November 2006

Spiritual Climate Newsletter NOVEMBER 2006 INTRODUCTION

The Institute of Spiritual Climate

Is proud to present

Its newsletter

of Social & Spiritual Commentaries:

SPIRITUAL CLIMATE®

Sunday, November 19, 2006

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous

than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

…Martin Luther King Jr.

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Welcome Friends, Students, and Readers of Spiritual Climate!

Where has all the time gone? What a whirlwind of a month! People in this area of the country are already putting up Christmas decorations, yes the cactus, homes and shopping stores are being dressed in lights in preparation for the holiday season that is upon us. It is sometimes hard to believe that it is November, did Kronos (father time) put some Teflon on the current movement of time over the past eleven months? Must be what Dr. Strickler means by his humorous chant, “History is the asshole of time, investigating our own crap can pay off immensely.”

Fasten your seat belts, get ready for Dr. Strickler’s article in this edition, with the revelatory and provocative message exposing the men behind the curtain in his article: “A TRUE AND INVISIBLE ORDER – THE TRUE ILLUMINATI ?”.

Wendy Ford takes the bully-pulpit by drawing your attention to what is going on in the current health care legislation fiasco in: “LEGISLATED GENOCIDE”

Christine Ford shares her experience teaching in the world of AUTISM and the gifts she has acquired from the mentors in her life journey with her article entitled: “LORNA JEAN KING: a TRIBUTE – THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD”.

Adam Crosthwaite shares the adrenaline of his true moments of parenthood that sometimes face other parents in this twisting world: “A TEACHER’S BLESSING”

And last but not least a warm welcome back to Goldfern, who makes his annual return to the newsletter with his article “AMUSED OR BEMUSED”, sharing his thoughts and experiences collected on his journey along the path of return.

May this Edition of the Spiritual Climate Newsletter inspire you to attain that true human potential that resides within us all and bring you to the acknowledgment and understanding of Truth as it orchestrates within the Dance of Life that pushes you toward ever greater personal freedom.

Welcome to the NOVEMBER 2006 EDITION

of the SPIRITUAL CLIMATE NEWSLETTER.

Hmmmm, I smell pumpkin pie!

Regards

Christine Ford

Editor, Spiritual Climate Newsletter

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you know you want to do it:

Spiritual Climate Newsletter NOVEMBER 2006 Part 1: A TRUE AND INVISIBLE ORDER / THE TRUE ILLUMINATI ?

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A TRUE AND INVISIBLE ORDER –

THE TRUE ILLUMINATI ?

By Rev. David Strickler, Ph.D.

It is sad and unfortunate, in a way, to experience the movement of a family member’s passage from this life into their next stage of life which we bereave as death here in this world. I will take a moment to send gratitude this Thanksgiving out to those people and families who are involved in defending our nation, currently and in our past. I would also like to extend my most sincere condolences of empathy for those people near to me who have lost loved ones, in particular: Jewel, for the loss of her husband; Julie, for the loss of her mother; Dawn, for loss; Kay Marie and her family for the loss of her mother Lorna Jean King, who founded the Children’s Center for Neurodevelopment Studies in Phoenix , Arizona, pioneering breakthroughs in Autism with her discovery of sensory integration techniques. Since the death of my mother when I was 18, I have a relation point for what you may be experiencing; my door is open if there might be anything I can do for any of you. I hold a bereavement ceremony for the families of all those who have gone forward beyond the physical aspect of life, once a month every month so you are in my prayers and services.

Fortunately there are periods of time that human beings have collectively made space for gatherings, contrast and just plain relaxation from the demanding routines of Life as complexity has further promulgated its presence in society. With reluctance I must admit that this secular holiday season has seized me with adroit swiftness and surprise: Thanksgiving is just around the corner, it would be fitting and proper that Americans be off the ENTIRE week of Thanksgiving as well as the Christmas week. Greenspan and Bernake can take the productivity mantra and stuff it where the sun doesn’t usually shine, unless it is in the favor of those who are making usurious leaps on the interest rates charged for commercial goods and services.

Think about it, feel it or do both; contemplate the space and time that activities occupy the vast expanse of your senses. When do you take a time out? Who the hell ever told you that you were not allowed to take time out for some quality silence with yourself? Multinational Corporations operating in America, (note I stated operating here, not American corporations) really need a referendum placed upon their excessive demands. Why you say? Because they are in service to America and in America where it is a Privilege and not a Right to do business and use the resources of the greatest Nation on Earth, let alone the resources of its Capital and bank of human experience and knowledge.

Someone ought to tell them to get the hell out of here; we just don’t need to close the border’s, we have not only an illegal-alien / immigration problem that has gone unchecked for years, we have a Corporate migration problem that is slowly but surely expropriating, abusing and siphoning off of productive powers of the American people, this Nation, through suave and obvious to some, manipulation of elected political leaders through earmarks, and just pure Corporate Hostile TAKEOVER legislation be fought over in both houses. Much of the legislative product coming out of our current political tar-pit was predicted, what is missed in the media is the obvious nature of these fiscal and monetary policies: Genocidal in short and long term effect. Bloodless Genocide, how quaint, no wonder we can’t do anything in DARFUR when we are philosophically impaired in a similar event in History right here in our own Nation going on silently, disguised by the parameters of profit and policies, not being overtly as explicit as the murder of Socrates by the Sophists. No blood, just poison: IDIOT LEGISLATION designed to slowly cut off the life supply of those who need it. By the way, for those poor political cultists who are standing around Ronald Reagan’s Tomb chanting, “Lazarus, come forth!” should seek psychiatric rehabilitation and contribute something worthwhile into the world that you desperately seek to steal from others.

It appears as though some Americans have awoken from the slumber produced by some of the noxious emission of the current day sophists that are found in every job and in every place, albeit many are still groggy from their intake of the foul odiferous conversations trying to disguise themselves as actual Dialogue and debate within accurate historical context. The American people better do something more than just the election, because the infantile Neo-Conservative movement fathered in this country by infamous and irrational Leo Strauss, need to be pushed back into their mental diapers where they belong, pounding on their high chair demanding to be fed and in most cases ignored because they are severely limited by the dominance of their reptilian portion found in the human brain, bound into bondage and servitude paying homage to their fears and hungers.

