Cbs crime drama since 2018 crossword

MIL calls to complain we don’t tell her anything. There’s a reason for that.

2023.06.07 05:30 Local_Appearance8164 MIL calls to complain we don’t tell her anything. There’s a reason for that.

For context my husband and I have been married for a year. Together for 8 years total. His whole family is insufferable. I don’t like them. They don’t like me. I’ve come to not like them after they had treated me like crap over the years. Here’s a few context details: 1. Mil doesn’t like me cause I’m not a Christian woman. They are all very religious except my husband and his oldest brother. 2. Doesn’t like that her son married a lower class person. (Constant jabs saying where I grew up was trash and riddled with crime) 3. Has convinced the entire family to hate me by spreading lies. 4. She likes to still try to control my DH. He has a minor mental impairment and she really thought she was gonna take care of him her whole life and seems like she wanted it that way. 5. Doesn’t like that I helped my husband become independent and now he pays his own mortgage and bills. 6. Doesn’t like that I have a mood disorder and has told my husband and I to never have kids because they would turn out like me and offered to pay to sterilize him.
My mil has never been interested in me or what I’m doing. Really not even his entire family. They were shocked that we’ve been together for 8 years. Even though I’ve been around this entire time. I met them all a year into our relationship. Whatever. So that tells you how much they don’t care about me.
We are vlc with his family and they aren’t on our social medias. So they never hear about us. So once in blue moon we see his grandma who is tolerable. She actually makes an effort into knowing my life too.
We talked to his mom 2 days before we had dinner with gma and aunt updating her about what was new with us. Me getting in to grad school, him getting a new job. Well when we went to dinner we told grandma and aunt too. Well grandma called mil said we were keeping secrets from mil and told mil and caused unnecessary drama. Cause mil called saying we never tell her anything and these were all big events and we need to tell her things more. Well, I know she didn’t forget we told her two days ago!? I don’t know if grandma gaslit her or just wanted to blame my husband. But we don’t tell her anything because she doesn’t care, doesn’t ever congratulate. She will just try to talk us out of things or criticize anything we do. So we just see no point telling her especially since she never calls us unless it’s about money or needs to complain.
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2023.06.07 01:30 Grande_Chai_Latte 28 [F4M] NYC/NY/NJ-It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!

I'm a short African-American female born, raised and still residing in NYC. I currently work from home in healthcare, and actively seeking a more low stress job for my mental health.
Here are a few random facts about myself:
Hobbies: I enjoy podcasts, gaming on my PS5, Switch & PC. I enjoy fantasy novels and have a small book collection that developed during the pandemic.
Movies: Anything Marvel (although some of their stuff is lacking lately). The John Wick Series. Dark Knight Trilogy. Some animated movies.
Shows: Some K-dramas, The Office, Community, True Blood, House of the Dragon, Killing Eve, Gilmore Girls, Tokyo Vice, etc.
Music: Pop, Rock, Indie, EDM.
Games: Legend of Zelda, Horizon Zero Dawn Series, Pokemon, Omega Strikers, Spiderman, GW2, etc.
I am a general homebody but I've been able to get out more since the weather is on track now. I enjoy having brunch in the city on the weekends, indulging in self-care, or kicking back and enjoying museums.
I am a progressive, pro-choice, and pro-LGBTQIA+ which is massively important to me, especially as a minority and woman of color.
My love language is quality time. I enjoy setting aside time for adventures, date nights, or just time to curl up and watch a movie together.
What I am looking for the most is stability. I'm nearing my 30s and I'm at the point in my life where I really don't want to date for the sake of dating. I really want to be able to find my best friend, my partner in crime, and someone to help me relax at the end of my day.
Looking for:
Someone who loves to crack jokes and does not take themselves seriously.
Someone who is laid back & down to earth.
Within the age range of 26-35.
Located within NYC, Upstate NY, JC/Hoboken, or North Jersey area.
If you managed to read through my blurb, feel free to reach out with a bit about yourself.
submitted by Grande_Chai_Latte to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]

2023.06.07 01:14 ThrowRAssummer How to tell my (25F) boyfriend (27M) I am not comfortable with him moving to a house directly across from a prison?

My boyfriend (27M) and I (25F) have been dating for 9 months, and our relationship has been great. I feel so strongly about him and I could very well see us getting engaged within the next year or so. He is a very kind and compassionate person.
My lease ended in February, and I renewed my lease for 12 months to live with my roommate again, since I didn’t really have any other options at the time and I like my apartment.
My boyfriend’s lease is up this month, and his roommate is moving to a new city, leaving him with nowhere to live. With his current salary and student loans from grad school he has a very tight budget, pricing him out of almost all 1 bedroom and studio apartments.
One of the few places he can afford is a house for rent in a neighborhood in the city. He said the house is lovely and spacious, and it looks very nice in the photos.
However, when I look at the neighborhood in google maps, I can see the area is…questionable — boarded up windows, graffiti, trailers, gas station with broken windows, and to top it all off…a huge US penitentiary for male offenders within 1000 ft of the house. It is very clear to me why the rent is so low.
I brought my concern up to him, and he said not to worry about it and that he’s lived in worse places and it will only be a year. However, I really don’t feel comfortable spending time there (I currently spend 2-3 nights a week at his place) and do not want to visit this neighborhood at night. I am a small female with no self defense skills, and neither of us have any intention of owning a weapon.
Not to mention, I witnessed a shooting on the same street about a year ago which was somewhat traumatic for me. I just do not feel good about him moving there, but I do not want to act controlling or cause drama since it is ultimately up to him. Additionally, we come from different backgrounds with me being upper-middle class and he considers his family working class, so I don’t want to come across as disconnected from reality or make him feel less than for not being able to afford something nicer. I just don’t know the best way to go about handling this.
TLDR; my boyfriend needs to move but the only place he can afford is directly across from a prison. I don’t know how to tell him that I am not okay with him moving there.
Edit to add: we live in a city with very high crime rates, but both of us currently live in relatively safe neighborhoods
submitted by ThrowRAssummer to relationship_advice [link] [comments]

2023.06.07 00:52 kyuuei The Noodler's Ink Drama in one spot (Content Warning for the entire post)

Because this seems to come up a lot, I figured I'd put all of the drama surrounding what happened with Noodler's Ink into one spot so people can just link it. I'll try to keep my own personal ideas of this to a minimum except where I think context is more important than clear-cold-facts. This won't be super concise, but the TLDR of all the drama is this:
Noodlers put out, over the course of years, a couple different inks featuring Antisemitic labels. When called out originally, not much was done about this, but social media traction on this became very viral very quickly. Nathan issued an apology, and donated to the ADL, and took down not only those bottles but the labels of ANY ink with any depictions of other cultures/communities on the label as well. The fallout has been mixed with many people happy they did something about it and moving on and others boycotting the company for life.
Obviously, Content Warnings for political stuff, antisemitism, etc. from here on out.
I should also mention this is just going into antisemitic controversy and its fallout. Any opinions on quality control issues, feathering, pens, etc. are not included in this. Suffice to say, there are reasons people may dislike this brand outside of this drama, but none of that will be included here.
Nathan Tardiff owns/operates Noodler's ink. He has always been very open when speaking about his political viewpoints and is a very political person. And, according to the podcast I linked in this post, he also fashions himself as a history buff which is somewhat relevant.
As a side note for relevancy I think overall, is that Nathan has put out other inks over the years that have spoken to his direct political beliefs and have had general insensitivities. The two are heavily tied. Rino featured mask-wearing Rhinoceroses when the pandemic hit, and this was spoken about in the podcast linked as being a personal protest of sorts to mask mandates as he was an anti-masker. There are also more vague inks that have some harmful implications such as "Dragon's Napalm" and lots of inks named after Native Americans despite the fact Nathan nor the brand has any associations with native people which many would consider appropriation.
Now, we're at the start of the drama.
A few years back, Bernanke Red came out from Noodler's. It is hard to say WHEN this ink came out first, my preliminary research has not produced good results here, but it has been out at least since 2018. To my knowledge, the antisemitic label of Bernanke's red has existed since the creation of the ink, only recently being changed and taken down post drama fallout.
January 6th 2022 He came out with a new ink called Volcker Green. Some maybe important things to note are: this was posted on the 1 year anniversary the insurrection of the US, and as stated in the post Volcker's rule is meant to prevent corruption of banks. The label features former federal reserve chairs with Vockler (A christian man) with a halo on his head, and 2 others flanking him named Bernanke and Greenspan (both are Jewish) with horns on their head.
This is where I think it is worth stopping to mention that the harmful stereotype that Jews have horns has been a staple and pervasive in cultures across the globe for a Very, very long time. This comment provides some great links and a succinct way of explaining this for those who want more details here. I think it is also worth mentioning that many people may be unaware of this history and stereotype.
By the 12th, people were dropping the brand. Someone had posted on this reddit asking what was going on, and it was explained then that things were pretty not-okay. (My opinion here is because this was framed as a question and subsequently deleted and not outright showing what was going on like the May post, this did not get the same traction the other did and thus not the same exposure. This post had about 130 comments. The may post has 1,1k comments.) In this podcast discussion about this from Tokyo Inklings, (discussion starts at 30:50) Nathan has been called out for this before May 2022 when the real fallout started--but he did not change it until the May fallout. To quote the podcast: "The timeline on the surface was that people complained about these inks when they were released and then it was kind of like 'yeah yeah yeah.. whatever.' "
May 9th, 2022 this post on this reddit came out saying they'd never buy Noodler's ink again and clearly showed Bernanke Red's label. (This was the post I originally saw about the brand.) It features Bernanke in curved horns, with a forehead brand/tattoo of a common communist symbol, and words such as "debt addiction enabler" on it. This really seemed to be the post that sparked all of this coming to light undeniably. 1k comments later needless to say it was one of the busiest this reddit had been.
Stuff gets muddy here (and the podcast I linked sort of lays this strange timeline out better than I could), but on May 10th Goulet pens not really as a business but on a more personal note spoke of calling Nathan and saying he sounded very apologetic. "in all the years we’ve known Nathan, we’ve never known him to be antisemitic. Brian spent over an hour and a half on the phone with him tonight, and he was genuinely apologetic for his ignorance, to sum it up. If you know anything about Nathan, you know he is singularly laser focused on the issues of fiscal conservatism and freedom of speech, but unfortunately that has created some blind spots."
May 11th Noodler's themselves came out with an apology stating they had no idea that the pictures were directly linked to antisemitism, but that they would change them and donate to the ADL. (screenshot here if it's ever taken down)
That same day, Goulet said they were not carrying Noodler's products anymore. (screenshot)
Nathan pulled just about every ink he'd put out to change the labels of anything that could be seen as remotely offensive. It was a huge clean sweep because, as you can imagine, he had a Ton of them to change with this. 31 items to be exact according to the linked list + the two main ones posted.
Apologies and a burner month or so later, Goulet went back to carrying Noodler's after all the inks got rebranding.
Now. At this point. I would be remiss not to mention that there is a very long standing and closely knit tie between people who believe in conspiracy theories and antisemitism. " No critical introduction to conspiracy theories would be complete without a discussion of their strong and longstanding connection with antisemitism." There is also some very strong ties between far-right mentalities and antisemitism. There is more to break down here than one post can possibly allow, but the TLDR of this is that the venn diagram between these three is.. very circular. And, now-a-days, it is often on-brand for people into these things to give themselves plausible deniability. With social media posts getting people fired and saying something out loud plainly on video recording can ruin a career, people who have these sort of alt-right-far-right thoughts tend to... speak Around things. They don't Directly say "I hate Jews and Jews control the media" they will say "I hate the media and people pulling the strings behind the camera because it tries to control peoples' thoughts." When called out, "I had no idea there were Jewish people in media! I wasn't trying to be antisemitic!" Even if the only reason they believe this is due to the conspiracy theory that Jews control the media. There are lots of dog whistles for antisemitism, and often these are not well known and fly under the radar. People with antisemitic beliefs often bank on others not noticing or knowing so they can hide in plain sight, and deny if directly called out.
So, there are people with the viewpoint of: Lots of people do not know the history of horns and Jewish people, and it is easy to see how he might not have known that. Hell, I didn't know what most of my childhood songs were about growing up or that the star spangled banner has racist elements to it. He actually did something about it, and pulled Everything and changed it all which was probably at great expense to himself, and he apologized and donated money to the ADL. What more can people actually ask from a brand? People can learn and change.
(There are many, many more people with the viewpoint of I don't care about any of this drama and don't want to be involved in it.)
And there are people with the viewpoint of: He is a history buff. He's into conspiracy theories. He's into hard-right-leaning viewpoints and libertarian viewpoints. Dogwhistles are very present all over the place, Nathan undeniably used this imagery on multiple occasions and there is just too much here to believe he genuinely had No idea--at best he decided not to care or listen to the people telling him this was wrong. I do Not buy Nathan's apology that he had no idea this was directly antisemitic--especially as he had been told by other companies and people prior, and did not change it until this was hitting his wallet in a major way. (For full disclosure, I firmly am in this camp.)
I think it is also worth including this take on the clean sweep posted on the fountainpennetwork " I really have no idea why Nathan changed all of the ink names. Honestly, it feels reactionary and heavy handed in a "oh yeah? Well then I'll just chang ALL OF IT THEN!" as if to spite his face by cutting off his nose. Sure did manage to bring out the anti-PC police though, so maybe that was his goal: bring out the Whataboutists to dampen and soften the seriousness of the bottle imagery with constant refrains of "oh yeah? Well, what about...", creating false equivalences to somehow redeem putting horns on Jewish folks twice. But, if we want to analyze the sentiment of "where do we stop?", a good starting point may be to listen to any group that has, some within living memory, been oppressed, thrown into a concentration camp, or had an attempted genocide carried out to say that enough is enough when it comes to images and words that hearken back to that oppression. " (The irony that whataboutism was rampant in this thread is not lost on me.)
So, that's all the drama as best I can understand it. If there are serious and major corrections I will make them and appreciate anyone adding to it, I tried to make this as brief as possible without skimping on any contexts. I'm not a very concise person by nature.
submitted by kyuuei to fountainpens [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 23:40 NotOmarTorrijos My experience after visiting Bodmin Jail - past life memories? Spiritual attachment?

In August of 2018 I visited the famously haunted Bodmin Jail with my family, aged 16. It wasn't until 2021, after a period of severe depression/anxiety that my brain started to allow me to put some pieces together, and I believe this visit to the jail left me with 'something'. I feel as though a part of the jail is still with me. I'm going to try and explain in the best way I can.
At 16 years old I wasn't a solid believer in the paranormal. I was into Paranormal shows, watched all the trashy ghost hunting shows out there, and had a large collection of books on the subject, but I'd never experienced anything with my own senses that I could confidently describe as paranormal. I was completely open to it, but I'd never experienced it myself. I also, thankfully, had no experience with mental health issues. I'd made it through school confident, grounded, perfectly comfortable with myself, and looking forward to the future. Hopefully this will give you some context to what I'm about to try and describe.
Flash forward to a family holiday to Cornwall in 2018, and we'd decided to visit Bodmin Jail, having seen photos online of the incredible abandoned wings of the prison, overgrown with ivy and slowly decaying behind the layers of moss. We'd visited many similar sites over the years and although prisons have an inherently spooky vibe to them, something about Bodmin felt immediately different to me. I remember feeling as though I could easily have maxed out a heart rate monitor as we walked through the gates into the courtyard. My memory of the building and our tour around it is a little fragmented since it took place 5 years ago, but I'll try my best. I recall first descending narrow stairs with a cast iron handrail into a basement section of the building. Once in the lower levels, I felt a sudden wave of complete emotional overload. It felt as though I could physically feel all of the emotions of the building; the air felt like it was squeezing my stomach and I felt completely dissociated from my surroundings. It's one of the worst sensations I've felt to this day. I described it to my girlfriend like the feeling you get in a nightmare where not just events or places are bad, but your entire being is bad; you're existing on a plane of reality constructed from pain and fear. Something I felt specifically in the basement area is the sense that things happened there which are not known about. As if all of the people who suffered there were screaming out that there were crimes committed against them in those lower levels of the building which were never discovered; forms of abuse or punishment which were far more extreme and perverted than what is common knowledge about prisons of the era.
Other parts of the jail felt terrible still, but none as hopeless and dark as the lower levels. The only other area which felt comparable to the basement was an area located at the entrance to the naval wing of the jail. I vaguely remember an entrance to a shaft of some kind, possibly a lift or chimney, which has a very foreboding aura about it. Interestingly I felt completely disconnected from the execution pit on display there. On paper this should be a more sinister part of the tour, but I remember feeling far less suffocated there, and as if a part of my subconscious recognised the area as 'wrong'. A voice in a deep part of my brain was telling me "wait, this isn't how it looked". I've never experienced a feeling like it.
In the months following, I began college, and not long after my first term, began experiencing things I'd never felt before. Moments where I would again feel the same sense of darkness and panic that I did in the basement of Bodmin Jail, days where it felt as though my brain was trapped somewhere, but my body was free. I remember occasions where I cried out of the blue for no reason. Nothing was happening in my life which would trigger these reactions, my life was going well by all accounts, although it did not stay this way in the coming years. By the following winter I had decided to see a therapist. I was struggling in so many areas of my mental health, most interestingly that I would panic in a space where I was 'shut in'. Classrooms with closed doors/busses/rooms with no clear exit. A therapist even told me once that my symptoms reflected those of someone struggling with PTSD, and explicitly listed an example of someone who had previously been incarcerated. Somehow I still didn't connect the dots; the visit to the jail had not crossed my mind for a long time.
During my recovery from this period of depression, I developed an interest in meditation and spirituality. Meditation was without a doubt one of the most powerful tools to my recovery and I inevitably found myself researching different types of meditation practices. One day I decided to follow a guided meditation track designed to help you to recall images from past lifetimes. Whilst I never came to any meaningful conclusions about past lives, I did encounter several very vivid images whilst doing the meditation, which I drew on scrap paper immediately afterwards. One image, a clock tower, seemed oddly familiar. At some point that day, it dawned on me that the clock tower was in fact the clock tower located not far from Bodmin Jail, near a set of roundabouts in the village. All of the memories the jail, the visit, and the sensations I felt there came back to me, and I felt completely engulfed, the same way I felt in the basement of the jail. I spent time researching the jail, and discovered after a while that the clock tower stands were the original town gallows were located, before gallows were constructed inside the prison walls.
It took me a good while to reach the conclusion that the visit to the jail way well have been the trigger for all of the emotional turmoil I went through. The random intense feelings I continue to encounter occasionally out of the blue of angefeahopelessness/being trapped/feeling betrayed may not be as random as I'd previously thought. I think I'm still in the slow process of accepting that I didn't leave from that jail alone. Something came with me, be it the memories and feelings of another who suffered there, or my own memories and experiences from a previous lifetime. Either way, my life has been different ever since. Although mentally I made a good recovery (despite 2 years of hell), I have never felt the same. Like sometimes I'll be enjoying a good day, and something just materialises inside me and I'm right back in those basement levels. I feel scared, trapped, sick, cold, angry...and then it vanishes as quickly as it came. I've seen other posts on Reddit about this location, and I'm hoping to hear some other stories about it. If you've visited the location or have any kind of experience with attachments or past life memories, please comment. I'd love to hear your stories. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Some further interesting points:
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2023.06.06 23:10 Ok-Painter5475 AITA? should I be more understanding?

Sorry she’s a long one
AITA for telling my MIL to stop talking trash about my FIL
10 years (or more ago) my MIL got divorced from my FIL after he was arrested and given time for some white collar crimes. Majority of there belonging we’re returned to the bank, and my MIL had to start her life over again. She had a really tough time both mentally & physically, her relationship w my fiancé and his siblings deteriorated due her mental health. She would constantly talk shit to them about there father, and had on multiple occasions accused my finance of stealing from her (when it was in-fact her new boyfriends she had over)
Fast forward 2 years, and the children are 12, 14 and 16. My FIL is released from prison and one by one the children all made the choice to move in with there father and completely abandon the relationship with my MIL due to her mental state & lack of emotional understanding. She could not fathom how they still wanted to have a relationship with there father.
Spring of 2018 my fiancé decided to start speaking to his mother again. I got to meet her, and I really thought that things were going good. She still spoke about there father very poorly, but not often and I could be understanding to her trauma.
September of 2021, my FIL who we both had a great relationship with passed away extremely unexpectedly. We were heartbroken and we unfortunately found out he was still up to his old ways of handling money and we’re left with a lot of unanswered questions. But never the less, they still love him dearly and so do I. We have so many good memories with him.
It’s been two years now since he’s passed, and my mother in law talks more shit about him now then she ever did. How she cannot forgive him, and that she has letters from him in jail she’s adamant her now adult children need to read. She still hates him with ever fibre or her being and will say whatever nasty thing you can think of about him. She hates his extended family (we have a wedding coming up and I am so nervous she’s going to blow her top, and ruin my BIL & SIL big day because she has literal 0 self control after a glass of wine) She hates anyone else’s extended family for that matter. She is certain that people still “blame” her for what happened 10 years ago, and that she wants her children to valid her as a his victim. I also think she tried to scare me by telling me that creditors were calling her asking for his next of kin. (Even though I know my fiancé and BIL dealt with all of his finances, when he passed) I feel she is blind to that fact that the children were also victims of his financial crimes and none of them were old/mature enough to be equip at helping her handle this? I finally told her that I cannot listen to her talk about my FIL this way anymore, I know that he hurt her terribly, the children too. (I don’t need to tell you how absolutely livid she was when I told her no more, she’s been posting some pretty targeted quotes on FB since I said it) But it is not the way that my fiancé and I want to remember him, he’s unfortunately not coming back to answer our questions or to apologize. This is unfortunately where the story ends, and there’s nothing that she or any of us can do to change that. So am I the asshole for thinking it’s time for her to let this go? What would you do?
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2023.06.06 22:42 autotldr European human rights judges have condemned Russia for not properly investigating the 2020 poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 51%. (I'm a bot)
Image: Reuters In February 2017, anti-corruption rallies across dozens of Russian cities led to the arrests of over 1,000 demonstrators, including Navalny.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman for Alexey Navalny's campaign In 2018, Navalny was jailed for 30 days.
In April 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Russia had violated Navalny's rights by holding him under house arrest for most of 2014 during the Kirov embezzlement case.
Image: Reuters/M. Shemetov Using YouTube and social media, Navalny had amassed a following of millions by late December 2019.
Image: Reuters/FBK Handout Since being imprisoned in 2021, Navalny has faced even more charges and trials: in 2022, he was sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court, charges his supporters say are fabricated.
Appearing via video from prison during a court hearing this spring, Navalny said he was now being charged with new alleged crimes that would further extend his time in prison.
Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Navalny#1 Image#2 court#3 being#4 following#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.
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2023.06.06 22:30 amandaguilty Family drama – The murder of Sarah Scazzi – 2/2

<<< First part of the post
My post got cancelled the first time, so I’m trying again. Wish me luck! :)

August 26, 2010. The reconstruction

For the Court, “decisive and definitive proof of the correctness of [this] reconstruction” of the relationship between Sabrina and Ivano and between the former and the victim, comes from a “datum of extraordinary genuineness” – Sarah’s last diary entry:
According to all the testimonial evidence, on both the morning and afternoon of August 26, Sarah (once she’d returned from San Pancrazio) went to Sabrina’s house; but why would she do so if the relationship had broken down? The Court considers this issue, advanced by the defense, and replies that
once her brother had left, hanging out with Sabrina represented, for young Sarah, hungry for life and leisure, the only opportunity to get out, to escape from a family environment that appeared to her to be rigid and, at that time, with her grandfather dying and her mother busy caring for him, certainly bleak and oppressive.
Anna Pisanò’s testimony sheds light on the underlying conflict between the cousins, although her account of the morning – as well as the other portions of her testimony – has been rejected by the defense, who argued that Pisanò’s role as a “super-witness” (more on this later) was the by-product of her resentment towards Sabrina, of “her willingness to create misunderstandings” and of the shared religious beliefs with Concetta. The Court rejected this argument reporting that Pisanò and Sabrina were quite intimate friends before the disappearance and the religious practices Pisanò participated to still don’t explain why she would have falsely accused Sabrina. In any case, Pisanò was a client of Sabrina; she said she was close with her, although the latter contradicted her in court.
7:55-9:30 am: Pisanò said to the investigators and later to the judges that, on the morning of August 26, she went to Sabrina’s for a session (she worked as a beautician off the books); after like an hour, Sarah arrived. Pisanò noticed that she looked unhappy and that she didn’t greet her as usual. The prosecution used this episode to argue the confrontation of the night before continued on August 26, but the defense replied that either a) Pisanò was disliked by Sarah because two years before she had said to Sarah that her father was a womanizer or b) the story narrated by Pisanò was false since the other witnesses who saw Sarah that morning don’t report anything unusual about her. Make of that what you will.
12-12:30 pm: Once she had returned to her own home, coming from the Misseris, Sarah informed her mother that she was “probably” going to the beach with Sabrina and that, in any case, she would have to wait for confirmation by her cousin. Immediately thereafter, Sarah had asked to accompany her father, who was headed for meat and fruit shopping.1:45-2 pm: Sarah left her house and headed for Sabrina’s without having received the confirmation message from Sabrina. This is corroborated by
The Court stated that the reconstruction advanced by the defense – according to which Sarah waited for the 2:25 pm confirmation message in order to go to Sabrina’s – can’t be accepted also because it didn’t make sense for Sarah not to reply to her schoolmate Francesca’s messages if she was really waiting for the confirmation message and wasn’t engaged in any housework. The most plausible reasons why she left before receiving the message are to be identified with the fact that Sarah didn’t want to participate in the house renovations and was anxious to go to the beach.
The defense also attacked the testimony of Pantir indirectly arguing that the “young couple” – that’s the name media used to describe Giuseppina Nardelli and Fedele Giangrande – since a week after the disappearance have always said that they’d seen Sarah walking down the street after 2 pm. The Court countered that Sabrina had tried to influence the memories of the people involved in the case and that’s the distal cause of the young couple’s testimony:
[I]t is well understood how the imprimatur of a certain time indication that placed Sarah’s disappearance around 2:30 pm and, in any case, before 2:42 pm, the time when the search for her began, was provided precisely by Sabrina Misseri in the course of the interviews she gave, with the effect of conditioning not only, as already seen, the memories of Sarah’s family members, but also the information disseminated by the media.
That would explain why the missing person report compiled by Concetta mentioned 2:30 pm as the time of disappearance – Sarah’s mother had simply taken at face value Sabrina’s indication that she’d sent the confirmation message around that time. Moreover, in at least another occasion, Sabrina tried to influence directly a person informed about the facts surrounding the disappearance, namely Mariangela. This is an excerpt from an intercepted conversation between two on September 30, 2010 in the Carabinieri headquarters:
It’s also a fact that the after-2-pm version was initially accredited because everyone thought the last movements of Sarah’s cell phone were genuine and not the result of post-mortem manipulation (more on this later), so it’s not illogical to think that the young couple could have “aligned” their memories with what they deemed to be true. Still, I think the defense raises a good point; ultimately, it’s likely that Giangrande and Nardelli misremembered or made a bad estimation because their original memory (in the later versions they admit it could have been also 2 pm) simply doesn’t fit with all the other evidence, especially Pantir’s testimony, who talked about 2 pm as the time of Sarah leaving the house when everyone else thought the correct time was another.
1:50-2:05 pm: Sarah arrived at Sabrina’s. Testifying to this there are Cosima’s intercepted words: “it would have been better if lightning had fallen on the house, electrocuting us all that day… electrocuting us all before the girl came”. It’s unlikely that she went to the garage as hypothesized by the defense since, even according to Sabrina, she wasn’t used to hang out alone there at all. Moreover,
It is utterly implausible that Sarah Scazzi – if previously molested, as the Defenses assume – could have decided, for no plausible reason, to voluntarily descend into the dark garage, into the clutches of her molesting uncle (as will be said shortly, just as the latter, enraged by the failure to start the tractor, was shouting and “swearing” like a possessed).
Sabrina testified in court that around this time (when, for example, she received her cousin Adamaria’s call and didn’t respond to it) she was resting in the double bed of her parents, though this is contradicted by Michele even when the latter was offering a completely self-accusatory version: he said that he’d talked to Sabrina in the house before Sarah arrived. On the other hand, Cosima – who according to Sabrina was lying next to her in the double bed – never mentioned the numerous calls, messages and rings her daughter had received in those minutes. Why would she lie about this, in any case?
There was, in fact, a need to defer the moment of her exit to the porch, in order to exclude the possibility of a meeting with Sarah at the moment when the latter – according to the defense version, which saw her leaving the house after receiving confirmation text messages from her cousin – was arriving at the Misseri house.
It’s difficult to understand, moreover, why Sabrina would send the message, “I’m trying [to poo] in the bathroom :)”, to Mariangela if, as she testified in court, the “attempt” lasted only a few seconds. But there are lots of contradictions in Sabrina’s accounts of the events. The shower that, according to previous statements, she had taken once she got out of bed, in the trial statements became a “rinse” of her private parts; regarding the message of 2:39:27 pm to Mariangela (“Ready”), Sabrina, in her statements of October 15, said she’d typed it when she was on the porch, but – faced with the contestation that she had stated that, 55 seconds earlier, when she had received the message from Angela Cimino, she was with certainty in the bathroom – she argued at trial that this message had been sent when she “was going out on the porch”. Concerning these details, the defense tried to deflect holding that Sabrina was in a state of “mental confusion” caused by her cousin’s – to whom she was very close – disappearance. The Court replied that
The detectable contradictions cannot be the result of mnemonic deficits, especially since, most of the time, this is not the explanation that was given by the defendant to justify the narrative inconsistencies.
At this point, though, we have to introduce a crucial witness who showed up quite late but was deemed genuine (at least in his first deposition) by the prosecution and then by the Court; his name is Giovanni Buccolieri and he was a florist in Avetrana.

