Hello RevKing, God bless you...

amen and amen...this is the first time  I have heard a Rev. ask someone to use the imagination, it does work , most leaders I talked to over the years advise me not to use my imagination...but I have and believe imaginations are the thoughts of God..and when we open ourselves up to the imagination, we can by Gods wisdom, grasps some of what He wants us to know...yes I believe miracles are real..

I have two nieces , lets call them sandy & sharon, they have husbands rick & charley, sandy has two children joe & sam & sharon has two children susan & christine..ok all fake names but the names dont matter..

sandy, sharon, rick , charley, joe, sam, susan & christine..the children all under the age of eight...my sister had a cottage in newbrunswick and myself and my family spent many summers enjoying the pleasant time the cottage offered..my sisters husband passed over, so she decided to give the cottage to her two girls..and she moved to nova scotia..the girls spent many many summers also enjoying the cottage..

one weekend, they went to the cottage as usual, they swam, boated, then got ready to barbaque supper for themselves & the children, they used a barbarque that you had to light the coals to get them to burn, and then continued on to cook supper, this was around seven in the evening, they finished, went inside and spent the evening playing board games with the children while the husbands watch tv..

around 11 they went to bed, the cottage had a up stairs loft where sandy & her husband rick slept with the four children..sharon & charley slept downstairs on the mattress on the floor..all was well they fell asleep, about 3:10 in the morning , sandy's cell phone on the table rang, getting up sharon was upset for she didnt know who would be calling this hour of the morning,..she answered the phone and on the end of the line was a voice that was garbled and she tried to get the person on the other end to speak to her to find out just what it was they wanted, she got frustrated and said its three in the morning , goodnight..she then went back to bed...

about 3:45 the phone rang again, she once again got up to answer it, again on the other end was a garbled voice , she tried to make out what they were saying but could not , so she once again hung up..just as she was getting back in bed she look at the front window, that faced the lake, the curtains were pulled but she could see orange ourtside the window..she got up and looked out the window, the whole veranda was on fire, she woke up charley and she ran upstairs woke everyone, and she grabed the four children and told them to hand on, she ran down the stairs put the children in a safe place told them not to move, the others still had not come out of the cottage, she once again ran upstairs and told them there wasnt much time, get out now!! her husband charley ran outside with the children, as sandy & rick ran out the door sharon was behind them, and as she exited the side door on bare feet her feet were burned from the flames coming up from under the deck..

they got outside and the whole cottage was in a blaze, it was only seconds after they got out ..all was in flames, the neighbours called the fire department but by the time they arrived the cottage was gone, for under the cottage was old lumber there for years and the large amount of leaves had gathered there over the years, that is why it burned so quickly...the barbaque had rusted out and the coals set the veranda on fire...

so I must say if it wasnt for that second phone call they would of all died and my sister would have lost her entire family, the phone ringing twice, who was this stranger on the other end, perhaps an angel, we do not know , the second phone call saved all their lives...miracals,, yes they do indeed happen, the angels were surely watching over them that night..amen , and Praise the Lord for saving all of my Families Lives...

IJL:BJ

bygraceiam, thanks for your story.

No doubt both stories will prompt people to ask all kinds of questions, which I welcome--even ones filled with doubt and skepticism. For example, some will ask: How come it seems that God helps some and does not help others?

bygraceiam, how would you answer such a question?

Hello RevKing God bless you...

I am sorry it took so long to get back , I would say that miracles happen in everyones life, some see them and sometimes they dont, I believe God is not a respector of person, He loves us all the same and Equality is one of His Laws the same as free will...

I believe that such miracles as ours seem to stand out more then the ones we see every day in this world, the hard workers of God see miracles every single day, they see addictions cured, healings that seem beyond explanation a new born baby is a miracle I can never understand, a bloodline passed on from us the grandparents, Awesome God We Serve...

And of course RevKing it takes great Faith to receive the Salvation of God and stay firm in this , He can only help us to a certain degree , if we are not open to a God of All Things we cannot believe in what His Works would be or could be...

Humankind cannot comprehend what God has in store for those who Love Him....this includes eternal life, miracles and so much more ...

IJL: Betty Jean..

HAVE I PUBLISHED THIS "MIRACLE STORY" HERE. Any one, if this is a repeat, please let me know.

But here is an update to show that the good affects initiated by the pneuma can last:

Jean has continued doing her yoga and her medipraying--a new word I've concocted suggesting that it is not enough just to asK a god to heal us.

We need to mediate, cogitate,  contemplate  and to listen to what the G0D power in every cell our bodies is saying to us.

Jean has not had to make another emergency trip to the very busy pain clinic. Today, she is out enjoying having lunch with her re-tired teacher friends.

===============================

BTW, awhile ago the Pneuma--the Holy Spirit--guided Jean and I, and others--ONES involved in the FAMILY LIFE FOUNDATION, to make some changes in the tap water we usually use. We distribute products at basic cost to us. We are not i a business as such.

The FLF, a registered charity, is all about total health for families and communities. We are now in the process of finding a way to help people on limited incomes to get products in return for barter--things we, and they, can do for others with involving cash.

If anyone is interested in hearing abot what we did, feel free to get in touch. To avoid spamming I prefer to have you e-mail me of your interest.

revlgk@yahoo.ca

AND NOW TO THE STORY

==========================================

AN ENLIGHTENING TWO HOURS AT A PAIN CLINIC--Experiencing and dealing with Physical, Mental and Spiritual pain
================================================
June 20, 2009--as our earth approached the summer solstice north of the equator--was, for me, a memorable one.

