TILL DEATH DO US PART?

Do married couples meet in the afterlife when they both expire? Consider this scenario: A member of this human race has been deceased for a number of months or years, and very often, when their spouse dies, people say, “Oh, now they’ll be together again!” They believe the couple will continue as they were on Earth, bound together by their wedding vows. Most marriage ceremonies include this statement: Till death do us part. I assume that means in this life, although the Bible mentions the believers passing from Death to Life. John 5:24.

Since many marriages are long-lasting (think Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter), some people automatically assume their unions will continue in the afterlife—perhaps forgetting that the couple will no longer be flesh and blood humans with physical bodies. However, the reality may or may not be true. We don’t know for sure if their spirits and human personalities survive death and reconnect on the other side. (Having had a few astral experiences myself, I have reason to believe they may, but I have no proof.)

In my opinion, the situation could change if either person had been married more than once: Do they meet their latest spouse when they die? Or do the former spouses also show up to meet the recently deceased? For example, one of my grandmothers had been married three times (that I know of). Would all three of my ex-grandfathers have been among her welcoming committee when she passed? Suppose those men had also remarried—would their wives and former wives accompany them to welcome his latest spouse, and would they bring their previous mates?

Suppose those extra spouses had hated their wives or husbands during their earthly marriages. What then? Will everyone simply get along with each other because they’re now spirits? Would they still have the same personalities? We can take the question a little further and ask if this is possible if a certain spouse had physically abused or murdered his/her physical wife. Would she welcome his presence, or would he not be there at all? Perhaps he wouldn’t be allowed to welcome a former mate whose life he’d ended in a fit of anger.

The welcoming gate would need to open wide to admit all the deceased spirits related to the new arrival—plus their own former earthly spouses. The situation could become very crowded indeed, especially if the extra spirits were accompanied by their own former spouses. I assume everyone will know everyone else, but that’s a lot of memory for such a crowd of possibly trillions of ex-spouses! And would those who had disliked their spouses on Earth still dislike them, or would death give them a sudden change of heart so they held no grudges? If they still harbor bad feelings or even hatred toward their exes, I can see many arguments erupting among the masses of deceased wives, husbands, ex-spouses, and their ex-spouses way back to Adam and Eve—with everyone yelling and arguing and fighting at once. Such a scene could not possibly be called heaven.

I believe the situations I’ve just described would not be possible, and here’s why: We are bits of intelligent, pulsating energy that the universe is composed of. If we take on material bodies at birth just to experience (or learn) how it feels to operate in solid, physical bodies, we would likewise shed those temporary bodies when we’re done with them but likely retain the knowledge and lessons learned while in a material form … and once again become the intelligent bits of pulsating energy and Atoms that continually create the Cosmos.

You decide.

Thanks for reading!

 

Copyright © 2023, Bonnie Turner

All rights reserved

THE ROOTS OF GUN VIOLENCE?

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/manufacturers-responsible-half-guns-seized-dozen-cities-study/story?id=87117955

Hello, it's me again!

After reading the above article, I decided to speak my piece. I hope I have reached those who both agree and disagree with me. I've lived with these thoughts for many years and, as a writer who cares, I would like to share them with my friends and explore what I believe are among the roots of gun violence.

Not only do gun manufacturers make money from gun sales, but so do authors of crime and detective novels. Why? Because those books are fun and entertaining to read, and many of the characters use Glocks or other brands of guns as their weapon of choice. I've read a few of those books published by author friends, and Glocks were featured in many of them. (I mention Glocks because authorities say those are the most popular guns people buy.) On top of this, the main characters are usually personable people that readers become attached to.

And book covers? Many times I have logged onto Facebook and the first thing I saw was a book cover with the image of a gun pointing straight at me. Yep, looking right down the barrel of a realistic weapon! I refuse to buy that book simply based on the violent cover art. Who knows what's on the pages of that book? I don't want to know ... but many others do, because violence sells, and readers have no idea their minds are being manipulated as they eagerly await the sequel to that book.

Video manufacturers are also getting rich from sales of violent material. Everywhere we turn today, we're faced with crime scenes, from movie and TV ads and even music, especially Rap (if it can even be called music). Not so long ago, subliminal ads and other messages were banned from magazines and television, but it's easy for those in the know to plant them in games, newspapers, and books. 

