67 Not Out

Coincidence Photo Of Baby And A Kitten

2012-06-01T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a photo to make you go ahhhhh! or maybe in your country it's more of an awwwww!

I published a post back in April 2011 called Coincidence Photos Of Children And Their Dogs. For some reason it's been getting quite a lot of hits over the past few days. So I thought I'd add to the ahhh or aww collection with this photo of a baby and a kitten.

Not so different are we?

A Final Coincidence From Somerset - Probably

2012-05-31T08:00:00.000+01:00

I thought I had covered all of the coincidences and synchronicity I had while on my break in Somerset, until today that is.

Karin and I walked to the local shop to buy a newspaper and on the way back met a man we often see as he walks his dog. We aren't exactly sure where he lives, but it's somewhere nearby. We got chatting and he told us he was off to Turkey in a couple of weeks for a holiday and we mentioned our recent stay in Somerset.

"Where in Somerset?" he asked.

"A small village called Roadwater," we answered.

"Whereabouts in Roadwater?"

And we told him the name of the house, as in the above photo.

He then explained that the house used to belong to his wife's grandparents or it might have been great grandparents, I can't quite remember.

"But," I said, "the owner of the house has lived there for over 30 years."

"That's right," he agreed and went on to explain how his wife used to spend her summers there forty years ago as a child. Her relatives were well known in the village.

Coincidences like this still amaze me. Just shows the links that are all around us without us realising. If he hadn't have mentioned Turkey we probably wouldn't have said anything about Roadwater in Somerset. It's a funny old world.

Part of the garden in Roadwater Somerset

Other Somerset Posts:
The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset
Synchronicity Starts With Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Clapper Bridge Where The Devil Sunbathes

The Giants Of Somerset

2012-05-30T08:00:00.000+01:00

The moors of Somerset and the south-west of England were once inhabited by giants - yes really, if you believe in magic that is. But there is proof.

Look at the photo of Porlock church, Somerset above and then the picture below of nearby Culbone Church and you'll see the work of one of the giants. It's all in the church spires.

One of the giants snapped the top off the spire of Porlock's 13th century St Dubricius church, tucked it under his arm, and plonked it on the top of Culbone Church. The size was just right as this is the smallest parish church in England.

So there you are proof that giants weren't all bad.

Porlock's St Dubricius has another claim to fame. He was the guy who is said to have crowned none other than King Arthur at Caerleon in Wales and later married him to Guinevere.

Inside St Dubricius Church Porlock Somerset England

And there's another story: a person from Porlock also had an effect on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem Kubla Khan. If this person hadn't have interrupted Coleridge the poem would be longer than 54 lines.

Coleridge dreamt the poem. These are his own words as to why he was unable to write all that he had seen in his sleep:

"In 1797 ... On awakening he appeared to himself to have a distinct recollection of the whole (poem), and taking his pen, ink, and paper, instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that are here preserved. At this moment he was unfortunately called out by a person on business from Porlock, and detained by him above an hour, and on his return to his room, found, to his now small surprise and mortification, that though he still retained some vague and dim recollection of the general purport of the vision, yet, with the exception of some eight or ten scattered lines and images, all the rest had passed away like the images on the surface of a stream into which a stone had been cast ..."

It is generally thought that Coleridge had an opium influenced dream and that the unwelcome intrusion of the person from Porlock was someone from the Ship Inn, the oldest pub in the town, wanting him to settle his overdue bar bill.

Somerset, like Cornwall where I live, is full of legends, myths and history.

Other Somerset Posts:
The Clapper Bridge Where The Devil Sunbathes
Dunster And A Reminder Of Carefree Days
Synchronicity Starts With Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head

Freemasonry And Good Stewardship

2012-05-29T08:00:00.000+01:00

The following is something I obtained from an official Freemasonry publication, said to have been 'Published by authority of the Grand Master'. It was written by an 'author unknown' and therefore not covered by copyright.

Your whole life is made up of

Abilities, Time and Possessions,

Gifts from God.

Your Abilities include natural talents

and skills which you have learned.

Your Time is divided between

work and rest.

Your Possessions divide between

property you hold and money you earn.

How you manage your whole life,

responsibly or carelessly,

generously or selfishly

imaginatively or fearfully,

is your Stewardship.

All gifts belong to God and your are

the responsible caretaker for a little while.

To be a good steward

is to be able to offer each day,

as an act of worship,

Abilities well used,

Time well spent,

Possessions well distributed.

How the world would change if we all became good stewards.

P.S. I have no personal connection with Freemasonry.

67 Not Out Similar Posts:
Freemasons: The Solemn Obligation Of A Master Mason
Elvis Presley And Madonna's Satanic Illuminati Links
A Secret Freemasons View Of Old Age And Death

The 315 To Majorca

2012-05-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

My son arrived home - with his wife and son - from a holiday on the Balearic Island of Majorca. After watching the video they had made, which included lots of footage of my wonderful grandson, he said, "Here's a coincidence for you."

When they drove into the official Bristol Airport car park, prior to departure, they parked in space number 315, after seeing a coach destined for Eastbourne - being also a number 315.

On arrival at their hotel in Majorca they were allocated room number - yes, you've guessed - 315.

While he was away I was on the Internet, looking up the hotel where he was staying. I remembered that I read: 'The Balearic Islands have an excellent climate with around 315 days of sun per year, wonderful golden beaches and a rich cultural offering.'

As for that 315 coach, Karin had been saying to me during the week that she would like to visit Eastbourne again, maybe later this year.

So, 315 seems to be the number of the moment for my family!

As for my son's holiday - it was great!

Further Number Posts:
The Coincidence Of The Numbers Of Life
Numbers 9 And 11 In New York Visit
Coincidence Of Lucky Numbers

You Don't Have A Soul

2012-05-27T08:00:00.000+01:00

You don’t have a soul
You are a soul
You have a body

~ C S Lewis

Distinguishing Between False And True Signs

2012-05-26T08:30:00.000+01:00

Often on this blog I've talked about signs and symbols. I've mentioned, for example, about how white feathers are meaningful for me and black feathers have indicated bad luck. Coincidences or synchronicity have also been important in my life.

