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       #Post#: 2069--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 26, 2015, 11:37 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Kerry, to my understanding the rain was an undeniable and
       physical fact--some sources refer to the "incessant" rain that
       fell prior to the phenomena of what is often referred to as the
       "dancing of the sun."   Critics have, of course, claimed the
       sun-phenomena to be caused by retinol effects produced by
       staring into the light too long, yet there remains no
       explanation for the suddenly dry clothing and ground.  Engineers
       studying the case actually stated that an incredible amount of
       energy would have been needed to dry the large pools of water
       that had formed in the field (from the incessant rain) within
       only the ten minutes of the event.
       Some 70,000 people had gathered awaiting the miracle Mary
       promised "so that all may believe".  People claim the sun could
       be looked upon with no pain to the eyes.
       The three children who over the course of the apparitions were
       given the "Three Secrets of Fatima" said they saw a panorama of
       visions during the event.  The dancing of the sun is said to
       have been seen by "most" of the crowd, as well as some people
       miles away.  One account was of a man who witnessed the sun
       phenomena from his veranda, although he had forgotten the date
       predicted for the miracle to occur by the children.
       Here is one witness account:
       --- Quote ---
       > "As if like a bolt from the blue, the clouds were wrenched
       apart, and the sun at its zenith appeared in all its splendor.
       It began to revolve vertiginously on its axis, like the most
       magnificent firewheel that could be imagined, taking on all the
       colors of the rainbow and sending forth multicolored flashes of
       light, producing the most astounding effect. This sublime and
       incomparable spectacle, which was repeated three distinct times,
       lasted for about ten minutes. The immense multitude, overcome by
       the evidence of such a tremendous prodigy, threw themselves on
       their knees." ― Dr. Manuel Formigão, a professor at the
       seminary at Santarém, and a priest. He had attended the
       September visitation, and examined and questioned the children
       in detail several times.
       --- End Quote ---
       #Post#: 2070--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 27, 2015, 12:11 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I wish my cat would've been in the room when I saw the black
       shadowy thing that crept toward me like a spider moves, in
       starts and stops.  It was about the size of a volleyball, and
       disappeared when I switched on the brighter lamp.  I wonder if
       my cat would have seen it.
       Remember my lucid dream where I was outdoors at night and I
       floated up to the second story window and my cat was there, on
       the outside ledge, tail waving, not acting at all surprised to
       see me?  LOL. What is it with cats?
       I remember how pretty the light was from the yard lamp down
       below, shining up onto the underside of the canopy of leaves.
       Magical.  I touched the leaves and -- sounds very silly-- but I
       felt such love for them.  I am a tree-hugger, though, and there
       was my tree, with me in my dream.  Or perhaps I'd gone out to be
       with it. Sometimes now I stand beneath that tree and stretch out
       my arm, wishing I could float up there again, but . . . only in
       my dreams.  For now.
       #Post#: 2071--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 27, 2015, 12:38 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       You said you talked to the wind and it answered you?  How did it
       answer?  For that matter, what did you ask it?
       I love those little dust devils that stir up on a perfectly calm
       day with no wind.  What is that all about?  I love to dash over
       and leap into the middle them. ;D
       When he was little, I told my grandson about Jesus calming the
       storm, and next windy day he was out in his backyard yelling,
       "Jesus!  Stop the wind!"  My daughter was embarrased the
       neighbors might hear him.  Ha!
       Early, early yesterday morning, while it was still dark, before
       dawn, I knelt at my open window which looks out over these
       massive bushes, right into the maple trees, and everything was
       gently lit by the yard lamps, horses still lazy across the way,
       and all the robins and other birds were singing in the dark.  No
       wind, just absolute peace.  And hundreds of birds.  In the dark!
       Would be a travesty to sleep through it.  Moment outside of
       time.  I wanted to be a bird and join in!  :)
       #Post#: 2072--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: A nonny mouse
       Date: May 27, 2015, 12:47 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I'm not quite sure why I'm writing other than to fill in time
       whilst waiting for Christine to wake up and for another
       uneventful day to begin.
       My thoughts are constantly absorbed by wondering about the
       spiritual realm and I am aware that doing so is gradually
       leading me further and further into uncertainty.
