Peter Shockey’s newest literary release Miracles, Angels & Afterlife shares with his devoted audience the most fascinating evidence of miracles on Earth. The author shares his own account of his brush with the miraculous and divine presence of angels. Shockey leads the reader through a meticulously researched and plotted telling of miracles through the ages and how their existence has changed our lives. Divine intervention has never been so tangible, so close as in these pages. This intriguing spiritual journey discusses the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, what lies in life and afterwards in the beyond. This book will inspire you to change the way you see miracles and the touch of the divine in everyday life.
Peter Shockey revolutionized the inspirational and holistic spiritual writing genre with Reflections of Heaven, originally published by Doubleday. He is an accomplished filmmaker of over twenty-five years, as well as a screenwriter, producer and documentary director. His best known documentary Life After Life, which aired on Discovery The Learning Channel, won a New York Film Festival award for its vivid and thought provoking discussion of near death experiences. You may have seen Peter on Oprah, the 700 Club and many other popular talk shows. He is also a much desired guest lecturer on the topic of the divine, angels and miracles
What have we not done to live forever? The critically acclaimed author of The Fruit Hunters—now an award-winning documentary film—weaves together religion, science, and mythology in a gripping exploration of the most universal of human obsessions: immortality.
Raised an atheist, Adam Leith Gollner was struck by mankind’s tireless efforts to cheat aging and death. In a narrative that pivots between profundity and hilarity, he brings us into the world of those whose lives are shaped by a belief in immortality. From a Jesuit priest on his deathbed to anti-aging researchers at Harvard, Gollner—sorting truth from absurdity—canvasses religion and science for insight, along with an array of cults, myths, and fringe figures.
He journeys to David Copperfield’s archipelago in the Bahamas, where the magician claims to have found “a liquid that reverses genes.” He attends a costume party set in the year 2068 with a group of radical life-extensionists, explores a cryonics facility, and soaks in the transformative mineral waters at the Esalen Institute. Looking to history, Gollner visits St. Augustine, Florida, where Ponce de Leon is thought to have sought the fountain of youth.
Combining immersive reporting, rigorous research, and lyrical prose, Gollner charts the rise of longevity science from its alchemical beginnings to modern-day genetic interventions. He explores the symbolic representation of eternal life and its connection to water. Interlaced throughout is a compelling meditation on the nature of belief. An incredible thinker with “the talents of an investigative journalist, poet, travel writer, and humorist grafted onto one unusual specimen” (Mary Roach, The New York Times Book Review), Adam Leith Gollner has written a rollicking and revelatory examination of our age-old notion of living forever.
Adam Leith Gollner has written for The New York Times, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, The Globe and Mail, and Good magazine. The former editor of Vice Magazine, he is also a musician and filmmaker. He lives in Montreal and Los Angeles.
The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner and Miracle Fruit
Adam Leith Gollner explores the intriguing miracle berry and the politics and controversies surrounding it as well as its incredible capabilities
Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. Four of her eight books, including A Return to Love, and, Everyday Grace, have been No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Her most recent book is The Law of Divine Compensation. She also founded Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves over 1000 homebound people in the Los Angeles area daily, and co-founded the Global Renaissance Alliance (GRA), a worldwide network of peace activists.
Marianne Williamson is a bestselling author (Return to Love, Healing the Soul of America), a world-renowned teacher, and one of the most important New Age thinkers of our time. In The Law of Divine Compensation, she reveals the spiritual principles that help us overcome financial stress and unleash the divine power of abundance. A guru to anyone interested in New Age spirituality, Williamson’s words ring with power and truth as she assures us that, with faith in God’s promise of prosperity for all, we need never fear the future.
Book Excerpt:The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson
Chapter Three: Making Love the Bottom Line
We carry a lot of misconceptions about love. Putting love first isn’t a life of “sacrifice,” for example, as many have been taught. In fact, putting love first means knowing who you are, which means accepting the fact that you’re entitled to miracles. Putting love first means knowing the universe supports you in creating the good, the holy, and the beautiful. It means knowing you’re on the earth for a purpose, and that the purpose itself will create opportunities for its accomplishment.
Making love your bottom line doesn’t make you “lose.” Putting love first is ultimately the way you inevitably gain. For what you give, you shall receive; and what you withhold will be withheld from you. Most of the world’s religions share this core idea. Or, as a friend of mine once described the idea to me, the universe keeps a perfect set of books. You give love; you get love.
Making love the bottom line doesn’t mean you have to give everything away or that you’ll never charge for your services. The principle of fair exchange gives love to both giver and receiver.
Making love the bottom line doesn’t mean you’re compelled to do anything anyone ever asks you to do. Love always gives the loving response, but sometimes the loving response is “No.”
But it does mean that we take seriously the idea that we are on the earth to do as Love would have us to do. I know from personal experience that when I’ve done this, I’ve gained financially as well as in other ways. And when I have not done this, I’ve lost.
