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spirituallesbianblog · 6 months ago

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Lesbian Titan - Smashing Patterns In A 3-D Earth

'My heart and soul breathe a distinct flavor of difference as flowers bloom in my garden of lesbian difference'

A burlesque walk on the path of the begotten in eyes that speak religion or a median belief in the tradition of male and female as opposed to girl meets girl and falls madly in love. A dance of the divas who see romance in the eyes of each other. Love is the magic of the cosmos sparkling and true while here on Earth we use words like compromise when compatibility is nowhere to be found. Love seeks the giver a recipient with a requited appeal while here on Earth we defer love as conditional a program devoid of high-frequency allure. How did we become cryptic in our vision of amour? A twinkle in the eye of a creator whose light defined who we are. Human and divinity all rolled into one as male and female wearing a clever disguise. Here on Earth, we play life from mixed influences. Our guardians had their say as did teachers and the politicians we thought knew so much more than we did. We come to grow and unravel who we are and why we are here. An ongoing sonata of seeking truth through illusion imprinted in our cells, hearts, and DNA. A storehouse of events, experiences with spinoffs of emotions felt through the tests and trials we endure in the 3-D realm. The danger zone of mistruths and patterns we embrace like a lover from a past life. Our patterns are embedded in our soul and human vault. A reminder of intuitive prompts we chose to ignore or banish to a place of remembrance when it was too late to change the action or life choice. We are victims to the cause of the patterned views we claim and over time superglue our conscious way of thinking about love and its factual source. We play at life with unconscious beliefs that are garnished from what others believe. This may be our guardians whose sermon was a religious god. An icon that denies the conception of gay love while shooting holes in psychics who see beyond earthly realms.

'The pattern of humans is aligning with the crowd and forsaking our individuality until we let go of what no longer serves us'

This comes with knowing there is more to the soul story than what we have been led to believe. And perhaps why they refer to the deep dive of self-discovery as shadow work. A pilgrimage into the abyss of our deeper thoughts and the wanting to free oneself from patterns that can hinder our relationships, career choices, and life as we consciously know it. The pattern of humans is to align with the crowd and forsake individuality by fitting in with our culture, faith, or societal ideals. The mothership of mirage shrouds the earth until the spark of awareness breaks through the ice age of desolate beliefs we are less than we are. A shocking revelation that shifts our thinking in a heartbeat forcing us to consider our options as a citizen of an abundant planet that is a sanctity and prison cell. This was my breakthrough after living a divine feminine life in a situation of cruelty that challenged every aspect of my incarnated soul. It began with a spiritual awakening and evolved to a consciousness of knowing how easy it is for others to influence and trick your way of thinking forging a response of self-doubt and disbelief in a safe world. The mission then is to survive and that takes a belief we are strong enough to overcome adversity. Parenting brings its own set of programming rules as we are shaped to belong in a family dynamic that may be effortless or the other kind that sits us on a throne of emotional or physical abuse. Often it is subtle but the intention to make a child believe in a negative rhetoric can be manipulative or shamefully narcissistic. Our infant training molds our every thought when it is a boot camp of unemotional availability or at worse a campground of violent interaction where a child has to watch their mother being beaten by a drunk and disorderly father who is repeating the vicious cycle of their father's mistaken vision of love.

'As A Child Of English Migrants, I Soaked Up The Message Of Independence With A Lone Wolf Mentality'

From people who left everything behind to begin again in a strange land filled with promises of a better life for themselves and their intended children. The Victorian theme of allowing was passed to me from my mother's compliant chromosomes. However, the understanding I was gay at an early age led to mixed emotions about my place in the world which seemed such a mystery with a saving grace I was artistic and free-spirited enough to follow my passions regardless of the cultural idealism glistening in my cells and European genetic code. In many ways, the explorer that lived within my parents was passed to me as I set forth on my imaginary galleon ship to a life that would prove to be the call-up of my greater self. A culmination of experiences needed to learn from the harsher aspects of living on Planet Earth. The roadmap of my early years was missing important information like how to navigate people who consider others their submissive subjects in line with their constricted programs of power and control. Victims of their constraints are fast becoming the norm as an ancient vision of conquerors who hold the genes of conquest and initiate these programs through the covert guise, of narcissism. A brutal attack on a human's free will considered justifiable by those who hold this stance as legitimate. These tyrannous mentors of oppression seek men or women with the empathic light of compassion and sensitivity that encompasses love for all living things especially those who carry wounds inherited from humans who have the curse of unhealing. These beautiful souls are the target of a darkened heart relentless in their pursuit of total submission and surrender. Their light dims as the assailant quells the spark of God within a revered child of the cosmos. The role models for a new and companionable world. A heart-based template of freedom, peace, and collective camaraderie. Survival mode is difficult as it triggers all aspects of the self although an opportunity to fine-tune the parts of us hidden from view.

'When Danger Strikes We Invite The Spirit Of The Warrior Or Surrender To The Enemy In Our Midst'

Our senses spin in defense as the life we know fades from view, and all that is left is the desire to transcend the attack that has arrived to crack us open to the core. What happens next is a do-or-die theme as you make conscious choices about the threat and how you intend to endure the outcome. Some believe we decide these events long before leaving our divine home. We intrinsically choose these tough happenings to enlighten and grow the soul's intuitive awareness beyond human consciousness and wisdom. Each walk in the dark teaches us there is more to know. It's a discovery tour of our psyche and ability to evolve beyond our limits. Boundaries we inflicted on ourselves without knowing they were programs fed to us by influencers of the past and now. A daunting process of armoring mankind with seasons of famine thoughts we were designed to suffer through robotic whispers of religion, governments, and subliminal media messages. Breakthroughs come in the coldest spaces of personal battles with another who releases our programmed paradigms of fear, which sets us free to explore the center of our unique universe that lives within. In the Bermuda Triangle of our inner voice and knowing we find truth and the lies told to imprison our souls with the rhetoric of enslavement making us model students for a life of servitude. A player in the game of power-hungry individuals who drink from a well of plenty. Their workforce is human with a misconception of their innate potential until the awakening of a livestream message from our origins. The enlightening memo from home. 'Arise, child of the divine, it is time for the return to self the soul who came to fulfill a purpose.' So long before the conditioning began we set sail for lands like Atlantis a fabled arena of divine connectiveness. A realm of universal light where humans danced to a free-will theme and love was the cornerstone of liberty, faith, and truth.

'Can we reclaim a golden age of enlightenment or will we be chained to a low vibration of chaos confinement and cruelty?'

The Nirvana door is open and our awakenings are ushering us through as programs of lifetimes fall crashing through the masks of illusion that held us captive in a Luciferian age of bondage, narcissism, stalking, rape, childhood abuse, and sadism. These are the extremes of a fading Piscean age. An era guided by the sorcery of saboteurs looked upon as saviors of the human race. The new heroes are light-filled warriors with a divine quest for a New Earth. The Shangrila of the future where consciousness is Christ-like and living is loving and free. It is here the past age is revealed as prohibitive and restrictive with religion counting our sins and judgment being called on anything but the norm. The church was our co-leader and the bible was an anthem of the word. The gospel of a God that denied gays and lesbians were part of a heavenly flock and for a time disallowed access to the kingdom of God. What if we reincarnated as a soul to experience being gay, psychic, or even a witch? Would our society crumble if the news came that souls reincarnate to human form when the oldest religion in the world has a reincarnation theme where the soul loves to learn, grow, and expand? Why would this be unaccepted or shunned as a crackpot idea? We don't embrace change and cling to our beliefs for fear a new reality may be too much to contend with. If we woke up tomorrow and saw alien ships had landed would we ignore what our eyes had seen or accept the evidence we are not alone in the universe? Why is change so damn hard for us as a species that has seen more shifts in evolution than the way we live our closeted and overly protective lives. It comes back to the culture of survival and how we try to control the factors that may affect change when all we want to do is live our orderly programmed lives.

'Humans love to feel safe and find ways to avoid threats that ironically show up when we least expect them'

The reason is simply growth and the traumatic event it takes to articulate this precious commodity that reminds us we live on a precarious planet in the cosmos where asteroids and comets are a common threat. Deep space also holds the secret of advancement where eclipses and retrogrades aid the evolution of a soul's epic outing on earth. Everything is designed for our conscious dance of light, which can mean a detour to the dark where change is inevitable no matter how hard we try to avoid it. It happens in a heartbeat through love, wars, and natural disasters. Proving nothing is controllable except your response to the threat that has landed. When we face it head-on amidst the shock waves of trauma we rise in our bravery as souls experiencing strife. A commonplace feeling of unsafety and chaos where our comfort zone has imploded and the fight or flight mode is instantly endorsed. Understanding this positioning and perspective is akin to finding yourself in the desert without an oasis. It's a desolate no-mans land where the doors all seem closed and locked. My experience of a narcissistic event taught me the measure of myself as a soul and divine feminine human. I am also a lesbian and the threat was a masculine on a mission to defer my LGBT light. A non-negotiable aspect of my romantic, gay soul but contested for possession of my liberty and life. We never know how strong we can be until our ideals are measured by a person's cruel intentions. In a world of pantomime falsity where a God slaps me as not worthy of unconditional love. A divine feminine releasing patterns and programs of lifetimes. No longer in alignment with her creational purpose.

'The spark of a universe, a braveheart willing to reincarnate to this planet knowing the lessons to be learned are not to be feared but revered as the treasure of exponential growth'

And that never comes easy in a sphere shrouded in the dark. Lesbian titans are born of divine love and given free will by a God of benevolence and receptiveness. I am gay and feel the clash of the opposing titans who dishonor words of difference, unity, and approval. Instead, the verse is prejudice, bias, and bigotry. I came to shine a glamorous light on difference no matter the opposing rhetoric spoken by those initiated in the halls of hate. Programs played out for centuries as campaigns of pain and death for those caught in the crossfire. And proof our world operates in the patterns we procure from the keepers of the earthly watch. People in power hold court as the influencers of humankind. While our feminine messages of submission and surrender echo through our definition of worth alongside the masculine whose conquering ideals cause rifts in the art of togetherness. These defunct programs disallow a relationship born of free-spirited love. A union of high-frequency riveted in the seat of creation with high-end health and maturity. The disrespect of love demands a karmic interplay of co-dependency, control, or abuse. These are simply patterns grown like weeds through our ancestral fields where flowers long to bloom, As our consciousness awakens we see the patterned error of our ways and discontinue the memories so heavily ingrained. We have been living in the shadows of our purist version of self and by the code of guardians who hijacked our innermost thoughts by plugging us into the noise of a mistaken ID with programs we didn't sign up for. Now I am the goddess of a feminine new age. A lesbian titan with intelligence, intuition, nurture, and enterprise. The gift from divinity to a world needing my loving and compassionate stance. A crusader holding space for humanity to grow and transform.

'The journey to discard our programs and patterns initiates freedom from ancient originators who stamped us with their earthly code'

Author ~ Linda E Cole (The Divine Feminine)

#lesbian titasn #spiritual lesbian #psychology #gay #reincarnation

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riszellira · 9 months ago

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Reflection: Conquering the World in Christ with Mary Our Mother

Fatima remains relevant today because its message has always been an echo of the Gospel—a return to our Lord through penance and conversion. Wars and pandemics, along with other troubles, continue to afflict us, like in 1917 when Mary first appeared in Fatima while the First World War was raging. Now, we have wars in Ukraine and other parts of the world. In 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic happened, and now we have just gotten out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The similarities of these events with our own time are so strong that it is worthwhile to revisit the calls and messages of Our Lady of Fatima 107 years ago.

More than two thousand years since the coming of Jesus, we kept on rejecting Him and His teachings. Fatima was the biggest breakthrough in that two-thousand-year-old history when, through Mary, the modern world witnessed the most recent affirmation of the Gospel. Yes, many Christians believe in Jesus but, so often without truly understanding the full meaning of faith in God until troubles happen. Many times we abandon God, choosing the path of sin, so afraid of sufferings and trials, trying to escape the cross. Despite Jesus’ conquest of the world, we still become overpowered by the temptations of the world, turning away from Him and believing that we can live on bread alone and overcome everything with science and technology. How sad that six weeks after Easter, as we approach its closing on Pentecost Sunday, many remain to be dormant Christians living separately from one another, without zeal and fervor for faith.

In Fatima, the three children showed us great enthusiasm and conversion after the apparitions. In simplicity, they have proven to us once again that lasting peace on earth can only happen when we return to Jesus Christ, especially through the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance. The three visionaries remind us to always see world events in a spiritual manner. It is sad that after COVID-19, we have easily forgotten its spiritual implications—that more than a medical and social problem, it has a spiritual and moral nature.

~Fr. Nick F. Lalog

Examine your spiritual life today: is it as strong as before or during the pandemic?

Lord Jesus, help us find our way back to You through Mary, our Lady of Fatima. Amen.

Prayer

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the strength and healing of the sick.

… for the healing and peace of all families.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

GOD BLESS!

#reflection #prayer

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wolint · 1 year ago

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FRESH MANNA

SPIRIT OF DELAY

Proverbs 13:12.

Delay! Everyone experiences delays! Some delays will occur naturally, some by intervention, either by oneself, external parties including other people, elements and resources, circumstances, timing and much more.

Nobody likes delays and disappointments but sometimes the Lord uses them for His purpose and glory, but so many of us are too emotional, impatient, and doubtful to wait out a season of delay.

Hope posts forward to the realization of our blessings! Delay is the gratification that pains the mind, the increase of the delay changes and sickens the heart, and ultimate disappointment may kill it.

But when the thing desired, hoped for, and expected comes, it is a tree of life, that comforts, invigorates, and revives both body and soul.

Restlessness is something we all experience and often stems from delay, and delay causes us to jump from place to place.

Sometimes there is a kind of necessity that believers should be afflicted, because when there are no trials, we may become spiritually careless, and when we prosper easily, we may become worldly-minded, see Acts 24:24-27.

Disappointment and frustrations set in when things don’t work the way we expect after we’ve fasted, prayed, believed, and trusted God for some things for a long time. Some may forgo their dreams and visions because of this. Not all delays are bad for us, some are a necessity. Sometimes we must exercise patience until we obtain the promises of God according to Hebrews 6:12. Especially if God allows that delay as explained in 2 Peter 3:9.

The devil always tries to frustrate us by blocking our breakthroughs. Child of God, if you don’t resist the devil according to James 4:8, the devil will surely vex you. For us to overcome negative and spiritual delays, we must engage in spiritual warfare. We must fight off the devil on the altar of faith and prayer.

