ISRAEL IN AN UPROAR OVER BEST SELLER BOOK

According to an article by Joshua Holland on AlterNet, the explosive book by Tel Aviv University scholar Shlomo Zand or Sand, has sent ripples of shock throughout Israeli society. The book, published in 2008 (as of this writing no English translation) became a best-seller in Israel. The title of the book is When and How Was the Jewish People Invented? Holland goes on to say, "And what if most modern Israelis aren't descended from the ancient Israelites at all, but are actually a mix of Europeans, North Africans and others who didn't 'return' to the scrap of land we now call Israel…" Holland continues with, "What if the entire tale of the Jewish Diaspora—the story recounted at Passover tables by Jews around the world every year detailing the ancient Jews' exile from Judea, the years spent wandering through the desert, their escape from the Pharaoh's clutches—is all wrong?"

Several years ago, I authored an article for my blog titled History: A Tapestry of Hallucinations. And in this blog posting I ask "What if the history we have been taught in schools and religions isn't true?" During the period of researching for my books Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls and Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy, I learned that history is a fluid movement according to who is writing the history. James Cameron who wrote the Introduction to The Jesus Family Tomb wrote, "I came to realize that history is a consensus hallucination. It is a myth upon which we all agree to agree." I use the word hallucination in the context of perceived reality or a false or mistaken idea.

In my research, I found that most Western researchers and so-called authorities on the Bible missed a wealth of information by not concentrating on Egyptian history. What has been postulated is recycled ignorance and this includes the much-quoted Jewish historian Josephus. The validity of Josephus is suspect. Author/researcher Ralph Ellis began comparing the information in the autobiography of Josephus and the supposedly biography of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament Book of Acts. When comparing their lives, births and travels, they are too similar to dismiss. Could Josephus have created Paul? Perhaps Paul represented what Josephus wanted to be. This also reflects on the Jewish history.

My understanding of the great Exodus from the Hebrew point of view is that the Jews were enslaved and wanted to be free of the tyranny of Egypt. Under the guidance of Moses and his brother Aaron, they departed Egypt and wandered for 40 years before they came to the Promised Land. Have you ever wondered where they spent those 40 years when it only takes about three hours to travel by SUV from the Nile Delta to Palestine?

There are a number of researchers who question the validity of the Exodus story. Published on October 29, 1999, Ze'ev Herzog wrote an article titled, "Deconstructing the walls of Jericho" In Ha'aretz, the leading newspaper in Israel stating that after "70 years of intensive excavations in Israel, archaeologists learned that the Israelites did not sojourn to Egypt or make an exodus. They did not wander in the desert." If there is no evidence of Israelites being in Egypt, then what is the Exodus all about?

Perhaps the Israelites were known under another name other than the one given in the Old Testament. If one were to research Egyptian history as given in hieroglyphics, paintings and other ancient writings, then another picture begins to unfold. This is like cracking a hidden code. The Jewish scholars who promote the hypothesis that the world is only 5764 years old could be correct from the point of view that the Jews or Hebrews had no beginning prior to 5764 BCE. I also found that Jewish history scholars could not agree upon the timelines when important events took place such as the Exodus. In The Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill, he writes that the Talmud came into being from oral history and there is no reliable record of written Hebrew before the 10th century BCE. If you have ever played the 'whisper' or 'telephone' game, you have an idea of how garbled the original statements become.

Immanuel Velikovsky researched Egyptian history and the O.T. history extensively without the use of a computer or Internet. His research indicated that Egyptian history and the O.T. history were parallels and when he learned how to reconcile the differences in the time counted, he realized their histories were the same. When in the O.T. it is written that Abraham journeyed south into Gerar, it could be he was traveling into Egypt because the names Gerar and Egypt were the same. What is revealed is the Hyksos were also the Israelites.

Where did the Hyksos come from? Some allege they came from Babylonia and others say Anatolia or Asia. What is known is that the Hyksos came to Lower Egypt bringing with them chariots and horses, which had been previously unknown in Egypt. It was at this time that Egypt was split in two with Lower Egypt ruled by Hyksos pharaohs and Upper Egypt including Ethiopia and Nubia ruled by Egyptian pharaohs. The approximate span for this split was from 1780 BCE to 1560 BCE.

It becomes even more interesting that the pharaohs and those called kings had many different names. According to Velikovsky, there was the birth name, throne name, a name for different countries and it was usual to change the name by royal decrees so that the name would sound more agreeable to the ears of foreign people. As an example: A pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom changed the name of Joseph (Genesis 41-45) to Zaphnaph-Paaneah. Therefore, it is a challenge to know who was who. We cannot assume that the names given in the Old Testament are the correct names. It is much like wandering through a labyrinth of truths and fiction.

There is much more to be revealed and in my next article, I will write about the Exodus and another view of the story.

