tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62052988245307562072024-03-12T18:02:14.164-07:00Mandy's Blog of the SupernaturalFollowing the untimely death of my husband, Max, I began to witness rare and unusual phenomena. My story is true, based on the upcoming book, "Death Is Not 'The End': One Agnostic's Journey on the Bumpy Road to Belief." Stories posted in July are based on the uncanny events that happened in July of 2004. Stories posted in August are based on the mind-boggling happenings of August 2004....Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-76675361713039159442013-11-22T19:14:00.002-08:002013-12-06T19:04:48.540-08:00<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">My new Co-authored book is entitled </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No Mistakes: How You Can Change Adversity into Abundance </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">with Madisyn Taylor, Sunny Dawn Johnston, HeatherAsh Amara, and yours truly, Mandy Berlin.</span></span></div>
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This inspiring, beautiful hardcover (not paperback) makes the perfect holiday gift! Get your copy signed by me for just $15 + shipping. This is your
total price, including shipping and handling anywhere in the USA!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: purple; color: white;">Check out the book reviews:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Mistakes-Change-Adversity-Abundance/product-reviews/1938289110/ref=pr_all_summary_cm_cr_acr_img?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending">http://www.amazon.com/No-Mistakes-Change-Adversity-Abundance/product-reviews/1938289110/ref=pr_all_summary_cm_cr_acr_img?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sign up on my author page:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/authormandyberlin">http://www.facebook.com/authormandyberlin</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Order before December 16th and you will also receive a free gift from me in your package, my
training DVD - What You Think You Attract!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And dear reader, do you know of someone who is having a rough
time? This book might just be what they need right now ~ real life accounts,
amazing insights, personal stories ~ how you can change adversity into abundance! My story is called "A Lesson from an Angel" ~ a real account of what happened to my mom and me the night before Christmas, December 24, 2011. As difficult as they may be, awful events are sometimes blessings in disguise.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Perhaps you'd like to get 1 book for yourself and 3 more as gifts for your friends and loved ones. I can work with that. **</span></span><span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">If you order 3 of my books before December 16th, I will give you a </span><u style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>4th hardcover book FREE</b></u><span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Enjoy, and </span><span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">have an awesome holiday!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">With Gratitude & Blessings to You and Yours,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Mandy</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: purple; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">PS - Feel free to call my order number if you have any questions: 602-628-6083. Thank you!</span></div>
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<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-48099736797584404182013-09-22T01:27:00.000-07:002013-09-22T01:27:21.638-07:00<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here's what author Mahalia Michaels had to say about my story in the book, No Mistakes: How You Can Change Adversity into Abundance:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /><br />"Mandy Berlin's, A Lesson From An Angel, has reminded me to continue keeping my vibration high and my tho</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">ughts super positive to attract the outcomes I desire, not only for myself but my loved ones. Mandy's personal story visioning for her Mother, using the Law of Attraction, is an inspiration for anyone requiring miraculous healing and a more exquisite life experience. Thank you so much Mandy!" -Sincerely, Mahalia Michaels, Author of Sensual YOU.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And thanks to you Mahalia! Namaste~ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">To order your copy of No Mistakes, along with my personal note to you, simply email me at this address:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">orders@mandymax.net <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Place your order this week and you’ll also receive a free gift worth $10!</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Check out my author page on Facebook:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">http://www.facebook.com/authormandyberlin</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Also check out Mahalia Michael's page on FB:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/mahalia.michaels?fref=ts"><span style="text-decoration: none;">http://www.facebook.com/mahalia.michaels?fref=ts</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white;">Thank you for your readership and have an awesome day!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white;">Sincerely,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: #741b47; color: white;">Mandy</span></span></span></div>
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Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-3884077013782566042013-04-23T12:55:00.003-07:002013-04-23T12:55:42.327-07:00Check out the press release concerning my co-authorship in the book, No Mistakes!: How You Can Change Adversity into Abundance..<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldwidewhoswhoreleases.com/press-release/mandy-berlin-med-recognized-by-worldwide-whos-who">http://www.worldwidewhoswhoreleases.com/press-release/mandy-berlin-med-recognized-by-worldwide-whos-who</a><br />
<br />
To receive your SIGNED pre-ordered hardcopy of our June 2013 book, simply email me at <a href="mailto:mandy@mandymax.net">mandy@mandymax.net</a> and type in the subject line: BOOK ORDER - NO MISTAKES!<br />
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In the body of your email, just type your name, address, and phone number. Then send it.. that's it!<br />
<br />
(You will receive a response to your request in a few days.)<br />
<br />
Thank you and have a beautiful day!<br />
<br />
Blessings,<br />
Mandy<br />
Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-90479070737144406412013-01-24T12:24:00.000-08:002013-01-24T12:24:10.981-08:00Won't you join me?<br />
Check out my stories, below. <br />
<br />
Add your name as a Friend (see left margin)<br />
<br />
Connect with me on Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/mandy.berlin.585">http://facebook.com/mandy.berlin.585</a><br />
<br />
on Twitter @mandyb2<br />
<br />
See you there!<br />
<br />
Mandy<br />
Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-49093560951312294222012-10-29T21:19:00.002-07:002012-10-29T21:46:16.021-07:00MY UPCOMING SEMINARHey there ~<br />
<br />
Here's a new video for you! (See top left.) This one is about my upcoming Event on November 17th:<br />
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WHAT YOU THINK ~ YOU ATTRACT!!!!<br />
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Check it out on FB: <br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/emmanueldagher1#!/mandy.berlin.585">http://www.facebook.com/emmanueldagher1#!/mandy.berlin.585</a><br />
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There's more to come.. meanwhile, have a wonderful day!!<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
MandyMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-25032019507072803282012-09-16T21:30:00.001-07:002012-09-16T21:38:02.530-07:00Dear Readers and Viewers,<br />
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Catch my latest video posted to your left. To watch it, just double-click on the video screen. Enjoy :) :)....<br />
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I'll be posting some more videos in a few weeks. Also stay tuned for my first live Event in about a month! If you're in the Chandler, Arizona area you can attend this event FREE OF CHARGE. Otherwise, I'll be including info on how you can watch it live! <br />
<br />
Stay tuned for more information on my blog.<br />
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I hope you're enjoying some beautiful weather like we are in Arizona. Happy pumpkin picking!<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
Mandy<br />
<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-23915686144051829452012-09-05T21:30:00.002-07:002012-09-05T21:30:31.085-07:00<br />
Dear Readers,<br />
<br />
Check out my new profile at: <br />
<br />
Writer <a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-expanded-url="http://www.mandyberlin.info/biography7.aspx" dir="ltr" href="http://www.mandyberlin.info/biography7.aspx" target="_blank" title="http://www.mandyberlin.info/biography7.aspx"><span style="color: #990000;"><span class="invisible">http://www.</span><span class="js-display-url">mandyberlin.info/biography7.aspx</span><span class="invisible"></span><span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible"> </span></span></span></a><br />
<br />
.. and have a wonderful day!<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
Mandy <br />
<br />
Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-80087427215745843632012-08-20T13:38:00.004-07:002012-08-20T13:41:00.044-07:00I was just inducted into the Worldwide Who's Who.<br />
Stay tuned for my new website, which will be posted there in a few weeks!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, check out the main website: <a href="http://www.worldwidewhoswho.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.worldwidewhoswho.com/</span></a><br />
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Have a fantastic day!<br />
<br />
Sincerely yours,<br />
Mandy Berlin<br />
Author<br />
<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-2633768959734032772012-08-20T13:28:00.002-07:002012-08-20T13:55:54.302-07:00What a website!<br />
<a href="http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/compete/demovid.html">http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/compete/demovid.html</a>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-40594783070859656342012-08-20T13:21:00.006-07:002012-09-16T21:33:32.896-07:00Dear Readers,<br />
<br />
Check out my writing piece. Simply click on the text underneath my video, and you'll find this written piece:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/profile.cfm?aid=69">http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/profile.cfm?aid=69</a> <br />
<br />
And if you feel inspired, won't you please cast your vote?<br />
<br />
Thank you so much :).<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
Mandy BerlinMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-73310043408513663312012-08-20T13:15:00.002-07:002012-08-20T13:55:30.882-07:00Check out this website<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/compete/demovid.html">http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/compete/demovid.html</a><br />
<br />
Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-1273993468149672002012-08-03T19:06:00.004-07:002012-08-20T13:16:27.325-07:00RECENT VIDEODear Readers,<br />
<br />
Take a peak at my new video ~ and my message of love, hope and joy!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/profile.cfm?aid=69">http://www.nextgreatestspeaker.com/profile.cfm?aid=69</a> <br />
<br />
After you have watched it, would you kindly cast your vote? I want to take my message to the world! Your vote will help me do that.<br />
<br />
Sincerely yours,<br />
Mandy Berlin<br />
Author and Blog Writer<br />
<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-47490065932053491642012-07-23T18:40:00.005-07:002012-07-23T18:40:54.602-07:00THE NIGHT MAX DIED<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Journal Entry 1</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tuesday 12/23/2003</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tempe, Arizona<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Max
left our world just two nights before Christmas at nine o’clock sharp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In life my Max had never been late for any
important occasion, and so in death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some say, at fifty years of age, he died too young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others say he lived a full life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as I see it, young or old, Max left our
world too soon. </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet,
this story is not so much about my grief as it is about my husband, Max, and my
joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps you might be thinking, she
lost her spouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can she be talking
about her “joy” if she cared about this guy at all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I must say that along with the shock
and sadness that came with the loss of my beloved husband and friend, something
extraordinary arrived at my door – something I certainly never expected and
will never forget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not in a
lifetime!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For when these incredible
things began to happen, I was an agnostic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For over thirty years, I had no beliefs.</div>
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ᴥ ᴥ
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Decades
earlier, I did have some beliefs:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the beliefs
of my parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had attended Catholic
school in Ohio, wore my beanie and school uniform every day, and went to church
faithfully as commanded by the nuns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact, I’d become quite good at parroting prayers and verses from my
missalette.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
grandmother thought I was a saint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well,
what did she know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe
I was sedate in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly
too shy to talk to boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must have
thought I was rather bookish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no
more than a week after starting school at Kent State University, my life began
to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, when I dropped off
my books and took off my glasses, attractive young men began showing up at my
door – a singular experience for any young woman, (especially me)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Soon
I found myself steeped in studies and loving every minute of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a kick to imitate my science
professor!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, Dr. Culver was a
passionate man:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You must have evidence
– hard data – for every statement you make, for every hypothesis you
develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data and information – the keys
to our three dimensional world!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Did I
believe him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I did, and still
do.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But soon I started to question
everything in existence, including my mother’s ideas about a distant place
called heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly had no hard
data for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So my childhood fantasies
of a divine maker, and everything that came along this inscrutable concept,
evaporated before you could say Christmas Break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
after leaving Ohio for sunnier parts unknown, I finally received my four-year
degree from Arizona State University and returned for six more years of
graduate study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I became a research
scientist, a statistician by trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
better way to develop hypotheses and process all that hard data Dr. Culver was
always talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in the process of all that, I met and
married my sweetheart, Max.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a
wonderful life together for sixteen years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We worked hard and had so many wonderful times traveling around the
western region of our great country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the mornings we drank our coffee from tin cups by clear running streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night we camped out under the stars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such happy times we had… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>…
and yet, I see now that the best thing we had was love.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
ᴥ ᴥ
ᴥ</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then,
my Max died of cancer and things began to happen that did not fit into the
world of my adulthood – my agnostic world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I knew that if I ever hoped to make any sense out of the
mind-boggling incidents that our friends, loved ones and even I had begun to
experience, I would have to stick with the scientific method – observe and
record “the data” – the bizarre, beautiful and mind-boggling events I have set
down in writing, here in my journal. </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
ᴥ ᴥ
ᴥ</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On
the very night Max departed, two of his sisters began to have strange
experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I was feeling so heartbroken
to have lost my husband and dearest friend of all, his sisters telephone calls
caught my attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, the
“tales” they were telling me sounded, what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just plain weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I gathered up
all the strength I could muster and began to take notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If nothing else, I thought perhaps this would
take my mind off the daunting lack of Max.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well, I must at least try,</i> I sighed and
told myself, though I certainly didn’t comprehend one wit of what was happening
back then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My notes would become the start of a detailed
log of paranormal and supernatural events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So,
one night during Christmas Week, not long after Max had left us, Paulette
called me from her home in Sonoita, Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She said that Max had appeared to her in a dream around eleven o’clock, about
two hours after he had died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet,
despite Paulette’s sadness on hearing the terrible news of her brother’s death,
she sounded almost comfortable with the whole idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strange</i>,
I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I didn’t want to jump to
conclusions, so I just kept quiet and listened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
said that in her lifelike dream, Max had been joking around with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey, I feel fantastic, Paulette,” he hooted,
“more alive now than ever!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d been “tipping
a few” and watching the late shows together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, along with my surprise, imagine how I might have felt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
Paulette’s dream contains any ounce of reality,</i> I thought, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am I so happy to hear that Max, in all his
aliveness, is having such a grand time without me?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
shook my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh, it’s just a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Still,
I continued to jot things down on paper. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now,
after all the extraordinary events I have witnessed since Christmas Week of ‘03,
I look back in joy and wonder over Paulette’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">numinous dream</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For when she
finished telling me her story, she cried out, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Mandy, my dream seemed so real!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span>Imagine my state of confusion and disappointment when I woke up
to find Max gone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is that
possible?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Paulette, this was an
encounter of some sort, resulting in a sense of disorientation and
disillusionment once she finally grasped that Max had left our world…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>...