The classic example of complexity I give here is that of the emergence of Neo-Colonialism under the crafty, stylish, guise of Globalism; belched up at every opportunity like a cantor in a church, this chorus/mantra is currently being burped up as accepted banality, like after thoughts resembling nothing more than the excrement of pseudo answers continually erupting from the vociferous mouthpieces of seriously lacking cogent political leadership, evident in the world and in particular this Nation, the United States of America, which by the way George Allen, is not a representative democracy, we are a representative republic. Thankfully, there appears to be a core of conscience left in America, at least from what I can tell about the November Ballots. Clearly, a mandate was given to our representatives, both the democrats and republicans, if you are not going do the work of the people you will probably have over 200 million descending into Washington D.C. to physically remove all of you out of offices of the Whitehouse, Senate, Congress, Judicial and Pentagon. Frankly, that wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

Who and or what affected the outcome of the current election on November the 7^th in the U.S.A.? My answer would be: The True Illuminati, not those purported to be the Illuminati by the mainstream deification and mythology process; not those who carry on with high trade, money and business commerce and of course mega bucks incorporated purchasing power, no not those individuals at all. Those whom I am speaking of are Those that can’t be found, looked for they cannot be seen, the true and invisible order, hidden without the trappings of extreme wealth and money used for power, I am talking about true power: the ability to move a principle of truth through the mass of humanity to get them to wake up and start taking care of some things before they are invited into permanent somatic servitude in order to disassemble what this great Nation stands for, which is not by the way, acting as if we are fighting terrorism on the terms of the terrorists by using campaigns of fear to promote hasty changes in the very foundation that constructed this great society we live in, a land flowing with at times, milk and honey. The Promised Land that ennobles the nurturing of every individual to afford the entire nation its strength to pursue Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, yes, it says happiness, NOT property.

To further answer the question in the prior paragraph, simply put, about the True Illuminati; I am not referring to those whose understanding of that term that have anything to do with Freemasonry, Aliens, Bilderbergers, UFO’s, or even secret societies or blatantly misrepresented and abused by some referred to as the ‘Secret 9’ which, to the knowledge I hold, have been misrepresented by certain publications implying some form of ‘StarGate’ conspiracy resulting from garbled communications distorted within the underdeveloped human egos picking up some of the communication from the ‘Secret 9’. I am presenting a description of the term from what I know given to me from my Oral Tradition, for this modern age and bringing it back up to the surface where it has been held captive in the passionate prison of the human imagination and anecdotal references in some of the minor works within history where the word appears in the past 50 years. Regardless, I am not referring to what is commonly thought of or spoken of as the Illuminati in mainstream or semi mainstream (semi-esoteric) media or circles of communication/entertainment.

Quite simply, the True Illuminati are human beings who occupy this dimension both in a physical body-container and non-physical body-container (such as the great Rabbi YHSVH {Jesus}, who is still alive) and they do not need microwaves or satellites to communicate with each other or with humanity. They do not need airplanes to travel to meet each other, they do not require money, businesses or governments for power, for they have use of the only power there was, is and shall be. They do not ‘channel’ dolphins, horses or pet-rocks and have no religion to speak of nor are held captive by some political system or political party and these advanced members of humanity have been here longer than the Christians or their adolescent siblings called Islam, longer than any of the pantheistic religions that reigned in cultures prior to Christianity, residing here within the earth plane ever since the Ha-Qabalah was referred to at the inception of creation in the modern day Christian synthesis of the bible which initiated approximately 2 BCE (before the common era). They were here prior to pre-dynastic Egypt much to the soon to be found chagrin of modern scholars.

These advanced members of humanity work quietly behind the scenes hidden in plain view in everyday life, some of them are street sweepers, some of them are doctors, some of them are in the high mountains surrounded by the chanting of whatever religious order is culturally present, because God is both Mono/Polytheistic and is MULTILINGUAL. They are not out signing books or being interviewed by any of the facileness of modern news commentators, they will never be found or reveal themselves. You have heard some of them speak, as thoughts emerging out of your conscience urging you to go beyond the fears created within the first two layers of your mammalian brain or you have heard them speak as inspiration that engages the best within mankind. Therefore, they will never be found nor have they anything to admit to if they are asked for they JUST KNOW, nor will they be found in the synthetic fabrications of what some refer to as groups such as Skull and Bones crap or any of the mainstream mythology that has been created, as an ephemeral projection by imitation of the presence of the True Illuminati in this world and its history over the past epochs and millennia of influencing humanity toward greater perfection and greater freedom to find the truth, some of which was hermetically sealed into the Kabbalah (yes K in this instance not Q) generated from the Jewish tradition during their captivity in Babylon.

These True Illuminati carry the banner of the LOGOS and its sound emanates from the PEH within them to aid the world toward greater freedom through increasing education though acquiring knowledge, raising intelligence and opening the Heart to Right Action by recognizing the Truth that speaks through the doorway of the true human heart: those actions which give form and definition to that true human (spiritual) potential that resides within us all. The communication of the Illuminati is received within the Unitary Principle of our human consciousness and can be worked upon within (as inspiration for example) through and in the discovery of principles that shape and operate the physical world found by proper use of reason: pure principles provoking inspiration that leads to the practical discovery, application and usefulness both in the production of things and in the production of awakening the minds and hearts into knowing the beauty that truly resides outside the darkened outcast areas within the human psyche that is used at times for rationalizing the destructive behavior of the animal part that shares coexistence with human consciousness.

The True Illuminati don’t need televisions, silicon technology or mechanical apparatuses for that matter, so who are you trying to fool? They are hard to find and recognize because they have neither fame nor notoriety. You think that they need money and political prestige for power? Maybe apes in suits do (not intended to offend the ape kingdom) but human consciousness does not need those tinker toys. Nor do they need space ships to appear as though they have descended from the heights of some future form of humanity that is returning to the past in order to prevent future catastrophes created by the licentious and morally depraved brethren within the current lot of ADAM (Hebrew: translation: bag of blood, generic humanity<plural>) called human beings. Here is where I would share consensus with Dr. Gerry Lower’s statement that “The "second coming" is when you religious people stop talking about Christ and start thinking like Him, instead of thinking like the despotic Roman Emperor, Constantine.” The fact of the matter is that the Second Coming is in process since the crucifixion and resurrection, nothing to wait for at all!

