Doug Dillon's Blog, page 174
October 16, 2012
A Briefer History of Time – Stephen Hawking
A Book Review
A Briefer History of Time
Authors – Dr. Stephen Hawking with Leonard Mlodinow
Hawking
The former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the university of Cambridge - the chair held by Isaac Newton in 1663
Director of Research at the Institute for Theoretical Cosmology
at Cambridge,
Diagnosed many years ago with ALS at the age of 21, he was given only 2 years to live
Mlodinow
Physicist
Has written for Star Trek: the Next Generation
Bantam Dell, Random House 162 p.
Having one of the most brilliant minds in the world, Stephen Hawking continues to amaze the world with his scientific explanations of all Creation.
In this shortened, more readable/accessible version of their book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking and Mlodinow once again probe the nature of space and time. Written for the general public, this effort is a successful attempt to target pockets of interest within that market. Two such areas are “relativity” and “curved space.” In the process, however, Hawking and Mlodinow have actually expanded some of their explanations in order for them to be more easily understood.
New, colorful graphics are an excellent addition and short, enticing chapter titles, like “Newton’s Universe”, “Wormholes and Time Travel”, and “Quantum Gravity”, quickly draw the reader into what the authors have to offer. But if you are a veteran student of this subject matter, you may not find anything new.
Click here to find this book online.
October 15, 2012
“An Intriguing Combination of Paranormal, History and Mystery.”
A review by
Julia from Oklahoma (As Published on Amazon.com and Goodreads)
I do believe I am ready to review this book tonight as I say this I am currently thinking of what I would like to say about the book. I finished this book within two days as I started it on the 10th and finished it on the 11th, today being the 13th. I’ve given the books ending and mystery a few days to think about what I would like to say in my review.
This book is a very unique book as I cannot compare it to any other book I have read in the past. And I have read a lot of paranormal books. It has history, paranormal experiences, mystery as it is like a puzzle to figure out, action and a budding romance. When I say history I mean that the author, Doug Dillon really did his homework in order to recreate a scene that I believe no one will question. I have never read a book that has a shaman as a character in the book and it opened my eyes and mind to the possibilities. It also had me question some of my own past experiences and rethink a few things that has happened in my life.
Because this book has had such an effect on me as a reader I purchased An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic [New Edition] also by Doug Dillon and Barbara Dillon, his wife. I’d almost like to see if it gives me any insight as to where Doug got the idea for this book. :)
This book hooked me from the beginning with Jeff and his telling of the story. The intro to the book cracked me up and gave me a feel for Jeff as the main character. Jeff is a unique teenage boy that is smart but has some family problems in which leads to anger management issues. He is then faced with paranormal dreams so he turns to his friend Carla, a witty teenage female that surprised me more than once with her smart mouth come backs. Carla then leads Jeff to Lobo, an old Native American Shaman, who is blunt and direct. Jeff doesn’t know whether to run away or stay when things get worse, careful not to endanger Carla, he almost runs away from what could change his life and others forever.
With all that said, I must say I love the mystery of the books cover and finding out how it plays into the book itself, the visual is quite amazing. What is it you say? Well I’m not telling, you’ll have to purchase the book to find out. And yes it is a mystery and puzzle piece…to the story itself.
To see Julia’s other reviews on Amazon.com, click here.
An Intriguing Combination of Paranormal, History and Mystery
THE ST. AUGUSTINE TRILOGY, Book I
A review by
Julia from Oklahoma (As Published on Amazon.com and Goodreads)
I do believe I am ready to review this book tonight as I say this I am currently thinking of what I would like to say about the book. I finished this book within two days as I started it on the 10th and finished it on the 11th, today being the 13th. I’ve given the books ending and mystery a few days to think about what I would like to say in my review.
This book is a very unique book as I cannot compare it to any other book I have read in the past. And I have read a lot of paranormal books. It has history, paranormal experiences, mystery as it is like a puzzle to figure out, action and a budding romance. When I say history I mean that the author, Doug Dillon really did his homework in order to recreate a scene that I believe no one will question. I have never read a book that has a shaman as a character in the book and it opened my eyes and mind to the possibilities. It also had me question some of my own past experiences and rethink a few things that has happened in my life.