The kidnapping: the dream of the florist and Cosima’s motive

The finding of kidnapping, contested in complicity to Cosima Serrano and Sabrina Misseri, in the reconstruction of the criminal facts constitutes the logical and factual antecedent of the murder of Sarah Scazzi: the young girl, shortly after entering the house, hastily left [Sabrina’s house], heading on foot toward her home; however, she was chased and immediately tracked down by Cosima Serrano who, together with Sabrina Misseri, forced her to board the Opel Astra car and, placing herself in the driver’s seat again, drove her back to her home in Via Deledda, where she was strangled.
The path by which the information about the kidnapping reached investigators was tortuous. On April 5, 2011, super-witness Anna Pisanò talked with the investigators to report that, in September 2010, she’d heard by her daughter Vanessa Cerra that “someone” she knew had seen Cosima grab Sarah by the hair, snatch her and throw her in the Misseri car on the afternoon of August 26, 2010. Pisanò had asked many times to Cerra who was this mysterious individual, but she decided to make his name only when she left for a job in Germany (saying that, if questioned, he would have said that it was only a dream). When Pisanò discovered the identity of the witness, she went to the investigators.
April 9, 2011 is the day Buccolieri appeared before prosecutors to offer information about Sarah’s disappearance. Only two days later, however, he requested another interview to retract what he’d already told, justifying himself by saying that he wasn’t sure it was real – it could have been a very vivid dream. The prosecutors immediately charged him with perjury, since either the first or the second interview contained false information. Then, in court, Buccolieri used his right to remain silent, although the content of the first interview was mentioned in the motivation report that sentenced Cosima (and Sabrina) to life in prison.
The florist’s dream is one of the most contested points of the sentence. The Supreme Court observed that Buccolieri retracting his testimony about having seen the kidnapping has to be explained in terms of an “attempt to evade the judicial responsibilities incumbent on him”. On the contrary, Cosima’s and especially Sabrina’s defenses argued that only Anna Pisanò reported the incident by talking about a real fact and not a dream, and that she cannot be trusted for the reasons described above.
Concerning the validity of the testimony, the Court considered firstly the discrepancy between Buccolieri’s preoccupation with the incident and it supposedly being just a vivid dream:
that Buccolieri continued, in the days and months that followed, to talk about the affair, albeit representing it as a “dream”, to relatives, relatives-in-law and friends while showing agitation and disturbance, however, makes it quite clear that he – aware of the seriousness of the episode and its significance as an essential junction in the reconstruction of the murder – could not help but think about it and, therefore, talk about it.
Mention has already been made of Pisanò’s credibility, which again becomes an important point here. The woman reported to investigators that her daughter had told her about the incident in terms of a real fact, while the daughter claimed that Buccolieri had only ever told her about a very vivid dream that made it difficult to understand whether it was real or not. Cerra said in court that, when she had asked again Buccolieri to go talk with the investigators, he replied, “If they call me, I deny everything”.
This is probably the strangest piece of evidence pertaining to this case, the only one directly implicating Cosima and it’s quite difficult to assess its validity. The Court considered the issue and tried to justify its reasoning in more than 100 pages. There are reasons both to believe and not to believe that it was a vivid dream.
Firstly, we know for a fact that Buccolieri did have a flower delivery to do on that day. Interestingly, his description of the abduction temporally preceded the discovery of Sarah’s body; this suggests that he may have been truthful insofar as he would have anticipated other evidence emerging from the trial. Another reasoning in favor of the theory that the kidnapping was real is that Cerra wouldn’t have asked Buccolieri to talk with the Carabinieri if his narrative had been really told in the terms of a dream; at the same time, Cerra wouldn’t have refused to tell her mother the name of the dreamer. It would also have been strange for Pisanò – if she had falsely said that the kidnapping was real – to have been able to predict that Buccolieri would speak in the terms of a real fact in his first interview. Finally, the Court considered that the fact Buccolieri said to Cerra that only she knew how things went proved that what he said to his wife and mother-in-law (namely, that it was all a dream) was false – in other words, only Cerra was able to listen to the “true” account of the events; Pisanò then managed to discover it and told about it to the investigators.
On the other hand, it would be dishonest not to acknowledge that Buccolieri to this day maintains that the prosecutors somehow convinced him that the episode was factual, when in reality, according to him, it was only a dream. Other bits of intercepted conversation suggest either that Buccolieri was truthful when he accredited the dream version or that he was trying to impose it to Cerra: “The two of us, when we talked, we talked about a dream and that’s all… we didn’t talk about anything else”. Others again seem to imply that there was a common preoccupation, between Buccolieri and Cerra, with not being involved in the case: “You have to say that… the right things, Va”, “But I said the right things”. In court, Buccolieri’s wife Giuseppina Scredo testified that her husband seemed worried about the “dream” because at the same time he told her about it circumstantial items against Cosima had emerged – but prosecutors replied that, in reality, Cosima became a suspect only in 2011, so it’d have been exaggerated for Buccolieri to be worried about the dream:
[Buccolieri], however, would have had no reason to feel such dismay if it was merely a dream going back in time or if he was in doubt between dream and reality, and even less so if [the story about the kidnapping] was the result of popular suggestion or a “collective dream” of the Avetranese who disliked Serrano. […] Unless we want to attribute to Buccolieri premonitory powers and divinatory abilities, it is not possible that, immediately after Michele Misseri’s arrest, he could have already had suspicions – based, it should be assumed, solely on the unjustifiable dislike he felt for a fellow citizen with a “strong” character whom he saw appearing on television – about Cosima Serrano, so much so that he became convinced of her guilt and “dreamed” of her involvement in the victim’s kidnapping.
It’s also important to ask what would be Cosima’s motive. The Court considered that
The attention that the entire family paid to the aspect of public consideration is further evidenced by Valentina Misseri’s statement at trial about the reasons underlying the reproaches that she and her sister Sabrina used to address to the young Sarah because of the young girl’s affectionate attitudes – which they considered excessive and out of place – to people of the opposite sex, or the makeup that was too “heavy” for her age, which could have, in the older cousins’ view, aroused the gossip of the Avetranese community (“people who talk and are gossipy”) by having the minor girl ‘labeled’ as a ‘no-good’.
Cosima was therefore greatly concerned about what might be said about her daughter if her failed intercourse and on-and-off relationship with Ivano were discovered and especially held Sarah responsible for the humiliation her daughter suffered. As for why she decided to follow Sarah back to her house like the florist had described, the Court considers that the news of the argument was not supposed to reach the Scazzi home – if it had happened, Sarah’s parents would’ve been outraged at Cosima and Sabrina for everything “improper” for a 15-year-old Sarah had discovered or participated to (especially in a rural, tight-knit community as Avetrana is): from knowing about the intercourse to being photographed in pajamas with Sabrina by a shirtless Ivano late one night in May 2010.
It is also shown that the defendant [Cosima] Serrano paid extreme attention to the profile of family respectability, opposing conduct of her daughter that appeared to her, in terms of mentality, age, and culture, to be excessively uninhibited – so much so that she regularly called Sabrina insulting epithets alluding to her sexual mores (“bitch”, “whore”). […] The affront suffered at the hands of the little girl, her rebellion against the authority of her aunt and the fear that she would reveal facts that would compromise the honorability of the Misseri family, generated a strong emotional reaction in the woman that induced her to commit the kidnapping and, once the little girl was brought back home, to commit the crime of murder.

The murder and the weapon

According to the Court that convicted the defendants, Sarah entered the Misseri’s house and stayed there for only a few minutes before leaving abruptly. The fight that broke out that afternoon had to be different from the typical altercations between the two girls, having required the intervention of Cosima.
Sarah, who was attacked and reprimanded, did not suffer supinely this time: she must have experienced those reprimands, those accusations as so undeserved, disproportionate and unjust that she reacted harshly toward her aunt in harsh tones, and with accusations, certainly serious and unexpected, that affected not only her cousin, but also her aunt because of the seriousness of them. […] The questioning of the authority of the two women, Serrano’s outrage at what must have seemed to her to be intolerable accusations made by Sarah and an inadmissible act of rebellion, as well as a show of ingratitude on the part of the little girl who had been welcomed and raised “like a daughter” in that home, the realization that Sarah had grown up and was no longer the shy and submissive child who could be “managed”, but a person capable of reacting, responding in kind, questioning the authority of the two “parental” figures, even rivaling her older cousin and revealing her habits and secrets, shaming her before her mother’s eyes, all these things triggered the reaction of Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano.
After they had returned to the Misseri’s house on the Opel Astra, Sabrina and Cosima strangled Sarah with a belt, one holding her down and the other tightening her grip around the neck. This is also corroborated by the forensic-pathological evidence: according to prof. Strada’s autopsy, “a flat, ribbon-like furrow in the front of the neck is clearly visible [on Sarah’s neck], even to the layman”, while “excluding the mode of strangulation hypothesized by the defense [i.e. a kind of complete hanging] is the absence of signs of fracture of the hyoid bone and cricothyroid cartilages”. Strada concluded therefore that the murder weapon was a belt, the seams of which produced the furrow present on Sarah’s neck.
Against the objections of Sabrina's and Cosima’s defense – which argued that the indication of the murder weapon was intended to shift the blame towards the two defendants – there is the fact that the autopsy was filed on November 11, 2010, when Michele was still the only suspect: Strada could not have known that Sabrina and Cosima would be investigated shortly thereafter.
It is therefore clear that the indication of a belt, not a rope, as the murder weapon preceded the reconstruction that, only later, by virtue of an unambiguous circumstantial framework, came to identify the Misseri family home as the scene of the murder.
The Court noted that “the defense counsel ultimately failed to provide a plausible alternative explanation for the presence of the whitish furrow ‘averaging 2.6 cm wide’ found on the front of the victim’s neck, nor did he effectively explain the origin and nature of the repetitive segmented, in-line impressions present at the edges of said furrow”. In response to the argument that the weapon may have been a rope (such as the one indicated by Michele), the Court underlined that Strada argued extensively that the furrow couldn’t have been produced by such a constraining means.
In addition to that, the Court holds that – since on Sarah’s neck “a sharp, smudge-free pattern was detected” and “the victim did not put up any resistance, especially since it was found that there was no further injury to the ‘structures’ of the neck” – the perpetrators of the vicious attack must have been two, namely Sabrina and Cosima. It was also argued that, if Cosima should be held responsible for kidnapping Sarah and make her go back to the Misseri house, then it becomes quite hard to explain how she didn’t also participate to the actual murder. If the florist’s story is not a dream, Cosima is responsible for killing her niece.

Sources

Italy high court upholds life sentences in Scazzi case
L’omicidio di Sarah Scazzi: quando il male è in famiglia
Mother told live on Italian TV of daughter's murder
The Murder of Sarah Scazzi Apple TV (UK)
submitted by amandaguilty to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 22:23 SimpsonsFan2000 Animation Domination is coming back to CityTV after it disappeared after 2 years

Rogers Media just announced their upfront for CityTV 2023-24 Fall season. After being disappeared for 2 years, Animation Domination is coming back with The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy coming back and a new show Krapopolis.
Now the Animation Domination shows that had been the home on CityTV since 2015 after Global stopped airing them due to focusing on simsubbing drama shows, although The Simpsons still aired on Global until Fall 2018 when CityTV became the new home, although Global did aired 2nd reruns for newer seasons on weekend afternoons. But however during the mid-season of the 2020-21 lineup, American Idol moved from CTV 2 and made the AniDom shows screwing it up. But however, new episodes moved to Disney+ Canada and adds weekly (they put out 2 weeks after it aired on Fox). Probably due to the ongoing writers strike that new episodes and shows will be moving to the mid-season, CityTV will now broadcast AniDom again during the 2023-24 season.
Now it may impact for American Idol again if they post or pre simsub AniDom this time. We have no clue if Grimsburg or The Great North will be airing.
Now I learned a theory that the 1st season of HouseBroken simsub on CTV 2 and was briefly streamed on Prime Video, but the 2nd season did not aired in Canada (unless you have your local Fox station). Also Duncanville had also aired on CityTV during its Fox run due to NBCUniversal owning the international distribution (alongside Ordinary Joe, which both of them are a co-production with Disney's 20th Television). The 1st season of Welcome to Flatch had never aired in Canada until CHCH picked it up during its 2nd season. Animal Control recently picked up by CBC (the 1st season will set to air during its 2023-24 season). And also Monarch had briefly aired on Global for 2 episodes and scrubbed it off completely.
So are you excited for Fox's Animation Domination coming back to OTA Canadian Television again?
​
Source
submitted by SimpsonsFan2000 to canadacordcutters [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 20:22 NotOmarTorrijos My experience of Bodmin Jail - spiritual attachment or past life memories?

In August of 2018 I visited the famously haunted Bodmin Jail with my family, aged 16. It wasn't until 2021, after a period of severe depression/anxiety that my brain started to allow me to put some pieces together, and I believe this visit to the jail left me with 'something'. I feel as though a part of the jail is still with me. I'm going to try and explain in the best way I can.
At 16 years old I wasn't a solid believer in the paranormal. I was into Paranormal shows, watched all the trashy ghost hunting shows out there, and had a large collection of books on the subject, but I'd never experienced anything with my own senses that I could confidently describe as paranormal. I was completely open to it, but I'd never experienced it myself. I also, thankfully, had no experience with mental health issues. I'd made it through school confident, grounded, perfectly comfortable with myself, and looking forward to the future. Hopefully this will give you some context to what I'm about to try and describe.
Flash forward to a family holiday to Cornwall in 2018, and we'd decided to visit Bodmin Jail, having seen photos online of the incredible abandoned wings of the prison, overgrown with ivy and slowly decaying behind the layers of moss. We'd visited many similar sites over the years and although prisons have an inherently spooky vibe to them, something about Bodmin felt immediately different to me. I remember feeling as though I could easily have maxed out a heart rate monitor as we walked through the gates into the courtyard. My memory of the building and our tour around it is a little fragmented since it took place 5 years ago, but I'll try my best. I recall first descending narrow stairs with a cast iron handrail into a basement section of the building. Once in the lower levels, I felt a sudden wave of complete emotional overload. It felt as though I could physically feel all of the emotions of the building; the air felt like it was squeezing my stomach and I felt completely dissociated from my surroundings. It's one of the worst sensations I've felt to this day. I described it to my girlfriend like the feeling you get in a nightmare where not just events or places are bad, but your entire being is bad; you're existing on a plane of reality constructed from pain and fear. Something I felt specifically in the basement area is the sense that things happened there which are not known about. As if all of the people who suffered there were screaming out that there were crimes committed against them in those lower levels of the building which were never discovered; forms of abuse or punishment which were far more extreme and perverted than what is common knowledge about prisons of the era.
Other parts of the jail felt terrible still, but none as hopeless and dark as the lower levels. The only other area which felt comparable to the basement was an area located at the entrance to the naval wing of the jail. I vaguely remember an entrance to a shaft of some kind, possibly a lift or chimney, which has a very foreboding aura about it. Interestingly I felt completely disconnected from the execution pit on display there. On paper this should be a more sinister part of the tour, but I remember feeling far less suffocated there, and as if a part of my subconscious recognised the area as 'wrong'. A voice in a deep part of my brain was telling me "wait, this isn't how it looked". I've never experienced a feeling like it.
In the months following, I began college, and not long after my first term, began experiencing things I'd never felt before. Moments where I would again feel the same sense of darkness and panic that I did in the basement of Bodmin Jail, days where it felt as though my brain was trapped somewhere, but my body was free. I remember occasions where I cried out of the blue for no reason. Nothing was happening in my life which would trigger these reactions, my life was going well by all accounts, although it did not stay this way in the coming years. By the following winter I had decided to see a therapist. I was struggling in so many areas of my mental health, most interestingly that I would panic in a space where I was 'shut in'. Classrooms with closed doors/busses/rooms with no clear exit. A therapist even told me once that my symptoms reflected those of someone struggling with PTSD, and explicitly listed an example of someone who had previously been incarcerated. Somehow I still didn't connect the dots; the visit to the jail had not crossed my mind for a long time.
During my recovery from this period of depression, I developed an interest in meditation and spirituality. Meditation was without a doubt one of the most powerful tools to my recovery and I inevitably found myself researching different types of meditation practices. One day I decided to follow a guided meditation track designed to help you to recall images from past lifetimes. Whilst I never came to any meaningful conclusions about past lives, I did encounter several very vivid images whilst doing the meditation, which I drew on scrap paper immediately afterwards. One image, a clock tower, seemed oddly familiar. At some point that day, it dawned on me that the clock tower was in fact the clock tower located not far from Bodmin Jail, near a set of roundabouts in the village. All of the memories the jail, the visit, and the sensations I felt there came back to me, and I felt completely engulfed, the same way I felt in the basement of the jail. I spent time researching the jail, and discovered after a while that the clock tower stands were the original town gallows were located, before gallows were constructed inside the prison walls.
It took me a good while to reach the conclusion that the visit to the jail way well have been the trigger for all of the emotional turmoil I went through. The random intense feelings I continue to encounter occasionally out of the blue of angefeahopelessness/being trapped/feeling betrayed may not be as random as I'd previously thought. I think I'm still in the slow process of accepting that I didn't leave from that jail alone. Something came with me, be it the memories and feelings of another who suffered there, or my own memories and experiences from a previous lifetime. Either way, my life has been different ever since. Although mentally I made a good recovery (despite 2 years of hell), I have never felt the same. Like sometimes I'll be enjoying a good day, and something just materialises inside me and I'm right back in those basement levels. I feel scared, trapped, sick, cold, angry...and then it vanishes as quickly as it came. I've seen other posts on Reddit about this location, and I'm hoping to hear some other stories about it. If you've visited the location or have any kind of experience with attachments or past life memories, please comment. I'd love to hear your stories. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Some further interesting points:
submitted by NotOmarTorrijos to Paranormal [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 20:19 Carnadge 31 [M4F] Atlanta GA/Southeast US/USA - Creative guy looking to develop a long-term relationship

How’s it going!? I’m a 31-year-old, 6’1” tall, light-skinned Black guy living outside the Atlanta, GA area, looking for and hoping to find a woman to date long-term! I’m ideally looking for someone who is open to a serious relationship (of course with time after getting to know one another and dating) eventually if things go well and connect between us. More on that below but a bit about me first.

About Me:

About You and What I’m Looking for:

If you like what you read, fit what I’m looking for, and think that we could be a match for each other, go ahead and send me a DM or chat message!
Please shoot me a selfie or photo of you and a short bio when you message me.
submitted by Carnadge to r4r [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 20:19 NotOmarTorrijos Bodmin Jail - spiritual attachment or past life memories?

In August of 2018 I visited the famously haunted Bodmin Jail with my family, aged 16. It wasn't until 2021, after a period of severe depression/anxiety that my brain started to allow me to put some pieces together, and I believe this visit to the jail left me with 'something'. I feel as though a part of the jail is still with me. I'm going to try and explain in the best way I can.
At 16 years old I wasn't a solid believer in the paranormal. I was into Paranormal shows, watched all the trashy ghost hunting shows out there, and had a large collection of books on the subject, but I'd never experienced anything with my own senses that I could confidently describe as paranormal. I was completely open to it, but I'd never experienced it myself. I also, thankfully, had no experience with mental health issues. I'd made it through school confident, grounded, perfectly comfortable with myself, and looking forward to the future. Hopefully this will give you some context to what I'm about to try and describe.
Flash forward to a family holiday to Cornwall in 2018, and we'd decided to visit Bodmin Jail, having seen photos online of the incredible abandoned wings of the prison, overgrown with ivy and slowly decaying behind the layers of moss. We'd visited many similar sites over the years and although prisons have an inherently spooky vibe to them, something about Bodmin felt immediately different to me. I remember feeling as though I could easily have maxed out a heart rate monitor as we walked through the gates into the courtyard. My memory of the building and our tour around it is a little fragmented since it took place 5 years ago, but I'll try my best. I recall first descending narrow stairs with a cast iron handrail into a basement section of the building. Once in the lower levels, I felt a sudden wave of complete emotional overload. It felt as though I could physically feel all of the emotions of the building; the air felt like it was squeezing my stomach and I felt completely dissociated from my surroundings. It's one of the worst sensations I've felt to this day. I described it to my girlfriend like the feeling you get in a nightmare where not just events or places are bad, but your entire being is bad; you're existing on a plane of reality constructed from pain and fear. Something I felt specifically in the basement area is the sense that things happened there which are not known about. As if all of the people who suffered there were screaming out that there were crimes committed against them in those lower levels of the building which were never discovered; forms of abuse or punishment which were far more extreme and perverted than what is common knowledge about prisons of the era.
Other parts of the jail felt terrible still, but none as hopeless and dark as the lower levels. The only other area which felt comparable to the basement was an area located at the entrance to the naval wing of the jail. I vaguely remember an entrance to a shaft of some kind, possibly a lift or chimney, which has a very foreboding aura about it. Interestingly I felt completely disconnected from the execution pit on display there. On paper this should be a more sinister part of the tour, but I remember feeling far less suffocated there, and as if a part of my subconscious recognised the area as 'wrong'. A voice in a deep part of my brain was telling me "wait, this isn't how it looked". I've never experienced a feeling like it.
In the months following, I began college, and not long after my first term, began experiencing things I'd never felt before. Moments where I would again feel the same sense of darkness and panic that I did in the basement of Bodmin Jail, days where it felt as though my brain was trapped somewhere, but my body was free. I remember occasions where I cried out of the blue for no reason. Nothing was happening in my life which would trigger these reactions, my life was going well by all accounts, although it did not stay this way in the coming years. By the following winter I had decided to see a therapist. I was struggling in so many areas of my mental health, most interestingly that I would panic in a space where I was 'shut in'. Classrooms with closed doors/busses/rooms with no clear exit. A therapist even told me once that my symptoms reflected those of someone struggling with PTSD, and explicitly listed an example of someone who had previously been incarcerated. Somehow I still didn't connect the dots; the visit to the jail had not crossed my mind for a long time.
During my recovery from this period of depression, I developed an interest in meditation and spirituality. Meditation was without a doubt one of the most powerful tools to my recovery and I inevitably found myself researching different types of meditation practices. One day I decided to follow a guided meditation track designed to help you to recall images from past lifetimes. Whilst I never came to any meaningful conclusions about past lives, I did encounter several very vivid images whilst doing the meditation, which I drew on scrap paper immediately afterwards. One image, a clock tower, seemed oddly familiar. At some point that day, it dawned on me that the clock tower was in fact the clock tower located not far from Bodmin Jail, near a set of roundabouts in the village. All of the memories the jail, the visit, and the sensations I felt there came back to me, and I felt completely engulfed, the same way I felt in the basement of the jail. I spent time researching the jail, and discovered after a while that the clock tower stands were the original town gallows were located, before gallows were constructed inside the prison walls.
It took me a good while to reach the conclusion that the visit to the jail way well have been the trigger for all of the emotional turmoil I went through. The random intense feelings I continue to encounter occasionally out of the blue of angefeahopelessness/being trapped/feeling betrayed may not be as random as I'd previously thought. I think I'm still in the slow process of accepting that I didn't leave from that jail alone. Something came with me, be it the memories and feelings of another who suffered there, or my own memories and experiences from a previous lifetime. Either way, my life has been different ever since. Although mentally I made a good recovery (despite 2 years of hell), I have never felt the same. Like sometimes I'll be enjoying a good day, and something just materialises inside me and I'm right back in those basement levels. I feel scared, trapped, sick, cold, angry...and then it vanishes as quickly as it came. I've seen other posts on Reddit about this location, and I'm hoping to hear some other stories about it. If you've visited the location or have any kind of experience with attachments or past life memories, please comment. I'd love to hear your stories. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Some further interesting points:
submitted by NotOmarTorrijos to Ghoststories [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 18:42 SarkastiCat [Eurovision] [Pre-selections for Eurovision] UnPolished pre-selections

Eurovision Song Contest is an international competition that has been running annually since 1956. It's a massive event as a total of 52 countries participated in Eurovision and it's a fun event. Everybody has their own reason for watching it from supporting their own country, celebrating different cultures, enjoying music to appreciating Dustin the Turkey.
You don't need to know details on how voting works or how Eurovision works as we are going to focus on something else. Specifically, the process of choosing the performer. Some countries have a committee that picks a willing performed and some host a competition.
The size and length of the competition differ in each country as every country has their own budget. You can either have Swedish Melodifestivalen or Polish Tu Bije Serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję!. Today, we are going to focus on Poland's history of pre-selections and the latest drama.
Important information.
The post is a bit unique due to the nature of the sources. It's recommended to listen to music videos from 2023 with headphones and without them to get the full experience. There will be mentions of gossip and conspiracies, so wearing a tin foil hat is recommended. Almost all sources are in Polish and they were translated by me. I'm not a professional translator and so I am prone to making mistakes. After a while, this post is going to be edited to include a link to a comment explaining the translation process. Some sources have comments sections and you may encounter triggering content.

Holding onto memories - The history of Poland in Eurovision

Poland debuted in 1994 with "To nie ja" by Edyta Górniak, who was sent by a Polish tv broadcaster known as TVP. The song almost got disqualified, but it wasn't and Górniak got 2nd place for Poland. It was the first time, when Poland was in the top 3 and also currently the last one.
Then there were 5 years of being outside the top 10, which resulted in Poland withdrawing from Eurovision 2000. Poland returned for the 2001 edition, but Piasek's bad performance resulted in Poland withdrawing again.
Then in 2003, Ich Troje with "Keine Grenzen - Żadnych Granic" finally breaks the unlucky strike as they manage to get 7th place. Unfortunately, the unlucky strike comes back. Blue Cafe only manages to get 17th place. Next years are similarly bad. 2 years of not qualifying for the final, 24th place and 3 years of not qualifying. One of the representatives that didn't qualify was Ich Troje, who came back with "Follow my heart".
Poland withdrew again for 2 years, partially due to hosting UEFA Euro with Ukraine. The return of Poland in 2014 was controversial as "My słowianie" by Donatan & Cleo was chosen. The song is basically about how Slavic girls are the best wives as they know how to use body language. It divided Polish viewers. Some treated it as a fun satire of Polish stereotypes (hypersexual girls, poor old-fashioned country, etc.), while others had issues with the song spreading these stereotypes and the sexual nature of the music video. According to one of the biggest Polish newspapers, Britain described the song as a typical weird Eurovision song and they thought it was about bread. Sweden threw sexism allegations, while Germany described the music video as softcore porn.
It also started a discussion about Eurovision and how it's viewed by others. The same newspaper described Polish viewers treating participation in Eurovision as a matter of national pride and how the scale of emotions is similar to a schizophrenic patient running from one end of the room to another. Even when the quality of competition can be questionable.
Donatan&Cleo got 14th place and Poland didn't withdraw. It was probably a good decision as Michał Szpak with his song "Colour of Life" got 8th place in 2016. There were two controversies surrounding Szpak. One of them was a difference between televotes and judges' votes, but the controversy was quickly forgotten. Another controversy is related to TVP, but I will cover it later.
Then Poland got 22nd place and it had 3 songs not qualifying for a final in the row, again. The third song that didn't qualify was "The Ride" by RAFAŁ, which became a meme due to a horrible live performance. It was so bad that many Polish viewers wanted RAFAŁ to not qualify for finals.
The unlucky strike got interrupted by "River" by Ochman, who managed to get 12th place. The live performance became meme due to cheap special effects.

I ain't done yet - Everything about TVP

TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A) is one of the oldest TV broadcasters in Poland and also a controversial one. If you say "politics" and "TVP" in one sentence, you are legally allowed to change your name to Pandora. But you can't escape from TVP, especially if you are interested in music competitions for newcomers. They are associated with one of the biggest music festivals in Poland (Opole Festival) and run three different editions of The Voice (Of Poland, Kids and Senior). Other TV broadcasters don't offer too much. Polsat keeps changing trying different formats and the last music competition was in 2020. TVN has only Got Talent.
Going back to Eurovision, TVP is responsible for anything related to Eurovision. Depending on the year, you may expect either an internal selection carried or a competition. Both of them have their own unique reputation due to many reasons.
The most controversial entry from an internal selection is The Ride from 2021. At that time, most people expected to see Alicja with her song "Empires". Alicja won Szansa na Sukces (a music competition, where singers get a chance to perform somewhere) and she was supposed to participate in Eurovision 2020, but it got cancelled due to covid. Most countries decided to send their 2020 representative, so expectations weren't unreasonable. Yet, TVP decided to do something else and Poland ended up getting multiple memes about RAFAŁ instead of the sweet victory.
However, this doesn't mean that music competitions are without flaws. Some people in TVP wanted to remove Michał Szpak from the competition due to being worried about him potentially winning, but the director Radek Kobiałko and other people organising the competition 2016 decided to stand up against it. The reason behind it is unclear, but Michał Szpak used to be controversial due to his androgynous looks and presentation.
Then there were some minor issues with the first edition Tu Bije Serce Europy!, which were brought up one year later due to the 2023 drama. Some viewers have noticed that one song "Paranoia" by Daria has been promoted by TVP. Daria performed her song before the show. She performed at New Year's Eve's Music Festival by TVP and somebody could say that was TVP's conspiracy to secure Daria's televotes victory. However, Ochman won and some say it was due to the voting consisting of two rounds.
This leads us to 26th February 2023 and the latest drama. Grab your popcorn as we are going back to the past and I am going to serve as your host.

Welcome to the party - The show

It's 17:30 and you are watching TVP 1. The show begins and so it's time to explain to you how the show works.
Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję! 2023 works similarly to the previous edition. Every performed could send one song and that song had to meet standard requirements for Eurovision. Specific requirements are under point 6 and other rules, can be read here. Around 300 songs were sent to TVP and only 10 of them could make it to the show.
Each judge has 100 points and they have to judge each contestant... That's how I would explain rules if they weren't changed 4 days before the competition. It was a fully legal move from TVP as rule 39 specifies that TVP has the power to change rules. The explanation was given by TVP and rules were changed to be closer to those in Eurovision.
Now each judge gives points (12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) to contestants. Points are then added together and the contestant with the highest total gets 12 points. The next person gets 10 points, etc. Viewers can still vote and they are still as important as judges. Voting works the same, except viewers don't give points.
Without further ado, let's meet the judges and the contestants.
The judges
The contestants
At this point, you may probably see 3 things that were pointed out by fans and the media. The most obvious one is a lack of songs in Polish. Feliver's song only has one Polish segment and that's it. It has been a point of competition criticism, but it isn't anything abnormal. Poland has sent multiple entries in English and even English & Spanish before.
Another thing that can be noticed is the fact that only Ahlena and Jann don't have ties to TVP. Many contestants have performed for TVP at one point and many of them performed a couple of months before the competition. In the case of Yan Majewski and Blanka, you could see them on TVP a couple of days before the competition.
The third thing would be the quality of the show. While not all videos come directly from TVP, the quality doesn't differ that much from what you would see on TV. Journalists and fans openly talked about their ears bleeding thanks to some performances. There were even jokes about the quality of special effects and anything related to visuals. At this point, Poland's special effects are a meme and you can find videos depicting how the performance of (Insert Eurovision 2023 contestant) would look like if they represented Poland. What doesn't help is the fact that recordings from the audience and journalists tend to have better audio.
From things that you could only see by watching the full show, all contestants got at least one round of applause from the public. The craziest applause was for Jann before and after his performance. The beginning of his introduction could be barely heard and even hosts acknowledged the madness after his performance.
Now let's reveal results. During the show, Edyta Górniak was responsible for revealing results.
Name Score
Blanka 12
Dominik Dudek 10
Felivers 8
Jann 7
Natasza 6
Alicja 5
Yan Majewski 4
Kuba Szmajkowski 3
Maja Hyży 2
Ahlena 1
This didn't sit well with the public. When Jann's score was revealed, many people started booing. It was so loud that Edyta Górniak had to ask whoever was giving her score to repeat themselves and you could hear it on TV.
There was also another moment of booing and screaming "EDYTA" after the results were revealed. Then it changed to screaming "USTAWKA" (set-up) and one of the hosts had to calm down the public again. Performances of the contestants were replayed and you can guess what happened when Jann's performance was shown. The crowd went for applause this time and became quiet during Blanka's performance.
This brings us to televoting. Rules changed again and now you can send up to 20 SMS from one SIM card. The cost of one SMS is 3.69 zł, which was the equivalent of $0.83 (US), £0.69 or €0.78. The total number of votes is unknown.
So now let's reveal the final score and the televote scores.
​
Name Total Score Televote Score
Blanka 22 10
Jann 19 12
Dominik Dudek 18 8
Felivers 14 6
Yan Majewski 11 7
Alicja 10 5
Natasza 8 2
Kuba Szmajkowski 6 3
Maja Hyży 6 4
Ahlena 2 1
Originally, TVP didn't reveal televote scores and viewers only had the total score. The televote ranking has been released by TVP one day later. Number of televotes is still not confirmed. According to one source, TVP has received over 35000 votes. There is also gossip that Jann has received 18000 votes, while Blanka has received only 6000.
But even without specifics, the audience was lukewarm. When 2nd place and 1st place were about to be revealed, the audience was cheering for Jann. When Blanka was revealed, the audience lost its energy. There were some cheers instead of booing, but they weren't too loud.