The path of love might not lead to an immediate, short-term bundle of cash. That is not how the Law of Divine Compensation works. But following the path of love leads to trust, deeper relationships, and therefore greater probability of further good. Our internal abundance is ultimately the source of our external abundance. Who we are, not just the services we provide, creates money.
Someone who is positive and energetic when they show up for work; are they or are they not the person most likely to be promoted? Someone who is kind and helpful when you walk into their store; do they or do they not have a business to which you’re more likely to return? Someone who inspires genuine trust and faith in the excellence of their work; are they or are they not the person you are more likely to hire for your next project? You know that line about how nice guys finish last? It’s a lie.
Yet at times we fear that if we give ourselves to love, we will somehow devolve into a puddle of weakness—that love will make us vulnerable to hurt or to being less effective in the world. We think God can have our spiritual lives, but we better not hand over our finances! A woman once told me, “I don’t mind giving God my money, but if it’s over $200,000, I think I better handle it myself.” And here is what makes that such a joke: it is often in the area of our finances where we need miracles the most!
Love is our sanity. It does not lead us to unwise behavior. It does not lead us to give our money away frivolously when there is a need to save it and provide for our family. It does not lead us into a lack of respect for principles of money management or the appropriate laws of commerce. It does not lead us into unreasonable or immoderate behavior. Love doesn’t ruin things; love makes all things right, by aligning mortal events with the natural patterns of an intentional and creative universe.
Love makes us wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose and a flow of creative ideas. Love floods our nervous system with positive energy, making us far more attractive to prospective employers, clients, and creative partners. Love fills us with a powerful charisma, enabling us to produce new ideas and new projects, even within circumstances that seem to be limited. Love leads us to atone for our errors and clean up the mess when we’ve made mistakes. Love leads us to act with impeccability, integrity, and excellence. Love leads us to serve, to forgive, and to hope. Those things are the opposite of a poverty consciousness; they’re the stuff of spiritual wealth creation.
In 1992, I published a book called A Return to Love. At the time, I was bit naive—I had never spent time thinking about things like book contracts, bestseller status or book royalties. I was excited to be able to live off the suggested donations at my lectures on A Course in Miracles, and while writing the book I don’t think I even thought about how well it might sell. In fact, due largely to the enthusiasm of Oprah Winfrey, it was the fifth bestselling book in America that year.
I had a strong sense at the time that the money hadn’t really come directly from the book—that it had come through it. It felt like the money was divine payment for something more than the book, particularly the charitable work I had been doing for years before, for no money at all. It was payment for how I had been trying to live my life, cleaning up any mess from my past and trying to be of service to others. The seeker isn’t looking to “get money,” but to exchange energy. And when the energy we’re putting out is filled with the consciousness of love, then the energy flowing back to us comes in whatever form most serves our good. I figured that if I lived a good life and worked hard, then I’d be taken care of somehow.
There was a level of naiveté to the life I was living before my book was published. It wasn’t that I was so pure or anything, so much as blessedly unaware of the more sophisticated principles by which wealth is supposedly created. There’s no way in the world that my activities during those years would have been thought to be good for business, because there was no business! But I was, in my own way, about my Father’s business. And then, when the book was published, I saw what I had done for love came back to me a thousand fold and more.
Such is the Law. Spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson says the golden rule of giving and receiving is part of a greater divine order. Excerpted from THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION by Marianne Williamson with permission by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2012.
Marianne Williamson on THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION
Marianne Williamson reflects on her newest book, THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION.
The Law of Divine Compensation with Marianne Williamson
Published on Feb 8, 2013
A wide-ranging and very timely interview with internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer Marianne Williamson. Leading off from her new book, THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION, we discuss the nature of miracles and the perceptual shift we need to make to manifest them in our lives.
An excerpt from the film mainly used in the Oprah special. John of God (Joao de Deus) is a Brazilian medium who claims to work with spirits while working through prayer and meditation on the thousands who come to see him in his healing centre, the Casa Dom Ignacio in central Brazil. Seen on the Oprah Winfrey Show NOV 2010 and 2011.
Joao de de Deus Interview – John of God Interview
Extract from the DVD “Joao de de Deus – Just a Man”
Medium Joao de de Deus/John of God from
Casa Dom Inacio de Loyola Abadiania
Der brasilianische Wunderheiler Joao de Deus aus Abadiania, Brasilien
The Miracle Healer John of God from Abadiania, Brasil
HEALING – John of God Documentary on Oprah HD
HEALING – Miracles, Mysteries and John of God.
Through this award-winning documentary you will witness the outstanding abilities of John of God, one of the most powerful and respected healers in the world today.
During the past 50 years over a million people have visited this remarkable man in Brazil. As a result of his extraordinary gift, many have received healing for illnesses believed to be incurable. Featuring leading doctors of medicine and scientists, as well as testimonials from people who have been healed, this film provides an insight into their physical and emotional journeys which go beyond conventional medical knowledge.
