Christ’s Second Coming?

Posted on June 14, 2015 by cdsmiller17

Christ’s Second Coming?

What was the purpose of reminding me?
I thought you’d put away those childish ways —
Let’s get it straight: gone are those silly days;
Like it or not, this way, I’m meant to be…
In childhood’s past, my immaturity
Created thoughts, which brought about a haze
On top of my head; because of this phase,
My ego burst its bounds, to set me free…
Enough time took its toil and made me fall:
A new reality then dawned; I knew
Great truths about myself; I wasn’t Christ!
Another ordinary guy, that’s all.
In fact, I never was the Son anew;
No matter what, it’s now gone in the heist…

 

Reincarnation…

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The Dark Side

Posted on June 14, 2015 by cdsmiller17

The Dark Side

Potential darkness lurks within each soul,
Regardless how one feels about the Light;
Omniscience will not come until the goal,
Made manifest in Man, falls into sight.
Each ego strives to help protect its child —
The little personality — intact;
Haphazardly, it flees from something wild,
In case it should be swallowed up, in fact.
Until today, this knowledge has been lost,
So let me make the point so you can see:

Forget your fear; take hold of Life! Its cost
Increases your potential to be free…
Reality requires both me and you —

Each Dark and Light becomes the One from two.

 
Yin Yang

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John Lennon and the UFO

Posted on June 5, 2015 by cdsmiller17

On a Facebook posting today, the Beatles page mentioned an oft-told, but now forgotten, bit of trivia: John Lennon saw a UFO over New York City on August 23, 1974 at 9 o’clock.

Walls and Bridges

Walls & Bridges cover

Most people scoff when they hear that someone has spotted a UFO. “They must be deluded,” is the usual response. “It just cannot be…”

For millions of Beatles’ fans, the opposite response would be: “If John Lennon saw one, they must be real.”

A little note in the booklet from the Walls & Bridges LP told the world what he had seen:

“On the 23rd Aug. 1974 at 9 o’clock, I saw a U.F.O.”

May Pang: Eye-witness

John Lennon UFO sighting

If John had seen it on his own, then one could have assumed that it was the effects of an over-active imagination. But he didn’t see it alone. He was with May Pang, his girlfriend at the time.

“We had just ordered up some pizza and since it was such a warm evening, we decided to step out on the terrace. There were no windows directly facing us from across the street, so John just stepped outside with nothing on in order to catch a cool breeze that was coming in right off the East River. I remember I was just inside the bedroom getting dressed when John started shouting for me to come out on to the terrace.

“I yelled back that I would be right there, but he kept screaming for me to join him that instant. As I walked out onto the terrace, my eye caught this large, circular object coming towards us. It was shaped like a flattened cone, and on top was a large, brilliant red light, not pulsating as on any of the aircraft we’d see heading for a landing at Newark Airport.” May says she and John stood there mesmerized, unable to believe what they were in the process of observing. “When it came a little closer, we could make out a row or circle of white lights that ran around the entire rim of the craft – these were also flashing on and off. There were so many of these lights that it was dazzling to the mind.” (Spellbound, the couple watched the UFO move directly over the building next to where they resided.) “It was, I would estimate, about the size of a Lear jet and it was so close that if we had something to throw at it, we probably would have hit it quite easily.“

http://www.ufoevidence.org/Cases/CaseSubarticle.asp?ID=542

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Jdw4cibPh-U?rel=0

Nobody Told Me

Although John had already been fascinated by UFOs, he started to discuss it with everyone after this sighting. He even included it in a couple of songs. The most obvious reference comes from the album Milk and Honey:

“There’s UFO’s over New York, and I ain’t too surprised…”

Picture credit: Walls and Bridges cover courtesy of galleryhip.com

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Who Am I? My Search for a Family Name

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

As I pointed out in the poem, “My Father’s Heir” (see “The Miller Saga: Family Reunion”) I grew up thinking that my father was dead. That was before Mom wrote me “THE Letter”, which laid out some of the details of my father’s family. Here’s what else I learned.

Family Reunion

The 1st Miller Family Union and BBQ (2007)

The Millers of Greenbank, Ontario

My paternal great grandfather, James Miller, was a builder of barns, who had been born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada with his five brothers and one sister. James married Sarah Jane Lee (daughter of Joseph Lee and Rosanna Harrington) in 1870. They settled in Greenbank, Reach Township, Ontario County, Ontario. They had three children: James Andrew; Joseph George and Ethel May.

