Sunday, December 30, 2018

Climate Change--Meet the Press

Meet the Press dedicated their whole show to Climate Change this morning. Very informative, and scary. Click to see segments of the show. Congrats Chuck Todd. Well Done.
















Friday, December 28, 2018

Update--Earth's Magnetic Field's weakening is acceleratting

Friends,

 I read the sad news today that the weakening of the Earth's Geomagnetic Field is accelearating. Here are links to the report, which contains links to the original research. I missed the earlier reporting this year. This is very bad news. 

Blessings,
madis

Mysterious Anomaly Under Africa Is Weakening Earth's Magnetic Field


PETER DOCKRILL 27 DEC 2018
Above our heads, something is not right. Earth's magnetic field is in a state of dramatic weakening – and according to mind-boggling research from earlier this year, this phenomenal disruption is part of a pattern lasting for over 1,000 years.

Earth's magnetic field doesn't just give us our north and south poles; it's also what protects us from solar winds and cosmic radiation – but this invisible force field is rapidly weakening, to the point scientists think it could actually flip, with our magnetic poles reversing.

As crazy as that sounds, this actually does happen over vast stretches of time. The last time it occurred was about 780,000 years ago, although it got close again around 40,000 years back.

When it takes place, it's not quick, with the polarity reversal slowly occurring over thousands of years.

Nobody knows for sure if another such flip is imminent, and one of the reasons for that is a lack of hard data.

The region that concerns scientists the most at the moment is called the South Atlantic Anomaly – a huge expanse of the field stretching from Chile to Zimbabwe. The field is so weak within the anomaly that it's hazardous for Earth's satellites to enter it, because the additional radiation it's letting through could disrupt their electronics.

"We've known for quite some time that the magnetic field has been changing, but we didn't really know if this was unusual for this region on a longer timescale, or whether it was normal," physicist Vincent Hare from the University of Rochester in New York said in February this year.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

The Sodus Bay Phalanx— Finger Lakes Utopia



Original Shaker home
Several structures remain from the Utopian communities that once inhabited Sodus Bay in Alton. First there were the Shakers followed by the Fourierists. Today the land has been reclaimed by the Cracker Box Palace Farm Animal Haven (crackerboxpalace.org) a farm animal rescue organization.

It is hard to imagine that there was a time in our region’s history when it played a dominant role in societal experimentation. Yet New York State was the home to several Utopian communities, most notably the Shakers and the Oneida Community. Shakers, the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance, were an offshoot of the “shaking Quakers" so called because of their ecstatic dancing. The Oneida Community was a Perfectionist community that believed humankind could achieve perfection and that communal living fostered it.


The Shakers were Millennialists who foresaw that the second coming of Jesus Christ was imminent and it would herald a thousand year golden age for humankind; In other words a radical transformation of the earth, an apocalypse of sorts. They saw hope and wonder, in sharp contrast to today’s survivalists and preppers that load up on guns and supplies ahead of what they envision as societal collapse.

The establishment of a Shaker community in Sodus Bay not only provided rich and fertile farmland, but a resting place for Shakers traveling between settlements in New England and those in Ohio and Kentucky. 

Believed to be Shaker Barn.

In 1826 1,331 acres of land were purchased for $12,600. The community would grow from 72 members to 150 by 1836. A meeting house was built in 1830-31 followed by a large house in 1833-35. Ultimately 13 houses and 10 barns occupied the land. 

But in 1836 when New York State proposed building a canal from Sodus Bay to the Seneca Lake that would bisect the Shaker lands the decision was made to move. In November of 1838 they sold their land to canal promoters and purchased 1,692 acres in Groveland. It took 2 years to move. 

The economic crisis of 1837 created a long lasting recession that would eventually squash the Sodus canal plan. The Fourierists were able to purchase the former Shaker land at a good price in 1844.

Original Shaker Structure
Charles Fourier was a French mathematician, physicist and philosopher whose vision was inspired by the dehumanizing consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Several consider him to be the first climate change believer for hypothesizing that the earth’s atmosphere traps gases and helps heat the planet.

