The Man in the Mirror

The person we should be thanking for caring and making the world a better place is Michael Jackson. He is the most loving and caring person you would ever know. I know that he might have done some strange things but that is because he had no friends and had no child life, he was always on stage. He liked anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white, he would still like you. I don’t know why people would tease him about his face. His face was fine. You don’t judge someone from what they look like on the outside, you look inside.

Michael had a caring heart. He made the whole world have peace and to understand that we are not different at all. I know that we might look different but we are all human beings that is why Michael came down from God, so he could get people to understand. We should not be fighting, we should be loving to each other. If you listen to the lyrics of his music, it doesn’t matter if you are black or white, heal the world, make it a better place. See, he did his job. He is not really gone. He will be back, you just won’t know it.

-    Callum Close
15 July 2009
 

A Divine Rescue

This is the story of a narrow escape, one that would not have happened without the divine grace of my Guru, Bhagavan Sri Pranananda. To me this story illustrates that a true Guru is always with you, as well as with everyone whom you encounter. The following event happened at a time in my life where I had lost focus on God and my spiritual practices. This taught me that although I was at the time not interested in following my Guru’s teachings, he was (and always will be) there for me.
 
This event took place in a large wooden house in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. I was living there with my husband, Gavin, and a girlfriend of mine, Mirela, who needed a place to stay for a while. Mirela and I both worked a few nights a week at a nightclub in the city. It was one of our nights off, and, due to a power failure, we had no electricity for the next twenty-four hours.
 
Mirela was staying in the bedroom that I had just moved out of, and inside it was a chest of drawers that I had not yet moved. On top of the chest of drawers was a framed photo of Pranananda and some other precious and sentimental items.  Mirela advised us that she was going to keep a large candle burning for the night, and she placed it on top of the chest of drawers.

We all retired to bed. I fell into the deep sleep of someone who had not slept well for days and really needed to rest. Gavin was asleep beside me. At some point in the night (about 2 or 3 a.m.), Mirela burst into the room almost hysterically, gasping and saying that her room was on fire.  Gavin leapt out of bed and ran down the long corridor to her room. I followed quickly behind him. As soon as I opened the bedroom door, I was confronted by a blanket of toxic black smoke. It had already spread from the rear of the house, all the way to the front (our bedroom was near the front door).

The back room was so thick with smoke that all we could see were the flames from the fallen candle leaping up the thick curtains. We managed to put out the flames, and then we all sat out on the front porch to collect our thoughts.

Our faces were all covered in black soot, Mirela’s was the darkest. She sat quietly for a few moments, then told me that before she went to sleep the previous evening, she had looked at the photo of Pranananda and said “I don’t know who you are, or what you do, but could you please make sure that I don’t burn the house down with this candle?” She had been nervous about leaving it burning, but had decided to keep it lit to have a source of light in an otherwise very dark house. She then took a few strong sleeping tablets (as she regularly did) and, in her own words, “passed out completely.”

Mirela then recounted to Gavin and I how she had been awakened during the night by “a presence” that had told her to wake up. As she told me this, tears began to roll down her face. She turned to us and said, “I know that it was he (Pranananda) who woke me… I just know it was.” This was the first time I had seen her cry.

Mirela used to be impossible to wake up—at the best of times, let alone heavily sedated. She was asthmatic and could not see more than a foot in front of her without her glasses on. On top of that, she had been breathing in thick smoke for quite some time, which usually causes people to perish in their sleep.

She had heard the voice of the Divine, which had awakened her and allowed her to escape the burning room.  If she had not done that, we would not have awakened either, and the rest of the house would have burnt down. Our smoke alarms were in the kitchen drawer awaiting new batteries.

I was never sure what the greater miracle was:  the events that transpired, or the fact that my street-smart, tough, cynical friend had put aside her natural inclination to disbelieve anything “spiritual” and open her heart to the Grace of my Beloved Guru—an Avatar whom she knew almost nothing about.

Later that day we were examining the damage, and were all astonished (our eyes were fairly popping out of our heads) to see that the photo of Pranananda and my beautiful carved wooden jewelry box that was given to us as a wedding gift were completely untouched by the fire—even though the candle had started the fire right next to them.

A few weeks later the back room had to be completely stripped and refurnished. Thankfully, our landlady’s insurance covered it, with only a small gap that was to be paid by us. I am infinitely grateful to God, and to Pranananda, as the damage could have been far, far greater and much more serious.