Joseph George Miller was my paternal grandfather. He married Margaret Jean McMillan (daughter of James McMillan and Anna Gibson) in 1908 after George become a minister. They had five children: James Ewart; George Harold; Margaret Isobel; Frederick Archibald; and Helen Jean. George’s wife Margaret died in 1925, the year he was (almost) chosen as the newly amalgamated United Church of Canada’s first Moderator. He had to decline the honour.

George and Margaret Miller

My father was James Ewart Miller. He never married: a confirmed bachelor his whole life, he had a few relationships along the way, including the one with my mother in 1949. That`s how I came to be born.

The Brysons of Kendal, Ontario

This really started to get confusing when I was tracing my mother’s side of the family. I only knew that her maiden name was Jean Elsie Groom, and that she had been adopted at an early age. She knew a few more details which she shared in THE Letter, namely that her mother had been based in Orillia, Ontario and that her mother’s (much older) husband had died before Mom was born. That’s why Arthur Sidney Groom and his wife Elsie Kirk were able to adopt her within the first year of her life.

Mom’s mother’s name, it turned out, was May Theed and she had been widowed from her second husband, Thomas Bryson. Mom discovered her birth name (Edith Bryson) by obtaining a copy of the adoption order. I’m not sure which came first, but I suspect she had to get a copy of her birth certificate, too. Anyway, she changed her name subsequently to Jean Bryson years ago. When I wrote to the Children’s Aid Society a few years back, they said I knew more than they did.

The Stewarts of Riviere du Loup, Quebec

Mom was barely of legal age when she joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) during World War II. While serving in Kingston she met and married Edmund Vaughan Stewart, son of Charles Archibald Stewart and Anna Laura Walsh. C.A. Stewart was the President of the Temiscouata Railway, which ran between Quebec and New Brunswick. Charles and Anna had eight children altogether (and as some may still be alive, I will not be naming them).

stewart wedding 29 aug 1949

Mom was still married to E.V. Stewart when I was born, which is why I was christened Christopher David Benedict Stewart. They divorced in 1951.

The Thorpes of County Carlow, Ireland

Mom’s second husband, Ruskin Peter Thorpe was also a United Church of Canada minister. His parents were George William Thorpe and Mary Alice Barker. Mom and Rus married in 1955. There followed the birth of my three sisters. In the early 60’s, I asked to be adopted by Rus because I couldn’t stand the thought that I didn’t belong to any family. After all, I had assumed the surname of Thorpe since their wedding. (I foresaw legal problems with driver’s licence and Social Insurance Number applications if I didn’t.) So, he and Mom adopted me. (Strange law, that one.)

I thought I was sorted, until 1974, when Mom wrote me about my start in life. I’ll continue that story another time.

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Hey, Cathy: think this one could be lyrics for a song?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

My cousin Cathy Miller is The Singing Quilter. We discussed writing another song together. I was going to focus on the ancestry.ca work I’ve been doing since 2006. Instead, I found this one in my manuscript, “Time Defined”. It might be worth looking at.

Used to Time

Time used to keep me running
It tried to make me scared of myself
Causing all my native cunning
To view me as uncared, on the shelf.

I thought I’d never
Get used to time
But now I have no fear
I’m becoming more
Used to time
As each day creates a year.

Time forced me to concentrate
On up-and-coming events of worth
I would never want to wait
For the future to make sense at birth.

I thought I’d never
Get used to time
But now I have no fear
I’m becoming more
Used to time
As my way becomes more clear.

Time took time
To get used to me
Now I find I’m
Getting used to time
Can’t you see?

Time is not my enemy
But time is not my friend in need
It makes me look inside to see
Infinity to the end, indeed.

I thought I’s never
Get used to time
But now I have no fear
I’m becoming more
Used to time
As my life seems ever freer.

I’m becoming more
Used to time
As my death comes even nearer.

Home

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Who Am I? My father’s son

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

If you’ve ever been in the unfortunate position of having an absentee father for most of your life, you’ll know how interesting it is to finally catch up with him when you are an adult: not only are your perceptions different from your expectations, but so are his.

October 1974

Ewart (the model)
James Miller

As documented on the page The Miller Saga: Family Reunion, I got to meet with my dad only once. That day could probably be considered the turning point in my life.