Fourier believed in God and reincarnation and that humankind along with the earth was evolving. Phalanxes were communities freed from property ownership where people could pursue their interests. It was felt that if individuals were not encumbered by capital and private property that they would live in harmony and make a better community. 


As Joscelyn Godwin notes in Upstate Cauldron, Eccentric Spiritual Movements in Early New York StateFourier felt that once harmony took place amongst people friendly competition would replace war, children would no longer see a distinction between work and play, and everyone would be rewarded for their work. This harmony would cause the earth to shift on its axis and in the process the rest of the solar system would rearrange itself in a more harmonious pattern.

While the phalanx promoted freedom of religion, schisms developed between the religious and secular members. People began sequestering the private property they had donated. Eventually the religious members left and it was not long before the experiment ended. The Sodus Bay Phalanx lasted a little over 2 years, 

  

      
With the help of the Genesee Land Trust, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and individual donations the Cracker Box Palace Farm Animal Haven was able to purchase this historic site in 2013. It consists of 627 acres and is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

While the Utopian dream at Sodus Bay may be gone, it has been replaced by the dream of a better life for animals.

Cracker Box Palace 
6450 Shaker Road
Alton, New York 14413
315-483-2493


Bibliography

Rudy M. Baum; ‘Future Calculations. The first climate change believer’, Distillation, Science History Institute, Summer 2016. https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/future-calculations 

Conversations with historian Bruce Farrington and his blog Historic Sodus Point. https://historicsoduspoint.com

Joscelyn Godwin, Upstate Cauldron, Eccentric Spiritual Movements in Early New York State.

John H. Martin, Saints, Sinners and Reformers, The Burned-Over District Re-Visited, ‘Chapter 6, ‘Sodus Bay and Groveland’, Crooked Lake Review, Fall 2005. http://www.crookedlakereview.com/books/saints_sinners/martin6.html

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Sacred Sites Update--Macedon's Butterfly Nature Trail

After my talk at Books, ETC. in Macedon this Saturday I went visited the Butterfly Nature Trail in the Canal Park-Lock 30 area. My map dowsing had showed that there were Fields of Consciousness on the canal side as you face the trailhead.


 Trailhead. Fields of Consciousness are to the right.
Bench along the trail.

WOW!

What a vibe. As soon I entered the parking lot I was blown away. Such an awesome vibe in such a very public space. Amazing. We need Mother Earth to achieve our fullest potential and she needs us to achieve Hers. A vibe significantly enhances a space. No vibe, not much there.

I regularly find positive to very positive vibes along with Natural Vortices (Energy Vortex) in the woods in hidden places. Not in public places. Not next to, or part of a parking lot.


 Janice and John and my dogs Jaeda Bear and Pepper are standing in the FOC. It is a stacked 12, with 12 Fields of Consciousness upon each other, the highest. There is a water dome underneath the FOC; which one assumes formed in response to the prayer/ceremony/meditation and good thoughts/actions that took place there in the past.

The canal is to my back. Notice the trailhead arch in the background.

Here is another reference point to help you find the FOC (S12.) Looking west along the canal.


I am standing with Jaeda Baer in the other, even more potent FOC (S12), a stinger vibe,  at the other end Canal Park-Lock 30 area. I am looking towards the Butterfly Nature Trail (west)  The camera and picture are looking east away from the Butterfly Nature Trail. It  is a pavilion next to a parking lot. I was blown away as we entered the park and drove through it on our way to see Butterfly Nature Trail.

It as well rests on a water dome. There may be a vortex ring there as well. Unfortunately it was really cold and windy when we visited late this last Saturday afternoon. This FOC is amazing given it is in such a public space.

I hope to go back this summer when the temperature is a little warmer.

If you live in the metro Rochester area I encourage you to go visit and experience  the Fields of Consciousness in the Canal 30 area in Macedon. A powerful FOC (S12) along with a very positive vibe will better help you sense and feel the consciousness. It will also give your soul a powerful dose of soul-nourishing consciousness--making you more loving and compassionate. SWEET.

