, prior to the purchase of the resort by the Maharishi International University.

I lived up there and/or quite near, for my first 9 years.

It will now be known as "Hoberg's Club Resort". They have updated their web page since my last visit...

http://www.hobergsclub.com/


Hoberg's Club Resort

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I told ya it was like "The Shining" -

Hoberg’s Club Resort is located on Cobb Mountain, nestled between the Napa Wine Country and Clear Lake, California. This 53 acre historic resort boasts all the features necessary for a great set location. Romantic or spooky, Hoberg’s is the perfect place for your paranormal, historical, thriller, action or romance film.

Hoberg’s Club Resort has more than 53 buildings and is surrounded by a lush wilderness with warm sunshine and illuminated celestial skies. Paved pathways connect the main lodge, and nearby are swimming pools, tennis courts, and individual cottages that can be used for your character’s residence, whether he or she is a hero or a serial killer. The main lodge has large interior rooms with 12-foot ceilings, a spacious dining room, professionally equipped kitchen, and a full bar.



Hoberg's Club Resort Film Services

I know dark things happened here.

I felt it even as a child.

Last year, after Dan died, I went to a spiritual counselor, and he took me back to this place and I gave myself a guardian. Now I have memories of an old man with a gray beard, flying along side of me while I rode my bike.

I cannot shake the feeling that something happened to me here that I cannot remember.

What I do remember is creepy enough.

The "Magic" was corrupted, somehow.

Now I am really getting sick to my stomach -

"Hoberg’s Club Resort is proud to be the backdrop for three thriller films currently in production: “Sleepaway Camp 3D”, “American Werewolf in Mexico”, and “Bigfoot 3D”

Sleepaway Camp 3D

Mike the original surviving member of the Sleepaway Camp Massacre mysteriously gets invited to a reunion at an closed mountain resort, 25 years later. Echoes of Angela (the original killer) still haunt them, hunt them, and kill them!!! Will they survive this final chapter!

Staring: Thomas Van Dell, Felissa Rose, Desiree Gould, Paul DeAngelo

http://www.globalcinemadistribution.com/releases/2011-movie-releases/sleepaway-camp-3d/

Edit: Image removed from this post by me. It is available at the link, above.

Mercy sakes...really in the middle and up against it here...

Interesting...

This was the point of entry for my soul into this world. Does it get more 3D than this?

No more neon signs required.

I remember "Gert" -

I could not have been more than 5. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and I remember that he was the most beautiful being I had ever seen. Indeed, it seemed he was good looking, beyond this world.

He was very anti-semitic.

I remember that I felt shock and horror when he spoke of "the Jews", the way he did.

I stopped thinking he was beautiful. I looked to my parents for a reaction, but they just played along.

______________

There was the ritualistic vomiting in a pit on a hill just above my house...

Orgies

I remember being in a room where there had been a very large orgy.

People drank so much they vomited in the rooms.

There were beds, everywhere.

They have all been there.

I have been observed my whole life.

When all is said and done, will I still be one of the good guys?

HigherLove wrote:I remember "Gert" -

I could not have been more than 5. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and I remember that he was the most beautiful being I had ever seen. Indeed, it seemed he was good looking, beyond this world.

He was very anti-semitic.

I remember that I felt shock and horror when he spoke of "the Jews", the way he did.

I stopped thinking he was beautiful. I looked to my parents for a reaction, but they just played along.

______________

There was the ritualistic vomiting in a pit on a hill just above my house...

This brings to mind my first encounter with Jews in the real world away from my history books.
I was fourteen ... he had everything I don't have ... brown eyes and dark hair. He found I was pretty ...but I think what touched me the most is that he told me he was a jude and that his father was one of the survivor of Daschau's concentration camp. I immediately felt empathy for him and his family . That was the beginning of my first Love Story . One that has had a long lasting effect on me and influenced my entire life . We did'nt know it then but our encounter was soon going to propel me on my Spiritual path and if I am here today I know without an inch of a doubt that he was part of the events that lead me here although he has long left my current life .
Much later as I was getting to know myself a better I understood what my fascination about Jews was all about . I remembered clearly being part of the resistance during 2d world war where I was collecting papers for them and help them escape Germany .
Hope you don't mind me recounting this Troy... but that's what your words triggered in me .

