White magic and black magic and the books of Stella Gibbons

My first encounter with the books of Stella Gibbons
It was my stepmother who introduced me to many of the works of Stella Gibbons. I have never much liked romance novels nor books that are primarily about personal relationships, but my stepmother was so enthusiastic about the books that I decided to give them a try.  

I felt an attraction that I could not have put into words at the time. I found them civilised, elegant, witty and interesting; I liked the glimpses they gave me into other people’s lives: this expanded my horizons. I liked the descriptions of London and the natural world. I was only ten years old at the time, so I was too young to understand the undercurrents and subtle references to dark topics. This was the stage when a foundation was laid and seeds were sown for the future. 

My second encounter with the books of Stella Gibbons
A time came much later in my life when I decided to return to the past and salvage some good things I remembered. This operation included renewing my acquaintance with books I had enjoyed reading many years earlier.  I reread many of Stella Gibbons’s novels and short stories. I also found some of her books that I had never read before in second-hand bookshops.

I got much more out of reading them as an adult with some experience of life than I had in the past as a child – the reverse was true for some of the other authors I revisited. 

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part I: Vernon Howard’s booklets

Reading the right words in the right way at the right time can have an effect that is almost magical. Something changes permanently for the better on the inside, and this causes a change for the better on the outside. The illumination caused by reading and understanding the words changes our vibrational rate; lumps in our subconscious minds disappear; we move to a better psychological area; we become different people and thus we attract different types of people and experiences.

This process is not under our conscious control. What works for other people does not always work for us, and vice versa.

I heard very good reports of A Course in Miracles so I got a copy, but I found that I could not get through it. It did not speak my language nor resonate with my thoughts and experiences. I wanted to get something positive from this book but my subconscious mind refused to co-operate. Not only did it not like the book, it disliked it very much! Other people may have transformed their lives thanks to this book, but it did nothing at all for me.

It was very different when I picked up a little booklet in a New Age bookshop. It was 50 Ways To See Thru People by Vernon Howard. Something about it attracted me, so I bought it and three companion booklets. I got a lot out of reading these little publications, which came into my life at just the right time.  They provide a good introduction to the subject of spiritual development.

Unseen influences:should we forget it to get it?

I still remember how devastated I felt when first I read somewhere that by wanting something very much, we are likely to activate forces that prevent our getting it! People who can take it or leave it are more likely to get it. This rule seems very unfair, but it explains a lot. I just wish that I had learned it much earlier in life.

I noticed a similar rule operating in my life: one way to get something I want is to forget about it!

The shoes
I went on a trip that involved a lot of walking; I was not satisfied with the shoes I had so decided to get some new ones for my next trip. 

I went everywhere in the main shopping street and to a few other places; I spent many hours looking for something suitable, but came away with nothing. There was always a catch: shoes that I really liked were much too expensive; the cheaper ones did not have everything I was looking for in the same model. Where I liked the colour, they would not have my size; where I liked the style, they would not have the colour I liked.

I decided to forget it and wear the old shoes again. A few hours after letting go of the idea of new shoes, I was on my way home when my bus went past a clothes shop with a rack of shoes outside. I went to investigate, and found some perfect shoes on sale! I used to go past that shop most days, and this was the first, last and only time they had a rack outside. I felt that the universe had arranged everything just for my benefit.

I told this story to someone who was present on both trips, and she said that exactly the same thing had happened to her.  She just could not find anything suitable anywhere, so gave up and resigned herself to wearing her old shoes again. Not long after this, she happened to pass a charity shop, saw some shoes in the window, went inside to have a closer look and found that they were exactly what she was looking for. They were very cheap too!

Unseen Influences: evil operates by the rulebook

Evil is said to operate according to certain rules. For example, anyone who has watched vampire films will know that they can’t come in unless you invite them. Dracula lurks outside the window trying to hypnotise someone into opening it for him. I vaguely remember a horror film with a black magician who tricks someone into inviting him in and offering him a drink of water – this gives him some kind of power over the household. 

The message here is that if you know the rules they operate by, you can defend yourself against and perhaps even defeat the dark forces. 

One of these rules seems very strange:  it says that victims must consent in advance to whatever evil is worked upon them. This seems very unlikely: who would agree to this? No one would knowingly consent to being taken away and tortured. No one would agree to be exploited and destroyed. 

The answer is that naïve and gullible people can be tricked and unprotected and vulnerable people who cannot look after their own interests and have no one to do it for them can be taken advantage of. 

Evil people load the dice against their intended victims and cheat them. They manipulate, manoeuvre and confuse people into doing things that they would never consider if they were in their right minds and a healthy state or had someone suitable to protect and advise them. Evil people – or forces - engineer situations that close off all avenues except the one they want their victims to take.

