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Light of Truth Oracle artwork copyright Matthew James

Self-transcendence: The art of achieving seemingly impossible goals by focusing on a purpose greater than yourself

S.O.T.T: Stulberg and Magness refer to this paradigm shift as "ego minimization." They point to a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, where researchers used fMRI scans to see what happens inside the brain of people presented with threatening messages.

Prior to their evaluation, each participant was asked to first reflect on their core values. What the scientists discovered is somewhat surprising: The part of the brain associated with "positive valuations" showed heightened neural activity when participants read the threatening messages. Though it sounds counterintuitive, instead of shutting down, their brains actually moved toward a challenge when faced with a threat.

A wide body of research suggests that minimizing our focus on the self increases our motivation in less heroic, mundane activities as well. An earlier study published in The Academy of Management Review found that hospital janitors who cleaned bedpans and mopped floors derived more meaning from their work when it was framed as helping patients heal. By keeping the hospital clean, they were preventing vulnerable patients from getting sicker.

When we recognize that our actions are inextricably tied to the greater good, even unpleasant chores like taking out the trash or washing dishes become acts of mindfulness. Zen monks have long internalized this lesson; they seek to achieve detachment through a spirit of selflessness. In their daily Zen practice, activities like cooking and cleaning become their own form of meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh explains that mindful living is an art: "You do not have to be a monk or living in a monastery to practice mindfulness. You can practice it anytime, while driving your car or doing housework."...read more>>>...

Paranormal journalist claims to have "scientific evidence" that aliens lived alongside humans on Earth

S.O.T.T: The paranormal journalist who claims to have discovered alien remains near the Nazca lines of Peru says the extraterrestrial beings once lived in harmony among humans. At a press conference last week, Mexican paranormal journalist Jamie Maussan claimed the five mummified bodies discovered over the last two months appear "closer to reptiles than humans."

Now, Maussan, who has devoted much of his life to investigating extraterrestrial phenomenons, says x-ray, DNA and carbon 14 analysis of the remains further points to the presence of intelligent life.

"We confirmed with scientific evidence the existence of beings from another world," said Maussan to RT en Español. "Before it was a possibility, now it is a reality," he added when speaking about the existence of aliens on Earth.

The mummified burial of the bodies also suggests the 'aliens' once coexisted with our ancestors, according to Maussan...read more>>>...

We're All In The Same Boat

Daily Om: We're all in the same boat. We just have different paddles, and perhaps we find ourselves on different rivers. We all live in human bodies. These are the vehicles in which we move through our world. We are all made of flesh, blood, and bone, with brains, hearts, and lungs to power us. Our paddles--the tools we use to move through the world--vary, as do the bodies of water--the environments--in which we find ourselves.

Some of us use our high IQs to get where we want to go. Some of use our smiles, others use kindness, a gift with language, or athletic ability...read more>>>...

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Smithills Hall, Bolton, Lancs, UK

Carrion Crow Medicine

The crow is a spirit animal associated with life mysteries and magic.  The power of this bird as totem and spirit guide is provide insight and means of supporting intentions. Sign of luck, it is also associated with the archetype of the trickster; be aware of deceiving appearances.  If the crow has chosen you as your spirit or totem animal, it supports you in developing the power of sight, transformation, and connection with life’s magic....read more>>>...

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Hackpen Hill, nr Broad Hinton. Wiltshire. 

Reported 8th July 2017.

Crop Circle Connector

Blaming Others

Daily Om: As we begin to truly understand that the world outside of us is a reflection of the world inside of us, we may feel confused about who is to blame for the problems in our lives. If we had a difficult childhood, we may wonder how we can take responsibility for that, and in our current relationships, the same question arises. We all know that blaming others is the opposite of taking responsibility, but we may not understand how to take responsibility for things that we don't truly feel responsible for. We may blame our parents for our low self-esteem, and we may blame our current partner for exacerbating it with their unconscious behavior. Objectively, this seems to make sense. After all, it is not our fault if our parents were irresponsible or unkind, and we are not to blame for our partner's bad behavior.