Because this book has had such an effect on me as a reader I purchased An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic [New Edition] also by Doug Dillon and Barbara Dillon, his wife. I’d almost like to see if it gives me any insight as to where Doug got the idea for this book. :)
This book hooked me from the beginning with Jeff and his telling of the story. The intro to the book cracked me up and gave me a feel for Jeff as the main character. Jeff is a unique teenage boy that is smart but has some family problems in which leads to anger management issues. He is then faced with paranormal dreams so he turns to his friend Carla, a witty teenage female that surprised me more than once with her smart mouth come backs. Carla then leads Jeff to Lobo, an old Native American Shaman, who is blunt and direct. Jeff doesn’t know whether to run away or stay when things get worse, careful not to endanger Carla, he almost runs away from what could change his life and others forever.
With all that said, I must say I love the mystery of the books cover and finding out how it plays into the book itself, the visual is quite amazing. What is it you say? Well I’m not telling, you’ll have to purchase the book to find out. And yes it is a mystery and puzzle piece…to the story itself.
To see Julia’s other reviews on Amazon.com, click here.
October 14, 2012
Paranormal Communications: On the Soul
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 more about the soul.
A: “The usual perception is always different for a physical entity to conceive, due to the speculative ventures that one physical being takes and spreads to another, thus, then re-creating another structure unlike the first.
“The soul is the only structure of a physical being. Its inner penetration portrays the exact linkage that each physical part must have to survive within. A soul has, again, the ultimate linkage with another higher plane of development as it progresses through various levels. Its aggravations and joys become multitudinous in style. The soul’s actions are penetrable into other souls. Therefore, the concept of a circular vision has merit.
“These souls are all grouped into a passageway that allows their unification to become gratifying. Only through this participative, progressive state will each soul then become reincarnated to serve multiple choices of its designation.
“Your placement has now begun as a choice by your own souls. This placement has determined your future direction also. As your souls are older than some, and newer than others (Doug and Barb), you are appropriately placed at this stage of your development. By this, I mean, that a level is not totally predestined to serve exacting purposes. Its structures have been set however. The advancement of each entity through these levels may alter this structure as a device to better the soul’s purposeful needs at this point.
“The division within each soul creates many angles of perceptions. These divisions are made and then re-divided many times. Each division then reaches out toward its own private destination. Your present reality encompasses more than one of these realities. This is because of your inner soul’s need to reincarnate several of these divisions at one time into two entities whose release then becomes an imperative step for this (your) soul’s structure. Being cognizant of this will allow your freedom of thoughts to flourish.
“The accuracy of these thoughts will then be recycled back into other divisions. Therefore, your purpose serves other divisions other than your own combined ones. As each soul’s decisive points of reality are shown to be controlled by an inner core, you are shown to have the basic choices of freedom from this directive within your own power. The ultimate guidance still remains within the core, however.
“As you seek to deliver this message to others, reach out and see that their division may indeed be a part of yours. The finality of the soul’s construction is non-existent. Its opportunities are never-ending, therefore the construction is never exact in its nature, either. To place a physical form within view of each physical mind, you must relate to that which encompasses a reality for your particular being. If each person depends on others’ interpretations, he will then become lost through confusion.
“Your angles of perception are decisively accurate for your personal advancement Thus, clinging to these perceptions is useful for your own devices. Being comfortable with your own construct is most important. The physical terms are useful only to those in physical bodies. Therefore, the ultimate reception of a physical construction is not going to be complete until the physical awareness stops and begins the spiritually intellectual beginnings. After death occurs, your beings seek a higher knowledge of the total conception of the soul immediately, to be used as a comforting device. This is understandable.”
October 8, 2012
Carl Jung and the Paranormal, Part 6: Jung and Freud
Carl Jung
This posting is one of a 12-part series on paranormal experiences by the famous psychiatrist Carl Jung.
For the initial posting that began this series, click here.
In 1909, Jung visited Sigmund Freud in Vienna. Jung very much wanted his views on the paranormal, something that he, Jung, thought was very important.
