His Holiness the Dalai Lama Arrives in Australia

Leura, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, 4 June 2015 - The Delhi roads were wet with rain and the air was clearer and cooler than in recent days as His Holiness the Dalai Lama left for the airport yesterday morning to travel to Australia. After a smooth flight to Singapore, he was met on arrival by representatives of the Indian High Commission.

After a short stopover he flew on through the night to Sydney, arriving just before dawn. Again representatives of the Indian High Commission and his hosts ‘Dalai Lama in Australia’ were on hand to receive him as he left the plane. Members of the public greeted him with evident joy as he walked through the airport.

His Holiness gave a brief interview to Waleed Aly, co-host of Network Ten's news and current affairs television program ‘The Project’. Aly congratulated him on completing his 80th year and asked what he does on his birthday.

“Last month I had a party with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala.” His Holiness told him. “They’d made a cake and he taught me how to blow out the candles. But generally for a Buddhist your birthday isn’t that significant. Using your time in a meaningful way is more important.”

When Aly expressed an assumption that His Holiness has already achieved nirvana, he exclaimed:

“No, no, there are higher bodhisattvas who no longer suffer due to their own karma, but I haven’t reached that yet. For instance, I still lose my temper.”

And when Aly pressed him to explain when that happens, His Holiness jokingly replied:

“If you ask a silly question.”

Aly wanted to know what the point of religion is in today’s world and His Holiness told him that religion is an instrument for training our minds and bringing about inner peace. He pointed out that all the major religious traditions talk about love, compassion and forgiveness. He remarked that contrary to some people’s preconceptions, anger and hatred are signs of weakness, whereas inner peace is a sign of strength. He added that belief in God can be a powerful source of inner peace. However, when 1 billion of the 7 billion human beings alive today have no religious belief, the important thing to remember is our common goal is to be good human beings. As social animals we need to express love and affection for each other.

Asked how this applied to those who don’t deserve respect, to extremely violent groups like ISIS or ISIL, His Holiness agreed that the situation is very difficult to handle because such people are already in the grip of extremely negative emotions. But he stressed that we need to accept the need to train future generations in secular ethics and humane values based on our common experiences and scientific findings to prevent the eruption of such emotions in the future. When pressed about whether this meant adopting a course of inaction, His Holiness explained that the trouble with using violence is that it inevitably leads to more violence. He stressed that somehow we need to talk to these people, to ask them why they have such strong anger and fear.

When Aly asked if he would consider giving advice to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, His Holiness laughed and said one of the Prime Minister’s main concerns would be with the economy and that’s something he knows nothing about. But he stressed the urgent need to for economic development to help the poor everywhere, citing the sad news that 2000 people have recently died in the heat wave sweeping India.

“These were poor people; people with no facilities. We have to develop the economy in order to improve the situation for people like that.”

About 200 Tibetans had gathered in the airport lobby to greet His Holiness as emerged. He was given a traditional welcome and offered the ‘Chema Changpu’. He exchanged words and shook hands with many old friends as he made his way to the door. Under a brilliant blue sky he climbed into a car for the hour and a half journey to the Blue Mountains. On arrival in Leura, about 150 Tibetans, many in traditional costume, carrying flags and banners, and others who have come to attend the teachings he is due to give, were gathered to give him a warm welcome.

Tomorrow will see the start of five days of teachings related to Guhyasamaja, beginning with a Vajrabhairava empowerment.

Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 6

Continued from: 
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5

Understanding Spiritual Warfare -- Becoming a Victor

In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Intimacy with God based upon the 4 essential core values that one must have to defeat the kingdom of evil.  In this blog aspect we will now cover what many refer to as DISCERNMENT.  So what is the definition of discernment?

Discernment by definition found in Webster’s is as follows:  a quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure, an act of perceiving or discerning something.  So what does discernment in the spiritual sense then mean?  In the Christian context it means a perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.

Therefore let’s get this started: what is discernment?  This word has multiple definitions.  The culture within the Church wishes to define discernment as the power to see things which are not obvious to the average mind.  In other words, discernment is a special ability which sets a person apart as a special human.  However, once we start using words like “power” and “special”, our egos are listening attentively as well as the demons.

God talks about a person having discernment, this is a different definition.  So our dictionary states discernment can simply mean “showing insight and understanding”.  Spiritual discernment isn’t about power, this is about receiving information via the Holy Spirit.  This is about God helping a person see the difference between truth and deception.  Example of discernment is listen to a sermon, as you don’t want to just believe what you hear.   You will want to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if anything the pastor is saying is truth. 

When you do this act of requesting to be shown truth you are asking God for discernment—you are asking for insight and understanding.  This is a comparison much like a student in a class and God is your teacher.  When you raise your hand to ask a question, you are asking for discernment.  A person is searching for clarification about something that bothers them. Sometimes God will give it to you, but sometimes God won’t.  All wisdom and understanding comes from God and thus God never downloads all of this wisdom into your brain at once.