Perhaps the problem lies with the activity of blaming. Whether we blame others or blame ourselves, there is something aggressive and unkind about it...read more>>>...

The Difference Between Magical North and Magical South

There is a distinct difference in spiritual energy vibration between the southern hemisphere and the northern hemisphere. The energy here in the UK feels more ancient, more potent in someway ... but is much harder to access and raise. I say this, because in Australia, the energies are closer to hand, appear to be easier to summon, but are not as obviously potent.

Polarities are different. When you raise energy in the UK it is moved in a clockwise direction. In Australia, a clockwise motion is not a positive movement. This is the confusing aspect. Energy directions are opposites between the two hemispheres. Raising energy in Australia, and in New Zealand, is done in a counter-clockwise direction.

They say that the forces in the southern hemisphere are more ancient, and been along longer. I dispute this. I would comment the energy in the southern hemisphere is much easier to be corrupted by. It is not necessarily evil, or dark, it just has a tendency to deceive and portray itself as something it is not. I find you know where you are with northern hemisphere energy. After 15 years of energy working in New Zealand and Australia, I do prefer the ancestral connections in the northern hemisphere. It is harder to work energetically in the UK, in truth. Australia has some sensational energy pockets, I will say. The UK energy is raw and heavy in comparison. But the Australian vibration is far more punishing ...

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Mt Ainslie Sunset, Canberra

UFO entering Portal?

HOAX or REAL ... you decide

Thoughts to get you Thinking #95

"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. You can see that when you think how the friends that really listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius as though it did us good, like ultraviolet rays."-- Brenda Ueland

How well do we communicate with others? Often, when we are interacting with others, our attention in both speaking and listening is focused on meeting our own needs.

Our communication skills improve when we can open to be aware of the needs of the other person. When we listen, we can release the filters that serve our own needs for security and receive the message with our compassionate heart. And when we speak, we can choose words that the listener is able to receive. True communication happens when we harmonize with the other individual.

"So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it."-- Jiddu Krishnamurti

"The first duty of love is to listen."-- Paul Tillich

Questioning Everything

Daily OM: A lot of people feel threatened if they feel they are being asked to question their cherished beliefs or their perception of reality. Yet questioning is what keeps our minds supple and strong. Simply settling on one way of seeing things and refusing to be open to other possibilities makes the mind rigid and generally creates a restrictive and uncomfortable atmosphere. We all know someone who refuses to budge on one or more issues, and we may have our own sacred cows that could use a little prodding. Being open-minded means that we are willing to question everything, including those things we take for granted.

A willingness to question everything, even things we are sure we are right about, can shake us out of complacency and reinvigorate our minds, opening us up to understanding people and perspectives that were alien to us before...read more>>>...

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The Henge, Bywong, NSW, Australia

More on 'THE SHAKING OF THE TREE'

It's been described in A Light In The Darkness, as 'The Shaking of the Tree'. Indeed it is ... and still will be. It is a cleansing process that has been understood as a necessary process to rid the physical plane of the false claims and the false practices, that are not spirituality or proper communication with the other worlds.

It is the ways and means to protect those who are the true purveyors of these ancient arts, by forcing them onto pathways that lead them away from the harmful rays of ridicule at this time. It places them safe in the light. It enables those who are of the 'plastic' variety ... the charlatans, the inexperienced and the misinformed ... to shine fully with their Emperor's Clothes so they can be seen for what they truly are ... they are NOT what they claim to be. or even what they think they are.

Alone in their ego forged glory they will most surely see themselves in the mirror when they venture out of Yesod and see the truth ... they have been deceiving others and more importantly, themselves.

The true purveyors may, or may not, venture back into the public eye ... they may practice their arts in the shadows ... working for the good of the one, not for the self glory that the plastic variety carry around them ... their emperor's clothes shine a light that attracts the make believe theories that the new age caravan so readily creates for the gullible ...

The truth is so far away from the shaking tree that so many find themselves on at this time .... the truth is protected from the plastic ones ... it is something they can only find within themselves ... it is not taught or offered in the myriad of courses and workshops that are out there at this time.

