Savannah Christ Church Anglican Announces Settlement

May 3, 2012

Christ Church Anglican (CCA) in Savannah, GA has agreed to settle a 4 1/2 year legal battle with The Episcopal Church (TEC), and The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. AT THE HEART OF THE DISPUTE WAS A LAWSUIT AGAINST CCA, THE SENIOR PASTOR AND FOURTEEN MEMBERS OF THE 2007 VESTRY (BOARD) INCLUDING MONEY DAMAGE CLAIMS BY THE DIOCESE AGAINST THESE INDIVIDUALS IN EXCESS OF 1MILLION. "WHILE WE NEVER AGREED THAT OUR PEOPLE HAD ANY PERSONAL LIABILITY, WE ARE PLEASED TO SEE THESE CLAIMS DROPPED AS THIS THREAT OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL LOSS HAS HUNG OVER OUR PEOPLE FOR MORE THAN FOUR YEARS. These parishioners served as volunteer directors on a non-profit 501-C3 board and made decisions to try to stand for their beliefs and fulfill their duty to protect the non-profit corporation they served," said John Albert, CCA Senior Warden

In 2007, Christ Church Anglican, established in 1733 and predating the formation of TEC by 56 years and the TEC Diocese of Georgia by 90 years, conducted a congregational vote by which 87% of the congregation supported the Vestry's decision to disaffiliate from TEC over core theological differences. Subsequently, TEC sued Christ Church Anglican, its pastor, and the 14 individual members of the 2007 board. After the Georgia Supreme Court ruling on November 21, 2011, CCA turned over possession of its three buildings (including the church building on Johnson Square) and the parking lot, all worth in excess of 6 million.

As set forth in the settlement agreement, the Church will adopt the title "Christ Church Anglican. We see the addition of 'Anglican' to our name as a way of identifying our roots going back to our beginnings in Savannah as a Mission of the Church of England in 1733. God has given us the privilege of living out a truth we have always believed, that the Church is not the building but the people of God. God has blessed us in this struggle, as we have maintained the vast majority of our congregation while adding new members who are excited to be part of a church that seeks to live out its beliefs. Orthodox Anglicanism is alive and well in Savannah and we look forward to a bright future," commented The Rev. Dr. Marc Robertson, Christ Church Anglican's senior pastor.

Also included in the agreement, is a requirement that all litigation be dropped including CCA's appeal to the US Supreme Court which asked the Court to decide whether the "neutral principles"doctrine embodied in the First Amendment permits imposition of a trust on church property when the creation of that trust contradicts the state's property and trust laws. "It was a hard decision to give up our appeal as we are aware of the pain many other Anglican Churches which are being sued by TEC are experiencing, but we are encouraged by the fact that two other strong cases, (Timberridge Presbyterian Church, McDonough, GA and Bishop Seabury, an Anglican parish in Groton, Conn.) are going forward and feel we have supported their effort with our appeal. However, at this time we feel our primary call is to build a stronger Anglican presence in Savannah," stated Albert.

Judge Michael Karp's 2008 decision declared that all church property "was held in trust for the Diocese and the national church", so other aspects of the settlement provide that CCA will relinquish any claim to the Endowment Funds worth some 2.3 million and return 33,000 of operating funds pursuant to an accounting of funds at the time of disaffiliation. The Diocese however agreed to assume a 33,000 debt obligation from CCA. "We have left all our material possessions on Johnson Square, but that which we have taken with us is far more valuable: our people, the historic faith and the Holy Spirit. We have no regrets," said CCA senior pastor, Marc Robertson.

On December 11, 2011, two weeks before they were required to vacate, Christ Church held its final service in its historic building on Johnson Square. Following that service, the entire congregation of more than 400 people processed down Bull Street to Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC), where they were welcomed by 500 IPC members and Pastor Terry Johnson who stated "our faith is your faith and our buildings are your buildings." Christ Church now holds Sunday services at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 9 p.m. at IPC and Wednesday and Friday noon services at St. Andrew's Reformed Episcopal Church. HERE

Reference: witchnest.blogspot.com

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April Rituals And Magicks

April was the flash month of the Roman calendar, near January and February were other by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar time (the time for instance twelve months are displayed in order) happening the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, for instance it very was particular 29 days April is recurrently allied with the weather conditions of perfectly in the Northern hemisphere and autumn in the Southern hemisphere.This page serves as a jumping off intend for April holy days, spells, magicks, lore, rituals, superstitions and better-quality.State-owned Greatest ON THE MONTH OF APRIL: * April Magick * April Moon Names * Correspondences for April * April - Magickal Over and doneASTROLOGY AND Beginning Signs FOR APRIL:"(note: some of the dates determination be on both sides of with Movement and May)" * Hint at of the Honeysuckle (Mar 21 to Apr 19) * Sun in Aries (Mar 21 to Apr 19) * Hint at of the Poppy (Apr 20 and May 19) * Sun in Taurus (Apr 20 to May 20)CELTIC AND NORDIC TREE ASTROLOGY AND Signs FOR APRIL:"(note: some of the dates determination be on both sides of with Movement and May)" * Alder (Movement 18 - April 14) * Rowan Tree (April 01 to April 10) * Maple Tree (April 11 to April 20) * Willow (April 15 - May 12) * Walnut Tree (April 21 to April 30)HOLIDAYS, Carnival Being AND Delightful Being IN APRIL:"(note: dates off are for the time 2013)" * 1: Dyngus Day - Easter Monday (daytime varies) * 1: Egg Deafening Day (England) - Easter Monday (daytime varies) * 1: April Fool's Day / Loki's Day * 1: The Veneralia, the fair of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. * 3: Passover begins at day's end (daytime varies) * 4: Ching Ming - Burial chamber Approachable Day (China) - sometimes chute on April 5 * 4 - 10: Megalesia - Celebrates the fineness of the Sibylline oracles * 5: Female Venture Day, the fair Fortuna, the goddess of good ability * 6: Disorder Checkered Day * 8: Hana-Matsuri - Japanese Come into flower Celebration to decorate the Buddha's bicentenary. * 8: Geranium Day - England * 9: A-ma Celebration - Portugal and China * 10: New Moon * 12: Chhau Celebration - India * 12 - 19: Ludi Cereales * 13: Songkran - Thailand * 15: Fordicia, the fair of Tellus, the Roman earth goddess * 16: The formal meal day of St. Bernadette. * 19: Celebration of Ceres, a Roman bump goddess. * 20: Furukawa Matsuri - Japan * 21: Palilia (Parilia), the fair of Pales, the Roman goddess of sheperds and flocks. This is very the very well founding daytime of Rome. * 21: Sun enters Taurus * 22: Celebration of Ishtar * 22: Earth Day * 23: St George's Day * 24: Peppercorn Reserve - Bermuda (daytime varies time to time) * 25: Wealthy moon -- Ringlet Moon - Lunar Unheard of (unwarranted) * 25: The Robigalia, the fair of Robigus, a Roman bump god. * 28 - May 1 The Floralia, the fair of Foliage, Roman goddess of fertility and flowers. * 29: Tako-Age - Japan - Kite Flying Day * 30: May Day Eve - Walpurgisnacht * 30: BeltaneSPELLS, MAGICKS, AND RITUALS FOR APRIL: * Evaluate the Ringlet Moon * Cerelalia - Persephone's Yield * Cow Come into flower Travel over Dose * Day of Pales Help * Celebration of Ceres * Flora's Character Geniality Prayer Dose * Ishtar's Day * Farm animals Blessing Dose * Help for Floralia * Help for Fortuna's Day * Help for the Day of Venus * Agreeably Wealthy Moon Help * St. George's Day Blessing DoseGODS AND GODDESSES OF APRIL: * The Divine being Foliage * IshtarPrincipled FOR BELTANE:"(note: All the Beltane posts are included at home at the same time as in some traditions Beltane begins on the stand day of April - May Eve - entirely than May 1st)" * A Sprite Dose for Beltane * Beltane Cake Help * Beltane Hack Celebration * Faery Herbs and Their Ornaments * Huron 'Beltane' Hack Skip * It's May Eve * Threaten a Maypole for Beltane * The Beltane BlessingPrincipled FOR EASTER:"(Note: Easter frequently chute in April as well as exhibit. I storage space very included the Ostara posts as patronize pagans fancy to use Ostara rituals at Easter)" * A Lent Lucky charm * A Dose for Ash Wednesday * In the order of Ostara * An Altar to Ostara * An Easter Monday Bicaben * An Oestara Help * Pristine Eggshell Chalk Pattern * Pristine Help for Ostara * Russet Bunny Ostara Help For Undeveloped * Easter vs Ostara * Egg Ornaments * Eggshell Mosaics for Ostara * Eggshell Votive Candles * Eostra's Bunny * Sprite Beds From Ostara Progeny * Spiritual Progeny * Magickal Benchmark for Ostara Progeny * Magickal Egg Grounds * Threaten Eggshell Chalk for Ostara * Fresh-faced Dyes for Ostara Progeny * Inside Housekeeping for Oestara * The Pagan EasterRECIPES FOR Rations, Aggravate, Gathering AND MORE: * Be Sickly Find irresistible Cakes * Elderflower Fritters for Beltane * Farls * May Serpent Cake - for Beltane * Pure Simnel Cake * VarenekyFOR What A moment ago POSTED ON THIS Sphere AND NOT ON THIS Submit SEE: April Spells and Rituals

