Article first published as Book Review Discovery of the Grand Unified Theory: The Greatest Discovery of 21st by Arkay Nair on Blogcritics

In his new book, “Discovery of the Grand Unified Theory,” chemist and devotee of the pursuit of the Grand Unified Theory, Arkay Nair proclaims that he has discovered the definitive model of the Grand Unified Theory. He further asserts that “All the great scientists of the last century (most notably Albert Einstein) missed out on it because they were traveling on the wrong path searching for it.”

This book is only twenty-nine pages long. The author intends that it serve as a preface for an expanded model on his theory and its potential impact on the world. Take note that this reviewer is admittedly a layman physicist. Grand Unified Theory (GUT) models are very complex. Even the definition of GUT in the Yahoo! Kids Dictionary is complicated, stating that it is “A theory of elementary forces that unites the weak, strong, electromagnetic, and gravitational interactions into one field theory and views the known interactions as low-energy manifestations of a single unified interaction.” No “GUTs for Dummies” has been published!

The book is actually a paper that presents the author’s theory in five discourses, each composed of a short Abstract, expanded Discourse, and reinforcing Summary. The first two discourses challenge current scientific thinking. The third and fourth discourses elaborate on these contrarian ideas, and the fifth introduces Nair’s model and invites readers to react. The author strongly urges reader to read the book straight through, uninterrupted and in the order in which the content is presented. He is equally emphatic about the importance of reading the twenty-nine pages again before noting questions. If the reader still has questions after the second reading, Nair invites them to send their questions to him.

Nair’s hope is that everyone, young and old, reads his book, gains a greater understanding of how his version of the Grand Unified Theory can help solve problems like global warming and energy shortages, and contemplate and incorporate their own version of his theory into their personal philosophy. To his credit, he has effectively dealt with the complexity of this subject in an approachable and straightforward style which seemingly should make this subject more accessible to more readers. Given the numerous new terminology related to his model proposed by the author, a glossary would have been helpful for quick reference.

One issue of some importance to me related to the book is that information about the author was incomplete. For example, his bio indicated that “I worked as a chemist for a few years before emigrating to the United States…I received an MBA from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire in 1985 and spent the next twenty-five years in business.” No specific business sector or industry is mentioned. In the Epilogue, it is stated that the author submitted his paper to the American Physical Society (the second largest professional society for physicists in the world), that refused to publish the paper. No further elaboration is offered.

Overall, I found the book to be engaging and interesting. Arkay Nair’s passion for the pursuit of the true Grand Unified Theory model permeates the twenty-nine pages of his “Discovery of the Grand Unified Theory.” He has the spirit of an explorer. To be sure, this complicated scientific matter will simply be too daunting for some readers to engage. But this citizen scientist enjoyed this introductory exploration.

Buy This Book at Amazon.com

Angel. Broken.

In fantasy, wings appear on faeries, sprites and pixies.

In religion, wings appear on angels, spirits and demons.

In mythology, winged creatures are messengers of the gods.

In dreams, wings represent a release of creative forces.

A character having one wing is said to be lost in dreams.

Sleeper, Lost in Dreams
by James Christensen,
the gift of Anne Farnsworth
and her academy class,
Up Where the Air Is Thin

This image, in a handmade, beaten copper frame,
resides in the kitchen of Engelbrecht House,
Wizard Academy’s amazing student mansion.

When Sleeper, Lost in Dreams was released in 2003, it sold out instantly at just a few hundred dollars a copy. Today these prints sell for many thousands of dollars.

Thanks again to Anne Farnsworth and her class Up Where the Air is Thin for buying this rare painting by James Christensen for the academy. Below is a pair of small plaques that will be displayed in a glass cabinet nearby:

Fundraising for Non-Profits at Wizard Academy

Nic Wildeman of Lionfish
Gloria Wildeman of Lionfish
Jaimie Trussell of Missouri State University
Alvin Thiessen of Al Group of Companies
Bob Smith
Jim Peters of GTM/Tshirts 4 Troops
Tim Waisanen of GTM/Tshirts 4 Troops
Ron Parrish
Bowen Parrish
Colin ONeal
Jack Nikcevich of Young Life
Ron Lamb of World Dental Relief
April Kunzelman of FatWallet Inc
Linda Schemel of FatWallet Inc
Bill Hyche of Healthcare Internet Marketing
Daryl Eldridge of Rockbridge Seminary

Instructor:
Manley Miller

Website copy, direct mail letters, radio scripts and magazine ads that use persona-based language are pulling buckets of gold from the dwindling rivers of mass media.

