Did you enjoy yesterday’s story about the temperamental “money laundering” machine (see the article entitled “Giving Really Does Lead to Receiving” under my name)? I hope you did because I really had fun with it. The creative process of writing truly nurtures my soul and gives me great inner joy. Once I get going, the creative juices start to flow and I often find myself in the “zone” where words seem to come through easily and effortlessly. I am very grateful when that happens.

Ready for another story?

Unbeknownst to me, one of the vice presidents in charge of enrollment counselors at the University of Phoenix was in the midst of preparing for a celebratory meeting for her staff members. They had reached the magical 1,000 student enrollment number (700 students on campus and 300 online) and she wanted to acknowledge her group for their hard work.

She originally contracted with a comedy troupe to entertain on the day of the staff meeting. But right from the start she was beset with an overwhelming nagging feeling that the comedy troupe wasn’t exactly what she wanted. Whether or not she was aware of it, God was speaking to her. Fortunately, she listened to her intuition and went online in search for the right keynote speaker. Almost immediately she found my professional speaking website (www.sjhopson.com).

Her eyes were drawn to one of my keynote topics (“The Jordan Factor”) that felt like a perfect fit. It’s about the impact my fifth grade teacher made on me years ago with three words and how it caused a ripple effect throughout the rest of my life. It fit like a glove because she wanted to remind everyone the impact they were making on the students, many of whom are the first within their families to attend college.

With great excitement at this unexpected discovery, she emailed me at the very last minute to check into my availability on Friday, March 16, 2007. It so happened that I was available. A speaking contract was drawn up and a flurry of emails flew back and forth to make final arrangements.

Little did I know the universe had something bigger planned for me. It would lead me to take action on an inspired thought that I had not considered before. A couple of the teachers in “The Secret” DVD said when the universe gives you a course of action to take, do it! Don’t delay, don’t doubt, just ACT with faith.

Due to the fact that we were short on time and that I require a 50% deposit to hold all speaking dates, I gave the meeting planner two options. One was to FEDEX the check and the other was to use the donation button on this blog for immediate payment (look to the right and you’ll see a yellow PayPal decal).

To my surprise, not only did she opt to use the PayPal donation button but she paid the entire speaking fee two days ahead of time! It was unprecedented, taking me completely by surprise. This is where the universe inspired me to create a new payment center on my speaking website so that future clients have the option of electronically paying my speaking fees in full or at least with a 50% deposit prior to the engagement.

Wow, why didn’t I think of that before?

Clearly, this was a message from the universe telling me several things. One was how to increase my prosperity. Two, the fact that this client was willing to pay the entire fee upfront, sight unseen, was an indication that I continue to be in sync with the universal spiritual principles. Three, it was telling me that I am attracting other people with integrity because what you give out, you get back.

Despite these messages, the universe was not still not done with me yet. It had more surprises up its sleeve.

Not only did I have a lot of fun with the audience (I invited a staff member up onto the stage to perform an act, upon which I gave a free copy of the “heartwarmer” book containing the story about Mrs. Jordan), but they also gave me an unexpected standing ovation. Several people approached me afterwards simply because they wanted to hug me. Others wanted some advice. Some even asked for an autograph!

It was a most amazing day and it all happened because the meeting planner had a nagging feeling and acted upon it. Her actions triggered a series of events that I could never have orchestrated on my own. It was the law of giving and attraction at work in its finest hour!

This is another example of how you receive in other ways and not necessarily from the recipient of your gifts. By consistently giving and tapping into the law of attraction, you draw to yourself other people and circumstances of like-energy.

Food for thought: Consciously adopting and integrating the law of giving and attraction opens the way for miracles to happen. Why do you think the meeting planner had a nagging feeling? How do you think she was led to my site? Do you think any of that was an accident?

“Everything in Divine timing” I always say. When one keeps to his goals it will soon be apparent he is on track by the synchronicities that start appearing. People and situations will begin to show up in your life to support you and your desires. The trouble is, sometimes we don’t know what they are until later. Lately I have been doing some things in my life that I felt called to do. Both things were way outside my comfort zone! However, the calling was so strong I did it, fear and all! It was so uncomfortable for me to step so far outside my comfort zone that afterwards I would be thinking: “Why am I doing this! This is so uncomfortable for me!” But a voice inside always said to me, “You will know soon enough. Keep on keepin’ on!” So I did and still do. Both areas have to do with public speaking. An area in my life that was historically the worst possible thing for me to do! I truly cannot express how scary it was for me. I avoided public speaking classes in college like it was the black plague and forget about even giving a toast at a friend’s birthday. I would have rather cleaned port-a-johns than public speak. No joke.

However, with all that being said, I just KNEW that these opportunities were coming my way for a reason. I knew someday I’d understand why these opportunities kept appearing in my life. Of course, my ego would pull it’s typical tricks and try to keep my fear high and talk me out of it. But with all my studies on the ego, I was hip to it’s tricks and I made a conscious decision to not let it win. I realized how much the ego had sabotaged me in the past and knew that I had to actually go through with these things in order to strengthen myself and keep moving forward towards my desires! I have since joined a public speaking group and have been on a local morning television show 4 times.