       On Sunday the newish local Methodist minister organised an
       interdenominational 'Pentecost Party' in the form of a 'songs of
       Praise' service with free 'nosh', and held in their town centre
       memorial gardens.
       It was the first time that I had experienced her leadership and
       I was drawn to her 'social' enthusiasm but smiled wryly at her
       'hyping up' of the spiritual side of things with constant 'amen,
       praise the Lord, and alleluia' interspersions.
       She's not a 'tongues' supporter but I was struck by the
       similarity to 'tongues' leaders who likewise 'hype' repetitively
       until they get their congregation to break into tongues.
       And then by contrast the local Vicar contributed the
       standardised CoE rhetoric and I thought "where on earth do I
       stand in all this?"
       And then I read Nancy’s words:-
       --- Quote from: Piper link ---
       >
       > [size=12pt]Mike, narrow it down to love God, love your
       neighbor, God's law written on your heart, and Jesus as the
       promised Messiah and Savior.  The rest is all ideas and details.
       >
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       That sounded good until I thought further on Nancy’s earlier
       words:-
       “Quote Piper:  What mere man, instead of an earthly father, has
       God as His Father; what mere man is borne of a Virgin?!”
       And that set me thinking about the fact that many other ancient
       religions also proclaim the ‘virgin’ birth of their central
       ‘divinity’.
       So now here I am stepping yet further back from my once held
       faith, and wondering if there might not be an infinite variety
       of temporary ‘faiths’ that enable man to get as close as he can
       to God until God finally ushers in a new age of reunion between
       himself and his creation.
       Go back to sleep, Mike……or better still go and make Christine
       her ‘wake up’ mug of coffee so that the day’s uneventfulness can
       begin and I can stop “wondering about the spiritual realm”.
       #Post#: 2073--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 27, 2015, 1:28 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Mike, hon,
       How's come you can paint the magic, but you have such trouble
       believin' it?  :-*
       You believe I exist, though all I am is words on paper.  Sort
       of.   ;)
       #Post#: 2075--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: A nonny mouse
       Date: May 27, 2015, 1:54 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Piper link ---
       >
       > Mike, hon,
       >
       > How's come you can paint the magic, but you have such trouble
       believin' it?  :-*
       >
       > You believe I exist, though all I am is words on paper.  Sort
       of.   ;)
       >
       >
       >
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       It's only a case of the 'magic' changing and becoming more
       universally applicable.
       It's still magic (at least to the degree that it ever was).
       #Post#: 2076--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Kerry
       Date: May 27, 2015, 5:32 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Piper link ---
       >
       > Kerry, to my understanding the rain was an undeniable and
       physical fact--some sources refer to the "incessant" rain that
       fell prior to the phenomena of what is often referred to as the
       "dancing of the sun."
       --- End Quote ---
       I'd say people were convinced it was a physical fact; but if it
       was, how can we explain why some people didn't see it?
       --- Quote ---
       >
       > Critics have, of course, claimed the sun-phenomena to be
       caused by retinol effects produced by staring into the light too
       long, yet there remains no explanation for the suddenly dry
       clothing and ground.  Engineers studying the case actually
       stated that an incredible amount of energy would have been
       needed to dry the large pools of water that had formed in the
       field (from the incessant rain) within only the ten minutes of
       the event.
       >
       > Some 70,000 people had gathered awaiting the miracle Mary
       promised "so that all may believe".  People claim the sun could
       be looked upon with no pain to the eyes.
       >
       > The three children who over the course of the apparitions were
       given the "Three Secrets of Fatima" said they saw a panorama of
       visions during the event.  The dancing of the sun is said to
       have been seen by "most" of the crowd, as well as some people
       miles away.  One account was of a man who witnessed the sun
       phenomena from his veranda, although he had forgotten the date
       predicted for the miracle to occur by the children.
       --- End Quote ---
       The sun poses a bigger problem.  If the physical sun danced, why
       didn't everyone in that part of the world where it was daytime
       see it?