Monday, December 10, 2018

Technology Kills--Ground Breaking Study Shows the damage done by excessive Screen Time

CBS's 60 minutes did a segment on the monumental study the NIH (National Institute of Health) is currently doing on the affects of screen time on children (9 and 10 year olds.)

The NIH found a thinning of the cortex in the brains of kids that spend lots of time on screen. The NIH refused to make a judgment about whether this is good, or bad--saying it is usually associated with maturity. Really?  Only 5 or  6 years ago the age of adolescence was extended to 25-28 because of immaturity.

Children that spend more than 2 hours of screen time  don't think as well.

Screen time isolates you. They found a  spike in kids that feel lonely and depressed. There was a  rise in kids cutting themselves. 

Technology also does grave damage to Mother Earth and disconnects us from Her.

TECHNOLOGY KILLS


Friday, November 30, 2018

Macedon’s Gathering Place--Books, ETC.

Books Etc. in Macedon rests on a Field of Consciousness as does the Butterfly Nature Trail. Had I known about them before I would have included them in my book Sacred Sites in North Star Country.


Books, ETC. in Macedon, NY started out as a bookstore and a coffee shop. It wasn’t long before it became a community gathering place for groups like Wayne County’s Writer’s Guild. But the transformations did not stop there. According to co-owner John Cieslinski Books, ETC. has become a “community.”

To understand what John means by “community” we need only look to the Butterfly Nature Trail that was conceived and built by the community he speaks of.  Located within the Canal Park-Lock 30 area the Butterfly Nature Trail occupies a quarter mile stretch of the Erie Canal in Macedon NY. It consists of trails, flowers, meadows, sculptures and more. Kudo’s to the “community” for its vision and effort in creating this delight for all to enjoy.

The genesis for Books, ETC. began decades ago. While visiting their families’ camp in Deposit, NY (30 miles east of Binghamton) John Cieslinski and his sister Maryanne Miller would spend hours at the Black Kettle bookstore, an old garage with a few shelves behind someone’s house. They relished chatting with owner Remus and other patrons as well as having a few cups of coffee. Not surprisingly Remus had a twin brother named Romulus.  They were shattered when they visited their families’ camp one day to learn that Remus had died and the Black Kettle was no more.

They missed their hangout and wanted to have another one to go to. It would take a few years, John retiring from teaching seventh and eight grade English before they decided to make their own Black Kettle. Maryanne wanted a coffee shop and John wanted a bookstore so they combined the two.

They were so committed to their plan that instead of renting they were going to buy a place. And to fund their purchase they decided to sell their families’ camp. Now that is passion.

Books, ETC. is a warm and welcoming place. You can count on either Maryanne, or John being there when you visit. The reviews on their facebook page are glowing,

John writes. “Conversation with anyone who stops by is one of the perks you can’t put a cash value on. Visit enough times and friendships are formed. Come by and you will find a new place to visit where you are appreciated.”

Carrie writes. “I stopped into this beautiful little gem yesterday and was greeted by such wonderful and amazing people and I even made a new cat friend!”

Books, ETC. Calendar contains a listing of upcoming events, displays etc. It includes regular meetings of Spirituality and Philosophy; Several health classes, Transition to a Healthy Lifestyle and Healthy Aging—Healthy Dinosaurs; Shamanic Drumming and Journeying; Abundance class, to get you into thinking positively. Psychic night where a medium looks to the future is the only event that charges.

And of course there are books, new and used, as well as gifts. There are coffee, treats, and healthy beverages you can purchase.

Books, ETC. regularly houses Art Exhibits. Currently featured is art by Larry Wood, Larry DeKock, and Mike Kraus.

Books, ETC. actively supports local authors. That is how I learned about Books, ETC. I will be there Saturday December 8that 2 PM discussing my book Sacred Sites in North Star Country: Places in Greater New York State (PA,OH,NJ,CT,MA,VT,ONT) That Changed the World  and  our region’s unique history that shaped the world. 
Lady Late
Mr. Books
Books, ETC. truly is a magical place. I hope that it continues to grow and evolve; we will all be the better for it.

