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A few times in our life we may hear a story that we deeply want to share because of the amazing insights the story tells to help the human condition. I have told this story many times over the years and have finally realized I should write it down to increase the benefits it can give.

It was in 1998 that I was traveling in Asia visiting different mines and gem cutting centers looking for the more rare untreated gemstones for Astrogems. It was a repeat of many similar trips that I have done to source gemstones. This journey was a bit different in that I was traveling with a friend who I was introducing to my previously vetted gem dealers in the gem mining areas. I will call him John in order to give him some privacy as the story is more than a bit personal for him. The objective of John coming along was to train him in purchasing gemstones to help the astrological gem shop that tours with Amma in order to raise revenue for her many amazing charities.

John is a very devoted volunteer who loves to serve Amma and her many charities in a completely selfless manner and I was delighted to have him along and assist his knowledge in serving these charities.

We were in Sri Lanka in the central highlands when I asked him a question.

"John you have traveled with Mother on many tours tell me some personal stories of your experiences with her."

"I am sure, but at least tell me some." It was John 's first story that I have repeated so many times and here it is.

"Well back in 96, I was on the American tour and was in a small crowd as Mother walked past me, she was bantering a little with us and as she passed me she asked if I was going to Europe for the European tour. I replied that I was flying to Paris and was going to join the program there."

To my big surprise she immediately told me to fly directly to London and not to Paris. Having said this she turned and went on enquiring after others' plans and welfare as she walked down the line out of the darshan hall.

This was more than a bit of a disappointment to me as I had already bought my ticket to Paris and was very happy with the ticket deal , if I had to change my ticket I was going to have to pay an expensive cancellation penalty and the new ticket would be at short notice leaving me to pay a higher fee. Also, I didn't have friends to stay with in London and would then have to fly or take the train and ferry to Paris, which would extend my travel time into a more tiring journey, etc.

So I kind of hoped that I didn't hear my Guru correctly as the advice seemed so illogical and expensive for no good reason. I hoped I could let this suggestion slide, but it was two days later when Amma passed me again and immediately enquired if I had changed my ticket from Paris to London.

I sheepishly replied that I hadn't gotten to it, which was a polite way of evading my true thoughts. Mother clearly told me to change it and just moved on without explanation, making it understood that she wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't important.

The next day I changed the ticket to London, and cringed in resignation at the high penalty for returning my Paris bound ticket and the hefty price for the new London ticket. This was just a pure inconvenience on many levels but I knew better than to ignore Mother's patient advice to me.

A few weeks later the American tour was over and I found myself at Kennedy airport waiting for a plane to a detoured city I had no desire to go to. As chance would have it, the passengers for my London flight overflowed into the gate area for the Paris flight that I wished I were taking, and I found myself sitting amongst them. It was strange to look into the eyes of the passengers for Paris as they boarded their flight, and some looked at me as if to say "aren't you getting on." I remember feeling more comfortable with this group of passengers as if there was some kind of synergy. Also I still wanted badly to be on that plane, knowing that in only a few hours I could be sitting in a Paris street cafe having a good catch-up conversation with a close friend.

Instead I had to go on this wild extended journey for no reason I could understand.

About a half-hour after the Paris flight was boarded we were called to get on the London bound flight.

While walking to the baggage carousel in London's Gatwick airport, I happened upon an overhead TV that was broadcasting news that the same Paris bound flight had come down killing all on board.

It was the same flight I had originally been booked on, and that Amma had told me to change a month earlier.

Obviously I was overwhelmed in surprise and gratitude. I couldn't wait to see Amma and show my gratitude for her kindness. A week or so later I rejoined the tour. I looked into Mother's eyes and she didn't even make mention of the incident. It was obvious to me that Mother did not want me to think anything unusual about this event as it was just something that she had to do in order to protect me. I certainly wasn't getting special treatment as she looks over all of her volunteers so dearly as I have heard of so many life saving stories or advice. It was obviously my astrological time to go, but with her protective divine concern she very quietly averted my destined demise.

