The Depression Epidemic by John Cali

According to Andrew Weil, MD, “…some substantial percentage of the depression epidemic is manufactured by the medical-pharmaceutical industry.” He goes on to say the industry has convinced many people that ordinary sadness is an abnormal condition, a “disease” that should be treated with drugs.

But even if that “substantial percentage” is removed, Dr, Weil continues, it still leaves us with a huge number of folks with unexplained depression. The number has increased the past 50 years. Depression is particularly widespread in industrialized countries, especially the United States.… Read more

Addictions Revisited by John Cali

We received some interesting comments about last week’s newsletter article, Addictions. Here are a couple of excerpts from two different people:

“What does Spirit have to say about AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and similar organizations? I mean, if by joining AA (someone) gains a clearer understanding of the precious Being that he/she is, isn’t that a good thing?”

“I remember my mother telling me, ‘Therapy is supposed to be a way back to life, not a way of life.’”

Then I received an email from my dear friend, Mikala St.… Read more

Addictions by John Cali

When we talk about addictions, we usually think of such issues as drugs, alcohol, sex, tobacco, food, etc. But addictions are not limited to those.

Until the past few years, in my own personal thinking, I had pretty much limited my idea of addictions to those. But there are far more addictions than the “standard” ones. And, in my opinion, our society mostly fails to understand and treat the underlying causes of addictions.

Here’s Spirit.

Spirit

You all came to this incarnation with the innate knowing that feeling good is your natural state of being.… Read more

The Myth of Jesus by John Cali

Our friend, Melody Fletcher, publishes a great blog, Deliberate Receiving, all about Law of Attraction. She recently wrote a blog post, If We Create Our Own Reality, How Did Jesus Get Crucified?

An obviously thought-provoking title, especially if you grew up Christian, as I did.
Here are some thoughts on the subject — from me, my spirit guides, and Seth (the spirit guide channelled by Jane Roberts).

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I abandoned the traditional Christian view of Jesus many years ago. As a result, my family is still wondering if he’s going to “save” me, or if I will burn in hell.… Read more

The Peaceful Mind by John Cali

In our article two weeks ago we talked about the ways modern society poisons our minds. This week we’re talking about the opposite end of the spectrum — the peaceful mind.

Meister Eckhart once said “The quieter the mind, the more powerful, the worthier, the deeper, the more telling, and more perfect the prayer is.”

I’ve been meditating over 30 years, though I do not consider myself an expert at it. I continually explore the teachings of those I do consider experts, such as Eckhart Tolle in our video of the week.… Read more

Botox Revisited by John Cali

A while back we wrote an article, Botox and Beauty. In that article we talked about a mother who was regularly giving her eight-year-old daughter Botox injections.

Just today I came across the story of a father giving his 18-year-old daughter breast implants. The father happens to be a plastic surgeon. He’s also done plastic surgery on two older daughters, in their early 20s, and other family members.

Quite apart from the ethics of a doctor operating on his own family, I was surprised (though I should not have been) at what the 18-year-old said.… Read more

The Illusion of Time by John Cali

Plenty of scientific studies have shown people can project their thoughts to other people, as with mental telepathy. Most of us have experienced some form of telepathy. Today folks talk openly about it since it’s no longer a taboo topic.

Telepathy often happens instantly, with no apparent passage of time, and regardless of distance. Some studies have even shown when people send telepathic messages, the receivers get the messages days before they were actually sent.

How is that possible? If we believe in linear time it’s not possible.… Read more

Pets: Our Teachers and Healers by John Cali

I just came across an article we wrote years ago, but never published on our website. I thought it appropriate this week since we’ve been talking about animals lately.

Spirit

Your domestic pets, especially dogs and cats, are one of the greatest gifts humanity has ever received. We realize you sometimes take these delightful creatures for granted — just as you sometimes do your fellow humans.

Pets are not in your lives solely for your entertainment, though they certainly do entertain you.… Read more

Kindness Prevails

posted in: Blog, channeling, inspiration | 22

Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you. ~ Princess Diana

fruits-kindness-love

 

I may be taking liberties here, but I would change Princess Diana’s words to “…one day someone will do the same for you.”

In today’s world of political turmoil with angry people regularly spewing venom at each other, there certainly does not appear to be much kindness. The news media often highlight the cruelty of people toward each other.… Read more

The Raccoon by John Cali

Strange title for a spiritual newsletter article, isn’t it?

My spirit guides often say animals can be our best teachers. Even most of those creatures who’ve been horribly abused by humans rarely seem to lose their capacity for joy, love, and simply being fully present in the moment.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates in California took a raccoon under her wing after authorities found the poor creature in a two-by-two-foot cage. He’d been imprisoned there four years, without adequate food or water.… Read more

Talking To God by John Cali

One of the most common questions folks ask us is “How can I communicate with my higher self?” Or “How can I talk to God?” Both are essentially the same question.

Another question we’re asked is “How can I begin to channel?” But, again, it’s the same question.

My spirit guides have always said we cannot not talk to God, because God is always talking to us — and in many ways. It’s just that we’re not always listening.

Here is a great short video from Neale Donald Walsch about not only how to talk to God, but also how to get answers.… Read more

Strong Truth by John Cali

This week a dear friend of ours, Mikala St. Germain, published a wonderful article on her discussion forum, The Heart Light. The article, Strong Truth, is essentially a wake-up call for all of us as we move deeper into this new year of 2012.