if, indeed, he did go, for Paulette’s dream was just the beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Days
later, Max’s middle sister telephoned me from Oxford, England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon Char proceeded to tell me about an
extraordinary march, of sorts, that she had witnessed in her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d been sitting in the bathroom when, out
of nowhere, footprints began “stomping” their way into her bathroom rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tracks were not of her own making “…because,
Mandy,” she said, “they appeared to me, one by one, as they were being made!”
as if an unseen crusader were trampling on her rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Char was appalled, yet amazed, watching in
disbelief as the mind-boggling footprints materialized right in front of her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not
long after Char’s encounter with the uncanny, the family called to express their
regrets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They said her beloved brother
had passed at nine p.m. Mountain Time in the hospice in Tempe, Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Char then realized something
unbelievable:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>accounting for the time
differential between England and Arizona, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Max
had departed – in real time – not long before the mysterious footprints
“appeared” on her bathroom rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This
bizarre phenomenon had taken place on the morning of December Twenty-Fourth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Christmas Eve in Oxford, England.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: red; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I can
just hear Max now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey guys, Happy
Holidays!” he seemed to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span><i>You just
call out my name and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again…." [1]</i></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>We
played that song for him all night, the night he died.<sup><o:p></o:p></sup></div>
<br />
ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> [1] King, Carole. "You've Got a Friend." Tapestry. A&M, 1971, LP.</span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-57661134043683576332012-06-25T13:42:00.001-07:002012-06-25T13:42:24.206-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 24pt; line-height: 150%;">I</span><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">NTRODUCTION</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: .3in .5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death
Is Not “The End”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Agnostic’s Journey
on the Bumpy Road to Belief </b>is a journal of real paranormal and
supernatural events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three hours before
the Christmas Eve of 2003, the soul of Max Blau departed from a hospice in
Tempe, Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, in Oxford, England,
Christmas Eve had already arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
in Max’s former home, sat his family, grief-stricken on hearing that he died on
their most beloved holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet just
hours after Max’s purported departure, strange things began to happen in Oxford
and in Arizona as well.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite
the terrible sadness caused by the untimely death of Max, my husband and
dearest friend in all the world, I soon realized that things were not as they
seemed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During Christmas week alone, I
began receiving telephone calls from loved ones and friends dear to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oddly, some of the callers sounded happy, if
not downright joyful soon after Max had left us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, his sisters and even a few of his
close friends phoned to tell me their uncanny stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the outset, these incredible tales had a
strange effect on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, I was an
agnostic then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no beliefs one way
or another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, after hearing
these eerie tales, I decided to do what I did best – sit at my coffee table and
take notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
obtaining an advanced degree and working for twenty-five years as a
statistician in health care, education and government, I remained, as ever, a
curious person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, when these events
began to happen, I knew I had to write down the details if I wanted to
investigate further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, for
validation purposes, I sent written “reports” to those who kindly took the time
to tell me their stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there were
any truth to these rare claims, my notes would have to be corroborated and the
required corrections made.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then,
amazingly on New Year’s Day, two days after Max’s burial, I began to have
experiences of my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I soon
became a party to some unimaginable incidents – in places like my home,
restaurants, cafés, gardens, and even during my first trip to England!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As these mind-boggling occurrences began to
“hit home”, I sat at my computer to flesh out the stories – those of our loved
ones – and now mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before long and
without much effort, I had a document for each event that I’d previously logged
on paper and saved in a calendar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the strange goings-on, I kept track of most dates and times of
the events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My background in psychology
and years of logging research study observations had certainly come in
handy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, as you will see, my
journal is written not in clinical form, but in story form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death Is Not “The End”</b> unusual
phenomena – the explained and unexplained – are called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The story begins
with the mysterious events of December 23, 2003.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It ends with the eye-opening revelation I
experienced on December 23, 2004 – on the first anniversary of Max’s death.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Through
research conducted following the fifty-odd incidents and encounters (and odd
they were), the happenings were later classified into some rather rare and
interesting categories:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;">
the shifting and
displacement of physical objects in and around rooms; apparitions and other
spirit encounters; synchronicities and extreme coincidences; automatic writing;
numinous dreams, the movement of undated coins; intelligent haunts; residual
haunts; uncanny telephone activities; electrical demonstrations, malfunctions
and breakdowns; object alteration; “third eye” phenomena; spirit communications
received through clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; soul travel;
spirit guide communications; telepathy; validation of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“rare” events based on the frequency of
repetition of the events; validation of rare events based on statistical
hypothesis testing; and the discovery of a corroborating written record found
after the occurrence of a supernatural event.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
In the Post Script sections
following key phenomenological stories, I discuss and sometimes further examine
an event or review subject matter related to the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, post scripts, as discussed below,
are reserved mainly for post-event commentary and research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although many of the events in the book are
left unexplained, potential explanations are offered wherever achievable, with
respect to key events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interpretations
are then made wherever possible.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
timeframe of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death Is Not “The End”</b>
is December 23, 2003 through December 23, 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nevertheless, the supernatural, mystical and synchronistic happenings
have gone far beyond the boundaries of one journal year, changing my life
forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then because of<span style="color: black;"> the rare and often challenging life changes I experienced
over a subsequent six-year period, I decided it would be a good idea to
continue journaling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, the
supernatural events didn’t stop simply because one journal year ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not in any sense of the word!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consequently, I continued logging significant
events from 2005 onward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other
hand, my focus shifted because of a tremendous increase in synchronistic
events, intuitive perceptions, signs, and several communications from Spirit
which came to pass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
my intuitive side became clear, I sought to further understand and develop this
ability under the guidance of Sunny Dawn Johnston of Sunlight Alliance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2006 while watching a television news
program, I learned of Sunny’s incredible intuitive work at Sunlight Alliance in
Arizona, with Hay House of California, and all over the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I contacted Sunny immediately and began
taking her intuitive classes, such as her Angel and Mediumship classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunny, who is my mentor, also conducts
personal conferences in her office and by telephone.<span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unfortunately, in 2007 I suffered an
illness affecting my physical vision, i.e., my intuitive vision remained the
same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, to my chagrin, I was
unable to continue with my work as a consulting statistician, i.e., the
mathematics, spreadsheets and long columns of numbers – essentially my
job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, I could write from time to
time, with eyes closed or while keeping my eyes off the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I am happy to report that I found a
doctor who has been treating the illness successfully for over a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this wonderful news and the
phenomenal happenings I have experienced since 2003, I am gaining in energy and
perseverance every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, I
have kept my detailed notes from “time immemorial” – tomes yet to be formalized
beyond this journal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look forward to
the prospects with delight and appreciation for these renewed capabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since
my dear Max went to the light, our poignant, bizarre and often comical
communications have been rare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nevertheless, he still visits the earthly plane of existence from time
to time, most notably on special occasions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You see, Max loves parties and get-togethers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a communicator he was and always will
be! Other spirit beings have visited me as well:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my dearly deceased father, his parents, my
step-father who recently passed at the age of ninety-five, angels as I prayed
in church, spirit guides, and loved ones of classmates and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of these beautiful encounters happened
subsequent to the writing of this journal and will be revealed in an upcoming
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, a few of the
exchanges did take place in 2004 when I was first “introduced” to my spirit
guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pleased to present these
stories in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death Is Not “The End”.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Journal Entries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>My journal contains seventy-one entries,
beginning with the events of December 23, 2003 and ending with the unparalleled
event that happened on December 23, 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consequently, this volume contains stories concerning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">over fifty</i> paranormal events, spanning a
year and one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last day is simply
too mind-blowing and personally meaningful to exclude from my account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, it is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sine qua non </i>of the book!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even so, many more events occurred in 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Over fifty” refers to recurring events
because I did not document each type of event more than once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If an event happened several times, I told
the story just once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most repetitive
events were “The Hair Dryer Affair”, Max “curling up” on the couch, “The
Toaster Trick” and Max’s appearance in the church gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I described the toaster trick in the
first month it happened, this incident occurred approximately two or three
times a week for many weeks in 2004, and on into 2005.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I witnessed the phenomenal “toaster trick” at
least twenty times – a conservative estimate.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
journal entries are based on uncanny, at times unnatural and often
extraordinarily meaningful events, such as mental, physical and spiritual
messages from Max, coincidental electrical events, and the untimely deaths that
occurred in proximity to Max’s passing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this sense, my journal is episodic in nature – unlike a diary or a
journal of daily activities, thoughts, and concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The overall narrative and the accounts of
others were written in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">past tense</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the paranormal and supernatural
experiences I observed were written in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">present
tense</b> to “glue the reader to the scene” as I revealed my thoughts and
feelings about the awesome happenings of the day.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Event Recording.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to a meticulous bent brought on by
working with numbers, I included a date and, if possible, a time at the top of
each journal entry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way,
associations and interpretations can be drawn for a better understanding of a
particular event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then because the moon
has an effect on nature, I also included phases of the moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the start, I hadn’t made the decision to
chronicle every observation or to keep track of dates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later on, as I began to record the dates and
times, I expressed my apologies for being unable to recall a few of these
particulars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these instances, an
estimated date or time was supplied, i.e, for example, 1/xx/04 or Wednesday
Afternoon.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All
of the paranormal and supernatural data and information were first logged as
events and then told in story form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, some of the information was subsequently removed from the
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, if I witnessed an
event that I was later unable to recall in detail, the event was excluded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, I have excluded two separate
accounts received in early 2004 from two of Max’s dear friends, a man and a
woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are friends of mine as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since then, I have been unable to
reach either of the two for corroboration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I decided it would be best to remove what they had first described to
me over the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I am able to
state with confidence that the first event happened to the man while he was
taking a walk in the woods about a week after Max died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second event concerned a phenomenon that
the woman said she witnessed in my home while I was vacationing in Sedona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had been “pet-sitting” while watching the
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nature of the details
surrounding each of these events is somewhat fuzzy so I must unfortunately
exclude them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I do know this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>both the man and the woman told me their
stories with great enthusiasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They both
appeared to have been stunned by what they had seen and heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dear man has since moved away and his
phone has been disconnected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And despite
my phone messages and invitations, my friend and confidante, the woman has not
entered my home since she witnessed the paranormal event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I am unable to reach her at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though my friends tells me not to wait, I
miss her and have hopes she’ll call me someday, perhaps when I least expect it.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite
all that has happened, I still bring a pen and a large pad of sticky notes with
me wherever I go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While writing the
first draft of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death Is Not “The End”</b>,
I never thought, as a few friends suggested, that “the recording of all that
data” would be too tedious a task to stick with for long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite the reverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt comfortable with it because the
happenings were either so beautiful or so wacky that I felt compelled to put my
observations down on paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping
track like this, I would then be able to tell my mother and friends what had
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the same, I soon found
myself “fleshing out” the stories on my laptop – before work, after work, on
the Wednesdays of my four-day work week and on weekends too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that sense, I was confident I wouldn’t be
relying on old memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Before
long, a book was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lives were
forever changed. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Especially
mine.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Song Lyrics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>The awesome events sometimes arrived with
a song – on the radio, while drinking coffee in a café, through musak, or while
working in my office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quite a few of the songs, coupled with related