Love from me
mudra

mudra wrote:

HigherLove wrote:I remember "Gert" -

I could not have been more than 5. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and I remember that he was the most beautiful being I had ever seen. Indeed, it seemed he was good looking, beyond this world.

He was very anti-semitic.

I remember that I felt shock and horror when he spoke of "the Jews", the way he did.

I stopped thinking he was beautiful. I looked to my parents for a reaction, but they just played along.

______________

There was the ritualistic vomiting in a pit on a hill just above my house...

This brings to mind my first encounter with Jews in the real world away from my history books.
I was fourteen ... he had everything I don't have ... brown eyes and dark hair. He found I was pretty ...but I think what touched me the most is that he told me he was a jude and that he father was one of the survivor of Daschau's concentration camp. I immediately felt empathy for him and him family . That was the beginning of my first Love Story . One that has had a long lasting effect on me and influenced my entire life . We did'nt know it then but our encounter was soon going to propel me on my Spiritual path and if I am here today I know without an inch of a doubt that he was part of the events that lead me here although he has long left my current life .
Much later as I was getting to know myself a better I understood what my fascination about Jews was all about . I remembered clearly being part of the resistance during 2d world war where I was collecting papers for them and help them escape Germany .
Hope you don't mind me recounting this Troy... but that's what your words triggered in me .

Love from me
mudra

Mudra!

Thank you. I love you, too (too!).

I understand people are free to chime in as they may, and am grateful to be taken out of my own mind.

I am just a n/w European mutt-mix (English, Irish, French, Scottish, and German).

____________________________

HigherLove wrote:
Mudra!

Thank you. I love you, too (too!).

I understand people are free to chime in as they may, and am grateful to be taken out of my own mind.

I am just a n/w European mutt-mix (English, Irish, French, Scottish, and German).

____________________________

I understand your gratefullness to be taken out of your mind .
The mind is a maze and a fascinating one too .It can help us explore plenty of avenues , sometimes we can also get lost into it but there is a way out - Always - that's the good news

Love for you Troy
mudra

HigherLove wrote:Orgies

I remember being in a room where there had been a very large orgy.

People drank so much they vomited in the rooms.

There were beds, everywhere.

They have all been there.

I have been observed my whole life.

When all is said and done, will I still be one of the good guys?

Having been in the bong bong room at Plato's Retreat in New York, I can say you missed all the mirrors on the walls and ceilings along with one New York lady loudly saying, "Ewwww, you could get an infectious disease in here!"

It really doesn't matter where we've been. It matters where we are now. All of those experiences were learning experiences. Part of the neti, neti, neti. Not this, not this, not this. Consciously choosing a spiritual path means after all of the neti, neti, neti (life experiences) one eventually learns discernment. Or who they want to partner up with and who they want to avoid. Good therapists are those people who lived life by being immersed in it.

I also think some of us have a little more unwinding of karma to deal with then others. The purpose is not to get lost in desire (the lower chakras) but to learn how to redirect desire into the upper chakras where the spirit is nurtured and blossoms.

I think it takes a lot of courage to open up and be so revealing Troy. You will find there are others here who are receptive to your processing and don't think less of you in the least.

I used to belong to this one group where a person would sit in the center of the group called the hot seat. Then other members of the group could take turns asking personal questions. Of course people loved the exercise and of course it was uncomfortable for the person in the hot seat at times. Yet the person could also choose not to answer a question.

Yet, we were all fascinated and enjoyed learning about the person who was sharing.

Carol wrote:

There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life,
you never called,
you never wrote,
you never visited.
And whose fault was that?


Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment
will be the least of your problems.

LOL

Thanks, Carol.