Immediately following this is Mikala’s article. Following that is my response to the article.

Mikala

Dearest Spiritual Family:

I’m going to begin this with the fact that each of you lives in my heart, and I love you each unconditionally.… Read more

The Man In Black by John Cali

This is a ghost story — a true ghost story.

I grew up on the southern shore of the USA’s Lake Erie, one of the country’s five Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes are famous (or infamous) for their fierce storms. In fact, Lake Erie has seen more shipwrecks than the Bermuda Triangle. A while back I wrote a blog post, The Power of One, about one of Lake Erie’s more notorious and destructive storms.

Today’s story is about another wild Lake Erie night.… Read more

Having Fun Can Save Your Life by John Cali

Anatomy of an Illness, a 1979 New York Times best-selling book, tells the inspiring story of Norman Cousins’ full recovery from a crippling disease, simply by having fun.

Those of you who’ve been around as long as I have probably remember Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review. Cousins and the magazine are long gone, but his story is unforgettable. He used the power of laughter and comedy to cure himself of a life-threatening disease. In other words, by having fun.… Read more

The Ripple Effect by John Cali

We never know how even a single small act of kindness will affect others. And possibly transform their lives.

Here’s a great video about how powerfully our thoughts and actions can touch the lives of others.

Here’s Spirit.

We often hear humans bemoaning their lack of power. Most of you feel powerful only when you group together. It doesn’t matter how small or large the group. Simply being part of a group gives you a sense of power.

Yet that power you feel as part of a group is in some ways an illusion.… Read more

Is Joy an Impossible Dream? by John Cali

As you know, if you’ve been with us long enough, my spirit guides often talk about finding meaning in life through joy. In fact it’s one of their major “themes.” They often advise us to look for the joy in all our experiences, even the tough ones — especially the tough ones.

Now and then I get angry objections from some of our newsletter and blog readers. They usually go something like this: “How can I possibly find joy or meaning in this experience (death in the family, terminal illness, no home, not enough money, miserable marriage, etc.)?… Read more

Would You Believe You Can Be Happy in Westfield? by John Cali

posted in: Blog, channeling, inspiration | 8

I grew up in Westfield, a farming village on the shores of Lake Erie. It’s a delightful, friendly little town. I lived there happily for many years.

An old childhood friend of mine, who also grew up in Westfield, was fond of “bashing” the town after she moved far away. She would criticize those of our family and friends who chose to live out their lives in Westfield, calling them “stupid failures.” She didn’t see how they could possibly be happy there.… Read more

Why Does It Take So Long? by John Cali

One of the questions we often get about manifesting is “Why does it take so long?”

If you’re a subscriber to our weekly newsletter you probably recall the articles we recently ran, The Secret to Manifesting Your Dreams, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. We received some interesting feedback on those articles. Here are some excerpts from one reader’s comments:

“I have read all three parts of The Secret of Manifesting Your Dreams and have to say that I am doing my best to stick with ‘the manifesting program’ for I know I create everything in my life….the… Read more

Earthquakes and Hurricanes by John Cali

As I’m sure most of you know, an earthquake hit Washington, DC this past Tuesday. And now, as I write this, Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the US capital city.

Earthquakes are virtually unknown in Washington, where I lived for many years before moving to Wyoming. Tuesday’s quake did considerable damage. Though, as far as I know, there were no serious human injuries or deaths. The quake rumbled through nearly one-third of the entire United States.… Read more

Candlestick Park Football Game by John Cali

I am not a sports fan, and never have been. One of the reasons is sports, at least in the USA, are far too competitive to suit my taste. This is a time when our planet needs desperately to be replacing competition with cooperation.

For those of you who are sports fans, I’m sure you know about the brawl in San Francisco at the Candlestick Park football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. Two young men were shot and severely wounded, and may die.… Read more

Detaching by John Cali

Many years ago I was a commercial pilot and flight instructor. In our company we used small single-engine Piper aircraft to train students. One of the most challenging lessons for students (including me when I was a student) was spin control.

Many fatal aviation accidents in those days were caused by pilots losing control and spinning into the ground. So spin control was a required part of the flight curriculum.… Read more

The Rose by John Cali

Many years ago one of my favorite songs was The Rose by American singer, Bette Midler. One line of the song has stuck with me down through the years: “It’s the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.”

A young member of our family died two Saturdays ago, on August 6. His aircraft was shot down over Afghanistan. Alex was loved by many. Here are some of the comments folks made about him:… Read more

Your Power by John Cali

In this blog we’ve recently talked about several of the Seth concepts, including life is supposed to be fun and creating our own realities. Today we’re going to talk about yet another of those concepts I first heard from Seth.

I spent many of my younger years living in the past or the future, but rarely in the present moment. I was forever wishing the present could be as good as I remembered the past. Or that it could be as good as I imagined the future.… Read more

Religion by John Cali

I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I practiced my religion faithfully for many years. Then I began to “lose the faith” — literally. I became disillusioned with what I perceived to be a judgemental, controlling, closed society, almost a cult. So I left.

I realize that’s not everyone’s experience with Catholicism, or any other religion. Many of my family remain faithful Catholics, and their religion brings them a peace and sense of community they would not otherwise have.… Read more