<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  <channel>
    <title>Gaia: E=MC&#178; Energy Meditation &amp; Prayers for those in Need</title>
    <id>tag:gaia.com,2008,:Gaia</id>
    <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/discussions/feeds/pod/53</link>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <ttl>20</ttl>
    <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:32:56 GMT</pubDate>
    <description>Gaia: E=MC&#178; Energy Meditation &amp; Prayers for those in Need</description>
    <item>
      <title>Re: A complex situation...</title>
      <author>#</author>
      <dc:creator>S&#250;igh D&#237;lis</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-342301</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:32:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/341473#342301</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Thank you...&amp;nbsp; =) &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: looking at life with compassion</title>
      <author>http://catemurray.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>cate</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-342201</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:33:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/342199#342201</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      ....is it I&lt;br /&gt;or is it E...?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;lol... X&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;humour and mistakes help &lt;br /&gt;cate &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>looking at life with compassion</title>
      <author>http://catemurray.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>cate</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-342199</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:30:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/342199</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;img id="lightboxImage" src="http://aura.gaia.com/photos/44/432469/large/frances.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="492" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and accepting its&amp;#39; complexity .....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;the prayers of Saint Frances are beautiful ..&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;it can be&lt;/em&gt; sunny outside&lt;br /&gt;with love&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;cate&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: A complex situation...</title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-341978</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:22:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/341473#341978</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Dear Kyle,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you for your post. Know that this is read by some powerfull people who I know will send you love and healing thoughts for you and the people you describe. You have pointed out some difficult issues but I know from my own experiance that you can overcome.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will pray for this group every night and send you love and light.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Best,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leendert&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A complex situation...</title>
      <author>#</author>
      <dc:creator>S&#250;igh D&#237;lis</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-341473</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:40:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/341473</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      As I&amp;#39;ve come to trust the strength, advice and intention of the Gaia community more and more, I&amp;#39;ve opened up small bits to the various members here...&amp;nbsp; I think it&amp;#39;s time for me to share a bit more about my experiences, and how I, and several others in my life need love, prayer, healing and guidance.&amp;nbsp; I think I will post this to several pods as well, so if you belong to a few of the same I do, don&amp;#39;t worry if you see it twice.&amp;nbsp; I will likely be omitting a lot of stuff as well, because I don&amp;#39;t find it necessary for me to talk about all my paranoias.&amp;nbsp; If you are truly curious, send me a message and I will fill in some of them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As a young boy, I was constantly filled with much hyper energy, and spent my days running around.&amp;nbsp; In consequence, I ended up annoying most of my peers, and wasn&amp;#39;t very well liked among them.&amp;nbsp; I guess this started me feeling somewhat like an outcast.&amp;nbsp; So, when I moved, right before Middle School, when I met someone who accepted, and even liked me for who I was, I was overjoyed.&amp;nbsp; The problem is, they were involved in drugs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like most people, when I first did drugs, I didn&amp;#39;t know the consequences of what I was doing.&amp;nbsp; I started by drinking alcohol and smoking pot at the ages of 13 and 14.&amp;nbsp; The marijuana calmed my hyper energy,&amp;nbsp; and it began making me more and more shy as I grew up.&amp;nbsp; I never really lost my energy, I just became more internalized as the marjiuana stimulated my emotions, and made me feel them more deeply.&amp;nbsp; By highschool, I was so shy, I found it hard to talk to anyone I didn&amp;#39;t know already, and even then, if people I was not well acquainted with were around, I couldn&amp;#39;t talk to them either.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My first time smoking crystal meth, it seemed like a miracle to me...&amp;nbsp; For once I could actually talk...&amp;nbsp; and to whoever I wanted to as well.&amp;nbsp; In fact I babbled and rambled on for hours.&amp;nbsp; As you can see, I became addicted to the drug because of this, although there were still times I would take a long break from it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Around the time I was into this drug, I met my first spiritual teacher, Robert.&amp;nbsp; He introduced me to the Astral Pulse forums, and started teaching me about deeper things.&amp;nbsp; Growing up reading my mother&amp;#39;s library of science fiction and fantasy novels, I suppose I always wished for something more than just every day reality.&amp;nbsp; It probably had something to do with my rejection, or at least perceived rejection by my peers as well.&amp;nbsp; Either way, I ate up this metaphysical information like candy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rob is a kind hearted person, and remains one of my best friends today.&amp;nbsp; He always tried to convince me of the light within myself, and urged me through horrible depression, that all I needed to do was find the strength within me.&amp;nbsp; He can be a tad bit abrasive at times, admittedly, but his intentions are usually in the right place.