Perhaps the most controversial religious leader of the past century died on Sunday, April 24, 2011, and, if you're like most Westerners, you may have never heard of him. Sathyanarayana Raju was born in India in 1926. When just a teenager, he was supposedly stung by a scorpion and began reciting ancient Sanskrit prayers that he could not have known. More supposed miracles took place, and in 1940 he identified himself as the reincarnation of the revered saint, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who had died eight years before Raju was born. He later declared that he had no worldly relationship with anyone and became known as Sathya Sai Baba. Over the decades that followed, his fame increased. This was

I was originally going to call this post, "Think Small." As I was writing it, however, I came to realize that title wouldn't really capture the depth of what I am suggesting. I think it was the late brilliant comedian George Carlin who pointed out that we don't have to save the Earth. If we pollute, bomb, and do everything necessary to destroy all human life, the Earth will be just fine. It may take a few thousand years—maybe longer—for the Earth to purify the air with its "lungs" composed of trees, flora, and rainforests. It may take as long or longer to purify the Earth's "blood" as it's cleaned through the soils and rocks and vein-like rivers. It may take even much longer to

110 Years of Spiritual Development Part 2 of a 3-part Series Read Part 1 HERE Preparing the Ground. Planting the Seeds. Nursing the Seedlings. In the beginning of my first post on this history, I mentioned the concept of The Enlightenment. Part of the concept of The Enlightenment was that people no longer needed kings or religious authorities. They could rule themselves. This was highlighted in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution which used the biggest words on the page to declare that the U.S. was being founded not for religion, not by kings, but by “We the people.” In 1901, 117 years after the Constitution was created, countries of the world were still controlled by kings

I was working on the second part of my 3-part series concerning the 110 years of Llewellyn (you can read part one by clicking HERE), when I had a realization I thought I'd share. Last night, I attended a wonderful Pagan full moon ritual held by a local coven. As is found in virtually all rituals, there were speeches. Now, it so happens that this group has some excellent writers. Some of the speeches were longer, poetic, and evocative. Some were shorter, direct, and to the point. That got me wondering: which is better (by which I mean more effective)? Long, elaborate speeches as are frequently found in ceremonial magick rituals, or shorter, less flowery ones? Passion and Emotion Crowley