As a person matures in their faith, they will find themselves feeling more and more dependent on God for everything.  God created you which as a powerless little speck you can’t do anything without Him.  This is a reality that will never change.  By listening to God’s truth, the more in touch a person will become and thus the total dependency on Him becomes even greater.  Now the opposite occurs as a person listens to lies, the more out of touch they become with their need for God. 

When people (whom are not righteous with God) encourage others to view themselves as a little Harry Potter—which is a person who is born with some innate supernatural powers, with which just some cultivating work can turn them into a master over the spiritual realms.  These individuals are teaching you to embrace or downplay your dependency on God.  These people are teaching others to downplay the dependency on God.  Unfortunately, those unrighteous people are teaching these decent people to view God as your willing assistant and not the sovereign King over your life.  Do you think that such a mindset might create problems between you and God?  Answer:  Yes and Big ones at that.

So have you been told that have the gift of discernment by someone other than God?  Can you sense the presence of demonic forces more often and clearly more than other people?  Do you believe that you have a “special” ability to see into the spiritual realm?  Were you taught by someone other than God directly that those special abilities are indicators that God has specially equipped you for battling demons?  If so, then you have been led to a very dangerous place. 

The way you presently comprehend spiritual warfare and your own spiritual abilities is very damaging to your soul.  Being caught in a web of deceptions is only going to carry you deeper and farther into a plot of delusions.  A person can’t draw close to God when they’re clinging to those delusions.  However, these kinds of delusions which one is headed towards are that these extremely addictive lies leaves a person wanting more.  These actions will serve the ego so much that you won’t want to let them go.  Demons know how to make lies sound far more attractive than truth and have been doing this since Adam & Eve.  The dangerous aspects are that you are some spirit kicking warrior is one of their favorite games to play with these self-absorbed individuals.

Now wait a second—are you saying that demons would encourage one to believe they are a threat to them?  Oh, yes and in a heartbeat.  That whole rebuking package that they’ve been sold—it comes straight from them.  Demons enjoy it when you start rebuking them in the Name of Jesus or better yet—chanting Bible verses at them.  Maybe you’ve been sold the version in which you’re supposed to hold up some large crucifix to drive those evil spirits back and commanding them to leave by just the presence of a crucifix.

Perhaps these spiritual mentors of yours took you down the holy liquids boulevard.  Teaching you to apply upon yourself some holy oil, holy water or something else holy as a physical shield against those powers of darkness.  This is all such a fantastic scam and unfortunately you are the victim.  If you’re serious about wanting to know God (i.e. drawing close) and thus please God with your life, then there is a whole lot of relearning needed about the spiritual realm. 

Getting a person to the proper place in their life with God is a challenge due to truth.  However, this isn’t going to be an enjoyable trek because God’s truth is often very repulsive to our own pride. Sadly, truth is truth, and trying to ignore it doesn’t change anything, this just ends up harming you further by ignoring the truth. Many people feel that God will adjust reality to suit their wishful thinking and that will not happen.  If you want to please God, then you have to submit to His rules and align yourself with His definition of truth, not your definition of truth especially in Spiritual Warfare.

In our next blog we will cover DEMONS and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.


Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist

Are Shadow People Attacks Really Increasing?

The reason I chose this topic was because so many of these attacks are being reported. I was actually recently presented two cases with this phenomenon. Are the TV so called "reality shows" putting sub conscience thoughts into our heads? That could be a big possibility for a lot of these accounts. First of all y'all really need to stay OUT of cemeteries!! Please dear Lord stop it. Lol. I get weekly emails from people spooked after sneaking into one using gadgets like voice recorders or even Ouija boards. For the love of God stay out. I bet it's most likely illegal to be there to begin with so you need to respect the rules. Unless it's a funeral or visiting a loved one during the day just stay out. NO GOOD can come from creeping around these places at night people. I made this mistake as a late teen and I paid the piper big time! Going in them to hunt ghosts puts you at so much risk. Shadow demons are highly known to lurk in them. Without proper protection anything can and will come forward. This is happening way too much. It's fine if you disagree or accuse me of creating false fear. I'm going by experience. I'm not purposely trying to create trouble or fear. I promise my heart is in the right place here. These shadow things lurk in them to terrorize you. I think these demons realize more people are visiting these places seeking a supernatural experience. I really do. Attachment is what's going to happen. Please do not risk this. It's really a bloody nightmare to rid you of attachments! And the lack of help to rid people of attachments just makes it worse. Halloween is no exception. Usually police monitor the more popular places on this holiday but any other time it's pretty easy to gain illegal access.

Those who are experiencing and studying this phenomenon say that these entities almost always used to be seen out of the corner of the eye and very briefly. But more and more, people are beginning to see them straight on and for longer periods of time. Some experiencers' testify that they have even seen eyes, usually red, on these shadow beings. One theory is the dark countenance and malevolent feelings that are often reported in association with these creatures has led some researchers to speculate that they may be demonic in nature. If they are demons, we have to wonder what their purpose or intent is in letting themselves be seen in this manner. Is it merely to frighten?

It is also believed that these shadow people are some sort of other-dimensional beings whose dimension of origin is overlapping with ours, which is said to explain their ethereal appearance and fleeting nature.