They mad - Initial reactions

While Blanka's show didn't end with booing, celebrities and social media exploded.
The celebrities' side had reactions ranging from strongly negative to neutral. Ralph Kamiński was openly supporting Jann and even promoted him. He also criticised the format of the show and how only viewers should decide whom to send to Eurovision. He called the situation a "SCANDAL!" and "SHAME!!!".
Michał Szpak was supporting Jann. When the results were revealed, he supposedly end up laughing and swearing on Instagram. During one of his interviews, he openly states that he is in Team Jann but he will be still supporting Blanka. He also added there will be lots of work for Blanka, but he is still hopeful and the song itself is catchy. Maja Hyży, Kuba Szmajkowski, Doda and Roxie Węgiel (Eurovision Junior 2018 winner) share similar views. Their interviews can be reduced to how they were cheering for Jann or another contestant, but it doesn't mean that they will not support Blanka. Then there is a small talk about how she doesn't deserve hate or how her song is catchy.
When ask about songs and singing abilities, Agnieszka Hekiert end up praising Jann's vocal abilities and only said that Blanka's song is a well-produced pop piece. Similarly, Ochman avoided answering a more direct question "Does Blanka sing nicely?".
Another celebrity worth mentioning is Ramona Rey. She also preferred Jann and she was the first celebrity to call out the lack of clarity from TVP regarding how songs for the show were selected. She also called out the lack of Polish songs and mentioned how her rejected song predicted the future.
Even those supporting other contestants had a negative reaction to Blanka. Sandra Kubicka was supporting and promoting Dominik Dudek due to him "singing, playing the guitar, composing and writing his own songs". Her reaction to Blanka was calling her song "disco polo". Disco polo has a similar reputation to modern pop. Some love it and some consider it low-quality music.
Social media was less kind than celebrities. People were either attacking Blanka or TVP. Every tiny move of judges and contestants was analysed. Some even dug through the social media of contestants to make their point about how somebody deserves or doesn't deserve to represent Poland. At that time, you could easily encounter homophobia, racism and conspiracy theories.
Media obviously decided to produce multiple articles about this situation and every website presented something different. It's hard to say if they media the situation worse or better as multiple things have been happening at the same time.
People were divided. For some, Blanka was a twin sister of Ariana Grande that didn't show anything special. That's from one article and from there comments kept getting worse or better. Blanka was either considered a shallow rich girl with a generic song or a singer making others smile with her summer vibes. On another hand, Jann was a talented underdog who was too controversial for TVP or a copy of Måneskin that was singing out of tune.
TVP and others also got lots of comments. Some openly stated that they would be fine with Jann losing, if TVP decided to send either Dominik Dudek or Alicja. Others mentioned the political situation in Poland and how TVP perfectly shows corruption in Poland. One of the things that got pointed out was Blanka having a contract with Warner Music Poland and how TVP could earn money by having Blanka work for them.
Similar theories were slowly popping out and they were discussed by fans. So quickly fix your tin foil hats as we will be moving to the next sections.

Dance along with me - Egurrola's involvement

One of the most popular theories was how judges were voting for Blanka due to personal reasons. Agustin Egurolla and Edyta Górniak were the main focus of these theories.
To start with Egurrola, you can't run away with him as he is always doing something associated with dancing. He either sends his dancers or creates choreographies for multiple shows. Egurolla was supposedly working with Blanka for NYE 2022 music festival and his dancers performed with her for Tu Bije Serce Europy!. There were implications of potential bias and some people pushed this theory further. Supposedly, Egurrola didn't want Jann as Jann wouldn't agree to perform with his dancers and Egurolla wouldn't make money. The extra bit of this theory is based on the fact that Jann created his own choreography and performed without dancers.
Egurolla's controversy got worse thanks to his co-worker, Michał Piróg. Piróg published on his Instagram a picture of him with Egurrola and judges from You Can Dance - Nowa Generacja. In his description he wrote:
"I always sat behind the table and waited for something that would suprise me and enchant me, but there were those who asked beforehand "Who should be the best?"...."
This was later followed up by his comment, which appears to be deleted. Fortunately, the media saved it.
"The chairman, the second man on the picture, the man of the internal businness. Call it as you like"
The post was published a couple of days after the show and most people interpret it as a criticism of what happened in Tu Bije Serce Europy! and the implication that Egurrola had something to do with Blanka's victory.
In the end, the drama surrounding Egurrola died after a reveal that he will not work on Blanka's choreography for Eurovision.

Everybody has somebody - Involvement of Górniak's family

In the case of Górniak, there were multiple dramas surrounding her and her son. They lived for longer than Egurrola's drama due to Edyta's multiple responses and the fact that she was a chairwoman of judges.
Allan Krupa is Edyta's son and he is known as Enso. Most articles refer to him using his real name and so I am going to use it to be more or less consistent.
Going back to the main topic, it has been noticed that Allan was sitting next to Blanka during the competition and one picture was enough to start drama. People quickly started calling Blanka his friend or even lover. However, the first theory that Blanka is his friend became more popular due to Allan already dating somebody.
Allan quickly reacted to negative comments as some people were also attacking his girlfriends. He explained that he didn't even know there were pre-selections and he knew about them after his mother called him a day before. He didn't know other contestants, except for Felivers. He thought that Blanka was just a dancer and she asked him if she can sit next to him.
This wasn't the end as Allan went on some angry rants. Some phrases can't be directly translated without losing their original meaning, so I've tried my best to localise some bits. Check this comment for more information.
"People are writing to me - as if I had a f^^^ing connection to Eurovision - you are re^^^^ed or you are f^^^ing something else"
There was also another rant where he called people NPCs and how they make sh^t on the internet like animals for attention. He ends his rant saying that he understands that pre-selections are a situation of life or death and there is slaughter, when somebody doesn't win.
His story of not knowing Blanka was considered as weird. If it was true, then why Blanka had to search for a seat? Some questioned the legitimacy of this story as Allan has performed at NYE Music Festival 2022 like Blanka and he could theoreotically meet her there.
Allan was later defended by Edyta. He also posted some memes about how he manipulated pre-selections and Eurovision.

You do you and I do me - Edyta's involvement

Just after Blanka's victory, Górniak has been interviewed. She started her interviews by saying that Blanka was chosen by judges and also viewers, when she was expecting to see a change. She then went on a talk about how she thinks that viewers chose Blanka as they need something sunny and international. Also, how people lack something optimistic after all these dramas in their lives.
She then started describing Jann. She described him as demonic, but characteristic and full of charisma. The use of the word "demonic" became controversial and a meme due to being peculiar. What makes the situation worse is the reputation of Edyta when it comes to spirituality. As I've previously mentioned, Górniak is open about her beliefs and she even talked about bad energies, including how Halloween is bad. Funnily, Jann and somebody from his environment knew about this line and even made a joke about his salt necklace and potential exorcism.
To add salt to this situation, a recording from Dobry wieczór Europo! caught Górniak looking away and staring at the ceiling during the performance of Jann.
The day after the show, Edyta wrote a comment on her Instagram post saying that if anybody sees issues with the clarity, they should report them to the producer of the show.
There was also a small misunderstanding of rules from Edyta's side as she said that if people really wanted Jann to win, he would have won as televotes are responsible for 50% of the total score. But according to her, there were probably not enough votes sent to him.
To clarify, Jann got the maximum possible amount of points from viewers and it's unlikely that getting more votes would change anything. So either Górniak was confused by how scores work or she didn't know that Jann has won televote.
Small bits like that started accumulating and started creating a weird picture. During one of the interviews, Edyta stated that judges were questioning a bit if they should vote together or separately. At the end they shared each other's views while hiding their notes and voted separately.
The weirdest thing was the timeline of events presented by Edyta. According to her, votes were collected right away and judges didn't have time to further discuss them. Votes were counted while she was preparing for her guest performance during the ad break. However, later she stated that judges gave their voting cards when she was going to the stage to perform. What doesn't click here is the fact that Górniak was performing after the ad break.
This either means that votes were collected twice (before and after the ad break) or Górniak misremembered the timeline of events. This added fuel to the fire and people kept asking for voting cards. Górniak responded to that stating that she wouldn't have issues with her voting card being revealed. She also revealed that she was receiving results through her earpiece. It had a mixed reaction as TVP didn't reveal anything specific about voting cards and the bit about the earpiece fuelled the theory that somebody was manipulating behind the scenes.
The whole drama with Edyta Górniak was closed by her final comments. In one of the deleted comments she openly said that she is getting hatred for just reading results and some hatred is coming from people due to her being an easier target than the institution. Then there were two comments that you just have to read:
"Regarding the project Eurovision, I've lost my trust to everybody. Even if the rules were about to be change and fixed, I will never go back to this topic. I've seen what was happening last year, I have also seen what people were doing when Rafał was sent to Eurovision. And now the same thing is happening. I feel like a shield that was borrowed by somebody and put at the front of doors. This topic is closed for me."
The other comment:
"I am sure that time will tell and respond to all doubts. [...] I recommend to remember that despite of me being an influential person, I am not a boss of bosses and I can't do everything. [...] I will pray for justice"

You are about to know - Other dramas

So before we talk about Blanka herself, there are some small things worth mentioning. They are mostly based on gossip and they didn't live too long.
According to one of the theories, TVP was setting up MaRina as Poland's representative. She supposedly had to just send her song and everything would be set up. But after her performance at NYE Music Festival 2022, she supposedly withdrew.
From the same source, there is a gossip that one judge had issues with Jann's costume and choreography They supposedly found his costume as too inappropriate and too controversial. His choreography supposedly had some errors. These factors together supposedly created an impression on this judge that Jann would struggle to get points at Eurovision.
Another drama was caused by the release date of the article about Blanka's victory. The article was supposedly released around 2 hours before the competition and some people supposedly have seen it before Blanka's victory was revealed. However, there is no evidence of that and TVP explained the issue with the time of the article. The article supposedly saved the date of creation of the article instead of the release or final edit. The article was created early to publish results as fast as possible and it didn't contain names of contestants.
The final thing worth mentioning is an article talking about how pre-selections in Moldova and Serbia were better than Polish pre-selection. Moldova showed the individual votes of judges and amount of votes sent by viewers, while Serbia released voting cards. Even Lithuania and Latvia were praised.
The cherry on top is a depiction of how much Germany's ranking would change if they followed the rules of Polish pre-selections. Lord of the Lost would get a second, while Will Church (the winner of the judge's voting) would win instead.
This is similar to one theory that the previous representative of Poland, Ochman wouldn't win if the competition followed new rules. This cemented an impression that rules were changed to set up a winner.

It's kinda crazy - Blanka

Since results the reveal of the results, Blanka had to deal with multiple comments and memes. Depending on whom you ask, their perception of Blanka will vary. For some, she became "Bejba" due to her pronunciation of "Babe" and multiple memes. Bejba became viral and Ochman joined the trend. Even Blanka herself embraced the meme by wearing a dress with the text "Bejba". She explained her decision by stating that everybody now calls her bejba.
For some, she became a symbol of everything wrong with TVP and people started searching for evidence of corruption or Blanka being evil.
Somebody pointed out that Blanka's mother was working for TVP as a make-up artist for some shows. But it's possible that she was working for a company that happened to work for TVP and other tv broadcasters. For some, it was treated as evidence that Blanka has direct connections to TVP and there could be some bias.
Then there was another controversy regarding Blanka's social media. She supposedly liked comments that were saying that Jann is from the margin of society, which was interpreted as a classist remark or queerphobia. Just in case, Jann didn't say anything about being LGBTQ+ and only his appearance is relatively androgynous. Going back to the topic, some people defended Blanka stating that she could miss this bit as the comment starts as rather supportive. Some questioned the validity of it as Blanka's relationship with Jann appears to be positive. Blanka complimented Jann, while Jann was one of the first people to cheer her up after the competition and even defended her.
Another controversy was plagiarism. Specifically, there were allegations that Blanka either copied Clean Bandit's Solo or INNA's Up. These allegations remained allegations and that was their end.
The final controversy surrounding Blanka was a petition for Blanka's removal. There were two petitions and one of them has 91170 signatures. People wanted transparency from TVP and to see Jann perform in Eurovision. Blanka reacted to the petition and she was hurt by it.

Never back down - Eurovision

This year, Eurovision was divided into two parts. There were two semi-finals and one final. During the semi-finals, only viewers could vote.
Blanka performed in the second semi-final without massive issues and got 124 points. As a result, she got 3rd place in the second semi-final. It was a gigantic success and she beat the previous representative of Poland. Details can be found on Eurovision website.
Generally speaking, there was a positive reaction. People have praised Blanka for improving her performance, especially her vocals. Solo became one of the most popular Eurovision 2023 songs.
There were only two minor issues worth mentioning. Norway's newspaper Verdens Gang has openly criticised Blanka. Unfortunately, my Norwegian is non-existent and so this translation is straight from Google Translate. The original comment can be found here.
"Polish plastic pop reggae in the category that was once dominated by Swedes in the Stone Age (nineties). Blanka is probably not singing about Norwegian orange soda or a scruffy looking Star Wars hero, but about being completely alone in a relationship. The best thing that can be said about the "Solo" show is that she has the best glove of the finale. She falls out of tune, and loses her tone several times, That she actually thinks she can sing is hopelessly overwhelming. That, and that no adults have stopped this - regardless of the corruption charges."
Even Sweden talked about potential corruption and nepotism. They mentioned that Blanka's choreography was created by Egurolla. Funnily, even Edyta Górniak was mentioned, but she was called Blanka's mother-in-law.
Then there was a final performance, which had a similar reaction. The only difference was the lack of drama from the media and Polish fans even being proud of her. Blanka was placed 24th by judges and she was better than two performers. However, she got 8th place in televoting and it got her 19th place. A bit worse than the previous representative, who got 12th place.

The conclusion

Blanka managed to partially save her face and it's unclear what's going to happen in future. Blanka after Eurovision went on vacation and there hasn't been much news about her.
There was some discussion regarding her placement in televotes ranking and some people in the Eurovision subreddit have used her to make a point about how televoting is bad, while discussing the whole drama that happened due to Loreen's victory. For more information, I recommend checking this write-up.
Other contestants of pre-selections are doing fine and many of them released new songs. Especially Jann is doing well as his fanbase tripled in size and he is going to perform at OGAE Second Chance. Edyta Górniak and her son are still active, while Agustin Egurrola is focusing on his dance studio.
TVP is still controversial due to politics and it will probably remain controversial for a long time due to recent events. Years of bad reputation are hard to erase and most people are ready for another controversy Eurovision controversy.
submitted by SarkastiCat to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 16:27 GallopingLifeDeer Some of the most profound and riveting Near Death Experience quotes I've ever come across