All well and good, but sometimes I feel we can overdo such things. Reading the signs can easily become an obsession so that we end up being 'guided' by all sorts of symbols, signs and happenings. For instance early last week I walked out of my front door and there was a big black feather waiting for me. "Oh, bad luck coming. Wonder what the feather signifies," I immediately thought.

After arriving back home from a walk, just before my house, there was another black feather - was this to reinforce the warning?

By the end of the week nothing had happened, all was well with my world. Phew!

What I'm getting at is that we have to be able to distinguish between genuine and false signs. "But a black feather is a black feather," you may argue.

It is, but my own belief is that any 'true' sign or symbol has an actual power that goes with it. Personally I see the sign and there's an inner feeling that goes with this. It's hard to describe, other to say that it simply 'feels' right. Intuition has perhaps clicked in.

It's also the same with dreams. Some 'feel' as if they are meaningful and may include a message or a warning about something. Other dreams are simply dreams.

As we are individualised parts of the whole, we recognize true signs or dreams in various ways: perhaps a tingle, a feeling in the stomach, heart or somewhere deep inside, maybe what seems like a voice is heard and many other ways. It's up to us to decipher how we sense genuine signs - that black feather could have simply fallen from a passing bird.

If we come to believe that everything is a sign of some sort we'll drive ourselves nutty and will miss out on so much of life. In fact it may have the very opposite effect to what we wish.

Going pack to my personal signs with feathers. If I see a black feather and think immediately 'bad luck' I could well create something bad with my own thought patterns. What we give out, we get back. In other words we see a false sign or symbol and then attract what it is that this sign or symbol means to us. In this case we feed the effect or outcome.

Somehow we have to work out our own personal way of distinguishing the difference between true and false signs.

Our brains seem to be wired to see patterns and to attribute meaning to these. Novice magicians are said to be often led down the garden path because of this, and find delusions everywhere instead of truths. The sorcerer's apprentice needs intelligence and discernment to distinguish between the truly magical and the mere ordinary.

Other Posts:
White Feathers And A Special Beach
Symbols And Signs For Positive Results
Good luck Symbols Really Do Work

Synchronicity Starts With Samuel Taylor Coleridge

2012-05-25T08:00:00.000+01:00

It was the first full day of our break in Somerset and the morning was dark, dismal and raining. Never ones to let the weather get the better of us we headed to the nearby small coastal town of Watchet. As we walked in the drizzle by the harbour we came across a statue of the Ancient Mariner. This was in respect of the poem of the same by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

I said to Karin that my mum liked reading Coleridge, especially the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. I thought no more about this but when I got back to our car I realised that a trashy paperback I was reading was also by someone named Coleridge: Nicholas Coleridge.

The afternoon brightened up and we walked along the shore line past many beaches full of pebbles. That's where I took the above photo.

In the evening, when we got back to our accommodation, I was looking at some leaflets the owner had left for us. And one of these was regarding the 'Coleridge Way'. This is about 'Following In The Footsteps of the Romantic Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 -1834'. So that was why there was a statue of the Ancient Mariner in Watchet.

It seems that Coleridge lived in this area at a place called Nether Stowey and the Coleridge Way goes right past where we were staying at Roadwater. We were literally on the Coleridge Way. I didn't know any of this until I read the leaflet while sitting in the corner seat below.

Next to the chair was a small corner table, which can't be seen in the photo. On this table, left by the owner, was a book called Bambi and Me. As I mentioned in my post Memories Of Bambi this animal has sentimental links for me to my mum.

So, putting the synchronicity all together: we see a statue of the Ancient Mariner at Watchet in recognition of one of my mother's favourite poets Samuel Coleridge. I just happen to be reading a book by Coleridge. On returning back to where we were staying I find out there's a 'Coleridge Way' passing yards from where I was sitting - and next to me was a book about Bambi, which links me again back to my mother.

Chance happenings? I don't think so. There's more to it than that, but I'll leave readers to draw their own conclusions.

And changing the subject completely, while in Watchet we came across this tiny lock up jail used prior to the 1800s.

The court was held at the nearby Bell Inn and anyone causing a public nuisance, or considered likely to abscond while waiting trial, was held temporarily in this tiny lock-up jail. Be careful in Watchet as this court still technically exists - and you wouldn't want end up locked in this jail with no facilities! The building adjoined to it is now a small museum.

Other Somerset Posts:
The Clapper Bridge Where The Devil Sunbathes
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head
Dunster And A Reminder Of Carefree Days
The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset

Photos: © Mike Perry

Links Of Prince William And Royal Family To Hitler And Nazis

2012-05-24T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a bit of a nonsense coincidence ... or is it!

Someone pointed out to me that Prince William and Kate Middleton were married on the same day as Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun: 29th of April.

Okay, so what, but he then went explain that Hitler and Braun were married in the early hours of the said date at a ceremony conducted within the Führerbunker. But there's another coincidence:

The night prior to her wedding Kate Middleton stayed at the Goring Hotel in London and it was from here that she made her way to Westminster Abbey for the wedding ceremony. And who was one of Hitlers associates? Hermann Göring (though sometimes spelt as 'Goering').

All of this may be pure chance (if such a thing is possible) but there are many links between the UK Royal Family and Germany and even the Nazis. It was King George V for instance who, in 1917, changed the present Royal Family name from the 'House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha' to the 'House of Windsor' - which is still used today.

There is a 1936 photo of Hitler with King Edward VIII (the uncrowned king) and his wife to be Wallis Simpson. It is said that the FBI took and interest in King Edward in 1941 as there were rumours he was passing secrets to the Nazis.

There's also a photo of Prince Philip (Queen Elizabeth II's husband, father of Prince Charles and Grandfather to Prince William) at a Nazi funeral. That's him circled.

Then, of course, we mustn't forget how Prince Harry dressed up as a Nazi, which made front page of the Sun newspaper.

This is hardly earth shattering news but what about if we also threw in the Freemasons to the mix as well. Lots of the Royal Family are, and have been, members of the craft. There's even a Lodge at Buckingham Palace. But more on that perhaps another day and, who knows, gradually bit by bit the jigsaw may actually fit together.