Currently, I am working on my first book. Last weekend I attended a Writer’s Workshop hosted by Mishka Productions here in Phoenix, Arizona. It was one of the most amazing weekends of my life. Not only did I learn so much, there were sychronicities all over the place! Way too many to count. I just knew beyond a doubt that I was in the right place.

During one of the lectures, the editors were talking about platforming. And building one’s platform involves a lot of public speaking. A-HA!! There it is! The whole reason why these public speaking situations kept presenting themselves to me. I needed practice. I needed to learn a new skill. The universe was setting me up, grooming me for what inevitably will come up later in my journey. My goal/desire is to write a book, but what comes with being an author is public speaking. So there it is.

My intention in writing this article is to encourage all of you to listen to your inner voice. Be willing to step outside your comfort zone. When you know you should be doing something, do it! The universe is always working behind the scenes on your behalf. Sometimes we may not know the “why” of it, but have faith. There is a reason…

Diverse Quantum Field Theories and inter-related issues are presented here, accompanied by associated questions, philosophical discussions, and insights. This article includes among others, discussion about the beginning of our universe, time-space observations, and the non-deterministic needs for actual experiments to prove theories in physics, specifically the possibility to ascertain the existence of an object in space without necessarily interacting with it. Part of the issues discussed here is more philosophical rather than in the realm of theoretical physics.

Background

Special relativity was introduced in 1905. It tells us how motion, time, and velocity are relative to the observer and they are not absolute. Also, we know that particles cannot exceed the speed of light. General relativity, which was introduced in 1915, is about gravity and tells us how space-time is bent due to mass while affecting particle motion.

Quantum Physics explains the interaction between particles, which constitute the matter and their related forces, namely, it explains how everything works. Einstein was among the first physicists who described the evolution of ideas from early concepts to relativity and quanta [1] and the introduction of gravitational waves [2].

There are several quantum theories. Quantum Mechanics was developed in 1920 by Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, and others. It tells us, among others, how the position or momentum of a single or more particle changes over time.

There are three forces that matter interacts with: electromagnetism, which explains how atoms hold together, the strong nuclear force, which explains the stability of the nucleus of the atom, and the weak nuclear force, which explains the radioactive decay of some atoms. These three theories were assembled under the umbrella called the Standard Model of particle physics. The problem with this model was that it did not explain why matter has mass.

The existence of a particle that gives all other fundamental particles their mass, was predicted by Quantum Field Theories (QFT) over five decades ago and proved recently (2012) by Higgs [3].

The Beginning

Almost everybody agrees that the universe had a definite starting point. Some physicists believe that the actual point or time of creation cannot be explained by the currently known laws of physics. We are aware of the existence of gravitational waves that are caused by movements of large masses. Those waves were predicted by Einstein and they are included in his theory of general relativity.

13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred [4]. Accordingly, this is the distance that the observable universe may extend, which is 13.8 billion light-years. We may assume further that the space-time beyond that distance might be another universe and so there might be multi-universes or multiverse. We may argue about the Big Bang that generated our universe. What if there was more than one Big Bang? This assumption may lead to the existence of a multiverse.

A new era for the understanding of our universe may be started recently by the discovery of Higgs boson. A boson is a type of subatomic particle that imparts a force. Peter Higgs tried to explain why certain particles have mass and others do not have mass and they float in the universe like photons of light. According to Einstein, E=mc^2 which means that energy and mass are equivalent to one another, that is mass m=E/c^2 accordingly, if we add enough energy we may create mass. We have had endless debates about how the universe began and what was before that. My assumption based on many arguments is that the only way we do not violate any conservations laws is to assume that our universe was created out of nothing. There might be another theory that supports the idea that there’s no end or beginning to the creation of our universe.

Time, Space and Relativity

We use the word time directly and indirectly very often in our daily conversation and throughout our lifetime: time is money, time of life, time after time, between times, gain/loss of time, good/bad time, slow/fast time, right/wrong time, before/after time, present time, past time, real-time, on time, in no time, kill time, any time, every time, plenty of time, timeless, time limit, time cycle, time cures, and time flies…

Time is depicted by artists in various ways, among them the famous ‘melting clocks’ by Dali. We can distinguish between pure time, relative time, and absolute time. Time measurement is the unit of time to which all time measuring devices ultimately refer to. It is a point at or a period in which things happen, a repeated instance of anything or a reference to repetition, the state of things at any period.

Space is that part of the boundless four-dimensional continuum in which matter is physically rather than temporally extended. Relativity recognizes the impossibility of determining absolute motion and leads to the concept of a four-dimensional space-time continuum.

The special theory of relativity, which is limited to the description of events as they appear to observers in a state of uniform motion relative to one another are developed from two axioms: The law of natural phenomena is the same for all observers and the velocity of light is the same for all observers irrespective of their velocity. Space and time in the modern view are welded together in a four-dimensional space-time continuum.

There is no clear distinction between three-dimensional space and independent time. Time means different things to different ‘observers’. This may not agree with the axioms (on which the special relativity theory is based) described earlier, at least not from a psycho-philosophical point of view.

These ‘observers’ may include people (humans), animals, plants, clocks, and other beings outside our time universe. Time seems to be different for different people: age, education, origin, mental stage, and religion may all affect. Time appears ‘slow’ when we are young and ‘fast’ as we grow older. Time seems to be passing faster when we are enjoying ourselves or when we are busy, as opposed to when we are bored or idle. The description of time-related events in the history of humankind differs in different cultures.