"On the evening of July 17th, 1996, shortly after the sun had set, but while the sky was still light, a Boeing 747-131 jetliner, TWA's flight 800, was taking off from JFK airport on its way to Paris, France. Approximately 11 minutes into the flight, the 747 was flying at an altitude of 13,700 MSL, or 13,700 feet above sea level. The plane was over the Atlantic Ocean south of Long Island, New York. Investigators suspect a fuel tank malfunction caused the plane to explode. On board were 230 people all of whom died.."

Ever since reading Autobiography of a Yogi. By Paramahansa Yogananda 33 years ago. I have had an interest in enjoying the wisdom of genuine spiritual teachers. There have been many wonderful books by or about such luminaries as Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Swami Ram Das, St Francis of Assisi and quite a few others. Sometimes I would visit or read about contemporary renowned Saints or Gurus only to feel that the person was clearly not what their devotees thought they were.

Being a Guru is an interesting process for those that are not fully realized. In time behind the charm, narcissistic behaviors start to develop such as insisting on unquestioning obedience and desires to hear praise or adulation.

And so it is not that hard to separate the transcendental pinnacles of humanity that can greatly assist us verses the less humble who care so much about the growth of their societies, influence and comforts .

There is only one individual that I have observed over the years that I am moved to discuss as being not only a fully realized avatar but also an extraordinary friend to my path under the my chosen guidance from Paramahansa Yogananda.

Such matters are definitely best kept private in one’s life but if there is a genuine reason of helping others to tell stories and pass on prudent information from such a teacher then it may well be appropriate to do so.

Ammachie or Amma as she is known is a tireless humanitarian and "Hugging Saint", Mata Amritanandamayi, visits North America twice a year so that many can experience her Vedic knowledge and the profoundly experienced blessings of her healing embrace.

She is not my Guru and as such I have obviously not adopted any of her taught meditation practices etc. but I believe she drinks from the same source that Yogananda shared and hence I am understandably moved to write about one who endorses and conveys many of the same insights that he brought up 60 years earlier while in the body about the future and how it may affect us. Over the years I have been continually stunned to hear such perfect advice from Amma with such extraordinary balance and insight and so similar to Yogananda’s in its spontaneous delivery, loving concern and humor.

Below is a collection of essays or emails I have sent out to friends over the years. The main gist of this eclectic range of communications is to partly warn you about the times ahead in the hope that you will consolidate your lifestyle to lessen its impact on the environment as well as share the correct perspective with others.

Obviously if your reaction is one of fear or that these advisory comments are negative etc. I can only say that this reaction is deeply seated in the reader and that the reader has not established enough joy and spiritual communion to be detached from the drama of their life. If you don’t want to read words from another Saint that seem to endorse the booklet “ World Crisis” by Paramahansa Yogananda, while bringing up different helpful points then I deeply apologize for sending you this missive and please read no further.

www.astrogems.com has always first and foremost been about promoting the lessening of negative Karma through the use of electro-magnetic multi gem instruments. But at the same time we have never lessened our respect for the integrated advice of genuine saints as the greatest mitigation of suffering. It is some recent such advice from Amma that pressingly applies to us all that we felt very important to pass on.

A couple of weeks or so ago I sat in a grassy meadow under the fading sun on a warm northern California evening. The attentive audience of about 1200 listeners sat with rapt attention as the Indian Saint, Amma gave a discourse on life and how to make it more meaningful (see www.amma.org ) Amma will be visiting San Francisco and Michigan in late November 2008.

