It seems like wars today change little except names. They still cause massive death and destruction, most often to people who wanted nothing to do with such wars. One set of leaders is ousted and another put in power. They often turn out not much better or even worse than those who came before them. This was not always the case. The Western world was dramatically changed by WWI and much of the entire world was changed by WWII. After the attack on Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941, there were only a few minor attacks on 48 U.S. states during WWII. As a result, the knowledge of what war is like for Americans tends to be quite different than for people of Europe. For the past century, to the

As a blogger, one of my responsibilities is to read other blogs and see what others are communicating. If you've been reading various blogs, you might note that one recent point of contention is the type of person known as a "fluffy bunny." Ah, the fluffy bunny. Anyone who has been involved with magick, Paganism, or occultism for more than a brief time tends to dismiss the infamous fluffy bunny. Unfortunately, it has become a catch phrase for just about anything someone wants to denounce. In looking over some of these blogs, here are a few of the various definitions of the expression that have been posted: They are new to the study of an occult field Their ideas are based on

In my post entitled Labels, Cults, and Politics I focused on the idea that by not defining terms, people (ab)use the terms to influence others. They use a term to get your support because you believe the term means one thing even though they use the term to mean something different. An example of this phenomenon, used in politics, might be a politician seeking your vote by saying, "I'm going to vote to improve our education system." To some people that might mean, "I'm going to increase funding to schools." To others it might mean, "I'm going to cut funding to teachers." To others it might mean something else. What does it mean to the politician? Unless that person defines what is meant,

The holiday season is upon us! Hindus and Tantrics have just had Diwali. Of course Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are coming, as is the Winter Solstice and the coming new year (Wow! 2012 already). All of these festivals (and don't forget Festivus!) have two thing in common: the concept of bringing in new spiritual light and the sharing of gifts. For me, the best way to bring in light is to share something that brings new learnings. One of my personal mottos is "We don't die when we stop breathing, we die when we stop learning." Right now, the single most effective and efficient way to share in-depth information is through books. I can think of no better way to share new ideas than