Trusting Spiritual Assistance

Daily OM: We may have become accustomed to asking for help from the unseen world but sometimes we may forget to close our connection afterwards with a thank you. When we connect to these energies for assistance, it is much like a phone connection. Forgetting to close the conversation with a proper "goodbye" is like not hanging up. While that line is still connected, others can have trouble getting through, while in the meantime, batteries are being drained. Saying "thank you" is a way of releasing our concerns into trusted hands and getting out of the way so that the universe's divine order can work on our behalf.

As spiritual beings, we may talk about "staying connected," but our connection needs to be with our source...read more>>>...

"Magic is magic, because magic is truly inconceivable by conscious minds. It is a force completely understood by the unconscious mind" - Matty James

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LONG MEG stone, Cumbria, UK

A favourite haunt of mine for so many years prior to living 15 years in the Southern Hemisphere. It took from July 2002 to March 2016 to get back to Long Meg & Her Daughters stone circle near Penrith in Cumbria. An absence of nearly 14 years. I recently returned in May 2017, and plan more trips to this 'last druid working circle' ... it is indeed a very powerful place.

On The Trail of The Pied Piper, Again ....

Looking again into the 3-5-7 mystery and the disappearance of The Shining Star using Cosmic Tarot, This is the first Daily Merlin undertaken in the UK. Gazing at the imagery, inspiration feels the lingering effects of what was called 'the cloud making machine'. Insights here suggest a continued political and power struggle being undertaken behind the scenes. Nothing key speaks out here except that the 'flaming sword' from Servants Of The Light DM's is in the imagery ... as is the hints of 'the pied piper' which was the muddle created by contradictory media stories back in 2007. The trail has led the reason behind the mystery into obscurity where we glean it is meant to be. Deliberately those in the know lead searches away from where they know The Shining Star resides in safety. A grown up girl very much a medical commodity. That is the concern. Her uniqueness will be exploited. But not in the way that the media portrayed. We sadly see an endless stream of 'samples' and 'data collection' relating to her DNA or lineage. To the common person it will be beyond them why she has been taken in this way. But the ways of 'The Illuminati' and their obsession with bloodlines fits in with this situation. Someone with the rank of 'High Priestess' has the Shining Star in her daily sight ... and daily instruction, sadly. Powerful people know where she is, and know how to keep her location secret. Powerful people that the common every day person will not even perceive exist. Her location is isolated.

Working through Transitions

Daily OM: The elation we feel when we have learned an important lesson, achieved a goal, or had a big breakthrough can sometimes be met with a period of downtime afterward. During this period of transition, we may feel unsure and not know where to turn next. Many people, during the pause between achievements, begin to wonder what their life is about. These feelings are common and strike everyone from time to time. Human beings are active creatures--we feel best when we are working on a project or vigorously pursuing a goal. But there is nothing inherently wrong with spending a day, a week, or even a month simply existing and not having a plan. Just be. It won't be long before you embark upon your next voyage of growth and discovery.

The quiet lull into we which we fall between ideas, projects, and goals can make life seem empty. After accomplishing one objective, you may want to move immediately on to the next...read more>>>...

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Unrelenting determination and belief in an eventual outcome is the order of the day for any budding true magician. Anything is possible in this manifest world ... it is down to belief and accurate visualisation. The outcome is assured when it is first visualised, it is achieved by permitting the forces of the universe weave a tapestry on which your outcome has been created in the creative realms behind this reality.

"Following all the rules leaves a completed checklist. Following your heart achieves a completed you'.

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New Holland Honeyeater, Wollongong, Australia

10 Healthy alternatives to toxic processed table salt you can start using today

Natural News: It is no secret that while commercial table salts help flavor dishes, they are extremely detrimental to the body’s overall health. Commercial table salts are 99 percent sodium chloride, are bleached during the production process and may contain harmful substances such as stabilizers that make them practically toxic in nature. Commercial table salts are also found to promote acid formation, which in turn may pose a significant threat to the body’s overall well being....read more>>>>>.....