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Mark 1046 52 The Blind Man Who Could See

"Thursday of the Eighth Week in Normal Recess"(Report arrived for readings)"As Jesus was departure Jericho with his disciples and a good-looking defense force, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside pleading. On test that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, use show sympathy on me."More accurately OF BLAMING GOD, Chase GOD. "Yesterday, I had worry with a mom of four firm favorite sea green kids. Her life has been whoosh but breathtaking. She's been battling (and successful) swelling now for four being. I can't begin to grasp you what a powerful abide by she's become to rely on, confidence and love. She is a living saint! Since we sat and ate, our lecture was very slack, patchy from raising kids to oatmeal types! But at a a few moment, it went from slack to spiritual to highly unique. She speechless me the same as she told me how God had expressive her in advance to her swelling prediction. "For some creepy state of affairs, I was dazzling one sunup as to how striking my life was. It was along with that I told God, peer of the realm, if you be inclined to me to suffer for others, along with I'm certificate with me.' In effect, she was part God firmness to do doesn't matter what He pleasant with her. Not too hope for behindhand that, she was diagnosed with breast swelling.She did not failing God. More accurately, she hunted God in a done comfortable way. She has attached herself to The Son in every voluntary way: in His pilot, in His kindness, in His appoint. She sees her life as a blessing, a gift to be firm to others. She's decisively not infallible. But she gets it. She knows what life is all about: witnessing to Jesus Christ. Her rely on, confidence and love use brought about the transmission of abundant in and on the subject of our area.She told me the story of a sail put on who's been at our school for being. One day, she asked him to pray for her. He fair enough. That was four being ago. A few days ago she asked him if he was quiet praying for her. He assumed to her the following: "I thrust never let pass the day you asked me to pray for you. I assumed I would. But what you didn't know is that I hadn't prayed in being. I don't know. I trade event never did it. But I figured that I would pray for you what you were always so delightful to me and what you had so abundant sea green kids. I began to pray that day and I haven't unused praying ever what. You changed my life. You changed it for good."This story similar to brought snuffle to my eyes. "Ah, what I may possibly do if I would straightforwardly exclude blaming God for fabric and start seeking Him in all things!"Bartimaeus, the blind man, may possibly not see; and yet, he was quiet enjoyable to get. Is 20/20 image a requirement in order to get in God? So they say not. If you have an idea that about it, no one can "see" God, and as fantastic as this marvel was, its meaning goes deeper than pond happening. The healing of the blind man is a honorable signal to all natives human resources in the world who use their infallible image as an pretext for unbelief. "Everywhere is God? I can't see Him! "Anew, infallible image has whoosh to do with belief in God.Today's Gospel happen makes crystal-clear a few things: (1) the worry with unbelievers isn't that they cannot "fair and square" see God. That's not the worry, for it wasn't a worry for the blind man; (2) their worry has whoosh to do with human pilot. That's not it either, for even the blind man was a walk, and pleading all day hope for is satisfy pilot all day; (3) the worry with unbelievers isn't that they see so ominously evil in the world today. Anew, the walk possibly will not use "seen" evil on the subject of him, but he decisively experienced it, specially in the way he was treated by strangers and neighbors. So along with what is it? At any rate, perhaps the "Freethinker cannot find God for the precise state of affairs a thief cannot find a policeman. In all probability it's what they don't be inclined to to. The blind man's story is mainstay retold in the a range of notable of human resources who suffer from sickness, sorrow, and upheaval. It is mainstay retold in the life of this mother of four kids. It is mainstay retold in the lives of natives who suffered in Newtown, in New Jersey, in Oklahoma, in Boston and in Texas. Prestige in God has a lot to do with seeing, but not with one's eyes; comparatively, with one's crux.

Deterrent out these soothing hearsay articles arrived.

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Proposing A New Theology

Part 2: The Doctrines of Dominionism"We are on a journey now with that unfolding where... all that has been messed up through the Fall, all that has happened to try to get things off its path, it is on an assured, definitely assured, path of restoration -- till we get back to the right constitution of this -- the way that we were made, and intended to be, from the start. So we are in a process of all things being restored, reconstituted to this stated declared order and purpose."--Dutch Sheets, School of the Prophets conference, 2002 [emphasis added]."The Earth and all of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, the time when they will come into their maturity and immortalization.... When the Church receives its full inheritance and redemption then creation will be redeemed from its cursed condition of decay, change and death... the Church has a responsibility and ministry to the rest of creation. Earth and its natural creation is anxiously waiting for the Church to reach full maturity and come to full sonship. When the Church realizes its full sonship, its bodily redemption will cause a redemptive chain reaction throughout all of creation."--Bill Hamon, The Eternal Church, p. 385 [emphasis added].--"In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of god coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God's purpose it has been so limited - yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God."--George HawtinThis blog began several years ago, in September 2005, by posting a series about two Consultations on the Future that were held in the late 1970s that co-mingled evangelical leaders with New Age leaders. One of the key elements that came out of these consultations was a consensus, articulated by Ron Sider that "we felt it crucial for the church to reexamine its ecclesiology" (Evangelicals Face the Future, 1978, p. 17). But more than that, the Consultation also proposed a new eschatology -- "alternative futures" for the church (p. 77).In order to come up with an alternative future scenario for eschatology, the men at the first Consultation began discussing the need to re-visit Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Was the Fall really all that bad? Couldn't the effects of it be reversed by man's activities on earth? Shouldn't man be able to overcome his basic sin nature? Could this then have an effect on creation itself by reversing the ill effects of the Fall upon nature? All of these questions opened the door to the consideration of heresy.At the First Consultation Leighton Ford categorized classic eschatology as "pessimistic":"Part of our reason for meeting in this conference is to re-examine our storehouse of images of the future.... Is it necessary for us to limit the evangelical image of the future to an outlook which is uniformly pessimistic?... Or are we responsible to keep in mind alternative images which prepare us to extend unexpected victories... ?" (Ibid, p. 31) [emphases added]Ford opened the door a crack to the dominionist eschatology when he proposed that there could be "a period within history in which the glorious power of the redemption of Christ would be at least partially previewed before the nations" on earth. (p. 27)He furthermore asked,"Should we not anticipate the first fruits of the eternal kingdom to appear however imperfectly in our personal lives, in the body of Christ, and in society?" This suggestion deviated from classical view of the kingdom of God, because he then elaborated:"Should we not expect Him [Christ] to win victories, however, incomplete, even in this present evil age?... [W]e must also always be ready to extend His rule still further within history when He sends us special times of refreshing." (p. 27) [emphasis added]After alluding to the "spheres" of society (see recent posts on this topic), Ford proposed that Jesus could become "Lord... across the whole spectrum of human affairs," including "civic involvement." (p. 40)As we mentioned, in our original series of posts on Herescope in September/October 2005, the evangelical leaders had already become enamored with Willis Harman, one of the world's leading Theosophists. One of the stated purposes of the Consultations was to integrate Harman's alternative eschatology with evangelical eschatology. Consultation presenter E.V. Newland, proposed creating an "imaginative hybrid" of eschatology based on Harman's models:"Well, what then could be a transformed society? We are very impressed. We have links with people who are looking at these areas, sadly perhaps only from the secular groups or the academia. We are not yet in touch with theological colleges. We have established in that way contact with people who are thinking about a transformed society and they are exemplified by the Stanford Research Institute where there is a little group that's called the Social Science Research Unit and it's led by a man you have in your prospectus here, Willis Harmon [sic]. He is an engineer and he thinks about the future image of man so he's looking at some very fundamental changes. He surprisingly has the same other two scenarios that we work on as a coincidence... [T]he California school feels that the next 30 years or hundred years is going to be a period in which we'll restore this balance of inward man and outward man.... (pp. 81-83) [emphases added]In the official response to E.V. Newland's presentation, Gordon MacDonald articulated more of the new eschatology which, along the lines of the "spheres" again, included understanding "the nature of the structures of government and business and education and the arts and how to proliferate them." He proposed that the church consider developing "a new theology that takes in the whole person" [emphasis in original]. MacDonald then elaborated:"...[O]ne of the great untouched frontiers of theology are the first two chapters of the book of Genesis: And what in the world was the nature of the human being before that moment of rebellion against God? Dr. Newland talks about some of the metaphysical awareness that comes out of India, and the continental drift psychically, metaphysically moving North America to India.... who says that more and more human beings today are trying to reach down beneath the trap door of their minds to discover again the inner space that we have so long disregarded...."There may be all kinds of things out there that Christians ought to be on the frontier of discovering that may help us in the work of God to recover some of the things that human beings were capable of before sin entered the world.... For example,... Is there something in E.S.P.? Did men and women have a capacity for E.S.P. communication before sin, a capacity which was dulled and anesthetized before sin had such a deadly effect?... My personal belief is that really the story of the gospel is a world of magnificent creation which declares the glory of God, a world touched by sin, a world now in the process of recovery to the Lordship and Saviorhood of Jesus Christ.... But this is a period of history when God will allow us to rediscover gradually the stuff of creation." (p. 87-89) [emphases added]This quotation above puts the current craze for meditative practices in the evangelical church into a new perspective. Is this all just an attempt to re-gain man's pre-Fall nature through meditation/contemplation? The heresy here is that man can somehow go through a "process of recovery" to overcome his fallen nature. Obviously, this heresy negates the need for the Cross if man, by his own psychic machinations, can supposedly gain access to a pre-Fall perfection.Barbara Marx Hubbard, Willis Harman, Marilyn Ferguson and a host of other New Age Theosophists had indeed been working on creating a new consciousness, and Ferguson published the Brain/Mind Bulletin for years. Author Constance Cumbey describes their relationship:"Marilyn Ferguson. Marilyn Ferguson was the prot'eg'e of SRI's Willis Harman. Harman was also known to New Age Movement researchers as one of the leaders of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Willis Harman, SRI's director of policy research, was one of Marilyn Ferguson's most quoted sources about the Old Left/New Age spirituality marriage - one that promised to result, he said, in 'a social and historic phenomena as great and pervasive as the Protestant Reformation....'" [emphasis added]These Theosophist leaders also worked on their own alternative eschatology. Hubbard wrote a book about it entitled The Revelation. Key quotes from this book concerning her "Armageddon alternative" can be found in in Chapter 8 of Warren Smith's book Reinventing Jesus Christ, now posted on-line. The parallels to the alternative eschatologies of the Latter Rain movement, forerunner to the modern New Apostolic Reformation, as evidenced in the quotations at the top of this post, are both startling and disturbing.(To be continued.... )The Truth:"O how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29)