Through their experiences, Healing sets out to answer fundamental questions regarding life, faith, and interaction with the spiritual world.
a david-films media network production
Robert Lawrence Kuhn (host of “Closer to Truth”) asks William Lane Craig on the nature of God as creator of creation. Question(s) explored: What is creation witih respect to God? How does God’s providence work into creation? What is the difference between efficient and material causes? What is God’s conservation of the world? If something is created does it need to be sustained? What is meant by God’s creation and God’s annihilation of an object?
How Is God The Creator? (2 of 2) (William Lane Craig)
Robert Lawrence Kuhn (host of “Closer to Truth”) asks William Lane Craig on the nature of God as creator of creation. Question(s) explored: What’s God’s providence with respect to the created world? What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary providence? What are miracles? Are miracles violation of natural laws? Does God do miracles today? Do we see them? If God intervenes in nature does that mean there was an imperfection in nature?What is the purpose of miracles?
Divine Healing Hands are given in this special time.
Serve humanity. Serve Mother Earth.
Millions of people are suffering in their spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical bodies. Millions of people have challenges in their relationships and finances. Millions of people are searching for spiritual secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practical techniques in order to fulfill their spiritual journeys.
For the first time, the Divine is giving his Divine Healing Hands to the masses. Divine Healing Hands carry divine healing power to heal and to transform relationships and finances. Dr. & Master Zhi Gang Sha is a chosen servant, vehicle, and channel of the Divine to offer Divine Healing Hands to the chosen ones. Master Sha has asked the Divine to download Divine Healing Hands to every copy of this book. Every reader can experience the amazing power of Divine Healing Hands directly.
In this tenth book of Master Sha’s bestselling Soul Power Series, readers will also be deeply moved by the many heart-touching stories of divine healing and transformation created by this divine treasure. To receive Divine Healing Hands is to serve humanity and the planet in this critical time. The purpose of life is to serve. Learn how you can receive Divine Healing Hands.
Answer the Divine’s calling. You can make a difference on a scale beyond comprehension and imagination. Master Zhi Gang Sha is a soul leader, an extraordinary healer, and a divine servant. He was trained as a conventional medical doctor and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. The founder of the Institute of Soul Healing and Enlightenment and of the World Soul Healing, Peace and Enlightenment Movement, he is a grandmaster of many ancient disciplines, including tai chi, qi gong, feng shui and the I Ching. Master Sha is also an expert in the most advanced cellular healing science now occurring in China. In the West, he is involved in breakthrough research on the effects of spirit on the human system. Master Sha was named Qigong Master of the Year at the Fifth World Congress in Qigong. In 2006, he was granted the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Award for his humanitarian efforts. His Soul Power Series reveals soul secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practices to transform every aspect of life. Click Here To Browse Inside
Divine Healing Hands: What, Why, and How
WHEN YOU READ any of my books you could realize that in every book, in every chapter, and in every teaching I always explain what, why, and how.
What? “What” is the concept. The concept must be clear and precise. Science, academics, business, and every part of life should have a clear and precise concept. Otherwise, readers and students will not grasp the meaning. To write a book is to share teachings and practices with readers. To give readers a very clear concept is the direction for all the teachings, secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practical techniques I have shared in all of my books.
Why? “Why” means why do people need to learn this or practice this? It includes the power and significance of what I am teaching. This is service oriented. If I share a secret or some special wisdom, knowledge, or practical technique, or if I offer any kind of service, you must understand why I am doing it. Does this service benefit you? If there is no benefit, why do I need to share it? Why do you need to do it? Therefore, why is very important in all of my writings and teachings.
How? “How” refers to the method or technique to accomplish a goal. If I teach or offer any service, how do you do it? How can you carry out the methods and strategies? In my Soul Power Series the how includes practical techniques for healing, rejuvenation, and transformation of relationships and finances, as well as of every aspect of life. Techniques are very important. The Divine Forgiveness Practice is an example.
To teach or achieve anything in your life there are two parts: theory and practice. Theory and practice are yin and yang. Yin and yang are opposites but united. They complement one another. To accomplish anything you must include both yin and yang. You cannot accomplish your task or goal by using only yin or only yang.
I am extremely blessed that the Divine has chosen me as a servant, vehicle, and channel for humanity and the Divine. The Divine has given me the authority to offer permanent divine treasures to humanity. Divine treasures carry divine power to heal and transform all life, but recipients must practice in order to receive the benefits. This belongs to the how.
In summary, my teaching is based on what, why, and how. I teach da Tao zhi jian (pronounced dah dow jr jyen), which means the Big Way is extremely simple. The simplest wisdom and techniques are the best. Simple is powerful. I am the servant of humanity. I love simplicity.
Billions of people need healing.
Billions of people need transformation of relationships.
Billions of people need transformation of finances.
Billions of people need rejuvenation.
Billions of people need to purify their souls, hearts, minds, and bodies.
Billions of people need to increase their intelligence.
Billions of people need to open their hearts and souls.
Billions of people need to apply love, forgiveness, compassion, and light to transform themselves, humanity, Mother Earth, and all souls.