Don’t allow your deferred hope to become negative, discouraging, disappointing or frustrating to the point of delay but squash the bug of delay that may create ungodly desperation which may end up causing us to lose out on the very thing we're waiting for.

Sarah giving Hagar to Abraham in Genesis 16:1-5 was a distraction and delay to God’s plan.

Delay causes wrong decisions and wrong spiritual; geographical and physical relocation like in 1 King 19:1-18.

Some think they must change locations for the change they seek, but that, unfortunately, might create more delays and doesn’t guarantee change, like Naomi and her family in Ruth 1:1-6, moving to Moab for a change but instead, she lost everything anyway. Wrong decisions have wrong consequences and extend the delay we experience.

Delay causes us to doubt God's word as seen in Luke 1:18-20, God knows us well, as He did Zachariah, which is the reason his mouth was shut to stop his word from delaying or aborting God’s plan and purposes.

Spiritual delays may be caused by sin, when we intentionally sin and do not confess and repent, it stunts our growth and could stop us from moving forward, see Acts 3:19.

Intentionally disobeying God’s word may create delays.

Lack of personal and spiritual development: bible studies, praying and fellowship cause delays.

Being out of God’s will causes delay to set in according to Ephesians 5:5-20.

Many believers, either out of omission or commission, have stepped out of God’s will for their lives and are chasing fantasies and are experiencing delays in certain areas.

Nobody likes delay, and according to Revelations 10:6, God has promised that a time will come when there will be no more delays.

PRAYER: Lord, guide me in praying and waiting on your word to get out of whatever spiritual delay that is contrary to your plans for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT. PRAYER MIN.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry #conference #prayer meeting #family

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thefandomlesbian · 4 years ago

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WIP tag: thank you @scandinavian-punk for tagging me!!

Brace yourselves because I am about to word vomit on your screen—

(not including WIPs that are currently posted, since you can explore those at your leisure)

To Rule and Guide: The sequel to To Light and Guard, Lana and Mary Eunice go forward in their relationship, but they encounter hiccups along the way as old enemies rise, friends twist beyond recognition, and the church tries to call back the nun it released so recklessly.

Break Rank: John Laurens was shot down off of his horse and dragged away from the Battle of Combahee River, believed to be dead. A mutilated corpse was buried in his stead, but he awakens in a warm cabin to a middle-aged lesbian couple who nurse him back to health. Now disabled and with everyone believing he's dead, he has to try to make his way back up to New York, as there is only one person who will believe him.

Lead Me Astray: Spencer receives a diagnosis of malignant cancer behind his eyes, the first-line treatment being removal of both eyes. He quietly hands in his resignation to Strauss and earns a deal for medical retirement, and he intends to spend his remaining days setting things up to survive life alone as a blind man. However, when the team receives word of his decision to leave without telling any of them, Aaron hunts him down and demands answers. Convincing Spencer of his worth, both as a person and as a member of the BAU, is not easy, but it's necessary for the upcoming case they will face.

Like Minor Gods: Spencer lost a high-stakes bet with Derek. Now he's training for a triathlon. It's not exactly a fun time, seeing as his athleticism peaked when he was the basketball coach in high school, but with a little help from his unit chief, he may have a chance of crossing the finish line.

Shipwrecked Souls: After taking his leave from the BAU, Aaron struggles with Jack, who has developed increasingly concerning behavioral and psychological issues. Jack is riddled with anxiety and PTSD, and no matter what Aaron does to try to help, they wind up yelling at each other. Desperate for some help, he attends a seminar for parenting a troubled kid, where Spencer is surprisingly guest lecturing after earning his PhD in adolescent psychology. Aaron asks if Spencer will help tutor Jack—though Jack's failing grades are just the tip of the iceberg in regards to his current string of issues—and happily, Spencer agrees.

Singing While Rome Burns: After Foyet's escape from prison, Aaron has lost all of his coping skills. His family fell apart for his job, and he's apparently not even good at that anymore. He gets blackout drunk and wanders around lost in Rock Creek Park until he intends to call Rossi to come get him. Inadvertently, he calls Spencer instead. Spencer rescues him, and this act of mercy ignites a spark between them. But they walk a path ripe with trepidations, as Foyet is still on the move, Haley is busy settling the divorce, Strauss battles corporate challenges, and Spencer struggles to find where he fits in all of it with his new role in Aaron's life.

Spencer & Aaron: Dharma and Greg AU. Hotshot federal prosecutor Aaron Hotchner sees the most beautiful man he's ever met on the subway on his way to the office. He tries to go after him, but the doors slide closed, and he's left with a sense of longing—until he arrives at work to find the same man sitting on his desk. "You're Aaron Hotchner," he says. "You appeared in the Washington Post five months ago for putting away the Freeway Butcher. Your building security is weak. I was able to guess the passcode in two tries. I'm Spencer. I remember everything I read." On an impromptu first date, they recklessly decide to get married. On the days after, they bring together two incredibly different families and groups of friends, slowly teaching everyone that any relationship can work if there's enough love and compassion involved.

The Good Place: The Good Place AU. Corporate lawyer Aaron Hotchner was an asshole in life. In death, he awakens to find he's been placed in the Good Place by mistake. Partnered with his "soulmate," Spencer; a former nun, Emily, and her soulmate, Penelope; a spiritual vessel of knowledge, JJ; and two so-called angel-men, Dave and Derek, they find themselves dragged into a war which could challenge the very foundation the afterlife is built upon.

The Landscape After Cruelty: Spencer drives Aaron home from Quantico the day of Haley's death. Over the following days, he orchestrates everything from behind the scenes. He works with Jessica to care for Jack; he cooks meals for Aaron; he calls funeral homes to arrange services; he makes Aaron's appointments and then drags him to them by force. He makes himself indispensable. It only leaves Aaron wondering—why?

Insects in Amber: inspired by @ablogofthecriminalmindsvariety Whumptober prompt, infection. The team has split to handle two different cases. Spencer finds a breakthrough in the case he works with Aaron, but Garcia is busy with the rest of the team, so they go with no coordinates and no warning. When Aaron gets into combat with the unsub and they both fall down the stairs, the chamber doors seal behind them, trapping them inside. The unsub is dead, his neck broken in the fall, and Aaron's femur is protruding from his body where he landed. He's in an agonizing amount of pain, and Spencer knows the statistics for infection of an open fracture are bleak at best. No one knows where they are. They only have the hope that the team will find them soon—or else there will only be one of them to rescue.

Call Me Home: Cordelia Goode has finally escaped the oppressive home of her mother and has landed a job at the local animal rescue, Starfish, where she becomes fast friends with the quirky woman who works dog side, Misty. As shelter drama picks up, they learn together how difficult saving lives can really be.

Minor Bird: Acclaimed pianist, Misty Day, has decided to step away from her career and take an early retirement. Amateur Cordelia Goode wants to find out why. When her teacher makes arrangements for her to meet Misty in person, she learns that soon, Misty will not be able to perform any longer. In a crunch for time and desperate to learn more, Cordelia begs for Misty to teach her. In the process, they grow closer together than either of them ever dreamed.

The Sister Act: Lana Winters witnessed a horrible crime and has been placed in witness protection in an abbey for her own safety. She repeatedly butts heads with the Mother Superior, Jude, as she struggles to survive the trauma of what she witnessed. With the help of Sister Mary Eunice, she begins to appreciate the quiet spirituality of the place. But criminals are still pursuing her, eager to silence her before she can testify.

I've Got Your Demons (They're Crying Out for Love): Lana Winters aids Briarcliff in the exorcism of Sister Mary Eunice. Both are pregnant from crimes committed against them and against God. Lana places her son up for adoption; Mary Eunice's daughter is stolen from her, dumped on hospital steps with no note by Monsignor Howard who will not be held accountable for his actions. When Mary Eunice is well enough, she leaves Briarcliff with Lana, desperate to reconnect with her daughter, but it's years before they catch up to young Billie Dean Howard, and they find that demons still continue to touch them at every turn.

Autumn Hands: Audrey saved Shelby's life, but she couldn't save her mutilated vocal cords, permanently damaged by her attempt on her own life. All sorts of trials await them—criminal, medical, social—as they try to look past their fraught history and come together as the sole survivors of Roanoke.

On the Pyre, Before the Hearth: Lana Winters gets lost in the Louisiana swamp after she tries to find herself in the wilderness. There, she encounters a lonely hermit woman who has spent the past decade living in solitude and subsisting off the land. A flood forces her and Misty into one another's company for several days, but when it's time for Lana to leave, she finds she doesn't want to life with Misty ever again. Misty has her own secrets and reasons for hiding, unbeknownst to Lana, who writes and publishes about her experience in the hope of drawing Misty out of the woods. She has no idea the ramifications of her actions.

That... Should be everything 😳😬😐 I'm tagging @reidology @ablogofthecriminalmindsvariety @its-a-goode-day @honeyvenable and whoever else feels motivated to do it!

#ahs #american horror story #hamilton #criminal minds

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badger-writes · 3 years ago

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Star Wars OC Ship Week 2021 - “for light and love”

6 - Milestones (First Kiss)

The Jedi Temple, as a general rule, was always humming with activity. As the sun set overhead and the light of faraway stars illuminated the night, the Temple’s diurnal residents would pass into sleep, and their nocturnal fellows would wake. Thus did most days on Coruscant pass for the Jedi - but there came times, scant minutes and hours between the changing of its custodians, where the harmonious bustling which characterized the domain of the Jedi fell silent, and the whole complex itself seemed to fall into a kind of hollow slumber.

It was within one of these slices of pristine, unshared time that Kelto Lem found himself drawn to the meditation hall which housed the Kyber Arch.

Why, he could not say - he had not seen the Arch for many years, not since he was a youngling. He respected its significance, internalized its meaning, but it had never held any special or personal gravity for himself. It had always been too much of an open space, he’d thought, most of the time with too many people there to properly meditate - and it was difficult to focus properly sitting at the foot of a monument to Jedi lost.

So what was he doing here now, at this early hour? Why had he been struck with the compulsion to visit it when all others were asleep? He stood at the door to its hall and puzzled over the answers, grappling with uncertainty.

Was it the work of the Force? Had it brought him here? Had he ... lost his way, somehow? Committed some minor sin of ingratitude or dismissal to the price for peace the Light had paid? Wandered astray from the path in some other matter? And was this some test, then - a chance for the penitent adrift to find absolution?

Was it because of his feelings for Sskeer?

Belatedly, Kelto realized there was someone beside him. Someone tall, and stocky, and looking at him with an expression somewhere between ‘mildly cross’ and ‘quietly concerned’.

“Healer Lem,” Sskeer said, by way of greeting.

“Oh,” said Kelto, turning. “Hello.” Speak of the devil, he thought.

“You’re up early,” the Trandoshan noted.

“Oh… yeah. Couldn’t get to sleep.” He shrugs, looking off to one side. “Happens.”

Sskeer hummed. “Do you often go this far from your chambers on nights like this?”

“I dunno,” the Rodian shrugged again. “Do you?”

The Guardian cocked a brow. The corner of his mouth tugged to one side.

“Not often,” he replied.

“I’ll bet,” Kelto mumbled, on account of having nothing better to say.

His eyes were drawn back to the door as though magnetized. He scratched the side of his head, the pom of his topknot bobbling in kind. Having Sskeer here had done nothing to reduce his uncertainty; if anything, now he felt foolish for being here at all.

But Sskeer was looking at the door, too, arms crossed and jaw set.

“It calls to you, too,” he observed finally.

Kelto’s hands found each other hanging at the level of his hips; hesitantly, he clasped one over the other. “Y-you think so?”

“Search your feelings. We are meant to be here.”

“Both of us? Now? ...Together?”

“It is... unusual,” he admitted, voice softening. “But yes. I am certain.”

“But why?”

Sskeer exhaled slowly through his nose. “I don’t know.”

His arms were crossed pretty hard, Kelto noticed - the claws of his fingers digging into the roughspun of his sleeves. His teeth ground slowly, imperceptibly, against each other.

“You nervous, too?” he asked.

“Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi.”

“That’s just rhetoric. Isn’t that what you always say? Jedi are supposed to act, right?”

Sskeer gave Kelto a sidelong look. His mouth tugged to the side again in an almost-smile - and stayed there.

“So… let’s go in, I guess.” Kelto shrugged. “After all, it’s only the Kyber Arch. What’s it gonna do, fall on us?”

At that, the Trandoshan chuffed, and stepped forward. “Let’s go find out.”

Within the white chamber behind the door stood the Kyber Arch itself - a vaulting monument to fallen Jedi, a semicircle of dull gray crystal - kyber crystals - thousands of them, reclaimed from the lightsabers of their brethren that had perished in the line of duty. With that knowledge, the grim cost of the peace of the Jedi became apparent; the Arch stood taller than either of them, than any of them. Tall enough to almost touch the atrium windows in the cavernous ceiling of the chamber that let in the day and night. And yet, for their sacrifice, something beautiful had been created - beautiful, and enduring.

An inspiring sight, to be sure - but in the dark of the very early morning, a dark on which the night could just as easily lay claim, the only thing it inspired in Sskeer and Kelto was confusion. They padded across the floor to one side of its base.

“So… we’re here,” Kelto said, mostly to Ssker but also to … the Force, maybe? He didn’t know. “What do we do now?”

“I wish I knew,” Sskeer admitted. His eyes traced the faraway edge of the semicircle, stretching high above them. “This is the first time I have been called in such a way by the Force. I am… unsure how to proceed.”

Kelto’s snout pulled to the side thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed, and joined Sskeer’s in scanning the faraway horizon the Arch cut through the ceiling.

“‘Why can no Jedi cross the Kyber Arch alone?’” he wondered.

“Hm?”

“It’s something my master told me to think about once, but I don’t think I ever cracked it. Have you heard of it before?”

“I have.”

“Maybe it’s like that,” the Rodian speculated. “Maybe we have to - I don’t know, solve it. It’s like a puzzle, or a test.”

Sskeer grunted doubtfully. “I don’t think it’s the kind of question that can be ‘solved’.”

“Well, why not?”

“Consider the question. It suggests that such a feat cannot be performed, and yet we can safely assume that it can, through persistence and the Force.”

“I mean - probably. Yeah, I could climb that. Do you think I could climb that?”

“Whether you can physically perform the task is irrelevant. It is a question without a right answer. Its point is to provoke contemplation, and through introspection, deeper understanding.” He hooked his thumbs into his belt, setting his jaw with a snort. “It’s rhetorical.”

