Yours Truly

Yours Truly
Janet Fauble at home

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the belief that the soul which is eternal sometimes is reborn and lives again in a new flesh in multiple lifetime experiences. This is largely a matter of faith amongst many religious bodies but there is little empirical evidence to scientifically support this belief. So it is an act of faith when one decides to take the journey that reincarnation may expose to one's self.

Jess Stearn wrote a great book about Taylor Caldwell years ago which I took to heart so that eventually I had the nerve to learn if I could have been born in the past and could learn of it and know it.

While living in southern California, a fellow teacher and I visited a workshop where there were several people gathered who were discussing the concept of reincarnation. I bought some books there which I still have in my possession, mostly from the Eastern world of thought. Mei Wing had a publication about twin souls which I bought.

There are supposedly tools which one can use to identify one's self. One can use the art of hypnosis, and put one's self to sleep, and perhaps if capable of great memory retention one can come out of sleep remembering all that one has discovered. I have done that as well as the mirror technique.

I have had real vivid experiences in which I have returned to times past andd while there, been able to read and speak the language which I cannot and do not do in this present time period. It is amazing to me the things that one learns while immersed in the time past that one discovers is his own to re-experience. If this is proof of reincarnation, then I have proved it to myself.

I believe that my learning about these times was good for me and intended for me for some reason to know. As a result, my beliefs about the way we are taught religious beliefs has been affected. I have developed a different way of understanding Christ's teachings which are in fact late in the earth's history.. Before Christ were many religious beliefs that governed and controlled the lives of the people who lived then. Since Christ many other teachers have appeared but are known to us now in the form of poets, scientists, inventors, and even actors, athletes, and other inspired leaders. Each generation appears to have lessons to learns, and today we are learning from the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Don't underestimate their importance to us as teachers and leaders or I would not be able to publish this post now.

To me, life is not limited to the planet earth. There are many planets in the universe, and many ways that one could inhabit those same planets. In the meantime, for the time being, we control our earthly behaviour through our limited knowledge about this vast universe and its ongoing movements.

St. Theresa said it all simply...we are fulfilled whether containing a thimble of God's grace or a cup of Grace, whatever is our own individual capacity...we are equal to the fact that we are full of love and it matter not whether that thimble or cup is a measurement for all it contains is love. Love is the same no matter the size or quantity. So accept yourself and be full of love...when it pours out to others, it has the same end result...a loving and kind heart.

Religious beliefs

When I was a student at Kent State University, I had a philosophy class in which we were required to write a paper entitled How I Am Honest With Myself. I was a psychology major at the time, as that was my first love, after biology, so I wrote a paper about religious beliefs which incorporated many thoughts expressed by eminent psychologists and psychiatrists of the day. I remember one very well to this day whose main topic wasthe self-actualizing personality. She used a quotation which I liked," Though I may be a mere earthworm, I think that I am a god." I discussed in my paper the role that religious beliefs play in the development of our own individual personalities and character development.

Right now I am writing a book about Alexander the Great which is developing that same idea, the reasons for Alexander's conquests lay with his religious beliefs and his religious zeal.

As a child, many had thought that I would become a child evangelist. I had been raised in the kind of faith that allows for children to lead as one of the scriptures states. Scriptures are used for a variety of purposes as time will eventually bear out. I did not become an evangelist but I was a spiritually aware and developed child at an early age.

I have had the dubious ability to learn of what real Heaven is, and it is a part of everyday living on earth that is a unique and wondrous gift when one does whatever it takes to deserve that. So I am one of those whose faith, whose knowledge, and personal experience does not try to impose upon others the truth of my own acquired experience which is a testimony to God's love of and for me too. I know who and what God is. I have no doubts whatsoever, but I do recognize that the followers are who either push or lead people to accept or reject the teachings of a variety of religious beliefs, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, and a myriad of other recognized religious bodies.