Amma will be visiting San Francisco and Michigan in late November 2008

Behind us was a lake and in front were scenic rolling hills covered in long dry grass blowing in the warm breeze. Amma sat under a simple palanquin joyously giving advice on how we can assist ourselves with our life. It was an exceptionally beautiful setting and so comfortable. Generally Mother does not mention astrological detail. Certainly she has no need of consulting astrologers. Her frame of reference is her expanded consciousness that is a part and much further than the stars. But to my surprise she mentioned that the recent earthquake in China and the terrible cyclone in Burma were partly related to the result of the conjunction of Ketu and Mars and that this particular conjunction only occurs every 150 years. She mentioned that it was close to this position but in a more diluted strength at the time of 9/11 and that it peaks today at around 7pm (July the 14th). She brought up that such conjunctions can portend extreme calamities and that it would be a great idea if those present prayed very hard to lessen any potential disaster brought about by this karmically driven aspect. I thought this info was very interesting and thus have emailed it out. However the main information was of course to pray for the lessening of what may come... As grace can always hold sway over karma. In Astrology the event does not necessarily occur at the peak etc but in the period of the aspect after the pressure has built up So she is not saying that at a certain hour something quite big is going down.. it is however always interesting to hear such perspective from a living saint. It is also interesting to witness the world wide economic earthquakes that are occurring recently in light of this astrological reference. She also indicated that Mother Nature has been beyond extraordinarily patient with mankind but that it has started to become angry with the excessive selfishness and consequent abuse by man in his treatment of the eco system and animal kingdoms, etc. A friend told me that in Seattle, Mother indicated that it was quite possible that there could be actual wars over food in three to four years. These points lead quite a few to believe that Mother Nature may enact weather patterns that do not comply with the farming growing seasons around the world hence creating a lot of crop failures etc. She went on to explain that we are far too selfish in our use of oil resources and that we should be car pooling far more along with using bicycles more, especially with city based public bicycle programs etc as they have started to do in Europe. She brought up the importance of learning to grow vegetables now so we can tune into nature more while preparing us should it become more essential.

She seemed to echo the advice and predictions of Paramahansa Yogananda that we will need to learn to live simply and learn to be more self sufficient in hard times ahead which can be read from his small booklet titled "World Crisis" from Self Realization Fellowship. She also said a lot of bees around the world are becoming disorientated due to agricultural chemical pollution and not returning to their hives and that this will be a growing serious concern to the food supply.

Overall it was a surprising addition to the list of subjects that Mother often seems to stress. One other theme she has tirelessly pointed out over the years is the entrenched , distorted , and socially fabricated inequalities suffered by women in many areas of the world and how these cruel manipulative traditions need to be removed.

But back to the food wars concept. I would like to take this opportunity to amplify this perspective with the sleeping giants of India, China and Brazil how their rapidly growing middle class is developing a strong economic demand for food stuffs and resources. This huge increase in demand competes with the demand of westerners for the same processed foods and oil etc. By watching this video about the growing middle class in India ,you will be able to more easily grasp the need to prepare for a serious food crunch in the next few years.

Obviously there is not a saint from India who favors eating animals and usually the main reasons for this have been the unnecessary suffering of the defenseless animal and also the toxic effects on the body of acidic waste buildup, not to mention the vibration al lowering of the consciousness to the consumer.

However an old perspective with a new amplified twist was mentioned by Amma about the consumption of meat. Due to the inevitable shortages of food and energy resources that are starting to occur and because Livestock production requires enormous amounts of energy. Amma mentioned that it is important for us to remember that it takes far more energy to grow a pound of meat than for any edible crop. The main reason is that pound for pound cattle consume 16 times more grain than they produce as meat, so right there we have 16 times as much energy just to grow those crops, transport them and feed them to the livestock. This means that there is much less grain foods available to the poorer masses of the world.

It also takes over 5000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef and only 24 to grow a pound of potatoes. Thus Amma made the point that in these times of resource shortages, that now more than ever to eat certain meats is simply removing food from the table from the poor in less developed areas of the world that need America's grain. Such an added karmic return is something every meat eater should seriously take note off.

Good crop seasons or not, the growing demands of the rapidly growing Asian middle class population will directly affect the western share of the world’s resources. As it will indeed be a severe test to them as well. We are all in this together and should be far more along the road to self-sufficiency in renewable energy production than we are.