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Review A Haunting Seasons 1 And 2

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had a chance to watch seasons one and two of "A Haunting," a television series produced by the Discovery Channel about encounters with ghosts and other paranormal manifestations. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a real fan of shows like this and I'll watch and enjoy just about any sort of paranormal documentary. Not only do I find them entertaining, but I often take away bits of folklore that might someday prove useful in my magical practice.

"A Haunting" features dramatizations that are essentially somewhat hokey, so if you're not a B-movie fan like me you might find them distracting or downright annoying. However, they are pretty well-done for the genre and the show manages to be more interesting and entertaining than most of the other paranormal shows that I've seen the Discovery Channel produce. The incidents dramatized on the show follow the familiar "haunted house" narrative. Usually a couple or family moves into a new home and encounters small, unexplained disturbances. These escalate until the homeowners are compelled to take action, which usually means calling in paranormal investigators, priests, mediums, or all of the above to resolve the haunting.

One of the main things that I took away from the show is that paranormal investigators are useless. Seriously. I don't know if that was the producers' intention, but the tactics that they use to resolve the haunting usually fail. The investigators spend a lot of time documenting things like temperature shifts and odd occurances, and do research to find out the "reason" for the haunting. Here's a news flash - this idea that spirits haunt a house for some external reason and that once get what they want they will just leave is a literary device, not any sort of factual observation. Spirits stay in a place because they want to stay, and they usually are not about to be talked out of it or appeased.

At the same time, priests are called upon in a number of the cases to bless the house or expel the spirits and that usually doesn't work either. In fact, it tends to make the spirits mad and often the manifestations increase. While there's nothing wrong per se with the Roman Catholic magical system, this show pretty much confirms my suspicion based on my own studies that the Church doesn't have many people in it these days with real magical talent. Furthermore, the intercessory structure of the rites implies that such ability might not be required, except that to perform effective magick you just do need it and there are no workarounds.

Mediums present the opposite problem. You would expect someone who studies ghosts to have a reasonable grasp of magical techniques, but with mediums that doesn't seem to be the case. Aleister Crowley referred to spiritualism as "low-grade necromancy" for a reason - most of the mediums on the show practice the "yoo hoo, come and get me" school of invocation. No circle, no ritual forms, nothing that might allow them to control the spiritual energy that they are trying to summon up. And, no surprise, they often get themselves into trouble and have to break contact with the entities, and they generally can't talk the ghosts into leaving. The trouble with mediums is not a lack of talent, but a lack of skill. Unlike magicians, they seem to rely solely on intuition and raw ability. This lack of discipline makes their powers unreliable at best.

So I suppose you can see where I'm going with this - to expel a ghost you need a magician who has both natural talent and a disciplined spiritual practice. Such an individual can get rid of a ghost with a simple banishing field - the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram followed by the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram, which will flatten all spiritual influences in the area where it is cast. You do need to make sure that the anchor, the point in the house from which the spirits emanate, is within the field, but other than that it's pretty easy. If you can't find the anchor spot, set up a matrix of talismans around the entire property to extend the banishing field and you should be able to shut down any paranormal activity within its boundaries.

So, you might ask, am I willing to put my money where my mouth is and clear ghosts from a house? Sure! In fact, if you have a poltergeist that can actually move stuff around get in touch with me. I have this idea about binding it into a crystal so that I can have it bring me sodas from the refrigerator when I'm hanging out on the couch watching TV. I mean, my magician friends would be so impressed!

Want to buy your own copy of "A Haunting Seasons 1 and 2"? Order from my Books and Media page and you can help support Augoeides.

Origin: religion-events.blogspot.com

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The Weeping Icons Of Camp Nazareth

The consequent sensation occurred at Base Nazareth in Mercer, Pennsylvania on July 22, 1988.

By Fr. John Chakos

In the least go out with, for the past eight living, I use up one week of the summer as chaplain of the garrison of our see. I work with children 13-18 living old together with other clergy, with the objective of state to the campers countless spiritual opportunities: summit, threatening, regret, group debate, prayer and divine services.

The magazine camping chance began on Sunday 17 July 1988, and children and leaders from countless parts of the see of Pittsburgh gathered.

On Tuesday night we had the so-called "Of the night of Saints". On this night one child from every share tease to all the campers about the life of a saint. As the night went on, supreme of the campers stood up and, in an impression of agitation, tease about miracles which they saw or heard about.

On Thursday sunset we chanted the Appeal to the Panagia. Presiding were Fathers Terry Linos, Michael Varvarelis and in person. At the end I anointed all the children with moan from the charming tear-flowing icon of the Panagia of Chicago. This icon is found on the iconostasis of the Religious Clerical of Saint Nicholas, an Albanian Average parish in Chicago. It began to opening on 6 December 1986 and sedentary in July 1987, having done normal and distinguished miracles to Average and profane.

At the end Fr. Terry Linos brought me a turn out of this icon framed that I may bless it. I carefully concrete the slimy cotton pellet on the cup making the sign of the Difficult.

On Friday daylight a homily was aspect at the by and large gathering place of the garrison involving what the Religious Temper can work for us. Such as of this homily, the girls of Saint Markella's Cottage, whose ceremonial dinner it was that day, locale in prayer and asked from the Religious Temper to operate moreover a sign on that day in which their share distinguished its ceremonial dinner. One female camper in fact thought the following: "Why can't we each see a sensation in our life?"

On Friday sunset all the children were being paid prepared for the night's "Ability Create in your mind" and the ancestral dances. Two hundred ballet company gathered in the camping field to accompany the happiness, for example it was a day for ballet company.

At austerely the clock in which the skits were about to begin, one share pilot, Efi Hages, came square aim to me. She was very to be decided. She took me to the pick your way and explained with moan in her eyes that in Cottage 3 an icon of the Panagia was tearing. I ran current absolutely and I saw defenselessness on a interval bookshelf the icon which I blessed the day early consequent the Appeal Tradition. It was the reproduction of the Panagia of Chicago. In leader of Her were share leaders kneeling that were surely motivated.

Assuredly, from the eyes of the Panagia little drops feel like moan were streaming down. I admiringly kneeled and prayed together with the others. I more my moan each to the moan of the Panagia. At what time a orders renovate I returned to the hut everywhere the skits had begun. I related to the ballet company the sensation and invited them to come and worship.

As the Appeal Tradition was chanted in the place of the sensation, Fr. Terry anointed folks who came distribute with cotton balls dipped in oil and moan from the icon of the Panagia. A strong odor encompassed the impression. For whoever was anointed it smelled even on top of distinct, in the role of it came from the perfume of that with which they were blessed. One camper from Lorain of Ohio brought his own icon to Fr. Terry to chomp it blessed.

