The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

One of the most exciting and important lessons I've learnt on my own spiritual journey, is known as The James Randi Challenge. Back in the 1960s, there was a famous Canadian magician call James Randi AKA Randal James Hamilton Zwinge better known as The Amazing Randi. Randi was a stage magician and illusionist and made his living touring around doing stage magic from the age of around 15.

Several years later, Randi, was challenged on a radio talk show, to “put his money where his mouth is” while discussing the public being scammed under the false pretense by con artists using ‘magic’ as some form of paranormal activity. Randi put out a challenge. The challenge which started at $1000, which he later added $9000 to make the grand prize a very attractive $ 1000 in 1964. A fair sum back then, which was further increased, to eventually became $ 100 000, when a TV broadcasting company. added $ 90 000. In the 1980's, one of the first internet millionaires, Rick Adams, donated one million dollars to the challenge. The challenge was for anyone, anyone at all, in the world, to prove under agreed conditions, that they had supernatural powers. Any medium, fortune teller, telepathist, spiritualist, illusionist, dowser, psychic, even evangelist, was welcome to claim the prize if they could prove that their claim of magic or miracle was supernatural and not sleight of hand or illusion. For 50 years the James Randi Challenge, also called the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, was up for grabs and over a thousand people, from all over the world tried their luck, but none succeeded to fool Randi and his panel of scientists. The challenge was withdrawn in 2015 and the money assigned to other beneficent causes. Several celebrity mediums like John Edward, Rosemary Altea, Sylvia Browne, Leigh-Catherine Salway, Uri Geller and others were challenged publically and on TV shows. Those that were brave ( or deluded) enough to attempt it, failed. Some agreed in public but never showed up or simply declined for fear of damaging their careers. On a Larry King Live show in March, 2001, King asked psychic Sylvia Browne, if she would take the challenge and Browne initially agreed. When Randi appeared with Browne on the show in September, 2001, she again accepted the challenge. However, she changed her mind and refused to be tested, so Randi kept a clock on his website, recording the number of weeks as they passed, since Browne first accepted the challenge but never followed through. Eventually the clock was replaced with a statement tat simply read “ More than 5 years". Browne passed away in 2013.

There is a famous clip on You Tube, Randi assisted  Johnny Carson, who set up Uri Geller, in a similar test, when the spoons he claimed he could bend, were replaced by Carson's crew and Geller sat with ‘egg on his face’, as he could not bend the spoons, even slightly. Randi made sure Geller could not tamper with the props. Randi and Geller have been life long enemies, since Randi called Geller out as a hoax, years before. Geller has since tried to sue Randi several times, but all the cases so far have been thrown out by the judge as unwarranted.

Geller also tried to sue Timex , the watch company for an ad where a Geller look alike, attempts to stop a Timex watch with his mind, but of course could not. Geller claimed that Timex benefited financially, while his reputation was damaged. A survey by Timex, on random members of the public, failed to prove that anyone even knew who the magician in the ad was supposed to be.

As an April Fool's prank on April 1, 2008, at the MIT Media Lab, Randi pretended to award the prize to magician Seth Raphael after participating in a test of Raphael's "psychic abilities". But the prank was considered in bad taste and only confused viewers who weren't aware of the full story.

Randi retired from being a magician and began touring around debunking fraudsters. Randi won a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." and spoke at Google in August 2007. He was a founding member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). Known as PsyCops.

Randi’s true joy comes from explaining the inexplicable.

“The ability for people to think in a medieval fashion, never ceases to amaze me,” he says. Not that he ever tires of it. “Does a doctor get tired of curing people?” he asks.

My greatest satisfaction is seeing that look in people's eye, when they eventually wake up to reality and see the light of reason.

Randi passed away in October 2020 age, 92 after announcing he was gay in 2013 age 85 and marrying his long time partner the following year.

The James Randi Challenge AKA...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Million_Dollar_Paranormal_Challenge

Randi and Geller battle

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-13-vw-2279-story.html

James Randi speaks at Google

https://youtu.be/MTPj9VlNzQ0

Water Blessings.

 

Water makes up about 60% of the human body, between 63% and 80% of animals’ bodies, and 60% to 95% of plant cells. Our planet is 71% water.

That crunchy piece of lettuce, the juicy steak, your morning coffee, a glass filled with ice…we eat it, drink it, bathe in it, clean with it and we have fun with it. Think of all the water sports, days at the pool or on the beach. It is an integral part of our life whether we are plant, animal or man.

Modern-day city folk get to turn on a faucet and are provided with clean running water. Rural area residents worldwide depend largely on wells, rain, and rivers for their water. Wherever we are, we have to have it. In 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states access to clean water is a basic human right

In ancient times aqueducts were built by the Assyrian empire, the Romans, and the Incas. They understood the value and it was piped to the homes of the wealthy. Later, cities had taps from aqueducts installed for public use. 

