In the first half, former professor of philosophy and associate chaplain at a church in Michigan, Jeff Grupp shared his journey from being an atheist to a diligently practicing Zen Buddhist to becoming a Christian preacher, ministering to prison inmates. He delved into the nature of reality, simulation theory, why God allows pain and suffering, and whether Hell is real. "From what I'm discovering," he said, "since we are minds that exist now, we can work backwards and deduce...that there must be an infinite mind composed of love and goodness." Further, we can do spiritual exercises to have direct awareness of this from within our own consciousness, he cited, which he first became aware of in his Buddhist meditations.
The mind, he contends, "is a supernatural entity,"-- it's not made out of material world stuff, and our consciousness is actually non-physical. Through prayer, he learned that belief is not what we think it is. "Belief is this profound force in our minds," Grupp remarked. "It's a direct connection to God that all of us have been given...People don't really even know to do it, even though it's all over the Bible."
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Psychic counselor and Reiki master teacher with over twenty-five years of experience, Lisa Campion has trained more than one thousand practitioners in the hands-on, energy-healing practice of Reiki. In the latter half, she spoke about the various types of vampires who are focused on draining the psychic and spiritual energy out of others. Sensitive people and empaths seem to naturally attract energy vampires, she has found, and this led her to help her clients learn to establish better boundaries and recognize the signs of such interactions.
The least common type of energy vampire is the narcissist/predator who is aware of their own activities, and has no desire to change or any feelings of remorse, she noted. These individuals are dangerous, she cautioned, and can completely exhaust or drain their victims. More commonly found are the super needy or wounded vampires, who are often not aware of their draining qualities. These people may have health issues or traumas in their past-- "it's almost like a drowning person," she detailed. "There's a desperation for them to fill an empty hole inside of them." People can also be preyed upon by parasitic non-physical vampires who seize upon weaknesses in our energy field and defenses, or in the more vulnerable sleep state, she added. Campion suggested that in those cases one can protect themselves by pouring salt around their beds, or placing salt lamps near the bed or a fish aquarium in the bedroom.
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Mike Bara