Up until then, I had been an orphan, adrift in life, wondering how I fitted in with everyone else. Sure, I had been adopted by Mom’s second husband, Rus, but I knew I was still considered the “outsider”. I was especially sensitive to the fact that I couldn’t and wouldn’t pattern my adult behaviour on Rus’ lifestyle and actions. He was just too different from me.

Over time, I thought I would find my own way, but having no discernible father-figure to model myself on meant that I really didn’t have a clue. Really.

I needed an anchor of some kind: a visible, real blood-and-guts person to make it work. That is why I set out to find my real father when Mom sent me THE Letter.

January 1975

When James Ewart Miller stepped off the bus from Sudbury that fateful evening in Barrie, Ontario, I recognized him immediately. How? Is it instinctive? Do we know things, even without a conscious awareness of the fact? I suspect so.

As he said later, he purposely hadn’t exchanged any visual clues beforehand with me, because he wanted to see for himself whether he would recognize me. He needn’t have been concerned, because his first words to me were,“You look just like your mother.” (And that’s not a problem for me, because I was always aware of the fact that my features were modelled on hers.)

What makes this fascinating for me is that Mom used to say that I was just like my dad, even before she told me who he was. In THE Letter she documented some of those similarities: playing music on the piano by ear; writing poetry; translating French poetry into English poetry. The other similarity I discovered much later when talking about my dad with my cousins was that he liked to buy books and music as presents for everyone.

He also had an affinity for being on the radio, which I never heard about until 2007. He had his own program on the local Sudbury radio station, presenting music from his own extensive record collection. Until John Lennon was killed in 1980, I too had a very extensive record collection. I stopped collecting Beatles‘ albums that fatetul day in December. My radio career (if one can call it that) was as a guest on David Lowe’s Sunday Late Show on BBC Radio Devon and Cornwall in England. My guest spots were all in 1992, where I would recite poetry and discuss mundane astrological charts for interesting events from the past. My ebook At This Point in Time evolved out of those spots. But I disgress.

The point I’m making is that these traits came naturally, not because I had a model for them, but because they were part of my genetic heritage.

April 1975

Chris in 2006
Chris in 2006

The 6th of April was a sunny Sunday morning. It had snowed the night before, and the drifts across the road in the trailer park where we lived were waist high. I had chosen that day to leave. I’d had enough of our small village life, where everyone knew everyone else’s business.

I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to do so had I not met my dad three months previously. I’m not blaming him, far from it: but I knew that to be truly myself, I needed time on my own. What I hadn’t realized was that Judi and I would both be waiting for the other to undo the split by saying that we wanted to try again. Those words never happened, so we went our separate ways, and my son, Derek, had to live his young life without his father, too.

We all have regrets. It’s natural. But would I have turned out the way I did had I stayed? I doubt it, but then that cannot be proved or disproved now. One can only wonder.

If I’d been totally true to my father’s genetic heritage, I would never have married. That’s why we cannot rule out the effects of the other half of our DNA: our mother’s influence. God bless them both.

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Nuclear Close Call: did a UFO almost trigger a missile launch?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

The History Channel replayed an episode from its series “Hangar 1: the UFO Files” in which the producers question whether a UFO may have armed and then disarmed a nuclear missile launch computer.

What Happened?

CallNuclearCloseWREJC1
Nuclear Close Call

It sounds like a tabloid headline, but the question is a valid one: Did UFOs almost trigger an accidental nuclear war in 1982? The incident in question occurred in south-central Ukraine on the evening of October 4th, according to official depositions from Soviet military units and interviews with one of the officers in charge of the investigation. There were multiple witnesses to the event, which took place between 7:30 and 9:37 pm, and many of them were Soviet military officers and personnel stationed at a long-range nuclear missile base in Usovo.

http://www.openminds.tv/soviet-nukes-and-ufos/2002

My Analysis (for “Other Ponts in Time”)

In all the years that I have been erecting and analyzing Astrological charts, this one may be the first that I have seen what denotes a very clear symbol on the face of it. The Grand Trine made up of Saturn, Ascendant and Midheaven gives the chart a balanced feel, and the Neptune/Ascendant Opposition shows a distinct horizon line, but the significant part is the image created by the aspects to the Moon. Does it not look like a rocket?

Because there is a Yod (Finger of God) pointing at the Moon, I would hazard a guess that this was spiritually pre-ordained. In fact, the interference demonstrated by the taking over the controls of the rocket launching may have been the first time that humans realized that someone or something ‘out there’ did not want us to blow up the earth or destroy life on a mass scale. It shows to me that should anyone have tried to launch a ballistic missile, the ‘powers that be’ would have disabled the process. That’s reassuring.