POWER - CORRUPTION OR THE RIGHT USE

The right use of power has been hidden from the masses for hundreds of years. There was great hope when the Declaration of Independence became a reality, however as with most beautiful things for the good of all they have barnacles attached to them. John Quincy Adams wrote the following: "All the public business in Congress now connects itself with intrigues, and there is great danger that the whole government will degenerate into a struggle of cabals." I began thinking about the power of corruption and am realizing it has been in power for centuries and perhaps eons – yet people still hope for moral men to lead our government.

I have noted that with Obama being the president-elect that some people assume that he is a trickster. I would like to think that he is a man of his word and he does give the people of this country hope. It is my observation that too many people have lost faith in the government. This is not a new thing and by failing to become involved with the elected leaders, have as Bess Myserson stated, "The accomplice of the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference."

In my research, I came across The Idaho Encyclopedia – written during the Great Depression. The chapter on the history of state government is most enlightening. Idaho was part of the Washington Territory in the second half of the 1800's. As miners and settlers began coming into the portion of what is now Idaho, each camp had its own customs or rules along with a judge, a recorder, and an executive officer of some sorts. Attorneys could be found in large camps, which became towns. There was what was called a miners' meeting that became the final source of authority. It was similar to a New England town meeting. It also put into practice "the fundamental American doctrines of equality and manhood suffrage." You will notice that women were not considered. This method worked for a while, but the lawlessness of desperados and banditry called for more law enforcement. Therefore the Idahoans petitioned the Territorial Government to become its own independent territory. This was rejected and the people petitioned the U.S. government to become a state. Idaho became a state in 1863.

The new citizens of the state of Idaho were affected by this move. Author Vardis Fisher states, "The first and most serious of these impediments to order were (1) Political corruption; (2) Crime and violence; (3) Inflated speculation in mining; (4) Poor roads; and (5) Indian troubles. The people thinking their problems would be handled had to face the political corruption along with crime and violence. Doesn't this reflect what we are seeing today? It would appear that political corruption has been a bane throughout history along with crime and violence. Where does morality come in?

Vardis goes on to write that both the Democrats and Republicans were considered corrupt even before the territory became a state. "Between the strife of the two parties, concern for the public good almost disappeared. The Republican machine, desperate to gain the spoils of office, made use of such questionable and corrupt maneuvers as were calculated to offset the overwhelming numerical strength of the Democrats. These factional intrigues and counterplots resulted, very naturally, in shortsighted and nonsensical legislation." Doesn't this apply today? This quote reflected on Idaho in the 1860's.

As Obama takes the oath of office, there are those waiting in the wings to criticize him or condemn, others who are playing the wait-and-see game as well as those acting with indifference. We are at a pivotal point of change and this can be the greatest change in history. We have an opportunity to connect with our government and insist that we want to move beyond corruption. We want to have a healthy environment. We want to move from dependency on oil to alternative fuels. The moment has come for us to dance to a new rhythm and reclaim the power of the people with our government elected officials serving the needs of the people. The time has arrived for a new march. Use the website www.change.gov and let Obama and his team know what you are wanting – demanding. Write your national senators and representatives and demand action. Write your state legislators and demand action. Let us keep the momentum going and see a new era – a new way of life. We have to also do our part and that is to be actively involved instead of indifferent. There is no time like this time.

ARE YOU WILLING TO SHIFT?

BE A SHIFT-CHANGER WITH THE "FREEDOM NOW" PROJECT, a world focus to bring forth a shift on this planet. This concept is simple and anyone can do it. It costs no money and the time in participating is minimal.

PURPOSE:
Freedom is a mode of living desired by most people. My knowledge and understanding is that people want freedom from oppression, poverty, wars, prejudices, enslavement and whatever you want to encompass in the thought of Freedom.
Love is a power that can change anything if we accept love and believe in love. Love has a frequency that can overpower hatred, anger, prejudices and bigotry. Love looks beyond the outward appearances and true love is unconditional. We do not force the shifts--we allow them to happen.
Gratitude is being thankful for life, what we are, what we have and by offering gratitude we send out the frequency that we are being thankful that our efforts are already accomplished. The shifts desired are accomplished. Gratitude is to never deviate from the desired outcome. Gratitude is picturing our desire as having already happened.
Love + Gratitude = Freedom = Peace.
The intent of The For Freedom Now Project is to create a shift in the world from abuse, discrimination, bigotry, poverty, anger, hatred, wars, and enslavement through the use of love and gratitude. As an experiment, there is nothing to lose. We have everything to gain. Today there are enormous challenges for all of us all over the world. There is war, the killing and maiming of women, children and men. There is a global collapsing of the economy, women have not become full-fledged participants on the world stage and there continues to be the suppression of women's rights, rape, and abuse along with the abuse of children. World hunger is escalating and instead of this being an evolving world; the appearances are that it is on a downward spiral.

