by: Cory L. Kemp
Today marks the beginning of the Group of Eight, or G8 Summit, a meeting of leaders from the world's wealthiest industrialized nations to discuss global economic and development issues. Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, hosts France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia, the countries that make up the G8 membership. The agenda for these meetings is growth and responsibility in the global community, as well as on the African Continent. Chancellor Merkel has clearly stated her belief that we need all global players to make this happen, implying a commitment to carry on the moral agenda set forth by the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Although these Summits are held annually, it was the historic agenda at Gleneagles that drew the world's attention. That gathering settled on the reality that in order to help Africa move forward and heal, we the wealthiest countries of the world would need to increase aid, forgive the debt Africa owes to us and remove trade barriers that hinder African exports. These broad-based goals centered on the intent of eradicating extreme poverty in our world in this generation. Quite remarkable is that in this point/click/delete world we have not lost hope for ourselves that this vision can be made real. In that there is immeasurable grace. Having grown up through the 1960's and 70's believing that anything was possible, many of my generation have held onto our idealism through personal and societal struggles, long enough to see the cycles with which life blesses us. We have enough of ourselves in place to be comfortable with what we don't know, but are equally grounded in what we do know, and what it can mean to live into that knowledge for all it is worth. From such places comes care for our communities, our country, our world, our people, and faith at how education, healthcare and housing can begin to make lives whole. From such places comes wisdom that recognizes that these problems of AIDS and malaria, polluted water and inadequate sanitation, trade injustice and poverty, are not new or easily solvable, but they are indeed able to be addressed and steadily diminished over time. Perhaps because of our idealism, or maybe because we are uniquely positioned as a generation between World War II and the Iraq War, with a thick layer of Vietnam sandwiched in for good measure, we recognize that some things never change, but that many,many more can and do with an investment of will and compassion. We are fortunate materially, more so than generations which preceded us, and perhaps even those following us, but we are also blessed with an embodied hope that cannot be denied. My own memory of this kind of hope had fallen a bit dim, unbeknownst to me until I opened an alumni update bulletin from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay a few days ago. While leafing through its glossy pages I happened upon the familiar face of Julie Brickley, my favorite professor who had passed on almost ten years ago. Two of her close friends and colleagues had established a scholarship in her honor. You see, although Julie was my favorite professor, she was cherished by the university community as a whole. She was the first woman to receive the UW-Green Bay Founders Award for teaching excellence, and she founded and chaired the Women's Studies program of which I was a part. "Julie believed passionately that language lived at the heart of learning in every discipline," said her colleague. " She brought its joy and beauty to her daily teaching." This woman who had inspired me to connect with my own heart and dreams, with my hope for the future, was inspiring me again. Perhaps the G8 Summits will function in this way for our world this year and for all the years to come. The Summits are no longer just a small group of white men (and the occasional woman) meeting for a couple of days each summer, ruminating on the world's ills and delivering heady economic solutions for them. Now the G8 Summits will always be linked to the simple hope, the ready belief that we can eradicate extreme poverty in our world in this generation. Our generation. It will not happen overnight, but the process is already begun. We are doing it, one step at a time. The Biblical concept of hope is deeply rooted here, it is strong and it grows in us each day. And, indeed, we are assured that, "Hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:5)."
About The Author
As an ordained minister, Rev. Kemp has worked in both pastoral and educational ministries in several congregations. Her ministerial background and love of writing have combined to develop Creating Women Ministries, a website dedicated to encouraging theological dialogue, particularly among women, through workshops, journaling and personal spiritual development. Her book, You Don't see Many Chickens in Clearance: Essays on Faith and Living, is available for perusal or purchase at http://www.chickensinclearance.com. Visit Creating Women Ministries at: http://www.creatingwomenministries.com for the e-book edition. Questions? Thoughts? Musings? She can be reached by email at: creatingwomen@irun.com.
