Doug Dillon's Blog, page 173

“Story Telling Par Excellance.” Paranormal for YA & Adults

Sliding Beneath the Surface

The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book I

A review

placed on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and her blog by

 Mallory from Georgia

This novel elicits a giant “Wow!” from me-Author Doug Dillon is one incredible storyteller. He has wrapped troubled adolescence, grief, being orphaned or partially orphaned, with history, legend, superstition, parallel dimensions, indigenous shamanism, and so much more, to deliver a story seamless in its coherence. I absolutely am on tenterhooks waiting for the next entry in Mr. Dillon’s “St. Augustine Trilogy.”

Sliding Beneath the Surface is targeted to a YA audience, but I am here to validate that it is a great story for middle-aged and older readers just as much. I am very impressed with this debut novel, and it has my high recommendation.

To see Mallory’s full review on Amazon.com, click here.

To see Mallory’s blog, click here.

Chaos: Making a New Science

A Book Review

Author – James Gleick

Also author of Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

Penguin Books 352 p.

Chaos Theory explained in terms you can understand. Author James Gleick leads the reader in an exploration of patterns that lie just beneath the surface of what appears to be total randomness. His discussions about finding order in abundantly unexpected places adds a comforting depth to the universe we thought we knew.

Gleick’s use of graphics, especially fractals, to explain this mathematically driven concept, greatly benefits math challenged people like myself. His use of short, attractive chapter titles like, “The Butterfly Effect”,  “Inner Rhythms”, and “The Geometry of Nature”,  gives testimony to the man’s successful attempt to keep it simple.

If you really want to at least partially peel back the mysteries of the world in which we live, this book will do just that.

The author finishes up his book with great supporting information in end notes and he makes his work easily accessible with a well constructed index.

Click here to find this book online.

“Very Interesting and Attention Grabbing.”

Young Adult, Paranormal and Historical

Sliding Beneath the Surface

The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book I

A review placed on Amazon.com by

Marisa from Atlanta

Having just visited St, Augustine for the first time just prior to receiving this book, it was great to be able to set my mind’s eye to the streets, landmarks and restaurants that were mentioned. I was able to hold on to the feel of being there while reading. As a mother of a 14 year old boy, Jeff is a very well written character and really feels like a teen is retelling his tale. I actually read this before my son and can think of several of the teens in the family that are into this subject matter and would enjoy this book. I can’t wait for the remainder of the trilogy to find out what’s next for Jeff, Carla and Lobo (Love Lobo – He is awesome!)

To see this review on Amazon.com, click here.

 

Very Interesting and Attention Grabbing

A review of the Young Adult, Paranormal book,

Sliding Beneath the Surface

placed on Amazon.com by

Marisa from Atlanta

Having just visited St, Augustine for the first time just prior to receiving this book, it was great to be able to set my mind’s eye to the streets, landmarks and restaurants that were mentioned. I was able to hold on to the feel of being there while reading. As a mother of a 14 year old boy, Jeff is a very well written character and really feels like a teen is retelling his tale. I actually read this before my son and can think of several of the teens in the family that are into this subject matter and would enjoy this book. I can’t wait for the remainder of the trilogy to find out what’s next for Jeff, Carla and Lobo (Love Lobo – He is awesome!)

To see this review on Amazon.com, click here.

 

Paranormal Communications: On Reincarnation

The following channeled information came to me through my wife Barbara as recorded in our book we wrote a number of years ago titled, An Explosion of Being.

Q: Tell us something about reincarnation.

A: “The term that you use as a physical being shows total accuracy if used within the guidelines of the soul’s purpose. Many other souls’ individuals do not adhere to correct understandings of the total concept Reincarnation is only a beginning process for future self-discovery. Its term implies another point of living that one looks forward to. As this part is true, it is not complete.

“The interaction of lives depends again, entirely upon the after death sequence that involves so many other parts of the soul’s travels through other realities. Your friends on earth will be born again to rediscover life if their pre-chosen way is to partake in another venture of this kind. Your limitations are not set in order for the pure pleasure of knowledge of rebirth. They are set in order that the penetration of the soul is again enhanced through each physical existence.

“As your lives teach many lessons important to the soul, they also discard much outer frill that does not seem necessary as a functional growth. Each partition of lives has an important part in the development of your soul, also. It creates a waiting period of observation for your soul to choose.

