tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58197780682912760882024-03-18T19:12:59.165+00:00Unseen influences in our livesThree golden rules to live by:<br>
* Be very careful what you wish for: you will probably end up getting it.<br>
* Be very careful what you dwell on obsessively and continuously: it will probably manifest itself in your life.<br>
* Be very careful what you say: the universe may well hold you to your words.Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comBlogger507125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-47728624032042051642024-03-09T06:00:00.000+00:002024-03-09T06:00:18.311+00:00More quotations from Dion Fortune's occult novelsI have found Dion Fortune's occult novels worth reading more for the occasional neat summaries and thought-provoking, commentary-inspiring remarks than for the plots and people and elements such as robes and rituals, magic and mystery, temples and ceremonies and the Old Gods. The quotations in this article come from The Goat-foot God (1936), in which there are Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-3101605415551582302024-02-29T05:00:00.001+00:002024-02-29T05:00:51.473+00:00Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XXVIII: Malcolm Bird's witch picturesAfter deciding that it was time for another witch article, I looked for a suitable subject. I remembered three witch pictures from the distant past that I particularly liked; I did some online research and found that they were the work of cartoonist and illustrator Malcolm Bird, who has designed greeting cards, books, calendars and comic strips and whose pictures have been Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-32888895904829350382024-02-18T06:31:00.001+00:002024-02-18T06:31:44.497+00:00Green shirts and green kirtles: some good and bad associationsOscar Wilde's proposition that favouring the colour green is a sign of creativity in individuals but of moral laxity and decadence in nations has made me think of a few green items that have both positive and negative aspects and associations. Green shirts and green kirtles for example are worn by both good and bad people.A few of John Buchan's books are relevant here, and so is one of Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-14358142958330857042024-02-07T07:15:00.000+00:002024-02-07T07:15:30.580+00:00A few quotations from Dion Fortune's occult novelsIn addition to her non-fiction books, the occultist Dion Fortune wrote five novels. While the stories themselves don't inspire commentary, some of the expressions and observations in these novels really stand out and are worth highlighting. This article contains a few propositions that particularly resonated when I first came across them.Beggars can't be choosers“...it does not do to be Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-89885605674852571612024-01-27T06:00:00.000+00:002024-01-27T06:01:14.192+00:00“Intelligent people don't join cults”Steven Hassan's informative and thought-provoking book Combating Cult Mind Control, his best-selling 'Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults', has inspired a series of posts. The final article, A few points about helping cult leavers, mentions his books Releasing the Bonds and Freedom of Mind as additional resources for people seeking information about cults and Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-57635165003956532922024-01-16T12:00:00.001+00:002024-01-23T07:07:25.268+00:00Oscar Wilde's interesting words about the colour greenThe many occurrences of the colour green in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's essay collection Through the Magic Door inspired an investigation into green references and connections in Conan Doyle's life and works.I came across an interesting statement about the colour green by the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde along the way. His words have inspired yet another article about this colour. Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-13475092826394068322024-01-06T07:00:00.000+00:002024-01-06T07:00:25.793+00:00Two more victims of 'psychological black magic'The article about two very convenient 'accidents' describes how a work colleague escaped from some difficult situations at someone else's expense. I have remembered another example of someone I worked with causing suffering to others by using illegitimate methods to deal with a work-related problem. The victim of the first colleague was a little girl; on the second occasion two Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-88721051909822730492023-12-30T20:30:00.001+00:002023-12-30T20:36:47.029+00:00A little New Year poem from Ogden Nash Alfred, Lord Tennyson's inspiring poem about the bells that ring in the New Year has been featured on here, as has Charles Lamb's sad poem The Old Familiar Faces. The American humourist Ogden Nash (1902 – 1971) wrote a little verse about the New Year in a very different spirit:Good Riddance, But Now What?Come, children, gather round my knee;Something is about to be.Tonight’sUnseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-63432638789162687722023-12-22T08:30:00.000+00:002023-12-22T08:57:11.678+00:00The Twelve Days of ChristmasThe Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas is - ostensibly - about the increasing number of unusual gifts received by a very lucky person. The final verse lists them all:On the twelfth day of Christmas,My true love sent to meTwelve lords a leaping,Eleven ladies dancing,Ten pipers piping,Nine drummers drumming,Eight maids a milking,Seven swans a swimming,Six geese a laying,Five gold Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-4184522561224847792023-12-11T06:00:00.004+00:002024-01-23T07:12:56.573+00:00More about John Buchan and the colour greenLooking for reasonably significant references to the colour green in John Buchan's books involves eliminating a very large number of descriptions of natural features such as uplands and downs, mountains and moors, water and trees and discarding a large quantity of protective outdoor clothing such as felt hats, capes and tweed coats. The much smaller number of occurrences of specific shades such Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-42125219937905693762023-12-02T07:15:00.000+00:002023-12-02T07:15:07.871+00:00Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XXVII: The artwork of Frank Kelly FreasFrank Kelly Freas (1922 – 2005) was an award-winning American science fiction and fantasy artist. He was active for more than 50 years, during which time he produced many illustrations for books and magazines and their covers. He was mentioned in an article about two amusing short stories, and one of his magazine covers was featured on here for Halloween. I like some of his Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-59599212661197779732023-11-22T07:00:00.000+00:002023-11-22T07:00:39.799+00:00A tale of two very convenient 'accidents'The article about workplace memories was inspired by a few comments made to me by fellow workers many years ago. Two incidents involving another colleague surfaced in my mind recently while I was thinking about the past. Again, they seem much more significant now that they did at the time. They provide supporting evidence for some of my ideas about psychological black magic, one ofUnseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-37739485866608343452023-11-11T06:00:00.002+00:002024-01-23T07:16:36.769+00:00Something about John Buchan