I have a second mother who is Jewish (I had two second mom's, but one of them died after my real mom). Her name is Carol. :)

I met her in my early 20s. She gave me a job running a residential program for adults living with autism. I did that for 8 years. It was an amazing experience.

I think she would like this. I will have to give her a call.

I would modify one:

If there is no self, whose kidney stones are these?

And of course, I was raised Protestant, so even though I may have more karma to burn off than others, I still think it should be happening to someboy else. hehe :op

Thanks for the picture. It is beautiful and the colors speak to "tender hearted" and "sensitive" person I am.





____________

I just stumbled across some information about pre-celtic monks (i.e. "druids").

Despite all of this being so public, I do not have a sense of that when I write things, really.

And as for the therapist experience - it is tough to focus on such studies/endeavors at this time.

I'm supposed to be sitting for exams in December of 2012. HA!

Earth Mysteries: The Druids

Although since Christian times Druids have been identified as wizards and soothsayers, in pre-Christian Celtic society they formed an intellectual class comprising philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and astrologers. The earliest surviving Classical references to Druids date to the 2nd century B.C.

The word "Druidae" is of Celtic origin. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23/24-79 A.D.) believed it to be a cognate with the Greek work "drus," meaning "an oak." "Dru-wid" combines the word roots "oak" and "knowledge" ("wid" means "to know" or "to see" - as in the Sanskrit "vid"). The oak (together with the rowan and hazel) was an important sacred tree to the Druids. In the Celtic social system, Druid was a title given to learned men and women possessing "oak knowledge" (or "oak wisdom").

Some scholars have argued that Druids originally belonged to a pre-Celtic ('non-Aryan') population in Britain and Ireland (from where they spread to Gaul), noting that there is no trace of Druidism among Celts elsewhere - in Cisalpine Italy, Spain, or Galatia (modern Turkey). Others, however, believe that Druids were an indigenous Celtic intelligentsia to be found among all Celtic peoples, but were known by other names.

With the revival of interest in the Druids in later times, the question of what they looked like has been largely a matter of imagination. Early representations tended to show them dressed in vaguely classical garb. Aylett Sammes, in his "Britannia Antiqua Illustrata" (1676), shows a Druid barefoot dressed in a knee-length tunic and a hooded cloak. He holds a staff in one hand and in the other a book and a sprig of mistletoe. A bag or scrip hangs from his belt.

Sammes's drawing was subsequently copied and modified by William Stukeley who shortened his beard, removed the mistletoe, turned the bag at his side into a sort of bottle or gourd, and placed an axe-head in his belt.

Besides observing that the name 'Druid' is derived from "oak", it was Pliny the Elder, in his "Naturalis Historia" (XVI, 95), who associates the Druids with mistletoe and oak groves: "The Druids...hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows provided it is an oak. They choose the oak to form groves, and they do not perform any religious rites without its foliage..." Pliny also describes how the Druids used a "gold pruning hook" or "sickle" to gather the mistletoe.

"Anything growing on those trees [oaks] they regard as sent from heaven and a sign that this tree has been chosen by the gods themselves. Mistletoe is, however, very rarely found, and when found, it is gathered with great ceremony and especially on the sixth day of the moon... They prepare a ritual sacrifice and feast under the tree, and lead up two white bulls whose horns are bound for the first time on this occasion. A priest attired in a white vestment ascends the tree and with a golden pruning hook cuts the mistletoe which is caught in a white cloth. Then next they sacrifice the victims praying that the gods will make their gifts propitious to those to whom they have given it. They believe that if given in drink the mistletoe will give fecundity to any barren animal, and that it is predominant against all poisons."

Druids and Stone Circles

It was John Aubrey, writing in the 17th century, who first thought it a "probability" that stone circles, such as Stonehenge, "were Temples of the Druids" and called his text on stone circles the "Templa Druidum". This idea was picked up by William Stukeley, in the early 18th century, who subtitled his first book, Stonehenge, published in 1740, "a Temple Restored to the BritishDruids, and his second, on Avebury, published in 1743, "a Temple of the British Druids." Although later, in the 19th century, Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) dated Stonehenge to a period much earlier than the time of the Druids (that is, to about 2000 B.C., whereas the Druids don't appear in the historical record until 1800 years later), nonetheless the view was maintained by a minority that Druids were pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain and that the religious beliefs and practices for which Stonehenge was first built are ancestral to those of the later Celtic Druids.