Sigmund Freud
As they talked, it became apparent that Freud had no time for such far-out ideas. The more Freud talked, the more discouraged Jung became until he felt a very weird sensation in the area of his solar plexus. In fact, that region of his body actually became, as he called it, “tight and hot.”
Just as Jung became aware of those sensations a loud noise erupted from a bookcase standing very close to both men, startling them and making them jump. The noise was so loud, Jung thought the bookcase might fall on them but didn’t.
Feeling certain that the noise had a paranormal origin, Jung told this to Freud. He tried to explain how what had just happened was just a sample of such events but Freud would have none of it. When Freud continued to argue, Jung interrupted him and warned that another such noise was about to come from the bookshelf. Jung had no idea why he was so certain this would happen but he felt compelled to make that prediction forcibly.
The second Jung finished speaking, another loud sound exploded from the bookcase. When that happened, Freud just stared at Jung in apparent amazement.
Jung and Freud never spoke about that incident again and their relationship cooled considerably. It was at that point in their friendship, Jung believed, that Freud lost trust in him.
For other postings about Carl Jung’s supernatural journeys, go to the blog category titled, “Paranormal and Carl Jung.”
October 6, 2012
The Dreaming Universe: A Mind-Expanding Journey into the Realm Where Psyche and Physics Meet
A Book Review
Author – Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D.
A consulting physicist, writer and lecturer
Simon & Schuster 413 p.
Author Fred Alan Wolf offers readers some delightfully interesting possibilities about our connections to All That Is through dreams. Considered as “groundbreaking” by some, his work as presented here is the construction of a direct link between consciousness and the essence of reality.
Using developments in quantum physics, anthropology, biology and psychology, Wolf asserts that our dreams are the base upon which our consciousness is built. Citing examples in telepathy, synchronicity, lucid dreaming and dream interpretation from ancient cultures, he says our survival might well depend upon our nightly dreaming.
Chapter titles like, “We Dream to Create a Self”, “The Dreamtime”, and “The Physics of the Imaginal Realm” give you a hint at the mind-bending but clearly stated concepts this book holds. If he is right, the possibilities are endless.
Solid end notes, an extensive bibliography and a detailed index testify to the author’s research and the accessibility of his presentation.
Click here to find this book online.
October 4, 2012
Paranormal Communications: On the Mentally Handicapped
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: (From Doug) Why was my brother born mentally handicapped? Why must he and others be so afflicted?
A: “Your brother, Doug, is at a loss of foundation at this point of his existence. Should he become aware of the situation he is now in, he would lack a powerful role of existing structural development. He is and has been a child in many ways although the spirit is in full cooperation in his physical manifestations at this time. He is about to become a fully potential being, as we know that being to be here on our plane of existence.
“Do not be sorry for him as he will be your friend at another point in time. He was your own father at a previous existence, Doug. Be cautious not to let this influence your daily life now. He is serving the purpose for his soul to become a higher being.
“Mentally handicapped people seem to overcome their existence from within and reach toward a higher form as they seek to challenge their own instabilities. Although their physical alertness has many times dwindled, their spirits are filled with relaxation. Acceptance of these individuals must come early from you as we will work with them in an affordable manner.
“Your future involves many experiences with these people. Their purpose is to develop a way of existence beyond yours. They have already learned to need much of emotional values but fear little. Their openness to you has been useful for them as they close out all concentration on trivial earthly needs. Their linkage to us is closer than yours. They have been shown a way of development which far exceeds many who live ‘normal’ lives. The lives of mentally handicapped individuals will change as they progress here.
“Some may never change but have a reason also for this. They are available to our world as ones whose capacities of learning are exposed and will accept our thoughts here more readily.”
October 2, 2012
Paranormal Events in Families: Out-of Body or Dream?
The following experiences come from the paranormal nonfiction book my wife Barbara and I wrote a number of years ago titled, An Explosion of Being. They are startling examples of out-of-body events and this one comes from me:
With Barb as the official family doctor, all those who are ailing come directly to her for help. Call it a culturally assigned role or attribute it to the history of Barb’s medical family, but that’s how it is in the Dillon household. Therefore, it was not at all unusual, when late one night, our son Greg woke Barb with some sort of physical discomfort. Closing the door to our room behind her, she took Greg to the other side of the house for doctoring.