events, had a synchronistic quality and became a fundamental part of the
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Even today, as I recall
seeing Max’s spirit on January 3, 2004, I can still hear “Unchained
Melody”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This beautiful song was an
integral part of my supernatural experience because the song and the movie,
“Ghost” were on television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Approximately five minutes <u>after</u>
Max appeared on the arm of my sofa, I changed the television channel and heard
the song, “Unchained Melody”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
before me was the movie, “Ghost” as Max’s spirit hovered just above the arm of
the sofa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was stunned!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>People
are incredulous when they hear this story, thinking it could not possibly have
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounds surreal, they say –
too perfect to be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Objectively, I
agree with them, to be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I am
here to tell you, to my absolute bafflement, it happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in all humility, it happened to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would any person set herself up for
potential derision by writing such a far-fetched story unless it were
true?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly would not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My “Ghost” story happened as described.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot and will not delete this account
from my journal simply because it is too fantastic for people to believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That, in point of fact, would be a form of
deception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am only here to relay to
the best of my ability the unbelievable phenomena witnessed by my friends and
me.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because
of activities that are “linked” like these, the inclusion of one or two lines
of lyrics tends to give people a more complete picture of the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reader can then visualize and perhaps
even “feel” what happened from the perspective of the one who experienced it –
perhaps even “hear” the song as the observer heard it that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Observing the required standards for abridgement,
these songs are an integral part of my journal and my journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They add the dimension of sound to my journal
stories, i.e., the recollection of meaningful lyrics and melodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Music lovers might even enjoy listening to
the tunes online as they read certain passages.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Post Scripts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>The post script sections of this book
fill an important need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Post scripts
allow me to separate the actual events from comments and research concerning
the events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way, no true story
is ever changed or manipulated beyond revisions for clarity, grammar,
punctuation, style and the like.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
I refined my journal, I expanded on the post scripts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a need for definitions, commentary,
and further research on paranormal and supernatural phenomena to shed light on
the most inconceivable and least understood events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Post scripts are primarily reserved for:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">My comments and questions
concerning an event <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Paranormal and supernatural
definitions and descriptions<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Key information from theories of
consciousness<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Key information from quantum
theory; for example, where an event seems to connect with, or have roots
in, a scientific model (such as string theory, m-theory and parallel
universes)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Post scripts providing new
material, such as “Law of Attraction” concepts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Logical analysis of an event<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Statistical analysis of an
event, where possible <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Interpretation of key events<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
In addition to the post scripts, Journal Entry 34 contains
information on quantum physics and “The </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Theory of Everything” as related to
rare phenomena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal Entry 59
concerns “third eye” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
information.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
certainly do not pretend to have all the answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that sense, I do not attempt to analyze
and interpret every event documented in my journal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some incidents are brief and appear to be
self-explanatory, in terms of typical conjectures set forth to make sense of
the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I have attempted to
describe every event in detail, some events simply defy description and
adequate explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have provided
post scripts after particular journal entries, as needed, along with comments,
questions, research, analysis, and where feasible, interpretation of the
event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I encourage readers to take a
stab at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get together with your
friends and mull over mysterious events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Try to analyze and interpret the phenomena to your satisfaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is half the fun and joy of the
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other half is the incredible
stories!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Please note:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to the sensitive nature of the subject
matter and as a protective measure, names were changed in the narrative
sections of the book, i.e., not in the Acknowledgments section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, the real names of a number of
people are in the narratives, as requested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I retained my pen name and that of my deceased spouse, Max Blau, for my
journal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No person, place, nor story is
fictitious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every happening hereby
documented is true to the best of my ability to capture the quintessence of a
paranormal event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some events have truly
left me baffled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, isn’t that what
makes life fascinating?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
continue to keep records of rare and unusual events even into the year
2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there is more than enough
to tell – based solely on what happened soon after my beloved Max died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I humbly present my story to you, my readers,
in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death Is Not “The End”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Agnostic’s Journey on the Bumpy Road to
Belief</b>.</div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sincerely yours,<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mandy
Berlin<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 13;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></b></div>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-15477953783708822792012-06-25T13:00:00.001-07:002012-06-25T13:00:23.474-07:00Meditation -- Charlemagne and Max<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><strong>Journal Entry 33 <o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<strong>
Wednesday 06/23/2004</strong><br />
<strong>Around 5:00 p.m.</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
light of all the rare and heartrending events that have taken place this year,
it occurred to me that I ought to be meditating more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, as daylight turned to dusk, I settled down
for the night and put on one of Sylvia Browne’s discs, similar to the one I
played back when.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
*** </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
I become engrossed in the meditative process, my patio chimes start to
ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, they are not so much ringing
as clanging now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is it the wind?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>It would
seem so, but I don’t bother to check because I’m already immersed in deep
breathing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then several minutes into my
meditation as I follow along with Sylvia’s instructions, I hear not only the
chimes but an amazing communication as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The words seem to be coming from Charlemagne, my spirit guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can hear him very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only that, but I am also able to see his pronouncements
in my mind’s eye, like so:</div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cloud pole</i><o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Smart spirit</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thanks for coming to help!</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
have no context for these words, except for the phrase “smart spirit”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds like an entity who thinks quite well
of himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or is he, perhaps, referring
to the spirit in me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any case, I am
so in awe of his visit that I prefer to think it’s the former. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, I say:<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
Hello Charlemagne<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
Thank you for coming!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
I wonder if you can
tell me how Max is doing</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Spirit
response:<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Echo</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bravo</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Charlie</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
reference to “Charlie” is interesting in light of Charlemagne’s name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, these words sound more like
something Max would say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of his
military training, he often used the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NATO
phonetic alphabet</b> [1] especially when talking on the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, if the other party seemed unable
to decipher his words, he’d usually resort to code:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Alpha” stands for the letter “A”, “Bravo”
for “B”, and so on, with a unique code word signifying each letter of the
alphabet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well
then, Spirit sent me the words “Echo, Bravo, Charlie.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we resort to the NATO phonetic alphabet,
these words stand for the letters E, B, and C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And although these three letters are just one letter away from Max’s old
employer’s name, they are not exactly right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, at this point, I am unable to determine the meaning of this
message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, I would like to think that
Spirit is saying Max is doing great.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then, before
ending my meditation, I ask my guide the following question: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
Charlemagne, what is
my purpose here?<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No more
than a moment later, I receive the following response:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Letter</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunshine</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Write<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now
this is starting to make more sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I enjoy writing letters and stories, and I hope that my writing will
bring sunshine and a sense of hope to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My first book, a memoir and family scrapbook, contains a few of the
letters Max and I had sent each other, along with our poetry and prose (reference
Journal Entry 5).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I published
that first manuscript not long after Max died, the first several sections
contain some (hopefully) comical elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps our humor in this second book will bring a sense of joy and hope
as well to readers all over the world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
was my first effort at interpreting today’s communications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps these messages have other meanings
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, I live in sunny
Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is “sunshine” a reference to my
locale?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With respect to the phrase,
“thanks for coming to help,” I wonder how I might possibly be helping; through
my writing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With this means of
expression, we are potentially able to reach millions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, maybe I’m helping in other ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have come to understand that time, as we
know it, has no meaning in the spirit world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps my “coming to help” resides in some future set of
circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any event, I have
recorded and will retain all the communications I have received, and might as
yet receive, in hopes that these connections will come to have even greater
meaning over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless, the value
I have already derived from these mind-blowing encounters truly surpasses all
experience!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<b>Post Script 1</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No
doubt someone will set forth a plausible question like this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are you just “hearing” your own
thoughts?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At
times, it is difficult to decipher the words that arise from Spirit versus
those I bring to consciousness of my own volition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I find that Spirit words have a
distinct murmur and often arrive with a spectacular visual flash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the time, such words are transmitted
in a strident “voice” permitting me to determine the source at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At other times, the prominent words, numbers
and symbols arrive in motion, as if emerging from a great distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With eyes closed, these objects increase in
size as they “fly” to the forefront of my visual field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When this happens, I am generally able to determine
the words because the text and background tend to appear in contrasting colors,
i.e., red text with a yellow background, dark blue against pink, and so forth. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet
I have more difficulty discerning what I call pure thought transmissions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are not visual, nor prominent, nor do I
perceive any word movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the
thought transmissions I do receive tend to have a murmuring<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> quality which facilitates</span>
discernment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a rule, I am able to
ascertain that a thought has been transmitted from an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">external</i> source if it is <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">uncommon,
eccentric, </span>or even<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> fantastic – </span>a
thought I would probably not have entertained – not even in a bizarre dream.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
feel especially confident that Spirit is sending me a pure thought transmission
if some <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">corroborating </span>evidence
arrives contiguous in time with the communication, i.e., if something synchronous
happens when the transmission occurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
journal entry of January 1<sup>st </sup>offers the ultimate instance of this
idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My dear husband’s spirit hollered
at me, “Pull your socks up, mate!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a
flash, I knew he had come to console me in his own inimitable way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And after several attempts at grasping his
words, I actually did “receive” his entire communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, despite Max’s characteristically
persistent posture during his first appearance, I’d been unable to comprehend
the exact meaning of his words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
because my mind would never have constructed this strange sentence – an alien
concept to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, in time I
came to learn and understand the true meaning and value of his paternal
greeting!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Along
with Max’s heartfelt words on that phenomenal New Year’s Day, came the most
astounding thing – his ethereal image that appeared like a hologram in my field
of view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given my newfound ability to
discern, his words had no visual impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But his ghostly reflection came just after I heard him say, “Pull your
socks up, mate!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, Max’s image
arrived <u>contiguous in time</u> to his words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">synchronicity</b>, the vivid
vision of Max along with my mind-blowing auditory experience, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">solidified the whole encounter forever in my
mind, and in my being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what
others m</span>ight think or say, you reach a point where you just know, and
the knowing becomes the cornerstone of your existence.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Post Script 2</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Concerning
the phrase, “cloud pole”, I realized while editing this entry that my spirit
guide might have been referring to the ramada on my back porch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sturdy beams of the ramada hold the wind
chimes that rang wildly as I received his communication in time and space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ramada columns serve as upright supports;
albeit posts rather than round poles, but the idea is similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I think of my home and the cloud pole
concept, I think of a ramada beam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the other hand, Charlemagne may have been referring to something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I encourage spirit sleuths to come up with