As my mind grasped the seemingly impossible facts, my heart opened more and more. I realised that we had been blessed with a second chance that a lot of people never get. I wept as I acknowledged that, even though I had strayed so far down a dark and dubious path (my heart and focus having drifted far away from Pranananda for quite some time), my Guru’s mantle of protection still held me and my loved ones safely within it.

-  Monique McIntosh
Kingston, Tasmania
 

A Tribute to Michael Jackson

 

I ask Myself why it took Me three weeks (after his passing) to write a tribute to the great soul known to this world as Michael Jackson. The reason is very clear:  I have found it difficult to even begin to condense the scope, breadth, expanse, and impact of his life, talent, love, caring, genius, and legacy into any number of words, much less into merely a couple of paragraphs. Tonight, as I sat before My keyboard, composing this eulogy, I began by spending two hours on the Internet, viewing song after song, video after video, tribute after tribute… saturating Myself with his sweet and melodious voice, gazing upon the innocence and beauty of this magical anomaly of a human being, and becoming all the more entranced by his unique and inimitable presence.

The Divine Light which used Michael Jackson as Its muse was, much as in the case of Mozart, too intense and vast to be harnessed by the limitations of his human embodiment. Obviously knowing this, in His infinite omniscience and grace, God managed to fit Michael Jackson’s entire career and legacy into his short 50 years on Earth, leaving us an archive and treasure of music, inspiration, philanthropy, and caring, on a scale rarely if ever seen in this world, not even by ones who outlived him by decades. Perhaps this is why superstardom claimed Michael before the age of 10, allowing him to reach millions with a level of talent, artistry, professionalism, maturity, depth, sensitivity, and soul that usually emerges—in the greatest of talents—in their later years. Clearly, God made accommodations for all of this and more.

Michael was not only the greatest and most innovative contemporary freestyle dancer who ever lived, as well as one of the greatest singers and songwriters, he was also a hero—especially to the children of the world, possibly the greatest in all of recorded history. He was and is the champion of children, and now (through his passing) a modern-day patron saint for their cause, their welfare, their future, and their rightful place as the wayshowers for humanity. Many children (in the 40+ years of Michael’s professional career) are themselves now adults, and they attribute their place in the world, their chosen paths and all success attained therein, to the example set by this angel from heaven, by his fierce and relentless commitment to goodness, individuality, perseverance, and freedom of expression. It is an understatement to say that Michael Jackson will continue to fill this niche for society—and continue to reign as its king—long after the day of his passing has faded from memory.

Though many are heartbroken by your physical departure, Michael, most would agree that you lived a full life, perhaps another testimonial of the vastness of your talent. I thank God for giving humanity the invention of recording equipment—and the media to use it—before sending you into our midst. How fortunate for us all, that you will continue to live in our hearts, igniting and inspiring joy and happiness in our lives with your eternal youthfulness, your spirit of hope for this world, and with your limitless talent and musical gifts. Thank you, Michael, for being My friend, and for being an everlasting friend to this world.

The greatest gift I can give you, in return for all you have given Me, is to even further deepen My commitment to unite all peoples, cultures, races, and religions into one heart, one Love… in God’s most holy name.

Your vision for this world shall be fulfilled, beloved soul. To this end, I dedicate My life.
 

-    Louix Dor Dempriey
 

The Virtues of Vegan Living

The Truth about Protein

•    Humans were created as herbivores (blunt teeth, no claws), not as carnivores.
•    It is a great misconception that “You need animal protein to be lean and strong” (buffalos, horses, cows, elephants, and even brontosauruses are/were all vegans).
•    Spinach, spirulina, broccoli, bee pollen, hemp, brussel sprouts, almonds, and pecans are all very high in protein and will easily satisfy the body’s protein requirements.
•    Spirulina is 60-65% protein, with complete amino acid content—the highest of any protein source.
•    Protein deficiency is extremely rare, except in areas where people are starving.
•    Meat diminishes physical and sexual performance because arteries and blood vessels get clogged.
•    It is important to get protein without fat and cholesterol.
•    Protein requirements are very easy to meet with plant foods.
•    What smoking does to your lungs, meat does to your arteries. The link between an animal-based diet and heart disease is as strong as the link between smoking and cancer.
•    Cancer and heart disease are most frequent where meat eating prevails.