Other Posts:
Hitler And His Divining Rod For Dark Forces
Queen Kate Middleton For Sale On Ebay
A Nation Seduced By Symbols And Expectation
Freemasons: The Solemn Obligation Of A Master Mason

The Time Shift Into Another Era Or Life

2012-05-23T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's an interesting story from Penny which is on a similar theme to my post A Glimpse Of Her Death In A Former Life. Penny experienced a time shift or perhaps she simply stepped into a bygone age. See what you think.

"I had an experience in my late 20's or early 30's that made me wonder about time shifts or place and time bleed-throughs.

I lived in a New Jersey town for 20+ years, but one afternoon on a busy corner of Broad Street, I stepped off the sidewalk and onto the road. Just like that I appeared to be in another era of that town, perhaps the 1800s or early 1900s.

Everything looked a little hazy and my view was a bit narrow, not being able to see too far on either side. And the weather was still warm, the sun as bright as before. Only now the road was cobblestones (exactly as they used to be in the 19th century I found out later) and to my right was a horse-drawn carriage. By then I was standing petrified and confused in the middle of the road. The carriage was approaching, the horse braying, and I could hear the traffic of horses hooves and footfalls. Behind me and before me, the area (not clearly remembered) was as busy (crowded) as normal reality had been moments before.

Then just as soon as it began, I was back in normal reality, nearly mid road and totally confused. The whole thing didn't appear to take more than half a minute. The 'visit' was a normal feeling, even a bit more heightened. Then the same 'visit' occurred about a year or so later, exactly as before - same spot, again, as I stepped off the road. I saw the same past time scene.

It might be worth mentioning that I seldom get confused in crowds. That it happened twice in the same spot, surely must point to something having happened there once upon a time. That time stamp on that spot - if not regarding my having lived there decades ago - might be picking up on a moment in the life of another woman from an bygone era . . . ."

~ Penny

I wonder if Penny simply stepped into a past time or was this a reminiscence of her own previous life? Memories must all be locked away somewhere in our souls if we believe in reincarnation. The problem is that most of us never find the key to unlock these other life times.

The Clapper Bridge Where The Devil Sunbathes

2012-05-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

I'm back to my travels again for today's post: The Tarr Steps in Somerset England. This is an ancient clapper bridge that the Devil built - yes, the Devil himself, well that's how the story goes.

After building the bridge the Devil wanted to use this for sunbathing, which I'm sure he's entitled to do, but this caused a bit of a problem for the local people who simply wanted to get to the other side of the river. Should the locals just go across anyway?

The local parson sent a cat over the bridge but poor pussy was vaporised into as a puff of smoke. The Devil said that he forbid any mortal soul to cross, anyone who tried would be punished with death - which is a pretty severe penalty to say the least.

The local parson tried to reason with the Devil but the Devil swore and intimidated the preacher man. This was no ordinary parson though he gave as good as he got and stood up to the the evil one.

The Devil must have been impressed because he conceded to allow people to pass over the bridge but one stipulation was made. No one must cross when the Devil wants to sunbathe on the bridge.

So be warned if you should venture to Tarr Steps in the sunshine, just in case the Devil is getting a tan.

Tarr Steps is said to be over 1000 years old, going back to the Bronze Age though some will say it's not quite that age. But, whatever, it's the oldest 'clapper bridge' in the UK. The name comes from the Latin 'claperius' which means 'a pile of stones' and this is really what the bridge is. There are massive natural stones resting on one another. The top slabs weigh in at something like one to two tons. The largest is over eight feet long and five feet wide. The bridge is about 55 yards (50m) across the river.

Of course there are some 4x4s who don't bother with the bridge and drive straight through the river, fortunately it wasn't too high on that particular day.

Before reaching Tarr Steps we had been on another part of Exmoor looking for the wild ponies which roam free and luckily caught a few sightings.

We also found a wonderful old inn, the Royal Oak, on Exmoor for lunch.

All in all it was a great day. Exmoor is a wonderful area, providing the weather is okay.

To see the photos in a larger size click on any photo. Photos: © Mike Perry.

Other Somerset and Exmoor Posts:
Dunster And A Reminder Of Carefree Days
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head
The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset

The Cumberland Alien And The Men In Black

2012-05-21T08:00:00.000+01:00

I was reading about the Cumberland Spaceman (also known as the Cumberland alien and the Solway Spaceman). This is a photo of a supposed spaceman, alien or whatever, but what interested me was that the so called 'Men In Black' paid the photographer a visit. This is the description:

"A month after taking the photo a well-spoken person called at the place of work of the photographer who said he was there to 'investigate these things.'

The man had a colleague with him and arrived in a big, black, shiny Jaguar car. They were wearing smart black suits and bowler hats. They behaved oddly, referring to one another by numbers and not using names.

Although their origin was unclear the photographer came to believe that they were from a government department and he could not understand the subterfuge.

The men drove the photographer to the area where the photo was taken and asked many questions. They were keen to know about the behaviour of animals and the weather and asked over and over about the 'spaceman'.

When the photographer explained there was no spaceman present when he took the photo - the 'spaceman' simply appeared on his picture, as per the photo above - the Men In Black marched off. They got into their car and drove away leaving the photographer stranded five miles from home."

If we go back to the beginning, the Cumberland Spaceman photo was taken back in 1964 but I got interested in the case when I came across a YouTube video (at bottom of this post) from a BBC video. It's pretty old but it includes an interview with the photographer.

This is the Cumberland Spaceman story:

On Sunday, May 24 1964 fireman Jim Templeton went to Burgh Marsh on the Solway Firth in the UK. With him was his wife and two young daughters, including five year old Elizabeth who wanted to be photographed wearing her new dress.

Jim was a keen photographer and positioned Elizabeth on a grassy bank holding a bunch of flowers she had picked. Her mother and sister watched while the pictures were taken.

There was nobody else around but they did notice how the cows and sheep, found on the marsh, were behaving strangely. They were all huddled together as if a storm was imminent - but the sky was clear and remained so.

The family returned home and the roll of film was taken in the normal way to be processed.

The photos were all fine except for one where there was slightly distorted upper form of someone wearing, what looked like, an astronaut's suit. This figure appeared to be floating behind Elizabeth's head.

