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There are lots of interesting articles on this page for you to enjoy, including many about spiritual, inspirational, religious and social justice issues. Just scroll down the page and you'll find them all ready for you to read and consider. Whether you want to learn more about how I tune into my spirit guides, or explore some of my thoughts about the state of the world you're welcome to browse through what you find and remember, if you want, you can subscribe to my free email newsletter too - an example of which you can preview here.

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1) Spiritual, 2) Inspirational, 3) Cautionary, 4) Religious, 5) Activist, 6) Musings, 7) Poetry, 8) Quotes,
9) Books...

How I tune into Spirit

One of the ways that I receive psychic information about up-coming world events is by utilising the principle of shamanic trance. In the shamanic realm I'm able to receive information from my Spirit guides and helpers and they'll often choose to confirm the accuracy of our communications by telling me about something that's due to occur in the world news, often of international scope. Because I'm quite analytical and require ongoing 'evidence' proof of this kind tells me effectively that if the world event that Spirit has given me foreknowledge of occurs then the other information they're conveying to me is likely to be equally factual too and not a result of me deluding myself. It creates a set of 'checks and balances', so to speak. But how do I enter the shamanic realm? In essence the process is quite simple:

1) I utilise self-hypnosis to go into a trance.

2) While in trance I enter the shamanic world (as described in many books on the subject) and meet with my angelic guides and helpers.

3) I talk with them about the work we're doing to promote peace and suchlike, and then I'll sometimes ask them to give me a 'sign' that I've correctly understood what they've conveyed and that the message I've received is really a genuine message from Spirit and not the result of wishful thinking on my part. At this point they'll often give me a word or words, coupled with an image that represents the prophesied event.

4) Then I thank my guides for their support and guidance and return from trance to full conscious awareness.

In a nutshell - that's how it works. I'll sometimes tell others, such as my wife Gill, about the events that I've been given foreknowledge of, as a further source of evidence regarding the veracity of the messages I've received. Interestingly, I sense that this developing ability to receive knowledge of future events, currently acting mainly as a source of proof for myself about the accuracy of Spirit communication, is likely to have a wider purpose - and Spirit will no doubt guide me appropriately as the need develops.

(I cover various techniques that I've found useful for communicating with Spirit in my Soul workshops.)

Some examples of precognition

Here's an example of one of the startling pieces of evidence that Spirit gave me about the veracity of the messages I'm receiving. Recently, in shamanic trance, I asked Spirit for some evidence about something that would manifest in the near future on the world stage. They guided my thoughts to Iran and the word 'assassination'. I recoiled at this message and began to wonder whether I'd just imagined something out of a Hollywood style thriller. But no - the message was clear! The country was Iran and there was going to be something to do with the word assassination. So, I returned from trance and told my wife Gill - and a day or so later both of my parents too - about this message. About a week after I'd received the message the TV news began to cover a startling story. Russian President Vladimir Putin was being warned to be careful in his (then) upcoming meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran because he was being targeted for assassination in Iran! (My wife and parents were equally amazed as I when the news broke about the assassination threat to President Putin in Iran, occuring within days of my psychic message!).

A few years ago I decided to enrol on some psychic development training courses, one of which was at the Joseph Carey Psychic Foundation in Portsmouth. I'd chosen to enrol on a course in Portsmouth, rather than in my hometown of Bournemouth so that I could enjoy some 'anonymity'. Because I'm reasonably well-known in the psychotherapy / psychic community in Bournemouth I wanted to go somewhere where (I'd hoped) I'd just be able to join in without anyone knowing very much about me, so I could mingle in as 'one of the crowd', so to speak. However, as I set out to drive to my first evening's training at the Joseph Carey Psychic Foundation Spirit told me that there was going to be someone on the course that I knew! This puzzled me and I wondered who on earth could be on a psychic development course in Portsmouth that I would know? Anyway, I soon arrived at my destination, joining the other delegates in the classroom and I began chit-chatting with a guy who was sat next to me... when a woman walked into the room and waved at me. She was a student from one of our previous hypnotherapy diploma courses (held in Bournemouth) who lived reasonably close to Portsmouth and who had, as a result of her family background in mediumship (which she told me about over the coming weeks), decided to enrol on the course too.

And here's another example: One evening when driving back from the Joseph Carey Psychic Foundation Spirit told me to 'be careful of the fox that's going to step out in front of you'. About 20 minutes later, as I pulled off of the dual carriageway into Bournemouth, a fox did indeed step out in front of me. However, forewarned, as soon as I saw it on the grass verge ahead of me I slowed down and avoided it by a comfortable distance.

For the record: I've had even more astounding proofs than those covered above, including precognition about the British Royal Family, world leaders, natural disasters and some amazing spiritual encounters, which I've written about in detail in my new book (if you represent a publishing house with a background in publishing spiritual books you're welcome to get in touch).

Spiritual Emergence

Dark Night to New Dawn

If you've experienced a kundalini, mystical or shamanic awakening (which 'technically' is known as a 'spiritual emergence' experience) then the following information may be useful for you. You'll find links to many websites which provide sensible information on the subject, plus details of some books which are similarly well-researched. Also worth considering is seeing a good counsellor or psychotherapist (as well as your doctor) who understands spiritual issues, perhaps like a transpersonal counsellor and / or a hypnotherapist with experience of subjects like this. The following organisations may be able to help:

The Association for Meridian Therapies
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
The Complementary Medical Association
Counselling Ltd
The Counselling Society
The General Hypnotherapy Register
The Hypnotherapy Association
The Hypnotherapy Society
The Spiritual Workers Association
The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy

'In my personal experience and in the accounts we know of about shamans, they tend to be creative, eccentric, and highly sensitive people who in most cases suffered some form of deep wounding. This allows their personal consciousness to break through to an awareness of other realities in the course of trying to heal themselves. I call this a knowledge of the "crack in the world" which a person, through severe trauma or a near death experience has sustained in themselves and thus can look through both openings, which are one and the same…Their self healing reaches a crisis during the shamanic initiation process of traditional cultures where every personal resource is tested to the extreme through specific ordeals. These ordeals force the shaman-to-be to confront within themselves their greatest fears, weaknesses and personal "demons". It involves a symbolic death and rebirth into another plane of consciousness and non ordinary reality, a strengthening and cleansing of the core personality as the container or conduit of Spirit and healing energy, and an awakening to extraordinary powers and vision. As such, traditional shamanism involves knowledge of magic and ritual as part of its process but its real power is gained by breaking through personal ego barriers to an awareness of non ordinary reality and ability to access those energies.'

Quote from: http://www.pathfinding.com/Articles.htm

'Kundalini has been called the most powerful force in the universe.. Once started, it does not stop until it's work is done, though it may go to sleep for periods of time and reawaken under certain circumstances. This is a door that once opened, does not close again.'

Quote from: http://www.kundalini-gateway.org/warn.html

'"Kundalini" is the power of the universe focused through the human, amplified and directed by human intent and will, to bring Heaven and Earth into perfect alignment…'

Quoted from: http://www.shamans-cave.com

Kundalini, Mystical and Shamanic Awakening

Signs, Symptoms and Benefits of Kundalini/Shamanic Awakening

Signs of Kundalini Awakening click HERE

Benefits of Kundalini Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Kundalini Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Kundalini Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Kundalini Awakening click HERE

Signs of Shamanic Awakening click HERE

Benefits of Shamanic Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Shamanic Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Shamanic Awakening click HERE
More benefits of Shamanic Awakening click HERE

For additional links to Kundalini/Shamanic Websites highlighted by SES* click HERE

For helpful Kundalini/Shamanic books highlighted by SES* click HERE

(*Spiritual Emergence Service)

For additional contact support (in both the UK and internationally) please take the following link to the Canada-based Spiritual Emergence Service (SES) which contains a wealth of information HERE.