Kelto stared up at Sskeer, then back up at the Arch. Slowly, his head nodded up and down.

“I think I get it,” he said finally. “If there’s no single right answer, then it follows that there’s potentially hundreds of possible answers, yes?”

“It is a possibility,” Sskeer conceded.

“Okay, so… maybe we solve the test by finding an answer of our own.”

“I already have one.”

“Really?” The Rodian looked up at him slyly. “You mind letting me cheat off your paper, then?”

When Sskeer looked back at him, his face was unexpectedly somber. “I doubt you’d appreciate it..”

“...Oh,” Kelto said, deflating. “Well, okay, then.”

“And regardless, I’m sure it’s something we must discover for ourselves.”

They stood before the Arch in contemplative silence.

“...So how do we, you know… do that?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Sskeer growled. “I’m a Guardian, not a philosopher.”

“Don’t have a roth, big guy. I’m just fishing for ideas.” Kelto rubbed his chin, an act which squished his snout left and right on his face. His eyes traced the arch from its two-meters-wide foot to the tip of its curve one more time, and twice more after that. He was treating it seriously now, Sskeer could tell - and the way his brow was furrowed and his eyes were narrowed, he was apparently searching his feelings intensely.

Then Kelto paced forward and laid a palm against the surface of the monument.

It was only crystal, raw kyber, accumulated and fused together into a single piece. Smooth to the touch, jagged in places where fragments taken for blades of light had been returned to a lattice of their own kind and begun to heal back together. If he had been expecting a breakthrough to occur from mere touch, none was forthcoming.

But that was alright. He’d already had one.

“The answer’s in the question,” Kelto said slowly. “We have to do what it’s asking before we can understand its meaning.”

Sskeer thought for a moment. Then he hrrrred. “That seems logical.”

“Then… what are we waiting for? Let’s climb the Kyber Arch.”

“Were it so easy. With an audience of our peers present, we might be prevented any injury from falling; alone, we take our safety into our own hands.”

But Kelto was already wriggling out of his soft ankle-high boots. “I’ll be fine,” he said, and lifted his bare sole to show off the fine ridges of setae lining the front quarter of his foot. “Rodians are natural climbers. And if I can do it, you can, too!”

Still, Sskeer doubted. “Did you forget the question in your rush for an answer? ‘Why can no Jedi cross the Kyber Arch alone’. Not ‘with a colleague in tow’.”

“I mean - it doesn’t say we have to do it together! You can just go down to the other end and climb up that side. That’ll be fine, right?”

“That depends. Do you think the Force wants us to follow the spirit or the letter of your test?”

“Come on, Sskeer, just--” Kelto took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. When his eyes opened, they fixed Sskeer with an unusual intensity.

“Listen,” he said. “I think you might be right. Maybe the Force wanted us to come down here - both of us, at the same time. But I think I’m right, too, and we’re being put through some kind of trial. Not physically, but spiritually. I think the Force is trying to tell us something, Sskeer, and I think it’s trying to say something about us. Not ‘you and I’, but us.”

Sskeer bristled. “I wouldn’t speak so openly of such a thing,” he muttered. “Even alone.”

“I think we have to! We have to, Sskeer, because right now the Force might be already.” He looked up at the wall of crystal towering before them, running his fingers along its glassy surface. “But we won’t know until we stop dancing around it and listen. That’s all it’s asking us to do right now, Sskeer - not confess, not cut ourselves off, not… throw ourselves into hovertraffic on Level 1313. Just to listen. However we can.

And if all it wants us to do is listen, then… shouldn’t we at least try?”

Sskeer stared at him. His lips were set in a tight line, and his claws were digging into the meat of his palms. Kelto wasn’t sure he’d heard him at all, until his eyes dipped downward and he began studying the way his toeclaws were sinking into the floormats.

“You realize it is possible we will not like what it has to say,” he said slowly.

“Of course I do.” Kelto trotted back over to stand before him. “And - we probably won’t. We both know we’ve been bending the letter of the Code to the breaking point just by having this, this … this whatever we’ve been doing, no matter what Jora says. But - if this really ends up being the end of the line - “ He gulped. “I’m ready for that conversation if you are.”

If it weren’t for his familiarity with the man, the careful grace contained in that monstrous exterior, Kelto might have missed the tremor in Sskeer’s chest when he breathed, and in his jaw beneath his grinding teeth. He felt a deep pang of empathy - and alongside it, one of guilt. He could only imagine how Sskeer himself must have been feeling.

“It’s cruel,” he finally said, voice thick. “A cruel trick of fate. I knew this moment was coming, and yet - now that I finally find myself here… I am still afraid.”

Kelto smiled gently, and wrapped one of his hands around the Trandoshan’s. “Confronting fear is the destiny of the Jedi.”

Sskeer nodded through a shaky breath. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, swallowed once - and all frustration and anxiety exhaled out of him. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer wet.

“I will go to the other end of the Kyber Arch,” he said steadily. “When I reach the summit, I will descend along your path, and you shall do the same along mine. We will climb it apart, yet together - and see if that is enough for the Force to reach us.”

“‘Apart, yet together’. I like that.”

Sskeer squeezed his hand firmly. “Be careful,” he hissed. “Should you fall - “

“You’ll catch me.”

“If I can’t-- If I don’t--”

“We’ll try again.”

The Trandoshan blinked down at the Rodian slowly. Then he chuckled forlornly. “I thought I was supposed to be the brave one of the two of us.”

“I learned from the bravest,” Kelto smiled.

Like most climbs, it got harder the further they went.

Though the Arch began at a width of two meters, it narrowed progressively towards the top, becoming only as wide as ten centimeters along its summit. The higher one climbed, therefore, the less space there would be to position, and the less cracks and outcroppings for handholds. What started as youngling’s play became no small feat of dexterity and concentration.

Kelto, for his part, was correct in his assumption; he did have the easier time of it, overall. The quirk of the Rodian physique which gifted him sticky fingers and feet made adhering to the skin of the Arch much simpler, though not necessarily a sure thing; slips were just as familiar to him as to Sskeer. The Trandoshan, for his part, had to be much more careful; if he were less patient and less respectful, he could have used the thick claws on his fingertipss and toes for crampons, brute-forcing his way up the crystal spine - but that would have been degrading to the memory of those that had gone before him, and dishonorable beyond measure. His test was one of respect as well as perseverance.

They both reached the final leaning crest of the monument at around the same time. By that point, if you leaned around the trunk of the Arch, you could see almost clear to the other side. Kelto did so, and saw Sskeer bear-hugging the Arch at about a similar latitude as himself. He waved encouragingly.

Sskeer saw this and, on account of his arms being otherwise occupied, nodded curtly in response. Then he reached up to probe for another handhold--

And the narrow edge of his sole slipped completely off the slim edge of kyber he’d been using as a perch. Shock overtook him just seconds too long for him to correct; his other foothold failed him, too, and he found himself hanging by one hand over a drop of what must have been two or three stories.

Sskeer knew if he were to recover from this angle, he’d have to dig into the crystal surface with his claws to gain enough leverage to scrabble back to safety; this was impermissible. He also knew that if he did not do so, his strength would eventually fail him and he would fall; this was simply unavoidable. So he did the only logical thing.

He let go.

Don’t do it, Kelto was pleading in his mind - but Sskeer was already falling.

The Rodian did not hesitate. Using one hand and both feet to keep him attached to the surface of the Arch, he lunged toward his friend as far as the limits of his body would allow him to, hurling the Force out through his free fingers.

Sskeer landed safely in an invisible palm, having not even descended a full two yards from the point of his fall. He stared at Kelto, almost dumbstruck - and more than a little alarmed.

Carrying Sskeer back through thin air to the surface of the Arch required diverting most of his attention from maintaining his grip, but Kelto did so gladly. The hand which cradled the Trandoshan through the Force quivered as he lifted it up, up, up- up beyond even the point at which Sskeer had originally fallen, to the level of a less sheer slope. But even as Sskeer closed the distance, his other palm began to slide on the glass of the crystal, and the toes of his feet began to lose their suction completely.

The moment Sskeer found a grip, he clung to it for all he was worth. Seeing that Kelto was sliding too, and beginning to peel away, he stretched out a hand - not quite as far - and gave him a nudge between the shoulderblades, enough to push him back flat against the Arch. Breathing shakily, Kelto recovered his grip, then pushed on.

It was a relief to finally see each other over the rim of the Kyber Arch. At the summit, at least, there was room enough to stand, albeit precariously. They climbed to their feet and walked the final paces to each other.

“We did it,” Kelto panted, grinning, as they picked their way over the last few meters. “S-star’s End, we really did it!”

Sskeer laughed, mopped his brow, and shook his head. “This is only the halfway point.”

“Well, we did the half that matters!”

“I’m sure the Force will see it that way.”

“The Force-- The Force! You-- I thought you were gonna fall--”

“Yes… and after I’d gone through all that worrying for you...” Sskeer laughed again, really laughed, at the irony of it. “Surik’s Blade, Kelto! I’m supposed to catch you!”

“You can still do that,” the healer said, giddily. “Look, I’ll just tip off the edge like this--”

He started to lean. Sskeer grabbed him by the shoulders, corrected his angle, and pulled him in close.

“Please don’t,” he grunted. “There’s a very thick line between bravery and recklessness.”

“W-well, I wouldn’t know,” Kelto said. “I was never really brave before I met you.”

“You were all along. I only helped you discover it. There’s never been a Jedi born that was a coward, Kelto, and if there was, it certainly wasn’t you.”

The Rodian giggled, flushing. “You’re just saying that because I stopped you getting splattered into space waffle batter down there.”

“It had an impact, yes.”

Kelto hummed. Being up here, at the top of the chamber, secure in Sskeer’s arms as they thrilled in their minor victory… it was nice. He wrapped his own arms around the Trandoshan’s waist; they fit there easily, like hand and glove.

“So what’d I help you discover?”

Sskeer gave a rumble. “The view from up here, mainly.”

“Oh, that’s all? No profound personal revelations you’d like to share?”

He thought for a moment. Then he said, “Perhaps one.”

Carefully, Kelto shuffled backwards half a step to look up, still keeping himself and Sskeer locked in their mutual embrace. “What?”

“A new answer.”

“That’s… vague.”

“‘Why can no Jedi cross the Kyber Arch alone’? I thought I had the answer already; you gave me one more. And I think the Force brought us here to show us they can both be true.”

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense - what’s your new answer?”

“No Jedi can cross the Arch alone - because we are never alone.”

Outside, the day finally broke, and the sun streamed in through the atrium windows.

The Kyber Arch’s ‘golden hour’ had finally struck - the point in time at which sunlight streamed through the transparent monument and refracted through the thousands of kyber crystals which made up its body, illuminating them, revealing their many splendorous colors that for most of the cycle lay dormant. A beam of sun became a trickle of hue - and then, in moments, the room filled with vibrant rainbows. The Arch twinkled and shone like a kaleidoscope beneath their bare feet.

Sskeer and Kelto fell silent, and for a time watched the lights dance throughout the room in quiet amazement.

“It seems we passed,” Sskeer murmured thoughtfully.

Kelto stared up into his eyes, pleasant astonishment written across his face. Then he wrapped his arms around Sskeer’s neck, levered himself up on tiptoes, and kissed him. The Trandoshan wound his own arms around the Rodian’s shoulders and kissed back, just as fervently.

“I love you, Sskeer.”

“And I you, Kelto Lem.”

It was morning again in the High Republic.

#StarWarsOCShipWeek2021 #star wars #high republic #sskeer #original character #kyber arch #oc x canon #fanfic

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mindfulldsliving · 18 days ago

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James 1:5, Joseph Smith, and the Power of Personal Revelation in a Crisis of Faith

Joseph Smith reading Bible Painting by Dale Kilbourn – From Deseret News Article: “Joseph Smith Was Known as Truthful” – Fair Use Imagine being a young teenager, confused by conflicting religious teachings, longing for clarity but unsure where to turn. That was Joseph Smith’s reality in 1820. It was James 1:5, a simple yet profound scripture, that gave him direction: if you lack wisdom, ask God.…

#Apostle Paul&039;s Conversion #Bible verses about standing firm in your testimony #biblical parallels #Enduring trials for spiritual growth #Faith-based scripture study guide #First Vision #First Vision as a pattern for seeking God’s guidance #God answers prayers Bible verses #God the Father and Jesus Christ revelation #Gospel Restoration study guide #How Joseph Smith’s First Vision teaches us to seek wisdom #How to hear God’s voice in prayer #How to receive personal revelation #How to remain faithful during spiritual challenges #James 1:5 asking God for wisdom #Joseph Smith First Vision study guide #Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26 explained #LDS Theology #Overcoming doubt and finding spiritual answers #Overcoming spiritual opposition #Pattern for personal revelation #Practical application of Joseph Smith’s testimony #Practical steps for personal revelation #Prayer and scripture study guide for personal revelation #Scripture references for personal revelation and faith #Seeking truth in a confusing world #Spiritual breakthroughs after trials #Strengthening your testimony through scripture #Study tips for Doctrine and Covenants #The role of scripture in personal growth and revelation

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notebooknebula · 4 years ago

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Randy Lawrence, The Real Estate Preacher, Joins Jay Conner LIVE!

https://www.jayconner.com/randy-lawrence-the-real-estate-preacher-joins-jay-conner-live/

Jay Conner is joined by The Real Estate Preacher, Randy Lawrence.

“I’ve seen and done it all in real estate. Now I want to help you achieve the success I’ve enjoyed.” – Randy Lawrence

Prosperity Capital Partners lives its mission of serving others by providing Investors with financial freedom: Double-digit returns with zero capital loss and excellent tax benefits to our private investors for 17 years via asset-backed real estate investments.

Families with high-quality, affordable homes: Offering updated affordable housing enhancing the quality of life of working American families who live in our apartments.

https://pcpre.net/ https://therealestatepreacher.com/

Real Estate Cashflow Conference:

https://www.jayconner.com/learnrealestate/

Free Webinar:

http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

#RealEstate #PrivateMoney #FlipYourHouse

————————————————————

Jay Conner (00:02):

Well, hello and welcome to another episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner! I’m Jay Conner, the Private Money Authority, also the host of the show. And I wanna welcome you whether you’re a brand new or you’ve been following the show for some time. My lands! We’ve launched back in June, 2018, tracking fast over 300,000 downloads. Thanks to you. And I do need your help. If you find this episode to be valuable, and you can use this information in your real estate investing business, then please help me out. Let’s share this information, like share, subscribe, write, and review whether you are on iTunes or watching on YouTube or any of our other platforms. Well, here on the show, we talk all things that relate to real estate investing. We talk about how to find deals. We talk about how to fund the deals without relying on local banks, mortgage companies, or even hard money lenders.

