Jonathan H. B. Lobl

Back to the actual topic. Atheism is nothing more than a simple lack of belief. Not a belief in nothing. A simple lack of belief. Why are we making this complicated? Bill Maher had it right. "The nice thing about being an Atheist is that it takes up so little time." "An Atheist is someone who has one less God than a Monotheist." Source Unknown

Yes.

Sure enough, it's about Dan -- again. How very tedious.

Thank you for understanding. If I don't say something, Dan gets to crap all over the board without opposition. If I do say something, I'm intolerant and picking on poor Dan. It's strictly a no win for me. On reflection, I've had enough. Somebody else can do the shovel work. I'm tired of it.

1. Nobody "converts" to Atheism. They awaken to reality. 2.

This is the weakness of an Interfaith church. I must tolerate the intolerant and respect the disrespectful. It is a heavy burden. I lack sainthood.

We don't need to preach. We need only to exist. For this alone, we are resented. For the offence of existing. I refuse to go back into the closet. It is enough. Reality will prevail.

Which was pure gotcha. Are we done? I should add that I used to have a professional practice in a Chiropractic Office. It was a blend of Reiki, Therapeutic Touch and Reflexology. I was eased out. My clients were getting better. In my last job, at a tax firm, I was given tax clients to calm with Reiki. It is great for stress reduction. I am not interested in arguing scientism.

You begin with someone who is neutral regarding the outcome. Emily Rosa's mother is a nurse, who regards Therapeutic Touch as a stain on her profession. That is how Emily found out about it.

In the Norse mythology, you might enjoy reading about the tree with the golden apples. The golden apples that keep the gods "young." The Three Fates in Norse mythology look a lot like the Three Fates in Greek mythology. Then again, they both look like the origin of "Lady Luck."

Your statement on Atheism is good. I suggest a small add on. "Pending further proof." As Atheists, we lack faith because persuasive evidence is not available. Should such evidence become available, we would be willing to reconsider. It is the way of rational thinking. We weigh the available evidence.

You have declared yourself clearly enough. Thank you for not pretending you have an open mind. No. I don't find it admirable. I grow weary of people who have never studied these therapies, never had a session with one of these therapies, or even observed such a session. Neither am I impressed by gotcha experiments, no matter how sciencey they pretend to be. You impress too easily. If you want real attack material, I suggest you try quackwatch.com.

I'm sure you will understand. I find this amusing. The person on this board who understands me, is the vampire. At that, the gay vampire. If ever I saw it, this is a message about how to pick out friends.

The good part is you don't have to "study" them. Just read them for the good fun that they are. They were told and retold for entertainment. The Norse gods are interesting. In one chapter, Loki helps the Frost Giants steal Thor's Hammer. In the next chapter, Loki helps Thor steal his hammer back from the giants. In this way, we also learn about Norse social theory, as an incidental. Thor is a war god. He is also the thunder god. Thor is the personification of the chaos of war, and the storm. He is Chaos. Loki personifies a different kind of Chaos. Loki is "mischief maker." He is not evil. He is conflict. Sometimes, the different types of Chaos work together. Sometimes not. Father Odin personifies Wisdom............. These subtleties are available on reflection, on many levels. Mostly, they are great adventure stories.

For my taste, the best mythology stories to tell around a camp fire, are the Norse tales. Great stuff, with interesting, nuanced characters and good plot twists.

I am persuaded that this type of healing is valid. Not, however because of "energy" manipulation. The real mechanism seems to be how my perceptions of reality have changed.

Not to a literalist Fundamentalist. Without the Fall from Grace in the Garden of Eden; resulting in Original Sin -- there is no need for redemption or a redeemer. Fundamentalist Christian theology falls apart. It is the reason they oppose Evolution. Their objections are not about scientific rigor. Orthodox Jews have a similar problem. In Orthodox Judaism, everything that happens in the Hebrew Bible -- EVERYTHING -- has a date on the Hebrew calendar. If one detail is recognized as non-historic; it is like taking a piece out of a balloon.

I've already done Seichem. It was a mistake. Also a source of humor. I have a formal initiation to the Lion Headed Goddess, Sekhmet. Yes, I am a Jew, ordained as an Agnostic, formerly initiated to an Egyptian Goddess. If there is one more way to be a cultural contradiction, I can't think of it. Well, I also have an initiation to Medicine Buddha, through a legitimate Tibetan Buddhist lineage. It used to be important to me. Looking back on things, I have been so stupid, it hurts. Not getting lost on detail, there is more, I am a Reiki Master. Based on what I know about Reiki, I can't teach it. Buddhist mysticism is no improvement over Christian mysticism. It's only different. I'm persuaded that much of what I was taught is wrong. Well, one bit of boasting. I was also trained in First and Second Degree Reiki by John Harvey Gray. I took Therapeutic Touch workshops with Dolores Krieger and Janet Macrae. I took MariEl under Ethel Lombardi and Shirley Hausman. It all tastes like dust. Life goes on.

Yes? Your point?

The new systems I was thinking of are "Vortex" healing and "Quantum" healing. Very New Age. Very expensive. More powerful than Reiki. (So they say.) The first Reiki school I attended was the American International Reiki Association. (AIRA) They were a seven degree system founded by Barbara Webber Ray. The last of the 22 Reiki Masters trained by Hawayo Takata. They call themselves the "Radiance Technique" now. Supposedly, as the final student of Takata, Ray was the only student to get the "complete whole seven degree system." They went on from there to break level three into 3A and 3B. They wanted $5,000 for 3A. They have trademarked "Real Reiki" - "Authentic Reiki" and "Radiance Technique." I went to 2nd Degree. I expect you know about Karuna Reiki, founded and trademarked by William Rand. They got me. More symbols. I also ran into the "Loving Touch" school of Reiki. After 2nd Level, they had "Advanced Practitioner." They got me. Five more symbols. Also their ordination as "Minister of Spiritual Healing." They used to be big. Now they are small. The head of the school/church decided to teach the most advanced stuff himself, in competition with his own teachers. Most of them left him. Greedy and stupid. When I first encountered Therapeutic Touch, the system was elegant in it's simplicity. Three workshops consisting of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. No credentials. Now they have credentials. You wouldn't believe the hoops. Or the expense. Have you come across the Pranic Healing people? Hang onto you wallet. Over complicated and very pricey. I took their beginners class before I knew bettter. The knew stuff is exploding. Sacred Fire Reiki, Celtic Reiki, Kabballah Reiki......... I've stopped looking. The Bull Crap is more than flesh can stand. At least, more than I can stand. We haven't even mentioned the Qi Gong scene. Some of it is legit. Some of it is religion. Some of it is fraud.

I am aware of that. I have both ordinations. Also an ordination from the Apathetic Agnostic Church. I just wanted to make sure you knew your options. I like having all three. There is no conflict. The FCA does have nice pocket credentials. If you care.

If your goal is Atheist credentials, you might try the First Church of Atheism. The ordination is free. The pocket credentials are cheap. You might enjoy being an ordained Atheist minister.

Just to be clear, what does "extra dimensional beings" cover and not cover? Angels? Fairies? Demons? Bhodi Satfas? gods? Elementals? Did I leave anything out?

The Doctor of Divinity Degree is simple. It's D.D. Enjoy.