{"id":7181,"date":"2013-12-04T22:44:44","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T04:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/?p=7181"},"modified":"2013-12-08T00:03:49","modified_gmt":"2013-12-08T06:03:49","slug":"december-7-2013-mark-d-diehl-xvii-seventeen-book-one-margaret-placentra-johnston-faith-beyond-belief-and-sue-elliott-healthy-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/?p=7181","title":{"rendered":"December 7, 2013 &#8211; Mark D. Diehl, &#8220;XVII (Seventeen: Book One),&#8221; Margaret Placentra Johnston, &#8220;Faith Beyond Belief,&#8221; and Sue Elliott, &#8220;Heartfelt Holidays&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>December 7, 2013 &#8211; Archives\/Pod Casts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/archives2013.gcnlive.com\/Archives2013\/dec13\/AmerikaNow\/1207131.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Hour 1<\/a> &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/archives2013.gcnlive.com\/Archives2013\/dec13\/AmerikaNow\/1207132.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Hour 2 <\/a> &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/archives2013.gcnlive.com\/Archives2013\/dec13\/AmerikaNow\/1207133.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Hour 3<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hour 1:\u00a0 Mark D. Diehl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7183\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/MarkDiehlPHOTODec2013-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/strong>Joining Amerika Now during the first hour is author and scholar, <strong>Mark D. Diehl, <\/strong>who will be discussing his book <strong><em>(XVII) Seventeen:\u00a0 Book One.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Institutions grow ever larger.\u00a0 Generation by generation, the compliant edge out the wild, and conformity and obediance to hierarchy are now our most important survival skills.<\/p>\n<p>Based  on Darwinian selection, the people most likely to survive and  successfully pass on their DNA to the next generation are the most  corporate, says Diehl.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey  have the least dangerous jobs, live in the safest neighborhoods, and  have the best access to health care; extrapolate this for several  generations and a distinct pattern emerges: We are evolving into a  corporate species,\u201d says Diehl, who has studied in Singapore, fled South  Korea as a fugitive, and was stranded in Hong Kong for weeks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7185\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/XVIIBOOKCOVER.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"69\" height=\"101\" \/>Diehl&#8217;s book, <strong><em>Seventeen:\u00a0 Book One (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.armyofthedoomed.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.armyofthedoomed.com<\/a>), <\/em><\/strong> is a natural progression from Ayn Rand&#8217;s objectivist works and describes a world in which corporations control all of the world\u2019s diminishing resources and all of  its governments, dividing the world into two types of people: those who  unquestioningly obey, and those who die.<\/p>\n<p>Humanity is not the pinnacle of evolution but merely a step in it, he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe  next stage for us is what happened to bees and ants millions of years  ago: The collective is becoming more important than the individual. We  are evolving into a corporate species, divided only into so-called  \u2018superorganisms,\u2019 just like the beehives and anthills. The corporation  is the new superorganism of humanity, and those of us on the outside  have about as much chance as a grasshopper covered in a swarm of biting  ants,\u201d Diehl says.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Mark  D. Diehl writes novels about power dynamics and the way people and  organizations influence each other. He believes that obedience and  conformity are becoming humanity&#8217;s most important survival skills, and  that we are thus evolving into a corporate species. Diehl has been  homeless in Japan, practiced law with a major multinational firm in  Chicago, studied in Singapore, fled South Korea as a fugitive, and been  stranded for weeks in Hong Kong. After spending most of his youth  running around with hoods and thugs, he eventually earned his doctorate  in law at the University of Iowa and did graduate work in creative  writing at the University of Chicago.\u00a0 He currently lives and writes in  Cape Elizabeth, Maine.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">For more information, please visit his website at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.armyofthedoomed.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.armyofthedoomed.com.<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>PLEASE CALL\u00a0 800-259-5791\u00a0 TO SPEAK WITH MARK DIEHL.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>Hour 2:\u00a0 Margaret Placentra Johnston<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7187\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/MargaretPlacentraJohnstronPHOTO-115x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"150\" \/><\/strong>Author and optometrist <strong>Margaret Placentra Johnston, O.D.,<\/strong> joins the show during the second hour to discuss her book, <strong><em>Faith Beyond Belief:\u00a0 Stories of Good People Who Left Their Church Behind.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Margaret will discuss what she calls &#8220;spiritual development theory,&#8221; which is based on the work of about fourteen &#8220;theorists&#8221; from various centuries, various parts of the world, and various disciplines.\u00a0 All of them described a path to spiritual maturity, and when seen from a bird&#8217;s eye view, all can be seen to have been describing a common phenomenon.\u00a0 The endpoint of the path is always unity and universal love.\u00a0 It also tends to take a person beyond the need for literal religious beliefs.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7191\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/FaithBeyondBeliefBOOKCOVER1-100x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\n<p align=\"left\">Johnston&#8217;s book, <strong><em>Faith Beyond Belief<\/em><\/strong>, was recently named the Gold Winner of the 2013 Nautilus Book Award in Religion\/spirituality, and illustrates this concept through the use of true stories from real-life people.\u00a0 It also compares and contrasts the commonalities in the works of various spiritual development theorists.