Jay Conner (01:11):

We talk about how to sell houses, rehab houses, and how to automate your business to where you’re actually running it. And it’s not running you. But as I mentioned, I’m known as the private money authority. I became an expert on raising private money and I’m not talking about doing business with brokers. I’m talking about actually attracting hundreds of thousands and in the millions of dollars in funding, that’s got nothing to do with your credit, your verification of income, or actually even the number of deals that you’ve done. If you’re interested in getting more funding for your deals to where you never miss out on a deal because you didn’t have the money, I’ve got a free gift for you. Yes, I have got a new monthly membership that I launched that I’m going to show you how to get free access to the membership. It’s called The Private Money Academy, and on the, or in the membership twice a month, I am live on Zoom with coaching for all of the Academy members.

Jay Conner (02:11):

We’re tracking fast to a thousand members. Right now, we got about 150 members. And as a matter of fact, the next live Zoom coaching call is within the next week. So I’m going to tell you how to get in, you get the live coaching. We also put someone, one of the members in the hot seat where we analyze your business, figure out your challenges and fix your challenges to where you’re able to take your business to the next level. And we also have new content and training in the membership every month on finding, flipping, automating funding, selling, et cetera. We also cover all in the membership, all types of real estate deals. We cover single family houses, commercial land, self storage, and you name it. We got it covered. So here’s how you can take advantage of checking it out for free. Go to www.jayconner.com/trial.

Jay Conner (03:10):

Again, that’s JayConner.com/Trial. Look forward to having you live on the membership Zoom conference calls. Well now in addition to that, if you’ve been tuning in for any time, you know that here at Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner, I have amazing experts. And in fact, the guests that I have on today’s show is a good friend of mine and is a fellow member of a very top and mastermind group where we have about 120 real estate investors from all across the nation. We get together about four times a year and help each other out on our businesses. Well, let me tell you about my friend. First of all, he’s an entrepreneur with over as of today, 24 years of experience, and he has four very successful real estate investment companies.

Jay Conner (04:08):

In addition to that, my friend and I have got the same, same heart, and we’ve got a lot in common. He’s a pastor and also a founder of multiple life-changing ministries. And as of this day in the last 15 years, he has impacted and then blessed impact over 40,000 people. He’s been seen on CBN, NBC, CTN and featured in the St. Petersburg times Tampa Tribune. And he’s known as the transformation expert. In addition to that, he’s experienced his own life transformations as well, overcoming the upbringing from a broken home and his life as a drug dealer to becoming a successful entrepreneur, pastor husband, and a father. In addition to that, his spiritual breakthroughs led him out of the economic collapse and the financial collapse of 2008. And man can, I not relate to that! Took him from bankruptcy to a real estate rehabbing business, generating a seven figure annual income, again, something else that he and I have in common.

Jay Conner (05:16):

Also he, and I’ve got another yet person. That’s a mutual friend and mentor back in 2013, he co-authored a book titled Dare To Succeed with Jack Canfield, who is the co-creator of Chicken Soup For The Soul detailing in this book his personal and professional rise from the ashes, his mentors and his coaches include world renowned business leaders, authors, international speakers, such as Les Brown and also John C. Maxwell. He also is an active member contributed to the same mastermind group that he and I are a member of. Comprise, as I mentioned of nation’s elite real estate investors, beyond that he passionately believes in God’s promise of abundance and freedom, and he uses his unique strategies to help transform lives like yours by unlocking spiritual, mental, and tactical financial potential through real estate investing. He also has a very popular podcast titled The Real Estate Preacher on the podcast. He shares his successes and his failures along with his proven strategies and techniques that help build systems that work he’s proven them to work. And he does this so others like you can achieve their own seven figure incomes and their own abundance, just like him. Welcome to the show. My friend, Randy Lawrence also known as the Robo State Preacher.

Randy Lawrence (06:47):

Awesome! My brother. Good to see ya.

Jay Conner (06:49):

Good to see you too, man! Would you reach around please? And like scoop up a little energy and bring to the show to grab a little more

Randy Lawrence (06:59):

After that intro I’m ready to jump up and run around the building Man! Praise the Lord!

Jay Conner (07:04):

Randy, you’ve got quite the story, quite the backstory at one time you were a drug dealer you were bankrupt. You were like, you know, you were like slap dab in one time. And the financial collapse of 2008.

Randy Lawrence (07:19):

Yup!

Jay Conner (07:19):

So, before we get into those pieces of your story how about give us your backstory and little an overview as to.

Randy Lawrence (07:29):

Yeah

Jay Conner (07:30):

Where you’ve been in, what you went through to get you where you are now

Randy Lawrence (07:34):

For sure, man. Well, so my background, I come from, you know, a broken home parents divorced it, you know, four or five years old that kind of led to, by the time I’m in middle school, high school doing my own thing, kind of wayward with the wrong crowd, wrong group, doing the wrong things and just, you know, partying and all like that. Went on through college, got my degree in finance, minor in economics, went into the stock brokerage business right after that really kind of continued on with that same kind of money and partying lifestyle and all. And it was probably about 27 that I, you know, had had success in, in that respect, but really wasn’t fulfilled. And it was at that time that I really kind of found through reading a book Norm Miller chairman of Interstate Batteries, where it outlined about faith in God.

Randy Lawrence (08:25):

I put my trust in Christ. It really just complete 180 from my life, Got involved in the church locally and then got met my wife there. We got married and then, you know, God called me in the Ministry as well. And so I’m running a money management company that I started and then also ministering there at the church and probably around about 2003, God, just really, Has showed the power of the difference of what real estate can do versus, you know, stocks, bonds, option traditional money management. So really started focus on that. And you know, that was really the beginning of where things took off for us. We sold our money management practice in 2006 and moved out North of Tampa to start a church. And then of course that’s where we were having gone through that economic collapse that happened here in Florida.

Randy Lawrence (09:17):

And it was just quite the incredible journey because I was simultaneously pastoring the church, also running the real estate business and navigating the economic collapse that the whole country went through. So really kind of an incredible time at that moment in time.

Jay Conner (09:34):

Did you say you met your wife at church?

Randy Lawrence (09:36):

I did. You know, it’s funny. My dad always used to ride me now again, he was in North Carolina, we’d see each other, maybe once a year, talk on the phone once a week, I’d be going to the bar at happy hour after work, you know, and talk to him on the weekend. And he’s like, what’d you doing? That’s all, I’m going out with some friends at a ball game. And he’s like, man, you should go to church. I’m like go to church? He’s like, well that’s where you going to meet you a right girl. And I’m like, yeah, that’s not the kind of right girl. I want to meet, but he was right. You know? And so yeah, I was blessed to meet my beautiful wife, Sarah Jo there. And we’ve been married now 21 years coming up in October.

Jay Conner (10:16):

Did you say her name is Sarah Jo?

Randy Lawrence (10:18):

Sarah Jo? Yeah. She’s.

Jay Conner (10:20):

We got two things in common, We both met our wives or our to be wives At church.

Randy Lawrence (10:25):

Yeah.

Randy Lawrence (10:25):

And both of them have good Southern devil names. Mine’s Carol Joy,

Randy Lawrence (10:32):

Okay.

Jay Conner (10:32):

And yours is Sarah Jo, you want to know something else we got in common?

Randy Lawrence (10:36):

ah.

Jay Conner (10:36):

So in your bio in 2013, you coauthored a book with Jack Canfield named Dare To Succeed.

Randy Lawrence (10:44):

yup!

Jay Conner (10:44):

Well guess what? Two years later in 2015, I got certified as a Jack Canfield trainer by Jack Canfield.

Randy Lawrence (10:53):

Awesome. Yeah, it’s a, it’s amazing how many things, you know, it’s like the commonalities that the Lord, when you surround yourself with great people, it’s like you attract those similar qualities. And then here it is, you know, that we’ve been together through CG and the friendship there. And then now as we connect together with that further, you find all these backstories that line up with the identical things. That’s just pretty cool.

Jay Conner (11:22):

Well you know, I don’t know who came up with the idiotic idea, In my opinion, that opposites attract that’s stupid.

Randy Lawrence (11:29):

yeah.

Jay Conner (11:29):

I want to be around people. That’s like me. It’s like birds of the same feather flock together. Right?

Randy Lawrence (11:34):

For sure. Absolutely. And that’s, you know, we’re really, as you begin to have the synergies, the thinking is the same, the thinking that elevates one another and pushes each other to higher levels. That’s when I heard your intro about the monthly mentorship program, it’s like, man, that’s what people need to be a of because you know, you just, you come together with great thinking and then it inspires your thinking and then you see these actions that others are doing, or, you know, it’s just a win, win. It’s like the synergy of one plus one, it’s more like, you know, two times two equals four and then it just expansively grows, you know? And that’s the thing, man. So,

Jay Conner (12:15):

Yeah, exactly. So would you say, first of all, were you raised going to church or no?

Randy Lawrence (12:21):

I was not. You know, both my parents, you know, kind of by the time I was in middle school, I was kind of given ability to start making my own decisions and, you know, good parents, but this not focused on, you know, religion or, and again, as a broken home you know, they were just trying to do the best they could do to do their thing. And, you know, so that left me to my own accord and left them on accord. I probably connected together with the wrong group and ran with the wrong crowd and all that kind of stuff.

Jay Conner (12:53):

So I want to speak for a moment to people listening in or viewing whichever platform they’re viewing as someone or listening. My best guess is the majority of people out there like you and me went through a time in their life. The majority, not all, but a lot of people went through a time in their life or an extended time in their life that was very dark. Right? And I went through my dark time. My dark time lasted from the time I was 21 years old until I was 24 years old. And it just progressively got darker and darker and darker. Here’s my question for you. Did you have a wake up call? If so, what was it?

Randy Lawrence (13:42):

Yeah.

Randy Lawrence (13:42):

And if you did, what was it?how did you get out of it?

Randy Lawrence (13:50):

Yeah, So I was, you know, in that period for me would probably been 13 through 27. So like 14 years kind of like a Joseph in the journey, the two kind of coming out of the pit and all like that. But it was really at 27. I was helping take care of my mom. She had gone through numerous health challenges with failed back surgeries and all like that. And I had gotten a DUI charge, you know, for driving home apparently intoxicated. And again, I’m like, no, you know, that’s not the truth, but really what it was for me at that moment was it was this wake up call that here I am, 27, I’m facing the possibility of losing my license for six months. And, you know, I worked at a brokerage firm in Tampa. I lived in Seminole there with my mom helping to take care of her.

Randy Lawrence (14:43):

There were these recoveries and health things she’s going through and it just hit me like, you know, good Lord, man. I’m nowhere near where I want to be in life, cause if I lose this thing, now I’ma have to ride my bike to the 711 and maybe get a job. There not knocking people to work at 711, but that was not my aspiration. And I’m like, what I’d aspired to become and to do and achieve is nowhere near the realities. And the truth of the matter is it’s because of where I’m at in my life and the choices. And so that began to be that process to me, to see it’s like, what I’ve been doing is not the right thing. And so in short order, I laid my hands on a book, another friend of mine and I we’d started in an automotive garage and in the we sold interstate batteries.

Randy Lawrence (15:33):

And so the interstate battery salesman dropped off a book called beyond the norm. And it was about Norm Miller and his journey. I thought it was a sales success book, but it was his journey on how he came to faith in Christ. And then they became the number one battery reseller in the world and went on to such great success. And when I read that book, I’m like, that’s it, he’s got a beautiful wife, he’s got success, he’s got fulfillment. He’s in, he’s found it all in Jesus. And I’m like, wow! And I’m like, you know, Lord, if that’s true, and this is real come into my life, come into my heart, show me the direction you want me to go. And it was just like wham! This giant Volkswagen that I’ve been carrying on my shoulder for 15 years was just released. And it was just an incredible thing. And I, I knew I didn’t know what exactly happened, but I knew something happened and that my life had been changed. I could just feel it at that moment,

Jay Conner (16:31):

If you would like to follow Randy Lawrence and his story, you can follow Randy at www.TheRealEstatePreacher.com So Randy what does your, so how’d you. So when did you start in real estate? How did you get into real estate and what is your business model look like today?

Randy Lawrence (16:52):

Yeah, so we started in 2003. I bought my first multifamily property with little small duplex in 99. And you know, just really loved real estate even while I was a stockbroker and a money manager, you know I just loved real estate. And the more I looked at it, I saw the power of the returns you could generate in real estate with a really a lower adjusted beta or better risk adjusted return than what we were getting with our stock portfolios. And so it was 2003. I mean, God just really helped me to see that’s the direction. And so we bought our first small apartment complex in 2003 and began buying more properties. Now in Florida, it was a real white hot market. So it was tough to get properties. My first mentors had a several thousand doors that they own in apartments.

Randy Lawrence (17:41):

And so that had always been our focus, but you know, we probably started in five and six rehabbing houses just cause there’s so much, you know, money that could be made in that arena. And so we started building that business and also, you know, owning the small multi-families and 2008 hit. We went through the decline here in Florida you know, thankfully it was a great retooling that helped me to just learn a lot through that process. And so we came out through that process where a lot of people just left real estate. We did a huge short sale business, helped hundreds of people. And then, you know, 2011, 12, 13 started rehabbing houses again. And then 15 started focused back on large multifamily. So now to this day, kind of fast forward, we have over a hundred million dollars in apartment complexes on our commercial multifamily side. We have probably three more complexes under contract. Now we’ll buy eight more complexes next year. It’s kind of a velocity approach that we use. And then we still on the residential side buy fix and sell about 70 houses a year.

Jay Conner (18:53):

Wow! That’s quite an operation for both single family and your commercial, what size operation do you have as far as employees that are with you full time and numbers size is your team?

