I dunno I just work here. This week I have mostly been eating Death Stars. If you have grown morning glories you know how indiscriminate they are to wreath and coil around as they grow, I had expected to be fighting off and hacking at it to leave the Mary J alone, but to my surprise...... it's as if they have an understanding, leaving it alone. The ladybug I found outside in the cold a few weeks back happened to be a female, I have only seen 1 larvae so far which is now a light orange ladybug with spots and all. From what I read up on lady beetles they dump eggs and are done with it and can lay several dozen at a time. I could have sworn she and her baby were working in tandem though I had seen them one morning on the vines, they seemed quite content to live here, the tent being wide open for long periods, and they seemed uninterested in flying anywhere. Seems odd she only had 1 beetle baby though, maybe I just haven't seen more than 2 at a time. I love them though, efficient little Duracell terminators that never cease, apparently, the main breed that many garden stores sell is a species prone to flying away. Thank you Terrance for all your diligent work in helping to keep the garden clean and pest-free. It turns out, the ladybug isn’t named for any particular female trait it possesses. Rather, it is named for a specific lady- the Virgin Mary. Why? This isn’t precisely known. One of the leading theories is that the name came about as a result of the ladybug’s bright red shell, which is not too dissimilar from the red cloak Mary is often pictured wearing in biblical paintings. There’s also an old European legend that states that farmers many hundreds of years ago prayed to the Virgin Mary asking for help to save them from the pests devouring their crops and in return she sent a swarm of tiny beetles bearing her trademark coat to eat them. In truth, ladybugs are known to dine almost exclusively on insects we humans consider pests, like aphids, something old-timey farmers without pesticides or other easy means of keeping their crops protected from destructive creatures were no doubt incredibly thankful for. Since back in those days it was common to thank God for almost any good fortune, it’s not hard to see how this legend popped up, and perhaps this gratefulness really did contribute to the name. But let the reader observe that each of the 66 books, as well as an almost countless number of ancient books of all races and languages, teach the same mathematical and physiological facts. Man has turned the mighty power he possesses into every object and principle of force in the universe except himself. When man focuses his divine thinking lens upon himself, he will realize that he is the epitome of unlimited Cosmic Energy. Then the "Heavens will roll together as a scroll "and reveal the Real Man as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." A CHILD brought to its mother a piece of ice and asked: "What is this?" The mother answered, "it is ice." Again the child asked, "What is there in ice?" The mother answered: "There is water in the ice." The child desired to find the water in the ice, and it procured a hammer, pounded the piece of ice into little bits and the warm air soon changed all the ice to water. The child was grievously disappointed, for the ice that the child supposed contained water had disappeared. And the child said, "Where is the ice that contained this water?" And so it came to pass that the mother was compelled, by the child's persistent questions, to say, "ice is all water; there is no such thing as ice; that which we call ice is crystalized or frozen water." The child understood. A student brought to his teacher some water and asked, "What is water ? What does it contain ?" The teacher answered, "Water contains oxygen and hydrogen," and then explained how the two gases might be separated and set free by heat. The student boiled the water until all of the molecules of oxygen and hydrogen had been set free, but he was surprised to find that all of the water had disappeared. Then the student asked of the teacher, "Where is the water that held the gases that have escaped?" Then was the teacher compelled by the student's persistent questions to answer, "Water itself is the product of oxygen and hydrogen. Water does not contain anything other than these gases. In reality, there is no such substances or fluid as water; that which we name water is a rate of motion set in operation by the union of two parts of hydrogen with one part of oxygen and, of course, the phenomenon disappears when the union of the gases is broken." The student understood. A devout scientist presented himself before God and said, "Lord, what are these gases men call oxygen and hydrogen?" The good Lord answered and said, "They are molecules in the blood and body of the universe." Then spoke the scientist, "Lord, wilt thou tell me of the kind of molecules that compose Thy blood and body?" The Lord replied, "These same molecules, gases, or principles, compose my blood and body; for I and the universe are one and the same." Once again the scientist said, "My Lord, may I ask, then, what is spirit and what is matter?" And thus answered the Lord : "As ice and water are one, and the gases and water are one, so is spirit and matter one. The different phases and manifestations cognized by man in the molecules of My body that is, the universe are caused by the Word ; thus, they are My thoughts clothed with form." Now the scientist felt bold, being redeemed from fear, and asked "is my blood, then, identical with Thy blood in composition and Divine Essence?" And the Lord said, "Yea, thou art one with the Father." ^ The scientist now understood and said: "Now mine eyes are opened and I perceive that, when I eat, I partake of Thy body; when I drink, I drink of Thy blood; and when I breathe, I breathe Thy spirit." So-called matter is Pure Intelligence and nothing else because there is not anything else. Pure intelligence cannot progress or become better. There is nothing but Intelligence. Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience must mean Intelligence; therefore these terms are all included in the word. Let us adopt a short word that will express all that the above-written words are intended to express, namely, the word IT. "I" stand for all the eternal I. "T" stands for operation, manifestation, vibration, action, or motion. The "I" in motion is "T," or Crossification, viz., the T-cross. We say, "IT" rains! "IT is cold!" "IT is all right!" What do we mean by "It?" Who knows? Some say, "The weather!" Others, "Natural phenomena !" Very well, then what do we mean by "the weather," or "natural phenomena?" Why, just It, of course! IT does not progress; it does not need to. IT forever manifests, operates, differentiates, and presents different aspects or viewpoints of ITSELF. But these different phases are neither good, better nor best, neither bad nor worse simply different shades and colorings of the One and Only Intelligence. Every so-called thing, whether it be an animal, vegetable or mineral, molecule or atom, ion or electron, is the result of the One Intelligence expressing itself in different rates of motion. Then what is Spirit? Spirit means breath or life. Spirit, that which is breathed into man, must be intelligent, or man would not be intelligent. Non-intelligent substance, which is, of course, unthinkable, would not breathe into anything, nor make it intelligent if it did. Therefore, we see that Spirit, Intelligence and Matter are one and the same Esse in different rates of motion. So-called molecules, atoms, and electrons know what to do. They know where and how to cohere, unite and operate to form a leaf or a flower. They know how to separate and disintegrate that same leaf or flower. These particles of omnipresent life build planets, suns, and systems; they hurl the comet on its way across measureless deserts of star dust and emboss its burning path. From the materialistic and individual concept of life and its operations, it is pitiable and pathetic to view the wrecks along the shores of science. It is only when we view these apparently sad failures from the firm foothold of the unity of being and the operation of wisdom that we clearly see in these frictions and warring elements and temporary defeats and victories the chemical operation of Eternal Spirit operating with its own substance its very self. It is only through the fires of transmutation that we are enabled to see that all life is one Eternal Life and therefore cannot be taken, injured, or destroyed. The fitful, varying, changing beliefs of men in the transition stage from the sleep and dreams of materialism to the realization of the Oneness of Spirit show forth in a babel of words and theories, a few of which I shall briefly consider, beginning with the yet popular belief in Evolution: The evolutionary concept has its starting point in the idea (a) that matter so-called is a something separate from mind, intelligence, or Spirit; (b) that this matter had a beginning; (c) that it contains within itself the desire to progress or improve; and, finally, that the race is progressing, becoming wiser, better, etc. Against this assumption, I submit the proposition that the Universe one verse always existed without beginning or ending and is and always has been absolutely perfect in all its varied manifestations and operations. A machine is no stronger than its weakest part. If the self-existing universe is weak or imperfect in any part, it must, of necessity, always have been so. Having all the knowledge there is it is unthinkable that there is any imperfection anywhere. Everything we see, feel, or taste, or in any manner sense, is perfect substance, condensed or manifested from perfect elements, but all differ in their notes, vibrations, or modes or rates of motion. A serpent is as perfect, therefore as good, as a man. Without feet, it outruns a man; without hands, it outclimbs the ape and has been a symbol of wisdom through all the ages. Man is an evil thing to the serpent's consciousness. Neither are evil nor good. They are different expressions or variations of the "Play of the Infinite Will." The brain of the jellyfish is composed of the same elements, of the same substance as the brain of a man, merely of a different combination. Can a man tell what the jellyfish is thinking, or why it moves and manifests its energy thus or so? How, then, is man wiser than the jellyfish because his thoughts are of a different nature and operate to different ends?