&amp;nbsp; One of my first spiritual experiences was with him, although unfortunately while I was under the influence.&amp;nbsp; We were talking and pondering about metaphysics like usual, when I saw a blue crack of lightning arc through the air in front of me.&amp;nbsp; I remarked about it to Rob, and he said, &amp;quot;Don&amp;#39;t worry, I just broke your shield.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; He was always talking to me about how he didn&amp;#39;t feel a shield was necessary, and only got in the way of interacting with others.&amp;nbsp; I think his intention was good, but he didn&amp;#39;t quite know what he was doing.&amp;nbsp; After I heard that though, I panicked a little, and tried to throw them back up, and was enveloped in a HUGE torrent of energy, that seemed to rush around me from my feet, and over my head, into the heavens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately because of the drug, my natural defenses were weakening, and I started hallucinating...&amp;nbsp; At the same time as learning all this new information and not knowing what to make of it, you can imagine how confused I was.&amp;nbsp; During this time, I also met several other people who were into spirituality.&amp;nbsp; One through Robert, named Louis, and one through my friend Matt, who went by the name of Jag.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Louis was a good fellow from what I could tell.&amp;nbsp; Always talking about love, and the deeper meanings of things...&amp;nbsp; except everything he said was deeply encrypted in metaphors.&amp;nbsp; Not simple metaphors whose meaning was apparent either.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m talking metaphors for things that shouldn&amp;#39;t even be related to each other, but through misconceived links.&amp;nbsp; Either way, I started learning to &amp;quot;read&amp;quot; so to speak, from his influence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jag on the otherhand had a very unique personality.&amp;nbsp; Full of energy.&amp;nbsp; He spoke with metaphors sometimes, but not often.&amp;nbsp; He considered himself feline, and always spoke about having astral battles each night against a being he called 333, and how he was fighting to save the world.&amp;nbsp; How he wanted to free us all from a place he called, &amp;quot;town.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Either way, my insecurities caused by my early relationships with my peers, mixed with this weird way of looking at things, through nonsensical metaphors, combined with Jag&amp;#39;s influence about a being named 333/ all sorts of dangers and stuff, and the Astral Pulse speaking about things called &amp;quot;negs&amp;quot; all the time, put me in quite the unhealthy state of mind.&amp;nbsp; I started becoming paranoid of everyone and everything, seeing something to fear in it, or worrying that it was not what it seemed, but something meant to hurt me.&amp;nbsp; I would second guess others, and myself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Somewhere along the timeline, before my schizophrenia fully manifested, I had an experience talking to one of my friends...&amp;nbsp; I tried remotely viewing them, and while in the past, normally I could envision what I thought was a person&amp;#39;s room and stuff(whether I was fooling myself, or seeing it, I don&amp;#39;t really know), this time I felt like I was being pushed away, after I told them what my intent was.&amp;nbsp; They mentioned something about it being their guardian doing it to me, and then all of a sudden, the way they typed completely changed.&amp;nbsp; I was now talking to someone claiming to be their guardian.&amp;nbsp; It told me that I had amazing potential for good or evil, and spoke to me about how I wasn&amp;#39;t doing as well as I thought I was.&amp;nbsp; Arrogance and overconfidence have kind of been a problem of mine in certain ways, despite the low self esteem I had back then.&amp;nbsp; Anyway, after the fact, I wanted to talk to Rob about my experience, but when I looked for the conversation in my logs, it did not exist.&amp;nbsp; It was just my friend and I speaking, with no seams where our conversation would have stopped and started up again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;----&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My voices first manifested as the voices of those in close proximity, and they would sound like what someone&amp;#39;s thoughts likely would be in the situations we were in.&amp;nbsp; I would make too many assumptions, and think I was hearing their thoughts.&amp;nbsp; I had met some new people in the motel I was living in, and had started doing crystal methamphetamine with them, after a half year break from it.&amp;nbsp; By this time, I was starting to perceive most things people would say as &amp;quot;double talk&amp;quot; containing hidden malice directed at me.&amp;nbsp; Looking back I realize this was just my paranoia of course.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of the &amp;quot;tweakers&amp;quot; I had met, named Chad, needed a place to live, and he ended up living in my motel room, because I have always tried to help those in need.&amp;nbsp; His nickname, interestingly enough, was Chaos.&amp;nbsp; Anyway, when I first met him, he was using a torch lighter to burn holes in the bottom of normal lighters, and was attaching refillable nozzles to them.&amp;nbsp; His ingenuity intrigued me, and for some reason, my first thought was, &amp;quot;This guy is a teacher.&amp;nbsp; I could learn much from him,&amp;quot; and said as much to him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An odd thing occured one of the first times I was talking to him though.&amp;nbsp; He asked me out of the clear blue, &amp;quot;Have you ever seen that movie, &amp;#39;A Beautiful Mind&amp;#39;?&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; I told him I had, and he didn&amp;#39;t expand upon it, so I asked him why he asked, and he replied, &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s a good movie.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; Either way, his voice was the first voice in my mind I heard that actually interacted with my thoughts.&amp;nbsp; In time, I would start hearing the voices of all the tweakers, but until then, I mostly heard his voice making insults towards me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately, around this time, the drug I was doing and likely the drugs I did in the past not only began(or continued) weakening my aura and chakras, but it sent my mind into overload, racing at too high speeds.&amp;nbsp; So by this time, I was starting to make metaphorical links between totally unrelated things, with a paranoid and scared mind, at a million miles a minute.&amp;nbsp; I started thinking about all sorts of possibilities, because I had no formal training or education in deeper religions or spirituality, just a casual amateur&amp;#39;s knowledge and intuition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I began hearing voices every time I was on any drug of any sort, and my perception of reality was starting to become seriously altered.