Randy Lawrence (19:08):

Yeah. So our internal team here in the office, we’re based in Largo, Florida, which is kind of the Tampa Bay area. We have seven employees in our internal office team. And then we have right about 28 employees that are through our multifamily side, through our management partnership so that, you know, they’re, they’re not direct report to me, but they work for our company through our management operations. So with every property that we buy, cause on the apartment side, our complexes tend to be 75 units to 200 units is the range kind of the sweet spots, probably a hundred, 110 15. And so every one of those complexes, we always have a full time manager and a full time maintenance. And so with every complex we buy that adds two more people to the mix. And then we have a regional manager that oversees them. And then one of our internal asset managers that oversee them as well

Jay Conner (20:07):

On your apartment complex projects is your business model to search for distress properties that you can fix up and get the rents raised and then turn them for a profit or what’s your business model would like, are you staying in the deal long term or what?

Randy Lawrence (20:24):

Our focus typically is about a three year hold. We look for kind of the threefold, the Holy grail, if you will, that we’re looking for the, the property that has a, you know, original type condition. So we focus on workforce type housing. So that’s people making between 30 to 60 grand, you know, real C, C plus type property. These people are, you know, typically blue collar or lower end white collar workers, you know, just good quality working Americans. They need a good place to live. So that property typically built in the seventies, early eighties, original condition on the interiors. A lot of times, a little bit of deferred maintenance, you know, where they’ve owned it, but they just haven’t really fixed it up and kept it spruced up on the outside. They’re typically, you know, keeping the cashflow and then operational areas where we can improve efficiencies.

Randy Lawrence (21:15):

Cause we have a more corporate structure, you know, large scale discounts. So with that, we’re able to go in upgrade the units so that they’re for about $3,800. We’re able to make them like new two thousands, you know, paint the cabinets, new floor, new lighting and then bring the rent because if they’re renting at 800 and the market’s at nine, it makes sense. This place is a little tired. The place is not updated. So we’re able to update the units on the turn. So that keeps cashflow consistent. It keeps us to be, you know, positive out of the gate so that we’re not running a negative. And it also is much more secure because we’ve got positive cashflow from day one. So on a hundred unit property, it takes us probably about 18 months to cycle through the rent roll, renovate the units. The first 90 days though we renovate the exterior. So it gives it a fresh pop and looks nice. So, you know, you know, the first three months you pull up on the property, looks like a new place and we’re able to start methodically working through the rent roll to improve the interiors during that time as well. And then that prepares us to be done within 24 months and then operate it for another 12 months to really improve the the T 12 and prep it ready for sale.

Scott Paton (22:37):

I think we lost Jay for a minute there, Randy. So.

Randy Lawrence (22:42):

No problem. Well then, you know, so just kind of carrying forward with our business model on it. So typically those properties, you know, we’re buying them at 85, 90, 95% occupied, and we have people that invest with us in the complex. So, you know, we’re buying a, let’s say a $10 million complex, we get a seven and a half to $8 million loan. And then that additional 2 million comes in the form of our capital as well as other people investing with us. And you know, it’s a typically like that is a three year hold period based on the model that I just share.

Scott Paton (23:18):

Cool! So I have a question that’s of interest to me, and that is, is the, if I invest in your deal or your project, is it interest that comes back or interest plus a percentage of profits? Or how does that?

Randy Lawrence (23:33):

So how it works on the majority of our properties, we have a preferred return model where you’re getting a 12% preferred return. So you get 7% paid on cashflow. So that’s a quarterly check every quarter. And then you get another 5% appreciation that is then a preferred return so that you, for example, put in a hundred grand, you’re getting 7,000 a year paid quarterly and then another 5,000 a year that’s accruing as appreciation so that when the property sold in three years, you get the hundred grand back plus another 15,000. That’s the appreciation. And then meanwhile, you were paid 21,000 through the cashflow during that three year hold period. The interesting thing with apartments too, and this is one of the greatest elements to it because you’re an actual owner in the individual apartment, you get a K1.

Randy Lawrence (24:24):

And so instead of a 10 99, you get a K1. And on that K1 because of the depreciation, you’ll get you typically on a hundred thousand, about a 40,000 depreciation loss. So you actually got 7,000 of income, but your tax statement shows you lost 40 grand. So you don’t pay any tax on that 7,000. So it really is a highly favorable and tax efficient investment vehicle.

Scott Paton (24:48):

I don’t understand why anyone would buy stocks, just listening to you right now. But Jay has returned.

Randy Lawrence (24:54):

Awesome!

Scott Paton (24:54):

I’m going to step away and make room for him right now.

Randy Lawrence (24:58):

All right. Very good.

Randy Lawrence (24:59):

So I don’t know what happened, but poof! I’m going poof I’m back

Randy Lawrence (25:05):

Yeah.

Jay Conner (25:05):

So, You may have already answered this question, Randy, but one more chance, your favorite way to find your apartment deals and how many of you got the analyze to buy one?

Randy Lawrence (25:14):

Yeah, they’re very good questions. So really, you know, we network in any market. So like if you focus on a market that you want to be in, we want to be in high growth markets cause that’s where demographics and jobs are coming. So in that market, you’re going to have typically three to five people that are the majority of the brokers that sell the big projects. Right? And so we develop a relationship with those people. They know that we’re no BS shake on it, we get it done. And with that, we’ve developed a very clear track record and a confidence. So when a deal comes that’s like, I just got an email yesterday, guys like, Hey, we’ve got an amazing property that it’s off market. The sellers looking to want to sell it. We want to get your input on it. First we get that kind of first shot at stuff that other people aren’t going to get because of the relationships we’ve developed and the performance that we’ve done in executing, you know? And so that’s really the number one strategy that is yielded the results that we’ve seen. And then currently we own 11 complexes right now just over a thousand doors. And then we have three more complexes under contract right now. That’ll bring us right to about 1400.

Jay Conner (26:34):

Awesome. And how many deals you’ve got to analyze to buy one?

Randy Lawrence (26:37):

Oh yes. That’s the question right there. So it probably is anywhere from 30 to 40, a lot of times, you know, we’ve developed a system where I have a full time acquisitions person. We have a two 10X14 double spreadsheet and he’s just going through property after property, after property. And so on a weekly basis, kind of the crap that’s on the back and it migrates to the front. So now when you get to the front page, the top 5 to 10 are right there for me to look at. And then we say, okay, dive into this one, this one, this one. And that’s a process that we’ve refined and developed so that we’re able to go through that kind of ball on, because you got to shift through the chafe, define that, you know, nugget of gold and you know, and that’s really been the key.

Randy Lawrence (27:26):

And so I think a lot of times people looking at apartments, you know, they mistake well like, Oh, well I look at this one or look at that one. And it’s like, that’s really not how it works. You’ve gotta be willing to 1, be accurate and understanding the dynamics that go into it. And then 2 have the volume ability to be able to look at a lot of deals.

Jay Conner (27:45):

Excellent. Well, Randy has been such a pleasure to have you here on the show and folks to stay connected with Randy Lawrence, go on over to his website at www.TheRealEstatePreacher.com. God bless you, Randy. Thank you so much.

Randy Lawrence (28:04):

Thank you so much, brother. You have an awesome day. God bless.

Randy Lawrence (28:07):

You too. There you have it. Folks. This wraps up another episode in show of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner. I’m Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority wishing you all the best here’s to taking your real estate investing business to the next level. And I’ll see you on the next show!

#Jay Conner #Private Money Lender #Real Estate Business #Real Estate #Real Estate Investing #Real Estate Investor #Real Estate Profit #The Private Money Authority

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arohlanceur · 4 years ago

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A Gentle Wind

2020 has been the most tumultuous & spiritually-testing season I've yet endured. God has used this year to teach me about the depth of value in laboring fruits of patience, faith, and perspective. As Christians, a prolonged season of singleness can often feel draining. Sometimes it feels eternal, mentally writhing, hopeless, depleting, and absurdly confusing. It can be seemingly agitating and infuriating to feel we’re not *doing* enough to progress unto the next season or to furthermore *prove* our “enjoyment” during this lonesome season. Due to the sake of our vulnerability, the devil thrives and capitalizes on this time for his enjoyment in our turmoil. That said, our dependency on God may drastically drop frequently due to mere mortal exhaustion. And that’s okay. We’re human, with a genuine and diehard desire for companionship, for marriage, for building a life that will honor and glorify our Lord. Often times we may even feel our own Purpose is tied into this vision for marital unity. That said, waiting on His Timing can seem near impossible. We question “how much longer? How many more lonesome birthdays, life celebrations, holidays, without the one I’m meant to love? How many? How much longer?” Abraham said the same thing after God delivered His Promise. "The LORD said to Abram: Go forth* from your land, your relatives, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. 2* I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3c I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” (n Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham was 75 years old when he received this vision. He waited 25 years for the deliverance of God’s breakthrough. That’s just one of numerous Biblical examples to demonstrate the labored fruit of patience (and irritability) of waiting on God’s Timing.

Additionally, as single Christians it can be highly agitating to hear Godly couples continue to claim “all in God’s Timing!” without further testifying to their journey of faith. I know each life path is individualized according to our call for His Purpose, but I can promise you, their path of faith wasn't easy either. The devil fights tooth and nail for anything remotely threatening to him, and spiritual alignment of God’s Ordained is the top of his hit-list. That said, have ease on yourself. Take care of yourself first. It’s taken me quite a long journey to realize the value and directed steps into a path of pursuing self-love. Furthermore, it’s taken that much deeper of a dive to fully embrace the Reckless Love that God had in the intricate fabrication of my own character. Every flaw, every mistake, every minuscule detail of my personality was intricately woven through the mind, spirit, and experiences of growth that God used to cultivate my enrichment. I am, at most, His Kingdom Child and there is no greater honor to ever come above, near, or beyond that.

To pursue a path of self-love is to fully learn, embrace, and intimately meet the masterpiece of your Spirit by the hands of our Creator, Himself. The relationship that we have with him, particularly in our season of singleness, allows us that vulnerability and opportunity to fully indulge in discovery of his craftsmanship within the cultivation of ourselves. I’m not saying it’s easy. This is hard, delicate, progressive, ugly, convicting work. But it’s a progression that not only builds our own self-confidence and sense of security, it profoundly demonstrates the *identity* of Christ that dwells within us. That’s why the devil attacks the hardest when we are the most vulnerable in our season with God. Because this, THIS is the time, in which we learn WHOSE we are. We grow in our endurance, our strength, our determination of being a Kingdom Child. We begin to break down each part of ourselves in order to learn our genuine Purpose. We begin to identify flaws and weaknesses that the devil may use to project guilt and temptation upon us. (When you know your weaknesses, you can better defend attacks that come against it). Above all, we learn of our Kingdom Power as a child of God. We learn of our inheritance within the Kingdom through the sacrifice of Christ. We not only begin to learn and utilize the depth of His Word in scripture, we learn of its defense in demonic attacks. We begin to *thoroughly* implement His Word into our daily lives, mindsets, and patterns of behavior. In this season of singleness, we realize the definitive promise that *NO weapon formed against me will EVER prosper, in His Name.” In your season of singleness, there is no distraction. There is no barrier between you and your Creator. In this season of singleness, your learn the extent of your devout invincibility through Christ and that is above all the *greatest attack* against demonic terrorism.

If this is your season, I ask you to pray. I ask you to be raw, be real, be vulnerable, be authentic with the expression of your emotions. Trust that God sincerely knows. Above all, I ask you to hold on for every season has its expiration date. "For everything there is a season, and a time for every [a]purpose under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This season can be ugly, prolonged, exhausting, seemingly hopeless, and wrought with a daily deliverance of repetitive mundanity. Change seems impossible. I ask that you hold on. If you seek first the righteousness of God and He has instilled the somewhat desperate desire for marriage within the depths of your spirit - know that he IS working it out for your good (Romans 8:28). For a long while, you may not see of it; you may not feel of it; you may doubt, try to quit, take back directional [life] control, and lose faith in Him. That’s okay. He knows. Remember that even an ounce of faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Even if you quit on trusting Him for a short time, He will still deliver you in His time. Just *hang* on, even if by the fraying of a thread.

Additionally, please remember that “what is for you will always be for you.” As it’s often been heard, God is not in the business of delivering a package to the wrong house. No amount of witchcraft, peer manifestation, universal begging, or prophetic exercise will change that. God is the most High. Entrust in Him with this gentle reminder that perhaps while you’re developing in your season of singleness, your future spouse is praying for you to remain in a state of solitude until divine timely reunion. I have heard this gentle whisper from God myself for nearly two years now. Every time the devil tries to rile me up with rumors, doubts, questioning, *heavily* bestowed anxiety, mental scenarios of potential heartbreak, and reminders of our cultural dating patterns to deter me from my trust in God…. my Father reiterates this limitless, gentle whisper. “He’s waiting for you. He is divinely protected, and saved, by My Hand for your spiritual unity. Do not question, do not doubt. Be at peace. He is my Promise to you, and the answer to your Prayers. He will be for you, as I am for you. He will soon be with you. Trust in Me.” This has been the most refreshing *daily* reminder from my Provider.

If you’re enduring this tumultuous season of singleness, or you’re in a tiresome (seemingly obliterate) season of waiting on God, know that we’re in different boats enduring the same storm. The boat that carries you may be structurally assembled different than mine, you may be carrying a different weight, enduring a different depth of emotion or frustration, and weathering a different duration of this season; however, you’re not alone. We’re all lost in the same direction, trusting in the One who calms the storm. For what it’s worth, for however far you’ve made it, even if you’ve found yourself retracted into old habits and patterns, or feeling dismayed by a stump in the road… know that I understand, I am immensely proud of you, and you are doing an incredible job. This journey is not easy. At times we find ourselves in a Boston Whaler confronting a tsunami. You’re doing good a good job. You’re still doing good. And I promise you God has not quit on you. Even in times when you’ve quit on yourself. He will make a way. You’re doing good, and He is so proud. He gave you the endurance to outlast this trial because he knew you would conquer the quest. Just hang on. Remember to breathe. Rest in Him.

Better days are around the bend.

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londontantric-blog1 · 4 years ago

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Sex, Drugs, and Rock

The area that is now known as Turkey played a major role in the Mystery Religions. The use of drugs to create "religious" experiences was developed to a fine art by various occult fraternal mystery religion groups in the Turkey area. The Assassins from where we get the word hashish controlled parts of Turkey and Lebanon in Medieval times. They used drugs to gain the allegiance of their recruits. Some of the most powerful figures for the Illuminati have been Turks. The Grand Orient has had some powerful figures in Turkey. For instance, at the Masonic Congress of all the Grand Orients' (that's European Freemasonry- although several American presidents have been members of European Freemasonry) Grand Lodges, Bou Achmed came from Turkey. The Grand Lodge of Asia was represented by Sebeyck-Kadir from Asia. Bou Achmed took a big role in the Grand Orient's decisions.