The photo got some publicity locally but no one could offer an explanation as to what the strange figure was. The police took a look and concluded it had to have been a real man - perhaps a streaker! - who had briefly strayed into shot as the photo was being snapped. Jim's wife just laughed at this idea as she was pretty sure she would have noticed a naked man.

The picture was shown in the local paper and the whole incident would have probably died a death but, even without the Internet, the story reached Australia. This is where it gets even more interesting.

In the 1960s the UK was producing missiles in the Cumberland area and these were tested at Woomera in Australia. This was a launch site of a particular missile named the Blue Streak.

It appears that on May 23 1964 the Blue Streak was to be launched at Woomera. This had to be aborted when security cameras caught, what seemed to be, two men in white spacesuits walking around the launchpad. When the area was searched these men could not be found or seen anywhere. But ...

... this all happened at roughly the same time as Jim Templeton snapped the picture of his daughter and the 'spaceman'.

A technician from Woomera actually contacted Jim and told him the spacemen, who he had seen, were identical to the one on Jim's photo.

The question is: Could the two incidents possibly be linked?

The video I mentioned earlier follows. As you will see, some of the details of this whole episode appears to be have been covered up - or conveniently lost - by the UK Ministry of Defence

Further UFO Posts:
UFO Seen By Sports Journalist Plus 8 Other UFO Sightings
Photos Of The UFO Clouds
How President Eisenhower Met A UFO Alien

It's National Tell A Lie Day

2012-05-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

Yes, you've heard it from the horses mouth, today is National Tell A Lie Day.

Dunster And A Reminder Of Carefree Days

2012-05-19T08:00:00.000+01:00

While we were away on our break Karin and I visited Dunster in Somerset, a small historical town dating back to around 700 AD. As we approached the town the first thing we saw was the castle as in the photo above.

"Ah," we both thought, "this rings a bell."

It was then we realised that we had visited this place 30+ years ago before we were married. We slept in the car park - in my old VW Beetle car. We didn't have much money at the time so stayed in a few small bed and breakfast places until the cash ran out - and it ran out in Dunster!

The photo below shows where we parked my VW - behind the top hedge to the left of the photo.. In those days the parking was free and we made up a meal on a single burner stove. Happy carefree days!

The town of Dunster is over 500 years old and hasn't changed much. The castle dominates the main street and the buildings are pretty much the same.

It's virtually identical to this etching from 1810 ...

... at the forefront is the Yarn Market built in 1609 for the sale of local broadcloth and homespuns and it's still pretty much as per the etching.

Dunster is jam packed with history from the chocolate box style thatched cottages ...

to the 15th-century Gallox Bridge which was used by pack animals to cross the River Avill.

There's the old nunnery ....

... and the tithe barn where 10% of local farmers crops and stock were stored and passed to the Benedictine Priory. This was from around 1000 AD. In 1535 King Henry VIII wanted to know how rich the churches were and it is shown on record that the net annual income of the Dunster Tithe Barn at that time was £37.4s.8p (£37:23).

Also, of course, is the church - the Priory Church of St George which is predominantly 15th century with evidence of 12th and 13th century work.

After viewing all of this, and much more besides, we'd had enough of history so we lunched in a restaurant and then went on a 5 mile circular forest walk from Dunster to find England's tallest tree - but that'll do for today's post!

Click on photos to see larger size. Photos: © Mike Perry

Other Somerset Posts:
The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head

The Budgie From Kashmir Proved Her Identity

2012-05-18T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a little story from Audrey about how clever birds are. It's not strictly a coincidence story but it's quite amusing ...

'My mother's budgerigar got lost recently. Mum had taught it to speak, in particular, a silly rhyme which it relayed in her husky voice.

One day, however, she left the window open when it was out of its cage and it flew away.

The postman had been particularly fond of the bird's recitation and was upset by the loss. He said he'd keep an eye out for it.

Several weeks later, he excitedly told my mother he'd seen her budgie in the next village.

My eldest sister's boyfriend was a policeman and accompanied my mother to the address given where, in the window, she saw what she thought was her bird in a cage.

They knocked on the door and asked how long she had the budgie. She said a few weeks and it had been a present. Gordon, the policeman, asked if it could talk but the woman said it had been silent since she had it.

My mother then said the first words of the rhyme: "Budgie dear ..." whereupon the bird burst forth with: "Budgie dear, all the way from Kashmir, did you walk it? No fear!" in an identical voice proving it was really my mother's bird.

So it was a fair cop. Case solved. Clever creatures these budgies.'

Further Reading:
The Power Of Lilly The Life Saving Cat
Missing Cat Travels Through Sewer To Her Home
Knowledge Learned From The Fish-like Aliens

The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head

2012-05-17T08:00:00.000+01:00

The Holy Well Near St Decuman's Church, Watchet, Somereset

As regular readers will know I like visiting churches, even though I belong to no organised religion. And I like them even more if they have an ancient legend or story attached. While on my recent visit to Somerset I found such a church: St.Decuman's at Watchet.

The church goes back to the 12th century but the site is associated with various forms of worship back to at least 700AD - plus it has it's very own Holy Well.

The church is named after St Decumen, whose an interesting fellow. He arrived at Somerset from Wales in around 700AD travelling across the Bristol Channel on a raft with just one companion - a cow!

He became a hermit and managed to initially survive by living off the produce of his cow.

As happens with hermits they are not to everyone's liking and a Pagan is said to have tried to kill this saint in the making - and for good measure cut off his head.

But no worries for St Decuman he simply picked up his head, washed it in the Holy Well - though it wasn't actually 'holy' at that time - and placed it back on his body.

This obviously impressed the local people, to say the least, so they got together to help Decuman build a church. And that's where St.Decuman's Church and the nearby Holy Well are situated today.

It's interesting that the Holy Well, as per the photo above, has been preserved and restored by a partnership between the local Church and the local Pagan society. Pagan's claim that Pagan Celts worshipped at the long before Decuman arrived on the scene.

St Decuman's Church, Watchet, Somerset

Karin and I went to the Holy Well before going inside the Church. We were lucky as two of the church wardens were inside and asked us if we would like to go up some stone steps, behind an old door, to the top of the church, not normally open to the public. So we were privileged to be able to look down on the church from on high.