This is the time to heal our woundedness. Women have carried woundedness in their souls for eons. Now is the opportunity to heal and to give to the world a shift that will enable it to evolve into something greater. From my mind came the concept of a world focus to bring forth a shift on this planet. This concept is simple and anyone can do it. It costs no money and the time in participating is minimal.

As an addendum to the focusing on love and gratitude, here are two affirmations that are suggested to repeat often during your day:
I am always filled with love and gratitude for my life.
I have always loved and appreciated me.

LOVE > GRATITUDE > FREEDOM > PEACE

ACTION:
By linking our intents, we make a difference as Shift-Changers.
~ Once a day—morning or night, we each enter the quiet place in our minds in a meditative or prayerful state. When we enter our closet of silence, we mentally link with those unseen and unknown people in the world who volunteered for this project.
~ We link with these like minds by visualizing a net covering the globe – the Earth. At each cross-section, we each become a point of light. The lines represents the intent of love and gratitude connecting us.
~ We begin projecting love and gratitude into this net all over the world and visualize it moving all around the world. (We do not have to meet in person. We can link with our minds from our homes and whatever country we live in.)
~ We will do this daily for 60 days or longer. It is not required that we do this at a specific time. The only request is that you make the time available in your life to link with the others participating in this project.
~ You are asked to keep a record of any shifts you notice in your life and in the world and to email me this information.

BACKGROUND:
Having attended an academy of the mind for twenty years, I have learned the power of words, the frequencies and about quantum physics. From this, I learned that the observer could change anything. From this school came the movie What the Bleep when Ramtha directed William Arntz, a student to make it. This movie became a worldwide success and Arntz with current students at that time—Betsy Chasse and Mark Vincente created a memorable movie with top scientists, one of which was Dr. John Hagelin. Before the movie was made, I heard Dr. Hagelin speak and he told of an experiment that his group in Iowa who practiced Transcendental Meditation chose to focus on Washington D.C. with their purpose being to change the crime rate. As I recall, they did this for 60 days and the statistical results is that 4,000 participants from 81 countries using T.M. focused on the reduction of homicides, rapes and assaults. After the 60 days, the D.C. police department showed that the crime rate went down over 20%.
According to an interview with Dr. Hagelin, he said: "The impact of our actions, individually and collectively, is inconceivably vast. We can all appreciate to some extent, the environmental impact of polluting behavior. But based on what we now know about the universe, the true impact of our actions is far broader. For example, chaos theory has established that even our most minute actions can have incalculably large effects. This places a great burden of responsibility on everyone. Exercising common sense consideration and care towards our environment is a good start. If we really want to protect our planet against the negative effects of human behavior, we must bring our thinking and action into spontaneous accord with Natural Law. We must align our behavior with the universal intelligence that governs the universe and sustains millions of species on Earth." Dr. Hagelin went on to say, "The development of our total brain potential and the resulting expansion of human comprehension to be universal should be the goal of education today." In 1994 Dr. Hagelin was awarded a lg Nobel Prize based on the above study and presented by genuine Nobel laureates.
If 4,000 people focusing on reducing the crime rate in Washington D.C. can reduce it within a 60-day period, then if we link minds with more than 4,000 people we can create a shift towards freedom and peace in the world. Please join me in participating in this great experiment.

PASSION AND THE FOR FREEDOM NOW PROJECT
Passion is an interesting word with a variation of meanings, i.e. the powerful emotion of love, joy, hatred or anger. It also encompasses a strong sexual desire such as lust. There is another aspect of passion that I have and that is enthusiasm. I have a passion or enthusiasm to right the wrongs done to women over the eons. I have a passion to see the end of racial hatred and prejudice. I have a passion to see the end of the abuse of children, women and all people. I have the passion to see an end to poverty. I have passion to see the unlimited potentials flower in all people. I have a passion for life.
I grew up in segregated Texas in the midst of bigotry and prejudice. When I entered the Foreign Service, U.S. State Department and worked in the embassies in Paris and Tokyo, an entire new world opened up for me and it was easy to shed the prejudices and bigotry. I will admit there was a residue within me until I received an important education from a Japanese friend when I lived in Hawaii. She told me she was 12 years of age when the Americans arrived at the end of WWII. She lived in Osaka and she said they could smell the Americans before they could see them. I was shocked. It had never dawned on me that Americans could smell. We discussed this and, she went on to tell me that the Americans cooked differently and these odors mixed with the shaving creams, toothpaste, deodorants, shoe polish, the canvas tents, clothing created an odor that was not Japanese. This triggered a memory in me of riding a crowded bus with black people in Houston, Texas before I moved away from Texas. Their odor was overpowering and foreign to me. It was years later while driving through Birmingham, Alabama on a November day that I smelled the same odor. I realized that these people cooked on wood stoves and ate different foods from me. This realization was the last residue of any prejudices I had of black people. We never look beyond the surface. My lesson was not to judge but to look beyond the surface.