The Truth about Calcium

•    Broccoli provides more calcium than cow’s milk, and in an absorbable form.
•    The dairy industry spends billions per year advertising the calcium in dairy, yet dairy is not high in absorbable calcium.
•    Calcium deficiency of dietary origin is unknown in the U.S. Nonetheless, the dairy industry claims the U.S. has a calcium deficiency and therefore has to consume more dairy products.
•    The dairy industry sets the calcium requirements for the U.S.D.A.
•    The U.S. is the world’s biggest consumer of calcium, yet has the greatest incidence of osteoporosis.
•    The primary cause of osteoporosis is a lack of weight-bearing exercise (due to sedentary lifestyle) and over-consumption of animal protein—both of which are hallmarks of many Americans’ way of life.

The Truth about Fat and Cholesterol

•    You can get all the “good” fats (omega 3, 6, and 9) you need from green, leafy vegetables and raw seeds.
•    Although fish contains “good fat,” it is packaged with PCB’s, cholesterol, and other toxins. In fact, the good fat in fish comes from the plants (plankton) which the fish eats!
•    Our liver makes all the cholesterol we need. Therefore, the amount we need from our diet is zero.
•    High cholesterol contributes to more deaths than all the wars, natural disasters, and disease epidemics combined.
•    There is no difference between white meat and red meat. A 3-ounce steak has 75 mg of cholesterol, and a 3-ounce skinless chicken breast contains 72 mgs of cholesterol.
•    Seafood is not a healthy alternative to red or white meat! Shrimp have 6 times more cholesterol than beef.
•    3 glasses of milk has the same cholesterol as 20 slices of bacon.
•    Plant-based food has zero cholesterol.

The Truth about Dairy Food

•    Humans are the only animals that drink milk after they are weaned.
•    Because humans have no biological need for milk after they are weaned, at some point the pancreas very naturally stops producing the enzyme lactase (which breaks down lactose), which is why 75% of the global population is falsely classified as “lactose intolerant.”
•    Humans are the only animals on the planet which routinely consume another animal’s milk.
•    Cow’s milk carries the genetic blueprint to produce a ten-fold increase from birth weight in the cow’s first year of life, accounting for the extreme obesity in many children who were fed bovine formula.
•    Bovine (and other) formulas deprive children of their primary source of their immune system—which is naturally, freely, and divinely provided by a mother’s breast milk.

Impact on the Environment

•    Raising animals for food accounts for more than half of all the annual water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, but only 25 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of wheat. The average American uses 106 gallons of water per day. If that person also eats 1 hamburger, that figure increases to 3,106 gallons.
•    A vegan lifestyle saves 1 million gallons (3,780,000 liters) of water every year!
•    85% of all U.S. agricultural land is used to grow food to feed the animals we eat.
•    260 million acres of land in the U.S. are destroyed each year raising animals for slaughter.
•    Raising animals for food requires more than 1/3 of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S. Producing a single hamburger patty uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles and enough water for 17 showers.
•    Rainforests (which provide 90% of all our medicines, 60-80% of the world’s oxygen, and countless species of animals going extinct) are being destroyed at a rate of 125,000 square miles per year to provide grazing for animals raised for consumption. For every quarter-pound, fast-food burger made of rainforest beef, 55 square feet (5.1 square meters) of land are consumed.
•    The fishing industry is taking fish out of the ocean much faster than the ocean can reproduce them.
•    15 out of 17 of the world’s fishing zones are now barren, due to the damaging and wasteful methods of fishing currently used.
•    80% of all fish caught through large-scale commercial fishing methods are dumped—dead—back into the sea (including thousands of whales/dolphin/porpoises trapped in those same nets).
•    Of the 20% of all remaining caught fish, half of those are fed to farm animals. Translated:  Only 10% of all the fish caught by large-scale commercial methods end up being consumed by humans!
•    Animal feces are the cause of E. coli bacterial infections. There are hundreds of cases of food poisoning from meat and meat product recalls every year, mostly due to the unsanitary conditions and operations on factory farms (the true causes of which are almost never released to the public by/through the media).
•    The reason why it is necessary to cook meat (particularly chicken) for so long is to kill the bacteria from fecal matter on the meat.
•    The meat industry causes more water pollution in the U.S. than all other industries combined, because the animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population—86,600 pounds per second.
•    One typical factory pig farm generates the same amount of raw waste as a city of 12,000 people.