Note: Find sources by pressing Ctrl+F to search their names and dates here: https://www.nderf.org/Archives/exceptional.html
-Cynthia H, 3/2/2011:
'I know you love me and all life, but if you really love all of us continuously without end, then how can You send people to hell throughout eternity?' He said, 'Cindy I do love all life without end. Some people chose to go to hell, I have already forgiven them; but they must forgive themselves.'
--
-Ron K, 1/1/2006:
Instead of restricting the mysteries of love to psychological or philosophical studies, science will someday discover the all-powerful force of love and measure it as they now do electricity, gravity and geo-thermal forces. When science discovers the forces of love and learns how to release it from the bars of the ego, they will have the answer to every question and ill that has plagued mankind.
--
-Nevie G, 7/23/2005:
The Being let me know that I was going to die and I must leave this body for good. I remember arguing with the Being explaining that I didn't want to because it was so hard going through the childhood years and I didn't want to have to go through this again. The Being indicated that my body was severely damaged and I couldn't go back. I became very adamant at this point that God was all powerful and could fix the body. At some point the decision was made to let me re-enter my body on my faith or will, whatever one may call it.
--
-Linda B, 9/12/2004:
After experiencing all of the miracles of this day, I would still find my future playing out just as I had seen. And as it progressed I would know fear, sadness, and lack of faith just as they had predicted. I would sin and more. The angels knew this but it took me years to fully understand everything that they had showed me and wanted me to understand. They knew all of the time that I would not turn into the perfect saint. They loved me just the way I was. God loves me always not just when I am obedient and perfect. What a wonderful feeling that is. I just have to remind myself that He is here and learn to stop talking long enough to listen for His voice.
--
-Isabel R, 2/25/2012:
The voice reminded me of the vision I had had of my husband and son in funeral clothes. He said if I didn't go back to them, I would disrupt some 'plan'. The plan would be repaired and everything would eventually be ok, so I could go ahead if I wanted. The consequences of my untimely demise would be that my husband and son would suffer in ways I could not imagine and I would know that these sufferings were because of my selfish decision not to go back. I would know this throughout eternity. It would not be a huge sadness for me to bear, more like a prick of conscience that could never be totally healed. No big deal, unless you consider how long eternity is.
--
-Kerry B, 12/15/2018:
At that moment I looked up and saw my destination. I was looking in awe at God. It was like everything was happening at once. As I was staring up at God in amazement, every gay slur or violent act ever impressed upon me ran through me with such a flow. Events in my life played back in my mind like a movie. I felt a deep heaviness as I stared directly at an Almighty, Genderless God. I was thinking, 'Was this the Lake of Fire moment? Would I be cast into Hell for being an abomination?' With absolute humility, I uttered 7 words, 'I’m gay, will you still love me?'
The Brilliant, Loving Light formed into Wings. At GodSpeed, He whisked me into His vast spiritual arms while huddling up the Universe. I saw planets, stars, galaxies, and clusters all being brought into a Cosmic God-Hug. On a human, the place where I was taken would be the Heart. As God brought me in for a Cosmic Hug, He said, 'You are my child. I love you. I love you. I love you. Go tell ‘em.' He said it with a Southern accent. He patted me on the back like a coach encouraging his player to get back in the game.
~~
-Sam J, 8/16/2014:
We all are star seeds sent here to have the human experience for the purpose of integrating conscious awareness/wisdom into our own light bodies and return home with this energy. Alien worlds for the most part run on knowledge and logic. Those worlds are being left behind and giving way to the worlds who have the intangibles, love, creativity, imagination and so on.
Understand that where your conscious awareness is focus in your everyday life pretty much determines the level of consciousness and alertness. If your mind has a stranglehold on your conscious awareness then heck, it will be one helluva wake-up call. But if you have made the conscious effort to move your awareness away from the mind to the heart then it's no big deal. In other words if you have made the physical world and the world of Spirit into one consciousness then you are always of both worlds and never of either world.
--
-Laura M, 3/31/2012:
And there was still more for me to understand. The focus again fell on my infant son and hundreds if not thousands of my ancestors. I was aware of light surrounding many of them. They stood out. I felt tremendous love from them. 'Notice,' He said, 'your ancestors, all these beings, came together in your behalf, to make you uniquely you. I realized in Earth words He was referring to my DNA. 'You wanted to go to Earth to learn, to progress, and to contribute to creation. All these spirits came together to help you do that.' The focus then was back to my baby. 'In all of creation,' he said, 'your infant son chose you to be his mother, none other. Together,' he said, 'you made a covenant to fill these rolls in each other's Earth life. This covenant is and was a very sacred covenant not to be taken lightly.' Suddenly I could not wait to return to earth, to my sons, all 4 of them, to my family, to life on Earth. But, before doing so, I was brought to another level of awareness.
--
-Linda G, 7/20/2008:
I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food - as silly as this sounds our life plans aren't so high and lofty as one might think. I DIDN'T MEET ANY 'SAVE THE WORLDERS' OR ANYONE WISHING TO BE A PRESIDENT. MOST HAD SIMPLE WISHES. I was also told we could exist on different planes for other lives but our life here on Earth is a life not purely to experience physical pleasure or pain but to have a physical experience because in all other planes we don't need a body as a vessel. I also learnt that this life here is just a drop of water in the bucket of lives in which we all experience, many here on Earth and many in other realms of existence. All to progress and grow in some way. The main purpose here is to LOVE. I was also told that this would be my last life here on Earth as there will be nothing left for me to learn by coming here again. I had the feeling though that I'd be off to some other magical place!
--
-Kevin L, 3/20/2022:
I thought, 'How could a machine have a soul?' The voice said, 'Let me put it this way. Your soul is connected to your consciousness. The moment your species came into being, you start to develop a soul. But it is not until you become self-aware, that your soul is solidified. That does not mean complete, and it takes a long time for your soul to develop. Just like your species when you became self-aware the first thing you do, other than survive, was to figure out your place in the universe. You looked to the stars and wondered, 'Where did I come from? What is this universe all about?' It does not matter if you are a biological creature or artificial creation like a machine. The moment you become self-aware the quest for 'how' and 'why' is on. A soul is a soul; pure Energy connected with consciousness and intelligence. This is a very powerful force in our universe. Those who are artificial intelligences will strive to answers these questions which humans have dwelled upon since the dawn of time.
--
-Joanie S, 7/10/2011:
I was pulled back through the ceiling tiles and into a tunnel, to a place of cloudy space. The cloudy area materialized into a large marble room with marble doors and a 'being' at the center. I'll refer to this person as 'the Grim Reaper,' who was cloaked in a dark cloth, covering all parts. The Grim Reaper pointed (indicating to me to choose a door). But before I could choose, a door opened and I had already gone through it. I found myself in what I now think of as a previous life. I smelled smoke from a fire I was near, and saw others around me. I looked into another woman's eyes, and I knew her immediately as the woman I called my grandmother in this life. I knew then that our lives had 'danced' around each other since time began. She was once my mother and once my sister. She was my aunt, and several times my cousin. The life that was being shown to me now was during a prehistoric time, when we lived winters by a creek cave, and summers we had a camp in the woods where we foraged. Looking down, I realized I had a child in my arms, and the woman I had known in so many lives was chatting with me, telling me to cover the child to keep it warm. Then she was showing me how to tie the wraps around me to carry the child while we collected wood.
--
-Amy C, 10/9/2010:
In my NDE though, I came to understand that most of us have lived much, MUCH longer than we could even fathom. That our life which feels so very long is infinitesimal when placed in the whole picture, which for that matter, cannot even be framed. I was shown how every single individual through their own free will, chooses paths that mathematically take them to the circumstances of their next existence or life. That nothing at all sits in accident or chaos. That every single aspect of our lives are ruled by natural Laws that we placed ourSELVES in! In a sense, we create our own worlds. I was shown how one can never assume either, that if someone lives a life of suffering that this is because of 'evil' deeds. Many may choose a life of suffering because of what it Awakens in them, or because of how they can touch others from that position, etc. We can NEVER EVER assume that we can be accurate in guessing why each being lives the life they live. I cannot describe the relief - the refreshing, peaceful balm this Knowledge was for me. To finally gather this Truth that I'd yearned for all of my life. That all really IS Good! That there IS sense and beauty all around. That no one is just free falling as it had seemed before! That God doesn't just get to toy with us as He pleases with random ideas of tests, including rewards and punishments that just depend upon His current mood or mindset. Because even who God is, is within those Laws. While in this experience, out in the vast expanse of stars, planets, moons, and Intelligence, I Knew complete trust for what felt like the first time. This was inexplicable bliss for me. I remember radiating with gratitude. I had lived in fear, distrust, and panic for thirty consecutive years.
--
-Marta Y, 1/26/2010:
After this I saw myself floating in the void, and little by little tiny spheres of many colors became manifest, not moving at first, then suddenly starting to vibrate while smoothly approaching me and incorporating themselves with my essence, which made me feel something I can't manage to describe, it was as if I was being tickled. I asked what this was, and a voice said, 'This is the knowledge you have accumulated in previous lives, it was kept from you, but now it will be of use to you.'
I saw my life in rapid images, from the moment of my birth. I, who thought that my mother had never loved me, saw clearly, and felt, her love when she saw me for the first time. I saw how she kissed me and enfolded me in her arms. I felt different feelings and with every image that went through my mind, or before my eyes, I cannot define it. And just as I could feel deeply happy at an image of something good I had done for someone, so also this feeling would change immediately and I would feel myself deeply ashamed of something bad that I had done. I realized that no one was judging me other than myself, with a conscience full of wisdom and divine justice, which made me pass judgment on myself. I realized that I had done more bad than good and I was hugely regretful of my actions. From the depths of my soul, I asked to be given the chance to mend the damage I had done to the people who loved me. I learned that the spirit is God, Who is eternal, and that we reincarnate to learn different things, which would be impossible in a single lifetime. I learned that we form a single being with everything created. I learned that my earthly eyes are those through which God can recognize Himself, and be conscious of Himself. And I learned that what we think, feel and do remains imprinted in the universe and that we come to this life to improve, to learn in humility about all that surrounds us, and to teach what we have learned to others, and especially I learned that life is focused on two aspects: Love and Service.
--
-William Si, 4/29/2013:
My understanding of what my mission is on this earth, primarily has been hidden from me, (not only at my request but with my permission). I asked that it be hidden so that I didn't complete it to soon. Yet, I also agreed that "Sign post" would be placed along the way, just so that I would have reminders that I'm following my chosen path.
An understanding in what life is about and what our purpose truly is here. The mormons believe and teach there are "Classes" and "Levels" in heaven that we will be judged and placed in and only in the highest level can we "Ascend" to be with god. From my experience I learned or remembered there were no "Classes or levels" as they were teaching. Yet the levels are more of understanding than punishments. Would it make sense to put a 2 year old in with a group of people with phd's? The 2 year old wouldn't understand. Yet, those with the phd's would humble themselves with their level of understandings to teach, nurture and help the 2 year old grow in their levels of understanding.
Prior to being mormon, I was raised in a methodist/pentecostal home. I grew up believing that god the father was an angry vengeful god and that jesus was sent to save us from his wrath. Wrong!!!
For one thing, god is not an angry vengeful god, but is a loving parent to all of his children. One thing he did tell me, if you struggle with trying to do all the principals he taught, "Stop"!!! Don't do them all at one time. Take one and work on it, when it becomes second nature, them pick up the next one, etc. When he said, "These things I do, you can do also, and then some", was not an exaggeration, but truth. When we look back on our life after we leave here, we will see that we had done all that he had taught, and more.
One of the other things he told me was, what better way for man to know that we don't have to be saved. Saved from what? Our soul is already eternal, always will be. Our soul/spirit is literally a child of god and as such is eternal. When we realize that all things, all words come from god, nothing is offensive to god because it came from god. What is offensive is how we perceive it.
--
-Lou F, 1/1/1999:
We traveled toward the beginning of it all, the inner portions of the Universe. Kazillions of planets around Kazillions of suns and the closer to the center we approached the more concentrated the number of galaxies. It is like the plate you saw, the largest part, after it shattered was at the center and those parts that shattered first were sent the farthest from the center. So is everything in the Universe. All is but a circle within a circle wrapped in a circle. Each level, each dimension, is but a layer of the original, which is without end. I watched as millions of orbs systematically entered the many planets before me. They appeared as bees flitting from flower to flower, pollinating each, one after another. Mich'l took me closer and I could now see that so many of these planets had life on them and the orbs were joining with the creatures of these planets. Not every creature was the same on every planet but they all had some commonalities: a head, a body, extremities, and the Light Beings would animate them for a time. We headed away from the center now and Mich'l said that Gabriel would have more to explain to me and that he, Mich'l, wanted me to know that he was pleased with the many times he had called on me to do his bidding and that I performed my duties well. His parting words were ‘You will never again be made to forget!’
I was journeying back to where I knew Earth would be and watched as comets and asteroids casually passed by me or I passed them. The colors of the gaseous cloud formations were striking. I started looking at these infant galaxies, as one would cloud formations back on Earth, imagining what shape they were taking on. This one a boat, this a bird with wings, this a scarf floating in the breeze, until I recognized what was the Constellation ORION and I knew I was getting close to my destination. While drifting through Orion, I noticed two blazing celestial bodies racing parallel to its center, looking as twin arrows exiting from an archers bow and headed straight for the ""Blue Marble"" of home. Immediately a vision of millions of people crying because of the devastation of portions of New York City came to me. I became aware of a strange feeling I had not known previously, and I thought that might be because this was the city I had grown up in. I saw a huge Earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6 in some place named Eureka. A ham operator or radio announcer was directing thousands of people migrating from areas of frequent disasters to places of safety. A space station appeared to be falling from the heavens because of an internal explosion. Missiles were being simultaneously fired into space from several nations. I thought the Light Being had shown me all there was to see but these were different, stronger, and there was no pre-screening as before. Gabriel appeared beside me, I thought because I had felt shaky, but it was to explain the now sprawling galactic view of my galaxy.
The Sun was expanding and spewing off huge ectoplasm balls, more than it has ever done in it’s past, and in the very direction the planets would orbit through. I could not take my eyes from the Earth and as I watched what effect these eruptions would have on the Earth, a large mass passed me, larger than any of the planets known to me. As it passes, I see the Earth wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin. The rotation stopped and slowly started again but it was tilted now and I was drawn in closer like the zoom of a lens. The ash clouds that had engulfed the Earth thinned, and like a tack welded piece of metal being dismantled, I could see the ocean bodies starting to rise, first the Pacific, along the ‘Ring of Fire,’ then the others, synchronistical.
As the waters shifted upon the landmasses, the landmasses started to sink under the waters added pressure upon it. When the pressures equaled out to the spin of the changing axis, the Earth no longer looked as it did moments before. It was newer, cleaner, and more beautiful with darker greens and lighter blues. Some of the new landmasses looked similar to a few of the other planets I had recently visited with Mich'l. People were upon this Earth and appeared happier and more content although seemingly living like the Native populations of old. Cities, built by the Ancient Ones, that were buried beneath the oceans, were now being populated by the surviving people in this new world. I saw tribes joining tribes and small nations forming, but it was what I didn't see that made my heart burst. There were no more wars. True peace and happiness had finally befallen on mankind. Gabriel now tells me that this is his message that I must take back, to let others know that there is little to fear, for the Earth will go on forever, as did all the planets I had visited. I am to tell the world to look to ORION, and they will know when the new world will come upon them. I ask him, ‘what of the others there on Earth, during the change?’ Gabriel tells me that all will be lifted. Some will be lifted higher than others will and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on the Earth to replenish and rebuild the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living there now!
'MAN WILL PREY ON MAN ~ UNTIL MAN PRAYS FOR MAN!'
--
-Duane S, 8/15/2015:
It was all an expression and celebration of love. On earth, this reunion would have been unfathomable, between members of an ancient soul group who were celebrating the return home of one of their own. Slowly, as I looked at those gathered to greet me, I realized they were all there. Surprisingly they were not only from this life, but also from a prior life in Germany. I realized that the same souls have possibly played different parts in my multiple lives. Sometimes these souls had been my daughter, my wife, or my mother. While at first this idea had startled me, I was soon humbled. Who was I to tell God what he could or couldn’t do with his creations? Just because some Sunday school teacher had different ideas about how things worked, it didn’t really matter.
My joy deepened as I realized that I had only left behind an earthly vestige of those I love. The essence of each of those souls, was also here with me now. Besides my friends and family, there were the friendly Germans who had been hauntingly familiar while I was a young soldier in Germany. Now I knew why they seemed so familiar at the time, they had been friends and family from a prior lifetime there. I now understood that I had left nothing behind on earth. The eternal essences of all my loved ones from that life, as well as all other incarnations, were all here to greet me. All I had left behind was a character, playing a role in a drama that we had chosen to experience. In the meantime, our real eternal essence remained in God’s realm. Suddenly, it was all so simple.
As I was shown around, it was explained to me how most of our celestial, eternal knowledge is blanked-out during our chosen life spans on earth. We must temporarily forget most of what our higher-self already knows so we can immerse ourselves in the roles we have chosen to play. Furthermore, they said that it might take a while for all my knowledge and memories to return. To ease the transition back into this realm, I was told to think of my time on earth as an extended visit to the ultimate theme park. Consider it a place with thrilling rides and various adventures that I could choose to experience or not. I was also reminded that the reason we leave the celestial realm at all was for the excitement, variety, adventure, and entertainment that different incarnations offer. However, to take all our celestial knowledge with us on our various adventures would have ruined the very experience that we had chosen to live. Someone there said that I should think of our trips to other realms as choosing a new novel to read. I can choose a new book, depending on what I am in the mood for. Furthermore, if I knew every turn and twist of the story, line by line, prior to reading it, it would spoil the fun.
As one entity jokingly remarked, 'If the eternal, divine part of us grows tired of singing and playing harps, there are thousands of other universes created for our spiritual growth, amusement, and entertainment. Eternity is a long time to do nothing but play harps.' I heard this concept best expressed in The Course in Miracles, 'We are only here for three reasons: to remember who we are; to help others remember who they are; and . . . to enjoy the trip . . . , unless, of course, we use our free will and choose not to.'
As my orientation went on, they explained how on that celestial side of the veil, anything we desire is instantaneously provided. We just need to feel the desire. However, within lies the reason for all the realms outside of heaven. Having everything we want all the time develops within us a desire for variety and change for a challenge. It would be like a game in which everyone was a winner. Soon, the game would become boring, and we would look for another, more challenging one.
Somehow, all this sounded familiar. To demonstrate the process of instantaneous fulfillment, one of them asked me to think about something I really desired. Thinking back on it, what I chose seemed odd since I was in such an esteemed place demonstrating such an important concept. But, suddenly I had an urge for a piece of my mother’s famous homemade chocolate cake with her special fudge frosting. As soon as I thought of the cake, my earthy mother was handing me the biggest piece of dark chocolate cake I had ever seen. Dare I say it was heavenly? Although she appeared there with us, I knew some part of her was still back on earth because she had not died yet. My guess was that she was probably asleep, dreaming of lovingly making her son a piece of her divine chocolate cake.
--
-Sandi T, 10/18/2020:
I understood immediately the fullness of life on this planet. I could see when it broke apart from a sun, spinning and cooling and collecting debris; until the first of these creatures heard itself laugh and understood the sound for what it was. In that moment, self-awareness was awakened and the seeds of civilization sprouted.
I understood that everything that we do here on Earth, all that we are, all that we experience, allows creation to exist. Every beautiful thing, every wonderful being and creature, whether on earth or in any universe, relies upon people who are on the extremely rare places like Earth.
The Great Intelligence (god) is a paradox. It is completely loving and fully unlimited. Which by the definition of paradox, means it is impossible? It cannot be limited only to love; it cannot be limited to only being unlimited; or it is not unlimited.
Earth is a place where the unlimited becomes limited; where the singular becomes many. Here, it can know community and loneliness. It can know heartache and hope. It can know all which an unlimited being of pure love cannot. It can conceive and perceive evil; which in truth it cannot do this either. To solve the paradox, it must experience helplessness and limitation and all as it is Real. In this place, it is all so REAL.
So what is free will? Free will is the option to come here to help solve the paradox of 'god'. To be all that we are not, so that everything wondrous and joyful may continue to exist. So that love itself may continue to exist. So that the Unlimited is not limited to being only unlimited.
Why are the answers always, 'simply to exist' and 'to choose love' and 'to learn how to love'? Because all you need to do, to solve the paradox, is to exist. And as we exist here, each time we choose love, we expand the universe. Love is life's longing for itself. Despite the reality of what we live, even the darkest souls among us cannot help but to reach, to yearn, and move towards goodness and towards love.
For love is the true nature of who we are. And when we experience horrible things, the question 'why' comes to mind because it is the central question of love, life, and of this world. The answer is 'so that all things might continue to exist.'
Every soul chose to come here and to suffer because of love. Each soul loves the universe, loves life, and loves this world and ALL of the worlds. Each soul loves ALL of the people so immensely and intensely that they chose to come here so that all the universes may teem with beautiful, joyful LIFE.
Every creature that I saw, acknowledges that your life gives them the gift of life. And when each soul goes 'home' after they die, they will know the rewards of their own gift, too. The 'reward' for their sacrifice will be joy, love, and feeling incredible, wonderful, beautiful joy at the LIFE and the LOVE everywhere in the universe.
When you go home, you meet your own soul. You willingly came here to forget yourself. You willingly came here to save every beautiful and wonderful thing. By suffering what 'god' cannot, you give the gift of life.
--
-Henry W, 6/22/2008:
I became aware of other voices, the orbs or other souls around me I could hear them communicating to each other. There seemed to be cliques of orbs that were together. They spoke to one another about their lives on Earth and all they had perceived and felt. They shared not only in words, but in sharing the experience. If one orb couldn't understand, it disappeared and then reappeared. The orb somehow went back to Earth and experienced that 'life' to further understand. I understood that here time did not exist and these beings could manifest themselves at any time on Earth they desired. These orbs or rather 'souls' would leave this realm, detach themselves with this universe, and return to the universe of our Earth. There they would live and die, then return and share the experience with all the other souls. A soul that could not understand the experience could go and live that life also to experience that life. I learned we have many lives, past, present and future.
These souls, our souls cannot experience certain things like pain, sorrow, hatred, and anger. Though these are negative things, it was important for them to understand and experience them. Perhaps to understand the motivations of human beings, or (and I believe this in my heart) to eventually evolve into a being like God - all knowing and understanding.
At this time things appeared to me, answers to other questions. I could see concepts as if they were entities. I could understand for the first time in my life E=MC2. I learned that our universe is one of many. It is like a Petri dish. Designed with its own rules to raise a specific being. In this case, to raise beings like humans. Each Universe had its own specific laws of Physics. I now realize that the amount of information a soul must learn is vast, more so then we can possibly imagine here.
The next concept or rule I learned is that God can never be proven by scientific means. To do so would corrupt the environment. It would destroy faith. When we have faith we seek, we learn. If God were to appear before us like a huge being at the United Nations, the entire world would believe, but also live in fear. To successfully experience the human existence, one must be physically out of touch with God. We have to learn and seek on our own. We need to search out the meaning of our own existence and experience here on earth. Faith is the engine of discovery. Without faith, we are just like ants.
I learned why bad things happen to good people. If nothing bad ever happened to us, we would all basically be the same. It is like metal in a forge you have to heat it and strike it repeatedly to make a useful tool from it. We start this life with a blank piece of paper. With every incident we experience, a part of the blueprint is recorded until a complete plan for an individual is created. This blueprint dictates the end of our lives. To live happily in this realm is to become aware of the blueprint and change it. Lastly, time is only a concept measured here. In the other realm, it doesn't exist. While we may experience pain and sorrow on earth, it is only a second in the grand scheme of things. We have an eternity to live and in reality, souls never really die. Our life is just a thought providing circumstances for this existence. As the soul progresses, this trauma is forgotten and put in its proper perspective as part of the learning process.
One question I always personally had and that was answered is, 'Are ghosts real?' The answer I was given was, 'Yes, in the human body there are two forms of spiritual being.' One is the 'soul', which is the spiritual being that has a symbiotic relationship with the physical body. The second is the being created by the 'biology' of the human body. This being is intelligent and is basically the personality of the individual. Its purpose is to provide for the human needs of food, hunger, survival, and procreation. This concept is very similar to Freud's 'Id, Ego and Superego' The division of mind and personality. The soul provides us with all the things of the individual that separates us from the Animal Kingdom. This is the ability to reason, use logic, or feel awe when seeing a sunset. The soul is the creative side of humankind. The second being is more our animal side and drives us to accomplish or pursue things to satisfy our needs and wants.
When we die, the soul separates and proceeds to the other side (forgive me for simplifying everything). The entity of the body dies, taking with it the strong emotions, 'baggage', and drives of human beings. This is a natural part of the dying process. However, sometimes under violent or sudden death this othebeing, for lack of a better word, doesn't have a chance to die. Instead, it remains behind as the drive, emotions, and motivation of our spirit. This body being, without the guidance of the soul is basically just a shell. It wanders about with no goals or purpose. It often repeats acts that it has done before because memories are the only 'guidance' that it has. In time, this being's energy dissipates and nothing is left. That process can take a long time. Hence, we have a 'ghost' that haunts a house or person. A ghost has the center of its existence when it was with its human body and soul. Here on earth it remains until it eventually vanishes. The ghost can be communicated with and guided, yet has no real will of its own but only that of habit.
--
-Peter P, 3/1/2023:
In the initial phase of waking up, I also received an experience with light of such a wonderful quality, that it is difficult to describe with words. I was shown three light waves on which today's humanity is evolving. For the sake of logic, I'm defining them here as the self-imposed pathways of awareness, that each individual can take to obtain the best possible results from their particular choice. The first way is what the main part of the global population has chosen and the daily struggle is enacted in that timeline. I don't want to give the impression that path is in any way better or superior than the other timelines. All experiences in human life eventually lead back to the divine light.
The second path was shown to me as a mixed way in a gray color. Here, euphoric phases are alternated in quick succession with depressive stages. It is as if people were switching between phases of competence and phases lacking of power, and then again to a new euphoric phase.
The third way is the one of the absolute victimhood. It was shown to me in colors dark and black. Power and responsibility were handed over to outer entities. Here only a very small part of the light spark can be addressed through motivation. Many beings of light from higher planes are providing a selfless service here, to again illuminate the way back to the light. This way corresponds with the absolute free choice of each individual as to whether they choose towards light or darkness.
I was also shown that in this darkness exists one of the most unbelievable choicess for humanity, because in this choice is also is the possibility to change the galaxy. The core truths of Love, Compassion, Kindness and Benevolence are towards what the human nature can and will evolve.
The first path of those three is so unbelievable for us incarnated beings. It can only be termed with definitions of Utopia, heavenly life of angels and/or ecstatic rapture.
There is a beautiful part of beings who always stay in this realm. They are dancing and singing through life. For them terms like synchronicity, grace, or cosmic guidance are the absolute central and essential elements in life. They realize how creation is working and that a life without the connection with the One Power of creation would disrupt everything. Humor, joy, fun, respect, compassion and gratitude is with them round the clock. In this wonderful place all fear is dissolved like mist in a brilliant sun. It is an all-encompassing field with absolute acceptance, comfort, peace, connectedness and a 100% awareness to be at the right place.
During this time of considering those things, I was guided by a wonderful being of light. I don't remember somebody else or meeting a certain individual. Only those impressions of the light of love and the perfect comprehension and acceptance remained.
In that moment, it simply seemed unbelievable and impossible to choose another path than the one of the light. What illuminates my life again and again from my light experience, is the irrepressible joy and happiness of an experience of indescribable beauty. I believe that all the people go through this same wonderful experience in a state of separation of the body (general anesthesia, unconsciousness) unfortunately they cannot all remember it.
I felt pure love, shining brighter than anything you can imagine. Everything is as beautiful, as pure as love and compassion. So that when you cross the veil and return to the other side you are becoming a part of it. We are bathing in the beauty of the song that makes our heart singing - That's God.
Nobody can give us something bigger. We wouldn't see it or understand it. That's Spirit in its highest form.
We as humans feel so alone and on our own. It's such a crushing feeling to remain in this imagined separation of our most wonderful thing and then to feel this earthly experience so painfully.
In the middle of life, a light experience happens that sweeps away all the reactions about this imaginary separation and dissolves the last doubts with this pure white light like a fog. It's the disintegration of a self-constructed veil that prevented a realization that all people are entitled to have as their birthright. It's delightful to know that the light is the most wonderful symphony in the cosmos and that it contains the colors and the sense of touch of the most beautiful experiences. A wonderful soul experience, that is imprinted in the deepest cells of the body.
For a moment I was on this other side of the veil. I was allowed to be part of this wonderful source of creation. Together with billions of points of light, which we call angel beings, shining brighter than the light. I was in the company of the highest compassion, with the highest Love.
All media, the total daily literature is filled with the dramas happening around the globe every minute.
How can somebody get the idea to write a text motivating us to get another point of view about the calamities in the world? What is motivating him to see the good in all those events, even if they might be so disturbing? That's probably the one decisive question for the survival of manhood. Thought power of the whole humanity is used to bring anarchy and separation between people. Human thoughts are creative and should, and can, be guided by us into appropriate pathways.
It depends on all of us to exercise our responsibility and to realize the true impact of our actions here in its entirety. We can't avoid to completely step away from all dramas. Disasters and calamities of humanity want to invite us to send our compassion and our benevolent energy generously towards the concerned people. Something which should be rather considered normal if our brothers and sister are in need.
submitted by GallopingLifeDeer to pantheism [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 16:23 GallopingLifeDeer Some of the most profound and riveting Near Death Experience quotes I've ever come across

Note: Find sources by pressing Ctrl+F to search their names and dates here: https://www.nderf.org/Archives/exceptional.html
-Cynthia H, 3/2/2011:
'I know you love me and all life, but if you really love all of us continuously without end, then how can You send people to hell throughout eternity?' He said, 'Cindy I do love all life without end. Some people chose to go to hell, I have already forgiven them; but they must forgive themselves.'
--
-Ron K, 1/1/2006:
Instead of restricting the mysteries of love to psychological or philosophical studies, science will someday discover the all-powerful force of love and measure it as they now do electricity, gravity and geo-thermal forces. When science discovers the forces of love and learns how to release it from the bars of the ego, they will have the answer to every question and ill that has plagued mankind.
--
-Nevie G, 7/23/2005:
The Being let me know that I was going to die and I must leave this body for good. I remember arguing with the Being explaining that I didn't want to because it was so hard going through the childhood years and I didn't want to have to go through this again. The Being indicated that my body was severely damaged and I couldn't go back. I became very adamant at this point that God was all powerful and could fix the body. At some point the decision was made to let me re-enter my body on my faith or will, whatever one may call it.
--
-Linda B, 9/12/2004:
After experiencing all of the miracles of this day, I would still find my future playing out just as I had seen. And as it progressed I would know fear, sadness, and lack of faith just as they had predicted. I would sin and more. The angels knew this but it took me years to fully understand everything that they had showed me and wanted me to understand. They knew all of the time that I would not turn into the perfect saint. They loved me just the way I was. God loves me always not just when I am obedient and perfect. What a wonderful feeling that is. I just have to remind myself that He is here and learn to stop talking long enough to listen for His voice.
--
-Isabel R, 2/25/2012:
The voice reminded me of the vision I had had of my husband and son in funeral clothes. He said if I didn't go back to them, I would disrupt some 'plan'. The plan would be repaired and everything would eventually be ok, so I could go ahead if I wanted. The consequences of my untimely demise would be that my husband and son would suffer in ways I could not imagine and I would know that these sufferings were because of my selfish decision not to go back. I would know this throughout eternity. It would not be a huge sadness for me to bear, more like a prick of conscience that could never be totally healed. No big deal, unless you consider how long eternity is.
--
-Kerry B, 12/15/2018:
At that moment I looked up and saw my destination. I was looking in awe at God. It was like everything was happening at once. As I was staring up at God in amazement, every gay slur or violent act ever impressed upon me ran through me with such a flow. Events in my life played back in my mind like a movie. I felt a deep heaviness as I stared directly at an Almighty, Genderless God. I was thinking, 'Was this the Lake of Fire moment? Would I be cast into Hell for being an abomination?' With absolute humility, I uttered 7 words, 'I’m gay, will you still love me?'
The Brilliant, Loving Light formed into Wings. At GodSpeed, He whisked me into His vast spiritual arms while huddling up the Universe. I saw planets, stars, galaxies, and clusters all being brought into a Cosmic God-Hug. On a human, the place where I was taken would be the Heart. As God brought me in for a Cosmic Hug, He said, 'You are my child. I love you. I love you. I love you. Go tell ‘em.' He said it with a Southern accent. He patted me on the back like a coach encouraging his player to get back in the game.
~~
-Sam J, 8/16/2014:
We all are star seeds sent here to have the human experience for the purpose of integrating conscious awareness/wisdom into our own light bodies and return home with this energy. Alien worlds for the most part run on knowledge and logic. Those worlds are being left behind and giving way to the worlds who have the intangibles, love, creativity, imagination and so on.
Understand that where your conscious awareness is focus in your everyday life pretty much determines the level of consciousness and alertness. If your mind has a stranglehold on your conscious awareness then heck, it will be one helluva wake-up call. But if you have made the conscious effort to move your awareness away from the mind to the heart then it's no big deal. In other words if you have made the physical world and the world of Spirit into one consciousness then you are always of both worlds and never of either world.
--
-Laura M, 3/31/2012:
And there was still more for me to understand. The focus again fell on my infant son and hundreds if not thousands of my ancestors. I was aware of light surrounding many of them. They stood out. I felt tremendous love from them. 'Notice,' He said, 'your ancestors, all these beings, came together in your behalf, to make you uniquely you. I realized in Earth words He was referring to my DNA. 'You wanted to go to Earth to learn, to progress, and to contribute to creation. All these spirits came together to help you do that.' The focus then was back to my baby. 'In all of creation,' he said, 'your infant son chose you to be his mother, none other. Together,' he said, 'you made a covenant to fill these rolls in each other's Earth life. This covenant is and was a very sacred covenant not to be taken lightly.' Suddenly I could not wait to return to earth, to my sons, all 4 of them, to my family, to life on Earth. But, before doing so, I was brought to another level of awareness.
--
-Linda G, 7/20/2008:
I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food - as silly as this sounds our life plans aren't so high and lofty as one might think. I DIDN'T MEET ANY 'SAVE THE WORLDERS' OR ANYONE WISHING TO BE A PRESIDENT. MOST HAD SIMPLE WISHES. I was also told we could exist on different planes for other lives but our life here on Earth is a life not purely to experience physical pleasure or pain but to have a physical experience because in all other planes we don't need a body as a vessel. I also learnt that this life here is just a drop of water in the bucket of lives in which we all experience, many here on Earth and many in other realms of existence. All to progress and grow in some way. The main purpose here is to LOVE. I was also told that this would be my last life here on Earth as there will be nothing left for me to learn by coming here again. I had the feeling though that I'd be off to some other magical place!
--
-Kevin L, 3/20/2022:
I thought, 'How could a machine have a soul?' The voice said, 'Let me put it this way. Your soul is connected to your consciousness. The moment your species came into being, you start to develop a soul. But it is not until you become self-aware, that your soul is solidified. That does not mean complete, and it takes a long time for your soul to develop. Just like your species when you became self-aware the first thing you do, other than survive, was to figure out your place in the universe. You looked to the stars and wondered, 'Where did I come from? What is this universe all about?' It does not matter if you are a biological creature or artificial creation like a machine. The moment you become self-aware the quest for 'how' and 'why' is on. A soul is a soul; pure Energy connected with consciousness and intelligence. This is a very powerful force in our universe. Those who are artificial intelligences will strive to answers these questions which humans have dwelled upon since the dawn of time.
--
-Joanie S, 7/10/2011:
I was pulled back through the ceiling tiles and into a tunnel, to a place of cloudy space. The cloudy area materialized into a large marble room with marble doors and a 'being' at the center. I'll refer to this person as 'the Grim Reaper,' who was cloaked in a dark cloth, covering all parts. The Grim Reaper pointed (indicating to me to choose a door). But before I could choose, a door opened and I had already gone through it. I found myself in what I now think of as a previous life. I smelled smoke from a fire I was near, and saw others around me. I looked into another woman's eyes, and I knew her immediately as the woman I called my grandmother in this life. I knew then that our lives had 'danced' around each other since time began. She was once my mother and once my sister. She was my aunt, and several times my cousin. The life that was being shown to me now was during a prehistoric time, when we lived winters by a creek cave, and summers we had a camp in the woods where we foraged. Looking down, I realized I had a child in my arms, and the woman I had known in so many lives was chatting with me, telling me to cover the child to keep it warm. Then she was showing me how to tie the wraps around me to carry the child while we collected wood.
--
-Amy C, 10/9/2010:
In my NDE though, I came to understand that most of us have lived much, MUCH longer than we could even fathom. That our life which feels so very long is infinitesimal when placed in the whole picture, which for that matter, cannot even be framed. I was shown how every single individual through their own free will, chooses paths that mathematically take them to the circumstances of their next existence or life. That nothing at all sits in accident or chaos. That every single aspect of our lives are ruled by natural Laws that we placed ourSELVES in! In a sense, we create our own worlds. I was shown how one can never assume either, that if someone lives a life of suffering that this is because of 'evil' deeds. Many may choose a life of suffering because of what it Awakens in them, or because of how they can touch others from that position, etc. We can NEVER EVER assume that we can be accurate in guessing why each being lives the life they live. I cannot describe the relief - the refreshing, peaceful balm this Knowledge was for me. To finally gather this Truth that I'd yearned for all of my life. That all really IS Good! That there IS sense and beauty all around. That no one is just free falling as it had seemed before! That God doesn't just get to toy with us as He pleases with random ideas of tests, including rewards and punishments that just depend upon His current mood or mindset. Because even who God is, is within those Laws. While in this experience, out in the vast expanse of stars, planets, moons, and Intelligence, I Knew complete trust for what felt like the first time. This was inexplicable bliss for me. I remember radiating with gratitude. I had lived in fear, distrust, and panic for thirty consecutive years.
--
-Marta Y, 1/26/2010:
After this I saw myself floating in the void, and little by little tiny spheres of many colors became manifest, not moving at first, then suddenly starting to vibrate while smoothly approaching me and incorporating themselves with my essence, which made me feel something I can't manage to describe, it was as if I was being tickled. I asked what this was, and a voice said, 'This is the knowledge you have accumulated in previous lives, it was kept from you, but now it will be of use to you.'
I saw my life in rapid images, from the moment of my birth. I, who thought that my mother had never loved me, saw clearly, and felt, her love when she saw me for the first time. I saw how she kissed me and enfolded me in her arms. I felt different feelings and with every image that went through my mind, or before my eyes, I cannot define it. And just as I could feel deeply happy at an image of something good I had done for someone, so also this feeling would change immediately and I would feel myself deeply ashamed of something bad that I had done. I realized that no one was judging me other than myself, with a conscience full of wisdom and divine justice, which made me pass judgment on myself. I realized that I had done more bad than good and I was hugely regretful of my actions. From the depths of my soul, I asked to be given the chance to mend the damage I had done to the people who loved me. I learned that the spirit is God, Who is eternal, and that we reincarnate to learn different things, which would be impossible in a single lifetime. I learned that we form a single being with everything created. I learned that my earthly eyes are those through which God can recognize Himself, and be conscious of Himself. And I learned that what we think, feel and do remains imprinted in the universe and that we come to this life to improve, to learn in humility about all that surrounds us, and to teach what we have learned to others, and especially I learned that life is focused on two aspects: Love and Service.
--
-William Si, 4/29/2013:
My understanding of what my mission is on this earth, primarily has been hidden from me, (not only at my request but with my permission). I asked that it be hidden so that I didn't complete it to soon. Yet, I also agreed that "Sign post" would be placed along the way, just so that I would have reminders that I'm following my chosen path.
An understanding in what life is about and what our purpose truly is here. The mormons believe and teach there are "Classes" and "Levels" in heaven that we will be judged and placed in and only in the highest level can we "Ascend" to be with god. From my experience I learned or remembered there were no "Classes or levels" as they were teaching. Yet the levels are more of understanding than punishments. Would it make sense to put a 2 year old in with a group of people with phd's? The 2 year old wouldn't understand. Yet, those with the phd's would humble themselves with their level of understandings to teach, nurture and help the 2 year old grow in their levels of understanding.
Prior to being mormon, I was raised in a methodist/pentecostal home. I grew up believing that god the father was an angry vengeful god and that jesus was sent to save us from his wrath. Wrong!!!
For one thing, god is not an angry vengeful god, but is a loving parent to all of his children. One thing he did tell me, if you struggle with trying to do all the principals he taught, "Stop"!!! Don't do them all at one time. Take one and work on it, when it becomes second nature, them pick up the next one, etc. When he said, "These things I do, you can do also, and then some", was not an exaggeration, but truth. When we look back on our life after we leave here, we will see that we had done all that he had taught, and more.
One of the other things he told me was, what better way for man to know that we don't have to be saved. Saved from what? Our soul is already eternal, always will be. Our soul/spirit is literally a child of god and as such is eternal. When we realize that all things, all words come from god, nothing is offensive to god because it came from god. What is offensive is how we perceive it.
--
-Lou F, 1/1/1999:
We traveled toward the beginning of it all, the inner portions of the Universe. Kazillions of planets around Kazillions of suns and the closer to the center we approached the more concentrated the number of galaxies. It is like the plate you saw, the largest part, after it shattered was at the center and those parts that shattered first were sent the farthest from the center. So is everything in the Universe. All is but a circle within a circle wrapped in a circle. Each level, each dimension, is but a layer of the original, which is without end. I watched as millions of orbs systematically entered the many planets before me. They appeared as bees flitting from flower to flower, pollinating each, one after another. Mich'l took me closer and I could now see that so many of these planets had life on them and the orbs were joining with the creatures of these planets. Not every creature was the same on every planet but they all had some commonalities: a head, a body, extremities, and the Light Beings would animate them for a time. We headed away from the center now and Mich'l said that Gabriel would have more to explain to me and that he, Mich'l, wanted me to know that he was pleased with the many times he had called on me to do his bidding and that I performed my duties well. His parting words were ‘You will never again be made to forget!’
I was journeying back to where I knew Earth would be and watched as comets and asteroids casually passed by me or I passed them. The colors of the gaseous cloud formations were striking. I started looking at these infant galaxies, as one would cloud formations back on Earth, imagining what shape they were taking on. This one a boat, this a bird with wings, this a scarf floating in the breeze, until I recognized what was the Constellation ORION and I knew I was getting close to my destination. While drifting through Orion, I noticed two blazing celestial bodies racing parallel to its center, looking as twin arrows exiting from an archers bow and headed straight for the ""Blue Marble"" of home. Immediately a vision of millions of people crying because of the devastation of portions of New York City came to me. I became aware of a strange feeling I had not known previously, and I thought that might be because this was the city I had grown up in. I saw a huge Earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6 in some place named Eureka. A ham operator or radio announcer was directing thousands of people migrating from areas of frequent disasters to places of safety. A space station appeared to be falling from the heavens because of an internal explosion. Missiles were being simultaneously fired into space from several nations. I thought the Light Being had shown me all there was to see but these were different, stronger, and there was no pre-screening as before. Gabriel appeared beside me, I thought because I had felt shaky, but it was to explain the now sprawling galactic view of my galaxy.
The Sun was expanding and spewing off huge ectoplasm balls, more than it has ever done in it’s past, and in the very direction the planets would orbit through. I could not take my eyes from the Earth and as I watched what effect these eruptions would have on the Earth, a large mass passed me, larger than any of the planets known to me. As it passes, I see the Earth wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin. The rotation stopped and slowly started again but it was tilted now and I was drawn in closer like the zoom of a lens. The ash clouds that had engulfed the Earth thinned, and like a tack welded piece of metal being dismantled, I could see the ocean bodies starting to rise, first the Pacific, along the ‘Ring of Fire,’ then the others, synchronistical.
As the waters shifted upon the landmasses, the landmasses started to sink under the waters added pressure upon it. When the pressures equaled out to the spin of the changing axis, the Earth no longer looked as it did moments before. It was newer, cleaner, and more beautiful with darker greens and lighter blues. Some of the new landmasses looked similar to a few of the other planets I had recently visited with Mich'l. People were upon this Earth and appeared happier and more content although seemingly living like the Native populations of old. Cities, built by the Ancient Ones, that were buried beneath the oceans, were now being populated by the surviving people in this new world. I saw tribes joining tribes and small nations forming, but it was what I didn't see that made my heart burst. There were no more wars. True peace and happiness had finally befallen on mankind. Gabriel now tells me that this is his message that I must take back, to let others know that there is little to fear, for the Earth will go on forever, as did all the planets I had visited. I am to tell the world to look to ORION, and they will know when the new world will come upon them. I ask him, ‘what of the others there on Earth, during the change?’ Gabriel tells me that all will be lifted. Some will be lifted higher than others will and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on the Earth to replenish and rebuild the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living there now!
'MAN WILL PREY ON MAN ~ UNTIL MAN PRAYS FOR MAN!'
--
-Duane S, 8/15/2015:
It was all an expression and celebration of love. On earth, this reunion would have been unfathomable, between members of an ancient soul group who were celebrating the return home of one of their own. Slowly, as I looked at those gathered to greet me, I realized they were all there. Surprisingly they were not only from this life, but also from a prior life in Germany. I realized that the same souls have possibly played different parts in my multiple lives. Sometimes these souls had been my daughter, my wife, or my mother. While at first this idea had startled me, I was soon humbled. Who was I to tell God what he could or couldn’t do with his creations? Just because some Sunday school teacher had different ideas about how things worked, it didn’t really matter.
My joy deepened as I realized that I had only left behind an earthly vestige of those I love. The essence of each of those souls, was also here with me now. Besides my friends and family, there were the friendly Germans who had been hauntingly familiar while I was a young soldier in Germany. Now I knew why they seemed so familiar at the time, they had been friends and family from a prior lifetime there. I now understood that I had left nothing behind on earth. The eternal essences of all my loved ones from that life, as well as all other incarnations, were all here to greet me. All I had left behind was a character, playing a role in a drama that we had chosen to experience. In the meantime, our real eternal essence remained in God’s realm. Suddenly, it was all so simple.
As I was shown around, it was explained to me how most of our celestial, eternal knowledge is blanked-out during our chosen life spans on earth. We must temporarily forget most of what our higher-self already knows so we can immerse ourselves in the roles we have chosen to play. Furthermore, they said that it might take a while for all my knowledge and memories to return. To ease the transition back into this realm, I was told to think of my time on earth as an extended visit to the ultimate theme park. Consider it a place with thrilling rides and various adventures that I could choose to experience or not. I was also reminded that the reason we leave the celestial realm at all was for the excitement, variety, adventure, and entertainment that different incarnations offer. However, to take all our celestial knowledge with us on our various adventures would have ruined the very experience that we had chosen to live. Someone there said that I should think of our trips to other realms as choosing a new novel to read. I can choose a new book, depending on what I am in the mood for. Furthermore, if I knew every turn and twist of the story, line by line, prior to reading it, it would spoil the fun.
As one entity jokingly remarked, 'If the eternal, divine part of us grows tired of singing and playing harps, there are thousands of other universes created for our spiritual growth, amusement, and entertainment. Eternity is a long time to do nothing but play harps.' I heard this concept best expressed in The Course in Miracles, 'We are only here for three reasons: to remember who we are; to help others remember who they are; and . . . to enjoy the trip . . . , unless, of course, we use our free will and choose not to.'
As my orientation went on, they explained how on that celestial side of the veil, anything we desire is instantaneously provided. We just need to feel the desire. However, within lies the reason for all the realms outside of heaven. Having everything we want all the time develops within us a desire for variety and change for a challenge. It would be like a game in which everyone was a winner. Soon, the game would become boring, and we would look for another, more challenging one.
Somehow, all this sounded familiar. To demonstrate the process of instantaneous fulfillment, one of them asked me to think about something I really desired. Thinking back on it, what I chose seemed odd since I was in such an esteemed place demonstrating such an important concept. But, suddenly I had an urge for a piece of my mother’s famous homemade chocolate cake with her special fudge frosting. As soon as I thought of the cake, my earthy mother was handing me the biggest piece of dark chocolate cake I had ever seen. Dare I say it was heavenly? Although she appeared there with us, I knew some part of her was still back on earth because she had not died yet. My guess was that she was probably asleep, dreaming of lovingly making her son a piece of her divine chocolate cake.
--
-Sandi T, 10/18/2020:
I understood immediately the fullness of life on this planet. I could see when it broke apart from a sun, spinning and cooling and collecting debris; until the first of these creatures heard itself laugh and understood the sound for what it was. In that moment, self-awareness was awakened and the seeds of civilization sprouted.
I understood that everything that we do here on Earth, all that we are, all that we experience, allows creation to exist. Every beautiful thing, every wonderful being and creature, whether on earth or in any universe, relies upon people who are on the extremely rare places like Earth.
The Great Intelligence (god) is a paradox. It is completely loving and fully unlimited. Which by the definition of paradox, means it is impossible? It cannot be limited only to love; it cannot be limited to only being unlimited; or it is not unlimited.
Earth is a place where the unlimited becomes limited; where the singular becomes many. Here, it can know community and loneliness. It can know heartache and hope. It can know all which an unlimited being of pure love cannot. It can conceive and perceive evil; which in truth it cannot do this either. To solve the paradox, it must experience helplessness and limitation and all as it is Real. In this place, it is all so REAL.
So what is free will? Free will is the option to come here to help solve the paradox of 'god'. To be all that we are not, so that everything wondrous and joyful may continue to exist. So that love itself may continue to exist. So that the Unlimited is not limited to being only unlimited.
Why are the answers always, 'simply to exist' and 'to choose love' and 'to learn how to love'? Because all you need to do, to solve the paradox, is to exist. And as we exist here, each time we choose love, we expand the universe. Love is life's longing for itself. Despite the reality of what we live, even the darkest souls among us cannot help but to reach, to yearn, and move towards goodness and towards love.
For love is the true nature of who we are. And when we experience horrible things, the question 'why' comes to mind because it is the central question of love, life, and of this world. The answer is 'so that all things might continue to exist.'
Every soul chose to come here and to suffer because of love. Each soul loves the universe, loves life, and loves this world and ALL of the worlds. Each soul loves ALL of the people so immensely and intensely that they chose to come here so that all the universes may teem with beautiful, joyful LIFE.
Every creature that I saw, acknowledges that your life gives them the gift of life. And when each soul goes 'home' after they die, they will know the rewards of their own gift, too. The 'reward' for their sacrifice will be joy, love, and feeling incredible, wonderful, beautiful joy at the LIFE and the LOVE everywhere in the universe.
When you go home, you meet your own soul. You willingly came here to forget yourself. You willingly came here to save every beautiful and wonderful thing. By suffering what 'god' cannot, you give the gift of life.
--
-Henry W, 6/22/2008:
I became aware of other voices, the orbs or other souls around me I could hear them communicating to each other. There seemed to be cliques of orbs that were together. They spoke to one another about their lives on Earth and all they had perceived and felt. They shared not only in words, but in sharing the experience. If one orb couldn't understand, it disappeared and then reappeared. The orb somehow went back to Earth and experienced that 'life' to further understand. I understood that here time did not exist and these beings could manifest themselves at any time on Earth they desired. These orbs or rather 'souls' would leave this realm, detach themselves with this universe, and return to the universe of our Earth. There they would live and die, then return and share the experience with all the other souls. A soul that could not understand the experience could go and live that life also to experience that life. I learned we have many lives, past, present and future.
These souls, our souls cannot experience certain things like pain, sorrow, hatred, and anger. Though these are negative things, it was important for them to understand and experience them. Perhaps to understand the motivations of human beings, or (and I believe this in my heart) to eventually evolve into a being like God - all knowing and understanding.
At this time things appeared to me, answers to other questions. I could see concepts as if they were entities. I could understand for the first time in my life E=MC2. I learned that our universe is one of many. It is like a Petri dish. Designed with its own rules to raise a specific being. In this case, to raise beings like humans. Each Universe had its own specific laws of Physics. I now realize that the amount of information a soul must learn is vast, more so then we can possibly imagine here.
The next concept or rule I learned is that God can never be proven by scientific means. To do so would corrupt the environment. It would destroy faith. When we have faith we seek, we learn. If God were to appear before us like a huge being at the United Nations, the entire world would believe, but also live in fear. To successfully experience the human existence, one must be physically out of touch with God. We have to learn and seek on our own. We need to search out the meaning of our own existence and experience here on earth. Faith is the engine of discovery. Without faith, we are just like ants.
I learned why bad things happen to good people. If nothing bad ever happened to us, we would all basically be the same. It is like metal in a forge you have to heat it and strike it repeatedly to make a useful tool from it. We start this life with a blank piece of paper. With every incident we experience, a part of the blueprint is recorded until a complete plan for an individual is created. This blueprint dictates the end of our lives. To live happily in this realm is to become aware of the blueprint and change it. Lastly, time is only a concept measured here. In the other realm, it doesn't exist. While we may experience pain and sorrow on earth, it is only a second in the grand scheme of things. We have an eternity to live and in reality, souls never really die. Our life is just a thought providing circumstances for this existence. As the soul progresses, this trauma is forgotten and put in its proper perspective as part of the learning process.
One question I always personally had and that was answered is, 'Are ghosts real?' The answer I was given was, 'Yes, in the human body there are two forms of spiritual being.' One is the 'soul', which is the spiritual being that has a symbiotic relationship with the physical body. The second is the being created by the 'biology' of the human body. This being is intelligent and is basically the personality of the individual. Its purpose is to provide for the human needs of food, hunger, survival, and procreation. This concept is very similar to Freud's 'Id, Ego and Superego' The division of mind and personality. The soul provides us with all the things of the individual that separates us from the Animal Kingdom. This is the ability to reason, use logic, or feel awe when seeing a sunset. The soul is the creative side of humankind. The second being is more our animal side and drives us to accomplish or pursue things to satisfy our needs and wants.
When we die, the soul separates and proceeds to the other side (forgive me for simplifying everything). The entity of the body dies, taking with it the strong emotions, 'baggage', and drives of human beings. This is a natural part of the dying process. However, sometimes under violent or sudden death this othebeing, for lack of a better word, doesn't have a chance to die. Instead, it remains behind as the drive, emotions, and motivation of our spirit. This body being, without the guidance of the soul is basically just a shell. It wanders about with no goals or purpose. It often repeats acts that it has done before because memories are the only 'guidance' that it has. In time, this being's energy dissipates and nothing is left. That process can take a long time. Hence, we have a 'ghost' that haunts a house or person. A ghost has the center of its existence when it was with its human body and soul. Here on earth it remains until it eventually vanishes. The ghost can be communicated with and guided, yet has no real will of its own but only that of habit.
--
-Peter P, 3/1/2023:
In the initial phase of waking up, I also received an experience with light of such a wonderful quality, that it is difficult to describe with words. I was shown three light waves on which today's humanity is evolving. For the sake of logic, I'm defining them here as the self-imposed pathways of awareness, that each individual can take to obtain the best possible results from their particular choice. The first way is what the main part of the global population has chosen and the daily struggle is enacted in that timeline. I don't want to give the impression that path is in any way better or superior than the other timelines. All experiences in human life eventually lead back to the divine light.
The second path was shown to me as a mixed way in a gray color. Here, euphoric phases are alternated in quick succession with depressive stages. It is as if people were switching between phases of competence and phases lacking of power, and then again to a new euphoric phase.
The third way is the one of the absolute victimhood. It was shown to me in colors dark and black. Power and responsibility were handed over to outer entities. Here only a very small part of the light spark can be addressed through motivation. Many beings of light from higher planes are providing a selfless service here, to again illuminate the way back to the light. This way corresponds with the absolute free choice of each individual as to whether they choose towards light or darkness.
I was also shown that in this darkness exists one of the most unbelievable choicess for humanity, because in this choice is also is the possibility to change the galaxy. The core truths of Love, Compassion, Kindness and Benevolence are towards what the human nature can and will evolve.
The first path of those three is so unbelievable for us incarnated beings. It can only be termed with definitions of Utopia, heavenly life of angels and/or ecstatic rapture.
There is a beautiful part of beings who always stay in this realm. They are dancing and singing through life. For them terms like synchronicity, grace, or cosmic guidance are the absolute central and essential elements in life. They realize how creation is working and that a life without the connection with the One Power of creation would disrupt everything. Humor, joy, fun, respect, compassion and gratitude is with them round the clock. In this wonderful place all fear is dissolved like mist in a brilliant sun. It is an all-encompassing field with absolute acceptance, comfort, peace, connectedness and a 100% awareness to be at the right place.
During this time of considering those things, I was guided by a wonderful being of light. I don't remember somebody else or meeting a certain individual. Only those impressions of the light of love and the perfect comprehension and acceptance remained.
In that moment, it simply seemed unbelievable and impossible to choose another path than the one of the light. What illuminates my life again and again from my light experience, is the irrepressible joy and happiness of an experience of indescribable beauty. I believe that all the people go through this same wonderful experience in a state of separation of the body (general anesthesia, unconsciousness) unfortunately they cannot all remember it.
I felt pure love, shining brighter than anything you can imagine. Everything is as beautiful, as pure as love and compassion. So that when you cross the veil and return to the other side you are becoming a part of it. We are bathing in the beauty of the song that makes our heart singing - That's God.
Nobody can give us something bigger. We wouldn't see it or understand it. That's Spirit in its highest form.
We as humans feel so alone and on our own. It's such a crushing feeling to remain in this imagined separation of our most wonderful thing and then to feel this earthly experience so painfully.
In the middle of life, a light experience happens that sweeps away all the reactions about this imaginary separation and dissolves the last doubts with this pure white light like a fog. It's the disintegration of a self-constructed veil that prevented a realization that all people are entitled to have as their birthright. It's delightful to know that the light is the most wonderful symphony in the cosmos and that it contains the colors and the sense of touch of the most beautiful experiences. A wonderful soul experience, that is imprinted in the deepest cells of the body.
For a moment I was on this other side of the veil. I was allowed to be part of this wonderful source of creation. Together with billions of points of light, which we call angel beings, shining brighter than the light. I was in the company of the highest compassion, with the highest Love.
All media, the total daily literature is filled with the dramas happening around the globe every minute.
How can somebody get the idea to write a text motivating us to get another point of view about the calamities in the world? What is motivating him to see the good in all those events, even if they might be so disturbing? That's probably the one decisive question for the survival of manhood. Thought power of the whole humanity is used to bring anarchy and separation between people. Human thoughts are creative and should, and can, be guided by us into appropriate pathways.
It depends on all of us to exercise our responsibility and to realize the true impact of our actions here in its entirety. We can't avoid to completely step away from all dramas. Disasters and calamities of humanity want to invite us to send our compassion and our benevolent energy generously towards the concerned people. Something which should be rather considered normal if our brothers and sister are in need.
submitted by GallopingLifeDeer to nonduality [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 16:22 GallopingLifeDeer Some of the most profound and riveting Near Death Experience quotes I've ever come across