“This period often proves successful to itself as direct choices are placed in each lifetime, then reviewed within the same period.

“You will begin to see more of your past lives through dreams, thus recognizing your self-importance as other individuals who also become linked with you.

“The future lives are always as important, as they will transform parts of your soul into a regressive period, thus reconnecting each one with the past. The final regrouping of all physical existences performs a continuous whirl of experience for the soul to derive from. Your souls are always choosing pathways of varied choices. This may mean that your choices are expressly designed for their usage at another time. It may also mean that your soul has so many lives that it did not choose to ignore even a pinpoint of each one for its usage.

“Your avenues of discovery regarding these past, present, and future lives will be tended through their inner core of your soul. Should you choose lessons beyond the earthly existence to take a priority, then you will seek higher integration with your own soul’s guides. These lifetimes provide many learning experiences that will expire only when your soul’s choice is given a reality.

“Become aware of this, as you see, the earth has provided a partial placement for your soul’s mergers with others who desire the same incarnation periods.

“Your personal earthly guide is also very important in each lifetime, as a choice is always determined by the soul, ultimately. However, the individual physical choice is bound to his own private destination. Therefore, become aware of your own total existence within your own reach.

“If your soul’s choices involve the demise of another person, this will ultimately influence your path greatly. The spiritual concept is not meant to be used for negative self-advantage. The soul will make up its own progressive stages, however. Relying totally on its wisdom, without earthly infiltrations of choice, will not consume the total ideals for a soul’s growth. This must be clear.

“Your earthly choices are most important. Your soul does not create each one for you, but as a part of your soul, you must choose each one according to your own physical desires. Thus, you see the possibility of alterations within the soul’s periods of embodiments.

“As you are apt to be sustained primarily through physical surroundings, you are also aware of a partiality toward another unknown. Hopefully, your faith within yourself will show enough guidance to give to each lifetime, thus bringing about the final course for your soul only to begin anew. Be wise and accept this, as you are all part of my teaching. I will learn much from each lifetime of yours as a swirl around mine.”

Carl Jung and the Paranormal, Part 7:The Wedding

This post is one of a 12-part series on the paranormal experiences of Carl Jung, founder of Analytic Psychology.

For the initial posting that began this series, click here.

One day, Jung was attending a wedding at a hotel. He didn’t know the bride or her family but they were friends of his wife.

At dinner, Jung sat opposite a bearded man who was a lawyer. The two had a nice conversation that centered on criminal psychology. When the bearded man asked him a very specific question, Jung “elaborated” on the point we wanted to make by adding in a lot of imagined items just as illustration.

But as he continued to talk, Jung noticed how his dinner companion’s expression completely changed. In fact, the other guests noticed something was wrong enough for the entire table to fall silent. Embarrassed, but not knowing what he had said to cause such a huge problem, Jung also stopped speaking.

After dessert, Jung quickly excused himself and went into the hotel lobby. There he lit a cigar and thought about what had happened at the table. Soon, another dinner guest came out and asked him why he had insulted the bearded lawyer. Insulted? Jung was flabbergasted at the accusation.

It turned out that the extra imagined details Jung had added in response to his dinner companion’s question were an exact replica of the man’s life, evidently some very personal information. At that point, Jung realized he could not remember a single thing he had said to the bearded gentleman. Years later when writing about the event, he still couldn’t recall the details of that conversation.

For other postings about Carl Jung’s supernatural journeys, go to the blog category titled, “Paranormal and Carl Jung.”

The Power of Now: A Guide to Enlightenment

A Book Review

Author – Eckhart Tolle

New York Times Best Selling Author
Spiritual teacher
Appeared on webinars with Opra Winfrey

New World Library, 229 p.

Excellent book that teaches readers to stay in the present moment. Using a Question and Answer format, Eckhart Tolle gives people a distilled but very valuable version of mindfulness taught by many spiritual traditions. In simple language, he definitely makes a good case for the present moment as a refuge from the chaos of life and a place where peace and balance can be found.

Tolle’s chapter titles such as “You Are Not Your Mind”, “The Way Out of Pain”, and “Enlightened Relationships” immediately tell the reader that the coming journey is going to be a very personal one indeed.

