Life Lessons from My Oubliette

Last updated on: May 1, 2016 at 1:58 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

Past Life Regression and Akashic Records Readings are not for the faint-hearted. But for the open-hearted, open-minded seeker, they can be healing and illuminating. And that’s why I decided to check in with Sarah Lawrence Hinson, a certified, personal energy coach. We had a very interesting and stimulating yarn . . For those new to the Akashic Records, here’s a pithy definition from the cyrstalinks.com website: The Akashic records (Akasha is a Sanskrit word meaning “sky”, “space” or “aether”) are... Read more

Bringing To Light The “Holy Emojis” On our Phones

Last updated on: May 6, 2016 at 7:28 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

Did you know that your smartphone is a treasure trove of religious symbolism and timeless spirituality? A couple of months ago I went into the WeChat app on my phone to wish a Chinese friend a Happy (Chinese) New Year. Given that 2016 is the year of the Fire Monkey, I thought of including a monkey emoji in my message. Did I find one on my emoji keypad? Of course I did. But my friend then trumped me with his ‘shower’ of monkeys... Read more

Where are You When Your Kids are Live-Streaming Rape?

Last updated on: April 27, 2016 at 11:02 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

Or suicide for that matter? Veetle chief technology officer Ethan Wang recalls an incident back in 2008 when a teenager live-streamed his own suicide. None of today’s companies is investing in public safety, Wang said on The Crime Report site. And it doesn’t appear that they’re investing much in public morality either . . At breakfast the other morning I’m listening to an NPR report on An 18-year-old woman in Ohio who is being charged with kidnapping, rape, sexual battery and... Read more

Ballad of the Purple Rain Maker

Last updated on: April 24, 2016 at 7:44 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

You say you want a leader But you can’t seem to make up your mind I think you better close it And let me guide you to the purple rain . . Every century produces only a few of them. Prince was one. One what? Scholar? Genius? Inventor? Artist? Philosopher? Prophet? Scientist? What? Pull up a stool and I’ll tell you What . . . Well let’s see . . I’m sitting out back in my sun-baked yard; and... Read more

Six Feet Under – And Climbing!

Last updated on: April 22, 2016 at 10:48 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

Have Your Snorkels Ready . . Because Six Feet is what scientists reported last week as the projected sea level rise in the next 85 years, if we don’t stall the current levels of runaway climate change. Under this scenario, “the 22nd century would be the century of hell,” according to Ben Strauss, director of the program on sea level rise at Climate Central, an independent organization of scientists based in New Jersey. Scare mongering? If only . . Let’s get... Read more

From the Slammer to the Bakery with LOVE

Last updated on: April 20, 2016 at 6:59 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

So you’ve just been released from the Slammer. Now you get to join the 20 million Americans who have felony convictions; and the estimated 65 million with criminal backgrounds. The problem is: they’re all looking for work too – and it ain’t easy in a society leery of ex-cons. Bonnie Rice was released from prison a year ago. With a drug-related history, she knew she no longer had (nor desired) any kind of future with her former druggies. “I... Read more

Chicken ‘Dupe’ for the Soul?

Last updated on: April 18, 2016 at 9:50 am By Gerard A. Murphy

Last Thanksgiving I had a go at the Turkey industry with my rant on the inhumane cost of raising the lean, super-chested birds we like on our platters. Next up: their feathered friends, our beloved chickens. A century ago, your typical chicken was a scraggy crater. It took about four months to grow to a weight of 3 pounds. Consequently, it wasn’t a popular dish with most Americans. Today, the typical broiler (meat chicken) converts feed into meat at a... Read more

Donald Trump is Only the ‘Monster’ We Create Him to Be

Last updated on: April 25, 2016 at 6:59 pm By Gerard A. Murphy

I cried silent tears the day they hanged Saddam Hussein; I cried silent tears the day Bin Laden was mowed down in front of his wife and family; and I cry silent tears every time Donald Trump is lambasted in the latest demonization of this Republican frontrunner. Why? Pull up a stool and I’ll tell you why . . Not because I support or supported any of their ideologies, actions, or moral rationalizations on anything; not because I don’t believe... Read more

Yes You’re Living, but Are You ALIVE?

Last updated on: April 15, 2016 at 12:43 am By Gerard A. Murphy

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ... Read more

What Does the Concept of Resurrection Really Mean?

Last updated on: April 8, 2016 at 10:00 am By Gerard A. Murphy

Now that I’m done with my rant on Good Friday that ruffled a trillion feathers, here’s my gentler take on the liturgical season of Easter and Resurrection. The paradoxical nature of it all is this: vibrant new life and possibilities are born of death, dissolution, and dust. Just think of the one supernova explosion that occurred billions of years ago, spewing out dust, gases, and elements that would one day become our solar system and eventually the precise conditions for the... Read more