Though I don’t agree with some of the comments in this video it is a reference that helps to understand the future. I hope this excellent documentary video helps to explain the growing demand on resources that the wealthier nations of the world have taken for granted up until now. It helps to show how the rapidly growing economies of the world such as China, East Asia, India and South America are competing for scarce resources. It is deeply satisfying to see the noble and patient land of India rapidly developing into a world power, however the impact on the balance of world resources is what is likely to affect the western world and hopefully spur us to lessen our carbon footprint. To view please click on the link. Currently on PBS - American TV http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/425/video.html

Concerning Amma's reference to the honey bees around the world not pollinating our needed crops. I came across this website that endorsed her understanding and is something we all need to know and be prepared for:
http://www.vanishingbees.com

In a late night conversation at the Albuquerque , New Mexico Retreat, as Amma continued to give long loving hugs,
She expressed her concern for the children of the Future. We should think of them, She said, and how Difficult it will be for them to live in a world Burdened with the problems we have created. In view of Global warming and other environmental changes, we Should make every effort to reduce our waste, to Re-use, recycle and live in a manner that sustains the Environment. We should not be afraid but rather make The small changes that can make a difference.

Amma recommends more walking, bicycling and Car pooling, as well as the use of bio-fuels and Solar-cookers. Amma asks that we all plant one tree a Month, and rely more on bamboo for construction. Elaborating on comments she had made at retreats in California and Washington, Amma recommended that each Family plant a vegetable garden that can provide food for at least one day a month. Even apartment residents, She said, can plant vegetables in window boxes and on terraces. Amma described how we can dig trenches in our backyards and cover them with plastic to collect rainwater that can be used to water plants or flush toilets. We can benefit from natural water filters, such as charcoal, algae, moss and fish, to purify our water.

Mother Earth is rumbling but we can pray and make efforts that support her, thus reducing the suffering of our children, the next generation.

As an aside on this theme Amma also mentioned in San Ramone that if one wants to bring children into the world it is very important that the parents are well cushioned from economic hardships and can be well prepared for the all the educational and practical demands of such a responsibility in a world with less resources . As rearing and properly providing for children in the near future will not be as easy as it has been in the recent past.

Apart from Mother advising her listeners to learn to grow vegetables. She also asked that those who could to please try to plant at least one tree a month . As the earth has lost too many trees and the imbalance of nature will hurt us as a result of this and other issues. On a personal note I would like to say that as I have a vegetable garden it really does take a few years to learn how to grow vegetables well. One makes assumptions about not turning the soil well enough etc and only to realize two months later that the vegetables did not grow very well by responding accordingly. Vegetable growing is an art form that takes experience one would want to have before it may be essential. Last year there were many bees in my vegetable garden this year I have only seen one in the last 8 weeks. I am pollinating some of the flowers with a very small paint brush.

The above notes are all to do with preparing and cushioning the impact prospective world developments. How we do it is up to us. I have purposely not gone into details about food storage etc as each individuals circumstance vary.

In the US we have recently had the worst flood in 15 years destroying around five million acres of farm land, piling up losses of over $3 billion. This was a huge factor pushing the price of corn up to new record highs. High corn in turn drives up the prices of chicken, milk and eggs, and these higher prices help push inflation higher.

Most important, this was not an isolated incident. There were also massive floods in Southern China, over 1000 wild fires in California, more droughts, typhoons, and the most rain on record in Northern India. In addition, the Himalayan glaciers, which support over one billion people, are melting and there's a strong probability that ice at the North Pole will melt this Summer. Antarctic ice cores show carbon dioxide levels at the highest in 800,000 years. China has now overtaken the U.S. as #1 in carbon dioxide emissions. And while most countries are making some effort to tackle the situation, so far it's too little.

Unfortunately, this strongly suggests that we're going to see a lot more climate change, along with its effects like higher commodity prices, inflation and a massive increase in the price of gold and silver in the years ahead.

Below is a link to an insightful photo display about the need to ban plastic bags. I guess I am a bit slow as its 2008 and I am only just waking up that I should never ask for plastic at the store and also take a cloth bag for groceries etc with me … do watch it.

