When it comes to rock-n-roll and Elvis, most people say “Elvis, you’re the king!” Elvis was Da Man when it came to rock-n-roll in his day. The same could be said for Hermes Trismegistus. He was Da Man when it came to most everything it seems, back in his day. Credited with being the God Thoth, in ancient Egypt, the God Mercury, in ancient Rome, the Prophet Idris in the Quran, The great Hermes of Greek mythology and the list goes on and on. And that is just titles. He was called Trismegistus, which means Hermes the “thrice great”. What? Great times three! Obviously this guy was the MacDaddy of something! On an epithet found at the ancient Temple of Esna, there was inscribed “Thoth the great, the great, the great”. Why was he three times more great than the average great? Some say it’s because he was the master of the three parts of wisdom; Alchemy, Astrology and Theurgy. Others say it’s because he was the greatest Priest, King and Philosopher. Whatever the reason, there’s something really interesting about someone who made that big of an impression on his peers. Maybe it’s all about his accomplishments. He is credited for designing and building the great pyramids of Egypt. He is credited with being able to imprison demons or angels in statues and then able to animate the statues so that they spoke prophecies! In the Quran it is said that he travels to outer space and then returns with Adam the first man, and the Black Stone. This is the stone that is said to have been placed by the Prophet Mohammed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Prophet Mohammed claimed to be a direct descendant of Hermes. Hermes was credited with being able to put spells of protection on things, so that the term Hermetically Sealed was applied to them. But, the greatest thing he is known for is being a master teacher, the Guru of all Guru’s. People would travel from across the globe to sit at the feet of the master and learn his magic and wisdom. Where he came from seems to remain a mystery, we know he was in ancient Egypt at one time, that he was possibly a mentor to the biblical Abraham and that he was also a contemporary to Moses. He was said to have lived some three hundred years and had reincarnated as different historical figures. Along with orally instructing students, Hermes was purported to have written many texts, a lot of them, supposedly destroyed in the sacking and destruction of Alexandria. Some of them survived, such as the Hermetic Corpus, The Emerald Tablets and The Divine Pymander. The most famous of his works which is still in circulation in many books on the subject today is the “Seven Hermetic Principles”. These principles are said to reflect and describe universal laws and how to use force of mind to use them to a students advantage. We’ll look at these principles in our next post. You think Hermes told them old Pharaoh’s they wasn’t nuttin but a hound dog?
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was hard pressed to distinguish himself amongst his over-achieving, rock star status brothers. One became the Governor of Montreal, another achieved national recognition for leading French and Indian forces against the British during the Schenectady Massacre in New York’s Mohawk Valley. Other brothers were key in the victories at James Bay and still others joined his brother Pierre and he, on the expeditions to the Louisiana territory and achieved great acts of bravery and acclaim. While living acutely under the shadow of his big brother Pierre, Jean was only seventeen when he joined him for the first Louisiana expedition. Being the Captain’s little brother did have it’s perks. When they first arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi and had encountered the Indians there, Pierre appointed Jean to establish a camp and see to it’s function and security. Jean christened the camp “La Point du Mardi Gras” as the day was March 3rd, Mardi Gras day 1699. Jean had learned well from his father about the importance of learning Indian language and hand signs. He was a vital part of his brother Pierre’s ability the gather information and actually receive help from the natives. A few months later in April, Pierre wants to establish a fort and keep it manned while he returns to France to report all of his findings and re-supply. He builds a fort on the coastline, close to present day Ocean Springs, Mississippi and names it Fort Maurepas. He appoints Sauvolle de la Villantry as Governor of the new colony and Jean as the Lieutenant, second in command. After his brother leaves, Jean decides to make another expedition upriver to explore. He encounters a British ship, commanded by an old foe, someone he had fought against in one of the skirmishes during the Great Lakes battles. They recognize each other and begin a conversation, that ends with Jean