Tomb from 1616 within St Decuman's Church

And a final look at the Holy Well - we doused ourselves with the clear water as Pagans and Christians have done for over a thousand years. Prevention is better than cure!

The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset

2012-05-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

I've just come back from a break in Somerset, England and my wife and I stayed at the house in the above photo. Some of the buildings date back to the late 1700s but on the main house wall there is a date built in of 1821.

It was immediately somewhere I felt comfortable and at ease and I wondered if I would receive any inspirational messages or feelings from my visit.

I walked round the large garden and there was a sundial with the date 1767 - 67 and 76 being the important bit for me, they turn up a lot in my life. Around the dial was a quote:

"Only count your sunny hours. Let others tell of sun and showers."

A message perhaps?

After unloading our luggage we went out in the car to find somewhere to eat and stopped at a small village called Wheddon Cross. There was a pub next to the car park so we went inside and had an excellent meal and a small beer.

As we left Karin asked me what the name of the pub was. I didn't know, as we had entered by a side door from the car park. I walked round to the front of the building and saw it's strange name:

"The best and be thankful inn."

I saw a pattern in what I was seeing - another message perhaps!

I think by the end of our break I realised how lucky I am.

There was on odd incident, for example, on our second day in Somerset. It started to rain and I was looking for somewhere to park the car so we could eat our lunch we had brought with us. The roads were very narrow but suddenly I spotted a place to pull in with a view. It was purely by chance we had stopped at Kilve, the name of the village.

After eating our lunch we walked along the road a little and spotted a sign to Kilve Beach. So, as the rain had stopped, we thought we'd walk to the sea, never having heard of Kilve Beach before.

As we walked a car pulled into a small lay-by beside us and a man of 76 (that number again) opened his window and started talking to us - that's how I know his age. In fact he wouldn't stop talking and, being fascinated by people in general, we listened to him as he unloaded his life story on us.

He was driving a brand new car, with lots of gadgets he didn't understand, and lived in one of the very big houses we had passed. He told us of successful deals he had made in the past and how he had also beaten prostate cancer. It was all very interesting, but no idea why had decided to tell us all of this, but then the penny dropped. He finished by saying how lucky his life had been and put this partly down to his surname - Mr Luck!

I think I've now got the message okay! About how I should be thankful and grateful for my own life and how lucky I am. Sometimes, probably like most of us, I need reminding of this.

A couple of photos of the inside if the house where we stayed:

And in the garden we spotted pheasants - this male always had two females with him. There were squirrels, all sorts of birds and ducks, including kingfishers, two border collies ...

... and a couple of horses ...

At the end of our stay I was sorry to leave - but there again, I thought, I'll be able to see my grandson's smile and much more besides when I get back to my normal - but lucky - life.

Click on photos to see larger versions.

54 Years To Deliver a Postcard

2012-05-15T08:00:00.000+01:00

We sometimes moan about our post deliveries in the UK. Would you believe that often my mail doesn't arrive until nearly lunchtime - what is the world coming too? But there again it must be better than in the USA where one postcard took 54 years to be delivered!

Scott McMurry’s mother was in Chicago in 1958 and sent him a postcard. She wrote about when she would be returning home and also wrote on the card: 'We'll probably be home before this gets there!' Huh!

Mr McMurry, now 71, has just received the postcard but, when he looked at it, he straight away recognised his mother's handwriting. It must have been quite a shock.

The postcard was addressed to Clairmont Lane in Decatur, Ga., where McMurry grew up. But it recently arrived in Elizabeth Fulcher's mailbox on Clairmont Lane in South Daytona, Fla.

Mrs Fulcher put a picture of the card on Facebook and the magic of the Internet found Scott McMurry and the card was passed on to him.

Scott said, "Without the Internet, I’d never have received it. Just why the snail mail took so long to arrive remains a mystery, but an April 2012 Michigan postmark suggests it was recently mailed a second time."

Guess our UK post isn't so bad after all!

Dull And Boring Are In An Excited Tizzy

2012-05-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here are dictionary definitions for two words:

Dull: Arousing no interest or curiosity; boring

Boring: Dull; repetitious; uninteresting

I guess, therefore, none of us would like to be thought of as being dull and boring. Hopefully we are all the opposite but what if 'Dull' was the name of your town.

Well there is such a place in Scotland, UK. Just think what it must be like to have a Dull church, a Dull war memorial and even a Dull Highland Adventure Safari. Sort of off putting isn't it?

But Dull are now doing their best to become more interesting. They are linking up with Boring! Yes, the Boring in Oregon, USA. So perhaps, yawn, they will become much more zzz zzz zzz zzz ...

The Dull community councillor Marjorie Keddie has received a 'Declaration of Sistership' from the Oregon logging town of Boring - so that's exciting news isn't it? It's certainly got Marjorie all in a tizzy, she said, "Everyone has been smiling at the prospect of the very eye-catching road sign this will inevitably require. It will be interesting to see where this goes."

And Steve Bates, chairman of the Boring Community Planning Organization, was also excited when he explained, "So when there was the opportunity to have more fun with Boring, Oregon and Dull, Scotland, it only made sense to me that it was something that would attract attention to Boring and help our economy with tourism."

So, who says we can't put some, er, fun and excitement into our dull and boring lives ... zzz zzz ...

Life Isn't Always As It Seems

2012-05-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

How To Accumulate Money

2012-05-12T08:00:00.000+01:00

Accumulating Money
To have wealth, in the financial sense, we have to accumulate money. A pretty obvious statement but how many of us actually try to accumulate money? Probably very few. And if we do, have we a set proper plan?

The secret of accumulating money is to do so on a regular basis, no matter what our income may be. By saving money every month, and investing it wisely, we can all build a financial base. The compounding effect of money invested can be quite awesome if we leave it alone, other than to ensure that we are getting the best interest rate possible.

If we look at an example. If £100 is invested (or $100) every month at 12 per cent, for thirty years, the investment will be worth £/$308,097. In 50 years it will total more than £/$3 million. This is purely an illustration showing how money compounding over a period of time can build a sizeable sum.

To some people saving £100 a month would be no problem. They could probably save much more. To others £100 is a huge sum to save, a few pounds may be all that is possible.

No matter what your current situation it is possible to accumulate money. The following is a simple plan that has worked for many people.

