This seems like the best place to start...

I'm a newbie here at ATS. Just joined today and would like to introduce myself.

My screen name is Blasphemous because that's how I feel. Raised as a Catholic, I awakened at the early age of 15, which now seems like centuries ago!

Since that time I've been a soldier, a husband, a father and now a grandfather. I've worked most of my adult life in the field of allied health. I am now primarily an instructor at a local college, auditing claims on the side to pay the bills, and occasionally consulting with physicians or physician groups regarding reimbursement issues.

These past 6 years have been especially eye opening to me. My youngest son passed in 2005 and that event changed everything. Since then my wife and I temporarily separated and then reunited. This year we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We lost our house and a car to bankruptcy because I lost my job and could not find work for almost 8 months.

I think most importantly we lost our confidence in the USA. We both grew up during the 60's, 70's and 80's and remember a time when people actually seemed to care about one another. That time certainly seems to be in the past as we face this brave new world full of violence, hatred and confusion.

The main reason I joined ATS is because I have found here an attitude that I can relate to. Certainly there are extremes in ideas. This is a part of being human. However I get the feeling that for the most part this is a caring community whose members relate to each other in ways reminiscent of growing up in a closely knit neighborhood. A place where you can feel safe because everyone looks out for each other.

I've been coming to the site for nearly a year now, so I get a pretty good feeling about joining and sharing some of my thoughts with you all. I look forward to future discourse and feedback from everyone.

Working as an educator places a certain responsibility onto an individual, whether welcomed or not. This responsibility requires the dissemination of correct information so that students can thereby learn and grow. I choose to work with adults because it is easier to share advanced ideology wihout stepping on parent's toes.

Often times I share my own experiences and ideas with my students in order to better understand their perspectives. It is amazing to me how adept the mind is at learning new things. Equally important is placing new knowledge in proper context.

Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of a larger community and for this forum where sharing of knowledge and ideas can be individually cultivated and harvested. I'm looking forward to being a part of this.

Hello and welcome!!

Welcome! Interesting bio you have there. It is always great to have educators join the ranks because there's usually something we don't know.

You said you were raised Catholic, but then awakened early-on. Could you clarify as to what you mean by "awakened"? This dialogue will also help get you closer to your 20 posts that you need so that you can start making your own threads and use the private messaging feature with other members.

so there has been a very sudden change? I haven't been alive long enough to have noticed but i'd be interested to hear more about what you have experienced.

Welcome friend. Reading the OP I've got a feeling that you may be a Carlin fan. You trod the same arena as he did.

Sorry to hear about your son. Has to be the worst thing that can happen to a person. If you need any info feel free to u2u me.

Welcome to ATS ,and I hope you find what you are seeking here.

that was one well written introduction. I was waiting for you to offer me a cold beer. I just wanted to say hey, I'm sorry about your son and I'm glad you & your wife came thru the storm and your marriage survived. as they say, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger or something like that. I did my 12 years in a catholic prison, I mean school, so I can identify with that screen name of yours. I do "believe" but not in the catholics POV. .......c ya around .................

reply to post by blasphemous


Welcome to ATS Blasphemous! Good to have you aboard.

Hang in there!

Thank you all for your warm welcome. I'll try to answer a couple of questions.

The first has to do with faith, I believe (pun intended). My heritage is Irish with my forebear coming ashore at the Port of New Orleans in 1891. My mother's family has always been protestant - Lutheran. Marry and Irish catholic and you'll be changing your faith.

Anyways, I was born the oldest of 8 children. My grandmother was personal friends with the archbishop and was always directing me into becoming more involved with the church. I was an altar boy and personal assistant to the priests. I was headed for the seminary.

Just before I turned 16 and would have otherwise qualified for introductory classes to the priesthood there was an event that toally changed my perspective and my faith. My closest friend, another boy involved with the priests, came to me with news that he had been sexually molested. Apparently it had been going on for some time and did not include only one adult priest. This was 1974 in California.

When I brought this to the attention of the archbishop he seemed very concerned. He said that he would immediately contact those invovled and get to the bottom of things. No one ever called the police.

As time went by I became concerned because the priests my friend had named to me were still active and very much present. This made for a very uncomfortable situation. Finally I confronted one of the priests and demanded to know why he was allowed to do the things he did and still walk around like nothing had happened. This act got me an audience with the bishop who admonished me for interfering with priestly duties.

Priestly duties? I was baffled. This was unacceptable. After finally speaking the truth to the 'authority' I was the one risking punishment. Nevertheless I took my plea to the archbishop. This time he became red faced and angry. How dare I interfere with the very nature of the church? Nature of the church? Priestly duties?

It all came together in a single epiphany. I blurted out that if this is what the church really was I wanted nothing to do with it. The archbishop responded with immediate excommuniccation.

It was as if a ton of weight was lifted from my shoulders. I no longer had to deal with these perverse and unholy men. Of course my family was traumatized. My poor grandmother fainted. Over the years they have learned to adapt to the idea that the church is not what it seems.

Pity they didn't see that before 10% of their hard earned money was shipped off to Rome every Sunday.

This left a spiritual vacuum in my life. Perhaps in another thread I can explain how that has matured through tiime.