convincing his foe that there was a great French Naval presence right around the bend and that out of respect for his foe, he would advise that he should turn around and flee or face certain death if he proceeds. Jean was so convincing, the the ship did turn around and head back up river. The place where this occurred is now called the English Turn. When Pierre heard of this upon his return, he ordered Jean to establish another fort far upriver to keep the British ships far above the mouth. Jean travelled upriver fifty miles and established a fort he named Fort de la Boulaye. When Sauvolle died in 1701, Jean was appointed Governor. This would be the first of four terms Jean would serve as Governor of Louisiana. Jean would spend 30 years in this post, though not consecutively. At this point, there is approximately 180 people in the colony, many were lost due to disease and malnutrition. Some others over the following years would be lost to hurricanes and the large tidal surges that plagued the location. Jean continued to explore the region and came across some higher land where he noticed the land made somewhat of a crescent along the large Lake Pontchartrain. In 1717, Jean wrote the Company and told them of the crescent where he thought his colony would be better protected from the tidal surges and hurricanes. He was granted permission and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, founded the great city of New Orleans on May 7th, 1718, naming it after Philippe II, the Duke of Orleans. Jean started moving supplies in from the other colonies at Biloxi and Mobile. His chief engineer at the time was a man named Le Blond de La Tour. After working with him for a year and not getting the results he wanted, Jean fires La Tour and replaces him with La Tour’s assistant, Adrien De Pauger. De Pauger draws out the eleven by seven block rectangle he calls the Vieux Carre’. We now all know it as, The French Quarter. Jean would later name New Orleans as the new French Capitol, during his third term as governor. It will be some forty to fifty years later when Acadians start arriving in the new colony, we’ll pick up there in our next post!
Last week we talked about the functions of the Pineal gland and it’s production of Melatonin. This week we’ll look at the mystical side of the gland and it’s allure to many spiritually minded people. The Third Eye, The Eye of Horus, The Brow Chakra. Rene Descartes, who was a 17th century philosopher and said to be the father of modern philosophy, referred to this little gland as the “principle seat of the soul”. That is quite an array of accolades for sure, but, what is it all about? The Third Eye is said to be our link to the universe, to the spiritual world, to other dimensions. Practitioners of Hinduism and other occultisms go through great pains and trouble to be able to “open” their Third Eye. They say that they are able to see past what we can see with our physical eyes and actually communicate with spirit guides and other beings who lay beyond the veil. Intriguing? You Bet! The interest in this Third Eye business goes back for thousands of years. The Egyptians, who along with other hieroglyphs, depicted the Pineal gland in their writings calling it the “Eye of Horus”.
Wow! There might be something to this, right? Hindu’s profess powers, using their open third eyes, of being able to actually read anything written down in front of them while blindfolded. So, the Third Eye not only benefits them in the spirit world but also here in the physical world. They also profess the power of transportation, using Third Eye powers to actually transport a physical object from one place to another. We have all heard of people who can actually see other places in their minds, quite accurately, called “remote viewing”. Edgar Cayce was said to be able to access something he called the “Akashic Records” and actually be able to read them, through the same type of Third Eye powers. Ok, so how do we get in on this action? It all starts with meditation. There are a myriad of videos and articles on different techniques to “open” your third eye. All of them start with meditation, maybe using some type of music or chant. There are some who suggest “thumping” your head in certain areas in order to “awaken” the gland. For those of us over fifty with calcified glands, it is suggested that we move to a more plant based diet to aid in the process, and also drink un-fluorinated water and use un-fluorinated toothpaste. I don’t imagine the ancient Egyptians had any fluoride issues, so they must have easily slipped off into the netherworld, at will. One thing they did have, was a Guru. Yep, a bonafide wizard of great powers and wisdom, known throughout the ancient world as the holder of great wisdom. Next post I’ll introduce you to the great Hermes Trismegistus!