A believer in the natural abilities all people possess to “stay present”, Tolle gives instruction on how to make that happen. As valuable as his guidance is, however, it takes constant practice and support to make such a thing work in daily life. Readers would do well to continue their efforts by taking classes in meditation and/or joining an ongoing meditation group. The spiritual traditions Eckhart Tolle has borrowed from, such as Buddhism, often have such classes or groups available in many communities.

A structural addition that might make this book even more useful would be an index.

Click here to find this book online.

Paranormal Communications: At the Point of Death

The following channeled information came to me through my wife Barbara as recorded in our book we wrote a number of years ago titled, An Explosion of Being.

Q: What happens at the point of death?

A: “You are apt to return to this level primarily by choice. As in any period of adjustment, your soul must replace one level with another. Out of sequence at times, this change will seek to deliver a new period of consciousness for your learning period to become a layered reality.

“When your physical death occurs, your spiritual entity remains intact. It is not partially linked, as suspected, but will remain at a point nearby for a period of time. Should there be a strong spiritual need at that time to complete this process, your spirit will flow according to the entity’s purpose. Your compassion, therefore, for a spiritual entity will be established as a primary motivator.

“The body, in actuality, leaves the spirit. It (the body) does not reverse itself since the body’s parts are limited, but the spirit is not Should the spirit then be cast as a prior image of return for physical life, he will then begin to prepare for this new existence. Away from his own earthly problems, his growth period is now freer to establish the higher knowledge that is needed to acquire full physical respect from any entity that rebounds itself.

“Should your entity (on earth) be placed in a position of wealth, this is a prior choice. For you, what is occurring is a growth process through purpose. Thus, similarly, a spiritual entity on this realm must maintain a process of growth. We are open to outside forces as we are all encompassing. After a physical death, these forces begin to control our observant needs, thereby placing them into a priority position. Your physical relatives and friends who are passing through our realm also shall be a comfort to newly passing spirits.

“Your willingness to perceive this period (death) is the primary motivation, again, for its occurrence. Their (those who die) growth patterns are also a way to help you, showing their needs are entrapped through yours. Thus, as your spirit travels here, to greet you, will be your friends, as wished by your self’s supreme being. As your lesson of earthly fear dwindles, the entity then releases these spirits as a need quickly fulfilled.

“The aspects of each layer of death surrounds itself with  an act of credibility, thus releasing any previous fearful commitment ‘Thy will’ is done at that point, you see, as your proposed circumstances have then embarked on a new journey beyond that which was totally committed as a goal before your death. These layers are grounded in a reality of preconceived surroundings. Their placement has a purpose, thus eliminating fear and doubt of past suppositions.

“While observing a pattern through a demise of earthly concepts, you will learn to accept a more perfect value system, thus eliminating fear entirely and enjoying trust as your only guide in this reality. Be willing to adopt this philosophy as yours: Death has no meaning within itself, but does promote an energy that surrounds its happening, thereby releasing a ‘quick-start’ for the soul’s re-entry program.

“I have astounded many who have come to know a reality beyond death, to form a more useful experience than had previously existed. I welcome this opportunity to share a layer of thought with you both tonight Waiting for life to explain itself has not become a purposeful unit of message here. Life’s net will hold many a thought to awaken a spirit and find a new growth beyond self-righteous physical existence.

“When death occurs, your soul begins to change form with life’s dwindling earthly existence. Slowly, an active partition begins to form a film of recovery for your spirit to cling to. This (film) is placed by your spirit prior to the last entry of that lifetime. Between layers of acceptance, your image passes through a period of waiting for further instructions. This comes as a means of support for your opening into a new reality.

“This reality then awakens eventually to find a pattern of new experiences for your further awakenings. These patterns are circulating rapidly, thereby decreasing past reservations of challenging unknown presences.

“You (Doug) teach the philosophy of death during your sleep periods to many who have passed over in recent times. They look to you for reassurance that all is well on this plane. Your students on earth have been your students here. They are with you on both planes for two purposes. One is to develop the physical mind and the other is to develop physical rejection of life. Your duty here is to help others understand, as I am helping you.

“Your concept of ‘death’ has no purpose by itself other than to remind your soul that it was only a transactional relationship through existence. Here, death, therefore, has become a starting point for each soul to witness as a link between a future and a past. This point is necessary, but its lingering effects are slim and easily adjustable. To your soul, this period disposes of a previous existence, while acquiring a new transition back to our realm, leaving a path partially completed, only to return again.