Spiritual Emergence Books

***Spiritual Emergency - Stanislav Grof MD and Christina Grof***

Beyond The Light - P M H Atwater

Book of the Hopi - Frank Waters

Buffalo Woman Comes Singing - Brooke Medicine Eagle

Bushman Shaman - Bradford Keeney

The Call of Spiritual Emergency - Emma Bragdon

Crossing Over - John Edward

Dark Night of the Soul - St John of the Cross

Dorothy Kerin: Called by Christ to Heal - Dorothy Musgrave Arnold

Dreamtime and Inner Space: World of the Shaman - Holger Kalweit

The Field - Lynne McTaggart

Fire in the Heart - Kyriacos C. Markides

Healing Words - Dr Larry Dossey

Heaven and Earth - James Van Praagh

Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine - Jeanne Achterberg

Jesus The Healer - Stevan L. Davies

Jose Silva's Ultramind ESP System - Ed Bernd, Jr

Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge - Joan Parisi Wilcox

Kundalini And The Evolution Of Consciousness - Salomae Sananda

The Kundalini Experience - Lee Sanella

Kundalini: Evolution and Enlightenment - Edited by John White

Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man - Gopi Krishna

The Last Ghost Dance - Brooke Medicine Eagle

Life After Life - Dr. Raymond Moody

The Light of Asia - Sir Edwin Arnold

The Link: The Extraordinary Gifts of a Teenage Psychic - Matthew Manning

Living With Kundalini - Gopi Krishna

Mad Bear - Doug Boyd

(Mad Bear also contains a large amount of information on Jison Sen Sei the Japanese Healer)

Many Lives, Many Masters - Dr Brian Weiss

One Foot in the Stars: The Story of an Extraordinary Healer - Matthew Manning

One Last Time - John Edward

Physics of the Soul - Amit Goswami, PhD

Psychic Warrior - David Morehouse

Recovering The Soul - Dr Larry Dossey

Reincarnation: A New Horizon in Science, Religion and Spirituality - Sylvia Cranston and Cary Williams

Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery - Joseph Head and Sylvia Cranston

Rolling Thunder - Doug Boyd

Rolling Thunder Speaks: A Message for Turtle Island - Rolling Thunder

The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux - Joseph Epes, MA PhD

Second Sight - Dr. Judith Orloff

Shaman, Healer, Sage - by Alberto Villoldo

Shamanism - Mircea Eliade

Shamans, Healers, and Medicine Men - Holger Kalweit

Shaman: The Wounded Healer - Joan Halifax

The Shaman: Voyages of the Soul - Piers Vitebsky

Shaman Wisdom / Shaman Healing - Michael Samuels M.D. & Mary Rockwood Lane Ph.D.

The Silva Method - Jose Silva

Soul Retrieval: Mending The Fragmented Self - Sandra Ingerman

Spiritual Emergency - Stanislav Grof MD and Christina Grof

Spiritual Healing - Daniel J. Benor, M.D.

Spiritual Healing - Dudley Blades

Stalking The Wild Pendulum - Itzhak Bentov

Supernature - Lyall Watson

The Teachings of Don Juan - Carlos Castaneda

Transformed By The Light - Dr. Melvin Morse

Unmasking The Rose - Dorothy Walters

Urban Shaman - Serge Kahili King PhD

Vibrational Medicine - Richard Gerber, M.D.

Way of Native American Traditions - Arthur Versluis

The Way of the Shaman - Michael Harner

Where Science and Magic Meet - Dr Serena Roney Dougal

Where Two Worlds Touch - Gloria Karpinski

You Have Been Here Before - Dr Edith Fiore

Your Shamanic Path: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World - Leo Rutherford

Spiritual Emergence Links

http://www.kundalini-gateway.org

http://www.pathfinding.com/Articles.htm

http://easternhealingarts.com/Articles/SpiritEmerge.html

http://www.greatdreams.com/kunda.htm

http://www.supertarot.co.uk/magic/shaman.htm

http://www.kundalininet.org/html/about.html

http://members.aol.com/ckress/symptoms.html

http://www.shamans-cave.com

http://www.shamanscave.com

http://www.kundalini-teacher.com/

http://www.plotinus.com/dark_night_of_the_soul.htm

http://www.themystic.org/dark-night/

http://www.newconnexion.net/article/05-99/shamanic.html

http://www.virtualcs.com/se/dxtx/types/kundalini.html

http://www.cherylstoycoff.com/kundalini.htm

http://class.universalclass.com/chash/s/h/a/shaman.htm

http://www.homeschooling-courses.com/courses/amadeus.htm

http://www.animalspirits.com

http://i.webring.com/hub?ring=shamanring

http://www.kundalini-teacher.com/awakening/shamn.html

http://member.telpacific.com.au/btina/cht/html/anxiety.html

http://www.colleendeatsman.com/Awakeningwithjrny.htm

http://www.asiaresearchassociates.com/AfricanStudies/Dissert Ch 7.pdf

http://www.innerself.com/Towards_2000_Plus/Fear_Is_Our_Enemy.htm

http://members.aol.com/EthericOne/aluna1.htm

http://earthspirits.org/articles/faqshaman.htm

http://www.newagecities.com/neighborhoods/paranormal/content/paranormal.asp

http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/08/levy1.html

http://member.telpacific.com.au/btina/cht/html/natureofshamanism3.html

http://www.elcollie.com/st/darkness.html

http://www.cyberflyer.ca/innervisions/html/faq.HTM

http://groups.msn.com/CymmorilsWiccanTeenSite/shamanictrances.msnw

http://www.shamana.co.uk/Shamanism_in_Siberia/index3.htm

http://www.corelevelhealing.com/articles/healing_the_liver.html

http://www.korea.net/koreanculture/imagesofkorean/image_22.asp

http://www.ofspirit.com/shamanism.htm

http://dancingstardesign.tripod.com/

http://www.elcollie.com/html/Issue42.html

http://www.tearsofllorona.com/gopi.html

http://www.virtualcs.com/se/experiences/exp-lukoff-print.html

http://www.pathfinding.com/Articles.htm

http://www.elcollie.com/st/st.html

http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/term/Shamanism

http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/search.php

http://www.cit-sakti.com/story/kundalini-awakening-story-intro.htm

http://www.draknet.com/proteus/emergence.htm

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=161593

http://www.shamanicvisions.com/bearcave_folder/healingway.html

http://www.awakening-healing.com/Glossary.htm

http://www.breathwork.com/books.html

http://www.creativespirit.net/learners/counseling/docu35.htm

http://www.iands.org

http://www.planetdeb.net/spirit/ndeshamn.htm

http://www.ahpweb.org/aboutahp/Memberlinks.html

http://www.sheacranial.com/publications/papers/paper_mah.htm

http://www.virtualcs.com/jhpseart.html

For the Canadian-based, international Spiritual Emergence Service (SES) website click HERE

(c) Kerin Webb (except quotes) 2004. Spiritual Emergence Support UK

Enthusiasm

It’s 1968 and he’s 33. He looks magnificent. He’s dressed in a jet black suit and adorned with his jet black hair and trademark sideburns. The iconic image he presents instantly lets the viewers know who it is they’re watching. It’s Elvis! He’s back. And he’s back in style.

The Singer Television Special (now known in the annals of rock n’ roll history as the ‘68 Comeback Special’) in which Elvis performed to a television audience, for the first time in years (and in the process reclaimed his crown as the ‘king of rock n’ roll’) is exhilarating to watch. I’ve seen it many times now and I’m always impressed by the energy and charisma that Elvis radiates throughout this spectacular programme. There’s something special about Elvis in this show. It’s true his entire career was remarkable, but this particular show stands out at this moment in his life. And you know what I think it is about Elvis that’s different? His enthusiasm! After almost a decade in the doldrums of being tied into movie-making contracts making films (many of which) even he didn’t like (and he was the star of them!) but which he couldn’t extricate himself from, he’d at last found his freedom and re-discovered his first love. Singing to a live audience! And the passion. The excitement. The enthusiasm is apparent. He is outstanding to watch. Such is the power of enthusiasm.

Follow that dream

Elvis once sang a song called ‘Follow That Dream’. In the song he exhorts us by saying: ‘When a dream is calling you…there’s just one thing that you should do. You’ve got to follow that dream!’ Anthony Robbins, the popular American Life Coach has also often cited the dictum which states: ‘Success leaves clues’ (which we can follow). That’s to say that if we study those who are successful and sincerely replicate the same kind of behaviour we’ll generate similar results in our own lives. I like Tony – and I agree with what he says.

So, Elvis advocates that when a dream is ‘calling’ us…we should ‘follow’ it. And you know what? If you look at many of the greatest people who’ve ever lived that’s exactly what they did (Elvis included). They had a dream – or a passion which filled them with enthusiasm and that enthusiasm helped energise them so that, whatever life threw at them, they were inexorably on target to do what they wanted to do. To be who they wanted to be.