The Money Accumulation Plan

Decide what you can afford to save out of your income every week or month. This has to be money that you will not touch, so the figure has to be realistic and is completely dependent on your own circumstances. It may be only a few pounds, or something much more substantial. What is essential is that the figure is achievable each week or month starting right now.

The next step is to work out the amount that you are going to save as a percentage of your current income. This is your starting point and will be different for everyone.

As a simple example: If your income is £800 per month and you can save £35 your starting percentage would be 4.37%.

This is your starting percentage. You need to make a pact with yourself that from now on, if we take the example, you will save a minimum of 4.37% of all your future income. This percentage is an individual thing. There is no right or wrong figure, it could be 2% or 20%. This doesn’t matter. It is the principle that is important i.e. to save a regular percentage amount from now on.

As you will no doubt realise we have gone one step better than the original illustration of someone saving £100 per month indefinitely. What we are doing is saving a fluctuating amount. As our situation improves, and our income increases, we will be saving a larger sum and so will accumulate money much more quickly.

Our starting percentage is a minimum figure. If we are doing well in the future the percentage can be increased, but at no time should it be reduced below the figure that you have agreed with yourself. This is why it is worth taking time and putting some thought into the initial amount that you are going to save.

The percentage figure is applicable to all money that you earn, or comes to you, from whatever source. If you get a windfall from a prize draw, or are left some money in a will, then still a minimum of 4.37%, in the case of our example, should be saved - no matter what you intend to do with the remainder.

Your savings used to accumulate money should be untouchable. Put other money aside, if possible, for emergencies but don’t touch this ‘special accumulating’ money.

No matter what sum you start off with it must be made to earn as much interest as possible. Don’t leave it under the mattress! Lock it away in a Bank Savings Account, Building Society, Investment Scheme or whatever you think is most appropriate. It must, however, keep earning compound interest.

You should remain continuously aware of the rate of interest that your money is making and switch funds about if necessary. Even an extra half percent can make a big difference long term. It doesn’t matter if you only have a small amount initially, treat it like it was several million. Get into the habit of expecting the highest return on your money. Read the financial pages, get to know something about simple investments. One day soon, when you are wealthy, this will be useful information.

The amount of money that you will be able to accumulate is based on three things:

1. The amount you save / invest each month.
2. The percentage rate at which your money is invested.
3. The length of time that you allow your money to compound.

These three things can help you accumulate money. But no matter what your ultimate aim, as with all things in life, actually starting and carrying out some sort of plan is what really matters.

Good luck.

Rule of 72.
To find out how quickly any money invested will double simply divide 72 by the rate of interest.

Examples
If your money is invested at 12% it will double in 6 years (72 divided by 12)
If your money is invested at 7% it will double in 10.28 years (72 divided by7)

This is providing you leave the money undisturbed at compound rates.

Synchronicity Of Seeing Someone From Beyond The Grave

2012-05-11T08:00:00.000+01:00

When preparing to write this post I realised that the post I had scheduled for my other blog, Coincidence and Synchronicity, for today was titled 'June 23rd Coincidence'. You'll see the significance to this in a moment.

As we often do, my wife and I went for a walk first thing this morning, nothing special just a regular circle. We made our way under the viaduct in the valley where we live and my wife said, "Doesn't that woman in front of us look like mum?" She was referring to my mother and I had also thought the same. For those who may not know my she passed away a few years back.

We carried on walking and somehow couldn't see the woman any more but thought no more about it. We headed down a road overlooking fields ...

... past an old small church and took the road which leads to our local town. Down a narrow path and to our right we saw another lady walking away from us and this time it was me that said to Karin, "Doesn't that woman like mum again?"

Walking on, a few minutes later we saw yet another woman and we both laughingly said, "It's mum again!"

Okay, I'm not saying that the three women we saw were my mum as a spirit or a ghost, they were probably simply lookalikes with the same white hair that she had before she died.

But there again, sometimes coincidences are synchronicity and are therefore meaningful. So was there some significance or meaning to us thinking we had seen my mother? I guess that's for us to work out.

Oh, and as for today's post on my other blog, which I mentioned earlier, June 23rd just happens to be my mum's birthday ...

You might also like these similar posts:
Memories Of Bambi
The Dead And The Dying Are Trying To Contact Us
The Unusual Contact With Her Dead Mother

How To Find Success With Self Hypnosis

2012-05-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

I like to think, no I'll go further than that, I 'believe' that we are all in control of our own destiny. By this I mean that to a very large degree our health, wealth, happiness, good fortune and most of the things that happen in our lives are down to us. For instance, if I am poor, sick and sad or alternatively rich, healthy and happy it's because I have made myself so. I realise that it's easy to find an argument against this theory, that is okay by me. I'm not out to influence others, I'm just saying things as I have come to believe them.

Many won't want to agree with what I have said because it is more comfortable to blame something else other than ourselves, if life isn't as we would wish. It's easier to say it is the fault of fate, bad luck, God or some other power, even the stars. To me though, I feel that once we have reached maturity we create our own lives.

The way our lives turn out, our health, happiness and wealth is all because of the way we act, think, talk and visualise ourselves and our future.

This is why I see self-hypnosis as a tool that can be used to improve some aspects of our lives. Much of how we are is down to reflexes and habits. These may have been developed from childhood or formed later in life. Some reflexes and habits are good but many aren't. If we can alter the negative ones, in this case by suggestion, it will go some way to improving our lot.

Self-hypnosis is a highly suggestible state of mind which, with practice, we can all produce. In this state we can give our mind suggestions and instructions that create mental impulses for the purpose of eliminating or altering various mental and physical conditions.

Our thoughts and suggestions have an effect on our body and mind. Let's look at some examples.

Someone might be suffering from indigestion but come to believe that he or she has in fact got heart disease. They may well, therefore, start to suffer palpitations and breathlessness. After a medical examination and reassurances from a doctor, that there is no disease, the associated symptoms will vanish.

It's similar to if we see a friend and he says, "You're looking a bit pale, not feeling too good then?" The suggestion will seep into our mind. Later we may find ourselves not feeling well because of what has been said to us. This may be very simplistic but all of the time we are being bombarded with negative suggestions. It's up to us to keep these at bay and to feed ourselves with positive words of how we are fit, happy, confident and can achieve anything we want. Very much of how we are, mentally and physically, is based on how we believe ourselves to be.