Very, very vaguely, I remember the door closing, but within seconds, I was contentedly sawing wood. Then, in the deepest sleep, I could literally see and feel Greg standing beside the bed. He looked directly at me and said, “Dad, I need your help.” Completely startled, I vaulted out of bed, half asleep. Barb was gone. It was dark. No Greg. The door was shut. What was going on?
In sleepy confusion, I found Barb in Greg’s room trying to ease his pain. He was in agony; excruciating headaches, vomiting- the works. When I walked in, they were both surprised. As 
with most teenagers, Greg likes to show old Dad how independent, detached and “together” he can be. It’s a natural process, but on that night, minutes before I entered the room, Greg told Barb, “Boy, I sure wish Dad was here.”
When his symptoms began to ease, I explained my experience and asked Greg how he was able to awaken me all the way from his room. He laughed and shook his head, but for another hour, the three of us sat there and explored the possibilities together—not parents and child, but three people playing with ideas of mind and spirit.
By this time in his life, through many such talks, Greg has come to understand much of his own potential. His conclusion about my dream was that it was an obvious telepathic linkage with him during his extreme pain. Sitting there listening to him hypothesize, I began to think about our daughter Nicole’s nightly out-of-body travels. In both circumstances, without a doubt, I had been contacted as a helping agent in a time of crisis.
On the surface, this was a very practical usage of nonphysical capabilities by both parent and children. Barb even complimented me on what she said would blossom fully one day into “woman’s intuition.” But, below the surface, both Barb and I definitely sensed that in all such experiences with our kids, they were the teachers, and we, the students.
October 1, 2012
Paranormal Experiences: An Exorcism?
The paranormal series of events that follow come directly from the book my wife Barbara and I wrote titled, An Explosion of Being. This is one of those things that happened along the way and left us shaking our heads. It is told from Barb’s perspective:
One of our more intriguing occurrences began when Doug came home after one of the many crisis days, during his ill-fated venture into business. His half-joking statement didn’t make me laugh at all. “Well, Barb, guess what? We’ve got our first exorcism.”
What!? I was horrified. What a terrible prospect. “You’re kidding, right?” I was beginning to back out of the room.
“Ah, well, yes, kind of, but…” he stumbled. “What I mean is that one of my associates at work has been seeing this, ah, well, ghost-like vision and I, ah, well, sort of promised we’d find out what it is.”
As the story unfolded, it seemed that Doug had shared the concepts of his children’s books with a woman in the office. This led to a discussion of afterlife and subsequently to a discussion of An Explosion of Being, including the trance communications.
Doug’s friend was fascinated. She proceeded to tell him about a ghostly image that kept presenting itself to both her and her daughter. Their request was simply to investigate, through our trance source, the nature of the sightings. The request was simple, but its execution was not. Yes, Doug and I had seen images that might commonly be called ghosts, and, yes, our trance communications explained their appearances, but to actually investigate somebody else’s haunting?
Through Doug’s gentle pressure and a few days of careful consideration, I agreed to give it a try. As long as Doug’s friend understood that we guaranteed nothing, and the investigation would consist only of asking questions of our source, in our own home, then I would participate.
With just Doug and me present, the writing session went perfectly, giving us a full page of information. Apparently, my nervousness left me entirely, as the words flowed of their own accord, in the usual manner. A little study showed some sort of cryptic reference to a spiritual guide that had always been with this woman. It seemed as if this continued appearance was meant to remind her of something that she needed to learn. On the surface, the words seemed logical but we had trouble deciphering a completeness of meaning.
The next day, Doug took the typed session to work, handed it to his friend, and explained what little we understood from the messages. Almost apologetically, Doug told her that the material may have no significance for her whatever, and to feel free to discard it if what was said didn’t feel right. When his presentation was done, she said, “It may not make a lot of sense to you, Doug, but to me those messages are perfectly clear.”