Another theory is the imagination. The explanation we get from skeptics and science who are usually people who have never experienced the shadow people phenomenon is that it is nothing more than the active human imagination. It's our minds playing tricks on us... our eyes seeing things in a fraction of a second that aren't really there and are simply just illusions... real shadows caused by passing auto headlights, or some similar explanation. I certainly do believe, these explanations probably can account for many experiences. The human eye and mind are easily fooled. But can they account for all cases?

The following posts and comments to them I found on beforeitsnews.com:

"The night the shadow attacked:
Imagine cowering helpless in your bed, paralyzed with fear, fully awake, helplessly watching something dark and silent creeping inexorably towards you. That's what Williams claims she encountered.

Some have dismissed her nocturnal attack as nothing but sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming, but she insists the bizarre attack left her bruised, scratched and emotionally shaken. She swears she didn't imagine the sinister thing fondling her, tearing back the bed covers, and roughly groping her. Even as it happened she knew she was being sexually molested and while the experience terrorized her then, it completely sickens her now."

“As I opened my eyes to see what the hell it was, there stood on my left side of the bed a black cloaked hooded figure."

"The ghastly thing leaned over her, pinned her to the bed and grabbed her neck when she attempted to scream. When she tried to push it away it savagely pinned her to the bed and then began groping her and hurting her."

"Other witnesses encountering Shadow People also describe physical attacks leaving them with scratches, bruises, even burns.
Attacks by Shadow People on human victims can range from being stalked and chased to being attacked with weapons.
On rare occasions Shadow People stalking a victim have been witnessed by friends and family."

"There are different types of Shadow People. The core, dominant experience is the nighttime bedroom visitor: a tall silhouette of a man, often dressed in a coat or cape, and a brimmed hat. The figure is blacker than black and 3D, obstructing light and blocking the view of objects. There are no facial features or eyes (sometimes red eyes are reported), but the experiencer knows he is being observed with great intensity. The figures do not communicate, but often radiate a malevolent, trickster, or evil intent."

I found the following story at a shadow people website home.comcast.net 

"I'm not sure what kind of problem I am having, be it astral projection or shadow people, but it has me scared now. "It" has been happening for years and has now become violent.

Two months ago I was dragged through my house by my shoulders by something I couldn't see. I could however see things in my home clearly. I was scared and forced myself to wake up. When I did wake up I was in the fetal position in the middle of the bed.

Two nights ago it got worse. I was being held down by a dark figure while I was sexually violated. I was punching and kicking and trying to get away. It spoke that it will kill me. I was to scared to move but I managed to force myself to wake up. Same thing, I was in the fetal position and hadn't moved at all. I have a large bruise on my thigh along with scratches. What is going on with me?"

One very important verse God reminds us of familiar spirits that go about mimicking our loved ones who have passed in order to trick us.

"Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." 1 John 4:1-3

Satan, his demons, and all of their supernatural powers have already been defeated by Jesus when He died on the cross for all of us. Christ defeated death! Amen? Below are verses I provided that helps support the fact that we do have the power through Christ to handle these demons from Hell.

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” Mark 16:17

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me,” Isaiah 54:17

"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will"

As you can see from the above comments I gathered from different people this issue with Shadow Demons or beings..seems to be a very serious issue for some people. I hope I have provided you some recourse you can apply if you ever happen to find yourself under attack. But why has this phenomena increased so much? I fear all these movies being released and the "reality" ghost hunting shows are causing people to go out and seek supernatural experiences and they are inadvertently bringing home attachments. Then others I feel others are having what they see on TV and movies seep into the sub conscience with them not realizing it. Becoming obsessed with this topic or the paranormal itself can cause this I believe. Way too many live this life. It's all they watch and talk about. For me dealing with only the most disturbing cases I have many outlets to balance me out. I could get pretty depressed if I allowed this calling to take over too much. It took me many years to be able to stomach what I have to deal with and research upon getting a case I'm asked to help with. I go to my outlets daily. Reading my bible and keeping up with my favorite music band. It's important not to allow obsession to take place. It's healthy to have other interests and outlets. I pray a lot. I'm always talking to Jesus. It's important to continue to pray for protection when you are dealing with such evil much less seeking it out for curiosity.

This phenomena of Shadow People has been going on for many years. I've seen them on countless investigations darting behind trees and peeking around walls, trees, tombstones etc..It's very creepy and down right unnerving when you see this with your human eyes and know that you know that you know. A lot of people experience them with Sleep Paralysis. Which as I discussed last week is another serious phenomenon people are suffering from. Many are experience ASP Awake Sleep Paralysis during these shadow attacks. I take comfort in calling upon the name Jesus Christ. If you can't audibly say it, just think it. For many the entity flees rather quickly. That in itself speaks volumes in my humble opinion. Be well and God bless.

Written By Jennifer Lori Auld

The Charlie, Charlie Challenge…What's the Big Deal?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:31

6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 20:6-7)

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

Psalm 36:9 says that “in His light, we see light.”  That is, without the light from God’s revealed Word, we have no basis for assessing this Charlie phenomenon….or anything for that matter. Only a biblical worldview can make sense of life, as it is the inspired Word of He who created all things.