Click here to see photo

Because this newsletter from www.astrogems.com is about mitigation or nullification of Karma mostly through the use of gemstones I would like to also add a gem related experience below concerning Amma.

About ten years ago I was being aggressively challenged by some in the planetary gem community over my insistence that laboratory grown emerald crystals were an excellent substitute for their often pale and included expensive naturally formed cousins. The matter had reached a peak of criticism and no matter how much I liked to use the pure science of all the identical similarities at the molecular level between the two differently sourced crystal gemstones. My opposition would not agree to my response.

For years I had patiently bore out these attacks with my testimonial research, scientific inclinations and was also aware that as the first person to openly tackle the old traditions by introducing some modern scientific logic of hi tech crystal growing, I was likely to get some flak, to put it mildly.

Some vendors were very upset that I could damage their strong emerald selling incomes and others just plain didn’t see how even though we can grow excellent organic tomatoes in a laboratory greenhouse if given the right ingredients of sunshine, soil and pure water. That the laws Mother nature somehow would not oblige if we created a perfect laboratory environment for growing emerald crystals. (that could sell for only $40 dollars a carat.)

My emails respectfully kept going out explaining my logic. and I was banned from joining certain astrological societies etc.

I had always wanted to ask a living master as a testament to whether I was right or wrong. But did not ever think this would happen . Unless I could ask an avatar in the body like Swami Sri Yukteswar or an Anandamayi Ma I felt this argument was never going to attain complete closure in my mind.

An avatar is one who like Buddha or Christ is one with the universal creative spirit and well beyond any kind of intellectual constraints. There was only one living avatar on the planet at the time that I felt I could perhaps have access to in order to clarify if I was totally wrong or not about the helpful karmic remedial effects of laboratory grown crystals. This pressing issue was deeply important to me as even though I was convinced; I had to always leave the door open that I could be in error.

Please don’t think the common synthetic gemstones are in the category of a laboratory gemstone crystal as they are not made using a slow crystal growing process.

The avatar I was able to indirectly ask was Amma and so it was that I took a lab grown crystal cluster up to her San Francisco ashram near San Ramone. I have had the privilege over the years to work with Amma’s charitable gift shop and knew Swamini Amritakrishnaprana quite well who is her full time personal assistant.

I gave the emerald cluster to Swamini and asked to her to give it to Amma.

I didn’t feel the need to explain my request to Swamini as I had had many experiences where Amma knew my concerns before and had answered them without my unnecessary conversation. Swamini handed her the emerald cluster during Amma’s darshan program. And I let the matter rest until late in the afternoon the next day.

Swamini told me that something very unusual had happened. Amma she said is being given jewelry and other things all the time in Darshan and constantly hands them on to be sold to raise money for her charities.

Swamini was very surprised to see that Amma kept the emerald cluster next to her during the programmer and seemed to be playing with it . She took it to her room and even had it at the breakfast table the following day. Swamini said that she had never seen Amma do this with anything in the past and she was very surprised.

A day later Amma said to Swamini that this emerald material is very good and should be included as the Mercury astrological stone in the on tour astrological gem shop. When Swamini told me this I don’t think she ever realized how happy I was to find validation for the Astrogems approach in respect for certain laboratory grown gemstones. Since that time Amma’s gift shop has been promoting and selling laboratory crystal emeralds as the favored Mercury stone to buy and asked me for the best source of supply.

I later told one respected astrologer this who was strongly differing with me on the matter and his reply was half right that there many charlatan spiritual posers in India, and she had to be one of them. I shared his healthy skepticism but my deeply personal and profound experiences with Amma could not agree with his assessment of a saint he had not had the pleasure of meeting.

Of course I would prefer to sell faultless natural emeralds if it was practical but at over a thousand dollars a carat for what I consider to be suitable emerald material I didn’t feel the extravagance worth it unless the client had abnormal wealth.

Well this wraps up this lengthy newsletter, I hope it has been of interest.