I love this thread Troy, it really brings some memories back.

You mentioned the Druides in your post above. I remember now that I, for the first time, have heard of the term Druide while reading the book "The sword of Shannara" from Terry Brooks. It was at the end of 80's and me being 19-20 years old, I just found the book very, very fascinating so I re-read it immediately.

The lone Druid called Bremen (one of the main characters in the book) was someone I wished to become like. I still remember the feelings (while reading the book) I got about him and his powers back then. It was the knowing that his powers were something very common and just usual, but we "the humans" have had lost these powers during our "evolution".

I wanted these powers back, I wanted them soo badly...and the knowing that we can gain them back has only become stronger in the years to come.

So you see, now I remember too...I remember when my awakening started. It started with the Druids, with Bremen and my quest to look inside me for the first time and try to locate the place where these powers could be located.

In the meantime, I have found the place...it's in my heart...and the powers...well they're yet to come back.

I just wonder now...how do I know this? And why are these feelings so strong? Was I ever a Druide in some of my previous lives?

I thank you soo much for this Troy.

much respect
Mall...

P.S. You should know that at the time of reading the book, I didn't knew that Terry Brooks "might have" used the "Lord of the rings" from Tolkien as a template. And I must say, I'm really happy about that. I was free from any prejudices when reading "The sword of Shannara"...and it was perfect so. I see now that Brooks have extended the first book to a trilogy...and I really intend to read the other two parts in the next months.

malletzky wrote:I love this thread Troy, it really brings some memories back.

You mentioned the Druides in your post above. I remember now that I, for the first time, have heard of the term Druide while reading the book "The sword of Shannara" from Terry Brooks. It was at the end of 80's and me being 19-20 years old, I just found the book very, very fascinating so I re-read it immediately.

The lone Druid called Bremen (one of the main characters in the book) was someone I wished to become like. I still remember the feelings (while reading the book) I got about him and his powers back then. It was the knowing that his powers were something very common and just usual, but we "the humans" have had lost these powers during our "evolution".

I wanted these powers back, I wanted them soo badly...and the knowing that we can gain them back has only become stronger in the years to come.

So you see, now I remember too...I remember when my awakening started. It started with the Druids, with Bremen and my quest to look inside me for the first time and try to locate the place where these powers could be located.

In the meantime, I have found the place...it's in my heart...and the powers...well they're yet to come back.

I just wonder now...how do I know this? And why are these feelings so strong? Was I ever a Druide in some of my previous lives?

I thank you soo much for this Troy.

much respect
Mall...

P.S. You should know that at the time of reading the book, I didn't knew that Terry Brooks "might have" used the "Lord of the rings" from Tolkien as a template. And I must say, I'm really happy about that. I was free from any prejudices when reading "The sword of Shannara"...and it was perfect so. I see now that Brooks have extended the first book to a trilogy...and I really intend to read the other two parts in the next months.

I love Terry Brooks!

I read the first three books in the series in my late teens (the Elf Stones was my favorite, but Wish Song is quite good, also).

He wrote another trilogy that I read about a Magician.

Of course, the Shannara books went on in other forms (a most prolific writer).

Not having powers for the time being is vexing, to say the least.

Harumph.

Personally, I am thrilled at the prospect that my journey into Christianity began before the formation of the Catholic church. Then again, Druids pre-date the arrival of Christ, in the flesh.

That means neither Protestant nor Catholic, but just Druid. Eh?

But yes, the magic of those books is my fantasy world (minus the mischief, of course).

Oh: and a way to enjoy luxurious showers for as long as I want, without hurting the environment, or limiting the supply of another in any way.