So, at the very outset, you have a choice: rely upon your autonomous reason, or humble yourself before the Living God by seeking His ‘opinion’ on this matter. Only in God’s Light can we attain light we can trust regarding this Charlie Challenge.

So, why is this Charlie craze a big deal? Primarily because God says it is a big deal, which is abundantly clear from texts above. God has not changed since these words were penned, and the warnings are trans generational and transcultural in their divine authority. They have up-to-the-second relevance, as does all of the Word of God.

Sometimes called the ‘Charlie, Charlie Challenge, this is an occultic game that has recently gone viral around the globe, especially among Middle School and High School students. It evidently originated in Mexico but only recently caught on elsewhere, including the USA. The spirit is thought to be a spirit name ‘Charlie’.

The way this game works is by taking a piece of paper and dividing it into four quadrants, with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ written on it. Then, two pencils/pens are set on top of each other at 90 degrees on top of the paper—kind of a simplified Ouija Board.

Then, by asking questions that can be answered either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the participants inquire if the spirit of Charlie is present, and this spirit uses the rotating pens to answer this initial inquiry and their additional questions. At middle/high school age, one can does not have to think long about what kind of questions may be asked. And given the loss of faith amongst American families, as well as the God-given longing to experience spiritual reality, students are engaging in seriously dangerous activity in their pursuit of entertainment or even in serious, but seriously misguided, pursuit of truth.

The first thing to note is that a spirit is explicitly being summoned or invoked. Furthermore, additional attempts to communicate with this mysterious ‘Charlie’ are part and parcel of this game.

According to God, He detests any/all attempts to attain special knowledge from the spirit realm. The texts quoted above from Leviticus and Deuteronomy reveal that the kind of activity behind the Charlie, Charlie Challenge is an abomination to Him—that is a very strong word in both Hebrew and English. Whether the person is attempting to speak to what they think is a human spirit, or a demon, or just going through the motions for fun, the bible has serious warnings for all three. First, it is dishonoring to God to seek supernatural wisdom apart from God’s written revelation. We are told to be holy as He is holy, and this is seriously un-holy activity. Second, God enacted these prohibitions because He loves us and does not want us to get hurt. And the Charlie game most certainly opens doors that were meant to stay nailed shut. Between the things we see and the unseen are doors; once they are opened nightmares can become reality.

Let me anticipate a question/objection: most of these kids are simply bored and just seeking harmless fun. Additionally, one may object, that they know a person who used this Charlie game (or the Ouija) and nothing happened. How do we respond?

First, we must remember that we live every day in spiritual warfare with the demonic. They know the bible very well, and they know what gives them legal rights to come at us in accelerated ways. They are acutely aware of the above texts and seek to lure folks, regardless of intent, to disobey God’s warnings because they know that summoning spirits gives them the right to attack, and they don’t give a hoot about fun-loving naiveté. They don’t ‘play fair’.

There are many, many people who have used the Ouija board (and now the Charlie game) who would give anything to go back and do things differently, because their lives have become a living hell. Additionally, the demonic can act in subtle, long term ways. They don’t always infest a home and then possess people who use these forbidden games. They can attack one’s health, their relationships (especially with the Lord), their sanity, etc., without revealing themselves overtly. Yet, the use of “Charlie, Charlie Challenge” gives the diabolical a legal right to attach and attack, either overtly or covertly. They can be inhumanly patient, luring a person in a long walk in the wrong direction spiritually. Put differently, they can act like spiritual radioactivity—slowly and quietly wreaking havoc in innumerable ways. So, to the person who says that nothing happened after playing the game, I would ask: how do you know nothing happened?

We are all involved in spiritual warfare, and if we participate in an occultic practice, then this gives the devil a foothold he otherwise would not have had. Some sins are more serious in God’s eyes, with the possibility of extremely serious consequences (e.g. demonic oppression/possession).

There is not a Mexican demon which is harassing people who play this game. It is local demons who are looking for an opportunity and go along with the charade. Demons are the ultimate opportunists. By demons I mean fallen angels or vice versa—they are synonymous in the bible, along with unclean spirits.

It matters not what one’s intentions are. Though demons cannot read our minds, often intent is verbally expressed or through body language.  Nevertheless, and this is important and tragic, no matter how sincere one might be, or no matter if it is intended as mere fun, those who play this game are at high risk of coming under serious demonic attack.
A child may not heed his parent’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove, and all his sincerity and fun-loving curiosity will not protect the child from being burned by the hot stove. As there are laws in nature which we break to our harm, so there are laws in the supernatural which we break to our harm as well, regardless of sincerity or intent.

Since our country has become increasingly anti-God (the real God) and increasingly inquisitive regarding the paranormal, the floodgates of diabolical darkness have been opened. Meaning that “more bullets” are being put in the spiritual Russian roulette gun. Hence, the likelihood of being oppressed as a result of playing this game has risen exponentially In other words, more demons are overtly active today than ever since the First Coming of Christ, and this makes any occultic practices all the more dangerous.

Where is a soldier more at risk: at the rear of his own army or in the middle of an enemy camp? It saddens me to say that our beloved country is becoming increasingly like the latter. The consequence is that playing occultic games is now more dangerous than ever before.