I do not impose my will upon others, and I do not wish for others to impose their will upon me. I honestly know that love perfect is Heaven and that it exists within one. As Jesus the teacher said, heaven is within. It is within one's self, it is glorious, it is perfect, it is better than man can imagine, and it is a gift. God's love is there for all, and my only advice is the same as the teacher who said, Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened. The sincere heart shall seek and shall find...the true will knock and it will be opened.

Peace.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Return of winter for a day or two

It really turned cold this weekend. It did rain and the temperature fell 20 degrees so I had to turn the heat on to take out the chill. But insulation is so bad here that it only lasts a short while before it is back to cold again.

I have been studying and learning about costs of editing manuscripts for a novel, and have found the websites devoted to editing a manuscript. Wow! I had no idea all that is entailed in becoming a published bona fide first time author.

I honestly do not believe now that all that expense is often fulfilled when I read some books. But I did learn that there is a difference between editing and full editing, copy editing, proof reading,etc. so that costs vary from editor to editor. Gads! How can one decide?

I am in the process of a total rewrite but most of the original will be what I wrote originally. I have had computer woes so that I have taken a very long break from writing my novel to completion. Once I start it again I will stick with it to the end and then do the major rewrite that will mean once that is done, send it to a copy editor...maybe by that time, I will have it where I want it.

Authorship is not an easy job to do. I am really getting wise.

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

I have always been a fan of mysteries which I suppose challenge the reader to outwit the author who is supposed to be able to fool the reader. Nancy Bilyeau has written a mystery which lacks suspense, tension, and fear but replaces it with curiosity about an ancient religious relic that is hidden somewhere within the walls or grounds of the convent of Dominican nuns. A young woman who has been the maid in waiting to the Queen of England, Katherine of Aaragon, has entered the novitiate of the convent at the urging of the Queen. Joanna is the kind of girl whose loyalty to her family causes her to defy the orders of the Convent when she runs to witness the death of her cousin who is accused of treason against the King of England, Henry VIII.
While watching her cousin be humiliated in public, she spies her own father present at the site of the execution. She meets a kindly man, Geoffrey Scoville, who helps her to thwart some of the mob but both are arrested and taken to the Tower of London where it turns out that her father has also been taken. While at the tower, she is studied and examined, and helped by some unknown personality who eventually visits her to offer a deal, find the legendary crown that imbues strange powers to the heads that wear it, or face the loss of her father on the rack. She sees that her father has been tortured so she agrees to find the elusive, hidden crown if it is on the premises of the convent.

To assist her and make certain she achieves success are two religious monks, Brother Richard and Brother Edmund. She again encounters Geoffrey Scoville who is now part of the sheriff's department in the area in which she is living, and through the convent, she learns of the identities of many of the young women who have joined the religious group. During the reign of King Henry VIII, the Catholics were forced to close their religious institutions, and this particular religious group faces that prospect so that finding the crown is essential to their survival. However,Joanna is forced to secrecy regarding her part in finding this valued relic, the crown that originated in France and carried to England. While she is violating all her vows, she pursues the hunt for the crown with a zeal that takes her far away from the convent to a monatery, the Stonehenge, and a relative's home where she views and studies many tapestries that may possess clues to the whereabouts of the crown. One interesting tidbit in the novel is the relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The timeline for this is when Henry VIII has had to annul his marriage to his Spanish Queen, Katherine of Aaragon, and is in negotiations to marry Anne Boleyn. Joanna remembers back to a time when she has met Anne Boleyn before the King's annulment from his Queen. This is a very interesting scene which explains a lot about why it is that Joanne has a special feel for the court and its lifestyle.

I enjoyed the book for its insights into the problems that the Catholics had suffered at the time of the battle between the King and the Pope. It is safe to say that our heroine, Joanna, does achieve her goal, in a surprise finish to this threat to her happiness. The life of the average English peasant is given attention as well as the rich and luxurious court life of the Royals. Fear, anxiety, and desperation are well described in the England dominated by the bully king, Henry VIII.