Clocks and other similar instruments measure time and tend to be almost identical in terms of information about it. This is to be expected as we designed them all to measure time defined to be consistent within our universe. Time is continuous concerning our universe and within it, and it is relative to our observations. When we observe a moving object between two points we ‘see’ it traveling all the distance between the two points, so we assume that this continuity of observation means that time is continuous. This may not be the case, however, if we perform our observation in another galaxy or in another dimension, where these rules are not necessarily valid. In the digital domain, as opposed to the analogue domain, we may observe the same continuity of moving objects. The time is digitized, however, and between two consecutive time points there is a gap of a certain fraction of a time unit, equivalent to the sampling resolution, where ‘anything might happen’.

For other creatures, these time gaps may represent their entire lifecycle, or we may be living within our time with another life form, whose time resolution fits with our ‘dead times’, which are our time gaps. Television is viewed as continuous moving pictures, whereas actually, it comprises discrete individual pictures, projected at thirty frames (or more) or pictures per second. Time can be measured, viewed, and evaluated. The observer’s tools for the evaluation of time are his/her senses. Unfortunately, senses can be fooled.

Strobe light projected onto a rotating disk will generate the illusion of a still disk. Are our other observations wrong or at least inaccurate, then, particularly if we are a small subpart or subspace of a much larger and more complex galaxy?

In the laboratory, we have successfully accelerated and slowed down certain processes, such as chemical or other natural processes. These experiments offered the possibility to control processes which were functions of time. Certain processes were successfully reversed to what they were before, indicating ‘pseudo going back in time’, which is not going back in time, but it looks like it.

The introduction of computers generated a revolution in time-related processes and enabled not only the observation of past and present time-related phenomena but also predictive processes, which are future time-dependent scenarios. Time affects our entire lifecycle, our birth, our life, and death. Our heartbeats almost once every second and our inner biological clock operate throughout our life. If we overturn this clock by flying to another time zone, our body suffers a phenomenon known as jet lag and it takes some time to adapt to its new condition. Time affects most of the processes and phenomena on earth, some faster and some slower. If there are time-independent phenomena or a phenomenon that until today has seemed to be unaffected by time, then these scenarios must be classified as ‘past, present, and probable future’ [5].

As the observer’s time is limited, we are unable to analyze these timeless phenomena without using certain assumptions and predictions.

According to Einstein, time is more like a river, flowing around stars and galaxies, speeding up and slowing down as it passes massive bodies. One ‘second’ on the earth is not one second on Mars. All materials, including all known life forms and other mass owned celestial bodies, are time-dependent. In time we have the interval between past and future, while in space we may remain in the same place. Time has a sequential moment that follows one another, so it seems time is moving and moving in one direction [6].

Since the 1920s we know that energy isn’t continuous and we are not made of particles but we are made of fields. The field is not allowed to stay still, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. One of the strange physical phenomena is the Quantum Leap, which is a discrete or discontinuous transition between quantum states. This happens when an electron in one energy level in an atom jumps instantly into another energy level. It is emitting or absorbing energy during this leap, which happens instantly without taking any time to do so [7].

Experiments are required for proving theories in Physics.

The need to prove theories by experiments in physics is obvious. Physics is an experimental science. Some would argue that theoretical physics is useless without experimental tests. Not everybody agrees to this deterministic statement.

The role of theoreticians is to propose several alternative scenarios, which are tested by certain experiments while applying a high level of logical and mathematical rigor. Linking theories to experiments is not an easy task and they require high logical precision. Albert Einstein supported the use of thought experiments as a tool for proving the physical reality not necessarily using actual experiments, especially when it was technically difficult or even impossible. In general, we are not arguing for the need for an experiment to prove a theory; however, we do argue that the mere physical act of the experiment in certain cases may prove or disprove a physical theory, while the experiment itself may generate an uncertainty.

In addition to physics, the need to perform tests and experiments are typical needs in diverse scientific fields. In industries such as aviation, the need for non-destructive tests is obvious. The solutions are by applying sophisticated laser technologies like Holography. In medicine, we perform the reconstruction of our inner organs or tumor by using Astro-Physics algorithms of filtering (Fourier) and back-projection like used in CT and MRI systems.

The greatest scientific discoveries were originated between the synapses of the scientist’s brain and not necessarily originated or proved by using an experiment. Some of them never proved in a lab and some of them until today was not proved, because of many reasons in addition to the technical inability or other obstacles.

During the last several decades, physicists argue that in spite of the great progress in mathematics supporting theories, they still have limited connection to experimental testing. There are theoretical physicists who embrace this possibility of doing theoretical physics without the need for experimental verification.

Insisting on experiments only to prove a theory is not always required to ascertain the correctness of the related theory. The case of particle-wave duality may well demonstrate this claim.

As Einstein wrote: “It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do.”

This claim of duality and other claims of theory verification problems are specifically required in theories where we need to ascertain the existence of an object in space without necessarily interacting with it.

We know that our QFT is not perfect and it may have many ‘holes’ and non-deterministic or unproven theories. This fact has introduced a certain level of uncertainty, such as Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle (1927), accordingly, we cannot simultaneously measure the position and the velocity of an object.