PS. Don’t forget to say Hi to the two cats when you visit, Mr.Books who owns the store and Lady Latte.


Books Etc.
78 W Main St 
Macedon, New York 14502
(585) 474-4116
Open Tuesdays: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Thursdays through Sundays: 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM, open later for events

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

TECHNOLOGY KILLS--Informative Website on the Dangers of Microwaves and Cell Phones











 

I came across this web site while researching information on the dangers posed by technology, particularly cell phones ton humankind and Mother Earth.

Microwave Radiation and Cell Phones

Friday, November 23, 2018

Report--Climate Change much Worse, Report Released on Black Friday to try and Bury the Bad News

The Trump administration attempted to bury a report on Climate Change by releasing it the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday. You can read it by Clicking on, FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States

Yes, it is much worse than previously forecast and you can expect more wildfires and other weather calamities. Temperature which has already risen 1.8' in the last 100 years will rise another 2.3' by 2050 and looking at the graphs below by 4' to 8'+' by 2100. INSANE!!!

The real worry is that expectations of temperature and sea rises have been increasing for the worse with each successive year; will this trend continue? In other words, two years ago it was let's say estimated that it would take by 2100 not 2050 to have temperature's rise by 2.3'. ONE MUST WONDER IF IN A FEW YEARS WE WILL LOOK BACK AT THIS REPORT AS BEING A GROSS UNDERESTIMATE AS TO THE SCOPE OF THE IMPENDING DISASTER?

Here are some graphs from the report.



Temperature Rise




Sea Level Rise


Economic Consequences


Click on the link in 'Labels" below to see some of the many other times we have underestimated Climate Change.

Monday, November 19, 2018

A Thanksgiving Tradition

By madis senner



Holidays speak to tradition. Each year we go through a ritual of sorts where we perform the same acts and in doing so reinforce the spirit of the holiday. For thanksgiving it may be seeing old friends that have returned home to their families, or watching the Macy’s Day Parade, or Football; you know that the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving Day. And then of course there is the Thanksgiving feast.

Even our food speaks to Thanksgivings past. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberries…. When else do you eat cranberries?; it is so Thanksgiving.

One Thanksgiving tradition I have embraced in recent years is to join in the Thanksgiving Circle of Peace at shores of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse (Liverpool) in the morning. It is a community gathering where Native and non-Native people give thanks. All are welcome.

The Thanksgiving Circle of Peace is put on each year by the Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON.) NOON is a program of the Syracuse Peace Council. It looks to educate about the Onondaga Nation  and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) confederacy and all Native American people. NOON advocates for Onondagans and the Haudenosaunee and their causes such as environmental healing and a just resolution to their land claim among other things. 

It can be cold and windy along the lakeshore; even snowy as it was in 2016.  The Willow Bay   of Onondaga Lake Park where the Thanksgiving Circle of Peace is held is at western end of the Lake, so the wind can be quite brisk. You may also be standing for an hour.

I always layer up and dress warmly.

But it is the location and the people that will warm your heart. Onondaga Lake is where the great Haudenosaunee prophet the Peacemaker planted the Tree of Peace and gave his people the Great Law of Peace.  America’s Constitution and Bill of Rights are modeled after the Great Law of Peace, as Congress recognized in 1988 with its ‘Concurrent Resolution to Acknowledge the contribution of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development of the United States Constitution’  Which makes Onondaga Lake a one of a kind stage to celebrate this truly unique American holiday.

As for the people, NOON is a dedicated bunch that has been fiercely advocating for the Haudenosaunee for years. Who among us would not feel blessed to celebrate this American Holiday gifted to us by Native Americans with those that passionately advocate for them.

People start gathering before the circle begins forming at 10 AM; some with kids and dogs in tow. Someone from NOON will start the ceremony by giving their name and saying what they have been grateful for this past year. Then one by one people around the circle will give their name and their thanks. People are always late, so the circle is constantly opening up, expanding and embracing new members.