their own interpretations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
retrospect, I think that the “movement words” differ from simple thought
transmissions in the intensity of the delivery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is, the words I “see” in my mind’s eye seem to be sent with greater
force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, I am able to see
them clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, perhaps the
deeper I go into meditation, the more I am capable of receiving thought
transmissions and seeing words and numbers in motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, is it the sender or the receiver?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it is both.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
[1] <sup><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></sup><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The NATO phonetic alphabet</b> is formally
called the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">international radiotelephony
spelling alphabet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is</span> the most
widely used spelling alphabet for the intelligibility of voice signals by radio
or telephone. “NATO Phonetic Alphabet.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wikipedia,
the Free Encyclopedia. </i>N.p., 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Aug. 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></sup><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-62338006261635867442012-05-23T20:44:00.000-07:002012-06-25T13:22:04.395-07:00What is this upcoming book about?<strong>Death Is Not "The End": One Agnostic's Journey on the Bumpy Road to Belief</strong> is a chronicle of paranormal, and supernatural events. Three hours before the Christmas Eve of Two Thousand Three, the soul of Max Blau departed from a hospice in Tempe, Arizona. Yet, in Oxford, England, Christmas Eve had already arrived. There, in Max’s former home, sat his grief-stricken sisters and guardians who had received word that he died on their most beloved holiday. Yet, just hours after Max’s “purported” departure, strange things began to happen – in Oxford and in Arizona as well.<br />
<br />
Despite the terrible sadness caused by the untimely death of Max, my husband and dearest friend in all the world, I soon realized that things were not as they seemed. During Christmas week alone, I began receiving telephone calls from loved ones and friends dear to us. Oddly, some of the callers sounded happy, if not downright joyful soon after Max had left us! In fact, his sisters and even a few of his close friends phoned to tell me their uncanny stories. From the outset, these incredible tales had a strange effect on me. You see, I was an agnostic then. I had no beliefs one way or the other. Nevertheless, after hearing these eerie tales, I decided to do what I did best – sit at my coffee table and take notes. <br />
<br />
After obtaining an advanced degree and working as a consulting statistician in education, psychology, health care and government for approximately twenty-five years, I remained, as ever, a curious person. So, when these events began to take place, I knew I had to write down the details if I wanted to investigate further. Later, for validation purposes, I sent written “reports” to those who had kindly taken the time to tell me their stories. If there were any truth to these rare claims, my notes would have to be corroborated and the required corrections made.<br />
<br />
Then, amazingly on New Year’s Day, two days after Max’s burial, I began to have experiences of my own. In fact, I was soon to become a party to some outlandish and baffling happenings – in places like my home, restaurants, cafés, gardens, and even during my first trip to England! As these paranormal and supernatural incidents began to “hit home”, I sat down at my computer to flesh out the details – those of our loved ones – and now mine. Before long and without much effort, I had made a document for each “event” which had been logged on paper initially and saved in a calendar. Despite the strange goings-on, I was glad I’d kept track of the dates and even the times of day. My background in psychology and years of logging research study observations had come in handy, to say the least. Nevertheless, as you will see, my journal is written not in clinical form, but in story form. I have also added post scripts to a number of the journal entries. These will be described below.<br />
<br />
In <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong>, rare and unusual episodes – encounters with the explained and unexplained alike – are called "events". The story begins with the amazing events of December 23, 2003. It ends with the eye-opening display and revelation I experienced on December 23, 2004 – on the anniversary of Max’s ostensible departure.<br />
<br />
Through research conducted following the fifty-odd incidents and encounters (and odd they were), the phenomena were later classified into some rather rare and interesting categories: <br />
<br />
<em>the shifting and displacement of physical objects in and around rooms; apparitions and other spirit encounters; synchronicities and extreme coincidences; automatic writing; numinous dreams, the movement of undated coins; intelligent haunts; residual haunts; uncanny telephone activities; electrical demonstrations, malfunctions and breakdowns; object alteration; “third eye” phenomena; spirit communications received through clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; soul travel; spirit guide communications; validation of “rare” events based on the frequency of repetition of the events; validation of rare events based on statistical hypothesis testing; and the discovery of a corroborating written record found after the occurrence of a supernatural event.</em><br />
<br />
In the <strong>Post Script </strong>sections following key phenomenological activities, I discuss and sometimes attempt to examine an event further or to review subject matter associated with the event. Therefore, post scripts (as detailed below) are reserved primarily for post-event commentary and research. Although many of the events in the book are left unexplained, potential explanations are offered wherever "doable", with respect to key paranormal events. Interpretations are made wherever possible.<br />
<br />
The timeframe of <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong> is December 23, 2003 through December 23, 2004. Nevertheless, supernatural and synchronistic happenings have gone far beyond the boundaries of one journal year, changing my life forever. Because of the rare and challenging life changes I experienced over a subsequent six-year period, I decided it would be a good idea to continue journaling. After all, the paranormal events didn’t stop simply because one journal year had ended. No, not in any sense of the word! Consequently, I have continued to keep a log from 2005 onward. On the other hand, my focus shifted somewhat because of a tremendous increase in synchronistic events, intuitive perceptions, signs, wonders, and even a few predictions which were later born out.<br />
<br />
As my intuitive side became evident, I sought to understand and develop this gift under the guidance of Sunny Dawn Johnston, psychic medium of Sunlight Alliance. In 2006 while watching a news program on television, I learned of Sunny’s incredible work in Arizona, with Hay House of California, and around the country. I contacted Sunny immediately and began taking her intuitive classes, such as Angel classes, Law of Attraction classes, and a number of her Mediumship classes. Sunny, who is my mentor, conducts personal conferences in her office and by telephone.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, in 2007 I suffered an illness affecting my physical vision, i.e., amazingly my intuitive vision remained unaffected. However, to my chagrin, I was unable to continue with the mathematical work I performed as a consulting statistician, i.e., work with spreadsheets, long columns of numbers, and so forth. Now I am happy and thankful to report that I found a doctor who has been treating the illness successfully for a year. Due to this wonderful and most welcome development and the paranormal happenings I’ve experienced since 2004, I am gaining in energy and perseverance every day. Since I have kept all my phenomenological notes on file, these are tomes yet be formalized beyond this book! I look forward to the prospects with delight and appreciation for these renewed capabilities.<br />
<br />
Since my dear Max went to the light, our poignant, bizarre and sometimes even comical communications have been rare. Nevertheless, he still visits the earthly plane of existence from time to time, most notably on special occasions. You see, Max loves parties and get-togethers. What a communicator he was and always will be! After the transition (death) the individual personality remains the same. I have found this to be true over and over again. You see, in the past seven years other spirit beings have visited me as well: my dearly deceased father, his parents, my step-father who recently passed at the age of ninety-five, angels as I prayed in church, spirit guides, and loved ones of classmates and friends. Most of these wonderful encounters have occurred subsequent to the writing of this journal and will be revealed in an upcoming book. Nevertheless, a few of these exchanges did take place in 2004 when I was first “introduced” to my spirit guide. I am pleased to present these stories in Death Is Not “The End”.<br />
<br />
<strong>Journal Entries.</strong> This volume contains seventy-one journal entries, beginning with the events of December 23, 2003 and ending with the unparalleled event that happened on December 23, 2004. Consequently, my journal contains data and information concerning over fifty paranormal experiences, spanning a year and one day. The last day is simply too mind-boggling and personally meaningful to exclude from my chronicle of events. Indeed, it is the sine qua non of the book! Yet, many more than fifty paranormal events occurred in 2004. The “over fifty” refers to recurring events because I did not document or even count a particular event more than once in the book. The most repetitive paranormal events were “The Hair Dryer Affair”, Max “curling up” on the couch, “The Toaster Trick” and Max’s appearance in the gardens at church. Although I recorded and presented the account of the toaster trick just once, this incident happened approximately two to three times a week for many weeks in 2004, and on into 2005. I am sure that I witnessed the unbelievable “toaster trick” at least twenty times. <em>This is a very conservative estimate.</em> It may have happened fifty or more times, I just don’t know. <br />
<br />
My journal entries are based on the occurrences of uncanny, sometimes mind-blowing, and often extraordinarily meaningful events, such as communications with Max, “coincidental” electrical events, and the unfortunate deaths that occurred in proximity to Max’s passing. In this sense, the journal is episodic in nature – unlike a diary or a journal of daily activities, thoughts, and concerns. The narrative was written in the past tense. However, the paranormal sequences were written in the present tense to “glue” the reader to the scene while revealing the observer’s thoughts and feelings about the phenomenon.<br />
<br />
<strong>Event Recording.</strong> Due to a meticulous bent brought on by working with numbers, I have included a date and often a time at the top of each journal entry. In this way, associations and interpretations can be drawn for a better understanding of the paranormal incidents in question. Because I am aware that the moon has an effect on nature, I have also included phases of the moon. At the start, I hadn’t yet made the decision to chronicle every observation or to keep track of dates. Then later, as I began to include dates and times in the narratives, I expressed my apologies for being unable to recall a few of the dates and some of the times of day. To that end, I supplied estimated dates (such as 1/xx/04) and times of day like Sunday Morning or Wednesday Afternoon, at least whenever possible.<br />
<br />
All of the supernatural data and information were first logged and then described in detail in the book. However, about ten percent of the information was subsequently removed from the book. For example, if I witnessed an event that I was later unable to recall in detail, the event was then excluded. This happened a few times. I have likewise excluded two separate paranormal accounts which I received early in 2004 from two of Max’s dear friends, a man and a woman. They are friends of mine as well. Since that time, I have been unable to reach either of the two to obtain detailed corroboration of their stories. So I decided it would be best to remove their narratives from the body of my book. However, I am able to state with confidence that the first event happened to the man while he was taking a walk in the woods about a week after Max died. The second event concerned a phenomenon that the woman said she witnessed in my home while I was vacationing in Sedona. She had been “pet-sitting” and watching my home. The nature of the details surrounding each of these events is still somewhat unclear so I must unfortunately exclude their accounts. However, I do know this: both the man and the woman told me their stories with great enthusiasm. They both appeared to have been stunned, to say the least, by what they had seen and heard. The dear man has since moved away and his phone has been disconnected. And despite my phone messages and invitations, my friend and confidante, the woman has not entered my home since the time she witnessed the paranormal phenomenon. Indeed, I have been unable to reach her for a long time. Though my friends tells me not to wait, I miss her and have hopes that she will return to say hello someday, perhaps when I least expect it.<br />
<br />
Despite all that has happened (or not), I carry a big pad of sticky notes and a pen and take them with me wherever I go. While writing the first draft of The Hope, I never thought, as a few friends suggested, that “the recording of all that data” would be too tedious a task to stick with for long. Quite the reverse. I felt comfortable with the idea because the phenomena were often so awesome or wacky that I felt compelled to get my observations down on paper. Keeping track this way, I would then be able to tell my mother and friends the story. Nevertheless, I soon found myself “fleshing out” these accounts on my laptop – before work, after work, on the Wednesdays of my four-day work week, and on weekends as well. In that sense, I was confident I wouldn’t be relying on old memory. Before long, a book was born. Lives were forever changed!<br />
<br />
<strong>Song Lyrics.</strong> (<em>Please note:</em> the song lyrics are primarily reserved for the book, i.e., most of the songs are not contained in this Blog). The supernatural events sometimes arrived with a song – on the radio, while drinking coffee in a café, through musak, or while working in my office. Quite a few of the songs, coupled with the associated paranormal phenomena, had a synchronistic quality and became a fundamental part of the experience. Even today, as I recall seeing Max’s spirit on January 3rd 2004, I can still hear “Unchained Melody”. This beautiful song was an integral part of my paranormal experience because the song and the movie, “Ghost” were on television. That is, approximately five minutes after Max appeared on the arm of my sofa, I changed the television channel and I heard the song, “Unchained Melody”. There before me was the movie, “Ghost” as Max’s spirit hovered just above the arm of my sofa. I was stunned! <br />
<br />
People are incredulous when they hear this story, thinking it could not possibly have happened. It sounds surreal, they say – too perfect to be true. Objectively, I agree with them, to be sure. But I am here to tell you, to my absolute bafflement, it happened. And in all humility, it happened to me. Why would any person set herself up for potential derision by writing such a far-fetched story unless it were true? I certainly would not. My “Ghost” story happened as I described it. I cannot and will not delete this account from my journal simply because it is too fantastic for people to believe. That, in point of fact, would be a form of deception. I am only here to tell you to the best of my ability about the phenomena I experienced.<br />
<br />
Because of activities that are “linked” like these, the inclusion of one or two lines of lyrics tends to give people a better picture of the experience. The reader can then visualize and perhaps even “feel” the event from the perspective of the one who witnessed it – thinking and “hearing” the song as the observer heard it while the event was happening. Using the required standards for abridgement, these songs are an integral part of my journal because they add the element of sound (i.e., the recollection of the melodies) to the equation – bringing another dimension to the reading of the book. Music lovers might even enjoy listening to the tunes online as they read particular passages.<br />
<br />
<strong>Post Scripts.</strong> The post script sections of this book fill an important need. Post scripts allow me to separate the paranormal events from comments and research concerning the events. In this way, no paranormal story is ever changed or manipulated beyond revisions for clarity, grammar, punctuation, style and the like.<br />
<br />
As I rewrote my journal, I expanded on the post scripts. There was a need for more definitions, commentary, and further research on paranormal phenomena to shed light on the most baffling events and perhaps the least understood activities. Post scripts are primarily reserved for: <br />
<br />
• My comments and inquiries concerning an event<br />
<br />
• Paranormal and supernatural definitions and descriptions<br />
<br />
• Key information from theories of consciousness<br />
<br />
• Key information from quantum theory -string theory, parallel universes, etc. <br />
<br />
• Post scripts providing new material, such as “Law of Attraction” concepts<br />
<br />
• Logical analysis of an event<br />
<br />
• Statistical analysis of an event, where possible <br />
<br />
• Interpretation of key events<br />
<br />
In addition to the post scripts, Journal Entry 34 contains quite a bit of information on quantum physics and “The Theory of Everything” as related to rare and unusual phenomena. Journal Entry 59 strictly concerns “third eye” phenomena.<br />
<br />
I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers. In that sense, I do not attempt to analyze and interpret every event documented in <strong>The Hope</strong>. Some incidents are brief and self-explanatory, in terms of the typical conjectures set forth to make sense of the phenomena. Although I have attempted to depict every event logged in detail, some events simply defy description and explanation. I have provided post scripts after particular journal entries, as needed, along with comments, questions, research, analysis, and where feasible, interpretation of the event. I encourage readers to take a stab at it. Get together with your friends and mull over mysterious events. Try to analyze and interpret these phenomena to your satisfaction. This is half the fun and joy of the book. The other half is the incredible stories, all true! <br />
<br />
<em>Please note:</em> Due to the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter and as a protective measure, names have been changed in the narrative sections of the book. Nevertheless, the true names of a number of people have been kept in the narratives, as requested. I have retained my pen name and that of my deceased spouse, Max Blau, for <strong>this book</strong>. I assure you that no person, place, nor story is fictitious. Every happening hereby recorded is true to the best of my ability to capture the quintessence of a paranormal event. I freely admit that some events have left me baffled. Yet, isn’t that what makes life fascinating?<br />
<br />
I continue to keep records of rare and unusual events even into the year Two Thousand Eleven. However, there is more than enough to tell – based solely on what happened the year after my beloved Max died. I humbly present my story to you, my readers, in <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong>.<br />
<br />
<br />
