Indians, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Other Things

So, I just finished for the second time a book, it's supposed to be nonfiction, but it's in Barnes and Nobles as New Age religion, about this psychiatrist, head of his department in a hospital in Miami, that accidentally hypnotized a woman decades ago and brought out a past life in her. Then he began to do so more with her through the years.

What the book sounds to me, upon rereading it, is that something like that really happened in some form. I have talked to two people actually, that they have regressed under hypnosis, to what they think is a past life. But so much of the book, I can't buy it. He sounds New Age to me. Like had some thoughts and theories and went after it. I've heard tidbits here and there about some of the things he said, but it was like old put into his perspective.

Still, I marked a lot of places. I read it and also a John Edward Crossing Over book, because of the story I'm writing and rewriting about a girl falling in love with a ghost. I want to give it some unique twists that have some groundings, in that regard at least.

I was to have a past life regression from one of this guys proteges actually. I lost my nerve and I won't say all the reasons why. I know one of his proteges. Very well, semi-grew up with him, and he lives in Austin now. I had a session with him, but didn't even go under hypnosis. Just made it a psychological session. I may revisit him now to try it out. I've wanted to ever since I lost my nerve, but now also, I just met someone that just did with him and was very impressed, and also I want to know more first hand.

I'm also reading on the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was in my stack of must reads anyway, but now with my ghost story and Aztec story, it has some aspects I want to check out.

It refurbishes so much of my own thoughts through the years, and also other historical, theological, anthropological, and philosophical readings. I read pro and con on religions.

It is so intriguing and you read objective, or defenders, or minimalists on these subjects and try to filter it all with your own instincts.

So many these days, as opposed to when I was growing up, go back to the original Greek and Hebrew, Aramaic, or Latin from old Biblical texts. That is encouraging, because when I was growing up it was totally faith by so many in my church and related churches. I still think faith is the most important key ingredient.

I don't know any of these ancient languages, and even if I did, how do you interpret it. It is more than written accounts that are translated. What they are conveying, their audience, style, mentality. So much is involved.

So, I read secondary accounts by the million trying to get some gysts.

I won't go into it. But do get bugged when told it better just be faith and only what my preacher says. I want to include everybody's preacher too. I really want to know this stuff, including my heart's rendition.

But as you read, think, pray, and picture, piecing it all together, how do you translate the translations. Interpretations.

I was listening to the Mormon hour on NPR Sunday morning. I just finished reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover last summer. In it it talked about cattle and horses, etc. brought over from Asia to the Americas by the ancient lost tribes of Israel.

Sure, there is no trace historically or archaelolgically that they ever existed here until the Spanish brought them. But they say that stuff about King David too, and then find something that hints or even verifies.

But still, no, I don't buy it. The impact the horse alone made on the Indians when they brought it and how swiftly. So, it didn't have to be that big a deal somehow thousands of years ago, but you get my drift, it doesn't really instintively add up.

Then I just read in the local paper how DNA forensic tests don't add up either with native Americans and Middle East genetic mapping. No shock to us non-Mormons. But again, the gysts. The Book of Mormon is a very impressive treastise. Do you have to take it literally? Mormons do? And if it is a lie, then they are in deep trouble anyway, especially if they pass it off as literal.

But ancient religious and philosophical texts in general, many times, were just trying to communicate. Talking spiritual truths and sub-conscious symbologies. It's all so complicated and incredibly interesting. It beats memorizing the ten commandments and leaving it at that.

You want to protect yourself from religious idealogues, but don't want to get swept up in occult kooks. How to balance any stupid thing anywhere.

Back to the Mormons. I love their choir and loved listening to it Sunday morning. Also they had an English group there that was beautiful. But the speaker said something that I keep hearing from sometimes even fundamentalists. With all this hate mongering Islam fundamentalist going on, it's easier to want to listen too.

The speaker said, we're getting to the stage of appreciating the beauty in others, their thoughts, their hearts, their spirituality. There is so much to communicate these things with in what we have in common as to be so torn apart by our differences.

Amen brother.