Billions of people need to join hearts and souls together to transform Mother Earth’s transition and to bring love, peace, and harmony to humanity, Mother Earth, and all universes.
Complexity cannot serve billions of people and all souls. Simplicity is the way to serve billions of people and all souls.
I am a servant of humanity and countless souls. Ever since I wrote my first book the Divine has guided me that simplicity is the key to service. What, why, and how is the way to write, teach, and serve every aspect of my life. What, why, and how is the way to serve every aspect of your life.
What Are Divine Healing Hands?
Divine Healing Hands are God’s soul hands. God creates his new soul hands and transmits them to the chosen ones through the service of a Divine Channel (one of my Worldwide Representatives or me). Chosen one means a person who has gone through the process of applying for, receiving approval by Divine Guidance, and registering to receive Divine Healing Hands.
The Divine chose me as a servant of humanity and the Divine in July 2003 and gave me the honor and authority to download or transmit permanent divine treasures to humanity. In 2011 about twenty of my Worldwide Representatives, who are also Divine Channels, received the honor and authority to download Divine Healing Hands. If you are not a Divine Channel, you cannot download Divine Healing Hands to others. To download Divine Healing Hands is an honor beyond words, comprehension, and imagination. Divine Channels are divine presence on Mother Earth. They are divine servants to represent the Divine to serve humanity, Mother Earth, and all souls.
The Divine Healing Hands treasure created by the Divine is hundreds of feet high and hundreds of feet wide. Once the Divine Healing Hands treasure is downloaded to a chosen one, it takes two or three days for the divine treasure to shrink to a condensed size, which is two or three times the size of the recipient’s hand.
After one receives Divine Healing Hands, the recipient receives proper training from a Divine Channel to become certified as a Divine Healing Hands Soul Healer.
When a Divine Healing Hands Soul Healer offers a soul healing blessing, the Divine Healing Hands treasure will come out from the Divine Healing Hands Soul Healer to serve the recipient. Divine Healing Hands Soul Healers can offer soul healing blessings in person and remotely. They can offer healing blessings one on one or to a group of people. There is no limit to the number of people who can receive soul healing blessings from Divine Healing Hands.
Why Do Divine Healing Hands Work?
Why does a person become sick? Sickness is due to soul mind body blockages.
Soul blockages are bad karma. Karma is the record of services from one’s previous lifetimes and this lifetime. Karma is divided into good karma and bad karma. Good karma is accumulated from one’s good service offered in all lifetimes, including love, care, compassion, sincerity, honesty, generosity, kindness, integrity, purity, and more.
Bad karma is accumulated from the mistakes one has made in all lifetimes, including killing, harming, taking advantage of others, cheating, stealing, lying, and more.
As I noted in the introduction, there is a karmic law in Heaven:
Good service brings rewards.
Bad service brings lessons.
This law applies to all souls in all universes. There is an ancient saying: Heaven is most fair. No good deed goes unnoticed. No bad deed goes unnoticed.
The Divine chose me as a servant of humanity and the Divine in July 2003. The Divine gave me the honor and authority to offer Divine Karma Cleansing and Divine Soul Mind Body Transplants to humanity.
What is Divine Karma Cleansing? Divine Karma Cleansing means the Divine offers divine forgiveness by paying one’s spiritual debt and clearing one’s bad karma.
When one has bad karma, one could learn lessons in any aspect of life, including health, relationships, finances, business, children, and more. There is only one way to self-clear bad karma: serve others unconditionally. To serve others is to make others happier and healthier. To serve unconditionally is to serve without asking for or expecting anything in return.
If one has heavy bad karma it could take thirty to fifty years of unconditional universal service in one lifetime to remove the bad karma and to be forgiven. It could take many lifetimes of unconditional universal service to remove one’s heavy bad karma.
Bad karma is spiritual debt. It must be paid. How is it paid? Normally it is paid by learning one’s karmic lessons—blockages in one’s health, relationships, finances, business, and any aspect of life. Divine Karma Cleansing means the Divine gives his virtue, which is spiritual currency, to pay one’s spiritual debt. This is divine generosity. If one has bad karma, there are dark blockages inside the body. When the Divine offers virtue, the darkness will leave the body. The darkness is the root cause of sickness, broken relationships, financial challenges, and more.
I and my more than twenty Worldwide Representatives, who, like me, are also divine servants, vehicles, and channels, have offered tens of thousands of Divine Karma Cleansings for humanity. We have received thousands of heart-touching and moving soul healing stories and soul healing miracles from Divine Karma Cleansing. In the last three years, nearly one thousand heart-touching and moving stories have been video recorded and posted on my YouTube channel, YouTube.com/zhigangsha. I encourage you to view some of them. In addition, you will read stories related to Divine Healing Hands throughout this book. Divine Healing Hands blessings can remove bad karma little by little.
In one sentence:
To clear soul blockages is to remove the darkness inside the body.