What we believe we become.

With self-hypnosis we can plant positive suggestions into our mind and start to create new beliefs of how, and even who, we are. Some psychosomatic anxieties may also be overcome.

We all have conditioned reflexes that make us act automatically in different situations. These are psychological or physiological responses to specific stimulus built up through training or our experiences. They are often established by repetition until eventually they become involuntary. We sometimes respond to things that happen in a manner similar to Pavlov's dogs, who were taught to salivate at the sound of a bell.

I was reading another example of this recently regarding how they used to train dancing bears. This was accomplished by having the bear walk over warm coals while a fiddler played a catchy tune. The bear would obviously raise his feet high in the air every time he touched the warm coal and so appeared to be dancing. After following this procedure for a period of time the bear became conditioned to 'dance' whenever the fiddler played the tune. The coals eventually become unnecessary. (Hopefully this isn't being practised today).

We likewise may have been programmed or conditioned to act in certain ways by parents, teachers, the media and all sorts of life experiences. I remember seeing a friend, who has an allergy, start to sneeze when she saw some roses in a vase. The flowers turned out to be artificial and when she was aware of this she stopped sneezing.

If we can become conditioned without realising it hopefully we can also 're-condition' ourselves to become the healthy, balanced person we would like to be. I don't think that self-hypnosis can re-make us completely or is the answer to all of our problems by any means. What it can do is help alongside visualisation techniques, positive thinking and altering the way we act and look at life.

~ How To Hypnotise Yourself ~

Self-hypnosis sounds a bit grand but it's really only a form of relaxation and giving the mind positive suggestions. By being relaxed the mind becomes more receptive. Repeat a suggestion enough and it will become part of us, a belief.

Suggestions may be given either silently or aloud. Find somewhere comfortable, where you won't be disturbed. Sit in an armchair or lay down on a couch or bed. Focus your eyes on a spot on the ceiling and keep looking at it. Repeat slowly to yourself, several times, words along the lines of the following :-

"Presently I shall notice a very pleasant feeling of heaviness coming over all of my body .... every muscle and nerve in my entire body is completely relaxed and at ease .... my legs are getting heavy .... my entire body is very heavy and sleepy .... my head and eyes feel very tired now and I just want to close my eyes and fall fast asleep .... my eyelids are becoming very heavy and I just want to close my eyes and fall asleep .... the moment that I close my eyes I shall be in a deep, sound, hypnotic sleep .... I shall be able to give myself suggestions and I shall be able to wake up at will .... when I complete the count of three it will be impossible for me to keep my eyes open and I shall close them and fall into a deep sound sleep .... one .. two .. three .... I am now in a deep hypnotic sleep and I can give myself post-hypnotic suggestions. I have perfect control of myself and can wake up at will .... deep sleep .... sound sleep ...."

Once a proper level has been reached it is then that your positive suggestions should be made. It's not necessary to be in a deep state of hypnosis. A lighter level is okay as an alert mind will respond to your suggestions. There is no need to turn yourself into some sort of zombie! Complete relaxation of the body is the aim.

After your session it is important to come out of the 'hypnosis' by saying something like:-

"When I complete the count of three I shall open my eyes and wake up feeling good .... I shall awaken feeling full of energy and vitality .... I shall be wide awake and feel perfectly well .... One .. two .. three .... I shall now open my eyes and feel fine".

Welcome back to the 'real' world!

Your suggestions when in the hypnotic state should, of course, be positive with plenty of 'I am', 'I will', 'I can'. As an example, something along the following lines may be suitable for more confidence:

"From this moment I will have complete confidence in myself and in my abilities .... I will enjoy being with people and look forward to making new friends .... I now have complete self confidence in myself and my ability .... I know that I can succeed".

Use your own words as they will be more meaningful. A good way is also to record the whole 'session' beforehand and just listen.

I believe we can all do and achieve virtually anything we want. We just have to believe. Maybe self-hypnosis can play a small part in helping us reach our goals, whatever they may be.

Good luck!

Killers In Sync By Coincidence

2012-05-09T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today's coincidence story is short but I don't remember ever hearing a similar. Thanks to JC for this.

"I was listening to a Killers album on CD one day, when I wandered into another room and switched on a radio.

The song playing on the radio was not only the same track (Mr Brightside), but the two songs were perfectly synchronized. I turned the radio volume up, and there was no discernible difference in timings. When there is a delay, even a slight one, it is very obvious to the listener.

It occurred to me that the radio must be acting as a speaker by some strange phenomenon, but then the song finished and my CD moved on to the next track while the radio DJ introduced another song."

Other Coincidence Examples:
67 Years After The D-Day Landings They Meet By Coincidence
What A Coincidence That We Are Actually Here Now
Heart Saving Coincidences

How To Become Wealthy: Steps To Wealth Part 2

2012-05-08T08:00:00.000+01:00

... Continued from yesterday's post

More Steps To Wealth
If you haven't already done so, perhaps you may want to read The First Part of How To Become Wealthy before reading the following. However, it's not altogether necessary, the choice is yours.

Life is really quite simple but most of us look upon it as being something of an uphill struggle, a battle to be fought against a flow of continuous problems, difficulties and worries. The fact is, however, that we are creative beings and as such can bring about a life full of happiness, wealth and health.

The simplicity of life is that most things revolve around 'Giving and Receiving'. What we give out is what we receive - this doesn’t just apply to money and wealth but to all aspects of our lives. 'Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap'.

Our thoughts, words, deeds, actions and beliefs of yesterday have created the life that we are living today. This may sound like psycho-babble, but nevertheless I believe this to be true. If I am right it stands to reason that the things we think, say and do today will therefore determine our future.

As a very simplistic example, I have a friend who for years has always disliked the Christmas period. It you were to ask him if he was looking forward to Christmas he would say something like, "Not really, I am waiting to see what will go wrong this year." Every year he isn’t disappointed! His wife took ill, his water pipes burst, his car wouldn’t start. Every year something happens to ruin his Christmas - just as he visualises and expects. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

If we can accept that we can create our future it should make us more careful about our thoughts and actions. If we keep saying that we haven’t got any money, we won’t have any. If we cannot visualise our circumstances ever changing, they won’t. If we believe it is a waste of time trying something new, it is. If we see problems ahead, there will be. But, if we can look at life differently, we can start a flow of good and can attract the things that we really want.