It began as a night filled with a deep, dark water-filled-overcast sky, which was punctuated with heavy showers--the result of a wide-spread thunder and lightening storm in the Toronto area. In the afternoon, I was expected to officiate at an open-air marriage ceremony at a golf club. Jean and I were invited to the reception following.

A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

The night before, my wife and I went to bed with the hope that things would clear up by noon the next day. In addition, we both hoped that the niggling pain in her foot, for which she was being treated with electronic stimulation, would subside enough so that she could enjoy the ceremony and the dinner following, especially the dancing. Jean loves to dance.

Morning came. More rain, accompanied by more pain. To add to the pain my wife had, it seemed that even the elements were conspiring to create problems. In addition to this, Jean told me that she was in terrible physical pain, which was now located, not in her foot, but in her lower back and left leg. She told me that it was so excruciating she could hardly move her leg.

What to do!

I asked myself: WOULD I BE FORCED TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DO THE WEDDING?
========================================================
At that point it looked to me like I was destined to officiate at the rained-on-and-late-afternoon wedding all by myself. Yes, I was free from physical pain, but I began to feel lots of mental and spiritual pain--pain originating in the psyche and pneuma. We argued with one another as to the best way to handle the situation.

I told her that what really bothered me was what I felt was her passive-dependent attitude towards authority figures--doctors and the like. In my opinion, we give too much deference to so-called experts--for example, doctors, lawyers, preachers, bankers and the like--can get us into all kinds of problems, especially if we are afraid to ask questions.

Me?

Not having met or spoken to her doctor, I said: I want to speak, personally, to Dr. Cheng, who operates a pain clinic, and find out what he and his clinic has to offer.

POSITIVE ACTION WAS REWARDED
==============================
After much personal wrangling, back and forth, we decided to make an appointment, as soon as possible, with Dr. Cheng. We phoned and, to my surprise with Jean on the line, I got through to his nurse right away. It was agreed that we could see him at 10:30.

At the consultation again I was pleasantly surprised. He told us that, while his approach to pain is based on the medical model--a somatic approach--he was not adverse to involving the mind (psyche) and the spirit (pneuma).

"Now and then" he said, "for interested patients, I give classes in tai chi--a kind of physical meditation which involves the mind and the spirit."

Then I told him about the classes in pneumatology (study of the spirit), which I gave all the years of my ministry. I said, "I did not just speak about the spirit; I included the mind and the body and I worked openly with doctors and other members of the healing arts." This conversation with Dr. Cheng was most positive one.

At this point, he greed to do acupuncture, plus using an electronic machine, on my wife. He also agreed to have me present and he allowed me chat with him and my wife as he did so. Touching the area of the spine and getting feedback from my wife he found the points where he chose to place the needles. A very efficient nurse assisted with the equipment. I explained to the doctor what I was going to do and got his permission as he went on to tend to other patients.

I BEGAN TO APPLY PNEUMATHERAPY
================================
To Jean I said: "you are already familiar with my use of the colours RED, YELLOW & BLUE.

"Now, do some deep breathing as you visualize RED ... (I gave her time to do so...)

"Now: Think of your heart and lungs, which are directly connected via the nervous system to the veins and arteries, and, in fact, to every cell of your body. They are working together, as you breathe, feeding and healing your whole circulatory system. This process is purifying the venous blood and creating lots of rich, red and warm arterial blood cells which are flowing to all the cells and nerves, calming them and healing them."

I then instructed Jean to do some deep breathing in her own time and let me know when she had finished...

USING THE COLOUR YELLOW, I followed the same process of having Jean do some deep breathing; but this time I said: "Think of your brain and nervous system, which extends to every cell--billions of them--in the whole body. Now do some deep breathing, focusing on the brain and the nervous systems--the central and voluntary system, by which we can consciously control all our voluntary movements. The autonomic or involuntary system--reacts to the way we feel or imagine things to be. You cannot directly control the beat of your heart, but it will beat faster if you see something frightening. The fear can be real, or imagined. You can control your breathing, but it too can be influenced by how you feel, emotionally.

"USING THE COLOUR BLUE, once again using the same process, as above, I told Jean:

"Pay attention to your breathing, but this time think of the spirit-like aura which extends beyond the body. It mediates who you are and how you relate to your family, your friends and community, including strangers.

"Now do some deep breathing focusing on the aura, which vibrates with colour-like vibrations not visible to the naked eye... Let me know when you are finished..."

The overall process, involving periods of silence, took about 25 minutes. When she finished her breathing, I called the nurse. Gently, she removed the needles and turned off the electronic device and told my wife to dress herself.

For the first time that day, Jean moved with relative ease. She was even able to stand, for some time, in line in another building where an X-ray was done. I wanted to know if there was much degeneration in her spine. Dr. Cheng agreed that it would help to check the structure of her lower spine where she had felt the worse pain.

We then went back to the house and she took the time to have lunch and rest. By four o'clock when we went to the wedding, all the pain had gone. This, thank G0D, held true for the rest of the evening.

About the weather: By the time the wedding was over--during which there was a heavy shower--things had calmed down. Because of this, people were able to have a drink and stroll the beautiful area next to the Club House while the couple had their photos taken.

Then the bride and groom, and well over 120 guests, sat down to an excellent dinner, followed by dancing.

It was a very pleasant evening. And the time since has been pain free.

ABOUT MIRACLES--PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL

Keep in mind that, in my opinion, miracles are not just works done by special miracle workers--that is, only by people with special magical powers, people who claim to be capable of doing magical tricks which contradict the laws of nature.