Physicists and philosophers may have overlapping and common views of theories. Both may believe in theories that they can’t prove. Some theoretical physicists may believe in their theories even when they don’t have empirical or experimental proofs.

String theory links quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity. In general, the theory states that subatomic particles are very small one-dimensional strings, not zero-dimensional points and they are constantly moving or vibrating. However, currently, we can’t test the validity of String theory, yet most physicists believe it’s viable. Einstein never conducted a single experiment; all his theories were predictions, assumptions that years later some of them were proved by an actual experiment.

References

[1] Einstein, A., Infeld. L. (1938). The Evolution of Physics: The Growth of Ideas from Early Concepts to Relativity and Quanta. Cambridge University Press. Quoted in Harrison, David (2002). “Complementarity and the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics”. UPSCALE. Dept. of Physics, U. of Toronto.

[2] Einstein, A., & Rosen, N. “On Gravitational Waves”, Journal of the Franklin Institute 223, 43 (1937).

[3] Ram, G. “God Created the Particles and God Created Higgs”, 2012

https://ezinearticles.com/?God-Created-The-Particles-And-God-Created-Higgs&id=7164754

[4] Ram, G., “Genesis, Big-Bang, and Light-Year”, 2015

https://ezinearticles.com/?Genesis,-Big-Bang-and-Light-Year&id=9120045

[5] Ram, G., “Time, Space and Relativity”, ISBN: 978-9659162314, 2012, pp. 24-30

[6] S. W. Hawking, “The no boundary condition and the arrow of time,” in Physical Origins of Time-Asymmetry, J. J. Halliwell, J. Perez- Mercader, and W. H. Zurek, eds. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), p. 346.

[7] Schrodinger, E., Are there quantum jumps? The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Volume III, Issue 11, November 1952, Pages 233-242, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/III.11.233

Non-interference is one of the great laws of the universe that is followed always by the beings from the higher realms. Would that it were so in the lower realms. There is a fine line between being helpful and being interfering. It is a very fine line indeed. The aspect of it that so many people do not consider is the unspoken language that accompanies all tries at being helpful. The nuances of the voice, the look in the eyes, the body motion, all this goes into the area of making a simple suggestion suddenly become interference. The art of not having this happen is something that all must learn and is the foundation for acquiring diplomacy.

One can vocally state that they are just providing the facts, or giving their opinion and that it should have no bearing on the decision of the one they are talking to. This would be fine if this were the case, but 95% of the time it truly is not the case. There is a definite manipulative endeavor behind most discourses of this nature. When the one receiving information or advice of this sort feels this manipulation coming through the other’s conversation he must immediately put himself on alert that there is danger of interference to his free will being expressed by this person.

As soon as he is aware, it negates, to a certain point, the interference that is being injected into his life, but it never entirely eliminates what has been said. It is similar to a court trial where a statement is erased from the records and the jury told to dismiss it. It can never be done away with as it made its indentation on the ethers and became alive the moment it was uttered.

It is very difficult for the human race to take enough time before speaking to assure themselves that they are not interfering. Even when another has asked your opinion or asked you to gather certain information, there is still a fine line between doing what is asked and interfering. Humanity needs to learn when they are overstepping the Universal Law of non-interference in another’s lessons. This non-interference is so important, and it does not mean indifference, and it does not mean impersonality. It has its own fine line of overstepping boundaries.

This applies to counselors as well as to just plain friends giving advice – more so, probably, to the counselors because they are most often open lines to the inner plane guides and teacher. This makes the possibility of them overstepping the boundaries much more likely to happen than just an ordinary friend giving advice. The boundary that they cannot overstep is interference. Anything that is going to tell another what his decision should be, or must be, is interference and will reap its own karma. Those people giving readings must learn this. This must be one of the first things they learn, in that they cannot tell anyone what their decision to a problem should be. How will this soul ever grow if someone is constantly telling him the choices he must make? That is not freedom that is the opposite. That is imprisoning his mind.

Killing another is the worst kind of interference because it nullifies and voids everything set up for that one in that lifetime. There are other forms of interference which are not nearly as severe or as serious, but are still wrong. One of these would be telling another that you think they should get a divorce; that you think this is the way they should go. That you should not do!

Even to suggest to another that you think they should change jobs, or that you definitely feel that they have been wronged in the position they are holding now and should change jobs, is interference! Another term for it is “sticking your nose into others business.” Right along with the golden rule should be MYOB (mind your own business) a very good rule to follow when it comes to interference.

This is where common sense and intelligence must come in. You can mind your own business to the point where you sit and watch someone starve to death. That’s not what is being talking about either. Common sense basically is your God Within talking because it deals with your conscience. Common sense is a by-product of your conscience plus other factors, your environment, your upbringing, your education, but it is a by-product of your conscience. When this is coupled with intuition is when the best results for a counselor would occur.

Prevailing cosmological theory relating to the initial development of the universe, Hot Big Bang explains how the planet evolved through stages. Very hot at the beginning, the earth became cooler by expansion to a diluted state. In the hotter state it was dense and in cooler state due to expansion hydrosphere was created that covers 70% of the earth mass.

One of the unique features of such evolution pointed out by the cosmological theory is that earth still continues to expand as it gets cooler. At the same time the theory is supported through comprehensive as well as accurate explanations of scientific evidences and observations. Most recent measurements made using big bang theory is that initial hot conditions of earth took place around 13-14 billion years ago.