&amp;nbsp; They started teaching me falsehoods, like there were things I had to beware of.&amp;nbsp; Like the government having these psychic sweepers that could find people like myself who heard these voices.&amp;nbsp; They also tried to make me compact my aura, and keep it in dense places in my head, instead of broadcasting it so brightly and loudly, since the methamphetamine acted as an &amp;quot;a-zone booster but with a price&amp;quot; as Jag would put it.&amp;nbsp; I realize now that by doing this, trying to compact all that energy into two small balls on either side of my head, caused me great damage in those areas, and I still feel pressure in those areas often to this day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They did try to teach me something helpful though.&amp;nbsp; While I was playing around with visualization and my imagination, making a ball of ice that bounced around the room, and left crystals where it touched, they told me to begin repeating a phrase over and over.&amp;nbsp; They told me to say, &amp;quot;I am the truth,&amp;quot; and just to focus on it.&amp;nbsp; I read later that this is a technique for opening the throat chakra, and helping you to express yourself better.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Around this time, my closest friend died of a heroin overdose...&amp;nbsp; The odd thing is, I didn&amp;#39;t learn about it till a few days after the fact.&amp;nbsp; Well, not officially of course.&amp;nbsp; The night it happened, I had kicked Chad out of my room, because I had become scared of him and his friends, who were sharpening knives.&amp;nbsp; I didn&amp;#39;t feel safe at the motel right then, so I called my father, and got a ride with him to his girlfriend&amp;#39;s house.&amp;nbsp; While I was walking to the car, I heard Chad&amp;#39;s voice say, &amp;quot;That&amp;#39;s the power of death,&amp;quot; and all of a sudden, I felt a huge rush of energy flow through me.&amp;nbsp; I didn&amp;#39;t understand it at the time, but I&amp;#39;m pretty sure that&amp;#39;s when Karl died.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was deeply saddened, because I felt he was one of the few people I had in person who I could actually relate with, and talk about things with.&amp;nbsp; I was asked to be a pall bearer at his funeral, and ended up carrying him to his final resting place.&amp;nbsp; His mother, who knew that him and I did drugs together at times asked me one thing...&amp;nbsp; To quit doing drugs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I verymuch so wanted to do this now...&amp;nbsp; being a tad bit afraid of the voices that were manifesting, and seeing what they did to Karl.&amp;nbsp; I started off strong, and stayed completely clean for a few days...&amp;nbsp; but I broke down eventually, and smoked meth again, because I was of weak will, and greedy for it.&amp;nbsp; That was the worst day of my life...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The voices this time, started off being their usual selves I felt I could trust in...&amp;nbsp; I thought they were the tweakers I was hanging around with.&amp;nbsp; This time they told me that they were everything, and that they wanted me to be everything with them too.&amp;nbsp; They prettymuch offered me the power of a god.&amp;nbsp; Being young, naive, under the influence of a drug that totally warped my thoughts and even a tad bit innocent, I of course thought this was exciting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because of certain things I had attached bad metaphorical value to, I basically designed a ritual, thinking it was what they were telling me to do, rather than realizing I was making assumptions.&amp;nbsp; I ended up doing this, and then wondered, &amp;quot;Wait, now how do I join with everything?&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; I told myself, &amp;quot;I have to kill myself, huh?&amp;quot; and went on with my assumptions, instantly thinking them to be true.&amp;nbsp; I assumed that the tweakers had already killed themselves too, and that&amp;#39;s how they were everything right now, while before they were just astral projecting or talking to me telepathically when we spoke.&amp;nbsp; I couldn&amp;#39;t bring myself to kill myself, luckily.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was around this time that I started fearing what would happen if I had the power of god, which I assumed I did at that point.&amp;nbsp; I still thought the voices were on my side at this point in time, and I stupidly told them that they could hold onto my &amp;quot;godly power&amp;quot; till I was ready for it, and could control my thoughts better.&amp;nbsp; I think I realized I was paranoid, but didn&amp;#39;t at the same time.&amp;nbsp; That&amp;#39;s when they started getting mean...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No longer did they seem like they were out to help me, but they started talking of these horrible things.&amp;nbsp; About how they tricked me, and controlled things now.&amp;nbsp; I remembered something Louis told me long ago, about how I should write down things that happened to me, and for some reason I thought that would help.&amp;nbsp; So I started writing down things, trying to counteract what they were saying.&amp;nbsp; At this point I had begun to totally panic.&amp;nbsp; The paranoid thoughts began to stream through my mind non-stop.&amp;nbsp; I tried depserately to show them that if they let me live, and join them, I could help them make fun things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Either way, leaving out a bunch of stuff in these next parts, I started hanging out with my friend Quinn who lived next door.&amp;nbsp; We ended up walking to the mall together, while I thought these paranoid thoughts, and built up a ridiculous story of what was going on/going to happen in my head.&amp;nbsp; We got to the mall, and the voices had told me that in life, I would always have two choices, but I would be doomed to make the wrong one every single time(which has become apparently not true).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We met Chad at the mall, and I didn&amp;#39;t know what to do at that point.&amp;nbsp; I could barely talk, I was so lost in thoughts, and being deceived by the voices non-stop.&amp;nbsp; I tried to convince Chad and everyone else that we should start walking a certain way, probably because I was thinking I had to find the right way/right choice, but they said, &amp;quot;You can walk that way,&amp;quot; and started walking in the other direction.&amp;nbsp; So for the next few hours(or what seems like hours, I can&amp;#39;t tell), I am wandering around the mall aimlessly lost in my thoughts.&amp;nbsp; Somehow I&amp;#39;ve got it in my head that if any choice I make is wrong, that I must find the &amp;quot;middle path.