The second cause of sickness is mind blockages, which include negative mind-sets, negative beliefs, negative attitudes, ego, attachments, and more. Millions of people have all types of mind blockages.
The third cause of sickness is body blockages, which are energy and matter blockages.
In ancient spiritual teaching a human being has three internal treasures: jing qi shen. Jing is matter. Qi (pronounced chee) is vital energy or life force. Shen is soul.
Jing qi shen is soul, mind, and body. To remove soul mind body blockages is to remove blockages in jing qi shen. Soul mind body and jing qi shen are different ways to express the same thing. “Jing qi shen” is the ancient term. “Soul mind body” is the new term for the Soul Light Era.
Soul Healing Miracles
Experience the power of Soul to heal your soul, mind and body with Dr. and Master Sha: http://drsha.com/
You have the power to heal yourself, together we have the power to heal the world! ~ Dr. and Master Sha
Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha is a soul leader, an extraordinary healer, and a divine servant. Trained as an MD in China and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine in China and Canada, he created Power Healing and Soul Mind Body Medicine to combine the essence of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine with ancient energy and spiritual healing secrets from China.
The founder of the Institute of Soul Healing and Enlightenment, Dr. Sha is a grandmaster of many ancient disciplines, including tai chi, qi gong, feng shui, and the I Ching. He was named Qigong Master of the Year at the Fifth World Congress on Qigong. An inspired guide in his Soul Power Series of best-selling books, TV programs, and other teachings and services, Dr. Sha says, “Heal and transform the soul first; then healing and transformation of every aspect of life will follow”. In 2006, Dr. Sha was granted the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Award for his humanitarian efforts.
I consider Master Sha’s healing path to be a universal spiritual practice, a journey into genuine transformation.
~ Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith
Founder, Agape International Spiritual Center
In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness is an invaluable spiritual manual to each person s journey out of pain and suffering. It imparts an in-depth understanding about the complexities of our spiritual journey, and covers many questions left unanswered by others. The author guides readers through the phases of the development of their ego and consciousness, and describes the steps we all need to take to heal our ego into consciousness.
Most chapters are followed by question and answer sections; making the topics covered in each chapter more personal and down-to-earth. The author’s own story at the end of the book, described in the chapter One Spirit’s Journey, beautifully exemplifies how she herself has walked the talk that she now teaches to others. This book might be this year’s best offering in the field of spirituality and personal growth, and is here to stay for a long time to come. Click Here To Preview Eliza Mada Dalian: Healing into Consciousness with the Dalian Method™
The Dalian Method™ for Health & Consciousness is an accelerated technique that takes the concepts of healing and awakening to the next level. Created by self-realized mystic, spiritual teacher, and internationally acclaimed master healer, Eliza Mada Dalian, the Dalian Method™ can spontaneously heal your ailments by accurately identifying and helping to dissolve the blocks that cause fear, anxiety, pain, and illness. It is an invaluable healing modality that can transform your life into health and self-empowered consciousness! For more information visit http://madadalian.com.
Eliza talks to Alan Steinfeld about bringing awareness to our inner dialogue to help overcome the inner conflicts that are in the way of having what we want to achieve in life.
Eliza Mada Dalian: Karma is not Punishment
In this video self-realized mystic, internationally acclaimed master healer, spiritual teacher and bestselling author Eliza Mada Dalian explains what Karma is and how it is not a punishment.
“The reason we need to look at karma is to see what we have done unconsciously. If you do something unconsciously, you have to repeat that again and again until you see that you’re doing it unconsciously. It’s not a punishment! Existence gives you another chance and another chance, so you finally wake up!”
This excerpt was filmed during a 10 day healing into Consciousness Intensive, in Vancouver, Canada.
Eliza Mada Dalian: The Stages of the Ego’s Development
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Host Bret Moss interviews Eliza Mada Dalian on The Defining Moment Television Talk Show. The Defining Moment provides new insights and practical wisdom which can be applied in one’s own life allowing greater happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace-of-mind and well-being. In this interview “Living in the Now,” Mada explains what it means to be present in the now, the purpose of the ego, and the stages of the ego’s development.
Eliza Mada Dalian: Understanding the Chakra System and the Seven Bodies
Moment Television Talk Show. The Defining Moment provides new insights and practical wisdom which can be applied in one’s own life allowing greater happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace-of-mind and well-being. In this interview “Transforming and Healing the Ego-Mind,” Mada explains the function of each chakra and how the developing ego-mind helps to expand consciousness as it evolves in the seven chakras. She also explains how we can start healing the seven chakras or energy centers to allow expanded consciousness.
“No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
– John 3:3
For millions of Christians around the world, the acceptance of the Lord into their hearts and lives is a life-altering experience. It is a time that awakens the soul and sets it free! Now author and photographer Lucille Deith has created a unique illustrated book that tells the timeless story of growth, change, and splendor–through the life cycle of a monarch butterfly.