Persona-based ad writing is rooted in self-definition, that life-long process by which we determine who we shall be in our minds.

If you understand what I just said, you can see that not only does self-definition provide the familiar image in the mirror of persona-based writing, but it is the strength behind branding as well.

1. Self-definition begins with a perception of family and our place in it.
At an early age we begin answering the question, “Who am I, what is my place?”
Am I my parents’ Reason for Living? (Common among only children)
Am I the Protector of my sibling? (Common among eldest children)
Am I the Protected, mischievous one? (Common among second children)
Am I the Guilty one? (Common among abused children)
NOTE: These are, of course, just a few of the many possible perceptions of familial relationships in childhood. Please don’t feel limited by them.

2. Self-definition is further influenced by our companions.
“Who am I, what is my place?” Am I the Fast Runner? Am I the Quiet One? Am I the Comedian? Am I the King? Am I the Outcast? Am I the Sidekick? Who am I?

3. Self-definition is reinforced by feedback from our teachers.
Their words and attitudes shape us far more than we, or they, suspect. To pay teachers poorly is to hold them in low esteem. It ensures that the best and brightest among us will likely choose a profession other than teaching. And the next generation will be greatly diminished because of our lack of vision.

4. Self-definition is molded by media.
Continually confronting us with its own definitions of “good” and “bad,” we are forced to consciously reject the media each day or it will modify our unconscious self-perception. “Are my armpits dry enough? Am I supporting our troops? Do I have gingivitis?”

5. Self-definition is expressed through our choices; actions, words, and purchases.
Yes, we buy much of what we buy to remind ourselves, and tell the world around us, who we are. Our choices of footwear, clothing, hairstyle and automobile are statements of self-definition, assuming of course that we chose these things ourselves.

“Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.” – Maggie Tufu, The Engines of God, p. 398

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy? According to most estimates, 60 percent of us are stuck in that third level from the bottom. We’re still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up. Our Need to Belong is our greatest, unmet need.

Does it offend you that I believe we are flawed creatures capable of flashes of brilliance, heroism and amazing wisdom, but following these fine, few moments we lapse into the cloudy self-definitions we’ve carried from childhood like woolen blankets fresh from the dryer?

“I suppose I do sound crazy,’ Binnesman admitted. ‘But everyone has a touch of madness, and those who can’t admit it are usually farther gone than the rest of us.”

“In choosing one path we ignore others. And wonder what might have been.” – Binnesman

“Many adventures await you upon the road of life. Enter these doors, and take your first step…” – from a placard above the Horn and Hound Pub

“Life is a journey, and with every step we reach a point of no return.” – Gaborn Val Orden

“Thoughts are the threads that bind us to deeds. Deeds are the ropes that bind us to habits. Habits are the chains that bind us to destiny.” – inscription carved on the West Wall at the palace in Maygassa

I’m glad you came on this walk through the woods with me.

Till next time, Arooo! Aroo-Arooooo!

Roy H. Williams

Who is Binnesman? Surprise! All the quotes in today’s memo came from characters in books of fiction. Binnesman is simply a wise man in a science fiction series by David Farland. What is a fictional character but a wooden puppet from whose lips the author speaks? – RHW

Article first published as Book Review: Master the Markets With Mutual Funds: A Common Sense Guide to Investing Success by Jon R Orcutt on Blogcritics.

Anything to do with stock markets has always been scary and completely foreign to me, and I will be the first to admit that I never understood any of the financial mumbo-jumbo connected to investing. Therefore I was even more surprised that I actually enjoyed reading “Master the Markets with Mutual Funds” by Jon R. Orcutt, and that it just might have given me the little push needed to gather the courage and one day take a step in the direction of investing.