When everyone has given their thanks the circle dissolves. Many will stay afterwards for coffee and to chat. Everyone will go on with their day better for the sharing of thanks in the Spirit of Thanksgiving.
ALL ARE WELCOME

Where: Willow Bay Section of Onondaga Lake Park
When: 10 AM.
To Learn More: NOON

Friday, November 16, 2018

Sacred Sites update Wisdom's Golden Rod

Wisdom's Golden Rod in Hector, NY (along  the southeastern tip of Seneca Lake, 20 minutes from Ithaca) will be holding a workshop Thanksgiving week. Their meditation room has the largest energy vortex of any of the places listed in my book Sacred Sites in North Star Country.

Luminous Individual and Sangha:
Saturday-Sunday November 24-25, 2018




Please join us at Wisdom's Goldenrod for a weekend seminar on honoring four great recently passed beings: Levent, Raphael, Norbu and Triguerinho: wisdom from Anthony and PB: wonder from ACIM, Emmanuel and Rumi. Please go here for details.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Did She, or Didn’t She, Die?

Did She, or Didn’t She, Die?
By Madis Senner

You would think determining whether someone has died is pretty straightforward. However many people that have been certified as being dead have miraculously come back to life 10, 20, or even 30 minutes after their vital signs had flat lined.

These individuals had what is referred to as an Near Death Experience (NDE) where you die and go to heaven. The International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) has been studying NDE’s for 40 years and notes that,
An NDE may begin with an out-of-body experience—a very clear perception of being somehow separate from one’s physical body, possibly even hovering nearby and watching events going on around the body. An NDE typically includes a sense of moving, often at great speed and usually through a dark space, into a fantastic landscape and encountering beings that may be perceived as sacred figures, deceased family members or friends, or unknown entities. A pinpoint of indescribable light may grow to surround the person in brilliant but not painful radiance; unlike physical light, it is not merely visual but is sensed as being an all-loving presence that many people define as the Supreme Being of their religious faith.

IANDS is an educational platform that publishes a journal, maintains an informational website, holds conferences and more. There are several IANDS support groups around the world one of which is in the Finger Lakes/Syracuse)   (Upstate NY Chapter) that meets regularly, is open to the public and has had some interesting and noteworthy speakers.

The local Upstate NY IANDS support group provides a venue for people that have had NDE’s, or spiritually transformative experiences to share their experiences with others. Have you ever had a deja vu, sensed a presence, thought of someone and your phone rings and its them, had a vision, had a premonition, felt a strong unity with all of creations, or had a mystical experience of any sorts? Such experiences can be traumatic and confusing. The Upstate Support Group is a safe place you can go to talk about those experiences and learn from others. 

I attended the November meeting with guest speaker Richard Hughson who told of an out of body experience (OBE) he had at 18 when he departed his physical body moments before the car he was driving was about to crash. Because of that experience he picked up several spiritual gifts such as the ability to feel others emotions when they were close to him; and how for a while he could drive his car through Elmira without having to stop for a traffic light. However, he regrets he lost those gifts because he abused them. Picking up spiritual gifts is common for people that have had an NDE, or a powerful mystical experience.

Richard was peppered with questions from an attentive audience as he spoke. One question dealt with his acknowledgement that everything will be all right, and not to worry about life. “How can it be all right if some of us are going to have cancer, loose loved one…..?” asked a woman in the audience. He said he was constantly reassured and comforted during his OBE and realizes that there is a God; a loving God that will make everything right. 

The Upstate NY Support Group has had several prominent figures in the NDE community that have appeared on CNN, Dr. Oz and other national programs. This past summer I heard Dr. Mary Neal  (To Heaven and Back) an orthopedic surgeon who drowned while kayaking in South America and went to heaven and met Jesus before she came back to life. She was transformed from being a lackadaisical participant in church services to saying “the truth of God's promises and the reality of eternal life became a part of my every breath.

