WHAT'S WRONG WITH 'CLOSED-MINDED ORTHODOX SCIENTISTS?

 More from Viktor J Zammit's Friday Afterlife Report

We are still having problems with conservative scientists these days. We must never forget the huge blunders made by 'closed minded' scientists who stubbornly refused to investigate the evidence of a new discovery or invention which was contrary to their own cherised beliefs. We remember that these stubborn negative scientists got together, in the name of orthodox American science.

Thai Cannes winner steeped in Spiritualism

Reuters : Like most of his feature films, Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" is set in Issan province, where he grew up. It playfully invokes both the lifestyle and animistic beliefs of the Northeast country folk, and the primitive magic of early Thai cinema, relating both of these to his musings on reincarnation.

Since commercial returns or widespread support have never been factored into Weerasethakul's career, its surprise win of the Palme d'Or Sunday will seal its favorable future in festivals and specialist releases.
Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) who is afflicted with acute kidney failure, returns to his country estate in Isan to spend his last days under the care of his devoted yet no-nonsense sister-in-law Jen (Jenjiro Pongpas), nephew Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee) and Jaai, a Burmese worker.

One evening, while the family is relaxing on their terrace, the apparition of Boonmee's dead wife Huay (Nattakarn Aphaiwonk) appears, followed by long-lost son Boonsong. Boonsong, who looks like a Yeti with red laser beam eyes, recounts how his interest in photography led him deep into the jungle in search of Monkey Ghosts, until he himself is transformed into one.

The matter-of-fact way in which the humans interact with dead or otherworldly beings make for some deadpan humor: upon seeing Thuy in halogenic form and Boonsong in a rubbery gorilla suit, Tong remarks, "I feel like the strange one here." There is also eerie poignancy in the way spiritual beings hover around Boonmee as they sense his impending transition to another world.

The film was inspired by a book by a Buddhist abbot recording accounts of people who remembered their past lives. Although Boonmee attributes his illness to the karma of his having killed too many "Commies" and rid his farm of bugs, Weerasethakul does not broach the subject in terms of causality or retribution, nor does he tie Boonmee's past lives to any tangible persona or timeline. The cave which becomes his resting place is also where his first life began. The crucial point he recalls is that at his genesis, he was "neither human nor animal, neither man nor woman."

This makes the structure free-floating and esoteric, incorporating myth (underwater sex between a facially-tainted princess and a catfish), politics (photographs of soldiers hinting at military-related human disappearances) and parallel worlds (Tong and Jen in different places at the same time).
This view of reincarnation as all beings coexisting in one non-linear universal consciousness is also central to Apitchatpong's conception of cinema as the medium with the power to replay past lives and connect the human world to animal or spiritual ones. That may be why he shot the last scenes involving parallel worlds in 16mm, as homage to the format of film in his childhood memory. His casting of actors or roles (like a monk, a Burmese worker) from previous films in also a kind of reincarnation of the director's cinematic past lives.

The director's film language has always been experimental, intuitive and personal to the point of mystical (or mystifying to a mainstream non-Thai audience). By comparison, "Uncle Boonmee" employs less difficult cinema vocabulary, staying away from any avant garde filming technique and allowing one to tune into its sleepy, meditative frequency. The natural locations (especially the cave glittering in the dark) exude cosmic energy, while sound extracted from wildlife plays as significant a role as an animate being.    

Mind blowing power of love

THE mystery behind the ''sixth sense'' - how people interact on a physiological level - is a step closer to being unravelled, according to a Sydney neuroscientist.
A five-year study monitoring brain activity during therapy sessions has shown that two people can become physiologically aligned - parts of their nervous systems beating in harmony - despite having no physical contact with each another.
Trisha Stratford, the neuropsychotherapist who did the research at University of Technology, Sydney, said her study provided a deeper understanding of what happened when people interacted, including when a couple fell in love.
Ms Stratford said her research could also provide clues about how best to communicate with or ''chat up'' a potential partner using this sixth sense, which has long been suggested but never extensively identified in science.
She observed 30 volunteers using electrocardiography and a monitor on the finger to measure skin conductance resonance to identify the moment of alignment or ''oneness'' during individual counselling with a therapist.
Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald

B. Anne Gehman

Anne Gehman

Psychic medium B. Anne Gehman gave her first spirit readings to her teddy bears at age five. Raised in the Mennonite tradition, she left home at age 14 to finish her schooling. A life-changing near-death experience led Anne to develop her natural gifts, including an uncanny ability to predict future events. She has gained international attention for her help in solving crimes, locating oil and missing persons, healing illnesses, and connecting family members with their loved ones in spirit. She has worked with top government agencies and officials, police departments, judges, and corporate CEOs. She was elected to the International Congress of Parapsychologists and Paraphysics in Prague, Czechoslovakia and is listed among the Top 100 Psychics in the Country. She has worked with the University of Arizona on a research study regarding after death communication, which is documented in the book, The Afterlife Experiments by Dr. Gary Schwartz. An ordained Spiritualist minister, Anne is the Pastor of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in Falls Church, Virginia
.Read more at Hay House.