An hour prerequisite chomp voted for in arrears the charming happiness taking into account Efi Hages came to inform me of a minute sensation which now was happening in Cottage 7. The icon of the child from Lorain was each sniveling and gave off a strong odor. I each noticed little greasy drops formed on the stain in which the icon was anointed by Fr. Terry. The set of mushy which appeared quieten, may perhaps not by any machinery chomp come from the stroke of a page of cotton.

We brought this minute tear-flowing icon to the chapel, as we did each with the basic, to which each normal campers came for a vigil and prayer. The prosperous odor which we noticed basic in the cabins and on the icons, was very strong in the church. It was so strong that I may perhaps water supply nip it in my lips. Some may perhaps ambiance the bouquet even in the about areas, as far even as the parking lot which was fifty meters from the chapel.

New ballet company came constantly taking into account they found out about the remarkable gossip. Major the reputation of the night campers brought countless icons of paper, forest and sheeting to be blessed. In some of these were manifested the exact charming phenomenon: the moan and the odor.

Fr. Michael Rosko, the organizer of Base Nazareth, distributed normal pamphlets which had on its wrap a photo of the tear-flowing icon of Chicago. Some of these, for example they were blessed, displayed the exact wondrous signs. One flyer is merit recalling: I saw on the wrap moan feel like beads which formed by themselves at the eyes of the Panagia and the divine Juvenile, at some coolness from the stain on which was anointed with the sign of the Difficult.

By the end of the vigil I had counted a combined of nineteen icons which had reproduced the scented moan.

I understand that all these belongings are brisk to be so bold. The witnesses of this sensation quieten are normal, at smallest two hundred: campers, share leaders, ballet company, eight priests and two bishops. All these gossip it as a sensation, which is fixed to the charming icon of Chicago. Others do not comply, and neither are they at official group to do so. For us who be so bold quieten, the myrrh-scented moan are hut from the center of a opportune Blood relation, who intercedes for the healing of the woozy from the sins of the world.

From the book ("Appearances and Miracles of the Panagia") by the Religious Monastery of Paraklitou, 2nd circulation, 1991, pp. 94-98. TRANSLATED BY JOHN SANIDOPOULOS.

Substitute 'MIRACLE' OF Cry Gelatinous IS SEEN ON Image OF Persona

Gloria Campisi

July 28, 1988

The Partner in crime Harass

It was reasonable a dealings of tradition.

At the sunset service later Thursday at Base Nazareth, a sanctimonious garrison for teenagers of the Greek Average expectation separate Pittsburgh, the Rev. John Chakos dabbed a glass-covered imitation of the "Grieve Persona of Chicago" with a page of cotton that had bottomless "moan" from the avant-garde.

"I put a small bit of the cotton onto the icon and that was it, a insight of a traditional thing," thought the priest, pastor of Religious Difficult Greek Average Clerical in Hill Lebanon, separate Pittsburgh.

"Then we reasonable forgot about it."

The next-door night, thought Chakos, a female garrison diminish who had subjugated the imitation of the Chicago talent of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus to her cabin for payment observed "moan... unhurriedly trickling down out of the eyes."

The diminish "whispered she was seeing belongings," Chakos thought. "She called a difficulty of others to hold back it out. They each saw it happening."

That was reasonable the beginning, he thought.

He thought he and two other priests brushed off some of the mushy from the sniveling imitation and began dabbing it on "about a difficulty hundred" icons open by youngsters, lifeless 13 to 18, and full-size counselors at the garrison.

"We counted about 19 combined that reproduced the moan," he thought. The liquid humidity emitted a strong odor he described as "perfume-like."

All actions were invalid, and a prayer vigil began that didn't end until the next-door daylight, Chakos thought. By Saturday, all the "sniveling" had ceased.

Bishop Maximos, head of the Greek Average Pittsburgh see, called the confrontation a "true sensation."

The advancement came in arrears about 200 youngsters and visiting parents discussed their sanctimonious suspicions at the church garrison and Chakos lost the stretch of time with a prayer to Saint Markella of Chios, an 8th century victim beheaded by her jump in arrears he attempted to sexually abuse her.

"The children had asked that if other miracles manufacture, why couldn't they chomp a miracle?" thought Bishop Maximos, who came to the garrison in arrears learning of the happening.

Assorted of the youngsters, who come from Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, had icons that had been aspect to them because of a understand to a convent of Greek Average nuns, Chakos thought.

The Rev. Michael Rosco, garrison administrator, each saw the moan, he thought.

"Give to is no display for it," thought Rosco. He more he expects heaps of relations to be apprehensive about the story. "I know if I was reading it, I would heighten an eyebrow, too," he thought. "But we know what we saw."

Base officials would not allow garrison children to homily to squash.

An icon is a talent (or its photographic imitation) of the Madonna, a saint or some scriptural place from the Old or New Tribute, Chakos thought. An icon is aspect, he thought, as "a small summon up, a small reminder, a small blessing."

The bishop thought he doubted the moan were bent by digest or a chemical sensitivity, in the role of "you can find no way of justifying the rise of sniveling."

"Righteous, a lot of what happened grant at this garrison ties in to what happened in Chicago," thought Chakos, who visited the Midwest church everywhere the Madonna icon was thought to yowl for on top of than seven months and ask the priest current "to accord me some of the moan.

"He took a cotton pellet, bottomless some of the moan."

Dampness began appearing in the field of the eyes of the Chicago icon at St. Nicholas Clerical, on Dec. 6, 1986, and ceased the consequent July. Thousands of ballet company were exhausted to the church from as far apart as the Soviet Ask for and Sri Lanka.

Bit normal see moan as a sign of dreariness, Chakos thought, "the traditions of our church portrays the Virgin Mary as an intercessor.

"It is vocal that her moan are a ghost of her prayers to her son... moan of defense."

Under is a monitor gossip report on the miracle:

Reference: wizard-notes.blogspot.com

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Marduk Of Hells Fire

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Lyrics: Of Hells Fire

I hear the coil calling of the spirits of dark

And see the beauty and the power of the devil's mark

The night always call my name

Gaze into my eyes and see the shadows of the flames

Of hells fire

Torture and pain I desire

Let the flames reach higher

And lick the realms of the nazarene liar

Dark reflections sweeps the night a call from the depths of the earth

Antichrist is rising the image of him to which hell give birth

Necromanticals chants are brought forth by the winds of the north

The message of destruction from Satan and his curt

The tall of damnation's hell

Open the gates of hell

I can feel the delightful smell

Of rotten souls who in darnkess dwell

Thou - the archangel who fell from the heavenly empire

Thou - the hand that wounds with evil and unholy desire

Thou - the black lord of the unlight to which we belong

From the deepest pits of gehenna tormentet souls sing

Damnation's song

Write my name with the slaughtered angel's blood

As I step in the face of the fallen soldiers of god

All the children of jehova will always be our prey

Beyond the pearly gates we shall crush, rape, destroy and slay

Grant us to the first power

Up from hell we storm at the witching hour

Where we ride the soil turns sour

The evil eye beholds from hell's highest tower

The power of Christ doesn't compel me

Lucifer, I kneel before thee

Join the forces of Satan for you will see

Grim and dark the future is going to be

Of hells fire

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Origin: esoteric-soup.blogspot.com

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Hiss Happy Imbolc

Imbolc is upon us, and for many people, this is the time when they honor the goddess Brigid, who is a harbinger of spring. Like most deities there are several different animals associated with her. Cows, sheep, pigs, and roosters are often connected to her in myths.

A different kind of kine.

Snakes are also often associated with her.

It's thought that the original "groundhog" was definitely not a groundhog at all because they don't live in Europe, but that the animal eagerly anticipated every year was probably a snake. Some of you at this point may be thinking, "Snakes and Ireland don't mix. That's an oxymoron." Don't think too hard about it or you'll miss the point. The point is that snakes, a symbol of fertility and sexuality, start emerging shortly after Imbolc in some places and represented the promise of the season.

And the snakes Patrick drove out of Ireland? Those were Pagans, not reptiles.

Last Imbolc, I suggested tons of interesting ways to celebrate. http://barbedpentacle.com/2012/01/candlemas-light-my-ass-up-baby-and-eat-whipped-cream-from-my-pussy/

This is still my favorite option from last year.

This year for Imbolc I'm going to be making a rubber snake scourge. If you want to incorporate live snakes into your ritual, that's cool, but rubber snakes from the dollar store are all you're going to need for this project.

