“Alice Herz-Sommer is 106 years old. As well as being the second oldest person living in London, England – she is more significantly the world’s oldest survivor of Hitler’s holocaust…Yet despite all that has befallen her, Alice insists that she has never, ever hated the Nazis, and she never will…she has seen enough in her life to know all too well that hatred eats the soul of the hater, not the hated… Alice survived through music… Still today, she speaks with great pride and passion of playing more than 100 concerts inside the concentration camp and she likens that experience, both for the performers and their imprisoned audience as being close to the divine. Alice is unequivocal in stating that music preserved her sanity and her life — while bringing hope into the lives of countless others. To this day Alice never tires of saying; “Music saved my life and Music saves me still.” “

“Nicholas Roerich (October 9, 1874 — December 13, 1947) is generally known for his paintings (of which there are around 7,000) but he was also a philosopher, archaeologist, educationalist, writer and cultural leader. He was involved in the building of the first Buddhist Temple in Russia in St Petersburg. He had also studied far eastern wisdom (primarily through the teachings of Swami Vivekananda) and the ancient wisdom teachings through the Theosophical teachings brought to the world primarily through his Russian neighbor Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.”

“Also known as ‘the Kitty Freud’, Carole wrote a monthly column, Cats on the Couch, for “Cat Fancy” magazine for 16 years, and is currently a columnist for In Defense of Animals . She gives seminars at The Open Center and 92nd Street Y in Manhattan as well as The Learning Annex in Toronto…From her work emerged ‘The Wilbourn Way’ – logical, easily implemented methods of preventing and/or correcting common feline emotional problems...In addition, Carole is a staff consultant and sees clients at Westside Veterinary Center in New York City. Carole serves on the board of the Humane Society of New York. Carole is also available for appointments at Westside Veterinary Center in New York City.”

“Adding pistachio nuts to your daily diet could be an easy way to improve cholesterol levels, say researchers from Turkey, the world’s fourth biggest pistachio nut producer. Pistachio nuts are also a rich source of antioxidant vitamins A and E (gamma-tocopherol).”

“While Moody’s past books have explored aspects of the “near death experience”, Glimpses of Eternity explores a different phenomenon — that of the “shared death experience.” These are cases where a spouse, relative or caretaker, sometimes entire families, appear to accompany their dying loved one through their death and on to an afterlife, or different state of consciousness. The shared experience contains some of the same elements as a near death experience, but there are some differences as well… Glimpses of Eternity pushes everything we think we knew — about consciousness, spirituality and the metaphysical — even further.“

Merlian News interviews author and parapsychologist Hans Holzer, as he describes his personal and professional experiences in the field. Dr. Holzer is the author of numerous best-selling books on psychic topics. He has taught parapsychology at the New York Institute of Technology for eight years. ” My dear friend Hans Holzer died on Sunday April 26th, 2009, peacefully at home in Manhattan. We were good friends for nearly thirty five years. I cherish the last visits we had together and will miss his physical presence in my life enormously but know he is with me in spirit.” Merryn Jose

Ghosts on film: Merryn’s experience at the MET’s exhibit and background information on occult photography phenomena. ” According to the MET’s website, the photos, “Closer to the scientific revelations of the X-ray (discovered in 1896) than to the double-exposure parlor tricks of 1850s ghost photographs, the more than 120 stunning and surprising works in this exhibition reflect an attempt to reconcile the physical and spiritual worlds.”

Gene Krackehl brings us another great article. “Who among us hasn’t experienced that excruciating, debilitating, numbing, devastating feeling of loss? Death can sometimes brings about that sensation but sometimes a loved one’s disappearance is even harder to bear when it was their own decision to leave you…Love is who and what we are and is what connects us. It’s really all there is. God is love, and so are you!”

“International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is heading to Indonesia after a deadly tsunami struck the county’s coast. The tsunami has already claimed close to 300 lives and it is feared scores of coastal villages could have been wiped off the map. ShelterBox delivers emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies to families across the globe who have been affected by natural or manmade disasters. The aid is delivered in a large, green ShelterBoxes which each contain a disaster relief tent, water purification and storage equipment, blankets, a stove, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.”