Two Words, One Answer.
Shirley MacLaine
 Sage-ing While Age-ing $14.00 I've read every book Shirley has written and pretty much loved them all. Something fun or profound is usually to be found therein. In all honesty, I can say her new "Sage-ing" book is quite well written, but, yes, at least half of it is Shirley redux, right down to the Rat Pack mentions. My favorite chapter was Nine. Her passion comes across in excellent prose with heartfelt ideas. She has an interesting take on the 26,000 year cycle of the Mayans: "So, in effect, every twenty-six thousand years the buildup of emotional and karmic toxins is cleared." She argues fervently for a reinvention of God, saying, "Perhaps I need to reinvent what I think of as God, which automatically means I have to reinvent myself." Smart woman! But what isn't so smart is her adoration of UFO's and "star beings." That's because there are better explanations for these things, in- cluding abductions, than she has acquainted herself with. Most people on the planet pay very little attention to something we all do every single night. We dream and we go out of our body. This has been scientifically proven as well as spiritually acknowledged and honored. Those familiar with Robert Monroe's books and the Monroe Institute (in Virgina, Shirley) know what I am talking about. Michael Roads' books (Australia) further our experiences for oob practices, detailing the spiritual needs we have for them and the answers they provide for us about past lives that impact on the present one, while Jane Roberts' Seth books teach practically about oob adventures and entering other dimensions. In short, Seth himself points out that in our 3-D material world there is no possibility of traveling across space in material ships to seek out other worlds, and suggests that those who think this has happened have simply had oob experiences they are ignorant about and do not understand. He says we connect to other beings in our astral bodies. Corroborating this, Shirley mentions that "One person received the information (from an alien) that "technical data does not lead to the discovery of other beings. Spiritual data does.'" (P. 168) Even Shirley's own experts make the case inadvertantly when, for example, Harvard psychiatrist John Mack says "the abductees (have) a feeling of being floated through walls, doorways and windows." This is par for the course in oob experiences. When you don't have a handy belief system for this, you will grasp at the popular culture's interpretation. "Mack admitted that . . . there is a tendency to fit psychological data or emotional phenomena into familiar categories." Roads' guides often told him he would not remember all of his trips to other dimensions or understand everything, but every time Roads "travelled" he felt great love and compassion from those beings around him. "The alien star beings told the abductees that they would remember what they needed to know." And, "many of the abductees experience past lives with their alien friends." Finally, both Roads and Monroe have said that their oob experiences while sleeping or in light trance echoed what the abductees said: "like they'd been given an intense jump into a spiritual realm they were not ready for." Apparently, they were more ready than they knew! Most of us are spiritual cowards. We'd rather follow the tried and true, which is to say we'd rather be called crazy for believing in UFO's and aliens like many others, than be called crazy for our own personal unique inner landscape adventures. As in 3-D waking life, what we find in our inner dimensions and oob experiences are reflections of ourselves. So some abductees experienced terror while others experienced loving advice. And while some aspects are similar, it is basically an individual thing. Go ahead, gather around that water cooler at work and discuss your dreams. I dare you! Lots of luck! While I definitely do believe there are gadzillions of other intelligent life forms in the Universe (Life, after all, is life!), why is it that most of these "star beings" are so stupid they put their human charges into havoc and destruction, while only being proficient in the sort of technology that humans covet? The description of most of these aliens sounds to me like a white, male Western conceit that embraces "power over," and the rest of the world be damned! I would think that if aliens are advanced, they would not be technologically advanced (as Hollywood in its one-noted way keeps portraying), but they would be advanced in mind power and spiritual acuity. Yet so few are. But you're certainly allowed to disagree with me, and if you do, you will find 75% of Shirley's book fascinating. Otherwise, you will become impatient with her "facts" and many quotes that, like her star people, can be taken two ways. Footnote: message from Don Henley: They're not here; they're not coming.  Coco Chanel $24.98 I WOULD BE LYING IF I SAID I DONT ENJOY WATCHING THIS MOVIE, BUT THE ACTING OF YOUNG CHANEL IS PRETTY POOR. MCLANE DOES A GREAT JOB BUT IT DOESNT COVER FOR THE REST OF THEM. I HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE OVER AND OVER AND AM WILLING TO PUT ASIDE MY ISSUES WITH THE ACTORS BECUASE I LOVE WATCHING HOW COCO BUILT AN EMPIRE.  My Geisha $14.99 Watching this glorious DVD version of this film makes one realise what a little gem this film was and how sad that is has been over looked and never seen as one of the principal films in Shirely Maclaine's acting canon until now. Certainly some of the sexist elements of the storyline are dated by today's standards (a woman should never be more important professionally than her husband )but the storyline is fresh and original and Maclaine should definitely been nominated for an oscar for her extraordinary doiuble sided performance. Like Julie Andrews in "Victor Victoria", you need to suspend disbelief a little, even with the Geisha makeup, one cant imagine how husband Yves Montand doesnt recognise her, but the performances and the charm of the idea and the lush cinematography an d the theatrics of the piece make up a delightful package. Interesting to note that the film was inspired somewhat by Maclaine's relationship with film producer Steve Parker who also produced the film and to whom she was married at the time of the making of it. |
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