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; Unfortunately, at the time, I took this to mean a literal path, and that whenever there were three paths to take while walking around, ONE of the middle paths would be the right one...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, around this time, a new set of voices manifested.&amp;nbsp; These with more sinister voices, who spoke in chanting tones.&amp;nbsp; They kept saying really quickly all these things that were going to happen to me...&amp;nbsp; and at the end, just started yelling, &amp;quot;WE FUCKED YOU WE FUCKED YOU WE FUCKED YOU!&amp;quot; over and over...&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I started walking home, but because of certain things I thought that awaited me there, I turned around and walked back to the mall.&amp;nbsp; Around this time, the voices told me that they were created by both Louis and I, as a method for destroying the world, and as you can see, this caused a lot of paranoia in me, and fear of my friend Louis...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Either way, I wandered around the mall more, the story getting more complex and scary each moment, until I ran into my friend Lance...&amp;nbsp; He was with my friend Jaime&amp;#39;s cousins, so I pulled him aside and explained things to him a little.&amp;nbsp; He offered to give me a ride, and I accepted.&amp;nbsp; Stupidly enough, I smoked some pot with him, before the ride, although I things were already to the point where it didn&amp;#39;t seem to matter.&amp;nbsp; He started driving me back to my motel, but I suddenly thought, &amp;quot;I can&amp;#39;t go back there!!!!&amp;nbsp; They&amp;#39;re going to kill me!&amp;quot; and said this out loud.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lance was confused, and asked me where I wanted to go.&amp;nbsp; I felt safer and more comfortable around Lance, him being on of my closest friends, and someone who has always supported me.&amp;nbsp; I really wanted to keep hanging out with him, but he was on his way to Jaime&amp;#39;s sister&amp;#39;s birthday party, so he made it clear I could definitely not go with him.&amp;nbsp; Frantic, I begged him, thinking that death awaited me at the motel for sure...&amp;nbsp; I finally gave in, and accepted I couldn&amp;#39;t go with him, but I still refused to go back to that motel.&amp;nbsp; So...&amp;nbsp; he takes me to Karl&amp;#39;s house...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will never be able to face his mother again after that day.&amp;nbsp; I come into her home, obviously high on drugs, and deranged out of my mind...&amp;nbsp; and just sit on her couch for a moment, staring at the TV while she watches it, without saying anything.&amp;nbsp; I don&amp;#39;t know what she thought, but as an excuse for being there, I told her I needed to go to the hospital.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Looking back I feel awful, because the night that Karl died, before I called my dad, I called his mother, and tried to tell her that I got mixed up with some really bad people, and needed to go somewhere I felt more safe.&amp;nbsp; What I ended up saying though, due to a tone on the phone that I took to be a warning not to mention the tweakers(I thought they ran the motel and were warning me not to be a &amp;quot;rat&amp;quot;), was, &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;ve gotten mixed up with some really bad...&amp;nbsp; *beeeeep* ...drugs.&amp;nbsp; I need to go to the hospital, I am having problems breathing.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; She couldn&amp;#39;t help though, and I ended up bugging my dad until he came.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Either way, she drives me to the hospital, and stays with me for a little while.&amp;nbsp; I try to call my parents, for help for what to do while at the hospital...&amp;nbsp; but for the life of me, not only can I not remember their numbers, at this point, I don&amp;#39;t even know how to properly use a phone, I&amp;#39;m so lost in these metaphors.&amp;nbsp; I recalled a dream I once had where I was told at a &amp;quot;spirit guide reception desk&amp;quot; that if I ever didn&amp;#39;t know what to do, I should dial 990.&amp;nbsp; So I tried this, but it didn&amp;#39;t work.&amp;nbsp; After 10 or 15 minutes of pressing random numbers, I finally figure things out and get a call through to my mother.&amp;nbsp; Karl&amp;#39;s mom had left, probably disgusted with me, but in time both my parents came to the hospital.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They gave me a form to fill out, but instead of filling it out, I keep writing my current thoughts on the paper.&amp;nbsp; Again, it turns into some weird sort of ritual or something, as I describe all these weird things, trying to counteract all this crap and try to choose my &amp;quot;house&amp;quot; as I was told by Rob I needed to do while talking to him(although I suspect that it wasn&amp;#39;t him I was speaking to, but another experience like the guardian.&amp;nbsp; He told me the next day he couldn&amp;#39;t remember anything of that night, because he was on mushrooms).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After looking at my paper, and it&amp;#39;s finally my turn to be seen, they merely took a blood sample(probably found out I was on methamphetamine), and referred me to the hospital psychologist.&amp;nbsp; He examined me, and gave my parents a card to the local Behavior Health Center.&amp;nbsp; My parents drove me home, and I didn&amp;#39;t sleep for the next three nights...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#39;ve omitted a lot, but that was the first day of a year or two of horrible paranoid schizophrenia.&amp;nbsp; Around the middle to end of the second year, my medicine had started helping immensely, and by the end of the third(around January or February of this year), I felt good enough to stop taking my anti-psychotics.&amp;nbsp; I haven&amp;#39;t had many problems since.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first year though, I totally isolated myself from everyone, online and off, but started going online again afterwards.&amp;nbsp; Things had changed a little.&amp;nbsp; Jag was nowhere to be found...&amp;nbsp; but Louis was starting to get a tad bit...&amp;nbsp; how do I say this...&amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;loopy&amp;quot; I guess.&amp;nbsp; He was always heavily into drugs.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps even moreso than I.&amp;nbsp; He had written an entire book full of seemingly randomness, with all sorts of weird inter-word-play, and metaphors that were up to you to give meaning to.&amp;nbsp; He claimed it was a story of his experiences.&amp;nbsp; Either way, I read it, as a courtesy to a friend, even though his disclaimer said not to read it if you were easily influenced by things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A short while later though, the nice, intelligent and a tad bit out there guy I knew started changing.