Water makes up most of our planet, the place we call home, and just like our residences, we should take care of it. We need to do everything we can to keep it clean, avoid pollution and appreciate it as the vital resource it is.

We are fascinated by the wonderful life it holds, I’ve never come across anyone who doesn’t love a dolphin, a whale, or a turtle. The fierceness and destruction it can bring about hold us glued to the news when there are hurricanes and tsunamis. We are enthralled by its beauty.

Japanese businessman, Masaru Emoto created a stir when he published books on how our energy affects water. He claimed that when we send positive words or messages to water, it creates beautiful formations benefitting us, and  negative emotions and words would do the opposite.

Whether or not there are formations created, I believe our energy does affect everything around us, including water. When we sit at a stream, a river, or by the ocean, it has a calming effect. The rhythm of the waves, the trickle of a bubbling stream, the gentle flow of a river, these all soothe us, we feel it to our core. When rain patters on our roofs at night, we sleep deeply and usually better than usual. Water benefits us and by giving a sense of wellbeing, we, in turn, transmit that energy back.

On a spiritual level, every full moon, some of us set out vessels to collect moon water. The thought is that the full moon will enhance the properties of water and therefore any spell work you do with it, also drinking it will give you good health, protection, or make you more tuned in to your intuition.

Note: if you’re going to drink it, make sure you seal it before you put it out, and if you include crystals in the water, please check that they are safe. Not all crystals, malachite for example, are safe for consumption.

Using water to cleanse away negativity is something I like to do while standing under the shower. Visualise all negativity being washed off and going down the drain. The same can be done with a bath, or a basin when washing hands.

I’m fortunate in that the complex I live in has a swimming pool. Just after sunset, I get in and float, watching the birds wheeling in the sky before they go to nest. I notice the sky, the treetops, the bats as they come out, and just BE! It’s meditative and a form of letting go of the stresses of the day. Use it to practise mindfulness, feel the air on your skin above the water, and the cool wetness underneath, listen to your breath, feel your lungs expanding and contracting. Let time stand still. You’ll feel refreshed and relaxed by it.

The next time you drink a glass, cook your meal, water your plants, or play with the ocean, take a moment to send your appreciation and love out to the universe. Your one small action will make a difference. 

Picture sourced from pexels-pixabay-160833

Over the moon!

 

Shiny, bright, round, invisible, she’s been an object of superstition and folklore through the ages. Whether in Africa, Asia, the Americas, or Europe, the moon has been revered, worshipped, and watched. She has been blamed for disasters, moodiness, and lunacy too. She is seen as representing the Goddess, the feminine, our emotions, change, reincarnation, the hidden, and many things of mystery.

All these beliefs were formed before science discovered that the moon actually affects bodies of water. Earthly bodies, whether human, animal, or plant, are made up of huge percentages of water and it’s logical that the moon affects all life on earth.

Farming magazines still have pages dedicated to the moon and its phases. Those of us who enjoy our herb and veggie plots often browse the internet to check when the best times are for weeding, planting, harvesting, and transplanting.

Personally, I have always been fascinated by the moon, and often have conversations with her. She is my constant, always there, even when I cannot see her.

February has been a particularly interesting month with the new moon, Lammas, and the Chinese New Year all falling on the 1^st of the month. The Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year because the date is determined by the new moon. This is the year of the Water Tiger with the last occurring  in 1962. The element and sign align only once every 60 years.

Apparently, it means new beginnings and is auspicious in terms of the pandemic winding down. It’s also a period of fast-paced forward movement that needs to be tempered to prevent egos and taking on authority rashly. It’s a year of being socially conscious and family-oriented, but also of separation and drastic change.

Outside of Asia, the Lunar new year is probably celebrated most in the USA and is recognized as an important holiday. Chinese communities here at home celebrate on a much smaller scale and unless you look out for it specifically, you may miss it altogether.

Let’s take a look at what happened 60 years ago. It was the year that:

• -          Telstar had the first live trans-Atlantic television signal
• -          The Beatles released their first single “Love me do”
• -          The polio oral vaccine was released
• -          The first American orbited the earth
• -           “Dr. No”, “Spartacus” and “El Cid” were movie hits
• -          France transferred sovereignty to Algeria
• -          Cuban missile crisis began
• -          Burundi, Jamaica, Uganda became independent
• -          Robben Island was made a political prison
• -          Apartheid was condemned by the United Nations
• -          Nelson Mandela was arrested
• -          Marilyn Monroe was found dead

Looking back, it seems that there were some major political events, and that previous work put in such as the polio vaccine and the orbit around the earth bore fruit. It will be interesting to see if there are similarities this year.