As one door closes another gate opens

I watched Bill Gates at the global Live 8 concert. You know what I notice about him? He’s totally enthusiastic about his work and the projects he’s involved in. So’s Richard Branson. So was Mother Teresa. So was Dorothy Kerin. Bono is. And we all know Bob Geldof is ******* enthusiastic about his projects too. What’s more - all of these people have helped to improve the lives of many others through the power of their enthusiasm. Think about it. If my understanding is correct, back when it seemed an impossible idea to most people, Bill Gates’ goal was to have a computer situated on every office work desk running Microsoft software (or something close to this). And he did it. Now, in today’s world, it’s a given that most computers are running on Windows. But back then it started as a dream that Bill Gates had - which he ‘followed’ with enthusiasm. And because of this, now he’s probably the biggest philanthropist in history. Sir Richard Branson, as I understand things, started running his business as a youngster from a local phone box. He too had a goal / dream and the enthusiasm to go with it and he made his dream a reality. Mother Teresa received a message from God which told her she had work to do. So she got started. She got enthusiastic about it, helped thousands and in the process set an example to us all about selflessness. So did Dorothy Kerin. As a desperately ill young person in England in 1912 she experienced a similar encounter with God as did Mother Teresa. As a result she had a miraculous recovery from her illness and got enthusiastic about her ‘calling’. Due to her lifelong enthusiasm the nursing centre she founded called Burrswood still exists today which provides healing to many, long after Dorothy physically left this world as a, then, elderly lady in the early 1960s. And Bono and Bob Geldof? Well their dedication and enthusiasm is apparent in all that they do. Millions will vouch for that.

Enthusiasm is catching

There’s something wonderful about someone who’s enthusiastic. Their enthusiasm is catching. It creates a kind of virtuous circle. They behave enthusiastically and their enthusiasm rubs off on those around them. (Dorothy Kerin used to ask: ‘What’s the good news today?’) So those around them start to feel and act enthusiastically too - and everyone benefits! Imagine what it would be like if the whole world lived this way. The way of enthusiasm. If we all looked for the positive potential in our circumstances. And if we enthusiastically found ways together around the challenges that crop up in life from time to time. What a difference that would be.

For instance, just think about what it would be like to work for a company in which enthusiasm was a part of the corporate culture. I’m not talking about ‘plastic enthusiasm’, the kind that you hear about where people (often under duress) are drilled through a list of daily ‘motivational commandments’ each morning (that they often don’t agree with but have to suffer through) in order to get paid. I’m talking about real heartfelt enthusiasm. The kind that takes a dirt poor child from the streets of Tupelo, Mississippi to a place where he’s enthusiastically singing from the heart-of-his-soul for the ‘68 TV special. The kind that makes life really worth living. How could we begin to do that?

Deliberate acts of enthusiasm

A few years ago someone coined the term ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ to encourage people to make being kind a part of their day-to-day lives. I like that idea a lot. Of course, in reality, by incorporating such a precept into your life you aren’t really practising ‘random’ acts, in the strict sense of the word. Sure…the time and the place may present itself without premeditation…but the desire to be kind is deliberate. For enthusiasm to fill our lives it also needs to become a deliberate act. That’s why I’ve coined the term ‘Deliberate Acts of Enthusiasm’. (I’m not trade marking it - smile - because I thought it might work better if it was placed in the public domain for anyone else who might want to use it to be able to do so too.) I believe that if more people were to get into the habit of practising deliberate acts of enthusiasm in their lives we’d soon notice the difference.

High spirits

Curiously (or not) the word enthusiasm is derived from the Greek word ‘enthousiazien’ which literally means to be ‘possessed by a god’. So this means that, originally, being enthusiastic was considered to be a divine attribute. Maybe it still is? Maybe this means that by being enthusiastic in our lives and in our work we can share a little bit of heaven with those we meet along the way?

If I can dream

The closing song that Elvis sang on the ’68 TV Special was a song called ‘If I Can Dream’. This time he’s dressed in immaculate white. He looks magnificent. And he’s filled with passion – with enthusiasm – as he begins singing with the outstanding voice that providence bestowed upon him. At first he sings about the feelings of mistrust and unease that often permeate our global culture. He raises questions which ask, in effect, that if it’s possible to dream of a better world…why can’t such a dream come true? It’s a good question. But then the ebb and flow of the song begins to change as it lifts upwards…the mood shifting higher…becoming hopeful. Moving powerfully towards the crescendo Elvis becomes almost rhetorical in the words that he sings, by effectively answering his own questions, by declaring enthusiastically ‘out there in the dark there’s a beckoning candle’. And he’s right. Because enthusiasm is like a light that radiates outward bringing illumination and energy to those whom it touches. Elvis continues by singing about the miracles that can take place when we all have the ‘strength to dream’, a strength which can itself enable us to ‘fly’. To be lifted above the humdrum. To raise our potential. To move up to another level. Such is the power of enthusiasm.

Possessed by enthusiasm

I never met Elvis personally, but his enduring vitality and enthusiasm have radiated across continents and time and have helped to shape my life significantly. Like Elvis, I believe that when we have a dream and when we follow that dream with clarity and become possessed by enthusiasm we can enrich our own lives and the lives of those with whom we live. I believe you do too. And maybe…just maybe if we both decide to practice Deliberate Acts of Enthusiasm in our day-to-day lives we’ll become a permanent part of that virtuous circle that the great-and-the-good are inviting us to join. And then who knows where that could lead?

(c) Kerin Webb 2005.

All things bright and beautiful

One of my favourite hymns that I remember singing as a child at primary school, back in the 1960s was called All Things Bright And Beautiful. Remember how it states, when referring to the natural world, that 'The Lord God' made it all. Let me ask you: when was the last time you considered yourself to be bright and beautiful? Okay, okay, I know, you're modest and you don't like to think about yourself that way. After all, it's okay for God to have made '...each little flower that opens and each little bird that sings...' and it's okay for them to be called bright and beautiful. But hey, I mean, it has to stop there, doesn't it? It wouldn't be right to think that God might think that you're bright and beautiful too? Would it? Nah...that could never be, could it?

And how about that 'all things wise and wonderful' bit? I agree; let's be humble here and never credit you with ever, ever, ever, acting with wisdom. Especially when you express the Love of God in your life. Let's just leave the wisdom part to those 'purple headed mountains' right? That must have been what God was thinking about when he inspired the hymn. Couldn't have been you? Could it?

You know, it's nice to meet someone with such a radiant halo of personal humility. But have you ever thought about letting it slip once in awhile? And allowing for the possibility that God might see you ultimately as a bright and beautiful soul that He loves dearly? I know, it's a tough one to consider. But try it on for a while. You might like it.


(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Aloha from Heaven

Anyone who knows me will know that I think Elvis is great! When I was in my teens I used to walk like Elvis, smile like Elvis wear my hair, sideburns and collars like Elvis. In fact, it used to be (and for many it still is) think of Elvis think of Kerin. Think of Kerin think of Elvis. (Writing as someone trained in hypnosis what I've just written has nothing to do with the power of suggestion. Un huh huh!) And as a teen back in the 1970s, it was great. And every now and again, at family events when the karaoke machine appears I've been known to be persuaded to get up and sing some of 'my old hits' (and you've guessed it, I don't have to be persuaded too hard.)

Anyway, Elvis was the first rock star to perform via satellite for a charity event, to over a billion people, back in the early '70s. The event was named Aloha From Hawaii and the 'King' was in his prime. (You can get it on DVD.) It was a real class act. Wouldn't it be great if you and I could be a part of something big that would reach a billion people or more too? Something that was geared to help the world in some amazing way? Well maybe we can. And I think that maybe God wants humanity to do something like this. Who knows? Perhaps if the people of the world united for some massive global humanitarian cause it might even turn out to be God's way (the King of Kings) of performing His own Aloha From Heaven event - in and through us.

I know. There's a problem. I don't have any spare satellites and maybe you don't either. So I guess we're stymied before we start? Or are we? (And is God?)

Let me ask you: does the world need to change? I think the answer is 'Yes!'.

But how many satellites do we need to seek to begin express the Love of God in our own lives? None?

And doesn't a mighty oak from a little acorn grow?

So, maybe this means that if you and I and everyone else who wants the world to change for the better makes it a goal to express the Love of God, as much as we're humanly able to do, in our own lives, and because these days ideas can travel fast - much faster than they did in the early 1970s - then maybe, who knows, before we know it we might find that we all have parts to play in the King of Kings' Aloha From Heaven global healing event?

I wonder, how many people do you think God wants to be involved? Everyone?

And I expect the tickets are free.

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Happiness

Happiness is something that you often find indirectly. It usually comes as a result of doing something else. For instance; being actively involved in a vocation, a calling, doing something that’s fulfilling in a way that a ‘mere job’ is not will add happiness to a person’s life. Taking action to help others will also contribute to a person’s happiness quotient. And maintaining a close relationship with The Creator will make a person feel happy too. Some people have, as their first goal in life, the goal to ‘be happy’ and such people often find that as a result, paradoxically, the happiness that they crave eludes them. Better then to let happiness find you indirectly. Because when you do something worthwhile that ‘presses your buttons’ you’ll find that one of the buttons that gets pressed in the process is your happiness button.