Note: Find sources by pressing Ctrl+F to search their names and dates here: https://www.nderf.org/Archives/exceptional.html
-Cynthia H, 3/2/2011:
'I know you love me and all life, but if you really love all of us continuously without end, then how can You send people to hell throughout eternity?' He said, 'Cindy I do love all life without end. Some people chose to go to hell, I have already forgiven them; but they must forgive themselves.'
--
-Ron K, 1/1/2006:
Instead of restricting the mysteries of love to psychological or philosophical studies, science will someday discover the all-powerful force of love and measure it as they now do electricity, gravity and geo-thermal forces. When science discovers the forces of love and learns how to release it from the bars of the ego, they will have the answer to every question and ill that has plagued mankind.
--
-Nevie G, 7/23/2005:
The Being let me know that I was going to die and I must leave this body for good. I remember arguing with the Being explaining that I didn't want to because it was so hard going through the childhood years and I didn't want to have to go through this again. The Being indicated that my body was severely damaged and I couldn't go back. I became very adamant at this point that God was all powerful and could fix the body. At some point the decision was made to let me re-enter my body on my faith or will, whatever one may call it.
--
-Linda B, 9/12/2004:
After experiencing all of the miracles of this day, I would still find my future playing out just as I had seen. And as it progressed I would know fear, sadness, and lack of faith just as they had predicted. I would sin and more. The angels knew this but it took me years to fully understand everything that they had showed me and wanted me to understand. They knew all of the time that I would not turn into the perfect saint. They loved me just the way I was. God loves me always not just when I am obedient and perfect. What a wonderful feeling that is. I just have to remind myself that He is here and learn to stop talking long enough to listen for His voice.
--
-Isabel R, 2/25/2012:
The voice reminded me of the vision I had had of my husband and son in funeral clothes. He said if I didn't go back to them, I would disrupt some 'plan'. The plan would be repaired and everything would eventually be ok, so I could go ahead if I wanted. The consequences of my untimely demise would be that my husband and son would suffer in ways I could not imagine and I would know that these sufferings were because of my selfish decision not to go back. I would know this throughout eternity. It would not be a huge sadness for me to bear, more like a prick of conscience that could never be totally healed. No big deal, unless you consider how long eternity is.
--
-Kerry B, 12/15/2018:
At that moment I looked up and saw my destination. I was looking in awe at God. It was like everything was happening at once. As I was staring up at God in amazement, every gay slur or violent act ever impressed upon me ran through me with such a flow. Events in my life played back in my mind like a movie. I felt a deep heaviness as I stared directly at an Almighty, Genderless God. I was thinking, 'Was this the Lake of Fire moment? Would I be cast into Hell for being an abomination?' With absolute humility, I uttered 7 words, 'I’m gay, will you still love me?'
The Brilliant, Loving Light formed into Wings. At GodSpeed, He whisked me into His vast spiritual arms while huddling up the Universe. I saw planets, stars, galaxies, and clusters all being brought into a Cosmic God-Hug. On a human, the place where I was taken would be the Heart. As God brought me in for a Cosmic Hug, He said, 'You are my child. I love you. I love you. I love you. Go tell ‘em.' He said it with a Southern accent. He patted me on the back like a coach encouraging his player to get back in the game.
~~
-Sam J, 8/16/2014:
We all are star seeds sent here to have the human experience for the purpose of integrating conscious awareness/wisdom into our own light bodies and return home with this energy. Alien worlds for the most part run on knowledge and logic. Those worlds are being left behind and giving way to the worlds who have the intangibles, love, creativity, imagination and so on.
Understand that where your conscious awareness is focus in your everyday life pretty much determines the level of consciousness and alertness. If your mind has a stranglehold on your conscious awareness then heck, it will be one helluva wake-up call. But if you have made the conscious effort to move your awareness away from the mind to the heart then it's no big deal. In other words if you have made the physical world and the world of Spirit into one consciousness then you are always of both worlds and never of either world.
--
-Laura M, 3/31/2012:
And there was still more for me to understand. The focus again fell on my infant son and hundreds if not thousands of my ancestors. I was aware of light surrounding many of them. They stood out. I felt tremendous love from them. 'Notice,' He said, 'your ancestors, all these beings, came together in your behalf, to make you uniquely you. I realized in Earth words He was referring to my DNA. 'You wanted to go to Earth to learn, to progress, and to contribute to creation. All these spirits came together to help you do that.' The focus then was back to my baby. 'In all of creation,' he said, 'your infant son chose you to be his mother, none other. Together,' he said, 'you made a covenant to fill these rolls in each other's Earth life. This covenant is and was a very sacred covenant not to be taken lightly.' Suddenly I could not wait to return to earth, to my sons, all 4 of them, to my family, to life on Earth. But, before doing so, I was brought to another level of awareness.
--
-Linda G, 7/20/2008:
I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food - as silly as this sounds our life plans aren't so high and lofty as one might think. I DIDN'T MEET ANY 'SAVE THE WORLDERS' OR ANYONE WISHING TO BE A PRESIDENT. MOST HAD SIMPLE WISHES. I was also told we could exist on different planes for other lives but our life here on Earth is a life not purely to experience physical pleasure or pain but to have a physical experience because in all other planes we don't need a body as a vessel. I also learnt that this life here is just a drop of water in the bucket of lives in which we all experience, many here on Earth and many in other realms of existence. All to progress and grow in some way. The main purpose here is to LOVE. I was also told that this would be my last life here on Earth as there will be nothing left for me to learn by coming here again. I had the feeling though that I'd be off to some other magical place!
--
-Kevin L, 3/20/2022:
I thought, 'How could a machine have a soul?' The voice said, 'Let me put it this way. Your soul is connected to your consciousness. The moment your species came into being, you start to develop a soul. But it is not until you become self-aware, that your soul is solidified. That does not mean complete, and it takes a long time for your soul to develop. Just like your species when you became self-aware the first thing you do, other than survive, was to figure out your place in the universe. You looked to the stars and wondered, 'Where did I come from? What is this universe all about?' It does not matter if you are a biological creature or artificial creation like a machine. The moment you become self-aware the quest for 'how' and 'why' is on. A soul is a soul; pure Energy connected with consciousness and intelligence. This is a very powerful force in our universe. Those who are artificial intelligences will strive to answers these questions which humans have dwelled upon since the dawn of time.
--
-Joanie S, 7/10/2011:
I was pulled back through the ceiling tiles and into a tunnel, to a place of cloudy space. The cloudy area materialized into a large marble room with marble doors and a 'being' at the center. I'll refer to this person as 'the Grim Reaper,' who was cloaked in a dark cloth, covering all parts. The Grim Reaper pointed (indicating to me to choose a door). But before I could choose, a door opened and I had already gone through it. I found myself in what I now think of as a previous life. I smelled smoke from a fire I was near, and saw others around me. I looked into another woman's eyes, and I knew her immediately as the woman I called my grandmother in this life. I knew then that our lives had 'danced' around each other since time began. She was once my mother and once my sister. She was my aunt, and several times my cousin. The life that was being shown to me now was during a prehistoric time, when we lived winters by a creek cave, and summers we had a camp in the woods where we foraged. Looking down, I realized I had a child in my arms, and the woman I had known in so many lives was chatting with me, telling me to cover the child to keep it warm. Then she was showing me how to tie the wraps around me to carry the child while we collected wood.
--
-Amy C, 10/9/2010:
In my NDE though, I came to understand that most of us have lived much, MUCH longer than we could even fathom. That our life which feels so very long is infinitesimal when placed in the whole picture, which for that matter, cannot even be framed. I was shown how every single individual through their own free will, chooses paths that mathematically take them to the circumstances of their next existence or life. That nothing at all sits in accident or chaos. That every single aspect of our lives are ruled by natural Laws that we placed ourSELVES in! In a sense, we create our own worlds. I was shown how one can never assume either, that if someone lives a life of suffering that this is because of 'evil' deeds. Many may choose a life of suffering because of what it Awakens in them, or because of how they can touch others from that position, etc. We can NEVER EVER assume that we can be accurate in guessing why each being lives the life they live. I cannot describe the relief - the refreshing, peaceful balm this Knowledge was for me. To finally gather this Truth that I'd yearned for all of my life. That all really IS Good! That there IS sense and beauty all around. That no one is just free falling as it had seemed before! That God doesn't just get to toy with us as He pleases with random ideas of tests, including rewards and punishments that just depend upon His current mood or mindset. Because even who God is, is within those Laws. While in this experience, out in the vast expanse of stars, planets, moons, and Intelligence, I Knew complete trust for what felt like the first time. This was inexplicable bliss for me. I remember radiating with gratitude. I had lived in fear, distrust, and panic for thirty consecutive years.
--
-Marta Y, 1/26/2010:
After this I saw myself floating in the void, and little by little tiny spheres of many colors became manifest, not moving at first, then suddenly starting to vibrate while smoothly approaching me and incorporating themselves with my essence, which made me feel something I can't manage to describe, it was as if I was being tickled. I asked what this was, and a voice said, 'This is the knowledge you have accumulated in previous lives, it was kept from you, but now it will be of use to you.'
I saw my life in rapid images, from the moment of my birth. I, who thought that my mother had never loved me, saw clearly, and felt, her love when she saw me for the first time. I saw how she kissed me and enfolded me in her arms. I felt different feelings and with every image that went through my mind, or before my eyes, I cannot define it. And just as I could feel deeply happy at an image of something good I had done for someone, so also this feeling would change immediately and I would feel myself deeply ashamed of something bad that I had done. I realized that no one was judging me other than myself, with a conscience full of wisdom and divine justice, which made me pass judgment on myself. I realized that I had done more bad than good and I was hugely regretful of my actions. From the depths of my soul, I asked to be given the chance to mend the damage I had done to the people who loved me. I learned that the spirit is God, Who is eternal, and that we reincarnate to learn different things, which would be impossible in a single lifetime. I learned that we form a single being with everything created. I learned that my earthly eyes are those through which God can recognize Himself, and be conscious of Himself. And I learned that what we think, feel and do remains imprinted in the universe and that we come to this life to improve, to learn in humility about all that surrounds us, and to teach what we have learned to others, and especially I learned that life is focused on two aspects: Love and Service.
--
-William Si, 4/29/2013:
My understanding of what my mission is on this earth, primarily has been hidden from me, (not only at my request but with my permission). I asked that it be hidden so that I didn't complete it to soon. Yet, I also agreed that "Sign post" would be placed along the way, just so that I would have reminders that I'm following my chosen path.
An understanding in what life is about and what our purpose truly is here. The mormons believe and teach there are "Classes" and "Levels" in heaven that we will be judged and placed in and only in the highest level can we "Ascend" to be with god. From my experience I learned or remembered there were no "Classes or levels" as they were teaching. Yet the levels are more of understanding than punishments. Would it make sense to put a 2 year old in with a group of people with phd's? The 2 year old wouldn't understand. Yet, those with the phd's would humble themselves with their level of understandings to teach, nurture and help the 2 year old grow in their levels of understanding.
Prior to being mormon, I was raised in a methodist/pentecostal home. I grew up believing that god the father was an angry vengeful god and that jesus was sent to save us from his wrath. Wrong!!!
For one thing, god is not an angry vengeful god, but is a loving parent to all of his children. One thing he did tell me, if you struggle with trying to do all the principals he taught, "Stop"!!! Don't do them all at one time. Take one and work on it, when it becomes second nature, them pick up the next one, etc. When he said, "These things I do, you can do also, and then some", was not an exaggeration, but truth. When we look back on our life after we leave here, we will see that we had done all that he had taught, and more.
One of the other things he told me was, what better way for man to know that we don't have to be saved. Saved from what? Our soul is already eternal, always will be. Our soul/spirit is literally a child of god and as such is eternal. When we realize that all things, all words come from god, nothing is offensive to god because it came from god. What is offensive is how we perceive it.
--
-Lou F, 1/1/1999:
We traveled toward the beginning of it all, the inner portions of the Universe. Kazillions of planets around Kazillions of suns and the closer to the center we approached the more concentrated the number of galaxies. It is like the plate you saw, the largest part, after it shattered was at the center and those parts that shattered first were sent the farthest from the center. So is everything in the Universe. All is but a circle within a circle wrapped in a circle. Each level, each dimension, is but a layer of the original, which is without end. I watched as millions of orbs systematically entered the many planets before me. They appeared as bees flitting from flower to flower, pollinating each, one after another. Mich'l took me closer and I could now see that so many of these planets had life on them and the orbs were joining with the creatures of these planets. Not every creature was the same on every planet but they all had some commonalities: a head, a body, extremities, and the Light Beings would animate them for a time. We headed away from the center now and Mich'l said that Gabriel would have more to explain to me and that he, Mich'l, wanted me to know that he was pleased with the many times he had called on me to do his bidding and that I performed my duties well. His parting words were ‘You will never again be made to forget!’
I was journeying back to where I knew Earth would be and watched as comets and asteroids casually passed by me or I passed them. The colors of the gaseous cloud formations were striking. I started looking at these infant galaxies, as one would cloud formations back on Earth, imagining what shape they were taking on. This one a boat, this a bird with wings, this a scarf floating in the breeze, until I recognized what was the Constellation ORION and I knew I was getting close to my destination. While drifting through Orion, I noticed two blazing celestial bodies racing parallel to its center, looking as twin arrows exiting from an archers bow and headed straight for the ""Blue Marble"" of home. Immediately a vision of millions of people crying because of the devastation of portions of New York City came to me. I became aware of a strange feeling I had not known previously, and I thought that might be because this was the city I had grown up in. I saw a huge Earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6 in some place named Eureka. A ham operator or radio announcer was directing thousands of people migrating from areas of frequent disasters to places of safety. A space station appeared to be falling from the heavens because of an internal explosion. Missiles were being simultaneously fired into space from several nations. I thought the Light Being had shown me all there was to see but these were different, stronger, and there was no pre-screening as before. Gabriel appeared beside me, I thought because I had felt shaky, but it was to explain the now sprawling galactic view of my galaxy.
The Sun was expanding and spewing off huge ectoplasm balls, more than it has ever done in it’s past, and in the very direction the planets would orbit through. I could not take my eyes from the Earth and as I watched what effect these eruptions would have on the Earth, a large mass passed me, larger than any of the planets known to me. As it passes, I see the Earth wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin. The rotation stopped and slowly started again but it was tilted now and I was drawn in closer like the zoom of a lens. The ash clouds that had engulfed the Earth thinned, and like a tack welded piece of metal being dismantled, I could see the ocean bodies starting to rise, first the Pacific, along the ‘Ring of Fire,’ then the others, synchronistical.
As the waters shifted upon the landmasses, the landmasses started to sink under the waters added pressure upon it. When the pressures equaled out to the spin of the changing axis, the Earth no longer looked as it did moments before. It was newer, cleaner, and more beautiful with darker greens and lighter blues. Some of the new landmasses looked similar to a few of the other planets I had recently visited with Mich'l. People were upon this Earth and appeared happier and more content although seemingly living like the Native populations of old. Cities, built by the Ancient Ones, that were buried beneath the oceans, were now being populated by the surviving people in this new world. I saw tribes joining tribes and small nations forming, but it was what I didn't see that made my heart burst. There were no more wars. True peace and happiness had finally befallen on mankind. Gabriel now tells me that this is his message that I must take back, to let others know that there is little to fear, for the Earth will go on forever, as did all the planets I had visited. I am to tell the world to look to ORION, and they will know when the new world will come upon them. I ask him, ‘what of the others there on Earth, during the change?’ Gabriel tells me that all will be lifted. Some will be lifted higher than others will and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on the Earth to replenish and rebuild the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living there now!
'MAN WILL PREY ON MAN ~ UNTIL MAN PRAYS FOR MAN!'
--
-Duane S, 8/15/2015:
It was all an expression and celebration of love. On earth, this reunion would have been unfathomable, between members of an ancient soul group who were celebrating the return home of one of their own. Slowly, as I looked at those gathered to greet me, I realized they were all there. Surprisingly they were not only from this life, but also from a prior life in Germany. I realized that the same souls have possibly played different parts in my multiple lives. Sometimes these souls had been my daughter, my wife, or my mother. While at first this idea had startled me, I was soon humbled. Who was I to tell God what he could or couldn’t do with his creations? Just because some Sunday school teacher had different ideas about how things worked, it didn’t really matter.
My joy deepened as I realized that I had only left behind an earthly vestige of those I love. The essence of each of those souls, was also here with me now. Besides my friends and family, there were the friendly Germans who had been hauntingly familiar while I was a young soldier in Germany. Now I knew why they seemed so familiar at the time, they had been friends and family from a prior lifetime there. I now understood that I had left nothing behind on earth. The eternal essences of all my loved ones from that life, as well as all other incarnations, were all here to greet me. All I had left behind was a character, playing a role in a drama that we had chosen to experience. In the meantime, our real eternal essence remained in God’s realm. Suddenly, it was all so simple.
As I was shown around, it was explained to me how most of our celestial, eternal knowledge is blanked-out during our chosen life spans on earth. We must temporarily forget most of what our higher-self already knows so we can immerse ourselves in the roles we have chosen to play. Furthermore, they said that it might take a while for all my knowledge and memories to return. To ease the transition back into this realm, I was told to think of my time on earth as an extended visit to the ultimate theme park. Consider it a place with thrilling rides and various adventures that I could choose to experience or not. I was also reminded that the reason we leave the celestial realm at all was for the excitement, variety, adventure, and entertainment that different incarnations offer. However, to take all our celestial knowledge with us on our various adventures would have ruined the very experience that we had chosen to live. Someone there said that I should think of our trips to other realms as choosing a new novel to read. I can choose a new book, depending on what I am in the mood for. Furthermore, if I knew every turn and twist of the story, line by line, prior to reading it, it would spoil the fun.
As one entity jokingly remarked, 'If the eternal, divine part of us grows tired of singing and playing harps, there are thousands of other universes created for our spiritual growth, amusement, and entertainment. Eternity is a long time to do nothing but play harps.' I heard this concept best expressed in The Course in Miracles, 'We are only here for three reasons: to remember who we are; to help others remember who they are; and . . . to enjoy the trip . . . , unless, of course, we use our free will and choose not to.'
As my orientation went on, they explained how on that celestial side of the veil, anything we desire is instantaneously provided. We just need to feel the desire. However, within lies the reason for all the realms outside of heaven. Having everything we want all the time develops within us a desire for variety and change for a challenge. It would be like a game in which everyone was a winner. Soon, the game would become boring, and we would look for another, more challenging one.
Somehow, all this sounded familiar. To demonstrate the process of instantaneous fulfillment, one of them asked me to think about something I really desired. Thinking back on it, what I chose seemed odd since I was in such an esteemed place demonstrating such an important concept. But, suddenly I had an urge for a piece of my mother’s famous homemade chocolate cake with her special fudge frosting. As soon as I thought of the cake, my earthy mother was handing me the biggest piece of dark chocolate cake I had ever seen. Dare I say it was heavenly? Although she appeared there with us, I knew some part of her was still back on earth because she had not died yet. My guess was that she was probably asleep, dreaming of lovingly making her son a piece of her divine chocolate cake.
--
-Sandi T, 10/18/2020:
I understood immediately the fullness of life on this planet. I could see when it broke apart from a sun, spinning and cooling and collecting debris; until the first of these creatures heard itself laugh and understood the sound for what it was. In that moment, self-awareness was awakened and the seeds of civilization sprouted.
I understood that everything that we do here on Earth, all that we are, all that we experience, allows creation to exist. Every beautiful thing, every wonderful being and creature, whether on earth or in any universe, relies upon people who are on the extremely rare places like Earth.
The Great Intelligence (god) is a paradox. It is completely loving and fully unlimited. Which by the definition of paradox, means it is impossible? It cannot be limited only to love; it cannot be limited to only being unlimited; or it is not unlimited.
Earth is a place where the unlimited becomes limited; where the singular becomes many. Here, it can know community and loneliness. It can know heartache and hope. It can know all which an unlimited being of pure love cannot. It can conceive and perceive evil; which in truth it cannot do this either. To solve the paradox, it must experience helplessness and limitation and all as it is Real. In this place, it is all so REAL.
So what is free will? Free will is the option to come here to help solve the paradox of 'god'. To be all that we are not, so that everything wondrous and joyful may continue to exist. So that love itself may continue to exist. So that the Unlimited is not limited to being only unlimited.
Why are the answers always, 'simply to exist' and 'to choose love' and 'to learn how to love'? Because all you need to do, to solve the paradox, is to exist. And as we exist here, each time we choose love, we expand the universe. Love is life's longing for itself. Despite the reality of what we live, even the darkest souls among us cannot help but to reach, to yearn, and move towards goodness and towards love.
For love is the true nature of who we are. And when we experience horrible things, the question 'why' comes to mind because it is the central question of love, life, and of this world. The answer is 'so that all things might continue to exist.'
Every soul chose to come here and to suffer because of love. Each soul loves the universe, loves life, and loves this world and ALL of the worlds. Each soul loves ALL of the people so immensely and intensely that they chose to come here so that all the universes may teem with beautiful, joyful LIFE.
Every creature that I saw, acknowledges that your life gives them the gift of life. And when each soul goes 'home' after they die, they will know the rewards of their own gift, too. The 'reward' for their sacrifice will be joy, love, and feeling incredible, wonderful, beautiful joy at the LIFE and the LOVE everywhere in the universe.
When you go home, you meet your own soul. You willingly came here to forget yourself. You willingly came here to save every beautiful and wonderful thing. By suffering what 'god' cannot, you give the gift of life.
--
-Henry W, 6/22/2008:
I became aware of other voices, the orbs or other souls around me I could hear them communicating to each other. There seemed to be cliques of orbs that were together. They spoke to one another about their lives on Earth and all they had perceived and felt. They shared not only in words, but in sharing the experience. If one orb couldn't understand, it disappeared and then reappeared. The orb somehow went back to Earth and experienced that 'life' to further understand. I understood that here time did not exist and these beings could manifest themselves at any time on Earth they desired. These orbs or rather 'souls' would leave this realm, detach themselves with this universe, and return to the universe of our Earth. There they would live and die, then return and share the experience with all the other souls. A soul that could not understand the experience could go and live that life also to experience that life. I learned we have many lives, past, present and future.
These souls, our souls cannot experience certain things like pain, sorrow, hatred, and anger. Though these are negative things, it was important for them to understand and experience them. Perhaps to understand the motivations of human beings, or (and I believe this in my heart) to eventually evolve into a being like God - all knowing and understanding.
At this time things appeared to me, answers to other questions. I could see concepts as if they were entities. I could understand for the first time in my life E=MC2. I learned that our universe is one of many. It is like a Petri dish. Designed with its own rules to raise a specific being. In this case, to raise beings like humans. Each Universe had its own specific laws of Physics. I now realize that the amount of information a soul must learn is vast, more so then we can possibly imagine here.
The next concept or rule I learned is that God can never be proven by scientific means. To do so would corrupt the environment. It would destroy faith. When we have faith we seek, we learn. If God were to appear before us like a huge being at the United Nations, the entire world would believe, but also live in fear. To successfully experience the human existence, one must be physically out of touch with God. We have to learn and seek on our own. We need to search out the meaning of our own existence and experience here on earth. Faith is the engine of discovery. Without faith, we are just like ants.
I learned why bad things happen to good people. If nothing bad ever happened to us, we would all basically be the same. It is like metal in a forge you have to heat it and strike it repeatedly to make a useful tool from it. We start this life with a blank piece of paper. With every incident we experience, a part of the blueprint is recorded until a complete plan for an individual is created. This blueprint dictates the end of our lives. To live happily in this realm is to become aware of the blueprint and change it. Lastly, time is only a concept measured here. In the other realm, it doesn't exist. While we may experience pain and sorrow on earth, it is only a second in the grand scheme of things. We have an eternity to live and in reality, souls never really die. Our life is just a thought providing circumstances for this existence. As the soul progresses, this trauma is forgotten and put in its proper perspective as part of the learning process.
One question I always personally had and that was answered is, 'Are ghosts real?' The answer I was given was, 'Yes, in the human body there are two forms of spiritual being.' One is the 'soul', which is the spiritual being that has a symbiotic relationship with the physical body. The second is the being created by the 'biology' of the human body. This being is intelligent and is basically the personality of the individual. Its purpose is to provide for the human needs of food, hunger, survival, and procreation. This concept is very similar to Freud's 'Id, Ego and Superego' The division of mind and personality. The soul provides us with all the things of the individual that separates us from the Animal Kingdom. This is the ability to reason, use logic, or feel awe when seeing a sunset. The soul is the creative side of humankind. The second being is more our animal side and drives us to accomplish or pursue things to satisfy our needs and wants.
When we die, the soul separates and proceeds to the other side (forgive me for simplifying everything). The entity of the body dies, taking with it the strong emotions, 'baggage', and drives of human beings. This is a natural part of the dying process. However, sometimes under violent or sudden death this othebeing, for lack of a better word, doesn't have a chance to die. Instead, it remains behind as the drive, emotions, and motivation of our spirit. This body being, without the guidance of the soul is basically just a shell. It wanders about with no goals or purpose. It often repeats acts that it has done before because memories are the only 'guidance' that it has. In time, this being's energy dissipates and nothing is left. That process can take a long time. Hence, we have a 'ghost' that haunts a house or person. A ghost has the center of its existence when it was with its human body and soul. Here on earth it remains until it eventually vanishes. The ghost can be communicated with and guided, yet has no real will of its own but only that of habit.
--
-Peter P, 3/1/2023:
In the initial phase of waking up, I also received an experience with light of such a wonderful quality, that it is difficult to describe with words. I was shown three light waves on which today's humanity is evolving. For the sake of logic, I'm defining them here as the self-imposed pathways of awareness, that each individual can take to obtain the best possible results from their particular choice. The first way is what the main part of the global population has chosen and the daily struggle is enacted in that timeline. I don't want to give the impression that path is in any way better or superior than the other timelines. All experiences in human life eventually lead back to the divine light.
The second path was shown to me as a mixed way in a gray color. Here, euphoric phases are alternated in quick succession with depressive stages. It is as if people were switching between phases of competence and phases lacking of power, and then again to a new euphoric phase.
The third way is the one of the absolute victimhood. It was shown to me in colors dark and black. Power and responsibility were handed over to outer entities. Here only a very small part of the light spark can be addressed through motivation. Many beings of light from higher planes are providing a selfless service here, to again illuminate the way back to the light. This way corresponds with the absolute free choice of each individual as to whether they choose towards light or darkness.
I was also shown that in this darkness exists one of the most unbelievable choicess for humanity, because in this choice is also is the possibility to change the galaxy. The core truths of Love, Compassion, Kindness and Benevolence are towards what the human nature can and will evolve.
The first path of those three is so unbelievable for us incarnated beings. It can only be termed with definitions of Utopia, heavenly life of angels and/or ecstatic rapture.
There is a beautiful part of beings who always stay in this realm. They are dancing and singing through life. For them terms like synchronicity, grace, or cosmic guidance are the absolute central and essential elements in life. They realize how creation is working and that a life without the connection with the One Power of creation would disrupt everything. Humor, joy, fun, respect, compassion and gratitude is with them round the clock. In this wonderful place all fear is dissolved like mist in a brilliant sun. It is an all-encompassing field with absolute acceptance, comfort, peace, connectedness and a 100% awareness to be at the right place.
During this time of considering those things, I was guided by a wonderful being of light. I don't remember somebody else or meeting a certain individual. Only those impressions of the light of love and the perfect comprehension and acceptance remained.
In that moment, it simply seemed unbelievable and impossible to choose another path than the one of the light. What illuminates my life again and again from my light experience, is the irrepressible joy and happiness of an experience of indescribable beauty. I believe that all the people go through this same wonderful experience in a state of separation of the body (general anesthesia, unconsciousness) unfortunately they cannot all remember it.
I felt pure love, shining brighter than anything you can imagine. Everything is as beautiful, as pure as love and compassion. So that when you cross the veil and return to the other side you are becoming a part of it. We are bathing in the beauty of the song that makes our heart singing - That's God.
Nobody can give us something bigger. We wouldn't see it or understand it. That's Spirit in its highest form.
We as humans feel so alone and on our own. It's such a crushing feeling to remain in this imagined separation of our most wonderful thing and then to feel this earthly experience so painfully.
In the middle of life, a light experience happens that sweeps away all the reactions about this imaginary separation and dissolves the last doubts with this pure white light like a fog. It's the disintegration of a self-constructed veil that prevented a realization that all people are entitled to have as their birthright. It's delightful to know that the light is the most wonderful symphony in the cosmos and that it contains the colors and the sense of touch of the most beautiful experiences. A wonderful soul experience, that is imprinted in the deepest cells of the body.
For a moment I was on this other side of the veil. I was allowed to be part of this wonderful source of creation. Together with billions of points of light, which we call angel beings, shining brighter than the light. I was in the company of the highest compassion, with the highest Love.
All media, the total daily literature is filled with the dramas happening around the globe every minute.
How can somebody get the idea to write a text motivating us to get another point of view about the calamities in the world? What is motivating him to see the good in all those events, even if they might be so disturbing? That's probably the one decisive question for the survival of manhood. Thought power of the whole humanity is used to bring anarchy and separation between people. Human thoughts are creative and should, and can, be guided by us into appropriate pathways.
It depends on all of us to exercise our responsibility and to realize the true impact of our actions here in its entirety. We can't avoid to completely step away from all dramas. Disasters and calamities of humanity want to invite us to send our compassion and our benevolent energy generously towards the concerned people. Something which should be rather considered normal if our brothers and sister are in need.
submitted by GallopingLifeDeer to Experiencers [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 16:20 GallopingLifeDeer Some of the most profound and riveting Near Death Experience quotes I've ever come across