“While attaining a purpose here, you must find way to expose yourselves and believe that all will end (death) shortly, as you see ‘all’ in the physical sense. This I have said, has short ramifications in itself, so others must understand that while their lives show neglect of spirit, they will perplex themselves by discovering their nature within, and explore their potential. We find that death has a wakening effect on those who seek a contact with it. They return to know aspects that otherwise would not have asked for their audience.”

Paranormal Communications: On God

The following channeled information came to me through my wife Barbara as recorded in our book we wrote a number of years ago titled, An Explosion of Being.

Q: Tell us some more about God.

A: “Your determination of originality in this particular concept depends upon your ultimate perception of belief. As each individual sees an ultimate source of guidance in various ways, your narrowness of physical minds will themselves to form a structured ideal for their own personal grasping.

“This alternative is useful for them to grow, but will not provide the cushion which many seek. Your own beliefs in a ‘God system,’ provide a moral adjustment to physical embodiments. These standards are basically self-influenced. They are not created by a source of ‘God.’ Your own inner conflicts with this position are actually guided again through physical means of repercussions.

“Tracing your ancestors, you will find that only through worshiping a particular means of spiritual entity were they able to perceive any form of ultimate reality. If they chose not to believe in an entity, such as this, then they became objected to by many around them.

“Subsequently, they divided their minds into two parts. One was actual earthly living according to their own needs. The other was according to their own perception of God’s needs. This served then, a direct purpose for their lives and their own ancestors.

“You are now in a period where short answers are not acceptable. Do reconsider this when your books of religious literature are read. The Christ concept is no longer easily explained, as it was during these previous lifetimes, for again, your angles of perception are higher throughout the world.

“As you will yourself to a higher existence level, you shall seek to dwell with and upon an ultimate concept of belief. This, then, will provide the inner workings for your ‘God.’ If your persistence of a belief structure is necessary to you, then your needs are ultimately correct. However, your physical perception again may be colored, due to the infinite amount of exposure within your physical surroundings. Be patient with this concept, as you are not full grown as yet.”

Dreams of Past Lives? The Russian Revolution

Reincarnation? Can you dream about past lives? The following came from my dream journal written years ago.

“I was in Russia, near the turn of the century, say, early nineteen hundreds. I could feel the bitter cold through the heavy clothing I wore.

“Snow covered the streets where I was standing. The day was dark, as if again, it was about to snow. The building in front of me, and those up and down the streets, appeared massive and grey in the gloom.

“My comrade lay crumpled at my feet, dead from a hail of bullets. I knelt before his body. The snow crunched beneath my knees. The firing squad was behind me. I knew that I would be executed also.

“Seconds later, the rifles exploded, ripping through my body, tearing my lungs apart. Strangely, there was no pain. With total serenity, I toppled over my friend to join him in death.

“Then, almost as an observer of the entire scene, I casually realized how the shredding of my lungs by those bullets, in that lifetime, was a direct cause of recurring asthma in my childhood this lifetime.”

That dream was so very real, I went to the library to see if I could find anything that might match what I saw. It didn’t take long.The picture you see above is the initial stages of the Russian Revolution in St. Petersburg–very similar to my dream. It gave me chills when I found it.

Czar Nicholas II

Background:

Russian workers and religious leaders trying to serve a petition to Czar Nicholas were gunned down in the square in front of the Winter Place. At least 100 people died and many more were injured. The year was 1905 and the event became known as Bloody Sunday.

Yup, that photo is pretty much the scene from my dream. When I found it, I tried to reason it away because I always liked Russian history. “Just a little creative nighttime tinkering with something you like,” I told myself.

Even so, I realized, my interest always focused on the 1917 revolution that actually toppled the Czar and paved the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union. I had seen that photo of the 1905 massacre but I had no deep interest in the earlier St. Petersburg event. Besides, the instant connection I had in the dream in relation to my asthma told me something more than dream fiction was at work.

Did I actually live and die back then? I don’t know, of course, but I tend to think that’s a good possibility.

In looking for the photo I used here, I “happened” to find a short video showing a dramatized version of the 1905 event. When I watched it, those chills came right back, even after all those years. Click here  if you would like to see it. Take a peek and you’ll definitely get a flavor of what I experienced.