The book is divided into three distinct sections. The first one deals with the basics, explaining to the potential investors how markets should fit into their life, and also teaching them what kind of investors they are by nature. The most important lesson that I’ve learned from this first part was that investing can be very emotional, and in many cases actually is nearly overly so. The author deftly discussed this topic and presented arguments that sounded very convincing and realistic. This part concluded with a description of mutual funds and the importance of knowing what type of questions to ask before making decisions.

The second part was a very hands-on and detailed strategy section, complete with numerous pages of tables, which at this point in time are still very confusing to me, but I am certain that they would make lots of sense to any investor. There the author explained why he believed his investing strategy made sense, and documented his views on rebalancing with hard numbers.

The last part offered even more practical advice on implementing those strategies and the best ways of doing it, concluding with the statement that the ultimate success lies in the investor’s own hands. The author has graciously provided the reader with the tools, advice and suggestions, but each individual will have to make his or her own decisions based on their particular situation. I’ve particularly liked the author’s honesty, since he clearly stated several times that he can not and will not promise any miracles, but simply help you by pointing out the most obvious obstacles to success and the easiest ways to avoid or eliminate them.

Buy this Book at Amazon.com

The Wizard Academy’s path and my path were destine to intersect. Read on.

A friend of mine was flying to Santa Monica to attend a spiritual psychology college. She was sitting beside a complete stranger and when they exchanged small talk, they realized they were going to the same place. Before the plane touched down, my friend said to Mia, the stranger beside her, “You’ve got to call Jean Backus when you get back to Austin”, and she gave Mia my phone number. Mia phoned me to sch a lunch. Toward the end of the lunch, I decided to tell Mia I was writing a book. She looked straight at me and asked, “Have you ever heard of the Wizard Academy?” I stopped breathing for a split second and asked her to describe it. She said it was outside of Austin. I asked a few questions and finally said, “It just can’t be that place down the street from me. That sign by the side of the road. That’s a wedding chapel!”. She laughed then explained if I turn into the driveway and turn RIGHT, I would see the buildings. I saw no buildings but then I didn’t remember looking to the right either.

That night I walked from my house to the Wizard Academy and timed it:  12 minutes. I turned right instead of left and was stunned. I thought, “When did they do this? How could they have built all of this without me knowing it?” I had never seen a single car pull in or out of the driveway.

Mia told me they were going to have a grad reunion in two weeks and she invited me and Andrew. I walked to the Wizard Academy every night for the next two weeks and it is an understatement to say I was intrigued. There was a lot of detail, intricate detail. This was no ordinary school designed and built by ‘old hippies’. No, this could only be built by a wizard.

The day came for the grad reunion. I was beyond awe. The campus tour was magnificant.  It had been so long since I was moved like that from deep within. I felt free like I did in grade school at recess running with wild abandon. Wow, I had THAT feeling again. How cool is that?

I did something I have never done in my life. I handed my credit card to someone working in the food line at the lunch buffet. “I want to sign up for the next class. I don’t care what it is. I gotta be here.” She took my credit card then, in a few hours, handed it back to me.

I showed up for class 10/30/07. It was Michelle Miller’s class on Branding for Women. There were 9 people in the class. I am a CPA. An Accountant. I had no business taking an advertising class, I thought. How wrong I turned out to be is nearly embarrassing.

Now, let me digress for a moment. You see, I was a very burned out tax accountant. For thirty years. I had built two CPA firms. I was on the second one and it was 17 years old. I could never imagine myself burning out on accounting. I had a love affair with taxes,  tax planning and challenges and I was good at it. My favorite word was ‘No’ because I would always find a loophole…some weird exception in the tax code that would legitimize an otherwise questionable transaction. I experienced a deep depression overnight. For one year. I went through all the ‘stages of grief’. I know them well. I called it the dark night of my soul. Finally, one day around 8/07, I made a list of what I really, really, really wanted.

I wanted my passion back, I wanted to learn again, I wanted to be around people who did not know me, preferably international, some place where I was not the ‘go to’ nor the mommy. I wanted to be the infant this time. Some place close to home. Then I put the pen down. Then I picked it up and added, “a place to bring my magic wand.”  I smiled and folded the piece of paper up.