Yes, violence sells—the money goes directly into the manufacturer's pocket, and the content goes straight to the player's subconscious mind. Many minds these days are nothing but violence dumps. However, not all minds are affected by these horrific scenes of blood and gore; weak-minded individuals, especially those with un-diagnosed mental illness, are often the ones who soak this stuff up until it becomes ingrained and part of their mental makeup. Some realistic video games place the player right in the game until a susceptible player may not know real life from fantasy: He holds the controls in his hand and directs the activity as though in his mind he is the character doing the shooting in that so-called game.

"Whatever the mind of man can SEE and BELIEVE can be achieved." Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich"

And the Bible says, "Raise up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Some children today are being raised on garbage and violence they laugh at because "It's only a story! It's not real."

I beg to differ: It becomes real in the subconscious via repetition; it's a form of brainwashing. Some famous dictators knew this and used it to gain entrance into the minds of people through the use of repetition. Repetition of a thought, idea, or image goes straight to the subconscious ... and sticks.

Now, one may ask why I'm so horrified about violence, and it's because I've been affected by it in my own family. My first husband terrorized me one Christmas Eve when I was five months pregnant, by aiming a loaded Marlin 22, lever-action rifle about a foot from my face. He was drunk and out of his head. He held the gun there for what seemed a very long, heart-chilling time, then finally lowered it and laughed like a maniac, saying, "Scared the shit out of you, didn't I? Thought I was going to shoot you!" 

The next morning (Christmas Day), when I told him what he'd done, he apologized crying on his knees, begging for my forgiveness. I had nowhere else to go, so while I did forgive his drunken actions, I have never forgotten the fear and tears of that day.

Then, the day after Christmas, we learned that his step-father had shot and killed my husband's mother (who had filed for divorce), and also shot his younger brother, though he lived.

That Christmas season was not joyful; it was one of pain and heartache. Back then, guns were probably easier to obtain without a license, but fewer people went around killing others. Yes, some people killed. But there were no video games, television or electronics in those days. And while theaters ran featured Westerns, those cowboy movies were basically watered down and not so graphic as what we're seeing today.

Another gun tragedy occurred a number of years down the road, when my eldest brother shot and killed himself. He had Multiple Sclerosis and had said he had no desire to live as a handicapped individual. But nobody in the family suspected what was in his mind the day he went to Walmart and bought a shotgun. My brother was in a scooter for disabled persons, and I'm still wondering why someone in that store didn't question him about buying that weapon.

Friends, please take these words to heart, do your own research, and take care of yourselves and your families. 

Namaste!

666: The Number of 'The Beast'

Revelation 13:18 states: Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is 666.

"Of all of the numbers in the Bible, this one is just begging for mathematical speculation. And over the centuries, there have been endless attempts to use gematria and isopsephy (Hebrew and Greek number values) to calculate the true name of the "beast," also known as the Antichrist.

"The standard explanation is that the authors of Revelation were throwing shade on Nero, a ruthless Roman emperor who liked to martyr Christians. If you add up the values of Caesar Nero in Greek, you'll get 666. The same thing happens if you translate Caesar Nero to Hebrew as Neron Kesar, where it also adds up to 666.

"Since there are a lot of candidates for the Antichrist, modern preachers have concocted mathematical equations identifying Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, even Pope Paul VI as the beastly 666."

https://people.howstuffworks.com/numbers-bible.htm

Now I'm wondering if Trump's followers believe he's the Antichrist (or false prophet) mentioned in the Bible. They would probably be happy and practically worship him because he ushers in "the end times," after which comes Christ and the resurrection, when all the good people go to heaven. 

And then there's Revelation's "mark of the beast," which people will be required to wear in their right hand and also their forehead. I'm thinking the brainwashing Mr. D. T. does to his supporters, and all the money he's bilked his followers out of (collection basket outstretched to collect more money for Jesus when he actually has no earthly need for money). 

I wonder if the name "Trump" would come out 666, or maybe his old friend Pooty Poot. If I knew any Hebrew and Greek, I'd probably try to figure it out.

Namaste!

A TIME TO DIE?