Proponent of the cosmological theory, Georges Lemaitre explained the origin of the universe through his theory. Called the “hypothesis of the primeval atom”, the theory borrowed heavily from the general relativity theory of Albert Einstein. Other components of the theory were simplifying assumptions like homogeneity as well as isotropy of space. Theories of Lemaitre of 1927 were later improved upon by Alexander Friedman and Edwin Hubble in 1929. They found out that distances to all the galaxies located far way are proportional to their corresponding redshifts. Such findings validated the epic findings of Lemaitre.

Essence of theory is that every distant galaxy and their clusters have apparent velocity that is directly away from the vantage points. As the distance grows, velocity grows proportionately as well. Galaxies that have floated apart were nearer in the distant past. Experimentations made with particle accelerators confirmed this theory of extreme density and temperature.

Like all other theories, the hot big bang theory has also its downsides. For instance, the accelerators used for the experimentations have limited capacity of probing into very high energy regimes. While the theory explains quite convincingly the evolutions after the initial condition of the planet and the universe, it does not explain the initial condition or how it came up.

Yet all said and done, the observations made by the inventors of this cosmological theory match calculated predictions closely. In the process it explains well the evolving cooling process the universe has been undergoing. Qualitative and quantitative details of the syndrome have been outline using the big bang nucleon-synthesis.

Born on Janury 5, 1966, in an urban district of Santurce in San Juan, Deborah Fátima Carthy-Deu became the second Puerto Rican to won the prestigious Miss Universe 1985. On July 15, 1985 in Knight Center of Miami in the State of Florida, Puerto Rico made another mark in the history of beauty for bringing home the crown of Miss Universe.

Deborah is the daughter of Ramón Carthy Sanchez and Vicky Sanz Deu. Her father is of Irish and white Puerto Rican descent and is a professional photographer and director while her mother works as the director of an academy for modeling and ballet at Academia de Ballet y Modelaje. She went to a catholic school for her elementary education and attended the Commonwealth High School for her secondary education.

At a young age of thirteen, Deborah spent her summer taking dance lessons in New York City in the United States. At thirteen, she also auditioned and was accepted as a member of Ballet Concierto, a dance theater company.

In her college days, she was crowned as Miss San Juan 1985. The same year, on April 27, 1985 she won the title of Miss Puerto Rico, a title that made her the official representative of Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 1985 pageant. On July 15, 1985, she won the crown of Miss Universe in Miami, Florida, making her the second in her country to won the crown after fifteen years. The first Miss Universe title won was on 1970 by Marisol Malaret. Indeed, with Deborah Fátima Carthy-Deu contributions, she gave so much pride to Puerto Rico.

Black and naked (except for a necklace of 50 human heads)-hair wild and tongue out, Kali certainly knows how to make an entrance! Brandishing a sword and a human head in her two left hands, she destroys everything in her path and then dances maniacally upon the dead. In terror, awe and morbid fascination, we stare. Fight or flight?

But how can we fight she who destroyed everything we thought we knew? Cut to the core, how can we run? No matter: in a battle against the universe itself, where would we run? Old instincts flare, but they no longer serve. When Kali appears, life as we knew it ceases to exist.

As a Medical Intuitive and Life Coach specializing in transitions, I receive many “post-Kali” calls. Individual traumas vary: life-threatening illness, disabling injury, divorce, job loss, natural disaster, financial emergency, or-sometimes even more disturbing-an uncanny sense that things are about to change. (Kali phones ahead with her party plans.) Despite variations, these experiences hold one thing in common: they demand attention. What little warnings, gentle nudges, intuitive hits or lesser traumas did not accomplish, Kali has. Distractions, whether silly or sophisticated, just can’t compete with complete annihilation.

In order to begin rebuilding, we first need to examine the destruction. Doing so takes courage. Even though we ultimately need to look at the mess ourselves, it helps to have a Kali-survivor involved in the surveying process. Someone who has already faced Kali knows the pain of loss in a way that well-meaning friends or family sometimes cannot understand.

There are losses and then there is what I call a “Kali loss”: the sense that our entire reality was an illusion and nothing real remains. This feeling does not respond to typical cheer-up methods because those methods, too, reveal their illusory nature. Alone and scared, we yearn for deep, unchanging truth. Anything less just adds to the overwhelming carnage. Most people cannot afford to witness this level of destruction because doing so might crumble their own comfortable sense of reality. Instinctively, they put up walls to protect themselves, fighting us when we try to share the magnitude of our experience. When our usual support system fails, we’re supposed to turn inside, but inside’s a terrifying mess right now.

We cry out to the universe for help and Kali herself arrives-in the form of someone who has already witnessed his or her own destruction and rebuilding. Someone who honors the beauty and life-giving force of such experiences. Someone who can afford to look at our mess because his or her reality has already crumbled and reassembled in a powerfully expansive way. Non-attached to our previous conceptions or enculturations, s/he can more quickly and easily sift through the rubble, drawing our attention to pieces ready for new construction. S/he also helps us to look Kali in the face, recognizing our own prayers for change and ability to manifest the answers. When we paradoxically turn to Kali for help, she reveals herself not just as destroyer but as Mother-Creator.