The urban legend surrounding this event says that there was a large UFO hovering over the area for more than two hours that night. Most people have put two-and-two together and come to the conclusion that the instigator of the launch computer’s ‘malfunction’ was in that UFO. Whether that is true or not cannot be proven now, but it makes for an interesting discussion.

Because the Moon is the symbol of “Mother” in any Astrological chart, this seems to show that Mother decided enough was enough about threats to the earth and decided to take direct action to stop that threat.

Conclusion

UFO Moon

The Moon had been full during this time period. Does this mean that someone used the Moon as a decoy of some sort? The UFO described seems to be the equivalent of a large bright Moon. Could they have been mistaken?

However, the question remains, if it wasn’t a UFO, who (or what) switched on the missile launch sequence and then switched it off again, 15 seconds later? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that something unusual occurred.

At any rate, we’re all still here rather than being blown to smithereens. That must count for something, doesn’t it?

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Malaysia Airlines MH17: did lightning strike twice?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

It was bad enough that Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappeared over the South Indian Ocean, shrouded in mystery. Then, a few months later, another plane is shot down. What’s going on?

The Event

AirlineMH17MalaysiaWREJC1

Malaysia Airline MH17

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed on 17 July 2014. It is believed to have been shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile. The aircraft went down near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, about 40 km (25 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border. All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board the Boeing 777-200ER airliner were killed. The crash occurred in the conflict zone of the ongoing Donbass insurgency, in the area controlled by pro-Russian rebel groups. (Wikipedia)

My Analysis (for “Other Points in Time”)

Does lightning strike twice? If you owned Malaysia Airlines, I would bet that you believe so. Having two aviation incidents happen in the same year to one airline company is unheard of in this day and age. Who have they pissed off?

That thought takes me back to a discussion an astrology class once had. The instructor asked, “What would you say to a person who had a Mars/Uranus conjunction?” I answered, without thinking, “Have you been struck by lightning?” To which, the instructor exclaimed, “Right! How did you know that?” It’s simple, really: Mars represents accidents; Uranus rules sudden events. What could be a more sudden accident than a lightning strike?

A surface-to-air missile, like the Buk rockets considered the most likely reason for this crash, is as quick as any lightning strike. Therefore, the main focus of this chart should be on an aspect between Mars and Uranus. And there is one: Mars is in opposition to Uranus. Although the angle is not exactly 180°, the effect would be sufficient to cause an unforeseen, sudden accident.

Conclusion (and Discussion Point)

I’ve concentrated on the Mars aspects because Mars is the ‘soldier’ in the chart. It is my belief (even at this early stage in the game – July 20th) that this accident was caused by a soldier on the ground; but from which side of the conflict? There have been reports from a Spanish air traffic controller working in Kiev that Flight MH17 was being escorted by Ukraine air force planes until a few minutes before the Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared from the radar screen. Is it possible that the plane was manoeuvred into a vulnerable position, and then abandoned to its fate, or worse, did the Ukraine armed forces do the job themselves, so they could lay the blame for its destruction on the Russia-backed militants, and therefore, on Russia itself? One has to remember that the focus this year, so far, has been on vilifying Vladimir Putin. Are the ‘hawks’ in the American government gunning for Russia? It would seem so.

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Eurovision 2014: a new direction?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by cdsmiller17

When I lived in England, this annual ritual used to be mocked, and yet watched, by millions of people in Europe. We all knew it was just a chance for any country to support its neighbours. But this year something changed.

Drag Queen wins Eurovision Song Contest

2014EurovisionWREJC1

Eurovision 2014

Eurovision-winner-conchita-wurst

The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place inCopenhagen, Denmark, following Emmelie de Forest’s win in the 2013 contest with the song “Only Teardrops”. This is the third time that Denmark has hosted the contest, most recently hosting in 2001. The two semi-finals took place on 6 May and 8 May 2014, and the final on 10 May 2014. The host broadcaster, DR, chose the B&W Hallerne as the host venue after considering several bids from cities and venues across Denmark. The shows were presented by Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel and Pilou Asbæk.