I also had a chance to hear and spend time with PMH Atwater one of the pioneers of NDE research earlier this year. PMH had 3 NDE’s in 1978 and received several spiritual gifts. She is incredibly vibrant and sharp-witted and has written over a dozen books. I took her to see several sacred sites in the Finger Lakes. Her commentary about what she was seeing behind the veil on the other side was a treat.

I wish I would have known about IANDS 20 years ago when I transitioned from being a global money manager to a full time spiritual seeker. I think it would have helped with processing all those newfound mystical, surreal and ecstatic experiences.

Have you ever had a mystical experience?

Upstate NY IANDS website,  Meets the 2nd  Friday of the month 4/5 times a year at the North Syracuse Community Center, at 700 South Bay Rd, in North Syracuse, will change for big name speaker. Admission $5 or $10, depending upon speaker. Doors open at 6 PM meeting starts at 6:30


Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The Haunted House That Helped Launch Movements-Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine

The following is my latest blog post for Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine.

The Haunted House That Helped Launch Movements


Story and photos by Madis Senner

Located on Hydesville Road (1510 Hydesville Road)  in Newark, New York is the memorial to the Fox Sister’s home. It was here on the evening of March 31, 1848 that Maggie and Kate Fox heard mysterious rappings that turned out to be a dead peddler that had been murdered in their home years earlier. It was not long before they developed the ability to communicate with the spirit of the peddler, as well as other spirits. They became mediums; and along with their older sister Leah helped launch the Spiritualist Movement.

Unfortunately history is remiss because it has failed to recognize the significance that the Fox Sisters and the Spiritualist Movement has had in shaping America and the world. Instead today when we think of mediums we envision psychics with their hand out and places like Lily Dale. But back in the day things were much different.

On July 19, 1848 shortly after the Fox Sisters heard their mysterious rappings a few miles away in Seneca Falls, NY the first Women’s Right’s Convention was held and the Women’s Rights Movement was born.  The Spiritualist Movement would help propel it. As Harvard Divinity School professor Anne Braude tells the “American Women’s Rights Movement drew its first breath in an atmosphere alive with rumors of angels.”

Spiritualism exploded in popularity. It empowered people and liberated them from the control of the church that saw itself as the sole medium to the divine. It also empowered women. Mediums were primarily women and were given prominence and spoke publicly which was unheard of at the time. According to Braude Spiritualism became the  “central agent of feminism.” Noting that while many women’s advocates were Spiritualists, not all were, but all Spiritualists were women’s advocates.

Spiritualists also swelled the ranks of Abolitionism, Food Reform, Temperance and other causes.  As theologian John Buescher informs us,
“Many...who turned to Spiritualism sensed a biblical millennium, which manifested itself in plans for egalitarian utopias where humans mingle with angels or become angels themselves. Thus, Spiritualism was not just a means of contacting the spirits of the deceased or of exploring the afterlife. Rather, it meant the opening wide of a gate between a perfect Heaven and an imperfect Earth. This idea provided a link between Spiritualism and social reform.”

While the sway of Spiritualism began ceding as the 19thcentury waned its embers still glow.  What is referred to as the “New Age Movement” can trace its roots back to Spiritualism, Madame Blavatsky and Theosophy born in NYC in 1875  and Eastern Teachers such as Swami Vivekananda  who traversed NY and America espousing Hindu concepts and teaching meditation.

According Pew Research more than a quarter of Americans see themselves as being “spiritual but not religious” and our ranks are growing fast.  

Colin Dickey in his best selling book Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places believes that Spiritualism like Transcendentalism has been woven inextricably into the fabric of American consciousness. That much of what we accept as canonical in our culture today was influenced by Spiritualism, saying
,
Spiritualism may have lost its influence by the end of the 1920's, but it might be more accurate to say that it went mainstream. The percentage of Americans who identify as Spiritual and not as religious has been slowly creeping up ever so slowly in recent years as people turn from organized churches and seek their own spiritual path. Meanwhile our belief in ghosts remains high...73%"

As a history a buff and someone that is fascinated by the role that upstate NY has played in shaping America and the world I encourage you to visit the memorial to the Fox Sisters in Hydesville. Place can be powerful, and this spot is a testament to that. 