She went on to explain how, since childhood, she had seen a spiritual guide such as the one mentioned in the Writings, but she had forgotten about it in recent years. She seemed very pleased with the content of what Doug gave her, allowing us both to breathe a sigh of relief.
The matter would have ended there, except that a couple of weeks later, Doug happened to ask his friend how the ghost was faring. Her response was a startled revelation to herself. “My God, we haven’t seen it since you and I discussed the messages from your trance communications. It all made so much sense, somehow, I didn’t even realize that we weren’t seeing it anymore.”
And I hadn’t wanted to participate in an exorcism?
September 30, 2012
Paranormal Experiences: A Horrible Dream
This paranormal event is almost as difficult for me to share as it was when I wrote about it in, An Explosion of Being. When my wife Barbara and I put that book together many years ago, we decided to include what you are about to read as a cautionary tale. I’m posting this experience for the same reason. The chapter from which it is taken is told from Barb’s perspective as you will see but she quickly shifts to me telling my own tale:
From intriguing to unsettling is a big step, but this terrifying dream of Doug’s and its conclusion in the physical world showed how quickly that transition can occur: “Dream after dream shot their ways past me in rapid fire succession. They made a blizzard of random movements, people, objects and colors.
“Tossing and turning, I was physically and psychologically restless. Everything moved too quickly and nothing was understandable, until the motion slowed to a comprehensible focus on a small child. It seemed as if the child was a little girl, but I wasn’t certain because she, or he, was running so fast.
“In a moment, the child’s desperation was all too clear. Someone was in pursuit, and the child was fleeing in panic. The scenes then changed too rapidly to follow, until, once more, the focus was on the child, but this time he, or she, was sitting in a blue pickup truck. Again, the child tried to escape, but as the door opened, a slashing knife seemed to cut completely through the small body.
“Before I had time to react, the child was staggering through the woods, finally stopping just in front of me, critically wounded. Crouching in pain, the child looked at me, turning my growing revulsion into an agonizing desire to help. Reaching down, I gathered the youngster in my arms and held it close. In absolute horror, I realized that I was literally holding the child together.”
“Lurching awake, I found myself trembling and in a cold sweat. Nicole must have sensed something. She had arisen, entered our room and was just standing by the bed, looking at me in the darkness. I reached out and hugged her, dissipating some of the dream’s terror.
“The next day, I began a scheduled business trip along Florida’s East Coast. On the way towards Jacksonville, a radio report, describing a child’s abduction in south Florida seemed like just another bit of the world’s negativity, so I paid little attention.
“After finally arriving at my destination and settling into the motel south of town, I went in search of a restaurant for dinner. But again, the radio blared news of that abduction. On it went, with the final chilling news that part of the child’s body had just been discovered by search teams. My hands began to shake. Pictures from the horrifying dream the night before flooded my mind.
“Instantly, I knew that the dream action of holding a child together was symbolically valid. Somehow, a part of me had spiritually stumbled into that event to help the child’s consciousness repair the damage done through the pain and fear of that gruesome killing.
“Supper that night didn’t settle very well. I left most of it still sitting on the plate and returned to the motel. Using the noise of television and the need to prepare for my meeting the next day, I was able to push thoughts of my dream and the child into the background. Sleep came much later, but only after wrestling with a piercing sadness and a raging anger at the injustice of physical life. I could still feel that trembling youngster in my arms.
“Incredibly, within the next couple of days, my original travel plans put me on a road passing the exact spot where the TV news reported authorities had found the abducted child’s dismembered remains. That “coincidence really jarred me.Expanded awareness can be a double-edged sword.”
As Doug found out, this paranormal stuff can indeed cut two ways. On the one hand, it can clear a path for beautiful and satisfying perceptions, but on the other hand, it can reveal information that I suspect we might otherwise prefer to hide from our conscious mind. So called “psychic phenomena,” then, are perhaps just tiny bursts of recognition, both positive and negative, reminding us of the truer reality from which our physical existence springs.
One final note. The news event I talk about during this experience was national news for a very long time. Even so, I didn’t and still don’t feel comfortable mentioning the names of the people involved. That experience was so real to me at back then, it brought tears to my eyes when I told Barb about it. Still does.