~ Your Author, Mandy BerlinMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-49757236341950181322012-05-14T19:25:00.002-07:002012-05-14T19:29:41.530-07:00Max's Churning Computer<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Journal Entry 27</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Sunday 05/02/2004</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Waxing gibbous moon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Around 11:00 a.m.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today
I glanced through the files Max kept on disc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I knew that hundreds of his files were contained in several directories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, having set aside a block of time, I decided
to review them all, then delete those of little value and retain those that
seemed to be important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>I’ll just copy
the “good” ones to CD</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
I can dispose of his computer, </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I
thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One
time not long after he died, I logged on to his machine to search for some
documents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The computer ran well that
day – no problems whatsoever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, I
found the needed files in no time at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
ᴥ ᴥ
ᴥ</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
with every confidence, I sit down at Max’s computer and boot up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But about three seconds into the logon, I
hear a nefarious noise, a thud followed by an ear-splitting bellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> “</span>Whoa!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I jump up from my seat and back away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You see, the computer’s “bawling” like a car that won’t start in the
dead of winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stunned, I move about
halfway down the hall<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn’t want to get any closer to the thing.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>I mean, what if it explodes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Now that may sound silly, but believe me,
I am not willing nor even able to get any closer to the roaring roadster – or in
Max’s case, the “Croakin’ Toadster”. (Catch The Toad, his nickname in an earlier post.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Suddenly,
as if the computer is changing it’s tune, it starts to make a chugging
sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Oh God, it’s dying!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to turn it off, but I can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That might
screw up the hard drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t lose
any of these files until they’re backed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Stop,
stop!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I scream like a fool. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as if on cue</i>, the chugging actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>stops</u>!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“WHAT the HECK?”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shriek, as if a few fricatives might
placate the pounding in my chest.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> N</span>evertheless,
on hearing the happy hum of the CPU, I begin to pull myself together.. somewhat…
and plop down on the chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still I’m
not getting anywhere, staring at the clock like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Okay,
after that bizarre scene, coffee’s not desired. It’s required. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lunchtime….
</i>Besides, I must give the old guy a break.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh,
sorry dude, you’re not that old.”<em> </em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, we must try to appease the
Toadster.</div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
ᴥ ᴥ
ᴥ</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
a welcome lunch, I’m armed to the teeth with a humungous slice of peach pie and my
trusty mug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And on the way back to the
office, I holler at the ceiling, “Hey, Max!” just in case he’s around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Honey, I won’t delete anything from your
hard drive except garbage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I promise.”</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Darlin’
come on listen to me, I won’t do you no harm…” I’m singing that John Lennon
tune [1], boogying with pie and coffee in hand... behaving myself... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unlike some “croaksters”
we know. </i>So I set my
reinforcements on his desk and sit down with purpose, something like the
operator of a guided missile system. I clear my throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Okay, alright,
here goes….” </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“DEFCON
Three…”</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hesitation.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“DEFCON
Two...” </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
hand reaches out to the computer.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“DEFCON
One!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
I push the button.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lifetimes in that one moment.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Eventually
some beeps and clicks.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What, no racket? </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
exhale and check the hard drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nothing weird at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>So I take another breath, and wait, and
wait…</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Click… click… click…. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Right,”
I say, and the machine boots up.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cry, arms to the sky. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Breathing
freely now, I tell my ineffable one, “Guy, the computer’s finally ‘behaving’
itself.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span>As if he doesn’t know.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Soon I’m reviewing the files without further incident, working long into the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<h2 style="line-height: 200%; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;">Post
Script</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since
that strange Sunday, I have logged on to Max’s machine several more times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am relieved to report that nothing creepy has happened since that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just
the same, I’ve decided not to dispose of Max’s computer – no, not for a
long, long time!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
1. Lennon, John. "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night." <em>Walls and Bridges.</em> Capitol, 1974. LP.
</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.35in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-61457643761924320772012-05-04T17:45:00.003-07:002012-05-04T17:55:02.749-07:00An Apology<br />
Sorry about the way story 1 is formatted (not). The new Google editor is "acting up." <br />
<br />
For example, when you press enter for a new line, sometimes it doesn't go there or it leaves two or three line spaces instead. Tried to change it numerous times. Also the font style keeps changing within the body of text, though I have only used one font for the entire story.<br />
<br />
In addition, what you see in the Editor is not what you get when you view the Blog :(....<br />
<br />
My apologies!<br />
<br />
Oh well, I do hope you enjoy my story to follow!! It's the first one of the book... about all the unbelievable things that happened only hours after my husband, Max, left our world. <br />
<br />
Or did he?<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Mandy<br />
The Author<br />
<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-2480876089837694142012-05-04T17:07:00.001-07:002012-05-04T17:34:10.244-07:00THE NIGHT MAX DIED<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Journal Entry 1<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tuesday 12/23/2003<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tempe, Arizona</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Max left
our world just two nights before Christmas at nine o’clock sharp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In life my Max had never been late for any
important occasion, and so in death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some say, at fifty years of age, he died too young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others say he lived a full life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as I see it, young or old, Max left our
world too soon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet, this story
is not so much about my grief as it is about my husband, Max, and my joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps you might be thinking, she lost her
spouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can she be talking about her
“joy” if she cared about this guy at all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, I must say that along with the shock and sadness that came with
the loss of my beloved husband and friend, something extraordinary arrived at
my door – something I certainly never expected and will never forget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not in a lifetime!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For when these incredible things began to
happen, I was an agnostic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For over
thirty years, I had no beliefs.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Decades
earlier, I did have some beliefs:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the beliefs
of my parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had attended Catholic
school in Ohio, wore my beanie and school uniform every day, and went to church
faithfully as commanded by the nuns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact, I’d become quite good at parroting prayers and verses from my
missalette.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
My grandmother
thought I was a saint.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, what
did she know?<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe I was
sedate in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly too shy
to talk to boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must have thought
I was rather bookish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no more than a
week after starting school at Kent State University, my life began to
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, when I dropped off my
books and took off my glasses, attractive young men began showing up at my door
– a singular experience for any young woman, (especially me)!<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Soon I
found myself steeped in studies and loving every minute of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a kick to imitate my science
professor!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, Dr. Culver was a
passionate man:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You must have evidence
– hard data – for every statement you make, for every hypothesis you
develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data and information – the keys
to our three dimensional world!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Did I
believe him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I did, and still
do.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But soon I started to question
everything in existence, including my mother’s ideas about a distant place
called heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly had no hard
data for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So my childhood fantasies
of a divine maker, and everything that came along this inscrutable concept,
evaporated before you could say Christmas Break.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then after
leaving Ohio for sunnier parts unknown, I finally received my four-year degree from
Arizona State University and returned for six more years of graduate study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I became a research scientist, a statistician
by trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What better way to develop
hypotheses and process all that hard data Dr. Culver was always talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And in the process of all that, I met and married my sweetheart,
Max.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a wonderful life together
for sixteen years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We worked hard and had
so many wonderful times traveling around the western region of our great
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the mornings we drank our
coffee from tin cups by clear running streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At night we camped out under the stars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Such happy times we had… and yet,
I see now that the best thing we had was love.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then, my
Max died of cancer and things began to happen that did not fit into the world
of my adulthood – my agnostic world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
I knew that if I ever hoped to make any sense out of the mind-boggling
incidents that our friends, loved ones and even I had begun to experience, I
would have to stick with the scientific method – observe and record “the data”
– the bizarre, beautiful and mind-boggling events I have set down in writing, here
in my journal. </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the very
night Max departed, two of his sisters began to have strange experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I was feeling so heartbroken to have
lost my husband and dearest friend of all, his sisters telephone calls caught
my attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, the “tales” they
were telling me sounded, what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just
plain weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I gathered up all the
strength I could muster and began to take notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If nothing else, I thought perhaps this would
take my mind off the daunting lack of Max.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well, I must at least try,</i> I sighed and
told myself, though I certainly didn’t comprehend one wit of what was happening
back then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My notes would become the start of a detailed
log of paranormal and supernatural events.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, one
night during Christmas Week, not long after Max had left us, Paulette called me
from her home in Sonoita, Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
said that Max had appeared to her in a dream around eleven o’clock, about two
hours after he had died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, despite
Paulette’s sadness on hearing the terrible news of her brother’s death, she
sounded almost comfortable with the whole idea. <em> Strange</em>, I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so
I just kept quiet and listened.<br />
<br />
She said
that in her lifelike dream, Max had been joking around with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey, I feel fantastic, Paulette,” he hooted,
“more alive now than ever!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d been “tipping
a few” and watching the late shows together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, along with my surprise, imagine how I might have felt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
Paulette’s dream contains any ounce of reality,</i> I thought, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am I so happy to hear that Max, in all his
aliveness, is having such a grand time without me?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I shook my
head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh, it’s just a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Still,
I continued to jot things down on paper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
Now, after
all the extraordinary events I have witnessed since Christmas Week of ‘03, I
look back in joy and wonder over Paulette’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">numinous
dream</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For when she finished telling
me her story, she cried out, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Mandy,
my dream seemed so real!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Imagine
my state of confusion and disappointment when I woke up to find Max gone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is that possible?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Paulette, this was an encounter of some
sort, resulting in a sense of disorientation and disillusionment once she finally
grasped that Max had left our world... if,
indeed, he did go, for Paulette’s dream was just the beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Days later,
Max’s middle sister telephoned me from Oxford, England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon Char proceeded to tell me about an
extraordinary march, of sorts, that she had witnessed in her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d been sitting in the bathroom when, out
of nowhere, footprints began “stomping” their way into her bathroom rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tracks were not of her own making “…because,
Mandy,” she said, “they appeared to me, one by one, as they were being made!”
as if an unseen crusader were trampling on her rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Char was appalled, yet amazed, watching in
disbelief as the mind-boggling footprints materialized right in front of her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
Not long
after Char’s encounter with the uncanny, the family called to express their
regrets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They said her beloved brother
had passed at nine p.m. Mountain Time in the hospice in Tempe, Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Char then realized something unbelievable:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>accounting for the time differential between
England and Arizona, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Max had departed –
in real time – not long before the mysterious footprints “appeared” on her
bathroom rug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This bizarre
phenomenon had taken place on the morning of December Twenty-Fourth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Christmas Eve in Oxford, England.<br />
<br />
I <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">can just hear Max now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey guys, Happy Holidays!” he seemed to
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>You just call out my name and
you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again….[1]<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i><br />
<em> </em>We
played that song for him all night, the night he died.<br />
<br />
<i><o:p><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">*****</span></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1] King, Carole. "You've Got a Friend." Tapestry. A&M, 1971. LP.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-48226644245453800962012-04-20T20:23:00.000-07:002012-04-20T20:23:29.101-07:00"NO MORE TANGLES"Journal Entry 25
<br />
Wednesday 04/28/2004
<br />
First quarter moon
<br />
Early morning
<br />
<br />
Getting ready for work, I stomped back to the bedroom to look for something to wear with my new grey suit. For some reason, I had left the suit in the guest closet. On the way, I whipped out a rather alluring rose-colored scarf and stopped short at the bed.