As an aside, let me explain one example of the power of the Grand Orient in America. The Grand Orient was originally strong in Louisiana but spread itself to many other US. locations. Garfield, a very powerful man in the Grand Orient, managed to become US. President because the political process got deadlocked at the convention and the Masons suggested him as a compromise candidate. Although Garfield was an extremely powerful Mason, had been perhaps the youngest general in the US. Army during the Civil War, the Illuminati ordered him shot after he had served about a year in office as President. Garfield was reported by an eye-witness to Satanic rituals to have participated in the cannibalistic rites of Satanism done to gain the spiritual power of the eaten person. The Grand Orient Freemasonry has been linked to other orders of Freemasonry that are also called Rosicrucians. Pope John XXIII joined a Rosicrucian group that had links to European Freemasonry when he was in Turkey.

While the secret Grand Orient Freemasonry was very strong in Turkey in spite of its small numbers, the regular American Freemasonry granted a dispensation for a Masonic Lodge to operate in Smyrna, Turkey in May, 1863 but the charters were withdrawn on Aug. 27, 1880. However, it is interesting that of all the Turkish cities, Smyrna was definitely the best place for Freemasonry to gain recruits. Men like Achmed Pasha and many of the other Pasha family have been leaders within Freemasonry and the Illuminati. Achmed Pasha was a Satanist and had a large harem. Mehmet Talaat Pasha (1872-1921) was a Freemason and part of the Turkish revolution of 1908. He was the leader of the Young Turks, which was a joint project of the Sufis and the Frankist Satanists. (The type of Satanism led by the Frank family has had connections to Turkey for hundreds of years.) Mehmet Talaat Pasha was the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Turkey. He was held the political position in Turkey of grand vizier of Turkey (1917-18). Another Turkish Pasha was part of the Turkish royalty running Egypt when Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire. His name was Khedive Ismail Pasha and he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Egypt. It was this Turk, Khedive Ismail Pasha, who gave the famous Obelisk to the United States. This Obelisk was called Cleopatra's Needle and was originally erected in the city of the sun, Heliopolis, about 1500 B.C. The Obelisk is a representation of a human penis, because sun worship, worship of regeneration (sex) and worship of the sun god Satan were all tied together. Masons helped with the moving of the obelisk, and its dedication when it arrived in New York City. Large obelisks have been erected by Masons in New York, Washington D.C., Paris, the Vatican, and London. (If my memory serves me correct Berlin received one too at one time.)" (1)

Notice the importance of Smyrna as a source of Freemasonry here. That is where the Onassis family has operated potion-pushing or altered consciousness drugs for millennia.

Sometimes, when my tiny head is spinning with disinfotainment and other artifacts of the mediasphere, I try to think what archaeologists and social historians 2,000 years from now might make of our particular little epoch. How, for instance, would they parse the word "drug"?

Is a "drug dealer" a pharmacist or a petty criminal? When we talk about "reasonably priced drugs for seniors," are we discussing marijuana or Lipitor {or Levitra}? What would they make of the fact that the last four American administrations have declared a "war on drugs" while taking money from drug companies?

Why is it bad when residents of Colombia build mansions from profits on the sale of drugs, but it's good when residents of Newport, R.I., do the same thing? When one person cannot live without "lifesaving drugs," we express great sympathy, unless that person is a "drug addict," in which case we may even throw him in jail. When a mood-altering drug is sold in pill form in stores, it's called an antidepressant and hailed as a medical breakthrough. When a mood-altering drug is sold on the streets, it's called felony drug trafficking and subject to stiff criminal penalties. see here london tantric

Because we are native speakers of Americanadianese, we can wend our way through the contradictions. We know that the bad drugs are the ones the cause euphoria and impair judgment, unless the drug is alcohol, but that's not ever called a drug, so there's no confusion there. We know that the good drugs are the ones that cure diseases or relieve symptoms, except sometimes the good drugs are ineffective or even counterproductive in achieving those goals.

Street dealers do not finance experimental trials on the effectiveness of the drugs they sell. Drug companies do, but they fudge the results. Street dealers have a small feedback loop because customers can tell pretty quickly whether they're loaded or not. Drug companies have a long feedback loop because human beings can't instantly tell whether their cholesterol is being lowered or their blood thinned or their insulin production stimulated. A drug with a long feedback loop is clearly more profitable than one with a short feedback loop because the dealer can keep an ineffective drug on the shelves much longer.

Interestingly, the people who sell ineffective drugs are generally said to have made "honest mistakes." If a street dealer sold you an ineffective drug, you could take five of your friends and go back and have a brisk conversation with him. If a behind-the-counter dealer sold you an ineffective drug, you'd have to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit and maybe, maybe, 10 years later you'd get some money, although probably you'd be dead by then.

Street dealers don't have patents on their drugs, which means that they'll always have plenty of competition. Drug companies do have patents, so they can set their prices without worrying about market economics. And when their patents run out, they can put out a drug with a slightly different formulation, promote it like mad and sell the new drug in a monopolistic setting {With government mandated market support in order to manage the 'money-trees' while building bureaucracy.}. You have to wonder when street dealers are going to come up with Cocaine XR or LSD Reditabs.

Since the street dealer works in a competitive atmosphere, he has to keep his prices relatively low. In order to increase his profitability, he can "step on" his product, that is, dilute it. It would be unwise for a drug company to adulterate its product, but since it owns a monopoly, it can set prices artificially high and achieve the same profitability levels. A street dealer who knowingly poisons his clientele is called "the scum of the earth." A drug corporation that knowingly poisons its clientele is called "a tobacco company." People who sell illegal drugs often rot in jail for 20 or 30 years. People who sell legal drugs are often forced to attend tedious daylong board meetings. People who take illegal drugs are called "losers." People who take legal drugs are called "everyone in America."

Glad I'm not an archaeologist in 4040; my brain would ache a whole lot.

One pill makes you larger, and one pill puts you in jail, and please do not operate heavy machinery with the ones that mother gives you. {My ex-roommate was being told to apply for his old job as a forklift truck operator while being given drugs for Schizophrenia which he did not have. He was no liar and could not expose a potential employer to the insurance risks or his fellow employees to the life threat this would entail. Many drugs people use are impairing their driving prowess, and there are laws to take away their license that go unenforced.}

Driving that train, high on ethyl 4-1-piperidinecarboxylate.

Homeopathy:

It is a wonderful thing to have the Joy of Learning and to make a career that you find is related to your studies. There are so many ways to get a Doctor label and thus claim expertise in the many fields and disciplines which we have broken knowledge into. Some of this is counter to real expertise and much of it just sets people apart from knowledge and each other. But people are also being segmented into classes within the hierarchy of government backed by and for elites in all so many ways. Medicine has been one of their more dastardly tools alongside religion. This next little factoid reminds me of how Edward Gibbon almost died because the British Medical system would not approve vaccinations through use of scabs as had been done by the likes of Paracelsus or others in antiquity and which was approved in the France of his era.

"When the Cholera epidemic reached England, it provided another opportunity to compare homeopathic treatment with the conventional methods of the day. Regular allopathic medicine yielded a mortality rate of 59 percent compared to only 16 percent for the Homeopaths. (2) When these statistics were collected, the information was so startling that a medical commission was sent to the London Homeopathic Hospital to check the records. Though the data were duly verified, it was decided not to make them public, and the facts were not released until a hundred years later." (3)

The formation of the American Medical Association is a major issue against alternative healing or real care for people. In the late 19th Century as these issues were becoming apparent there were many who knew that the allopaths or medical doctors selling laudanum and the like were actually the 'Killing-trade'. There are signs that stress management (don't fret - sweat or exercise) and the connectiveness to the 'all' around us are again making a play to be considered in health maintenance. Vitamins and supplements are able to prove to even the most duped person receiving medical care that they work and yet some doctor's groups and the governments that back them still disqualify doctors who advise their usage.

Academics are subject to a 'Knowledge Filter' (Berkeley Law Professor - Johnson) or Literary Theory (UBC English Professor Graham Good) and the outright suppression of creative or thoughtful and meaningful potentials. (4) The concept of Bucky Fuller called 'the observer of the observed' and his more detailed 'creative realization' is part of what operates as we 'project' upon reality. For example the things we see are actually a mixture of fields of energy from the dross and less excited to the highly excited or vibrational energy inside the atomic structures. One way of visualizing this includes an aura, which is the field of energy not usually visible but associated with the solar body and integrative centers called chakras. Perhaps we could contemplate a time when all people had the ability to see or sense auras. In our socially normed 'projections' that include telling our children certain things do not exist, we have lost the conscious integration or incorporation of these fields of reality.

Psychic surgeons in the Philippines and Brazil have had their energy measured during operations at the same vibration rate of 7.8 cycles. It started me thinking about how we can alter our state and how others might perceive us in these altered states. Clearly if anyone could see all the spaces between our electrons and the nuclei or between the different atoms and molecules we wouldn't seem solid by a long shot. Thus these surgeons who use no utensils would be able to energize the infected or diseased body part or tumor to remove it at an altered vibration level. There have been solid documentaries with such credible support as X-rays before a San Francisco businessman had such a tumor removed and X-rays a year later showing it hadn't returned. In the end you must decide who has the most to gain from the arguments and whether or not you want to actualize your own potential. Once you do a few things the debunkers say are impossible - then a smile will come to your face; and the intellectual conflict loses all import.

String Theory knows about the harmonic forces that are less than solid which somehow combine to make what we perceive as a solid. The astrophysicists now have told us that 95% of the universe is 'Dark Matter' or 'Dark Energy' - so get with it before you are invisible and don't know it! Just kidding! We fear that which we cannot fully comprehend and our experts or priests and doctors include many enablers of our fears. We even allow fear to pre-empt love; which is ironic because at the end of our lives it's not the fears or the differences that matter the most but whether we loved and allowed ourselves to be loved as much as possible.

"Every new perception of knowledge is always based either directly or indirectly on older knowledge. InteliTapping allows us to connect with the oldest, yet most complete source of knowledge." (5)

Nature produced a show on the origins of music and the biological and archetypal impact it has had on our evolution and emotional wherewithal. Along with reed instruments from as long ago as 60,000 years that obviously show sophisticated development of technology, they had the cave operas of those who rubbed and drummed on stalactites. They posited that the tree-swinging hominid that like the Sumatran Gibbon co-ordinates community for protection through territorial chants, is not so much less aware as most of our great Lockean influenced academics seem to be. These animals also learned what plants are dangerous and what plants alter your spiritual consciousness. You can see it when your puppy goes outside for the first time and chews on some grass to settle its tummy. Our genes contain a lot of information or the ability to tap-in to much knowledge. The buzz you get from 'weed' is the buzz coming from your Thalami and Third Eye or Pineal gland that has a crystal radio receiver and grains or crystalline structures. Crystalline structures like quartz were known to be useful in the Lost Chord of the Druids and more ancient shamans. There are magnificent quartz caves in Central America and other places that would have been used by early hominids for a certainty.

The Best Body Language - Sex:

Long before Tantra or Bhakti Yoga there were many things ancients probably learned from intercourse, even more than most people do today. Today we have drugs like Viagra to enhance the longevity of the sexual encounter. The Mayans have natural drug for this. There are so many things which keep us busy or deflect us from spiritual insight as is noted in many Eastern systems which refer to the 'busy-mind' or samsara and the illusion of Maya.

Second degree Wiccan students who have advanced through a rigorous training in esoteric knowledge begin a quest that many would regard as perverse pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. The partners are often involved in other committed relationships. When a man and a woman who are interested in spiritual growth combine to experience the Tantric or Bhakti (Yoga) or ritualistic growth potential to free more than just their personal self or ego to reach the heights of spiritual or psychic possibilities; who can say what is real and what is imagined. This effort to commune with spirit is termed 'working partners' and the allies or guides is who they really seek to merge or work with. The imagination is undoubtedly a part of the dynamic. It isn't necessary for them to care for each other in the way lovers do. I have not done this 'work'.

Many people talk about 'soulmates' or 'dual flames' and the words become mere shadows of the real potential. At the same time sex is a dirty 'word', and act, in much of society.

What can a writer say to convey the essence of all these things?

If I absolve myself from the challenge of integrating these concepts, rituals and soulful realities I would simply say trust your soul and know that wherever you may go you will find something more than whatever you thought was real to begin with.

If I talk about 'la petite mort' or empathic attunements with the soul of the partner that allows the self to disintegrate and become part of something larger than one person; and almost dissolve in the vastness of spirit - it will only seem like prose and poetry. The phrase 'la petite mort' or 'the little death' can in fact lead to a Kundalini type experience which can cause death.

Of course, one can wax eloquent and carry on at length about any of their hopes and desires. The essence of a great working partner most probably has little to do with these aspirations and more to do with the way the soul interpenetrates all people. The glimpses of insight gained through empathy and love with those who shared my needs are special to me and will forever stay in the part of my soul (if there is such a part) that cherishes all we were and hungers for what we could have been.

To deprecate the witch who 'draws down the moon' into their partner on the path to worship of things no one can fully know is the stuff of fearful and insecure people. That kind of bigotry without actual experience is rampant in all areas of society. It is truly just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when one contemplates all the ways mankind has developed to separate himself from what we are collectively and what god truly wishes for us to realize. No amount of constant seeking or obsession with these pursuits will ever get a man any closer to his soul than what he was while in his mother's womb.

The joy and creativity of the challenge to know is as great a gift as our maker can give us - except perhaps the acquiescence to the soul within the loved one you are blessed to have the chance to know and share your life with. In the moment of creation each day as we grow and learn to be, we are forever drawn by some force that seeks greater harmony and purpose for all energy.

Many (if not most) people think the 24 hour orgasm is like alien abductions but the EEG and other ways of measuring physical responses would convince them otherwise. A similar number of people find the misuse of Tantric Yoga by the likes of Crowley and Hubbard is tantamount to whatever is evil in man. I say they are right, but that is not the fault of Tantric Yoga. These techniques are very seductive and in some ways the participants would choose to have the experience even if they knew a great deal about it because it is a sad truism that Masters and Johnson or Kinsey are right. They say a full third of women never have an orgasm through intercourse.

Many people seldom enjoy sex and some significant number of the rest of us are in varying stages of poor to decent ability and openness to what great learning sex can provide. It could be said that our sexual relations are a good barometer of the state of society. I favour sex education and all the opportunities and responsibilities that go with the natural and soulful functions of the act. It is easy to understand why some people are hesitant to have strangers teach their loved ones about sex. But Father Leo Booth is right when he notes that parents who repress their children or foist suppressive behavior upon them are just as guilty of abuse.