The other question had to do with the changes I have experienced since my son passed. I don't share the experience solely. Many people knew my son. He died the same day as the Pope (John Paul II). We had a heck of a time finding a priest for the funeral (also the same day).

Personally I have had to question every facet of my life since this experience. The things I have taken for granted all of my life were shaken and thrown out before me. No parent should ever have to bury a child. But it happens. I think of all of those grieving parents whose children were sent to a foreign land where they died. The way inwhich death overtakes them is not important. The point is that they are gone.

One begins to question; why? My wife and I spent 15 years 5 months and 5 days raising and caring for perhaps the most unique medically involved child that ever came through Phoenix Children's Hospital. Our lives were dedicated to caring for him and his brother, who was perfectly healthy. This was an intense period of struggle not only financially, but spiritually, physically, mentally exhausting.

Then one day it all stopped. He died at home with his family. He was a loving soul and was loved by everyone who met him. He is so missed. Now that we aren't spending every waking moment in pursuit of our children's well being we are left to ponder our purpose.

Our oldest graduated from high school two months after his brother passed. And he was gone...

This kind of life altering experience leads to many different paths. Eventually we found our way. Now we are stronger, better able to adapt and deal with whatever life throws at us. We are grandparents! The most beautiful little one year old boy you ever saw.

The underlying current of love is what really works to bind us. This is the change I really feel has occured. The acknowledgement of the existence of the field of love that surrounds us and binds us all together. Not just as members of a family, bubt also as members of the human race.

We all have this potential for excellence and perfection in thought. We all have a connection to a greater sphere of influence that is spiritual in nature. Communicating with this spiritual sphere is comforting, and educational. It also makes it easier to understand and accept the change that is going on all around us.

Enough for now. Don't want to upset any mods with a long winded dialog. Peace to all.

reply to post by blasphemous

I think you will fit in here fine !
Welcome to the Jungle that is ATS

Enjoy your time here

Awakening came upon excommunication.

You live your entire life thinking you know what's going on around you. Growing up you trust in those adults who guide you. Acceptance is rewarded. Dissent is punished. So we learn early on the advantage of compliance, whether it is religious, social, professional, etc.

This paradigm changed for me when I was 15 years old. I explained that in an earlier post to this thread.

My whole perspective changed overnight. My old world was shattered. To pick up the pieces I began listening more closely to my own conscience and trusted in the spiritual connection I had always felt with the Creator.

As I followed this path I began to question reality in general. I realized life is what I made of it, but it is also a process binding many human beings together in common threads of existence. That meant each individual perceives reality slightly differently and I must be willing to work within that system.

This lead to the epiphany of the matrix. It was December, 1975. I was 17 years old and was driving to Boise, Idaho, to catch a plane to San Francisco. I had dropped out of high school and joined the Army. I was on my way to basic training at Fort Ord.

As I drove down I-84 my thoughts began to meld with the vehicles going along on the roadway. It occured to me that life was like this. Each of us, on the same road, going his or her own way at different speeds, yet under overall control so that everyone stays safe. Bingo!

It became immediately apparent to me that there was a control mechanism that somehow exerted influence over all of the drivers. And it was self-imposed.

The control is regulated by various municipal, county, state and federal agencies. The law enforcement arm of government. If one purposefully challenges the control mechanism there will be retiribution. This meshed with what I had already learned. The church worked the same way. It must also be a control mechanism. I wondered how many other control mechanisms were in place. And the other thing was; if there is a control mechanism whose really in control?

After serving 8 years for Uncle Sam overseas I was finally discharged back to the US in December, 1983. While enlisted I received a security clearance that gave access to many wonderful things. I learned a lot. What I learned that is of the greatest importance is that the US government is not exactly what you think it is.

I'll go into that on another thread.

About this time I read a book by Immanuel Velikovsky called, "Worlds In Collision." Fascinating publication. It really synchronized with what I had already learned. As fate would have it I also came across the works of another author, Zecharia Stichin, who filled in the last few pieces of the puzzle for me.

I cannot and willl not espouse any fatalistic, fear filled hoohah. You can go plenty of places on the internet and find that if it's what you really want. Honesty has always been my guide and I see no reason for that to change. I trust only in the Creator.

There are cycles within cycles on many different levels. Each cycle has it's own unique resonance. Together, the frequential harmony of these cycles provide the opportunity for physical existence. There are points along each cycle where certain other cycles coinside, and there are points where all cycles coinside together.

As we approach that point in linear time where these great cycles converge perception both increases in size and in speed. We are now experienceing the final phase of linear time for the current time cycle. Things have speeded up. We are seeing thousands of years of linear history being expressed in days. Time seems to have changed. Yet our spirit stays the same.

Physically our world is constantly changing. Spiritually we are maturing. I trust that the Creator knows what to do with us when the time is ripe.


reply to post by _BoneZ_

reply to post by blasphemous



Hi blasphemous, and welcome to the Introductions Forum, a place to say hello to the ATS community. For now you can reply to any thread in any member forum you wish, as well as send & receive (PM's) Private Messages to Staff only for now. Once you have achieved 20 posts, you will then be able to start your own threads and additionally send & receive messages to and from fellow ATS members.

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