The True Illuminati do not need religion, therefore do not distort religion or use religion as a scapegoat in order to rationalize abhorrent, murderous behavior to force people into some pre renaissance witch’s brew designed to put nations into some form of cookie cutter type Nationalism, where I have stated before and I will state again: Religion used to vindicate insanity is no longer religion. They recognize the need for religion to be used as the initial starting point toward the discovery of the truth of WHAT IS, as the scaffolding that enables a person to draw the latent potential of the pure Soul and Spirit into fruitful emergence into this dismal plane of borrowed light, the discovery which takes us into the true image and likeness of that which created us, however one defines that. These Illuminati also recognize that it must be discovered, because God never intended to step in and whisper in someone’s ear because of the FREEDOM given in the use of God’s WILL—-that right there is where humanity get’s into trouble, the free use of that WILL in whatever capacity that we have to use it and engaged it.

Why is that a problem? Because that Unfathomable WILL emanates from the heart of the ‘universe’ wherein the immanence Truth resides and sits quietly hidden all the while profusely pumping and radiating LOVE, whose primary message and function is to reveal that that WILL is nothing more than the WILL to GOOD, and when mishandled or misused, we suffer the consequences for how we use the power that was given to use to use when created in the image and likeness of the creator.

Too may people often mistake the scaffolding for the finished revelation, in other words, too many people mistake religion as a final result, religion is only the scaffolding upon which we are able to convert our ignorant portion of selfhood into a reasoned faith and most importantly a life filled with light, abundance and stamina to get through the lowest level of creation that isn’t finished yet, the physical. Proselytization is an Interior event sponsored by the initially frightening communication that occurs from within the level of our Soul to the flickering consciousness that we here represent: we can only proselytize the container, the bag of blood that we currently are swimming in part-time! I say fear because of the reptilian part of the brain that senses keenly through its millions of years of background as instinct becomes alarmed first at the contact that part of use that is SOUL and in some cases especially in this society, its shadow is only first recognized within the cave of the reptilian portion of our mind and is interpreted as something harmful—ergo the existence of the devil.

Humanity is at a threshold where it will determine how to use the philosophies, sciences, commerce and religions that enable Self-Discovery and the principles, agencies and conditions inherent within ‘the crown of creation’ known as humanity in Qabalah, for their use in the physical plane to be a part of the Genesis process, which at the macro level of on going Creation involves three basic activities of ONE Energy: integrative, disintegrative and equilibrative. It is my view that humanity is waking up to the possible and probable evolution of itself and this will pose a challenge because humanity at its current stages of devolution is a very mixed lot ranging from older souls to the warring adolescent souls in some of the religions, political and secular functions of its inhabitants and a boat load of baby souls who still haven’t attained the discernment to function outside of their fundamental derivation of how their senses create and sensate the world around them (the sun revolves around the earth types).

So the Challenges are great and that will require leadership to come forth in humanity to stand both individually and collectively. Will the True Illuminati come forth and lead? Not likely, that would be far too Egoic, besides, the last time a great one was sent humanity thought they murdered him off by crucifying him. Likely they will strongly inspire and open up more light to pour down into the world for all of humanity to stand together and tell its childish leaders to get off the stage and get a life, while kicking corporation off the face of the earth that expropriate Nations and contribute to the genocidal determinations of their extreme gluttony for large bottom profit lines at the expense of the elderly, sick and psychologically/physically maimed people in this world. Likely they will continue behind the scenes, preferring to remain a mystery and yet be the fertile ground that legends such as the immortals, the master’s of wisdom, or whatever any other name in any culture refers to them as be they Buddha’s, Founding Fathers, or Ancient Ones.

Let us give thanks for their intervention into this plane over the centuries and for their genuine benevolence of non interference and policy of non-domination instead of slavery. Let us give thanks for those members of humanity that have heard the call from these agents of GOD and tried with their best abilities, to shatter the shackles of ignorance that bind current members of all humanity in this world in the further participation of Sophistry; that my friends is the only evil in this world. This evil is man made, it can be defeated, not through war, but through a process of enlightenment that sets the world to shine with the reality of the gift of our Beingness by bringing to the surface in this world what we genuinely are. There are no races, there is only ONE humanity.

We do not need to pray, we need to get off our asses and do something about this world to leave it a little better place than when we first came here. That is why it appears as though God is not answering prayers, for behold, we are ‘created in the image and likeness of THAT WHICH WAS, IS AND SHALL EVER BE’ – we were already given everything within that we need, to pull from. Prayer does little for any situation where God has ALREADY placed within you the capability and skills to master any situation, unless of course you are praying to God to shake you AWAKE.

We have much to be thankful for, and for Christs sake, we better get off our ass and slap silly those members of humanity who wish to steal it from us and our children’s children no matter WHO or WHAT organizations they are: corrupt trade and commerce, corrupt business leaders, corrupt politicians, corrupted people from any walk of life that worship at the altar of SOPHISTRY.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed with Genuine HUman ness,

Rev. David Strickler

Qabalist Minister

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you know you want to do it:

Spiritual Climate Newsletter NOVEMBER 2006 Part 2: A TEACHER’S BLESSING by Adam Crosthwaite

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A TEACHER’S BLESSING:

A lesson about the greatest teacher

there ever was, is, or will be, LOVE. . .

By Adam Crosthwaite

It was rainy Saturday morning in the desert, a rare treat to say the least. I was on my way to a friend’s house to help them move into a new apartment. I was in a good mood that morning, another rare treat considering my distaste for “waking up” in this dismal plane of existence. I wolfed down my breakfast and headed for the front door. Two steps from the door my cell phone rang. The number I did not recognize but the voice was familiar. It was my former land lord calling with a message from Angel, my ex-wife and mother of our one and a half year old daughter Emily. Emily was on her way to the emergency room. Angel was with her.

I can’t recall what happened first but I was suddenly in my car on the freeway heading to the hospital downtown. I don’t remember how I got the name of the hospital they were on route to but I knew where I was going. As I was on the freeway I started to run through all the prayers in what ever language I could think of. Every kind of prayer and meditation from worlds too old to be remembered in written history that I had memorized were pouring out of me almost as fiercely as the tears that blinded me. I can remember most of the drive I was talking to her in my mind and heart. “Its okay Emily, Daddy is on the way”. I told her to hang on I would be there to help, just wait one minute longer, every thing will be okay. In retrospect I realize I was not talking to myself trying to calm down, I was actually talking to her just like I always have even though I was not there physically for her to see with her eyes.

