It was a pleasure to welcome two guys named Michael to the show on Sunday: Michael Bogar, who is one of the deepest thinkers I know, and professional Tarot reader Mike Hernandez.
Rev. Bogar is the type of person who converts his life history in all its aspects into a spiritual deep-sea dive; he also reminds me of the best actors, the ones that turn their doubts and questions about life into high art. Michael is plunged into a study of “soul-making,” a process by which humans discover their eternal capacity for growth and realization as opposed to seeing themselves as a fixed product of the Universe with stubborn traits and blighting stains that no absolution can remove. As Michael sees it, all of us are co-creators with The Creator in an endless act of producing a representation of Divinity, an individualization of the original Soul. And nobody, not even the most ignorant or lethargic, remains on the sidelines of this holy adventure forever. If you believe Rev. Michael, and I am confident you can, that’s a very good thing. For more about the man and his exploration of spirituality, see www.michaelbogar.com
Mike Hernandez came into the studio for the second hour. He is determined to set aside the worst myths about Tarot. He wants to be clear about what it is essentially and what it can do for the individual. As a pro in the practice, Mike has heard the diatribes against tarot cards: they are the Devil’s toy, Tarot equals witchcraft, drawing the Death card means you will soon die, etc. All of that backwash obscures the benefits that we derive by tapping into our subconscious for the wisdom it offers, with Tarot being a traditional and well-researched means of receiving messages not from Beyond but rather, from a place beyond the daily conditioning of our conscious forebrains. If you need a guide to the practice, it would be hard to find a more patient and mature teacher than Mike Hernandez. He is a friendly yet straightforward practitioner and I plan to have him on the show frequently. For a chance to see Mike in action and learn a lot about Tarot in a workshop setting, visit www.thewhisperingspirits.vpweb.com
This Saturday, Jan. 24th there will be a psychic fair at the storefront location of this new metaphysical co-op in West Seattle. If New Age is your thing/trip/bag, this might be the happening for you. Hope to see you there. Carpe diem! Caveat emptor! Groovy, baby! Hey, where’s the bead curtain?
Emerald Spiral
5910 California Ave. SW Ste. B
Seattle WA 98136
(206) 937-2275
Those who tuned in Sunday night were treated to abot 20 minutes’ worth of conversation about the endless battle between psychical researchers and the skeptics that would love to erase the very concept of parapsychology from scientific inquiry.
Well, the game was called on account of a dropped intercontinental phone line from China. My guest Chris Carter was generous enough to pay the cost of phoning into the show; as often happens, the call was lost in the ether midway through a warming discussion of the topic. Chris’ book, Parapsychology and the Skeptics, is a challenge to undecided readers and debunkers alike: How does one account for evidence that spirit communication has occured, most often facilitated by a trance medium, between the living and the dead? “Hoax!” shouts the skeptic or the hardcore cynic. “How do you prove it’s all a hoax or sign of emotional disturbance when controlled experiments done by eminent scientists suggest that the experiences are genuine? The same dissension is seen over the possibility of telepathic communication and extrasensory perception (ESP).
On and on it goes, with skeptics dismissing the subjects as so much hokum. And an afterlife? Don’t get them started. But Chris Carter throws down the gauntlet in an intellectually impressive manner. He argues that the skeptics are not being true to their scientific calling inasmuch as they look for reasons NOT to believe in the evidence presented by even Nobel Prize-winning scientists, rather than carefully following the evidentiary trail no matter to what conclusion it leads. To Carter, preconceived notions about how the Universe works are the enemies of progress in this field.
I heartily recommend Parapsychology and the Skeptics. The “spirit” of Carter’s book is akin to what I hope the show is gradually achieving: a continuous invitation to inquire openly into the substance or lack thereof in the area of “psi” phenomena and a willingness to look objectively at the evidence and indeed the testimony brought to the argument by those who have studied, experienced and struggled with the implications of parapsychology in this post-Enlightenment age.
Chris and producer Suzanne have been in contact since the Sunday snafu and I am determined to get him back on the show asap. Meantime, take a look at his book or visit online at www.parapsychologyandtheskeptics.com.
Our studio guest in the 11 pm hour was the engaging Susan Harmon, leading light of a metaphysical co-op in West Seattle called The Emerald Spiral. More on that local resource and the events scheduled there in my next post.
I was not sure what to expect from my friend Boston Carter last Sunday. We had done a 90-minute interview in the recent past and I was not sure what new insights could be extracted from her fertile consciousness. To my surprise, Boston had much more to offer from her trove of knowledge about human personality and purpose.
There are many systems for categorizing people; many are skewed to support the conclusions drawn by an author or pundit that need structure to bolster little more than preconceived notions about the human condition. With Boston, however, there is a matrix to her systematic approach to intuitive counseling that wins recognition from her clients on the basis of her uncanny ability to synthesize astrology and archetypal psychology. The word “karma” features prominently in Boston’s cosmology. What intruiged me was her way of applying the term to human destiny. The thing she is adamant about is what karma does NOT mean, at least to her understanding: Karma is less about a tit-for-tat accounting and recompense of our deeds than a path of life that we inherit by choosing birth. Thus does the Universe arrange our fitful hours upon the cosmic stage; so too do we each make our contributions to the greater forces of Life while growing our souls into infinity.
In saying all the above, I offer an appreciation of Boston Carter without attempting a Cliff-notes version of her work. It’s how I interpret what I heard her say on the show. Listen for yourself when the archived hour is posted and make your own assessment. For more about Boston Carter go to www.nowageknowledge.com
Today marks the 74th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth, and I hope he is alive and well in another dimension of life where the crowd clamors for endless encores. Last Sunday, we had on the show an acclaimed Elvis expert, Cory Cooper.
Cory is a great guy and a font of information on the Elvis phenomenon. What I appreciate most about Cory is his dedication to presenting the narrative of the King’s life and legacy without reams of statistics that do little to reveal what it was like to be Elvis or at least be in his orbit. Do I really need to know how many singles of Wooden Heart he sold? No, but I’m always glad to know how he felt about leaving his booming career to do a two-year hitch in the Army which inspired the movie G.I. Blues. That’s what you get from Cory Cooper. I look forward to having him back in August to comemmorate the passing of the King and discuss various related controversies. Have an Elvis question for Cory? E-mail him at ElvisExpert@aol.com.
Kudos also to our “house astrologer” Eileen Grimes, who pulled up Elvis’ birth chart and went over it in as much detail as time would allow. That was a first for Cory.
She is our “house astrologer” and a good conversationalist: Eileen Grimes. I like to have her on the show once a month for her predictions and comments on issues and newsmakers. Last Sunday, we talked about the new year and the need to introduce old-fashioned hard work into the national dialog. If 2009 is going to be as rough as expected, life will require us to take our souls and life purposes more seriously. Eileen made it clear that playtime is over and the return of the more spartan virtues is at hand. A few bars of The Party’s Over is in order.
This week, we greet the returning Lauren Archer for an examination of why New Year’s resolutions do not work and why hypnosis is such a powerful alternative for effecting durable change. At 11 pm, I’ll be interviewing Cory Cooper, one of the world’s foremost Elvis experts, in honor of The King’s upcoming birthday anniversary.