===============

Interestingly, I started this thread on August 6, 2009. Since then I have published two "miracle" stories. I am surprised: How come I am the only one who has posted a "miracle" story.  Surely there are others who have witnessed such stories.

Perhaps it is because:

1. Most people are too shy, or too modest, to talk about such strange things?

2. Surely it is not becase nothing wonderful has ever happened in our lives.

3. Some think of miracles only as things that happened in Bible times.

4. Any other reasons why we avoid talking about mircles?

=================

BTW, I and other writers have investigated, close up, several so-called well-known faith-healing evangelists who have come to the Toronto area. Other than temporary relief from symptoms, there is no concrete evidence that serious illnesses get healed and stay healed.

Have you noticed, even in hospital established by the churches, there are no faith healers on staff.

======================================

THE KIND OF HEALING I AM TALKING ABOUT REQJUIRES THE COOPERATION OF ALL THE HEALING ARTS, INCLUDING NUTRITIONISTS

Be the above as it may, I believe, as long as there is cooperation of all those involved in the healing arts, in miracles: That is, I believe that strange and wonderful things can and do happen which, on the surface, seem to go beyond reason. However,  when we take the time to look at them, in depth, they do not go contrary to reason.

FRANK'S WILL NOT LIVE PAST NOON HOUR

With this in mind, let me tell of that happened in the spring of 1970. I remember it well, because it happened early on a Monday morning. By the way, when I was an active minister, Monday was considered to be the minister's sabbath. That is, unless an emergent situation happened.

THE PHONE RANG

This was an emergency! The phone ran around 7AM. I was up because my plan for the day was to take my twelve year old son out to play his first game of golf at a public course.  Already good at hitting a ball at the driving range, he was excited. Jokingly, I say, I haven't seen him much since.

"Mr. King, this is Florence ... After having visiting Frank, recently, you know how ill he has been. On Saturday he developed an awful pain in his abdomen. I had to take him to the hospital Saturday morning. Peritonitis set in and he has had to have two surgeries and constant care all week-end.  Early this morning I got a call from Intensive Care. The doctors told me that his vital signs are way down and they do not expect him to live much past noon."

Having been a nurse, Florence knew that things were serious. She apologized as she asked: "Would you be able to go to the hospital and pray for Frank before he passes."

Of course I said I would. I told my son: "Come with me. You can wait in the car and read, or listen to the radio, while I visit Frank ... I will take you for golf when I get finished."

When I arrived at the Intensive Care facility, York Central, I was greeted by a Dr. Treesman. He told me. "Frank is in a deep coma."

To me, Frank was motionless and appeared to be at death's door.

"His lungs have collapsed." said the doctor.  "I apologize to. I do have to do an emergency procedure to induce muscular relaxation. I do it with that hope that it will relieve the spasm and enable his lungs to start functioning again. It may restore his breathing. There is no guarantee that it will help bring him to consciousness. If it does, there is no guarantee that he will not be brain-dead. My goal, at this point, is to achieve a drug-induced physical relaxation. I apologize. You may have to leave the room while I do this."

A TRULY OPEN-MINDED SURGEON

When Dr. Treesman mentioned relaxation I was moved to mention to, briefly: "By the way, I have done studies in psychology, and I do know how to use, what I call pneumatherapy--a spiritual kind of hypnosis--one without the hocus pocus. At that point I expected the good doctor to tell me to say a quick prayer and then shoo me out of the room.

I was pleasantly surprised when he said:  "Interesting. I am very curious about hypnotism. It will take me a few minutes to get the gadgetry ready for what I have to do, anyway, so you go ahead. I am curious about how this is done. I will be right here in the room getting things set up."

I was as pleasantly surprised at having this trust from the surgeon. With his permission, I approached Frank, and I spoke to him as follows:

USING NATURE'S PRIMARY COLOURS AS FOCAL POINTS OF SUGGESTION

"Frank, I am your minister, Lindsay ... I will speak to you as if you can hear every word I say. Florence called me earlier and told me what had happened.

You are aware that at church, instead of the traditional prayers, for some time now we have been using a combination of meditation and prayer--[Beginning in 2009, I call it mediprayer] Imagine that you are in church and you are listening to the following: Think of three things that are found in nature,

Of course I said I would. I told my son: "Come with me. You can wait in the car and read, or listen to the radio, while I visit Frank ... I will take you for golf when I get finished."

When I arrived at the Intensive Care facility, York Central, I was greeted by a Dr. Treesman. He told me. "Frank is in a deep coma."

To me, Frank was motionless and appeared to be at death's door.

"His lungs have collapsed." said the doctor. "I apologize to. I do have to do an emergency procedure to induce muscular relaxation. I do it with that hope that it will relieve the spasm and enable his lungs to start functioning again. It may restore his breathing. There is no guarantee that it will help bring him to consciousness. If it does, there is no guarantee that he will not be brain-dead. My goal, at this point, is to achieve a drug-induced physical relaxation. I apologize. You may have to leave the room while I do this."

A TRULY OPEN-MINDED SURGEON

When Dr. Treesman mentioned relaxation I was moved to mention to, briefly: "By the way, I have done studies in psychology, and I do know how to use, what I call pneumatherapy--a spiritual kind of hypnosis--one without the hocus pocus. At that point I expected the good doctor to tell me to say a quick prayer and then shoo me out of the room.

I was pleasantly surprised when he said: "Interesting. I am very curious about hypnotism. It will take me a few minutes to get the gadgetry ready for what I have to do, anyway, so you go ahead. I am curious about how this is done. I will be right here in the room getting things set up."