       --- Quote ---
       > Here is one witness account:
       >
       > [quote]"As if like a bolt from the blue, the clouds were
       wrenched apart, and the sun at its zenith appeared in all its
       splendor. It began to revolve vertiginously on its axis, like
       the most magnificent firewheel that could be imagined, taking on
       all the colors of the rainbow and sending forth multicolored
       flashes of light, producing the most astounding effect. This
       sublime and incomparable spectacle, which was repeated three
       distinct times, lasted for about ten minutes. The immense
       multitude, overcome by the evidence of such a tremendous
       prodigy, threw themselves on their knees." ― Dr. Manuel
       Formigão, a professor at the seminary at Santarém, and a priest.
       He had attended the September visitation, and examined and
       questioned the children in detail several times.
       --- End Quote ---
       [/quote]
       I have seen a star like that -- the only difference being that
       the star I saw was putting off sparks that were  blue and white
       that created what looked like streaks of light.
       The Magi also saw a spiritual star.  That couldn't have been a
       star in the physical sky since Herod couldn't see it.  The way
       it moved also tells us it wasn't a physical star.   I'd say that
       was a manifestation of Jesus himself -- the Star that was
       prophesied to rise out of Jacob.   Almost everyone loses their
       connection to their star -- each person is a star -- but the
       connection gets broken.  Jesus' was not  broken   until the
       Crucifixion when the "sun went dark".
       The star can be  huge. The part that gets "born" on the earth is
       tiny like a grain of sand.    It can also "die" in a certain way
       like a seed dying.   A star can send out new sparks that act as
       seeds.   I'd say that was what Mary was doing then -- sowing the
       seeds of immortality.
       Had a Pope consecrated Mother Russia to her, I believe she would
       have empowered to sow the seeds of immortality there too.
       Something is still seriously wrong spiritually with Russia.
       #Post#: 2077--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Kerry
       Date: May 27, 2015, 6:15 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Piper link ---
       >
       > I wish my cat would've been in the room when I saw the black
       shadowy thing that crept toward me like a spider moves, in
       starts and stops.  It was about the size of a volleyball, and
       disappeared when I switched on the brighter lamp.  I wonder if
       my cat would have seen it.
       --- End Quote ---
       It would have been interesting.  Then too, perhaps the thing
       wouldn't have come around if the cat was around.
       I told Milhaus at the time that if he saw something like that
       again, he could "eat it."    He looked up into the air and acted
       like he was catching something.   I said, "It's not there now,
       but yes you can catch it and eat it if you see it again."  He
       could have too -- and it wouldn't have hurt him.
       --- Quote ---
       > Remember my lucid dream where I was outdoors at night and I
       floated up to the second story window and my cat was there, on
       the outside ledge, tail waving, not acting at all surprised to
       see me?  LOL. What is it with cats?
       --- End Quote ---
       Cats are more used to such things although the cats I have now
       seldom seem to see anything.  Maybe that's a good thing?
       --- Quote ---
       > I remember how pretty the light was from the yard lamp down
       below, shining up onto the underside of the canopy of leaves.
       Magical.  I touched the leaves and -- sounds very silly-- but I
       felt such love for them.  I am a tree-hugger, though, and there
       was my tree, with me in my dream.  Or perhaps I'd gone out to be
       with it. Sometimes now I stand beneath that tree and stretch out
       my arm, wishing I could float up there again, but . . . only in
       my dreams.  For now.
       --- End Quote ---
       Physical bodies are a drag if you ask me.
       --- Quote from: Piper link ---
       >
       > You said you talked to the wind and it answered you?  How did
       it answer?  For that matter, what did you ask it?
       --- End Quote ---
       I felt a strange breeze coming into my car and thought I sensed
       something.  I wasn't driving but getting ready to take off.  I
       asked if there was anyone there who wanted to talk to me.   My
       answer was a small puff of windi in the middle of my face.
       That was all there was to that but then I drove along a bit and
       suddenly saw a magnificent double rainbow.  And a pregnant woman
       I'd never seen before.  We got into a very pleasant conversation
       -- almost as if we had known each other for ages.
       The wind got my attention and got my mind in the right frame of
       mind.   What I discovered was that her child would be a holy
       child -- no, I didn't tell her that.  I was to pray for her
       child's protection.  I never met her again and I know nothing
       about the child.
       I also experimented for a while with hurricanes;  and once was
       out of the body.  I met an afflicted elemental -- angry because
       of all the angry energy it had met up with in Africa.   It was
       on its way of becoming a hurricane.   We chatted and I told it
       to go to Lake Louise in Canada.   It did. Later I tried to find
       it but couldn't.  It must have moved on.