Questioning the Definition of Astrology, Our Ancestors Pass On Their Memories and Behaviour Through Spiritualism
by: Nicholas Jacob
Everyone has a hard time justifying astrology as a science due to the wide variations that exist within the world of humans. The definition of astrology is an ancient system of divination using the positions of the planets, moon, and stars. According to astrology the celestial bodies exert specific energies that influence people and events. These influences may be determined by mapping positions in the sky at various times, but is still regarded today as a huge speculative issue due to the deep complexities and misunderstanding associating the field. What if the powers of Astrology had a deeper meaning, which stretched into the spiritual world and the ethereal planes of existence, including the very top-tier planes of power. Astrology is widely interpreted by every human on earth, but only a certain few have a defined ability to understand anything about it. A fair amount of people define astrology as “nonsense” and “childish” through lack of understanding. These are of course the usual human reactions to something we can’t understand. How are the powers of astrology currently portrayed to the world? Currently, people manifest numbers and equations on planetary alignments, star locations, the apparent divine powers the sun has and also the moon. Their conclusion of what is the horoscope is usually the external scripture you will read. While largely amusing, holds little scientific merit. Astrology needs to be valued more than just this. It is a concept to be considered for all walks of life; it holds bearing to the time continuum of the past, present and future settings on earth. The human race has existed for a great deal of time now and has since evolved heavily in appearance, behaviour, intelligence, structure, strength, ability, perception and so much more. Some people consider the present to hold the “maximum amount of people time has ever seen” but again we can only speculate about such mysteries told of the highly advanced civilization that apparently walked earth (theosophists define it as Atlantis, the real society and cultural name is unheard) and the age old question of just how long has the world existed? The documented time that has existed shows the definitive lives of several billion people, all born under the same planetary rotation of the earth, which is 365 days or 52.177 weeks. This universal pre-set time fixture of 365 has dated and cycled existence accordingly throughout several millions of years, and in that time has been rotating humans. Currently the study of astrology and namely Astrologists are people who predict the future by the positions of the planets and sun and moon. They do this based on their own interpretation and creativity, which can be as inventive as the person likes. Astrology to some is just a shallow fabric of life to help them feel better by reading what is known as “Powerful wording” written by novelists and professional writers. It is widely under-appreciated the similarities that hold true in the definition of each human’s star sign. In that I mean for every 500 people born in August for example, on the exact same date, hold a very strong connection to each other in terms of their memories, philosophies, beliefs and behaviour. All things which astrology boasts, these are relations not understood by many. It is in that key of understanding and spiritual-thinking that makes people wonder how many humans were born at the exact same moment in time you were, only altering the year. If we were to find that spiritual connection, just how much like that person would we be? If you were to consider sun-sign astrology ONLY, this would be fallible due to the alteration of the physical plane of life, which is earth’s galaxy. If you were to consider all aspects and relations, the planes of existence, powers to be and the akashic records, these spiritual points all connect to the “collective consciousness” Carl Jung was referring to. The collective consciousness is only Jung’s interpretation and hence a vague reference to the gateways he portrayed. Jung attempted to show the connections between dreams, anthropology and the dualism of life to astrology. His work always showed these links but the people could never grasp the concept of them, given a large amount of humans will only work on what they perceive to be fact-based evidence. The creation of humans defined by scientists is a great example of what can be construed as myth or fact. Physical items “prove” evolution to be the definitive, such as bones and relics discovered at different points in time. We believe this to be the truth because we perceive it based on our senses, which is as far as some people can stretch their mind. This article is making a bold question to the beliefs of “Astrology”, the purpose intended is to get people thinking about the world and the deeper meanings it has to offer. Consider the relations, sources and relevant knowledge available to you and you’ll always keep an open mind to the question that everyone asks. “What is life”.
About The Author
Nicholas Jacob, hails from Cambridge, United Kingdom and has contributed this article for Universal Psychic Guild. You can find this psychic article at http://www.psychicguild.com and http://www.psychicguild.com/articles.php
Angels In Your Life
by: Daniella Breen
If you've heard that angels are here to help you, improve and empower your life, then what you've heard is true. Angels are creations of God, the Divine Creator. They are loving, kind, gentle, wise and powerful. They are here to help and heal, to guide and support every one of us while we live our lives here on Earth. All they need is the request from you. Angels follow a very important divine law, that of Free Will. The law of Free Will states that no being can interfere with. The law of Free Will means that the only way one being can help another, is after being asked to do so. The only way the angels can give you the help you desire, is after you have asked for their help. The only time this law is passed over is in the case of mortal danger, in which case the angels will interfere if it is not your time to die. Another consideration the arises from the Free Will law, is that the angels will not respond to your request to interfere in another's free will. This means that if your request is to have someone fall in love with you, own something that belongs to another or take a job that is another's, it will not happen. You would do better to ask for the angels to bring to you your ideal true love and help you clear anything that stands in the way. You could also ask for the perfect job that meets your desires or something better - a wonderful proviso that allows the angels to improve upon your request to bring about something even more ideal. So, how to engage the angels in your life. First, you call them to you. This is done by saying in your mind or out aloud, "Angels, I want to start working with you, please come to me now!". The instant you call them, they come to you whether you can feel them or not. You can then make your request. When preparing your request make sure you are clear on what it is you want to bring about. Make certain that you know and feel you deserve it. If at some level you have doubts about your self worth or fear the outcome of the fruition of such a request, you can short circuit the process, and it won't work. If this so you will need to use affirmations and other tools to clear away any such negative issues. Wording for a request for a particular job, might be worded like this "I know that I am ready to move forward in my work to the next level. I call upon you, to bring to me the perfect job for me. The perfect job includes better pay, a great office with a wonderful view, greater responsibility in my area of expertise and wonderful people to work with! I ask you to create for me, this or something better!". Of course this wording is generalised, you can be more specific according to your needs. The more you work with the angels, the more you will experience their power, love, generosity, willingness to help and guide.
About The Author
Daniella Breen is a therapeutic counsellor, spiritual counsellor and teacher with a degree in psychology. She runs the Shaman Goddess College on-line at http://www.shamangoddess.com including the comprehensive and easy to follow Angel Light Course that will connect you to your angels, teach you how to receive messages from your angels. Live support and guidance are readily available.
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