Do you believe in reincarnation? I do.

Then again, I know I've had other lives -- many of them, in fact. And some aren't far below my conscious awareness, as if the veil that separates them from this one is paper-thin. Often experiences "bleed through" through with memories and emotions that clearly are not associated with this one. Somehow I'm usually able to shift my awareness to another place so I can understand how it all fits together.

One of those was in Scotland where a good friend wrote a series of mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes. You may have heard of him. His name was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. My favorite was The Hound of the Baskervilles. Maybe you've heard of it. Or even the howls of the hound across the moors on a dark, foggy night.

Everyone's talking about the economic meltdown happening before our very eyes.

And when they aren't they're lamenting over the failure of the major political parties to serve us instead of themselves, even while dutifully taking sides in their game of musical chairs to see who will next get the keys to the kingdom.

I guess our own troubles aren't enough. Maybe we need this massive dose of fear in order to face the consequences of our own inaction.