Our youth are being entertained to death and seem to embrace anything that will cause some excitement. Whether it is Bloody Mary, Ouija Board, attempting to acquire EVP’s, or Charlie Challenge, they are all attempts to communicate with the “other side”, which God forbids in the strongest language.

One of the problems with the Charlie Challenge is that it can lead to increasing involvement with the occult. There is no such thing as an ‘innocent interest in the occult’. Joseph Smith was said, in his youth, to have had an innocent interest in the occult. No wonder high weirdness ensued. One can be sincere but sincerely wrong.

Perhaps you could ask your pastor or Sunday school teacher if this topic could be addressed. Millions of kids are being affected and we need to have the compassion to stop them from committing what could become spiritual suicide, if not physical suicide.

My mom was fond of saying, ”Better safe than sorry!” A moment’s communion with common sense will reveal that it is truly better safe than sorry when dealing with supernatural evil. And we have to decide if we are going to humble ourselves before our Creator and Redeemer by heeding His warnings, or insanely cling to our spiritual preferences and desires.

One does not even need a ‘device’ to commit this cosmic treason against a holy God. All one has to do is call out to any kind of spirit—to seek advice, etc. However, actually summoning a spirit like ‘Charlie’ takes it to an even darker and more dangerous level. Never, ever attempt to invoke or summon a spirit, or you very likely will encounter one, and it will not be kind-hearted deceased ‘Uncle Bob’ or an alleged spirit named Charlie. It will be a fallen angel who hates you and will do all he can to destroy you and your loved ones.

This Charlie craze is symptomatic of spiritual emptiness. In my last blog I spoke of how God wants us to find in Him our highest treasure….to take supreme delight in Him and to display His glory. To enjoy and glorify Him. If we do this, then those in our circle of influence will see the spiritual reality that they long for. Consequently, they will be less likely to fall prey to the Charlie Challenge or something similar, because they will be exposed to true spiritual reality and beauty.

If you or someone you know has become involved in this Charlie craze, then please feel free to contact me and I will try to help, or get someone to help.

Educate….educate….educate---talk with our kids or grandkids and gently warn them of supernatural evil-in an age appropriate way. And for now, please take every opportunity to expose this Charlie Challenge as the satanic scheme that it is. That is why this Charlie Challenge is such a big deal.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Dalai Lama Gives Introductory Talk on Buddhism

Dharamsala, HP, India, 27 May 2015 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama was given a traditional Tibetan welcome when he arrived at the Upper Tibetan Children’s Village School this morning. A large group of female students sang a traditional welcoming song. As His Holiness walked from his car to the stage he greeted people in the crowd who caught his eye. Approximately 4500 students from Upper and Lower TCV Schools, Gopalpur, Suja and Chauntra TCVs, Sherab Gatsel Lobling, students at various universities and others currently attending a Teacher Training organized by the Education Department of the CTA, were seated under an awning on the Upper TCV basketball court.

Once His Holiness had taken his seat, several groups of lay-people performed exemplary debates directly in front of the stage discussing the three kinds of knowledge, the two methods for generating the awakening mind of bodhichitta, definitions of the Three Jewels, the Four Noble Truths and so forth.

“Today, people from a variety of places have gathered here to listen to an introduction to Buddhism,” His Holiness began. “This is the ninth occasion that we’ve done this and it looks like this might be the biggest yet. Students and teachers from different schools, my greetings to you all - Tashi delek. I’d especially like to greet those who have just debated in front of us and congratulate them for taking an interest in logic and philosophy.

“In Tibet in the past almost no one from the lay community or even from among the nuns engaged in debate. This was one of our shortcomings. In the 56 years we’ve been in exile, I’ve urged people, even those belonging to monasteries and nunneries that had no tradition of study to take it up. Phende Lekshe Ling, Namgyal Monastery, is an example. When it was established by the 7th Dalai Lama he asked the monks of Zhalu Monastery to give the monks of the new monastery training in performing rituals. Like those at Gyumey and Gyutö Tantric Colleges, they were adept, but followed no course of study. That has changed. Similarly, study in the nunneries has succeeded to the point that we will shortly have nuns who have become Geshes or Geshemas.”

He said that the excellent Nalanda tradition had spread across the length and breadth of Tibet and yet the majority of the people did not properly appreciate it. It is a tradition that relies on investigation and analysis, not just scriptural quotation. He cited the Buddha’s advice to his followers not to accept what he taught at face value, but to test it the way a goldsmith satisfies himself of the value of gold.

His Holiness remarked that the psychology and philosophy explained in the Nalanda tradition are of great interest to contemporary scholars and scientists. They are sufficiently impressed to enquire whether its dialectical approach can be applied to other academic disciplines. He feels it can. He mentioned that while Buddhist traditions identify 49 or 51 emotions, the American psychologist Paul Ekman has done extensive research into facial expressions that enable him to identify 15.