and the colour greenAfter listing some connections and references to the colour green in the life and works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and covering some similar occurrences of this colour in the life and works of Rudyard Kipling, the next step was to look for green connections in the life and works of John Buchan. Buchan's works certainly contain a very large number of references to the colour green, but Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-65216744356192566062023-11-02T12:01:00.001+00:002023-11-02T12:01:36.171+00:00Stone Age Internet: dial-up, dongles and Easy CafésThe article about the great and positive influence of computers and the Internet describes how I relied on the Internet to educate and entertain me during the recent Covid lockdowns; this one covers my introduction to and first few years of using the Internet. I became aware of the existence, function and possibilities of the Internet by degrees over some years; I was fortunate in that Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-29763988141811677182023-10-29T06:00:00.000+00:002023-10-29T06:01:11.157+00:00A Halloween picture from Mad MagazinePrevious Halloween articles feature witches.Witches Pictures has some depictions of Terry Pratchett’s witches; Witches in the air has more of the same and features a poem about witches by Walter de la Mare.This year, we have a change of seasonal associations in the form of an old cover for Mad Magazine with a spectacular picture by the American SF artist Frank Kelly Freas. TheUnseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-8367691678638346222023-10-18T06:45:00.003+01:002024-02-07T08:59:42.112+00:00A few points about helping cult leaversThis is the fourth and final article inspired by exit-counsellor Steven Hassan's thought-provoking book Combating Cult Mind Control, his illuminating 'Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults'. The first article covers some of the interesting things that Steve Hassan has to say about how cults recruit people. The second article contains disturbing information Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-68154706059031552032023-10-07T06:40:00.004+01:002024-01-27T16:09:40.338+00:00Rudyard Kipling and some green connectionsPosts about Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle are very popular, so I am always looking for inspiration for more articles. After writing about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the colour green, I decided to investigate occurrences of this colour in the life and works of Rudyard Kipling. I didn't find anything amazing, but some connections are worth mentioning. The people Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-58332171363911325242023-09-30T07:00:00.001+01:002023-09-30T07:00:17.728+01:00More minor incidents at the autumn equinoxLast year, I posted about some incidents at the time of the autumn equinox. They involved two rather weird women I encountered when I went out shopping while feeling under the weather. Once again, it is the time of year when seasonal depression may strike.Once again, it is the time when strangers may behave strangely! I have a little more of the same to report. The recent incidentsUnseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-33032764357206091632023-09-19T06:00:00.003+01:002023-09-19T12:07:22.614+01:00The great and positive influence of Odhams PressThe article about Books, Reading and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mentions The Marvels and Mysteries of Science, one of the first books that I ever owned. I saw this book as an endlessly-fascinating treasure trove; I felt the same way about several other books that I owned as a child. I didn't realise at the time that a few of my best books, including Marvels and Mysteries, were published by the Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-57862283981884680742023-09-09T06:00:00.003+01:002023-09-13T11:57:24.834+01:00A few workplace memories with a wider applicationA few comments that were made by colleagues in companies I worked for many years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind recently and inspired an article. At the time, I just accepted the remarks at face value; now, they seem more significant and to have a wider application. Settling for far too littleI remember a time when a new IT manager was taken on. One of his first tasks was to go round to Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-76421116912366474182023-08-29T06:08:00.004+01:002024-01-27T16:07:35.613+00:00Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and the colour greenWhile trawling through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's essay collection Through the Magic Door, I noticed that he mentions the colour green many times. This gave me the idea of looking for occurrences of this colour in Conan Doyle's life. I found more green connections than I was expecting, including some for Sherlock Holmes, and have summarised my findings here. The people, places and other Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-1967978964488480922023-08-18T06:00:00.001+01:002023-08-22T06:40:12.961+01:00A few points about getting people out of cultsThis is the third article inspired by exit-counsellor Steven Hassan's book Combating Cult Mind Control, his 'Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults'. After covering some of the interesting things that Steve Hassan has to say about how cults recruit people and his disturbing information about life inside cults, I now want to highlight a few of the useful Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-33830371889406091902023-08-09T06:00:00.000+01:002023-08-09T06:00:11.925+01:00Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XXVI: The artwork of Bruce PenningtonI first came across Bruce Pennington's artwork on the covers of science fiction and fantasy books. I was immediately fascinated; I soon learned to recognise the colourful, atmospheric and evocative style, but the artist's name didn't register with me until l found his art book Eschatus (1976). Where there was a choice of editions of a particular book, I would always buy the one with the Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-28259457269890566142023-07-29T07:00:00.001+01:002023-07-29T07:00:50.513+01:00Acting unprofessionally and out of character revisitedA few examples of people causing damage by acting unprofessionally and out of character have been given in the past; the time has now come to go into this phenomenon in a little more detail. The multi-level approach to finding explanations article mentions some of the influences that might cause people who are normally professional and efficient to behave uncharacteristically and make Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5819778068291276088.post-85038509416871887992023-07-18T06:30:00.001+01:002023-07-21T08:47:47.104+01:00Frances Hodgson Burnett and Isaac Asimov: feeling different and getting angryThe previous article about Frances Hodgson Burnett mentions the low return on investment in terms of the time and effort that I spent investigating her life and works and the small amount of article-inspiring material that I found.Since then, I have followed up a few more leads and read a biography or two. I have found enough material for a few short articles, which just about makes the Unseen Influencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184244904194606506noreply@blogger.com