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.

Macedon’s Gathering Place

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 8^that 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

https://www.facebook.com/booksetcmacedon/

Open Tuesdays: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Thursdays through Sundays: 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM, open later for events

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

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.

A Thanksgiving Tradition

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

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.

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 2^nd  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

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 19^thcentury 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,