When, 40 years ago, His Holiness was thinking of opening a conversation with modern scientists, a Western Buddhist friend cautioned him to be careful saying that science is the killer of religion. He considered this carefully and concluded that, as a tradition based on reason, Buddhism was not vulnerable to this threat. He went ahead and is confident that the results have been mutually beneficial. One result is that monks in the great monasteries re-established in South India now study science as part of their curriculum.

“When I reached Mussoorie in April 1959, most of you were not born. Now I’m in my 81st year and I will definitely not live for another 80 years, but judging by my present physical health I might live another 10 or 20 years. You Tibetans who are young today will have to shoulder the responsibility of preserving our religion and culture. Our brothers and sisters in Tibet are not free to do so. We who have such freedom should exercise it.

“Conditions in Tibet in the past were ripe for change,” His Holiness said. “In retrospect I can see that many things could have been done differently. The 13th Dalai Lama tried to strengthen links between different parts of Tibet because the country was politically fragmented. But what bound all Tibetans together was their Buddhist culture, their respect for and study of the Kangyur and Tengyur. This was also true of the Himalayan and Mongolian regions too.”

His Holiness pointed out that every one of the 7 billion human beings alive today wants to be happy. He clarified that the Bodhisattva ideal is not about abandoning our own happiness, but about giving priority to the happiness of others.

“However,” he asked, “how can you help others if you can’t help yourself? We pray that all beings be free from suffering, but for the prayer to be fulfilled we need to do something about it.”

Recalling his recent discussions with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who also visited TCV, he said that their conclusion was that we need to find happiness without violence, which is something everyone can try to do. He said that it’s clear that if humanity is happy, each of us as individuals will be happy too. He repeated that as human beings we are all responsible for each other; we all have the potential to be kind and affectionate. He also spoke about his commitment as a Buddhist monk to promoting harmony among the world’s religious traditions.

Finally, His Holiness spoke of his commitment to preserving the natural environment of Tibet, something of importance not only to Tibetans but also to maybe 1 billion other people in Asia who depend on the waters of rivers that rise in Tibet.

He also voiced his concern to preserve Tibetan culture, a culture of peace and non-violence, which can make a positive contribution in the wider world. He told the story of a former Tibetan official who had emigrated to the USA and was working cleaning vegetables in a university kitchen. His colleagues noticed that he was carefully rescuing worms and bugs he found on the vegetables, setting them aside and taking them outside to release them at the end of his shift. They asked what he was doing and he told them that Tibetans try not to kill small creatures, but to protect life wherever they can. Shortly afterwards he noticed that several of them were following his example. His Holiness concluded:

“I’ve done what I can to preserve Tibet’s ecology and its compassionate, non-violent culture. Now I’m passing this responsibility to you.”

He announced that he will give a further introduction to Buddhism tomorrow. He will also lead a ceremony for generating the awakening mind of bodhichitta and make time to answer students’ questions. The day after that, he will give an Avalokiteshvara empowerment.

link with photos http://dalailama.com/news/post/1273-the-first-of-two-introductory-talks-on-buddhism-at-upper-tcv

Once Again Summoning Demons Takes Center Stage

I really hate to keep talking about this regurgitated subject however, the article I attached  below will explain exactly the point I was trying to make in the past blogs that I have written in the past 2 years. I found the following article after seeing this going viral on Twitter. I can't begin to say how dangerous and reckless this is. The following is part of a article I found on this "demon challenge" but there are plenty more so feel free to see for yourself.

"Charlie Challenge Goes Viral as Teens Try Summoning Demons With Two Pencils And A Piece Of Paper"

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/charlie-challenge-viral-teens-summoning-demons-pencils-2015265#ixzz3bO4EQge7 

Kids today! Apparently all you need to summon demons is two pencils and a piece of paper. The “Charlie Challenge” is the latest viral sensation to sweep the Internet, which features teens chanting “Charlie, Charlie are you there?” and “Charlie, Charlie can we play?

According to countless Instagrams and Vines, the two pencils are placed in a cross formation on a chart that reads “yes,” “no,” and vice versa on the bottom half. After the teens chant, the pencil moves (supposedly on its own), indicating that, yes, Charlie is indeed there."

This is sounding so very much like the Slender Man crap and two teenage girls stabbed a fellow classmate in order to please Slender Man and become a demon and have magical powers. The little girl survived but was badly attacked in the name of this demon. Teens and adults were constantly going into the woods summoning this thing (that was made up from a drawing of a creepy looking demon someone sent in for some contest) was very much a popular activity. The following is from a article explaining part of just what happened to refresh your memory:

"ABCnews.com reports "WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors say two 12-year-old southeastern Wisconsin girls stabbed their 12-year-old friend nearly to death in the woods to please a mythological creature they learned about online.

Both girls were charged as adults with first-degree attempted homicide Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court; they each face up to 60 years in prison if convicted. A court commissioner set bail at $500,000 cash per child. According to a criminal complaint, the girls had been planning to kill their friend for months and finally made the attempt in a park on Saturday morning, after a slumber party.

One of the girls told a detective they were trying to become "proxies" of Slender Man, a mythological demon-like character they learned about on www.creepypasta.wikia.com, a website about horror stories and legends. They planned to run away to the demon's forest mansion after the slaying, the complaint said.