I was also as pleasantly surprised at having this trust from the surgeon. With his permission, I approached Frank, and I spoke to him as follows:

USING NATURE'S PRIMARY COLOURS (Red, Yellow and Blue) AS FOCAL POINTS OF MY SUGGESTION, I said:

"Frank, I am your minister, Lindsay ... I will speak to you as if you can hear every word I say. Florence, your good wife, called me earlier and told me what had happened.

You are aware that at church, instead of the traditional prayers, for some time now we have been using a combination of meditation and prayer--[Beginning in 2009, I call it meta-prayer]--I told Frank: Imagine that you are in church and you are listening to the following: Think of three things that are found in nature,

BLUE SYMBOLIZES IMAGINATION AND SPIRITUALITY
=========================================
Blue symbolizes you ability to say: I AM, I will, I choose. Now, imagine you are looking at, and breathing in sky blue, and the deep blue of the lakes and oceans.

Now feel yourself as being connected with the blue sky and waters. Blue is the colour of infinity, of eternity--of spirituality, in which we live and move and have our being. Blue is the colour of love--the power to will all that is good to all that is, including Florence, your two teen-age children--all who you love and and who love you, and need you, including your church and those who work for you in your company. We all need you. I will give a moment or two to let this sink in.

YELLOW SYMBOLIZES KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
=========================================
Now think of the Sun. Think of the golden yellow of the Sun, in the blue sky. When the Sun come up it fills our day with light and life. It give us all the information and wisdom we need about the shapes, forms and colours of things which are all around us. It gives us knowledge about our health--physically, mentally and spiritually. Think about this for a moment. Now you can affirm: I think, I know and I understand all that I need to know. Take a moment to let this golden light of the sun fill you minds and flow to every cell of you body.

RED SYMBOLIZES ENERGY, POWER AND THE ABILITY TO ACT
====================================================
Now think of the Earth and the rich red power-filled magma just below the skin of the earth. It is red just like the blood flowing beneath the skin of your body. Think of the way your heart and lungs are working in harmony to produce the oxygen-filled and life-giving red blood cells to every cell of your body. As the good doctor said: When this happens consciousness will be restored. Think about this.

Frank, as you told me not to long ago: You said, that you would not like to live on if it meant that you would be limited to doing so in a vegetative state. At this point, if this is so--if your brain is too damaged to recover--fear not and feel no guilt: You have our permission to go in peace. Pause, think and choose your best option.

However, if your brain, mental and physical health are recoverable, why not relax and take a deep breath ... For a few seconds there was complete silence.

THEN: To the amazement of Dr. Treesman and me, Frank took a deep breath, and in our presence he came to full consciousness. The meta-prayer took about fifteen minutes.

======00000000000======

For now, I will skip the details as to what happened in the next fifteen minutes, or so, following Frank's recovery to consciousness. Maybe I will relate them later--an interesting and amusing mini drama took place between the surgeon, Frank and me.

To shorten the story: At this point, I gave Frank my blessing, said goodbye to the doctor and told Frank--who, by the way, loved golf-- I would be back after the game my son and I had planned. I went back late in the afternoon. Frank was relaxed and on the road to recovery.

The next day he began taking solid nutrients and went on to a full recovery. He even got back to playing golf. That was in 1970. The last time I saw him it was well after I retired (1994). Nearly ten years my senior, I think he died in his late 70's.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

--
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=-3&i...73&l=ebcae3bf23
www.flfcanada.com   www.wondercafe.ca

GOD GETS THINGS DONE

====================

BTW, my interest is in the practical value of GOD-based unitheism, not in promoting the believe-it-or not dogmas which go along with certain narrow kinds of theisms.

JESUS never wrote a book of theology, about telling us what to believe. He didn't write a manual with all kinds of policies as to how to run a church, nor did he write a book of rituals with all kinds of prayers to be recited. He simply lived a life demonstrating to us how to live.

No wonder that James, a brother of Jesus, wrote a letter in which he said: "Faith without works is dead." People need a living faith--a fiduciary faith--not a dead one.

Interestingly, in Latin the word for faith without action is fides. Faith with action is fiducia. It is one thing to say I believe (fides) in education; it is another thing altogether to have the faith (fiducia) to take the time, and do the work, to get an education.

With this is mind, let us take a look at an interesting article by Robert Fulford, a columnist who writes for the National post:
ABOUT THE POEM THEY COULDN'T KILL
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/RobertFulford.html

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The poem they couldn't kill

William Ernest Henley's Invictus remains unbowed

Robert Fulford,  National Post 

 

I nvictus, in which Nelson Mandela brings unity to South Africa through the 1995 Rugby World Cup, astonishes movie audiences in several ways.

 

There's Morgan Freeman as Mandela, for instance: After five minutes I was so caught up in his performance that I subconsciously accepted that I was watching Mandela himself and was startled, late in the film, by a shot of the real Mandela looking unconvincingly like Freeman. Then there's the weird assumption, by the director, Clint Eastwood, that people will enjoy watching many rugby scrums without understanding what's happening and why. Audiences, beyond rugby-infatuated regions of the world, react with ennui, for which they can't be blamed.

 

But what I find truly startling is that the real star of the film, and its title, is of all things a 135-year-old verse, in a style that's supposed to have been out of date for generations. Invictus is a 16-line inspirational poem by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), a Victorian Englishman now known for little else.