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.

Let's get cynical!

Sometimes I find it can be good to have some 'down time'. To put aside all of the upbeat positivity and 'eternal hope' for a while and just wallow in some cynicism for a moment or two. Don't you? What can we gripe about today? The state of the world? Yep! I agree. Some places are in a real mess. And things'll never get better - right? Yeah - let's get really cynical now about it all, let's really gripe, and moan, and complain - and feel hopeless.

How about how some people can be so rude these days too - it really naffs me off? You too? Yeah - let's really gripe and complain about this as well - and things will never change. Will they?

How about the government? Fed up with it? This is a real biggie isn't it? Has any government ever solved the problems of the world? Clearly not. So let's get deep down and dirty now over this one and grumble, and moan, and gripe, and complain - and lament that it will never get better. Will it?

Feel good? Yeah - me too!

Now that I've got that out of my system, maybe it's time for me to do something proactive to help improve things? How about you?

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream.
He dreamt he was walking along a beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

That really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. 'LORD, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I've noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You most, You'd leave me'.

The LORD replied: 'My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.'

Better Than Drugs?

Psst! It's me. Quick. Over 'ere. Careful now. Don't let anyone notice.

I can see you're looking a bit low and you probably feel like a quick fix. Right? Well you've come the right place. Because I'm Doctor Freehigh - and I can give you a fix that'll make your toes curl.

Feeling under the weather? Then let me give you a few of these blues busters. Here you go...my special Walk In The County ingredients...take one of these at least twice a week and you'll be feeling much better.

Stressed? No worries...here you go... and shhh...don't tell anyone! These Sitting By The Sea will bring those stress levels down in a moment!

A touch of the old melancholy? No problem at all! Take one of these Looking At Trees And Flowers. And then notice what happens. Bammo! Trust me - after you've tried these you'll never want to go back to your other dealer.

Now...on ya go..and keep yer 'ead down. I don't want to get caught. Know what I mean?

What d'ya mean, 'ow much do you owe me? What kind of a dealer do you think I am? They're free. Now get on with ya! I've got more people queuing up for a fix. I can't spend all my time with you. What's a dealer supposed to do these days?

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

If The Cap Fits

In England we have a saying that goes like this: 'If the cap fits, wear it!'. What this means is that if someone says something indirectly that you think might be an accurate description of you then 'the cap fits you' and what's being said probably applies to you.

Think about that, then think about this...

I'm thinking about someone now. Someone who's really making a positive difference.

Someone who always aims to do what's right.

Someone who's a force for good.

Someone who aims to be a channel of the Love of God to the world.

Someone whom others would describe as a nice person.

Do you know anyone like this. Does the cap fit?


(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Ideal Day

In the field of hypnotherapy there exists a principle known as the 'ideal day technique'. In essence what happens is that a hypnotherapist will ask his or her client to describe a day that would represent something of an 'ideal day'. To picture it in his or her mind and to describe it in minute detail. To put into words everything that he or she can see, hear and feel in this 'ideal day'. When the client has entered into the spirit of the 'ideal day' technique to the extent that he or she has a pretty vivid understanding of just what an 'ideal day' would be like he or she is encouraged to recollect what was described to the hypnotherapist, at regular intervals during each day. The idea behind this being that what we think about often will, to one degree or another, gradually become a part of our lives. I just thought I'd share this with you.

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Prophesy?

I have the gift of prophesy. That's right, I'm an honest to goodness prophet! And I'm now going to tell you something about your future. I see now that you're at something akin to a crossroads in your life. It's like you're poised between missing a great opportunity and taking hold of it with all of your might and making something really good of it. It's not clear to me what the opportunity is - but I know that you'll know what it is. Maybe you already have a pretty good idea? If not, when it presents itself to you you'll know - that's for sure! But what I do know is that the decision you make concerning whether or not you let this opportunity pass you by, or whether you make the most of it will effect the course of the rest of your life. Unsure about whether or not what I'm saying is true? Trust me, it'll come around soon, maybe sooner than you expect. The real question here is about what you're going to do about it.

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

(This is a work of fiction. Please read prophesy with a hint of a smile and in the humorous spirit in which it is shared.)

Confusion

Feeling confused? Maybe you should shout ‘yippee!’?

Feeling confused now? Let me explain.

Confusion often exists when we think we don’t know what to do. ‘Should I do this? Or should I do that?’ Or, ‘I feel I should be doing something, but I don’t know what that something is.’ Okay, so why should that mean ‘Yippee!’? Well, often times if you look ‘one layer’ beneath the confusion, so to speak, you’ll notice that the confusion exists because you know that something needs to change. It’s often quite that simple. And as a result, you find yourself dissatisfied with the ‘status quo’ in your life and you ‘unconsciously’ begin to look for something better. And that’s where those confused feelings come in. They’re the bridge between an outmoded point of reference and a new frame of perspective. Let me repeat this: this means that, often times, confusion is a state you pass through on the way to somewhere better. And this means that, as long as you do something about it and seek to create positive solutions to your confusion it will turn out to be a temporary phase - on the way to better things!

Feeling confused? Yippee! I wonder what good things you’re on the threshold of discovering?

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.

Writer's block

You know, I think one of the best ways to overcome 'Writer's Block' is to start writing. The act of doing something actually seems to free things up and get things moving again.

Isn't that a lot like life?

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.

Hell on…?

Adam shouted: ‘Fire the booster rockets now!’ Astronaut Eve Eden acted instinctively, activating the sequence and on cue the boosters of spacecruiser Merkabah thrust into power. Her husband Adam Eden looked towards her with a look of relief in his eyes while she sighed a great sigh. They’d been on a mission to the lowest reaches of the universe with the task of filming, from a safe distance, a year’s history of a place that no one thought really existed – that is until recently. A place called Hell! They’d been sent by scientists who’d recently discovered that Hell was a reality, a real physical location, governed by a very real, totally evil, Prince of the Power of the Air, who maintained his rule outside of the awareness of the inhabitants of Hell, in such a way that all manner of atrocities took place. Today their year of observation was up - and not a moment too soon!

Switching the spacecruiser to automatic hyper-drive Adam and Eve settled into their individual cryogenic chambers for the long 10 light-year journey home. And as they always do the long light-years swept by paradoxically in the twinkling of an eye. Awakening from their cryogenic sleep the space cruiser automatically docked neatly into the space port and from there the couple were shuttled to land in a near-orbit ferry. Upon arrival they were ushered straight to the President’s office. ‘Come in, come in’ she said. And as she guided them to the two waiting chairs the President looked the two over anxiously to ascertain what, if any, after-affects might be lingering within the psyches of two heroic astronauts. In unison they said ‘We’re fine, but it was touch and go!’ ‘Do you have the DVD?’ the President asked. ‘Yes’, said Adam as he handed it over. ‘And it’s unedited just as you wanted it’ added Eve. ‘Good’ said the President.

‘Were on air in 5 seconds Madam President’ said the TV engineer standing behind the camera which faced them. ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – action!’ he said as the On Air sign burst into florescent red. The President looked sombrely into the camera and spoke. ‘People of the world, as you’re no doubt well aware, Adam and Eve Eden have today returned from their 21-year mission to film events from close-proximity orbit to Hell. This perilous project required them to record a year’s history of events in Hell exactly as they transpired. We are today, right now, about to share with you video images from a copy of one of the DVDs which contain some unedited excerpts from the vast library of DVDs that they logged in their time in orbit.’ With that the President’s image was replaced on the screens of the amassed global viewers’ TV sets by the harsh images recorded in Hell.