&amp;nbsp; Apparently he had developed a crush, or perhaps even an obsession, with a TV personality from a children&amp;#39;s show called the Big Comfy Couch.&amp;nbsp; She was a clown, and I guess he liked how she taught children about love and joy.&amp;nbsp; Anyway, he sent a copy of his book to her, hoping that she would star in a movie adaptation of it.&amp;nbsp; =/&amp;nbsp; ...and when she never responded, he felt horribly hurt and betrayed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His whole demeanor changed, and apparently he had taken a lot of influence from Jag, who taught that the planets and sun were entities you could read.&amp;nbsp; He became interested in demons and stuff, and started saying things purposefully to cause fear, like he hated and wanted to destroy things.&amp;nbsp; My friend Rob said that he started saying random words he made up to him, and it was scaring him as well...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first person I would like to ask for prayers for is my partner, Ronni.&amp;nbsp; I was overjoyed when after I got to know her, she admitted her love for me.&amp;nbsp; She says it in a way that is more sincere than I have ever been told it before.&amp;nbsp; I fully trust her, and love her with my whole being.&amp;nbsp; After we had dated for a while, she admitted to me that she was schizophrenic as well.&amp;nbsp; I had only mentioned that I was schizophrenic to her briefly, discussing none of what I&amp;#39;d been through...&amp;nbsp; but what she&amp;#39;s described to me fits the bill of much I&amp;#39;ve had to deal with.&amp;nbsp; Her&amp;#39;s is actually worse in a way.&amp;nbsp; My hallucinations were always audial, but she both hears and sees things.&amp;nbsp; Things that drive her to tears at times...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, Louis is another of those I&amp;#39;d like you to pray for.&amp;nbsp; If I understand anything, because of his drug use, he might have gone/is going through similar things that I did.&amp;nbsp; He may have reacted differently than I did, but he was a good being at heart before the drugs.&amp;nbsp; I worry about him a lot, but I blocked him long ago, because in his state of mind, continuing to talk to him had really flared up paranoias I had started to put back down.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;ve always felt guilty there wasn&amp;#39;t more I could have done to help him.&amp;nbsp; I did give him words of encouragement and advice, but I don&amp;#39;t think he really listened to them.&amp;nbsp; At times I feel like looking him up again, and offering my advice now that I&amp;#39;ve progressed so much, but I still have too much paranoia associated with him.&amp;nbsp; =/&amp;nbsp; Just thinking about him at times makes me worry about things I shouldn&amp;#39;t.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another of those I&amp;#39;d like you to pray for is my friend Rob.&amp;nbsp; He has always been a source of strength, and most of the time, good advice in my life.&amp;nbsp; Recently though, after numerous deaths in his family in a matter of years, and a horrible pill addiction(which reminds me, I should say, I&amp;#39;ve been clean for 3 years off all harder drugs, more than a year off marijuana, and 7 months off alcohol), he&amp;#39;s started having a very negative outlook towards life, and existence.&amp;nbsp; He&amp;#39;s had suicidal thoughts, but he admits he would never do it.&amp;nbsp; It seems like all sorts of horrible things just happen to him one after another.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Matt, another friend of mine.&amp;nbsp; The one who introduced me to Jag.&amp;nbsp; I would also like to ask for prayer for.&amp;nbsp; He was long led astray by Jag, and is full of confusion.&amp;nbsp; He also has a horrible rage problem, and sometimes feels like he&amp;#39;ll end up killing someone.&amp;nbsp; He too had a problem seeing 333 everywhere like I did, and we both thought it was a being that wanted to fight us, and was against us, because of what Jag spoke about.&amp;nbsp; He&amp;#39;s recently turned to Christianity though, and it seems to be helping him.&amp;nbsp; Our views on spiritual matters don&amp;#39;t coincide much, so we don&amp;#39;t talk about them much, but I feel he needs help.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lastly, I would ask that you pray for me.&amp;nbsp; I feel a tad bit selfish asking for it, but I really need strength and support, as I try to support my friends, and help guide them.&amp;nbsp; Tonight, I had sleep/astral/dream paralysis for the first time in many many months, and Louis was in it.&amp;nbsp; He seemed like he really wanted to mess with me and hurt me, but I gave him a hug and told him how I felt about wanting to help him, but not being brave or strong enough at the time, and he seemed to ease up, saying, &amp;quot;You brought me back.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; The earlier parts of the dream were very confusing though, where I was sexually assaulted by another being while being unable to move.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;...but I&amp;#39;m rambling.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;ve recently been attuned to level 1 Reiki by the wonderful Nikki, and have high hopes for it&amp;#39;s healing powers not only for myself, but for my friends.&amp;nbsp; I am guessing this relapse of mine might be what I was told to expect as Reiki begins to run it&amp;#39;s cleansing course.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;ve been working on keeping myself from wandering too far down paths of thought that evidence on is not readily availible as well, and am just trying to enjoy the simple things in life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, I would like to thank anyone who took the time to read this gigantic post, and send them much love...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kyle &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: A Request For Prayers...</title>