 

An editor of literary magazines as well as a poet, Henley suffered from tuberculosis of the bone, beginning at age 12. The disease progressed to the point where doctors had to amputate one leg below the knee. Henley survived and led an active life till his death at age 53, though he was never free of illness.

 

Reflecting in hospital on the pain of the operation and the loss of his leg, Henley set down a poetic display of stoicism and defiance. He described himself as "bloody, but unbowed," inserting a phrase into modern English. Using the word "strait" to mean narrow and confining, he closed with these four lines:

 

"It matters not how strait the gate

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

 

The poem was untitled when Henley put it in a book of his own, but when Arthur Quiller-Couch included it the 1900 edition of The Oxford Book of English Verse, he named it Invictus (Latin for invincible or unconquered). It then moved from anthology to anthology and lodged in a multitude of brains, Nelson Mandela's among them. He found it a source of consolation during his years in prison and (so the movie version tells us) he drew it out again to stir Matt Damon and the South African rugby team. We hear it several times at climactic moments.

 

This is the best movie part given to a poem since Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), in which Matthew (John Hannah) pays tribute to his dead lover, Gareth (Simon Callow) by reciting W.H. Auden's Stop the Clocks.

 

Matthew remembers Gareth as a big-hearted, jolly bugger and describes Auden as "another splendid bugger" before beautifully quoting his lines: "He was my North, my South, my East, and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong."

 

Invictus has a long history of involvement with eminent figures in modern history. Winston Churchill quoted it and so did Martin Luther King Jr. In youth, Senator John Mc-Cain committed it to memory. Last month, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that after he watched the film, the poem inspired him to defeat the attempt by members of his party to replace him. There have also been ugly moments for Invictus. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, chose it to represent his views to the world just before his execution in 2001.

 

In popular culture it's had a long run. Ronald Reagan's best film, Kings Row (1942), in which his character's legs are amputated, uses Invictus as a message: We must not be defeated, no matter how things turn against us (Reagan's character isn't). At the end the Henley words are sung, to music by the romantic composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Dore Schary's play Sunrise at Campobello (1958), about Franklin Roosevelt's triumph over crippling polio, says Invictus was a favourite of Roosevelt's. Roosevelt's.TVscriptwriters have used it in shows ranging from Beauty and the Beast to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The same week I saw the film I turned on The Big Bang Theory and watched Sheldon, the self-adoring but frightened physicist, barricade his bedroom against imaginary intruders. When he realizes he needs to urinate he tries to convince himself otherwise: "I am the captain of my bladder."

 

William Ernest Henley's life intersected in sometimes bizarre ways with several of the remarkable figures of his time. As an editor of the National Observer, he published Rudyard

 

Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads. As a father he had the melancholy experience of seeing his daughter, Margaret Emma, who died at age five, make a shadowy appearance in a children's classic. In infancy Margaret came to know J.M. Barrie, Henley's friend. She had trouble pronouncing the word "friend" and her way of saying "fwendy-wendy" fascinated Barrie. For Peter Pan he invented the name Wendy, which has since attached itself to millions of girls.

 

As a patient, Henley turned for help to no less a doctor than Joseph Lister, the surgeon who developed antiseptic surgery and whose name persists on Listerine products. He managed to save Henley's other leg, when some doctors believed it also needed to be amputated. That made it possible for Henley to walk with relative ease, using a crutch, for his last 30 years.

 

Was he unconquerable? He gave every sign of a jovial good nature. An acquaintance called him a fellow of fire and vitality, "a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch."

 

One friend who was fascinated by his style was Robert Louis Stevenson. In a letter to Henley after the publication of Treasure Island, Stevenson wrote: "I will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver."

 

Since Victorian times, literary critics have rarely given Invictus much more than the time of day. It seems obvious in its rhyming, jangly in its structure, sentimental in its content. Even so, readers insist on rediscovering it, generation after generation. Auden said once that there are many unjustly forgotten books but no unjustly remembered ones. A book lasts only if it carries honest meaning for readers. The same goes for poems.

 

© 2010 The National Post Company.

========================================

Reading Robert Fulford's column (February 2) The poem they couldn't kill--about William Ernest Henley's famous poem Invictus (Latin for invincible, unconquerable)--reminded me that, despite the critics, I have used this poem, in sermons and talks to groups needing inspiration, many of times over the years.

The poem is about GOD as faith, hope, love + all the healing virtues. One does not have to believe in a supernatural god, or God, to benefit from GOD-based miracles. The following is an example.

In addition to the poem I always told the story of William Henley's personal courage and joyful nature, in the face of the dreadful disease, tuberculosis--which, by the way, took several members of my own family. I told this story to encourage all of us to help heal ourselves by choosing to have a joyful and strong spirit.

Having lost one leg to a TB infection in his leg bones, he faced the possible loss of the other leg. Despite having to face a long period of illness filled with pain and dread, he chose to be filled with a healing kind of hope. Though an editor and not a polished poet, this hope inspired him to write sixteen lines, which later became the one poem that made him famous, and helped him meet other famous people.

In my opinion, all the National Post readers would enjoy hearing William Henley's words: "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul." Then he added: "In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance my head is bloodied and unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears, looms but the Horror of the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

By the way, I think a kind of miracle happened. However it came about, William was able to get the attention of the famous Dr. Joseph Lister--the doctor who developed antiseptic surgery. Dr. Lister's treatment--and I would add his own joyful and healing attitude towards life--enabled William Henley to recover and, with the help of a crutch, he walked upright the rest of his fruitful life.