Through full-color photographs, Ms. Deith shows us the amazing transformation of this small creature from an ugly caterpillar to a hardened chrysalis to a beautiful butterfly. Accompanying these captivating images are eloquent biblical verses and inspiring prose that echo the visual miracle of change as it relates to everyone who has been reborn in Christ. The author has even included easy-to-follow instructions to guide readers in raising their own butterflies so that they, their friends, and their family can witness the miracle unfold.
In a world that seems to be spinning out of control, here is a story that anchors us to a simple, beautiful truth. Whether given as a gift, used as a church fundraiser, or read in the quiet of your home, The Butterfly offers young and old alike a lesson in the power of life-affirming faith.
Lucille Deith is a retired librarian who now pursues her love of gardening, photography, and raising butterflies. As a Christian educator, she presents biblical science lessons in Christian schools using the story of a butterfly. Mrs. Deith and her husband reside in central Florida.
Contents
A Butterfly
The Caterpillar
The Chrysalis
Spreading Its Wings
A Beautiful Butterfly
Creating Your Own Butterfly Story
About the Author
Introduction
A Butterfly
They flutter low and sail so high,
They rest on flowers and kiss the sky.
They sail through the air with graceful ease,
Land on my hand,“Oh, would you, please?”
Their colors so vibrant and markings unique,
I shudder with joy as one brushes my cheek.
A caterpillar no more as you flutter by,
Born again, a butterfly.
Note from evolutionarymystic:
Just a short note that some years back I attended Dr. Jon Mundy’s course on ” What is mysticism?” , stretching over 3 to 4 week-ends conducted at the New York Open Center.
In 1976, a mysterious “Inner Voice” spoke to Helen Schucman, dictating what would come to be known as A Course in Miracles–a spiritual classic that would go on to sell over two million copies and influence countless people worldwide. Those who study this 1,333-page course can struggle for years to progress through its resonant but often difficult-to-comprehend truths.
Jon Mundy, who knew ACIM’s founders, uses passages from the text to illuminate its teachings on subjects ranging from the self and forgiveness to health and the afterlife. His lively storytelling and in-depth knowledge will help readers embrace the wisdom of this timeless text in their daily lives.
Jon Mundy, Ph.D. is an author, lecturer and the Executive Director of All Faiths Seminary International in New York City. He is the publisher of Miracles magazine, and the author of 9 books including his newest book Living A Course in Miracles by Sterling Ethos of New York City a division of Barnes & Noble’s. He taught university courses in Philosophy and Religion from 1967 to 2009 with a specialization in the History of Mysticism. He met Dr. Helen Schucman the scribe of A Course in Miracles in 1973. Helen introduced him to the Course and served as his counselor and guide till she became ill in 1980.
Learn to Forgive to Live a Life of Peace and Happiness
If you are a spiritual seeker, there’s a good chance you know of A Course of Miracles (ACIM), considered one of the most influential works ever written. Author, lecturer and minister Dr. John Mundy has written Living a Course of Miracles to help followers put the teachings of the Course into practice. Here, Dr. Mundy gives us some insight into ACIM, its teachings and his involvement in the Course.
He is a retired lecturer of philosophy, religion and psychology at Interboro Institute, The New School and Mercy College. He has also taught inside Sing Sing and Bedford Hills Prison for Women, the State University of New York and Marist College. He is co-founder of Interfaith Ministries and publisher of MiraclesMagazine.org. He has authored several books, including What Is Mysticism?, Missouri Mystic, Awaken to Your Own Call: A Comprehensive Introduction to A Course in Miracles, Listening to Your Inner Guide, The Ten Laws of Happiness, Money and Jesus, Search for the Center, and Learning to Die.
BOYT: What is A Course in Miracles (ACIM) all about? What is the core premise?
Jon Mundy: When the great spiritual masters reach enlightenment, that enlightenment comes with the awareness that the thing we call an ego does not exist. It never has been and it never will be. It is a dream, a fleeting fantasy and it has no more reality than any of the billions of dreams that the many billions of people who inhabit this planet dream every night. Having no reality, the ego cannot be defined. We need, however, a “working definition” to be clear about the illusion we seek freedom from. We need more awareness so it will not “possess us” in an unconscious way.
My favorite definition of the ego is this: the ego is that which defines, interprets, projects, judges, and analyzes. It is that which is dreaming the dream or “making up the world.” For this very reason the world itself is a projection. The ego has no eternity in it. God is eternal, God is real. Love is eternal. Love is real. We simply dream that we are trapped in a body, in space, in time. The task of the Course is, therefore, to help us be free of the illusion of self (ego) so we can remember who we are in truth—not an ego, but Spirit and as Spirit also a part of God. As the Course says, (speaking metaphorically) “There is no place where the Son ends and the Father begins.”
After his enlightenment, Buddha said he was “awake.” According to the Course, learning always begins with the awakening of Spirit and a turning away from physical sight. Physical sight is limited to the body’s eyes. Physical sight shows us the outer world and that is never satisfying. No matter how many experiences we have or how many things we acquire, before long we will want more. The outer world provides, at best, some temporary satisfaction. Eat and before long you will be hungry. Have sex and before long you may want it again.