Several studies have been conducted on this weird little gland and some of them are interesting indeed. All vertebrates, except one or two on the planet, have this gland. When studying lab rats, some researchers found that when void of all light, rats preferred to drink alcohol over water. When their glands were removed, it had the opposite effect. In some humans with dysfunctional Pineal glands, a craving for alcohol was also noted. What a weird connection eh? Maybe that’s why bars always have such dim lighting? The study also found that people who worked nights, stayed up late and didn’t get outside in the sunlight much, overtaxed their Pineal glands, and exhibited signs of menstrual cycle irregularities, sore breasts and increased alcohol consumption. Some studies linked stress, intake of refined sugars and epinephrine as causes of Pineal dysfunction. One of the things that inhibit Pineal function, is calcification of the gland itself. Scientists have found that most humans over fifty have calcified Pineal glands. There are varying degrees of explanations why this happens, some say its from the intake of fluoride. Our drinking water, fluoride toothpaste, dental rinses, and from other environmental exposures to fluoride containing chemicals. Some say its because many people live most of their lives in artificial light, and their gland overtaxes and then atrophies from non use, being photo-sensitive and not being exposed to natural sunlight. Whatever the case may be, you don’t hear of any products out there being advertised as Pineal gland supportive or any aids for Pineal health. I guess Americans are more interested in a cat’s urinary tract health or whether their dog is getting pure meat in their gourmet dining routines. So, the takeaway from this should be that we all should get more sunshine and eat foods that promote Pineal health. Foods that are high in Lecithin help to produce more melatonin, Soy being the most Lecithin rich. The same old list shows up again as foods that are good for us, vegetables, legumes, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, Cauliflower and leafy greens. Dairy products such as milk and cheese are also foods rich in Lecithin. We’ll explore the mystic side to this gland in our next post……i’m going to go outside and eat some cheese in the sunshine!!
This guy would be the envy of any modern day Indiana Jones wannabe by far. He and his crew of brave, fighting Frenchmen, explored the Great Lakes Regions, the Illinois and Mississippi rivers (and some of their tributaries) and had the dubious distinction of claiming all of these areas for their mother country of France and naming it, Louisiana, after King Louis XIV . The suffix -ana- is actually a latin term which means pertaining to or belonging to, so, we have Louisi-ana meaning, pertaining or belonging to Louis. When La Salle returned to France and told the King of his explorations, the King thought that a return trip should be undertaken. He proclaimed that a fort and a colony would be setup there to secure the entrance of the river. This task he assigned, to none other, than our old friend La Salle. All provisions and crews were loaded onto 4 ships, along with 300 colonists. La Salle was on his way back to Louisiana to fulfill the Kings orders, but, alas, La Salle never made it back to Louisiana. It was said of Rene-Robert, that he was a man of sharp tongue and sometimes overwhelming arrogance. This would actually aid in his demise, as on the return trip, bad navigation got them off course, a ship was lost to Pirates, another sank in Matagorda Bay and still another, ran aground there and was looted by the local natives. Obviously, they landed far west of their intended destination. They wound up near the Brazos River in Texas. La Salle tried to establish a colony there along the Garcitas Creek, and built a fort he named Fort Saint Louis. Running out of provisions, added to being lost, and I’m sure having the incessant mouth-running of an arrogant aristocrat, was more than the crew could take, and sadly, on March 19th, 1687, Rene-Robert Cavelier sieur de La Salle was murdered by his own men, while on a search mission east, to find the river. The expedition was over, some of the men returned to France, some stayed to establish a colony, but, unfortunately, those who stayed, were ultimately kidnapped or slaughtered by local tribes. But, a King wants, what a King wants. Louis turns to his Navy Secretary, Louis Phelypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain. The secretary then appoints this task to the Le Moyne brothers. We came to know them as Pierre Le Moyne sieur de Iberville and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne sieur de Bienville. I remember studying about these two guys in Louisiana History class back in the eighth grade. It seems like back then, the emphasis was always put on the titles of Iberville or Bienville. In fact I remember talking about them like they were from 2 different families. This was wrong, as the names of Bienville and Iberville are just titles that were given to aristocratic families who owned feudal lands. As a matter of fact, Jean Baptiste, actually inherited his title sieur d’Bienville from a brother who died prematurely. So, titles put aside, they were just Pierre and Jean Le Moyne. We’ll talk more about these guys in the next post!