The first image that appeared on the screen showed a number of battles taking place, with many people suffering terribly as powerful missiles fell on the homes of the citizens living on each side of the conflict. And all the while, due to the special technology inherent in the recording equipment, a small split screen shot was fixed in the top right hand corner of the TV sets showing an abominable being who seemed to be influencing the combatants by broadcasting base emotions like hate, spite, envy, greed and such-like while forever being just outside of the perceptual range of those he was influencing, while simultaneously all the while playing with their minds and emotions. This was followed by some images of large dark buildings, spewing out billowing black and grey smoke, which was clearly having an adverse impact on the state of Hell. From there the broadcast turned to images of bulls, covered in blood, inside an arena with no way of escape, being stabbed with spears and swords while people looked on enthusiastically at the depravity. Then the image switched to pictures of dogs being force-feed toxic chemicals by people in white overalls. After this, there appeared shots of battery hens crammed in cages, followed by shots of drunken people vomiting and fighting in the streets of the cities at night. These moved rapidly onto images of business people fleecing their customers, to governments fleecing their citizens to harrowing pictures of children being rounded up from the streets on which they lived and then murdered by the police. And the awful gut-wrenching pictures churned on…and on…and on… images of violence and cruelty paraded in all their ghastly detail. They’d even filmed religious leaders extolling separatism, torture and murder…and all of these actions were being influenced by the hate-filled being whose malicious image was displayed in the top right-hand corner of the TV screens of the world, a being who was clearly rejoicing at the sight of each moment of pain and suffering that he was ultimately responsible for.

Eventually the President said, ‘Enough! Enough!’ and the camera picture was turned back to focus on the President, who, along with Adam and Eve was looking very shaken by the extent of the wickedness that they’d just witnessed. ‘Before we transfer these files to the Globalnet public computer network so that they can act as a warning to all of us, God forbid, we should ever need one after seeing this, to continue to ensure that compassion and integrity remain uppermost in our minds, lest our world go the same way as Hell, we’ll take a few live calls at random from some of you viewers.’ She added. With that, the Presidential switchboard flashed into life. The President answered. ‘Welcome, this is The Capitol and this is the President speaking – what’s your name?’ ‘Thank you Madam President – my name’s Grace’ the caller said. ‘Who would you like to direct your question to?’ Grace replied: ‘I’d like to ask Eve, whether she felt there was any way the citizens of Hell could break free from the effects of the Prince of the Power of the Air?’ ‘A good question’ said Eve. ‘You know, I think that they all could. I think that if they just stopped to think, even for a few moments about the repercussions of what they're all doing, and where all of the violence and cruelty always leads they’d soon be able to overcome the influence of the Prince of the Power of the Air. And if they would all be prepared to ‘start over’ and offer forgiveness and grace, Grace, to each other for the wrongs of the past that would enable them to step into the future with new hope and a ‘clean slate’, so to speak’ Eve concluded. ‘Thanks for that’ said the caller.

With that the President answered another line: ‘You’re through to the President in The Capitol – what’s your name and who’d you like to address your question to?’ ‘My name’s Faith’ said the caller ‘and I’d like to ask Adam if he too thinks the citizens will ever become free of the Prince of the Power of the Air’s influence, because I believe they will. After all, how much madness and stupidity can a race inflict on itself before they ‘wise up’ and notice what the consequences always are?’ ‘Your name’s apt’, replied Adam ‘because I have faith, like you, that one day they will awaken and notice the results of what they’re doing and then their world will no longer be Hell anymore. I just hope they don’t leave it too late!’ he answered. ‘Is it okay if I ask one more question?’ said Faith. ‘No problem, what is it?’ Adam responded. ‘I’m interested to know, do the inhabitants call their world Hell or do they call it something else?’ ‘That’s the amazing part’ interjected Eve. Despite all the suffering they’re inflicting on themselves and upon their world in general, under the influence of the Prince of the Power of the Air, no one seems to have realised yet that they’re living in Hell. They call their world Earth!...’

(c) Kerin Webb 2006-2007.

Daywalkers

(Sociopaths)

Let there be night

The lingering shadows of the night begin to retreat at the approaching golden rays of dawn. She awakens from her slumber at the characteristic sound of the small alarm clock that’s situated on the teak cabinet which stands beside her bed. Faithfully over many years this trusty little clock has heralded the start of many new days charged with positive expectation. So why should today be any different? Why should her luck change so badly? How could fate be so cruel?

Wrapped in knots of unknowing she gets out of bed and stretches widely while emitting a slight yawn before opening the brightly coloured curtains to greet the light of a new day. And the energy and warmth of the sun beams reassuringly around her bedroom. How could something that begins with so much light be the prelude to so much dark?

The conditioning of years helps her to move into her habitual routine as she quickly moves into the shower and the final soporific vestiges of sleep are washed away with the ebb and flow of the currents of revitalising water which burst energetically from the shower. ‘It’s a new dawn – it’s a new day’ she sings to herself as she smiles in anticipation of what she imagines awaits her today. But you never can tell – can you?

Having enjoyed the benefits of a fruit breakfast and chamomile infusion she leaves the protection of her home and steps out into the embrace of the coming nightmare. What makes this so sad is that she thinks she’s going to be safe in the daylight. But looks can be deceiving.

She arrives at the appointed rendez vous and sits down on a blue and grey speckled office chair that’s a clone of a million other such chairs that can be found in many thousands of similar office complexes around the country. Everything seems so normal. Such a bland setting for such an impending catastrophe.

Naturally she’s a bit nervous. This is to be, she thinks, an important meeting for her future career. For so long she’s been seeking a role in a Human Resources department. She likes people, she gets on well with people and practically everyone likes her too. She’s highly talented and she’s got lots to offer. Oodles to offer. That’s why he noticed her.

Incisor dealing

He’s calculating. He’s cunning. He’s an adept compulsive liar with a cruel streak that when utilised has rapier-like sharpness. And he wears a charming mask of charisma that has proven, through regular use, to be his most prized weapon of all. Too often, too many of his quarries have forgotten the age old warning given to remind us that sometimes the Devil can appear, to those he intends on duping, in the form of an angel of light. Everyone likes angels. You can trust angels. And today is to be no different. She too, victim number ‘who-knows-how-many?’ is to fall the same way.

A cut above the rest

Vampires don’t really exist. At least, not as they’re portrayed in the movies. And even in the movies there is only one so-called ‘Daywalker’, a vampire who has all of the powers of the demonic bloodsuckers and almost none of their weaknesses. He’s called Blade and he’s stronger than the others. Daylight doesn’t bother him (which is why he’s known as the ‘Daywalker’). Garlic and religious symbols are not a problem either. The reason for this is because his mother was bitten when she was pregnant carrying him and as a result of this twist of fate he was born part vampire - part human, so to speak. He possesses all of the ‘benefits’ and almost none of the weaknesses. Almost none. But the weakness that he shares with his erstwhile ‘family’ is a significant one. It’s…the thirst! However Blade is different from the despotic vampiric bloodsuckers. He has goodness in his heart and chooses not to vent his own flaws on those weaker than he. Instead he prefers to inject himself daily with a special serum designed to keep the unwanted bloodlust at bay. That way, instead of hurting others he uses his talents to protect society from the many Nightwalkers who stalk the city streets.

Understandably, in this fantasy world, many of the vampire Nightwalkers want to gain Blade’s invulnerability to daylight and they constantly seek ways to do so, including genetic engineering. Because if they could become Daywalkers too they’d enjoy a round-the-clock feeding-frenzy! But Blade manages to keep one step ahead of them and stymies their plans for world domination. As a result bad vampires remain vulnerable to light and Blade remains practically invulnerable and he fights for the cause of Right. At least that’s how it is in the movies.

Let us prey

The good thing about being a sociopath is that you don’t come across as one. People never suspect you – at least not until some damage has already been done. But by then you’ve got all - or most - of what you want and you can move on. It’s funny, in a black-humour kind of way too, because vampires and sociopaths are very similar. They’re both parasites. They’re both able to exert powerful influence over individuals (and sometimes groups) to bring them under their sway. They both lie – very convincingly (confidence tricksters are called confidence tricksters because they’re very skilled at hoodwinking people in order to gain their confidence). They’re both callous and have no concern or compassion for their victims and they inflict suffering upon them without compunction. They’re also totally self-centred. And as in the movies disbelief in vampires is one of the worst forms of defence – so too in real life believing that ‘no one could ever pull one over on me’ is also a great handicap to an individual’s safety and security where a sociopath is concerned. And just as the vampires like to lord it over their human victims so too do the sociopaths like to control and manipulate their unwitting hosts.

Test the spirits

Anyway…back to the story. He puts on his most angelic smile. ‘Hiiii’ he says as he greets her. She rises to meet him. With feigned courtesy he motions her back to her chair and, artfully, pretending innate gallantry he gently moves it back under her as she resumes her seated position. This impresses her. A real gentleman! They talk about the job. He’s done his homework well. He knows about her aspirations, he even has some background information on her likes and dislikes and talks about how close he feels to her. About how much alike he says they are. It’s like they share a ‘special bond…a very special bond’ he continues. ‘It’s something spiritual’ he adds, his words dripping with contrived honesty (and somewhere a demon laughs – it’s something spiritual alright, but not the kind of spirit she expects). He knows that people like people who are like themselves – or who are like they’d like to be like. He can be witty. He’s clearly very intelligent. What a disarming combination! And all the while he’s ascertaining what he can persuade her to give up to him. How much he can get – and how quickly he can get it. Be it money, contacts, support, her emotional dependence on him or sex – or all of these things. Many others have fallen this way. And it wasn’t a problem in the past when it was a male victim he was working on because he can adapt his approach and change the ‘relationship’ from that of paramour to that of a ‘brother’. It’s quite easy really, especially when you’ve done it so often.

