Posts Tagged ‘Politics’

News & Submissions 1/19/2012

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Religion:

Pagan mom challenges Bible giveaway at North Carolina school
WEAVERVILLE, N.C. –  A pagan mother’s challenge to the distribution of donated Bibles at a local school has prompted the Buncombe County Board of Education to reevaluate its policies regarding religious texts.

Ginger Strivelli, who practices Witchcraft, a form of Paganism, said she was upset when her 12-year-old son [who did not wish to be photographed for this article] came home from North Windy Ridge intermediate school with a Bible.

The Gideons International had delivered several boxes of the sacred books to the school office. The staff allowed interested students to stop by and pick them up. Read full story from foxnews.com

More about Pendulum dowsing
We look at this anicent method, which was used by the Romans, Greeks and also by Nostradamus to predict the future Melissa D’costa

The practice of pendulum dowsing is not a new phenomenon and dates back to the anicent Romans and Greeks who used it to predict the future. It is said that ‘scrying’ (another word for dowsing or divination) was a common practice during that time and was even used by Nostradamus. Read full story from indiatimes.com

Finding spirituality through shamanism
In this fast-paced world, many seek deeper peace through spirituality, meditation and religious devotion. For some, a course on shamanism offered by the anthropology department can expand spiritual knowledge. Bonnie Glass-Coffin, an anthropology professor, teaches such courses, including cultural anthropology, spirit and health, and shamanism.

Glass-Coffin said a survey was taken by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) in 2004 in which freshmen from public and private institutions were asked if they were religious or spiritual and if they considered this aspect to be a significant part of their lives. Read full story from usustatesman.com

Media:

Why’s religion so big in American politics? (Source: CNN)

Infrared Image Shows Helix Nebula in Fresh Light
The nearby Helix nebula just received the piercing infrared gaze of a giant telescope in Chile, and the resulting image reveals cold gas normally hidden among warmer star-lit material.

Helix’s central star once resembled the Sun, but its outer layers of gas and dust sloughed off. The resulting planetary nebula, located some 700 light-years from Earth, is what telescopes now see. Read full story from wired.com

Is this the ghost of Princess Diana or an optical illusion? (Source: YouTube – ITN News)

Blogspot:

News & Submissions 2/11/2010

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Bewitching plans for 400th anniversary of Pendle witch trials
A YEAR-long programme of events is being proposed to mark the 400th anniversary of the trial and execution of the Pendle witches. Read full story from lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Scientologists in Haiti: A Firsthand Account
We’ve spoken to someone who traveled to Haiti on a Scientology plane — and witnessed firsthand the ineptitude, quackery and irresponsibility of the church’s minions in a disaster zone. Here’s his account. Read full story from gawker.com

Farewell to the Bodhi Tree Bookstore
The founding owners of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore are dealing with the closure of their L.A. institution as only spiritualists can. “In our best Buddhist sense, we try to incorporate the idea that things always change,” says Phil Thompson, who, along with Stan Madson, opened the Bodhi Tree 40 years ago. Through the years, their cozy Melrose Avenue shop became a nationally known, much beloved center for Buddhists, astrologers, psychics, yogis, swamis, acupuncturists, naturists and others seeking enlightenment. Read full story from laweekly.com

Inside the AFA worship circle
The new Wiccan, Druid and Earth-centered religious worship circle on a mountaintop at the Air Force Academy is equipped with a propane gas hookup for the ritualistic soul-healing fires — just like the worship circles a thousand years ago, when the High Priestess of Babalashadan would stand by the fire and cry out in an enchanted voice, “Lagaz atha cabyolas,” which means, literally, “OK, who brought the marshmallows?” Read full story from csindy.com

Pagans and Politics…Who and What
Having been asked many times what the heck a Pagan is, I’ve sort of distilled it down to some easy sound bites which actually may define most of us. Think of the three-legged stool analogy; here are the legs of the stool, in no particular order. First, Pagans believe that the Sacred Divine (note: no gender implied) is too enormous to fit into any single definition comprehensible to we humans. No “old man in the sky”, just something just beyond our grasp, something toward which we each find our own path. Read full story from pagannewswirecollective.com

Valentine’s Day Facts: Gifts, History, and Love Science
Where did Valentine’s Day come from? (Think naked Romans, paganism, and whips.) What does it cost? And why do we fall for it, year after year? Read on. Read full story from nationalgeographic.com