Unseen Influences: the attack-dog syndrome

The Jimmy Savile case has been discussed in great depth on the David Icke Forum. Much of the information and many of the issues are outside my experience but I do remember speaking out about him many years ago, long before any criticisms and accusations were publicised. His eyes, his 'vibes', his irritating mannerisms and that cigar gave me very bad feelings. I think that if he had come into the room, I would have run out of it. 

When I said this to some people, I experienced a lot of hostility and was accused of being snobbish. I ignored them and stood by my views, although at the time they were just the result of a personal antipathy caused by what I sensed about him.

I remember seeing a TV programme made by someone whose father killed himself after losing the money he had invested in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The son spoke to a New York financier who said that when she expressed some doubts after being asked her opinion of Madoff and his scheme in the early days, the negative reactions were such that from then on she just said that she didn't know anything about him. In other words, a potential threat had been silenced.

I have expressed doubts about certain new employees a few times, doubts based on what I sensed was lurking below the surface, only to be met with indifference or accusations of various ‘isms’ and, “How can you say such things about this fine person.” 

In every case I was right: these people did a lot of damage to the company.

This angry reaction is sometimes known as the attack-dog syndrome. “You don’t know what you are talking about” is another one of their favourite automatic weapons.

Sometimes the people who attack have a vested interest in destroying threats to their beliefs - cult members and multi-level marketing supporters are good examples of this - sometimes they have no reason at all to make outbursts intended to flatten someone. Perhaps they have been unconsciously conscripted into the war against whistle-blowers.

I have learned to trust my feelings and intuition. I take such attacks as a dead giveaway that there is something evil lurking in the background that feels threatened. I am wary of anyone who makes inappropriately vehement attacks: I see them as controlled puppets or temporarily possessed random mediums, people who are being used to silence potential enemies.

What does it say about a cause if supporters need to defend it in this way? What does it say about the people who make these attacks? 

They don't understand that they are giving themselves away, at least to those who understand this particular kind of unseen influence.

Unseen Influencers: The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John

I remember reading a review of this book when it was first published, which was in 1993. The review was in a free magazine that was given away at many stations; I used to take a copy if it was handed to me, but it never had much content that I thought worth reading. 

I read the book section in one issue, and saw a review of The Women in Black. The book’s outline did not sound very promising - sales assistants in the dress department of a Sydney department store in the 1950s are not what I would normally want to read about - but my radar picked something up. I had learned to respect these inner promptings so I bought the book.

My radar chose well. On one level the book makes a passable light read; on another level it acts as a teaching guide by providing examples of unseen influences of a positive kind. I did not immediately realise this: the insights came to me gradually in the following years.

The most significant character in The Women in Black is called Magda. She has a very beneficial influence on her fellow workers and their lives and families; deliberately or unconsciously she arranges their affairs so that they all get their heart’s desire. She is a wonderful example of someone who is the exact opposite of an energy vampire and a saboteur; she is a giver and a facilitator and everyone around her benefits from knowing her. The ripple effect spreads throughout her sphere of influence.

Energy vampires or psychic vampires: my thoughts and memories Part I

Introduction
I first encountered the terms ‘energy vampire’ and ‘psychic vampire’ in books many years ago. I soon realised that I had been a victim of such people for my entire life. Giving a name to a problem is the first step towards solving it.  

Since then, I have read a lot of material about energy or psychic vampires and found much of it familiar, relevant and helpful.  I now want to add my own contribution to the available body of information by supplying some details of my personal involvement with these people. My first hand, excruciatingly painful, experiences enable me to confirm much that has been written on this subject. Energy vampires are indeed a major unseen influence on many people’s lives.

What are energy vampires and psychic vampires?
These terms are often used interchangeably. Energy vampires are also known as suckers, sponges and leeches. 

Energy vampires can be thought of as people who have lost contact with their real selves; they have no inner source of vital energy so they are forced to look elsewhere for their supplies. 

Most of us are issued at birth with an internal energy support system, but energy vampires for one reason or another have forfeited their legal right to this allowance or become disconnected from it so need to find illegitimate sources of food and fuel outside themselves. They survive by draining the people around them.

Note that this is not connected with the fact that introverts can feel drained, and extroverts energised, by interacting with many people. Extroverts often wilt when they are alone, whereas introverts enjoy solitude because it offers a chance to recharge. This is perfectly normal, and is merely a sign of under and over stimulation. 

Many energy vampires siphon off people’s vital energy just to keep going and maintain their front or image; others do it for more sinister reasons such as raising the power to get something that they want.

Becoming an energy vampire can be an unfortunate side-effect or result of illness, age, ill treatment by others and psychosis and other forms of mental disturbance. Some creative people and celebrities may well become vampires too.