Trancefixed

Of course, he’s not really a director of the company he tells her he’s recruiting for. What’s more – it doesn’t really exist, but that’s a minor problem for him. In actual fact, as far as a career is concerned he’s always found it difficult to hold down any job for long. He keeps falling out with people. Which is one reason why he started doing this. And the other reason is – it’s just so much fun! But she doesn’t need to know about that. And if she ever does find out, chances are it will be too late by then, anyway. Because if she gets any doubts and starts to ask questions, he knows he’s adept at humiliating people with his perverted intellect and mercurial mind and, what’s more, he often does it in company, to make the pain more hurtful. Plus, he can always fire off a malicious lawsuit to intimidate her if the need arises - that always works. So with the confidence born of a lifetime’s experience he fixes his sugary gaze on her. On cue she melts at his beguiling manner. She’s transfixed – or trance-fixed. And as he continues to weave his convincing story she succumbs to its embrace. Like an unwitting insect bewitched by the scent of a Venus flytrap, her aspirations act as the bait and she remains oblivious as the cage begins to shut tightly around her.

Necking

As the weeks go by, for some reason they always meet at her house. He says it’s because he can’t introduce her to rest of the office yet. It’s because he’s got ‘bigger plans in mind’ for her, he tells her. Human Resources is not a big enough step for her, he effuses. She’s flattered. And she feels that an emotional, even romantic attachment is beginning to develop between them. He tells her that he feels the same, but out of respect for her he says they shouldn’t ‘rush into anything’. This means he values her, she concludes, and as a result she lowers her final defences and he notches up another sexual conquest to his list. His wife will never find out – and if she does he can always blame the woman. He’ll think of a reason, if ever such a situation arises. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

He tells her about the expansion of the company, and how he plans to make her a director, with him. ‘Imagine, me and you together’ he says. What a team they’d make! ‘We’ll be unstoppable’ he adds. As he winks at her she fails to notice the dark clouds that have begun to gather outside, blocking the light of the sun. It’s daytime – but it just got very murky.

In order to present her to the Board as a potential director, he explains, ‘of course’ she’ll need to have ‘demonstrated commitment to the company’ already. ‘Conveniently’, he says, ‘they're just about to release some shares’. He apologetically says that he ‘shouldn’t really be telling anyone this – but our relationship is different’, adding that he feels sure that ‘God will understand, and that makes it alright’, words uttered with a very saintly look on his face. An appeal to holiness always works - when you go for the throat. And somewhere nearby the Devil chuckles gleefully.

Vlad to be of service

Three days later she goes to the bank with a spring in her step and a smile on her face and withdraws two-thirds of her life savings. Luck is certainly smiling on her today, she thinks to herself. She’s right – except that it’s bad luck that’s doing the smiling. And it’s less of a smile and more of a grin. She meets him at the appointed place. It’s where they first met; in the rented office, only she doesn’t know it’s a temporary rent. Of course, this one room, two chair, one table, no phone, no PC box-room must just be one of the ‘backrooms’ of this larger office complex, mustn’t it? He walks in and smiles. She lights up, and another dark cloud passes across the face of the sun. ‘The Board is looking forward to meeting you’ he says cheerfully, as he helps her into her chair again. She looks back at him lovingly and responds: ‘I just want to tell you now how much I appreciate everything you’re doing for me’. He replies with the silky words: ‘Darling, the pleasure is all mine’. Willingly she gives him her money as he tells her how his ‘friend in the stock broker office, Ubet & Ugamble, which is situated just across the road is waiting for the funds in order to turn them into shares’ and how, then, later they would ‘meet the Board for a vote’ (‘which was a foregone conclusion’) for her place as a director. He blows her a kiss and walks out of the office with the words ‘sit tight’. And she does. She sits…and she sits…and she sits.

Waiting in vein

After an hour-and-a-half, she goes back to reception and asks if anyone knows where he is. Is he already at the boardroom – or taking care of the paperwork somewhere? It hits her like the proverbial vampire bat out of Hell as the perplexed receptionist slowly starts to explain how Mr Hammerorror had ‘rented the office by the hour on just two occasions’. Adding that the ‘meet and greet welcome rite on reception comes as part of the service and out of courtesy we always put the name of the office renter on display in the foyer. It’s that final professional touch which makes the £15.00 per hour rate so competitive’. Actually, the receptionist remembers it was on the two occasions she visited the office that he’d rented the room. She looks in the log book, ‘Here you go, ‘Ms V. Ictim to meet Mr Hammerorror’ last month on the 13th and today’, which coincidently was the 13th too. ‘How about that for a fluke’ the receptionist says. Ms Ictim feels her blood run cold when the receptionist finally explains that ‘He only ever gave us a mobile phone number as a contact. We tried to call him once but the number was dead. Must have been a bad reception!’, she concludes.

Ms V. Ictim swoons at the final body blow. Her money was gone, he was gone, and he’d clearly used her as a sexual plaything in the process. And she’d consented to it all!

Psycho

‘Twenty-nine nine-fifty. Thirty thousand!’ he says gleefully as he counts his pickings. ‘What a sap. What a sap. They’re all so gullible…so gullible. They don’t deserve their money. I deserve it. Because I’m so talented. There’s more than one born every minute, ha ha!’, he laughs chillingly.

Remember: in the movies the Nightwalkers want to become Daywalkers so they seek to replicate Blade’s inborn talent to use it for their own nefarious ends. And remember, they don’t succeed. But remember, movies aren’t real. Frighteningly sociopaths are and they’re always ravenously seeking new ways and ‘new angles’ to improve their skills for manipulating others. Some use law, some use religion, others use other things and some turn to psychology. And in the process they become the equivalent of what the vampires want to be, evil parasitic Daywalkers. Using their enhanced predatory range to quarry new prey.

‘£2000 will cover that psychology course leaving me £28,000’ he says to himself as the rain begins to fall heavily outside. ‘It will take about £100.00 to rent the next office and buy a couple of takeaway meals and a few bottles of wine, which will leave me about £27,900’ he continues. Such easy money – and such an adrenalin-pumping way of getting it! Living on the edge like this seems to be the only way he can fill the gnawing emotional void that often permeates his soul. Just like a vampire – the sociopath lacks any real depth of character. Driven by the lust and the emotional buzz of living on the edge his mind quickly moves greedily to begin the search for his next Ictim, or is that victim?

It could be you?

Six months later he looks out of the dingy apartment window that he’s just started renting. ‘It’s a new day – it’s a new scam’ he sings to himself. He told his wife he would be away looking for work again – she falls for it every time. That’s not to say that she doesn’t have her doubts, some serious doubts even, but she’s got so much ‘invested’ in the relationship that she stops herself from doing what she knows she should, and lets things carry on instead. It’s such a shame, a crying shame.

The apartment gives him a clear view of the building across the road. His money’s starting to run out so he’s been watching someone for several days now. Take a look in the mirror, does that someone look like you? And in another town, far away, Ms V. Ictim wakes up to another day. Her curtains are now left tightly drawn, as has been her new habit for the past six months. Slowly, with all the fragility of a cracked egg she seeks to pull herself out of bed and ‘pull herself together’ so that she can get her life back on track. Numbly she nibbles on some burnt toast and downs another black coffee, while the trickle of tears gently washes over her face, like they have been doing so often lately.

The end?

Areas that sociopaths gravitate towards:

Law
Psychology
Religion

Evidence indicates that a high proportion of sociopaths will enter into, or hang around the fringes of occupations that enable them to exert power and influence over people. Law, psychology-related occupations and religion specifically being well-known hang-outs for people with sociopathic tendencies.

Warning:

So the moral to this story is this: remember, If you meet someone who seems to be ‘too good to be true’ you might want to ask yourself if maybe they are indeed just that, too good to be true.