EVERY DAY, FACE BOOK ASKS ME: WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

HERE IS WHAT I ANSWERED, TODAY

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Questions about the media: How many of you read, or even have time to read--one of the privileges of being retired--a morning paper? What about radio? TV? Your PC Web News?

If so, which one? What does it mean to you? News? Editorials? Columns? Which columnists? If you don't read a paper, where do you get THE News? What is THE News, anyway? How important is it, and how much of it corresponds the THE Truth? What is TRUTH?

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For seven years, when I was an active minister, I wrote a weekly column--PARSON TO PERSON--for a North Toronto Paper. I got a fair amount of positive feed back, but I didn't realize how important this column was until one day a young man--a university student, as I recall--phoned and asked to see me.

When the young man entered my office, even before I even had the time to ask him: Why have you come?" Out of his pocket he pulled a copy of a recent column I had written as part of a series on the nature of sin.

Dramatically, he placed it on my desk. I braced myself expecting to receive some kind of rebuke.

Instead, to my surprise, and with tears in his eyes, he said: "Reading this column stopped me from killing myself." 

Looking at the column, closely, I noticed that it was about my interpretation of the so-called "unforgivable sin"--"The sin against the Holy Spirit" as Jesus called it (Mark 3:29; Matthew 12:22 and Luke 11:14.)

My interpretation? It has nothing to do with any particular sin; it has to do with our attitude towards life itself and how we practice the Golden Rule. We will reap what we sow--negatively, or positively. Buddhism calls it the law of Karma--of action, which can be positive or negative.

It ought to obvious to us that spiritually-sensitive and loving people, people with a positive and loving mental attitude, will never offend the spirit of GOD, as love, within themselves.

So many very sensitive people who happen to be Christians read this passage and they imagine all kinds of bad things, especially if they happen to have certain sexual hang ups and happen to be members of a church with priests or ministers who lack the ability to listen and to counsel effectively.

With this in mind, over the next while I listened and we chatted. It was, in my opinion, a very productive session. Following this, he wrote a letter--which I still have in my Testemonial File--on how this column had benefitted him.

The fact that it prevented him from acting rashly, and killing himself, was good enough evidence for me to agree: The media, when used positively, can have a positive value.

TALK ABOUT A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE
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I am amazed, not only at the content, but  at how this film below was made. Somehow, it seems to me, it must have been set up. But, be that as it may, it looks like God--if there is such "a" being--was, at this time, rooting for the bear.

"Later" God said, "I will let the cougar snack on a rabbit, or two." Such is nature as designed by "god".
 

NOW CHECK OUT

"Cougar vs. Bear" on Flixxy.com

To watch this video go to:

http://www.flixxy.com/bear-animal-nature-film.htm?r=0
 

==============
MORE ABOUT MIRACLES
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Let me be clear: I do not believe in a "god" who is one who suspends the laws of nature--one who does certain miracles for a certain chosen few, just because they happen to belong to the "right" kind of religion and who say the "right" kind of rituals and prayers at the right shrine and at the "right" time.
 

Be this as it may, take note that an organized-doctrinaire-politicized-and-ritualized kind of religion holds no attraction to me. Of course I accept that there is such a thing as a healthy religion--rare though it might be--but I am not a religionist.
 

In addition to the above--though more than once, over my 80 years, I have survived several near-death experiences, including several near-fatal accidents--I make no claim that a god blessed and helped me and, at the same time, arbitrarily, refused to do so for others.
 

BTW, as a minister, over the years I have witnessed the suffering, pain and deaths--and officiated at their funerals--of numerous people.
 

Long before I became a minister, and even as child, I witnessed the death of many people (before and during World War 2--including several close members of my own family.)  Despite this, I have never claimed--nor would I now claim--that a god, the one believers call God, intervened, saved me, and gave me a special blessing. 
 

However, I do acknowledge that good and marvelous things--some even of the trivial kind, like the finding of lost items--did and do happen. And they happen, not just to, and for,  a chosen few, but to anyone of us willing to put ourselves into the flow things, or, as some call it, nature.
 

Me? I like to call it the GOD-like flow of nature. May I remind you that I think of GOD as total Consciousness and Being--that is, total Awareness. And, in my experience, such miracles--serious and trivial--seem to happen more frequently than the laws of chance allow.
 

I realize that the following story is simply about finding lost items, but I tell it simply to illustrate a principle.
 

FINDING THE SAME RING, TWICE
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I once lost a rather valuable ring, twice. I first lost it because it was a bit too large for my finger. It slipped off my finger when I was raking some leaves in my front yard--a fairly large area.
 

Later, after a time of using visualization--and what I now call "meta-prayer", I felt that it was somewhere in the front yard, but a relatively long search produced nothing. I concluded that I could have stepped on it, or that I had thrown it away with the leaves I had stuffed in bags, which by then were well on their way to the city compost area.
 

A week later, again after I took the time of visualize and to meta-pray, something, within me, told me to go and get the lawn rake. With the rake in hand, I walked across the lawn.
 

As I moved in a straight line towards the large maple tree, from which the leaves fell, I moved the rake back and forth. Within a few feet of the tree, and in rather tall grass, the ring came up on one of the tines--or is it prongs?--of the rake. Foolishly, without getting the ring sized to fit my finger, I put it back on my finger near my wedding ring, which fits well.
 

Weeks later, I lost the same ring again. However, this time I had no idea where I had lost it.
 

I asked myself: "What am I to learn from this? Am I to learn that visualization plus meta-praying is a real power?

After I did so, once again, I received a strong feeling: This time, I felt that the ring was still somewhere on my property, but at the back. not front. With the same rake in hand, which I had used before, I was moved to go to the patio in my back yard area.
 