It is so easy to create a bias or prejudice when something is different from what is in our own small world. During these elections in the U.S., racial discrimination reared its ugly head. The slurs and lies created only harm each of us. I have contemplated what I want to see in this world and that is freedom from the thoughts and beliefs that bind us to the outmoded past. In order to be free, I realize that we must give up these old beliefs and see with a new perspective. I have thought of the attributes of freedom and the following is what has come to me.

Love is an attribute of freedom, because true love looks beyond the outward appearances. Most people love conditionally all over the world. Often it is thought love is felt or given if it is to a lover, a child, one's family, or to those who think the same way as we do. Too often, we withhold love from those who need it the most. Questions I have asked myself: Can I love the derelict on the street? Am I able to love someone who is crippled, ugly and deformed? Can I love a murderer? Can I love a rapist? Can I love a beggar? Can I love one who has opposing views? Can I love an abuser? Can I love a raciest, a bigot, a liar or a pornographer? These are some of the questions I have asked myself when I am tempted to condemn and judge. This does not mean I have to love and approve of their behavior or their actions.

Gratitude is appreciation. If you are reading this, then it indicates you are alive. Be thankful for life. I can look back on all the adversities in my life and realize they have brought me to this point in my life. I can now see the jewels of wisdom that emerged from them. By being a shift-changer, your own life will change. Are we seeing the glass half-full, or are we seeing it half-empty? The majority of people do not realize that by changing one attitude—one belief that they make a difference in the world.

Recently I re-read Morning of the Magicians and came across this quote from an obscure book titled Where is the World Going? by Walter Rathenau who was assassinated in 1922. This
most troubled epoch is worthy of respect, because it is the work not just of a few people but of humanity; and thus it is the work of creative nature—which is cruel but never absurd. If this epoch in which we are living is a cruel one it is more than ever our duty to love it, to penetrate it with our love till we have removed the heavy weight of matter screening the light that shines on the farther side. Even the After contemplating this quote, I realize that in order to have freedom and peace, we must indeed love our enemies even though we do not condone their actions. We must look beyond the surface and see the core of them—the connection to the Creator. This does not mean we have to invite them into our homes, but we can love the hidden divine spark in them.

How do we deflect anger, hurt, and attacks? We do not retaliate. Instead, we send out the frequency of love and it is said love conquers all—a quote from Virgil's Eclogue X--his poems Eclogues. The frequency of love is higher than the frequency of hatred. We only give power to hatred when we accept it. We also give gratitude for who we are, what we have and the mind to focus and create a shift in this world. Please join me in this project. The greatest of things are achieved with a light heart. – Ramtha
Bettye Johnson

Website:

http://www.forfreedomnow.weebly.com/
http://www.magdalenescrolls.com
Blogs:
http://feminine-point-of-view.blogspot.com
http://haveyouevenwondered.blogspot.com
http://secretsofthemagdalenescrolls.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/bettyejohnson

Awakening the Genie Within

Have you ever wondered what happens when a forty year old woman awakens to a genie lurking within her? Two time award-winning author Bettye Johnson answers this question in her soon-to-be released first work of non-fiction Awakening the Genie Within, A Journey of Discovery, a semi-memoir of Johnson's journey into a world of manifested words and thoughts. Johnson's book Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls is an Independent Publishers Book Award Winner 2006 and its sequel Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy an Independent Publishers Book Award Winner 2008.

Suzanne Fairbrother, Ph.D., author of the best-selling book The Goddess Within, says "Awakening the Genie Within is a delightful presentation of the accumulated wisdom of a life well lived. Bettye Johnson's book shows us how to live our lives more powerfully." Johnson's book covers a span of her next 39 years of developing the genie within and shares her experiences, the tools she used and the wisdom gained during a fascinating journey of discovery. Bettye Johnson's life is a woven tapestry experiences that moved her from the cotton fields of Texas to working as a code clerk in the embassies of Paris and Tokyo where she received an uncommon education. Her background includes being a wife of a career military man, mother, government worker, minister and author.
ISBN 978-0650454-4-5 $17.95

To place orders for the book, contact: Living Free Press P.O. Box 97 Rainier, WA 98576 (360) 446-3032 Fax (360) 446-0284 e-mail: lfpress@fairpoint.net
For a review copy of Awakening the Genie Within, contact Living Free Press, lfpress@fairpoint.net, 360-446-3032 FAX 360-446-0284 URL: http://www.magdalenescrolls.com/
To arrange for book signings, speaking engagements or interview, contact Bettye Johnson at bettye@magdalenescrolls.com or lfpress@fairpoint.net