And so without further ado, I announce the Druid list of "things to do":

1. Regain abilities

That is pretty much it.



Edit - And: You are most welcome. Much respect to you, also. Thank you so much for reminding me of his work. What a delight.

Went on, indeed!

Oh, Joy.

I had no idea about this. I just went and looked and presto! hehe (see, they are returning already; I noticed mine with the ability to calm spiders, of all things). :op

<a href="https://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/?action=view&current=The-Druid-of-Shannara1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://2img.net/h/i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/The-Druid-of-Shannara1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

HigherLove wrote:Went on, indeed!

Oh, Joy.

I had no idea about this. I just went and looked and presto! hehe (see, they are returning already; I noticed mine with the ability to calm spiders, of all things). :op

<a href="https://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/?action=view&current=The-Druid-of-Shannara1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://2img.net/h/i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz272/DSummerMan65/The-Druid-of-Shannara1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Hahaha...the first ability that I gained back was to tell the mosquitos to leave my room and don't distrube me during the night. Well, you might imagine how surprised I was back then, when I discovered that they actually listened to what I had to say ....and they still listen to me btw...hehehe

They still listen. Good point.

I wonder how many times I have to feel "success" in order to be confident in the consistency of such gifts.

I have no desire to control the spiders.

I do not go out of my way to find the Black Widow, or the Brown Recluse, both of which are plentiful, here.

I used to live in an area where Black Widow spiders made elaborate nests at the front door, and I would walk smack into them when getting home at night.

They truly are quite shy, and either most forgiving or absolutely petrified when I blew their houses down.

_____________________

After reading Carol's thread about Ken and his communications, I am somewhat stunned.

I am grateful for this week without a car, for I have been able to spend a great deal of time working through issues and making some breakthroughs.

I cannot say with any certain who I may have been. Doing so may be possible, but I do not know if it matters, any longer.

It is true that the wake does not drive the boat.

I spoke of dark things to get them out of the way.

I embrace my Divinity.

I invoke the Christ-Consciousness, and in doing so I find my protection and strength.

I still have no idea where I am going, but I am getting tired of seeing how many times I use the word/letter "I".

"I" doeesn't really know that much.


But "I" finally have a rental. lol

Another "freak" snow storm is expected over the next few days. Some predictions have it looking worse than the last one.

Other loose ends: All of the animals are well.

I thought I lost a chicken.

She had been sequestered with the turkeys, because the other hens were pulling out the feathers on her head.

She isolated herself under the coop, and came out when her mama came back home.
_____________

And with that, I choose to move upward.

Onward, Indigo Druids and Monks!

I am off to take a moment to contemplate what one asks a heavenly messenger. Funny: I have spent my whole life dreaming of dwelling with the divine (okay, not the entire time), but I cannot think of a single intelligent question, for the moment.

I don't like getting into the game of things I can take with me, or I will be like Steve Martin in "The Jerk". All I need is this...then this, and this, and this...it's what got us into this mess. Then again, what is life without a Mini-Moog and a Black woman who can siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing?



There is so much love and wisdom, here.

Oh: I am not sure if it is just magical thinking because of all the good feelings that result, but I cannot help but wonder if part of the reason this empahsis on possible past lives as Druids/Monks was meant more to direct me to the present. That is, my experience was that I was once again being accepted back into the fold.

No picking up where I left off, because it just is not possible. Things are quite different.

In humility and gratitude to all,

Well, I now have TWO cars stuck in my driveway. It seems as if the snow is following me, because once again I am on the side of the volcano that seems to have been hit the hardest.
_____________

"Activity" seems to be picking up.

So once again, filled with thoughts about Narnia, there was an article in the paper yesterday.

A link to just one online article (FYI: I had no idea that he wrote).

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/lifestyles/2011/feb/22/3/perry-moore-uva-grad-and-narnia-co-producer-dies-a-ar-858301/

Co-producer of 'Narnia' films dies at 39 in NYC

NEW YORK --

Perry Moore, a co-producer of "The Chronicles of Narnia" film series, and the author of "Hero," an award-winning novel about a gay teenager with superpowers, was found unconscious in his bathroom and died later at a hospital, police said. He was 39.

