Soul's Code

The Airy Doom of the Duomo | Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs.

Father, forgive me for I have sinned. I once passed up the chance to go to Milan, all expenses paid except airfare, so I could work.

Fidel Castro | Originally uploaded by Melissa in TN.

BY BRIAN CAULFIELD — Yo, ho-ho. Any dude who bans Christmas for 29 years straight is probably just stone-cold crazy. But Cuba’s dictator’s early letters, now published in English, provide a few surprises, including a spiritual side and what appears to be a concern for human rights.

Taking Castro’s early words at face value provides few clues about his authoritarian streak, or the degree to which he’s become a caricature of the Latin strongman. Check out the outdated military uniform, long-winded speeches that would make Clinton wilt with shame, the jailing of dissidents, Castro’s refusal to let anyone run against him in an election, his self-righteousness —  and to boot, a persecution complex (well, okay, that one may have some foundation in reality). But in sum, he displays more telltale signs of clinical narcissism than an L.A. celebutante.

The telltale clue:

James Cameron and the Virgin Sacrifice | Originally uploaded by Jinxiecat.

James Cameron (in Perez Hilton-style photo, left) goes on record that the tomb of Jesus, the tomb of Mary was a myth — and that Jesus is dead and buried!

Or was buried, until he was dug up in a tomb in a suburb of Jerusalem.

Considering that Jesus and Mary are about as common a name at that time in the antique world as Bob and Betsy are in present-day North America odds are that Titanic-director James Cameron could be in way, way more over his head than he thinks. TIME magazine: “Tales from the Crypt”

Kamandi | Originally uploaded by Jason Grote.

Slate’s always-funny David Plotz is in rare form this week, as he recaps the tale of Jonah and the whale.

If you haven’t been following Plotz’s project, a smart, fresh take on one chunk of that seemingly familiar book every day, now’s a great time to dive in.

Oh no, here come the Bloggers | Originally uploaded by Brett L..

Blogger gets jail for insulting Islam [The Scotsman]

Farrakhan preps “final addess” [Chicago Trib]

“Bogus” India spiritualists slammed [Economic Times]

Quiz: spirituality of Britney Spears [BeliefNet]

Anna Nicole to Brit: lets “hang out” [This Is London]

Mass blasted by porn [AP]

In last week’s issue of Time, Jim Carrey quoted Eckhart Tolle and revealed he’d visited the spiritual teacher at his home in Vancouver, B.C. “Has Jim Carrey Flipped Out?”

Carrey emerges as a very confused man who seems to have two countervailing forces at war within him, vying for hegemony. In his interview with Time, Carrey got downright metaphysical on their ass:

Then he talks about his meditation practices. And the moment of his enlightenment. And how trying to fill a hole in yourself is pointless, since we don’t have holes. And how time, man, time doesn’t even exist.

Pig: Originally uploaded by Stuarth666

*Soothsayers: Year of the pig to bring “epidemics, disaster, and violence” [Associated Press]

*Conservative Anglicans may rejoin Roman Catholic Church [Catholic News Agency]

They call it ”terrible.” Others say Brit’s got “issues.” Her fans claim they’re “crushed” by the way her life is unfolding.

Over the past few days Britney Spears has:

*Shaved her head;
*Reportedly spent a 24-hours stint in rehab;
*Gotten inked at random tattoo parlors.

It’s tempting to judge this, call it a train-wreck, etc. But maybe playing the game of presenting a false image of sanity as a success to the world is the wreck. Maybe this is something she needs to do to hack her soul’s code.

Or maybe she should just read this, the Soul’s Code series on Causes and Cures of Addiction.

You may have noticed from our last few posts that some of the biggest brands on the enlightenment circuit are criss-crossing the continent right now. We’ve put all the links we’ve scattered around Soul’s Code in one place here. Click on a speaker’s name for their full tour schedule, which we’ve annotated with highlights.

Caroline Myss, the author of Sacred Contracts tours a new book, Entering the Castle

• March 8 Jacob Javits Convention Ctr., New York
• March 21 L.A. Convention Ctr., Los Angeles
• March 23 Masonic Center, San Francisco

What we see in this video of her is 98 % hardcore teaching. Roberson has seen for miles and miles, viz. her searing epiphany: “Who you are really can never be taught. If it could be taught it would be a thing that could be extracted, objectified and learned. And by this time we would have all learned it . . . If you’re of a particular sub-group you’ve heard that ‘you’re radiant light,’ ‘you’re God’s child,’ ‘you’re free,’ ‘you’re safe.’ But to hear it . . . to memorize it, to hope it’s true, is not enough. It has to be discovered directly.”

But what her recent back-story illuminates is that while mystics may live in an elevated psychological state, they do not live in elevated circumstances. When it comes to problems in relationships, they’re like the rest of us. Whew, what a relief that is. Juxtapose the video above with this newspaper story and this thread on the blog Guruphiliac about the affair 3 year-long affair Roberson/Gangaji’s husband Eli Jaxon-Bear – a spiritual teacher in his own right — had with a disciple in their jointly-administered spiritual commune.