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Additionally, Johnston has been able to draw a direct line between the spiritual stages and the mindset of certain political groups.\u00a0 More specifically, the religious right may be viewed as a caricature of one of the lower spiritual stages, which Johnston calls &#8220;the Faithful.&#8221;\u00a0 This group interprets scripture literally, needs security, and needs to know their beliefs (and their group) are more right than others.\u00a0 They like to think things never change, and are motivated by fear.\u00a0 Contrast this against &#8220;more spiritually mature&#8221; groups that don&#8217;t need as much certainty, can appreciate paradox, and view themselves as part of a larger community rather than just their particular religion or political group.\u00a0 They see themselves as part of all humanity or even as part of the entire Universe.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Margaret Placentra Johnston, O.D., as an optometrist has spent decades improving people&#8217;s eyesight.\u00a0 Now she offers clearer vision on a higher level.\u00a0 Her writings have appeared in optometry journals and in the personal growth journal, <em>Recovering the Self. <\/em>She serves as an expert on <em>AllExperts.com<\/em> in the categories of spiritual growth and skepticism.\u00a0 She also leads discussions and speaks to interested groups about spiritual development.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Dr. Johnston holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA)  and Master of Arts (MA) in Education from the Catholic University of  America; a Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Doctor of Optometry (OD)  degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now called Salus  University.)<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">For more information, please visit her website at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.faithbeyondbelief-book.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.faithbeyondbelief-book.com.<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>PLEASE CALL\u00a0 800-259-5791\u00a0 TO SPEAK WITH MARGARET.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>Hour 3:\u00a0 Sue Elliott<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7194\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/SueElliotPHOTODec5Prerecord-150x109.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"109\" \/><\/strong>Joining the show during the final hour is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of <em>Law of Attraction Magazine <\/em>and Creator of <em>Heartfelt Holidays, <\/em><strong>Sue Elliott.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The holiday season is upon us.\u00a0 It&#8217;s supposed to be &#8220;&#8230;the most wonderful time of the year.&#8221;\u00a0 So why, then, do so many people feel depressed, anxious, fearful, irritated and upset from Thanksgiving to New Year&#8217;s? It&#8217;s not always the annoying relatives and pressures to meet end-of-year deadlines at work. In fact, our unhappiness seldom comes from outside&#8230; Most often what makes us craziest at the holidays is OURSELVES.<\/p>\n<p>Sue Elliott, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of <em>Law of Attraction Magazine<\/em> and a leading personal and executive transformation coach, says there are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">five key ways that we torture ourselves at the holidays<\/span><\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>Mastering these are the first steps in making your holidays the <em>joy<\/em> they were intended to be and relaxing into peace, ease and fun.\u00a0 Sue will talk about how to learn to watch for these hot buttons, and will offer the shifts you need to make in your attitude in order to regain equanimity and joy.<\/p>\n<p>Torture #1:\u00a0 Comparing our <em>real<\/em> families &#8211; and the memories of holidays with them &#8211; with the &#8220;perfect&#8221; families we&#8217;ve seen in movies and on TV.<\/p>\n<p>Torture #2:\u00a0 Beating ourselves up over gaining weight at the holidays.<\/p>\n<p>Torture #3:\u00a0 Keeping score in gift-giving.<\/p>\n<p>Torture #4:\u00a0 Getting upset every time we have to stand in line.<\/p>\n<p>Torture #5:\u00a0 Trying to buy the &#8220;perfect&#8221; gifts for people.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7197\" src=\"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/HeartfeltHolidaysPHOTO-150x135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"135\" \/>Sue will shed light on these and dozens more triggers and old scripts that keep us from experiencing a peaceful and pleasurable holiday season. She&#8217;ll draw on her <a href=\"http:\/\/r20.rs6.net\/tn.jsp?f=001CgXuIGe2r-j7nwMrYBJVMbRw05liMD_00t_D9BN9_dAQrrYzZtFWsftw9B5NMzMLIudHMpxvtRgIYfDbkcdzBn9OooqkX0f1_jw62todXqC33G2cw6nhNeJKB0tlczB3te7OLrBIjU8WAKfj-iNK2y1bshpIS-NlN3C9XFtG7zbJKSJwh-nui1o38JxMv-f6&amp;c=-6UL3vqSFjaySB71o0JKPFqHsQ67riCfuMw3pAqxmeZ4300FwMgDWw==&amp;ch=sD7JMbbqj2XsXAsM9tccP9NC6z75rWrQXgGn48KeiV6X0-twRykSGQ==\" target=\"_blank\">Heartfelt Holidays<\/a> laser-focused audio program designed to deactivate holiday triggers and clear the old patterns.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s time to create new attitudes for a new Yule!<\/p>\n<p>For more information, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/r20.rs6.net\/tn.jsp?f=001CgXuIGe2r-j7nwMrYBJVMbRw05liMD_00t_D9BN9_dAQrrYzZtFWsftw9B5NMzMLIudHMpxvtRgIYfDbkcdzBn9OooqkX0f1_jw62todXqC33G2cw6nhNeJKB0tlczB3te7OLrBIjU8WAKfj-iNK2y1bshpIS-NlN3C9XFtG7zbJKSJwh-nui1o38JxMv-f6&amp;c=-6UL3vqSFjaySB71o0JKPFqHsQ67riCfuMw3pAqxmeZ4300FwMgDWw==&amp;ch=sD7JMbbqj2XsXAsM9tccP9NC6z75rWrQXgGn48KeiV6X0-twRykSGQ==\" target=\"_blank\">www.LovingMyself.com\/holidays<\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>NO CALLS PLEASE, THIS SEGMENT WAS PRERECORDED.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: black; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 7, 2013 &#8211; Archives\/Pod Casts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hour 1 &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hour 2 &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hour 3 Hour 1:\u00a0 Mark D. Diehl Joining Amerika Now during the first hour is author and scholar, Mark D. Diehl, who will be discussing his book (XVII) Seventeen:\u00a0 Book One. Institutions grow ever larger.\u00a0 Generation by generation, the compliant edge out the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-show_archives","7":"category-guests","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7181"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7188,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7181\/revisions\/7188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}