"I recognize their young ages but it's still unbelievable," Court Commissioner Thomas Pieper said during one of the girls' initial court appearances Monday.

The victim suffered 19 stab wounds; one missed a major artery near her heart by a millimeter, doctors told police. She was in stable condition Monday. The court documents did not provide her name."  <~~~~~~ THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM PEOPLE..

Summoning demons successfully usually involves a multiple amount of people. If these intentions are strong enough within one individual, it is still possible to successfully bring a demon through the planes of existence, but it's chances are even better with more people involved. If you think about it and add up all the intention in the room then you can see that more people usually equals more intention and then more power. And as I've said in many blogs it's really the intention behind it. And there is a thing as a Mexican demon named Charlie however, I'll get demons alright and when you call out to another plane everything there hears you.

Many people are actually attempting to summon Incubus/Succubus which are demons known for sexually assaulting men and women mainly when they sleep or have sleep paralysis. But it doesn't just happen during sleep. Please people....There is actually demon porn! Feel free to google it yourself. I came upon this stuff and it is blatant full on demons from hell (One Titled) having sexual intercourse with human females and it's very popular. I've discussed this before and it has only become so much worse. People are truly summoning demons for sexual pleasure and/or companionship. This they get from movies, TV shows etc...This is not safe and you will regret what you open up. Incubus/Succubus given legal ground are very hard to get rid of. We have people attempting Black Magic are fooled as they believe demons can be controlled and will do their bidding. The fact is these demons ONLY OBEY SATAN! Listen to me please....Do not be fooled. Do not let your curiosity get the better of your judgement! Seriously.....once you open yourself up to that it becomes very real. In a moment I will have scripture for you to read for yourself. I do not waiver outside of the Gospel, it's God's Word. Our instructions for life. No one is perfect. That is not what this is about. I'm receiving disturbing information and it concerns me. There is no need to summon any dark force I beg of you. You will regret it. They can NOT be safely called upon like you may think they can. You will pay a price, I promise you will. Depression is just the beginning of what you mentally suffer. These movies and books are so much

Just like I spoke of last week....many attempt summoning demons via ouija board or spirit boards. The following was taken from the NY Daily News and I found it very interesting and thought provoking.

"Use of a Ouija board has even led to violence and even to murder..." Dr. Marta Prohazka of Fairfax, Virginia, is also convinced that spirits can play terrifying destructive games with human behavior. During her practice as psychotherapist and psychoanalyst, she realized that many patients she had considered "hallucinating paranoid schizophrenics" might instead merely be in touch with something invisible to her but visible to them."I came to understand that another plane, or dimension or existence interrelated with our plane or visible manifestation," she said. "By training and expanding consciousness, some individuals gain entrance into that invisible dimension. It seems to some like a window into heaven."

If you feel the Devil is attacking you with fears, worries, anxiety etc., you can pray in the Name of Jesus and resist and overcome him!--Jesus said, "Behold, I give you power over all the power of the Enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."Luke 10:19. This power is YOURS if you believe His Word, claim His promises and pray in the Name of Jesus! In fact, if you are filled with faith and His Holy Spirit, you have the authority to resist the Devil directly, just like Jesus and His early disciples did.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

What is the Greatest Benefit of the Gospel?‏

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple. 

(Psalm 27:4)

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

(2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:23)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…

(1 Peter 3:18)

What is the greatest and most glorious benefit of the gospel?

Justification and forgiveness of sins? But why were we justified and forgiven?

Eternal life? But what IS eternal life? (see John 17: 1ff)

Receiving the Holy Spirit or being adopted into God’s family? But why did God do both of these?

Perhaps the defeat of Satan and death? But is the defeat of these an end in itself, or was this defeat designed to overcome an obstacle and attain a greater benefit?

What is the primary reason God humiliated Himself and took on human flesh?

And why did Christ die and rise again (primary reason)?

We live in narcissistic times where even the gospel has been tainted by self-interest. Let me state this clearly: The gospel’s greatest gift is…..God!  GOD is the gospel! The ultimate goal of the gospel is seeing and savoring—delighting and displaying—the beauty of the glory of Christ. The ultimate aim of the gospel is the display of God’s glory and the removal of every obstacle to our delighting and savoring Him as our highest treasure.

Everything that Jesus did to accomplish redemption for us, and everything He did to apply redemption (see John Murray’s Redemption: Accomplished and Applied) to us, was done to overcome obstacles that hindered us from fully glorifying and enjoying God. That does not minimize the importance of each step in our redemption. Instead, once we understand WHY the Trinity has done so much in accomplishing and applying our redemption, then each of those gospel diamond facets (e.g. justification, adoption, effectual calling. etc.) becomes all the more glorious and wonderful! At great cost to Himself, the Holy Trinity accomplished and applied redemption to us SO THAT we might glorify and enjoy Him forever. (see 1 Peter 3:18 above, etc)

But there has been a shift away from God as the all-satisfying gift of God’s love. The gospel has shifted from God’s love as the gift of HIMSELF to this love as the gift of a mirror in which we like what we see. I’m not denigrating the latter but surely it should not have primacy in our understanding of the gospel.

