Druids/Paradigm Shift

Has anyone ever read a theory that says that some of the Druids at Iona Scotland actually became Christian priests in an attempt to save themselves and the old spiritual ways as much as they could by "hiding or embedding" mystical information, and themselves, within Christianity? This fascinates me.

Recently I read "Confessions of a Pagan Nun" by Kate Horsley, and I am stunned and intrigued, and yearning to go deeper!

That very moment in time, in history, where a person (in this case, a DRUID) has to make the choice to join, or become one with the very thing (institution, religion, system) that seems to be persecuting, slaughtering, ANNIHILATING his whole way of life, his whole reality, his whole belief system, in order to survive, to stay alive, all while simultaneously surrendering to "what is," to accept that the old reality, order, paradigm, or the very ground beneath you is crumbling.

What would that person have done in order to ensure not only one's own survival, but the survival of the knoanyone and ways of the Old Religion ... to ensure that All continues to evolve spiritually?

I wish there were diaries available from that time period of the Druids so that we could know exactly what was going on in the hearts and minds of the Druids as they saw the inevitability of what was coming.
I wish we could know how they prepared themselves, how they adapted, for such a megalithic change/paradigm shift ... sort of like the Native Americans who saw the "White Man" coming. Sort of like where we are today in terms of the annihilation of Nature, the very thing that sustains us.

Does anyone know of such journals?

I feel that if I could somehow know the thoughts of our forebears, know their feelings, know how they dealt with things, how they planned, how they prepared ... then perhaps I could better navigate the Death/Rebirth cycle happening currently in my life and in the larger world.

Ted Talk, Susan Cain: The power of introverts

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html


Watch this video

Proof of the Soul? Gregg Braden and The New Physics

Gregg Braden and "the new physics"
states that when you start getting into the world of subatomic particles,
Newtonian physics no longer applies.
When observing atomic particles, the observer’s focus EFFECTS that which he is attempting to observe.

The observer effect:
In Quantum Theory there is a notion that there IS no phenomenon until it is observed. This effect is known as the 'Observer Effect'. If this is true, it means that before anything can manifest in the physical universe it must first be observed. The observation cannot occur without the pre-existence of some sort of consciousness, or awareness, to do the observing.
This implies that the physical Universe is the direct result of our consciousness or awareness.
Woah.
This is often referred to as The Copenhagen Interpretation:
This interpretation is based on the work of physicist Niels Bohr and Wernes Heisenberg in 1927 at the Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, Denmark. In other words they believed that the universe with all its atoms and electrons exists as an infinite number of overlapping possibilites. That there is no exact location of it since it can be in an infinite number of possible locations. It is not until someone observes it that the location is locked and it manifests itself.

Therefore: I believe that as soon as you earnestly start looking for proof of the soul, you create it.
Capice?

Tracy Chapman: Would You Change?

Tracy Chapman: Would You Change?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FodfkqfJrhQ
Tracy Chapman, Would You Change?
Lyrics:

If you knew that you would die today,
Saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?

If you knew that you would be alone,
Knowing right, being wrong,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings up pain that can't be soothed
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?

Are you so upright you can't be bent?
If it comes to blows are you so sure you won't be crawling?
If not for the good, why risk falling?
Why risk falling?

If everything you think you know,
Makes your life unbearable,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you'd broken every rule and vow,
And hard times come to bring you down,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would die today,
If you saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you saw the face of God and love
If you saw the face of God and love
Would you change?
Would you change?

Why the Jews (who chose not to follow Jesus) did not believe he was the Messiah

Interestingly enough, books that people have been recommending to me lately have explained something I always wondered about: why didn't the Jews (the ones who chose not to follow Christ) believe that Christ was the Messiah? According to Eric Metaxas (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (but were afraid to ask)), the Jews had believed the Messiah would overthrow the Romans and return them to their original Sovereignty during the throne of David. ... and (added by Jodi Piccoult, Change of Heart) the Messiah should be decidedly "HUMAN." The ancient prophecies say that the Messiah was not only to return the Jewish state to the throne of David, but that he would also raise up (resurrect) ALL the Dead (WHY ON EARTH he would WANT to do that is BEYOND my understanding right now -- Oye ve!) and usher in a time of great peace. The Christ, (a spiritual master who was not Jesus) took over the body of Jesus around age 12, and did NOT create a political/military revolt and oust the Romans ... and then he died, so that eliminated him from fulfilling the prophecy.
Ok, now I have a new level of understanding. So , THEN, my question becomes ... why did the Jews who chose to believe Jesus was the Messiah -- BELIEVE in him? I'm told this has everything to do with his resurrection. But the RESURRECTION was supposed to occur for ALL THE DEAD, according to the ancient prophecy. And if he didn't succeed in ousting the Romans or ushering in a time of Great Peace, WHY did people espouse his ways? I believe this has to do with the fact that he was attempting to reform the actual spiritual, mystical, inner transformative processes of Judaism, and THAT is what the people who ended up following him were after. (Feel free to comment, respond, add to the discussion, please, in the name of illumination.)

Singing Spirit

Prompt from Rob Breszny's Free Will Astrology: For Gemini: "What do you think is the most pressing communiqué your future self is currently beaming your way?"
It's funny , but I once attempted to write a play about this very concept - my future wise-woman self (in the form of Baba Yaga) having a dialogue with my present self.

Although my external circumstances might seem bleak or extreme to some at the moment, I see that I am being nurtured and provided for in a way that is allowing me to go deeper into Spirit. I'm not studying formally with any institution of higher learning or even with a mystery school, but I am ravenously devouring all the books I can get my hands on regarding Gnosticism, the true origins of Christianity, Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society, etc, etc. I want to know the real meaning, the real substance, behind the ritual forms - on all levels. And my future self wants me to get back to Singing (particularly songs of love). Just found out via C.W. LEADBEATER'S "Christian Gnosis" that the word "person" means: per - "through," sona - "sound." Cool. Digging into this business about "the Logos," rather than "God," is a bit confusing and rather reads like science fiction, but is fascinating nonetheless. Deeper study is required. Ciao for now!

Ice Shards Mosaic

After a recent freeze, and subsequent thaw, of my intimate inland lake, I watched and listened to a phenomenon that made me feel as though I was living inside a Zen painting. Rather than freezing like a sheer plane of glass, the shoreline had frozen in a mosaic of a thousand ice shards. As I stood still, listening, it made a soft hissing noise, not unlike the sound that rice krispies make when you pour milk on them.
With eyes closed, I swear I could hear Cinderella walking furtively on crushed glass slippers. As the wind gusted, sending waves from the open water, the ice shards collided, tinkling like glass in a wind chime. With eyes closed, I had the sense that if I were in deep-space, or if I went deep enough inside myself, this would be the sound I would hear.