We went around the room and introduced ourselves. “Hi, I’m Craig from Australia”, “Hi, I’m Dave and this is Julie from Nebraska.” “I’m Jane from Halifax.” As we went around the room it occurred to me that I the only person from Texas, it was International, close to home, I felt passionate and was so sold, sold, sold. I could barely breathe with enthusiasm and excitement I hadn’t felt in decades. I was experiencing a dream come true. I was trying to digest it. I slowly reached my hand into my purse and pulled out my magic wand and gingerly laid it on the desk.

I was surprised when Michelle said the class was two days. I thought it was one. Then I realized that I didn’t even know how much it cost. All of a sudden I was concerned. What an idiot! Then I found out the price and was told since I was a ‘grad’ (having gone to the grad reunion), it was half price. Wow! So, I spent the night and didn’t sleep a wink, just kept processing and assimilating the information from the day. I was so happy and it was sincere – from the core. I couldn’t wait to share it with Andrew. I had found nirvana. Just like that. Snap! Overnight, I went from deep depression to deep contentment. I was in love.

I gifted myself a class a month for a year. After 12 classes and one year, Roy asked me if I was interested in teaching a class.

You see, on the first day of Michelle’s class, I had a new dream. The theater screen in the classroom is around 25 feet tall and looks enormous. Michelle used mixed media in a way I had never experienced. In a magical way. Powerpoint, YouTubes, music, interaction, movie clips, etc. It was interesting, mezmarising and fun. She could have sold me air.

My dream was for that screen to be behind me rather than in front of me. I would design and teach a class about money…some day! Roy said that standards were high. He said they would provide the place and a hot meal. It would be my responsibility to put butts in the seats. I asked how many people the room would hold. He said 100. He said his staff would critique me and he would give me feedback, I would tweak it and come back and do it again and again until he felt it was student-paying worthy. He said if I could get 5 people to come see my dog and pony show on a Friday, outside of Austin, it would be normal, if I got 15 he wanted to know what I did.

I took it seriously. I needed to prepare the material from scratch and put butts in the seats. THAT was a TALL order. Nine months later, I stood in front of 100 people at my big debut. (Nine months to give birth to it…just noticed…). After the standing ovation that shocked me, Roy told me I was “in”. My class is Money & Cool Chicks and I have taught it several times now.

Then Wizard Academy Press published my book.

I was a student, learned about the Academy customs and became the Academy, so to speak, when I was asked to be on the Board of Directors. I talked to each Board member. I was honored.. I was so happy. That was 12/09.

That’s the whole story of how I learned about the Wizard Academy four years ago. They say, “Give to the place that feeds your soul.”  Roy says everyone will have to be rescued at some point in their life – either physically, emotionally or financially.

What’s interesting is that my story is not out of the ordinary for people who find the Academy. It’s what makes the Academy so intriguing

How did you find the Academy? Were you as destined as I was?

Hope to see you there soon.

-Jean Carpenter-Backus

By Keith Miller

This post is really different for me to write.  It is about the process of making the transition from a life of faith in the God Jesus called, “Father,” to the end of that life in the process we call “dying”.

As I am writing this draft, Andrea and I are now in the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and have received the news that the cancer is in so many crucial areas of my body (liver, pancreas, lymph nodes) that finding a “cure” is not one of my options.

For almost ten days I couldn’t eat or drink anything without gagging and throwing up.  Not only that, some bile came up into my throat due to a blockage in my upper intestine so everything I tried to swallow tasted like feces. I Finally contacted my doctor about my concern and was immediately sent to ER, put on a stomach pump to relieve the pressure from trapped fluids in my stomach, IV’s for hydration, and put on the schedule for an endoscopy to try to correct the problem.

In the meantime my three daughters arrived and along with my wife, Andrea, we had a “love-in.”

During all this time I have continued my practice of walking through my days and nights thanking God for all the advantages and blessings that have given me the freedom to love people and help them become what God created them (particularly) to be, and to spend time writing and playing with Andrea, and other members of what has become our new “extended family.” and others on our ‘team.’

One of the main blessings on my continual gratitude list had been my health.  So when that was failing, I became grateful for the clinic I was able to get to, and for my friends who began to step up and help us get in to see these remarkable medical specialists.

But all this unexpected serious information and experience began to depress me and affect my positive attitude and practices.  When I got to my lowest point, a visiting friend took me to a meeting in the hospital area.  Simply being honest and sharing my fear and my experience, strength and hope got me through a very difficult time, and prompted me to write the e-mail getting honest with my physicians about my inability to eat or drink.