The following links contain useful information about becoming aware of and protecting yourself from sociopaths (sociopathic behaviour is also known as 'anti social personality disorder'):

http://www.lovefraud.com/02_howToSpotAcon/spot_con_artist.html
http://www.lovefraud.com/01_whatsaSociopath/what_is_sociopath.html
http://www.lovefraud.com/01_whatsaSociopath/key_symptoms_sociopath.html
http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/artcls/socio.htm
http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/artcls/underst.htm
http://www.findlaci2003.us/sociopath.html
http://www.sociopathicstyle.com/index.htm
http://www.hare.org
http://www.psychopathysociety.org
http://www.selfhelpzone.com/mental-health/sociopath-personality-disorder/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-psychopath-and-a-sociopath.htm
http://www.geocities.com/lycium7/psychopathy.html
http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~mcafee/Bin/sb.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/open_boss.html
http://www.freedomofmind.com/
http://jobsadvice.guardian.co.uk/officehours/story/0,,1313261,00.html
http://www.starboardwatch.com/sociopth.html

[The character of the 'Daywalker' called 'Blade' is owned by the illustrious Marvel Comics Group.]

(c) Kerin Webb 2006-2008.


Devils

Why is it so often that people see devils in other people's religions but never in their own?

(c) Kerin Webb 2007.


The Last Albatross

Joe was an albatross.  Not just any albatross.  He was the last albatross on Earth.  And he lived in a small cage in a zoo.  Outside of his cage there was a sign that told visitors the sorry tale of Joe’s predicament.  It read like this: 

‘History:  Joe is the last of the albatrosses.  The rest of his race was brought to extinction through the tragic results of the actions of humankind.  Each year, for many years, about 100,000 albatrosses were killed by fishing fleets. In fact Joe’s relatives were trapped and consequentially killed by fishing lines and fishing nets at such an alarming rate that albatrosses were pushed practically over the edge to extinction 5 years ago, making Joe the only surviving member of his once proud race.  For generations it was believed that whoever killed an albatross would suffer a curse for the rest of their days.  Question: What’s the penalty for wiping out the entire species?’

(c) Kerin Webb 2006-2007.

The Pony

The day started out like any other day. Ned, the delightful old pony felt the leather of the reins strapped around him again and the weight of the pony-trap heavily behind him. Then the man walked back towards him. Ned trembled. ‘Come on you old bastard, let’s get you to work’ the man said with a sinister gleam in his eyes. And out of spite he kicked Ned in the leg, right on his rheumatic spot which already made it difficult for him to walk. Then jumping up upon the trap, with his whip in his hand he struck Ned ceaselessly on the back with the words ‘Giddy up you old bastard!’ And so another day unfolded, as Ned was led to the sea-front to begin another round of pulling groups of candy floss and hotdog munching people up and down the beach, in the stifling heat the day.

Sadly, the people paying for the rides either didn’t notice, or those that did notice didn’t care overly much about Ned’s predicament. The leg injury wasn’t easy to spot. And Ned’s limp was passed off by the malicious man as a ‘trait’ left over from his ‘show days’ when he used to entertain people at a ‘world famous travelling fair’ by walking and prancing in lots of different ways - this unusual gait being ‘his favourite’. Their public conscience salved (albeit privately of course they really suspected the truth of the matter, but everyone kept up the public ‘face saving’ collusion and things carried on the same), the punters kept paying, Ned kept pulling and the man kept it up for year after year, after year, after year…

One hot day, on the way back to the stable from the beach, while Ned was hobbling painfully home and the man was shouting ‘Come on you slow old bastard’ with each snap of the whip, a truck driver who was driving while simultaneously using his mobile phone failed to spot old Ned and the man and ploughed straight into them, killing them both instantly. Worried, the truck driver called the police (on his mobile phone) pretending that he was the innocent party. When the police arrived the truck driver continued with his lies saying that Ned had turned sharply into the path of his vehicle (of course, he ‘forgot’ to mention that he was driving while phoning) and because there were no witnesses the truck driver was released without charge.

Ned woke up in the most heavenly place. That’s not surprising because Ned was in Heaven. The sun was pleasant, in a sunnier kind of way than it is on Earth. The grass was greener. The flowers more flowery and the drifting wispy clouds high up in the sky were so much more light and fluffy than they are on earth, that they looked just like cotton wool. Walking towards him Ned noticed a group of ponies with smiles on their faces. It was his family! (From whom he had been separated at the animal market when very young.) They greeted him warmly. Everyone nuzzled each other as they each delighted in being reunited in this wonderful place. Ned asked them (because, as everyone knows, animals can talk telepathically in Heaven) ‘Where am I? How did I get here?’. His family gently explained to him that he was in Heaven and that he’d been hit by a truck, but that it had all been so fast he hadn’t known anything about it. Bathed in the love of his family Ned began to remember the events of his life on Earth. And having remembered them he was greatly relieved to be in Heaven instead. He even noticed that he’d recovered from his injuries and found that there was here, in Heaven, no more pain or crying because the former times on Earth, for Ned, had passed away and Heaven was to be his magical home – forever!

At about this time, back on Earth the malicious man’s ears were filled with a mighty whooshing sound and he felt the sensation that he’d just fallen from a great distance and landed inside something quite small. With the last vestiges of his humanity he looked upwards as he felt himself being squeezed out of a tight space and he read the sign that was nailed onto the wall in the sterile room he was being birthed into. It read: ‘Smithson Laboratory For Cosmetic Safety Testing On Animals’. His mother was a large white rabbit who had electrodes implanted into her head and large swollen eyes, bloated by chemicals that, due to the fact that rabbits don’t have tear ducts, she was unable to cry clean. Nearby a woman in a white coat said: ‘This one’s next’, pointing at the baby rabbit who had once been human. The terrified being that had, moments before, been a malicious man tried to cry, but he had no tear ducts…

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.


The Cave

In ages past when people lived in caves there was once a community of people who dwelt together in a gigantic cave that was full of all kinds of resources. In fact The Cave was so large and the resources were so plentiful (including flint, stone, vegetation, fresh air and running water) that the inhabitants of The Cave thought they’d last forever. It was a wonderful place to live, at first. It offered room aplenty for every family to enjoy owning their own ‘home’ space. And the sound of laughter could be heard regularly as people happily enjoyed the benefits of everyday life in The Cave.

Now, sadly, it came to pass that the people of The Cave, over time, became lazy (as people often do). They became unwise in their use of fire. You see they’d become so spoiled by all of the natural resources that were available to them in The Cave that they rarely ventured outside. As a result they had fires burning around the clock. Fires for cooking. Fires for warmth. Fires for light (during the night and day). And even fires for decoration! There never was a moment in the cave when hundreds of fires were not burning.

Because of this misuse of fire, over time the build-up of soot in the atmosphere and on the walls of The Cave and in the water supply reached dangerously high levels, to the extent that that the inhabitants began to notice its effects. It was becoming harder to breathe. The water in The Cave had become sooty in colour. The vegetation was becoming stunted in its growth. And the inhabitants themselves were often suffering from respiratory illnesses of one kind or another. So one day the members of The Cave decided that they should do something about this growing problem. However, each family had become highly territorial about their ‘rights and needs’ regarding the use of fire to the extent that their hearts weren’t really in the remedial action they ‘agreed’ upon. In principle they all agreed to adhere to quotas. This meant that inhabitants of the Cave each committed to reducing their levels of smoke emission. At least that’s what they said in public! But what’s said in public and what’s meant in reality are sometimes far removed from each other. And that’s what the situation was like in The Cave. The wealthiest families in The Cave insisted (amongst themselves) that they needed to continue using fire to the degree that they were in order to maintain their ‘way of life’ in The Cave. While those families that were moving up through the social spectrum of The Cave insisted (amongst themselves) that they too should be allowed to utilise fire in an increasing way in order to reach the same level of affluence as the richest members of the community. Which meant that everyone else asked themselves, if the richest members of The Cave and the upwardly mobile members of The Cave were not prepared to adhere to the quotas, then why should they?

And the outcome of all of this? Before too long, everyone died of emphysema and the cave became uninhabitable. No more did the sound of joyful laughter resound around the once habitable walls of this once wonderful place of abode.

This was very sad, because the solution to the problem was very simple indeed. If only the people had ventured outside more often and made more use of the natural light and warmth things would have been so much more different. Everyone would have survived and The Cave would have continued to be the wonderful habitable place that it once was.

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.