In the movie The Bucket List, the main characters played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman go off to see the greatest sights in the world. They sit and look at the pyramids and then they go off to look at something else. The eyes are never satisfied. Satisfaction is never found in the world or in any fantasy. When Jesus in the Gospels says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” he doesn’t mean it’s in our bodies. The body is destined to die. While the ego mind can be possessed by illusions, Spirit remains eternally free.
BOYT: How did you become interested in ACIM and what has been your involvement?
Jon Mundy: In 1973 I met Dr. Helen Schucman, the scribe of the Course, when she and Dr. William Thetford came to a lecture I was giving on mysticism. The following year, I wrote a letter which was published in the newsletter of the American Association for Transpersonal Psychology. In the letter, I expressed interest in being in contact with anyone who was working in the fields of psychotherapy and spirituality as I was doing a dissertation on the conjunction of these two fields. Dr. Thetford saw my letter and suggested to Helen that it was a call for her to complete the writing of the pamphlet, “Psychotherapy, Purpose, Process, and Practice,” which she had begun but never completed. She agreed that my letter was a call for her to complete the psychotherapy pamphlet. She completed it in April 1975. She then called me saying that she had something for me. I agreed to meet with her, Dr. Thetford, and Dr. Ken Wapnick at Ken’s little studio apartment in New York City. There, Helen told me how the Course had come into being and she gave me a copy of the psychotherapy pamphlet.
I walked home that evening with the manuscript under my arm thinking that probably the most important thing which had ever happened to me had just happened, but I had no idea what it was. Not long thereafter, Helen met Judy Skutch. Judy and I were both on the faculty at New York University and had been friends for several years. Judy saw to it that a bunch of copies of the Course were Xeroxed and a small group of us started studying the Course in manuscript format. After the meeting at Ken’s, Helen became my counselor and guide and continued in that role until she became ill in 1980. I’ve been an active student and teacher since 1975; I’ve written eight books and produced a number of CDs based on the teachings of the Course.
BOYT: Why did you decide to write Living a Course of Miracles? What is your goal with the book?
Jon Mundy: It’s one thing to read the Course; it’s another matter altogether to put its principles into practice. You don’t do yoga by reading a book on yoga. In the same way, the Course becomes increasingly clear when I do what it is asking me to do. Living a Course in Miracles is a book about the practical application of the principles of the Course. What we are called to do is give up our judgments of everything in favor of seeing through what the Course calls “the Vision of Christ.” The Vision of Christ sees wholeness and innocence. It cannot see what is not there. I wrote the book in good part because my publisher, Sterling Ethos of New York City, asked me to do so, knowing there was a need for it.
BOYT: How would you characterize ACIM as a practice? Is it religion-based?
Jon Mundy: The Course says of itself that it is but one of “many thousands” of pathways back to God. There is nothing that says that anyone has to do the Course. There is no evangelism in the Course. To evangelize, I must believe that I am right and you are wrong and you need to see things the way I do. The Course is not a religion. It is a study. There are no rites, no rituals, no dogmas, no laws, no creeds, no required ways of believing, no temples, and no churches. There are no ministers. There are no priests. There is no hierarchy. Once you have a hierarchy, you have someone at the top, someone at the bottom, someone in the middle, and ego games going on to see who gets to be on top; who gets to be in the middle; and who has to stay at the bottom. The idea is to keep the ego out altogether. The Course is simply a spiritual discipline or study. It can be done completely on one’s own. It can also be studied in groups, and by attending workshops and conferences. It is essentially a spiritual psychology.
BOYT: Why do you call ACIM a radical philosophy that “asks us to engage in a total reversal in thinking?” What is that shift?
Jon Mundy: The word “radical” means “root” as in a “radish.” The Course is radical in that it goes to the root of the problem; namely, the decision we made to turn away from God, to try and do things on our own. This is pretty much the problem we find in the Adam and Eve narrative in the book of Genesis. Our basic problem is an authority problem. In essence, we say to God, “Thank you very much God, I would rather do it myself.” We have free will. Free will is a characteristic of divinity; therefore, as in the story of the prodigal son, God does not stop us from going off on our own. God also knows that one day we will find that all of our external searching is unsatisfactory. One day we will turn around, come Home (remember Heaven), and realign our will with His. It’s inevitable—so why wait for heaven?
The Course calls for a reversal in thinking. We’ve been looking at the world for so long through judgmental eyes that it takes a good bit of work before we can stop making up the world, let it be what it is, and switch our allegiance from seeing with judgment to allowing what is. We are called upon to let our brothers and sisters be who they are and not to make of love an enemy. If I point out the error of my brother’s ego, I must be seeing through my own ego. Once we stop the projection, we have an opportunity to see things the way they really are and the way they really are is fine. God really is in charge, always has been and always will be. In the end we see that it’s not about time—it’s about remembering the truth of our identity as Spirit, in every present moment.