Somewhere between forever and yesterday I finally arrived at the hospital. As I walked down the corridor toward the ER entrance I could feel the pull of urgency from behind the walls as I navigated the maze through the hospital. When I got to the ER they wasted no time. Before I could blink I was standing at a curtain with a sea of doctors and nurses standing between Emily and me. My daughter was lying there with a tube in her keeping her little lungs breathing. Angel was standing there crying, shaking, waiting for Emily to sit up and smile. At that point I couldn’t relate to my emotions at all, I felt emotionless, not cold and disconnected. I did not go numb or lose the capacity to feel, I simply was not reacting to the pull from my emotional centers any longer. I was still feeling the emotion within my mind as it responded to my daughter and what she was going through. In other words, I was operating in that famous male operating mode known as emergency management veneer.

Between the tears and sobs Angel began to tell me what had happened. Emily and Angel had just finished breakfast and were sitting on the couch enjoying Saturday morning cartoons as was the customary routine for the weekend. Suddenly Emily’s head dropped to one side and she couldn’t sit up. Angel did not know what was happening or what was going to happen next. Angel tried to call 911 on her cell phone but could not get a signal, the land line was down. Angel ran carrying Emily in her arms to the front office of her complex to use the landlord’s phone. The landlord tried to help Angel but by the time the paramedics were able to get Emily to the ER she had had twelve seizures.

Emily was cleared for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and was taken upstairs to the fourth floor for observation and treatments. On the way to the PICU we passed families from every walk of life. Some of them were standing in hallways crying, others were celebrating a child being discharged to go home. Everyone we passed stopped and silently watched as we disappeared down the corridor with our daughter strapped to a bed with a breathing machine keeping her lungs full of air. She was moved to a crib with her arms restrained to keep her from pulling the breathing tube out of her throat or the IVs out of her arm. The curtain over her door was drawn closed and the staff for the weekend was introduced to us. Then it was time to make the phone calls.

We stayed in the room for so long standing over her crib talking to her, holding her delicate little hand waiting for her to open her eyes and smile yet it seemed like only minutes. About six hours had passed and we forced down a dinner from the kitchen. Nether one of us was hungry but we were not in the mood for another lecture from the nurse about parents not taking care of themselves.

There was only a padded bench in the room to sleep on. Angel and I decided to take watches in shifts; we did not know how long this was going to take. It took the first few days for Angel to agree to go home for one night. It was amazing how well we worked together. The nurses of the PICU didn’t even know we were separated until we told them on the fourth day. They told us they were impressed at how well we worked together for our daughter. We just smiled it, was not about us. It was about her, or so we thought.

After a few days had passed Angel and I started talking about the grim possibility that exists for every parent in a situation where their child is in an extreme medical condition: resuscitation. As we discussed the possibility of Emily not waking up or not being able to breath on her own, I got a call from Christine. She wanted to know how Emily was doing and if she was able to have visitors. I gave her the information and told her there was no limitation on visits as long as Emily was allowed to rest. Since Emily was still sedated it seemed a mute point. A few hours later, I saw something I did not expect.

Suddenly I my attention was drawn to the hallway and ordinarily when that happens there is a shift occurring within the energies of the environment I find myself in based on my past Martial Arts Training and current training with Dr. Strickler. David was coming! It felt like forever but in reality it was only a few minutes until his arrival. Suddenly, David, Christine and Wendy were all in the room.

The four of us stood around Emily. Everyone took turns holding her little hand and whispering to her, telling her what was in their hearts. David talked to her for a moment and then talked to Angel and me. I walked with David and the ladies to the exit. We talked on the way, about what I can’t remember now. As David left the hospital he stopped to rest against a pillar. That pillar was at the same entrance to the hospital that the ambulance had brought him to when he was taken to The Barrows Neurological Stroke Unit in August of 2004.

As I looked at him I realized how difficult it was for him to return to the place where he almost left this life. At that moment I understood that there was more going on here than Emily being sick. David showed his students that you go where you are needed no matter what. This brought new meaning to me for the statement he had used with us all, “Humility is the acknowledgement of the Truth, no matter how painful it may be.”

By the end of the first week we had grown accustomed to the daily routine of the PICU. Six days after she arrived at St. Joseph’s Hospital the doctors agreed that she was ready to be extubated. Less than one hour after they removed the breathing tube Emily’s throat started to swell. She would be intubated for three more days. By the second Monday she was breathing without the use of the machine. I sat with her for the first hour after the tube came out feeding her ice chips as she was allowed out of her crib for the first time in over one week to sit with me. I sat there with her in my arms for an hour as she slept. Although I held her for an hour, it felt like less than five minutes. The agreement Angel and I had made days before about my being the one to make the difficult choice for Emily if that point was reached faded. She was going to be okay.

The next day Emily was transferred to the Pediatric Unit on the third floor of the hospital. She was doing better and spent most of the day sleeping quietly until the Respiratory Therapist visited her every three hours to do a treatment. During the next two weeks Emily would go through many ups and downs as she slowly recovered and her body rebalanced itself from the seizures. It was during this two week period that Angel and I found out just how much we don’t get along, yet we still stuck by each other and helped one another get through this time.

I often reflect on the events of two months ago. The daughter I watched grow and learn is still here. She climbs everything she can get hold of and never falls. She has regained most of her abilities she had prior to the seizures. I still get calls in the middle of night from Angel telling me about ongoing seizures, how long they last, how many she has in a day. I still wonder which one might be the last. At times I still fear that the last one will be her final moments with us.

In the three weeks at the hospital Angel and I both underwent many changes. I can not speak for her but I learned a great deal about myself as well as the nature of human beings in relationships. It has been a journey of discovery over the past two months following the initial hospital stay. There is one thing that Angel told me that continues to play over and over in my head. Angel’s greatest fear other than losing her daughter was the possibility that it was her fault. She continues to question her abilities as a parent. Every therapist Emily has seen comments on how well she is doing. I have heard many times how well she has recovered and is learning above her range. Emily is a special person. Of course I am biased but she has affected more in her short time here on Earth than she could ever know on a self-conscious level, but Angel has also had a hand in her recovery as well. As I only have Emily for a day or two every week it is the hard work and dedication of her mom that helps her to recover and continue to grow. Without all the dedicated staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona Emily could not have made it as far as she has come.