The Ungodly Priest

The sand dunes rose high around him while the Kalashnikov rifle spat its deadly projectiles even higher into the air. ‘For the love of God let’s kill them all!’ he shouted, with a soulless look in his eyes. His followers chanted in unison ‘For the love of God let’s kill them all! For the love of God Let’s kill them all! For the love of God let’s kill them…’ as they polished their knives, checked their explosives and counted their bullets. The Priest’s followers had become a bloodthirsty pack, in thrall to his every murderous utterance. He based his authority on his family lineage, which he traced back to a Great Prophet of ages past who, under God’s inspiration, had rid his country of inter-tribal warfare and who had ushered in a time of peace, prosperity, arts and culture the like as has not been seen for many generations. Whether or not any such lineage really existed in his family was a moot point. And it’s clear that the Great Prophet, were he alive today, would have been among the first to speak out against what The Priest was doing, in God’s name. But the Great Prophet wasn’t here - and The Priest was.

Sadly, as history has demonstrated more times than it’s possible to remember, when you mix the deadly combination of fanaticism, perverted religion/ideology, charisma and murderous intent together and when you keep appealing to the masses in a ‘them and us’ way the crowd is, unfortunately, often, easily led by highly charged emotions and as a result terrible things can happen. If the influence lasts long enough, free thought gets further clouded by hate and the presented-to-them perverted interpretation of religion/ideology so that a person’s mind can become closed to information to the contrary, while, all the while a horrible cultic mind-set develops, which is bent on enforcing the leader’s wicked aims. And often this takes place in the name of that which is most good!

The Priest knew what he was doing. He was a master of influence. He told them he was doing God’s work (like the Great Prophet had been doing). They believed him. This means that they believed that whatever he said, was effectively, ‘God’s will’. So if he said ‘Kill!’ then it must be God’s will. In fact everything became so blurred that it wasn’t possible to distinguish whether or not there was ever any difference between The Priest’s ideas and God’s will. Indeed, amongst his followers it was easier to assume that everything The Priest said was ‘God’s will’. And that worked just fine for The Priest. It made everything that needed to be done that much easier.

It was true that there would never be another prophet like the Great Prophet. His job was done and he was in Paradise with his God. But God was not limited that He could not choose to send other witnesses at a time of great need to intervene in the affairs of the nation. For anyone to suggest otherwise would be to limit God – and God is without limit.

Now, not all of God’s witnesses are required to walk the political stage for an extended period of time. Sometimes God’s witnesses witness powerfully, in the flash of a moment, in a way that says more than your average politician can achieve in a lifetime. Predestined to achieve a great purpose they come to this life, often becoming forgetful of their destiny, as events are set to unerringly guide them to the successful achievement of their goals. And for the Two Witnesses it was to be so.

Joshua was a humble man. He eschewed violence. He believed that peace, courtesy, forgiveness and kindness were better traits to promote that the chant ranted by The Priest’s followers. To promote such atrocities in God’s name was a profane act. And events were moving him closer to a moment he was to share with another in a way that would forever change the world.

Then one day, soon afterwards, it happened. Alarmingly NNC 24/7 News reported the latest atrocity on TV screens around the globe - at characteristic lightning speed. Thousands had been killed in multiple acts of ungodly destruction that owed its inspiration to pure evil while claiming to be the work of good. Smoke and flames billowed from buildings in the cities of many nations. Torn and mangled body parts lay strewn amongst the mixed steel and concrete that littered the floors of these, once great, cities. People of all ideologies and religions were aghast at the magnitude of the hate-filled destruction that The Priest and his followers had wrought. Even those who had secretly been passive supporters of some of The Priest’s earlier acts of violence could no longer condone the level of ungodly evil that he was prepared to wed himself to. The world was stunned. Shaken. Troubled. And ashamed! Ashamed because The Priest was just another manifestation of an all too familiar pattern. A demagogue appears; who cries out to the masses, stirring up a sense of injustice, while pointing to real or imagined problems and proposing that the only solution, the final solution, is violence. And then as the most easily swayed rally around him, those who should know better, the greater community just let things continue to develop around them until there is so much momentum behind it that it becomes difficult, nigh impossible to stop. Except by an act of God?

It has been said that a picture is worth more than 1000 words. Yet a powerful picture and just a few timely words can be worth immeasurably more.

The NNC 24/7 News reporter walked over to a man who was cradling a dying young girl in his arms. It was Joshua and he was holding a young girl called Fatima. Held tightly in Fatima’s hand was a copy of the special book that God had given to the Great Prophet to bring to the people. She was a true follower of God and of the example of the Great Prophet. She had spent her life in submission to the Word of God – whereas the person who had brought this upon her and upon so many others had claimed to do so while in reality being an agent of rebellion against all that is truly good. The young girl breathed heavily, it was clear that her time on this earth was short. The newscaster along with everyone else who was watching was humbled by the scene. There was carnage all around. Here was a man covered in dust cradling a girl who was covered in dust and blood, who with her remaining strength was clutching a book. Uncharacteristically the newscaster was lost for words. The camera rolled…and rolled and rolled…filming the man, Joshua, tenderly wiping the girl’s forehead while saying in a hushed voice ‘There, there little one. There, there’. Then with a look of perplexed helplessness on his face he turned to the camera and said: ‘How much more bloodshed in the name of God? How much more?’, and as he spoke, Fatima stopped breathing, her head slumping backward into Joshua’s shoulder. And suddenly in this heart-rending moment a wave of grief, pity, revulsion and determination swept around the world. United, the many viewers, as if filled by the same Spirit, determined together to voice the words ‘No more! No more! No more!’. And a new chant had begun. A more powerful chant, carried on the lips of billions of people simultaneously. And when the people of the world unite in the cause of peace no war-monger can resist the power of such an overwhelming force. As God Himself understood as he welcomed Fatima back into his arms and thanked her for the sacrifice she’d made for the cause of peace. And as the camera continued to fix on Joshua, who unbeknown to even himself was God’s other witness, people of all faiths and ideologies embraced each other and determined that the history of humanity would no longer be writ in blood.

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.

Turn the other...gas chamber?

Jesus is said to have encouraged his followers to ‘turn the other cheek’ and this exhortation has been taken to mean (by many) that there is never a place for force to be used when dealing with an aggressor. But did Jesus really mean that we should, in effect ‘turn the other gas chamber’, ‘turn the other Killing Fields’ or ‘turn the other World Trade Centre’? I don’t think he did.

As a Brit I hold our national heroes like Churchill, Montgomery, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough and Drake in high esteem. I understand that if they’d not used force to protect our nation then evil would have been allowed to run unchecked against us. Were they disobeying Jesus by using force to overcome an aggressor? I don’t think so. Let me explain. During World War II Hitler nearly wiped my family out. My Dad, along with my grandparents, aunt and uncles were all together at home when it was bombed during a bombing raid over Southampton. Should Churchill along with all of the British people, in all of the towns and cities that were feeling the wrath of Hitler’s Luftwaffe just have ‘turned the other burning building’ in the hope that he (Hitler) would repent and adopt a strategy of compassion and kindness? Should we have not responded in the hope that the driving force behind ‘the final solution’ would re-adopt his Chamberlain-agreed ‘peace for our time’ position (if it ever really existed!) trusting that he would say ‘sorry for the misunderstanding’? Of course we shouldn’t - because we know he wouldn’t. And we would be naïve to think that tyrants like Hitler would ever act in such humanitarian ways. They don’t. They kill instead. And they enjoy it.

But let’s get back to Jesus. Let me share something with you that’s worth remembering: context is everything. There are many scholars who research the life and sayings of Jesus and, for those who care to learn something about it, this includes the oft-quoted ‘turn the other cheek’ saying, who claim that when placed in their correct context are not always teaching what they first appear to mean.

Let’s look (briefly) at the context. Jesus lived in the Middle East in a land that was under Roman occupation. In this climate if you acted against Rome you were likely to end up being crucified (many thousands were). Therefore, if a Roman was to slap you in the face and you retaliated you’d end up in hot water (maybe literally). Consequently (in brief), so an argument goes, it was better to turn the other cheek and let the matter go, than retaliate and suffer greatly for doing so. (Notice the context specifically, for instance in Matthew 5:39, where Jesus tells his listeners to 'turn the other cheek' and then how in verse 41 he continues by addressing the issue of Jews (those whom Jesus was addressing) being compelled to 'go one mile', which was referring to a Roman custom in which people could be compelled by a Centrion to carry his burden for a mile, by law.) Now, it’s true that it’s recorded that Jesus said that the ‘peace makers’ are ‘blessed’ and that living the way of peace by ‘loving thy neighbour’ is the ideal way to live and that such an ideal will be the hallmark of the Kingdom of God on Earth. But we’re not yet living in a world where the golden rule of the Kingdom of God is followed by all (just look at how much crime there is – thank God we have police). So, in essence, there is a good argument to say that Jesus taught that peace is the ideal, and that when the greater part o