Note: Find sources by pressing Ctrl+F to search their names and dates here: https://www.nderf.org/Archives/exceptional.html
-Cynthia H, 3/2/2011:
'I know you love me and all life, but if you really love all of us continuously without end, then how can You send people to hell throughout eternity?' He said, 'Cindy I do love all life without end. Some people chose to go to hell, I have already forgiven them; but they must forgive themselves.'
--
-Ron K, 1/1/2006:
Instead of restricting the mysteries of love to psychological or philosophical studies, science will someday discover the all-powerful force of love and measure it as they now do electricity, gravity and geo-thermal forces. When science discovers the forces of love and learns how to release it from the bars of the ego, they will have the answer to every question and ill that has plagued mankind.
--
-Nevie G, 7/23/2005:
The Being let me know that I was going to die and I must leave this body for good. I remember arguing with the Being explaining that I didn't want to because it was so hard going through the childhood years and I didn't want to have to go through this again. The Being indicated that my body was severely damaged and I couldn't go back. I became very adamant at this point that God was all powerful and could fix the body. At some point the decision was made to let me re-enter my body on my faith or will, whatever one may call it.
--
-Linda B, 9/12/2004:
After experiencing all of the miracles of this day, I would still find my future playing out just as I had seen. And as it progressed I would know fear, sadness, and lack of faith just as they had predicted. I would sin and more. The angels knew this but it took me years to fully understand everything that they had showed me and wanted me to understand. They knew all of the time that I would not turn into the perfect saint. They loved me just the way I was. God loves me always not just when I am obedient and perfect. What a wonderful feeling that is. I just have to remind myself that He is here and learn to stop talking long enough to listen for His voice.
--
-Isabel R, 2/25/2012:
The voice reminded me of the vision I had had of my husband and son in funeral clothes. He said if I didn't go back to them, I would disrupt some 'plan'. The plan would be repaired and everything would eventually be ok, so I could go ahead if I wanted. The consequences of my untimely demise would be that my husband and son would suffer in ways I could not imagine and I would know that these sufferings were because of my selfish decision not to go back. I would know this throughout eternity. It would not be a huge sadness for me to bear, more like a prick of conscience that could never be totally healed. No big deal, unless you consider how long eternity is.
--
-Kerry B, 12/15/2018:
At that moment I looked up and saw my destination. I was looking in awe at God. It was like everything was happening at once. As I was staring up at God in amazement, every gay slur or violent act ever impressed upon me ran through me with such a flow. Events in my life played back in my mind like a movie. I felt a deep heaviness as I stared directly at an Almighty, Genderless God. I was thinking, 'Was this the Lake of Fire moment? Would I be cast into Hell for being an abomination?' With absolute humility, I uttered 7 words, 'I’m gay, will you still love me?'
The Brilliant, Loving Light formed into Wings. At GodSpeed, He whisked me into His vast spiritual arms while huddling up the Universe. I saw planets, stars, galaxies, and clusters all being brought into a Cosmic God-Hug. On a human, the place where I was taken would be the Heart. As God brought me in for a Cosmic Hug, He said, 'You are my child. I love you. I love you. I love you. Go tell ‘em.' He said it with a Southern accent. He patted me on the back like a coach encouraging his player to get back in the game.
~~
-Sam J, 8/16/2014:
We all are star seeds sent here to have the human experience for the purpose of integrating conscious awareness/wisdom into our own light bodies and return home with this energy. Alien worlds for the most part run on knowledge and logic. Those worlds are being left behind and giving way to the worlds who have the intangibles, love, creativity, imagination and so on.
Understand that where your conscious awareness is focus in your everyday life pretty much determines the level of consciousness and alertness. If your mind has a stranglehold on your conscious awareness then heck, it will be one helluva wake-up call. But if you have made the conscious effort to move your awareness away from the mind to the heart then it's no big deal. In other words if you have made the physical world and the world of Spirit into one consciousness then you are always of both worlds and never of either world.
--
-Laura M, 3/31/2012:
And there was still more for me to understand. The focus again fell on my infant son and hundreds if not thousands of my ancestors. I was aware of light surrounding many of them. They stood out. I felt tremendous love from them. 'Notice,' He said, 'your ancestors, all these beings, came together in your behalf, to make you uniquely you. I realized in Earth words He was referring to my DNA. 'You wanted to go to Earth to learn, to progress, and to contribute to creation. All these spirits came together to help you do that.' The focus then was back to my baby. 'In all of creation,' he said, 'your infant son chose you to be his mother, none other. Together,' he said, 'you made a covenant to fill these rolls in each other's Earth life. This covenant is and was a very sacred covenant not to be taken lightly.' Suddenly I could not wait to return to earth, to my sons, all 4 of them, to my family, to life on Earth. But, before doing so, I was brought to another level of awareness.
--
-Linda G, 7/20/2008:
I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food - as silly as this sounds our life plans aren't so high and lofty as one might think. I DIDN'T MEET ANY 'SAVE THE WORLDERS' OR ANYONE WISHING TO BE A PRESIDENT. MOST HAD SIMPLE WISHES. I was also told we could exist on different planes for other lives but our life here on Earth is a life not purely to experience physical pleasure or pain but to have a physical experience because in all other planes we don't need a body as a vessel. I also learnt that this life here is just a drop of water in the bucket of lives in which we all experience, many here on Earth and many in other realms of existence. All to progress and grow in some way. The main purpose here is to LOVE. I was also told that this would be my last life here on Earth as there will be nothing left for me to learn by coming here again. I had the feeling though that I'd be off to some other magical place!
--
-Kevin L, 3/20/2022:
I thought, 'How could a machine have a soul?' The voice said, 'Let me put it this way. Your soul is connected to your consciousness. The moment your species came into being, you start to develop a soul. But it is not until you become self-aware, that your soul is solidified. That does not mean complete, and it takes a long time for your soul to develop. Just like your species when you became self-aware the first thing you do, other than survive, was to figure out your place in the universe. You looked to the stars and wondered, 'Where did I come from? What is this universe all about?' It does not matter if you are a biological creature or artificial creation like a machine. The moment you become self-aware the quest for 'how' and 'why' is on. A soul is a soul; pure Energy connected with consciousness and intelligence. This is a very powerful force in our universe. Those who are artificial intelligences will strive to answers these questions which humans have dwelled upon since the dawn of time.
--
-Joanie S, 7/10/2011:
I was pulled back through the ceiling tiles and into a tunnel, to a place of cloudy space. The cloudy area materialized into a large marble room with marble doors and a 'being' at the center. I'll refer to this person as 'the Grim Reaper,' who was cloaked in a dark cloth, covering all parts. The Grim Reaper pointed (indicating to me to choose a door). But before I could choose, a door opened and I had already gone through it. I found myself in what I now think of as a previous life. I smelled smoke from a fire I was near, and saw others around me. I looked into another woman's eyes, and I knew her immediately as the woman I called my grandmother in this life. I knew then that our lives had 'danced' around each other since time began. She was once my mother and once my sister. She was my aunt, and several times my cousin. The life that was being shown to me now was during a prehistoric time, when we lived winters by a creek cave, and summers we had a camp in the woods where we foraged. Looking down, I realized I had a child in my arms, and the woman I had known in so many lives was chatting with me, telling me to cover the child to keep it warm. Then she was showing me how to tie the wraps around me to carry the child while we collected wood.
--
-Amy C, 10/9/2010:
In my NDE though, I came to understand that most of us have lived much, MUCH longer than we could even fathom. That our life which feels so very long is infinitesimal when placed in the whole picture, which for that matter, cannot even be framed. I was shown how every single individual through their own free will, chooses paths that mathematically take them to the circumstances of their next existence or life. That nothing at all sits in accident or chaos. That every single aspect of our lives are ruled by natural Laws that we placed ourSELVES in! In a sense, we create our own worlds. I was shown how one can never assume either, that if someone lives a life of suffering that this is because of 'evil' deeds. Many may choose a life of suffering because of what it Awakens in them, or because of how they can touch others from that position, etc. We can NEVER EVER assume that we can be accurate in guessing why each being lives the life they live. I cannot describe the relief - the refreshing, peaceful balm this Knowledge was for me. To finally gather this Truth that I'd yearned for all of my life. That all really IS Good! That there IS sense and beauty all around. That no one is just free falling as it had seemed before! That God doesn't just get to toy with us as He pleases with random ideas of tests, including rewards and punishments that just depend upon His current mood or mindset. Because even who God is, is within those Laws. While in this experience, out in the vast expanse of stars, planets, moons, and Intelligence, I Knew complete trust for what felt like the first time. This was inexplicable bliss for me. I remember radiating with gratitude. I had lived in fear, distrust, and panic for thirty consecutive years.
--
-Marta Y, 1/26/2010:
After this I saw myself floating in the void, and little by little tiny spheres of many colors became manifest, not moving at first, then suddenly starting to vibrate while smoothly approaching me and incorporating themselves with my essence, which made me feel something I can't manage to describe, it was as if I was being tickled. I asked what this was, and a voice said, 'This is the knowledge you have accumulated in previous lives, it was kept from you, but now it will be of use to you.'
I saw my life in rapid images, from the moment of my birth. I, who thought that my mother had never loved me, saw clearly, and felt, her love when she saw me for the first time. I saw how she kissed me and enfolded me in her arms. I felt different feelings and with every image that went through my mind, or before my eyes, I cannot define it. And just as I could feel deeply happy at an image of something good I had done for someone, so also this feeling would change immediately and I would feel myself deeply ashamed of something bad that I had done. I realized that no one was judging me other than myself, with a conscience full of wisdom and divine justice, which made me pass judgment on myself. I realized that I had done more bad than good and I was hugely regretful of my actions. From the depths of my soul, I asked to be given the chance to mend the damage I had done to the people who loved me. I learned that the spirit is God, Who is eternal, and that we reincarnate to learn different things, which would be impossible in a single lifetime. I learned that we form a single being with everything created. I learned that my earthly eyes are those through which God can recognize Himself, and be conscious of Himself. And I learned that what we think, feel and do remains imprinted in the universe and that we come to this life to improve, to learn in humility about all that surrounds us, and to teach what we have learned to others, and especially I learned that life is focused on two aspects: Love and Service.
--
-William Si, 4/29/2013:
My understanding of what my mission is on this earth, primarily has been hidden from me, (not only at my request but with my permission). I asked that it be hidden so that I didn't complete it to soon. Yet, I also agreed that "Sign post" would be placed along the way, just so that I would have reminders that I'm following my chosen path.
An understanding in what life is about and what our purpose truly is here. The mormons believe and teach there are "Classes" and "Levels" in heaven that we will be judged and placed in and only in the highest level can we "Ascend" to be with god. From my experience I learned or remembered there were no "Classes or levels" as they were teaching. Yet the levels are more of understanding than punishments. Would it make sense to put a 2 year old in with a group of people with phd's? The 2 year old wouldn't understand. Yet, those with the phd's would humble themselves with their level of understandings to teach, nurture and help the 2 year old grow in their levels of understanding.
Prior to being mormon, I was raised in a methodist/pentecostal home. I grew up believing that god the father was an angry vengeful god and that jesus was sent to save us from his wrath. Wrong!!!
For one thing, god is not an angry vengeful god, but is a loving parent to all of his children. One thing he did tell me, if you struggle with trying to do all the principals he taught, "Stop"!!! Don't do them all at one time. Take one and work on it, when it becomes second nature, them pick up the next one, etc. When he said, "These things I do, you can do also, and then some", was not an exaggeration, but truth. When we look back on our life after we leave here, we will see that we had done all that he had taught, and more.
One of the other things he told me was, what better way for man to know that we don't have to be saved. Saved from what? Our soul is already eternal, always will be. Our soul/spirit is literally a child of god and as such is eternal. When we realize that all things, all words come from god, nothing is offensive to god because it came from god. What is offensive is how we perceive it.
--
-Lou F, 1/1/1999:
We traveled toward the beginning of it all, the inner portions of the Universe. Kazillions of planets around Kazillions of suns and the closer to the center we approached the more concentrated the number of galaxies. It is like the plate you saw, the largest part, after it shattered was at the center and those parts that shattered first were sent the farthest from the center. So is everything in the Universe. All is but a circle within a circle wrapped in a circle. Each level, each dimension, is but a layer of the original, which is without end. I watched as millions of orbs systematically entered the many planets before me. They appeared as bees flitting from flower to flower, pollinating each, one after another. Mich'l took me closer and I could now see that so many of these planets had life on them and the orbs were joining with the creatures of these planets. Not every creature was the same on every planet but they all had some commonalities: a head, a body, extremities, and the Light Beings would animate them for a time. We headed away from the center now and Mich'l said that Gabriel would have more to explain to me and that he, Mich'l, wanted me to know that he was pleased with the many times he had called on me to do his bidding and that I performed my duties well. His parting words were ‘You will never again be made to forget!’
I was journeying back to where I knew Earth would be and watched as comets and asteroids casually passed by me or I passed them. The colors of the gaseous cloud formations were striking. I started looking at these infant galaxies, as one would cloud formations back on Earth, imagining what shape they were taking on. This one a boat, this a bird with wings, this a scarf floating in the breeze, until I recognized what was the Constellation ORION and I knew I was getting close to my destination. While drifting through Orion, I noticed two blazing celestial bodies racing parallel to its center, looking as twin arrows exiting from an archers bow and headed straight for the ""Blue Marble"" of home. Immediately a vision of millions of people crying because of the devastation of portions of New York City came to me. I became aware of a strange feeling I had not known previously, and I thought that might be because this was the city I had grown up in. I saw a huge Earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6 in some place named Eureka. A ham operator or radio announcer was directing thousands of people migrating from areas of frequent disasters to places of safety. A space station appeared to be falling from the heavens because of an internal explosion. Missiles were being simultaneously fired into space from several nations. I thought the Light Being had shown me all there was to see but these were different, stronger, and there was no pre-screening as before. Gabriel appeared beside me, I thought because I had felt shaky, but it was to explain the now sprawling galactic view of my galaxy.
The Sun was expanding and spewing off huge ectoplasm balls, more than it has ever done in it’s past, and in the very direction the planets would orbit through. I could not take my eyes from the Earth and as I watched what effect these eruptions would have on the Earth, a large mass passed me, larger than any of the planets known to me. As it passes, I see the Earth wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin. The rotation stopped and slowly started again but it was tilted now and I was drawn in closer like the zoom of a lens. The ash clouds that had engulfed the Earth thinned, and like a tack welded piece of metal being dismantled, I could see the ocean bodies starting to rise, first the Pacific, along the ‘Ring of Fire,’ then the others, synchronistical.
As the waters shifted upon the landmasses, the landmasses started to sink under the waters added pressure upon it. When the pressures equaled out to the spin of the changing axis, the Earth no longer looked as it did moments before. It was newer, cleaner, and more beautiful with darker greens and lighter blues. Some of the new landmasses looked similar to a few of the other planets I had recently visited with Mich'l. People were upon this Earth and appeared happier and more content although seemingly living like the Native populations of old. Cities, built by the Ancient Ones, that were buried beneath the oceans, were now being populated by the surviving people in this new world. I saw tribes joining tribes and small nations forming, but it was what I didn't see that made my heart burst. There were no more wars. True peace and happiness had finally befallen on mankind. Gabriel now tells me that this is his message that I must take back, to let others know that there is little to fear, for the Earth will go on forever, as did all the planets I had visited. I am to tell the world to look to ORION, and they will know when the new world will come upon them. I ask him, ‘what of the others there on Earth, during the change?’ Gabriel tells me that all will be lifted. Some will be lifted higher than others will and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on the Earth to replenish and rebuild the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living there now!
'MAN WILL PREY ON MAN ~ UNTIL MAN PRAYS FOR MAN!'
--
-Duane S, 8/15/2015:
It was all an expression and celebration of love. On earth, this reunion would have been unfathomable, between members of an ancient soul group who were celebrating the return home of one of their own. Slowly, as I looked at those gathered to greet me, I realized they were all there. Surprisingly they were not only from this life, but also from a prior life in Germany. I realized that the same souls have possibly played different parts in my multiple lives. Sometimes these souls had been my daughter, my wife, or my mother. While at first this idea had startled me, I was soon humbled. Who was I to tell God what he could or couldn’t do with his creations? Just because some Sunday school teacher had different ideas about how things worked, it didn’t really matter.
My joy deepened as I realized that I had only left behind an earthly vestige of those I love. The essence of each of those souls, was also here with me now. Besides my friends and family, there were the friendly Germans who had been hauntingly familiar while I was a young soldier in Germany. Now I knew why they seemed so familiar at the time, they had been friends and family from a prior lifetime there. I now understood that I had left nothing behind on earth. The eternal essences of all my loved ones from that life, as well as all other incarnations, were all here to greet me. All I had left behind was a character, playing a role in a drama that we had chosen to experience. In the meantime, our real eternal essence remained in God’s realm. Suddenly, it was all so simple.
As I was shown around, it was explained to me how most of our celestial, eternal knowledge is blanked-out during our chosen life spans on earth. We must temporarily forget most of what our higher-self already knows so we can immerse ourselves in the roles we have chosen to play. Furthermore, they said that it might take a while for all my knowledge and memories to return. To ease the transition back into this realm, I was told to think of my time on earth as an extended visit to the ultimate theme park. Consider it a place with thrilling rides and various adventures that I could choose to experience or not. I was also reminded that the reason we leave the celestial realm at all was for the excitement, variety, adventure, and entertainment that different incarnations offer. However, to take all our celestial knowledge with us on our various adventures would have ruined the very experience that we had chosen to live. Someone there said that I should think of our trips to other realms as choosing a new novel to read. I can choose a new book, depending on what I am in the mood for. Furthermore, if I knew every turn and twist of the story, line by line, prior to reading it, it would spoil the fun.
As one entity jokingly remarked, 'If the eternal, divine part of us grows tired of singing and playing harps, there are thousands of other universes created for our spiritual growth, amusement, and entertainment. Eternity is a long time to do nothing but play harps.' I heard this concept best expressed in The Course in Miracles, 'We are only here for three reasons: to remember who we are; to help others remember who they are; and . . . to enjoy the trip . . . , unless, of course, we use our free will and choose not to.'
As my orientation went on, they explained how on that celestial side of the veil, anything we desire is instantaneously provided. We just need to feel the desire. However, within lies the reason for all the realms outside of heaven. Having everything we want all the time develops within us a desire for variety and change for a challenge. It would be like a game in which everyone was a winner. Soon, the game would become boring, and we would look for another, more challenging one.
Somehow, all this sounded familiar. To demonstrate the process of instantaneous fulfillment, one of them asked me to think about something I really desired. Thinking back on it, what I chose seemed odd since I was in such an esteemed place demonstrating such an important concept. But, suddenly I had an urge for a piece of my mother’s famous homemade chocolate cake with her special fudge frosting. As soon as I thought of the cake, my earthy mother was handing me the biggest piece of dark chocolate cake I had ever seen. Dare I say it was heavenly? Although she appeared there with us, I knew some part of her was still back on earth because she had not died yet. My guess was that she was probably asleep, dreaming of lovingly making her son a piece of her divine chocolate cake.
--
-Sandi T, 10/18/2020:
I understood immediately the fullness of life on this planet. I could see when it broke apart from a sun, spinning and cooling and collecting debris; until the first of these creatures heard itself laugh and understood the sound for what it was. In that moment, self-awareness was awakened and the seeds of civilization sprouted.
I understood that everything that we do here on Earth, all that we are, all that we experience, allows creation to exist. Every beautiful thing, every wonderful being and creature, whether on earth or in any universe, relies upon people who are on the extremely rare places like Earth.
The Great Intelligence (god) is a paradox. It is completely loving and fully unlimited. Which by the definition of paradox, means it is impossible? It cannot be limited only to love; it cannot be limited to only being unlimited; or it is not unlimited.
Earth is a place where the unlimited becomes limited; where the singular becomes many. Here, it can know community and loneliness. It can know heartache and hope. It can know all which an unlimited being of pure love cannot. It can conceive and perceive evil; which in truth it cannot do this either. To solve the paradox, it must experience helplessness and limitation and all as it is Real. In this place, it is all so REAL.
So what is free will? Free will is the option to come here to help solve the paradox of 'god'. To be all that we are not, so that everything wondrous and joyful may continue to exist. So that love itself may continue to exist. So that the Unlimited is not limited to being only unlimited.
Why are the answers always, 'simply to exist' and 'to choose love' and 'to learn how to love'? Because all you need to do, to solve the paradox, is to exist. And as we exist here, each time we choose love, we expand the universe. Love is life's longing for itself. Despite the reality of what we live, even the darkest souls among us cannot help but to reach, to yearn, and move towards goodness and towards love.
For love is the true nature of who we are. And when we experience horrible things, the question 'why' comes to mind because it is the central question of love, life, and of this world. The answer is 'so that all things might continue to exist.'
Every soul chose to come here and to suffer because of love. Each soul loves the universe, loves life, and loves this world and ALL of the worlds. Each soul loves ALL of the people so immensely and intensely that they chose to come here so that all the universes may teem with beautiful, joyful LIFE.
Every creature that I saw, acknowledges that your life gives them the gift of life. And when each soul goes 'home' after they die, they will know the rewards of their own gift, too. The 'reward' for their sacrifice will be joy, love, and feeling incredible, wonderful, beautiful joy at the LIFE and the LOVE everywhere in the universe.
When you go home, you meet your own soul. You willingly came here to forget yourself. You willingly came here to save every beautiful and wonderful thing. By suffering what 'god' cannot, you give the gift of life.
--
-Henry W, 6/22/2008:
I became aware of other voices, the orbs or other souls around me I could hear them communicating to each other. There seemed to be cliques of orbs that were together. They spoke to one another about their lives on Earth and all they had perceived and felt. They shared not only in words, but in sharing the experience. If one orb couldn't understand, it disappeared and then reappeared. The orb somehow went back to Earth and experienced that 'life' to further understand. I understood that here time did not exist and these beings could manifest themselves at any time on Earth they desired. These orbs or rather 'souls' would leave this realm, detach themselves with this universe, and return to the universe of our Earth. There they would live and die, then return and share the experience with all the other souls. A soul that could not understand the experience could go and live that life also to experience that life. I learned we have many lives, past, present and future.
These souls, our souls cannot experience certain things like pain, sorrow, hatred, and anger. Though these are negative things, it was important for them to understand and experience them. Perhaps to understand the motivations of human beings, or (and I believe this in my heart) to eventually evolve into a being like God - all knowing and understanding.
At this time things appeared to me, answers to other questions. I could see concepts as if they were entities. I could understand for the first time in my life E=MC2. I learned that our universe is one of many. It is like a Petri dish. Designed with its own rules to raise a specific being. In this case, to raise beings like humans. Each Universe had its own specific laws of Physics. I now realize that the amount of information a soul must learn is vast, more so then we can possibly imagine here.
The next concept or rule I learned is that God can never be proven by scientific means. To do so would corrupt the environment. It would destroy faith. When we have faith we seek, we learn. If God were to appear before us like a huge being at the United Nations, the entire world would believe, but also live in fear. To successfully experience the human existence, one must be physically out of touch with God. We have to learn and seek on our own. We need to search out the meaning of our own existence and experience here on earth. Faith is the engine of discovery. Without faith, we are just like ants.
I learned why bad things happen to good people. If nothing bad ever happened to us, we would all basically be the same. It is like metal in a forge you have to heat it and strike it repeatedly to make a useful tool from it. We start this life with a blank piece of paper. With every incident we experience, a part of the blueprint is recorded until a complete plan for an individual is created. This blueprint dictates the end of our lives. To live happily in this realm is to become aware of the blueprint and change it. Lastly, time is only a concept measured here. In the other realm, it doesn't exist. While we may experience pain and sorrow on earth, it is only a second in the grand scheme of things. We have an eternity to live and in reality, souls never really die. Our life is just a thought providing circumstances for this existence. As the soul progresses, this trauma is forgotten and put in its proper perspective as part of the learning process.
One question I always personally had and that was answered is, 'Are ghosts real?' The answer I was given was, 'Yes, in the human body there are two forms of spiritual being.' One is the 'soul', which is the spiritual being that has a symbiotic relationship with the physical body. The second is the being created by the 'biology' of the human body. This being is intelligent and is basically the personality of the individual. Its purpose is to provide for the human needs of food, hunger, survival, and procreation. This concept is very similar to Freud's 'Id, Ego and Superego' The division of mind and personality. The soul provides us with all the things of the individual that separates us from the Animal Kingdom. This is the ability to reason, use logic, or feel awe when seeing a sunset. The soul is the creative side of humankind. The second being is more our animal side and drives us to accomplish or pursue things to satisfy our needs and wants.
When we die, the soul separates and proceeds to the other side (forgive me for simplifying everything). The entity of the body dies, taking with it the strong emotions, 'baggage', and drives of human beings. This is a natural part of the dying process. However, sometimes under violent or sudden death this othebeing, for lack of a better word, doesn't have a chance to die. Instead, it remains behind as the drive, emotions, and motivation of our spirit. This body being, without the guidance of the soul is basically just a shell. It wanders about with no goals or purpose. It often repeats acts that it has done before because memories are the only 'guidance' that it has. In time, this being's energy dissipates and nothing is left. That process can take a long time. Hence, we have a 'ghost' that haunts a house or person. A ghost has the center of its existence when it was with its human body and soul. Here on earth it remains until it eventually vanishes. The ghost can be communicated with and guided, yet has no real will of its own but only that of habit.
--
-Peter P, 3/1/2023:
In the initial phase of waking up, I also received an experience with light of such a wonderful quality, that it is difficult to describe with words. I was shown three light waves on which today's humanity is evolving. For the sake of logic, I'm defining them here as the self-imposed pathways of awareness, that each individual can take to obtain the best possible results from their particular choice. The first way is what the main part of the global population has chosen and the daily struggle is enacted in that timeline. I don't want to give the impression that path is in any way better or superior than the other timelines. All experiences in human life eventually lead back to the divine light.
The second path was shown to me as a mixed way in a gray color. Here, euphoric phases are alternated in quick succession with depressive stages. It is as if people were switching between phases of competence and phases lacking of power, and then again to a new euphoric phase.
The third way is the one of the absolute victimhood. It was shown to me in colors dark and black. Power and responsibility were handed over to outer entities. Here only a very small part of the light spark can be addressed through motivation. Many beings of light from higher planes are providing a selfless service here, to again illuminate the way back to the light. This way corresponds with the absolute free choice of each individual as to whether they choose towards light or darkness.
I was also shown that in this darkness exists one of the most unbelievable choicess for humanity, because in this choice is also is the possibility to change the galaxy. The core truths of Love, Compassion, Kindness and Benevolence are towards what the human nature can and will evolve.
The first path of those three is so unbelievable for us incarnated beings. It can only be termed with definitions of Utopia, heavenly life of angels and/or ecstatic rapture.
There is a beautiful part of beings who always stay in this realm. They are dancing and singing through life. For them terms like synchronicity, grace, or cosmic guidance are the absolute central and essential elements in life. They realize how creation is working and that a life without the connection with the One Power of creation would disrupt everything. Humor, joy, fun, respect, compassion and gratitude is with them round the clock. In this wonderful place all fear is dissolved like mist in a brilliant sun. It is an all-encompassing field with absolute acceptance, comfort, peace, connectedness and a 100% awareness to be at the right place.
During this time of considering those things, I was guided by a wonderful being of light. I don't remember somebody else or meeting a certain individual. Only those impressions of the light of love and the perfect comprehension and acceptance remained.
In that moment, it simply seemed unbelievable and impossible to choose another path than the one of the light. What illuminates my life again and again from my light experience, is the irrepressible joy and happiness of an experience of indescribable beauty. I believe that all the people go through this same wonderful experience in a state of separation of the body (general anesthesia, unconsciousness) unfortunately they cannot all remember it.
I felt pure love, shining brighter than anything you can imagine. Everything is as beautiful, as pure as love and compassion. So that when you cross the veil and return to the other side you are becoming a part of it. We are bathing in the beauty of the song that makes our heart singing - That's God.
Nobody can give us something bigger. We wouldn't see it or understand it. That's Spirit in its highest form.
We as humans feel so alone and on our own. It's such a crushing feeling to remain in this imagined separation of our most wonderful thing and then to feel this earthly experience so painfully.
In the middle of life, a light experience happens that sweeps away all the reactions about this imaginary separation and dissolves the last doubts with this pure white light like a fog. It's the disintegration of a self-constructed veil that prevented a realization that all people are entitled to have as their birthright. It's delightful to know that the light is the most wonderful symphony in the cosmos and that it contains the colors and the sense of touch of the most beautiful experiences. A wonderful soul experience, that is imprinted in the deepest cells of the body.
For a moment I was on this other side of the veil. I was allowed to be part of this wonderful source of creation. Together with billions of points of light, which we call angel beings, shining brighter than the light. I was in the company of the highest compassion, with the highest Love.
All media, the total daily literature is filled with the dramas happening around the globe every minute.
How can somebody get the idea to write a text motivating us to get another point of view about the calamities in the world? What is motivating him to see the good in all those events, even if they might be so disturbing? That's probably the one decisive question for the survival of manhood. Thought power of the whole humanity is used to bring anarchy and separation between people. Human thoughts are creative and should, and can, be guided by us into appropriate pathways.
It depends on all of us to exercise our responsibility and to realize the true impact of our actions here in its entirety. We can't avoid to completely step away from all dramas. Disasters and calamities of humanity want to invite us to send our compassion and our benevolent energy generously towards the concerned people. Something which should be rather considered normal if our brothers and sister are in need.
submitted by GallopingLifeDeer to afterlife [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 11:36 amandaguilty Family drama – The murder of Sarah Scazzi (Avetrana, Italy) – 1/2