The Kings Speech

"The King's Speech" won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, giving the  film, directed by Tom Hooper some early momentum heading into Oscar awards season. The film starring Colin Firth as Britain's reluctant King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist, captured the festival's People's Choice award.

The film is about HRH Duke of York who was cured of a speech impediment by an Australian speech therapist Lionel  George Logue.(1880-1953).

Less well known about the illustrious Logue is that he was also a dedicated Spiritualist towards the end of his life who discovered the faith after his wife's death in 1945. It has also long been rumoured that many members of the British Royal Family are believers in Spiritualism.

Watch an interview here with Colin Firth about the film.

More from the Spiritualist Gordon Higginson

Gordon Higginson Demonstration

A fascinating article from the Daily Mail newpaper in the UK

The 9/11 victims who foresaw their deaths: On the ninth anniversary, a book by a Twin Towers widow claims many victims had premonitions of the atrocity.

By Bonnie Mceneaney

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Eamon, my 46-year-old husband, had a sudden attack of vertigo as he prepared to go to work. Such attacks weren't unprecedented, but Eamon hadn't had one for more than a year.

I wanted him to stay home, but characteristically he wouldn't. A determined and dutiful man, he pressed on, pausing only to say 'see you later' before heading out to begin the two-hour dawn commute he so hated from our home in Connecticut to downtown New York.

Eamon worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services conglomerate, on Floor 105 of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. Neither I nor our four adored and adoring children would ever see him again.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1310994/The-9-11-victims-foresaw-deaths-New-book-claims-victims-premonitions-atrocity.html#ixzz0zBHICnFT

Victor J. Zammitt - a lawyer who presents his case for the afterlife

 Victor J.Zammtt is an Australian lawyer who is also an enthusiastic supporter of the belief in life after death. He has authored a book on the subject and has a website full of interesting articles and news.

COMMENTARY: WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE GREAT SCIENTISTS AND MEDIUMS WHO PROVED THE AFTERLIFE EXISTS

Those who are interested in the afterlife should never forget that for over a hundred years some of the most brilliant minds in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Brazil - and other countries - have worked quietly to accumulate evidence of survival after death. 

To read more go to Victor's website here.

The Psychic Times

 The Psychic Times is a world-wide popular newspaper that can be now read on-line 

Here is part of an article from the current issue of The Psychic Times- click on this link to read more.

Cardiologist Pens Book About Near Death Experiences

Critically acclaimed author Dr  M.S. Rawlings, author of Beyond Death’s Door and To Hell and Back, has just released his latest publication, Where Are You Going? (paperback, 978-1-60477-853-3) through Christian self-publisher Xulon Press.

Rawlings, a leading Chattanooga-based cardiologist who himself was resuscitated following a heart attack, had originally been an agnostic and a cynic. But something happened to him that changed his life. While applying CPR on a patient who was screaming that he was in hell, the author watched as the “transforming power of Jesus Christ came upon the man.”

Stansted Hall & the Spiritualists' National Union

Stansted Hall, built in 1871, was gifted to the Spiritualists' National Union by J. Arthur Findlay, MBE, JP, a former Honorary President of the Union, and in accordance with his wishes is administered by the Union as a College for the advancement of Psychic Science.

Mr Findlay bought the estate in 1923 upon his retirement from business and first mooted the idea of a Spiritualist College at Stansted to the Union in 1945. After personal contacts with three successive Union Presidents a will was drawn up and in 1954 the National Council accepted the proposed bequest of Stansted Hall with an endowment. This was followed by a later gift in the form of stock to be used for furnishing and decorating, and in 1964, a year after the death of his wife, Mr Findlay transferred the Hall, grounds and endowment to the Union. Mr Findlay passed to the higher life in July 1964.

The Arthur Findlay College offers facilities unequalled anywhere in the world in the Spiritualist movement as a residential centre where students can study Spiritualist philosophy and religious practice, Spiritualist healing and awareness, spiritual and psychic unfolding and kindred disciplines. Courses, lectures and demonstrations are all offered by leading exponents, together with the additional features of a library, museum, lake, magnificent grounds, recreational facilities and full board accommodation.