Conchita Wurst of Austria won the final. This was Austria’s first win in the competition since 1966. With the polarizing nature of LGBT rights in western and eastern Europe, Wurst’s status as a drag queen has made some consider Austria’s victory in the contest as a political statement as well. The Netherlands placed second and Sweden placed third rounding out the Top 3. (Wikipedia)

My Analysis (for “Other Points in Time”)

Previously, we examined briefly the change that happened with India allowing a third gender designation. Normally, what happens in Asia or the Subcontinent does not affect Western Europe or the Americas. Other mundane astrologers have been tracking the Gay and Lesbian Rights movements from the 60’s and their feeling is that Conchito Wurst’s win at the Eurovision Song Contest is the culmination of years of struggle.

They might be right because within five hours of that win, America was having a breakthrough moment of its own. Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL draft pick, was filmed kissing his boyfriend, after being selected by the St Louis Rams. Is this really a big deal? As Rowan & Martin used to say on Laugh-In: “You bet your sweet bippy” it is.

It’s difficult to know where to begin with this chart. If you watch the You Tube video of the song, “Rise like a Phoenix”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvLtTRzdHw  the laser show behind the singer is echoed in the aspect image in this chart. One mundane astrologer noted that the Ascendant was Scorpio Rising! And the majorfocus for most of them was the Mars/Jupiter/Uranus/Pluto Grand Cross which is a constant reminder of how important 2014 is.

Conclusion

The world has turned a corner We can no longer marginalize or stigmatize those who are ‘different’. This is a good thing. Maybe we are preparing for a future when the opposite sexes will no longer have relationships, and the ‘powers that be’ want to find a different path which involves some other way. Cloning, perhaps?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/10/michael-sam-kiss_n_5302824.html

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Angus Manse: a ghost story

Posted on May 31, 2015 by cdsmiller17

Although I believe in a lot of ‘other worldly’ stuff, ghosts tend to be a bit too far out for me. But I have to admit to having a brush with one when I was 15 years of age.

Let Me Set the Scene

Angus Manse

In 1965, I was in high school, but had a part-time job as an usher at the Imperial Theatre in Barrie. Because I worked evenings, I took the bus back to Angus every night at 10:15. I would arrive home about 30 minutes later.

My mom used to explain that about five minutes before I came home, she would hear the front door open and then hear footsteps coming into the house. When she called out a greeting, no one would respond. Then I would walk through the door shortly afterwards!

In case you think that it was actually my arrival that she was anticipating, she also experienced the same effect before her husband, Rus, came home, on occasion.

Two Personal Experiences

One day, I was standing in the kitchen which is off to the right from the front entrance and towards the back of the house (beyond the dining room). I heard (and thought I saw the shadow of) the front door opening. In my mind’s eye, I imagined that one of my three sisters had come in and either run up the stairs or into the living room. But I heard no other sound. When I went to investigate, no one was there!

Then, one day, while doing homework in my bedroom on the second floor, I heard some footsteps climb the stairs and stop outside my door. Thinking that it must have been one of my sisters again, I opened the door quickly (before they would have a chance to run away) and found the hallway completely empty!

What My Friends Heard

I had to work at the Imperial one Saturday afternoon, and my mom needed a baby-sitter for my sisters. I was to take over from them in the evening when I got home. My friends, Rob, Darrell and Cheryl, all volunteered to be the joint baby-sitters.

When I arrived home, they excitedly told me about something they had experienced: evidently, while they were sitting in the living room, they heard a hubbub outside of the house. It sounded to them as if some people were there, calling out about a fire at the manse. When my friends looked out of the living room windows, there was nobody there!

My Investigation

I decided to see if there was any truth behind what was turning into a very strange set of spooky circumstances, so I went to the local library and got some book about the history of Angus.

As one might expect, there was in fact a fire that had taken place at the manse about 30 years earlier. I wasn’t able to ascertain whether someone lost their life, but it isn’t too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that the fire may have been a puzzle that someone was trying to solve, once they passed on to the ‘other’ side.

Conclusion

On the stairway down to the basement in the manse, I noted some charred timber. At some point there must have been a fire, so that was all the confirmation that I needed to justify the existence of a troubled soul in the house.

Events impinge themselves on the very fabric of a building such as the manse. If a spirit decided to revisit the ‘scene of the crime’, they can repeat the experience over and over again, until it finally makes sense.

Eventually, the noises (heard by five of us altogether) faded away. I sincerely hope that the earth-bound spirit finally found some peace and stopped needing to replay the troubling event. Bless.

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