All this, and my family’s arrival, interrupted my description of the inner process of dying.  With the family and a few friends here filling my life with love, my faith was concrete, my loving listening and gratitude were intact, and my awareness of God’s healing presence intact somehow.

The night before the family was to leave I began to pray alone in the dark hospital room.  I asked myself what I believe about a “life after this one.”  I realized with a shock that I really hadn’t spent a lot of time learning about “heaven.”  Fear suddenly gripped me.  I calmed myself by surrendering my entire life, death, and future to God.   And then I became aware of what I have come to believe happens when some believers die.

My conscious focus during the past few years had been on learning to live and share the self-limiting love I have experienced from God in the present “Reign of God” that Jesus announced, described and inaugurated throughout his entire life and work.  I’ve done this because it is what I saw Jesus doing.

When he did speak to his disciples about how they and their lives would be evaluated in the last analysis, he referred mostly to how well they had replicated the LIFE of self-limiting love he had given them.  And for me that included the way Jesus had referred and deferred to his loving Father as “Daddy” in a continuous dialogue.

But then, in that dark night alone, I suddenly thought, “What’s going to happen to me and my relationship to God that has come to fill and inform my entire life?”  And I almost panicked.  Compared to what I had already received and experienced in this life with the Father as Daddy, the pictures Christians had developed about Heaven seemed pale and insignificant.  I had moments of thinking maybe I should stop and do a crash course on “Heaven” with someone I knew.  And finally, I once again surrendered my life and my entire future to God and went to sleep.

The next morning I just happened to talk to a Christian who’s spent a lot of time studying about Heaven.  I suddenly remembered Jesus and what he did in his own life as it was drawing to an end.  He simply trusted his Heavenly Daddy, did and said what he could determine was what God wanted Him, Jesus, to say and do.  And at the last of his life, in the Garden of Gethsemane, with nothing in hand to assure him in advance that what he had to do would turn out for him personally as he hoped things would, Jesus decided to take the first steps alone—even if all his own followers deserted him.

I saw that for me—if I am really to follow Jesus, I am going to have to step up to the doorway of death that I am facing right now—the end of all I know of life and human experience.  I must stand before that doorway with the same faith of a small child as Jesus did, doing what he thought his daddy was asking him to do–regardless of whether his own followers (and in my case what other Christians) may think.  Although I am in the midst of my family and those of you who are a part of life’s family too, I am all alone.

All I can think of to say as I approach that door is, “Daddy who is in Heaven, it’s me, John Keith.  All l I have to give you is the life of love that you have given me!  All the rest of the material possessions and public attention that came about as a result of the life I built for you as a Christian—all that has gone somehow.  All that is left is this little boy who loves you as his Daddy.  And I’m knocking, wanting to come in and let you continue—in whatever way—to teach me about how you made us to be when you created us way back in the beginning in the garden.  But if this is not your plan, or whatever you have for me (or don’t have), whatever happens (or doesn’t happen) I’m knocking on this huge Dark Door of Death, wanting to come in and say ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I love you, Daddy.’*

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  John 14:1-3

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  Matthew 7:10-12

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 7:20-22

And prayers come with these words for all of you who have become so dear to me.

(Note: Since writing this post Keith has come back to Austin.  He will begin chemotherapy next week.  Your prayers are appreciated during this time and we are certainly grateful for the kind words and prayers you have offered thus far.  Thank you.)

You’ll not likely find your word-wings until you change what you’re reading. Get the taste of great literature in your mouth and then watch the colors that will flow from your pen. Avoid action books whose appeal is mostly in their pace and plot. Seek those masters who can write about eating a bowl of cereal and make it glow like a Monet at the edge of candlelight.

Roy H. Williams III

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

“As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
Laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT.”

Shannon Havard of Rawlco Radio
Glenn Ruskin of Rawlco Radio
Blaise Ryan of Pioneering Innovation Inc.
Bruce Spurr of Pioneering Innovation Inc.
Dale Betts of PropertyGuys.com
Laura McCallum of PropertyGuys.com

Instructors:
Roy H. Williams
Chris Maddock