Initially we might find Mother Kali in a book, a synchronous new friendship, a spiritual advisor, or Life Coach, but eventually we begin to recognize her in ourselves. By witnessing our own destruction, we find those parts that cannot be destroyed. We find our Essence, “that” which defies all labels and runs through everyone and everything. Kali’s black form absorbs all color and all vibration: she contains it all. The sword and head in her left hands symbolize Divine inspiration striking down our ego. The 50 human heads around her neck represent the 50 sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet-the root of all language. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” “But the Word is very near. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it.” We feel Divinity surging through body, mind and spirit, and we, too, begin to dance. “Let the dead bury their own dead. Come, follow me.”

Only then do we notice Kali’s two right hands-ready to bestow the blessings. As a Mother, Kali does not shelter her children. She throws us into the fire and lets all illusion, enculturation and attachments burn to a crisp. We scream as costumes turn to ash, railing against a universe that allows such suffering. And then it happens. We emerge from the fiery, bloodstained pit. Lighter, easier and full of Grace. We no longer fear death because we’ve already been through it. Signs of life sprinkle the horizon as green shoots push their way through now fertile soil. We learn that some trees will not plant seeds until the searing heat of fire tears through their casings. Pain and sorrow reveal themselves as parts of Life. Freed from the limitations of fear and resistance, we can revel in naked existence. Recreating ourselves in ways that express the fullness of our being. When ego goes up in smoke, we turn ourselves inside out and let our Light so shine.

Namaste.

Recently I wrote about the signs and symptoms of being on the “fast track” to spiritual awakening. One of the signs of awakening is receiving “secret” messages from the universe (from spirit) that help point you in the right direction. Secret messages from the universe can be anything from an announcement on the radio that answers a specific question you’ve been asking, to a gripping conversation with a stranger.

I call these kinds of messages “secret” because often, the person relaying the message to you isn’t aware that he’s doing it. If he were conscious of it somehow, he may have thought it was weird, he may have hesitated, and sometimes the universe just doesn’t want to take chances. (Okay, I know this sounds a bit crazy but hang in there and I will explain with a real-life, concrete example.)

I have received many secret messages when I began my awakening process several years ago, and I will share one of the more “ambitious” examples here. But first, some necessary background: When I had received the secret message I am about to share with you, I had already been urged by the Counsel of Light to start writing a book about a process of evolution I would go through that could not be found anywhere yet–it wasn’t in any book or manuscript, they said. It was something new. (They alerted me to this beforehand so that I would begin the process and keep an accurate log of it by writing about it in real time.)

But since I was an engineer and I hadn’t yet experienced this process (and the instructions from the Counsel of Light were channeled to me by a woman I had met once who lived 3000 miles away) I struggled with–as you can imagine–“just doing it.”

But as I had said, if something is important enough spirit will not take any chances and will give you signs that you must pursue a certain direction. Anyway, one day back in October of 2002 when I was still unsure of whether I was going to attempt to write this book or whether I was just being brainwashed, I had an interesting conversation with another parent named “J.” at my child’s grade school. I knew J. only briefly, and he knew little about me. The following is an excerpt from my memoir (not a memoir of my life–I am not that vain–but a memoir of my reconnecting and awakening process.)

“… Another interesting occurrence: while walking back to our car after dropping Angelika off at school, Julianne and I were startled by a walnut that landed near us from clear out of the sky. I stood for a moment and looked around. An old lone almond tree stood by the road, but there weren’t any walnut trees in sight. J., who happened to be strolling about a hundred feet behind, caught up to us and explained that a blackbird had dropped that nut. “Blackbirds fly up high and drop nuts onto hard surfaces so that the nuts crack. They know exactly how high they need to fly and they know to drop it onto the pavement. They’ve learned to do that,” he explained. “But how do they know?” he asked, looking straight at me.

“They just know,” I replied.

“It only takes one of them to learn a new behavior. The others follow, and soon thereafter, they’ve all learned it. Just like the 100th monkey theory. That’s how evolution works,” he went on. “It just takes that first one–the one that will begin. Everything depends on that first one.”

At this point the investigator part of my brain kicked in because something he said caught my attention. “Do you really think it’s important which one of them is the first? Does it really matter, which one?” I asked.

“Yes, he said, looking straight at me, “It’s very important.”

We reached my car by that time, exchanged “have a good day,” and then off he went to his. And after he was gone I thought to myself–what exactly did you mean with those words, using those words? Where did you get them from? Why did you tell me those things? I was agitated because I knew he had given me a message, just like the characters in the spiritual adventure novel The Celestine Prophecy–the book we had discussed several months earlier–kept on doing. They were always giving each other secret messages and having intense discussions about it as well.

Well, I knew what the message was, just not the why or the how of it. But I never asked J. any of those questions; I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because he might not have known the answers, might not have had a clue. He might have even denied giving me any secret messages. I also thought it might be a good idea, at least for the time being, to keep my investigative activities a secret.” (End of excerpt from my memoir.)

This sign from the universe (as well as others) helped me to pursue and actually fulfill my higher life purpose–which is to detail the steps of the spiritual awakening process and to give real life concrete examples so that others can go through this intense process more quickly and easily. (It can be painful and scary.) Furthermore, it’s one thing to acknowledge that yeah, humanity is on the verge of an awakening and it’s another thing altogether to know that process intimately and provide concrete examples.