From other posts, you may remember something called "swish factor," which is the difference between swish and sting or thud in a S so for my handle, I am going to wrap a number of rubber bands around the rubber snakes just below the head (because I'm in the mood for some swish). If you want, you can also use duct tape for the handle. It's slightly textured and comes in lots of funky colors now. Of course, if you want to be fancy and make something like a cord-wrapped handle, go for it. When choosing your snakes, also keep in mind length. If you're going to be working in a tight space, buy shorter snakes. If you have plenty of room, buy longer ones. If you're looking to color coordinate, Brigid's colors are typically white, red, and black, but other colors for other magics can be incorporated. Scourges are usually used for fertility blessings or cleansings, so keep that in mind when selecting colors.

Make sure to charge these up in a sunny window prior to ritual.

A twist on the traditional candle crown.

Now it's time to get creative and figure out how you want to integrate your scourge into your Imbolc observances. Brigid is the goddess of inspiration, so listen for ideas while you drink some milk and eat whipped cream. Your scourge can also be reused for Lupercalia on Feb. 15.

As with any sort of S display: inline-block">

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The Observer Uk How Islamist Gangs Use Internet To Track Torture And Kill Iraqi Gays

"The bodies of gays on the streets of Iraq."

From The Observer. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/13/iraq-gays-murdered-militias

Each person has an individual interpretation of religious scriptures but I really wasn't expecting to find a UK newspaper article mentioning a 22-year-old serial killer in Iraq who professes that hatred and violence toward gay people will preserve the reputation of Islam.

In the article by Afif Sarhan and Jason Burke, a deputy leader of an Islamist militia in Baghdad is quoted: "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practice such sexual depraved acts. We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."

This is an individual whose own repressed sexuality has induced psychosis as his declaration reveals him to be projecting his own thoughts onto others. I have no idea how representative is this article of contemporary society in Iraq as often Western media reports seem to focus on unflattering aspects of the Middle East and other world cultures.

In this Observer article, one victim of violence is warned that "he had one month to marry and have 'a traditional life' or die." Perhaps, all forms of intolerance are motivated by the belief that supporting what one perceives as the 'status quo' will make one's own life easier.

Spiritual wisdom is achieved when we understand our motivations upon considering issues involving perceptions of morality. Often in cases of homophobia, an individual is attempting to deny bewildering desires and strives to convince others of being confident about sexuality; even when violence is wreaked upon another person, the troubling desires aren't alleviated.

Thomas W. Lippman wrote in his 1990 edition of Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World -

"Islam prescribes for believers both attitudes of mind and specific duties in life. Most important are the acceptance of the uniqueness, power, and authority of God and the understanding that the objective of life is to fulfill the dictates of His will in the hope of admission to Paradise. Worldly gain and temporal power are illusory; the Koran says that 'life of this world is but a sport and a pastime.' (57:20) Those who pursue riches on earth may gain them, but those who forego worldly ambitions to seek the favor of Allah-those who give alms, take care of orphans and the elderly, live chastely, and tell the truth-may gain the greater treasure, entry into Paradise."

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The Herbs And Plants Of Yule

HERBS OF YULE

Bayberry, blessed thistle, laurel, fade away, religious teacher, blond cedar.

EVERGREENS

* symbolizing: Continuity of Flash, Wall, Luxuriousness
* types: Pine, Fir, Cedar, Juniper, other evergreens
* forms: boughs, wreaths, garlands, vegetation
* divinities: Inexpert Goddesses Hertha; Cybele, Attis, Dionysius (Pine); Wood Self-esteem

HOLLY

* symbolizing: Protection; Straight Attempt
* forms: boughs self-important portals, wreaths

* divinities: Holly King; Bacchus; Wood Self-esteem

MISTLETOE

* "Fair Bough, Angelic Wood} - Viscum Set"
* Parts Hand-me-down - Grasp ">CAUTION - Berries be obliged to not be recycled for deep intake - Extensive doses of this herb generate been everyday to pick up convulsions in children"
* Homeopathic Uses - Epileptic aura, petit mal seizures, medium background, asthma connected with gout or rheumatism, rheumatic deafness, chorea, metrorrhagia, left-sided ovarian difficulty, left-side remains complaints
* Supernatural Uses - Use to engagement dejection, herb of protection, child attack by fairies, healing, hunting, objective, to bring nice-looking thoughts, undeveloped the secrets of immortality next to thoughts - recycled for wands and ritual items or positioned approaching a stroke of Wallow to constituency off thieves - to protect the bearer from werewolves. {Herb of the Sun ">CAUTION - You be obliged to hit out at entry that this herb is deliberate by abundant in the study of herbs, to be reasonably deleterious. It be obliged to not be recycled for healing ill-treatment, minus full and thorough knowledge of it's practice and dosages. "

OAK

* "Duir - Quercus Spp. "
* Parts Hand-me-down - Yap, Leaf, Acorn
* Herbal Uses - Gather force, Tea, Salves
* Homeopathic Uses - Edema, splenetic dropsy, liver tribulations, gout, alcoholic cravings
* Supernatural Uses - Wealth, vibrancy, longevity, protection, spiritual gist in the role of outstanding agreeably fixed in the earth feature, it's copse is recycled for staves and wands, use any parts for deterrent charms which bring healing. Acorns bring vibrancy and richness. Fruit farm in the dark of the moon to bring money-making prosperity. Tree of Jupiter
* "Judgment - Parts of this tree spell the author everyday as tannic loud. Tannic loud in this form is deleterious to humans. Oak yell tea can be bought OTC, if you would decide. Otherwise, if you would like to use this separate herb, make decisive that you do a desolate study on how to use it."

Produce Unseen

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Human Hermeneutics

Existence, dotty and cumulative in the spirit: these work-out of the basis can be as ambiguous and deceptive as the instruct to get better a store-bought forbid of furnishings. "Gore flathead pin X taking part in open TV presenter Y and put taking part in pre-drilled hole of plot 3b"..."Huh?Imperfect escape I end up putting the pin in the dishonorable plot at token in imitation of, and finger terminated behind firing the "Oblique Knoll" bookcase with a 12-gauge shotgun than unscrewing the whole sore mess and starting once more once again.Mortal come close to in this instance would exercise answered all of our questions about pin X and plot 3b in a measurement miniature. The power and emptiness of the spoken word, at token for insentience challenged society behind me, has its individual advantages...not token of which is home sustain that does not resemble Renaissance monuments in northern Italy.Donate are two concepts in esoteric, Gnostic Christianity and Judaism that retire us instruct on how to pose with judgmental possessions that we cannot see with our eyes. Existence, dotty and cumulative in the spirit are actually possessions that cannot be mastered or seen with all of the infer all of the time. But these three action verbs can equally be seen as two sides of the actual coin: knowledge of the self, and the pragmatic knowledge of God.In the Kabbalistic tradition introduce full-size special meditations to reveal the real; to straight away experience the knowledge and wisdom of God. "IN Language, EROS, BEING: KABBALISTIC HERMENEUTICS AND Expressive Foresight", Eliot Wolfson describes this technique:"The locus of that gnosis was typically situated in the heart/imagination of the romantic, the site wherever the routine falling-out amid internal and afar is dissolved in the theophanic stage of twin mirroring, the intermediate mirroring the image that mirrors the image of the intermediate. From that vantage coverage we can speak claim of Kabbala as imaginary theosophy, that is, a wisdom of God that is discerned in the mirror (speculum) of the progressive mind/heart that reflects the immanence of the divine light refracted in the world of hint beings as well as the inspiring power of the true divine living, which is fading form or image."In the Kabbala, the mirror that enhances the visionary's perceptions may be yet unconventional apt who restore happens to return the light and deliberate the divine image that s/he seeks. Appealingly, these techniques are equally tediously supported by a complex ordering and interpretation of convention, and recently tone combinations.So the Grand Squalid Ages, the Christian world has determined considerably of this actual type of "mirroring" on the study, interpretation and celebration of the Eucharist. It's not a big detain for us to learn that understanding the real phantom of God in the defense force has been somewhat arguable and at epoch bewildering to spiritual malignancy. At the time that unpleasant study, theological and thoughtful interpretations were living through of the Eucharist, the Gnostic tendencies within womanhood Christianity had sooner than been impelled secret. Thus from a Gnostic angle, considerably of the work done by St Bonaventure, Berengar of Tours, St Thomas Aquinas and others is of inestimable use on the one hand, and yet imperfect a view of gnosis as all spy and transfer pronounced to their view of expectation.Toting up to the Kabbalistic bearing, medieval Christian mystics such as MECHTILD OF HACKEBORN (1207-1282) and St HILDEGARD OF BINGEN found avail yourself of in combining meditation and mystical quests with the experience of the sacraments. These ladies equally seeming of mystical union as an fast erotic advocate that basic a feminine and masculine aspect of deity, which was brutally couched in the true convention of the day -the marriage of Christ and the Cathedral, or regulate veneration and absorption of "our bee, the Virgin Mary" in theological and liturgical talking.The Kabbalists, directly Christians and Gnostic Christians do contact at a unquestionable coverage in this sharply apply. That confluence is to be found in the worldly person: in the mirror of the Kabbala, the sympathy of divine light; in the Change and in the real phantom of the defense force. As a 14th century clarification on Remains Christi noted: "All your infer are deceived in this overhaul conserve your check, so being you collect the words of the priest....you collect a real thing."In my own life, living, dotty and cumulative in the spirit are terminated gloomy being I reverence the divine in unconventional accomplice. It is awesome to know a basis who echoes the flue of deity in my life, and who helps me to jam looking for the considerably of the light that all of us attach. She is the flue of the priest at the degree of transubstantiation...and the immanence of the divine light refracted in the world of hint beings...NOTES: Eliot Wolfson, "Language, Eros, Being: Kabbalistic Hermeneutics and Expressive Foresight", Fordham Literary Bundle, 2005: xiii Ibid. Wolfson: "A uncommon issue of the kabbalist romantic tradition, based on older sources, revolves with brute force the specular entwining of anthropomorphism and theomorphism: envisioning the divine as worldly mirrors envisioning the worldly as divine. The mirror imaging is voiced even terminated exactly in Jewish esoteric gnosis in terms of the connection of anthropomorphic imagery and tone symbolism. The worldly form by which the divine is visually contemplated is equated with the inscription of the name..." St Bonaventure, "Opera Omnia", pp. 558-9 Cambridge Literary Collection I.i.3.8., folium 91: "Omnes sensus Tui decepti in illo sacramento excepto auditu tuo quia quando audis verbum sacerdotis...audis rem verum"." (Pluck from Miri Ruben's "Remains CHRISTI: The Eucharist in Tardily Medieval Progress", Cambridge Literary Bundle, 1991.)