His father, Bill Moore, told The New York Daily News in Saturday editions that an initial autopsy was inconclusive. "I have no clue what happened. The examiner said he was in good condition," Bill Moore said. His father and friends said he suffered from chronic back pain.

The cause of death will be determined by the city's medical examiner, but no foul play was suspected.

Mr. Moore had a varied career in television and in film, as producer, screenwriter and director. His 2007 novel, "Hero," won the Lambda Literary Award for best novel for young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children or adults.

Mr. Moore had Richmond ties. He and partner Hunter Hill directed the 2008 film "Lake City," which was filmed near Richmond. The movie starred longtime Albemarle County resident Sissy Spacek as a mother reunited with her estranged son.

"He had great ideas and got them done," said Andy Edmunds, location manager for the Virginia Film Office.

Edmunds said he worked with Mr. Moore during the shooting of the film. Edmunds said he came to know him as creative, funny and kind.

"He wanted to bring (the film) back to his home state of Virginia," Edmunds said. "Perry went to (the University of Virginia) and had spent early years in Richmond. He was fond of Richmond and the versatility of Richmond as a palette for filmmakers. He wanted to support our industry in Virginia and fought to bring this movie here."

Much of the film was shot at Tree Hill Farm in eastern Henrico Country.

"He loved the view of the city skyline from Varina," Edmunds said.

Perhaps his biggest achievement was getting the film rights to "The Chronicles of Narnia," Edmunds said.

"He was the one at Walden Media who carried through the possibility of developing the "Narnia" series into a feature film when many people could not gain permission from the estate," Edmunds said. "Perry was the one who did it. Then it became a huge, multi-film franchise."

Mr. Moore co-directed a documentary about children's book author Maurice Sendak with Hill and Spike Jonze. He scored a "Sexy Man of the Week" rating by People magazine in 2007.

But it was his novel about a super-powered teenager that seemed to focus his passions. With "Hero," he said he hoped to create a gay superhero who was not, he said, a supporting character, victim or token. "I decided I would write the definitive coming-of-age story of the world's first gay teen superhero," he said.

William Perry Moore IV was born in Virginia Beach, and majored in English at U.Va., according to his website. He started his career in television at MTV and VH1 and then worked for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." He later joined Walden Media, the company that produced the films based on C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" books.

A memorial service for Mr. Moore will be held today at 11 a.m. at Grace Church, 802 Broadway, in New York City.
___________________

Very enjoyable read! well done.
As for regaining your powers, just "claim" it. You'll see.

Are you getting any more "remembering" as you write this? Don't be surprised if that happens. Especially with your connection to the Christ consciousness that is strong. That fact alone should trigger memories and hidden "talents".

Brook wrote:Very enjoyable read! well done.
As for regaining your powers, just "claim" it. You'll see.

Are you getting any more "remembering" as you write this? Don't be surprised if that happens. Especially with your connection to the Christ consciousness that is strong. That fact alone should trigger memories and hidden "talents".

That experience I had was during a time of isolation.

The power was off, so there were not any waves from PG&E...

It would be more accurate to say that I have had different experiences.

I wrote about some of it, earlier today, but became mesmerized by how quickly the snow melted and the freeze has started to arrive.

________________

The other night as I drifted off to sleep, I felt a powerful sense of what I have best seen described as "grey energy".

I had to send it away. It was weird, and it does not make any sense/I do not know what to make of it.

That night I had a dream in which I was quite panicked to discover that I had failed to line the chicken coop properly with hay, and the chickens were gone because I had not provided them with enough protection.

The next day, the guy who helped produce "Narnia" died. FYI: I did not even know who any of them were, at all.

As the night draws near, I am naturally wide awake, so perhaps I should get back to the post I was working on about my visit from the mountain lion during all of this, and my comment to Aslan while I was alone in the snow.
__________
*Edit: And I keep forgetting the spell-checker.