Emily has become my teacher, in a sense, just as much as I have become one of David’s students. It has been interesting to see the Inner Teacher make Its presence known as It walks with us all in every aspect of life. I watched the man I know to be a Master in the Qabalistic Art walk back into the last place on earth he would have chosen to go to be with his student in a time of great need. I watched an incredible team of Health Care Professionals work together to save a life. I watched a woman torn apart by grief care for and nurture her child to give her the best possible chance for recovery, and THEN I watched my child, Emily, barely old enough to walk and say her first words, fight for her life and win. She fought through pain, she faced a fear and darkness which I can only relate to as a frightened parent standing on the outside waiting and hoping to see his daughter walk again. She fought the fight of a champion just as David had a year and a half before in the same hospital. And when she came up she didn’t get up swinging, she came up smiling just like he did.

I can not describe to you at this time in words what we went through that month. This was written as both a thank you and acknowledgement of those who made the journey in and out of darkness for my family bearable. I have learned too much to put into one article but I promise to share that which I have learned from my life with my daughter in the coming year. Nothing can ever prepare someone to survive the nightmare of all nightmares for parents. I have been told that I handled that three weeks better than people thought I would. Perhaps it is best that I was not aware of the fears of those around me as they watched me travel through the darkness. As hard as a teacher may seem at times, each lesson is a blessing in itself as it is a lesson of love.

There is a quote from one of my favorite movies that I can say I truly understand now:

“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path…”

– Morpheous

The Matrix

Lessons come in many different forms. Some of the hardest moments in our lives are nothing more than lessons about our lives. Remember to live the lessons and never doubt that this will come to pass.

May the Inner Teacher in your life be as loving to you and bless you as I have found the blessings in my lesson in love.

LVX

Adam Crosthwaite

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you know you want to do it:

Spiritual Climate Newsletter NOVEMBER 2006 Part 3: LEGISLATED GENOCIDE ? by Wendy Ford

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Legislated Genocide ?

By Wendy Ford

Having been a student of Dr. Strickler’s for over thirteen years, I am just now coming to a place where I am realizing one of the major things he has been working on with me: it is no longer acceptable to just sit back and observe. My mouth must open and something be said. Action must be taken. Well, here I go.

Dr. Strickler used a phrase one night in class that stunned me and made my blood run cold: Legislated Genocide. My initial reaction was that he was just exaggerating and being a bit melodramatic with his wording, but as he went on to pose questions and make comments the realization struck me as if a physical blow had been made. My God, he is absolutely correct. Dr. Strickler was referencing legislation of programs and processes that normally promote the fabric of public welfare. He really struck a nerve and it has been vibrating deep within me ever since.

Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary defines Genocide as: noun 1. The deliberate killing of a whole nation or people. Thesaurus: slaughter, massacre, extermination, mass killing, ethnocide.

How does an action that we know in our very core as a Human Being to be wrong come to find its way into our legislative system?

It cannot just happen by itself. Initially an individual has to become aware of the thoughts in their head then work with the thoughts internally until they become a concept or idea. The individual then brings that concept or idea into manifestation by taking the action of spoken voice and/or writing words on paper or striking keys on a keyboard. The concept must then be discussed among many other individuals fine tuning and sharing ideas until coming to a conceptual agreement. A policy, written or unwritten, is then formulated. This policy is taken to the next step of being used with consent and knowledge to be applied as an accepted course of action. Power is wielded. To be written into policy and guidelines on the federal level takes time, perseverance and commitment to purpose, application of power. It cannot happen through the action of only one individual. For a policy to come into federal legislation requires action and consent of those who we have elected to act on our behalf.

Having entered the healthcare profession in 1973 a certain perspective has been gained as to the huge gap that exists between legislation and the effects and consequences generated by legislative acts.

Almost everyone knows of the existence of the Medicare health insurance system and the radical changes that have been in the news over the past year. Unfortunately all the hype and frenzied goings on leading up to the recent political elections have eclipsed a most important fact requiring the utmost urgency of action by the American public.

Without definitive congressional action by mid-December, the “exceptions process” for the Medicare Outpatient Therapy Cap will no longer be in effect. Come January 1, 2007 there will be a “no exceptions” $1780 cap on Occupational Therapy and a $1780 cap on Physical and Speech Therapies combined.

Medicare Part B pays 80% of allowable fees (they have their own fee schedules) with most secondary insurances picking up the 20%. However, and here’s the tricky part, since the secondary insurances pick up the 20% of the allowable fee accepted by Medicare if Medicare pays zero there is NO reimbursement by the secondary insurance company. Should some other illness or injury require skilled therapy intervention the individual would pay 100% of the costs out of pocket. Very few could even afford to entertain the idea of such costs.

Bottom line: a patient with a catastrophic illness or a degenerative disease process will only be allowed a maximum of $3560 PER CALENDAR YEAR for outpatient rehabilitative services. Period. No exceptions. Let’s use a very conservative cost for an hour of outpatient therapy to be $150. That would come to about 11 Physical/ Speech Therapy and about 11 Occupational Therapy outpatient visits available to an individual for the entire year. Not “per occurrence” but for the ENTIRE YEAR. What might some consequences be? Here are several hypothetical but very realistic and simplistic scenarios.

Most patients with an acute injury or single joint replacement do very nicely with 6 to 8 outpatient therapy visits. But what happens if an individual has a total knee replacement in January (using 6 PT visits) then needs to have the second knee replaced in March (using the last available 5-6 PT visits)? That individual has NO remaining Medicare monies for outpatient rehabilitative services available until January of the NEXT calendar year. It won’t matter what additional medical problems or injuries befall that individual.