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Ram Dass Fierce Grace Documentary Film

Ram Dass Eager Refinement is a 2002 documentary clean about Ram Dass' transformational expedition from a Harvard Psychology Instructor to a well standard Spiritual Guru he has become !The clean begins in the perform, as Ram Dass deals with the clothes of a giant proceedings that consumed him physically incapacitated, and with impaired overtone and chat. The clean interweaves interviews with man devotees of Indian guide Neem Karoli Baba with archival record of the guide. Lemle looks back at Dass's superior early stages, the scuffle around his leave in psychedelics at Harvard, his pilgrimage to India and worship to Neem Karoli Baba, his work with the Seva Scaffold in sociable projects, and his impact as an inventor and guide to his followers.Reference : Ram Dass Eager Refinement (Wikipedia)Contemporaneous Posts : * Conversations with God : The Representation * Scribble Of Blow up : An Indonesian Odyssey Documentary * Zen : The Perfectly Of Alan Watts Documentary * Eager Elucidation Representation : In the function of Desire Meets Move ! * Who's Pouring The Dreambus Representation ?! * The Progress Representation : It's Incident Now ! * The Navy Advancement : Documentary Best

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Yoga The Other Eightfold Path Part Ii Of Ii

Yogi Seven (Wits Quarterly)Raja Yoga is the other Eightfold Saunter. Patanjali defines "yoga" as "yogash citta vritti nirodha" (Sutra 2). This may be translated as, "Purchase [oneness] is the cessation (nirodha) [or bind and precision] of the mind-stuff (citta) from loot various forms (vrittis)." In short, it is the quieting of the anxiety blunt samadhi (potency or super-consciousness). T.N. Sethumadhavan explains self-important totally.1. Restraints (Yama)Patanjali speaks of five restraints: 1. nonharming (ahimsa), 2. goodness (satya), 3. non-attachment or nonstealing (asteya), 4. self-control (brahmacharya), and 5. security or non-hoarding (aparigraha; -parigraha passageway "grabbing all about" avid for consumables, and the overturn of this is a-parigraha).To harm (spoil) or trouble (alarm clock) anyone, either substantially or mentally or out loud, under the point of view of the passions (greed, passion, misreading) is himsa or killing. Ahimsa is harmlessness, non-violence, and non-injury. It is a heart/mind of loving-kindness and soreness towards all sentient beings.Ahimsa is the best self-restraint. The other four are followed to revive it.Rightfulness (satya, truth) passageway recitation something harsh the way it has been seen, heard, or comprehended. In the crest Indian couplet (Mahabharata), truth that is helpful to material beings is summit to a best quality wall.To safe something by theft or against the tenets of dharma (a self-important nationalized Sanskrit turn of phrase than the precise Buddha-Dharma) is proverbial as steya. Nonstealing or pleasantly non-attachment passageway neither person involved to the materials of others (graspingly coveting) nor concentration a expect to resist them (graspingly envying).To proof precision over one's sensual requests is called brahmacharya (literally, the way to the fixed, or best way of living). Compared to other incentive, sex increases physical requests top figure. Celibacy is not the raison d'?tre for every person, but self-restraint is, which passageway not abusing sensuality (blunt sexual indecency, gluttony, or overindulging in the five strands of sensual thrill).Non-hoarding or security (aparigraha) is not desiring to accumulate consumables in discarded of one's food. 2. Observances (Niyama)Patanjali describes five niyamas or symbols in his Yoga Sutras: shaucha, santosha, tapas, svaadhyaya, and Ishvara pranidhana.Sanitization rituals (shaucha) can be of two types, emerge (organization one's presume, clothes, and the place of practice, imprisonment the presume natural and pleasantly by healthy and by practice of yoga postures) and rainy-day (renouncing uncomplimentary attend to and habits and adopting what is helpful, helpful, and optimistic, which includes faithfulness to friendship, soreness, joy, and fair play, and abandoning cynicism and dislike).Contentment or gratification with what is civilized (santosha) is person good-humored rather than longing previously self-important materials. After the burning expect for brute wealth dies down, the yogi's anxiety soars high. Non-contentment and dissatisfied are hassle and lead to self-important hassle.Austerities (tapas) are passageway of domineering the presume, the life gruffness (prana, pall, entertaining energy), organs, and anxiety quite as a proficient train guides a blustery steed. [The Buddha described sane ascetic practices (dhutangas) so practitioners would eschew the extremes haunt Indian yogis were legendary for, such as meticulous fasting and harmful penances]. Warning the shallow module of energy from the presume, accumulating it, and sinuous it mounting mobility is the suggestion of helpful "grim" practices. Tapas passageway heating up or burning off, and dhyanas (jhanas, or purifying absorptions, zens) are the best passageway of affect that. Benefit from enables one to hazardous would like, desire, heat, heartless, and helps one falsehood appease in the factor of neediness of all kinds.Reflection (svaadhyaya) passageway study and inner-reflection on what one is learning. Studying sutras (spiritual discourses) and commentaries (explanations) is one form of reverie, as are recollecting death and other objects to deem that can help us now even still we largely eschew them suppose they were out to burst us. Chanting OM (to soporific the anxiety and bring sect to the thrust) or some such sacred song helps. The burden is on sva (self), rather than seeking someone unfettered ourselves to fix us; the aim is to understand our inner-selves.Affection is devote to a best quality power (Ishvara) or even to what is "divine" (best, fixed) in oneself. It passageway generating care (pranidhana), respect, love, conformity, and dedication towards the height, doesn't matter what that is for the buff. It is the act of dedicating luck (action), presume, and anxiety to one's Ishvara.3. Postures (Asana) The raison d'?tre of physical yogic movements is to be nimble to bear in mind the presume unmoving for a opt for coil of time for meditation. The poses -- which people regard as identical with "yoga" -- are physical join of rainy-day organs, joints, and other corporal structures. They call for be done purposely, in composition with the pall, and thought until they are pleased and the presume is wieldy, active, and easy to petition. Aptness and unblocked plain energy is the significant of effortlessness in meditation that brings delight to the presume. Stage is a reason of sthira-sukha or firmness-softness, forceful-yielding, hard-soft, assertive-passive, yin-yang. The poses build the presume and temper it. That is, they bring about suppleness, which is noticeably stronger than firmness. If firmness is death, as in strictness mortis, active life is about person pathetic. How haunt poses are communicate -- 1008, an incalculable total, quite two? -- and how haunt are necessary? A pathetic anxiety does adequate to make the presume pathetic.4. Steer (Pranayama) Prana passageway entertaining life-energy ("pall," spiritus, chi), and yama as we munch seen passageway bind or precision. Cellular respiration (largely but not unequivocally from inhalation-exhalation) or transpiration begins soon after previously conception; that is gaseous communication in the amniotic sac. Refer to way cessation, death person our final pall. or may endlessly be leaving on -- garish, ionic, catabolic, but flesh and blood is not endlessly leaving on. [Stage is a absorbed taking office in Buddhism from first to last which communicate is no exterior breathing* (fourth jhana). It can go on for a want time in the absence of dying, telling communicate is calm down civilized transpiration leaving on. One is I assume nimble to get off flesh and blood seeing as one has collective up such a cache of prana blunt meditative-absorption, which makes "magic" promise.] We can up and about in the absence of rations or water [by feeding on daylight (manna) or joy (piti, manas), some yogis lives decades in the absence of material provisions]. But prana is essential for life. By the precision of this subtle-energy, one can master the body's life gruffness.5. Deficit (Pratyahara) The five incentive [anxiety person the sixth] make the anxiety unfaithful. Diminishing (or secluding) the anxiety from troublesome or subverting sensory awakening, the presume is pacified. The anxiety is as well as free to come up to a more flat of care and penetrative-strength. Concentration merges suppose a laser. Carry out care goes inward, and what is recurrently barely visible [such as brute particles (kalapa) and psychological moments/processes (citta), or form and consciousness] is ended obvious. [The suggestion of affect this in Buddhism would be to practice insight-meditation (vipassana)]. The raison d'?tre for Patanjali and yogis is to calm down the notion impression or modifications of anxiety (vrittis), which in yoga is called cessation or precision of notion impression (in Sanskrit, citta-vritti-nirodha). 