      <author>http://catemurray.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>cate</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-275651</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:50:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/271363#275651</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      prayer and connection and poetry.....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and action with a clear state of mind&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;prayer reflects feelings of powerlessness &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;meditation is stillness&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and connection..connecting with what is &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love is a poweruful source of inner strength&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love to you leo and to you of course rachel&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;may you and your friends find strength and love &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;...and may you make&amp;nbsp; even more new friends &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;cateX&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: A Request For Prayers...</title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-275642</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:26:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/271363#275642</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Many people read these posts in this group, not many answer by replying, or ask. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So thank you for this post and know that people read and that actually is already a very good thing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meditation and Praying goes even one step further, so the energy can start to collaborate. That is what is happening in this group, I think.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God bless you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leendert&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: A Request For Prayers...</title>
      <author>http://catemurray.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>cate</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-271584</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:17:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/271363#271584</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;img id="lightboxImage" src="http://aura0.gaia.com/photos/27/261999/large/diana.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;see some strength&lt;br /&gt;and remember&lt;br /&gt;flowers can bloom in a winter landscape&lt;br /&gt;I found the poetry for you&lt;br /&gt;you can find the strength&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;with love&lt;br /&gt;cateX &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A Request For Prayers...</title>
      <author>http://coolhippieminusthedrugs.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Rachel</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2008:Gaia-271363</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:59:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/271363</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      This year has been a tough one for my community; two members of my church choir have died from cancer already, and now a third has been diagnosed with bone cancer...&amp;nbsp; I know she would be grateful for any prayers or good thoughts you have for her. &lt;br /&gt;Also, although I&amp;#39;m not quite sure (or comfortable with asking) that I should ask, I would really appreciate prayers as well; I have been sick for almost six months now- I&amp;#39;ve thrown up after most every meal and the doctors are running out of ideas... It seems that mine is not an uncommon problem anymore, and while it definitely could be much worse, it is frustrating just not knowing.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Anyway, I just thought I&amp;#39;d put this out there.&amp;nbsp; The woman from my choir&amp;#39;s name is Georgine, and she and her husband are going through a lot right now, obviously, and need all the help they can get...&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Thank you. &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Dalai Lama's Healing Mantra Download</title>
      <author>http://santoshyoga.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Santosh</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-220231</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:44:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/22597#220231</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Looks like that link for the Dalai Lama&amp;#39;s Healing Mantra is down. (BTW - It&amp;#39;s not really the Dalai Lama.) You can find more about it here: &lt;a href="http://www.mantraforhealing.com" title="Dalai Lama Healing Chant"&gt;Dalai Lama Healing Chant&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Global Meditation to heal the earth</title>
      <author>http://inanocean.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Guntori</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-207153</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:15:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/26002#207153</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      I actually caught the one on the 11th just at it started. I didn&amp;#39;t know it existed but I was on board as soon as I heard about it. Such an excellent idea. &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Can we stop thinking?</title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-198280</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:05:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/194255#198280</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;p&gt;Hi Khemy,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Interesting question raised. Thanks for posting!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;My thoughts on this: It&amp;#39;s about getting control over your own thoughts. This creates peace of mind. Out of this peace you can learn that your thoughts are creating your reality. Knowing this puts power back into your own control. As soon as you can control your thoughts you can control&amp;nbsp;your reality. Before my mind was wondering off all the time and &amp;quot;it&amp;quot; created my reality without me being conscious about it. &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meditation learned me to understand this process of thoughts; creating reality. Now I am not an expert and I do not control my reality as I should or would want to control it, but I understand the process and practising the theory brings me closer to&amp;nbsp;controlling my life in a way I feel good about it. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That is what I think.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Best,&lt;br /&gt;Leendert&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Can we stop thinking?</title>
      <author>http://khemy.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Khemy</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-194255</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:06:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/194255</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;p&gt;Hi all. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Throughout my short life I have struggled to answer a small question: How can I stop thinking? Well to be honest ..I&amp;#39;d rather not, cause otherwise I&amp;#39;ll be inexistant. However, bearing in mind that thousands of thoughts can cross our mind within a matter of seconds, I always &amp;quot;think&amp;quot; how much &amp;quot;energy&amp;quot; I lose by doing so. Well the question would rather be then, how can I control my thoughts. Yes we talk about meditation, and rightly so. However, I believe meditation allows people to gain tranquility but not the drive to tackle obstacles in life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Would love to know what you think about this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Khemy&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Important Prayers Needed for Baby</title>