Today is also a Full Moon.

I wanted to find out if there is a South African name for “our moon” as we're in summer and the names generally given online relate to the Northern Hemisphere and therefore winter. What was interesting is that I found out a lot more.

Depending on where you are, and what you believe, there are various names and I’d imagine different properties. Some are interchangeable:

Northern hemisphere and Native American - Snow or Hunger Moon

Southern hemisphere - Sturgeon Moon

Pagan - Corn Moon

Shamanic and Native American - Starving or Hunger Moon

Celtic - Moon of Ice

Neo-pagan - Snow Moon

South Africa - Dassie or Grain Moon

It makes sense that it would be the Grain Moon as this falls between Lammas and Mabon which are celebrations of the harvest.

The dassie; a rock hyrax, is a totally unique animal being the closest living relative to the African elephant, the dugong, and the manatee.  It’s also the only mammal to have an organ only found in birds. The dassie and all its abovementioned relatives are gentle, resourceful, and beautiful, and each can be fierce when challenged.

Whether you celebrate the moon or not, take a look at her this evening and revel in her light.

Feel the energy.

 

 

 

Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS from Pexels

How can I help you?

 Today we live in a world online. A world where we can hide behind our screens
and devices. We can accept or decline invitations, contacts and communications, even from our own family members.

There was a time, not so long ago, when people were so isolated, that any stranger passing through their village, hamlet or farm, was welcomed with a warm meal, a cup of ale or ten, and a place to sleep.

Literacy only became the global average in the late 20th century. In 1900, about 79% of the world's pop. was illiterate; in 1960, about 64%. In 2015, basic literacy stood at about 86%.

So strangers, travelers and merchants were always welcomed, because they often brought knowledge and news from afar or about events in neighboring villages. Up until the 1600s the average peasant of mid adult age, knew about as much as could be contained in one single newspaper. Much of it, superstition and folklore.

But one thing made them better than we are today, and that thing was honour. In every culture honour, or honor as American English spells it, was paramount. Scoundrels thieves and murderers were few and far between. Although the average human got by with much less than we, the modern city or town folk have today, and often worked a much longer day- for a pittance, they were more satisfied with their lot and relationships were of far greater value than material goods.

When I was a child for example, we had one telephone in our home and no TV. When we did eventually get a TV, I was about seven years old. It was black and white and broadcast (nothing good) for about four hours a day, tops. Those of you who were around back then, will remember the test pattern, when Technicolor came out a few years later and how the family would leave the TV on from around five in the evening, waiting for the broadcast to begin. Usually the news was first, "with Riaan Cruywagen". The man who never aged.

Today we have far less regard for friendships, marriage, even our relationships with our children ... and strangers are dangers. We imagine ourselves far more knowledgeable even though the average so called educated person can retain about 1 Gig of real knowledge at most.

What happens to us in this 'process of evolution?' We have certainly not become more civilized. The global society has eroded our cultural honour. We are much ruder, short tempered and worse at managing real relationships that last. Sure the corporate culture has brain washed many into thinking that they are 'oh so sophisticated', but much of it is a superficial template. A regurgitated monkey-see-monkey-do, legal gauntlet approach where, if you don't fit in, you're simply left out. Without empathy.

Democracy and 'rights' (ironic) has proven just how terrible we can be, as trolls on social media and in a mass, reminiscent of the pitch fork mobs of Medieval Europe. Only worse.

On one of Zac Efrons Netflix travel shows recently, ( I forget the name as it probably exceeds my 1G storage) a manager at a eco-village coined a phrase, speaking about managing the human waste of the hippy like inhabitants who chose to buy a remote property and live 'off the grid', who said: " find the solution in the problem."

So how can we, living in the real world ' or what's left of it, and find the solution in the problem?' The social problem that, like a dormant volcano, could erupt at any moment and change or end normal life overnight. Now before the global lock down, which no sane person could have even imagined could happen, this idea would have been far less believable. But today it is a clear and present possibility.

My over sensitive shamanic spirit tells me to - slow down. Take time to listen to other people, no matter how deluded they may seem. No matter how old, or young, educated or not, stranger or friend, or toxic family. Give a little of your time, not to do the talking but to listen. When a friend or social media request appears, think how can I find a solution to this problem. How can I help them.

The one thing I've taught my kids religiously, is kindness. Be kind to everyone religiously. If someone disagrees with your opinion or is trying to sell you something, you don't have to buy, but don't block them or decline their contact. That is no solution to social skills. Learn to listen. Probe them, give real objections, and see how they handle them. Be humane and just talk to them and in so doing, they may learn something from you, or God forbid, you may just learn something from them.