Reliving the Battle of Gettysburg by John Cali

Battle of Gettysburg, Currier and Ives

This past week—on July 1, 2, and 3—the United States commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought during the American Civil War. The war pitted the South’s Confederate Army against the North’s Union Army. According to many historians it was the pivotal point of the war, which ended with the defeat of the Confederate Army nearly two years later.

As happens every year, there are Civil War battle reenactments, including the one at Gettysburg this past week.

The Civil War is close to the hearts and minds of many Americans, even today. I understand that, as my wife’s family fought in the Confederate Army, and I come from the northern United States which fought in the Union Army.

When I was much younger I was fascinated by history. In fact, my college degree is in history. But, as I’ve grown older, the study of history has lost much of its appeal for me.

And as someone who’s seen the effects of war close up (I was in military service, though never in combat in this lifetime), I fail to see the usefulness or appeal of reenacting the ravages of war, such as at Gettysburg a few days ago.

Here is a short video history of the American Civil War. Be aware that it contains some graphic images depicting the horrors of war.

Related links:
We’re Right and They’re Wrong

Is Violence Ever Justified?
Is Peace on Earth an Impossible Dream?
Peace on Earth
An End to War

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How do you feel about war? I know this is a controversial topic in today’s world. There are articulate arguments on both sides. I personally am a pacifist, though I’m keenly aware others are not. Please share your thoughts and comments with us below.

What other subjects would you like us to talk about in these posts? Please email me.

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About John Cali
John Cali is a writer, blogger, and channel for a group of spirit guides. His next book is Real Answers to Life’s Pesky Questions: Conversations With Spirit, Book 1. John lives in northwestern Wyoming.

20 Responses

  1. Ken

    As someone who has visited many Civil War battlefields and graveyards, I believe the “re-enactments” are more to honor the fallen, than anything else. I am always amazed at all the effort that goes into preserving the memory of this event. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder of what not to do going forward.

    • John Cali

      Thank you, Ken. I too have visited Civil War battlefields many times. I agree with you — the reenactments are mostly, at least in my experience, to honor the warriors. I hope, besides that, they also — as you said — remind us of what not to do in the future.

  2. Barbara

    I believe we have all experienced war-like lifetimes and been on both “winning” and “losing” sides many times. I watched a film about the life of Genghis Khan recently and boy was that a tough time and place. But even there, there were moments of love and tenderness.

    As Spirit has said so often, masculine energy has dominated the planet for far too long. At long last people are coming to see the futility of competition, the ultimate competition being war. More and more people are coming to appreciate the benefits of co-operation, traditionally thought of as a feminine trait.

    As Spirit mentioned in our last chat (Spirit Talks About Romantic Love), from their vantage point, humanity’s rising consciousness is a beautiful energy which is spreading across the planet.

    There are still macho “pockets” of old energy around the world, but I firmly believe their days are numbered as human consciousness, vibration, balance and co-operation grow at an accelerated rate.

    Love and balance,
    Barbara

    • John Cali

      Thanks very much, Barbara. I too believe the days of the old energy, the old ways are numbered. They no longer serve us.

      Love, John

    • John Cali

      Thanks very much, Susan. I too have come to appreciate Mooji much more than I used to.

      Love, John

  3. MARGARET UNGER

    Went around the Gettysburg Battle site 25 years back with my mom. I was surprised that I could pick up energies from that area. There are still tons of energies from that battle on that site.

    I don’t like war, however since war has existed for thousands of years, it has served many of Creators’ purposes. Its an intense learning arena.

    For those of us that are more “aware”, we need to do our inner work, to transform our lower energies into higher vibrations; make peace with our warring sides, so as to create a higher vibrational level in the band around our planet that contains all our thoughts. Higher vibrations there would help to keep the world mind in a more loving way.

    A different perspective: my husband has been identified by many sources as a warrior soul. If there is a war on the planet when he is incarnate he has to be involved. His was Vietnam. He has been warrior on many a continent, across many centuries. He has been told that he fought the G.O.D.S. and won. So for souls like him that is their duty. Mind you, he did every thing possible to get out of going, but finally the cops came and took him in to the induction center.

    An incident that occurred to him, further illustrates that many a thing that occurs in war has other purposes then we normally think. Dead of night in the jungle. Pitch black. It’s his turn to sleep. He is sleeping on his back on top of his APC. He dreams someone is stabbing at him from above. His body instinctively reaches out to grab the knife. It was a real attack. All that ensued happened in a matter of 7 seconds. They wrestle over the knife as they fell off the trac to the ground in total silence. It could have gone either way, however my husband managed to get in the stab and killed the man. As he stood with the man at his feet in the black night, a glowing green light came out of the man and traveled up my husband’s legs, paralyzing them as it traveled up my husband’s body. All the ghost stories his grandmother had ever told him came back to him as in horror the green light continued to travel up in his body paralyzing him. My husband knew that as soon as it hit his heart he would die: be killed by a dead man. Instead, as the light entered his heart love came into him, with a knowing that they are ancient friends. They play a game across the dimensions. If they incarnate on a planet together, they will find a way to do battle to see who can kill the other. His friend then turned into blue light and twirled out the top of my husband’s head and said as he shot off into the stars, “See you in the flip flop!”

    My husband can see auras. If a fellow soldier’s aura had left him in the morning, then he knew that that man would be dead by the end of the day. He said war taught him that NO one dies until it is his time to die. No one.

    Why did Source create a world where cells kill and consume each other? What is the deeper lesson about energy serving energy? War has many hidden purposes and we need to learn them so as to find more effective ways to allow those lessons/ purposes to occur. Not just say, oh me, I don’t like war. That doesn’t eliminate its need. We need to do a lot of in depth homework to truly help remove it from our planet.