In the first part of How To Become Wealthy it was suggested that you should make out a list of the things that you want now, your medium term wishes and ambitions and also your long term perfect life. If you look at this as being fanciful, wishful thinking and a waste of time, it will be all those things. Conversely if you believe that, perhaps there is something in all of this, that you really can have the things you want, and you are willing to alter your way of thinking, your life can be transformed.

To bring about your wishes, they have to become a part of you. You have to believe that they can materialise.

Start by reading your list of wishes as many times a day as possible, especially first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to sleep. Cut out pictures of the things you want from magazines and catalogues and stick them into a scrapbook, or on a wall chart, and look at them every day to reinforce your mind that these are the things that you want.

It is strange, but when we start thinking about something, associated things keep coming to our attention. If you have a discussion about a certain type of car, for example, have you noticed how many you see over the following few days? They seem to be everywhere. They were always about, of course, but you didn’t notice them before.

The mind has a filtering system. If we were to take in, and be conscious of, every little thing we saw during the day it would all be too much. The mind lets us see what it thinks is important. It picks out useful information relevant to our life and what we have been thinking and talking about. When we had the discussion about the car instead of filtering them out, as it had previously done, they were brought to our notice instead. This can also happen with things that we want. Whereas previously opportunities and relevant information were overlooked the mind now says, "Hey this is important," and brings whatever it is to your conscious attention.

All of the time you have to become aware of what you say. It is no good looking at your scrapbook and seeing lots of money if you keep saying how hard up you are. Your words have to alter so that they do not conflict with what you want. You must start to believe that you already have the things that you desire. One of the best ways to do this is by visualisation.

The unconscious mind sees in pictures, therefore if you create the right puctures it will believe them to be true and will help bring them into your life. Yes it's into the realms of psycho-babble again but it works and it is true!

There are many visualisation techniques but they all have the same objective, which is to create a picture of some desired object or event and to bring this into a reality.

The following is one example of visualisation. Remember what you give out (picture) you will receive. Yes, I can hear murmurs of 'rubbish' from here! But it does work and is demonstrable if you are willing to try. I have been using such methods since my late teens following a book I read called, The History And Power Of The Mind by Richard Ingalese. It was published way back in 1902 and may well now be out of print. The following isn’t from that particular book. I’m not too sure of when I first came across it.

The Visualisation Technique.

Select an item that you want. If you are sceptical choose something small, of little value. Just as the body will improve and strengthen by exercise so it is with the mind and it’s creative powers.

1. The first step is to relax. This is essential. Sit in a comfortable chair or on the floor, where you will not be disturbed, and with your back straight. Starting with you feet mentally relax each part of your body in turn until you feel completely relaxed and serene.

2. Picture yourself stepping into a tunnel. As you imagine yourself walking through the tunnel above you there is warm, white light which you feel is showering over you.

3. You reach the end of the tunnel and see a flight of 21 stairs going down. You start to go down the steps counting slowly backwards from 21. 20, 19, 18, 17 ….

4. When you reach the bottom of the steps you are now in your special Visualisation Room where everything is possible. Create the room in your own mind as you would like it to look. Perhaps a window with a view, nice furnishings, photos of your family, a desk but, most importantly, a big comfortable chair with a screen in front of it.

5. Imagine going over to the chair and sitting in it. It is comfortable and you are completely relaxed knowing that everything you picture on the screen in front of you will become a reality.

6. Look at the screen and picture, in as much detail as possible, the item (or event) that you wish in your life. Make the picture as realistic as possible, see yourself using the item, touch its texture and know that it is now yours, feel excited and happy. Imagine it all as vividly as you can.

7. There is a button on the screen and, when the moment feels right - push it. Release the picture knowing that it is now part of your life. The screen is now blank.

8. Say to yourself three times "xxxxxxx is now in my life, thank you, thank you, thank you."

9. Start to count from 1 to 10 and as you do so gradually become aware of your surroundings and bring awareness back to your body until you reach 10 - then you will be fully awake and feeling on top of the world.

That is all there is to it! If this is something you have never heard about before it may all sound silly and unbelievable but, if you have carried out the exercise, you have taken the first steps to creating something in your life by using your mind alone. Whatever it is you wanted will, at the right time, come about. You may have to repeat the same exercise, for the same item, several times, but it will arrive in its own way.

It is not up to you as to how this will come about and you shouldn’t try to imagine how this may happen. It is like posting or mailing a letter. After you have popped it into the postbox you don’t then start thinking about how the letter will arrive, how the sorting office will put it in a sack for delivery, first by train and then by van and so on. You just post your letter and forget about it. It is same with using the mind. You release the image knowing that what you give out you will receive.

Once you fully appreciate the possibilities of visualisation you will begin to realise that previous limitations no longer apply. With continuous practice you can radically alter your life for the better.

It is important to keep remembering that everything we give out is received, so negative thoughts such as envy, fear, revenge, hate must all be in the past. We should be pleased when someone else has a lucky break, and not fear the future, or try to take revenge when someone has done us a wrong, and always send pleasant thoughts to people.

It does take a bit of effort and self discipline for us to control our words and thoughts, as it is so easy to agree and be swept along by others when they are moaning about their life and things in general. A lot of people delight in dwelling on everything that is wrong with the world - they are, however, rarely ever happy, successful people. If we do find ourselves with negative thoughts we should take a few moments to picture the opposite and so wipe them out.

It is on our own shoulders as to how our future lives turn out. Whatever happens we will have created it ourselves, not the government, fate, our family, boss or anyone else.

There is in effect no reality in life. There is just our realisation of how things are. The old thing about the half empty or half full bottle is perfectly true, everything is how we realise it to be.

We have a choice: we can decide to be miserable and find fault with everything today or be happy and see all of the good things instead. The advantage of the second outlook is that by choosing to be happy and seeing the good things we are creating a happier future as well.

Good luck.