<br />
<br />
“How did this happen?” I exclaimed. For there was my silver necklace, draped across the king-sized comforter like jewelry fit for a queen. What’s more, there were no tangles in it!
<br />
<br />
“How is this possible?” I said in sheer amazement. “What’s going on?”
<br />
<br />
Last night I had fallen asleep on the sofa. Too “dozy” to read, I watched a little TV and fooled around with my silver necklace. I mean, the darned thing had about five knots in it! So I worked on it till the show ended, but even with dogged determination, I hadn’t loosened a loop. Soon the protuberances appeared to shrink, looking more like the sub-atomic particles the scientists were talking about on NOVA. I rubbed my eyes and before you could say “miniscule”, my head began to bob just above the coffee table. When I came to, I found the tangled chain draped across my hands like rosary beads.
<br />
<br />
Now beyond caring about the remaining knots, I knew I had to “give up the ghost.” <i>Yawn, bedtime</i>...
<br />
<br />
<i>Yuck, still have to brush my teeth.</i>
Grunting my way to the bathroom, I tossed the knotty necklace on the bed. “I’ll do it tomorrow -- with tweezers.” So I brushed my teeth and slipped into my PJs, just in time for a comedy show. And somewhere between the chuckles and cushy couch pillows, I slipped into that blissful state of freedom we commonly call unconsciousness.
<br />
<br />
ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ
<br />
<br />
Even as the rays of the morning sun flicker across my bedroom wall, I walk in the room to find my silver necklace arranged on the bed, just so. No twists, no tangles!
<br />
<br />
I gasp and I shake my head. “How is this possible?”
<br />
<br />
To be sure, I take off my bifocals and bring the necklace up to my nose. Smiling, I say, “How sweet, it's shimmering in the light,” and I start inspecting it. “No knots.” I turn it over and over. “No lumps.”
<br />
<br />
“Hmm, not a kink.”
“How can this be?” I shake my head and plop down on the bed. <i>I couldn’t have pulled out the tangles while I was sleeping. No, I can’t even do that when I’m awake. </i><br />
<br />
Soon I'm sitting up, draping the silver necklace 'round my neck. Then, looking up at the ceiling, I shout, “Hey, Max!”
“Wherever you are, darling, thanks for helping me out in a pinch.” Then, brushing back a tear, I say, “Maybe I won’t wear the scarf after all.” I fasten the tiny clasp. “Why don't I wear your necklace today… in memory of all the good things we had.”
<br />
<br />
“Most of all, each other.”
<br />
<br />
<b>Post Script</b>
<br />
<br />
I’m getting that déjà vu sensation. Didn’t this happen before?
<br />
<br />
Yes, of course it did. In reviewing my calendar, I see that a similar event occurred on February 27th as documented in Journal Entry 20. Just another coincidence? Much less likely, methinks.
<br />
<br />
No, I’m not sleep walking, nor am I “sleep-fixing” necklaces – ridiculous the thought, though someone will surely ask. When we first started dating, Max used to fix my jewelry, just as he did throughout our marriage. He seemed to enjoy the challenge of repairing broken clasps, lifting little loops… disentangling tiny ties.
<br />
<br />
In contrast, witness my vexation in manipulating small objects of any kind. I enjoy abstract thought, but the thought of tiny items in disrepair? Well, that just about sets me into a tailspin. Of course, this is Magoo speaking. If my vision were better, perhaps I’d find fixing things fun, like Max did. Then again, maybe he was just being nice.
<br />
<br />
<i>Either way, Max, you know I’ve always appreciated your help, don’t you? No matter the chore, you had a way of making things fun.... love you, guy. </i><br />
<br />
<br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-73520571591065057492012-04-03T19:27:00.003-07:002012-04-03T19:35:55.928-07:00BOOK TITLE CHANGED !Dear Friends,<br /><br />Just to clarify re several questions you raised in emails I received last week:<br /><br />The original title of my new book, "The Hope and the Knowing" was changed a few months ago to "Death Is Not 'The End': One Agnostic's Journey on the Bumpy Road to Belief." <br /><br />This change is based on recent feedback I received from a publisher and several people in the know who said that the new title is more descriptive of the contents of my book. On the other hand, the original title was a bit vague. Don't you agree? <br /><br />All comments welcome.<br /><br />Yours very truly,<br />MandyMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-27422417608486177272012-04-03T19:22:00.002-07:002012-04-03T19:25:07.296-07:00UPCOMING EYE SURGERYDear Readers,<br /><br />Thank you for your recent email comments concerning "Death Is Not 'The End'!"<br /><br />Will be going in for eye surgery on April 9th; then again on April 23rd.<br /><br />Wish me luck!<br /><br />Sincerely yours,<br />Mandy BerlinMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-30074558912012089992012-02-12T08:12:00.000-08:002012-02-12T08:13:31.109-08:00Death Is Not "The End"<strong>Death Is Not "The End": One Agnostic's Journey on the Bumpy Road to Belief</strong> is a chronicle of supernatural, uncanny, and mystical events. Three hours before the Christmas Eve of Two Thousand Three, the soul of Max Blau departed from a hospice in Tempe, Arizona. Yet, in Oxford, England, Christmas Eve had already arrived. There, in Max’s former home, sat his grief-stricken sisters and guardians who had received word that he died on their most beloved holiday. Yet, just hours after Max’s “purported” departure, strange things began to happen – in Oxford and in Arizona as well.<br /><br /> Despite the terrible sadness caused by the untimely death of Max, my husband and dearest friend in all the world, I soon realized that things were not as they seemed. During Christmas week alone, I began receiving telephone calls from loved ones and friends dear to us. Oddly, some of the callers sounded happy, if not downright joyful soon after Max had left us! In fact, his sisters and even a few of his close friends phoned to tell me their uncanny stories. From the outset, these incredible tales had a strange effect on me. You see, I was an agnostic then. I had no beliefs one way or the other. Nevertheless, after hearing these eerie tales, I decided to do what I did best – sit at my coffee table and take notes. <br /><br /> After obtaining an advanced degree and working as a consulting statistician in education, psychology, health care and government for approximately twenty-five years, I remained, as ever, a curious person. So, when these events began to take place, I knew I had to write down the details if I wanted to investigate further. Later, for validation purposes, I sent written “reports” to those who had kindly taken the time to tell me their stories. If there were any truth to these rare claims, my notes would have to be corroborated and the required corrections made.<br /><br /> Then, amazingly on New Year’s Day, two days after Max’s burial, I began to have experiences of my own. In fact, I was soon to become a party to some outlandish and baffling happenings – in places like my home, restaurants, cafés, gardens, and even during my first trip to England! As these paranormal and supernatural incidents began to “hit home”, I sat down at my computer to flesh out the details – those of our loved ones – and now mine. Before long and without much effort, I had made a document for each “event” which had been logged on paper initially and saved in a calendar. Despite the strange goings-on, I was glad I’d kept track of the dates and even the times of day. My background in psychology and years of logging research study observations had come in handy, to say the least. Nevertheless, as you will see, my journal is written not in clinical form, but in story form. I have also added post scripts to a number of the journal entries. These will be described below.<br /><br /> In <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong>, rare and unusual episodes – encounters with the explained and unexplained alike – are called "events". The story begins with the amazing events of December 23, 2003. It ends with the eye-opening display and revelation I experienced on December 23, 2004 – on the anniversary of Max’s ostensible departure.<br /><br /> Through research conducted following the fifty-odd incidents and encounters (and odd they were), the phenomena were later classified into some rather rare and interesting categories: <br /> <br /><em>the shifting and displacement of physical objects in and around rooms; apparitions and other spirit encounters; synchronicities and extreme coincidences; automatic writing; numinous dreams, the movement of undated coins; intelligent haunts; residual haunts; uncanny telephone activities; electrical demonstrations, malfunctions and breakdowns; object alteration; “third eye” phenomena; spirit communications received through clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; soul travel; spirit guide communications; validation of “rare” events based on the frequency of repetition of the events; validation of rare events based on statistical hypothesis testing; and the discovery of a corroborating written record found after the occurrence of a supernatural event.</em><br /><br /> In the <strong>Post Script </strong>sections following key phenomenological activities, I discuss and sometimes attempt to examine an event further or to review subject matter associated with the event. Therefore, post scripts (as detailed below) are reserved primarily for post-event commentary and research. Although many of the events in the book are left unexplained, potential explanations are offered wherever "doable", with respect to key paranormal events. Interpretations are made wherever possible.<br /><br /> The timeframe of <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong> is December 23, 2003 through December 23, 2004. Nevertheless, supernatural and synchronistic happenings have gone far beyond the boundaries of one journal year, changing my life forever. Because of the rare and challenging life changes I experienced over a subsequent six-year period, I decided it would be a good idea to continue journaling. After all, the paranormal events didn’t stop simply because one journal year had ended. No, not in any sense of the word! Consequently, I have continued to keep a log from 2005 onward. On the other hand, my focus shifted somewhat because of a tremendous increase in synchronistic events, intuitive perceptions, signs, wonders, and even a few predictions which were later born out.<br /><br /> As my intuitive side became evident, I sought to understand and develop this gift under the guidance of Sunny Dawn Johnston, psychic medium of Sunlight Alliance. In 2006 while watching a news program on television, I learned of Sunny’s incredible work in Arizona, with Hay House of California, and around the country. I contacted Sunny immediately and began taking her intuitive classes, such as Angel classes, Law of Attraction classes, and a number of her Mediumship classes. Sunny, who is my mentor, conducts personal conferences in her office and by telephone.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, in 2007 I suffered an illness affecting my physical vision, i.e., amazingly my intuitive vision remained unaffected. However, to my chagrin, I was unable to continue with the mathematical work I performed as a consulting statistician, i.e., work with spreadsheets, long columns of numbers, and so forth. Now I am happy and thankful to report that I found a doctor who has been treating the illness successfully for a year. Due to this wonderful and most welcome development and the paranormal happenings I’ve experienced since 2004, I am gaining in energy and perseverance every day. Since I have kept all my phenomenological notes on file, these are tomes yet be formalized beyond this book! I look forward to the prospects with delight and appreciation for these renewed capabilities.<br /><br /> Since my dear Max went to the light, our poignant, bizarre and sometimes even comical communications have been rare. Nevertheless, he still visits the earthly plane of existence from time to time, most notably on special occasions. You see, Max loves parties and get-togethers. What a communicator he was and always will be! After the transition (death) the individual personality remains the same. I have found this to be true over and over again. You see, in the past seven years other spirit beings have visited me as well: my dearly deceased father, his parents, my step-father who recently passed at the age of ninety-five, angels as I prayed in church, spirit guides, and loved ones of classmates and friends. Most of these wonderful encounters have occurred subsequent to the writing of this journal and will be revealed in an upcoming book. Nevertheless, a few of these exchanges did take place in 2004 when I was first “introduced” to my spirit guide. I am pleased to present these stories in Death Is Not “The End”.<br /><br /> <strong>Journal Entries.</strong> This volume contains seventy-one journal entries, beginning with the events of December 23, 2003 and ending with the unparalleled event that happened on December 23, 2004. Consequently, my journal contains data and information concerning over fifty paranormal experiences, spanning a year and one day. The last day is simply too mind-boggling and personally meaningful to exclude from my chronicle of events. Indeed, it is the sine qua non of the book! Yet, many more than fifty paranormal events occurred in 2004. The “over fifty” refers to recurring events because I did not document or even count a particular event more than once in the book. The most repetitive paranormal events were “The Hair Dryer Affair”, Max “curling up” on the couch, “The Toaster Trick” and Max’s appearance in the gardens at church. Although I recorded and presented the account of the toaster trick just once, this incident happened approximately two to three times a week for many weeks in 2004, and on into 2005. I am sure that I witnessed the unbelievable “toaster trick” at least twenty times. <em>This is a very conservative estimate.</em> It may have happened fifty or more times, I just don’t know. <br /><br /> My journal entries are based on the occurrences of uncanny, sometimes mind-blowing, and often extraordinarily meaningful events, such as communications with Max, “coincidental” electrical events, and the unfortunate deaths that occurred in proximity to Max’s passing. In this sense, the journal is episodic in nature – unlike a diary or a journal of daily activities, thoughts, and concerns. The narrative was written in the past tense. However, the paranormal sequences were written in the present tense to “glue” the reader to the scene while revealing the observer’s thoughts and feelings about the phenomenon.<br /><br /> <strong>Event Recording.