When you get on the path to awakening, to fulfilling your life purpose, you will also begin to experience signs such as this and these signs will help point you in the right direction. Because you have something that’s important for you to pursue.

In conclusion, receiving secret messages a la Celestine Prophecy is a sign of spiritual awakening, a sign that you’re not digging your heels in but stepping up to the plate of awakening (except in real life it’s unlikely the messenger will know that he has a secret message for you).

Did you know…

USA

In 1986, Halle Berry, Ohio’s candidate, failed to capture the crown of Miss USA Universe in Miami, Florida. For this reason, she did not participate in the 34th Miss Universe in Panama City. Today Halle is a world-famous actress.

South Africa

Before a predominantly black audience at the Windhoek Country Club in Namibia ( Africa ), Augustine Masilela became South Africa’s first black delegate in the Miss Universe pageant ( 1995 ).

The Bahamas

In July 1982 Ava Marilyn Burke, Miss Bahamas, became the third black to conquer the Miss Photogenic Award after Bermuda’s Margaret Hill ( 1971 ) and Trinidad Tobago’s Janelle Commissiong ( 1977 ). Surprisingly Miss Bahamas defeated Cinzia Fiordeponti ( Italy ) and Odette Scrooby ( South Africa ). USA

Michigan-born Carole Gist became the first black Miss United States ( it should not be confused with “Miss America Pageant” ) in 1990. She was also the first non-Texas to be elected Miss USA Universe since 1984. This girl came close to winning the Miss Universe title in Los Angeles, California — she had been defeated by Mona Grundt ( Norway ).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the mid-1980s, Miss Zaire, Kayonga “Benita” Mureka Tete, almost won the global title in Miami, Florida. Her exotic and natural beauty impressed international judges, including Victor Bannerjee ( actor ) and Susan George ( actress ). During her stay in Florida, she was one of the most popular entries. In addition to Miss Zaire 1985, the African nation has sent only three delegates to Miss Universe : Ombayi Mukuta ( Miss Congeniality 1972 ), Lokange Lwali ( 1984 ) and Aimee Likobe Dobala ( semifinalist, 1986 ). Since 1997 Zaire changed its name to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Colombia

On November 14, 2001, Vanessa Mendoza was the first black to win the Miss Colombia contest, one of the most popular events in the South American nation since 1935.Like their countrywomen Aura Maria Mojica ( 1977 ), Patricia López ( 1987 ) and Claudia Elena Vasquez ( 1997 ), she was one of the heavy favorites to win the Miss Universe crown, along with Russian Okasana Fyodorova and American Shauntay Renae Hinton.Unfortunately Vanessa, who admires Nelson Mandela, did not make even the semi-finals in San Juan de Puerto Rico in 2002.

Brazil

In 1986, Deisy Nunes de Souza, Miss Brazil, became the first African-Brazilian woman to make the semi-finals in the Miss Universe Pageant in Panama City’s Atlapa Convention Center.

Curacao

In 1968, Anne Marie Braafheid, Miss Curacao, made history when she was first runner-up at the Miss Universe.

USA

America’s contestant Chelsy Smith, who was Miss Texas , became the second black woman to be named Miss Universe in 1995 in Windhoek, the capital city of the African country of Namibia. She was also the first black semi-finalist since 1993.

Botswana

After a failed try for the 1997 Miss World title in Mahe, Seychelles ( Africa ), Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Botswana, became Miss Universe in Chaguaramas ( Trinidad & Tobago ) in 1999. An international panel headed by former ambassador Charles Gargano chose Mpule — which means in Tswana “one who comes with the rain” — to be the last Miss Universe of the 20th century. Miss Universe 1999 once said, ” Today women use their beauty and brains to stand up for what they believe in, and pageants are platforms to spearhead and promote issues of concern”. She is one of Botswana’s five national idols.

Venezuela

Venezuela’s Carolina Indriago, who had been seen as the first black South American with real chance to capture a global title, finished fourth at the Miss Universe in 1999.

Trinidad & Tobago

Miss Trinidad Tobago, Janelle “Penny” Commissiong, lived up to her reputation as one of the most beautiful women of the Caribbean by winning the Miss Universe crown in 1977.She became the second woman to hold the MU and Miss Photogenic titles at the same time. During her reign, Janelle was seen as someone who could improve the status of race relations in the world.

Belize

Sarita Acosta became the first and only Miss Belize to make the semi-finals in the Miss Universe ( 1979 ). In the 70s, only five other black delegates did it : Cherrie Raphaelia Creque ( American Virgin Island, 1971 ), Maureen Ava Veira ( Aruba, 1974 ), Gerthie David ( Haiti, 1975 ), Janelle Commissiong ( Trinidad Tobago, 1977 ) and Gina Swainson ( Bermuda ).

Lesotho

Lesotho’s delegate Joan Libuseng Khoali was one of 12 favorites to win the universal title in Acapulco ( Mexico ) in 1978. She came from Lesotho, a tiny kingdom on the African continent.

Haiti

In the early 60s, Evelyn Miot, Miss Haiti, became the first black woman to make the second round in Miss Universe history.

Bermuda

Miss Bermuda, Margaret Hill, became the first black delegate to win the coveted Miss Photogenic trophy in 1970.