#london tantric

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riszellira · 9 months ago

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Reflection: Conquering the World in Christ with Mary Our Mother

~Fr. Nick F. Lalog

Examine your spiritual life today: is it as strong as before or during the pandemic?

Lord Jesus, help us find our way back to You through Mary, our Lady of Fatima. Amen.

Prayer

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the strength and healing of the sick.

… for the healing and peace of all families.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

GOD BLESS!

#reflection #prayer

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mebutanotherme · 5 years ago

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Incoming 2019 Post

"My 2019 was tragic." "My 2019 was full of love." "I accomplished my biggest goal in 2019." "I lost someone very dear to me in 2019." "2019 was a rollercoaster ride, a tornado, and full of storms." Said the people I see posting on their social networking accounts. I wonder how my 2019 was. My 2019 started when I was halfway from my university graduation, and almost done with our group thesis. I remember that we were just calm about our thesis. I remember how our professor was very supportive of it, and was hopeful it would get published. The thesis and the process was memorable. I remembered how in midterm I failed in one subject, but passed with a very good rating by the final term. I remember how I was one of those who got the highest rating in a particular subject. The ratings I graduated with were excellent. It was my last year in university, and I finished excellently. After all academic work was done, I had the whole month of March free before graduation. My aunt from New York was home, and the family went on a vacation. We first went to Cebu, and visited my grandmother and cousins. Then we went to Bohol. We toured almost half the island, met the family of our origins, and stayed for one night in one of the most expensive resorts in the island. The next day, I'd be flying home alone for a graduation ball, while my family carried on with the vacation. It's always memorable to travel alone whether it be riding a bus, a boat, or an airplane. After a few days of April, graduation day finally came. I told myself months before that I'd cry on this day. The program was on time, but the speaker was late because of a delayed flight. Thus, I was just sleepy and exhausted that day, and I didn't cry. I remembered I vlogged on that day, just a simple snippet of how the program was, and where we ate after. I slept all afternoon, and the electricity went out all over the city. I don't know the reason though. I remember how my brain can finally rest from academic works, so I uninstalled academic apps on my phone. I then installed new apps, and I got hooked on webtoons. I read like a monster. I was binge-reading one webtoon to another. I was very complacent. I didn't care if I slept late or woke up late. I remember that I would take the board of licensed professional teachers by September so I enrolled in a review center where they produced board exam topnotchers. I also enrolled there because they praised God while orienting us about them. By June, I remembered that for the next 4 months, I'd be reviewing. I remember how I wanted to work while reviewing because I felt it wasn't my parents responsibility anymore to provide for me. However, I wasn't victorious in working. I wasn't able to sign up for it because the time they wanted me to sign up, I had only little time left for reviewing for the board exam. I remember I signed up in a gym for a lifetime membership. I've done only a month because I ran out of funds, and I had no means of earning because I was still reviewing. I borrowed my cousin's money, which I later on paid after how many months. I remember how I wanted to be fully devoted and determined in reviewing, studying, and learning new things from my review. Those weren't really achieved. I was out on weekly Friday fellowships, did art therapy, joined a gig, and spent deep time with God through prayer, journaling, and devotion. I was successful in abstaining from Twitter, Instagram, Webtoons, and YouTube by June to October. I couldn't give up Facebook for a long time because there were online reviews that I could watch. I remember how I really got into OPM indie because I made a friend who had an indie-folk band who was rising to fame. I discovered lots more of these amazing bands and artists, and started following them on their social networking accounts. I remember how this new friend I made was a bet of a friend for me. Yet thank God I didn't take her bait. I remember how my UNITE this year, which was on July, was super spiritual. My obedience was rewarded by God. It was like an Abraham-Isaac moment for me. It was a spiritual breakthrough not only for me but for almost all who served that day. I remember how my big sister and I became closer and closer this year. I pray for her all the time. I ask her how i can pray for her. I'm so touched how she tells me things that she hasn't shared to others yet. The most touching part was when she took down her strong front, and asked me how I was able to persevere with all the issues in our family. I really love her, and also my big brother! I remember how I was 101% confident that I will pass the board exam because I had confidence and trust in God. When the day of the exam arrived in late September, I was still in that constant state of trust and confidence. The general education subject was a piece of cake, but professional eduaction subject was hard, I admit. Then we went to a city nearby, and unwind there. My brain was finally at rest again, and I no longer thought of the exam. I was officially part of the unemployed, but only for a month. I got a job at a tutorial center by November. My tutees were regular students, some had adhd, mild autism, sensory disorder, and a slow learner. I was given allowance weekly. It's good enough for me since I don't have a family to feed, and a house piled with bills. I remember I joined Multiply Leadership Training, and Selah Retreat at the end of October and early December respectively. Selah was a retreat wherein God revealed a lot from my heart. I remember how after Selah, I went to attend Sunday service. Then when the service started, my aunt called me and congratulated me. I passed the national board examination for teachers. I was a bit emotional. Greetings were flooding online. I remember how I started reading webtoons again in December. I read complete stories, and in this one particular story I met my gorgeous and princely plot twist or my 2019 year-ender surprise. I went to this author's Instagram, started commenting just as usual fans would with a thick face, and reacted to a highlight. As a fan, I didn't expect anything but my comment was replied to and received, and my reaction was replied in the dm's. The simple reaction was then transformed to a whole conversation that lasted for almost a fortnight. It was fun while it lasted, and kept my spirits up. I remember how I barely went out to eat after work, hanged out less with friends, and bought less to zero things that I don't need. All these just to save money so I can buy presents for my family, my spiritual daughters, and a few very important people in my life. The presents weren't very expensive and fancy, but they were all from my heart and out of appreciation for these wonderful people. My 2019 was full of blessings. There were trials and challenges, but I guess this year I became more optimistic and positive about life and people. I wonder how my 2020 will be. I'm officially part of this market of professionals. I wonder if I'll be able to get my passport and have my first "out of the country" trip. Maybe a boyfriend perhaps. I'm very excited for my first times next year. I'm also excited for the trials that I'll be learning from, and how God will be molding me more. See you, 2020!

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leftpress · 6 years ago

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Jasper Bernes | July 9th 2019 | Commune

Acid against austerity.

When cultural theorist, author, and blogger Mark Fisher passed away in 2017, he left behind an unfinished book manuscript. Acid Communism: On Post-Capitalist Desire was to continue the project of his 2009 book Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? In Capitalist Realism, Fisher wrote that decades of deregulation had all but fully destroyed our ability to imagine viable alternatives to capitalism. If we couldn’t envision a better world, he declared, there could be little hope that such a world would manifest. Capitalist Realism was by no means defeatist, though. The book concludes with a call to action: Fisher draws attention to what he saw as the most urgently needed political resource. If the future we want lies at the limits of our imagination we must begin there — with the creative, unruly parts of our consciousness, that parts that capital wants to claim as its own. The current political nightmare, he suggests, will only be defeated by vibrant dreams.

In this spirit, Acid Communism was meant to strengthen the political imagination. A recently published anthology of Fisher’s writings includes a draft for the introduction, which reads something like a manifesto. Fisher had taken a cue from his friend Jeremy Gilbert, a scholar who had long maintained that the sixties might serve as a blueprint for contemporary leftist revolution. Inspired by Gilbert, Fisher coined the phrase that would become the title for his next book: “acid communism” represents the idea that psychologically profound experiences — including the use of psychedelic drugs — should be used to galvanize anticapitalist movements. In the introduction, he observes that the optimism of the hippie-era left had faded during the heyday of Reagan and Thatcher. Neoliberal economics catalyzed widespread cynicism, Fisher claimed, and in so doing depleted the mental energy required for proactive organizing. We now owed it to ourselves to revive the hopeful politics that flourished in the sixties.

In the wake of Fisher’s suicide, several activist initiatives took up the Acid Communist banner. The 2018 transmediale festival, an annual arts and culture event in Berlin, included a workshop called “Building Acid Communism.” Workshop leaders gave the audience a series of prompts aimed at “unveiling and exploring the precise idea of freedom” that motivated left-wing activists. These questions inquired into how participants experienced boredom, whether fashion and style mattered to their political identity, and the last time they felt truly free from work, among other issues. Meanwhile, a spate of recent articles about Acid Communism reflect the multiple ways it might be interpreted. In one editorial, Jeremy Gilbert points out that the concept has taken on other names, including “freak left,” “psychedelic socialism,” and in the UK, “Acid Corbynism.” Acid Corbynism is referenced in the title for Gilbert’s new podcast, #ACFM (Acid Corbynism FM), which investigates “the links between Left-wing politics and culture, music and experiences of collective joy.” Although they are eclectic, these endeavors agree that the psychedelic sixties might make a reappearance in the political future. The work of Acid Communism, it seems, is just beginning.

The timing is apropos. Currently, we are in the midst of what some have called a “psychedelic renaissance,” referring to the revival of scientific interest in the psychiatric use of these drugs. Psychedelic psychiatry was a burgeoning field in the postwar period, but by the seventies the criminalization of all psychedelic drugs had brought investigations to an effective halt. After years of advocacy by researchers and psychedelic enthusiasts, clinical investigations of LSD, magic mushrooms, and related chemicals resumed in the nineties. 2014 saw the first peer-reviewed study on LSD published in over forty years, and the number of clinical trials is rapidly growing. Until recently, however, the psychedelic renaissance could not be considered mainstream. Its breakthrough moment came with the publication of Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Reaching the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list, How to Change Your Mind was a watershed moment for the reputation of psychedelics. Pollan is a widely-respected journalist, and much of the current research is being conducted at well-known universities; Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and NYU all currently have psychedelic research labs. This is encouraging to those who have long known what researchers are now trying to prove: when used safely, psychedelics can vastly improve one’s quality of life.

Although Acid Communism stands to benefit from the improved public image of psychedelics, these movements have yet to meaningfully overlap. I’ve been keeping close watch on both. My interest in the two subjects began around the same time, during my sophomore year in college. This was the fall of 2008. I was already skeptical of the US economy, but the financial crash confirmed my suspicion that capitalism was dangerous and unethical. That same fall marked my introduction to psychedelic drug experience. My initial encounter with LSD was overwhelmingly positive. It made believe that that the world was joyful, mysterious, and full of promise — an impression which contrasted sharply with the current political mood. In an attempt to reconcile my psychedelic-inspired hopeful outlook with extenuating social circumstances, I started participating in anti-capitalist and pro-peace activism. The fall of 2008 made it impossible for me to separate my political sensibilities from the hopefulness that psychedelia represents for me. But I’ve rarely seen psychedelics politicized this way in contemporary pop culture. I’d just assumed that after the sixties, psychedelic experiences could not be framed as political in mainstream discourse.

For the most part, then, I’ve pursued these subjects as separate intellectual endeavors. Both have continued to be central to my life. In 2013, I moved to New York City to pursue a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management. Although I hardly had time for anything other than school, I volunteered to help out at an after-party for Horizons NYC, which is an international forum on the science and culture of psychedelic drugs. Held every October, Horizons brings together researchers, artists and spiritual leaders to give talks on topics ranging from the globalization of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca to the use of magic mushrooms in treating cocaine addiction. My schedule of classes and work prevented me from attending any lectures. Volunteering offered me partial access to this complicated, interesting world.

“If the future we want lies at the limits of our imagination we must begin there — with the creative, unruly parts of our consciousness, that parts that capital wants to claim as its own.”

The night began with a dinner for benefactors of MAPS — the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — a non-profit promoting psychedelic research based in Santa Cruz, CA. As we relayed kale salad and vegan cheesecake across the kitchen, my friend Nina pulled me aside. “This is weird,” she whispered, nodding toward the dining room. I knew what she meant. The venue was a lavishly-appointed brownstone belonging to a moneyed Manhattan couple. It bore little resemblance to the psychedelic settings we knew and loved: earthy, DIY spaces which would no more readily welcome conspicuous displays of wealth like the one before us than then they would a visit from law enforcement. The guests didn’t match the hippie image we associated with psychedelics either. Their conversation flowed from remarks about exotic vacation getaways to opinions on Brooklyn’s finest private schools.

This shouldn’t have been a surprise. It was a benefit dinner, after all. But I still found the atmosphere unsettling. At the time, the economic crisis of 2008 was beginning to hit me hard. Not long before the conference, I’d watched a close friend become homeless. The tiny heart attack that happened whenever I used my debit card to buy groceries — the I-hope-there’s-enough-in-my-bank-account panic — had become a normal part of my reality, and I was resigning myself to the possibility that things might never get easier. A large part of me felt psychedelic activism to be extravagant in this climate. But I didn’t want the therapeutic use of psychedelics, a cause I’d believed in for years, to become yet another victim of late capitalism.

I tried to keep that idealistic thought at the front of my mind as the night continued. If anything, I assured myself, I should be glad to meet so many psychedelic enthusiasts who appealed to more conservative perspectives. After all, I reasoned, a controversial movement needs allies in the mainstream. Still, I couldn’t help but resent the guests for their seeming obliviousness to the current state of affairs. I wondered if they’d ever drawn a connection between their immunity to the war on drugs and their economic status, and if so, how much this bothered them. I wondered if they’d achieved some sort of enlightenment — perhaps thanks to psychedelics — that somehow made them both socially conscious and comfortable with their personal wealth. Even if participating in this space represented to me giving up some integrity, I wanted in on this insight. I was tired of feeling hopeless.

Although the luxe setting was unfamiliar, that would not be my last experience with psychedelic activism. My interest in hallucinogens followed me to my PhD in critical theory, where I explore the new psychedelic science in my dissertation. Throughout all these years, my social commitments have felt at odds with the pervasive cliché of hippie escapism. There is some truth to the myth of the disengaged drug-user: a friend of mine in the scene once said that, having attained a non-dualistic state of enlightenment, he “saw through” all political opinions. Other psychedelic explorers I’ve met intentionally ignore current events, claiming politics to be too depressing them. But, like a lot of common depictions of drug use, this is more fiction than fact. The consumption of LSD and magic mushrooms is no more likely to promote apathy than caffeine and alcohol. Moreover, in the age of Donald Trump and the rise of the new far-right, more and more people are realizing that their individual lives are ineluctably political. Political consciousness has extended to modern New Age subcultures, which now appear more thoroughly engaged with issues of justice than they did when I was an undergrad.