       I started experimenting with hurricanes when I saw New Orleans
       being hit by one.  I had a friend living there and asked him to
       move because I said I saw the town being hit by a hurricane.  He
       said he wasn't moving that year but would be the next.   What
       could I do then?   I prayed -- I watched the photos of the
       weather over the Atlantic, and if a storm started to take shape,
       I'd pray about it.    I think maybe I messed up some scientific
       models -- I read later when a scientist said it was a waste of
       time trying to predict how many hurricanes there would be.
       The next year I didn't pray and New Orleans got hit.
       The problems begin over Africa.  Dark thoughts like a cloud of
       locusts drift west -- yes, what I saw  looked like bugs.    All
       the angry nasty thoughts cross Africa and then start creating
       whirlwinds in the Atlantic.   To make matters worse, the voodoo
       people in Haiti and New Orleans were adding to the negative
       energy.
       --- Quote ---
       > I love those little dust devils that stir up on a perfectly
       calm day with no wind.  What is that all about?  I love to dash
       over and leap into the middle them. ;D
       --- End Quote ---
       Some friendly elemental having some fun and maybe trying to get
       your attention.  Try saying hi.
       --- Quote ---
       > When he was little, I told my grandson about Jesus calming the
       storm, and next windy day he was out in his backyard yelling,
       "Jesus!  Stop the wind!"  My daughter was embarrased the
       neighbors might hear him.  Ha!
       >
       > Early, early yesterday morning, while it was still dark,
       before dawn, I knelt at my open window which looks out over
       these massive bushes, right into the maple trees, and everything
       was gently lit by the yard lamps, horses still lazy across the
       way, and all the robins and other birds were singing in the
       dark.  No wind, just absolute peace.  And hundreds of birds.  In
       the dark!  Would be a travesty to sleep through it.  Moment
       outside of time.  I wanted to be a bird and join in!  :)
       --- End Quote ---
       I think you can be a bird in Paradise if you want.  I don't
       think Adam and Eve became "human beings" until after the fall
       when God put them into garments of skin.   I think they could
       experience all life.  It's not clear to me how "human" any of
       them were until "Enos" -- and his name means "human"  in the
       physical manner while Adam means "man" in the spiritual sense.
       When I read that Jesus said the rocks would cry out if men
       didn't praise, I thought to myself, I wouldn't mind being a rock
       if Jesus walked by.  I think I could sing.     I think the rocks
       were already singing when he said that.
       Oh I saw some corn stalks one day moving in a breeze.  If it was
       a steady breeze, you'd think they'd all be moving together,
       right?  They weren't.  Some would move, then others.   My
       telepathy was working that day.  I could feel they were happy --
       and the wind was having fun too.   The wind and the corn were
       having fun.
       #Post#: 2086--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 27, 2015, 12:10 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       What I meant, Kerry, is that the rain and the puddles occured
       BEFORE the miracle of the sun; the day was wet and cloudy in
       Potugal, and in that cloudy sky the people saw what they saw.
       Yes, I agree the dancing of the sun was a spiritual
       manifestation, but I'm not sure about the rain.  I mean, there
       were actual puddles of long-standing rain water that
       disappeared.  Perhaps those not seeing the sun phenomena were
       nontheless 'dried' and saw the puddles disappear?
       Dunno.  Of course, we read varying accounts.
       "Stars" in Scripture often represent angels.  But, I take it
       you're not referring to an angel when you say we each have a
       star?
       #Post#: 2087--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Concerning Miracles
   DIR By: Piper
       Date: May 27, 2015, 12:31 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Physical bodies ARE a drag!  But, still awesome and amazing, and
       they have their place in the physical realm.  I sometimes feel
       sad for my poor mortal body.  When I'm sick, I rub my tummy.
       Very soothing and thera-peutic to the body.  Try it.  Must be
       why dogs adore a good belly rub. :)
       I think when I die I will look upon my body and thank it for
       serving me all these years.  I wish I would be more faithful to
       serve it better than I sometimes do.  You know, proper food,
       exercise, rest, meditation to ease stress.
       Please explain "elementals."  Sounds like Wiccan teachings?
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