</strong> Due to a meticulous bent brought on by working with numbers, I have included a date and often a time at the top of each journal entry. In this way, associations and interpretations can be drawn for a better understanding of the paranormal incidents in question. Because I am aware that the moon has an effect on nature, I have also included phases of the moon. At the start, I hadn’t yet made the decision to chronicle every observation or to keep track of dates. Then later, as I began to include dates and times in the narratives, I expressed my apologies for being unable to recall a few of the dates and some of the times of day. To that end, I supplied estimated dates (such as 1/xx/04) and times of day like Sunday Morning or Wednesday Afternoon, at least whenever possible.<br /><br /> All of the supernatural data and information were first logged and then described in detail in the book. However, about ten percent of the information was subsequently removed from the book. For example, if I witnessed an event that I was later unable to recall in detail, the event was then excluded. This happened a few times. I have likewise excluded two separate paranormal accounts which I received early in 2004 from two of Max’s dear friends, a man and a woman. They are friends of mine as well. Since that time, I have been unable to reach either of the two to obtain detailed corroboration of their stories. So I decided it would be best to remove their narratives from the body of my book. However, I am able to state with confidence that the first event happened to the man while he was taking a walk in the woods about a week after Max died. The second event concerned a phenomenon that the woman said she witnessed in my home while I was vacationing in Sedona. She had been “pet-sitting” and watching my home. The nature of the details surrounding each of these events is still somewhat unclear so I must unfortunately exclude their accounts. However, I do know this: both the man and the woman told me their stories with great enthusiasm. They both appeared to have been stunned, to say the least, by what they had seen and heard. The dear man has since moved away and his phone has been disconnected. And despite my phone messages and invitations, my friend and confidante, the woman has not entered my home since the time she witnessed the paranormal phenomenon. Indeed, I have been unable to reach her for a long time. Though my friends tells me not to wait, I miss her and have hopes that she will return to say hello someday, perhaps when I least expect it.<br /><br /> Despite all that has happened (or not), I carry a big pad of sticky notes and a pen and take them with me wherever I go. While writing the first draft of The Hope, I never thought, as a few friends suggested, that “the recording of all that data” would be too tedious a task to stick with for long. Quite the reverse. I felt comfortable with the idea because the phenomena were often so awesome or wacky that I felt compelled to get my observations down on paper. Keeping track this way, I would then be able to tell my mother and friends the story. Nevertheless, I soon found myself “fleshing out” these accounts on my laptop – before work, after work, on the Wednesdays of my four-day work week, and on weekends as well. In that sense, I was confident I wouldn’t be relying on old memory. Before long, a book was born. Lives were forever changed!<br /><br /> <strong>Song Lyrics.</strong> (<em>Please note:</em> the song lyrics are primarily reserved for the book, i.e., most of the songs are not contained in this Blog). The supernatural events sometimes arrived with a song – on the radio, while drinking coffee in a café, through musak, or while working in my office. Quite a few of the songs, coupled with the associated paranormal phenomena, had a synchronistic quality and became a fundamental part of the experience. Even today, as I recall seeing Max’s spirit on January 3rd 2004, I can still hear “Unchained Melody”. This beautiful song was an integral part of my paranormal experience because the song and the movie, “Ghost” were on television. That is, approximately five minutes after Max appeared on the arm of my sofa, I changed the television channel and I heard the song, “Unchained Melody”. There before me was the movie, “Ghost” as Max’s spirit hovered just above the arm of my sofa. I was stunned! <br /> <br /> People are incredulous when they hear this story, thinking it could not possibly have happened. It sounds surreal, they say – too perfect to be true. Objectively, I agree with them, to be sure. But I am here to tell you, to my absolute bafflement, it happened. And in all humility, it happened to me. Why would any person set herself up for potential derision by writing such a far-fetched story unless it were true? I certainly would not. My “Ghost” story happened as I described it. I cannot and will not delete this account from my journal simply because it is too fantastic for people to believe. That, in point of fact, would be a form of deception. I am only here to tell you to the best of my ability about the phenomena I experienced.<br /><br /> Because of activities that are “linked” like these, the inclusion of one or two lines of lyrics tends to give people a better picture of the experience. The reader can then visualize and perhaps even “feel” the event from the perspective of the one who witnessed it – thinking and “hearing” the song as the observer heard it while the event was happening. Using the required standards for abridgement, these songs are an integral part of my journal because they add the element of sound (i.e., the recollection of the melodies) to the equation – bringing another dimension to the reading of the book. Music lovers might even enjoy listening to the tunes online as they read particular passages.<br /><br /> <strong>Post Scripts.</strong> The post script sections of this book fill an important need. Post scripts allow me to separate the paranormal events from comments and research concerning the events. In this way, no paranormal story is ever changed or manipulated beyond revisions for clarity, grammar, punctuation, style and the like.<br /><br /> As I rewrote my journal, I expanded on the post scripts. There was a need for more definitions, commentary, and further research on paranormal phenomena to shed light on the most baffling events and perhaps the least understood activities. Post scripts are primarily reserved for: <br /> <br />• My comments and inquiries concerning an event<br /> <br />• Paranormal and supernatural definitions and descriptions<br /><br />• Key information from theories of consciousness<br /><br />• Key information from quantum theory -string theory, parallel universes, etc. <br /><br />• Post scripts providing new material, such as “Law of Attraction” concepts<br /><br />• Logical analysis of an event<br /><br />• Statistical analysis of an event, where possible <br /><br />• Interpretation of key events<br /><br />In addition to the post scripts, Journal Entry 34 contains quite a bit of information on quantum physics and “The Theory of Everything” as related to rare and unusual phenomena. Journal Entry 59 strictly concerns “third eye” phenomena.<br /><br /> I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers. In that sense, I do not attempt to analyze and interpret every event documented in <strong>The Hope</strong>. Some incidents are brief and self-explanatory, in terms of the typical conjectures set forth to make sense of the phenomena. Although I have attempted to depict every event logged in detail, some events simply defy description and explanation. I have provided post scripts after particular journal entries, as needed, along with comments, questions, research, analysis, and where feasible, interpretation of the event. I encourage readers to take a stab at it. Get together with your friends and mull over mysterious events. Try to analyze and interpret these phenomena to your satisfaction. This is half the fun and joy of the book. The other half is the incredible stories, all true! <br /><br /> <em>Please note:</em> Due to the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter and as a protective measure, names have been changed in the narrative sections of the book. Nevertheless, the true names of a number of people have been kept in the narratives, as requested. I have retained my pen name and that of my deceased spouse, Max Blau, for <strong>this book</strong>. I assure you that no person, place, nor story is fictitious. Every happening hereby recorded is true to the best of my ability to capture the quintessence of a paranormal event. I freely admit that some events have left me baffled. Yet, isn’t that what makes life fascinating?<br /><br /> I continue to keep records of rare and unusual events even into the year Two Thousand Eleven. However, there is more than enough to tell – based solely on what happened the year after my beloved Max died. I humbly present my story to you, my readers, in <strong>Death Is Not "The End"</strong>.<br /><br /><br />~Mandy BerlinMandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-30806643832515324612011-10-31T12:25:00.000-07:002011-10-31T12:32:37.875-07:00MY RADIO SHOW INTERVIEW - HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!!<br />Have you ever had a strange experience, one that you could not explain using common logic or natural law? In fact, your experience was so bizarre that you were hesitant to tell anyone, even a friend, for fear they’d think you were a crackpot or a fool.<br /><br />Join me Halloween night on www.ztalkradio.com for: <strong>One Agnostic’s Journey on the Bumpy Road to Belief</strong>. I will be highlighting the paranormal and supernatural phenomena <em>(over 50 happenings in one year) </em>that I began to witness just days after the death of my dear husband. Several of our loved ones and friends had their own uncanny experiences too!<br /><br />I am a retired research statistician who had <strong>no beliefs for over 30 years </strong>– until I virtually craned my neck so bad that I got “whiplash” from witnessing all the incredible paranormal activities in my home! This extraordinary experience, which began on January 1st of ‘04, changed my life forever. <br /><br />Now I know that <em><strong>Death is not The End.</strong></em><br /><br />Just go to www.ztalkradio.com register and log on. Then go to the Home page, turn up the audio on your computer and listen! (My 10/31 interview starts at 10 p.m. Central time. "See" you there! <br /><br /><strong>Happy Halloween everybody!!!</strong><br /><br /><em>Yours,<br />Mandy Berlin</em><br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205298824530756207.post-55139575959689792482011-10-16T21:14:00.000-07:002011-10-16T21:16:22.720-07:00INTRODUCTION to my upcoming book!<br /> <strong>The Hope and the Knowing</strong> is a chronicle of paranormal, mystical, and supernatural events. Three hours before the Christmas Eve of Two Thousand Three, the soul of Max Blau departed from a hospice in Tempe, Arizona. Yet, in Oxford, England, Christmas Eve had already arrived. There, in Max’s former home, sat his grief-stricken sisters and guardians who had received word that he died on their most beloved holiday. Yet, just hours after Max’s “purported” departure, strange things began to happen – in Oxford and in Arizona as well.<br /><br /> Despite the terrible sadness caused by the untimely death of Max, my husband and dearest friend in all the world, I soon realized that things were not as they seemed. During Christmas week alone, I began receiving telephone calls from loved ones and friends dear to us. Oddly, some of the callers sounded happy, if not downright joyful soon after Max had left us! In fact, his sisters and even a few of his close friends phoned to tell me their uncanny stories. From the outset, these incredible tales had a strange effect on me. You see, I was an agnostic then. I had no beliefs one way or the other. Nevertheless, after hearing these eerie tales, I decided to do what I did best – sit at my coffee table and take notes. <br /><br /> After obtaining an advanced degree and working as a consulting statistician in education, psychology, health care and government for approximately twenty-five years, I remained, as ever, a curious person. So, when these events began to take place, I knew I had to write down the details if I wanted to investigate further. Later, for validation purposes, I sent written “reports” to those who had kindly taken the time to tell me their stories. If there were any truth to these rare claims, my notes would have to be corroborated and the required corrections made.<br /><br /> Then, amazingly on New Year’s Day, two days after Max’s burial, I began to have experiences of my own. In fact, I was soon to become a party to some outlandish and baffling happenings – in places like my home, restaurants, cafés, gardens, and even during my first trip to England! As these paranormal and supernatural incidents began to “hit home”, I sat down at my computer to flesh out the details – those of our loved ones – and now mine. Before long and without much effort, I had made a document for each “event” which had been logged on paper initially and saved in a calendar. Despite the strange goings-on, I was glad I’d kept track of the dates and even the times of day. My background in psychology and years of logging research study observations had come in handy, to say the least. Nevertheless, as you will see, my journal is written not in clinical form, but in story form. I have also added post scripts to a number of the journal entries. These will be described below.<br /><br /> In <strong>The Hope and the Knowing</strong>, rare and unusual episodes – encounters with the explained and unexplained alike – are called "events". The story begins with the amazing events of December 23, 2003. It ends with the eye-opening display and revelation I experienced on December 23, 2004 – on the anniversary of Max’s ostensible departure.<br /><br /> Through research conducted following the fifty-odd incidents and encounters (and odd they were), the phenomena were later classified into some rather rare and interesting categories: <br /> <br /><em>the shifting and displacement of physical objects in and around rooms; apparitions and other spirit encounters; synchronicities and extreme coincidences; automatic writing; numinous dreams, the movement of undated coins; intelligent haunts; residual haunts; uncanny telephone activities; electrical demonstrations, malfunctions and breakdowns; object alteration; “third eye” phenomena; spirit communications received through clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; soul travel; spirit guide communications; validation of “rare” events based on the frequency of repetition of the events; validation of rare events based on statistical hypothesis testing; and the discovery of a corroborating written record found after the occurrence of a supernatural event.