Take for example the 65-year-old office worker who develops carpal tunnel syndrome of the hand requiring surgical intervention followed by outpatient hand therapy from an occupational therapist (using 6 visits). She has a successful recovery and returns to work but 6 months later develops the problem in the other hand. Her surgeon recommends therapy to relieve the symptoms and possibly postpone the need for surgical intervention but the patient is reluctant since surgery seems inevitable and she knows she only has 5 sessions left for the entire year. Instead of therapy, the patient and surgeon opt for surgical intervention. This time there is a complication of a wound infection delaying progress with her therapy but only having 5 visits left and not being able to afford to cover continued costs out of her pocket the office worker returns to work. She goes back to work before her hand is ready with only partial use of her hand and fingers so she is unable to fully perform her duties efficiently and without a great deal of pain. By the time her Medicare benefits kick back in the scar tissue will be permanently formed and it will be too late further rehabilitation. Because of continued pain she will be unable to continue in her office position requiring extensive keyboard use and will go on disability that will subsequently lead to early retirement with loss of full retirement benefits. She still will not be pain free and only have partial use of her hand.

One last example: On New Years Day a 66-year-old gentleman suffers a stroke while playing tennis at his winter home. It leaves him with cognitive impairments more than motor so he is able to move about fairly well using a cane, feed and dress himself. However, his motor planning and problem solving skills are impaired to the point where it is not safe to leave him alone. He only can have 6 Speech Therapy visits because Physical Therapy needed 5 visits to teach him how to use the cane, strengthen his leg and improve his balance so he can be independent with moving about his home. The first two visits of his allotted Speech Therapy monies are spent with exhaustive batteries of tests to identify his problem areas of function. Now there are 4 visits left to teach him coping strategies that need to be refined as healing takes place and the brain is trying to “rewire” and “reroute” around the injured areas. The healing process is very individualized and unpredictable and is measured in months, not days and weeks like a broken leg. These processes take time and patience to learn. It takes the Speech Therapist’s knowledge and expertise to help the patient learn and compensate for deficits. Four visits are not enough to accomplish this. Although the very real potential exists for this man to be guided through the healing process and through exercises and tasks that challenge the healing areas to learn strategies that would enable him to be independent and safe to be alone in his own home he will never be afforded that opportunity. Waiting until he has more visits available in another YEAR will be too late. Never again will his wife be able to leave him alone while she goes shopping or to play cards with her friends. They won’t be able to travel anymore because she won’t be able to let him walk into a Men’s room alone.

Not being a politician I know my brain thinks a little differently than one. But come on, folks. Would SOMEONE please explain how this is of any benefit to anyone, INCLUDING Medicare?

The Cap is already in effect but there is currently an “exceptions process” available for physicians to document the need for continued or additional services for an individual. This covers individuals who require ongoing skilled intervention to either recover from an illness or injury or who have chronic debilitating disease that benefit from ongoing therapy to retain function or slow the progress of deterioration. It also takes into account multiple things may happen to an elderly individual over the course of a year. Many folks over the age of 65 have more than one disease process going on any one of which can flare at any time.

Journals and publications are filled with studies that have shown the efficacy of rehabilitation intervention for a variety or disease processes. For example it has been shown that individuals with Parkinson’s disease are able to better retain functional ambulation and self-care skills for longer periods of time when their medications are combined with intermittent sessions of skilled Physical and Occupational Therapy intervention. Folks with arthritis are better able to mange pain and retain functional ambulation and mobility skills prolonging the time for joint replacement surgery when skilled therapy is used as part of the medical management program.

My professional organization has been very active with Congress and Medicare over the past 5 years regarding the Therapy Cap. Through much diligent lobbying by the American Physical Therapy Association, AARP, and many other healthcare organizations representing Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and arthritis just to name a few, Congress came to recognize the potential for tragic consequences and put a moratorium on the Therapy Cap delaying it even going into effect for several years. However, the moratorium ran out and Congress did not act. The Cap went into effect. Congress was still encouraged to listen and open their eyes that there needed to be some way around this for particular individuals so the “exceptions process” was enacted. The “exceptions process” will expire at midnight 12-31-06.

With so many new faces entering the corridors of Congress and so little time left in this year, it is with utmost urgency that as many of us as possible make sure these new members of Congress are brought up to speed and made to realize the gravity of this situation. Returning members need to be reminded about this critical issue. Here are 2 links that may be of assistance.

www.apta.org/consumer/action

www.apta.org search APTA’s Patient Action Center

Consequences? Potentially hundreds of thousands or millions or our elderly will be unable to access adequate rehabilitation outpatient services. They may run out of funds or perhaps more tragically delay seeking intervention for fear of using their allowable funds and not have any left “if” something happens.

The Therapy Cap was put into effect in an effort to save Medicare money and cut costs. Well, my friends its effect will be quite the opposite. In the first place, rehabilitation is NOT the biggest source of Medicare costs, but anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together can’t help but see that this is not the answer. It does raise many more questions:

What will happen when a stroke patient is not allowed to reach a functional level that would allow him to live independently again? Who will care for him? Where will he live when he can’t stay alone because he was never given the opportunity to become mobile and self-sufficient again? Who will take care of an ill spouse when the other can no longer use their walker because the arthritis has become so bad they can’t walk and they had exhausted funding for the therapy that was providing pain relief and joint mobility? Who will come in and push liquid through the old woman’s feeding tube three to four times a day now that she has to be tube fed because there were no funds to cover a Speech Therapist long enough to accomplish teaching her how to swallow without choking or for an Occupational Therapist to teach her strategies to enable her to perform many activities one handed?

Where will all the public monies come from to care for the increasing number of elderly who will require custodial care because they could not receive adequate therapies necessary to remain independent? Folks who might have been able to return to the workforce had they been afforded adequate lengths of rehabilitation or retraining following an illness or accident may be forced to take early retirement. Who will replace those tax dollars lost? Where is Medicare going to find the monies for the potential increase in the number of people applying for disability?

Where is Medicare going to find the additional monies required when more acute hospitalizations are required because of pneumonia or blood clots in the legs or bed sores caused by inactivity caused by the inability to move around safely after a fractured hip or stroke or joint replacement because no outpatient monies were available to restore independent and safe mobility skills?

This does not sound like a money saving policy to me. Does it to you?

There just might need to be an extra department within the Bureau of Statistics: the one that will be needed to keep track of the premature deaths of many of our elderly. But then again, if there are deaths, Medicare won’t have to pay any more for their care will it? Maybe at the end of the day the intended hidden agenda will have been carried out.