    • John Cali

      Like you, Margaret, I clearly feel the energies of Gettysburg every time I go there.

      Thank you for sharing your husband’s fascinating experiences. While we deplore violence, including war, God–Creator–whatever name we choose–can bring good out of the worst human experiences. As you said, war has many hidden purposes.

      I like to think of the “in-depth homework” you mention as each of us creating peace within ourselves and our own lives. When enough people do that, we’ll have peace on earth.

  4. Terri Powell

    War is a game that some like to engage in. Not me. No war on obesity or drugs or MADD or oppression or political venues. Does war advance anything? That ‘s the million dollar question Anything fought for and won can be considered a rape by those it was won ‘against’. Let’s love each other instead of fighting, We have so much more in common to build upon. I’ll take my ‘worst enemy’ to a desert island and we’ll be a cooperative team within hours. So why not with our neighbors and friends? Love, appreciation and respect to all. Hugs to you, John.

    • John Cali

      I’m with you, Terri. We’ve got so many wars going on, it’s a wonder anyone can keep them all straight! Thanks very much for your wise comments.

      Love & hugs,
      John

  5. Pat

    I must be Shirley’s vintage, for I have the same memories—playmate’s fathers, uncles, etc. were “away at war.” Mine, too.

    I lived right across the street from the Penn State football field, and our home was often filled with young adults talking about the war. We listed to Gabriel Heater give the news reports about the action in Europe and in the Pacific in the evening. Everybody knew somebody who was in it.

    Not long after, there was the Korean War. By that time Eisenhower was President, and he very astutely warned us to “beware of the military-industrial complex.” How well he knew that they kept the pot boiling so as to sell their products.

    One odd by-product of the times I do see in retrospect now. The draft was still in effect all the time I was in high school. We didn’t have any problems with bullies and thugs and gangs,(and I lived in a blue-collar area in the Northeast). In retrospect, I think that may have been because the boys KNEW that when they got their “letter” at age 18, they would prove themselves when they went through those six weeks of basic training.

    And when they came back to town after those 6 weeks, wearing their uniforms, they stood head and shoulders above all those little boys still in high school.

    My father was an air ace in Europe in World War II, my stepfather was a Hellcat pilot on a carrier in the Pacific. When I married, 6 months into the marriage my USMC lieutenant hubby was in the backseat of an F-4 flying missions in Vietnam—bombing the very places that our leaders were on TV saying that we were NOT bombing. (And therefore, if they got shot down, they were not going to get rescued because officially they “weren’t there.”

    So I think people of my generation have had a snootful of war.

    “Kryon” has said that right now is the beginning of a time that will in the future be considered the BEGINNING of human history—and all that has gone before this time will simply be referred to as the Period of Barbarism.

    The Old Energy dies hard, but it IS going to die…..

    Pat

  6. Stephanie

    I totally agree with … and LOVE what Mikala had to say … WOW …

  7. Chris

    Joe just said, “Maybe they, The Confederates, think they’re going to win this time.” Yes, I know that is flip. But it does seem that people especially in this part of the country seem obsessed with re-enactments. I don’t remember hearing about such things when I lived up North.

    I find them disturbing. War to me is barbaric. Sometimes I wish that those who made the decisions to go to war were the ones who actually had to go fight them. Bless those dear Souls who feel it their duty to engage when called upon.

    I was not yet born so I feel I can’t speak for World Wars I and II and the Korean War. But the ones fought during my lifetime have seemed to bring nothing but terrible hardship for all sides.

    I feel like we are getting to a tipping point at least in this country. Most of us, I think, are war weary especially when it seems that all the horrors have brought us no closer to peace.

    • John Cali

      I agree, Chris — you and I grew up in the same area and culture. Neither had I heard of battle reenactments till I moved to Virginia.

      I remember all the wars you mention. In my opinion, the only difference between those wars and today’s wars is we’ve developed more devastating ways to kill each other.

      Fighting war to bring about peace is ludicrous. Have those who advocate war never heard of the Law of Attraction?

  8. Shirley White

    I was born at the time of the 2nd WW. As a small child I seldom saw men of my family or any others that weren’t in some uniform of one of the services. I was fascinated by the uniforms but not the war, or any of those since.

    We never have seemed to learn. War solves nothing and accomplishes nothing but pain, suffering, destruction and death. I cannot comprehend anyone wanting to take the life of another for any reason. Yes even in so called self-defense. I guess one would have to say I am the ultimate pacifist. I cannot even imagine hitting another person, again even in self-defense.

    I am so anticipating the day when humans have learned that violence of any kind is unnecessary and without merit. I sometimes feel that I will never see it. I may not be in physical embodiment when it comes to pass, but I will be filled with joy when it does whatever vantage point I view it from.

    Hugs and loves
    Shirl

    • John Cali

      Thanks very much, Shirl, for sharing your thoughts.

      I’m the eternal optimist, and I think that day will come when humans see the foolishness and futility of violence.

      Love, John

  9. Mikala

    I am a member of the Society of Friends, Quakers. One of the tenets of the Society is pacifism, nonviolence. As an individual, I adhere to that belief.

    I see in war the destruction of all who participate, no matter what side, and those who are innocent, but near the destruction. I see no benefits to humankind in war, only destruction, of life, the environment, the hearts and souls of all involved.

    At the same time, while my heart cries out to the soldiers who give their lives to their country, and believe in what they are doing, I send them love and pray for them and their families. I respect them and their ideals, their bravery and conviction. We each have our own pathways to follow, and they have chosen an extremely difficult road.

    I know our planet and those upon it can and will become the home of Divine Love and Peace for all, in loving cooperation and sharing. I want to be here to experience that Peace.

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