Feel welcome as always to fill out the birth data form to get a free 16 page Vedic horoscope with planetary gemstone recommendations at www.astrogems.com . It seems we are heading into tricky times and if we don’t want to be swept up into some of the mass karma events that may occur a little Teflon coating of detachment, prayer correctly, guided hard work and willing seva along with some astrological gemstones may lighten our load to say the least.

On another note if you have not read the page about what the Yoga Masters have to say about gemstones on the website, It’s always good to read every year or so. It has so much profound information click on http://www.astrogems.com/yoga_masters.php

Love and light.
Nick Hodgson
1106 Second Street. Suite 101, Encinitas. California. 92024
OFFICE 760 632 1999 CELL 760 509 5091 FAX 760 753 6071
Please feel welcome to visit www.astrogems.com
skype contact name is nickhodgson

PS.
Here are some quotes from Ammachie that I thought would help you to get a sense of her wisdom

"The essence of motherhood is not restricted to women who have given birth; it is inherent in both men and women. It is an attitude of the mind ."

"Today, when competition and animosity are the norm everywhere, it is the feminine qualities- the patience and tolerance of women – that create whatever harmony there is in the world. Just as a complete electrical circuit depends on the presence of both positive and negative poles, life flowing in all its fullness depends on the presence and contribution of women as well as men."

"If in the future , there is a third world war, let it not be a war between countries , but rather a war against our common enemy, poverty.

"In today's world, people experience two types of poverty: the poverty caused by lack of food, clothing and shelter; and the poverty caused by lack of love and compassion."

"Of these two, the second type needs to be considered first - because, if we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing and shelter."

"Let our effort to discover our own essential nature, that indwelling Universal Power, be a characteristic feature of the new millennium we are about to enter.
Let this be recognized as one of the important goals of the next century."
Amma's address to the United Nations' Interfaith Celebration, 1995

"This is the moment to awaken the love and compassion within us. This is the time to pray with our hearts and work with our hands.
Let us lend a helping hand to those who are grieving and thus light lamps of kindness and compassion."

Here is another letter sent out in 2004 to friends of www.astrogems.com and www.yogananda.us it was sent out just before the tsunami and Katrina to mention but a few of the turbulent events predicted by inference for that year and later things to come.

Perhaps 2005 Could Be a very Different Kind of Year?

Like most of us when we read about a pending world crisis thirty plus years ago, I thought it may be happening sooner rather than later. When Paramahansa Yogananda gave his talk on the subject in 1940, called "World Crisis," I am sure some amongst the audience thought it may happen well before I had even come across the printed version of it many years later.

Over the years a myriad of reasons seemingly popped up in the adventurous contrarian magazines and religions as to why it should happen, and that it could or should be imminent.

Then the net came along and those of a suspicious bent "that all is not quite well with the world" could gorge themselves on well written missives loaded with factually grounded rationale that may leave some taping up the windows or heading for the hills.

So after a few decades of no "big ones," it’s only reasonable to get complacent. I remember once when I was in Darwin in the north of Australia. It was common knowledge that every 30 years a really big hurricane would blow through.

They call them cyclones down there and just before Christmas in 1975 we suddenly had two major warnings with nothing to follow. So on the evening of Christmas Eve the radio said a certain Cyclone Tracy was coming to dinner. But by the third warning everyone was so jaded and skeptical they went out to their respective Christmas Eve parties or other spots for revelry only to get very rudely awakened by 150 mph winds as the evening wore on.

I spoke to one couple who had just finished their first bottle of Southern Comfort that evening as the wind came through and were stunned into sober disbelief to see the couch on the verandah of the house opposite take off and land in their pool. Little did they realize that 30 minutes later it would be their beer fridge!

Whole suburbs were destroyed and some streets had no house left standing. A dead man lay at the end of my driveway in an upside down station wagon. It was a great lesson on the "crying wolf" syndrome. There were so many redundant imminent warnings the whole town seemed to shrug it off with that humorous disrespect for questionable advice, when it got in the way of having good time.