I am compelled to speak out, to make as many aware of this as I possibly can. Many of the frail elderly need a voice. This issue isn’t in the headlines. It is tucked very quietly out of sight and under the radar of the American Public. Those of us in the healthcare professions are acutely aware of it. Time is running out. With the many serious issues facing our leaders today this is one we can’t afford to let slide by unnoticed for there will be dire consequences for us all.

There already is a crisis in healthcare as our population ages. Maybe some feel this is one way to deal with an aging population. Maybe the ones in power and behind the scenes are acting with full knowledge and intent. Maybe they are counting on our ignorance, inaction and silence. But silence in the face of knowledge gives implied consent. Please, speak up. Now that you have knowledge, withdraw your consent.

As usual, Dr. Strickler hits the bull’s eye: Legislated Genocide.

Legislated Genocide: the ultimate result of the extent to which our society has been molded and brain washed with the philosophical underpinning and foundation of Sophistry. It certainly appears many have indeed sold their souls to the God of Economics and Opportunity. Anything to boost the immediate bottom line without a moment’s twinge of conscience about the long-term effects and consequences.

May the Lord of Life provide you with the ability to see beyond legislative rhetoric, to uncover and recognize truth and give you the courage to open your mouth and speak up for many that are unable to speak for themselves. You might even find you are speaking for your own benefit and survival.

Blessings,

Wendy Ford

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Spiritual Climate Newsletter NOVEMBER 2006 Part 4: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD by Christine Ford

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LORNA JEAN KING: a TRIBUTE-

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

By Christine Ford

I sing so-long, farewell, to you my friend,

Goodbye, for now, until we meet again.

It’s been great to work and play together,

But now it’s time to say goodbye. . .

At The Temple Grandin School, in Phoenix, Arizona, housed within The Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies, where I teach and call my second home, one of the techniques we use to transition our kids from activity to activity, or place to place, is music. The words above are just one of the songs we use. There are many therapies incorporated into our kids daily activities, including Recreation Therapy, Horticulture Therapy, Speech Therapy, Music Therapy, Occupational Therapy and of course, Education, which all work together to create and environment conducive to meeting the needs of the very exceptional children whose growth and lives we are entrusted with. Serving our kids who are diagnosed either as having Autism or Developmental Delays with characteristics of Autism, we are trained to use these therapies and techniques as tools of Sensory Integration to teach them ways of coping with, controlling, and translating into usable form the never ending barrage of the signals of their senses. Our kids live in a world in which they are held captive by the unrelenting power of those out of control signals, and I view the role of the teachers, therapists and assistants at CCNS as that of the benevolent warden holding the enumerable keys to the multitude of locks that keep that child imprisoned within the confines of his or her own cell.

The job of the staff at CCNS is to keep trying those keys of Sensory Integration until the locks are opened, the fetters are broken, and the child is set free. Though we do not proclaim to “cure” Autism, we do empower the child and his family with adaptations and coping skills to meet the challenges of the everyday world, challenges of a Hell that we who are not on the Autism Spectrum cannot even begin to imagine. To loosely paraphrase my beloved Mentor and friend, Lorna Jean King, the Founder of the Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies and pioneer of the use of Sensory Integration for children with Autism, our role is that of a detective, watching, observing, and noting as we attempt to get inside each child and determine what makes him tick, what sets him off, what makes him smile as well as what makes him cry. Then we empower him with the appropriate techniques that he needs to form new patterns and brain pathways while integrating within himself the mastery over those sensory signals instead of being a slave to them.

That is the ideal picture. The “ideal” is seldom totally achieved, but the observable changes produced by the use of Lorna’s wisdom and knowledge have proven to me to be nothing short of miraculous. After a long, noble struggle with a painful illness, Lorna Jean King peacefully passed away November 4, 2006 at the ripe old age of 83.

The song quoted at the start of my article took on a whole new meaning for me on the morning of Monday, November 6, 2006. We had only minutes earlier learned of Lorna’s passing. At the end of our Occupational Therapy Group session, with the kids lying on their bellies on mats surrounded by therapists and staff gently massaging them by rolling big therapy balls on their backs, we quietly sang the words to this familiar, calming transitional song. I found myself actually hearing the words for the first time as a rush of emotion engulfed me. Even though we were inside the Therapy Room, I felt a breeze stir with the familiar presence of Lorna, as close as if she were standing right there, looking over my shoulder and admiring the fruits of her life’s work and dedication to the manifestation of “her dream”, as she was known for calling CCNS. Suddenly I felt the light touch of her gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around quickly, fully expecting to see Lorna smiling and nodding, singing along to the music with us. With ears other than my physical ears I could actually hear her voice. Her presence was that close, that palpable, and I was once again touched by her wisdom, knowledge and guidance as she said “Goodbye, for now, until we meet again”, but also “hello”. As quickly as I had felt her there, she was gone, but she had left me with a last gift that will forever impact my journey.

In that split second I had a profound glimpse of immortality and a new clarity of awareness of how one life can influence thousands, of how the ripples of a stone being tossed into the water can go on and on making waves and touching people and places beyond anyone’s knowing. I KNEW then, by discovery and agape in that brief moment of understanding, that the Spirit and Soul IS immortal, eternal and that “knowing” has been tucked away as one of my personal keys which my experiences with the incredible being of Lorna Jean King has given me to open those locks which keep me imprisoned as well. This encounter gave me hope and touched me in a way that expanded and forever changed my understanding of the eternalness of consciousness, Soul and Spirit, yet sadly, there is no way for me to pass that wonder and comfort on to those who have lost a cherished loved one to death of the physical body. Even in death, Lorna continues to live her often repeated mantra of “Help for today, hope for tomorrow”.

No matter how far I travel along this Path of Return, I hope I never lose my sense of awe and wonder at how “things’ work. When I moved to Phoenix four and a half years ago, I had no inkling of the doors that would open to me. Oh yes, I was anticipating great events happening within my Spiritual life as Dr. Strickler and Dianne were here, but as far as employment went, I was hoping to just find a job that would pay me enough to get by while I devoted my time and energies to my Spiritual Path. In my mind set at that time, my professional life and Spiritual life were separate entities. Dr. Strickler had stressed over the years that our growth and development spiritually would be reflected in our everyday experiences within life and that the Lord of Life would speak to us through the fabric of the world, people, and experiences around us. I heard his words, but must admit I was lacking in true understanding. Unbeknownst to me, my journey to Phoenix would bring me into physical contact with the woman who had become my Mentor through her teachings some fourteen years earlier, oddly enough, or perhaps not so “oddly enough”, at the same time I had “bumped into” Dr. Strickler at a Psychic Fair at the Aquarian Church in Naples, Florida.