Madis Senner is an author who lives in Syracuse. You can read his musings at, http://motherearthprayers.blogspot.comHis latest book is Sacred Sites in North Star Country: Places in Greater New York State (PA,OH,NJ,CT,MA,VT,ONT) That Changed the World is available at Amazon and at the Dogged Ear in Palmyra, NY 


Bibliography

Anne Braude, Radical Spirits, Spiritualism and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth Century America.

John Buescher, The Other Side of Salvation: Spiritualism and the Nineteenth-Century Religious Experience.

Colin Dickey, Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places.

Madis Senner, ‘Spiritualism's Radical Roots’, The Spirit House Society Messenger, Wisdom Magazine, 


Sunday, October 28, 2018

Haunted to Health, Ghost Sightings May Help Us Identify Sacred Sites--and Heal Us

The following appears in the current Fall Issue of the American Society of Dowsers Digest. It is a twist on an article that I wrote for the Spirit House Society's Messenger (2011.)

HAUNTED TO HEALTH:
Ghost Sightings May Help Us Identify Sacred Sites
Madis Senner
We are so used to hearing about people being scared to death because they saw a ghost that we would never think that a ghost sighting could be therapeutic. As someone dedicated to learning about and educating people about Mother Earth’s subtle body—her chakras, energies, essences—I am always interested in places where people see ghosts. I have found that these are often sacred places that have an abundance of healing earth energies.
It’s All About the Energies
Spirits, ghosts, demons, nature spirits, artificial elementals, tulpas, golems, poltergeists, malevolent thought forms and more can all startle us. What most of us don’t realize is that such beings are all around us in the unseen world and that we unknowingly come in contact with them daily. To see them we just need to open our eyes.

The Castle was in decay
Most places where people see ghosts, UFOs or spirits are actually sites of strong earth energies. Researcher Dr. Michael Persinger, who has studied mystical experiences for some time, believes that they are created by anomalies in earth energies. He has visited numerous places where people have seen UFO’s and ghosts and found that they have high levels of electromagnetic energy that produce what he believes are hallucinations. The geomagnetic field encompasses the earth and nourishes our subtle body.
Persinger believes that out-of-body experiences, visions, or feelings of a sensed presence near us is the result of an increase in electromagnetic energy to the temporal lobe of our brain. To prove this, he has constructed what he calls a “God Helmet” to artificially replicate the mystical experience. The “God Helmet” is a modified snowmobile helmet with solenoids on it that are placed close to the temporal lobes. When someone dons it, magnetic waves are applied to the brain and many people have reported having mystical experiences.
         Persinger’s work has been questioned. Swedish researchers claimed that they were unable to replicate Persinger’s work. Researcher Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, an affirmed atheist like Persinger, experienced nothing when he tried on the “God Helmet."    Persinger points out he failed the test because of alcohol  and his temporal lobe insensitivity. Still many people have had all sorts of mystical visions with the “God Helmet,” such as psychologist and parapsychology researcher Susan Blackmore. Todd Murphy, an associate of Persinger has gone on to create the “Shakti Helmet” and the “Shiva Helmet” to create altered states of consciousness.
Those same places with high earth energies that produce visions can also be healing places. Researcher Dr. Valerie Hunt, author of The Infinite Mind, has found that increasing our intake of geomagnetic energy can be very therapeutic. She noted how people on a cruise to Antarctica with its high geomagnetic energy from the South Pole showed increased energy flow in their subtle bodies, and no one became ill, though many cruisers typically do. A medical doctor confirmed that people on cruises to Antarctica rarely get ill and are generally much more fit and healthy than on other cruises, even though they may be significantly older.
Mother Earth’s Healing
The difficulty that I have with Persinger’s work is that his instruments do not go far enough. The energies and essences that science is dealing with are infinitesimal when compared to what Mother Earth provides. Scientists acknowledge this when they talk about zero-point field, on how a small speck of the air has more energy than 1,000 atomic bombs—in other words the unseen world around us is infinitely more powerful than the material world and they are only talking about energy. Mother Earth provides us with a host of essences and consciousness that science has not even begun to grasp. 
To me, a ghost sighting, a place where people have seen an apparition, may actually be haunted, or it may be a sacred site. There may be many reasons why people have had a mystical experience some place. It could be that there is some special feature of Mother Earth that is a font for earth energies, such as an earth chakra. It could be that ancient native cultures prayed there and that the veil to the other side has become thin because of it, allowing us to see an alternative reality, what I call a Chimayo Fatima.
       About a decade ago, I developed the term Chimayo Fatima which combines the names of two such places: Chimayo, a spot in New Mexico where visions and cures have taken place; and Fatima, a location in Portugal where in 1917 three shepherd girls encountered Marian (Virgin Mary) apparitions.