Here I am again, with my thoughts flying all over the place. But I have something to say, and I need to get it off my chest so I can face my day with a clear mind. You probably know what I'm talking about, right? So here goes.

I'm not a Bible freak, though I was raised a Christian and have visited several different churches through the years. For a long time, I've thought about this Bible verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (King James Version)

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

    A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

    A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

    A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

    A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

    A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

    A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

    A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

So here's what I've wondered for a long time:

Considering the over-population of our planet, to me it stands to reason that many thousands of people are destined to die on the same day. And might this account for so many dying from natural disasters, accidents, wars, and criminal activity? I'm thinking specifically of massacres, which have increased dramatically over the past few years. Can they be stopped?

Experts the world over create laws designed to stop what they believe are unnecessary deaths. Could it be that many are in the right place and time to end their mortal lives? Are they fulfilling their earthly destination?

Some scientists (and I) believe that everything in the universe has a negative and a positive pole, which must be balanced for life to continue. But if babies continue to be born while other lives are saved, might we then reach a point where our planet is overbalanced with humans? If true, what would happen? Who knows for sure, but a lot of weird things are happening around the world today.

Maybe I'm just rambling, but it's something to think about. Death and destruction is sad, no matter when or how it comes, and I'm not sure how or if we could fix that. Even our planet is destined to die at some future date.

Namaste!

Role Playing Games & Massacres

I hope there's someone else on this planet who knows what I'm talking about!

After every mass shooting, the authorities go around like chickens with their heads cut off, wondering and moaning about this or that reason, what we can or cannot do to stop it.

Yes, gun control is very necessary; however, we need to investigate the role violent video games play in these massacres. I've studied how the subconscious works and how minds can be programmed. I know how easy it is to accomplish (through constant repetition), and people aren't even aware their minds are being manipulated. Sure, some of those games are fun and harmless, and they can teach important lessons. Not every player ends up committing murder.

But I also know how easy it is to slip subliminal messages into games, books, movies, songs, TV ads, you name it. If someone has an ulterior motive, that's one way they can sway people's minds, and the recipients have no idea what happened.

Today I did more research online and found there's a lot out there if one looks for it. I'm specifically interested in how RPGs (Role Playing Games) contribute to brainwashing.

But for those who sit for hours with their faces and minds glued to these games, the effect can be devastating. This is especially true for a person who already has mental, emotional, or social issues; This is someone who is easily brainwashed.

I'm not saying I have the answer to why these massacres are happening -- there may be other factors involved -- but it could be a start, because RPGs use mind-control techniques that can blur the line between reality and fantasy.

While searching I found this, and there's more information out there:

"Gaming has also been associated with sleep deprivation, insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders, depression, aggression, hallucinations, and anxiety, though more studies are needed to establish the validity and the strength of these connections.

"There has also been concern that exposure to the extreme violence that is commonly found in video games can desensitize teens and young adults to such violence, causing emotional problems and even leading to young people committing acts of violence."

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645

Stay safe.

Namaste!

HAVE WE HAD ENOUGH?

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Think on that quote! 

We are changing the world with our minds.

If we are tired of all the violence and crime in the world, the solution is staring us in the face, and not one person can do it alone! Undoing the damage may not happen overnight. It took many years to create such a violent world, and creating a better world will also take time. But it would be a start.

Everywhere I look these days, I see images of killing in one form or another: lethal weapons, torture, blood and gore, to name a few. It's everywhere, even books. Bright, shiny blood and a gun on a book cover is eye-catching and makes a book stand out. Publishers know this, and publishers are out to make money. Crime novels and Thrillers put some authors on the NY Times Best Sellers' List, and many of those books were probably sold by their covers alone. 

I, for one, will not buy a book with bloody images of violence and death on its cover! I am terrified of guns, because I was once threatened with a Marlin 22 lever-action rifle aimed about a foot from my face by a drunk spouse. (I was three-months pregnant at the time.) Two days later - the day after Christmas - my mother-in-law was shot and killed by her second husband, whom she was divorcing. Then, many years later my eldest brother took his own life with a shotgun purchased at Walmart. He was in a wheelchair, but nobody questioned what a disabled person might want with a gun. . . .