I think Aussies are very good at that and am proud to count myself among them.

Yogananda’s "World Crisis" talk has some startling warnings in it also. And yet it's understandable that one can't live life full of wariness that the sky is going to fall on one's head. Nobody wants to listen to warnings that may jeopardize the house payments and create a consequent property loss or other such disasters.

Especially if they have no date for the disaster.

Back in Oz I had a great friend called Jimmy Miles, one of those magnanimous souls that expressed himself in regularly warning others that almost everything was going to go to hell in a hand basket and that it was the government's fault yada yada and so on.

He bought land in a rural town, had supplies for D-Day, and talked like he had the Holy Grail of warnings but nobody would listen. The irony of it all was this went on for about 20 years and then he got lung cancer and left. Everything was still well with the world but not his lungs. His car still had gas and the shops were stocked.

His story is very common with all the doomsayers that waddle the planet. My only reservation about such thinkers is fine if they view life like a wonderful drama but not if it creates a pessimistic outlook.

Well now it is near the end of 2004, the world it seems is going through yet another economic chest cold, and yet the doctors (governments/central banks) keep saying everything will work out fine. Yet again it may not be the dreaded pneumonia, etc. After so many false alarms of contrarian information in the last 20 years, who am I to say the politicians are right or wrong.

The natural interest I may have in such matters would be rooted in not wanting to be the victim of one's peers. Be they politicians, bankers, mass media, or the collective groups loaded down with destructive habits and ways of thinking that could bring on such unknowns.

To cut to the chase and defer what I have learnt in the last 30 years on this topic: how good is one's discrimination in asserting credibility of the source?

If Bush had realized the CIA reports on WMD were fallacious then he and his supporting congress would not have gone to war. So discrimination is the key if you are to pick up on predictions. I believe in Vedic astrology but sadly not the astrologers when it comes to such grand matters as to the world’s future by the month. Anyone can be right some of the time and publicize the heck out of it to the exclusion of all their other way off base predictions.

For this reason I often call psychics, "sidekicks." Some are the real deal but I don’t want to get fleeced finding that one in a thousand. Edgar Cayce was a great psychic but how so many have swung on his tail.

Paramahansa Yogananda new that the script for the future can be changed in the short passage of time by a group of individuals intensely praying. He preferred destiny to be altered by people changing their negative thoughts and behavior and thereby their consciousness and its reactions to the world. He saw patterns of activity that were going to attract a negative mass karmic return but even then he did not publicly give out any dates to his warnings.

Sri Daya Mata, one of his leading disciples, has inferred metaphorically some major storms are on the horizon. But like her Master has only specified publicly that the dark gray astral cloud has reached the earth. Amma has also said exactly the same thing and that we need to pray to lessen the impact of mans exceptionally selfish disregard for nature .

Yogananda is my teacher but at the same time I am aware that it can happen that another Individual of similar stature to the great Avatar may be walking this earth and that many more over a long period will come and go also. They too will give veiled warnings attempting to warn those that have ears.

And this is the problem at least for me. I have ears but it is what’s between them that can be flawed. Daring to write this missive is a dangerous thing. I am sure I am misdirecting and misquoting some of the information I am about to write and for that at least please just consider it more grist for the mill.

It’s much much easier to lose your economic stability than to build it, no matter how big the castles of security one makes. So the trick is always to listen to such beings as Yogananda. But to be truthful after 30 years of reading books and journals with interest I have only found one other that seems to come close to his stature that is also still in the body, and willing to comment about the current world situation.

This rare being is a middle aged lady from Kerala, South India, and her message and life is a remarkable testament of helping mankind in so many ways I am sure I have not grasped a tiny fraction of them.

The "Autobiography of a Yogi" written by Yogananda many years ago is an ambassador through which he works great wonders in people's lives. Just as his books are a living presence of his spirit and blessing consciousness, with Mata Amritanandamayi (or Amma, as she is affectionately known) many similar blessings flow to those who follow her teachings. Like Yogananda her spiritually uplifting mission is not to warn the world about historical downturns in the future.