There are many surprises, twists, and turns that keep the reader involved and interested in the life of women in the convent, life amongst the royals who probably suffered terrorism as much as did the peasants. Life was not kind and gentle in merry old England under the rule of King Henry VIII.

I recommend the book as it is a book that does give support to the needs of women who were totally dominated by the men who controlled them. Joanna is a great heroine of courage, imagination, tenacity, and stubborness. She is a nun whose love life is that of a spiritual quest to know fulfillment of Christ's peaceful teaching. The question left dangling to this reader is will she jump over the wall?

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

The Crown begins in Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII at a critical moment when the King is caught in the drama of the need for a male heir. He has to decide whether to end his long marriage to Queen Katherine of Aaragon, his Spanish wife of many years, or to bend to the will of the powerful Catholic Church and maintain a marriage which has not given him his promised heir to the throne. Joanna Stafford, our heroine in the novel, has become a maid in waiting to the aging Queen. Unfortunately for Joanna, the Queen has given her a great commission and a promise to her that Joanna feels committed to keep. At a tender age she has entered as a novice to the order of Dominican nuns to fulfill the Queen's wishes. Joanna is not just any young novice as she has valuable ties to the English court, being a daughter of the Howard family. These ties prove quite interesting in the course of her goal to find an ancient holy relic which may save the day for the religious orders of the day.

The story begins with an insight into Joanna's personality as she risks everything to rush to the aid of a cousin who has been tragically accused of treason and must be punished by the rule of the King. Since she has taken the vows of the postulate she is under orders to obey the rule of the Order of Dominican Nuns, but she puts family and principle above the need to obey the Order and watches in anguish as her cousin is taken to her death.

There, she finds her own father present in the crowd that wants the death of the young traitor to the Crown and watches as he tries to assist the young victim in her time of anguish. She cannot understand why her father is present for this tragedy, but she finds herself assisted by a kind bystander who becomes a very important part of her life, Geoffrey. Finally, a very important vistor arrives to set her upon a quest to find a legendary crown that well could spell the course of history for the Roman Catholics who are being forced to relinquish their lifestyle while Henry VIII decides his own fate regarding his long Catholic marriage. This famed visitor wants her to find the legendary crown so that he can use it to his advantage and as a form of security to make certain that our heroine does her job he has taken her father prisoner and has tied him to the rack promising her that upon finding the crown her father would be released and saved from a certain death. Joanna, knowing that the Convent is probably already dismayed with her conduct, agrees to return to the Convent where she is supposed to find the legendary crown...Thus, the fun begins...Joanna returns to the convent with companions Brother Richard and Brother Edmund who are also compelled to spend their days at this religious site.

The Athelstan crown is a revered relic with a very dubious but powerful history. It has the power to imbue powers to the head that wears it, but superstition running rampant makes it appear that the crown destroys those who wear it who are not worthy of the act. Young Joanna is quite sincere in her desire to find the crown to release her father from prison, save his life, and possibly save the entire religious community despite the fact that several known kings who have worn it died under mysterious circumstances.

Through Joanna's efforts to find the crown, we meet with some of England's most famous and celebrated royals. The study of the family in England, the problem that King Henry's VIII war with the Church, and the fall of the monasteries and religious communities is deftly examined in this story of a young novice seeking an elusive crown hidden somewhere within the convent walls.

Most fascinating in this novel of young women who for one reason or other have decided to join the religious life is the depth of understanding as to why young women determined to seek a spiritual life enter the convent instead of the luxury of the court life. During a trip to Stonehenge, Joanna enjoys insights into the massive blocks of stone that made her think of the nuns in the convent. I thought that that was a most interesting and unique explanation of the arrangement of the famous stones.

An interlude in which Joanna meets not only Anne Boleyn but her brother George is a most telling and sordid look at the kind of power that Anne had on the famous King whose lusts were quite well acknowledged. It appears that the author has a unique sympathy even for the English king.