There, I stood and held the idea in my mind--that is, I visualized--that I would be directed to the location of the lost ring. With the rake in hand, I turned around and around, several times, and stopped. Then I said to myself: "I will open my eyes, and begin to move in the direction I see."  I moved in the direction indicated--towards the back fence and just left of contre.
 

As I moved in that direction, I searched the ground--as I had done before, in the front yard--with the rake. When I got to within three feet of the back fence--where I had been digging earlier, and planned to do some planting ... I found nothing. No ring appeared on any of the prongs!
 

I was just about to give up, and call it a failed experiment, when I looked down and noticed a clump of soil where I had been digging a few days before. I kicked over the clump of soil, which I noticed, and there beneath it was my ring.
 

This time. I took the ring, fixed the problem I had had with it and placed it safely on my finger. Just this minute, I looked at it. It is still where it had been for years, and safely so.
 

Later, I told this story in a sermon. Following church, an elderly member of my church asked me: "Do you think that I could use the same method to find a box of valuables which I have lost?" I encouraged her to do so and gave her simple instructions in visualizing.
 

The following Sunday. She was all smiles: "It worked!" she said, and then gave me the details of how it had been misplaced. 

In the spring of 1996 I was 66. Because I suspected I had colon problems, I had minor surgery, including removal of a hemorrhoid, examanation of the colon, removal of a polyp and a biopsy. Cancer was found in the colon. Major surgery was prescribed for the early fall.

With the approval of my surgeon, I did the following: I took the summer to relax and recover from the minor surgery. By my daughter--a registered message therapist--I was helped, with massage. She and a friend also encouraged me to eat a diet designed to cleanse the colon. This included adding lots of herbs and enzymes to my diet. Naturally, I also used pneumatherapy on myself, especially the use of the colours blue, yellow and red.

As instructed, in the early fall I went to see the surgeon, again. He did a thorough re-examanation of my colon.

The good news was: He was amazed that my colon was clean. There was no need for me to have major colon-surgery--for cancer. Not long ago, I got the same good news from a colon clinic where I went for the usual colonoscopy.

For some time now, I have had similar positive results with prostate cancer.

MIRACLES

Wikipedia defines a miracle as an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention. Sometimes an event is also attributed (in part) to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what people perceive as miracles. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well.

A miracle is often considered a fortuitous event often described as an act of God.

Me?

PLEASE, DO NOT GET ME WRONG!

Being raised in a good family family that believed there is a loving Heavenly Father, God, who created and who takes care of us, I loved the idea. And  when my father and mother looked after me--the seventh child of a family of 8 (5 boys and 3 girls)--and all my needs, I took it for granted that this is the way it is supposed to be: God is in his heaven. All is unfolding as it ought to unfold, and he will love and protect all who believe in and trust in Him.

However, when I got to be old enough to look around and see what was really going on, I began to realize that life does not always unfold the way we think it should.

This became abundantly clear when, in 1935, mother, then only 50, died of TB. Prior to this, in 1932--when I was too young to take in what was happening--so did my oldest brother, oldest sister, her husband and their two baby girls. In 1935, my younger sister was four and I was five and a half. But we were fortunate in that we did have caring older brothers and sisters who helped all of us deal with the crisis. Despite the Great Depression, thanks, ironically, to the German demand for the iron ore mined on Bell Island--  www.bellisland.net  --there was some part-time employment for miners like the Kings. It was only much later that we became aware that Germany was preparing for the war that began in 1939.

Sure it would be nice to have a loving and all powerful miracle-working God ready and willing to listen to and respond to all our prayer requests. But  it began to dawn on me that there was something not quite right with this traditional idea of god. By the time I reached high school, just as the war was coming to a close--1944-1945--I almost became and atheist.

Just after the war ended I began to prepare for university. In the fall, winter, spring and summer of 1946-1947--just before I went to university--with the help of my next-oldest brother, Ern, I took a correspondence course called Mentalphysics, by Edwin Dingle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Dingle

Home page of ED:

http://www.mentalphysics.net/

Looking back, I now realize that this later led me to focus on psychology and philosophy when I got to university  www.mta.ca

GOD IN, THOUGH, AROUND AND BEYOND ALL THAT IS

Eventually, it dawned on me: Perhaps there is a better way, than the traditional theist-way of thinking about the god idea.

Instead of thinking of god as a supernatural being up, or even out, there--one who intervenes in individual lives and in human history in ways which contravenes our physical, mental and spiritual laws of nature--why not  focus on what it means to be truly humane, physical, mental and spiritual beings. I  decided to focus on god in, through, around and beyond all that is. This led me to  pneumatology--the study of the spirit--the archaic word for psychology.

All of the above led me to ask the question: What is the practical value of pneumatology?

PNEUMATHERAPY--FIRST HEAL YOUR OWN SPIRIT

I repeat: Pneumatology led me to use pneumatherapy--hypnosis without the hocus pocus--on myself, my family and then others. As a result, over the years, to large groups and to individuals I said: Look within yourselves, physically, mentally and spiritually. There you will find tremendous reservoirs of healing power. Even medical science, today, is talking about triggering the bodies own physical immune system.

To this I always add: Don't forget your mental and spiritual reservoirs.

=========================

AS A PARTICULAR EXAMPLE OF THE ABOVE, THE FOLLOWING HAPPENED FRIDAY JULY 30

Earlier in the Spring of this year, my wife and I had booked a flight from Toronto to Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland's second largest city. We planned to visit family and friends, from August 2 to August 16.