Those horrible experiences are the reason I detest guns. Guns for our military? Of course. Guns for hunting food? Yes, if hunters are trained and careful. For sport? Perhaps; it depends on the individual and what kind of person he/she is. To show people how tough you are? No, no, a thousand times no! Yet they walk our streets. They strut around with their overblown egos on display in the form of automatic rifles slung over their shoulders!

Well, not only are book covers and automatic rifles big contributors to violence and criminal activity; in my opinion, so are violent video games that place the player directly into the game so he's actually guiding the action with his eyes, hands, and mind; the player may feel as if he has walked right into the scene. When gamers do this often enough, they may become confused and unable to distinguish fantasy from real life. This is an example of brainwashing. Repeated images focused into a person's mind over days, weeks, or months, often create a mind that can't tell right from wrong. Repetition is how we learn an activity, whether it's writing, singing, sports, dancing, gymnastics, golfing, or something else. Good eye-hand coordination and visualization are keys to learning. 

When the "real life" games first came out, I predicted to a son: "In about twenty years, we're going to see these games materializing in our lives. People have been programmed and will act out the violence from all the video games they played." Nobody believed me then, but the evidence is now hitting us in the face. I've done a lot of research into this subject over the years and have seen and found enough to convince me of its truth.

All one has to do is look around and see what's happening. It's on the news. It's all over the world. Both old and young minds are automatically soaking up this violent garbage, and they're starting younger and younger. I've heard some state that killing someone in video games and movies is only "fun entertainment": I call it mind control.

A cranky baby? Oh yeah, just hand him a little video game with music and bright images to keep him occupied, and when he's in high school, he'll find more videos, some with violence that goes straight to his mind.

"Train up a child in the way he should go . . ."

Yup, we sure did! And mankind has not learned its lesson yet. If we succeed in destroying ourselves, as well as our planet, and if there really is such a thing as reincarnation, we'll probably come back in some other form and do it all over again.

I don't have statistics for this, but since not every gamer ends up with blood on their hands, we must assume that some repetitive games probably affect the weakest, most vulnerable minds.

I'm deliberately leaving out mention of subliminal suggestions which can be programmed into those videos as another path to brainwashing. Don't say it can't be done: It has and is being done. But that's a subject for another blog.

"Whatever the mind of man can see and believe, can be achieved."  - ESP Writer/Lecturer, Harold Sherman 

So, be careful what you think, what you believe, what you see, and what you do.

Namaste!

A Great Review for Drum Dance

 

Here’s one of my favorite reviews for DRUM DANCE, #3 in my Arctic Series. Drum Dance was written for Adult/YA readers, and the Kindle edition is currently FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited. 

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Dance-Arctic-Book-3-ebook/dp/B004C44MKY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Brenda Txxxxx

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing!

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

After David Jansson’s mother died, he spent his time with his aunt and uncle at Peace River in Alberta – but when his father sent for him, he decided to join him if only to get to know him again. David hadn’t seen his father in five years. Per Jansson was manager for the Hudson’s Bay Company at the small, isolated trading post of Gjoa Haven in the Arctic in Canada. Seventeen when he travelled, David’s journey in the small plane with Mac was a terrifying one; he wondered what on earth had possessed him to do this.

But when David arrived, it was to find his father was not the man he remembered. Abusive and a drunk – his moods would swing from affectionate and helpful, to abusive and violent in a matter of moments. David regretted his decision and hated the intense and relentless cold; he decided though to make the best of his promise to remain for two years. The beauty of the young Inuit women, especially Nipesha frustrated him, especially as his father had told him to stay away from them. And he was also to have nothing to do with the local shaman Naigo – which proved to be nigh on impossible. But he did find some fascination with the Eskimo tradition of celebrating the arrival of the sun - the shaman would beat the drum in the fabled drum dance, while telling stories to his people.

But could David continue with the intolerable situation? The Arctic seldom gave any person a second chance…

Young Adult novel Drum Dance by Bonnie Turner has an intriguing plot; not at all like anything I’ve read before. Though this is book 3 in the series, and I haven't read the previous two, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of David’s growth from boyhood, and felt for him during his struggles. I have no hesitation in recommending Drum Dance to fans of the genre.