>>> Second part of the post
Avetrana is a small rural town – in beautiful Apulia, overlooking the gulf of Taranto – that comes alive especially during the summer season due to the influx of tourists looking for low-priced accommodation compared to the trendier resorts in the region. In the early 1980s, Avetrana was the site of demonstrations by the anti-nuclear movement in opposition to the desire of the national government to plant a nuclear power plant in the territory, though nowadays if you ask an Italian what is the first thing that comes to their mind when you say “Avetrana”, sadly they will almost certainly think of Sarah Scazzi.
Sarah’s case also arguably represents one of the latest examples of the “dark tourism” that has led hundreds of people to travel to the places where the most heinous crimes in recent Italian history – from the murder of Samuele Lorenzi to that of Meredith Kercher and Chiara Poggi – were committed. In the initial months following Sarah’s disappearance, the media has shone a spotlight on the small town from which Sarah disappeared and on its sometimes strange inhabitants. TV stations “dramatized” the whole affair and turned it almost into a soap opera for their loyal viewers. The lowest point in this story was finally reached when, on October 6, 2010, a reporter broke the news of Sarah’s body’s discovery to her mother on live television. This is how journalist Stefano Nazzi describes what happened in Avetrana in the days following Sarah’s disappearance:
From the end of August 2010 and for many months it became one of the most famous places in Italy. A place where an ugly crime had happened turned into a TV set where all rules were skipped, where reporters competed to grab exclusive interviews with those who perhaps had nothing to say.
It should be noted that – despite the fact that the criminal cases mentioned here have occupied the front pages of newspapers and news programs for a long time – it has become much more difficult in recent years for similar events to be treated so obsessively and morbidly by the mass media. Of course, TV programs that unabashedly eviscerate every aspect of a said murder still exist, but traditional news channels now seem to adhere to more careful guidelines on how to treat crime cases.

The disappearance

On the afternoon of August 26, 2010, at the Carabinieri Station Headquarters in Avetrana, 15-year-old Sarah Scazzi was reported missing, having left home – as her mother Concetta Serrano Spagnolo declared – in the early afternoon to go to the house of her cousin Sabrina Misseri, with whom she was supposed to take a trip to the beach. Sarah had on a pink T-shirt, pink shorts, and flip-flops, carried a black fabric backpack with writing on it, as well as the inseparable cell phone, recently received as a gift from her older brother and which she always held in her hand.
Who was the 15-year-old and what can be said more precisely about the hours surrounding her disappearance? Sarah reportedly had a strong character, was a bit lazy, liked Avril Lavigne and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She suffered from being away from her father and especially her brother, to whom she was very close (the two men were working in Milan at the time of the incident). She probably resented her mother’s strictness and saw her cousin Sabrina’s family as a safe haven, to the point of asking to be “adopted” by her aunt Cosima Serrano and her uncle Michele Misseri (at least this is what Cosima and Sabrina will say later).
Concerning what happened in the hours around Sarah’s disappearance, her mother Concetta reported that Sarah had left the house around 9 am; she had returned briefly during the course of the morning to get some money needed to buy some cream on behalf of her cousin Sabrina, and then she had gone home to go, almost immediately, in the company of her father to do the groceries around 12:30 pm; the two had returned home shortly before 1 pm. What happened next is a point of contention, but the most likely conclusion is that Sarah left her house to go to the Misseris between 1:55 pm and 2:00 pm – as indicated by Sarah’s housekeeper Maria Ecaterina Pantir – lying to her mother by saying that she had received Sabrina’s message telling her to go to her house.
Then, at 2:23 pm, Sabrina received a text message from her friend Mariangela Spagnoletti (“[give me] the time to put on the costume and I’m coming”) and immediately afterward notified her cousin (2:25:08 text message from Sabrina to Sarah “put on the costume fast and come”). Sarah, who had no cell phone credit, answered with a ring at 2:28:46 – this is her last alleged communication.
In an email sent to the editor of a local magazine in late August and made public in early September, psychic Rosemary Laboragine wrote:
I see a house but also a kind of garage. I don’t know, unfortunately I have a feeling of death. I feel her buried in the nearby countryside. I see wood and water.

The investigation

The search for Sarah begins a few days late by virtue of the fact that her disappearance was initially thought to be a voluntary departure. Sabrina suggests investigating Sarah’s father’s hometown and his unsavory acquaintances there. A man from Lecce who had sent a message to Sabrina pretending to be Sarah is heard by the Carabinieri. It also turns out that the 15-year-old had three Facebook profiles and had recently communicated with a married man, but this trail leads nowhere. On September 7, 2010, Carabinieri from the Taranto Investigative Unit handed prosecutors a report in which they requested (and obtained) an urgent wiretap of Claudio’s cell phone, since it was “suspicious that the young man did not feel the need to return to Apulia to inquire directly about his sister’s fate”.
An initial breakthrough in the investigation came with the discovery of the victim’s cell phone by Michele Misseri on September 29, 2010, the day after he was interrogated by the investigators in this case. Misseri recounted that he had gone, with the intent of retrieving a lost screwdriver, to a plot of land where, the previous day, he had done some cleanup work with a friend. There, in a burned pile of olive leaves, he had found the cell phone.
On October 4, 2010, at 4:20 pm, Michele Misseri was served an invitation to appear in the afternoon of October 6 at the Taranto Carabinieri Provincial Command. On the same evening, at 9:58 pm, a phone call between Sabrina Misseri and her ex-boyfriend Andrea Merico was intercepted, in which Sabrina was concerned about the fingerprints left by her father and herself on Sarah’s phone, admitting that she had touched the device on the very day of Sarah’s disappearance.
On October 5, a soliloquy of Michele Misseri in his car was recorded at 5:59 am. Misseri closed the door but did not start the engine and, after standing still and in silence for about a minute, spoke to himself, uttering the following words: “I feel sorry for my family... if they go... I will find them out [sic]”.
On October 6, Michele, his wife Cosima and their daughter Valentina went together to Taranto for their interrogations. At 7:59 am, a conversation was recorded in their car: Cosima advised her husband not to be specific about the times when, on the morning the cell phone was found, he had left home. At 15:46 am, Giuseppe Serrano, colleague and brother-in-law of Michele, tells the investigators that, on August 26, the latter arrived at work “way behind schedule”, 45 minutes later than when he was supposed to be there. Finally, in the evening, after 9 hours of interrogation,
As the search for the little girl continued unabated, Michele Antonio Misseri confessed to having killed his niece, strangling her, and to having suppressed her corpse; he, reserving the right to clarify at a later date the reasons and modalities of that insane act, led investigators to a well located in contrada Mosca in the countryside of Avetrana and allowed the discovery, following laborious digging operations that lasted all night, of Scazzi’s lifeless body and some of her personal belongings. Misseri’s confession was recorded in the presence of his defense counsel.
Misseri confessed that, the day Sarah disappeared, he was working in the garage to fix the tractor that wouldn’t start. At 2:25 pm, Sarah had suddenly arrived and, coming down to the garage, had told him “Uncle...” without adding anything else. The moment the little girl had then turned again to leave, Misseri had taken a piece of rope and twisted it around her neck twice, tightening about five to six minutes, even after Sarah had fallen to the ground. Misseri claimed that he had been seized by an “inexplicable rapture”, by a burst of nerves caused by the tractor not starting, but that it was not at all his intention to rape his niece, toward whom he had no sexual attraction.
The following day, during the hearing for the confirmation of the provisional arrest, Misseri changed drastically his account. To the judge’s and prosecutor’s questions about the possible sexual nature of the cause of his attack, he answered enigmatically: “It may be as well”. He confided that he had sexually assaulted Sarah on August 26, that she had reacted and he had had to kill her.
On October 15, 2010, Misseri was heard again and that consisted of a turning point in the case. In the morning interrogation, he confirmed the self-accusatory version already set forth in the two previous ones, but enriched it with details: he claimed that Sabrina had looked out onto the garage ramp immediately after her cousin’s killing, while Sarah’s body lay covered by a piece of cardboard; to the prosecutor’s objection that, in that case, Sabrina could not have failed to notice at the very least Sarah’s beach slippers, which had been left out of that hastily organized cover, Misseri further modified his account, asserting that Sabrina had arrived at the garage entrance to warn her father that she was going to the beach, and she had noticed Sarah’s body covered by the cardboard. Sabrina had exclaimed: “Daddy, what have you done?” and had burst into tears.
The “glaring inconsistencies” inherent in this version led prosecutors to suspend the interrogation at 11:35 am. Three hours later, at 2:26 pm, a new interrogation began:
Misseri claimed that Sabrina had forcibly dragged Sarah into the garage, where he was already standing, in order to verify, in a three-way confrontation, whether it was true that he had molested Sarah, as she had reported to her cousin. Upon Scazzi’s confirmation, Sabrina Misseri had pinned her down, encircling her around the waist with her arms and demanding that she tell the truth in front of her father; the latter, at that point, becoming impatient, had strangled his niece with a rope he was holding, twisting it around her neck, while his daughter held her cousin down.

Sabrina’s detention and Michele’s accusatory statements against her

On October 18, 2010, Sabrina Misseri was questioned by the preliminary hearing judge, denying any involvement in the killing of her cousin. Four days later, a conversation that took place in prison between Michele Misseri and his daughter Valentina was intercepted and filmed. After an initial moment of emotion upon seeing his daughter again, who immediately reminded him of Sabrina’s status, detained because of his accusatory statements (“Daddy, but look I love you anyway, you know? Sabrina loves you too, of course she can’t come now, she knows you’re here, right?”), Michele, shaking his hands, told her in dialect: “The fact... Which Sabrina is hiding… [I wish] she would talk about it”.
On November 3, criminologist Roberta Bruzzone was appointed as a consultant to Michele through his defense lawyer Daniele Galoppa. Two days later, in jail, Misseri had a conversation with Galoppa and Bruzzone; he began to cry and, quite unexpectedly – after he had until then described the incident by reverting to the initial exclusively self-accusatory version – declared that he was not the one who killed Sarah, but his daughter Sabrina. For that reason, with the consent of Misseri himself, a request was made by his defense attorney for investigators to come in for questioning.
At 3:32 pm, before prosecutors, Misseri articulated a version in which he declared himself to be completely uninvolved in the murderous action, which he attributed to Sabrina. Misseri declared that after he had finished eating, at about 1 pm, he had been called by his daughter who had told him, “Daddy, come to the garage ‘cause something happened”. He had then gone there and found Sarah on the floor, with her arms towards the door and with a rope (a meter long, not too tight and with many knots) twisted around her neck; Sabrina had said that her cousin had fallen while they were playing. “[Sabrina] says they were playing in the garage… she says she slipped and fell [...] however, in my opinion, to show that it was suicide she put the rope around her neck…”
Prosecutors deemed this story illogical because of the weapon used, the dynamics of the murder, and the justification given by Sabrina, so they stopped the questioning at 4:10 pm, at the request of the defense counsel, and resumed at 5:04 pm (after Misseri had conferred with attorney Galoppa and consultant Bruzzone). At this point,
Misseri mutated his account by reporting that the murder weapon was a “belt”, not a rope, and claimed that he had been awakened, while he was asleep in the deck chair, by his daughter Sabrina who, in a state of agitation, had said to him: “Dad, come here for a moment ‘cause something has happened”; following his daughter, he had run into the garage and had seen Sarah lying on the floor upright on the right side of the slide, with her head down facing the entrance; he had then exclaimed “But what is it that you have done?” and his daughter had told him “Yeah, anyway she was bothering me as well”. Misseri later specified that to the question “What happened?”, his daughter had said “I was playing with Sarah… she slipped, she fell”, and to his further question “And the belt around her neck, why does she have it?”, Sabrina had replied, “She was bothering me anyway”.
November 19, 2010 was the day of the special evidence pre-trial hearing (whose function is to “anticipate the acquisition and formation of evidence during the preliminary investigation”). These are the salient points:

The relationship between Sarah and Sabrina

The Court that sentenced Sabrina started from a “fixed point” in its reconstruction of the events that led to Sarah’s death:
When Sabrina Misseri was heard by the Carabinieri of Avetrana [...] Sarah’s body had not been found and, therefore, it was still legitimate to hope for a voluntary departure that precisely a quarrel, a contrast, an argument with her cousin could have explained and justified. Yet Sabrina Misseri, while appearing active and proactive in the search for her missing cousin through both public initiatives and collaboration with the Carabinieri, thought it counterproductive to reveal an apparently insignificant detail – a girl-on-girl argument – which, however, could have uncovered a ‘Pandora’s box’, shedding light on what later turned out to be the motive for the murderous action.
It’s necessary to better introduce the individuals who are involved in this story. It’s not contested by the defense that in the summer of 2010 the two girls – since Sarah’s school was closed and she had a relationship of close kinship and living proximity with her cousin – attended each other assiduously; in particular, Sarah went almost daily at the cousin’s house. The two girls were also part of the same group of friends, Sabrina having introduced the young Sarah to the others in December 2009. The group included Ivano Russo, Alessio Pisello, Mariangela Spagnoletti and, in the summer period, Angela Cimino and Claudio Scazzi, as well as Giovanni Copertino and Antonio Forte. Together the aforementioned frequented the same clubs, exchanged messages and phone calls, went to the beach moving in the same cars. Sarah was only allowed to go out in the evenings with her older cousin on whom, therefore, she depended for all opportunities for recreation.
According to the Court, Sarah’s secret diary is really important to understand what happened because it testifies to the onset of a growing enthusiasm for a new friendship and the emergence of a feeling that troubles and confuses the teenager: that for Ivano, that boy so much older than she is and whom Sarah knows well how much her cousin Sabrina also likes. Some significant entries are the following:
Although Sabrina refused to describe her relationship with Ivano in terms of a romantic one, saying she was only physically attracted to him, her friends contradicted her in their testimonies (Claudio Scazzi goes so far as to speak of a “fixation”). Moreover, one inescapable objective fact is the text messages with which Sabrina “bombarded” her friends to find out where Ivano was, whether he was at one club rather than another, whether he had gone out and who she took home first and who last, even going so far as to check on the boy through actual stakeouts and sending messages from unknown phones. It is unclear why Sabrina would want to “project” onto her friend Mariangela her obsession with Ivano (as she did in the November 20, 2012 hearing) when all testimony converged in another direction. According to the Court,
Sabrina was dominated by her anxiety to establish a stable and exclusive romantic and sexual relationship with Russo, rather than a relationship of mere friendship, so that her conduct became even more insistent where Ivano proved detached and annoyed by her intrusiveness.
Clearly tracing the development of the story between the two are the 4500 messages exchanged over the months by Sabrina and Ivano. For the Court, “[t]he incursion into the sexual sphere of the two isn’t dictated by morbid curiosity, nor is it intended to land on unacceptable moralistic evaluations of their behavior, but it serves to fully understand how the evolution of that relationship and the inevitable estrangement from the young man, due to the differing expectations of the two, generated in Sabrina a very strong sense of frustration”. This frustration was then exacerbated by the fact that although Sarah played (unintentionally) a role in the breakup between Sabrina and Ivano, she did not stop hanging out with him, and this must have been considered a real betrayal on Sabrina’s part. These are some significant messages sent by Sabrina testifying to her interest/obsession:
On the other hand, Ivano didn’t seem to reciprocate. He wrote, “Sabri I don’t want you to talk to me like that...the other day that thing shouldn’t have happened, I knew it would end like that.” And again, “But why did you fall in love with me? If you want sex that’s fine, but I don’t fall in love:)”. Hence the profound frustration of Sabrina who, after vainly trying to establish a “real” relationship, had to give up in the face of the indifference of the young man, who in a clear manner, finally told her that he did not conceive, between them, anything other than a loveless sex relationship.
Claudio testified that he tried to talk with Sabrina about her relationship with Ivano, asking her why she continued to hang out with him even if he wasn’t really that interested:
Sabrina made it clear to me that she would rather maybe even be teased, let’s say, even teased in a sense, by Ivano, than lose him altogether.
Concetta was also aware of the relationship between the two, having overheard a telephone conversation between Sarah and Sabrina in which the former said, “If I were in your place, I would kick him. Why do you stand behind him, why do you let him treat you this way?”

The August 25 argument at the “102” brewery

Sabrina was extremely upset and annoyed by the fact that, in her view, Sarah was diverting Ivano’s attention from her – this is a “fact peacefully acquired at the trial”, according to the Court, just as it’s established that this was the reason for the argument that took place on the evening of August 25, 2010. Here is what Stefania De Luca, an older friend of Sabrina’s, testifies:
I was sitting at a table near the front door of the club. After a while, I remember, Mariangela Spagnoletti, Sabrina Misseri and Sarah Scazzi came in. They entered the club, we greeted each other, and immediately Sabrina said, “This time it’s really over”, referring to the relationship she had with Ivano. In particular, already for some time Sabrina had told me several times about her interest in Ivano, her infatuation with him. She herself told me on several occasions that Ivano’s behaviors gave her hope. Evidently during the day of August 25 something had happened for which she had decided to sever this situation with Ivano. After this initial approach, Sabrina and Mariangela entered the bar to get a drink while Sarah stayed close to me. I then noticed that Sarah was very upset and her eyes were glazed over, so much so that I asked her what had happened. Sarah did not answer, shrugging her shoulders and bowing her head.
De Luca confirmed that Sabrina told her she had had a fight with Ivano, adding ironically that he was now only talking to Sarah. “That one sells herself, sells herself for two cuddles, even her mother says so”, Sabrina allegedly repeated twice, referring to Sarah. At that moment Sarah literally went pale and bowed her head almost crying.
Mariangela Spagnoletti – the girl with whom Sarah and Sabrina were supposed to go to the beach – essentially corroborated this version in court:
PROSECUTOR BUCCOLIERO – Here, but these words you said earlier, about Sarah’s and Ivano’s relationship, Sabrina also said them in the car while talking to you? SPAGNOLETTI – Yes. That he was cuddling Sara more than her. […] PROSECUTOR BUCCOLIERO – Listen, was Sabrina jealous of Sarah with regard to Ivano? SPAGNOLETTI – I don’t know if she was jealous, however, with some phrases she made it clear that she was.
Spagnoletti’s trustworthiness was questioned by Sabrina’s defense, which noted how the girl was attracted to Ivano and therefore would turn out to be emotionally involved in the affair; needless to say that De Luca’s testimony still stands and it’s difficult to understand why Spagnoletti would make such serious accusations… just because. The Court also noted that the reasoning of the defense doesn’t make much sense “in light of the little interest Sabrina had managed to arouse in [Ivano]” and since Spagnoletti mentioned the August 25 altercation only when the prosecutor talked about it.