Tanzania

Tanzania, an African nation known for its mountains and wildlife, had a strong contestant in Miss Universe 2007.Her name: Flaviana Matata. “I am very glad to represent my country Tanzania and, above all, to make it to the top ten finals. I finished sixth out of the 77 contestants from across the world”, she said during an interview in Mexico City. She is the only MU semi-finalist from Tanzania.

Italy

Dominican-born Italian Denny Mendez came to international attention in 1996 when she was the first black girl to capture the Miss Italy, one of the world’s oldest beauty contests. She was chosen Miss Italy in a disputed and controversial election. In 1997 she placed fifth in the Miss Universe.

Panama

Gloria Karamanites was the only black candidate who qualified for the second round in the global contest in Seoul ( South Korea ) in 1980. In this decade, only five other black delegates did it: Benita Mureka ( Zaire, 1985 ), Deysi Nunes de Souza ( Brazil, 1986 ), Aimee Likobe Dobola ( Zaire, 1986 ), Carmelita Louise Ariza ( Turks & Caicos, 1987 ) and Sandra Foster ( Jamaica, 1989 ).

Trinidad and Tobago

Wendy Rachelle Fitzwilliam, a native from Trinidad Tobago, won the 46th Miss Universe title in Honolulu, Hawaii. Wendy once said: “My role model is Audrey Hepburn. Her extraordinary beauty and grace was reflected in all facets of her life. Ms. Hepburn was a good mother, always a lady, a pioneer in her support of UNICEF, and, of course, superb actress”.

France

African-born French Sonia Rolland, who escaped from the war in Rwanda, was crowned Miss France in 2000. This girl, now an actress, was one of the first black women to win the European contest. Miss France 2000 qualified for the second round in the 48th Miss Universe Pageant in Nicosia ( Cyprus ).

A theory of life, is that the universe is the transformation of magic into a moral version of itself – a change from magic to moral magic.

Assuming this is the case, what happens, when reality becomes the transition of magic (not necessarily immoral magic?) to moral magic?

The transition of magic, to moral magic, is a moral magic that is a non-change of magic. A moral magic that is the non-change of magic is an immoral truth that is the non-change of magic – an immoral truth that is the non-change of magic is an immoral truth that is the change of truth.

An immoral truth, that is a change of truth is a change of reality that is a moral reality; a change of reality is a real symmetry, and a real symmetry that is a moral reality is an actual balance that is an immoral magic.

Thus far, the actuality of balance is a magic that’s unfair. Of course, there’s no reason to understand this logic, but then that’s why the process isn’t over yet: an actual balance is not the same as balance, which means that just balance has the right to be equated with a moral magic (which obviously feels far more logical) – a balance that is a moral magic is a moral magic that is an imbalance.

Another description, for moral magic, is a balanced imbalance. A balanced imbalance that is an imbalance is an imbalance that is a balanced balance – an unfairness that is a fair fairness (a fairness that possesses consciousness).

The injustice of a living fairness, is the justice of a non-living fairness – the justice of an inactive fairness.

And then after the justice of an inactive fairness, how much more is left? God knows the process has produced a fair amount of change, and it’s produced a fair amount of evolution, but even now, can there yet be much more left to figure?

The justice of an inactive fairness, or an inactive justice, is an inactive justice that’s unjust; an inactive justice that’s unjust is a dead justice that’s unjust – a living injustice that’s unjust.

A living injustice, that’s unjust, is a living evolution that’s itself; the reverse of a living evolution that’s itself is a living perfection that isn’t itself – finally, I’ve arrived at a point where I’m beginning to feel happy.

A living perfection is an evolving perfection, and an evolving perfection is a perfection that is subject to the rules of reality. In continuing the usual process, a perfection that is subject to the rules of reality that isn’t itself is a perfection that is subject to the rules of reality that simply doesn’t exist – bingo!

Rules of reality aren’t rules, and so, rules of reality must also be perfection. A perfection that is subject to a perfection that doesn’t exist is a perfection that is subject to a perfection that is perfection.

A perfection that is subject to a perfection that is perfect is the truth that a perfection can’t be subject to a perfection; the truth that a perfection can’t be subject to a perfection is the truth that a perfection must oppose a perfection.

Conversely, a weakness must not oppose a weakness – or in other words, every aspect of history must support every other aspect of history.

A part of history is a part of a sequence. A part of a sequence is a sequence of no part – a sequence that has no division.

A sequence is a division. A division that’s one must support another division that’s one; a division that’s one is a 2 that’s 1 – a 2 that’s 1 is a 1 that isn’t 2, and a 1 that isn’t 2 is just a 1 that’s 1.

1 being 1 is anti being anti. Anti being anti is not being anti. Not being anti is being self: being self must be the support of being self.

Being self is anti; anti must be the source of anti – a source can’t have an anti that exists more than once.

To sum up: once reality has its source, nothing past the source can exist more than once (which of course runs completely counter to the DNA of reality).

Nations are different, but any nation is a replication. Emotions are different, but any emotion is a replication. Personalities are different, but any personality is a replication.

Sports are different, but any sport is a replication. Houses are different, but any house is a replication. Careers are different, but any career is a replication.

Women are different, but any woman is a replication. Planets are different, but any planet is a replication.

Etc etc.

To balance the universe, and to serve God, the universe needs to arrange itself so that anything in the universe isn’t a replication.