      <author>http://inanocean.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Guntori</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-167698</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2007 23:38:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/23981#167698</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      May you be blessed with health and happiness in your child&amp;#39;s life. &lt;br /&gt;:) &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Seeing health and balance</title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-156959</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:00:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/156506#156959</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Thank you for posting and working for the good of those people who need some relief of their sickness and or suffering.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bless You&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;L&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Seeing health and balance</title>
      <author>http://inspiration.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Donna</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-156506</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/156506</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      I have recently programed a large quartz crystal for healing and balance.&amp;nbsp; This is going out constantly to all who are allowing themselves to be whole.&amp;nbsp; Open your heart, breathe in deeply and let the love fill you and lift you up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many blessings,&lt;br /&gt;Donna&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>More fibromyalgia, deformation, loneliness, despair, heartache</title>
      <author>#</author>
      <dc:creator>Symbolist Artist</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2007:Gaia-103713</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:40:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/103713</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;div align="justify"&gt;This is yet another cry for help or some kind of relief or insight. I have written plenty about my challenges on this site already. Usually I have to figure everything out on my own -&amp;nbsp;trying to revearse&amp;nbsp;the karma by reaching out doesn&amp;#39;t seem to work. It&amp;#39;s a very lonely friday evening, and my boyfriend in a distance relationship has not contacted me all day. We used to live together but it was a vey disturbing time. His son came to live with us because the mother was a mess, and she eventually killed herself. By that time I had already over-exhausted myself and was told to leave. Since childhood, I have a collapsed and severely deformed spine with relating fibromyalgic symptoms. I was burnt out from having fought for my rights all my life (and trying to make something of it despite the pain and the fatigue), and then the relationship brought up painful fears of rejection and doubts about my boyfriend&amp;#39;s sincerety. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I went to live 2 hrs drive away. I was not doing ok during the time that I was alone, and then he came back into my life, eager to still hold on to me. His problems are having to take care of a difficult, traumatized child, and easily hurt feelings with bursts of anger&amp;nbsp;that he is prone to. I do respect myself and think that I deserve more love and closeness,&amp;nbsp;but I feel that I have not much choice than continue living alone as I have done most of my life (I&amp;#39;m not an easy person and I do have the health issues as well as insomnia), or stay with him. I am rather isolated where I live in a small town in&amp;nbsp; small and drab country and with extremely little money. I do not know how to fix my life and find a happier way of existence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My boyfriend&amp;nbsp;went into a depression after x-mas, due to exhaustion and difficulties in sorting his private life out (unhappy with the job, with living in this country, etc). This has really triggered my feelings of abundement and rejection. I worked my anger out and reached a state of calm where I was trying not to pressurize him at all - which in my frenzy to control our lives and figuring out if he was right for me I have been doing. He&amp;#39;s holding onto me and asking me to trust his love,&amp;nbsp;yet he wants more and more freedom. I bet you in his grave he&amp;#39;s still going to say, please wait for me, we&amp;#39;ll be together in our next life, just have faith. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#39;ve tried to fix my own problems but I am having trouble keeping the despair and the usual&amp;nbsp;feelings of disappointment at bay. I can see this is my karma but I find it increasingly difficult to believe it will be resolved in a way that would be conducive to a better life in this lifetime. I&amp;#39;m already 40 and am starting to feel old and incabable of&amp;nbsp; forever &lt;em&gt;trying, trying, trying, always endlessly fixing myself.&lt;/em&gt; Sorry I didn&amp;#39;t really want to pour all this out, as I&amp;#39;m really withdrawn into my shell right now. But I guess I have to give you the picture in case there is anybody out there who would empathize at all. I have been writing in my blog this month, but I&amp;#39;m afraid I&amp;#39;m a negative influence on other people who would prefer a happy stance and who think that problems are resolved if you just smile.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Secre Santa needs some energy and healing </title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2006:Gaia-83005</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 24 Nov 2006 09:56:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/81674#83005</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;div style="text-align: center"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/stories/2006/nov/19/secret-santa1119_11-19-2006_H792CTU.jpg" alt="" width="336" height="277" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Secre Santa needs some energy and healing </title>
      <author>http://trust22.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>TRUST 22</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2006:Gaia-81674</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:33:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/81674</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      Here is the full story of who he is and whta he has ... 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa?