Indeed she is very careful not to focus on it that much and shuns questions on the subject if she feels the listeners may not benefit by direct answers.

But the fact is that she has warned her listeners that she is very concerned about some negative turn of events in the near future. Before I go further about what she is purportedly meant to have said, I had wanted to go into detail on some miracles she has performed to try to give further credibility to her status as a messenger of warning.

However I have decided not to do so and just suggest that the reader evaluate her books if they want to feel her authenticity. Her representative website is: www.amma.org, and on it you will find nothing of what I am about to relate.

So again feel welcome to question what’s between my ears and not hers.

I write this because I have had some privileged opinions expressed to me by those who have observed and listened to things Amma said and done far more than I. And I also consider it valuable information to be pre-warned about any events that may greatly affect one's near future.

No one wants to be likened to loonies walking around with a sandwich board that says, "The end of the world is nigh." And this is not one of those warnings. The message of world teachers is all about changing ourselves bit by bit, but along the way they may also give tidbits of relevant information that will allow us to lessen the blow of social upheaval, etc.

Everything I am about to write is second hand information, was not heard from Amma’s own lips directly but from others who heard her say it, and has been filtered by my potentially misunderstanding grasp. They are brief comments extracted from over 3 years of conversation.

Amma said in 2003 that 2004 would pretty much be like 2003, but that she was very concerned about 2005.

She said she anticipated some kind of disaster in 2005 that would make it a difficult year.

She said she wanted her devotees to increase their sadhana to try to mitigate this event and that she was also trying to lessen it's coming as well.

Later on she said that due to the efforts of many this event has been slightly lessened but that it was still going to occur.

Another time she warned one student that if you see a storm coming you should close the windows.

Another time she said that after this event it is important not to blame or get angry with the individuals or group of individuals that seemingly caused it. (I am not sure but I think she meant that they are just instruments of the world's karma.)

However I don’t want readers to infer that the disaster is necessarily man made only.

She has also said that it will not just affect America but much of the rest of the world also.

Like Day Mata she also said that that world is presently surrounded by a gray astral cloud.

I have heard a few other things but feel edgy even quoting this much, being, as I am, such a shaky authority.

If you wonder why I write this?

It is because I feel it only natural to get the word out and warn others to have a safety blanket for their month-to-month plans.

What is construed as closing the windows when a storm is about to shake the house, is up to the individual’s analysis of what they think may happen, and how to compensate for it. Some logic offered for this arena would be not to over extend their debts greatly, to not take huge economic risks in business. And to not have all their eggs in one economic basket.

And yes it could be a good idea to have a few dried foods, water, etc., stashed in storage.

It also may be prudent to diversify a bit into silver and gold and /or their stocks.
I could write a lot more, such as things Yogananda has inferred, but it's up to each individual to do their own planning and reading.

The big thing is that 2005 is around the corner and it could be prudent to not just think this through but act it through also.

If this is too much of a stretch for one's imagination then that’s fine. The big thing is that at least this information has been presented to you.

Thanks for reading this far. Wishing you a wonderful, inspired year,

If you have appreciated this email feel welcome to pass it on to those that may be open to it. Personally I feel a lot of my friends are greatly unprepared, but then again most folks through history never had much of a back up plan and the great majority of those who have expressed this kind of warning in the past have statistically have been very wrong.

The difference this time could be the questionable interpretation combining Yogananda's and Amma's stature and inferences to a possibility worth mentioning.

Every now and then I get sent truly inspiring videos on different subjects if you have time this mans message it is really profound..

http://video.stumbleupon.com/?p=ithct48cqw

Though I disdain a lot of the approaches of the medical profession regarding its excessive faith in medication and its consequent side effects, along with its lack of understanding in endorsing the many non
toxic more natural ways to overcome health challenges. There are still some amazing breakthroughs now and then, that can amaze one. This video shows an inspiring development that took me by surprise with its beautiful and spectacular almost too hard to believe consequences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxhi4Q8EDTU

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