BOYT: How does the Course compare to other spiritual teachings? Is it unique?
Jon Mundy: The Course is a universal curriculum available to everyone. Although Christian in context (i.e. it uses Christian mythology to explain the basic concepts) it is eastern in outlook and flavor. Dr. Thetford, Helen’s companion in the composition of the Course, said it was “the Christian Vedanta.” Like the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, the Course is monistic. All there is in truth is God, Love, Truth, Life and Light—big words, all of which are synonyms. There can be no opposite to God, no opposite to truth, to love, etc. There is, therefore nothing to be afraid of. Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. There is no hell, no devil, no body, and no world. Though they may look very real, ultimately all these things are ideas of the ego. They are all ephemeral. Like all dreams, they are born in time and they will disappear in time. Life is eternal and not delimited by time. Only that which is true is everlasting. Everything else is an illusion, a fleeting fantasy; it will one day disappear.
The Course is unique in its level of psychological sophistication. It is truly a document of the 20th and the 21st centuries. It could not have appeared before Freud, as it was not until Freud that we had a clear ego psychology. Freud understood the ego very well. Freud, however, thought we were stuck with the ego. He did not see any way for us to be free of it. Freud was an atheist. If he had studied eastern philosophy, he might have seen the way out. The Course, like much of eastern philosophy, is saying that we can be free of the ego by recognizing its non-reality. It is also important that Einstein passed by this planet before the Course came out, as it was not until Einstein that we had the theory of relativity. Time, said Einstein, can speed up. It can slow down and the really interesting thing is what happens when it stops. At that point, we can step out of time. The ego and its home, the body, are innate to time. Life is not bound by time or a body.
BOYT: For readers who might be considering ACIM, what are some of the personal benefits they might experience with the Course?
Jon Mundy: At one point, the Course says that the goal of the Course is happiness. At another point, it says that the goal of the Course is peace. At another point, it says that the goal of the Course is peace and happiness. If you are peaceful, you are probably pretty happy. If you are happy, you are probably pretty peaceful. Ultimately, the Course leads us to freedom from all the judgment and all of the external searching, which goes with the ego. Ultimately, only God is and all is well.
Mysticism and A Course in Miracles – Jon Mundy
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I speak to Dr. Jon Mundy, a well-known Teacher and Author in the ACIM community! Jon has been the editor of Miracles Magazine, the longest running ACIM magazine / newsletter, since 1985. Jon is an expert on comparative religion and philosophy, and taught university courses in philosophy and religion from 1967 to 2009. He is also the author of several books: including “Missouri Mystic”, “What is Mysticism?”, and the recently published “Living A Course in Miracles”.
We talk about Mysticism and A Course in Miracles:
- What is Mysticism?
- Some of Jon’s mystical experiences
- How ACIM and other spiritual paths seek to connect us to the pure non-dual state
We then move on to
- His personal experiences growing up in a farm in Missouri
- As a spiritual seeker in India, and meeting gurus such as Muktanada and Rajneesh (Osho)
- His personal experiences knowing Marianne Williamson and Helen Schucman years ago!
- Jon’s alter(ed) ego, the stand up philosopher-comedian Dr. Baba Jon Mundane
- His advice for new ACIM students
Peter Shockey’s newest literary release Miracles, Angels & Afterlife shares with his devoted audience the most fascinating evidence of miracles on Earth. The author shares his own account of his brush with the miraculous and divine presence of angels. Shockey leads the reader through a meticulously researched and plotted telling of miracles through the ages and how their existence has changed our lives. Divine intervention has never been so tangible, so close as in these pages. This intriguing spiritual journey discusses the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, what lies in life and afterwards in the beyond. This book will inspire you to change the way you see miracles and the touch of the divine in everyday life.
Marianne Williamson is a bestselling author (Return to Love, Healing the Soul of America), a world-renowned teacher, and one of the most important New Age thinkers of our time. In The Law of Divine Compensation, she reveals the spiritual principles that help us overcome financial stress and unleash the divine power of abundance. A guru to anyone interested in New Age spirituality, Williamson’s words ring with power and truth as she assures us that, with faith in God’s promise of prosperity for all, we need never fear the future. 
In 1976, a mysterious “Inner Voice” spoke to Helen Schucman, dictating what would come to be known as A Course in Miracles–a spiritual classic that would go on to sell over two million copies and influence countless people worldwide. Those who study this 1,333-page course can struggle for years to progress through its resonant but often difficult-to-comprehend truths. 
Jon Mundy, Ph.D. is an author, lecturer and the Executive Director of All Faiths Seminary International in New York City. He is the publisher of Miracles magazine, and the author of 9 books including his newest book Living A Course in Miracles by Sterling Ethos of New York City a division of Barnes & Noble’s. He taught university courses in Philosophy and Religion from 1967 to 2009 with a specialization in the History of Mysticism. He met Dr. Helen Schucman the scribe of A Course in Miracles in 1973. Helen introduced him to the Course and served as his counselor and guide till she became ill in 1980.