Being Truly Thankful

Daily Om: Often when we practice being thankful, we go through the process of counting our blessings, acknowledging the wonderful people, things and places that make up our reality. While it is fine to be grateful for the good fortune we have accumulated, true thankfulness stems from a powerful comprehension of the gift of simply being alive, and when we feel it, we feel it regardless of our circumstances. In this deep state of gratitude, we recognize the purity of the experience of being, in and of itself, and our thankfulness is part and parcel of our awareness that we are one with this great mystery that is life.

It is difficult for most of us to access this level of consciousness as we are very caught up in the ups and downs of our individual experiences in the world. The thing to remember about the world, though, is that it ebbs and flows, expands and contracts, gives and takes, and is by its very nature somewhat unreliable...read more>>>...

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Carrion Crow, UK

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Lake Tuggeranong Sunset

'Esoteric things progress not according to time, but by activity, they can be slow or quick, depending on the efforts made'

Walking through Your Fear

Daily OM: The situations, activities, and individuals that frighten us remain static. Their relative intensity does not change. Fear, on the other hand, self-magnifies. It is when you are afraid and envisioning all that might go wrong that the energy underlying your fear grows. A tiny flicker of anxiety can easily develop into a terror that manifests itself physically and eventually paralyzes you into inaction. Though frequently, in walking through that fear, we discover that the strength of our fright was out of synch with reality. And we learn that doing what frightens us can lead to great blessings. Confronting your trepidation head-on will help you accept that few frightening scenarios will ever live up to the negative disasters that we sometimes play out in our minds.

Though fear is literally an evolutionary gift meant to sharpen your senses and energize you during times of great stress, it can nonetheless become a barrier that prevents you from fulfilling your potential by causing you to miss out on rewarding, life-changing experiences...read more>>>....

Crop Circle 2017

Battlesbury Hill, Nr Warminster, Wiltshire. 

Reported 5th July 2017

Crop Circle Connector

Sleep paralysis and waking up in the middle of the night being unable to move

S.O.T.T: For those who have experienced this eerie phenomenon, no explanation or description is required. They will tell you it is one of the most disturbing experiences they have ever had the displeasure of enduring and feels like you are being attacked and held down by some type of a dark sinister presence. If you haven't though, imagine the following scenario;

It's the middle of a peaceful night, and you are sleeping contently. All of a sudden, you awaken abruptly and cannot move, as if being held down but no one is there. You have awareness of what's going on, but your whole body, from your toes to neck, cannot move.

Breathing normally is difficult because panic strikes. It also feels like there is something pressing on your chest and, in rare cases, people report seeing demonic looking figures.

This might sound like an elaborate hoax or something from a horror film, but it's actually a very real problem that much of the world's population struggle with. In fact, as you read this, someone somewhere is dealing with this scary scenario.

Different Kinds of Sleep Paralysis.

There are 3 types of hallucinations that can occur during sleep paralysis: "incubus", "intruder", and "unusual bodily experiences".

Incubus

Here, people feel intense pressure on their chests and they feel they can not breathe, or they have great difficulty doing so. This, however, is in the mind and it seems like we can't breathe because we are afraid.

Intruder

The experience of the intruder is when we have what researchers believe to be "hallucinations". The researchers describe it as a "hypervigilant state of the midbrain," which makes people overtly sensitive to what's going on around them.

Unusual bodily experiences

These individuals feel as if they are having an out-of-body experience and feel as if they are levitating or flying around. This type of sleep paralysis is very different and is still one that scientists struggle to explain.  ...read more>>>...

OPINION: Having experienced 'night terrors' for 12 years, ones which match the incubus description, I strongly beg to differ ... as none of this explains being strangled, thrown across the room, or having your feet grabbed night after night!!!

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Light of Truth Oracle artwork copyright Matthew James 2017

It's that monumental moment in life, where huge risks have been taken, and The Fool hangs over the edge of the cliff face knowing he will now found out how far he is to fall. The choices have been made and the outcomes are now in the process of being manifested.

"Without risk there is no gain, no battle is ever won without those horrendously scary moments."

Everything has been put in motion and very soon the fool finds out if he is to sink, or if he will swim