</em><br /><br /> In the <strong>Post Script </strong>sections following key phenomenological activities, I discuss and sometimes attempt to examine an event further or to review subject matter associated with the event. Therefore, post scripts (as detailed below) are reserved primarily for post-event commentary and research. Although many of the events in the book are left unexplained, potential explanations are offered wherever "doable", with respect to key paranormal events. Interpretations are made wherever possible.<br /><br /> The timeframe of <strong>The Hope and the Knowing</strong> is December 23, 2003 through December 23, 2004. Nevertheless, the paranormal, supernatural and synchronistic happenings have gone far beyond the boundaries of one journal year, changing my life forever. Because of the rare and challenging life changes I experienced over a subsequent six-year period, I decided it would be a good idea to continue journaling. After all, the paranormal events didn’t stop simply because one journal year had ended. No, not in any sense of the word! Consequently, I have continued to keep a log from 2005 onward. On the other hand, my focus shifted somewhat because of a tremendous increase in synchronistic events, intuitive perceptions, signs, wonders, and even a few predictions which were later born out.<br /><br /> As my intuitive side became evident, I sought to understand and develop this gift under the guidance of Sunny Dawn Johnston, psychic medium of Sunlight Alliance. In 2006 while watching a news program on television, I learned of Sunny’s incredible work in Arizona, with Hay House of California, and around the country. I contacted Sunny immediately and began taking her intuitive classes, such as Angel classes, Law of Attraction classes, and a number of her Mediumship classes. Sunny, who is my mentor, conducts personal conferences in her office and by telephone.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, in 2007 I suffered an illness affecting my physical vision, i.e., amazingly my intuitive vision remained unaffected. However, to my chagrin, I was unable to continue with the mathematical work I performed as a consulting statistician, i.e., work with spreadsheets, long columns of numbers, and so forth. Now I am happy and thankful to report that I found a doctor who has been treating the illness successfully for a year. Due to this wonderful and most welcome development and the paranormal happenings I’ve experienced since 2004, I am gaining in energy and perseverance every day. Since I have kept all my phenomenological notes on file, these are tomes yet be formalized beyond The Hope and the Knowing! I look forward to the prospects with delight and appreciation for these renewed capabilities.<br /><br /> Since my dear Max went to the light, our poignant, bizarre and sometimes even comical communications have been rare. Nevertheless, he still visits the earthly plane of existence from time to time, most notably on special occasions. You see, Max loves parties and get-togethers. What a communicator he was and always will be! After the transition (death) the individual personality remains the same. I have found this to be true over and over again. You see, in the past seven years other spirit beings have visited me as well: my dearly deceased father, his parents, my step-father who recently passed at the age of ninety-five, angels as I prayed in church, spirit guides, and loved ones of classmates and friends. Most of these wonderful encounters have occurred subsequent to the writing of this journal and will be revealed in an upcoming book. Nevertheless, a few of these exchanges did take place in 2004 when I was first “introduced” to my spirit guide. I am pleased to present these stories in The Hope and the Knowing.<br /><br /> <strong>Journal Entries.</strong> This volume contains seventy-one journal entries, beginning with the events of December 23, 2003 and ending with the unparalleled event that happened on December 23, 2004. Consequently, my journal contains data and information concerning over fifty paranormal experiences, spanning a year and one day. The last day is simply too mind-boggling and personally meaningful to exclude from my chronicle of events. Indeed, it is the sine qua non of the book! Yet, many more than fifty paranormal events occurred in 2004. The “over fifty” refers to recurring events because I did not document or even count a particular event more than once in the book. The most repetitive paranormal events were “The Hair Dryer Affair”, Max “curling up” on the couch, “The Toaster Trick” and Max’s appearance in the gardens at church. Although I recorded and presented the account of the toaster trick just once, this incident happened approximately two to three times a week for many weeks in 2004, and on into 2005. I am sure that I witnessed the unbelievable “toaster trick” at least twenty times. <em>This is a very conservative estimate.</em> It may have happened fifty or more times, I just don’t know. <br /><br /> My journal entries are based on the occurrences of uncanny, sometimes mind-blowing, and often extraordinarily meaningful events, such as communications with Max, “coincidental” electrical events, and the unfortunate deaths that occurred in proximity to Max’s passing. In this sense, the journal is episodic in nature – unlike a diary or a journal of daily activities, thoughts, and concerns. The narrative was written in the past tense. However, the paranormal sequences were written in the present tense to “glue” the reader to the scene while revealing the observer’s thoughts and feelings about the phenomenon.<br /><br /> <strong>Event Recording.</strong> Due to a meticulous bent brought on by working with numbers, I have included a date and often a time at the top of each journal entry. In this way, associations and interpretations can be drawn for a better understanding of the paranormal incidents in question. Because I am aware that the moon has an effect on nature, I have also included phases of the moon. At the start, I hadn’t yet made the decision to chronicle every observation or to keep track of dates. Then later, as I began to include dates and times in the narratives, I expressed my apologies for being unable to recall a few of the dates and some of the times of day. To that end, I supplied estimated dates (such as 1/xx/04) and times of day like Sunday Morning or Wednesday Afternoon, at least whenever possible.<br /><br /> All of the paranormal and supernatural data and information were first logged and then described in detail in the The Hope and the Knowing. However, about ten percent of the information was subsequently removed from the book. For example, if I witnessed an event that I was later unable to recall in detail, the event was then excluded. This happened a few times. I have likewise excluded two separate paranormal accounts which I received early in 2004 from two of Max’s dear friends, a man and a woman. They are friends of mine as well. Since that time, I have been unable to reach either of the two to obtain detailed corroboration of their stories. So I decided it would be best to remove their narratives from the body of my book. However, I am able to state with confidence that the first event happened to the man while he was taking a walk in the woods about a week after Max died. The second event concerned a phenomenon that the woman said she witnessed in my home while I was vacationing in Sedona. She had been “pet-sitting” and watching my home. The nature of the details surrounding each of these events is still somewhat unclear so I must unfortunately exclude their accounts. However, I do know this: both the man and the woman told me their stories with great enthusiasm. They both appeared to have been stunned, to say the least, by what they had seen and heard. The dear man has since moved away and his phone has been disconnected. And despite my phone messages and invitations, my friend and confidante, the woman has not entered my home since the time she witnessed the paranormal phenomenon. Indeed, I have been unable to reach her for a long time. Though my friends tells me not to wait, I miss her and have hopes that she will return to say hello someday, perhaps when I least expect it.<br /><br /> Despite all that has happened (or not), I carry a big pad of sticky notes and a pen and take them with me wherever I go. While writing the first draft of The Hope, I never thought, as a few friends suggested, that “the recording of all that data” would be too tedious a task to stick with for long. Quite the reverse. I felt comfortable with the idea because the phenomena were often so awesome or wacky that I felt compelled to get my observations down on paper. Keeping track this way, I would then be able to tell my mother and friends the story. Nevertheless, I soon found myself “fleshing out” these accounts on my laptop – before work, after work, on the Wednesdays of my four-day work week, and on weekends as well. In that sense, I was confident I wouldn’t be relying on old memory. Before long, a book was born. Lives were forever changed!<br /><br /> <strong>Song Lyrics.</strong> (<em>Please note:</em> the song lyrics are primarily reserved for the book, i.e., most of the songs are not contained in this Blog). The paranormal events sometimes arrived with a song – on the radio, while drinking coffee in a café, through musak, or while working in my office. Quite a few of the songs, coupled with the associated paranormal phenomena, had a synchronistic quality and became a fundamental part of the experience. Even today, as I recall seeing Max’s spirit on January 3rd 2004, I can still hear “Unchained Melody”. This beautiful song was an integral part of my paranormal experience because the song and the movie, “Ghost” were on television. That is, approximately five minutes after Max appeared on the arm of my sofa, I changed the television channel and I heard the song, “Unchained Melody”. There before me was the movie, “Ghost” as Max’s spirit hovered just above the arm of my sofa. I was stunned! <br /> <br /> People are incredulous when they hear this story, thinking it could not possibly have happened. It sounds surreal, they say – too perfect to be true. Objectively, I agree with them, to be sure. But I am here to tell you, to my absolute bafflement, it happened. And in all humility, it happened to me. Why would any person set herself up for potential derision by writing such a far-fetched story unless it were true? I certainly would not. My “Ghost” story happened as I described it. I cannot and will not delete this account from my journal simply because it is too fantastic for people to believe. That, in point of fact, would be a form of deception. I am only here to tell you to the best of my ability about the paranormal and supernatural phenomena I experienced.<br /><br /> Because of activities that are “linked” like these, the inclusion of one or two lines of lyrics tends to give people a better picture of the experience. The reader can then visualize and perhaps even “feel” the event from the perspective of the one who witnessed it – thinking and “hearing” the song as the observer heard it while the event was happening. Using the required standards for abridgement, these songs are an integral part of my journal because they add the element of sound (i.e., the recollection of the melodies) to the equation – bringing another dimension to the reading of the book. Music lovers might even enjoy listening to the tunes online as they read particular passages.<br /><br /> <strong>Post Scripts.</strong> The post script sections of this book fill an important need. Post scripts allow me to separate the paranormal events from comments and research concerning the events. In this way, no paranormal story is ever changed or manipulated beyond revisions for clarity, grammar, punctuation, style and the like.<br /><br /> As I rewrote my journal, I expanded on the post scripts. There was a need for more definitions, commentary, and further research on paranormal phenomena to shed light on the most baffling events and perhaps the least understood activities. Post scripts are primarily reserved for: <br /> <br />• My comments and inquiries concerning an event<br /> <br />• Paranormal and supernatural definitions and descriptions<br /><br />• Key information from theories of consciousness<br /><br />• Key information from quantum theory -string theory, parallel universes, etc. <br /><br />• Post scripts providing new material, such as “Law of Attraction” concepts<br /><br />• Logical analysis of an event<br /><br />• Statistical analysis of an event, where possible <br /><br />• Interpretation of key events<br /><br />In addition to the post scripts, Journal Entry 34 contains quite a bit of information on quantum physics and “The Theory of Everything” as related to rare and unusual phenomena. Journal Entry 59 strictly concerns “third eye” phenomena.<br /><br /> I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers. In that sense, I do not attempt to analyze and interpret every event documented in <strong>The Hope</strong>. Some incidents are brief and self-explanatory, in terms of the typical conjectures set forth to make sense of the phenomena. Although I have attempted to depict every event logged in detail, some events simply defy description and explanation. I have provided post scripts after particular journal entries, as needed, along with comments, questions, research, analysis, and where feasible, interpretation of the event. I encourage readers to take a stab at it. Get together with your friends and mull over mysterious events. Try to analyze and interpret these phenomena to your satisfaction. This is half the fun and joy of the book. The other half is the incredible stories, all true! <br /><br /> <em>Please note:</em> Due to the paranormal nature of the subject matter and as a protective measure, names have been changed in the narrative sections of the book. Nevertheless, the true names of a number of people have been kept in the narratives, as requested. I have retained my pen name and that of my deceased spouse, Max Blau, for <strong>The Hope</strong>. I assure you that no person, place, nor story is fictitious. Every happening hereby recorded is true to the best of my ability to capture the quintessence of a paranormal event. I freely admit that some events have left me baffled. Yet, isn’t that what makes life fascinating?<br /><br /> I continue to keep records of rare and unusual events even into the year Two Thousand Eleven. However, there is more than enough to tell – based solely on what happened the year after my beloved Max died. I humbly present my story to you, my readers, in <strong>The Hope and the Knowing</strong>.<br /><br /><br />~Author, Mandy Berlin<br /><br /><br />Mandy Berlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10081962569623981207noreply@blogger.com5