There are many ways that Mother Earth can blanket us with additional energies, forces, consciousness and more that can lead to mystical experiences, such as seeing ghosts and spirits. Mother Earth is often behind our mystical experiences. This is to be expected, as our subtle body is dependent upon Mother Earth’s, Her energies—prana or qi—to nurture our energy body and higher essences and consciousness to nurture our higher more rarified subtle bodies.
It is not surprising that when we go someplace where there is an abundance of energies and essences that we see things. Our subtle body is getting a healthy dose of nourishment, and this is causing us to see another reality—the real one. Not only does this extra dose of Mother Earth lead to mystical experiences, but it helps heal us by providing a boost to our subtle body that can far exceed any supplement we ingest or the healing touch of a Reiki practitioner.
The Source Point stretches from my dogs to my friends, and straddles the road. One huge transformer like structure that is pouring powerful Earth Energies into the Earth. See the cemetery in the background.

A few years back I was asked to survey a castle and its grounds east of Utica, New York. I was told that several people had seen ghosts there. I found all sorts of divine features of Mother Earth, particularly what I call fields of consciousness, pieces of Mother Earth’s soul. When I went back to the cemetery where the ghosts had been seen, I found a “source point,” a place where Mother Earth’s energies, geomagnetic field and such enter the earth and are disbursed—a “hot spot”!
       Later that night, I noticed that my breathing was very slow; I was hardly breathing. When I went back to the “source point” the following spring, after only a few minutes of meditating I tested my systolic blood pressure and found it to be around 30 points lower. I felt calm, collected, yet vibrant.

Tips to Visiting a Sacred Ghost Site
I suggest you visit a sacred site. It does not have to be a place where people have seen ghosts. Bring a meditation cushion and settle into and plunk yourself down into a comfy position for the long haul. Understand that you need to work at developing your sentience of Mother Earth. You may be like Researcher Richard Dawkins who has temporal lobe insensitivity and could not feel the effects of magnetic waves. You can develop this ability.
The cemetery behind the Source Point where people saw ghosts because they were imbued with Earth Energies from the Source Point.
To develop your sensitivity of Mother Earth’s essences, show her respect: say thanks or give Her an offering. When you meditate, begin by focusing on Mother Earth. Try to feel Her. Whatever body part has a sensation, focus on that sensation and give it strength. Continue focusing, and over time you will progressively get better at sensing Mother Earth, and your health and immunity to disease will increase dramatically. The increased strength and flow of energy from Mother Earth into your subtle body will help clear your circuits, nadis and meridians, of blockages. This energy inflow will also begin to raise the vibration of your subtle body, which is enormously beneficial to your health and well being. Once you develop your connection to Mother Earth, you can tap into Her at any time
Madis Senner’s fourth book,Sacred Sites in North Star Country: Places in Greater New York State (PA,OH,NJ,CT,MA,VT,ONT) That Changed the World is available at the ASD bookstore. You can read his musings at http: //motherearthprayers.blogspot .com. Madis is currently working on his newest book, due out spring 2019, Everything Has Karma, Embracing and Working with Our Interconnectedness.