While teaching in Florida in 1992, I was presented with quite a challenging class. My dear friend and Occupational Therapist had been doing some research into the use of Sensory Integration techniques presented by a woman named Lorna Jean King. In a day and age where we were not even permitted to utter “the A Word”, Autism, in a public meeting, we set up a classroom replete with swings, lotion rubs, brushing, trampolines for jumping, weighted vests and even a “ball bath” just to name a few of the techniques we incorporated. All of the kids, whether diagnosed as having Autism or not, became calmer, more focused, and better able to control of their impulses. Though I have no Empirical Evidence of this, kid’s I.Q. scores increased to the point that the school psychologist questioned what in the world we were doing in there! Somehow word got around that the class was set up using techniques of “Sensory Integration”, which at that time was basically considered New Age Voodoo, and we were both called on the carpet, warned sternly to cease and desist, and if we did not, we would be looking for employment elsewhere.

My friend bravely packed her bags, basically told them to quote "go F### themselves", and set off to establish a private treatment facility of her own based on Sensory Integration, specializing in Auditory Integration. I, being not nearly so brave nor sure of myself, bit the bullet and stayed locked in the confines of the traditional setting. I AM brave enough now though to admit that I continued to be a “closet” user of Sensory Integration, secretly behind closed doors using the techniques I had learned from the genius of Lorna Jean King, much as I considered myself a “Closet Qabalist” back in those days. Those techniques of Sensory Integration became the cornerstone embedded within the methods throughout in my career as an educator of special needs students, much as that taught to me by Dr. Strickler grew within my Spiritual Life. When questioned about some of the “measurable” successes of the kids I had worked with, I just laughed and smiled and said, “Oh, I just teach them the test.” In retrospect, I was giving them the tools to break the code to the test. I never really understood what I was saying until now, just one example of how the Lord of Life speaks through us.

When I got to Phoenix in May of 2002, I sent out my resume on line and got quick results. My first interview was with a private school that offered me a reasonable salary, but had very strict, prescribed methods of teaching within the school that went counter to that which I knew worked with kids. As I drove home pondering the horrific future of waking up each day to go to a job that was even more restrictive than in my past, I asked for guidance and an opening to be able to expand my professional as well as spiritual life. The ringing phone as I entered my apartment was in direct response to my plea, though I didn’t have a clue!

What I would term in the tight-assed, educational circles as a non-professional, yet very excited, enthusiastic voice hurriedly said, “Christine Ford? Please tell me you haven’t accepted a teaching position yet.” When I responded that I had interviewed and probably would be accepting the position tomorrow, the voice asked me PLEASE to come and interview there before making my decision. I was given directions to the Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies by the enthusiastic, still unnamed voice. As I drove there, I remained oblivious to the whirlings of the energy that was set into motion. Amazing! Still is!

Arriving at the Center, I was handed a brochure by the receptionist. I had barely a second to glance at it, but my attention was captured by a small picture in the corner of an elderly woman with the name printed under it, Lorna Jean King. Oh come on, couldn’t be, I remember myself thinking as the door opened and the owner of that enthusiastic voice extended her hand and said, “You must be Christine. I’m Kay Marie King. Welcome to the Center.”

I jokingly, or so I thought, said, “Gee, you aren’t related to Lorna Jean King, are you?” I will never be able to describe the “clunk” of gears locking into place or the feeling of “Oh My God” that overwhelmed me with her response. “Actually, I’m her daughter. She’s at lunch right now, but if you want to stick around she’ll be back soon. She is the Founder and Director of the Center. Why do you ask?”

Well. I was a goner! Little did Kay Marie know that with those words spoken, I was there, I was “home”, even before she showed me the place or we discussed salary. To have come cross country to a town where I knew no one and had no idea of where to go or what to do for employment, and to land right in the lap of the Children’s Center founded and run by The Lorna Jean King, which I had no idea even existed, went to the top of my list of miracles I had been blessed by, second only to my physical meeting of Dr. Strickler in 1992.

In April, 2006, at the annual Miles of Smiles benefit fund raiser for The Children’s Center, I was honored to be presented the first annual “Lorna Jean King Teacher of the Year Award” by none other than THE Lorna Jean King herself. Just over the past two weeks since her passing it has occurred to me that no other teacher in the history of this world will ever have the privilege of being handed that award by Lorna Jean King personally in this physical plane of existence. There is only one, and that one is me. Again, amazing. In contemplating my time spent with her, the knowledge and experiences I have gained, and the impact she has made not only on me, my kids, the school, and the entire world of Sensory Integration, I am humbled and thankful for being lead to the place that I needed to be in, for the pushes and nudges along the way, for the ever increasing ability to hear those non physical words and beckonings and the courage to follow them.

It’s a strange, strange world we live in physically. Wars, turmoil, spiraling out of control lies and deceit shaping the news we hear daily while we scurry unthinkingly from job to home, sleep to work, seldom stopping to ponder why we are here and what purpose we serve. For all the negativity and sadness, for all the sorrow and darkness, there are counter balances of light and love persevering and shining through within our lives, guiding us, touching us, and teaching us; both physical and nonphysical Teachers, Mentors and friends to ignite the sparks within us, to add fuel to stoke the flame and to stand back to watch us glow in our own right as we take up the torch and move onward to spread the Truth and Light to others in the never ending spiral of the Journey on the Path of Return.

In this Thanksgiving Edition of Spiritual Climate I acknowledge and give thanks for my two Mentors and friends, one now nonphysical, Lorna Jean King, and the other still very much alive in this plane, Dr. David Strickler. Because of the untiring efforts of you both, there is hope, there is truth and there is light brought into this manifest world that will never be extinguished, but will continue to grow and multiply as the seeds of your words and teachings take root and flourish.

May your own life be blessed with the recognition of the teachings of The One as It manifests through the mundane, sometimes seemingly futile existence of your everyday life, and may you find the courage to act upon that which you are given to fan your own tiny spark into an ever growing blaze of Light and Life.

Blessings

Christine Ford

Editor

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