The Acid Communist movement has helped me view my politics as part of a historical lineage, not a misappropriation of serious Leftism. It’s helped me embrace the idea that if the experience of tripping had a message for society at large — if it aspired beyond the self-indulgence embodied in Timothy Leary’s “turn on, tune in, drop out” — it would threaten the very basis of capital. While the economic virtue of individualism rules over the modern psyche, any dedicated hippie will tell you that hallucinogens offer quite the opposite. These substances tend to break the flow of self-directed thought patterns, leading to a sense of unity with one’s environment. This state of mind is inherently communal and collectivist, and because of that, it’s easy to see how it could heighten sensitivity to political concerns. This is the connection that Fisher was to expound upon in his new book. We can now only speculate on what he might have said.

It would be wrong, however, to portray Fisher as the emblem of the movement. By Jeremy Gilbert’s account, anti-proprietary virtues are key to the concept. As a diverse set of ideas united by a collectivist ethos, appointing a figurehead would make little sense. But if such a title were to be given, Gilbert, not Fisher, may be the more worthy candidate. In a 2017 article titled “Psychedelic Socialism: The Politics of Consciousness, the Legacy of the Counterculture and the Future of the Left,” Gilbert offers some frank words on the difficulties he faced — and still faces — developing the notion in Fisher’s absence: “‘Acid Communism’ was Mark’s term for a political and analytical position that he’d derived more than a little from my work and interests,” he writes. “But it would be totally against the spirit of those shared ideas and priorities to attribute ownership or authorship of any of these ideas to anybody.”

So while Fisher appears to have owed Gilbert more credit than he gave, saying as much might be in bad faith. And, indeed, reducing Acid Communism to a particular thinker or even a cohort of thinkers would miss the point. While researching this article, I interviewed Gilbert, who offered some historical answers to the question of who might claim rightful ownership to Acid Communism. Although lighthearted in spirit, the sixties counterculture was profoundly critical of the bourgeois subject — the individual who sees herself as isolated and therefore acts out of self-interest rather than the common good. On principle, therefore Acid Communism cannot be represented by one person or group. This perspective bears a direct connection to political theories that emerged from Europe in the thirties and forties. Both Gilbert and Fisher link the postwar counterculture to the radical vision of the Frankfurt School, a circle of theorists associated with the Institute for Social Research at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. Its luminaries told of a structural relationship between individualism, capitalism and authoritarianism. With these warnings, it attempted to both retroactively account for fascism and prevent its future resurgence.

“A large part of me felt psychedelic activism to be extravagant in this climate. But I didn’t want the therapeutic use of psychedelics to become yet another victim of late capitalism.”

Unlike the Frankfurt School, Acid Communism deliberately operates outside of academia, which makes it more widely accessible than movements developed mainly inside institutional frameworks. Some of Acid Communism’s strategies include freely disseminating texts and speeches: Plan C, an England-based collective in the UK that produces festivals, includes on its website blog posts and videos of Mark Fisher’s Acid Communism lectures. But Jeremy Gilbert, a member of Plan C, acknowledges that the immediacy and immersiveness of psychedelic feelings demands non-intellectual modes of invocation. He views his work as a dance party organizer as part of his political pursuits. So while there’s certainly no ban on digital organizing, real-world gatherings appear crucial to a new psychedelic Left.

Toward this end, Gilbert and Fisher both explored the viability of incorporating old-school “consciousness-raising” events in a psychedelic framework. First developed by socialist feminists in the 1970s, consciousness-raising encourages participants to share stories about struggles normally conceived as private and shameful. The idea is that when people tune in to others’ narratives of hardship — which may include accounts of mental illness, social isolation and poverty — such problems are revealed as not an exception, but the norm. In his essay “No Romance Without Finance,” Fisher writes that “as soon as two or more people gather together, they can start to collectivise the stress that capitalism ordinarily privatizes. Personal shame becomes dissolved as its structural causes are collectively identified.” When community is built around shared struggle, feelings of alienation are modulated by feelings of solidarity.

Telling stories in this consciousness-raising spirit is key, but making and listening to music might be an equally powerful consciousness-raising technique. At concerts, Fisher writes, “a mass audience could not only experience its feelings being validated, it could locate the origins of those feelings in oppressive structures.” The current popularity of free-spirited music festivals might be framed as a reaction to neoliberal malaise. While modern festivals aren’t as explicitly political as, say, Occupy Wall Street, they do permit attendees to transcend the capitalist reality of dullness and detachment. It’s not just that people directly encounter joy, but that this joy is amplified by the presence of so many others. And at festivals, psychedelic drug use abounds. “Psychedelic drugs gave birth to the modern-day music festival,” points out journalist Kevin Franciotti. “There would have been no Woodstock without LSD.” It matters just as much that the historic Woodstock Festival also has a political history. The anti-Vietnam War movement was at least as essential to Woodstock as drug use. Jeremy Gilbert and the Plan C collective maintain that politics still go hand in hand with festival culture.

The politicization of tripping and trippy art raised my suspicion, however. Political thinkers have long raised been skeptical of a connection between aesthetics and politics. The difficulties of rendering politics as art and vice versa were a major topic of Frankfurt School publications. During our interview, I asked Gilbert about German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin’s essay “The Work of Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction.” Penned by Benjamin during the rise of the Nazi regime, it makes a theoretical argument that the artistic representation of political ideals accommodates fascism. Dictatorships, after all, rely heavily on aesthetics. One might imagine the sweeping grandiosity of Nazi propaganda, or the striking color palette used by the fascist rulers in the fictional government of V for Vendetta. It’s admittedly hard to think that tie-dye and jam bands might be used for the same purpose as the military uniforms and Wagnerian orchestras of the Third Reich. But applying the vibrant, affect-heavy veil of psychedelia to Leftist organizing seems strangely manipulative, as if it’s not enough for politics itselfs to appeal to the intellect. And besides, not everybody likes psychedelic art.

In response, Gilbert reminded me that while Benjamin warned against aestheticizing politics, he was by the same token interested in the social potential that inheres in art. This, he said, is a major goal of Acid Communism, which seeks not to authoritatively impose an aesthetic program, as in fascism, but to cultivate seeds of transformation contained in already-existing cultural forms. Mark Fisher’s writings on Acid Communism make frequent references to another Frankfurt School philosopher, Herbert Marcuse. For Marcuse, Fisher wrote, “art was a positive alienation, a ‘rational negation’ of the existing order of things.” Fisher positioned Marcuse against another Theodor Adorno, another Frankfurt School philosopher. While Adorno upheld creativity as a space of revolutionary otherness, Fisher said, he did not provide any tangible visions for the politics that art might inform. Rather, Adorno had readers “endlessly examine the wounds of a ‘damaged life’ under capital.” Instead of “marking our distance” from utopia — Fisher’s final verdict on Adorno — culture should strive to embody the ideals to which we might aspire.

This sentiment was echoed by Gilbert during our interview. Radical politics, he said, are always utopian, and utopian intentions are wasted without a manifest blueprint for change. Psychedelic art, with its message of love and transcendence, delivers. “It’s not going to be for everybody,” he clarified. But he indicated that its recognizable styles — whirling geometric patterns, fractals, and musical intricacy — offer an “aesthetics of complexity” which contrast with the dull reductiveness of capitalist realism. “Not many people allow themselves the full extent of their complexity,” he said, quoting composer Arthur Russell. With its multidimensional intricacies, both the art and the drugs might throw the banality of contemporary popular media into high relief.

Of course, psychedelic experience can’t be relied on to lead to communitarian politics. One weakness of Acid Communism is that it appears to rely on a presumptive natural link between psychedelic experience and Leftist perspectives. This may have been the case for me, but, it’s not exactly scientific law. In a talk titled “Psychedelics, Fascism and the Politics of Profane Illumination,” religious historian Alan Piper admits that “initiation by psychedelic experience does not inevitably lead to liberal values” — where “liberal” is counterposed with “fascist.” Piper’s talk included a brief history of psychedelia’s dark side. Hallucinogenic drugs, he noted, have long been deployed as tools of subjugation. Hallucinogen use prevailed in the Weimar Republic, and was formative for fascist thinker Julius Evola. Then there are the Cold War era MK Ultra experiments, where US government officials administered LSD to unwitting subjects to determine its potential as a truth serum. Today, the pervasiveness of sexual assault by ayahuasca shamans is becoming well-known in subcultures using psychedelics. And the use of ayahuasca by non-indigenous people has been critiqued as cultural appropriation. Psychedelics, in view of all this, could hardly be said to lead to directly to political enlightenment.

“Acid Communism could be a component of a dynamic, experimental Leftism that is as interested in creativity as it is in critique. It would just take a bit of determination, and a strong dose of imagination.”

The case of Burning Man — the world-famous gathering long heralded as a locus of communitarianism — complicates things even further. In theory, Burning Man perfectly embodies an Acid Communist practice. No money is allowed to be exchanged within its borders; it instead promotes the free sharing of resources as part of a gift economy structure. Burning Man is organized around the idea that people want to help out more than compete with one another. But there has been a recent backlash against this image: a spate of popular reporting tells of excessive tech-sector wealth and the rampant consumerism required to prepare for a week in the barren desert. The stories usually go something like this: once safely distant from their offices, Bay Area Burners descend into well-financed hedonism. Spending millions on private jets to the remote Nevada location, they proceed to “camp” in utmost luxury. Technology scholar PJ Patella-Rey considered this in an article titled “Burning Man is The New Capitalism.” While he emphasizes that there’s no causal link between the two, Rey claims it’s also not a coincidence that Burning Man began in 1989 — the year that the Berlin Wall fell. “Burning Man demonstrates how market-driven consumption fuels a new commons and how this commons, in turn, creates new markets,” he writes.

Gilbert considers the transformation of commons into markets to be a perversion of psychedelic values. But perhaps it’s to be expected. As he reported on his blog, “you can’t expect projects like Burning Man to end up in any place other than where it now is, in the absence of a much wider political movement for them to connect to. Experimental spaces like Burning Man will end up being co-opted by capitalism if there isn’t some wider political movement to sustain them, inspire them, and inform them about how to do things differently. You can’t really blame Burning Man for the fact that that’s happened to it.” It would seem that if music and art events are committed to widespread social transformation, such intentions would have to be extremely clear from the outset.

The intimacy between Silicon Valley and psychedelics deserves further remark. The rise of the “cryptopsychedelic” movement joins Bitcoin boosters and hippies, and initiatives are being launched to help corporate executives expand their professional mindset with some hallucinogenic assistance. And this surpasses the tech sector. Across the US, the reform of drug policy is a popular cause among libertarians and certain factions of the alt-right. Of course, not all who vouch for laissez-faire economics support the new psychedelic movement. But in the US, much overlap exists between these groups. When I pressed Jeremy Gilbert on this, he responded that contemporary hippies who embrace libertarianism fail to grasp the political history of their subculture. The New Agers of the mid-20th century, he claimed, were never in favor of capitalist principles. But this history may be more clear in Europe, where socialism has not withstood the bad reputation it has had in the States. If Acid Communism is to thrive in the USA, it would have to emphasize that psychedelia has been long-embraced by anti-capitalism. Its current vogue among libertarians is a historical anomaly.

On this note, it’s especially relevant that the psychedelic resurgence is not strictly happening in well-financed research labs. Much like the new left, it is taking place in the streets. As the number of legal investigations grows, the rise psychedelic in psychedelic drug may appear to be the exclusive result of science. A recent Vice Magazine piece points that the last few years have seen a major swell in the illegal use of LSD, especially among young people. “US government statistics show 1.31 million 18- to 25-year-olds admitted taking LSD in 2017 compared with 317,000 in 2004 — almost a fourfold increase since the mid 2000s,” it reports. While the fiat renaissance raises the socially-acceptable banner of medical studies, on the streets, it crosses into brazen political territory. Vice interviewed 25-year-old Abby, a student in the US who claims to use LSD to cope with “the ravages of modern capitalism,” as she puts it. “Psychedelics take the edge off the costs and burden of existing in a materialist and capitalist society, and the fact that this is not how life is supposed to be,” Abby said.

The construction of psychedelic spaces “where people can learn and grow” might be a natural pastime for youth increasingly skeptical of the status quo. Indeed, aiding the creativity and curiosity of young people — capacities preempted by neoliberal education policy — could be a goal of Acid Communism. When I asked Jeremy Gilbert about his hopes for the future, he indicated public school curricula as a site desperately in need of reconstruction. While it may be hard to translate Acid Communism into education policy reform, its program of consciousness-raising might take the form of alternative education practices, such as teach-ins and ecologically-focused curricula. And, indeed, there is indeed a burgeoning para-academic psychedelic pedagogy. Most psychedelic conferences welcome speakers without institutional affiliation, and a recent assembly titled “Cultural and Political Perspectives on Psychedelic Science” joined scholars across disciplines to weight in on the social implications of psychedelia.

Although formal meetings openly embrace Acid Communism, its truths might always be more evident at the after-parties. While I missed the lectures at Horizons 2013, I’ve since attended a number of other psychedelic conferences. More often than not, the formal lectures are less interesting than the conversations that ensue. While it’s too much to expand on medicine, culture and politics in a single talk, the disciplinary orthodoxy that guides conference lectures doesn’t apply to casual conversation. [a pattern emerged]. Many people see their psychedelic and political commitments as intertwined, refusing to reduce one to the other.

This brings me back to my story about Horizons. Following the benefactor dinner, there was an dance party. People were welcome even if they hadn’t gone to the conference, and the ticket price was affordable. As my friend and I made our way through the crowd, something stuck out: people seemed elated. They were unselfconsciously giddy in a way I rarely encountered at a typical bar. Of course, for some, this was the result of a little chemical assistance. But I was sober the aura was infectious anyway. It helped me set aside my bitterness from earlier hours and enjoy my company. I ended up talking to a man who’d brought his children along. When I asked him if he was worried about the party’s possible bad influences, he replied that this was the most wholesome thing they’d seen all week. What they encountered at school, he observed, was far less uplifting. There was no argument there. Despite the reason for the occasion, the feeling of inclusiveness made psychedelics seem incidental. People were what mattered, not chemical compounds.

“This is what it looks like,” I thought. An ideal was realized if only temporarily. Of course, it may seem tenuous as the basis for a new politics. But Acid Communism could be a component of a dynamic, experimental Leftism that is as interested in creativity as it is in critique. It would just take a bit of determination, and a strong dose of imagination.

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