Beyond The Memory Palace: The Ministry of War

            Memory Palaces can be used for far more than just impressive feats of recall. In mine, among other things, I've built a War Room, where I can be alerted to specific dangers and given instant access to helpful information by a group that I call "The Ministry of War," masters of the various vexing avenues which human conflict can take.

            If this idea doesn't immediately make sense, just think of it as a vivid psychic interface for accessing unconscious wisdom, typically in response to some specific and relevant external stimuli. It's constructed like the Chambers for the Senate or the House of Representatives, or, in other words, like a theater in the round. Often I'll go there in meditation, just to talk out my problems and be advised of my various options.

            So, for example, my very closest and most trusted adviser is the highly esteemed Minister of Reason, flanked on either side by the Minister of Empathy and the Minister of Humor. However, just behind them sit the Ministers of Avoidance, Disapproval, and Distraction, as well as Ministers for Guilt, Bribery, and Politics although I would hardly say that I call on these last six as sources of guidance or sound strategy in my normal everyday conflicts.

            In fact, beyond those first three ministers who comprise my inner circle, all of the others are really only there to provide a more complete counsel against the full range of faces which human conflict all to often may assume. After all, I can't afford a blind spot in my field of vision just because some course of action is philosophically unacceptable for me personally. They, therefore, are also there to think the thoughts that I don't wish to think.

            And this is precisely why I also regularly confer with those in the back of the War Room, my so-called Shadow Ministry. Peering down as they do from their seats nearly up in the rafters, these are the dark and forbidden masters of Passive Aggression, Slander, Invalidation, Deception, Seduction, Sabotage, Intimidation, Violence and yes, even Murder.

            I have a Minister of Murder; I think everyone should. Regardless of your feelings on my personal choices for these phantasmic helpers, I think you can agree that the basic practice itself is a sound one and even something that you might wish to invest your own time in developing. I'd love to hear what you come up with. Til then, Good Luck and Namaste.

Zebuleon's War

           In the Revelation of Ezra it is written that there are 9 angels destined to rule at the end of the world. The first four are, not surprisingly, the most famous ones, Michael, Gabriel, Auriel, and Raphael, yet the other five, most angelologists assume, must still wallow in relative obscurity, since all that most angelic scholars know of them are their names. These are Aker, Gabuthelon, Arphugitonos, Beburos, and Zebuleon. Of these five, almost nothing else seems to have ever been recorded, except perhaps for the possibly unrelated fact that there is said to be, or to have been, an angel named Zubuliel, who's name means "the habitation of God." Interestingly enough, he was said to have been empowered to protect nine mysterious sealed doors, and it is for this, and other reasons, that some believe that these nine doors would very likely lead directly into that most secret and powerful of holy places, the very presence of God himself, but that if they were to be opened, the world as we currently know it would quickly cease to exist.

           Now, if I haven't bored you all too terribly already, allow me to share just one last piece of prophecy with you. My research suggests that the angel Zebuliel was always destined to fall, to not only abandon his post, but, at the appointed time, to throw each of the nine gates wide open, and to create the very future envisioned by the prophet Ezra. There are many indications that this day is already at hand, and that, as Zebuleon, a name which means "the Lion's Den," he is now serving as a precarious balance between the four heroic Archangels, who quickly occupied four of those nine open gates, and their very own shadows, who have somehow seized control of the others, save for the one held by Zebuleon himself.

           Now these angels must battle for control of a world that is literally flooding with the miraculous power of God, for better and for worse. Whose side will you chose in Zebuleon's Secret War, the Archangels, fighting to preserve humanity and what they see as the good of all, their dark counterparts, seeking to transform a select few into something far above humanity, or the enigmatic agents of the apparently fallen angel Zubuleon, whose ultimate aims have yet to be determined?


           Need more information? Well then, allow me to first introduce you to the Archons of the New Age:

Aker: "The Elite" An influential cabal which bestows seemingly limitless stolen wealth upon its chosen few and grants each of them enormous control over the ever expanding impoverished masses.

Gabuthelon: "The Lion's Paw" A secret society of fighters, hunters, and serial killers, viewing all other men and women as nothing more than mere sport.

Arphugitonos: "The Lords of Egypt" Keepers of both ancient secrets and cutting edge technologies, these specially selected insiders keep themselves in the know and all others in the dark.

Beburos: "The Beautiful People" A sex cult of thoroughly decadent epicures and mind control specialists, they command the spotlight, deciding who should be granted access to fame and recognition while shaping our very notions of beauty and pleasure.


           Then there are the Archangels:

Michael: "The Likeness of God" Battling for social equality and economic justice, Michael's workers struggle to not only feed and clothe the poor, but to also engineer the means by which they will be able to feed and clothe themselves.

"Until all of us are free,
none of us are free."

-Martin Luther King

Gabriel: "The Hero of God" In addition to bringing those who violently prey on the weak to justice, Gabriel's warriors serve as instructors and mentors to those brave enough to step up and fight the good fight.

"To Protect and To Serve."
-Former Motto of the L.A.P.D.

Auriel: "The Light of God" Shinning a light into the darkness, Auriel's watchers uncover and impart vital knowledge, to and from whomever and wherever the transmission of such knowledge will do the most good.

"And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall set you free."

-John 8:32

Raphael: "The Healer of God" Builders of community and compassion, Raphael's Ministers create safe and readily available healing spaces wherein the very best in all of us might be uncovered and shared.

"All you need is Love."
-John Lennon


           Finally, there's the Architect of the Coming Apocalypse:

Zebuleon: "The Lion's Den" A mysterious gate keeper who delivers recruits to each of the eight other factions in their currently ongoing war. It is said that he also retains a small retinue of secret apprentices just for himself, specially selected to walk an entirely different path than all of the rest. Even the Lords of Egypt don't know what they're really up to, or, at least, if they do, they aren't telling.

"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

-Lao Tzu


           Choose, if only in your heart, and the game will begin. As always, Good Luck and Namaste.