The Crown is an excellent presentation of the problems of the English Catholics at the time that King Henry VIII was asserting his authority over the church. One cannot help but have sympathy for the displaced religious community whether Catholic or not. The famous crown which traces back to Charlemagne is a fascinating cause for Joanna to become a problem for the nuns but a potential saviour to the relgious community. The ending is a bit of a surprise when Joanna finally realizes her goal....a book well worth reading, as well woven as the tapestries which Joanna examines for clues to the whereabouts of the crown...a real winner for Nancy Bilyeau.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Word Processing

I have not learned how to use this word processing system well so I deleted my entire post which was about the Lottery. I did write out each number with the number of times it has been since they were drawn. I learned that when I tried to publish it my effort to have two columns did not work. I can do it this way and it will work but having done it and canceled it I will let it rest.

I will try it this way now:

1-14,25,27, 32, 37,42.
2-1,2,3,13,32,44
3.5,9,15,23,24
4.7,18,19
5.4,16,38
6.12,43
7.10,17,41
8.21,34,40
9.36,39
12.20,29,31
13.35
14.8,30
16.28,33
17.6
18.11

These are the sequence of numbers as they have appeared in the last 18 draws.

The second means of separation is the following:
3.44
4.14
5. 23, 37
6. 5, 12
7. 10,24,25,38
8.34,40
9.18,21,39,43
10. 17
11. 41
12. 7,16,20
13. 3,29,31,42
14.26,30,32
15.36
16.28,35.
17. 1,6,15
18.11,22

19.4
21.13,19,22
25. 8,9
31. 27
34. 2

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Books: Vengeance and The Exodus Quest

Authors do change styles if they write many books. Nobody can ever keep and retain the same running style unless they have a map so to speak to make certain that they follow the same plot devices in each and every novel. So Kinsey Millhone in the 22nd novel is not the same as Kinsey Millhone in the first novel.

In one of Sue Graftson's novels, she had me in such suspense I could barely get through the end of the novel it was so hairraising. She no longer employs that hold on to your seat as she tries to take you over the edge. In this novel at which we know in the beginning that our heroine Millhone survives another assault to her person, we go at a relaxed pace to unravel the mystery that compels us to read from start to finish. This is a very interesting love story, and expose of shoplifting rings so that it is a character development more than a suspense story. I enjoyed reading it, but did wonder at how many of Kinsey's dreadful sandwiches we are going to have to suffer through while she wiles away her time in the backseat of a car watching traffic pass by slowly. This is a slow reading and very slow developing storyline.

However sympathetic Sue Grafton may be to mafia figures is really unknown but it would appear that she sees that there is redemption for some of them, while others are simply too evil to do anything but kill off.

In the Exodus Quest, we had to deal with a crazed preacherman who thinks he is doing the Lord's will as he tries to steal artifacts from a site that is little known to any but a few. Our hero who is a carry over from the search for Alexander's tomb has now taken a spin to go to another long studied site in Egypt, the gravesite of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Here we encounter murderous corrupt park police and scared followers, and naturally, the fictitious place of the Cave of Treasures. He is trying to save his partner and the couple she is guiding to the wondrous site of the sungod. Because she and her companions have happened upon another one of those unknown but highly desirable tombs she triggers the hatred of an Egyptian policeman who wants to steal the treasure for himself to achieve fame and fortune. During all this we eventually learn why it is that Akhenaten may have actually become Moses and led his people or followers to the promised land, a very intriguing but farfetched story of a strange pharaoh who is arguably not even close to being like Moses. However, we finally learn how the Moses story may be based upon the Alexander story (something we learned in the Alexander Cipher as well) and how all this old patriarchs all may be a plausible answer to the stories in the Old Testament, all being Akhenaten after all. That includes Noah and the Ark as it is Akhenaten who gathered all the beasts of the world to happen to be in one place at one time when a great flood occurred. It all makes rambling sense but gets naturally poohpoohed away as a half cocked idea in the end.

Wonder where Will Adams will take us next? He does manage to save two of the three who were caught in a flood as well. So it goes...interesting stories...hope that this is not too bad a spoiler but I sincerely doubt that many will read these tales of antiquity.