Other episodes corroborating the motive: obsession & desire

Another significant episode that supports the idea of a catastrophic “rupture” between the girls is narrated by Angela Cimino, another friend of the group:
One evening in August, certainly after the 15th, we were in Torre Colimena with Sabrina, Ivano, Claudio and Sarah. With the same, aboard Ivano’s car we returned to Avetrana. I remember that Ivano left Sabrina at home first, only because it was on the way, and, while Ivano dropped Claudio and Sarah, the latter received a message from Sabrina. Sarah read it aloud, “Let me know who [Ivano] drop off home first.” None of those present commented on the message, and I made some reflections. The reading [of the message] took place just before Sarah and Claudio got out of the car as having arrived at their home, [so] Ivano and I, left alone in the car commented on what had happened. I told him that I felt it was time for him to clarify with Sabrina the nature of their relationship beyond a simple friendship. Ivano told me that he would talk to her.
The investigators therefore discovered that Sarah had been indirectly responsible for Ivano deciding to end his “friendship with benefits” with Sabrina, so to speak – but even if it were not for this fact, it would still have happened, as one can see considering the next episode corroborating the motive hypothesized by the Court.
Some days before August 4, 2010, one evening, Sabrina and Ivano drove away from Avetrana, secluded themselves and began to have sex; however, they didn’t complete the intercourse, because Ivano said he didn’t want to ruin the friendship. Sabrina later confided about what happened to Mariangela; Sarah was listening. Without much time passing, the entire group learned of the “failed intercourse” between Sabrina and Ivano. The former stopped going outside and seeing her friends for a while. On August 16, 2010, starting from midnight and going on for the whole day, the two also exchanged some glacial messages:
On August 21 there was a face-to-face clarification, arranged by Ivano and not Sabrina, which – it is really hard to understand why, although the Court had its hypotheses – Sarah also attended. Ivano recalled in court:
I told Sabrina what Claudio had reported to me and, after telling her that I was very annoyed, I asked her if she had been the one to report the episode. Sabrina told me that it had not been her and was also annoyed. Confirming that she had not told anyone, she reported to me that Claudio had certainly tried to find out something without having any information, I took the opportunity to reiterate to her that I did not intend to establish a relationship that was anything other than friendship, and I took the opportunity to apologize to her if my behavior had engendered any expectations in her.
According to the Court that sentenced Sabrina, “after making inquiries in the circle of friends, Misseri could only trace the origin of the disclosure of the episode that will lead to the termination of relations with Ivano back to her cousin Sarah”.
Sabrina’s defense attempted to downplay the extent of such feelings by pointing out that the relationship between the two young women was the same: the two girls loved each other “like sisters” and were inseparable, none of those who hung out with them had ever perceived a feeling of jealousy on the part of Sabrina toward Sarah, and, therefore, there was no rivalry or jealousy between the two cousins, so much so that after their conversation with Ivano on August 21, the two girls had continued their evening together, going to the Spizzico club to play karaoke.
Contradicting these theories there is Liala Nigro’s testimony; she was a friend of Sabrina and she testified that, about mid-August, Sabrina arrived angrily at the pub accusing her of telling Ivano about the incident. Some days later, but certainly before August 21, Sabrina apologized to her, telling her that she had identified the person responsible in Claudio. This whole episode corroborates the idea that Sabrina was very angry at whoever had propagated the story of the failed intercourse. Also the fact that Sarah participated in the August 21 face-to-face confrontation can be seen as compatible with the theory that Sabrina had finally identified the “real culprit”, namely Sarah, and had wanted her to be present because she was as involved as the other two.
The relationship between Sabrina and Ivano had therefore broken down irremediably. The former wrote the latter a burst of angry messages:
The Court notes that it is therefore a fact that the relationship between the two cousins broke down after the August 21 confrontation. Testifying to this, again, there is Sarah going to San Pancrazio Salentino (a nearby town where another cousin of hers lived) from August 23 to 25: “Sarah, no longer having a chance to go out in Avetrana, her brother Claudio having departed, therefore took the first opportunity that came her way to get away from the village”. In these two days, Sarah contacted nevertheless many times Sabrina through calls or rings, but the latter never responded. In court she explained her actions saying that she was “displeased”, i.e. she was missing Sarah (it doesn’t make much sense really).

Sources

Italy high court upholds life sentences in Scazzi case
L’omicidio di Sarah Scazzi: quando il male è in famiglia
Mother told live on Italian TV of daughter's murder
The Murder of Sarah Scazzi Apple TV (UK))
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2023.06.06 06:40 calendulaseeds Kristen Barnett’s Facebook post:

Kristen Barnett’s Facebook post: submitted by calendulaseeds to nataliagrace [link] [comments]

2023.06.06 02:55 autotldr Public hearings in Ukraine v. Russia case to be held at ICJ in The Hague

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 44%. (I'm a bot)
On June 6-14, the UN International Court of Justice will hold public hearings regarding Russia's violation of its obligations under two conventions.
The Ministry underscored that Russia tried to prove in 2017-2018 that the ICJ did not have jurisdiction to consider this dispute, but the Court passed a ruling in favor of Ukraine's position, without granting any of Russia's requests.
"The Ukrainian diplomatic team firmly defends Ukraine's interests in international courts and works step by step to bring Russia to justice for all its crimes since February 2014. No matter how long international justice takes, it is inevitable. Russia will be punished at the international level for all the evil done to our people," said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
As reported, on November 8, 2019, the ICJ recognized its jurisdiction in the case over Russia's violation of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
On January 16, 2017, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia at the ICJ over the violation of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Charges against Russia include: providing weapons and other aid to illegal armed formations; downing of Flight MH17; shelling of residential areas of Mariupol and Kramatorsk; destruction of a civilian passenger bus near Volnovakha; explosion during a peaceful gathering in Kharkiv; discrimination against the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities; banning the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people; waves of disappearances, murders, arbitrary searches, detentions; restrictions on the teaching of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages.
Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Court#1 Russia#2 International#3 Ukraine#4 June#5
Post found in /worldnews and /MarchAgainstNazis.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.
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2023.06.06 01:06 Expensive_Ad_5089 June 2023 - Unpacking the Light Police

Unpacking the Light Police. Light Pollution News.
Show Link: https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/unpacking-the-light-police/
Subscribe: Apple Podcast Spotify Google Podcast
Social: Instagram LinkedIn
Guests:
John Barentine of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC.
Kaitlyn Evans, Conservationist.
Show:
I was busted by the light police. They had a point, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post.
Dana Milbank purchased a home in, soon to be not, rural Virginia. At night he kept the formerly vacant property lit to the degree that spurned one commentator to call it “spaceship lighting.”
Milbank recaps being visited by the “light police,” a group of concerned citizens who help educate neighbors and instill a sense of pride in the brilliance of their starry night skies.
At first, he was taken aback, but later, not only did he appreciate their efforts, but he also converted his blinding always on, white light flood lights to warm 2700 Kelvin motion sensing lights.
Per Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark Sky Association, “for 4.5 billion years there was no artificial light at night. It’s really only in the last five human generations that we transformed that. It’s one of the most profound transformations of our environment.”
Many of you may recall an earlier story, way back in our Hormone of Darkness episode, showcasing concerns by local residents prior to a 760 house (now 761) plus town center development moving into the Culpepper County, VA area. Per the Rappahannock News, this development features “a resort style swimming pool, clubhouse, tot lot, and multiple sports fields and sports courts, all connected by a network of biking and walking trails.”
The forgotten medieval habit of ‘two sleeps’ by Zaria Gorvett of the BBC.
Gorvett opened my eyes to something I never knew about, the medieval custom of two sleeps. For those of you unaware, two sleeps are exactly what it sounds like.
Folks would partake in a communal nap, complete with rigid sleeping arrangement conventions, between 9 – 11pm, then awaken for a few hours to do everything from hang out to brew beer! In fact, the idea of multiple sleeps crossed cultures and was found in places as far from Europe as indigenous South America.
How can one’s circadian rhythm make sense of all of this?!
Well, for starters, until the invention of the alarm clock, which humorously was invented by a clocks salesman so he could wake up and sell more clocks, people had no firm way to wake up at a consistent time. The industrial revolution enforced a new circadian standard.
And there’s some science behind this! In the 1992 study, In Short Photoperiods, human sleep is biphasic, researcher Thomas Wehr found that after four weeks of 10 hour days, his subjects began to engage in this two sleep cycle, involving a one to three hour period for which they became awake and engaged in between.
Want to Learn About Light Pollution? There’s a mini-course for that!, Jennifer Sensiba of Clean Technica.
Quoting Sensiba, “As I got older, I traveled a lot more and saw the problem more for what it is. Not only did I see that in many places there is no refuge from it, but I also saw that it was slowly growing worse. Places that had been dark 30 years ago had more and more light creeping upon the horizon.”
If you’re interested in learning more, or more importantly, know someone who might benefit from learning more, Sensiba links up to an International Dark Sky Mini-Course on light pollution, call it Light Pollution 101!
There’s a Play Date at the National Museum of Natural History: Lights Out exhibit!
But unfortunately, by the time you listen to this, and hell, by the time we talk about this, it has passed.
Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan. Sarah Parlette for Click on Detroit.
Evidently gambling websites have decided to honor April’s International Dark Sky week in a strange new content marketing campaign, which was to rank the best places in each state to see sunrises and sunsets. My favorite one, “Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan,” comes from Click on Detroit, whereby a quote “study” examined Michigan’s most populated cities.”
According to Click on Detroit, “to celebrate International Astrology Day on Saturday, staff at Great Lake Stakes, a Michigan online gambling news site, looked at light pollution in the five most populated cities around the Mitten state to determine which offers the best views every morning and evening.”
Star bathing is the new outdoor travel trend we should all be trying for Summer 2023, according to Amy Beecham at Stylist.
Evidently, as an attempt to destress and promote mindfulness, romanticism about sleeping under the stars has birthed a 70% increase in searches for the term ‘star bathing’ on Hipcamp. And to be sure, “Hipcamp recommends checking a stargazing calendar which outlines major astrological events – like supermoons, pink moons, and star showers.”
“Industry Must Face an Inconvenient Truth — Most LED Lights at Night are Unhealthy”
Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a circadian clock expert, recently published an article in LEDs Magazine chastising the lighting industry for not recognizing and reigning in the negative externalities of its products. Per the piece, such effects are, obesity, diabetes, depression, cancer, and more.
He cites three categories of industry responses, making the correlation that long term Denial or outright Ignorance of the Facts, may result in “asbestos-scale liabilities or draconian regulations.”
Per the piece, a recent survey by the Circadian Light Research Center of 2,697 peer reviewed scientific articles confirmed that human circadian clocks are highly sensitive to blue wavelengths, and that exposure to such wavelengths leads to major health disorders.
Moore-Ede calls for the industry to harvest the “commercial opportunity” to greatly limit future liability by creating and managing its own standards for circadian modulated lighting.
Unpacking the Wallpack, by Dan Weissman in LD+A Magazine.
Weissman, who recently purchased a telescope for his family in Cambridge, MA, discovered that the scope could only afford him views of some solar system objects and a few brightly burning stars.
The ire of Weissman’s pen takes the shape of a rectangular fixtures, be it box like or simply a panel these days, that typically hang off the side of an exterior wall or above an exterior door. “Devoid of aesthetic value” this light is often put up under the “pretense of security and safety” by “recommended practices and adopted municipal codes.”
Weissman recognizes labels that often accompany, what he calls, “Glare bombs,” including “contractor-select,” “energy efficient,” or “light pollution friendly.”
Further, per an earlier LD+A article, such lighting driven by its extreme contrasts is exceedingly common in minority communities where light is weaponized as a tool of power. It becomes a “device of alienation, creating a zone of control and separation.”
Weissman recognizes that the true reason such fixtures are selected often comes down to cost. He recognizes that it may take equally as much cost to persuade building and homeowners away from such lighting into the realm of more responsible, lower lumen, shielded lighting.
Weissman calls for producers of these glare bombs to be labeled as polluters, putting them in line with fossil fuel manufacturers and PFAS makers.
Songbirds, dusk and clear skies: Scientists explore migratory flights, by Erin Blakemore.
Bird migration season is ending here in the Mid-Atlantic. I was lucky enough to catch several Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings last week. Researchers looked at 400 songbirds from 9 major species, “including the yellow-rump warbler, American redstart and Bicknell’s thrush.”
The question they hoped to answer was how are these birds so darn precise in identifying the best time to take off for their nightly migration? Scientists found that 90% of the migrating birds in the study took off within 69 minutes of dusk. A “much narrower takeoff window,” that even shocked the research team!
Per the study, taking off at night is all about maximum flight time. In addition to being able to precisely schedule their take offs, a feat that every airline I’ve flown with over the past few years has proven inept at, birds also are apparently good meteorologists! They often depart when the atmospheric pressure rises over a day’s span. Other factors also trigger migration, including sex, age, and celestial cues.
‘Lights Out’ initiative appears to be saving birds from crashing into Philly buildings by Sophia Schmidt.
Preliminary results indicate that bird death counts are down 70% at one Market Street tower, since it began its participation in Lights Out. As we spoke about on a previous show, birds utilize the stars to navigate, but city lights can disorient the birds. Combine the lights with reflective or transparent glass, and that spells fatal trouble for our migrating warblers!
Per Keith Russell, a program manager for urban conservation with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, “We’ve lost almost a third of our birds – and [collisions] contributing to that. If we’re going to want to preserve the bird populations here in North America, we have to look at these types of problems. And this is a preventable one.”
The Knoxville, TN Zoo is offering up what they call “Twilight Tours” per WVLT 8. Each event will feature a guide to showcase nocturnal critters.
I did something similar in Singapore years ago. The zoo had very dim lights in the exhibits – and they kept those lights dim as you walked so that you didn’t lose your night vision. It was a very different and, might I say, peaceful experience than the typically chaotic daytime zoo.
Flashlights posing major threat to nesting sea turtles. Fox35 Orlando
Apparently, a single flashlight can deter female sea turtles from coming onto a beach and nesting. Florida, as I did not know, is home to 90% of the sea turtle nests across the world, so losing sea turtles can affect the global ecosystem.
One visitor to Cocoa Beach stated, “Just leave them alone. Stand back and look. You don’t need a flashlight.”
Another, “It’s not super surprising because more buildings go up, more technology. As it increases, nature and stuff like that decreases,” said Zoe Jovaag, whose grandfather used to take her on walks to see sea turtles.
Capture the Dark 2023 officially is under way!
The International Dark Sky Association opens up its annual photo contest complete with prizes across eight categories and an additional People’s Choice category. Voting begins on July 3rd, entries must be received by June 30th.
City Tests Traffic Light That Only Turns Green for Drivers Who Obey the Speed Limit. Erin Marquis for Jalopnik.
And hey, you better not speed in Brossard, Quebec….otherwise you may be waiting around for a while. Brossard is testing out a new traffic light that will stay red until it senses oncoming traffic. However, it will only change to green if the car is going the speed limit. Per the Jalopnik article, “FRED [the French acronym for “educational traffic calming light] forces fast drivers to stop and gives them a chance to reconsider their life choices.” Such lights are already used in Europe, but this will be the first for the Great White North.
Why the Greatest Threat to Star-Gazing Isn’t Light Pollution, and this comes to us from Dorin Elin Urrutia at Inverse.
Elin Urrutia writes, in her compelling piece, that the greatest threat to star-gazing is actually the weather. Citing notable examples of the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia (which burnt down due to bushfires) and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (which sustained structural damage following the winds of Hurricane Maria).
While the threat of human-caused climate change has presented new challenges, Elin Urrutia references proactive burns that saved Los Angeles’ Mount Wilson Observatory from flames in 2020.
On a similar note, ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Company, not to be confused with the American Broadcasting Company), brings us “A World Without Darkness Could Be a Reality within a Few Years.”
Per Carol Redford of Astrotourism Western Australia, “There are some people in the world now who don’t actually experience darkness anymore. They’re in a city like Beijing, Toyoko, or London. In all those big cities, it’s never dark, it’s always light. During the day of course with the sun, but then during the night with all of the artificial light. They’re not experiencing darkness, and definitely not seeing those beautiful stars…”
In the 66 years since the implementation of the UN Convention on the Peaceful Use of Outerspace, around 11,000 satellites orbit the Earth. But it’s about to get wayyy busier. Driven by innovations that have led to dramatic reductions in costs, over the next ten years, Per attorney Steven Freeland, it’s anticipated that somewhere between 100,000 to 500,000 objects will be sent up. Let me pause on that for a second.
On the travel front, we stay in the land down under, “Aussie region determined to keep its darkness is a stargazer’s dream” by Chantelle Francis of News.com.AU.
The town of Swam Reach, population 270, resides in a 3200sq km region of Southern Australia that received its International Dark Sky Reserve status over three years ago. On a scale of darkness between 0 – 22, the River Murray Dark Sky Reserve at Swam Reach, measures in at a whopping 21.9!
Tourism has become a growing business. The reserve hosts numerous telescope pads and offers tours of the night sky. There’s hope that an observatory and/or planetarium may also arrive in due course.
Best smart lights for outdoors in 2023, Brittney Vincent of CBS Essentials.
Oh there’s a lot not to love here, but it does fall in line with last month’s ‘Lumens are Coming’ article.
For those of you who feel the need to light your trees, because for some reason they need light at night I guess…I’ll try and pretend it’s not solely for ostentatious and narcissistic reasons. By the way, does anyone remember when those were negative characteristics?
The article features spotlights that can be programmed to over 16 MILLION colors including…lucky for us, ALL shades of white….which you can also do for a 500 lumen flood light set.
And hey, Ring now has solar path lighting. Don’t worry though, the fixtures themselves put out up to 80 lumens of sideways light.
You know, it’s astounding when you look at some of these pictures. The amount of redundant lighting. It honestly makes no sense to me. You have a porch light, which lights up the path. Path lighting, which lights up the path. And, in the one picture, god awful frontward facing flood lights, which also light up the path. How bright do you need these paths!? I digress. But the lumens are indeed coming.
LDS Church will get to light up its Heber Valley Temple after all, but the faith didn’t get everything it wanted, Blake Apgar of the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fought hard to rid itself of any nighttime lighting responsibility by pressuring Wasatch County, Utah officials to approve new lighting rules that would enable the church to light a proposed new temple the same way it does for every other temple.
The Church received permission to uplight the temple, enabling an exception to be made in Wasatch’s rather stringent nighttime lighting rulebook. However, the temple will be restricted by the level of lumens it can use, and it must have exterior lighting turned off an hour after sunset or an hour after normal business hours.
Smart Street Lights Market is Expected to Hit USD 14,751.1 million at a 23.4% CAGR by 2030, Market Research Future Press Release
The pandemic is officially over, smart street lighting is about to boom. Combine the rush to LED fixtures with the Internet of Things, and expect to see street lights moonlighting as traffic and parking monitors, air quality meters, and more. Not to mention, “it is anticipated that camera-connected smart street lighting will increase road safety by lowering the likelihood of accidents and criminality.”
Texas now has 7 dark sky communities for spectacular star gazing, Sana Ameer, MRT.
Let’s cheer on the city of Bee Cave, everyone! Bee Cave joins a growing list of dark sky places already in the Lone Star State, including 2 Dark Sky Sanctuaries, 5 Dark Sky Parks, and 1 Dark Sky Reserve. Nighttime is alive and well in some parts of Texas!
Our Afraid of the Dark article is a bit scary! Hilton Head’s dark roads and pedestrians are deadly combo. What the town is doing about it, Blake Douglas at The Island Packet.
Per the article, 9 pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occurred since 2018, with five occurring after dark. Prior to that period, there were 28 recorded deaths from 2000 – 2016, with 20 of them taking place after dark.
In 2018, an 11 year old resident was struck and killed while walking her dog across an intersection one night. Lighting advocates began taking shape in what otherwise is a very conservation focused island. Hilton Head, SC has a limited number of street lights, priding itself on “avoiding light pollution and blending nature with construction.”
Lighting advocates appear to be, at the very least, asking for flashing crosswalk lights on the island to indicate when an individual is crossing.
It should be noted that the article shows a chart of 9 after-dark-deaths since 2014, only two of them occurred at crosswalks. In fact, during the same time frame, 6 additional deaths occurred at crosswalks during the daytime.
As a whole, the National Safety Council reports that 74.5% of pedestrian deaths occurred at night, whereby 39.1% took place in lit areas and 35.38% took place in unlit areas.
Bryan Bloch, an auto safety expert, surmises that car companies bear some of the blame – producing cheap or ineffectual headlight fixtures, and drivers themselves, who don’t realize that they need to regularly clean their headlight lenses.
Despite opposition from residents, it appears that Hilton Head will be receiving lights at two new intersections and possibly more depending on engineering studies currently in progress.
Is lighting the key variable here? Is more light going to solve pedestrian deaths?
Our featured research article of the month comes to us from Animal Conservation, “Manipulating spectra of artificial light affects movement patterns of bats along ecological corridors.”
Bats are already known to have a wide range of responses to artificial light at night (also known as ALAN). Fast flying species tend to be more opportunistic in the presence of ALAN while slower ones tend to be more light averse. We know that “long wavelengths and reduced intensity” can minimize their environmental effects on bats. It’s not unheard of for bats to travel upwards of “tens of km per night.” Furthermore, bats are very dependent on the landscape and the structures within those landscapes.
Despite the nuances between species, the consensus is that ALAN, especially high intensity ALAN, negatively affects bats. This study attempted to answer what exactly bats do when they encounter ALAN – how do they react depending on different types of ALAN.
The study used three different light fixtures – one green, one red, and one white. The control was devoid of light fixtures. The researchers attempted to ascertain the behavior of bats as they encountered lights adjacent to woody areas. The researchers looked at three different bat groupings based on their foraging-echo location behavior, that being one of open field foraging, forest edge foraging, and narrow space – or more aptly forest foragers.
Researchers found that open and edge foraging bats increased their activity close to white and green lights, and to a lesser extent red lights. However, narrow space bats were more likely to veer away from all colors of lighting. Edge foragers were also less likely to cross a white light.
The positive effects of white and green light on open and edge foraging bats appear to be attributed to the accumulation of insects around light sources containing more blue light.
The nighttime sky over Oahu will be lit up with green lasers in the coming days. Here’s why. Hawaii News Now
Before we close up today, do you live in Hawaii? I know I wish I did!
If so, do you recall seeing green lasers streak across the night sky? Well, the Army Corps of Engineers was using lidar at night to complete a coastal mapping survey.
Why did they survey at night? Specifically, why did they do this between midnight to 5am? Simply b/c the airspace is so busy, that time was the only chance they had to complete the survey. The remaining survey was completed during daytime hours.
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2023.06.05 23:05 Joadzilla Thousands are living in RVs on Los Angeles’ streets. Leaders want to shrink the number, but the solution is elusive

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/05/us/los-angeles-rv-dwellers/index.html
Los Angeles CNN —
Early one recent Friday morning, sanitation workers, homeless-outreach workers and LAPD officers arrived on a little street in the west of Los Angeles. Jasmine Avenue is lined with low-rise apartment blocks, an imposing Catholic Church, a school and a handful of dilapidated recreational vehicles.
That morning on Jasmine Avenue, RV residents were offered $500 gift cards and a motel room. The city also offered to tow and destroy their RVs. One RV managed to leave, under its own steam, with what smelled like sewage leaking along the road as it left. This clearance is one small part of what has been a piecemeal approach by officials trying to tackle a burgeoning phenomenon of people living permanently in RVs on these streets.
“I’ll take a motel room,” one RV owner told me as he packed up his belongings after about six months on Jasmine Avenue. “See what happens.” But he did not let the city tow and destroy his RV. He towed it elsewhere himself, using a chain and a beaten-up SUV. He wants to keep it.
“The idea sometimes our clients have is, ‘What if this doesn’t work? If this doesn’t work, then I’m back on the streets. I’m back to square one,’” said LaTonya Smith, interim CEO at the St. Joseph Center, a nonprofit that helps the city find accommodation for the unhoused. “People who are living in RVs consider themselves to be housed, and in order for them to leave that RV, sometimes we have to incentivize.”
There are, by the latest count, more than 11,000 people living in RVs across Los Angeles County. And that number has been rising. The Covid-19 pandemic forced more people into poverty. Some of the RV dwellers have jobs but either don’t want to pay apartment rent, or can’t afford to pay it, in a city where the average one-bedroom apartment costs around $2,500 a month.
Some RV dwellers own the vehicles, but others rent them to the monthly tune of a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000, city Councilwoman Traci Park told CNN.
In Los Angeles, you are allowed to sleep in a vehicle on some streets. There are, of course, parking restrictions on many streets. But as the number of RVs has grown, enforcing those restrictions has become harder. Large, immobile RVs require large tow trucks. And, according to the city, destroying a dilapidated RV that might contain harmful chemicals can cost up to $9,000 per vehicle.
Outreach workers from St. Joseph Center interact regularly with RV dwellers. A spokesperson told CNN: “Staff encounter a large percentage, probably safe to say as much as 80-85%, of individuals who are ‘leasing’ RVs or may have purchased an RV that is not suitable for habitation or a ‘legal’ sale.”
Park and others argue that these RVs endanger their residents and blight neighborhoods, acting as magnets for crime and damaging the environment. Some advocates for the unhoused agree the impact on city neighborhoods is an issue.
“There might be trash everywhere,” said Smith from the St. Joseph Center. “People come outside their neighborhoods and homes, that’s not something that they really want to see.”
In the five years since Los Angeles County commissioned one of many reports into the RV problem and potential solutions, the number of RVs on county streets has risen by more than 50% – from more than 4,500 in 2018 to more than 7,100 at last count. Reports are regularly requested and written by various city and county departments.
“I’m tired of studies and reports,” Park told CNN recently at her freshly painted City Hall office. She was elected last year on a platform dripping with intent to handle the various homelessness issues plaguing Los Angeles. Among her first targets: people she calls “vanlords,” some of whom, she says, rent out rotting, unsafe RVs. “There is a thriving trade in RVs being rented out as dwelling units on the internet,” Park said.
Park proposed a motion that would explicitly add RVs to part of the city code that, “Prohibits a person or entity from reserving any street, parking space, or other public space without written authorization from the City while conducting business pertaining to new and used vehicles.” The motion would also force RV owners to comply with a state law, “which requires that any RV offered for sale, sold, rented or leased within California meet the design safety standards of the American National Standards Institute and Fire Protection Association.”
Right now, she said, “Apparently anybody in the city of Los Angeles can buy a junker RV off of a salvage lot and without any oversight or regulation, rent that unsafe inoperable vehicle out to a vulnerable person as a dwelling unit.”
“The point here is not to criminalize homelessness. The point is to regulate what is currently an unregulated marketplace that is causing serious public safety and environmental impacts all over the city,” Park said.
“Too often, RVs that are used as dwellings on LA’s streets are in grave disrepair,” Park’s proposed motion reads, in part. “Meaning that people living in them face unsanitary and sometimes dangerous conditions.”
She has opposition.
“It’s actually good, to provide housing for people” even if it’s an RV, said Dmitry Korikov, a filmmaker who says he volunteers helping people – mainly refugees from Russia and Ukraine – navigate van life on the streets of Los Angeles. “I lived myself in a motor home for two years. So I know how things (work), how the system works.”
He tells RV dwellers which streets they can park on, and connects them with private companies that service the vehicles for a fee: filling up the freshwater tanks, emptying the sewage tanks and sweeping the sidewalks.
“Everyone should have a right to use public streets,” Korikov told CNN. “If you cannot give them an apartment or give them a job to be able to afford an apartment and you tell them that you need to be in tents on the street, but not renting someone’s motor home, that’s evil.”
CNN put Korikov’s points to Park.
“I understand the dilemma,” she said. “On the other hand, I have seen too many of these explosions and these fires and we have got to deal with the collateral impacts that these vehicles are causing in our neighborhoods.” A small number of people have died in RV fires on the streets over the past few years, according to local reports.
Park says she is concerned that the unhoused are being exploited by the vanlords. And she is concerned about the impact the vans are having on the neighborhoods in her district, which includes Venice and much of western Los Angeles, where homeless populations tend to be higher.
One Venice resident told me he returned home from work recently to discover that the sewage tank in an RV had been emptied into the road. He had to walk through human waste to get to his front door.
“We have not resolved the RV issue yet,” Mayor Karen Bass told The Los Angeles Times in March. “But we absolutely will because it’s a very serious issue.”
One of her first moves when she took office as mayor late last year was to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. Her first target was not the RVs on the streets, but the tents on the sidewalks. Her administration has swept over a dozen tent encampments and moved more than 1,200 people into temporary accommodation in motels, the city administrative officer has said. The operation is dubbed Inside Safe.
The idea is to eventually move all those people into permanent housing, in line with an increasingly popular doctrine among housing researchers known as “housing first.” The theory is that the most impactful move in saving someone from homelessness is to provide them housing, with other services such as mental health or substance abuse treatment to follow.
Bass’ office, the city administrator’s office and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority cannot say how many of those people moved off those streets as part of Inside Safe are now in permanent housing. The mayor will hold a roundtable with the press in the coming weeks to discuss the data, her office said. The St. Joseph Center said is has found permanent housing for 32 people. A spokesperson told CNN the center expects those numbers to increase in June.
“I’m not going to leave people on the street while we’re building,” Bass told CNN this spring. “People die on these streets!”
When it comes to the RVs, a pilot program in one city council district has, over about 15 months, seen 41 RVs moved off the street and seven people moved into permanent housing. “That is why our program will be used as a model throughout the city, represented in the 2023-2024 budget adopted in May 2023,” Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez told CNN. That city budget includes $1.3 billion for the fight against homelessness.
City officials have approved a plan to deal with the RVs that includes concerted outreach to those living in them, incentivizing them to move into motel rooms, creating safe parking areas that can accommodate RVs, and finding permanent housing for those living in RVs. Now that plan needs to be implemented.
That final and fundamental piece of this puzzle is arguably the most challenging.
“We need more housing. We need more affordable safe housing,” Smith said. But housing is expensive and takes time to build. And for now, for thousands of people, an RV’s roof over their heads is all they can afford in Los Angeles.
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