Several days prior our departure my wife developed painful symptoms, which brought us to the brink of cancelling the trip. Visits to our family doctor and to a specialist brought prescriptions, but no relief of symptoms.

On Friday evening, July 30--three days before our departure--the symptoms--focussed in the abdomen, just below the heart, were all over the body. They became so severe she went prone and could hardly move. Having had a heart attack in 2001, she feared she was having another.

Friday evening , July 30.

Just to try and give her some relief until we could get to the local hospital emergency, with her cooperation, I used pneumatherapy. I got her to breathe deeply and to focus on the three primary colours. To her I said:

Think Blue, Yellow and Red as I guide you:

1. BLUE--Breathe in and visualize the colour blue. It will guide you to engage your internal, the primary, the spiritual-immune system we all have. [This took a minute, or two, or three. The same was true for all processes.]

2. YELLOW--Breathe deeply. This will help you turn on your mental resources--and lead you to the things you know and need to know.

3. RED--As you breathe deeply, think of your heart and lungs working efficiently. This will guide you to engage your physical immune system. Every cell of you immune system is doing what it is designed to do and helping you have the good rest you need.

At this point I fully expected that we would need to take off for the emergency centre, immediately. However, instead she elected to rest at home. The result was that she had a complete night's rest.

====================================

The next day--to find out if she had had a heart attack--I took Jean to the local emergency.

EMERGENCY WAS A REAL TEST OF ENDURANCE

By the way, this period in an emergency was a REAL test. To begin with, the place was so cold--even for me. Clients began to demand blankets. Later, a doctor agreed with me: THIS CENTRE IS TOO COLD!!! [To myself I said: Then why did you not notice and do something about it?]

The result at the end of the day was:

Jean did NOT have a heart attack. A doctor told me: "We do not know what caused your wife's symptoms. Whatever things caused them, have now passed. It should be OK for you to travel."

As it turned out: THANK GOD, WE HAD A GREAT VISIT!!!

Pmeumatology. About the meaning of the word:

http://www.google.ca/search?aq=2&oq=pneumatology&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=pneumatology+definition

One definition even covers how the word is used in physical medicine. Pneumatology: a science dealing with the medical uses of air and gases.

Another by the way, being a Golden-Rule kind of Christian, I like helping people, including myself, deal with pain, including pains in the body, mind or spirit.

PNEUMATOLOGY,  PNEUMATHERAPY AND HEALTH
=========================================
For example, Over the years, in my talks on pneumatology, I always talk about, and demonstrate with volunteers, how pneumatherapy is done.

That is, pneumatology is about teachings students--a term I prefer to use rather than client, or patient--how to do, what I call pneumatherapy--on themselves.

PNEUMATHERAPY AND SELF-HYPNOSIS
================================
This is a faith-based and a hocus-pocus-free kind of self-hypnosis. It is like that advocated by the great Dr. Milton Erickson, who did very interesting work. The same is true of Dr. Malwell Maltz. I met Dr. Maltz and interviewed him for an article I was writing, in Toronto. This was in the mid-nineteen seventies.

Maltz wrote the famous book, PSYCHO-CYBERNETICS. There are lots of references to the role played by religion and psychology in it. Basically, it is on the art of self-image psychology. IMO, pneuma and the self are one and the same.

It is important to note that, anyone with an imagination can be taught how to do pneumatherapy, in a few minutes. Naturally, it takes motivation and practice do it well and to benefit from it, but the results are well worth it, I found.

Me? I have used it, often--even on myself. Jokingly I say: Like advocates of TM, I have learned to use it to "transcend dental medication". What a pleasure it is to have teeth cleaned without too much pain. And, if a filling is needed, what an added pleasure it is to come home from the dentist without biting the tongue, or cheek.

Of course, in the pneumatology classes students are always taught how to use it themselves and how to help others to use it on themselves. This is what is happening at the recent classes being held at 

http://www.thornhillunitedchurch.ca/home?msg=missing&rnd=6280fe84&DD=24&MM=11&YYYY=2010   And now:

THE STORY OF THE WISE WIFE WHO SAVED HER HUSBAND'S LIFE BY BRINGING HIM TO CLASSES ON PNEUMATOLOGY

One of the many students I have had over the years was brought to one of the pneumatolgy classes at http://www.willowdaleunited.com  (the one I served for 28 years) (1966-1994)--by his wife.

Later when I got to know her, she told me that, "George is so terrified--he's paranoid--of dentists that he has allowed his teeth to decay, badly. She went on, "He has allowed his bad teeth to destroy his physical and mental health. He has a paranoid fear of dentists. He claims that the voices he hears going on is his mind are the result of dentistry he had had several years back. "

In the interview with him and his wife, after one of many series of classes--from 1964-1994--he, with a serious look on his face, told me: "A dentist planted a miniature radio in one of my back teeth. That's where the voices are coming from...." I simply listened and let him tell me the full story. For him it was the truth. I accepted it as such. Then I offered to help him deal with the problem and asked him, "Will you let me help?" With his wife present, he felt safe and he answered: "OK!"

To make a long story short: Free of charge and with his wife present, I did a half-hour pneumatherapy session with him.

The results? Later, his wife told me, by phone, and in a letter of appreciation, which I still have in my file: "Several days ago, George--all on his own--made an appointment with the dentist that I usually see. The voices left immediately after his first session with the dentist ... Obviously, the poisons from his infected teeth had affected his mind, when this was treated, the voices left him ... It looks like his general health is on the mend ... Thanks for the much-appreciated help. It saved his life."
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