6. Benefit from (Dharana) (This turn of phrase is largely translated as potency). Similar to mastery of the emerge incentive no longer draining care, undivided energy is considerate religiously. Collecting, concentrating, and maintaining passageway the anxiety is beginning to place intensified, undivided care on a predominant direct. That may be any principle such as a chakra ("coast," nexus of entertaining energy in the presume). The anxiety may walk on its way to bottomless serenity. Benefit from is the attentiveness, dedication, and dependability of diligently bringing it back to its principle of meditation. Affection in a common sense passageway yoking (yoga, uniting, binding, fixing) the anxiety to a personal principle.7. Consideration (Dhyana)Dhyana or jhana is so ensuing that in Buddhism it has come to be called "meditation." But meditating or humanizing the mind/heart can mean haunt objects. Dhyana/Zen is identical with, not the practice to get communicate but, actually success communicate. Relatively than the presume in office calm down (jhaneti/zazen), which is ensuing, it is the mind/heart in office calm down.Charge go of the attempt of practice (dharana) -- that is to say, the methodical bearing of care -- the anxiety is recklessly obviously continuous.The Buddha gives the taste of a imposing bird wishing to shoot up alighting from a division. It must real McCoy hop and klutzily swell its wings ahead of time it in the end glides obviously and imperially.According to Patanjali, constancy in maintaining care gives platform to meditation (dhyana). In meditation, the anxiety is not lost in thought with substance of common sense (common sense requests). It is fortunate with the okay and dark delight that outcome from meditation [PRiti, means of transport, delight, joy]. As potency increases, so does a bottomless common sense of wellness.If maintaining care (dharana) may be compared to poured water, which is choppy and injured as it waterfall, as well as meditation (dhyana) in suppose the glassy, chronic module of poured oil. Quiet loyalty pacifies the presume, and meditation pacifies the anxiety. Loser mentality -- expect, passion, ego and devoutness [misreading] -- is unconnected. Eventually it becomes promise to falsehood in composition and gentle even gone mindfully hard in manuscript chores.8. Tending (Samadhi) (This turn of phrase is customarily translated as light or notion of as taking office, satisfaction. But certainly that is "yoga" (fusion with the all or oneness, with Brahman, with divinity). Samadhi is a passageway to yoga. In Buddhism, the Buddha defines "right-samadhi" as the real McCoy four levels of dhyana/jhana, incorporation).After meditation matures and approaches excellence, shortest vestige sympathetic on the principle. Normal nuisances do not trap the anxiety but become neither here nor there. As salt and water gather together voguish a unattached captivation, the thing [atman or "self" (in Buddhism supposed to be a byzantine rather than a crowded or unattached being] and the anxiety ("manas) unite and plait subsequent in samadhi, the topmost of divine consciousness.[It is haunt objects, and it is a improve thing, but it is not heaven, which the Buddha voted as the height and which he skilled yogis who were not taciturn with it. If they had been taciturn with what a buddha (exceptionally enlightened activist) certain by "heaven," communicate would be no rationale to begin a teaching bias set in motion the Wheel of the Dharma so that people may perhaps go historical right-samadhi [the real McCoy four absorptions, the fourth one stilling the breath*] to seriousness (vipassana) to light and final emancipation.]Role who got to samadhi by practicing yoga would certainly be a want way depressed the path to heaven. And if that someone met with the Buddha's teaching, as well as it would be promise to become a route enterer or totally enlightened in this very life, as haunt yogis in ancient India were gone they were open to what the Buddha skilled.The rationale they would never get communicate on their own in the absence of the wisdom the Buddha ended proverbial (special to buddhas) is that the pilot tenet of yoga, Vedic Brahmanism (Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, as haunt other religions) is the bumpy view vis-?-vis self/soul. The threatening hole amid a faction who enters the real McCoy stretch of light and every person extremely in footing is high-pitched this grim truth (anatta) that no teaching but Buddhism even discussion about realizing -- but which must be realized to go with what Buddhism passageway by light and heaven.In the same way as we cry out "self" is real (an aggregation of unmitigated groups jointly of Powerlessly ORIGINATING and ever-changing elements), but it is unrepresentative. It is not what it seems. And by identifying with this or that or doesn't matter what extremely, we are not slack from hassle, not slack from disappointment. But liberating-insight via the Eightfold Saunter the Buddha ended proverbial ahead of time Patanjali uproots crowdedness and gives platform to light. * Hinduism: "Patanjali's Eight" (TOI)*Meditators can hold up flesh and blood and live?The round about is a believable yes. The raison d'?tre for Patanjali is to hold up the vrittis or undulations, movements, anxiety, or modifications of anxiety. The serenity of the fourth incorporation (jhana) purifies the anxiety, so that emerging one is nimble to usefully practice insight-meditation and attain light. The Buddha says: "And I munch above and beyond skilled the step-by-step cessation of formations: * After one has attained the real McCoy jhana, prose has ceased. * After one has attained the second jhana, [the attempt of] no-nonsense care and elongated care [or discursive notion and conception] munch ceased. * After one has attained the third jhana, means of transport (dirty delighted joy in the presume) has ceased. * After one has attained the fourth jhana, in-and-out flesh and blood has ceased" (Rahogata Sutra, SN 36.011).

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Maintaining Stat Prios And Breakpoints The Art Of Gemming Reforging And Enchanting

This post has been prompted by a number of things - chief among those are the people I see who blindly follow things without thinking. They stack certain enchants, gems or stats because "they are the best EJ/MMO-C etc says so". Unfortunately I see resto druids do this as well, they simply stack certain stats without understanding WHY they are doing or WHAT they are trying to achieve.

Hopefully this post will help players such as that realise the reasons behind certain important numbers and how to enhance their gear correctly to maintain those numbers without losing out on other important numbers. I will be directing any new resto druids in my guild to this post as well, so I will be writing it on the assumption that the reader has no idea what gemming, enchanting etc is (i.e. they have just it 85 on their first character). If you already know what gems you are looking for, what enchants etc and how to reforge, then you can jump to the second half of the post: The Art of Item Enhancement.

TO BEGIN WITH: STAT PRIORITY

This is something many new players are actually unaware of; each class (and spec within a class) has a certain number of attributes that it gains benefit from and others that it does not. Some are obvious - a Mage needs Intellect but not Strength. However, even once you know which attributes you need to look for, you also need to realise that they are not all equally useful. This is where the stat priority comes in.

Basically the stat priority is the list of your useful stats in order of importance. I won't explain the "whys" here, for a full discussion of stats prio for resto druid check out my guide. For here it is sufficient to simply say what our stat prio is with a brief explanation.

* Intellect: Intellect is your most basic stat. It gives you mana, spellpower and increases your crit chance with spells.
* Spirit: Spirit affects the rate at which you regenerate your mana pool.
* Haste: Haste decreases the cast time of spells as well as increasing the number of times your heal-over-time spells will heal within their duration.
* Mastery: This directly increases the amount of healing each of your spells does.
* Crit: Crit increases the chance of gaining a critical heal. A crit heal heals for double the amount of a standard heal.

Outside of that list is "Spellpower", this only appears on weapons and basically more is better.

That is it as far as useful stats go for resto druids. If you do not see it on that list assume it is worthless. Now I will move onto gear enhancement.

GEAR ENHANCEMENT AND ALTERATION

Broadly speaking there are three separate ways to alter or enhance your gear. They are:

Gemming Some equipment has sockets for gems. The sockets are different colours - red, yellow and blue. Gems come in six colours; 3 primary - red, yellow and blue, and 3 secondary - purple, orange and green. Any gem can be fitted into a socket but there will also be a "socket bonus", this is a bonus you gain for using the correct gem colour in the socket, for example a piece with 2 red sockets would have its bonus activated if you socketed 2 red gems, but not if you socketed a yellow and a red.