Romans 8:32 reminds us that 10,000 gifts flow from the love of God in Christ….blood bought gifts of the gospel. But the distortion of the gospel happens when we camp on these blessings given to us instead of focusing on the Giver of these gifts. Often the gospel is presented in such a way that we are center stage instead of God. Since self-esteem has saturated our culture it is difficult for us to see when we rejoice in the gifts more that the Giver of the gifts. But all 10,000 gifts of the gospel would not be good unless they lead to a deeper enjoyment of the glory of God. Indeed, focusing on the gifts is idolatry. Focusing on the facets of the gospel diamond without seeing the beauty of the diamond as a whole would be demeaning of the diamond.

Entire Sunday School curricula, preaching styles, deliverance ministries, and Christian counseling has fallen prey to making much of us to the expense of making much of God. Instead of being theo-centric, they are anthropo-centric….man centered instead of God centered.

For example, there are many psychological benefits that flow from the gospel. However, when we think upon these things do they lead like shafts of light back up to God and His moral perfections and unspeakable glory, or do we spend most of our time looking to see what we get out of the gospel?

Another example would be Christus Victor—Christ, through the cross and resurrection—defeating death and Satan. Since I am involved in circles that deal with demonic issues, it seems that sometimes we exult in our victory over unclean spirits more than we exult in the all glorious God. It can be a subtle shift where we do praise God for His victory over Satan, but lose sight of being God-besotted people, where we supremely delight and display the glory of Christ Himself….not just what He has done through/ for us. The bible says that God is jealous and we need to remember in exorcism/deliverance ministry that God is jealous that we not love spiritual power more than Himself. Like some of you, I have seen extraordinary displays of God’s power, but let these experiences steer our eyes heavenward and take supreme delight in God Himself. It is an ‘occupational hazard’ for those who cast out demons to become enthralled with the experience/gift more than delighting in God and displaying His glory. And I would suggest that a theo-centric view of the gospel might re-shape how some of us perform deliverances. Freeing people from demonic oppression/possession is not an end itself, but so that God is glorified in the removal of an obstacle of that person fully delighting in Christ and displaying His glory. The shift can be subtle and I know I have failed here at times.
 Again, it is so easy to focus on the gifts over and above the giver of the gifts. God’s good gifts are to move us to see more of God’s glory and to savor more of His infinitely beautiful moral perfection displayed in the gospel. Even thankfulness for the cross has become for many primarily an echo of OUR worth, and not God’s worth. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 EVERYTHING should be done for the glory of God.

Why does Satan hate the gospel? For numerous reasons, but he mainly hates the gospel because it is the supreme display (especially the cross and resurrection) of the glory of Jesus. The devil wants to make Christ look bad. In the astonishing text above from 2 Corinthians, states that, just as God spoke light into existence, so also he shines the light of the gospel into sinners hearts, so that they might see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Creation…..re-creation. Satan hates the gospel because the death and resurrection are where the glory of Christ is revealed most brightly. Thus he tries to blind people to the beauty of the God of the gospel and the gospel of God. True conversion is the spiritual awakening of our souls to the glory of God as the foundation of our ultimate joy and satisfaction. Jesus died for our sins, was punished for them, had His righteousness imputed to us, so that He might bring us to Himself.

Please do not think that I am minimizing the proper enjoyment of God’s gifts. Indeed, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.(J. Edwards, John Piper) Hence, we need not have to choose between our greatest joy and God’s greatest glory! They are one and the same!  Every pore of our being was made for finding our ultimate satisfaction only in the Lord Jesus, by seeing and savoring Him, increasingly and for all eternity.

For the least deserving, and at great cost to Himself, our sovereign Creator overcame all obstacles, to monergistically and graciously give us Himself. All the texts above reveal the psalmist, Paul, and Peter as longing for one thing only—to see the glory of Christ face-to face….to see God in all His beauty. Indeed, for Christians, death is a gift which opens the door for the beatific vision.

It would be unwise, even cruel, of me to stop here. Depending upon your temperament, a call to delight and display the glory of Christ moment by moment may cause discouragement. Why? To be candid, whenever I read of or write about Christ as my supreme treasure, I have two responses: part of me yearns and rejoices in this summons to display the glory of Christ, but I am also overwhelmed with how far short I fall. I have never loved God with all of my being for even one second….and may I humbly say that neither has anybody else. The world, indwelling sin, and demons conspire to take our gaze off of Christ and fixate on something else. I am of the opinion that indwelling sin is the chief culprit of spiritual drag because we carry it around everywhere we go, whereas demons come and go. And the world would have no drag on us if it were not for that seething cauldron of filth that remains in our heart, even after salvation. I/we are sometimes too quick to fault demons for our spiritual malaise. Jesus said that our own hearts are the originating point of all manner of ungodly thoughts, actions, and words.

Nevertheless, God would not desire/demand that He be our supreme delight if, by God’s grace, we were not able to experience some substantial reality of it. Let us pray, despite how we feel, that we might see and savor the glory of God in the face of Christ, and display Christ’s glory to a dark and lost world. Soli deo gloria

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.