Nostradamus: The New York Tragedy and a Meditation to Control Your Death

By Luis Dahl

Michel de Nostradame was born on December the 14, 1503. He predicted his own death in his last almanac and passed away on July 1st, 1566, at 63 years of age. That was pretty good for a guy living in the 16th century and through at least two encounters with the plaque. If we throw in the fact that he was actively pursued during the Inquisition, we can conclude that his longevity bordered on the miraculous. Apart from all his prophecies, I find the fact that he spent quite some time roaming aimlessly before finding his true path very interesting. It was during his 6 years of wandering that he first became conscious of having prophetic powers.

The elements of non-attachment and wandering for a prolonged period of time call to mind the lives of Christ, Mohammed and Buddha, who all went on to do great things after a period of solitude and challenge. This may not be enough to give Nostradamus's main body of work, The Centuries, credibility, but it is enough to pique our curiousity about what kind of man he was. By the way, The Centuries has remained in print for more than 400 years.

The plagues that ravaged Europe are estimated to have eliminated one quarter of the entire population. The Black Death killed thousands. Nostradamus probably saved hundreds of lives with his successful remedy for the bubonic plague. While the medical authorities were bleeding people infected by the plague, thus killing them, Nostradamus gave them fresh air and water, clean bedding and his Rose Pills. Instead of running from the plague, he worked tirelessly, saving as many as he could.

He suffered personal tragedy, losing his wife and two children to the plague in 1537. Broken by this, he began to wander aimlessly, as already mentioned, for 6 years. It would be ten years before he would marry and become a father again. He remained a family man to the end, with his second wife, Anne Ponsarde Gemelle, outliving him. In case you're interested, he died of dropsy.

It seems as if whenever a major event happens a lot of people start looking for answers. The name Nostradamus has surfaced once more in view of recent tragedies in New York and Washington. I do not know whether Nostradamus predicted these tragedies, and many serious scholars of his work are probably uncertain as well. You see, his 1000 quatrains are written as if in code; one could charactarize many of these predictions as vague. To get even an idea as to the possible timing of unfolding events according to Nostradamus, you would probably need a competent astrologer. Nostradamus was influenced by astrology and refers to some future events by the positioning of planets and their conjunctions with one another or of comets in the sky. Even though he left us many clues, interpreting one of his predictions could still be equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.

Nostradamus certainly had a unique way of putting things, reminiscent of secret societies or those privy to hidden information or technology. When you consider that the Catholic Church was king in those days and many of his prophecies referred to the collapse of the church, you can see why it was very risky for Nostradamus to publish his works. His family was Jewish, but converted so they would not be persecuted or condemned. The Catholic Church of the day had little tolerance for those practicing or believing in other spiritual philosophies; to do so was considered heresy. Regardless of this, many people not only tolerated but also respected what Nostradamus was doing.

Catherine De' Medici, the Queen Consort to Henry I I of France, was one of those who respected Nostradamus and did what she could to protect him from persecution. She was thoroughly convinced of the authenticity of his prophetic visions when he predicted the death of her husband in a tournament. Through the years, many people have tried to associate themselves with the work of Nostradamus. Some claim to have the answer to unlocking the secrets of his prophecies while others find ways to discredit his work altogether. There are also those who use his reputation to disseminate false versions of his prophecies in order to provoke fear. For instance, there is a popular one going around that states the following:

" In the city of York there will be a great collapse, 2 twin brothers torn apart by chaos , While the fortress falls the great leader will succumb
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning."

Nostradamus 1654

The first clue that this is a hoax is the date - 1654 - which was 88 years after Nostradamus' death. Furthermore, this passage is far too simple and specific to be a typical Nostradamus Quatrain. As an example, let me show you an authentic English translation of one of Nostradamus' Quatrains, which may refer to the attack on the World Trade Center. The translation is from Century 1, Quatrain 87:

Earth-shaking fire from the center of the earth.
Will cause the towers around the New City to shake:
Two great rocks for a long time will make war,
And then Arethusa will color anew river red.

It is certainly possible to interpret this Quatrain as having something to do with the attack on the World Trade Center in New York. In every century since Nostradamus' time, people have tired to interpret his Quatrains to explain events or announce the coming of a Great War or catastrophe. Remember, though, that the 1000 Quatrains are aligned in no particular order.

How should we then look upon these recent world developments? I believe a friend of mine said it best in a phone conversation a few days after the terrorist attack; he said, " These events will prompt everyone on the planet to confront their inherent duality of violence or peace. The outcome is unknown but the answer will lie with every individual."

There are a lot of prophecies out there, and most of them are not predicting sunny days ahead. That is, not at first glance. When you take the time to look into things you will find that the future can and does have a happy ending. Manuela Dunn Mascetti and Peter Lorie wrote a great book called Nostradamus Prophecies for Women. In this work the authors conclude that Nostradamus foresaw that women will continue their fight for true equality and that when we see a woman as president of the United States, much turmoil will end.

In the meantime, if you are feeling uncertain or even scared about what has unfolded recently, let me offer you some beautiful technology. The head of Western Sikh Dharma, his eminence Yogi Bhajan, was a special quest on CNN recently. There is a meditation that he revealed to western society in 1979. This meditation is known for many benefits, including the ability to "control one's own death or that of others."

In doing any meditation, precision in execution is vital for the intended experience to occur. Stay consistent in the timing and rhythm of your breathing cycle with the mantra. Have clear intention and a pure heart and nothing will make you feel scared again.

Begin by sitting with a straight spine. In fact, do it right now. Stretch your spine by lifting both arms up, bring the hands together, interlock the fingers and really stretch for about 60 seconds as you breathe deeply. Relax and lower the arms. Now, sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine. Keep your shoulders relaxed and rest the elbows against the body. Bring the forearms and hands up and position them in front of the heart and parallel to the ground. Turn the palms so they are facing up and slightly angle the hands away from the body. Keep the fingers together and the thumbs slightly out. There should be one and a half to two feet between the hands. Let this be a very relaxed and comfortable hand and arm position.

Close your eyelids until your eyes are one tenth open. Bring your attention and focus to the area between your brows, also known as the third eye point. Exhale completely as you mentally count to five, once this is done hold the breath out and mentally repeat to your self the mantra SAA-TAA-NAA-MAA . Repeat the mantra four times, then inhale for a slow count of five and repeat. The mantra allows you to keep the breath cycle in a subtle rhythm. Keep this period of time the same for each time the breath is held out. The mantra must be consistently vibrated at the same time. Become as precise as a Swiss watch.

Begin by practicing for 11 minutes. Once you develop an understanding of this meditation, you can slowly build it up to 31 minutes. Give it a try and let me know how things work out for you.

The prophecies of Nostradamus were not intended to scare you, only to inform you of what may occur. Ultimately, your free will is what determines how things unfold. The events that happened in New York and Washington are causing people around the world to experience fear. Fear has a way of making a bad situation seem worse; it gives people a sense of hopelessness. When we meditate and use powerful technology such as the meditation given to you here, balance is restored to the mind and our inner knowledge reminds us that we are eternal, that we are loved and that we will overcome.

The important thing to remember is that Nostradamus put his life on the line to save others in what must have seemed like the end of civilization. Many brave individuals did the same in New York. They may not have been prophets but they certainly had vision.

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