But now, weak from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa has decided it's time to reveal his identity.

He is Larry Stewart, a 58-year-old businessman from the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit, Mo., who made his millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service.

His holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was nursing his wounds at a drive-in restaurant after getting fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas.

"It was cold and this car hop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,'" he said.

He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.

"And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, `Sir, you have no idea what this means to me.'"

Stewart went to the bank that day and took out $200, then drove around looking for people who could use a lift. That was his "Christmas present to himself." He's hit the streets each December since.

While Stewart has also given money to other community causes in Kansas City and his hometown of Bruce, Miss., he offers the simple gifts of cash because it's something people don't have to "beg for, get in line for, or apply for."

That was a feeling he came to know in the early '70s when he was living out of his yellow Datsun 510. Hungry and tired, Stewart mustered the nerve to approach a woman at a church and ask for help.

The woman told him the person who could help was gone for the day, and Stewart would have to come back the next day.

"As I turned around, I knew I would never do that again," Stewart said.

Over the years, Stewart's giving as Secret Santa grew. He started a Web site. He allowed the news media to tag along, mostly because he wanted to hear about the people who received the money. Reporters had to agree to guard his identity and not name his company, which he still does not want revealed.

His entourage grew over the years, and he began traveling with special elves. People like the late Negro Leagues icon Buck O'Neil, who handed out hugs while Stewart doled out $100s. NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus will join Stewart this year in Chicago when Stewart hands out $100s in honor of O'Neil, the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues.

They'll give out $100,000 between Chicago and Kansas City. Four Secret Santas who Stewart "trained" will hand out an additional $65,000.

Doctors told Stewart in April that he had cancer of the esophagus and it had spread to his liver. He has been lucky, he says, to get into a clinical trial at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. But the aggressive chemotherapy has stripped away his appetite and energy. He's lost about 100 pounds, but has held onto his white hair.

The treatment costs more than $16,000 a month, not including the cost of traveling to Houston every two weeks and staying there for five or six days. He now has two months off, but returns to treatment in February.

His insurance company won't cover the cost of the treatment, which has left him concerned about his finances and his family.

Now, his mission is bigger than handing out $100 bills. Stewart wants to speak to community groups about his devotion to kindness and to inspire others to donate their time and money.

"That's what we're here for," Stewart says, "to help other people out." &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Meditation vs Prayer</title>
      <author>http://leendert.gaia.com</author>
      <dc:creator>Leendert</dc:creator>
      <guid>tag:gaia.com,2006:Gaia-68035</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2006 10:08:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://groups.gaia.com/energy_for_the_sick_and_suffering/conversations/view/68035</link>
      <description>


&lt;p&gt;      &lt;div style="text-align: center"&gt;&lt;img style="width: 398px; height: 327px" src="http://aura.zaadz.com/photos/9/87958/large/prayer_vs_meditation.bmp?" alt="" width="398" height="327" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

      </description>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