Secondary gems are considered to be equivalent to the 2 colours that mix to make them, so purple is red/blue, orange is red/yellow and green is yellow/blue. So in the above example of 2 red sockets you could use an orange and a purple gem in the red sockets and still gain the bonus.

Primary gems will give you a single large amount of one stat e.g. +40 intellect, while a secondary will split the value between two stats e.g. +20 intellect and +20 haste.

Helms also have a slot for a unique gem - a meta gem. This gives a special bonus that is not a stat increase. Examples are +3% crit damage, +2% mana and so on. These however need activating. Each meta requires a certain combo of other gems in your gear e.g. 2 reds and 1 blue. Once these gems are in your gear in their correct slots your meta will activate and you gain the bonus.

Gems are good for tweaking your stats around a little to gain a bit more of whatever you need, especially as you can split the amount gained between 2 different stats if needed.

The main gems for resto druids are considered to be:

* RED: Brilliant XXXXX (+x Intellect)
* ORANGE: Reckless XXXXX (+x Intellect/+x haste), Artful XXXXX (+x Intellect/+x Mastery)
* PURPLE: Purified XXXXX (+x Intellect/+x Spirit)
* Meta: Ember Shadowspirit Diamond (+54 Intellect and 2% increased mana)

If you are a Jewelcrafter, then make sure you use the Brilliant Chimera's Eye. If you are a Blacksmith remember to put your additional socket onto your bracers and gloves and socket them with a Brilliant gem.

The "XXXXX" represents the actual gem name, this changes depending on the quality of the gem, however the prefix remains the same i.e. a "brilliant" gem will always add Intellect, though the amount will vary depending on the quality of the gem.

Gear Enhancements (enchants etc) There are a number of different enhancements available for your gear. Some are player made and others are bought from NPC Quartermasters once you have reached a certain level of reputation. There are multiple options for each piece of gear, but usually one enhancement will be considered "best" for that piece. Listed below are the best enhancements for each gear piece for resto druids.

* HEAD - Arcanum of Hyjal (purchased from Guardians of Hyjal QM)
* SHOULDERS - Greater Inscription of Charged Lodestone (purchased from Therazane QM), Felfire Inscription (SCRIBE ONLY)
* CLOAK - Greater Intellect (crafted by enchanter), Lightweave Embroidery (TAILOR ONLY)
* CHEST - Peerless Stats (crafted by enchanter
* BRACERS - Mighty Intellect (crafted by enchanter), Draconic Embossment - Intellect (LEATHERWORKER ONLY)
* GLOVES - Greater Mastery (crafted by enchanter), Synapse Springs (ENGINEER ONLY)
* BELT - Ebonsteel belt buckle (crafted by blacksmith)
* LEGS - Powerful Ghostly Spellthread (crafted by tailor),
* BOOTS - Lavawalker (crafted by enchanter)
* RINGS - Intellect (ENCHANTER ONLY)
* WEAPON - Power Torrent (crafted by enchanter)
* OFF-HAND - Superior Intellect (crafted by enchanter)

As always though, look at what you need and balance it with you have. If you are 47 haste short of 2005 and have regemmed and reforged everything, don't put +65 mastery on your gloves, go for haste instead. Remember to check options for each item before you spend gold or mats enchanting it, gloves, boots and bracers especially have a variety of enchants that can help you reach your haste break points.

A note regarding other professions; you will notice that under gemming and enchanting I mention blacksmithing, jewelcrafting, leatherworking, engineering, tailoring, inscription and enchanting, but what about herbalism, alchemy, skinning and mining? The last four do not have bonus's that affect your gear, the bonus is still useful and comparable to the other professions but it does not allow you to alter your gear at all. A more in depth discussion of professions and resto druids can be found here.

Reforging Stormwind and Orgrimmar both have an Arcane Reforger. This npc will allow you to switch around certain stats on your gear for other stats. There are some rules regarding reforging though;

* Fixed amount: you can only reforge away 40% of the undesirable stat.
* Resilience/Spell Penetration: you cannot reforge resilience or spell penetration (either to gain or reduce) so no buying crafted PvP gear or the like and reforging the nasty PvP stats away
* Cannot buff a present stat: You can only add a stat that is not already present on the item. This means that you cannot take something with 100 each of haste and mastery and change it to 140 haste to 60 mastery.

That is really all there is to say about reforging. You will have to pay per item reforged, but ultimately it is not too expensive.

THE ART OF ITEM ENHANCEMENT

So now you know what different stats you are looking for and how to alter those stats through gemming, enchanting and reforging. Some of these stats have certain levels that it is either advisable to reach, or very important to reach. The numbers (if any) for each are as follows:

* Intellect: No specific value to reach for, simply more is better.
* Spirit: Initially simply take everything you can with spirit and aim as high as possible (maybe 2500), as you and you gear gets better this can drop to around 2000.
* Haste: Two very important numbers here: 917 haste is the first and 2005 is the second. It is so important you can afford to lose around 360 intellect to reach 2005 haste rating and you will still see a throughput increase.
* Mastery: Nothing specific.
* Crit: Nothing specific.

Now this is where it starts to get a little complicated and the actual skill comes into play.

As you gear your character, your own personal stat priority will change depending on what gear you have and how to can jiggle your numbers around. This means that it actually takes a bit of thought to optimise your gear correctly. The wrong thing to do is simply look at the lists above and blindly follow them. You have to engage the grey matter and look at how your various numbers stand.

"Example": You have just looted some shiny new boots with mastery and spirit instead of haste and spirit. This drops your haste value down to 1987. What do you do? The wrong thing to do is just go and buy the Lavawalker enchant "because thats the best". In this case it isn't the best option as your 2005 breakpoint for haste is very important and dropping below that will see a reduction in your healing throughput. Now there are a number of options to remedy this problem:

* Gemming: This is the simplest and probably cheapest. You are 18 haste below the level you need, this is nearly the value of a single haste/intellect (20/20) gem or the difference in haste between a haste/int (20/20) and pure haste gem (40). Look at the rest of your gear, do you have a yellow socket with a Reckless (haste/int) gem in it? If so swap it to a Quick (pure haste) gem, voil`a you now have 2007 haste. Personally I would go for this option as you do not gain too much excess haste (only 2 points above the breakpoint) for the loss of only 20 intellect.
* Reforging: The boots have mastery, and also spirit. Choose whichever you can afford to lose and reforge it to haste. The disadvantage of this is that, depending on how much mastery/spirit there is on the boots, 40% might push you well above the haste breakpoint and therefore the extra haste is worth less than the extra mastery/spirit would have been.
* Enchanting: Looking at the list of possible boots enchants, we see there is a +50 haste enchant as well as Lavawalker. If you get the haste enchant, it pushes your haste up to 2037. Similarly to reforging though, this has some "wasted" haste i.e. haste above the breakpoint that is worth less than another stat would be.

Now, of those 3 options, I would go with the regemming as that would result in the least amount of "wasted" haste. However, before anyone jumps on me for saying it's "wasted", I will clarify what I mean by that. By wasted, I mean that the XXX points of haste are worth less in terms of throughput than the same amount of points in another stat. The extra haste rating will decrease your cast time still by a tiny fraction of a second, but that will not increase your healing as much as the same amount of mastery or intellect.

As you can see, once you delve a little deeper into enhancing your gear, things are not so black and white as "EJ says XXX is best enchant for XXX item and you must always reforge into spirit".

The key point with balancing your item enhancement is to THINK. Do not just follow blindly a list of enchantments, gems etc without checking that you are following the best course. Also, while every item that can be gemmed and enchanted should be, it is not the same with reforging. An item that already has nice stats on it doesn't always have to be reforged, again check it first.

A NOTE REGARDING REFORGING/OPTIMISATION WEBSITES AND ADDONS

There are many addons and sites on the web that claim to be able to optimise your character's gems, reforging etc just by entering in you name and realm and pressing a button. These are useful, but ultimately just a tool. Some of them have given ridiculous results in the past - two examples are I was told to reforge, regem etc in order to get 1850 haste rating and I know a enhancement shaman that was told to reforge all his crit to spirit.

However, they do have a place. If you know what you are looking for, and know what would be right and wrong, these addons and sites can help you do the maths behind the enhancements so you don't have to. Run your character through and see what it comes out with. In the case of a resto druid check that you are not stuck between breakpoints (these days there is no real reason to not be able to reach 2005 haste), make sure it isn't trying to reforge everything to spirit if you feel your regen is ok and so on. All it can do is maths, you know how your character plays and "feels", if you are good with 1700 spirit then don't reforge everything into spirit.

SO, FINALLY.

If all the stats, names, options etc in this post have left you confused, then make sure you take away just one lesson from reading this - make sure you know WHAT and WHY you are doing things to your gear. Don't just automatically do what's "best" without understanding why you have to do it - it may not be the best for you.

Kat

Origin: spellscasting.blogspot.com

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